Cathy gave her a sharp look that made Sara feel like she’d been caught stealing.
“Mama,” Sara began, feeling a cold sweat coming on. “I really need to talk to you.”
“We’ll have plenty of time later, sweetheart.” Cathy looped her hand through Will’s arm as she led him down the hall. “You’re from Atlanta, my daughter tells me?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“What part? I have a sister who lives in Buckhead.”
“Uh …” He glanced back at Sara. “Poncey-Highlands, it’s near—”
“I know exactly where that is. You must live close to Sara.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Mother—”
“Later, honey.” Cathy shot her a cat’s smile as she took Will into the dining room. “This is Tessa, my youngest. Hareton Earnshaw is my brother’s boy.”
Hare gave him a look of open appraisal. “My, you’re a tall drink of water.”
“Just ignore him,” Tessa advised as she shook Will’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Will started to sit in the closest chair, and Sara felt her heart drop in panic. Jeffrey’s place.
Cathy was not completely devoid of a soul. “Let’s put you at the head of the table,” she suggested, tugging Will gently in the right direction. “I’ll be right back with your dinner.”
Sara sank down beside Will. She put her hand on his arm. “I am so sorry.”
He feigned surprise. “About what?”
“Thank you for pretending, but we don’t have much time before—” Sara jerked her hand away. Her mother was already back with a plate of food.
“I hope you like fried chicken.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Will stared down at the full plate. There was enough food for half the town.
“Sweet tea?” Cathy asked. Sara started to stand, but her mother nodded toward Tessa to fetch a glass. “Tell me how you know my daughter.”
Will held up his finger for a minute so that he could swallow a mouthful of butterbeans. “I met Dr. Linton at the hospital.”
Sara could have kissed him for his odd adherence to formality. She explained, “Mama, Agent Trent’s partner was a patient of mine.”
“Is that right?”
Will nodded, taking a healthy bite of fried chicken. Sara couldn’t tell if he was hungry or just desperate to have a reason not to speak. She chanced a look at Hare. For once in his miserable life, he was choosing to be silent.
“Is your wife in law enforcement, too?”
Will stopped chewing.
“I noticed your ring.”
He looked down at his hand. Cathy kept him trained in her sights. He chewed some more. Finally, he answered, “She’s a private investigator.”
“That must give you two a lot to talk about. Did you meet during the course of one of your investigations?”
He wiped his mouth. “This food is very good.” Tessa put a glass of tea down in front of him. Will took a long drink, and Sara wondered if he was wishing there was something stronger in the glass.
Cathy kept up her subtle pressure. “I wish my daughters had been interested in cooking, but neither one of them took to it.” She paused for a breath. “Tell me, Mr. Trent, where are your people from?”
Sara fought the urge to drop her head into her hands. “Mama, really. It’s none of our—”
“That’s all right.” Will wiped his mouth with his napkin. He told Cathy, “I was raised in state care.”
“Bless your heart.”
Will didn’t seem to know how to answer her. He took another long drink of tea.
Cathy continued, “Mr. Trent, my youngest daughter reminded me that the hotel is closed for renovations. I hope you’ll accept the offer of my home while you’re here?”
Will choked on his tea.
“There’s an apartment over the garage. I’m sorry to say it’s not much, but I wouldn’t feel right making you drive all the way over to Cooperstown in this weather.”
Will wiped the tea off his face. He looked to Sara for help.
She shook her head, helpless to stop the onslaught of her mother’s southern hospitality.
THE LINTON HOME renovation had not extended to the laundry room. Sara had to go down the stairs into the unfinished part of the basement to get some clean towels for Will. The dryer was still running when she turned on the lights. She checked the towels. They were damp.
Sara turned the dryer back on. She started up the stairs, but stopped halfway and sat down. She had been acting pretty dimwitted throughout most of the day, but she wasn’t crazy enough to offer herself up to her mother right now.
She rested her chin in her hand. Her cheeks had been beet red from the moment Cathy welcomed Will Trent into the house.
“Sis?” Tessa whispered from the top of the stairs.
“Quiet,” Sara admonished. The last thing she needed was more of her mother’s attention.
Tessa gently pulled the door to. She held one hand under her stomach and grabbed the railing with the other as she descended the stairs. “You all right?”
Sara nodded, helping Tessa sit on the stair above her.
“I can’t believe they didn’t move the laundry room upstairs.”
“Her sanctuary?”
They both laughed. As teenagers, Tessa and Sara had studiously avoided the laundry room for fear of being ordered to help out. They’d both thought they were so clever until they realized their mother was actually enjoying the lack of company.
Sara placed her hand on her sister’s stomach. “Hey, what’s this?”
Tessa grinned. “I think it’s a baby.”
Sara spanned both of her hands across the width. “You’re enormous.”
“I love it,” Tessa whispered. “You wouldn’t believe all the shit I’ve been eating.”
“You must be feeling it kick all the time now.”
“She’s going to be a soccer player.”
“She?” Sara raised an eyebrow.
“I’m just guessing. Lem wants to be surprised.”
“We could go to the clinic tomorrow.” Elliot Felteau had bought Sara’s practice, but she still owned the building. “I can just pretend I’m doing something landlord-y over by the ultrasound machine.”
“I want to be surprised, too. Besides, I think you have enough on your plate right now.”
Sara rolled her eyes. “Mother.”
Tessa chuckled. “My God, that was epic. What a shakedown!”
“I can’t believe how awful she was.”
“You kind of sprung him on her.”
“I thought …” Sara shook her head. What had she been thinking? “Hare wasn’t any help.”
“He’s taking this harder than you think.”
“I doubt that.”
“Tommy used to cut his grass, too.” Tessa shrugged. “You know how Hare is. He’s been through a lot.”
Hare had lost many friends as well as his longtime lover to AIDS, but Sara thought she was the only person in her family who remembered that his casual attitude had predated the epidemic. “I hope he didn’t embarrass Will.”
“Will took care of himself just fine.”
Sara shook her head as she thought about the mess she had made. “I’m sorry, Tess. I didn’t mean to bring all of this to your doorstep.”
“What’s ‘all this’?”
She thought about the question. “A vendetta,” she admitted. “I think I’ve finally found a way to get Lena.”
“Oh, honey, will it make a difference?”
Sara felt tears in her eyes. She didn’t fight them this time. Tessa had seen her in much worse shape before. “I don’t know. I just want …” She paused for breath. “I want her to be sorry for what she did.”
“Don’t you think she’s sorry?” Tessa tread carefully. “As awful as she is, she loved Jeffrey. She worshipped him.”
“No. She’s not sorry. She won’t even accept that she’s the reason Jeffrey died.”
“You can’t rea
lly think that she knew that bastard boyfriend of hers was going to kill Jeffrey.”
“It’s not what she wanted to happen,” Sara admitted. “But it’s what she let happen. Jeffrey would’ve never even known that the man existed but for Lena. She put him in our life. If someone throws a grenade, you don’t say they’re innocent because they never considered that it’d actually blow up.”
“Let’s not talk about her anymore.” Tessa wrapped her arm around Sara’s shoulder. “All that matters is that Jeffrey loved you.”
Sara could only nod. This was the one truth in her life. She had known without a doubt that Jeffrey had loved her.
Tessa surprised her. “Will’s nice.”
Sara’s laugh didn’t sound very convincing, even to her own ears. “Tess, he’s married.”
“He was looking at you all googly-eyed at the table.”
“That was fear you saw.”
“I think he likes you.”
“I think your hormones are making you see things.”
Tessa leaned back on the stairs. “Just prepare yourself for the first time being awful.” Sara’s look must’ve given her away. Tessa’s mouth dropped. “Oh, my God. Have you already slept with somebody?”
“Shh,” Sara hissed. “Keep your voice down.”
Tessa leaned forward. “Why am I trekking all the way to the only pay phone in Oobie Doobie to call you if you’re not gonna tell me about your sex life?”
Sara waved her away. “There’s nothing to tell. You’re right. It was awful. It was too soon and he never called me again.”
“What about now? Are you seeing anybody?”
Sara thought of the epidemiologist from the CDC. The fact that this was the first time all week that she’d really considered the man said it all. “Not really. I’ve been on a few dates, but … What’s the point?” Sara threw up her hands. “I’m never going to connect with anyone like that again. Jeffrey ruined me for everybody else.”
“You’ll never know if you don’t try,” Tessa countered. “Don’t deny yourself, Sara. Jeffrey wouldn’t want that.”
“Jeffrey wouldn’t want me to ever touch another man ever again and you know it.”
“You’re probably right.” Still, she said, “I think Will could be good for you.”
Sara shook her head, wishing Tessa would drop the subject. Even if Will was available—even if by some miracle he was interested—Sara would never date another cop again. She couldn’t have a man leave her bed every morning not knowing whether or not he would come back in one piece that night. “I told you. He’s married.”
“Now, there’s married and there’s married.” Tessa had dabbled in more than her share of trysts before settling down. She’d practically had a revolving door to her bedroom. “Where’d he get that scar on his lip?”
“I have no idea.”
“Makes you want to kiss his mouth.”
“Tess.”
“Did you know about him growing up in a home?”
“I thought you were in the kitchen when he talked about that.”
“I had my ear pressed to the door,” she explained. “He eats like the kids at the orphanage.”
“What do you mean?”
“The way he sort of wraps his arm around his plate so no one can steal his food.”
Sara hadn’t noticed, but now she realized it was true.
“I can’t imagine growing up without parents. I mean—” She laughed. “After tonight, it seems ideal, but it must’ve been hard for him.”
“Probably.”
“Ask him about it.”
“That would be rude.”
“Don’t you want to know more about him?”
“No,” Sara lied, because of course she did. She wanted to know about the scars. She wanted to know how he had entered the system as an infant and never been adopted. She wanted to know how he could stand in a room full of people and still seem completely alone.
“The kids in my orphanage are so happy,” Tessa said. “They miss their parents—there’s no question about that. But, they get to go to school. They get three meals a day, clean clothes. They don’t have to work. The other kids who still have parents are jealous.” She smoothed out her skirt. “Why don’t you ask Will what it was like for him?”
“It’s none of my business.”
“Give Mama another go at him and you’ll find out everything.” Tessa pointed her finger at Sara’s chest. “You have to admit she was at the top of her game tonight.”
“I don’t have to admit anything.”
Tessa affected their mother’s soft accent. “Tell me, Mr. Trent, do you prefer boxers or briefs?” Sara laughed, and Tessa continued, “Was your first sexual experience from a missionary position or more of a canine nature?”
Sara laughed so hard that her stomach ached. She wiped her eyes, thinking this was the first time she was actually happy to be home. “I’ve missed you, Tess.”
“I’ve missed you, too, Sissy.” Tessa struggled to stand. “But right now, I’d better go to the bathroom before I pee in my pants from all this laughing.” She made her way up the stairs, taking them one tread at a time. The door closed softly behind her.
Sara stared into the basement. Her mother’s rocking chair and lamp were in a corner by a small window. The ironing board was out, ready to be used. Plastic containers along the back wall held all of Sara and Tessa’s childhood mementos, at least the ones that her mother deemed worth keeping. Yearbooks, school photos, report cards, and class papers filled two boxes for each girl. Eventually, Tessa’s baby would get her own box. She would have baby shoes and flyers from school plays and piano recitals. Or soccer trophies, if Tessa got her way.
Sara couldn’t have children. An ectopic pregnancy while she was in medical school had taken away her ability. She’d been trying to adopt a child with Jeffrey, but that dream had disappeared the day he’d died. He had a son somewhere, a brilliant, strong young man who had never been told that Jeffrey was his real father. Jeffrey was just an honorary uncle, Sara an honorary aunt. She often thought about reaching out to the boy, but the decision was not hers. He had a mother and father who had done a very good job of raising him. Ruining that, telling him he had a father he could never talk to, seemed like an act of cruelty.
Except where Lena was concerned, Sara had an intense aversion to inflicting cruelty.
The dryer buzzed. The towels were ready enough, considering she had to walk outside in the pouring rain. She put on her jacket and left the house as quietly as she could. Outside, the rain had turned into a drizzle again. She glanced up at the night sky. Even with the dark clouds, she could see the stars. Sara had forgotten what it was like to be away from the lights of the city. The night was as black as coal. There were no sirens or screams or random gunshots piercing the air. There were only crickets and the occasional howl of a lonely dog.
Sara stood outside Will’s door, wondering if she should knock. It was late. He might have already gone to sleep.
He opened the door just as she turned around. Will certainly wasn’t looking at her all googly-eyed, as Tessa had stated. If anything, he seemed distracted.
“Towels,” she told him. “I’ll just leave them with you.”
“Wait.”
Sara held up her hand to keep the rain from pelting her in the eyes. She found herself staring at Will’s mouth, the scar above his lip.
“Please come in.” He stepped back so she could walk through the door.
Sara felt an unexplained wariness. Still, she went inside. “I am so sorry about my mother.”
“She should teach a class on interrogation at the academy.”
“I cannot apologize enough.”
He handed her one of the clean towels to wipe her face. “She loves you very much.”
Sara hadn’t expected his response. She supposed a man who had lost his mother at such a young age had a different perspective on Cathy’s obtrusiveness.
“Did you ever—” Sara stopped. �
�Never mind. I should let you get to sleep.”
“Ever what?”
“I mean …” Sara felt her cheeks redden again. “Were you in foster homes? Or …”
He nodded. “Sometimes.”
“Good ones?”
He shrugged. “Sometimes.”
Sara was thinking about the bruise on his belly—not a bruise at all, but something far more sinister. She had seen her share of electrical burns in the morgue. They left their own distinct mark, like a dusting of gunpowder that got under the skin and never washed away. The dark branding on Will’s body had faded with time. He’d probably been a child when it happened.
“Dr. Linton?”
She shook her head by way of apology. Instinctively, her hand went to his arm. “Can I get you anything else? I think there’s some extra blankets in the closet.”
“I’ve got some questions for you. If you have a few minutes?”
She had forgotten the reason she’d come up here in the first place. “Of course.”
He indicated the couch. Sara sank into the old cushion, which nearly swallowed her. She looked around the room, seeing it as Will might. There was nothing fancy about the space. A galley kitchen. A tiny bedroom with an even tinier bathroom. The shag carpet had seen better days. Buckled wood paneling covered every vertical surface. The couch was older than Sara. And it was big enough for two people to comfortably lie down on, which was why Cathy had moved it from the den to the upstairs apartment when Sara turned fifteen. Not that Sara had boys lining up to lie on the couch with her, but Tessa, three years younger, had.
Will put the towels on the kitchen counter. “Can I get you some water?”
“No, thank you.” Sara indicated the apartment. “I’m so sorry we couldn’t offer you better accommodations.”
He smiled. “I’ve stayed in a lot worse.”
“If it’s any consolation, this is actually nicer than the hotel.”
“The food’s better anyway.” He gestured toward the opposite end of the couch. There was really nowhere else for him to sit. Still, he asked, “May I?”
Sara bent her legs up underneath her as he sat on the edge of the cushion. She crossed her arms, suddenly aware that they were alone in the same room together.
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