stood with her back to the room, arms crossed as she stared in the direction of the trees past the backyard.
“Do you know what people think when they see a girl your age drive up alone to a household of men?”
Emma turned around, rolling her eyes. “Oh, come on, Sarah.” She held out her arms and looked down. “I could pass for twelve, and Edward’s a pastor. He and Nick know everybody in town. Who’s going to think something gross?”
“The smaller a town is, the more people notice.”
Nick realized he was becoming an eavesdropper. “Trust me,” he said at last, “most folks in this town know us better.”
Sarah jumped to her feet and swung toward him, eyes wide. And then her full lips curved up in a smile of recognition. He remembered vividly the familiar light that had so often glowed from her when they were both young and full of life and ideas and dreams about the future.
* * *
Sarah’s breath played and danced up and down her windpipe as she stared at Nicolas Tyler in his fully grown, fully masculine body, with shoulders appearing almost as wide as the swing set that they once played on in the Tyler backyard. His skin was already tanned, brown hair darkened by moisture from the shower. His dark brown eyes were still striated with flecks of sunshine gold. Emma’s eyes. He entered the room in well-worn jeans and a navy T-shirt.
The impact after all these years took her breath completely.
His mouth curved up in a smile, setting off that characteristic cleft in his chin—the cleft his daughter had inherited. “Is this really Sarah Russell, who never stepped outside without her black everything?” Voice twice as deep as when they were teenagers, much nicer, even, than his phone voice. He sounded almost bemused.
Sarah chuckled. “Goth does not live on forever.”
“I bet you were glad that spiderweb tattoo on your collarbone was temporary. And you finally dropped the face goo.”
Sarah didn’t blush easily, but she’d suddenly become Emma’s age. “Hi, Nick.” Stop it, Sarah. It’s no longer high school, and you’re a grown woman. “Thank you so much for calling me last night.”
He glanced at Emma. Was he studying her features a little too carefully?
Emma looked away. “Sorry, sis, really. I should’ve called you. Nick and Edward both drilled me on it. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Why did you turn off your cell?”
Emma grimaced. “I forgot my charger. My phone went dead halfway here last night.”
Something eased in Sarah’s stomach. So Emma hadn’t shut her out intentionally. Right? “It’s a good thing I didn’t know that last night when you were on the road alone. We’ll have to hunt for it when we get home.”
“But not today, right?” Emma gave Sarah her most plaintive look. “I know all about Dad’s side of the family, but Mom had family here in Jolly Mill. I wanted to find out more about her, okay? Talk to people who knew her. You got to live here. I didn’t. It’s not fair.”
“Fair? You grew up in Sikeston. Larger town, more relatives, and they all knew Mom, too. We’ll visit Carmen before we leave.”
“I miss Mom and Dad.” As more tears slid down Emma’s face, Sarah sneaked at glance toward Nick’s compassionate, sorrow-filled expression, and she knew all their lives had just taken a huge turn. He had questions; she could see them in his eyes. How was she going to answer them?
She was still lost in Nick’s gaze when the sound of a softly closing door reached her. She glanced around the room. Emma was gone. Seconds later came the sound of the Beetle as it revved and buzzed away from the house. Emma was going to get her way, and nothing would ever be the same.
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