one.
During the time Jack had been alone and in the years since he and Abby had been together, Jack had come to relish times like these when simply being in the same room together was enough.
“What time is our reservation?” Abby asked, emerging from her own reverie and breaking into Jack’s.
“We should probably leave around six,” he said. “It’ll take an hour to get there.”
“What should I wear?”
In fact, Jack had already handled that issue. Abby had a jumpsuit that she’d had made to use for outdoor workday events at Tohono Chul. Jack had smuggled that, along with Abby’s pair of hiking boots, into the trunk, along with the packed hamper and cooler. Hiking or work clothes would be far better suited for what he had in mind than some dress-up outfit that would snag on the first bit of mesquite that got in Abby’s way, but telling her that would give the game away. Jack was determined to keep the secret until the very last minute.
“As long as you wear the blindfold,” he said, “you can wear anything you want.”
Abby had one of those beauty-mask things for sleeping, one that would fit over her ears without messing up her hair. He had told her in advance that the blindfold was essential.
“I thought you were kidding about that.”
“Nope,” he said. “Not kidding.”
Abby gave him a kiss and then stood up. “All right,” she said. “I think I’ll go have a little lie-down. A nap would be good for what ails me.”
“Mind if I join you?” Jack asked.
“You’re welcome, as long as you’re there to sleep. No funny business.”
“Of course,” he said, but he had his fingers crossed when he said it.
As he followed Abby back to the bedroom, he suspected she knew that all along.
Casa Grande, Arizona
Saturday, June 6, 2009, 4:00 p.m.
96º Fahrenheit
G eet was asleep again and Brandon was dozing on the sofa when Sue Farrell came back home. She looked like a new woman. Instead of going to see a movie, she had stopped off for a haircut. She looked altogether better.
“How are things?” she asked anxiously. “I was gone longer than I planned.”
“Once he woke up, we talked for the better part of an hour,” Brandon told her. “After that he went back to sleep.”
She nodded. “An hour of conversation is about as much as he’s good for. Did he ask for more pain meds?”
“No,” Brandon said. “He said they make him too groggy.”
“Being groggy is better than being in pain,” Sue said.
Of course that was a matter of opinion. For right now, Brandon Walker was willing to take Geet Farrell’s word for it over Sue’s.
Brandon lugged the Ursula Brinker evidence box out of the house and loaded it into the back of his Honda CRV. It was a relief to get out of the sickroom—to walk away from the hopelessness and heartbreak that was everywhere in Geet and Sue Farrell’s home. He started the engine. As he waited for the air-conditioning to cool things off enough so he could touch the steering wheel, Brandon thought about checking in with Diana, but then he remembered she wasn’t home. Lani had called last night to invite her mother along to Tohono Chul for lunch, after which they would hang around the park for the major evening do, held each year in honor of the night-blooming cereus.
Brandon had two reasons to be happy about that. Number one: It meant that Diana would be out of the house and doing something fun for a change. Number two: He, Brandon, didn’t have to go along. He’d had tea on occasion at Tohono Chul’s Tea Room, and it wasn’t his kind of place. As for the party? That wasn’t his kind of thing, either. The people there would see to it that Diana was treated as a visiting dignitary, and that was fine, but there were times when Brandon could take only so much of being Mr. Diana Ladd.
Thinking about the Tea Room, however, reminded Brandon that he hadn’t eaten since breakfast. It was now almost four o’clock in the afternoon—a very long way past
During the time Jack had been alone and in the years since he and Abby had been together, Jack had come to relish times like these when simply being in the same room together was enough.
“What time is our reservation?” Abby asked, emerging from her own reverie and breaking into Jack’s.
“We should probably leave around six,” he said. “It’ll take an hour to get there.”
“What should I wear?”
In fact, Jack had already handled that issue. Abby had a jumpsuit that she’d had made to use for outdoor workday events at Tohono Chul. Jack had smuggled that, along with Abby’s pair of hiking boots, into the trunk, along with the packed hamper and cooler. Hiking or work clothes would be far better suited for what he had in mind than some dress-up outfit that would snag on the first bit of mesquite that got in Abby’s way, but telling her that would give the game away. Jack was determined to keep the secret until the very last minute.
“As long as you wear the blindfold,” he said, “you can wear anything you want.”
Abby had one of those beauty-mask things for sleeping, one that would fit over her ears without messing up her hair. He had told her in advance that the blindfold was essential.
“I thought you were kidding about that.”
“Nope,” he said. “Not kidding.”
Abby gave him a kiss and then stood up. “All right,” she said. “I think I’ll go have a little lie-down. A nap would be good for what ails me.”
“Mind if I join you?” Jack asked.
“You’re welcome, as long as you’re there to sleep. No funny business.”
“Of course,” he said, but he had his fingers crossed when he said it.
As he followed Abby back to the bedroom, he suspected she knew that all along.
Casa Grande, Arizona
Saturday, June 6, 2009, 4:00 p.m.
96º Fahrenheit
G eet was asleep again and Brandon was dozing on the sofa when Sue Farrell came back home. She looked like a new woman. Instead of going to see a movie, she had stopped off for a haircut. She looked altogether better.
“How are things?” she asked anxiously. “I was gone longer than I planned.”
“Once he woke up, we talked for the better part of an hour,” Brandon told her. “After that he went back to sleep.”
She nodded. “An hour of conversation is about as much as he’s good for. Did he ask for more pain meds?”
“No,” Brandon said. “He said they make him too groggy.”
“Being groggy is better than being in pain,” Sue said.
Of course that was a matter of opinion. For right now, Brandon Walker was willing to take Geet Farrell’s word for it over Sue’s.
Brandon lugged the Ursula Brinker evidence box out of the house and loaded it into the back of his Honda CRV. It was a relief to get out of the sickroom—to walk away from the hopelessness and heartbreak that was everywhere in Geet and Sue Farrell’s home. He started the engine. As he waited for the air-conditioning to cool things off enough so he could touch the steering wheel, Brandon thought about checking in with Diana, but then he remembered she wasn’t home. Lani had called last night to invite her mother along to Tohono Chul for lunch, after which they would hang around the park for the major evening do, held each year in honor of the night-blooming cereus.
Brandon had two reasons to be happy about that. Number one: It meant that Diana would be out of the house and doing something fun for a change. Number two: He, Brandon, didn’t have to go along. He’d had tea on occasion at Tohono Chul’s Tea Room, and it wasn’t his kind of place. As for the party? That wasn’t his kind of thing, either. The people there would see to it that Diana was treated as a visiting dignitary, and that was fine, but there were times when Brandon could take only so much of being Mr. Diana Ladd.
Thinking about the Tea Room, however, reminded Brandon that he hadn’t eaten since breakfast. It was now almost four o’clock in the afternoon—a very long way past
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