Page 25 of Deathtoll

“I’m at some training the company’s puttin’ on. It ain’t bad. Maybe I’ll get a raise and buy a house down here. Wouldn’t that just burn Felicia’s ass?”

Felicia had divorced Doug right after Doug had been notified he’d be downsized at work at the end of the previous year. She got the house in the divorce. Then, out of the blue, Doug’s company offered him a similar position at their North Carolina location, and he’d jumped on the opportunity to leave town.

“You seen her around lately?” he asked. “Lookin’ good on my money, I bet.”

“Really let herself go,” Murph improvised. “Total hag.”

Doug laughed. “You’re a good brother, you know that? Listen, I can’t talk right now. Call you back tonight?”

“When you have a minute. Nothing urgent here.” Murph pulled into the parking lot and looked for Kate’s Toyota, tensed when he didn’t see it.

On his way to his office, he swung by hers. Her door stood open. And there she sat, lost in work. Just seeing her had the power of switching Murph’s world from being off to being exactly right.

She’d left her scarf at home, her bruises lighter than they could have healed overnight, probably makeup. She already had her scrubs on, with a long-sleeve shirt under that to cover her wrist.

“Didn’t see your car outside. Wasn’t sure if you were in.”

She looked up. “Parked in the back.”

“Everything okay?”

“Better than.”

Her smile went straight to his heart. Best damn smile in the state of Pennsylvania, perhaps the country. When she smiled, she was all soft. He liked her soft.Softwasn’tmad at him.

“Emma is staying,” she said. “Alice gave her a job at the flower shop.”

All hope of Kate feeling unbearably lonely and inviting him over for a nightcap flew out the window. Murph tried not to feel so damned forlorn about it.

“That’s an unexpected turn,” he said, then corrected. “That’s good. It’ll be nice for you to have family here. How are you feeling?”

“Betty’s funeral’s on Friday.”

She was neatly redirecting him from the incident the day before.

He decided to let her. “I’ll be there.”

And then they had nothing else to talk about. Or rather, they had a lot to talk about, but she didn’t want to talk about their relationship, and he respected her wishes. He hesitated in the doorway, hating to leave. “You need help with anything?”

The morning sun streaming through the window kissed her auburn hair with fire. He wanted to bury his face in all that hair. He wanted to see it cascading forward as she rode him and leaned forward to kiss him. Looking into her blue eyes was like looking up at the cloudless sky on a summer afternoon. He wanted to see those eyes go blind with pleasure as he moved inside her. Wanted to hear her moan as he worshipped her perfect body.

If Murph was biased, he didn’t care. She was beautiful and smart, and he loved her. And she didn’t want him.

Shoot me now, before I write a country song.

“Funeral is taken care of,” she said, then hesitated. “Linda, Betty’s friend, asked me if I could help her clean out the house. I want to get a head start on that. As soon as the will goes through probate, the church will be putting it up for sale.”

“I have a pickup.”

She didn’t respond.

Christ.“You said we would stay friends.”

“I meant it. It’s just…”

“Dammit, Kate.”

Tension filled the room as she pretended to look at her calendar.