The sadness in her voice ripped at something in me. I took a stab in the dark. “Addie?”
Everly didn’t turn back around, but the tightness in her shoulders told me I’d hit the nail on the head.
“I’d like to help her if I can.”
After a moment, she turned. “You really are just the little helper, aren’t you?”
The corner of my mouth kicked up. “Little feels like a bit of an insult…”
She snorted. “Fine, big helper.”
“That’s better.” I took her in for a second, my gaze traveling across her face, looking for any piece of insight into this woman I could find. “If I can make someone’s life better, I want to try.”
Everly leaned back against the counter. “I might have ruined our chances there.”
“How?”
“I pushed. Tried to get Addie to come live with me. But it was too soon. She doesn’t trust me, and she has a reason not to.”
“Why’s that?” I couldn’t imagine Everly betraying her cousin in any way.
“I left her.”
The sorrow and grief in Everly’s words clawed at my chest. “You didn’t have a choice.” I didn’t know what had gone down with the Kemper family after Howard went to prison, but I knew it wasn’t good. And I also knew that Ev wouldn’t have left her cousin just for the hell of it.
“You don’t know that.”
“I do. I might not know the details, but I know that you wouldn’t leave without reason. And maybe one day you’ll trust me with what that reason was.”
21
Everly
“Are you sure you’re okay staying overnight?” Miles asked as he placed his stethoscope in his medical bag.
“More than.” It wasn’t like I had anyone to go home to. Not like Miles, who had his wife and daughters. “And Koda and I are good friends. I’d like to stay with him.”
“He does seem to be partial to you. I think he’ll feel at ease having you close by.”
I glanced over at the German shepherd, curled up in his kennel. He was snoring away, his new cast in place. We’d lucked out that the break hadn’t needed surgery, but Miles still wanted to keep him overnight as a precaution. I’d need to change his IV and give him another dose of pain meds during the night and first thing in the morning. Hopefully, with a good night’s sleep and some heavy-duty drugs, he’d be feeling better in the morning.
“No one wants to be alone when they’re feeling poorly. I’ve got my alarm set for his next two doses, so I think we’re set.”
Miles patted my shoulder. “I’ll have my cell phone nearby if you run into any issues. Don’t hesitate to call. My wife sleeps with earplugs now, so you won’t wake her.”
“She’s learned the hard way, huh?”
“She was not a fan of having her sleep interrupted, and after my first year of owning my own practice, she got smart and got earplugs. We’re both happier now. I hope you can get some sleep, too.”
“I will.” I waved him off, and Miles headed out the back door.
Surveying the room around me, I sighed. Koda was our only overnight guest but sleeping in unfamiliar places wasn’t the easiest thing for me. At least, the office had a little cot in the corner, and Miles had given me a fresh set of linens and a pillow. It would be good enough. And I’d done without sleep before. I could do it again.
A knock sounded at the back door, and I moved to pull it open. “Did you forget—?”
A man who was definitely not Miles cut off my question. Hayes stood in the doorway with a bag slung over one shoulder, holding two pizza boxes. His hair was dark, still damp from a shower. “Hey.”
“Hi.”