Free The Sweet By and By by Sara Evans

pills?”
    â€œMom still has them.” Another moan pinched his expression. He barely made the turn down the alley behind the Blue Umbrella.
    â€œWhy?” Jade sat forward, away from the warm leather seat. Max had fired up the seat heaters to relieve the leathery chill and soothe his back.
    â€œI’m fine, Jade, just need to keep working with the physical therapist.” Max slowed at the Blue Umbrella’s delivery door and shifted into Park, leaving the engine running. He jerked the bow out of his tie.
    â€œYou’re not coming up?” Jade’s chilled fingers gripped her pocketbook.
    â€œI have an early appointment with a client.” He shifted in his seat again, his face tight, one hand squeezing his leg.
    Jade popped open her door and gathered her skirt, moving with hesitation.
    â€œMax, if you—” She hated being here, feeling isolated and on the outside.
    â€œJade, don’t push. You do that sometimes, you know?” He sighed, rubbing his forehead with his fingers.
    Out of the blue, it happened. The dormant sensation of dread awakened, possessing her from the inside out. The light of her emotions flickered, trying to hang on, before a whisper of hopelessness puffed it out.
    Jade flinched, straining her shoulders, squirming to stay above the pool of darkness, holding on to her bag as an anchor. “Please, Max. Stay.” Her fingers glided over the skin of her neck. She hadn’t worn Paps’ praying hands tonight.
    â€œJade, I need to think. I have a lot on my mind, never mind this pain.” He snapped his gaze to her face. “Why don’t you want the money?”
    â€œPlease.” She gazed in the opposite direction. “Come up for a minute or two.” Her rapid heartbeat stole her breath, and her request sounded weak and needy, clinging. “I won’t be able to sleep otherwise.”
    â€œWon’t sleep? What are you talking about?”
    â€œNothing.” Trembling, she forced herself out of the car.
    â€œI’ll call you later.”
    Jade stooped to see inside the car. “Max, if you’re going to break it off with me, do it now.” Cold vibrations surged through her veins like an electric pulse, increasing in intensity as she waited, exposed. She tried to surface her thoughts from the blinding deep by searching for a lifeline of happy emotions—like the feel of snuggling between clean sheets, the security of sinking into a mound of pillows, or the hope of cradling Granny’s tattered old Bible to her chest.
    â€œSheesh, Jade.” Max thumped the gear shift with the flat of his hand. “I’m not going to break up with you. You think I’m that shallow?”
    â€œYou smoked a cigar tonight, something you hate, because a frat bro teased you. How much more power does your mother have? I have no idea what she told you, Max, but it must be pretty bad for you to barely speak to me on the ride home.”
    A stream of cool mountain air threaded down from the top of Eventide Ridge, and as quickly as the dark panic hit, Jade’s jitters and spiking sensations began to ebb.
    â€œMom is . . .” He shook his head. “Mom. She worries. Sees and believes what she wants.” Max leaned against the headrest and peered at Jade. “Don’t worry; she doesn’t have that much power over me. I’m tired, irritated, in pain, and need some space. Is that all right?”
    â€œThen why do I feel like the enemy?”
    â€œJade, you’re not the—”
    â€œGood night, Max.” She clapped the car door shut. No, she wasn’t the enemy. But did June realize it? Jade had been on this ride before—the girlfriend caught between mother and son. Maybe she should wake up, see the signs, and be the first to walk away.
    Through the Blue Umbrella’s storeroom and up the loft stairs, Jade’s heart ached as Max’s high-octane engine revved down Main Street.
    Five