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But the fear of failing followed me around like a damaged umbrella, always leaking onto my skin and weighing me down.
Luther’s Mercedes was in the circular drive when I parked underneath my favorite magnolia tree. He’d worked for my father for years as his assistant. Being the mayor’s daughter had come with challenges in a small town.
Everyone kissed my ass.
The kids at school. The teachers.
Most every day of my life, I walked around with the after scent of nearby brown-nosers. It’d become exhausting. I didn’t know who to trust. My friend’s list was scratched down to the bare minimum when I graduated.
The friends I made in college were the only true ones I trusted.
I hurried up the front steps, stopping when I noticed my mother walking around the front of the house. To my surprise, she was in jeans and a T-shirt.
Dirt covered her hands and clothes.
She’d been a debutante, growing up. I could count on my hand how many times I’d seen her dirty. “Mom?”
I caught her off guard. She yelped and placed her palm on her chest. “Goodness gracious alive, Josephine. I didn’t know you were here.”
I stepped down the steps, meeting her halfway, so she could gather me into a hug. “Why are you so dirty?”
She pulled away, swiping her hand down her t-shirt. “I’ve taken up gardening since you left. You would know if you came by more often.”
Guilt slammed into me. “I’m sorry. I’ve been busy with final exams—”
She smiled and tucked a piece of dark hair behind my ear. “It’s fine, honey. Go see your daddy. He’s been so excited all morning.”
I raced up the steps and into the house. It smelled like cooking, which meant Miranda was in the kitchen. Daddy’s office door was cracked when I pushed it in.
The smell of leather and chewing tobacco hung in the air. He was writing furiously when I stepped inside, drawing his attention by clearing my throat.
He dropped his pen. Those too-blue eyes he passed down to me sparkled. I’d always been a daddy’s girl. Since I was an only child, it wasn’t hard to be the favorite.
“Peach,” he said, standing up and offering me a hug.
I ran over, wrapped my arms around him, pressed my cheek against his chest, and I closed my eyes. “Something smells good,” I mumbled into his chest.
He pulled back and slid a palm over my hair. “Miranda is frying you some chicken.”
“Mashed potatoes?” I asked.
“I would be ashamed to tell you no.”
I chuckled. “I’m going to go take my suitcase to my room and get settled in. I’ll meet y’all in the dining room in a bit.”
“Luther can bring your things up for you.”
“I’ve got it. Luther has better things to do.”
I walked out to my vehicle, hauled my suitcase out of the back, and dropped it with a thud. Dad had all of my furniture put into storage until I moved into my new place in the city.
I’d saved all my extra money over the years for a deposit on an apartment I wanted downtown. It wasn’t in a high-rise like my parents suggested but a simple house wedged into the corner of Maple and June Street. It was brick, had tons of character and the landlord showed me little nooks and crannies that her father had built for secret hiding spots.
My parents weren’t as impressed as me.
A humid breeze brushed against my skin, drawing more sweat onto my forehead. Fall was just around the corner, and I could practically taste the bonfires and sweaters.
I lugged my suitcase up the front steps, across the wooden floor against my mother’s disapproval of scuffing them, and up each step to the top floor.
