Evening Stars by Susan Mallery Page B

tired.”
    “You walked into this house and dumped everything on me.” Like you always do. Nina didn’t say that part, but she didn’t have to. It was implied.
    “What responsibilities?” Averil demanded. “My God, when did you get so dramatic? My sleeping doesn’t impact you at all.”
    “No, but your dog does.”
    “I let her out,” Averil said, glancing at Penny. “I’ve been feeding her three times a day. Starting today, I’m cutting back to twice a day. That’s what the vet told me.”
    Nina pressed her lips together. “You’ve been feeding her that much?”
    “And walking her. What did you think? That I went to bed and completely forgot about her?”
    Nina’s tight expression said that was exactly what she had thought.
    Averil glared at her. “She’s a living creature. How irresponsible do you think I am? You just assumed the worst about me.” She glanced at Penny, whose tail was wagging as she glanced between them. “So, you took care of things, like you always do. Sorry, my dog friend, those six meals you’ve been getting are ending starting now.”
    Nina glared at her. “I took care of things because there was no way to know what you were doing. All you had was a bag of dry food. What about the canned food that miraculously appeared? Or the extra bag of dry food? And that bowl she’s using for her water. Where did you think all that came from?”
    The microwave beeped. Averil ignored it as she realized Kevin was right. Being with Nina was always such a great idea...at a distance. But in close proximity, they didn’t do so well.
    “Thank you for buying her food and a bowl,” she said through gritted teeth. “But it wasn’t necessary. I’m dealing with her.”
    “So you say.”
    The unfairness was like a slap. “Jeez, Nina, angry much? Maybe if you’d gotten your ass off this island, you wouldn’t be so mad all the time.”
    “Maybe if you’d stop running away from your life, you’d finally grow up. Why are you here? And where is your husband?”
    Questions she couldn’t answer. “Go to hell,” she snapped and stomped out of the kitchen. Penny followed her.
    When Averil reached her room, she waited for the dog to enter before closing the door behind her. She sank onto her bed and realized she’d left her breakfast in the microwave. Dammit. She was hungry, and she couldn’t go back out there until Nina left for work. At least that would be relatively soon.
    “Your Aunt Nina is not a nice person,” Averil told the dog. Penny jumped up and sat next to her. “You know I’ve been taking care of you, right?”
    Penny wagged her tail in agreement.
    She hugged the dog, then opened her laptop and logged on to the internet. There was nothing captivating in her email so she typed out a quick note to Kevin.
    Hey, it’s me. I’m doing okay. I slept for about three days, which I guess I needed. Now I’m going to do some work and get going on my novel. The novel she really had to start before she could get going on it, she thought.
     
     
Nina is her usual domineering self. She’s upset I brought a rescue dog with me. I found her at a rest stop, where she’d been abandoned. She was in pretty bad shape. I took her to a local vet and just couldn’t give her up. Penny’s so sweet—I know you’ll love her.
     
     
    She paused, then decided she didn’t want to admit he’d been right about her sister. Again.
     
     
I hope you’re doing okay. How’s work? I miss you.
     
     
    She sent the email, then heard the front door close.
    “She’s gone,” Averil told Penny and hurried back to the kitchen. Her mac and cheese was on the counter. She took a bite, then another.
    After finishing her pasta and eating a banana, Averil wandered back into the bedroom. She saw she had mail waiting and clicked on the icon. Kevin had written her back.
     
     
I’m fine. Work is busy. I’ve been staying later than usual and getting caught up. As for Nina and the dog, I’m not surprised she’s