by Amy Lillard
“See you about dinnertime?”
Elizabeth nodded and watched him walk away.
“You still love him.” Holly touched her arm and brought her around.
“Yeah,” she admitted. “But he doesn’t love me.” She brushed back the tears that stung her eyes.
“I beg to differ.”
Elizabeth shook her head. JD had vowed never to get married again. He had tried to keep her and Mallory apart and denied a relationship at every turn. “Maybe,” she said. “But not enough.”
****
Elizabeth did her best to keep Mallory and her friends in sight as she wandered around the carnival. Holly tried several times to get her to admit to a relationship brewing between her and JD, but she refuted each claim.
Elizabeth bought a couple of jars of raspberry pepper jelly for Nathan as part of his Christmas present and a hand-crafted silver bracelet for Charlie. The pounded metal set with inlaid turquoise stones seemed to suit her vagabond brother’s eclectic style. She also found earrings made out of recycled, vintage glass for her sisters. The styles were varied enough that she found something for all four of them.
“Bethie Grace, Bethie Grace.” She pocketed her change and took the sack from the vendor as Mallory came running up.
“Oh, to have the energy of a fourteen year old,” Holly quipped.
Elizabeth smiled and gave the girl her full attention. “Are you ready to go?”
Mallory came to a screeching halt. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Amber wants me to come to her house. Please, please, please.” She took Elizabeth’s hand into her own and bounced on her toes. “Dad lets me go over there all the time. He won’t care.”
“Is it okay with Amber’s mother?”
“Yup.”
“Let me just talk to her to make sure.”
“She’s busy.” Mallory pointed toward the concession stand where Candy stood talking to Suzanne Whittlemire.
Candy looked up, and Elizabeth caught her gaze. She pointed to Mallory, then back to Candy who nodded her consent.
“Fine,” Elizabeth said. The girls were friends. She could see no harm in letting them visit while they all waited for JD to return with Rosie. “Go on ahead. You still have my phone number if you need me, right?”
To Mallory’s credit, she didn’t roll her eyes. She simply nodded her head. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she gushed before squeezing her hand and disappearing into the crowd.
Elizabeth and Holly shook their heads at the vigor of youth, then went in search of one last corn dog before heading home.
****
All in all it was a good day, but she couldn’t let it get the best of her.
Elizabeth tossed her purse onto the bureau by the door and pulled off her cowboy boots. She wished things could be different, that she could stay in Loveless, but what future was there in that? JD never wanted to get married again, and although she hadn’t given marriage much thought in the past few years, now the idea was intriguing. How long could they go on being ‘just friends,’ pretending there wasn’t something more between them? How long before one of them got hurt?
She sighed and made her way to the kitchen for a drink. Propping one hip on the edge of the cabinet she stared out the window above the sink to the backyard and the big apple tree her grandfather had planted before she was born.
The tree had never grown any fruit since central Texas weather was way too warm, but he’d had big hopes for the tree and the many pies it would produce. That was her grandfather, always dreaming. She supposed that was where she got her ability to look toward the future, but a future with JD looked like a long shot indeed.
She rinsed out her glass, determined to make the best of what she had. She had her health, her restaurant, good friends here in Texas. Maybe she would come back from time to time to go out with her high school buddies, to see JD. Perhaps a yearly visit to Loveless would help keep her centered and remembering the important things in life.
Her cell phone chimed from the other room. Elizabeth hurried to get it, barely noticing it was Mallory on the other end before answering. “Hello?”
“Bethie Grace?” Her voice sounded small and hesitant.
Elizabeth’s heart pounded in her chest. “What’s wrong?”
The young girl took a heaving breath. “Can you come get me?”
“Of course.” Elizabeth tucked the phone under her chin and started pulling on her boots. “From Amber’s house?”
“Uh…not exactly.”
Elizabeth stopped. “What do you mean not exactly?”
“I’m at the river.”
A hundred scenarios went through her head. “What are you doing down there?”
“Can you just come and get me?”
Elizabeth palmed her keys and headed for the door. “I’ll be right there.”
The drive to the river seemed to take forever. It never seemed like that long of a trip when she was in high school sneaking down there to be alone with JD. Or maybe it was the urgency and tremble in Mallory’s voice that heaped worry upon worry onto her shoulders.
True to her word, Elizabeth found Mallory in the abandoned parking lot that used to belong to a bait shop. The building was no longer standing, but the strip of asphalt was still there.
Mallory was alone, arms wrapped around her middle as she waited for Elizabeth to approach. How did she get way out here, and why was no one with her?
Elizabeth supposed the fundraiser in town had most of the kids busy elsewhere, but that didn’t explain why the young teen was out here all by herself.
A wave of dread washed over her. Her hands shook as she turned the car into the lot.
Mallory was reaching for the passenger door before Elizabeth even got the car in park. “I’m so glad to see you,” she said on a rush, climbing in and slamming the door shut. “Why are we just sitting here?”
Elizabeth took a deep breath to calm herself before she turned to Mallory. “We’re not leaving until I know what happened here.”
“Nothing happened.” Mallory dropped her gaze to her lap, suddenly acutely interested in the hem of her jean shorts.
“O-kay. How did you get here?”
Mallory shrugged.
“Mallory Carmichael, you need to tell me what’s going on this instant.”
“It’s Mallory Jane.”
“What?” Elizabeth asked.
“My name is Mallory Jane. I figure if you’re going to use my full name like a mother, you should at least have it all.”
“You are deflecting the situation.” Elizabeth shook her head. “What were you doing out here all alone?”
“I wasn’t alone the whole time.”
“I gathered that much. How did you get out here?”
“Joni Morales and some other girls.”
“Who’s that?”
Mallory shrugged one shoulder. “Just some girls from school.”
“And Amber?”
Mallory shook her head.
“What were you doing out here?” Elizabeth asked again.
“I dunno.” Mallory tucked her chin into her chest and rubbed at a spot on her arm. “They told me Jeremy wanted to meet me out here.”
“What?” Elizabeth yelled, then lowered her voice before continuing. “You are supposed to be at Amber’s.”
Mallory stared at her knees. “I know,” she whispered.
“How about you start at the beginning and tell me everything.”
“I lied to you.”
“I’m aware.”
Mallory’s gaze swung to her. “You know?”
“I may not be a parent, but I’m not stupid. Though I’m feeling pretty dumb for trusting you.”
“I’m sorry.” Tears filled her eyes. “I just…I wanted to go to the movies with him so bad, and Dad kept saying no.”
“So you told me you were going to Amber’s so you could meet him at the movies?”
“Yes.”
“Then how’d you get way ou
t here?”
“When I got to the theater, Joni Morales said that Jeremy was looking for me and that he and some other boys were coming here.”
“And Joni Morales?”
“Brought me out here so I could see him.”
Elizabeth searched her face, her eyes running over her from the top of her head to the ends of her bright green painted toenails. “Did he…?”
“Oh, no.” Mallory shook her head, her ponytail swishing over her shoulder with the action. “He wasn’t even here.”
“And…”
“The girls got back in Joni’s car and left.”
Even as worried as she had been, Elizabeth was grateful. “Do you realize how dangerous this was? Aside from the lying, coming way out here to meet a boy…he could have…” She couldn’t say the words. “He could have really hurt you.”
“Jeremy would never do that.”
“You might not think so, Mal, and you may be right. But the best plan is to never put yourself in that situation to find out. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” Mallory whispered, head down.
“Promise me you will never do this again.”
“I promise.”
Elizabeth hesitated for a second, then put the car in reverse and started out of the parking lot.
She tried not to let her mind travel through all of the scenarios that could have happened and instead concentrated on the fact that Mallory was fine and well, and none the worse for the lesson she had learned.
“You’re not going to tell my dad are you?”
“Do you expect me to lie to him?” Elizabeth countered in her best mother-to-a-teenager voice.
“No.” Mallory twisted her fingers into the fabric of her shirt. “But you don’t have to tell him anything.”
Elizabeth was just about to launch into the perils of lying by omission when she turned down Lady Bird Lane. JD’s truck was parked in front of her grandmother’s house. With a quick look at Mallory, she pulled the rental into the drive and cut the engine. “I’m not going to tell him anything,” she said.
Mallory immediately perked up, her lips curving into a disbelieving smile. “You’re not?”
“Nope.” Elizabeth shook her head. “You are.”
Chapter Fourteen
“You what?”
Elizabeth wrapped her fingers around JD’s arm and pulled him back onto the sofa next to her. They had all gathered in her grandmother’s living room to talk. JD unwilling to even think about going home until he knew the whole truth. “Now is not the time to lose your head,” she said.
“I can’t think of a better one,” he groused, but remained seated. “Do you know how foolish that was? How very stupid?”
Mallory dropped her chin to her chest. “Bethie Grace already told me that.”
“Well, I’m going to keep telling you that until you understand it completely. I don’t ever want to hear of you pulling a stunt like this. What am I saying? You’re not going to have the opportunity because you are grounded until you’re thirty.”
Mallory was on her feet in a second. “That’s not fair.”
“Doesn’t matter. That’s the way it is.”
“Ugh,” she growled, then flopped back into the wingback chair.
“You are a very lucky lady,” Rosie chimed in.
“Bethie Grace already told me that too.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
JD turned his gaze to Elizabeth, then he looked back to his daughter. “Mallory, give me your phone, then go wait in the truck.”
“But—”
“In the truck. Rosie, you, too.”
“Si.” Rosie stood and pulled the pouting Mallory to her feet. His daughter reluctantly handed over her prized possession, then together they walked to the door.
Mallory stopped and turned back toward Elizabeth. “I’m sorry I lied to you, Bethie Grace.”
“I know,” she said around the lump in her throat.
“Thanks for coming to get me tonight.”
“Anytime,” she replied as Rosie steered the teen from the house.
Once the door closed behind them, JD shoved his hands in his pockets and blew out a heavy breath. “When I think about what could have happened…”
Elizabeth stood and went to stand next to him. “I am so sorry.” The words were heartfelt and truthful, but despite her sincerity they were empty at best. So many things could have happened to a young girl alone with a boy. Especially when no one even knew they were together.
JD shook his head. “It’s not your fault.”
She couldn’t stop the tears that stung her eyes. “I guess I’m not cut out to be a parent.” Good thing JD had no intentions of marrying her. She would make a lousy step-mother.
“They don’t come with instructions, you know.”
Elizabeth smiled and blinked back her tears. “How did you do it?” she asked. “How did you raise her all by yourself?”
“The grace of God and a lot of luck,” he said simply.
“You are amazing.” And she meant it. He had always been a great person, but he had turned into a fantastic man and an even better father.
He turned a little red around the ears. “See you tomorrow?”
“I would like that.” She smiled and followed him to the door.
“Great.” He swooped down and planted a quick kiss on her lips. “Until then,” he said, then he was gone.
****
JD rubbed his hand over the back of his neck to alleviate some of the tension brewing there, but the action was ineffectual at best. He pulled his truck into the garage and cut the engine.
“You, young lady,” he said, pointing to his daughter. “You need to get in the shower and get ready for tomorrow.” Concern and disbelief had quickly turned into anger. So many emotions in such a short period of time had left him drained. And he still had to deal with Rosie.
“Yes, sir,” she replied.
At least she had learned something from the evening’s debacle.
They all got out of the truck and went into the house.
“Upstairs. Now,” he said to Mallory.
She flounced off without a word.
JD made his way into the family room, Rosie not far behind. He collapsed into the armchair, then braced his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands.
“I’m not sure I can do this by myself,” he said as Rosie eased down onto the couch opposite him.
“Bethie Grace handled the situation nicely, don’t you think?”
Something in her voice stilled him. He quit trying to rub the tension from behind his eyes and turned his attention to the woman more like a mother to him than his own had been. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying, mijo, that you are only alone because you have chosen to be.”
Her words hit him like a wet sock to the face. As much as he hated to admit it, Rosie was right. He was alone because that was the way he had deemed it to be.
“It doesn’t have to be this way,” she said quietly.
He raised his head unable to decipher what she was trying to tell him through the swirling mist of her earlier insight. “It’s the best way,” he finally managed.
Rosie made an irritated sound low in her throat. “How can it be the best? All I see is two people who love each other having to be apart. No, mijo, that is never best for anyone.”
He didn’t bother denying that he was in love with Bethie Grace McGee. “It’s a sacrifice I have to make.”
She shook her head. “You are as stubborn as your father. He made those same sacrifices and see how well that turned out? Find your happiness and the love you deserve. Life’s too short to do anything less.”
****
Rosie’s words haunted him all through the night. He lay in bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to get a handle on his whirling emotions. He did love Bethie Grace. He had been lying to himself about his feelings since he had first seen her standing in her grandmother’s yard looking like an adolescent d
ream all grown up.
And since he was finally being honest with himself, he had to admit that he had always been in love with her, never stopped loving her for a minute, even though miles and years separated them.
He sat up and punched his pillow into a better shape, then collapsed back down.
He loved Bethie Grace McGee. And she loved him. But what good did it do either one of them? He wasn’t going to leave Loveless. He had a daughter to raise, and it surely wouldn’t be in a city the size of Los Angeles. It was hard enough to keep her safe in their tiny Texas town.
Bethie Grace had a life in California. A restaurant that was soon to be hers. Hard won visions that she was making her reality. He couldn’t see a place for him in those dreams.
Regardless of the truth in Rosie’s observations and the love he felt for the girl he’d known his whole life, too many obstacles stood in their way. Too many to count, too many to overcome.
****
“Do I have to go?” Mallory asked the next morning over her eggs and toast. It was sure good to have Rosie back. JD knew she wouldn’t stay, but he loved having her home for however long.
Why was it that two of the three people he cared about the most in the world were determined to leave him?
“You don’t want to go to church?” JD said without looking up from the Sunday paper.
“I don’t feel very good.”
Code: I’m embarrassed about what happened yesterday.
“Suit yourself.” He shrugged. “I’m picking up Bethie Grace, and afterwards I need to have a chat with a certain young man.”
Mallory’s fork crashed onto her plate with a metallic clatter. “Dad. No. You can’t say anything to him.”
“I can, and I will.”
“Da-ad. You’ll embarrass me.”
He pointed toward her plate. “Finish your breakfast.”
Mallory ducked her head and stirred her eggs. “Now I really don’t feel good.”
“Didn’t you learn anything about lying yesterday?”
With a frustrated sigh, she started to eat. JD wondered again how he was going to do this alone. Mallory was willful and headstrong, a lot like another girl he once knew.
“You’re not mad at Bethie Grace, are you?”