Page 129 of The Me I Left Behind

She dragged her gaze away from the beach and slowly angled toward the other women. “Sure. I’m fine. Just thinking.”

“Definitely lost in thought, there.”

She was, but probably not about what they were thinking.

“I know.” She turned to Julia. “My brain can’t handle a lot of details today, but what does this mean for us now? The kids and me.”

“We need to see if he has a will and go from there.”

Alice shifted in her chair. “Oh, good grief. Surely, he had a will?”

“You never know,” Julia said. “Sometimes people get so busy with life, they don’t think about death. I’ll contact Max’s attorney tomorrow and see what I can find out.”

Maggie was a little concerned. Not once had Max mentioned a will. Then she realized. “I don’t have a will. I’m betting Max didn’t either.”

Julia blew out a breath. “Well, we need to fix that for you ASAP. In the meantime, I’ll dig into North Carolina lawregarding the death of a spouse, and what all that entails, with or without a will. I also want to see how separation affects things.”

“Fuck. Is this going to be complicated?”

Julia leaned forward, reaching for Maggie’s hand. “Stop guessing about anything until we know more. Have some details. I promise you will be okay, no matter what.”

She believed her. Truly, she did. But still… “Obviously, I don’t need to worry about the kids or the house right now. Do I? Maybe money? Remember, I am not on his accounts.”

“The will, or lack of one, should make things clear.” She peered into her eyes. “Maggie, listen to me. Today is not the day to worry. Just absorb what has happened and let me be concerned with the details.”

“Tomorrow, or the next,” Maggie said. “No hurry, I guess.”

“Right.”

She wasn’t sure Julia was being straight with her. She stared off over the beach again. “How do I get him home?”

Julia stood. “You’re worrying about things that can wait.”

She could sense her frustration rising. “Look. If there is something I need to do, I need to take care of it. Stop coddling me. Okay? I should call that officer back.” She rose and turned toward the cottage door. She’d left her phone in the bedroom, she thought.

“Wait, Maggie. I already called.”

She glared at Julia. “What?”

“I borrowed your phone earlier and made a call back to the officer and got the details. It will be days before the officials can process the body and ready it to transport back to the states—seven to ten days, likely. We can coordinate all that with a funeral home in Rocky Mount.”

“Did you find out anything more about the accident?”

Julia nodded. “Yes, some things. It was a helicopter crash. Apparently, it went down in the Northern Territory of theOutback. Very remote. Took days to get to him and the pilot, who also died. Likely, Max didn’t pass away in the crash, but succumbed much later from his broken legs and loss of blood. He lingered there a while, apparently, and was probably in a lot of pain.”

“Shit,” Alice said.

“Oh, that’s terrible,” Lia echoed.

Maggie didn’t want to ponder that. She straightened her shoulders. “I should call his parents. My God, I didn’t even think to do that.”

Alice intervened. “Maggie, I’ll do that. Listen to Julia.”

“No. I have to.” She turned back to the house. “Good Lord, I haven’t spoken to them in years. I don’t think Max had either. I’m not fond of them, to be honest. Nor them of me.”

She caught Julia’s gaze as she stood facing her. Finally, Julia said, “Give me the name of the funeral home you want to use in Rocky Mount. I’ll call Max’s attorney, and he can share the details with them. You don’t need to put that on yourself right now.”

Maggie sat in the nearest empty chair. “Just pick one. I don’t care. I’m braindead.”

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