Chapter 3
JUNE
June stood inside the veterinary clinic for a moment longer than she needed to, staring at the handwritten sign taped neatly to the glass.
For Emergency Animal Care, Please Contact Dr. Lucy Tanner at Sandpiper Shores Medical Clinic.
She ran her fingertips lightly over the edge of the paper, checking the tape, checking the corners, checking that it was still straight. It was. It was perfectly fine. It was also the only thing that felt perfectly fine.
June stepped back and scanned the parking lot, the quiet street, the sleepy rhythm of the morning in Sandpiper Shores. Everything looked normal, like the town had decided that yesterday’s chaos belonged in the past.
June could not bring herself to follow that logic as the everyday person in the street was blissfully unaware of what lurked just below the surface of their beautiful seaside town.
June’s stomach tightened as she slid her keys into her bag.
She told herself for the tenth time that she needed facts, not assumptions.
She needed proof, not theories. Anger flushed through her when she thought of Victoria standing at the police station with her polished smile, smooth voice, and shrewd vulture eye.
June didn’t like Victoria very much and never had.
The woman had always moved through life as if other people were furniture.
There when it was useful to her and inconvenient when not.
But even with all that, June still struggled to believe Victoria would be vindictive enough to deliberately run Lacey off the road.
June exhaled and rubbed her forehead.
“Goodness,” she whispered to herself. “This is dark.”
June kept replaying yesterday’s scene at the clinic, where Victoria came storming in like a queen arriving late to court, then speaking to Lucy as if Lucy were Lacey, delivering that warning meant for Lucy without realizing she had the wrong twin.
How could anyone mix them up? June’s brow crinkled once again.
The twins were identical in many ways, but they had a few defining differences.
Their eye color was different, and Lacey’s hair was a shade lighter, especially in sunlight, a touch more honey.
Lacey was also taller than Lucy, although not by much, but enough that once you saw it, you could not unsee it.
June shook her head again and sighed. “I guess some people are just so self-absorbed they hardly notice anyone else.”
She locked the clinic door and turned down the sidewalk.
Deciding to go visit Lacey and see how she was doing, June walked to the flower shop on the corner, a small place with a bell above the door and a display of cheerful bouquets that felt almost ridiculous in the face of what June was thinking about. The bell chimed as she stepped inside.
A woman behind the counter looked up and smiled.
“Morning,” the woman said warmly. “What can I get for you today?”
June returned the smile automatically. “I need something bright for a friend in the hospital.”
“All right,” the woman said briskly in a compassionate way. “Yellow always helps and it reminds me of the sun on a stem.”
“What a lovely thing to say. How about some yellow roses?” June suggested. “With daisies if you have them.”
“We do,” the woman promised. “Give me a minute.”
June wandered to the small display near the register and picked up a box of caramels without even thinking about it. Lacey loved caramels. June had watched her steal them from Lucy’s pantry for years, always acting as if she were committing a crime of passion rather than sugar.
By the time June returned to the counter, the florist had arranged a bouquet of yellow roses with white daisies tucked between them. It looked like sunshine someone had managed to capture and tie with ribbon.
June paid and thanked her, then stepped outside with the flowers tucked against her arm and the chocolates in her hand.
The walk to the clinic did her stiff muscles some good and cleared her head.
As she reached the clinic, the doors slid open with a soft sound, and cool air met her face.
The clinic smelled like antiseptic and oranges.
The floors shone. The lighting made everything feel too sharp and exposed.
June walked through the foyer, her mind focused on where she was going and what she might get her, Carmen, Willa, and the kids for dinner.
She turned a corner too quickly and bumped into a solid wall of warm muscle. The box of chocolates flew out of her hand, hit the floor, and skidded across the polished tiles.
“Oh,” June blurted, startled.
“I am so sorry,” a man’s voice said immediately.
June bent down at the same time the man did, but he moved faster. He swooped up the box, making June freeze as he straightened.
He was tall. Familiar. And when he lifted his head, a slow smile spread across his face.
June felt something in her chest shift suddenly and sharply.
“Dean,” June breathed, a huge smile spreading across her face when she saw her daughter’s late husband’s father standing in front of her.
Dean Parker’s smile widened. “June,” Dean said, and his voice held warmth that made June’s eyes sting for reasons she did not fully understand. “I wasn’t expecting to run into you in a hallway.”
June let out a small laugh, more relief than amusement. “I wasn’t expecting you at all,” June said. “Not for another two weeks.”
Dean’s smile softened, and June realized with a jolt what she had just said.
Two weeks. It was only two weeks until the memorial.
June’s throat tightened. She forced herself to swallow the feeling back down before it could show on her face.
Dean handed her the chocolates carefully.
“Ace flew me in early,” Dean explained. “I needed to get away from my hometown as I was climbing the walls with boredom.” He sighed. “This retirement is driving me crazy.”
“I’m not retired yet,” June said. “But I do understand the boredom part, having been laid off for a few months.”
“Oh, yes, Willa told me about your accident,” Dean said. “I did try calling a few times, but Carmen was very strict about limiting your talk time.”
June sighed. “Yes, she didn’t want me stressed out.” She glanced around the clinic. “Are you okay? Or are you visiting someone in the clinic?”
Dean gestured lightly toward the pharmacy counter.
“I’m picking up a new asthma inhaler and my medications,” Dean said. “I forgot to get my repeats and only remembered on the way here.”
June’s gaze flicked over him, noticing the faint heaviness in his expression, the way time had left its quiet marks. His eyes fell on the flowers and chocolates. “Who are you here to see?”
“Lacey Peltz,” June said carefully. “She had an accident yesterday.”
Dean’s eyes widened. “Lacey,” Dean said, clearly shocked. “What kind of accident? Did she get bitten again? Is she okay?”
“She had a car accident,” June told him. “Lacey is going to be fine, but she took a hard hit.”
“Tell her I’m thinking of her,” Dean said immediately. “And please give her my regards.”
“I will,” June promised.
“I should go,” Dean said. “I want to stop by and see Willa and the kids.”
“You’re not staying at Willa’s?” June asked, frowning.
“No,” Dean shook his head. “With you and Carmen there, I’m staying with Ace.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Dean,” June said, feeling bad because she knew that, like her, Dean loved spending time with his grandkids.
“Oh, no, don’t worry, we’re literally just across the beach,” Dean told her with a soft laugh.
“Why don’t you and Ace come over for dinner tonight?” June suggested. “If you are up for it.”
“I’d like that,” Dean said, then grinned. “And I know Ace will as well. He adores Willa and the kids.”
“I know he does,” June agreed with Dean.
She’d always hoped that when the time was right, her daughter would open her eyes and see just how much Ace loved her.
In fact, if June were honest with herself, while she’d loved Shaun and he was the most wonderful man, husband to her daughter, and father to his kids, June had always loved Ace just a little more.
She had secretly hoped that he’d win Willa’s heart back when she, Shaun, and Ace had first met.
“I’d better get going before Ace comes looking for me,” Dean said. “I’m supposed to be meeting him, Willa, and the kids at Margo’s.”
“I won’t hold you up any longer,” June told him, stepping aside. “It was good to see you again, Dean, and I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me too,” Dean said with a nod. “Me too.” He stepped forward. “We’ll see you at Willa’s later this evening.”
“At about six-thirty?” June suggested.
“Sounds good.” Dean said goodbye and left.
June went to the nurses’ station, found out where Lacey’s room was, and headed to it. June knocked lightly on the open doorframe and stepped inside.
Lacey lay propped against pillows, her right arm in a sling, bruising shadowing her cheekbone and down the side of her neck. A television no bigger than a laptop played quietly, but Lacey was flipping through channels with a level of irritation that suggested the TV was about to lose the fight.
When she saw June, her expression brightened instantly.
“June,” Lacey said, and relief warmed her voice. “Thank goodness. Finally, someone interesting to talk to.”
“I’ll have you know I’m only interesting on my good days.” June smiled and walked inside the room, holding up the bouquet. “These are for you, as are these.”
June put the caramels on the bed.
Lacey’s eyes lit up.
“You’re an angel,” Lacey all but purred. “I was dying for something nice to eat besides this bland hospital food. Everything seems to be white. White chicken, white rice, heck even the gravy is white.”
June set the flowers carefully on the bedside table, eyeing Lacey ripping the box open.
“Do I have to tell you, a medical professional, not to eat them all at once?” June raised an eyebrow, watching Lacey shove one in her mouth like it was a lifeline.
“I’m sorry, but I love caramels, and I don’t care about the cavities right now,” Lacey replied. “I’ll brush my teeth when I’m done.”