Page 77 of Collins
Johnnie:
You read my mind.
Literally.She’s the best.
While my phone is still in my hands, I try Collins again. Straight to voicemail. Of course.
I set the phone back down and gather my hair, pulling it into a ponytail before twisting it up into a messy bun, securing it with the tie from my wrist.
“No more white bow, huh?”
Campbell leans against the opposite counter, arms crossed, and for a split second it hits me how much he looks like Collins standing like that.
“I think I’m a little too old for the bow these days.” A small laugh leaves my lips, the memory catching me off guard. I can’t believe he even remembers that, a silly little detail from my teenage years.
“Knock, knock!” Lou walks in the laundry room door from the garage, and for some reason I feel a slight pang of something akin to jealousy that she knows her way around here. She holds up a bottle of Baileys. “Who wants a poor-man’s Irish coffee?”
The energy she brings into any room, every situation, is contagious. She’s such a ball of fire and exactly what I need at this moment. Her black flip flops clap against the bottom of herfeet as she makes her way into the kitchen, setting the bottle down and grabbing a mug from the cabinet.
Campbell darts for the door. “Thanks, Lou. Johnnie, you girls behave. I’m going to go wrangle up my brother.” And with that he walks out.
Tears, these damn tears…they start all over again, and Lou turns slowly toward me.
“Oh, babe.” She extends her arms and wraps me in a hug, digging her fingers gently along my scalp, an attempt to ease some of the tension radiating from me. “It’s going to be okay.”
Her words soothe me as I inhale her warm, sweet scent.
We findourselves on the patio. Under the afternoon sun, no need for the heaters out here. We both brought a blanket out to wrap up in, and I switched from Baileys and coffee to water hours ago. Having Lou here has definitely taken the edge off today. She has to leave soon to get Billy from school, and I’m getting nervous that the guys aren’t back yet. None of them are answering their phones now, we’ve tried.
The low hum of a truck sounds, like it’s getting closer and closer to the house, and my heart rate picks up. Lou and I eye each other, the same thought in our heads. I can’t take the suspense. I hop up, letting the blanket around my shoulders fall. I walk into the house and through the laundry room, hearing the garage door right before I have the chance to turn the knob.
I fling the door open, and Collins pulls in. I can’t see his face clearly enough from the reflection on the windshield but my heart is about to pound out of my chest.
The engine cuts off and he pops the door open and steps out. I just stand there, holding my breath until I see the look on his face.
He looks at me with relieved eyes and gives me a tired smile, rounding the truck and making his way toward me. I barely register Lou stepping into the garage as Collins reaches for me, pulling me into his arms and taking a deep breath, inhaling my hair.
“What happened? God, Collins, I’ve been a nervous wreck.”
He rubs my back, not letting me out of his hold. I back away and he reluctantly drops his arms to his sides. “Everything’s okay. I’m sorry I scared you. It’s all okay now, though.” He reaches up, tucking a rogue hair behind my ear.
“Did you see Lee?”
“No. I did not.”
My eyebrows furrow in turmoil.
“Tell me what happened. Where did you go? What have you been doing? Jesus, Collins, I was afraid you were going to kill him.”
He laughs, almost sardonically.
I’m about to question him further when he leans back against his truck, placing both hands behind him on the hood and crossing his ankles.
“Well, that was certainly a thought. But that’s a little hard to do…when he’s already dead.”
CHAPTER 38
collins
