Change of Heart (The True Heart Series Book 3)

by Layce Gardner

  Millie got up and pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge. “Drink this. Iced tea is not a proper hydrating liquid,” she said, handing it to Bernie. “And I refuse to lie to Susan about it.”

  “I know, I know. But you make the best damned iced tea,” Bernie said.

  “Speaking of Susan, I saw her coming out of the bank,” Millie said.

  Amy sipped her tea and waited. She knew from Millie’s tone that there was more to the story.

  “She was with Carrie,” Millie continued. “It just didn’t seem right.”

  “Maybe they both had business at the bank and it was coincidental,” Amy said, hopefully. She had a bad feeling in her gut.

  Millie shook her head. “I went in and talked to Mr. Arveston, the loan officer. We play bingo every Wednesday. He told me that he had turned down a loan for Carrie. Then minutes later, she waltzes back in with Susan in tow. Susan cosigned a business loan for Carrie,” Millie said.

  Amy sipped her iced tea and considered the import of this information. If she were Tess, she would be upset. And furious. “Do you think Susan told Tess about it?”

  “It didn’t seem planned. I mean if it were, why had he already turned Carrie down? If it were planned, Susan would’ve cosigned the first time,” Millie said.

  “I think Carrie and Susan still have a thing for each other,” Bernie said. “Unfinished business and all that.”

  Amy was inclined to think the same. They did seem to have some unfinished business. But what would it take for them both to be rid of the baggage they carried around?

  “Lesbians are like that. They have closure issues,” Bernie said. She looked over at Amy. “Am I right?”

  “Yes, I’m afraid so,” Amy said.

  “I have a lot to learn about gal-on-gal relationships,” Millie said, shaking her head.

  “You can skip this lesson,” Bernie said. She put her arm around Millie’s waist and squeezed her tightly. “’Cause I’ll never let you go.”

  ***

  Parker and Amy sat on the deck watching the gentle breeze making the lake ripple. Amy contemplated telling Parker about what Millie had told her. Parker, as a good friend of Tess’s, would feel that it was her duty to report the suspicious activity. Amy sipped her glass of white wine and watched the sun reflect off the bottom of the glass.

  “What’s on your mind?” Parker asked.

  “I don’t know if we should talk about it.”

  “Is this about the invitations or the napkins or the place names or the bridal bouquet?”

  “No, this isn’t about our wedding plans. You know, I think we’ve made real progress in that direction,” Amy said. It was a lame attempt to misdirect Parker’s attention. Besides, they hadn’t really made any progress at all. They had decided on nothing more than the napkins and now that was back up for reconsideration. They had been contemplating changing from the white and gold napkins with their initials in glittered gold to a rainbow theme since it was a gay wedding. Now more than ever, it seemed claiming their right to marry should be acknowledged by a rainbow theme.

  Parker furrowed her brow. “Have we really?”

  “We’ll get there.”

  “Okay, so since it’s not that, tell me what it is that’s troubling you,” Parker said.

  Rascal burst through his doggie door and ran out onto the deck. He skidded to a stop and looked at them. His big brown eyes seemed to be asking a question.

  “Go ahead,” Parker said to Rascal. “Jump in the lake if that’s what you want.”

  Rascal yipped in joy then took a running head start and leapt off the dock. He paddled toward two ducks floating nearby. He played this game every day. Rascal would get close and then the ducks would fly off, keeping low to the water while he diligently swam after them. They would settle back into the water, he’d get close, and they’d fly away again.

  Amy fortified herself with a sip of wine. She knew what the outcome would be. Parker would tell Tess and there’d be drama. She spilled the beans: “Susan cosigned a loan for Carrie.”

  Parker didn’t say anything. She went inside and retrieved the bottle of wine. She topped off their glasses. She took a sip. She watched Rascal chasing after the ducks. Amy knew to keep quiet while Parker was thinking. She didn’t rush her. Parker examined things from all angles. Finally, she said, “Why didn’t Carrie ask me to cosign?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “That would’ve been the best thing to do,” Parker said.

  “Millie thought maybe Susan did it spur of the moment. Are you going to tell Tess?”

  “Susan should be the one to tell her,” Parker said.

  “What if she doesn’t, and Tess finds out some other way?”

  “There is that,” Parker said. Rascal was following the ducks toward the middle of the lake. Parker whistled and called out to him, “That’s far enough.” Rascal obediently turned around and swam back toward the dock.

  “If you were in that situation would you tell me?” Amy asked.

  “I would ask you first. We’d make the decision together. But Tess and Susan have a different kind of relationship. There’s a separateness about their relationship.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s like they can’t completely give themselves over to each other. I think most of it is Susan’s doing. Maybe she wasn’t ready for this relationship. It might have been possible that she would get back together with Carrie if Tess weren’t in the picture.”

  “Seriously?” Amy asked. It hadn’t even crossed her mind. Once she was finished with a relationship it was over. She couldn’t imagine trying to patch things up once the glow of love was gone—when the “scales fell away” from your eyes and those endearing things about your lover became the annoyances they’d always really been.

  “You’d never go back?” Parker raised an eyebrow.

  “No,” Amy said.

  “Not even for me?”

  Amy puzzled that out. What if Parker had done something, then been remorseful and promised never to do it again? She actually didn’t know what she’d do.

  “See, it’s not as simple as you think,” Parker said.

  “Is this going to get messy?” Amy asked.

  Parker downed her glass of wine like it was water. That was all the answer Amy needed.

  ***

  “What do you think?” Amy asked, as Jeb—with Clementine leaning over his shoulder—read her article, “The Great Divide.” Millie and Bernie thought it was well written and explained a lot about how the women and men in the town were doing with the newfound feminism of Fenton, a sleepy little town now in the middle of a political shitstorm.

  Clementine made hmm noises and Jeb scrunched up his face and rubbed his eyes. They both read it twice. Clementine looked up. “I think it’s brilliant.” She looked over at her husband. “Jeb?”

  “I think it’s dangerous,” he said, not looking at his wife.

  “We’ve got to get our grievances out there. If the men in town don’t understand why we are angry, why we want equitable pay, a stop to demeaning language and behavior by men toward women, there will be danger ahead,” Clementine said.

  “Oh, my god, I wish he’d never grabbed that pussy. That has to be the worst political snafu in history. It makes Bill Clinton’s peccadilloes seem tame in comparison,” he said.

  “Amy cited perfect examples of what can happen if the men in this town don’t shape up. First we had the Trump’s America graffiti written on that car, then we had the wolf whistles and sexual comments by the high school boys at Sonny’s drive-in. Those young women were so mad they actually turned over a pickup truck.” Clementine chuckled. “I wish we had a photo of that.”

  “We do. Check out YouTube. It went viral,” Jeb said.

  “We should put a link,” Amy said, scooting the paper over and marking in the margins about the add-on.

  “Show me,” Clementine said.

  Jeb reluctantly pulled the video up on his computer. Amy and Cl
ementine watched as fifteen angry high school women rocked the truck until it flipped over. The wolf-whistling boys stood by in astonishment. Amy looked at Clementine and they both burst out laughing.

  Luke came in as the women were laughing. He looked at his father. “They saw the video?”

  “Yup.” Jeb looked at his son who was wearing a light blue sundress with his combat boots. He put his head in his hands.

  Clementine stopped laughing. She hiccupped once then said, “Nice outfit, son.”

  “Thanks. Dresses and skirts are a lot more comfortable. And cooler,” Luke said. “And as a bonus, I got whistled at by the guys sitting in front of the barber shop.”

  “You weren’t offended?” Amy asked.

  “I was pleased. I have nice calves, don’t you think?” he spun around in his dress, showing off his hairy legs.

  Jeb whimpered.

  “Your father is having a difficult time with all this,” Clementine said.

  “Loosen up, Dad. It’s the 21st century,” Luke said. “Gender-fluid is cool.”

  Jeb raised his head and met his son’s eyes. “Let me get this straight… I can’t whistle at a woman, but you wear a dress, they whistle at you and you like it. Have I got that about right?”

  Luke thought about it before saying, “I like being attractive. I think men have lower self-esteem than we realize. When was the last time Mom told you that you have a nice tush? Has she even noticed that you’re using moisturizer? What about that new fancy shirt you bought that matches your eyes? Did she tell you how handsome you were when you wore it? Has she sent you flowers in the last twenty years?”

  Clementine stared at her husband. “You use moisturizer?”

  Jeb blushed. “I just felt my face was getting some dry patches. Phil, at the pharmacy, is now stocking a men’s moisturizer that has a thirty-day return policy if it doesn’t give you softer skin.” He caressed his cheek.

  “What kind of flowers do you like?” Amy asked. She did her best not to giggle as she imagined Jeb dressed in his new shirt and delightedly putting Clementine’s flowers in a vase.

  “Well, I’m partial to orchids,” Jeb said, studying Amy’s article. He added a comma.

  “Orchids?” Clementine said. “I never knew.”

  “You never asked,” Jeb muttered under his breath, looking miffed. “Why do I always have to do all the work in the romance department?”

  Luke nodded his head knowingly. He said, “Feminism isn’t just for females anymore.”

  ***

  Parker paced up and down the sidewalk outside the police station. She was there to see Rosa and talk to her about Susan. Rosa was Susan’s best friend. They had known each other since college. If anybody could deal with the ticklish loan situation, it was Rosa.

  Parker felt as if she were caught in the middle of something she couldn’t handle. This was one of those gray areas that she didn’t understand. Her brain was wired to recognize black and white, not gray. And this problem was all gray. For instance: What if Susan did love Carrie? What if they were meant to be together?

  It was all too confusing. Parker sat on the bench. Rascal whimpered and sat his doggie rump on her shoes. She hadn’t been there long when Rosa exited the building.

  Rascal barked and ran up to Rosa. “Hey, big boy. How you doing?”

  Parker stood. “I was waiting for you. For your lunch hour.”

  “What’s wrong?” Rosa asked, as she stroked Rascal’s head.

  “What makes you think there’s something wrong?”

  “Gee, I dunno,” Rosa said sarcastically. “It couldn’t be because you look worried or anything.”

  “Do I really?” Parker asked. She touched her face, as if she could feel the worry etched there.

  “Is that for me?” Rosa asked, pointing at the paper sack Parker was holding.

  “I got sandwiches at Kate’s Deli. We could go to the park. I know it’s only eleven thirty, but I have to meet with Bette at her boutique and see about picking out a garter for Amy.”

  Rosa raised her eyebrows.

  “She’s going to narrow it down for me.”

  “Are you guys ever getting married?”

  “Of course we are,” Parker said indignantly.

  “Okay, okay, I was just asking. Let me tell Clifford I’m taking an early lunch. We can go to the hidey-hole behind the courthouse. I won’t have enough time to go to Griffin Park. I have to stay close because Clifford is not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to emergency situations.”

  Rosa limped back up the stairs. Parker noted that she was getting around better these days. She only periodically used her cane now. Rosa returned and the three of them went behind the courthouse where there was a small fountain and a built-in alcove with benches made of natural stone from the small bluff behind the courthouse. Ferns and other shade-loving plants grew out of the rock and around the fountain.

  “I’d forgotten this little oasis was even here,” Parker said, taking a seat on the bench.

  Rascal was enthralled with all the new scents. He began by sniffing the perimeter of the small park and worked his way in.

  Rosa dusted off the bench with a napkin before sitting down. Her black uniform showed dirt easily. Parker removed the sandwiches from the bag. “I got you a ham and Swiss on rye,” she said, handing Rosa her sandwich. “And a kiwi-strawberry Snapple.”

  “My favorites,” Rosa said, opening her Snapple.

  “I know.” Parker removed her own sandwich and Snapple.

  “What’d you get?”

  “Pastrami,” Parker said. She took a bite.

  “Okay. What did you want to tell me?”

  “We should eat first,” Parker said. She knew she was stalling, but once Rosa found out about Susan, a perfectly good sandwich would go to waste.

  “No one died, right?” Rosa said, looking concerned.

  “Not yet. Just eat and then we’ll talk,” Parker said. She took another bite. As long as her mouth was full, she wouldn’t have to talk.

  “I’ve just started coming here for my lunch. It’s peaceful and, lord knows, I have to get away from my desk. My back is getting better though. I might get to pick up some shifts with Mike if I can convince the chief that I’m not a risk.”

  “You’re doing fine,” Parker said. She knew it was difficult for Rosa doing desk work but with time her physical condition might truly improve.

  “I know it’s a long shot,” Rosa said quietly.

  Parker changed the subject—no sense dwelling in the land of maybe. She’d found it never served much purpose except to make a person miserable about what they couldn’t have or what they’d lost. “Why do they call this the hidey-hole?” Parker asked.

  “Because back in the wild west days, a bank robber named Earl Warren Billings hid here. He’d escaped from the jail, stole a horse from the stables, put his saddle on it, and sent it running off into the night. The sheriff got a posse together and they went after him, looking high and low and they couldn’t find him because he was hiding back in here. There was a small cave behind here, but the city blocked it off years ago.”

  “Did they ever find him?” Parker asked, wadding up her sandwich wrapper.

  “Nope. While the sheriff and his posse were out, Earl snuck back into the jail, stole some clothes and a gun, and rode out of town looking more like a lawman than a thief. They never did catch up with him.”

  “Pretty smart guy,” Parker said.

  Rosa tilted her face up to feel the sun. “I miss being outside all day.”

  “This transition has been hard on you.”

  “It really has. One more year and I’ll take early retirement. Maybe I’ll take up painting watercolors again.”

  “Oh, don’t do that,” Parker said.

  “Was I really that bad?”

  “You were pretty bad.”

  Rosa laughed. “Don’t sugarcoat it on my account.” She turned and looked Parker straight in the eyes. “Okay, now spill. What’s this
news you don’t want to tell me?”

  “It’s such a nice day. Perhaps we should wait,” Parker said. “You and Steph should come out to our place. We’ll grill some steaks.”

  “You and your cooking. Steph and I have a good laugh at you and Amy,” Rosa said. She smiled.

  “Meaning?” Parker said.

  “You two are like bachelors that live together and neither of you has a clue as to how to keep house,” Rosa said.

  “I’d be hurt if it weren’t so true,” Parker said. She looked over at Rascal. He was about to leap into the fountain. “Rascal, no!”

  He looked at her, seemed to consider her command, then leapt into the fountain anyway. His love of water overcame his owner’s wishes. He looked at Parker once he was knee-deep in the fountain. He seemed apologetic.

  “Don’t give me those big, brown eyes,” Parker said. “You’re still in trouble.”

  Evidently deciding that he was already in a noncompliance situation, he happily splashed around in the fountain, taking great gulps of water.

  Rosa checked her watch. “I have to go.”

  “Come out for dinner tonight,” Parker said.

  “Are you sure? This news will wait that long?”

  Parker waved off the question. “It’s no big deal.” Over a few beers and dinner, Rosa might take this better. Besides, that way Steph would be nowhere near Carrie when she found out. She’d have a chance to cool off before she did see Carrie again. She hoped Steph wouldn’t murder her.

  “All right,” Rosa said. “We’ll bring wine.”

  “Perfect. It was nice having lunch with you,” Parker said.

  “We should do it more often,” Rosa said. She gave Parker a hug. Parker relaxed into the embrace. “You’re getting better about spontaneous affection.”

  “Yeah, Amy’s been good for me.”

  “See you tonight.”

  Parker watched Rosa limp away. Rascal jumped out of the fountain and ran up to where Parker was sitting. He shook off, and the water splashed all over Parker.

  “Thanks, Rascal. I needed that shower.”

  Rascal barked and sat his wet rump on her shoes. Parker gave him the last bite of her sandwich.