Parr ignored her fidgeting. They hadn’t discussed her plans or his or the engagement ever again. That was still on, as far as Bobby Joe knew. He went out of his way to be lovey-dovey to her, especially in front of the hospital staff and his mother, who now was able to visit him using a wheelchair. Bobby Joe himself was stumping around pretty well with a cast and a cane. He was a little different somehow: more impulsive and quick to get angry about small problems that had never bothered him before. At least he was just as quick to forget what troubled him.

“When does life get back to normal? For Alma and Bobby Joe. And for me. And you.”

He snorted. “The docs keep saying this is the new normal. I’m not sure what they mean. I was okay with whatever was normal before.”

Parr had had enough of the hospital too, evidently. When she thought about it, he was doing double the work she was.

Mary Beth changed the subject. “It’s going to be a great day when we bring them home.”

He drummed his fingers on the table. “Forward, march.”

“You can lead the parade,” she said tiredly.

“I can see it. Family and friends. Hope I have a few left. Haven’t talked to any of them for too long. Except Gail.”

An ex-lover didn’t count as a friend, in Mary Beth’s opinion, and that made her ask a question she knew damn well she ought to have kept to herself the second it was out of her mouth.

“That reminds me. Did you know that Gail stopped by Bobby Joe’s room when she was here?”

When Mary Beth couldn’t sleep, she obsessed about things like that. Exactly why she’d brought it up now, she couldn’t say.

She still wasn’t going to mention Luellen’s brief appearance on the same day, partly because it was a while ago. Their visits could have overlapped, which raised an intriguing possibility that she also thought about in the wee hours of the morning: maybe Bobby Joe’s former flame was put out by the sudden arrival of glamorous Gail.

“No.” There was a tiny flicker of disapproval in his eyes, she was sure of it. Then Parr smiled and whatever she’d seen vanished. “When was that?”

“A while ago—I don’t remember exactly. But I found out the next day.”

“Found out? It’s not a secret that Gail was here.”

“Well, no.” Mary Beth felt a little foolish. “Anyway, I spotted her in a group shot on Bobby Joe’s tablet, with some of the nurses. He’s addicted to that thing by now.”

“Cut him some slack, Mary Beth. Can you imagine what it’s like to be trapped in bed for weeks?”

She conceded the point with a tiny nod. “I just thought Gail would’ve told you.”