tempt me. We’re making good time.”
“Keep driving,” Tamara said. “We’re almost there, anyway. I can survive until we get to Louisville.”
“Maybe you can.”
Tamara squeezed his knee and went back to staring out the window. They’d packed up the truck last night and headed out at first light that morning. If they kept their stops to a minimum, they’d make it to Judge Headley’s office before five and could get the paperwork signed today. Tamara’s fears about going home had lingered right up to the moment they crossed the Tennessee border into Kentucky. Then, like magic, the fear evaporated like rain on a hot sidewalk. What did she have to be afraid of? This was her home. The road curved and rounded corners and everywhere Tamara looked she saw tall green trees and farmhouses hidden among them. As they traveled north, the trees turned to pastures, the small farmhouses turned to large farmhouses. White stables with red trim. White stables with green trim. White stables with black trim. White fences that stretched for miles. And horses and horses and more horses, grazing and running and making the whole world look like a summer scene from a Currier and Ives calendar.
“You’re smiling, Rotten.”
“I’m happy,” she said. “It’s so pretty here. I’d forgotten how pretty. And it smells good.”
“Doesn’t smell like a salt marsh, that’s for sure. And we’ve got hills again. Good to be back.”
“Feels like home,” Tamara said. “Is it home to you, too?”
“Of course it is. Born and raised here. Mom’s buried here. My family’s here.”
“I’m here.”
“That’s what I meant.”
“You know, we could buy a place in Louisville,” Tamara said. “I loved our house in town. It was nothing like Arden. It was a normal house. Only four bedrooms—not ten.”
“Normal? Is that why you loved it?”
“It was Daddy’s house and he made it a home. I had friends there.”
“You miss your friends?”
Tamara sighed and shrugged. “I feel so far away from them now. It used to be slumber parties every Friday night and birthday parties and we’d all go riding together on Saturdays. But Carol and Katie are going to college and Billie’s moving to Ohio for a job with her uncle. And I’m...”
“An old married lady?”
“A young married lady.”
“You can go to college if you want to,” Levi said. “I would never stop you going to school or working.”
“Momma wanted to go to college. She didn’t get to.”
“Family wouldn’t let her?”
“She got pregnant with me. That was the end of that.”
“Speaking of pregnant, Rotten... I hate to tell you this, but your stomach is flat as a pancake. You gonna wear a pillow under your dress when we see the judge?”
“I’ll wear something baggy and I’ll make myself throw up on your shoes. How’s that?”
“Sounds like a plan. I could use new boots, anyway.”
“Well, guess what?”
“What?”
“Now we can afford them.”
He kissed the back of her hand and kept on driving. The windows were open, and even with the wind blowing in, the August heat was stifling. The back of Tamara’s leg stuck to the vinyl seats and left little square indentions on her skin. She should have worn pants instead of a dress. The air felt swollen with wet heat. Levi chugged Tab to stay alert and Tamara stared at barns and pastures and horses that she hadn’t realized she’d missed until she saw them again.
The bank clock read 4:37 p.m., so they drove into downtown Louisville to Judge Headley’s office. He hadn’t been expecting them until tomorrow, but he didn’t seem to mind at all that they showed up a day early.
“There’s my girl,” Judge Headley said, embracing her. “You’re as tan as your husband now.”
But Tamara only rolled her eyes at his joke as she sank into Headley’s strong arms. This man was her father. Her father was holding her. He didn’t feel like her father and nobody but Daddy ever would, but it gave her a modicum of comfort to know she came from this good man who gave such strong and gentle hugs.
“My girl,” Levi corrected. “But I’ll let you borrow her for a hug.”
“You’re a generous man,” Judge Headley said, shaking Levi’s hand with real affection. “Now, I hope you two aren’t too tired from your drive. I need y’all to sign a few hundred pieces of paper. Ready?”
Tamara looked at Levi, who cracked his knuckles as loud as he could.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Judge Headley said.
“It’s a yes,” Tamara said. “Let’s get this thing over with.”
They signed until her signature read