The Cottage at Delinsky Cove by Amanda McCormack

Author:Amanda McCormack [Amanda McCormack]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Amanda McCormack
Published: 2023-08-25T00:00:00+00:00

14

Chapter 14

Amelia came by Headquarters with Madelyn around four that afternoon. James was sitting at his desk, trying not to scream at the rejected reimbursement form, as he heard the front door open. He hurried out to see Amelia walking up the stairs as Madelyn closed the door behind them. She had a few butterfly bandages across her forehead and a cast on her arm and looked exhausted as she smiled up at James.

“Hey,” she said, walking up the steps and crossing the living room.

She hugged him gently, and he wrapped his arms around her with equal care. She was alive. He hadn’t disbelieved it, but only now that she was in the room did he realize how much tension he’d been holding.

They spent a few minutes on the couch, comparing notes. Amelia had spent a mostly sleepless night at the hospital, so she and Madelyn were going home from here and she’d be off tomorrow. James had a feeling he was going to be off as well, whether or not he wanted to be.

Their stories lined up, to James’s relief. He trusted himself as much as he could to remember how things had really gone. But he was grateful both for the backup and the confirmation that neither of them had any lost time. While he’d dismissed Gabriella’s concerns about mind control, the thought had lingered as he’d tried to nap on the couch in his office earlier.

James left a few minutes after Amelia, heading out the door just as Graham was coming down the stairs too. “Ready?” Graham asked.

Oh right, Chris’s roommate interview. James sighed. “Yeah,” he said. “As I’m going to be.”

He took his time heading home, but it wasn’t enough time. It would never be enough time. He just wanted to go to bed, but when he got there, Chris caught him at the door.

“Hey bro,” he said. “Heard about the accident. You okay?”

“Yeah, just a little banged up,” James replied.

“Cool cool. Uh, Roger’s gonna be here in a few minutes, so are you good to meet him?”

No. No, he wasn’t. But the words that came out were, “Yeah, that’s fine.”

“Cool.”

James went to his room to change, gazing longingly at his bed as he pulled on clean clothes. When he came out, Graham was walking in. He gave James a look. “Let’s just give it a chance.”

Graham was kinder than he was. Or just eager to not split their rent by two for the foreseeable future.

The buzzer sounded a few minutes later, just after James managed to shovel some leftover pasta into his mouth. A moment later, Chris was leading Roger into the apartment.

“Not bad, not bad,” Roger said, looking around and nodding. “I could do a lot with this.”

Graham turned and looked blankly at James. Roger came into the room, then jumped like he was startled to see them there.

“James, Graham, this is Roger. He’s looking for a place.”

James shook Roger’s hand. It was sweaty, and he resisted the urge to wipe his own hand on his pants after letting go.

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