The Trouble with Bree (Spotlight #1.5) Read Online Free Page A

second, because—“
    “State pensions are sexy!” Daisy had an aunt who always encouraged us to think ahead. We made fun of her because she had more boyfriends than I did. I didn’t want that to be me, when I was in my fifties, still searching for security. With two kids, I didn’t have that luxury.
    **
    One of the bartenders burst into the office minutes later. “There’s been an accident. In the parking lot. Someone got hit by a car.”
    Cam ran out the door without asking any questions. Daisy and I began to follow, but the bartender grabbed Daisy’s arm. “Someone said something about Ev.”
    “Oh my God.” Daisy pulled away from her and started running. She only stopped in the parking lot because a police officer wouldn’t let us go further. Once we told him why we needed to get past the police tape, he brought us to a place that had too many answers.
    Daisy fell to the ground when she saw her sister’s body bleeding on the hot concrete. I sunk down beside her, my legs couldn’t hold me up anymore. I rubbed her back, because maybe if I could calm her down, this would all go away. But it got worse, and I couldn’t keep my brave face any more. Not for anyone. I slumped against Daisy and cried.
    “She’s pregnant!” Daisy screamed, but everyone ignored her and kept working. She tugged on the policeman’s pants to get his attention, and he made sure the paramedics knew. It was pretty obvious, her stomach still swelled in her bloody dress.
    I couldn’t breathe as the paramedics lowered the sheet, but they didn’t cover her face. This couldn’t be happening to Ev. Ev who thought anything was possible. She had to be okay. Because we needed her. And there was nothing any of us could do to make it better.
    **
    I couldn’t stay at the hospital for long before I had to go home. Ev was still in surgery when I left, and I just wanted to get home and see my boys. Thankfully, they had a great day, and I had them tell me all about the dolphins, penguins, and the bish while I tried to think of anything but Ev’s bloody body lying in the middle of that parking lot.
    They were exhausted, and both fell asleep on the couch right after dinner. The phone rang when I came back out to the living room from carrying them to bed. I froze, afraid to answer it. Ev had to be out of surgery by now. Forcing myself to pick up the phone, I was surprised to see it was Josh.
    “Did you hear about the accident at The Lonely Heart today?” he asked.
    “I was there.” My body shook, talking about it made it real. “It’s Daisy’s sister that got hit. It’s real bad, Josh.” I covered my face with my free hand, like it might keep me from falling apart all over again.
    “Shit. I’m so sorry. I’ve been watching the news, and it’s unbelievable that someone could actually do that.”
    “His ex-wife was in the bar before it happened.” Fighting with us. Ashley had been looking for trouble all day, and she had no idea when to stop. Now she was sitting in jail, charged with two counts of attempted vehicular manslaughter. “I don’t know what she was on, but it was something. It was awful, even before she did that.”
    “Are you alone there with the boys right now? Do you want some company?”
    I didn’t know Josh yet at all. But it said something that he was willing to come over on a night I was a complete mess. “Okay.”
    Josh showed up with a bag full of Chinese food. “I didn’t know if you had eaten or not, but it seemed like the right thing to do.”
    My stomach rumbled at the smell of it. “I didn’t. And it’s fantastic.” The boys were too little for Chinese, so I hadn’t had it in ages. Too much food just for me. Josh pulled the containers out of the bag. “You got crab Rangoon. How’d you know that’s my favorite?” I asked as I opened them.
    He wiggled his eyebrows, he seemed so much younger now that he was standing in the middle of my kitchen in shorts and a T-shirt. “Lucky guess.” He dropped two