Page 10 of Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

“What are you doing?” I asked. “I don’t need help going up to Colt’s apartment.”

Her eyes narrowed as she studied me. “Do you even realize you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Call it Colt’s apartment.”

“So?” I asked. “Itishis apartment.”

“It should be just as much yours as it is his, Magnolia. You’ve lived there for nearly six months. I’ve never heardhimcall it his apartment.”

I started to protest, but I realized she was right. Colt had signed the lease, but my father had footed the bill. In fact, he’d paid for the year in advance. It almost felt like he was still controlling me, still imprisoning me, from beyond the grave.

She opened her car door. “Let’s get you inside, and before you try to stop me, this might be my chance to confront those two podcasters and give them a piece of my mind.”

Belinda was the only twentysomething woman I knew who could unironically sound like an old woman.

“Fine,” I grumbled. “But I hope to God they aren’t here.”

Thankfully, my wish came true, and Belinda waited patiently while I fumbled to get the key in the front door. Those three drinks were hitting full force.

Once we were inside, she headed straight to the kitchen while I flopped on Colt’s sofa. I could hear the clink of ice cubes dropping into a glass, and a few seconds later, she appeared next to me holding a glass of ice water.

“You need to stay hydrated,” she said, handing me the glass and dumping two aspirin into my other palm. “Drink the water and take these.”

“You’re so bossy,” I grumped, but at the same time, I was grateful she wasn’t handling me with kid gloves like everyone else.

I swallowed the pills with a gulp of water and set the glass on the coffee table next to a white envelope marked with the return address of Martin and Cooper, Sweet Briar, Alabama. I picked it up and considered opening it. Although I’d acted disinterested when Colt mentioned the letters from the law office, there was no denying it intrigued me. I inspected every inch of the envelope.

“What’s that?” she asked, sitting next to me.

“An envelope,” I said.

“I can see that,” she said. “I’m asking if you know what it’s about. It looks important.”

“It has something to do with Momma. From her hometown in Alabama.”

“Why don’t you open it and see what it’s about?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “I just know it scares me.”

“Why?” she asked in surprise.

I shrugged. “Everything scares me these days. Why not an envelope from a law office?”

“It’s going to get better, Magnolia,” she said softly. “I promise.”

I sank back into the sofa, staring up at the ceiling. “Then why do I keep feeling worse and worse?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe getting away for a long weekend will help.”

I sure hoped so.

“How are things going with Dr. Norton?”

“Fine,” I said. “Good. I’m frustrated by my lack of progress, but she tells me I’m handling things as well as can be expected at this point, whatever the hell that means.”

“She came highly recommended.”