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“Uncle Pete, Abby—Abby’s dead. We found her collapsed on the kitchen floor. The doctor’s about to leave. Aunt Janie, Rich and Mom are here with Russ…yes, I’ll tell her.”
She told her aunt Janie that Pete was on his way, then turned back to her mother. “That phone is going to start ringing off the wall,” she murmured.
“I know.” Anna gave her a steady look. “Can you handle the phone? We sure don’t want Russ having to do that.”
“Yes, of course. I’ll find a pad and pen and make a list.”
She walked away and returned as the phone rang again, the necessities in hand.
“She’s very composed,” Jon muttered to her mother.
“Yes. We aren’t used to tragedy. We’ve been very fortunate. But we’re strong. Don’t worry. We’ll take care of Russ.”
He nodded. “If there’s anything I can do, let me know.”
ABBY’S FUNERAL WAS HELD Sunday afternoon. The rest of Friday and Saturday, Tori handled the phone, answering curious questions and talking to all Russ’s and Abby’s friends. Everyone was shocked at Abby’s sudden death.
Dr. Wilson, in his secondary role as medical examiner, had let them know that her death was caused by a brain hemorrhage. She’d died instantly and nothing Russ could have done would have changed the outcome. Tori hoped those words comforted her cousin. They helped her, but it was such a waste of a good person. Abby had been so happy to be a part of the huge Randall family. Thrilled to be pregnant.
Tori tried not to think about the loss, but it was impossible not to. She constantly teared up. On Sunday afternoon, when they buried Abby, she stood with the family, lined up with Russ in support, to say goodbye to Abby. It was a difficult time.
She was worried about Russ. He had a blank stare and never spoke. His parents had convinced him to return to the ranch to sleep, giving him a room in the main house so they could insure he got rest and decent food. And that he wasn’t constantly reminded of his dead wife.
Tori closed the office on Monday, but opened it on Tuesday. She thought staying busy would be the best thing to do. She spent part of her day talking to people who stopped by to commiserate with Russ, and accepting potted plants from people who hadn’t heard before the funeral and wanted to express their sorrow.
She was closing at five when Dr. Wilson came to the door. With a sigh, she opened the door. “Yes, Doctor? I’m just closing.”
He gave her a sympathetic look. “Busy day?”
“Yes. Do you have more questions?” Her voice was strained from her exhaustion, but she couldn’t help it.
“I wanted to check on you and see how Russ is doing.”
She was surprised, but she’d been checked on so much the entire day, frequently by people wanting to share in the drama even if they hadn’t known Abby, she couldn’t stand it any longer. She used her standard answer. “Russ is doing as well as can be expected.”
“Which tells me exactly nothing. Have you been using that expression all day?”
“Yes.”
Instead of demanding more detail, he asked to borrow the phone. He had a pager and a phone in his SUV, but he didn’t carry a cell phone. She nodded and he picked up the receiver and dialed. When he received an answer, he asked for Anna.
“Hi, it’s Jon. How is Russ doing? Does he need some help?”
Tori had talked to her mother that morning, but Russ had still not arisen.
“He’s what? Are you sure that’s safe?”
“What?” Tori demanded, rising.
He shook his head at her. “Yeah. Well, let me know.”
“What?” she asked again.
“Okay. I will,” he said into the speaker, and then hung up the receiver. “Your mother is worried about you.”
She shrugged that off. “What did she say about Russ? Is what safe?”
He studied her, making her angry. “Tell me,” she demanded.
“I will if you’ll have dinner with me at the café. I promised your mother I’d make sure you ate.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You don’t want to be seen in public with me. Gossip is rampant right now.”
“Did you eat lunch?”
“There wasn’t time.”
“Well, there’s time now. If you go upstairs, you’ll be answering the phone all evening.”
She groaned. “I don’t think there’s anyone left to call.”
“I suspect there is. Come on, let’s go get something to eat and I’ll explain what your mother said.” He didn’t try to grab her arm and pull her after him, which one of her cousins might have done. He stood back and waited, leaving the decision up to her.
She suddenly agreed, knowing he was right. She’d get more calls tonight if she was home. And she just didn’t think she could manage. She didn’t want to go out to the ranch, as her mother had suggested this evening. She nodded. “I’ll go, but I’ll pay for my own dinner.”
“Agreed. I love a cheap date.” He grinned. His expression was such a relief, such a normal response, she almost broke into tears.
She looked away and picked up her purse. “I’m ready.”
Grabbing the keys, she preceded him out the door and then inserted the key in the lock. As she was doing that, several people stopped to talk to them. She stood back and let Dr. Wilson handle the questions. But she did manage a sad smile as they offered their condolences.
“Thank you,” she muttered as they crossed the street and entered the café.
Mona, one of the waitresses, came to seat them and told Tori how sorry she was about Abby’s death. Tori thanked her, but she said nothing else.
“Mona, we need a back booth. Tori’s about worn-out from all the kind people here wanting to talk to her. As her doctor, I’m ordering a quiet meal with no interruptions.”
Mona shot Tori a sympathetic look and smiled at the doctor. “I’ve got just the booth you want.” She led them to the last booth and pointed out the side where Tori would be facing the back wall. “You sit here, hon, and I’ll intercept anyone who thinks he recognizes you.”
“Thank you, Mona.”
Her escort slid into the other side. “Good for you, Mona. You deserve a big tip.” Then, before Tori could assure him she’d pay the tip, he asked, “What’s the special tonight? Meat loaf?”
“Nope, but we have it on the menu. Tonight, it’s chicken and dumplings.”
“Okay. Give us a minute to look at the menu.”
When Mona left the table, Tori buried her face in her hands.
“Take deep, slow breaths and blow out all that tension.”
She didn’t hesitate to do as he suggested. She was desperate.
But then people began stopping at the table to express their sorrow.
“I never thought I’d hate being with a blonde,” Jon muttered. “If you were a brunette, no one would notice.”
Tori didn’t bother answering. She was fighting for composure.
Mona came back to the table. “Sorry, I’m doing a lousy job. But my other tables are demanding service. You ready to order?”
“Yes, and we want everything boxed up to go. I’ll have meat loaf with fried okra and mashed potatoes. And coconut cream pie. You want the same, Victoria?”
She didn’t even know what he had ordered, but she nodded. As soon as Mona had it all down, he said, “I’ll be back in ten minutes to pick it up. Thanks, Mona.”
“Where are you going?” Tori didn’t intend to sound so panicky, but she couldn’t face any more mourners.
“You tell me. Your place or mine.”
“What?” She didn’t understand what he was asking.
“I say yours. It’s sure to be nicer than mine. Come on, let’s get you home.”
She didn’t argue.
He took her arm and led her across the street and up the stairs to their apartments. When they reached his door, he dug out his keys and opened the door.
“I thought you said my place.”
“I’d forgotten about the phone. I hear it ringing now. You wouldn’t be able to get any rest.” He gently nudged her into his apartment. “Lie down on the sofa and rest. I’ll go back and get the food.”
Like an automaton, she did as he said without arguing. That took too much strength. As he left the apartment, she closed her eyes.
WHEN JON RETURNED to his apartment with several bags of food, he found Victoria asleep on his couch. Poor kid! She must’ve had an awful day. Several of his patients told him about talking to her. He figured she’d answered a lot of calls, but he hadn’t realized how bad it had been. She was running on empty.
He allowed her a half-hour nap, then shook her shoulders. “Tori, let’s eat before everything is cold.”
“What?” She sat up, bleary-eyed, and stared at him.
“You’ve had a little nap, but the food is going to get cold. I’ve set the table, so let’s eat.”
He wondered how long it would take her to remember to ask what she wanted to know. They ate for five minutes before she put down her fork and stared at him.
“What did Mom say?”
“That’s pretty fast recovery, Tori. Your mother said Russ is going camping in the morning…alone. He’s said he can’t deal with all the sympathy and talk about Abby. He needs to be alone to handle his grief.”
“Alone? Can’t he take Rich with him? Or someone?”
“Your mom said Rich offered to go with him, but he’s insisting he wants to go alone. He’s not really going to camp out. He’s going to stay at a cabin. I can’t remember the name of it.”
“Potter’s cabin?”
“Yeah. How’d you know that?”
“The brothers bought out a man named Potter about twenty years ago. The only building on his place was the house, no more than a cabin, and a falling-down corral. We’ve gone there in the summers to look for strays, sometimes to move a herd up there, but it’s not good rangeland.”
“Who are the brothers?”
That question made her open her eyes wide. “Sorry, I forgot you wouldn’t know. We kids call them the brothers when we’re talking about Dad, I mean, Brett, Jake, Pete and Chad. My three uncles. We call their wives the aunts.”
“So Russ will be sleeping inside?”
“Yes. How long did he say he’d be gone?”
“A few days.”
She frowned and said nothing. Today was Tuesday. So he’d leave on Wednesday and he would be back before the weekend was over.
“You think he’ll be okay?”
Her head snapped up. “Of course…if he remembers to eat.”
“He probably will.”
“I hope so, but…sometimes, with what’s happened, it’s hard to remember it’s important.”
“Like you didn’t eat lunch today?”
“One meal doesn’t matter. I’m eating tonight.” She avoided his gaze, sure he would remind her that she was only eating because he insisted. But she would’ve eaten something when she got home. The sound of the phone ringing next door warned her what was waiting for her.
“You finished?” he asked, drawing her attention again.
“Yes. Thank you for helping out tonight. I won’t bother you anymore.”
“Well, I appreciate that. But first you have to eat your pie.”
“I ordered pie?” she asked in surprise.
“You sure did. Said you wanted the same as me. And either Mona wanted to justify that big tip, or they serve mighty big pieces of pie at the café.”
“I forgot about Mona’s tip! I forgot about paying at all. I’m so sorry. Here, I’ll get my purse and—”
“Eat your pie. I gave Mona a big tip and you can buy next time.”
He certainly knew how to distract a woman. “Next time? There won’t be a next time. Don’t you understand? If you’re seen with anyone twice, the gossips in Rawhide will have you married to her within a week. In their minds, at least.”
“Really? I don’t think—” The phone rang. He excused himself and went to the bedroom. Then he returned to the door.
