swam, in search of some way to fix things, but he came up empty.
“You’re mighty quiet this afternoon, sir.” Lance had been with him for a long time. He usually didn’t say much, but Edward knew Lance could read him well.
“Tough morning, Lance,” he admitted.
“I heard about the accident at the Selway Church of God,” Lance said. As Edward suspected, his driver knew just about everything. “The Wicke woman was hurt?”
Edward sighed. “She was, Lance. She’s propped up with a broken leg.”
“I was under the impression that the two of you were getting quite close.” Edward saw Lance’s bemused expression in the rearview mirror. “I’m surprised you didn’t stay for a longer visit.”
“We’re not that close.” Edward cleared his throat. He could choose to say nothing. He didn’t owe it to Lance to tell him what had happened, but something in him wanted to talk to someone. The story flew out of him, and he felt a smidge lighter for having set it free. “I wrecked it. There’s no going back.”
“I’m sincerely sorry, sir,” Lance said and tipped his hat. “Quite a shame to let a girl like that slip away.”
Edward raised his eyebrows. Was Lance trying to make him feel like even more of a total shit? Maybe he should have kept his thoughts to himself.
“You know, sir, my father used to have a saying about love.” Lance paused.
“What was it?” Edward asked.
“I’m trying to recall the exact words,” Lance said, as they drove down the long gravel driveway to the old farmhouse where Edward was scheduled to meet his father and brother for a walk-through of the property. Lance tapped on his chin for a second then delivered the quote. “In life, physical things can shatter and become lost forever, but not love. Love may be broken but with one breath and a single choice, there is always a chance to restore it to its original beauty.”
Restore it to its original beauty…
The phrase sounded like something Clem would say.
His gaze turned to the farmhouse, where his father was standing with the realtor on the wraparound porch. A spotlight of sun shone through the clouds, landing directly on the house. Shadows played between the garden stakes, moving at the whim of the clouds. A centuries old willow wept beside the house.
“Thanks, Lance,” Edward said as he exited the car, steeling himself against his despair as he headed into the sunshine.
“Edward,” King Hansen called to him. “You’re late.”
“Sorry,” he replied. “I wanted to see Clem at the hospital before I came here.”
His father eyed him sternly. “That girl caused quite a bit of trouble in Selway last night, falling through the church floor. She could have been killed. Is she okay?”
“Her leg is badly broken, but she’ll recover,” Edward said, his voice devoid of emotion. His father tilted his head and studied him.
“Are you okay, son? You’re not yourself this morning.”
Edward cleared his throat. He may have spilled his guts to Lance, but he was not about to talk about Clem to his father. “I just have a lot on my mind,” he said then turned to the realtor, a twenty-something woman dressed to the nines in a burgundy suit and shiny high heels. She beamed at him with a blindingly white smile. “Shall we get on with the walk-through?”
She sidled up to him and placed one manicured hand on his arm, which seemed a bit forward to him. “I’m Jolene Rigley,” she said, her voice syrupy. “It’s such a pleasure to meet you, Prince Edward.” She held her other hand out for him to shake then held on to him a beat too long.
Was this woman flirting with him?
“Charmed,” he said, deciding to omit his usual request to be called just by his name. He didn’t want to encourage this woman to be more informal with him.
Finally, she released his hand. “Follow me, and I’ll show you around the place. She started down the porch steps then turned around and winked at him.
Ugh.
He was in no mood for this woman at the moment. The fact that she was the antithesis of Clem seemed to be screaming at him from every angle. From the coiffed hair that didn’t budge as she moved to the formal business attire that was so unlike Clem’s casual chic flair, Jolene Rigley seemed to be placed in front of him in order to amplify all the things he missed about Clem.
“This property is absolutely stunning,” King Hansen said, as they followed Jolene to the back