of us care, whether we want to or not.”
Her eyes shone and his heart leaped in his chest. He pulled her tight against him, aware they were gathering stares from people standing nearby. “Thank you for caring. I’m not used to it, but it means a lot.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “I’m sorry I’m bad at this. Even for pretend.”
“You’re not so bad,” she whispered.
“Do you want to dance?”
“Do you?”
He grinned at her. “Hell, no. But I can make it work.”
“Give me a minute. I need to catch up with my mom and Joe, make sure Charlie’s okay.”
He studied her. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re avoiding me right now.”
She shook her head. “I want to find Charlie.”
“They headed back toward the game booths. I’m going to say hi to the mayor and I’ll meet you over there.”
The gym was full, and without Sam at her side, Julia got a little panicked by the crowd.
She moved toward the far end of the gymnasium where the carnival booths were set up, then veered off quickly when she saw two women from her high-school class standing together near one of the attractions. One was Annabeth Sullivan, whom Julia felt friendlier toward after their conversation at the salon. The other was Lucy Peterson, their graduating class’s valedictorian. Julia had always been uncomfortable around her. She’d made it clear during high school that Lucy was persona non grata and knew the slightly chubby teen had suffered because of it.
Lucy had gotten her revenge, though. Because of her work in the school office and her access to the files, she’d found out about Julia’s learning disabilities. She hadn’t told anyone outright, but had spread the rumor that Julia had only graduated because she’d slept with one of her teachers and he’d fixed her grade.
She’d told Julia that if she denied it, Lucy would tell people the real reason she had so much trouble in school. Having a reputation as a slut hadn’t been half as bad as the school knowing about her LD.
She ducked out a door and into the cool night air, walking toward the football field situated next to the main building. Two streetlights glowed in the darkness as her eyes scanned the shadowy length of the field.
She’d spent so much time here in high school. If she’d been queen of her class, this was her royal court. She’d felt confident on the field in her cheerleading uniform or on the sidelines cheering for Ethan. She’d hated falling back on her looks, but the insecure girl who had nothing else to offer had exploited her one gift as best she could.
Now she breathed in the cool night air and closed her eyes, remembering the familiar smells and sounds.
Her memories here were a long time gone. She was no longer a scared teenager. She had Charlie to protect. She’d made mistakes and was trying her damnedest to make amends for them. There was no way of moving forward without finally confronting her past, once and for all.
She took another breath and headed toward the school, determined to hold her head high. She had as much right to return to her high school as anyone.
Once inside, she stopped at the girls’ bathroom to sprinkle cold water on her face. When a stall opened and Lucy Peterson stepped out, Julia wondered if she’d actually conjured her.
“Hi, Lucy.” The other woman’s eyes widened in surprise.
Lucy hadn’t changed much since high school. She was still short and full figured, her chest heaving as she adjusted the wire-rimmed glasses on her face.
“Hello, Julia. I didn’t expect to see you here. I’m in town for the weekend for my parents’ anniversary. Normally I wouldn’t be caught dead back in this high school. I live in Chicago. I’m a doctor.” Lucy paused for a breath. “I’m babbling.”
“What kind of doctor?” Julia asked.
“Molecular biologist.”
Julia nodded. Figured. Julia knew better than to compare herself to a genius like Lucy. “That’s great.”
The two women stared at each other for several long moments. At the same time they blurted, “I’m sorry.”
Relief mixed with a healthy dose of confusion made Julia’s shoulders sag. “I’m the one who should apologize. I know I was horrible in high school. You were on the top of my list. Not that it matters, but you should know I was jealous of you.”
Lucy looked doubtful. “Of me? You were the homecoming queen, prom queen, head cheerleader, and you dated the football captain. I was nobody.”
“You were smart.”
“I shouldn’t have spread that rumor about you.” Lucy fiddled with the ring on her left finger. “You weren’t a slut.”
“There are worse things you could have said about me.”
“You weren’t stupid, either.”
Julia made her voice light. “The grade record would beg to differ.”
“I read your file,” Lucy said slowly. “It was wrong, but I know you had significant learning disabilities, which means...”
“It means there’s something wrong with my brain,” Julia finished. “Stupid is a much clearer description of my basic problem.”
“You must have been pretty clever to have hid it all those years. I’m guessing you still are.”
“I cut hair for a living. It’s not nuclear science. Or molecular biology.”
“That’s right. My mom told me you’d taken over the Hairhouse.”
“I’m working on it. The loan still needs to go through.”
“Are you going to keep the name?”
Julia relaxed a little as she smiled. “I don’t think so. ‘The Best Little Hairhouse in Brevia’ is quite a mouthful.”
Lucy returned the smile then pulled at the ends of her hair. “I’m in town until Tuesday. Could you fit me in?”
“You don’t hate me?”
Lucy shook her head. “In high school, I thought I was the only one who was miserable. Once I got away from Brevia, I realized lots of kids had problems. We were all just too narcissistic to see it in each other. Some people can’t let go of the past. I’ve moved on, Julia. I’m happy in Chicago. I have a great career and a fantastic husband. I don’t even mind visiting my mom a couple times a year, although I avoid the old crowd. I know in my heart they can’t hurt me because their opinions don’t matter. I don’t hate you. You probably did me a favor. You made me determined to escape. Now I can come back on my own terms.”
“I’m glad for you, Lucy.” Julia checked her mental calendar. She’d trained herself to keep her schedule in her head so she didn’t have to rely on a planner or smartphone. “How about eleven on Monday?”
Lucy nodded. “Maybe we could grab lunch after. I may not care too much about certain ladies’ opinions but I wouldn’t mind seeing their faces if we showed up at Carl’s.”
“I’d love that.”
“I’ll see you Monday.” With a quick, awkward hug, Lucy hurried out the door.
Julia studied herself in the hazy mirror above the row of bathroom sinks. She felt lighter than she had in years, the weight of her guilt over how she’d treated Lucy finally lifted. One past mistake vanquished, only a hundred more to go.
“She’s right, you know.” The door to one of