Barbara McMahon – Truth Be Told (страница 4)

“What really happened? Who beat you?” Eliza asked softly.

Jo looked at them, then shook her head. “Let me talk to Maddie first. Then I’ll tell you everything.”

“She’s at the hospital. We can go over now if you like,” April said, reaching over to grab a pillow and stuff it into a case. “Or after dinner, so we can stay and visit longer.”

“I need to go by myself,” Jo said.

The other two looked at each other and nodded.

“We know you didn’t stay with your next foster parents,” April said, tossing the pillow at the head of the bed and leaning back on the footboard. “What happened?”

Jo flipped open her ID case and lobbed it onto the center of the bed. The golden badge gleamed. Her photo on the identification card stared up at them.

“You’re a cop!” Eliza said, grabbing the ID and reading the card. “A Los Angeles police officer.” She burst out laughing and handed the card to April.

April grinned as she took it. “We all thought you might have been in jail somewhere, a criminal—not arresting criminals.”

“A criminal!” Jo felt offended.

Eliza nodded, her eyes brimming with laughter. “You were always getting into trouble—skipping school, hanging out with those guys who were bad news.”

“Hey, Josiah Heller is the one who told me about Maddie.” Not that his revelation was altruistic.

“Can you arrest whoever attacked you?” April asked, handing back the leather case.

“The statute of limitations has run out, and I’m not living in this jurisdiction. I’m here to apologize to Maddie, nothing more.” Though she had thought over the years how she’d like to make the man pay. Maybe something would come of her visit, but she didn’t have high hopes.

“Mending fences is a good thing, especially now that we’re all together again,” Eliza said. “You’ll have to stay for the fair.”

“And my wedding,” April said.

“What are you talking about?” Jo asked.

“Which, the fair or the wedding?” April asked.

“You told me about the fair. Are you really getting married that quickly?”

“As soon as Maddie’s able to attend. Doesn’t seem quick to me.”

“And everyone in the county shows up at the fair, making it the perfect place for you to show your support by helping out, and making sure anyone who asks knows Maddie never beat you,” Eliza said. “That’s even better than we planned. Since you gave the false information, you can set the record straight.”

“Like anyone is going to listen to me,” Jo muttered. No one had twelve years ago.

“I bet people in L.A. listen to you,” April said. “How else could you do your job?”

“They don’t know the situation.”

Eliza frowned. “Well, I’m thinking we don’t know it, either.”

Jo nodded. “Just let me talk to Maddie and I’ll tell you everything—if it’s okay with her.”

Jo leaned back on the pillow propped against the headboard and looked at the two women who’d once been closer to her than sisters. “So tell me all that’s been going on with you two,” she invited.

In the time before dinner Eliza filled Jo in on her move to Boston and becoming a chef. April regaled her with her account of becoming a model in Paris and then startled Jo when she told her she’d been married twice. But the biggest surprise was that she’d just discovered Maddie was her biological grandmother!

Jo listened, glad her friends’ lives had turned out so well. She would have felt far worse than she had if other lives had been ruined because of her. She’d always figured she deserved what she got, but Eliza and April hadn’t.

They were still talking when Cade arrived. Eliza dashed downstairs the moment she heard his voice, though Jo didn’t know how she could distinguish it from the voices of the construction workers.

“Jack’ll be here soon,” April said, rising. “Freshen up and come meet him.” Spontaneously, she reached over and hugged Jo. “I’m so glad you’re here!”

Jo watched April go, closing the door behind her. She was back in Maraville, but nothing was as she’d thought it would be.

How amazing to find both April and Eliza here. And both engaged to be married. When she’d allowed herself to think about them over the years, she’d always envisioned them married with the families they used to talk about having one day. In her case, she had no dreams of building a family. There was plenty to do on her job. The fact she’d never met a man she felt she could trust also played a big part in her decision. She’d leave romance to April and Eliza.

Jo went to the bathroom at the end of the hall. The construction crew had finally left. Dust wafted in the air. She peeked in the door of the room Eliza had always had and saw a new connecting bath between her room and the room she herself used to use.

She moved to the door of her old room and went in. Surprised to see everything almost as she’d left it except for the new door to the connecting bath, she studied the posters and announcements on the old bulletin board. Together they captured moments of time in a teenage girl’s life.

At last she pushed away and went to freshen up. She wasn’t that same girl. Time had moved along and so had she. After seeing Maddie, she’d have to decide if she would stay for Independence Day. Small towns had long memories. Jo knew she didn’t want to be the focus of gossip and speculation for days on end. Yet…she owed Maddie. It would be little enough to endure if the record were set straight.

Where was Allen McLennon these days? He and Maddie had been dating for several months before Jo’s attack. Maddie had believed Allen, not Jo. Was he still lording it over people? Wouldn’t the town be shocked to learn the truth about the lofty town banker?

When she entered the kitchen a short time later, Eliza was dishing up some delectable sauce and spreading it over pasta. April poured iced tea into tall glasses. Cade Bennett was setting the table. He looked older, of course, and had filled out nicely. There was another man Jo didn’t recognize, undoubtedly April’s fiancé.

“Here she is,” April said, spotting her. “Come and meet Jack.”

Introductions were made. Cade greeted her, and before long all were seated at the old table enjoying Eliza’s cooking.

Jo felt odd sitting with the two couples. Eliza and April bubbled with excitement at her arrival. Cade seemed as easygoing as always. Jack Palmer, on the other hand, studied her as if he didn’t trust her. No biggie. She was used to going it alone. And she did not begrudge Eliza or April their happiness. She just felt like a fifth wheel.

“Seen Maddie yet?” Cade asked.

“Going after dinner,” she said. “She’s still at the hospital, April said.”

Cade nodded. “Want a lift?”

“Thought I’d walk.”

“We’ve been doing a lot of that lately,” Eliza said. “It’s nice to be able to walk so many places without needing a car.”

“Be strange for an Angeleno, I expect,” Jack said.

“Right. I always drive everywhere. Usually on my Harley.”

Jack’s eyebrows rose.

“Motorcycle?” Cade asked with a grin. “Do you really have a Harley?”

She nodded. “Traffic is a bitch, so I have a bike. I can weave through the stopped cars to get to where I’m going faster.”

“Dangerous,” Eliza murmured.

Jo shrugged. “So far so good.” She was a careful driver, but liked the mobility the bike gave compared to cars in the L.A. freeway traffic. When she’d first bought the bike, it was used, and the only thing she could afford. But she didn’t need to share that—not with Jack looking like he wanted to dissect her every word.

“Tell me about Paris,” she said, hoping to turn the attention away from herself. She felt uncomfortable with everyone watching. April took the bait and Jo began to relax as she listened to her friend talk about her career, her apartment on the Left Bank, and the fun of visiting European capitals on someone else’s tab.

Dinner ended with strawberry shortcake eaten on the porch. The evening stayed light late at the end of June, and the citronella candles kept the mosquitoes at bay. Jo felt suddenly very grown-up, sitting on the porch as Maddie and some of her ladies’ club friends had done. Talking with other grown-ups. What would life have been like if that night had never happened? Once again she regretted not handling things differently. But it always got back to Maddie’s not believing her, then her anger, and her fear.

Time ticked by. Jo finished her coffee and put the cup down with a click. Conversation stopped and everyone looked at her.

“Guess I’ll be heading for the hospital.” She felt like she was heading for an execution. But she couldn’t put it off any longer.

“She’s on the second floor,” Eliza said. “She’s going to be so happy to see you.”

Jo doubted that. But this was something she needed to do. To make amends if she could, to apologize at the very least.

She headed out, enjoying the evening air. It felt strange to be walking. Even stranger to see so few cars on the road. Where she lived in L.A., she couldn’t even get to the store without driving through heavy traffic.

Jo turned onto Main Street. It looked the same, except for a few changes in storefronts. Ruby’s Café was bustling with teenagers and a handful of older folks. She’d have to stop in and have a burger before she left Maraville.