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“Breakfast! Come and get it,” Chastity called through the closed bedroom door.
Groggily, Rachel shoved her hair off her face. She’d tossed and turned most of the night, finally crashing around three in the morning. Matt’s visit had rattled her. She’d been pretty sure he’d intended to kiss her. And that could not happen.
She dragged herself from the bed and shuffled toward the kitchen. She’d kiss a frog for a cup of coffee right now. But Matt, not a frog, stood in the den holding a paper bag and a tray containing four tall cups from Johnstonville’s only fast-food restaurant.
Rachel stumbled to a halt, going instantly from bleary-eyed to alert. She hadn’t brushed her hair or her teeth. She was wearing one of Chastity’s oversize Mickey Mouse sleep shirts. It hit midthigh, and she hadn’t shaved her legs in... Ugh. Weeks. She probably looked even worse than she felt in her jet-lagged, coffee and razor-deprived state.
Matt’s sober gaze raked her from head to toe, confirming she looked like his worst nightmare. He, on the other hand, personified perfection. His jaw gleamed from a recent shave. His hair had been combed, and his eyes were bright. A white polo shirt molded to his muscles in a way guaranteed to give a woman an adrenaline rush.
Chastity stood beside him, also fully dressed with her too-heavy makeup on and her hair teased. It was too late to retreat. Rachel checked her watch. It was only six thirty. Early birds. Both of them.
“Matt brought breakfast.” Chastity grabbed the paper sack and a clear cup of orange juice from the tray and headed toward the kitchen.
“Good morning.” Matt’s voice rumbled over Rachel like an approaching thunderstorm. His amused tone did nothing to bolster her confidence.
Her skin prickled uncomfortably. She took a deep breath and tried to finger comb her hair into something less tangled than a mop. There was nothing she could do about the rest of her. “G’morning. Thanks for bringing breakfast.”
He nodded and offered the paper tray. “Coffee, juice or both?”
She might as well make the best of the situation. “Coffee. Please.”
“There’s cream and sugar in the bag with the biscuits.”
“Um...thanks.” Rachel shifted on her bare feet and dug her toes into the floor. She debated excusing herself to grab a bathrobe. But the only one available had belonged to her sister. Had Matt seen Hope in that robe...or taken it off her?
A coil of something unpleasant started deep inside her. She blamed it on hunger. “Don’t you, um...have to get to work, or something?”
“I have a few minutes. I wanted to see if you needed anything.”
“We need everything, but I’ll hit the grocery store after I shower. Uh...thanks again.”
“Sure. I guess I can just take my breakfast to go.”
Realization dawned. Embarrassment scorched her cheeks. “Oh. You’re eating here?”
“Well, only if you don’t mind. Then I can give Chastity a ride to school to save Pam the trip.”
She mentally smacked her forehead. She hadn’t even thought about how Chastity got to school. “She doesn’t take the bus?”
“Hope wouldn’t let her. Pam or my mom carpool the kids.”
Hope had insisted Rachel ride the bus. “That’s nice of you, Matt. You guys head to the kitchen. I’ll join you as soon as I dress.”
Her clothes—except for yesterday’s outfit—were all wet in the washer. Her underwear and bra were drying in the bathroom after the hand wash she’d given them last night. She’d have to borrow something of Hope’s after all.
Reluctantly, Rachel entered Hope’s pristine room. She kept her eyes off the bed that her sister might have shared with Matt and dug through the dresser drawers until she found something she couldn’t picture her sister wearing. Sure enough, the trendy blue jogging suit still had the tags attached. Rachel slipped it on and zipped the jacket, hoping the fabric was thick enough to conceal her lack of undergarments. It felt incredibly soft against her bare skin.
She detoured to brush her teeth and hair. One look at her pallor and the purple circles ringing her eyes, and she grimaced. The blue fabric did nothing to help her complexion, but the shade would have matched Hope’s eyes perfectly.
Unable to delay any longer, she removed the tags, then returned to the kitchen. Matt and Chastity sat at the table with their heads bent in identical angles over separate sections of the newspaper. The similarities between them stopped her in her tracks. Chastity had inherited her father’s mouth and chin. How could Matt not see that? Had anyone else in Johnstonville noticed? It seemed too obvious to miss.
Chastity looked up first. “You made the paper. Your homecoming has been officially announced in the community everybody-wants-to-know-your-business section.”
Matt glanced up, then did a double take. His gaze raked her from head to toe. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and his lips compressed. Ever conscious of her lack of underwear and borrowed clothing, Rachel slid into a chair.
Chastity jumped to her feet, pitched her trash into the receptacle, and then headed down the hall.
“Where are you going?” Rachel called in alarm over her chaperone leaving.
“To brush my teeth.”
Rachel didn’t want to be alone with Matt. He cleared his throat and studied his coffee, trying not to look uncomfortable when he obviously was.
“What?” Rachel asked, a tad defensively.
Matt cupped the back of his neck, then met her gaze. “I bought that sweat suit for Hope last Christmas. We were going to start working out together.”
She suddenly felt every inch of the fabric abrading her skin as if it were burlap. Picturing Matt and Hope together bothered her. A lot. She planted her palms on the table and rose. “I don’t have any clean clothes. I had to borrow something.”
He covered her hand. “Rachel, it’s all right. I doubt she ever wore it anyway.”
The heat of his flesh on hers stirred memories best left undisturbed. Her pulse hitched. She sat back down and grabbed the coffee. Her parents had never been much for physical displays of affection. She’d forgotten how much of a “toucher” Matt was. “I didn’t know—”
“It was stupid to give it to her. She hated exercise.”
“I know. I’m the one who was always working up a sweat.”
His deep blue gaze caught hers. “I remember.”
She hadn’t meant the comment sexually, but judging by the way his pupils expanded, that was clearly the way he’d interpreted it. Warmth pulsed through her.
Fourteen years ago, they’d spent their time together jogging, rock climbing and canoeing—all pursuits that led them to isolated places where not even the winter chill had kept them from getting naked and sweaty together. They’d planned to try a lot more outdoor activities when he returned home for spring break. But that had never happened.
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.”
