Have you ever fallen off a horse?”
Sharon Lynn regarded her impatiently. “I grew up on a ranch. What do you think?”
“And what did your dad or grandfather tell you?”
“To get up and get back on.”
“Same thing after an accident,” Patsy said lightly, praying that she was giving the right advice.
“I’ll never get behind the wheel of a car again,” Sharon Lynn said fiercely, her expression anguished.
“You don’t have to drive, if you don’t want to, but you’re bound to want to go places. How will you get into town every day, if someone doesn’t bring you?”
“I’ll move to town.”
“Then how will you get back out here for family dinners and holidays?” Patsy asked reasonably.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Sharon Lynn finally grumbled, and opened the door. “Let’s just go and get it over with.”
She maintained a white-knuckled grip on the edge of the seat all the way into town, but she didn’t utter another protest. Still there was no question she was relieved when Patsy parked in front of the drugstore. She rushed out of the car as if she’d just been advised there was a bomb under the hood.
Thankfully, the glass cutter had been busy while Patsy had been at the ranch. Though the window displays hadn’t been redone, at least there were shiny new windows in place. Sharon Lynn viewed the residue of the disaster with lifted brows, then walked inside. Heads turned as she sailed past the lunch counter and straight to Doc Dolan’s place behind the prescription counter.
“We need to talk,” she said in a no-nonsense tone.
“As soon as I finish getting Mrs. Phelps’s pills ready for her,” the pharmacist said without looking up.
“Now!” Sharon Lynn said fiercely.
“Sounds like she’s back to her old self,” Justin observed, coming up behind Patsy.
“Not yet, but I think she’s getting there.”
He rested his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. “You’re a good friend, maybe even a bit of a miracle worker.”
“There were no miracles involved. I just thought of a reason for her to get out of that bed. Thank God, it was the right one.” Satisfied that everything had been set into motion at the back of the store, she met Justin’s gaze. “Anything happen at the jail I should know about?”
“Your husband got the divorce papers.”
Stunned by the speed with which Janet had worked, she asked, “Is the building still standing?”
“It was when I left. He’s demanding a conference with Janet.”
“Oh, dear.”
“Not to worry. Janet was sitting in Tate’s office waiting. She’d anticipated the request. She looked downright eager to have a little face-to-face with him.”
“Did she tell you about the visitation with Billy?”
“I’ll be there,” he said softly. “Don’t worry about it.”
She regarded him worriedly. “You won’t be looking for an excuse to shoot him, will you?” she asked, only partially in jest.
He grinned. “Not as long as he keeps his temper in check and Billy’s glad to see him.”
“Any idea when he’ll be free to come over?”
He nodded. “That’s why I came looking for you. He’s going to be released right after his meeting with Janet. I thought you might want to go home to prepare Billy.”
Patsy’s knees turned weak at the prospect. She hadn’t expected it to happen so soon, not on a day that had already been a roller coaster of emotional ups and downs. “Tonight?”
“Yes. Then with any luck he’ll leave town. That’s the deal for his release. Doc Dolan won’t press charges if Will heads back to Oklahoma and never sets foot in Los Piños again except for liberal court-approved visits with his son.” He stroked a finger down her cheek. “It’s going to be over, Patsy. By this time tomorrow, it’s finally going to be over.”
She wanted to believe that, but she couldn’t. Not yet. Not until she saw Will actually get in his car and drive away. Maybe not even then. Maybe not until he’d been gone for weeks or months and there’d been no attempts at payback.
The first step to insuring that Will would stick to their bargain and leave was to let him see Billy tonight. Needing Justin’s strength, she reached for his hand and said in an unsteady voice, “Let’s go home.”
“I’ll walk you over, then head back to the station,” Justin said. “I’m going to escort him officially to your place after his release. After that, he’ll stay overnight at a motel, then if all the details are ironed out in the morning and all the papers are signed to Janet’s satisfaction,