Long Road Home (The Barker Triplets 4)

“How are you really?” Billie’s gentle voice pulled at that vulnerable hole inside Bobbi. She felt the tears poke the corners of her eyes again and swiped at them. She was so sick of feeling like this.

“Shane and I…” She exhaled. “We’re…” She glanced down at her flat belly. “We are…”

“Jesus, Bobbi, spit it out. Are you guys back together?”

“No. I mean, we’re working on things.” She looked up and caught sight of her face in the mirror. Her skin was pale, and the skin beneath her dark eyes was paper-thin, but they reflected something that hadn’t been there the day before. Sure there was still the fear of everything blowing up in her face, but there was also yearning. Hope.

There was also anticipation thrown into the mix. She thought of the way Shane had looked at her earlier. Of the things he’d said. The flirty banter that had come back so easily.

Suddenly nervous and excited, she turned on the shower.

“Well, that’s good. I mean, if anyone is meant to be together forever, it’s you guys.”

Bobbi’s eyes closed at that. “Billie, you more than anyone know that forever is a gift most people don’t get. Life isn’t made that way. Life is random and full of hurt and the unexpected, and good people do bad things, or they die or…”

“Is this about Mom?”

“No. I mean, I don’t think so.” She rubbed the back of her neck as her mind wandered. “It’s weird, like Mom is a memory that I don’t know is real. Sometimes I wonder if the memories I have are just stories we heard. Like how she used to laugh and dance in the kitchen.”

“I remember her dancing,” Billie replied softly.

“Her smile was like the sun lived inside her.”

“She was ours for a little bit. We’ll always have that.”

“We do, but then she went away and left this big empty space. Her forever wasn’t that long at all.” Okay, this was getting dark way too quick. Bobbi couldn’t deal with a philosophical chat about their mom while Shane was waiting for her.

“I have to go Billie.”

“All right. I love you. Call me anytime you need to talk. I mean it.”

“I will,” she whispered. “Get Betty up to speed, will ya? I don’t need her to pester me with one hundred calls.”

“Oh, she’s listening in.”

“What?”

“She’s on some conference video thing so she can’t talk, but I have you on speaker and she can hear you. Oh, and tell Shane Pia is good.”

“What?”

“Your dog? Logan brought Pia back here the other day, which is how I found out Shane has split town.” She cleared her throat. “Um, she’s fixed, right?”

“I don’t know. I think so…why?”

“No reason,” Billie said breezily. “Okay, you go do you, and I’m meeting the girls at the Grill for wings. I love you. Call me in a few days.”

Bobbi tossed her cell. God love her family, but they could be exhausting. She had a quick shower and took some time to add blush on her cheeks and gloss on her lips before swiping mascara over her lashes. She left her hair loose to dry on its own and pulled on a fitted pink sleeveless blouse and a pair of jean cut-off shorts that were a respectable three inches past her butt. She slipped into white flip-flops, grabbed her purse, and locked up her room. When she turned around, Shane was standing just inside his doorway, no shirt, and jeans sitting low on his hips, hair wet and dripping from the shower.

Her mouth went dry.

Her breath caught at the back of her throat.

Her heart just about beat out of her chest.

Shane Gallagher in an old pair of jeans and a plain T-shirt was hot. But wet, fresh-out-of-the-shower, and half-naked Shane, that was something else entirely. His broad shoulders, impressive abs, tapered waist, and that cut that sat well beneath the tops of his boxers was more than most women could take.

And Bobbi wasn’t most women. She was his wife, and it had been too damn long since she’d felt his touch.