house the minute I parked, their faces serious, expectant. I realized in a flash: the storm, the unanswered phone call, and, oh God, the bloody kitchen counter.
I sat in my truck watching them approach, Max twirling around their legs. I wasn’t ready to tell them the real destruction of the day. I needed time, if only overnight, to absorb this. If they asked how I was, I’d tell them about the horse and the cat, then send them on their way.
But when my brother opened the truck door he said, “Gabby is freaking out.”
“Gabby’s here already?” Even as I said it, I saw Tyler’s black Honda parked by the garage.
Davy offered his hand as I stepped from the truck and said, “She called us wigging out about Bobby. And, hey, your goat is loose. We tried to catch her, but we didn’t know how.”
My tongue felt pinned to the bottom of my mouth. Had Bobby talked to her already?
At that moment, Gabby stepped off the back porch yelling, “What did you do to him?”
Chapter Five
AT THAT POINT THE DAY WENT SURREAL.
Gabby’s face was tear streaked, her eyes red. Tyler stood behind her on the porch, looking like he wanted to be here at this moment even less than I did. Gabby still wore the black suit that made her look thirty. The auburn ringlets of her hair that were not swept up in a sophisticated twist slowly began to wilt in the drizzle. “Did you hurt him?”
“No, Gabby, of course not—” I suddenly didn’t believe I could remain standing.
Big, bald David Neumeister—built like a linebacker—seemed to sense this. He wrapped me in his arms, enveloping me with that yeasty aroma of fresh bread he carried with him. Big David owned the bakery, David’s Hot Buns, that supplied Bobby’s restaurant with all its bread. His hug infused me with strength even though it hurt my injured arm.
Davy kissed my cheek and said near my ear, so Gabby couldn’t hear it across the yard, “Whatever he did, sis, we’re gonna go hunt him down and kick his ass.”
I adored my brother for the sentiment but had trouble picturing the Davids beating anyone up. Not that they couldn’t—Davy was a sinewy, muscled marathon runner who only ever looked small next to Big David—but beating someone up was just so against their natures.
“But it looks like you already did,” Big David whispered, as they led me inside.
“Please don’t tell me you murdered him and dumped his body in the meth lab acres out back,” Davy said. “We need you for a reference for our adoption, remember? It won’t look good for us if you’re in prison.”
MY FIERCE, BALEFUL GABRIELLA SAT, ARMS CROSSED, AT the kitchen island. Tyler stood beside her, hand on her shoulder.
Tyler cleared his throat and said, “Dr. Anderson, I’m sorry, but . . .” he nodded toward the gory mess on the counter. “What happened?” He sounded almost scared.
I’d stopped bothering to tell him he could call me Cami. It was a sign of his good parenting that he’d always addressed Bobby and me as Mr. Binardi and Dr. Anderson. Tyler worked in my clinic (as did Gabby); he wanted to be a vet, and I thought he’d make a great one.
I quickly explained about the cat.
Gabriella’s big brown eyes softened.
“Did he make it?” Tyler asked.
I nodded. I saw the interest in his eyes, knew he would’ve loved to see that surgery.
Then they saw my arm. Everyone stared at the now almost-black purple welts. Blood blisters shone from the top of each one. “Like I said, it’s been a hell of a day.” My words ran out of my mouth, gathering momentum. “I’ve been bitten by a rescue horse—who’s in our barn right now if he hasn’t dismantled it—left by my husband, and forced to amputate the leg of a cat.”
A strange silence fell in the kitchen. Strange enough that it made me look up and into everyone’s faces. I saw wheels turning, information being shifted behind their eyes.
“Whatever Dad did, you’re going to let him come home, right?”
A slow dawning rose in me. “Babe . . . what did your dad tell you?”
“He didn’t tell me anything. He . . . he left me a message.”
“A message?” For a second I wished the blood on the counter did belong to Bobby.
“He said he wanted me to know before I got back that he couldn’t be here and it looked like the two of you were splitting up.”
Wow. That sounded so