“Em is in a bad way. She has no self-confidence, and something horrible has happened to her that she doesn’t want to remember. I wonder if it isn’t something to do with Victoria. There was a sign on her door that said, ‘Females Only.’ That suggests to me that she’s been hurt, and probably by a man. Knowing that Victoria was talking about putting her away forever, I just had to try to help her.” Sophie finally stopped for a breath.
“Well, good luck,” Rebel said. “And I do mean that. You’ve got work to do for your overseas showing, and you need to spend time with Teddy when he can get away, and”—Rebel stopped, and Sophie knew it was to collect her thoughts—“and a million other reasons that you already know. The last of which is that Victoria will send a hit man out to kill you for taking her delicate little orchid away from her. I’ve always wondered if she didn’t treat Em the way she did so that everyone would think Em was crazy. I saw a show on television that had to do with Munchausen by proxy. That means that—”
“I know what it means, Mama,” Sophie butted in, “but Victoria never did things to make Em sick just so that she would get attention for taking care of her.”
“There’s more than one sickness,” Rebel said. “There’s physical sickness and then there’s mental. It could be the latter one, but no matter what, she’d best not send anyone to hurt my child.”
“What would you do if she did?” Sophie giggled.
“I’d have to do what I’ve wanted to do for more than twenty years. I’d have a very good reason to march up to her house and stomp her fancy ass into the ground,” Rebel answered.
Sophie’s giggles turned into laughter. “Don’t do it until I get home. I wouldn’t miss that show for anything,” she said when she could catch her breath again. “Don’t worry about me and Em. She already likes it here.”
“Honey, anyplace on earth would beat that cold mansion she’s had to live in her whole life,” Rebel said. “I’ve got to go. Annie and I are catching a late-night movie down at the theater.”
“Good night. I’ll holler at you on Sunday if not before,” Sophie said.
“Lookin’ forward to it,” Rebel told her.
Sophie tried to call Teddy, but the call went straight to voice mail. As always, his deep voice on the outgoing message sent little shivers through her whole body. She hadn’t been impressed with him the first time she saw him, but when he spoke, all that changed. There was something soothing and yet exciting about the deep southern Louisiana twang he had.
After the beep she said, “Hello, darlin’. I miss you. I love you. I’ll call tomorrow morning, which will be in the afternoon for you. I’ve made it to the trailer park and am hoping to start painting tomorrow.” She ended the message, tucked her phone into her pocket, and headed across the yard to the table.
“So, tell us about your friend,” Filly said. “Is she all right? She seemed like she was afraid of her own shadow when she got out of your vehicle. Her little hands were shaking, and she wouldn’t make eye contact with us. What’s happened to her?”
“It’s a long story, but the best way I can describe her is that she’s like Coco,” Sophie said.
Josh nodded. “Go easy with her, right?”
As if she’d heard her name, a big calico cat jumped up on the bench beside Sophie and meowed. “I’m glad to be here, too, Coco girl.” Sophie smiled. “Thank you for the warm welcome.”
The cat had appeared in the trailer park during Sophie’s first year there. She’d been a tiny kitten so wild that no one could touch her, but Josh had kept working with her until, by the end of summer, she would let him pet her. Sophie remembered him saying that he understood the cat, because he was leery of most people, too.
“Is Emma sick, or is she just wary of strangers like Coco was when she first adopted us?” Arty asked.
“Not either one, really,” Sophie answered. “It’s more like she was so sheltered and protected that the real world was too much for her.”
A smile played at the corners of Josh’s mouth. “I’ll share Coco with her. That might help.”
“I’m sure it will,” Sophie agreed. “I should be taking some food back for our supper.”