away from this town just as soon as he could. And this time nothing on earth would bring him back.
Shannon drove back down the highway and turned into the driveway leading to the shelter. Freddie Jo’s car was in front of the office, and she parked beside it. She sat there a long time, trying to get a grip, feeling as if the entire world had crumbled beneath her feet. She flipped down her visor mirror and saw that her eyes looked all red and cried out, and she doubted they’d look much better anytime soon. Finally she got out of her truck and went inside. Freddie Jo looked up, and the second she saw Shannon’s face, a concerned expression came over hers.
“Oh, honey…”
“I’m okay,” Shannon said, wiping her fingertips beneath her eyes. She walked past Freddie Jo and went into the kitchen. She reached the table and stopped, looking toward Luke’s apartment. She walked to it slowly and opened the door.
It was empty.
Her heart twisted, and for a moment she thought she was going to be sick. She knew Luke had to be on his way out of town, but still she’d held on to a last shred of hope that maybe he hadn’t actually packed up everything and left. That there was a chance things would cool off and they could come back together again. But just like before, he was gone for good. And she was so afraid she wasn’t going to be able to stand it.
She took a deep, shaky breath and walked back to the office. “Come on, Freddie Jo. We need to get the animals fed.”
Freddie Jo turned around, wearing a sympathetic look that drove Shannon crazy.
Shannon tossed her purse in her desk drawer. “I’ll take the horses if you’ll handle the cats. Then we can both do the dogs.”
“I don’t know what happened between Luke and Russell,” Freddie Jo said, “but I’m thinking there was more to it than met the eye.”
“Yes. There’s more. But it doesn’t matter. He’s gone.”
“Luke left town already?”
“Yes. So I guess we have things to do, don’t we? Let’s get after it.”
“I think you need to sit for a minute.”
Shannon wheeled around. “Sit? How am I supposed to sit? How in the world am I supposed to just sit around while there are all these mouths to feed around here? How?”
“Shannon—”
“It’s feeding time. The animals have to eat. Now come on!”
But Freddie Jo still didn’t move. She just shook her head slowly. “Sweetie, I think you need to go home.”
“No. This place is my responsibility. If Luke isn’t here to do his job, it’s up to me.”
“Angela’s coming in later. She and I can take care of things around here. Go home.”
“I can’t go home. I have things to do here. I have things…” Shannon stood there helplessly, hot tears burning behind her eyes. Finally she collapsed to her desk chair and dropped her head to her hands, praying she wasn’t going to cry all over again.
“This was my fault,” she said, her voice shaky. “I depended too much on him. I should never have done that. I knew he was going to be gone someday, and still I did it.”
“You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”
Tears welled up in Shannon’s eyes. She nodded, and those tears trickled down her cheeks.
Freddie Jo came to sit in the chair next to her desk. “Luke’s a good man. I don’t care what happened last night. You’re right to love him. And I know he loves you, too.”
“No, he doesn’t. If he loved me, he wouldn’t leave.”
“He’s has to go to Denver. But he’ll be back.”
Freddie Jo didn’t understand. She didn’t understand what Luke had been through, suffering pain so deep he might hold on to it forever. And Shannon couldn’t explain it to her.
“No,” she said. “He won’t be back. And I don’t know what to do without him. How to get things done. How to live from one minute…to the next…without him…”
Her voice choked up, and tears spilled down her face again. Freddie Jo tilted her head sympathetically. “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry about all this.”
Shannon nodded.
“You probably didn’t close your eyes at all last night. Go home. Get some more sleep and things will look better.”
“I can’t. There’s just so much to do…”
“Angela and I will take care of everything. Please, sweetie. Go home.”
But if she went home now, what about tomorrow? Would things be better then, or was she going to feel like this forever?