the shower curtain and rugs that matched everything in the bedroom. Vicki was still the neat freak that Ashleigh remembered her to be.
“Jac and Lindsay still fight like they used to then?” Ashleigh picked up a brass bell from the bedside table and raised a brow.
“Oh, yes, you can near about set your clocks by them. The bell was for Alex when she had her accident. I keep it as a reminder of the time she spent here.” Vicki moved toward the door.
Ashleigh followed her down the hall to the next room that served as a home office. Both Chantal and Vicki had a desk. Vicki’s was immaculately organized, and Chantal’s was a wreck. Ashleigh smiled at the arguments she was sure it caused. “What kind of accident?” Ashleigh asked as they moved toward the master bedroom.
“She was broadsided by a drunk.” Vicki moved into the master bedroom. It was no mystery who slept where. One bed stand was covered in magazines and assorted junk. The other was tidy. “Look at this.” Vicki moved across the room and opened doors to the twin closets. Clothes and shoes littered the floor of one, while the other was organized. “I love my little pig,” Vicki said with a shrug, “and one day, I’m gonna lose it and roast her ass.” Vicki walked over and looped her arm through Ashleigh’s. “Let’s go out back, and I’ll tell you about Alex because I can tell you’re pretending not to care.”
They slipped through the French doors off the bedroom that led to a private sunporch separated from the rest of the backyard. “This is my haven.” Vicki let out a contented sigh as she took a seat and gestured for Ashleigh to join her. “Do you really want to hear about Alex?”
Ashleigh studied the wall of foliage that surrounded the porch and obscured it from the rest of the yard. She would have to plant one of these at home and make her own secret garden. “To be honest, I’m curious about her.”
“Stands to reason,” Vicki said with a slight smile. “She’s changed a lot over the years. I don’t think I truly realized how much until she had to stay here.” Vicki laughed. “Momma McKinney hired someone to tend to Alex once she was released from the hospital. Alex broke her arm, left leg, and a couple of ribs, and couldn’t do much for herself, but she wasn’t about to have a stranger make her use a bed pan. That’s when it got ugly. She called me practically begging to save her.”
Ashleigh tried to imagine the proud woman that she’d known begging anyone for help. “So her mom is still the same?”
Vicki nodded emphatically. “She only visited Alex once in the hospital, then arranged for someone else to care for her.” The disgust was apparent in Vicki’s tone, but the smile returned. “We got really close when we moved her in with us. She was an awful patient at first. She resented not being able to bathe herself or even dress on her own. I guess I would’ve felt the same in her position.”
“I cannot imagine Alexandra McKinney allowing you to bathe and dress her. It must’ve been torture for you both.”
Vicki threw back her head and laughed. “Bathe her? No way. She demanded that I put a lawn chair in the bathtub and hook up one of those handheld showerheads. No,” Vicki shook her head with a laugh, “there was no bathing Alex. I’d help her undress and dress, which included a lot of profanity on both our parts. I saw so many sides to Alex then, and not just the naked ones.” Vicki looked into Ashleigh’s eyes as her face grew serious. “She’s got her regrets, too…she’s…” Vicki shook her head as if searching for the right words. “She’s not what she wanted everyone to believe she was. I hope when you two see each other again, all the hurts of the past will stay in the past.”
Ashleigh plucked a leaf from a neighboring plant and toyed with it. “I know I have to face her. I’m not as nervous about seeing her again as I was you and Chantal.”
“So you’ll come back next
“Jac and Lindsay still fight like they used to then?” Ashleigh picked up a brass bell from the bedside table and raised a brow.
“Oh, yes, you can near about set your clocks by them. The bell was for Alex when she had her accident. I keep it as a reminder of the time she spent here.” Vicki moved toward the door.
Ashleigh followed her down the hall to the next room that served as a home office. Both Chantal and Vicki had a desk. Vicki’s was immaculately organized, and Chantal’s was a wreck. Ashleigh smiled at the arguments she was sure it caused. “What kind of accident?” Ashleigh asked as they moved toward the master bedroom.
“She was broadsided by a drunk.” Vicki moved into the master bedroom. It was no mystery who slept where. One bed stand was covered in magazines and assorted junk. The other was tidy. “Look at this.” Vicki moved across the room and opened doors to the twin closets. Clothes and shoes littered the floor of one, while the other was organized. “I love my little pig,” Vicki said with a shrug, “and one day, I’m gonna lose it and roast her ass.” Vicki walked over and looped her arm through Ashleigh’s. “Let’s go out back, and I’ll tell you about Alex because I can tell you’re pretending not to care.”
They slipped through the French doors off the bedroom that led to a private sunporch separated from the rest of the backyard. “This is my haven.” Vicki let out a contented sigh as she took a seat and gestured for Ashleigh to join her. “Do you really want to hear about Alex?”
Ashleigh studied the wall of foliage that surrounded the porch and obscured it from the rest of the yard. She would have to plant one of these at home and make her own secret garden. “To be honest, I’m curious about her.”
“Stands to reason,” Vicki said with a slight smile. “She’s changed a lot over the years. I don’t think I truly realized how much until she had to stay here.” Vicki laughed. “Momma McKinney hired someone to tend to Alex once she was released from the hospital. Alex broke her arm, left leg, and a couple of ribs, and couldn’t do much for herself, but she wasn’t about to have a stranger make her use a bed pan. That’s when it got ugly. She called me practically begging to save her.”
Ashleigh tried to imagine the proud woman that she’d known begging anyone for help. “So her mom is still the same?”
Vicki nodded emphatically. “She only visited Alex once in the hospital, then arranged for someone else to care for her.” The disgust was apparent in Vicki’s tone, but the smile returned. “We got really close when we moved her in with us. She was an awful patient at first. She resented not being able to bathe herself or even dress on her own. I guess I would’ve felt the same in her position.”
“I cannot imagine Alexandra McKinney allowing you to bathe and dress her. It must’ve been torture for you both.”
Vicki threw back her head and laughed. “Bathe her? No way. She demanded that I put a lawn chair in the bathtub and hook up one of those handheld showerheads. No,” Vicki shook her head with a laugh, “there was no bathing Alex. I’d help her undress and dress, which included a lot of profanity on both our parts. I saw so many sides to Alex then, and not just the naked ones.” Vicki looked into Ashleigh’s eyes as her face grew serious. “She’s got her regrets, too…she’s…” Vicki shook her head as if searching for the right words. “She’s not what she wanted everyone to believe she was. I hope when you two see each other again, all the hurts of the past will stay in the past.”
Ashleigh plucked a leaf from a neighboring plant and toyed with it. “I know I have to face her. I’m not as nervous about seeing her again as I was you and Chantal.”
“So you’ll come back next
Similar Books
