the bravado—an emotion she tried so desperately to hide from the rest of the world.
As the shock wore off, Daniel took a moment to reevaluate Sabrina’s costume. Even with her midriff showing, the outfit was actually much less revealing than both her sisters’. Though demure, Savannah’s gown hugged her slender figure like a second skin, and Samantha’s gown, albeit decent, showed a bit more cleavage than he was truly comfortable with. Thankfully the wrap around her shoulders gave her more coverage. Sabrina was known as the “Wilde child” and had worked hard to earn the nickname. Yes, she had a different look, but that was to be expected. She thrived on being unique.
That settled in his mind, Daniel nodded. “I agree. She does look quite fetching.”
“But, Daniel, surely you can’t … I mean … she’s a Wilde … I …” Gibby shut off abruptly, her mouth opening and closing silently like a fish on dry land. A speechless Gibby was a sight to behold. Truth be told, he didn’t think he’d ever seen that happen.
Unfortunately that didn’t last long and she regained her composure quickly. “Well, at least make her wear decent shoes. Those look like something she found on the side of the road.”
“Actually I found them at a Goodwill store in Mobile,” Sabrina said. “They’re very comfortable.”
Daniel clapped his hands to get attention off Sabrina. “Now that everyone’s ready, let’s go out into the garden and take some pictures before your dates get here.”
Giving him a look that told him he was going to get an earful once the girls were gone, Gibby rounded the girls up and herded them downstairs.
Daniel blew out a sigh as he followed behind them. No, raising three teenaged girls hadn’t been easy, but it was the best and most honorable thing he’d ever done. He pushed aside the melancholy. Tonight was for his granddaughters. When the house was empty, he’d take the time to write his daily letter. How his wife, Camille, would have loved tonight’s event. If life had been fair or just, the girls’ mother and grandmother would have both been involved in readying them for this momentous occasion.
After his letter, he’d pour his one bourbon he was allowed each night and raise a glass to his beautiful daughter-in-law and handsome son, and once again apologize for not being wise or courageous enough to do what should have been done.
Alone at her table, Savannah tapped her foot in a nervous rhythm to the beat of the music as she watched the dancers on the floor. She felt out of place and uncomfortable, not an unusual occurrence. Social events always made her feel this way. Why had she thought her senior prom would be any different?
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of her date, adding a new concern. That was his third swallow from a silver flask. She knew almost nothing about Billy Bartell. When he had asked her to the prom, she had been surprised but flattered. Having someone ask her out was unusual enough that it had given her a thrill of excitement. She had foolishly accepted, mostly because she had known no one else would ask her. She had hated the idea of going to the prom alone. Any other time she wouldn’t have been so needy or desperate. Not dating regularly had never really bothered her. Focusing on her schoolwork and extracurricular activities took up most of her free time. But this was her senior prom—a watershed event, a dividing line between childhood and adulthood. After tonight, followed by graduation next week, she would no longer be a schoolgirl.
Now, as she watched her date take a fourth swallow of whatever was in the flask, Savannah was seriously regretting the decision.
Billy had seemed nice, kind of shy and awkward. He was new at school, arriving only a few months before graduation. Savannah had felt a sort of a kinship with him. She understood the feeling of aloneness and obscurity. She had felt that way for most of her life. No, she amended. She had felt that way after her parents’ deaths. Murder-suicide was the stuff of TV news or fiction books, not a loving, secure family such as hers had been.
She’d once been a happy-go-lucky kid. But the summer it happened, everything changed. Life became somber and serious, and so had she.
Billy had seemed to share that air of seriousness. Savannah had felt no real zing with him, but that didn’t concern her. She