Pamela Hearon – Right Where We Started (страница 12)

Before returning to the truck, he pulled a map from the display rack and tossed it on the counter. “Can you show me where boat ramps are in these parts?” he asked the kid working the register.

The kid opened the map and grabbed a pen. “If you’re just wanting to put in, there’s a bunch all around here.” He started circling places on the map.

Trey’s eyes wandered the area of the map around Benton. The name Taylor’s Grove jumped out at him. Seeing how close it was made his heart beat fast.

See there. She’s close. Waiting for you right there.

“But, if you’re needing bait or anything, there’s several marinas that sell it.” The kid made an M over several sites, including Taylor’s Grove.

Bait. Daddy’s chuckle made him shiver. You have to use the right bait to get the one you want. You understand.

Trey nodded. “Yeah. I’m going to need some bait.”

Now you’re thinking like a man.

Trey could almost feel the slap on his back.

“Beecher’s in Taylor’s Grove would be the closest.” The teenager ran his finger along the line on the map, pointing out the road to Draffenville and the turn he would have to take to go on over to Taylor’s Grove and Kentucky Lake...and Audrey.

“Never heard of Taylor’s Grove.” He did a little subtle fishing without Daddy’s prodding. “Very big place?”

“Tiny,” the kid answered. “Don’t blink or you’ll miss it. Go to the end of town and turn left on Beecher Road. It dead-ends at the marina.”

Hear that? A tiny place. So finding out where someone lives probably wouldn’t be too hard.

Trey paid for his gas and the map and made a point of thanking the kid for his help, then he got in his truck. His stomach growled, the familiar gnaw growing too quickly to be ignored.

Time to go fishing, son. Find the highway to Taylor’s Grove. To Audrey with the silky red hair.

He obeyed and turned the truck toward the highway.

* * *

TESS RACED OUT of the school, waving a picture she’d drawn. “Can we stop to see the puppies on the way home?”

Audrey glanced at the picture—Tess’s rendition of a mother dog and three puppies. She grinned down at her daughter. “What? No ‘Hi, Mama’ or a hug?”

Tess threw her arms around her waist for a tight hug. “Hi, Mama. Can we? Please?”

“We’ll have to check with Mr. Dublin. He might have plans, so we can’t just be showing up at his house all the time.” The idea seemed so foreign to Audrey—making an appointment to go to Mark’s house. But nothing was the same as it used to be, and even sharing the responsibility of the dogs needed to be done with that in mind. She and Mark had their own separate lives and it needed to stay that way.

“Okay, let’s check.” Tess started pulling her toward the door, but before they got to it, Mark had come out to meet them. “Mr. Dublin, do you have plans?”

Mark placed his hands on his hips and gave her a serious look, but Audrey saw the mirth in his eyes.

“Well, that depends, Tess. What do you have in mind?”

“I want to see the puppies, but Mama says we can’t just be showing up at your house all the time.”

Audrey winced a little, hearing the exact words she’d said repeated almost verbatim. No telling what else Tess repeated.

“Actually, except for riding my bike and fishing some, I live a pretty dull life.” He glanced Audrey’s way and she saw the edges of his mouth twitch into a near smile that made her stomach flutter. She looked away quickly. “You and your mom are welcome to stop by anytime. If I’m home, I’ll enjoy the company, and if I’m not, I’ll be sorry I missed you.”

“See, Mama.” Tess leaned her head back, looking at Audrey upside down. “I knew it would be okay.”

“I did check on them twice today. The mother dog—”

“Cher,” Mark said.

“Cher?” Audrey questioned the odd name, but Mark nodded she’d heard correctly. “Okay, um... Cher used the bathroom both times. I think the little one is stronger than he was last night. I pulled the others away both times I was there and let him nurse by himself for a while.”

Mark nodded again. “I did that for a few minutes last night, too. He’ll catch up soon, I think, if we keep that up. Two males and a female, by the way.”

“That’s two boys and a girl, right?” Tess asked.

Mark’s smile broke full-force then as he looked down at Tess, and the muscles in Audrey’s chest tightened. “Right.” His eyes swept back up to meet Audrey’s. “I’m going to be here another half hour or so, but y’all can go ahead and stop even with me not there.” He paused, and his expression got more serious. “I left the door unlocked today, knowing you were going to be coming and going. But—” his shrug was apologetic “—with the apartment there now, I probably need to keep it locked while I’m at work. I know it seems silly, but you never know.”

“Oh, sure.”

“I’ll give you a key.”

“No,” Audrey protested. Having a key to Mark’s place seemed inappropriately intimate. “You don’t need to do that.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I don’t see any other way you can check on them during the day. And once the puppies start needing to go out...”

She had assured him raising the puppies would be a joint venture. She took a deep breath. “All right. Yeah, that’s probably the smartest thing to do.”

“I’ll give you one if you come by tonight.”

Her stomach twisted, but she nodded. “Okay.”

“Is Helen better today? Your text last night worried me.”

Was it just her imagination, or was he pulling out things to keep her talking? And were people really throwing looks their way? She glanced around just in time to wave at Sue Marsden, the town busybody, who happened to be driving by. Yep, definitely looking, and the knots in Audrey’s stomach tightened again. “She’s calmer today. We were on our way to your house last night, but she saw the willow tree and freaked out.”

“Memories.” Mark’s tone was soft with sympathy. “Strange how they affect us. When I see the tree, it always brings a smile.”

Audrey’s eyes followed Tess, who was busy trying to catch a grasshopper. “Different people, different reactions, especially when you’ve lost a child.” She shifted her eyes back and they collided with Mark’s, reading the message there. It was always going to come back to this subject, wasn’t it? No matter what they talked about, the subject of Win’s death was always going to be right there, lurking in the next sentence.

She hated that. Hated the anger weighing down the bottom of every breath she exhaled. Hated that Tess—her precious daughter and the one thing that gave meaning to her life—had never known her without the anger. What she would give for a breath—just one breath—not filtered through the pain of eleven years ago.

Her eyes filled with tears, which she blinked back.

“Audrey...” Mark touched her arm gently and she stepped back. She heard his sigh as his hands settled back on his hips. “I’m going to put the pet door in this evening.” He changed the subject to something safe. “But I think it’ll take two people—one inside and one out—to get it placed right. If your mom’s okay and y’all come after supper, maybe you could help me for a few minutes?”

“Yeah, if Mom takes her sedative and goes to bed, we’ll come down and help you.” She shrugged. “I’m never sure that will happen the way it’s supposed to, but we can hope.”

“Once I get the hole cut, I can cover it with plywood until you can get down there...whenever that might be.”

In other words, I’ll wait until you come around, his eyes said.

An involuntary warmth passed through her, and she started to smile at the sensation, but then the true source hit her and she clenched her teeth. It wasn’t a comforting warmth. It was left over from the flare of anger always burning in her, deep inside.

And it was always followed by a chill.

* * *

SEE, I TOLD you finding her would be no problem.

Trey timed his late lunch at the same time school would be getting out. She had a daughter in the first grade, so he figured she’d probably be there to pick up the kid after school, and he was right. She was talking with some guy—the kid’s teacher, most likely—but she didn’t like him. Her posture was rigid, and once when he’d touched her arm, she’d stepped quickly back.

She’d like your touch. Wouldn’t want to step back—not that you should let her even if she wants to. You have to show a woman who’s in charge.

Trey’s fingers tingled at the thought of touching Audrey’s smooth skin. He wouldn’t let them dig in. She’d probably bruise easily, she was so fair. No, he would just use his fingertips and let them glide down her face, her neck, her bare shoulders...

Trey took another small bite of the BLT from the diner, pulling his eyes away, forcing them to look in the other direction for a while. It wouldn’t do for her, or anybody else in town, to think he was watching. He’d have to be discreet and move slowly.

Some of the moms and kids were coming to the park to play on the swings. He smiled at the ones who came near. “Hi.” He gave a good-ol’-boy nod. “Afternoon.”

He took a sip of the soda and another bite of the delicious sandwich. Take-out food was a splurge, but to be able to sit in the gazebo at the park in the middle of town and see all the goings-on was worth the indulgence.