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I knew it was true the moment the color drained from her face.
With a heavy foot on the gas pedal, I wound my truck through the looping country roads of Remington County. Music blared as I tried to drown out the flood of memories that fought their way to the forefront of my mind.
Every time Annie made a flippant comment and my head jumbled it with something I’d read in the letters. When Margo would ask a question and get pissy or defensive if I reminded her we had already talked about that in the letters.
It was Annie all along, and I was a fucking idiot. The two of them had probably laughed and laughed over what a moron I was.
I had always known my relationship with Margo had been superficial, marked by teenage drama and fleeting moments of happiness. We were young, caught up in the shallow facade of what we believed small-town love should be. What everyone around us told uswouldbe.
But those letters—they painted a completely different picture. Through them, I found solace, depth, and the connection I had longed for. I fell for the woman in those letters. I had thought my being overseas would provide the space and clarity Margo needed to see the true connection we had.
But it was all bullshit.
Shaking my head and trying to quell my anger, I pulled down Kate’s driveway and slammed my truck into park. Even in our darkest moments, Kate had always been a constant source of love and support. She knew Annie almost as well as I did. She could share my anger and confusion.
My fist pounded on the wooden door. Kate answered, immediately stepping aside so I could enter. As I stepped into her cozy living room, seeking refuge from the storm raging within me, I also hoped she could offer some clarity amid the chaos.
“Hey,” Kate greeted me with a warm smile, unaware of the turmoil that consumed me. I sank into the familiar embrace of the worn-out armchair she’d gotten from the farmhouse, my gaze fixed on her as I struggled to find the right words.
“Kate,” I began, my voice strained. “There’s something I need to talk to you about. It’s about Annie.”
I watched as Kate’s expression shifted, a flicker of guilt passing through her eyes like a fleeting shadow. The unspoken truth hung heavily in the air, thick with betrayal. It was in that moment, with the silence between us, that I realized she’d held the key to Annie’s secret all along. My heart clenched with a fresh wave of hurt.
“You knew,” I said, my voice barely a whisper, the words heavy with disappointment. I stood from the chair and Kate met my gaze, her own filled with remorse and sorrow.
Hot tears welled up in my eyes as a torrent of emotions threatened to engulf me. The weight of Annie’s secret and Kate’s complicity in keeping it was suffocating. My mind spun with questions, my heart aching for the truth to unravel.
How could the two people closest to me keep such a significant secret hidden for so long? How many wasted years had slipped through our fingers, swallowed by deception and missed opportunities for something real? How long had the guilt of my true feelings for Annie stopped me from telling her how I felt?
“Lee, wait.” Kate stepped forward, but I stormed past her, then got in my truck and peeled out of her driveway without looking back. The weight of the truth was too much.
In need of solace and a momentary respite from the whirlwind of emotions that consumed me, I sought the company of the one person who also knew confusion and loss and hurt.
I entered the familiar surroundings of Haven Pines, and the scent of antiseptic and the faint hum of medical equipment filled the air. The sound of shuffled footsteps and distant murmurs formed a backdrop to my raging thoughts.
It was getting late, so the halls of the memory care neighborhood were quiet. I spotted Dad, sitting on his makeshift front porch with a cup of coffee.
“Hey, Dad,” I greeted him with a soft smile, trying to hold back the weight of my troubles. His eyes met mine, his weathered face etched with both wisdom and confusion.
“Lee,” he responded, his voice carrying the traces of the past. He held out his hand, and I shook it. “Heard there was a fire at Jennings Bakery.” He shook his head. “Damn shame about the dog.”
The Jennings Bakery fire was nearly twelve years ago, but I simply nodded. Lots of chatter was spreading through town after the Robinson house fire was ruled an arson, and it wasn’t uncommon for Dad’s timelines to get a bit confused. We’d learned years ago that it was better to let small slips like that go.
“I had a dog named Turkey when I was about your age... dumber than a box of rocks, but he was loyal. Someone stole him from the back of my truck when I was at a gas station. Took over a month, but that dumbass dog found his way back to me.” Dad chuckled at the memory. “Maybe he wasn’t so dumb after all. Hell, I don’t know.”
I chuckled lightly, appreciating the surface-level conversation that momentarily diverted my attention from the hurt and anger simmering just below the surface.
I sighed. “I could use some loyalty about now.”
Dad nodded, his gaze drifting before returning to meet mine. “You know, your mother ... she was as loyal as they come.”
A pang of longing gripped my heart at the mention of my mother. Memories of her gentle touch and infectious laughter flooded my senses. The long-lost scent of her favorite perfume lingered in the air, intermingled with the faint aroma of the freshly brewed coffee that Dad held in his weathered hands.
“I miss her too, Dad,” I replied, my voice thick with emotion. “I remember once I’d gotten in trouble with Principal Taylor over talking in class. He called Mom up, planning to get me in deeper trouble when I got home. Man, did that backfire on him.”
I laughed, recalling how Principal Taylor’s phone call had riled her up after he’d slipped and called meno good. She had stormed down to the school and walked straight into his office. Instead of taking his side and doling out a punishment for me, she had pointed a finger at him and given him a dressing down. She’d had my back, even when I was being a little shit, and told Principal Taylor he wouldn’t know goodness if it crawled up his ass and laid an egg. It was the first time I’d ever heard my mother curse, and to this day I still got the urge to laugh whenever I saw Principal Taylor around town.
Dad’s eyes glistened with a mix of melancholy and a flicker of remembrance. In that fleeting moment, I saw the depths of his love for Mom, an unwavering bond that surpassed the barriers of time and fading memories.
