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Matt stood, breaking the spell, and gathered his trash. She thought she saw him wince.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, but Chastity and I have to go if we want to be on time. Tardy bell’s at seven fifteen.”
Rachel took a mental step back, suddenly overpowered by Matt’s presence, the memories and regret. “Thanks for...all this.”
“That’s what neighbors are for. We look out for our own. Chastity, let’s go,” he called out. “I’ll be in the truck.”
The front door closed behind him, and Chastity thundered out with a “See ya” thrown over her shoulder.
“Wait. Do you need lunch money or anything?”
She stopped. “Yeah.”
Rachel dug in her purse, handed Chastity some cash, then watched the pair drive away. Looking out for one’s own, Matt called it. He had no idea.
Then the emptiness of Hope’s house enveloped her. This had never been Rachel’s home, but it had been as close to one as she’d ever gotten. And she had to let it go.
* * *
JOHNSTONVILLE HAD GROWN, but there was still only one grocery store, and her shopping excursion was every bit as uncomfortable as she’d expected. Fellow customers studied her as if she were a new strain of bacteria in the petri dish.
A few women spoke to her, but mostly they watched in silence through narrowed eyes. It was almost as if they expected her to strip naked and dash through the aisles or, at the very least, open packages and start eating before she paid for the goods. The latter she’d done back in the day. The former she hadn’t, although she’d been tempted—just to see if the manager’s bad toupee would fall off when he chased her out of the store.
“Why, Rachel Bishop, I do declare.”
Rachel identified the sacchariney sweet Southern drawl and cringed. Debra Sue Jensen, one of the girls who’d done their best to make Rachel’s time here miserable. The nasty rumors Debra Sue and her besties had thrived on had only increased once Rachel had caught Matt’s attention. Wishing she could ignore her and walk away, Rachel instead pasted on a polite smile and turned to face the debutante witch of Johnstonville High.
“Hello, Debra Sue.”
“What a surprise to see you back in town.” She sneered at Rachel’s wrinkled clothing as if she knew it had come off the laundry room floor. “That’s a new look for you. Isn’t it?”
Rachel bit her tongue on a waspy comeback. She’d decided to wear her own dirty clothes rather than an outfit Matt had bought for her sister. But she couldn’t help feeling at a distinct disadvantage next to the Barbie doll perfection of her old nemesis.
“And you haven’t changed a bit.” Debra Sue was still a bitch who dressed like the beauty contestant she’d once been. How many other women donned four-inch heels and a designer outfit to buy a loaf of bread?
“I hear you’re Chastity’s guardian now? But then I guess Hope didn’t really have a choice, what with your parents gone and no man of her own. But for that poor child to be thrust upon a stranger—”
Anger sparked like flint. “I’m not a stranger. I’m her aunt.”
“I’m sure Hope thought she was doing what was best for Chastity to leave her with family, but—”
“She was. I couldn’t love Chastity more if she were mine, and I’ll always do my best for her. Hope knew that.”
A stenciled eyebrow rose. “Let’s hope your best is good enough. It never used to be.” With that parting salvo, Debra Sue hiked her nose in the air, pivoted on her fancy heels and stalked off, leaving Rachel with a stranglehold on her temper and her shopping cart.
People like Debra made lingering in Johnstonville impossible. If that gossipmonger even suspected the truth, she’d spread her tales far and wide, not caring that Chastity could be hurt in the process.
Rachel would have to pack the essentials and hustle Chastity back to Atlanta by the end of the week. Sometime this summer they’d come back, finish packing and put the house on the market. Chastity might hate it in the short run, but in the long run it was better than the truth getting out and imploding her world. If that happened, Chastity would lose her mother all over again, and she would hate Rachel.
* * *
DETERMINED TO USE the empty house to her advantage, Rachel dug out her phone and dialed her supervisor.
“Hey, Rachel, which time zone are you in?”
“Same one as you, Marcia. I’m in North Carolina. My sister...passed away.”
“So that’s why the hospital called looking for you. I’m sorry, Rachel. What happened?”
“A car accident. Single vehicle versus tree. Speed and alcohol were not factors.” She relayed the words the police officer had told her in a matter-of-fact tone and recognized what she was doing—distancing herself from the horrific event. She did a lot of that in her line of work.
“Is there anything I can do?”
Nervousness churned Rachel’s stomach. “Actually, I need your help finding an apartment or a house to rent by Friday. Any chance you know of one in an area with good schools?”
“Schools?”
“I gained custody of my...niece.”
“Wow. How old is she?”
“Chastity’s thirteen going on thirty. Do you think the school your kids go to would take her?”
“Hmm. It is a rotten time to transfer a kid with final exams just weeks away, but given your situation and a few letters of recommendation from the staff here who have kids already enrolled, they probably would. I’ll ask around about housing, and I’ll text you the school’s contact info.”
“That would be great.”
“If the private school can’t help you, then the public schools in my area are pretty good. You’re still coming back Monday, right?”
“That’s the plan. Thanks, Marcia. I’ll be in touch.” Rachel disconnected. Getting out of Johnstonville ASAP was critical. But she dreaded Matt’s and Chastity’s reactions to her plan.
* * *
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Chastity asked from the doorway, her wide eyes fixed on the dozen cardboard boxes Rachel had picked up at the hardware store on the way back from the grocer’s.
Rachel’s heart skipped a beat. She hadn’t heard a car drive up. Was Matt here? She glanced out and saw a minivan pulling away from the curb. “I’m getting ready to pack. Want to help?”
“No.”
Rachel sat back on her haunches and sighed. “Chastity, I need your input on what you want to take with you right now. We’ll have to come back this summer for the rest.”
“You said we could stay here.” She thrust out her bloodred bottom lip.
“No. I said I’d think about staying temporarily. And I did. But it won’t work.” Rachel rose and crossed the room. She reached out to smooth Chastity’s over-teased hair, but the teen shied away. “My boss needs me to get back to work.”
“You can be a nurse in Johnstonville.”
“There are no helicopter crews here. I love the job I have and my team.”
“I’ll stay here.”
“That’s not an option. I thought you were excited about house-hunting and shopping. You’ll make new friends. The schools are really good in Atlanta and—”
“I like Johnstonville. I like my school.”
“Of course you do. They’re familiar and comfortable, but there are new and exciting adventures around the corner.”
“I don’t want adventures.”
Rachel’s frustration spiked. Her hands were tied. “We can’t stay here. I know transitions are hard, but we’ll make it work. You’ve always loved Atlanta.”
“If I move now I’ll be the new kid. I won’t know anyone. Don’t you remember how much you hated it when your parents moved you to new schools all the time? You’re turning into them.”
Rachel flinched at the direct hit. “You’ll only move once.”
“Then I’ll have to start a new high school in the fall. That’s two new schools in only a few months.”
True. Rachel sighed. “Chas—”
“I want to graduate middle school here with my friends. Can’t you wait until school’s out? Then I won’t be the only new kid when I start high school.”
“I can’t get five more weeks off work. I’ve already been gone almost four.”
“Have you even tried?”
Rachel hesitated. “There’s a shortage of Life Flight nurses because of the additional training and certifications required. I can’t leave my team in the lurch. It’s not fair to them.”
“It’s not fair to me to make me move now. We have a lot to do here. If we stay this summer we can take our time and do it right. And we won’t have to come back.”
She applauded Chastity’s mature logic, but she couldn’t risk staying. “We’re leaving for Atlanta Friday morning. We can visit the schools that afternoon and start house-hunting on Saturday.”
“You can’t make me go. I’ll stay with the Weavers. They said I was welcome. They’re my real family. They’ve been here for me through everything. You haven’t been around for five years. And you’re only here now ’cuz Mom’s dead, and you don’t have a choice.” Chastity whirled and raced outside. The screen door slammed behind her.
Rachel started after her, then stopped. Chastity needed time to calm down. Weighed down by guilt, she slumped into a kitchen chair. Every word Chastity had screamed had touched an exposed nerve. Rachel was nothing like her parents. Other than her working vacations abroad she was stable, established and involved in the same community year after year.
She knew what it was like to be torn away from friends and dumped into a situation where you were the odd one out. Her parents’ missionary work had meant moving from one assignment to the next whenever the call came. Rachel’s happiness had never been a consideration.
Hope’s offer to let Rachel spend her senior year in the same place and attend the same American high school had been a blessing. But Rachel had sabotaged herself when she’d discovered her pregnancy in early February. Rather than face the scandal in Johnstonville, Hope had packed them up and moved to Atlanta. In the impersonal metropolis, Rachel had finished her last semester of school the way she’d done every previous year—among strangers. Then she’d given birth to her baby girl.
Throughout Rachel’s pregnancy Hope had pointed out repeatedly that having a baby out of wedlock was the one sin their parents would never forgive and had urged Rachel not to tell them. Then her preachy sister had shocked and humbled her by offering to claim Rachel’s baby and raise it as her own. At the time, adoption had seemed like the best solution. At least she’d get to see her baby grow up.
With her parents living overseas, there had been little chance of them uncovering the truth. And then when they’d died right before Chastity’s birth, Rachel had taken the coward’s way out and let Hope clean up her mistake. She’d never ceased to regret it.
And now her weakness then was coming back to haunt her.
Protecting Chastity and giving her time to graduate in Johnstonville were mutually exclusive goals. She’d talk to Chastity, and they’d work it out. The teen would come around. She had to.
* * *
FIGHTING PANIC, RACHEL took another lap around the den, then paused by the phone and stared at the number written on the pad. Matt’s number. She didn’t want to call him. But Chastity had been gone five hours, and driving around town had turned up no sign of her.
Matt was the only one who could help her. It shamed her that he knew more about her own daughter than she did. Heart thumping with dread, she reached for the phone.
Headlights hit the front window, and her pulse lurched. Would it be the police with Chastity or news of her? Specters of Rachel’s past—all the times she’d put Hope through hell—danced in her head. She raced to the door and yanked it open. Chastity, scowling ferociously, stormed past her. Relief and anger, along with a mess of other emotions, tumbled through Rachel.
“Let her go,” Matt said from the steps, adding to Rachel’s turmoil. “I’ve already given her an earful about running off.”
Torn between going after her daughter and following Matt’s advice, she asked, “Where has she been?”
“Hiding out with Jessica. My sister called me. Chastity claims you’re leaving for Atlanta Friday.”
“I have a job and bills to pay. I have to get back.”
“You don’t own a car. You live in the slums. What kind of bills could you possibly have?”
Apparently Chastity had given him an earful, too. “I pay utilities like everyone else. I also have student loans and a retirement plan that are directly withdrawn from my account monthly. Not that it’s any of your business.”
“You can take four weeks off to go globe-trotting and care for strangers, but you can’t take five weeks for your own niece? What’ll it take to convince you to put her needs ahead of yours? That’s what parenting is about.”
He didn’t know what he was asking and didn’t understand that she was putting Chastity’s welfare first. And she couldn’t tell him the truth because it would destroy so many lives—his included.
“I’m out of vacation time.”
“Then use your sick days or take a leave of absence. She’ll only run away if you drag her to Atlanta. Pam heard her plotting with Jess. Are you willing to risk that?”
At the shelter, Rachel often worked with young girls who’d been living on the streets. Some were runaways. Some had been forced into prostitution via drugs. The churning in her stomach told her Matt was right. She would have to choose the lesser evil.
Against her better judgment she would have to stay in Johnstonville until she could convince Chastity that moving would be a good thing.
She hoped she didn’t live to regret it.
CHAPTER FOUR
RACHEL ROLLED OUT of bed before sunup. Tension knotted her neck muscles, and her skull felt tight—the precursor of a migraine if she didn’t intervene.
Committing to five more weeks in Johnstonville seemed like taking the first step on a very slippery slope. It meant risking her secret getting out. It meant seeing Matt. Her stomach swooped.
She had an hour before she had to wake up Chastity. That gave her plenty of time for a run to shake off the sense of doom hanging over her.
Her tank with the built-in bra and shorts with the sewn-in panty were the norm by Atlanta standards, yet who knew what was acceptable here? But she’d left her sweatpants with the village women, and she refused to wear Hope’s clothes again. Her shorts and tank top would have to do.
She yanked her hair into a ponytail and peeked in on Chastity. Her heart tugged. Chastity looked so innocent with her cheeks flushed and hair spread across the pillow. But she had Rachel’s short fuse—a lesson learned last night.
In the kitchen, Rachel scratched out a note and stuck it to the refrigerator before stepping outside to work the kinks from her limbs. Staying in Johnstonville was akin to sweating the incubation period after exposure to a dreaded disease. She would hope for a good prognosis, knowing full well that any hour a full-blown disaster could strike.
She finished her warm-up, then headed down Hope’s driveway. If it weren’t for Chastity, Rachel would donate everything her sister had owned, put the house up for sale and be gone by noon.
She couldn’t let the teen control her with threats of running away. But how could she tell whether Chastity was bluffing or serious? She and Chastity definitely had a few bugs to work out of their relationship.
Rachel’s soles slapped the asphalt as she tried to outrun her fears. The burn in her chest pulled her head out of the what-ifs. She stepped onto the grassy shoulder of the road, propped her palms on her knees and struggled to catch her breath. Scanning her surroundings beneath the pinkening sky, she realized she had no idea where she was. None of the landmarks were familiar. How far had she run? She hadn’t a clue, but she knew her pace had been too fast. How many turns had she taken? Two rights and a left? Or the opposite?
Great. She was lost. And she’d left her cell phone at home. She didn’t want Chastity to leave for school without seeing her—especially not after last night’s debacle.
The sound of fast footfalls caught her attention. Optimistically, she glanced up. Maybe the fellow jogger could give her directions. Then she recognized the runner—Matt—and groaned. He kept catching her at her worst. Not that she cared what she looked like since she wasn’t trying to impress anyone—especially him. But at least she’d shaved her legs.
He, on the other hand, looked fit and fabulous, of course. He reached her side. Blue eyes scorched over her, kicking her pulse rate back into the danger zone. “Good morning, Rachel. You okay?”
“’Morning. I’m fine. Just working in some exercise.”
He wore a tank and track pants. The damp fabric clung to an abundance of taut, tanned, muscled flesh and revealed impressive biceps. Golden chest hair showed above his neckline. The memory of how ticklish he’d been when she used to tease the silky strands beneath his arms and raked her nails over his rib cage blindsided her. Trying to banish the mental images of his bronzed body, she bent to stretch her tightening hamstrings.
“I’m glad I ran into you. My parents would like you and Chastity to come over after church Sunday.”
Rachel jerked upright, her gaze hitting his in surprise and dismay. How could she look Matt’s parents in the eye knowing she’d denied them their grandchild? “I don’t think—”
“Mom insists. Besides, Chastity always enjoys our cookouts. Pam’s and Jake’s herds will be there.”
Rachel vaguely remembered Matt’s siblings. “Pam and Jake have kids?”
“Pam has three. Jake has two. They’d appreciate the company to even the numbers for volleyball and touch football.”
Chastity had cousins. Cousins she could never claim. Guilt landed another punch in Rachel’s solar plexus. “I’ll check with Chastity.”
“It’s just lunch, Rachel. She already eats half her meals with Pam’s daughter, Jessica.”
Ahh, Jessica from last night. “Is this the same Jess who drives her mom’s car?”
“Only on the family farm. Can I tell Mom you’ll be there? Or do I need to send her over to invite you?”
She didn’t want that. “Yeah...we’ll be there.”
“One o’clock.” Matt looked as if he were waiting for her to move on.
She shifted in her shoes, reluctant to reveal her stupidity. She hated it even more when his gaze meandered over her sweat-soaked body again, making her feel as naked as she’d been the day she’d realized she loved him. “I’m, ah...not sure where I am. Could you give me directions?”
She gave him points for not laughing. “This is Barnhill’s Dairy Road. It’s been paved since you lived here, and neighborhoods have replaced pastures. But you’ve been down this road before. It leads to the creek.”
Where they’d often made out in his truck. Her cheeks burned. “Gotcha.”
“Go to the end of the street. Take the next two lefts. That’ll get you back to Hope’s.”
“Thanks.”
“You sure you’re okay?”
“Yes.”
“You have water?” He offered his bottle.
She didn’t. “I’m good, Coach.”
“Rachel—” he warned.
She couldn’t let her pride wipe her out. “Maybe a sip.”
He unscrewed the cap and handed the plastic to her. She drank, fully aware that his lips had been exactly where hers were now. It didn’t help that he focused on her mouth. She gulped, then handed it back. He took the bottle and drank from it. Sharing seemed...intimate. But they’d shared so much more.
She cleared her throat. “Thanks. See ya.”
“You’re welcome.” He nodded, then took off.
Rachel allowed herself a selfish moment to admire his backside and the strength of his long legs, then she yanked herself up by the hormones. It didn’t matter if Matt still had the best body on three continents. She wasn’t interested in resuming their relationship. And even if she were, she couldn’t chance it.
* * *
MATT GRITTED HIS teeth against the pain and continued putting one foot in front of the other. If he could fake it thirty more yards, he’d be out of Rachel’s sight.
He finally reached the corner, then checked over his shoulder to confirm the coast was clear and collapsed against the first big oak tree. What in the hell had possessed him to sprint and catch up with her? He shouldn’t have been running without the knee brace. But when Rachel had raced past his window as if she was running for her life, he’d dropped his free weights, grabbed his water bottle and hauled butt after her.
A high-pitched yap alerted him that he wasn’t alone. Mrs. Hines and her twin yippy dogs were coming his way. The sympathy in her smile and pity in her eyes wrenched his gut. Pity, for crissakes. He could handle anything but that.
“’Morning, Matthew. Where’s Buddy?”
He’d left so fast he’d forgotten his dog. “At home basking in the sun.”
“Knee bothering you today?”
He cursed his weakness and his need to conceal his limitations from people. Forcing a smile, he answered, “No. I’m good, thanks. You’re up early.”
“My babies wanted their walk. Are you sure you’re okay? That was a mighty fierce scowl on your face.”
“I’m fine. But thanks for your concern.”
“My arthritis acts up when a storm front moves in. Maybe your injury does, too. I can call your mother if you need a ride home. I’m sure she’s already up and in her garden.”
That was the last thing he wanted. Mom would kick into overprotective mode, and she’d lecture all the way home. “The exercise is good for me.”
“If you’re sure.”
“I am. Anyway, I have to set an example for my players. Have a good day, Mrs. Hines. I better head home if I’m going to make it to school on time.”
She patted his biceps. “You’re still our star, Matthew. Don’t you ever forget that.”
Humiliation scalded his neck. “Yes, ma’am.”
He waved and walked away fighting every step not to limp.
“Your house is the other way, son.”
He winced. “I’m going around the block, then cutting through the cemetery.” Otherwise he might run into Rachel again. He didn’t want her to see him like this. At least she’d dumped him before he’d crashed and burned on the field. The play had tangled up in his head that fateful day. Dyslexia was like that. Twisting things.
Usually, he could compensate, but sometimes when he was stressed, tired or distracted, things mixed up, and that day he’d thought he’d spotted Rachel in the stands. He’d been sacked, his knee destroyed, and just that quickly, his promising career had ended. Washed up at twenty-three. He’d returned to college for an advanced degree because he couldn’t bear going home a failure. When he had come back, the pity in the townsfolks’ eyes had burned him like acid. But he’d channeled his discomfort into being the best damned coach and athletic director he could be, and his team had made the championship again this year. He’d given the good citizens of Johnstonville another reason to be proud of him.
On the walk home the image of Rachel distracted him. Her body had matured well. Her legs were as sleek as he remembered, but she’d added lean muscles, and her breasts were larger. Not even a top that flattened them could hide her pebbled nipples.
His knee and crotch screamed for attention. He needed a cold shower and the ice pack he kept waiting in the freezer. Damn, he hated weakness. Almost as much as he hated realizing he wasn’t over Rachel Bishop.
* * *
RACHEL PALMED HER PHONE, knowing she was about to make her boss and the rest of her team very unhappy. She hoped Marcia wouldn’t fire her. She loved and needed her job, even if she hadn’t yet figured out who’d watch Chastity during her shifts.
Marcia answered on the first ring. “Hey, Rachel. Home yet?”
She took a deep breath, as if preparing to dive from a high cliff. “No. I’m going to need more time off.”
Silence. “How much more time?”
“Five weeks. Chastity isn’t taking to the idea of changing schools. She wants to finish here...to make the transition easier.” Empty air greeted her words. Rachel’s pulse pounded her eardrums.
“You’re putting us in a tough spot.”