Free Winter's Thaw by Stacey Lynn Rhodes

hospital?”
    “Just briefly to pick up his wallet and a few other things.” She’d asked them to get rid of his clothes. “I didn’t have to…see him, only sign the release for the funeral home to take possession of…him.” ‘The body’ was what she’d started to say. Such bizarre and distant language. “Then I went there to figure out my options. He wanted to be cremated, of course, so that’s simpler. And I want to wait on the service. It doesn’t have to be right away.”
    “That’s true. You don’t want to put it off too long, though.”
    Maggie nodded. She knew it would weigh on her to have it looming in the distance. And probably better for Cass too, to have it soon then move on. God knew, the grieving process was going to be long and hard for all of them, but especially poor Cass. Maggie gave up on trying to not cry and she sniffled a bit as the tears finally overflowed her brimming eyes and ran down both cheeks.
    “Oh, Maggie. I’m so sorry, honey. I hate that you’re alone. I wish I could be there with you to help you.” Her mom sounded on the brink of tears herself.
    “You are, Mom, just by being with Cass and letting me do some of the work before I have to break it to her. And I’m not completely alone. I have good friends here.” Nick popped into her mind. “Like Sam, who should be here any minute.”
    “All right. I’ll let you go. You be careful, staying there by yourself, okay?”
    “Yes, Mom.” Despite her sad mood, she smiled, thinking that Nick and her mom were alike in their protectiveness.
    “When do you think you’ll be coming back?”
    Maggie thought about what she had to do. “My ticket’s flexible, so whenever I can find an open flight. I’ve only got a few more small things to do in person here, and the rest can either be done over the phone or can wait until we come back. I can probably wrap things up tomorrow, so day after tomorrow maybe. I’ll let you know when I book it.”
    “Okay. Get some rest. And don’t forget to eat.”
    “I won’t. Sam’s bringing over something for dinner,” she mentioned, knowing that would help satisfy her mom’s worry.
    “Good.”
    Maggie had to smile at her mom’s predictability. “I’m going to let you go. Kiss Cass for me. And we’ll talk soon.”
    “Night, honey.”
    “Goodnight.” Maggie disconnected and set down her phone on the side table with a deep breath and exhale. She felt badly about prevaricating to Cass, but telling her something so huge over the phone was out of the question. It left her feeling out of sorts, though, and her mind was spinning.
    God, I wish I could just…
    Just what? She wasn’t sure. But the memory of Nick’s strong, comforting presence slipped into her head and went a long way toward soothing her. She looked at her phone. Of course, his number wasn’t in it. His card was on her nightstand upstairs where she’d left it that morning, so she couldn’t act on the urge to call him, to hear his deep, sympathetic voice, to ask him to come over…
    A sound at the front door brought her back to the present and she turned just in time to see Sam letting herself in with her key.
    “Hi, sweetheart.” Sam’s face was pale and tight with emotion, and Maggie rose to meet her friend in a lingering half-hug since one arm was full. Of course it would be difficult for her too. She’d been one of the first friends Maggie had made when she and Wade had moved to Oregon, so Sam had known him just as long as she’d known Maggie. Sam’s husband Chris was friends with Wade, though the families didn’t get together quite as often since the divorce. Maggie briefly wondered how Chris was handling things, then tried to tune the thought out. She barely had enough emotional energy to handle herself and her family right now without worrying about everyone else.
    Maggie had tears in her eyes but her cheeks were dry when she pulled back from Sam. “Here, let me take that.” She took the brown paper takeout