She looks at the ceiling and pretends to cry. I’m not sure how far off from it she really is. I can deal with a lot of things in life, but a woman’s tears aren’t one of them.
“I’m going to have my cousin’s boyfriend run over there and get the stuff Libby wanted,” I say. “Can you tell me what all that was?”
Jaxi closes her eyes and rattles off a small list of items. “That’s it. Can he go soon? I don’t know what time Ted will be back.”
“I’ll see.”
I get to my feet and walk to the back corner of the room. I press Hollis’s number.
“Hey, man,” he says on the first ring. “What’s going on?”
“Hey, Hollis. I need a favor, if you’re not busy.”
“Shoot.”
I rub a hand down my face. Jaxi sits facing the opposite direction with her phone in her hands too. Her fingers fly across the screen in a wild spectacle.
“Do you remember Libby?” I ask Hollis. “She made homemade ice cream for us when we were cleaning out the garage.”
“Yup.”
“Long story, but I need you to go to her house and grab a trunk in the master bedroom. There may or may not be a Bible lying around. If you see it, take it too. Oh, and take Riss with you. Have her fill the suitcases under the master bed with some of Libby’s clothes and take all of that to my house. Riss knows the security code to my door. Libby’s is not locked. And I’d appreciate it if you could do this now.”
He whistles through his teeth. “Okay. Do I wanna know, or is this one of those things we’re never talking about again?”
I chuckle. “Thanks, man.”
“I got you. I’ll fire you a text when it’s done.” He laughs. “This sounds so mafia.”
I snort. “Well, considering that I’m standing in a police station right now, let’s not say trigger words, okay?”
“Are you serious? What’s going on, Boone?”
“It’s fine. Everything is fine. I’ll explain later. Thanks for helping me out.”
“Yeah. Of course. Call me later.”
“I will. Thanks, Hollis.”
I end the call.
“Hollis and Larissa are going to go over there now,” I tell Jaxi as I make my way back to my seat.
“Thank you.” She sets her phone on her lap. “Look, Boone, I don’t know what’s going to happen. I didn’t plan for this. Clearly. But I promise that I’ll get a plan together soon and get out of your hair.”
I study the woman in front of me. The fear and dread etched in her features cuts through me like a hot knife. If I were her, I’d be calling my mom. But it seems like she only has me.
“If you cased my house out correctly,” I tease, “you’d know I have two extra bedrooms.”
She tries not to laugh but can’t help it. The sound eases both of our minds, I think.
“I’m not a good problem solver,” I tell her. “I go to my brothers when I really get my shit fucked up. But I think Wade would tell me to take this problem in sections and deal with it one part at a time. Wade is a pretty smart guy.”
She looks at the door. “That’s good advice, and I’m sure Wade is an intelligent man, but what am I going to do with a little girl? I can barely take care of myself.”
Fuck if I know.
I try to imagine something happening to Coy and me getting saddled with his kid. I’d take it, without a doubt. There would be zero hesitation. But then what? I’d call Mom. And she’d guide me every step of the way.
The thought terrifies me—for theoretical me and Coy’s kid that doesn’t exist at the moment.
“You’ll figure it out,” I say. “You don’t really have a choice.”
A pop of disbelief is shot through the air. “Gee, thanks.”
“Want me to lie to you?”
“Right now? Yes.” She laughs. “Please lie to me. Tell me I’ll know what to do. Tell me that I’m going to have all the answers and can find a place for us to live and a car and a job and health insurance …”
Her breathing takes a quick leap, her chest rising and falling like she’s running a mile.
“I’m fucked. I’m so fucked,” she says, teetering on a wail.
Her panic drives my panic. I watch her slowly unravel in front of me, and I don’t know how to stop it. I just know I have to try.
Without thinking, I stand and then squat down next to her. I wrap an arm around her narrow shoulders and pull her gently into me.
She stiffens for the briefest of seconds before letting her head rest against my shoulder.
A lump settles in my throat, and I’m not sure why.
I’m not sure what to do or say, nor do I know what happens next. What I do know is that I put myself into this situation, I’m not mad about it, and I just have to figure out how to help.
“Wade would say to start at the top,” I whisper to her, wrapping my other arm around her too.
I close my eyes and try to stay focused on helping her and not the way she melts into my body. I fight the urge to breathe in her raspberry scent and stroke the small of her back. Instead, I just try to show her that she’s not alone.
“We handled Libby’s stuff,” I say. “The next thing is getting your sister’s daughter and dealing with the paperwork. Right now, you have a place to stay. Let’s just get through the day, okay?”
“I’m so sorry for bringing you into this,” she says against my shoulder.
“It’s not really how I saw my weekend going and not what I meant when I chose spontaneity on the online quiz that I took last week.” I grin against the top of her head. “But maybe it’ll be fun.”
She pulls back. The separation feels like pulling a magnet away from another, and
