“He is? Are you sure? Wilbur said he read an article online about Chance. He went to prison for murdering his family!”
Tanya narrowed her eyes, ready to stand on the table and shout the truth to the whole café. “I’m sure. If you don’t believe me, Alice, ask Samuel. He knows the truth.”
“Or you can ask my husband,” Jesse added, tension in her voice. “Nick would never hire someone he hadn’t thoroughly checked out. He would never invite someone to his house for dinner with his family if he was a murderer.”
“I guess you’re right. If I hear someone talking about it, I’ll tell them they’re wrong.” Alice hurried away.
“I’ve never seen Alice move so fast. I think we scared her,” Darcy said, rubbing her lower back.
“At least she got the point Chance is innocent and won’t be contributing to the wrong gossip spreading.” Tanya forced herself to relax back against the leather cushioned booth. “By the way, Jesse, what dinner with your family?” Thinking back over the past four weeks, surprisingly she could account for Chance’s whereabouts in the evenings—even when he wasn’t with her and Crystal.
“The one I’m having tomorrow evening. I don’t want to be accused of lying. I’ll call him and ask him over. Why don’t you and Crystal come, too, so he’ll feel more comfortable eating with the boss’s family?”
Darcy laughed. “Watch out, Tanya. She’s at it again.”
A few weeks ago she would have panicked over the idea that Jesse was doing her matchmaking thing with her. But after not seeing Chance for almost four days, Tanya would be glad to accompany him to dinner at Jesse and Nick’s. “We’ll be there. That is, if Chance says yes.”
Jesse smiled. “I know you can persuade him. It can’t hurt for the town to see we believe in him.”
“No,” Beth said. “I’ll make sure Samuel is aware of what’s happening, but he probably has already heard the rumors, knowing my husband.”
“Well, I’ve got a piece of news he probably hasn’t heard yet.” Jesse glanced at each one at the table, then said, “I’m going to have a baby in seven months!”
“Oh, good, you can experience what I’ve been experiencing for the past seven months.” Darcy rose. “I’m so happy for you. Be back in a sec.” She hastened toward the restroom.
“Congratulations. I didn’t know you and Nick were trying,” Zoey said.
“We weren’t exactly, but it’s great news. We’re happy. That’s one of the reasons we’re so glad Chance is doing such a good job. It’ll give Nick more time when the baby comes.”
Tanya wondered if Chance would stick around that long. She wasn’t sure he wanted to settle in Sweetwater permanently. She got the feeling coming to town was just a temporary thing for him. And now with the rumors flying around Sweetwater, he might not stay past the weekend. She would have to tell him. She didn’t want him to find out when someone asked him about being in prison or snubbed him.
* * *
That evening Tanya stepped out onto the deck and looked toward the apartment above her garage. The fall air held a crispness, mingled with the scents of burning leaves and wood. The sun’s rays peeked over the treetops to the west, streaks of pinks and oranges coloring the pale blue sky. A beautiful day. Not the kind of day to tell a man she cared about that the town knew about the time he had spent in prison.
She backed up until she pressed against the door into her house. Thoughts of escaping inside and not saying anything to Chance dominated her mind. With trembling hands, she pushed herself away from the door and strode toward the stairs that led to his apartment.
She couldn’t do that to him. He deserved better than that. She could imagine him walking into a room where everyone stopped talking at once and stared at him. It had happened to her on a number of occasions a few years ago until Darcy, Jesse, Beth and Zoey had rallied around her and supported her through that dark time. Finally the rumors had died down and people had ceased speculating if she had known about her husband’s activities. She’d guessed the townspeople had decided if her friends accepted that she hadn’t known, then they could, too, especially when Tom had set fire to a barn that Darcy had been trapped in. But it had hurt that the people hadn’t believed in her at first. She had lived in Sweetwater most of her life. They should have known she hadn’t been aware.
At the bottom of the steps, Tanya paused and peered at the door above. He was in there. She had seen him come home with several bags of groceries while she had been cleaning the kitchen and occasionally staring out the window at the driveway where he would have to pass in order to get to his apartment. That had been twenty minutes ago, and it had taken her that amount of time to get up her courage to see him.
First one foot then the other settled on the steps. She gripped the railing, then hurried up before she changed her mind—again. Fortifying herself with a deep breath, she rapped on the door. She kept her hand clenched even when she dropped it to her side to stay the trembling.
Chance opened the door. A smile moved across his mouth, slow and full with his dimples appearing. His eyes lit with warmth. “Hi, what brings you by?”
That was a perfect opening to tell him why she had come to see him. Instead, she returned his smile, the corners of her mouth quivering slightly. “How did your trip go?”
She walked inside as he held the door open. She hadn’t been in his apartment in several weeks and noticed a few changes, a couple of personal touches added—a clock, a radio, a book on the table, a photo of a beautiful woman and a young girl who had to be his daughter. Tanya saw the resemblance in the smile, the eyes, the dark hair.
“I accomplished what Nick needed done.”
“Then it was successful. Great!” Even to her own ears, her voice sounded strained, a little high-pitched.
Chance studied her with narrowed eyes. “Is something wrong? Is it Crystal?”
Waving her hand, Tanya twisted away from his too-perceptive gaze. “No. No, she’s fine. Well, at least okay. On Thursday I think something happened at school. She came home in a bad mood and didn’t say a word the whole evening. She didn’t leave her bedroom except to eat dinner. She would have eaten that in her room, but I wouldn’t let her.”
“Has Beth discovered anything at school?” Chance moved into her line of vision.
She couldn’t turn away this time. His gaze captured hers and held it. “Only what I told you before you left. There are a couple of girls she noticed talking to Crystal in the hallway last week. Afterward Crystal went into the restroom and was late for class. It looked like she had been crying, but Beth couldn’t get anything out of Crystal. She sent her to Zoey, but she couldn’t, either. My daughter isn’t talking.”
“I’ll try again to see if I can find out anything. That is, if you don’t mind.”
“No, please try. For the longest time I wouldn’t ask for help when I needed it. I’ve learned to now. We all need help from time to time, and there’s nothing wrong in admitting that.” She moistened her lips and decided the time had come. “With that in mind, Chance, I need to tell you there are some rumors going around about you having been in prison for murder.”
For a second nothing registered on his expression, then it went blank as though he had completely shut down his emotions. “I figured it would be only a matter of time before someone would get wind of it. In a few months the trial of my family’s killer will be all over the media in Louisville. What happened to me will come up.”
“And you’ll have to relive the horror all over again.” She took a step closer, half afraid he would distance himself from her.
He held his ground, sadness leaking into his expression. “Yes.”
“I want you to know I’ll help you any way I can. So will Darcy, Zoey, Beth and Jesse. In fact, Jesse wants us to come over to dinner tomorrow night.”
“I don’t think—”
/> “She’s the boss’s wife. You can’t say no, Chance. Besides, you can’t stay holed up in here. You need to get out and let everyone know what they are saying doesn’t bother you.”
His half grin returned. “Who said I was gonna stay holed up in my apartment? I could have plans already.”
“I just assumed—I mean—” she said, flustered. Had he met someone? The thought bothered her, for some reason.
His laughter filled the room. “Sorry. I couldn’t resist. I don’t have any plans. I’m gonna work at the youth center in the afternoon, but I can be ready to go. What time tomorrow?”
“Six.”
“Speaking of the youth center, does Crystal ever go?”
“She hasn’t yet.”
“Do you think she would like to go tomorrow while I’m there? The art teacher from school is going to have a class tomorrow afternoon. I thought she might like to sit in on it since she hasn’t had a chance to take art at school yet.”
“I’ll say something to her. If she wants to, I can drop you two off.”
He covered the space between them, only a foot separating them. “You could give a class in drawing people for the kids. Dane’s always looking for people to do classes that might interest the teens.”
She backed away. “No. I can’t teach.” Her legs hit a chair, and she stopped. “I’ll leave that to others.”
“You’ve taught Crystal a lot. She’s very talented. Like you.”
“I merely showed her how to use her natural talent. That’s not teaching.”
“I beg your pardon. That is teaching. A teacher shows a person how to tap into his talent.”
Chance shrank the space between them, his familiar scent of springtime soap drifting to her. “Don’t sell yourself short. Share your talent with others.”
Tanya sidestepped away and headed for the door. “I’ll talk to Crystal and let you know tomorrow. I’m glad you’re back.” She hurried from his apartment.
Chance went to the window and watched Tanya’s flight down the stairs and across the driveway. He lost sight of her, but he didn’t need to see her to know every minute detail of her beautiful face—a face he had pictured more than once while he was in Chicago these past few days. When had his feelings changed toward Tanya? She was no longer just someone he had promised himself he would help, then move on. She was more. And there was no way he would allow himself to become involved with Tom’s wife. How could he when he was the reason Tom was dead in the first place as though he had plunged the knife into Tom’s heart himself?
Turning away from the window, Chance took in his new home, a home that was now invaded by his past. He’d known it would come out. He had just hoped he would have had more time in Sweetwater. He didn’t know if he could stay and face the townspeople each day, knowing what they were thinking: did the authorities really have the right man this time?
* * *
Chance closed the program on the computer, having finished putting in the numbers for October. The simple accounting for the youth center was the closest he would be to his old life as a financial advisor. He wanted nothing to do with that life. He dreaded the time he would have to return to Louisville for the trial of his wife and daughter’s murderer. He couldn’t even bring himself to say the man’s name.
“Oh, good. You haven’t left yet,” Dane said from the doorway into the office at the center.
Chance glanced up. “I’ll be leaving as soon as the art class is over. What do you need?”
Dane moved into the office, perching on the side of the desk. “I don’t need anything. Just wanted to see if there was anything I could do for you. You’ve been a blessing to us here.”
Chance couldn’t keep the skepticism from his expression. “Keeping the books isn’t difficult. I’m sure you would have found someone to do it.”
“But you saved me having to appeal to others. You stepped forward.”
“Samuel has a way of persuading a person to do things.”
“Yeah, he does. He’s one of the reasons I’m running this place.” Dane folded his arms over his chest and looked as if he were there for the long haul.
Chance’s wariness tingled along his neck. “You’ve heard?”
“Yes, a couple of days ago my neighbor, Wilbur Thompson, wanted me to know about the kind of person I let volunteer at the youth center.”
“If you don’t want me to—”
Dane’s eyebrows slashed downward. “I will never let Wilbur tell me what I can and can’t do. We have a long history. We’ve come to a precarious truce since we live on the same short block and go to the same church.” The anger in his expression dissolved. “I’m telling you this because I want you to know you are welcome here for as long as you want to volunteer.”
“You don’t have any questions?”
“About what?”
“Like did I really do it?”
Thunder lined Dane’s face. “The system isn’t always perfect. Occasionally the police are wrong, but thankfully they discovered their mistake and corrected it. The man I’ve become acquainted with this past month couldn’t have done that to his family.”
Chance closed his eyes, relieved to hear those words from a man he respected. He knew that Dane Witherspoon had once been in law enforcement and for him to say that meant a lot to him. “Thank you. I’ve come to enjoy my time spent at the center. I was gonna offer to tutor some of the kids in math if you need someone.”
“Do I ever! Math isn’t my strength. Now that school is underway, I’m getting some requests from the teens for different tutors to help them in their schoolwork. Math tops the list. In fact, Holly Proctor and Eddy O’Neal have asked me on more than one occasion. Let me talk with them and see if we can set something up several evenings a week. When could you do it?”
“I’m free any evening.” Chance realized except for going to work and seeing Tanya and Crystal from time to time, his life was spent in his apartment reading, listening to the radio and thinking. He had too much free time on his hands. “Just let me know when to be here. I’m getting a cell phone this week so you will have a way of getting hold of me besides calling work or Tanya.”
“What’s next? A car?”
Chance shrugged. “It’s been easy getting around Sweetwater, but I guess I’ll have to get one in the near future.” He thought about the time when he would have to return to Louisville. It would be easier if he had his own transportation by then.
“Let me know. I might be able to help you with getting a reliable used car.”
Chance rose, his muscles tight from sitting for so long. He stretched then rolled his head around to ease the tension in his neck and shoulders. “Thanks. If you hear of anything, let me know. I can’t afford much.”
“You have a good job. You could get a loan.”
He shook his head. “No. I don’t want any debt to tie me down to material things.” That was one of the reasons he had worked so long and hard before. He’d had debts to pay from accumulating a large house, two brand-new cars and some of the latest electronic devices. It had all come tumbling down around him, leaving him with nothing. Never again.
Dane pushed off the desk and walked toward the door. “That’s not a bad philosophy. Pay as you go. With three children that’s getting to be harder and harder.”
Chance followed Dane from the office, intending to find Crystal and see if she was through with her art class. Dane headed toward the gym while he went in the opposite direction toward the hallway that led to the six rooms used for various activities like classes, counseling sessions and meetings.
When he popped his head into the room used for the art class, he only noticed the teacher and a young man left. “Do you know where Crystal Bolton is?”
“She left a few minutes ago with a couple of the girls. She shouldn’t be too fa
r,” the art teacher said.
Chance retraced his steps and peered into the gym then the exercise room but didn’t see Crystal. Would she have gone home without letting him know? Even if she had left, Tanya would have let him know she was taking her daughter home. So where was Crystal?
He went back to the six rooms and began to check each one. Two teenage girls came out of the last one on the right, the TV room, giggling and whispering to themselves. One hugged a sketchbook to her chest. When they saw him, they stopped talking and quickened their pace and passed him. The teen with the sketchbook tossed it on the floor halfway down the hall.
An uneasiness gripped him. Crystal’s sketchbook lay discarded, opened to the page of the young boy she had a crush on.
The beating of his heart slowed for a few seconds then slammed against his rib cage. He hastened toward the last door on the right, his gut clenched into a huge knot. Just inside he found Crystal on the floor, sobbing.
CHAPTER SIX
The sobs wrenched Chance’s soul, squeezing his heart, prodding him into action. He crossed the room and knelt next to Crystal, sprawled on the floor by her wheelchair, her body shaking with her cries.
He touched her shoulder. “Crystal, are you hurt?”
“Go away. Leave—me alone,” she said between her sobs, her face buried in her hands.
For a flash he pictured his daughter on the floor, crying as though the world had come to an end. And he hadn’t thought it possible for his heart to hurt any more but it did. “I’m not leaving. You’re stuck with me. Are you hurt?” He schooled his voice to an even level, calm, soothing.
She quieted but didn’t say anything.
“Should I call your mother and have her come pick us up?”
She twisted her upper body until she glared up at him. “No!”
“I’m going to help you into your wheelchair and then you and I are going to talk.” Again he made sure his voice betrayed none of the anger quickly coming to the foreground within him as he stared at her pale face, streaked with tears.
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