One Last Breath by Sarah Sutton (speld decodable readers txt) 📗

an hour. Her heart sank. She knew he would be disappointed, and it had occurred to her that she hadn’t even checked her phone since bringing Ben in. She pulled it from her pocket and checked the screen. Just as she expected, a missed call and a couple of texts from John. Tara sighed. She didn’t even want to look at them. She just wanted to get there.

“Everything all right?” Warren asked as Tara placed phone down.

Tara nodded. “John’s first gig is tonight.”

“Ah,” Warren replied as he stood up. “This job will be an endless pit of cancelled plans.” He shook his head at his words. “But we owe it to our families to always keep trying.” He looked at the clock and then back at Tara slumped in the chair. “If you think you can still make it there, you better put some spring in your step.”

He was right, Tara realized. She at least had to try to get there, or it would look like she made no effort at all. She couldn’t control her missing it, that her job got in the way. But she could still show up, even if it was at the end of him playing.

“You’re right,” Tara said as she shot up from her chair. “I might as well try.”

Warren smiled at her as she made her way to the door. “What’s he playing anyway?” he asked.

“Some Rush covers.”

Warren’s smile grew wider. “Sounds like a good time, enjoy.”

But as Tara opened the door, all she could think about was what he said: an endless pit of cancelled plans. It made her wonder how much disappointment could John take before he had enough.

Chapter Twenty Five

Tara could already hear the band playing as she hurried to the door of the bar, and hope welled within her. Maybe I didn’t miss it after all, she wished as she swung open a large wooden door, only to be met by a swarm of people scattered throughout a dimly lit room. An industrial-style lighting fixture hung over a long wraparound bar. People sat on barstools with their backs to the bartenders, drinks in hand, as they faced the band playing on the opposite side of the room.

Tara turned in the direction of the music. She searched among the musicians. She hadn’t met John’s bandmates yet, and at the thought she suddenly felt a strange disconnection she had never felt with him before. Each face was unfamiliar, and she had no way of knowing if they were his bandmates or not. But one thing was certain: she didn’t see John. Her heart sank. It wasn’t his band. He was supposed to go on at nine, and it was now ten thirty. The two-and-a-half-hour drive from Dewey Beach had not helped, and if John wasn’t still on stage now, it was extremely likely that the band on stage was the next set.

Her eyes scanned the rest of the room. She hoped he hadn’t left yet, but as she looked amongst the sea of faces, sadness dropped into the pit of her stomach. For the first time, she felt truly distant from John, and it wasn’t a feeling she had expected. They had a great relationship, and she had no doubt that he loved her immensely, but Warren’s words had hit her hard. This job is an endless pit of cancelled plans. It echoed in her head. She knew John understood that her job was important. This was just his hobby, but it brought him happiness, and there was a part of her that was sad she had such trouble being a part of it. Is this only the beginning of the rest of our life? she wondered. What will it be like when we have kids? John would be at everything, but would Tara’s job always interfere? Would she always be known to disappoint her family?

She hadn’t even realized that she had been staring blankly at the band playing when she sensed someone moving toward her, weaving in and out of the people.

“Tara,” she heard. It was John’s muffled voice, and she spotted his smiling face moving among the crowd. His face was flushed, his hair damp and matted down with sweat, along with his t-shirt. When he was close enough, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in and kissed her. His touch suddenly made Tara’s body relax, and she wondered if maybe she was worrying for no reason. John didn’t seem annoyed or disappointed. In fact, he seemed happy to see her.

“Did you see that solo?” he yelled enthusiastically. “How awesome was that!”

Tara’s heart sank. His lack of disappointment suddenly made sense. He had thought she was here all along.

She waited a moment as the band finished a song and the room erupted into applause. When it subsided, Tara replied. “I must’ve missed it. I just got here.” She searched his face as his smile dropped into a frown. “I couldn’t get out of work. You know I’m in the middle of this case. I…”

“I know. You’re sorry.” He finished her sentence with a sigh. He was clearly disappointed. After all, he had gotten to perform music from his favorite band, and from his reaction it had clearly gone well. Her absence sat like a pit in her stomach.

But before Tara could even reply to help ease the tension, a man with glasses and slicked-back hair placed his hand on John’s shoulder.

“I’m heading out,” the man said as he patted John on the back.

His eyes fell on Tara, and John forced a smile as he introduced them. His name was Anthony. “He works in my accounting firm,” John informed her as they shook hands. “He happens to play bass too.”

John beamed at him as they complimented each other on their respective performances. The same excitement he wore when he first spotted her flooded back into his face, but then Anthony headed to the door and John’s face fell once again. It only made Tara’s