But not until she was home again.
“Sorry to break up the party, folks.” The nurse pushed some kind of computer on a cart into the room. “My patient needs to rest.”
“Okay,” said Coop, “We’re going.” He turned Eva. “Sam will be by later this afternoon to visit and I’ll be back tomorrow to take you home.”
“Thank you both for coming.” She looked from father to son. “I appreciate it more than I can say.”
Coop leaned over and kissed her forehead, voice choked with emotion. “Get well, Beautiful. The place isn’t the same without you.” He swallowed hard and continued. “I love you, Eva. Always will.”
Tears glistened in her eyes. “I love you, too.”
Jason stood and took her hand in his. “Laurie wants a Christmas wedding. That doesn’t leave us much time to get it all worked out.”
She blinked away the tears as joy bubbled in her voice. “Christmas?”
His cheeks turned a bright pink as he nodded. “Seems all she wants Santa to bring her is, well, me.” He paused. “And all I want…is for you to get well.” He brought her hand to lips and kissed the back of it. “I love you.”
“Oh, Jason,” she whispered, “I love you, too.”
Father and son left the room in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.
The late September air forecast the arrival of fall as they exited the hospital.
“Are we going to tell her this weekend?” asked Jason when they stopped beside his truck. “Or would you rather handle it alone?”
Coop didn’t have to think about it. “I want you to be there, Son. This is about all of us.”
“Works for me. I’ll be home Friday evening.”
Coop watched him drive way, fatherly pride making his heart swell. As he turned toward his Bronco, the balmy air suddenly cooled and carried a light floral scent to his nose. Not a rose, but similar. He stopped in his tracks when he recognized it. Gardenias.
Help her.
Stop him.
“Just what I need,” he muttered as he started the Bronco. “Two ghosts with cryptic messages.”
Thursday morning
Sam glanced at the clock, dismayed to see the time. She told Big Mama to expect her before noon and it was a quarter till. Determined to have the house in order for Eva’s homecoming, the morning zipped by. Big Mama’s displeasure at her late arrival loomed ahead.
“Can’t be helped.” On her way out the door, she grabbed her purse off the table and a sweater from the hook by the door.
“Jack? Come on boy. Time to go.” Surprised he didn’t come running, she looked around the empty yard. Frowning, she unlocked the truck, and threw her stuff in the front seat. “Jack? Come here boy.”
Something caught her eye on the hood. Another pink rose. How romantic. But why didn’t he just give it to me before he left?
She quickly dialed Coop’s number. Disappointment rained down when his voice mail picked up. A message would have to do. “With all that’s happened the last twenty-four hours, I forgot to thank you for the rose yesterday. And the one today. I didn’t realize you were the romantic type. Not sure why you didn’t just give it to me in person so I could thank you properly, but still, the gesture is really sweet. See you at home later.” Soon as the phone hit the seat, she remembered her promise to call when she left. That call went to voicemail as well.
She tossed the phone in the front seat, and went to find Jack. An unfamiliar car barreling down the drive made her pause.
The driver exited and hurried toward her. “Coop sent me. Hurry. It’s Eva.”
Without a second thought, she got in the car with him.
Coop kept his expression neutral as he listened to JD’s report.
The deputy cleared his throat again as he crossed and uncrossed his legs. “The bartender saw both Billy and Anson talking with her when he came back from the john.” Mouth tight, he rubbed one hand over his knee. “At one point, he thought she might be pitting them against each other, and kept an eye on them in case of trouble.”
“What time was this?”
“Around eleven-thirty. I checked with Teddy. He said it was about eleven-fifteen when Rick asked to go home claiming he was sick, and he left a little before midnight.”
“Did he see her leave? Was she alone?”
He shook his head. “They were gone after his last trip to the john right before he left. Claimed he was so sick by then, he wasn’t paying attention to anything.” Jimmy snorted. “He puked on someone’s shoes on the way out the door. Maybe Puckett’s, but he didn’t look up. Just saw the fancy shoes, and thought it was him.”
Coop clutched the pencil in his fingers so tight it snapped under the pressure. “But he’s sure it was Bill and Anson she talked to?”
“Yeah. Both are regulars, especially on Ladies Night.” He blew out a long breath. “Said neither of them usually leaves alone, though Anson seems to be more particular than Bill.”
Coop looked at the clock on the wall. “Did he work today?”
