The Phoenix Girls, Book 3

Chapter 2-3

An hour later, Penny was showered, caffeinated, and eating a buttered bagel when the phone in the hallway rang. She dropped the last quarter of her breakfast onto her plate and ran to catch it before it could disturb Susan.

Susan’s workdays started earlier than ever since her shop had burnt down with half of downtown Dogwood. She’d had to downsize, no more books or magazines, but she was keeping the office stationery business alive, barely, by storing product in the basement of their Clover Hill house and taking orders from her home office in the unused second floor bedroom. Penny helped where she could, loading orders into the old van Susan drove now—the old Falcon was parked at the far end of the dirt and gravel turnaround and hadn’t moved all summer—and some days she helped with the deliveries.

The shrinking stationery business was a concern. Most of her old customers now ordered online or from the box stores in Centralia. Only the local businesses whose offices hadn’t burned down along with Susan’s the previous spring still ordered from her. Susan was desperately hanging on to what remained of Sullivan’s, but her business seemed to be shrinking weekly.

Penny hooked the phone from its cradle on the second ring.

“Hi, Kat.” She waited for a second for Katie to respond. “Kat?”

“How did you know it was me?” Katie sounded surprised and exasperated in equal measures.

“I don’t know. Just did.” And Penny didn’t either, she had just known. It had been happening a lot lately with all of them, knowing when one of the others was calling or coming over, knowing what one of them was about to say or ask before she even opened her mouth. They seemed strangely in sync with each other … except for Zoe, who had been gone most of the summer and who Penny hadn’t heard from in over two weeks.

There was another short silence, and then Katie continued.

“I got a text from Zoe this morning.”

Penny felt a moment of annoyance—why hadn’t Zoe called her? Why did she have to live in the one place in the country that didn’t have cell service?—then she had to stifle a squeal of excitement.

“What did she say? How is she?”

“She didn’t say anything, just sent a picture.”

“A picture? Of what?”

“It’s easier just to show you,” Katie said, then laughed. “How soon can you get to my house?”

Penny heard the first sounds of activity from upstairs—echoing footfalls and the bang of the bathroom door.

“I’m on my way,” Penny said and hung up.