All Chapters of Monster Among the Roses: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

   chapterTWENTY-TWO   I couldn’t stop glancing across the cab of the truck as I drove back to Porter Hall.Isobel anticipated every stolen glance and met my gaze before she sniffed out a laugh and rolled her eyes. But then we both burst out with crazy, delirious grins. I bit my lip before I returned my attention to the road. When I reached across the interior of the truck without looking, she took my hand and interlaced our fingers.Damn, I felt giddy. Light-headed. Downright decadent. It was the best feeling in the world.“I don’t want to take you home,” I admitted, even though that’s exactly where I was taking her.Night had fallen and I could only see her face in the bluish glow from the screen of the truck’s dashboard. Yet I still had no trouble making out the hope in her expression when she said, “You can stay the night…if you want.”I was tempted. Of course I was tempted, but then all the reasons why I couldn’t stirred in my head, an

  chapterTWENTY-FOUR   By the time Saturday arrived, I was nervous.I’d never been to a fancy restaurant before, and everyone said Urbane was the crème de la crème of eateries in the area. I didn’t want to do anything to embarrass Isobel. Shit, I wondered if I should’ve taken one of those lessons to learn which silverware went with which course.I was totally going to bomb this.But at least I was going to look good doing it. Driving Henry Nash’s truck and wearing Ezra Nash’s suit, no one would be able to tell I was a nobody. A fake.Henry had set the reservations for seven thirty. Since I got off work at four, I went home to spend a couple hours with Mom before I dressed. She gave a low, impressed whistle as soon as I exited the bedroom, trying to figure out the cuff links.“My goodness, don’t you look handsome?”I glanced over to where she sat in her worn-out chair, wearing a floral muumuu and watching Wheel of Fortune on TV with her walker sit

  chapterTWENTY-SIX   My mouth fell open.Shock and confusion mixed with anger. But seriously, what the fuck? I’d just survived a week from hell, almost lost my mother, and still might lose her if she didn’t recover. Why would he do this to me?Offering no explanation, he held out his hand. “The keys to the truck, if you please.”I blinked, not quite able to process what he was saying. After a second of making no sense of his words at all, I shook my head, even as I dug the keys from my pocket. As I dropped them into his waiting palm, I said, “I don’t understand. What happened? Is this because I missed four days?”“Of course not.” Henry stepped closer, his eyes narrowed. “I thought I made it explicitly clear to you not to hurt her.”I squinted, even more confused. “You mean Isobel?”He drew in a sharp, livid breath as if offended I would dare to say her name.“I didn’t hurt her,” was all I could think to say. “I would never.”“Oh really?” he ch

  chapterTWENTY-EIGHT   My lips parted. “My…what?”Isobel’s eyes were large and horrified. “She...she…”“When the hell did you meet Gloria?”“At the hospital,” she rushed her answer. “I came to visit. She was there with your mom. She said…she said...”I shook my head, then pushed Ezra aside so I could see her better. “You came to the hospital?” My voice cracked and eyes misted. “Really?” My lips trembled, wanting to smile, except…except everything was still so wrong.Isobel bobbed her head up and down. “I wanted to come the first day, but you didn’t ask me to. I wasn’t sure if you wanted—”“Of course I wanted you there,” I hissed before clenching my teeth. “But I didn’t know if I should ask. You said you wanted space, and you acted as if you never wanted to leave your house again. It felt selfish to ask you to come.”“I would have,” she said, wiping tears from her cheeks. “I wanted to, and when I finally did, she was there. She was there with yo

EPILOGUE   The bell over the door of Rosewood dinged, alerting me to the entrance of another customer. I smiled even as I lifted my face to greet the new arrival, only for my grin to stretch wider when I recognized him.“Hey, it’s Cinderella.”Ezra’s eyes narrowed as he strolled inside. “That’s still the lamest comeback ever.”I shrugged. “Hey, if the shoe fits…” Then I pointed and started laughing at my own corny pun.His glare was dry as dust. “You are so not amusing. I’m seriously thinking about sending my sister to a psychiatrist for falling for an idiot like you.”“What can I say? Love doesn’t care about brain capacity.” Then I sent him a wink. “Which means there’s still hope for you too, buddy.”He sighed. “Just tell me where my sister is.”“I’m right here.” Isobel emerged from the door behind the counter that led into her workroom. “I could hear you two bickering all the way from the back.”Nearly three months had passed since my mother’s funeral. It’d