The Leaving Road, page 2
I couldn’t tell you how long I sat there, but the sky was turning and there was a bite to the air, but I was in a state of unfeeling and I was content. The sound of tires on gravel shattered any state of comfort I was feeling. The downfall of small towns, word travels fast, so someone must know I’m back. I just wasn’t ready yet to find out who.
Chapter 2
Magnolia
The sounds of boots on the gravel were hard to ignore, but I kept my gaze toward the ocean. Maybe, just maybe, it was someone I didn’t know, and they wouldn’t bother me if I didn’t acknowledge them. Wishful thinking.
“Magnolia?” A familiar honey voice reached my ears. Lori.
I could no longer hear her shoes hitting the gravel, so I knew she stopped before she reached the beginning of the dock.
Even hearing her voice stung. I knew this was inevitable; I just wish I had more time. More time to reinforce those walls I put up eight years ago because even the sound of her voice had them temporarily cracking.
The stabbing pain in my chest was so prominent, I raised my palm to try to rub it out, as if it were a physical assault instead of an emotional one. I couldn’t just ignore her, that would be rude, and she had reached out over the years. I know her and my dad kept in touch, and she was probably just doing her due diligence by checking in with me. The sun was close to setting anyway, and I had yet to go inside.
“Lori, it’s nice to see you.” I stood and turned around to face her. I started to walk to the beginning of the dock where she stood, keeping my mask firmly in place the closer I got to her. She had aged, but she was still gorgeous with her light gray eyes and light brown hair, only a dusting of gray was sprinkled through. She was tall—well, taller than I was, anyway.
She pulled me into a fierce hug, and I couldn’t help as my body tensed up. Before I could fake it and return the hug, she stepped back but kept her arms on my shoulders. I couldn’t help but recoil at her perusal.
“Magnolia, it’s just so good to see you.” She was fighting emotions, so much I could tell, her tears were in full display. “You grew up so well. You look so much like Miranda, it’s almost shocking,” she said, choking on her words.
I supposed she was right. I was still very curvy—I’d never fit in any jeans smaller than a size six—but my body was toned, thanks to my job as a veterinarian, which was physically demanding.
In Iowa, a lot of our work came from cattle, which kept me in shape whether I wanted to be or not. My hair fell in long, soft brown waves to the middle of my back, my green eyes were light. My ex-boyfriend had once compared me to a Marilyn Monroe meets Scarlett Johanssen wrapped in scrubs. I’m sure he just wanted to get laid, and with that comment, he did. I might not be the most emotional, but a girl had needs.
“Thank you, Lori. It’s nice to see you as well.” I kept my tone as light as possible, but I wanted to keep the distance firmly in place.
“You’ve changed,” she said, studying me more closely. Lori was always good at reading my emotions. She always used to joke about me wearing my expressions on my face and heart on my sleeve for the world to see.
Not anymore.
“Eight years will do that to you…how'd you know I was back?” I wanted to steer the conversation in literally any other direction.
“Jim down at the Pump and Dump said he could have sworn he saw Miranda from her college days, said it about gave him a heart attack. He called me, swearing up and down that Miranda’s ghost was in town…you know how he drinks,” she said with a smile.
Some things never changed, but that explained the emotions playing over Lori’s face. I reminded her of her dead best friend.
“Ah, I forgot the fun a small town can bring.” There was no humor, no emotion in my voice, and that made Lori’s perusal of me continue. I think a part of her wanted to poke and prod at my walls, but something in my face told her I wouldn’t be receptive to that at all.
“Listen…I came here to talk, but it’s clear you don’t want that. I don’t know what happened all those years ago, all I know is that one day the girl I considered a daughter was gone. I would bet my bottom dollar that Sloan had something to do with it.” I winced at the mention of his name. I hadn’t heard it out loud in a long time; Lexie and I didn’t speak of him, and if we did, we called him he who must not be named.
“Yeah, I figured a mother’s intuition is never wrong. Did you find out about Cassie?”
I didn’t want to have this conversation, I wasn’t ready.
“Look, Lori. I don’t mean to be crass, but now really isn’t a good time. It’s good to see you, but I’ll swing by before I leave town.”
The look on her face was almost as if I had struck her, and the guilt of that look almost had me inviting her in for tea, but I held my ground.
“Leave town?”
“Yes, I have a job back in Iowa. I’m only here for two weeks to settle my dad’s estate and sell the house.”
“You’re selling?” she whispered.
“Yes, there is nothing here for me anymore. Nothing but memories and pain.” The last part slipped out. I could tell she was about to hug me again but before that happened, I stepped around her and kept walking toward the main entrance of the house. I could tell she was stunned at the lack of emotional response.
“Take care of yourself, Lori.” I gave a backward wave without even glancing back to see if she was making her way back to her vehicle.
I grabbed the key from the envelope I had sat on the roof of my car and let myself into the house I wanted nothing to do with.
Chapter 3
Magnolia
Closing the door behind me only offered a moment of relief. Taking in the house around me, I realized it was worse than I thought. I don’t think anyone had lived here in the last eight years. I almost felt a kinship with the house; it lay forgotten, memories lingered on the walls, layers of dust coating something that was once beautiful.
Maybe it could be again… I shook my head as the unwelcome thought made its way in.
In my haste to get away from Lori, I had left my luggage in the car—same with my cell phone, alerting me to the fact that I had no idea what time it was.
I looked down at my black yoga pants and white T-shirt as the chill from the early September air lingered in my bones. I figured I could sleep in this and worry about bringing in my stuff tomorrow morning. I was too physically exhausted from the drive and mentally exhausted from my interaction with Lori, no matter how brief it was. I just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for the next twelve hours. I briefly considered running out to grab my phone but shrugged that thought off. Lexie knew I was here, and there was no one else who would try to get ahold of me anyhow. Due to my job, I never slept past five in the morning, so I would be awake well enough in time for my meeting with Mr. Jensen tomorrow. Even though being inside this house was significantly less painful than I thought, I never had any intention of staying. I wanted to go back to my life as quickly as possible.
***
The sun streaked through the bay windows in the living room. The sunrise here was always spectacular, and I couldn’t help but smile at the overwhelming feeling of warmth that spread through my veins. It wasn’t quite happiness, but it was the most warmth I felt in a while, and for that, I was grateful.
In the light of the day, the house looked rough, but manageable. I'm sure I could hire a contractor to fix some of the flooring, the porch; I could have a plumber come out to do some checks and possibly an electrician. Winter came hard and fast here, and I needed to wrap this up as quickly as possible.
I wasn’t in a rush to open old wounds, so I hadn’t made it past the foyer and the living room sofa last night. But before I tackled taking stock of the rest of the house, I needed to grab my luggage and most importantly, my cell phone so I could call Mr. Jensen and confirm we would still be meeting today.
The air outside was crisp and fresh, the saltiness in the air was something I didn’t realize I desperately missed until this very moment. It was hard not to appreciate all that Rockland had to offer. It was so very magical growing up here in this coastal town, and there was a point in time I never imagined ending up anywhere else. But now I’d rather be anywhere than here.
After grabbing what I needed and heading back inside, I finally made my way upstairs. The door to my room made me pause, considering the rest of the house was untouched, I could only imagine my room was exactly the way I had left it. There was only so much a girl could take, so I would tackle that last. We had two spare bedrooms up here after my parents’ room and my room, so I hauled myself into the one that had a view of the ocean and unpacked my clothes into the dresser. The dresser had seen better days, and I made a mental note to buy some cleaning supplies on my way back because I had some serious work to do.
After a quick shower, applying some light makeup, and realizing there was no way food or coffee were possible here, I picked up my cell I had placed on the charger, still ignoring the texts from Lexie. I opened my call logs, and not so shockingly, Mr. Jensen’s name popped up rather quickly, reminding me of the lack of people in my life.
“Magnolia, dear, I'm so happy to hear from you.” His chipper voice greeted me after the second ring.
“Yes, Mr. Jensen. I got here last night. I was just confirming that we were going to be meeting at the diner in town in about an hour?”
My stomach growled in protest of being kept waiting an hour.
“Yes, dear, that sounds fine…or you know, we could meet at Montgomery’s place for lunch instead if you wanted a few extra hours to catch up?”
Panic and dread filled me. Montgomery’s was, of course, Sloan’s family restaurant.
“I know you all were close back in the day. If a familiar place would make you feel more at ease about going over your father’s estate, I aim to please!”
Now his chipper voice was grating on my anxiety, and it took everything in me not to scream no through the phone.
“I appreciate the offer, but I have a previous engagement at noon.” Big fat liar. “The diner will be fine; I spent a lot of time there growing up, and it’ll be nice to get some of Papa Tucks food.”
Mr. Jensen chuckled so I knew he didn’t pick up on any of my unease.
“The diner it is, Magnolia. I will see you shortly! Bye.” He hung up before I had time to respond.
If my correspondence with Mr. Jensen taught me anything, it was that he was a very nice man, but a very odd one. Lexie had told me it was because he was a genuinely happy guy, and happy people made me uncomfortable. I told her that was false because she was happy; in fact, she was always happy, and I liked her. I didn’t like to spend much time thinking about how right Lexie was.
It wasn’t that I didn’t like happy people. I liked all people fine enough; I just preferred to be left alone for the most part—there was a reason I worked with animals. Sure, I had to interact with the owners, but much of my job was spent treating sick animals and they made me happy. The unconditional love and devotion animals gave without reservation was remarkable, and it was one of the only things that gave me hope.
Since I was already ready and there was no caffeine in sight, I figured I might as well make my way to the diner. I could get my caffeine boost while waiting for Mr. Jensen, and there was a new book on my Kindle app I could read from my phone.
With my mind made up, I grabbed my keys, purse, and cell phone, then walked out the door. The drive to the diner was quick and easy—a little less than fifteen minutes—and I could drive there with my eyes closed. I dawdled, enjoying the melancholy feel of taking in the scenery that was familiar, yet different at the same time. Parking my truck, I did my best to keep my head down and attempted to use my long hair as a shield.
I cringed as the bell to the diner dinged when I opened the door, but luckily, I was nervous for no reason. The place was busy enough that no one really took note to someone new walking through the door, but it was not too busy that I couldn’t spot an open table toward the back, which was exactly what I wanted.
I thought I was home free as I took my seat in the back.
“Well, hell must have really frozen over.”
Oh, hell.
“You think you can just waltz in here after eight years and not give me a hug? You better get your ass over here, girly, before I get Tuck to tan your hide.”
“Momma,” I said with a cheeky grin. I bussed tables for her as my first job and made my way to waitressing in the summer when I wasn’t working at the local vet clinic.
“You’d better stand up and give this old lady a hug as a proper greeting. Oh, how you’ve grown.” She pulled me into a tight hug, one I couldn’t help but return. When we pulled away, we were both teary-eyed. “It's so good to see you! Let me get you some coffee and we can catch up.”
“You don’t have to sit, Momma, you look busy.”
“Hush now. Give me one second.”
She moved faster than I could have anticipated, and kept looking over at me, almost as if she was worried that if she blinked, I’d vanish into thin air. Before I knew it, we were both sitting in the booth with two cups of hot steaming coffee. One of the things I loved most about the diner were the mugs, which were from all over the world: big, small, funky shape, weird sayings. Depending on how Momma felt about you, that’s the kind of cup you got. Mine was light blue with the word “Wanderer.” Interesting.
“You back now?” she pried.
I shook my head. “Only long enough to settle my dad’s estate and list the house.”
Her eyes silently appraised me. “Mmm.”
“Don’t do that,” I whispered
“Do what?”
“Treat me like I'm glass.” I picked at the words on my cup.
“Then don’t act like you are.”
I sucked in a gasp as she knocked on the table.
“Looks like you have company.” She rose from the table as a portly man in a suit with a smile far too wide for his face made his way over to me.
“You’ve been running for eight years, Magnolia… Maybe it’s time you stopped,” she whispered as she took her leave.
Chapter 4
Magnolia
Momma’s words floated over me, causing an almost electric feeling around me, sending small zaps along my spine, making me a little uncomfortable. I wanted to crawl out of my skin. She never hesitated to call me on my crap, but she was the first whose words seemed to elicit some kind of emotion in me, and I didn’t think I liked it.
“Magnolia, dear, it’s just amazing to see you.” Mr. Jensen pulled me up from my seat and gave me a hug. He smelled like spearmint and leather, which was comforting in a grandfatherly kind of way.
Jeez, I’ve been hugged more times in the last twenty-four hours than I have in the last year.
“Mr. Jensen. Please, take a seat.”
“Pish posh, you must call me Ted,” he said as he took off his coat. I couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped me; his name was Ted, and boy, did he look like Ted.
“Okay, Ted.” I smiled, feeling at ease for the first time since I returned.
“Have you ordered yet?” He gestured to the coffee in front of me.
“No, I just got some coffee while I waited. Is everything here still fabulous?”
A loud crash sounded from the back kitchen area, and Papa Tucks face appeared in the window that gave you a glimpse into the kitchen in back. “Miss Magnolia, how dare you question my food,” he scolded. “You should know I never send a bad plate out.”
I raised my hands in mock surrender. “I only tease, Tuck.”
“Damn right, and for that, you both will get today’s special, no complaining.” He waved his spatula at me, and I couldn’t help but laugh at the poorly delivered threat.
“Well, that works for me, Tuck!” Ted responded rather cheerfully, then he turned his gaze back to me.
“I prefer to handle business after the meal, and I’d like a chance to get to know you a little better. Your dad talked about you a lot before his passing.”
“You knew my dad?” I asked, curious as to why he never mentioned him. You never asked, either.
“Toward the end, when his health was deteriorating, he confided in me so we could get his will exactly the way he wanted it.”
“Oh, I see.” A pang of guilt shot through me as a frown formed on my face. I should have been there for him; I should have made more of an effort.
I saw Momma coming out of the kitchen, knowing Tuck got our food out before other orders—also did a good number at thawing out my insides.
“Two specials of the day coming right up: lobster eggs benedict, with a homemade lobster sauce and American potatoes instead of hash browns. I’ll get you a refill on coffee, but do you two need anything else?”
“No, I am perfectly okay.” My mouth was watering, and I dug in before Momma had even left the table to get the refills.
Ted chuckled, “You must have been starving.”
I couldn’t help but grin while inhaling my food, “Sorry, it was a long drive yesterday, and then I crashed before I could pick something up and I didn’t bring anything to make.”
“No worries at all, dear. You eat, I’ll ask questions, and then we will get down to business.”
He wanted to know about my life, like if I liked it in Iowa, and why I stayed after school. I answered them all politely and without much emotion because there wasn’t much about my life that was interesting other than my job—it was my one passion. If I could get the funding, I would open my own clinic that operated at as low a cost as possible, while keeping a dedication to quality of care, and with the hopes that we would never have to turn anyone away for lack of funds. It was a pipe dream and I knew it, but that was why I worked so hard. I wanted to be able to make a difference; I knew I couldn’t save them all, but I was doing my best to try.
