“Yes, one more and then you’re off. As you requested, tomorrow you start later than today.”
That’s right. Ms. Gibson has an appointment, so I have to take Turner to school.
“I’m not sure if he’ll be able to drive right away, I expect not, but I think he’s going to be medically cleared tomorrow, to at least go to work and feel like he’s functioning. At least minimally, anyway. It’s been so hard to keep that man down!”
Aspen continues chuckling at my misfortune, but her smile fades. “How is Ramona doing? I haven’t seen her around. Does she ever leave her studio?”
The simple answer is no, she doesn’t leave. And I don’t mean her apartment, I mean her actual studio that is below her apartment. Ramona has been creating art at such a pace that I can’t keep up. Every day I go to check on her and she’s working on something new. I bring her food, I take Shadow out for a long walk, and I try to engage her in conversation. Rarely do we talk about anything of significance, and she really only lights up when she’s talking about an art piece, so that’s where I stay. In the safe gray area she’s laid out for us.
She hasn’t mentioned Stavros or the accident once since the hospital. As if the man never existed, she walked away from the awful situation and never looked back. I know better—I know she’s not sleeping, or eating, and Stavros’ memory is haunting her. There’s no way to escape it. I asked if she wanted to live with me for a while, but she said I should stay with Lincoln and Tuner because they needed me more. Ramona doesn’t want to burden me, no matter how many times I tell her it actually helps me to help her.
I sigh. “She’s the same. It’s going to take a while. I put a call into a big show studio down in Denver. I saw they had an open call for new artwork and Ramona is pumping it out right now.” I check my email at the reminder. Still nothing. “I’m thinking if I can distract her with her work, she might be able to talk about something other than… paint.”
Aspen crosses and uncrosses her legs. “What if we book a girl’s trip? Something big and fun. Something to completely throw her out of her routine.” She taps her chin. “Sonoma. We could get a big rental house and hire a party bus to take us around to all of the vineyards by day. We’ll book out a spa for a whole day. Hire in a chef to do all of the cooking. We’ll go real big and splashing. I’ve been saving for something like this for a long time. You could most definitely use a vacation. Invite Tasha. I know you’ve been talking about doing something like this with her. Let’s combine forces and make this something spectacular.” Her excitement makes me excited.
“I mean, that’s a good idea in theory. If I can get her to agree to go.”
She locks gazes with mine. “Don’t give her an option. Let’s plan it all and pick her ass up. You pack her bag for her. She’ll never know. I have a friend who has a cattle farm up north a bit and he will take all our dogs. They’ll have a blast there. It’s going to be perfect.”
I raise a brow. “Since when did you start dating a rancher, Aspen?”
She smirks. “It’s not dating per se, but a few weeks now. Just whenever our schedules line up. He really knows how to round up the animals, if you know what I mean.”
Laughing, I reply, “I don’t. I actually don’t know what you mean, but I’ll take your word for it. I’m glad you have someone.” It makes me happy when people aren’t alone. Well, people who don’t want to be alone aren’t alone. “I’ll think about it and talk to Lincoln. See if he thinks it’s safe enough.” The second the words leave my lips, I know he’s not going to want me to go. He wants to protect me from the world. It’s why I don’t worry him with my concerns. I can deal with my demons as long as he can deal with his. I push aside my lunch box and grab the patient file for my last appointment.
Aspen bounds out of my office, bright scrubs brightening the sterile landscape. “This is going to be raging. The most fun you’ve ever had!”
I hope she’s right, but I’ll go into this with low expectations.
I hear her talking to someone in the hallway, and a few minutes later she pops her head in to tell me my patient is in room three. My pulse pounds in my neck as I take the file and make my way to the room, abandoning my ringing cell phone. There’s a possibility this might not actually be a patient. Not a legit one, anyway. When I push open the door and fix my face with a smile, I know right away the warning bells going off are right.
“Hi there, I’m Dr. Maeve Ahern. How are you doing today?”
“I can’t believe we’re meeting. This is so surreal.”
Closing the door all the way, I walk to the small desk to set the file down. “I thought it might be you. When your last note said that you were going to be creative to see me, I didn’t think that meant creating a false identity and making an appointment at my place of business.” There was too little information on the Aria Smith listed in the file. The first name tipped me off right away, and even though Aspen knows the story of my wayward cousin, she deals with so many names on a regular basis I knew she wouldn’t pick up on it. “It’s nice to meet you, Aria.” I extend my hand to the patient bed she’s sitting on.
She shakes my hand. “You look so much like her,” she says, and my stomach flips. “It’s so weird.”
What other choice do I have but to ignore the compliment that I resemble my serial killer mother? There is no other choice. “Listen, we don’t have much time. Aspen is going to expect us to go into the training room. She’s booked a longer appointment slot. Should we plan to meet for drinks or coffee or something?”
“You’re letting me stay at your beautiful house, Maeve. The key was right where you said it would be. I got in just before I came here. Colorado really is beautiful.”
I swallow hard. “What else have you found out, Aria? I still don’t know why you didn’t tell me you knew about Rena, too.”
“I didn’t know about Rena,” she says, looking at me quizzically. “I mean, I didn’t know until you told me. She bought all of the results listed and unlisted directly from some sketchy person at the company. She only knew I was a cousin.”
“How can we get more information?”
She shrugs, but she’s still staring at me like I’m an attraction. Lincoln has no idea I’m still looking into this—that I want to know everything. Really, he should know better. How could I not? Why was Rena put into a wonderful home while I was kicked around between the Girl’s Place Orphanage and foster homes my entire childhood?
“I know I told you that I wanted to keep all this research a secret, and that has to feel really… shitty. Because it feels like I’m hiding you, too. But I need you to do me one more favor. I need to talk to Autumn Glass. I don’t know how I can facilitate it, or if it’s even possible.”
Aria holds up one perfectly manicured nail. “Stop right there. I’ve already looked into it. Not for you, for me! I mean, she is my aunt. There is a process you have to go through to schedule a phone call, and then also if you wanted to see her in person.”
The thought of seeing her clouds me with uneasiness. “I need to see her in person,” I deadpan. “What if she doesn’t know I know? That Rena knows?”
“I don’t think there’s any way she knows, Maeve. How could she? It would be a huge assumption. You could go in and meet her under a guise, though your resemblance is striking enough that she might suspect something.”