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Hands grabbed her, lifting Bailey off her feet. She watched a car pass, and realized she’d been about to walk out in front of it.
“You need to check left and right before stepping off the curb, ma’am.”
“I’m sorry, I-I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
Her rescuer was tall, with dark hair, and had a nice smile that reached his green eyes. She knew those eyes.
“We don’t get many people run down on the main street of Ryker, but you were about to be one of them.”
He stuck out a hand, and Bailey found herself shaking it. It felt large and warm wrapped around her fingers.
“Luke Trainer.”
Joe’s baby brother. Bailey’s memories of him were of a sad, solemn boy who was always dressed in his big brother’s castoffs that hung on his skinny frame. There was no resemblance in the healthy, handsome man before her.
“Hi.” Bailey didn’t give her name. She was already off-balance, and didn’t need another reunion right now. What she needed was to reach her car and regroup. Seeing Joe had unsettled her way more than she’d thought it would.
“You’re a firefighter?” Bailey read the words on his navy cap.
“I am.”
“I’m glad,” Bailey said, because she was. Joe had once worried about the youngest Trainer, confiding in Bailey that he thought Luke had suffered the most at the hands of their father, and that he’d bear the scars for many years, if not always.
“So am I.” He gave her a gentle smile, and Bailey guessed that was because she’d sounded crazy telling him, supposedly a perfect stranger, she was happy he was a firefighter.
The sound of a dog baying had them turning.
“Shut it down, Buzz, I’ll be there in second,” Luke Trainer said.
The dog was huge, like a small black bear with a thick shaggy coat and orange ruff around its neck. He had a white patch of hair on his forehead and each paw.
“He’s my brother Joe’s dog, but he’s pretty much loved by everyone around here.”
“I want a big, black shaggy dog when I get a place one day, Bailey.”She remembered that conversation clearly, like she did so many of the ones she and Joe had shared.
“Ah, thanks, Luke, for helping me.” She dragged her eyes from the dog. “Bye.” Lifting a hand, she looked left and right, then ran across the street clutching the small bag of groceries.
Fumbling with her keys when she reached the car, Bailey managed to get the door open and scrambled inside, slamming it behind her. Dumping her things on the passenger seat, she leaned on the steering wheel, closing her eyes.
“You shouldn’t have come back.” Banging her head twice, Bailey told herself to turn the key in the ignition and drive out of Ryker Falls. She had been a fool coming here, and didn’t even know what had possessed her to do so. Curiosity? Longing? Closure? Scrunching her eyes tight, she tried to find focus. Find a direction to head in.
Opening the bag of groceries, she found the Apple Sours, ripped open the box, and poured them straight into her mouth. The sweet, sour hit jolted her senses.
“Better.” She inhaled again, then swallowed down a few more.
A year ago Bailey’s life had derailed, and she’d been unsettled ever since. Three months ago she’d packed up her things and taken to the road, going from one place to another, but in her heart, she had always been heading here, to the place she was born. What she didn’t know was why. Why come back to the memories and pain of the life she’d once led in Ryker Falls?
Turning the key in the ignition, she fired her sedan to life and headed down the main street of Ryker Falls.
The last time she’d walked through this town, things had looked vastly different. The shops had been tired, and the town a small community with little to recommend it to tourists. Her father had loved it here, and her mother had always wanted to leave, which had not made family life harmonious.
Passing the quaint storefronts, some brick, others wood, in varying shapes and sizes, Bailey thought it looked good now. Some had striped canopies, others hanging baskets. Color was everywhere she turned. And the many people on the streets told her Ryker had come a long way in the years since she’d left. Wrought iron lamps had frosted globes that Bailey imagined were pretty at night. Trees had been planted, and offered shade to those who sat on the benches underneath.
Reaching the end of town, Bailey went left and followed the river road that looped back to the beginning of town. She found medical facilities, and the school had been extended. The boardwalk had changed too. No longer just a long stretch of boards, it now had a row of shops adjacent to half of it, looking over the water. Parking the car, Bailey got out and wandered for a bit, finding a football field and basketball courts further down the road.
“Morning.”
“Morning.” Bailey acknowledged the elderly women who were walking by. Both were dressed immaculately in floral dresses, their hair snow white and cut in matching bobs. Both wore heels high enough to give Bailey a nosebleed. She knew instantly who they were; if she hadn’t, the shoes would have given them away.
