There were many more than she’d thought, taken at odd angles in low light. She skipped his selfies and looked at the group shots. Mary Beth knew a picture of Luellen wouldn’t be among them, taken on the day she ran into her. Parr hadn’t given his brother the tablet yet.

But—what was that? She looked hard at a blurry image of a woman, standing with a couple of nurses in one shot. She was cut in half in another, but Mary Beth would swear that was Gail Cash.

“Is that Parr’s assistant?”

“Huh?” He took the tablet from her outstretched hand. “Oh yeah. Out in the hall. I guess one of the nurses took those. She drove down the day before yesterday from Memphis. Parr asked her to.”

“He didn’t tell me that.”

“I was going to. Don’t get your feathers up, baby.”

“I’m not. Just asking. You’re really making the most of evening visiting hours, aren’t you?”

He smirked. “Are you jealous? You don’t know how good that makes me feel.”

Not her. But she knew that her reaction had to do with Parr, not Bobby Joe.

And Parr had his own agenda, which he seemed to be trying to pass off as concern for his brother. She hadn’t denied Parr’s statement about her not loving his brother and she hadn’t admitted to it either. His unsolicited advice to her not to marry Bobby Joe still rankled. He didn’t have the right to tell her what to do or even make suggestions—talk about a conflict of interest. The decision was on hold.

She cared for Bobby Joe. She’d be by his side as long as he needed her. That was one definition of love. Just not everlasting love.

Mary Beth took a chair, feeling ignored by Bobby Joe as he stared into the tablet, half hypnotized, scrolling through comments, shooting off replies, having a grand old time reconnecting with the world.

The odd thing was that she didn’t mind.

The spa hot tubs were designed for individual use, not sharing. Mary Beth half floated in one, looking over the edge at her friend in the tub next to hers. Jackie Bledsoe rested her turbaned head on a rolled towel and inhaled the fragrant steam drifting above the water’s surface.

“You were right,” Mary Beth murmured. “This is heaven. I’m not leaving. Ever.”

Jackie’s giggle was barely audible. “Told you.”

“Don’t know why I waited so long.”

Jackie replied with a thoughtful sigh. “It doesn’t matter. I finally got you here.”

“Do you think we could have massages after this?”

“Already signed you up. My treat. Now go soak your head.”