April said, rising. “Freshen up and come meet him.” Spontaneously, she reached over and hugged Jo. “I’m so glad you’re here!”
Jo watched April go, closing the door behind her. She was back in Maraville, but nothing was as she’d thought it would be.
How amazing to find both April and Eliza here. And both engaged to be married. When she’d allowed herself to think about them over the years, she’d always envisioned them married with the families they used to talk about having one day. In her case, she had no dreams of building a family. There was plenty to do on her job. The fact she’d never met a man she felt she could trust also played a big part in her decision. She’d leave romance to April and Eliza.
Jo went to the bathroom at the end of the hall. The construction crew had finally left. Dust wafted in the air. She peeked in the door of the room Eliza had always had and saw a new connecting bath between her room and the room she herself used to use.
She moved to the door of her old room and went in. Surprised to see everything almost as she’d left it except for the new door to the connecting bath, she studied the posters and announcements on the old bulletin board. Together they captured moments of time in a teenage girl’s life.
At last she pushed away and went to freshen up. She wasn’t that same girl. Time had moved along and so had she. After seeing Maddie, she’d have to decide if she would stay for Independence Day. Small towns had long memories. Jo knew she didn’t want to be the focus of gossip and speculation for days on end. Yet…she owed Maddie. It would be little enough to endure if the record were set straight.
Where was Allen McLennon these days? He and Maddie had been dating for several months before Jo’s attack. Maddie had believed Allen, not Jo. Was he still lording it over people? Wouldn’t the town be shocked to learn the truth about the lofty town banker?
When she entered the kitchen a short time later, Eliza was dishing up some delectable sauce and spreading it over pasta. April poured iced tea into tall glasses. Cade Bennett was setting the table. He looked older, of course, and had filled out nicely. There was another man Jo didn’t recognize, undoubtedly April’s fiancé.
“Here she is,” April said, spotting her. “Come and meet Jack.”
Introductions were made. Cade greeted her, and before long all were seated at the old table enjoying Eliza’s cooking.
Jo felt odd sitting with the two couples. Eliza and April bubbled with excitement at her arrival. Cade seemed as easygoing as always. Jack Palmer, on the other hand, studied her as if he didn’t trust her. No biggie. She was used to going it alone. And she did not begrudge Eliza or April their happiness. She just felt like a fifth wheel.
“Seen Maddie yet?” Cade asked.
“Going after dinner,” she said. “She’s still at the hospital, April said.”
Cade nodded. “Want a lift?”
“Thought I’d walk.”
“We’ve been doing a lot of that lately,” Eliza said. “It’s nice to be able to walk so many places without needing a car.”
“Be strange for an Angeleno, I expect,” Jack said.
“Right. I always drive everywhere. Usually on my Harley.”
Jack’s eyebrows rose.
“Motorcycle?” Cade asked with a grin. “Do you really have a Harley?”
She nodded. “Traffic is a bitch, so I have a bike. I can weave through the stopped cars to get to where I’m going faster.”
“Dangerous,” Eliza murmured.
Jo shrugged. “So far so good.” She was a careful driver, but liked the mobility the bike gave compared to cars in the L.A. freeway traffic. When she’d first bought the bike, it was used, and the only thing she could afford. But she didn’t need to share that—not with Jack looking like he wanted to dissect her every word.
“Tell me about Paris,” she said, hoping to turn the attention away from herself. She felt uncomfortable with everyone watching. April took the bait and Jo began to relax as she listened to her friend talk about her career, her apartment on the Left Bank, and the fun of visiting European capitals on someone else’s tab.
Dinner ended with strawberry shortcake eaten on the porch. The evening stayed light late at the end of June, and the citronella candles kept the mosquitoes at bay. Jo felt suddenly very grown-up, sitting on the porch as Maddie and some of her ladies’ club friends had done. Talking with other grown-ups. What would life have been like if that night had never happened? Once again she regretted not handling things differently. But it always got back to Maddie’s not believing her, then her anger, and her fear.
Time ticked by. Jo finished her coffee and put the cup down with a click. Conversation stopped and everyone looked at her.
“Guess I’ll be heading for the hospital.” She felt like she was heading for an execution. But she couldn’t put it off any longer.
“She’s on the second floor,” Eliza said. “She’s going to be so happy to see you.”
Jo doubted that. But this was something she needed to do. To make amends if she could, to apologize at the very least.
She headed out, enjoying the evening air. It felt strange to be walking. Even stranger to see so few cars on the road. Where she lived in L.A., she couldn’t even get to the store without driving through heavy traffic.
Jo turned onto Main Street. It looked the same, except for a few changes in storefronts. Ruby’s Café was bustling with teenagers and a handful of older folks. She’d have to stop in and have a burger before she left Maraville.
The video store was open, customers wandering through the rows of movies. Most of the other stores had closed at six. She wondered if there were any all-night places in town, then had to remind herself this was Maraville, not L.A.
Moments later Jo approached the hospital. The parking lot was less than half full, the emergency entrance quiet. The brick building was small compared to the hospitals she frequently visited in the line of duty. This one had been built to serve the county and was rarely used to capacity.
She reached the wide double doors and stopped. Beyond the threshold she could see the brightly lit lobby, with a woman at an information desk. A couple sat near the elevators as if waiting for someone. A man passed her and held the door.
She took a breath and shook her head. She wasn’t ready.
She had come from California for this express purpose, and yet she couldn’t make herself walk inside.
Jo wasn’t sure how long she stood outside the doors before turning and retracing her steps. She would have to come back tomorrow. Tonight was impossible.
When she reached the town square, she found an empty bench and sat. In the playground area of the nearby park, children laughed and shrieked as they slid down the slide or were pushed higher and higher on the swings by indulgent parents. A woman walked her dog on the far side. The scene was…peaceful. Unlike her neighborhood in L.A.
Jo had a thousand memories of Maraville. Many good. She should focus on those. It had been a quiet, sleepy, Southern town. Nothing inherently bad. All places had bad people living in them. She couldn’t condemn an entire town because of one man.
“Taking a walk down memory lane?” a familiar voice asked.
She looked up and to her left. Sam Witt stood there. She hadn’t noticed his arrival.
“Sort of.”
He sat on the bench beside her. “Nice time of day,” he said, taking off his hat and putting it on the bench between them.
“Mmm.” She wasn’t up to small talk with the sheriff. Her own badge was burning a hole in her back pocket. She should give him the courtesy of identifying herself. But right now to do anything seemed too much effort.