Hometown Healing

by Jennifer Slattery

  “What do you mean?” Tears stung her eyes. Less than a month home, and her heart felt broken again.

  “You and Jed were acting awful strange.” Mom backed out of her drive. “Like you both just lost your best friends. You didn’t break up, did you?”

  Paige fastened her seat belt and turned on the radio. “It’s complicated, Mom.”

  “Sweetie, don’t let one disagreement get in the way of a good thing.”

  “That’s not it.”

  “Well, whatever it is, it seems to me, when you love someone, you got to hold on to them.” She turned onto Dodger Street. “Sometimes I wonder if someone had told your father that, if we’d still be together now. Guess he thought leaving was just easier.”

  Paige’s heart squeezed painfully. Wasn’t that exactly how she’d been acting toward Jed?

  She had no say over her father’s behavior, but she had full control over hers. She didn’t have to follow in his footsteps.

  Chapter Nineteen

  On Sunday afternoon, Jed took Grandma to Wilma’s Kitchen for lunch so she could satisfy her fried catfish cravings.

  She moved her napkin aside and then repositioned her silverware on it. “I sure wish Paige and her mama could’ve joined us.”

  He focused on his menu, even though he knew every item Wilma served by heart.

  She moved her place setting aside and leaned forward, resting her arms on the table. “What’s going on with you two?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Don’t go all tight-lipped on me, Jed.”

  He raised his menu a notch and skimmed the page, without seeing any of it. Most likely he’d get the three-cheese sundried-tomato omelet.

  “You two been down this road once already,” she said. “Time to start doing things different, if you ask me. That girl’s worth hanging on to. She’s stubborn as all get out, sure. Got a feisty side. But she’s got a good heart, and she loves you something fierce.”

  “That might not be enough.”

  “Love’s always enough. And it always hopes, always trusts and always perseveres.”

  Her gaze locked on something past his left shoulder, and her eyes rounded.

  “What is it?” He followed her line of vision to the mounted television set, to see police lead his father away in handcuffs. The caption read Owner of Gilbertson Law Firm Arrested for Fraud. Jed blinked. This couldn’t be real.

  He continued watching as an officer guided his father into the back of a police car.

  This had to be a mistake. False accusations made by a disgruntled client. He grabbed his phone off the table and saw Grandma doing the same thing. He tried his dad, but got his voice mail.

  Grandma held a hand to her throat. “This is your mother. I... Call me.”

  * * *

  On Monday morning, Paige took Ava for a walk around Mirror Lake, to catch a few quiet moments to think. As she pushed Ava’s stroller down the paved walkway, birds chirped, and an uncharacteristically cool breeze swept over them. Mom had been bugging her relentlessly about Jed, pestering her to not let outside obstacles stand in the way of their relationship.

  But it wasn’t that easy. If she’d learned anything from her divorce, it was that marriage was hard. Those challenges one felt confident could be overcome could easily lead to giant, relationship-destroying cracks.

  Seems to me, when you love someone, you got to hold on to them. Maybe if someone had told your father that, we’d still be together now.

  She closed her eyes against the sting of tears as her mom’s statement replayed through her mind.

  Maybe it was she, and not Jed, who resembled her father. Maybe this was something they could push through. Maybe, given time, conversation and prayer, his mother would change.

  Was she shooting for perfection and, in the process, robbing herself of a second chance at love? Or was she being wise and protecting the both of them, as well as Ava, from greater heartache later?

  Ducks had gathered close by. Paige stopped at a nearby bench to let Ava out of her stroller. “You want to see the duckies?”

  Ava laughed and stomped her feet.

  “Go ahead.” Whenever the birds gathered too close, Ava grew nervous, so Paige shooed them away. But then Ava would try to approach them once again. Eventually, she grew bored or tired and started gathering acorns. Paige would allow this so long as she didn’t try to eat them.

  Mom used to bring Paige and her sister here often for picnics to watch for turtles and frogs in and around the lake. Then, years later, Paige brought Jed here so they could experience it together.

  One time he’d brought his fishing pole with him. He’d showed her how to hold the pole and then had wrapped his arms around her as she tried to reel in an incredibly stubborn shoe in the water. They’d laughed pretty hard about that one. In the end, they’d caught little more than minnows, and Paige had gotten a slight sunburn.

  What an amazing day that had been. That was when she’d known for certain she was in love, that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Jed Gilbertson. But then Dad had left, Mom had withdrawn and everything had started to change.

  Her phone rang, and she glanced at the screen. Held her breath.

  Ardell.

  She gave her nerves a moment to settle, lest her voice come out squeaky, and then answered. “Hello, this is Paige.” As if she didn’t know who was calling, but best to sound ultraprofessional.

  “This is Ardell Dannheim. How are you?”

  “Well, thank you.” How much small talk would she have to endure before they reached the reason for her call? There were only two possibilities—she was letting Paige know if she’d gotten the job or not. “How are you?”

  “Running against the clock, as always.” Classical music played in the background. “I’d like to continue the conversation we had during the conference. As I mentioned, I’ve taken a new position with a new magazine, and I’m in the process of building a quality writing team to help us launch a sister publication.”

  “Windy City Whimsy?” A magazine catering to those who enjoyed following sophisticated and trendy fashions.

  “Sounds like you’ve done your homework. Of course, this will take a great deal of time and planning to get off the ground.” Clicking sounded on the other end, like that of fingers on a keyboard. “I need writers with initiative, who require minimal oversight, and whom I can trust to get the job done. I know your perseverance and work ethic.” She paused. “Do you want to join my team?”

  This was what she’d hoped for, but it still hit her as a shock.

  The position was open but not solid. What if that sister publication failed? Would she be out of a job once again?

  Lord, what should I do?

  The moment she started to pray, a deep peace, mixed with longing, filled her. Like how she used to feel, sitting in church, before anger and fear had pulled her away. And yet God had remained, and had been calling her back to Him.

  Was that what this was all about—her job loss, moving back to Sage Creek, reconnecting with Mrs. Tappen? And to help her mom and give sweet Ava more time with her grandmother. Seemed a lot of good was coming from what she originally saw as only hard.

  Her thoughts jerked to Jed, squelching her reply. He loved her. Deeply.

  And she loved him.

  Enough to stay?

  Yes. But did they both love each other enough to hold tightly through the hard, the painful and the unexpected?

  “As you know, I love the fashion world. And this sounds like an exciting opportunity. When were you thinking you’d like me to start?”

  “I imagine you’ll need time to relocate and clear your responsibilities. But we have an important feature I’d love to assign to you. Could you start in two weeks?”

  In case she needed to give her current employer notice. As if she’d found anothe
r job. With her script written, she didn’t have much else holding her here.

  Except Mom.

  And Mrs. Tappen.

  And the man who had captured her heart.

  If she left Sage Creek, her and Jed’s relationship would be over for sure. “Would I have the same salary I left with?”

  Another pause. “I will send you a package with all of the particulars, via email. Read it over. Then we can set up a follow-up time to discuss it in detail.”

  “That sounds perfect.” She ended the call feeling more unsettled than ever. If this was the right opportunity for her, shouldn’t she feel peace?

  When Paige returned home, she found Mom and Mrs. Tappen talking in the yard and Jed heading to his truck. When his gaze met hers, he halted, and something in his eyes—confusion? Sorrow? Defeat?—gave her pause. For a moment, she thought he was going to approach her, and she held her breath. But then, with slumped shoulders, he got into his truck and drove away.

  She knew Jed well enough to know something had happened. With the theater? She hoped not, not with all of the money he’d put into that place, and with the reopening less than a week away. Should she call him, see if he wanted to talk things out or leave him be?

  She watched until his truck drove away, and then she joined Mom and Mrs. Tappen.

  She caught the tail end of their conversation. “I’ve always known something wasn’t right.” Mrs. Tappen tugged on the end of her braid. “Haven’t I been saying that for a while now?”

  Mom nodded. “Still, it’s hard to believe your son-in-law would be caught up in something like that. I mean, I heard rumors they were having money problems, but two million dollars?” Mom shook her head. “What in the world did he do with it all?”

  “From the sounds of it, he’d landed himself in a good deal of debt. Bad investments ate through his assets, but instead of acknowledging that and adjusting their lifestyle accordingly, he lived off credit cards.”

  “Now I understand why he and your daughter didn’t help with the theater—financially, I mean.”

  “Because they didn’t have the funds. Only, he couldn’t admit that.”

  Paige looked between them. “What are you two talking about?”

  They glanced her way, as if surprised to see her standing there.

  Mrs. Tappen stared at her for a long time and then threw her hands up. “Might as well tell you, as you’ll find out soon enough, considering it’s been splattered across the news.”

  She went on to tell Paige about the fraud charges that had been filed against Jed’s father. “If he was hurting for money that bad, he should’ve sold his land and all his horses.”

  “But,” Mom said, “that’d mean admitting he’d cost his family a fortune.”

  Poor Jed. She needed to go to him. To talk to him. To be there for him, like she wished he’d been there for her. Like maybe he would’ve been, had she let him.

  Chapter Twenty

  After he’d dropped Grandma off at her house, Jed had headed straight to his parents’ house to console his mom and find out the truth behind the headlines. Sitting at the breakfast counter, he watched his mother pace the kitchen. “What’d Dad’s lawyer say?”

  She shook her head and made a sobbing sound. “They’ve made a mistake. Your father would never do what they’re accusing him of.” She sat at the far end of the breakfast bar and covered her face with her hands.

  “Have you talked to Christian yet?” Had his brother even heard the news?

  “He’s heading back from Houston now and should be here within the hour.”

  “Good.” Regardless of how all of this played out, their mom would need all of the support she could get.

  His phone chimed, and he glanced at the screen. Paige. Just the thought of her brought comfort.

  He pulled up her text message. Are you okay?

  He typed a response. Mom’s freaking out.

  Paige replied. Meet me at the Literary Sweet Spot. Hot chocolate and cinnamon roll. My treat.

  He set his phone on the counter and eyed his mom. She’d resumed pacing, mumbling something about money-hungry liars who were out to ruin her husband.

  Sitting here wasn’t doing his mom any good. And he needed a moment to think, to talk things out with someone who wasn’t emotionally involved.

  To be with the woman who could always brighten his worst day.

  He glanced at the clock on the microwave. “I need to leave for a spell.”

  His mom whirled to face him. “What? Where?”

  “I’ll be back—I promise.”

  “Did you hear something? Who texted you just now?”

  Telling her would likely only aggravate her further. He grabbed his Stetson from the hat stand, put it on and walked toward the entryway.

  His mom scurried after him. “Are you going to meet with someone?” She grabbed him by the wrist. “Jed, talk to me!”

  He faced her, with his jaw tight. “Let’s not go borrowing trouble right now, Mom.” He softened his tone. “As far as we know, Dad will be released by Sunday.”

  She took in a deep breath and nodded. “Of course. You’re right. This is all just a big, unfortunate misunderstanding.”

  He stepped out the front door and nearly ran into Barb, his father’s secretary, who was dressed in work attire. Why was she here? “Howdy.”

  Her eyes were bloodshot and rimmed with red, and dark circles hung beneath them. Tearing up, she looked from Jed to his mom. “Do you have a minute?”

  His mom’s posture stiffened. “Now?”

  “I’m... I need to tell you something. Something I’d rather you hear from me.” Her gaze zipped between them again, and her thin brow was pinched. “Can we go inside? Please?”

  Hugging her torso, Mom looked about ready to cave in on herself. “What’s going on?”

  “I’m the one who called the authorities.”

  Jed recoiled, feeling as if he might be sick. “What are you saying?”

  “I wrestled with my decision for a long time. You have to know I didn’t want to turn your father in. But I had to do what I felt was right. The truth was eating away at me. And I knew, if the Feds figured out what he was doing, and that I knew, and I didn’t say anything, I could be implicated. I can’t go to jail over this. I’ve got kids at home.”

  Jed’s stomach clenched. “So you’re saying the news reports are true? And that you were involved?”

  “I had nothing to do with it. I wouldn’t have even known what he was doing if I hadn’t audited our finances. My company credit card was frozen, which surprised me, as I hardly ever use it, and never for anything significant or out of the ordinary. So I did some digging.”

  “You’ve made a mistake.” His mom’s voice sounded scratchy. “I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation.”

  “I wish that were the case. I really do.”

  Mom shook her head, her face pale. “You’re lying. I don’t know what your game is, but you better leave this house. Now.”

  Barb’s eyes blinked rapidly, as if she were fighting to hold herself together. “I know this is hard, but I wanted you to hear it from me first. Before...” She took a breath. “Before the trial.”

  “I said go. Otherwise my son will make you leave.”

  “Mom.” Jed placed what he hoped to be a calming hand on her shoulder. “What if she’s telling the truth?” The genuine anguish in her eyes said she was.

  He couldn’t believe this was happening to his family. It was all so unreal.

  * * *

  Paige sat in a pale green velvet chair with her hands wrapped around a steaming vanilla latte. Across the table from her in a wingback chair with plaid upholstery, Jed stared into his mug of hot cocoa. He’d not taken a sip yet. Hadn’t even touched his favorite part—the whipped cream on top.

  He sighed and lif
ted his eyes to hers. “He could face some serious jail time.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “And they could lose everything, including the house. Which he might deserve, but not my mom.”

  “Where would she go?”

  “I suspect my grandma’s.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I want to believe he didn’t do this, but my gut says otherwise. Still, it’s hard to wrap my head around. This is something you see unfolding on television, not within your own family.”

  That statement couldn’t be more true. Mr. Gilbertson was the picture of success. A well-respected community member and family man.

  Jed rubbed his knuckles along the scruff on his jaw. “I guess I’m glad this is all coming out now, before...”

  “Before what?”

  “You know, that conversation we’ve been having.”

  “Before I committed my life to you, you mean?”

  “You don’t need this kind of mess in your life.”

  “Your father’s poor decisions won’t scare me away.” Funny how she could say that without hesitation after how she’d felt regarding Jed’s mom. But somehow, seeing his need, his hurt, changed everything. Urged her to hold tightly.

  To be there for him.

  Wasn’t that what love was about? Standing by one another’s side through the good and the bad?

  She’d allowed her past to distort her present, and it’d nearly robbed her of her best friend. And the man she loved. She knew that now as clearly as she knew why she’d worked so hard to push him away—because love was scary. And sometimes it hurt. But maybe, just maybe, it could help them both heal, too.

  “It’s time I quit running scared,” she said.

  “What does that mean?”

  She offered a shy smile.

  His grin blossomed in full, but then he sobered, and his gaze intensified. “Man, you’re beautiful. And kind, and smart and super talented.”

  Her heart squeezed, followed by a rush of panic that made her want to bolt out of her seat and hurry back to Chicago. If not for the words she’d spoken to Jed moments ago and to herself the entire drive over. She needed to let the past go, silence her fears and quit fighting what she’d known to be true all along.