Internal Fixation - Tawdra Kandle Page 0,23

that all this time, she’d been sick, and we hadn’t been there to help both of them.”

My irritation faded a little. “She knew that. Angela did, I mean. She knew that if she called for any of you, everyone would be there for her. But she wanted to keep her illness private. She was hoping that once she was ready to go public with it, she’d be in remission and feeling better. But it never came to that.”

“Yeah, Angela and Noah never were the most open couple. I think part of it was that they were so devoted to each other, they didn’t need the rest of the world.” She regarded me silently for a moment. “I’d hate to be the woman who followed Angela, you know? Trying to fill her shoes would be . . . challenging.”

“I agree.” I swallowed. “But as far as I’m aware, Noah isn’t looking for anyone to replace Angela.”

“Are you talking about Angela?” A few of the others turned away from the main group to join our conversation.

“Yeah, she—” The first woman hooked her thumb at me. “I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name.”

Because you never asked, I thought, but aloud, I said, “Emma Carson.”

“Emma was Angela’s doctor. And now she’s a friend of Noah’s, and he invited her to watch the game here.” They all exchanged meaningful glances. “We were just saying that it would be awfully hard to be the follow-up act to the Noah and Angela show. You know, to be the next woman in his life.”

“Oh, yeah, I’d hate to be a second wife when the first wife was someone like Ang.” A woman whose curly black hair was pulled into a high ponytail nodded. “You’d always wonder if he was comparing you to her.”

“Right? And you’d want to make changes in his life—like, his house and everything—and he might not like that, and then you’d be fighting both him and the ghost of his first wife.”

Panic and anxiety twisted my gut, and all I wanted to do was to get out of this discussion. I wondered if it was too late to escape the stadium and beg Jenny to come back to save me.

“Emma! There you are. Sorry we got held up—the weather! Gah!” Noah’s mother, a tiny woman with bright red hair, burst through the doors and hustled over to my elbow. I leaned down to hug her and then glanced up to smile at Mr. Spencer, who was shrugging off his heavy coat.

“I’m so glad you made it. And before kick-off, too.” I stepped a little bit away from the group of women who were now watching all of us. “Can I get you both something to drink?”

“I’ll take care of it, hon,” Mr. Spencer patted my shoulder. “What do you have there? Wine? Need a refill?”

“No, thanks, I’m good.” I sipped my still-full glass, relieved that now I had company and didn’t have to worry so much about accidentally getting wasted.

The elder Spencers steered me to some empty seats down in the viewing area, anxious to get a decent spot to watch the game.

“Did you see the interview? Did it turn out all right?” Mr. Spencer’s face was anxious. I remembered Noah telling me that for a long time, his dad had been his business manager and still advised him on some of his decisions when it came to off-the-field decisions.

“I think it did. I mean, he seemed comfortable, and as far as I could tell, they didn’t ask anything that threw him. He focused on Angela’s foundation and on the team.” I left out that last question. It wasn’t my business, and I didn’t want to say anything to upset Noah’s father before the game.

“Good, good.” He seemed to relax a little. “I wasn’t sure about whether or not it was something Noah should do, but maybe it’ll put him in a better place for the contract negotiations next year, too.”

“Dennis, we are not going to talk about this right now,” Mrs. Spencer hissed, glancing around. “This is not the time or the place. Plus, the game is about to start. Look, now. It’s kickoff time.”

Her husband nodded. “You’re right. Okay. Let’s focus on the important stuff.” Rising to his feet, he lifted his beer. “Let’s go, Tampa! Get it started the right way!”

People around us joined in the cheer, clapping and shouting as the game got underway. I did my best to join in the enthusiasm, but I couldn’t ignore the persistent feeling of