Chapter 9 Lori
LORI
“Thanks for the ride,” Lori said, gathering her purse from the floorboard.
“No problem,” Tessa said with a warm smile. “I’ll see you back home later this afternoon.”
Lori opened the door but paused before getting out. “Please be careful, Tessa, and keep vigilant.”
Tessa leaned over and kissed Lori’s cheek. “Yes, Mom number two, I will be on high alert, I promise.”
The word “Mom” number two made Lori smile, even as her heart squeezed painfully in her chest. She and Trevor had never had children.
As it turned out, she couldn’t have them.
Carrie’s twins, Trent and Tessa, and then Maggie were the closest she and Trevor had ever come to having kids or grandchildren of their own.
They’d been honorary aunts, uncles, and grandparents for Maggie.
She watched Tessa pull away before turning toward the garage. One of the bay doors was open, and she could see someone working underneath a car on a lift. Music played from a radio somewhere inside, classic rock mixing with the sounds of tools and machinery.
As she approached, a young man emerged from the office, wiping his hands on a rag.
He was in his late twenties, with dark hair and an easy smile.
Sam. Mitch had told her about him when she’d dropped the car off.
Sam had taken over the garage from his father, Harold, who could no longer work due to a back injury.
“Mrs. Carlton,” Sam said, his smile widening. “Perfect timing. I just finished up with your car, and it’s ready for you.”
“Thank you, Sam,” Lori smiled back.
“Come on into the office,” Sam said, gesturing toward the small building. “Cindy’s got all your paperwork ready.”
Lori followed him inside, where a woman sat behind a desk covered in invoices and work orders.
She looked up as they entered, her face breaking into a welcoming smile.
Cindy was pretty, with blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail and kind eyes.
After a warm greeting, paying her bill, Lori was back in her car and on the way to the hospital.
A smile still played on her lips as she thought about Sam and his wife, Cindy, who ran the office.
They were so warm and friendly. That was the thing about this little town.
Everyone was so warm and friendly. That’s why she loved living where she did in Florida.
The small community vibe. But as the road became less crowded, Lori found her mind whirling with everything that had happened over the past few days.
The dead seabird. The removed fuses. Mitch being attacked on the beach.
What was supposed to be a peaceful, calm summer holiday had turned into something she could never have anticipated. Lori was living in a state of constant vigilance, always wondering if someone was watching, always listening for sounds that didn’t belong.
She pulled into the hospital parking lot and checked her watch. She was about twenty minutes early. Lori was deciding whether to sit in the car and wait, or...
Her eyes landed on a coffee vendor’s cart set up on the corner across from the hospital entrance.
Perfect. Lori thought. She could get them both a cup of coffee while she waited. Hospital coffee was notoriously terrible, and she was sure Mitch would appreciate something decent.
Lori got out of the car and headed toward the crosswalk. As she waited for the light to change, she caught movement from the corner of her eye. A flash of tan against the white hospital building. She turned her head quickly, her heart rate spiking.
Nothing.
Just an empty sidewalk and the hospital entrance beyond.
Lori gave herself a mental shake. Good grief, she was so paranoid and jumpy. She was seeing threats in every shadow, danger in every unexpected movement. This wasn’t healthy. This wasn’t who she was.
So much for a peaceful, calm summer holiday.
The light changed, and she crossed the street to the coffee vendor. The man behind the cart was elderly and cheerful, greeting her with a warm smile and a thick Boston accent. She ordered two large coffees, black for Mitch and cream and sugar for herself.
“Beautiful day,” the vendor said as he handed her the cups. “Enjoy it while it lasts. Rain might be coming in tomorrow, they say.”
“I will, thank you,” Lori said, carefully balancing both cups as she headed back across the street.
She made her way through the hospital entrance and down the familiar corridors toward Mitch’s room. Lori was almost at his room when she saw her. Sally Lane.
The woman knocked on Mitch’s door with a confident rap, then entered without waiting for a response, as if she had every right to walk in.
A weird feeling hit Lori square in the chest. Something hot and uncomfortable that she didn’t want to examine too closely. What on earth was Sally doing here? And more importantly, why did Lori feel this sudden surge of... what? Anger? Resentment?
No, it was… Lori’s brows shot up, and her breath caught. Jealousy.
The word popped into her head unbidden, and Lori immediately tried to push it away.
That was ridiculous. She had no right to feel territorial over Mitch.
He wasn’t hers. They were just neighbors.
Friends, maybe. He’d been kind to her, protective, but that didn’t mean anything.
That was just who Mitch was, a good man who helped people.
Sally Lane had known him for years. They’d dated. They had history. Of course, she’d come to check on him after he’d been hurt.
Lori gave herself a stern talking to. She was sixty years old, for heaven’s sake, not some sixteen-year-old girl getting jealous over a boy. This was absurd.
She squared her shoulders, walked up to Mitch’s door, and knocked firmly.
“Come in,” Mitch’s voice called from inside.
Lori pushed the door open and immediately noticed the way Sally moved slightly closer to Mitch’s bedside, her body language subtly possessive. Sally turned, and her smile when she saw Lori was as fake as the sugary cheerfulness in her voice.
“Lori,” Sally said, managing to make her name sound like both a greeting and a dismissal.
“Lori,” Mitch said at the same time, his voice carrying warmth and genuine pleasure. He started to say something else, but Sally cut him off.
“Mitch was just telling me about what an ordeal he went through,” Sally said, turning her attention back to Mitch and placing her hand on his arm.
“And how instrumental you were in finding him on that beach. How terrifying that must have been for all of you.” She glanced at Lori and then back at Mitch with a look of exaggerated concern.
“How clumsy you’ve gotten, darling. Falling and hitting your head like that on the rocks.
It’s so unlike you.” She fussed with his pillow.
“You really do need a woman in your life to look after you.” She practically purred the last words, and Lori watched as Mitch’s jaw tightened with barely concealed irritation.
“I can assure you, I’m quite capable of taking care of myself,” Mitch said, his voice polite but firm. He shifted on the bed, subtly moving away from Sally’s touch. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get dressed.”
He looked directly at Lori, and his expression softened completely. The smile he gave her was warm and real, nothing like the polite distance he’d been showing Sally.
“What do you mean, dressed, darling?” Sally asked, surprise evident in her voice. “You didn’t tell me that you were going home today when I was here this morning.”
Morning? Sally had been here this morning? Lori’s mind spun, and that green feeling hit her in the chest once again.
“I didn’t think I needed to tell you,” Mitch said, and this time his voice was decidedly cold.
“I’ll wait for you outside,” Lori said quickly, stepping forward to set one of the coffee cups on the table at the foot of Mitch’s bed. She was suddenly feeling like a third wheel and intruding in a conversation she shouldn’t be a party to. “I brought you a cup of coffee.”
Mitch’s face lit up like she’d just offered him something precious. “Thank you, Lori. I’ve been longing for a decent cup. Hospital coffee is absolutely terrible.”
“I’m sorry, Sally,” Lori said, forcing what she hoped was a pleasant smile and not a smug one. “I didn’t know you’d be here. I only bought two cups.”
“That’s no problem,” Sally said, squaring her shoulders and forcing her own smile, slightly lifting her chin. “I don’t drink coffee from vendors or the hospital.”
The snobbish tone in her voice was unmistakable, and Lori felt a small flare of irritation. What was wrong with vendor coffee? It was perfectly good coffee, and the vendors worked hard to make a living.
“Sally, thanks for stopping by,” Mitch said, his voice carrying a finality that couldn’t be mistaken. “But I really need to get dressed. I want to get home.”
“Oh, of course,” Sally said, glancing at Lori and then back at Mitch. “I can give you a ride home if you need one.”
“That’s all right, thank you,” Mitch said, and then he smiled at Lori with such warmth that her heart actually jolted in her chest. “Lori is giving me a lift home,” His eyes were still locked with Lori’s
It was a joyous feeling, like winning a prize at a fair. Like beating someone at a game. Like stealing the cheerleader’s quarterback, a small voice whispered in the back of her mind.
Lori immediately admonished herself. She was sixty years old, not sixteen, she reminded herself.
This wasn’t high school, and Mitch wasn’t some prize to be won.
But still... it felt good to have Mitch choose her.
To see the way his face changed when he looked at her versus how it looked when he looked at Sally.
No, he didn’t choose you, Lori told herself firmly. You’re just convenient. You live next door. That’s all this is.
“Oh,” Sally said, her voice going flat. She glanced at Lori with something sharp in her eyes. “Of course. That makes sense. I live on the other side of town, and Lori is right next door to you.”