I personally thought that was a terrible idea, but Pepper seemed so happy I merelyshrugged.
"Anyhow," she drawled after her gaze landed on Hank. "I heard there was trouble tonight. Why didn't you callme?"
"She passed out," Hanksaid.
"What?!" Pepper put her hands on my shoulders and used one hand to force my eye open wider. "Are youalright?"
"Mild concussion," Isaid.
"Whathappened?"
I filled her in, leaving out the details about how creepy Anthony was. I did tell her about Dolores and Pepper gasped in shock. "She was the best! I can't believeit."
"Yeah, but she seemed at peace. I think it's how she wanted to go out." But something about the whole thing wasn't sitting right withme.
"Poor Dolores. I had no idea she lost her son." Pepper pushed past us and into the kitchen. Margo, still being a lazy bones on the couch, woofed at her as she passedby.
Pepper gave her a scratch behind the ears. "I smell coffee. Can I grab acup?"
"There's some left in the pot," Hank called. He grabbed his jacket from the stand right by the door. "It looks like you're in capable hands. I'll be back tomorrow. I took the liberty of cancelling yourappointments."
I blinked in surprise. "How did you know about myappointments?"
"You left your calendar in thekitchen."
"I - huh. Thanks." I frowned athim.
He winked at me. "I know it was forward of me, but you didn't see yourself fall. Rest, Helen. Please. You look like you're about to drop. I'll come back first thing in the morning and we can talk about the other stuff." As he was just about to step out the door, he reached over and tucked a piece of hair behind myear.
Le sigh. He was superdreamy.
Pepper,best friend of perfect timing, had just stepped out of the kitchen when Hank had done this and even before the door closed waswoo wooingher head off. I rolled my eyes and turned back to her. "Shut up,weirdo."
"He tucked your hair behind your ear like he was Hugh Grant and you were Julia Roberts!" She launched into a terrible British accent. "Ya shoulda snogged him, eh?" But it sounded more like mangledCanadian.
"He was concerned, that's all. I guess I took a pretty hard fall." And I had. Everything hurt and my head felt like it was full ofwool.
Pepper sat in my recliner and I curled back up on the couch with my blanket and my enormouspuppy.
"Now that Hank's gone, why don't you tell me what reallyhappened?"
I started at the beginning and told her all about Anthony's cryptic borderline creepy comments. How he could tell I was weakening and how he had tricked Dolores into thinking he was still really herson.
Pepper frowned. "It seemed like a kindness, didn't it? Do you think he could have harmedher?"
I shrugged. "Hard to tell. The binding was perfect. The raising was textbook. If he did, I'm not surehow."
"You're going to raise her, aren'tyou?"
I let out a loud sigh. "Yep. But Hank insists I take a weekoff."
One of her perfectly manicured eyebrows rose. "Does henow?"
"He isn't wrong," I insisted. I told her about the courthouse. By the time I finished she was laughing so hard, she was holding her stomach and begging me tostop.
"I was exhausted and shouldn't have done the second one. If he did something to her, it was myfault."
Pepper shook her head. "It isn't your fault. There was no way you could have known. If you're sure the bindings held, I think Dolores slipped away because she wanted to. I'll take a look at it and see if I can sense anything off about thescene."
