Spectrum (Stone Society #14) - Faith Gibson Page 0,5

neighbor through the peephole, Stella leaned her head back and stared at the ceiling. Mrs. Goss was nice enough, but why the hell was she bringing Stella flowers?

“Mrs. Goss,” Stella greeted when she opened the door.

“Hello, dear. These came for you this morning, and I told the nice man I’d keep them until you got home. I told him you were supposed to be back earlier, and when you didn’t get home this morning, I got worried something happened to you. I thought about calling, but, well, I didn’t want to bother you if you were at the hospital. Here.” The older woman shoved the roses at Stella. “I didn’t peek at the card, but I assumed they were from the handsome man delivering them. Since they’re roses, you probably know who he was. I didn’t know you had a man friend in your life.” Mrs. Goss looked over Stella’s shoulder, probably searching for her nonexistent man friend.

Stella blocked the doorway lest the woman try to barge in. It wouldn’t be the first time she had. “Nope. No man friend. Thank you for bringing these. I’ll talk to you later once I’ve had the chance to unpack.”

“Aren’t you going to check the card?”

Not with you standing here. “I’ll do that later. Again, thank you.” She shut the door in the woman’s face, because if she hadn’t, Mrs. Goss would have stood there all day. Stella took the flowers to the kitchen and stared at them. If they were delivered that morning, they wouldn’t be from Zeke. He didn’t know her address. That left only one person. Stella sighed and pulled the card from the plastic stick.

Welcome home, Beautiful. I missed you and can’t wait to see you Monday.

Yours, Bradley

Ugh! Stella ripped the card in two, then tossed it along with the flowers, vase and all, into the trash. She turned to go to the laundry room, but her conscience wouldn’t allow her to leave the glass in the bin, so she pulled the flowers out of the garbage, pulled them from the vase, then tossed the roses back in, smushing them down for good measure. She poured the water out of the vase, then wiped it out with a paper towel before shoving the glass in the cabinet where she kept random items like a plastic tea pitcher, bottles of rum and vodka, an empty cookie tin, and packing tape.

Two weeks away from the man hadn’t been nearly enough. If Stella could get through the next week, she would have another reprieve from his relentless pursuit. Maybe Zeke would come home sooner than expected, and Stella could tell Bradley she had a boyfriend, whether it was true or not. Although the last time she said she was seeing someone, Bradley hadn’t taken the news well.

With both suitcases empty and the washing machine full, Stella turned up the thermostat, ran through the shower, then dressed in sweats, a hoodie, and thick socks while waiting for her house to heat up. Plopping down on the sofa, she turned on the TV and pulled up the shows she had recorded while she’d been in Egypt. When the first show ended, Stella couldn’t remember a single thing about it. She’d spent the last hour thinking about Zeke. Pausing the recording, Stella went to the laundry room, tossed the wet clothes in the dryer, then started another load.

Returning to the sofa, she restarted the show. About ten minutes in, her phone rang. Stella contemplated not getting up, but if it were Zeke and she missed the call, she would kick her own ass. It wasn’t Zeke, but it was her mother.

“Miss me already?” Stella joked, but her mother had been unusually quiet after they ate lunch. No, it was after she told her mom about Zeke texting.

“I always miss you.” Sheila cleared her throat. “I got to thinking after you left. I know you believe in all that mystical stuff, so maybe the reason Ezekiel and I didn’t work out is so you and his son could one day meet and have a shot. I saw the way he looked at you, and I have to tell you, no man has ever looked at me that way. Not even your father. When Zeke saw you, his whole demeanor changed, like you two were the only people in the airport. And when you got his texts? You lit up the same way. I might not believe in the stars aligning and all that hoodoo, but I