Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
STELLA
It’s a few days later when an officer of the law walks through the bookstore’s front door. He removes his hat and nods at Drew.
“Drew.” The officer approaches me with his hand out. “You must be Stella. I’m the Sheriff. You can call me Cody.”
He looks too young to be a sheriff. Younger than me.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I say as we shake hands.
He glances around. “I like what you’ve done with the place.”
His presence is making me nervous. Did I break a law without knowing? From his serious expression, he’s not here for a social call.
Drew comes to stand next to me. “Can we help you with something?”
He tips his head in my direction. “I heard Julia Miller is staying with you?”
“Yeah, is there something wrong?” I ask.
“I need to talk with her. Is she here?”
“She’s across the street at the bakery. She’ll be back any second.”
Just then the bell over the door rings, and Julia walks through with a half eaten donut in hand. Her smile fades when she sees Cody.
His eyes show his concern, which makes me even more nervous.
“Julia,” he says. “How are you doing?”
She swallows her mouth full of donut. “Fine.”
“Is there somewhere we can speak privately?”
All the color leaves her face. “I want Stella to stay,” she says weakly.
“If that’s what you’d like,” Cody says.
Drew gives my arm a squeeze. “I’ll call you tonight.”
He leaves out the back. I walk to Julia and wrap an arm around her shoulders. She leans into my side.
Cody clears his throat. “Mr. Hibbard went to one of his out buildings a few days ago. He found a body. Through dental records, she was identified as your mother.”
Julia doesn’t make a sound, but she leans into me further, as if strength has drained from her body. I lead her to the chair behind the front desk.
“She’s been there for a while,” the sheriff continues kindly. “There doesn’t appear to be any foul play.”
“Was it an overdose?” Julia whispers.
“That is our working assumption at the moment until we have more information.”
She’s physically shaking.
I ask the sheriff, “Is that all?”
He studies her before he answers. “Yes. If anything comes up in our investigation, I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks.” Julia looks at me with glassy eyes. “Can I go upstairs and lay down?”
“Of course. Do you want me to go with you?”
“No. I’ll be okay.”
Both Cody and I watch her go through the staff doors. I’m about to follow and make sure she gets up the stairs okay, but before I can, the sheriff speaks again.
“I have some information for Julia, if you could let her know when you feel she's ready. During this whole process, it came to light that there’s a lien on her grandfather’s property because of unpaid back taxes.
The property will transfer to her, but if the taxes aren’t paid, the government will take the land.
It’s already in the process, so she’ll want to talk to someone about it sooner rather than later. ”
“Thank you, Sheriff.”
“Cody, please. Welcome to town, Stella.” He places his hat back on his head and walks toward the door. “Thanks for taking care of Julia.”
I’m left alone in the empty bookstore, heartbroken on Julia’s behalf. As soon as she’s ready, we’ll have to find out how much is owed on the lien. I’d hate for her to lose her grandfather’s property.
I want to give her time to grieve without hovering, so I continue work. It’s quiet. No neighbors drop in to say hi. At six I lock the front door and head upstairs to check on her.
I knock on her bedroom door. “Julia? Can I come in?”
“Okay.”
She sits up in bed. Her eyes are red and downcast.
“How are you feeling?”
A shrug.
“Do you want to talk?” I ask. “Or do you want to be alone?”
“You can sit down.”
I sit on the end of her bed. For a long time she doesn’t say anything, just sniffles.
“It was a relief when she didn’t come back,” she says slowly, softly. “I should miss her more, shouldn’t I? I feel like a bad person because I don’t.”
I reach out and lay a hand on her foot. It’s the only part of her I can reach. “You’re definitely not a bad person. She didn’t cope very well with negative events that happened in her life, and you suffered because of her decisions. It’s understandable that not having her around was a relief.”
She nods, but I’m not sure I’ve convinced her.
“You’re a good person, Julia. I love having you here with me in the loft. You’ll always have a home here, for as long as you want.”
She gives me a half smile, though sad. “Even if you marry Drew?”
I feel myself blush as I remember how we made out in the backroom of the bookstore last night before he went home. “Even if I marry Drew.”
She clasps her hands in her lap so tightly her knuckles turn white. “I like it here.”
I squeeze her foot to get her attention. “Good, because I want you to stay. Are you hungry for dinner?”
“Not right now. Maybe later.”
I leave her room and go out onto the stair landing for privacy and call Drew.
“How is Julia doing?” he asks as soon as he answers. His voice is full of concern. “That’s awful about her mom.”
I sigh, a little exasperated at how fast news travels. “I should have known you’d heard already.”
“Is she okay?”
“She upset that she doesn’t miss her mom as much as she thinks she should.”
“Can I come over?”
I want to say yes, but it’s probably not the best idea. “Julia’s in her room. I don’t want to disturb her.”
“Kissing is quiet.”
I laugh. “You’re making this hard on me.”
“You could come over to my place.”
I’d love to cuddle under a blanket with Drew. Unfortunately, I don’t think now’s the time. “I don’t want to leave her alone in case she needs me.”
“You’re a good person, Stella. Even if that means I don’t get my good night kiss. I’ll meet you tomorrow for breakfast?”
“I’ll be disappointed if I don’t.”
After he ends the call, I go inside and pull out my to-do list. As I work through tasks still remaining, Julia comes out of her room.
We make grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner.
The conversation is light and inconsequential.
It seems to be what she needs right now. After she’s in bed, I continue to work.
I’m about to stand up from the couch and go to bed when Naomi calls.
“Hello?” I say through a yawn.
“I’m fine. The baby is fine. Everything is fine. There’s nothing to worry about, but I want you to be in the loop. Again, we’re fine.”
I sit up, wide awake. “The more you tell me things are fine, the less I believe you. What happened?”
“As I was going up the front porch steps earlier today, I tripped and fell. Conrad rushed me to the ER, and everything looked fine with the baby, until it didn’t.
My stomach was hooked up to a machine, and just as they were about to unhook me, the baby’s heart rate dropped.
It was terrifying. We could have lost him, but they did their thing, and he’s stable. ”
“Naomi! How is that fine!?”
“Because Oliver is right where he needs to be, and his heart is still beating. I’m on bedrest until he comes.
We want to keep him inside for as long as possible, but they’ll do a C-section if needed.
We’re at thirty-two weeks now, so our hope is that he’ll gain weight and strength before he’s born. ”
I stand up and head to my room to start packing. “I’m leaving right now.”
“No, you’re not. Stay in Blissful. You have a book store to paint and Julia to watch over. There isn’t much you can do to help here. Mom and Dad are staying at the house to help with the kids. Conrad’s taking the next few weeks off from the firehouse. We don’t need you.”
“Ouch, Naomi. That’s hurtful.”
Even if it is a needed reminder that I have a minor (at least for another ten days) living in my house. I can’t leave.
She laughs. “You know what I mean. I didn’t call to make you feel like you had to drop everything for me.”
“I know, but I want to.”
“I would like to have my big sister around, but you have more important things to deal with right now.” She pauses. “Don’t tell Conrad, but I’m scared.”
“I’m sure he knows without you having to say a word. How long will you be in the hospital?”
“Hopefully only a few days, but it depends on how the baby does over the next forty-eight hours.”
It kills me not to be there with her. “Keep me posted?”
“Definitely. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Bye.”
I sit on the edge of my bed, torn. Maybe Naomi doesn’t need me, but as her big sister, I need to be there for her. Something could go wrong and though there is nothing I can do if it does, irrationally I feel like if I’m there, I can help in some way no one else can.
When I moved to Blissful, I didn’t realize my loyalty would be put to the test like this.
“Stella?”
I look up from my phone. Standing in the doorway is Julia.
“I thought you were asleep,” I say.
She shakes her head. “I’ve been staring at the ceiling for forever. I heard what you said on the phone. Is something wrong?”
I pat the bed, and she walks in and sits beside me. She has her hands hidden in the sleeves of her oversized long-sleeve shirt.
“My sister is in the hospital,” I say. “She’s pregnant and there was a scare with the baby. They’ll be fine.” I pray they’ll both be fine. “It’s just hard to not be there for her.”
“Why don’t you go?”
Her confusion makes me smile.
“I don’t want to leave you.”
She grows even more confused. “Why not?”
It seems obvious to me. “You just lost your mom, and you’re still seventeen.”
“I lost my mom years ago. I’ve been taking care of myself since I was a kid. This is a much nicer place to be alone than my grandpa’s house. I’ll be fine.”
That’s harsh. Here I am thinking I’m sacrificing for someone else, only to find out they don’t need me to.
“The store opens in three weeks,” I say. “My to-do list is a mile long.”
She shrugs, as if this concern is as silly as the last one. “Leave it for me. I’ll work on it while you're gone. I bet Drew will help. If I had a sister, I’d want to be with her.”
When I don’t capitulate, she rolls her eyes.
“Seriously, Drew and I have everything under control here. We don’t need you.”
It seems no one does. Both Julia and Naomi are only trying to push me to where they think I should be.
I wrap an arm around Julia’s shoulders and squeeze. “I’ll think about it. Do you want some cocoa? We can watch a movie until you’re tired enough to sleep.”
“Okay.”
Julia falls asleep within fifteen minutes of the movie starting. I lay a blanket over her and take our mugs to the sink, before going to bed myself.
Julia is still asleep on the couch when Drew comes over for breakfast. I shush him as soon as he walks through the door, then point to the living room. He peeks inside before kissing me quickly on the lips.
“How is she doing?” he whispers.
“Right now, okay. We’ll see how she copes going forward. I’ll wake her up in a bit and see if she’s up for school or would rather stay home. But there’s something else I need to talk to you about.”
He leans against the center island with his arms crossed, his expression open. I love him so much. I’ll only be gone a few days, but not seeing him every day is the strongest motivation for me to stay.
I step closer, and he opens his arms for me.
He kisses the top of my head. “Is everything okay?”
“Naomi had a scare with her pregnancy and is in the hospital. I’m heading to Tucson today and plan to stay a few days to help in anyway I can.”
“I can come with you.”
I close my eyes, wanting him with me so much.
“I would love that, but I was hoping you could check in on Julia while I’m gone?
She’s the one pushing me out the door, but I worry.
Also, finish the handrail for the stairs and be around so the guy can refinish the floors on schedule?
Then I won’t worry about getting too far behind on the store. ”
I can’t really afford any days away, but family is more important than anything.
“I can do that,” he says after a slight hesitation.
“Thank you. I’ve already packed a bag. As soon as Julia’s up, I’ll leave.”
“Then I better get my morning kisses to tide me over until you get back.”
I have no complaints.
It’s only a minute later when Julia shuffles in. “Really? Isn’t it too early for you to be making out in the kitchen?”
Drew reluctantly pulls away. “Only if you’re seventeen.”