Denise pushed them away. "No. You hang on to them and give them to her yourself. She probably just needs help going to the bathroom and is embarra.s.sed to have you see her so helpless."

Jody nodded, but she knew that wasn't going to be the case. "I'll wait here," she mumbled.

Denise squeezed Jody's arm. She hesitated for the briefest moment and a look of dread crossed her face. She nodded slightly and went inside.

Jody watched the door slowly swing back. The click of the latch slammed against her eardrums. The country sausage and egg taco she had eaten for breakfast began to churn. She sat back down on the window ledge and forced herself to take several deep breaths. There was no way it could be happening to her again. Things had been going too well between her and Ellen for them to go sour. It had to be something else.

Jody jumped as the door to Ellen's room opened. Denise looked at her and Jody stepped back to brace herself against the wall. Denise had tears in her eyes.

"Jody," she began. "Ellen is having a bad time right now. She has decided to come home with me after they release her. Why don't you go home? I'll call you later and let you know how she's feeling."

Jody shook her head. "What's going on?"

Denise looked at the floor and then out the window beside Jody. "She's just confused. Remember the doctor said she might be depressed for a while."

"She's depressed and doesn't want to see me," Jody said and started toward the room. "I want to talk to her."

Denise put her hand on Jody's arm. "Please, sweetie. Go home."

Anger boiled up within Jody. "I don't want to go home. I want to know what the h.e.l.l is going on. She was fine when I left, and two hours later she doesn't even want to talk to me. What did you say to her?"

Hurt shadowed Denise's face. She looked into Jody's eyes. "I swear to you, I didn't say anything to bring this on. It has to have been something in Beth's note."

"Then I want to see the note," Jody said.

Denise shook her head. "You know we can't do that. She's ent.i.tled to her privacy. We have to respect her wishes."

"I'm ent.i.tled to know why she no longer wants to see me," Jody insisted.

"I know."

They stared at each other. It occurred to Jody that she could easily push Denise aside and bulldoze her way in, but what would that accomplish? Ellen didn't want to see her.

Jody pushed the roses into Denise's arms and walked away. She heard Denise call after her, but Jody kept going. She forced herself to concentrate on placing one foot in front of the other and to take deep breaths. She counted the s.p.a.cing of her breathing. Breathe in. One...two...three. Breathe out. One...two...three. Over and over she counted until she reached her Jeep. She climbed inside and continued to breathe and count. All the way home, she focused her attention on breathing. She pulled into the driveway and waited for the garage door to open. Breathe in. One...two...three. Breathe out. One...two...three. She pulled the Jeep in and closed the garage door before she made her way inside. As she opened the door from the garage to the kitchen, the wave of nausea struck her. She raced to the bathroom, barely making it in time. She had never been so sick in her life. Afterward, she didn't have the strength to make her way back to the bedroom, so she curled up on the bathroom floor and let the pain engulf her. The phone rang several times during the day, but she had no reason to go answer it. She fell asleep, but each time she would jerk awake and force herself to breathe. The room grew dark, but still she remained on the floor. At some point, she heard her front door open.

Maybe it's a ma.s.s murderer and he'll put me out of my misery, she thought, but then she heard her name being called. She curled tighter into herself and refused to answer.

The voice calling her name grew more intense, almost frantic. Something about the male voice was vaguely familiar.

Suddenly, light flared, blinding her and igniting an agonizing pain behind her eyes. She tried to cover her eyes, but her hands weren't cooperating. She scrunched her eyelids tighter, but the light still burned through.

"Jody, oh, s.h.i.t. Jody, wake up. It's Eric. Come on, girl, don't do this to me."

He slapped her cheeks until she opened her eyes.

"That's better," he said. "Come on, stand up."

She closed her eyes. She didn't want to stand up.

"Jody, come on." He slapped her cheeks again. "Come on, girlfriend. You have to get up off this floor. You're freezing."

When she didn't move, he knelt down behind her and placed his arms beneath her. "Why are you making me play Sir Lancelot? You know I don't do the knight in shining armor thing," he grunted as he lifted her from the floor and carried her to the bedroom. He placed her on the bed, pulled the comforter over her and tucked it gently under her chin.

The simple act was her undoing. She began to cry.

He sat on the side of the bed holding her hand for several minutes. "Okay, girlfriend. That's enough. You're going to make yourself sick again."

Jody felt the bed move as he stood. She heard water running in the bathroom. A second later, a cool cloth was draped across her forehead. He sat back down on the side of the bed.

"Jody, sit up. Come on. Sit up." He eased the pillow from beneath her head to encourage her to move.

Feeling like the worst kind of fool, Jody did as he said but covered her face with the wet cloth.

"What's going on?" he asked. "I get a frantic call from Denise telling me to get over here and check on you, and I find you paying homage to the porcelain G.o.d. Are you drunk?"

"No. I'm not drunk," she snapped.

"Anger is good. At least I know you're alive." He tried to tug the cloth away from her face, but she held on to it. "Talk to me," he urged. "Tell me what's going on."

"I'm a d.a.m.n, stupid fool," Jody blurted.

"Ah, a severe case of Cupiditis." He sighed and patted her knee. "Well, that's something I have a mult.i.tude of experience with. So tell me all about it. I'm all ears."

Jody wavered, too embarra.s.sed to tell him how stupid she felt.

He pulled the cloth away from her face. "That's better. Now look at me." When she refused, he placed a finger beneath her chin and raised her head until she was looking at him. "Jody, I've been dumped so many times I have a stamp on my back that reads 'Property of the San Antonio Department of Sanitation,' so I can probably empathize with anything you're going through."

Jody hesitantly told him everything.

When she finished, he shook his head. "Girlfriend, it sounds bad." New tears sprang to her eyes. He patted her arm. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make it worse." He glanced at his watch. "I have to call Denise before she contacts nine-one-one."

Jody suddenly realized she had heard a key in the door before he came in. "How did you get in?" she asked.

He pulled a key from his jacket pocket and held it up. "Denise made me drive out to the hospital and get her key. Ellen wasn't released this morning."

Jody grabbed his arm. "What do you mean she wasn't released? Why not?" She jumped up. She had to get back to the hospital to see Ellen.

"Whoa, girlfriend. She's okay." Eric took her hand and sat her down. "Ellen developed a slight fever after you left. It only lasted a couple of hours, but her doctor decided to keep her there for another night. Denise swore to me, Ellen was doing fine."

Jody tried to relax. If Denise wasn't worried, then Ellen was probably all right.

Eric handed the key to Jody.

Jody bit her lip to stop the tears that threatened. She should be with Ellen now.

"Do you have any Scotch?" he asked as he stood.

Jody nodded.

"Good. Hop up. I left an extremely hot young man to come over here and rescue you, so the least you can do is offer me a drink."

"Eric, I'm sorry. I feel like such a fool."

He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "You're not the first person to feel that way, girlfriend, and unfortunately, you won't be the last."

While Eric made his call to Denise, Jody made his drink. Not trusting her stomach, she settled for a soda.

"I told her you were fine. When she asked why you wouldn't answer your phone, I embellished slightly and said you had turned your phone off and were sitting outside contemplating life when I arrived," Eric explained as he came into the kitchen.

"Is Ellen all right?"

"Denise says she's fine. She has been up and walking around several times today. Denise was concerned about you."

"Thank you for not making me look like a total fool," Jody said.

He shook his head and took the drink she offered. "You're not a fool, Jody. You're in love." He sipped his drink and nodded his approval. "So, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I guess I'll try to talk to Ellen and find out what happened."

Eric stared into his drink but kept quiet.

"What? Do you think that's a bad idea?"

He shrugged. "I'm no expert, but maybe you should give her some s.p.a.ce. She's going through a lot right now. It's possible it wasn't you at all. The diagnosis and surgery may have gotten to be too much for her to handle."

Jody thought about what he said. "I don't think I can sit here day in and day out and not call her."

"Then don't. You're on vacation. Take advantage of it."

"I can't leave. What if Ellen-or Denise-needs me?"

"Then opt for the second-best thing."

"Which is?" she asked.

"Work. Tell Denise you're going to go back to work. I'm sure she'll jump at the opportunity to stay home with Ellen for a few days. You come back, tell Mrs. Jimenez you want to buy her shop and start the renovations. That'll really turn your life upside down."

"I don't know anything about renovating."

"That, dear heart, is where you're about to get very lucky. Not only did I excel in woodworking shop, but that hot young stud I stood up to come and rescue you happens to be one of the most talented, up-and-coming interior designers in the city. Of course, no one but me knows it so far, but give him time."

Jody frowned. "What is this hot new talent going to cost?"

"That's the best part. He's still a student. He not only works cheap, but his calendar is free for the summer."

Jody pinched her lower lip and considered the offer. She would like to go back to work. It would also allow Denise to take off if Ellen needed her. Dr. Wray had told Ellen she could go back to work in a few days.

"I would have to talk to Denise," she said.

"That's why I told her to call you at the shop tomorrow afternoon."

Jody looked up and gasped. "You told her to call me! I can't believe you just a.s.sumed I would do whatever you suggested."

"We both know you love the shop. Expanding it is the logical thing to do, and Mrs. Jimenez isn't going to wait around forever until you two make up your minds. Besides, you can't hide for the rest of your life."

"Couldn't I hide for a week or two?"

He shook his head and drained his drink. "No. Tomorrow your new life begins. Try and get some sleep. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning." As he was heading out the door he stopped. "Listen. If, you know, the night starts getting too long, give me a call. I'll be home."

She hugged him. "Thanks, Eric."

She watched him drive away, then turned off the lights. She made her way through the darkened house and settled into her recliner where she spent the rest of the night agonizing over what had happened to make Ellen change her mind.

Chapter Thirty.

The phone rang early Sat.u.r.day morning as Jody put her backpack behind the counter. It was good to be back at Petal Pushers. She hadn't slept much the previous night, but she knew the next few hours would keep her too busy to think about Ellen. She answered the phone and reached for a sales pad, then froze at the sound of Denise's voice.

"Is Ellen okay?"

"She's fine. She was released this morning. She's in her room sleeping."

"Have you heard anything from the lab?"

"No. She has an appointment with Dr. Wray next week. He's supposed to go over the results with her then, and set up a schedule for radiation."

Jody bit her tongue to keep from asking if she could go over.

"How are you?" Denise asked.

Jody took a deep breath. "Confused, hurt, stupid and p.i.s.sed off. I think that about sums up my feelings."

"Jody, I'm sorry. I don't know what's going on. I've tried talking to her about Beth's note, but she won't discuss it. She's so angry, but I can't get her to talk. I don't know what to do."

"There's nothing you can do." Jody squeezed her eyes to stop the tears that threatened to start again.

As she struggled to maintain her composure, her anger started to grow. She had stood by and done nothing when Mia left. She had never even attempted to contact her, but she wasn't going to let Ellen go so easily. Deep in her heart, she refused to believe that Ellen could have stopped loving her so quickly.

Jody squared her shoulders with a new sense of determination. "I'm going to give her time, but I have to know how she's doing. I need you to help me. As long as I know she's all right I can wait. But I don't think I could stand not knowing how she's doing. Can you do that for me?"

"What if she asks me not to?"

"It won't even occur to her, if you don't mention that I want to know."