Page 125 of After We Fall

The digital clock tells me it’s almost ten, which means I only slept ninety minutes. With the lamp on. Such a dissatisfying nap. But the good news is, my migraine is gone. I’ll probably have a few more hours of being sensitive to triggers, but I should be able to sleep off the tail end of this headache.

Scanning the walls of the room, I find the thermostat. I walk over. “Sixty-three degrees?” I say to no one. As I punch the up arrow ten notches, my phone alerts me to a new text.

I crawl back under the puffy white duvet and curl onto my side. Before I can check my messages, the phone rings and Luke’s name pops onto my screen. My stomach flips, and I pause just a second before I answer.

“Hello?”

“Where are you?” he barks into my ear.

I glance at the caller ID, making sure this is his number. “Luke?”

“Where are you?”

“Is something wrong?”

“Where. Are. You?”

Something must have happened at the ranch. I sit up straight, my legs hanging off the side of the bed. “What happened?”

“Penelope, are you at your hotel in Dodge City?”

“Yes,” I say, holding my arm out in exasperation. “Did something happen at the ranch?”

He sighs. “You about gave us all a heart attack.”

“You’re not making any sense.”

“I’m not making sense?” he yells. “We’ve all been trying to get ahold of you for over an hour now.”

“Stop yelling into the phone, Luke, or I’m going to hang up.”

He gentles his voice. “You’ve got a headache. Of course you have a headache after the day you’ve had. Is it a bad one?”

“It was bad. But I took my meds and took a nap.” I rub the scar at my eyebrow. “Can you please explain to me why you’re so upset?”

“Yeah, actually. I’d really like to explain to you why I’m so upset.” His deep voice hints that he’s not just talking about this phone call.

I pull the phone down to see the screen. Nine missed calls and fourteen texts from Harlan, Meredith, and Luke.

“Penelope?” Luke calls.

“Hang on. Let me text Meredith and Harlan that I’m okay.” I make quick business of sending apologies to the Holcombes while Luke remains on the line. Then I rummage through my purse, find my AirPods, place them in my ears, and settle against the faux-leather headboard that’s screwed to the hotel wall. “Okay, I’m back.”

“Why weren’t you answering your phone?” he asks.

“It died while I was taking a nap. Again, why are you so upset?”

“How was I supposed to know Marcus didn’t follow you to Dodge City—and harm you—if you weren’t answering your phone and no one had heard from you?”

“Fair enough. But Meredith knew I made it to the room.”

“Look at your hotel phone, Penelope.”

“What?”

“The hotel phone. Probably by your bed. What is it doing?”

One glance and I know why he’s so upset. “It’s off the hook.”