Never hear him call her sweetness.
She spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening lying on Ian’s side of the bed, her head on his pillow, hating how cold the sheets felt without him in them. Though it only made her cry, she listened to his voice mail repeatedly. When she got up to go to the bathroom, she passed her closet where many of his clothes hung. In the bathroom, she looked at his things on the counter: his toothbrush, his razor, his cologne.
No one would come for his possessions. They were hers to keep, and she’d never get rid of them because they were all she had left.
Diane Watts arrived at 8:15 p.m. She had elected to drive because by the time she waited for the next available flight, sat through a layover in Chicago, and landed in Minneapolis, driving would get her there sooner with the added bonus of not having to worry about delays or cancelations.
Kate had known when to expect her because her mother had called on the hour to check up on her. Kate had calmed down enough to tell Diane what she knew about Ian’s death, giving her the information in bits and pieces.
“He should have never taken that car out,” Kate had cried during one of her mother’s calls. “I don’t know why he didn’t do it earlier like he’d planned.”
Maybe he’d gotten caught up in his work and had been running behind. Maybe he’d noticed the declining road conditions and was on his way to her place to park the Shelby in her lot overnight instead of driving it back to the storage facility. Kate would never know the reasons behind Ian’s decision.
Now that her mother was with her, Kate broke down completely. Diane held her as she cried, and when Kate grew quiet, she wrapped her in a blanket and rubbed her back. She made a steaming pot of tea, and she made the calls Kate hadn’t been able to—to Kate’s friends, to Kate’s board of directors, and to Helena to explain what had really happened.
Her dad called, but for some reason his soothing words made her cry harder, so Diane took the phone out of Kate’s hand and said they’d try again in a little while. Chad and Kristin called, and her brother’s sentiments were heartfelt and supportive. Kristin had broken down and cried with Kate.
“Do you know anything about a funeral service?” Diane asked gently.
“I don’t know anything. I don’t know who to call. I don’t know if anyone’s contacted his mother.”
“Maybe there’ll be something online. Let’s not worry about it tonight. We can look for it tomorrow.”
Kate needed the closure of Ian’s funeral. She desperately wanted to say her good-byes and know he had a final resting place, even if that place was in Texas.
At midnight, Kate’s mother put her to bed, assuring Kate that she’d be fine on the couch. When the door closed, Kate automatically rolled to her left side, but she had to turn onto her back because the absence of Ian’s arms around her, his back pressed up against her, was more than she could handle.
She cried.
She listened to his voice mail message again.
She lay awake for hours.
Eventually she slept.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Kate woke with a headache and eyes so swollen she could barely see. Her mother coaxed her into the shower.
“You’ll feel better,” Diane said, laying out warm, comfortable clothes on the bed for Kate.