The Alpine Xanadu Read Free

the waiting room. It’s quiet around here. It may be empty.”
    The sheriff was right. We sat down on a well-worn faux leather settee. “Screw it,” he said, taking out a pack of cigarettes. “Want one?”
    “Yes, but there’s no ashtray.”
    “Use the rug. It’s beat up, like everything else in SkyCo. The hospital’s as desperate for money as my operation is.” He lit the cigarettes and handed one to me. “Tanya seemed better, except for the nightmares. I was leaving for work and didn’t know she was in the can. When I opened the door, she was shoving pills in her mouth. I grabbed her, saw she had more in her hand, and tried to shake out the ones in her mouth. The bottle was empty. I didn’t know she was taking the stuff.”
    “What did you do then?” I asked as he took a drag on his cigarette.
    “I hustled her into the SUV and hauled her ass over here. She was loopy and couldn’t make sense. I knew about the Valium butnot the Celexa. The pharmacist here says it’s for depression.” He sighed. “She’ll be okay, but Sung’s keeping her overnight. Can I come home?”
    I saw the wistful look in his hazel eyes. “Oh, please do,” I said, leaning against him. “I’ve missed you so much, it hurts.”
    He put his arm around me and kissed my forehead. “Tell me about it. When you stop by the office, I want to grab you and … damn it, Emma, this is a hell of a start to our life together. We’re starting it apart.”
    “Except for having you and Tanya to dinner, I’ve hardly seen you.” I ran my finger down his cheek. “Did something set Tanya off?”
    He shrugged. “She saw an old pal last night, Kristy Olsen. She seemed okay when she got back, but we didn’t talk much.”
    “Have you told Tricia?”
    Milo winced. “No. Mulehide will say it’s my fault. If a cloud of locusts invaded, my ex would blame me for that, too.”
    “Can I do anything?”
    Milo looked as if I’d missed “c-a-t” in a spelling bee. “Are you nuts?”
    “I mean other than that. What do you want for dinner?”
    “I’ve been eating pretty well. Tanya’s a better cook than her mother. Is crab in now?”
    “I’ll check.” I took a last drag on my cigarette just as Milo finished his. “I’ll dump the butts. I haven’t smoked since you were living with me.”
    The sheriff stood up. “I don’t smoke much around Tanya. She disapproves. She’d rather do heavy-duty drugs.”
    I was also on my feet. “What are you going to do now?”
    “Check to see if they found a room for Tanya. Then I’ll head to the office. I’d kiss you, but I might not be able to stop. I’ll wait until tonight.”
    I smiled a bit weakly. “That’s fine. See you then.”
    Milo mussed my hair. “Go away. I have to stay focused on Tanya.”
    I was still smiling as I headed for the women’s restroom. And realized I hadn’t smiled much at all in the last two weeks.
    Vida was agog. “My nephew Billy told me Tanya overdosed.”
    I plopped into her visitor’s chair. My ad manager, Leo Walsh, looked up but kept quiet. “You were on the phone when I left,” I said. “Why didn’t you grill Mitch? He told me what happened.”
    Vida frowned. “My phone kept ringing. I’ve no idea why my fellow Presbyterians think I can resolve our problems. That’s for the elders. Mitch left before I could ask him. I had to call Billy on a family matter.”
    My evil self hoped that Roger had been arrested—again. But I shoved the thought aside and related what I knew about Tanya to Vida, Leo, and Kip, my back-shop tech wizard. I suspected that Amanda, our replacement for the dithering Ginny Erlandson, was practically falling out of the receptionist’s chair to eavesdrop.
    “Kids,” Leo remarked. “They never stop needing parents, do they?”
    Vida shot him a sharp glance. “Are you reconsidering your retirement and a move to California?”
    Leo shrank back in his chair as if he expected Vida to pounce on him. “Hey, Duchess,” he said, using the