Page 8 of Shelter for Shay (Broken Heroes Mended Souls #2)
SHAY – LAKE GEORGE, NEW YORK
T he clink of silverware and the low murmur of voices filled the dimly lit dining room of the Blue Moon.
God, she loved this little restaurant. It was a little piece of heaven and had become her favorite place to have a meal, a drink, and escape her troubles.
It was filled with happy memories of dinners past, decisions made, and all the love she had for her mom.
It had been their go-to place for as long as she could remember.
Even tonight, it made her heart sing with all the joys of her childhood.
Growing up in this town had been both a blessing and a curse.
She’d loved the vastness the lake and mountains offered.
All the adventures she’d been able to go on as a kid.
Hiking, kayaking, camping, skiing, both water and snow…
to name a few. Her adventurous heart came from this place, and while she loved coming home, she didn’t want to live here for the rest of her life.
She couldn’t explain it to her mother—or even to herself—why.
It was a beautiful place. Peaceful. Soulful.
But one thing she knew for sure was that if she stayed, she’d forever be Margaret Whitaker’s daughter.
That wasn’t a bad thing. Actually, it was a great thing. But those were her mother’s wings.
Shay needed to spread her own wings and fly.
Honestly, she didn’t know where she wanted to land or what she wanted to do, which sometimes became a sore subject with her mom. It wasn’t that her mother demanded she figure it all out, but now that she was pushing thirty, her mom believed it was time Shay had a plan.
Shay believed it had more to do with the fact her mom was dying and Shay had no direction. No clear career path. No goals.
And worse, no man in her life.
Shay sat across from Becca Jameson, her best friend since elementary school, half listening to the latest update on Becca’s youngest child’s obsession with throwing food and her husband’s losing battle with landscaping.
Becca had married when she’d been twenty-two, and Shay was standing right next to her, wondering why anyone would marry that young. But Becca was insanely happy. So happy, it sometimes made Shay want to gag.
However, this was nice. Normal. Something that didn’t smell like antiseptic or sound like an oxygen machine and that’s all Shay had been living for the last six months.
“You okay?” Becca asked gently, sipping her wine. “You’ve been quiet since you sat down and I’m not talking the kind of quiet that comes with me taking over the conversation, but the kind of quiet that comes with… well… the last few months.”
Shay forced a smile. “Sorry. Just tired.”
Becca reached across the table, covering Shay’s hand with hers. “You’ve told me not to ask because you’re sick of it being the thing everyone starts a conversation with, so I didn’t ask… do I need to ask?”
Shay looked away, eyes burning.
“Mom’s fading fast,” she said softly. “Some days she’s awake and sharp, and other days it’s like she’s already…
somewhere else. I’ve started making… arrangements.
My mom has specific things she wants for the funeral, and I’ve promised.
But it’s just so hard to sit by and watch her fade…
slowly some days… and quickly others. I’m not ready to let her go. ”
Becca squeezed her hand. “God, Shay, I’m so sorry.”
Shay nodded. “I keep thinking I’m prepared, but it still doesn’t feel real. Like the second I blink, she won’t be there.” She sighed. “I left the house today feeling like saying goodbye and I love you might be the last time I say those words.”
“You don’t have to do any of this alone, you know. I’m around. Always,” Becca said. “I’m not working and my mom can babysit. She loves taking care of the kids.”
“I know,” Shay said, voice catching. “Thank you.”
“Something else is bothering you,” Becca said. “What is it?”
Shay groaned. Becca had an uncanny ability to cut through the noise.
Cut through the bullshit. Becca had always been able to see Shay and read her thoughts, even with the way Shay was trying to keep them close to her vest. “It’s just that sometimes my mom says and does strange things.
I chalk it up to the fact she’s dying, but this one thing I don’t understand. ”
“You’re going to have to be specific.”
“Twice now she’s gotten flowers from some old study group from college. No names on the card. It just says study group. I called the florist to ask who exactly they came from because my mother’s reaction to them is so weird, but they won’t give out that information.”
Becca cocked her head. “Again, I need more if I’m going to comment in any meaningful way.”
“Mom doesn’t even want to look at the flowers. She won’t let me bring them to her room. She tells me that they weren’t her friends back in college. That she hasn’t spoken to them in years and doesn’t want to hear from them now,” Shay said. “But the note’s kind of strange too.”
“What does it say?”
“Just that they can help. All Mom has to do is ask.”
“Help how?”
Shay shrugged. “No idea and Mom doesn’t want me contacting them.”
“My advice is to let it go and respect your mother’s wishes.
” Becca leaned forward, giving Shay a weak smile.
“She’s dying. People from her past are coming out of the woodwork.
I mean, look at Amanda and her mom. Never really our friends, and yet now that your mom is sick, they are acting as if they’ve been your best friends for years. That annoys the hell out of you.”
“It sure does because they’re both fake as hell.” Shay raised her glass, clanking it against Becca’s. Shay could always count on her bestie to point out the truth.
The waiter dropped off their meals—some kind of grilled fish for Becca, pasta primavera for Shay—and the conversation shifted for a while.
Lighter things. Safer things. They chatted about Becca’s kids again.
Or the chick at the bar they went to high school with and how wild it was she was divorced for the second time, yet on the prowl again.
That was until Jacob Donovan, the district attorney, strolled in with his private detective wife, Katie.
They took a seat a few tables over. One of the owners of the restaurant strolled over and spoke with Jacob.
Everyone in town knew the Donovans. They’d had their share of the spotlight over the years, though Shay had been too young to remember when Katie’s father came back to town and tried to kill her.
But recently, someone had done a true crime documentary on The Doe Hunter and Shay found it fascinating.
She and her mother had sat on the sofa, watching every episode with a bowl of popcorn, pausing occasionally to chat about the people they knew who were featured.
It was like being there without actually being there.
Becca leaned in. “Have you been following that case—the tech guy who supposedly killed his assistant?”
Shay blinked. “The Blake Edmonds case? Yeah. It’s all over the news. People are saying it’s the biggest case this town has seen in a long time.”
“They’re calling it the trial of the year. Every news channel is plastered with updates. Did you see that leaked surveillance footage from the parking garage?” Becca asked.
Shay shook her head. “My mom and I have been mostly watching chick flicks. I don’t want her watching that stuff because for some reason it raises her blood pressure and stresses her out.
I actually had to remove the YouTube TV app so now all she has is streaming in her room, but I catch the evening news when I go to bed.
It’s insane what they’re saying happened. ”
“I know, right?” Becca eyes lit up like fireworks.
This was exactly the kind of thing they used to love to sit around and discuss when they were in high school and college.
“They say he snapped. Beat him with some kind of metal award. But his lawyers are pushing a different angle—like maybe he had dirt on him. It’s all very tech-world-gone-dark. The media’s circling like vultures.”
“It’s all very much like a bad made-for-television movie,” Shay murmured.
“I’d watch that.” Becca took another bite of fish. “Anyway, I swear, if I ever got picked for jury duty, that’s the kind of case I’d want. Something juicy. Not, like, a parking ticket appeal. That would be so boring and a waste of good babysitting.”
Shay smirked. “You and your need for courtroom drama.”
“What can I say? Law & Order raised me.”
They both laughed, and Shay found herself relaxing a little.
It was rare she got out of the house. Her mother’s insurance only covered a certain amount.
Shay took full advantage of what it did cover: medications, home health care provided twenty-five hours a week, and a nurse to change IVs and check machines twice a day.
However, that was about it. The rest was on Shay since her mom didn’t have long-term health care.
Most people didn’t think about getting it, especially at her mother’s age. She wasn’t that old.
Granted, she’d lived with this condition for years. But they never expected her condition to take such a quick turn for the worse.
“You’re frowning again.” Becca reached across the table.
“We can get dessert to go and bring it back to your place. I don’t need to be home anytime soon.
Hubby told me to have a good time with my best friend and while a good time is hard right now, I can be here for you.
We can rent a movie. Anything you want.”
“You’re the best.” Shay tried to plaster on a bigger smile. “I’m just worried about Mom. I don’t like leaving her with strangers.”
“Did you get a new home health aide again?”