her father was no longer there, and the giant oak that once shaded the front yard had been cut down. The paint was different, too. Instead of gray with black shutters, the house was now white trimmed in dark green.
Brandy looked at the house, then back at her mother. "Is this where you used to live? It's little."
"It didn't seem that small when I was a kid. It was just… home." She remembered when she'd knocked a tooth loose swinging from the wrought iron porch supports. The first time Rand had picked her up for a date. The first time they'd skipped school to make love in her bed while her father was at work.
The day her father found out she was pregnant and lost control, changing her life forever.
It was all old history, but it was he r history. She wished there was a way to go back to the somewhat innocent child she'd been before murder and betrayal hardened her. But that same history had given her the strength she needed to work her way through college while pregnant, and to continue to work and go to school with a newborn to care for.
Her daughter was worth every hardship, every moment of lost innocence.
Flashing red and blue lights caught her attention and she looked in the rearview mirror. Rand. Darn it, she hadn't wanted him to catch her strolling down memory lane. She wanted to present a strong image whenever he was around. Pining over the past made her look weak and sentimental.
With a frustrated sigh, she climbed from the car and met him at the rear bumper. "What am I doing wrong? I don't see any 'No Parking' signs or fire hydrants."
His grim face seemed at odds with whatever parking violation she might have committed. "What is it, Rand?"
He glanced toward the car and spoke quietly. "I need to talk to you. Alone."
Maddie shook her head. "I can't leave Brandy by herself."
Rand pushed his hat back and Maddie looked up into blue eyes that still had the power to make her heart beat faster. She took a step back, needing the distance to get her runaway emotions under control.
"Linda Johnson has offered to watch Brandy at her house. Her granddaughter is spending the night, and she's close to your daughter's age."
"I don't think…"
"Maddie, she'll be fine. Please."
She searched his troubled eyes and saw no sign of deceit or hidden motives. Only worry and concern. "Okay. Let me talk to Brandy. I won't leave her if she doesn't agree. But I want to take a look at the house for rent over on James Street first."
He scribbled Linda's address on a piece of paper and handed it to her. "Fair enough. Meet me at the station when you're through."
***
"Well, what do you think?" Maddie asked Brandy as they finished the tour of the older frame home two blocks off the town square. It had a large yard in front and back, complete with giant oaks that reminded Maddie of the one that used to be in front of her childhood home.
The two bedrooms were large and airy, each with their own private bath. The living room was small and cozy, not big enough for entertaining, but Maddie had no friends to invite over, anyway. The kitchen was also small, but the appliances were fairly new and spotlessly clean.
Brandy shrugged and scuffed her feet. "It's okay, I guess. But it's not home."
"I know, honey. It's only temporary. I promise I'll take you home as soon as this is all over. I don't want to stay here any longer than we have to, either."
Brandy glanced up, a shrewd look on her face. "Because of what happened? Or because of my dad?"
Maddie thought for a moment. Which one factored most in her desire to get out of Greendale as quickly as she could? Her past had turned the town, and Rand, against her. But she'd been at odds with plenty of people in Montgomery and it hadn't bothered her. "If I had to pick one, I'd say it's probably because of your dad. There are some old, deep wounds between us, and it makes me uncomfortable to be around him. But it doesn't matter. We won't be here long."
Brandy wandered back to the smaller of the
Brandy looked at the house, then back at her mother. "Is this where you used to live? It's little."
"It didn't seem that small when I was a kid. It was just… home." She remembered when she'd knocked a tooth loose swinging from the wrought iron porch supports. The first time Rand had picked her up for a date. The first time they'd skipped school to make love in her bed while her father was at work.
The day her father found out she was pregnant and lost control, changing her life forever.
It was all old history, but it was he r history. She wished there was a way to go back to the somewhat innocent child she'd been before murder and betrayal hardened her. But that same history had given her the strength she needed to work her way through college while pregnant, and to continue to work and go to school with a newborn to care for.
Her daughter was worth every hardship, every moment of lost innocence.
Flashing red and blue lights caught her attention and she looked in the rearview mirror. Rand. Darn it, she hadn't wanted him to catch her strolling down memory lane. She wanted to present a strong image whenever he was around. Pining over the past made her look weak and sentimental.
With a frustrated sigh, she climbed from the car and met him at the rear bumper. "What am I doing wrong? I don't see any 'No Parking' signs or fire hydrants."
His grim face seemed at odds with whatever parking violation she might have committed. "What is it, Rand?"
He glanced toward the car and spoke quietly. "I need to talk to you. Alone."
Maddie shook her head. "I can't leave Brandy by herself."
Rand pushed his hat back and Maddie looked up into blue eyes that still had the power to make her heart beat faster. She took a step back, needing the distance to get her runaway emotions under control.
"Linda Johnson has offered to watch Brandy at her house. Her granddaughter is spending the night, and she's close to your daughter's age."
"I don't think…"
"Maddie, she'll be fine. Please."
She searched his troubled eyes and saw no sign of deceit or hidden motives. Only worry and concern. "Okay. Let me talk to Brandy. I won't leave her if she doesn't agree. But I want to take a look at the house for rent over on James Street first."
He scribbled Linda's address on a piece of paper and handed it to her. "Fair enough. Meet me at the station when you're through."
***
"Well, what do you think?" Maddie asked Brandy as they finished the tour of the older frame home two blocks off the town square. It had a large yard in front and back, complete with giant oaks that reminded Maddie of the one that used to be in front of her childhood home.
The two bedrooms were large and airy, each with their own private bath. The living room was small and cozy, not big enough for entertaining, but Maddie had no friends to invite over, anyway. The kitchen was also small, but the appliances were fairly new and spotlessly clean.
Brandy shrugged and scuffed her feet. "It's okay, I guess. But it's not home."
"I know, honey. It's only temporary. I promise I'll take you home as soon as this is all over. I don't want to stay here any longer than we have to, either."
Brandy glanced up, a shrewd look on her face. "Because of what happened? Or because of my dad?"
Maddie thought for a moment. Which one factored most in her desire to get out of Greendale as quickly as she could? Her past had turned the town, and Rand, against her. But she'd been at odds with plenty of people in Montgomery and it hadn't bothered her. "If I had to pick one, I'd say it's probably because of your dad. There are some old, deep wounds between us, and it makes me uncomfortable to be around him. But it doesn't matter. We won't be here long."
Brandy wandered back to the smaller of the
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