to doubt his honor. However, she wanted to be clear on what she expected.
“I have questions I want answered.”
“I’ll give them to you. I promise.”
He shouldn’t have used those words. The last time he’d made a promise, her life had fallen apart.
And again, Zach read her perfectly. “Okay, bad choice of words. Give me a chance to explain, Savannah. Please.”
“I thought you had to work.”
“I do, but I take my dinner break at six.”
“I’ll see you then.” Turning away, she grabbed a sweet tea from the table and strode rapidly to Gibby. Thinking that her aunt would complain about it taking so long, Savannah was relieved when she took the plate and said, “Thank you, sweetie, that looks wonderful. Now, you go off and get yours before it’s all gone.”
Though nerves were jumping in her stomach like manic crickets, she did as she was told. Again she stopped on the way to visit with those she hadn’t seen since her grandfather’s funeral. Answering questions about herself and her sisters took considerable time, so by the time she returned with her own plate, Gibby was holding court with several women surrounding her. Savannah didn’t know all of them and felt comfortable sitting a little away from the group and halfway listening as she picked at her meal.
The talk she and Zach had put off for almost ten years would happen tonight. Would she be able to talk about everything? Was she ready? For self-protection, she hadn’t allowed herself to think about that time in her life in years. Dwelling on what might have been, the grief, the pain … accomplished nothing.
“Savannah Rose, I do believe I’m ready to go home and take a nap.”
Savannah stood and gathered up Gibby’s belongings, along with the lawn chairs they’d brought with them. As she expected, Gibby didn’t leave without visiting a half dozen people on the way to the car. Standing by her side, waiting, Savannah took in the scene. Men and women of all ages were sitting or standing in small groups, laughing, talking, and eating. Teenagers played softball in the small ball park, and yards away, older men threw horseshoes and played croquet. Young children played hide-and-seek, staying close by, where mothers and fathers could keep an eye on them.
It was a picturesque and almost poetic-looking scene. How many towns had Sunday socials anymore? Growing up in this kind of environment had made her take it for granted. Now, with new eyes, she could appreciate the sheer simplicity of small-town closeness. Yes, they gossiped and complained about one another, but they had something most big cities had lost. They had community.
Brown eyes twinkling, Aunt Gibby gave her a knowing smile. “Now, admit it. You had a good time today.”
Savannah laughed. “It may not have been as agonizing as I thought it would be.”
“Midnight isn’t perfect but we have our good points.”
Leaning over, she kissed Gibby’s soft, wrinkled cheek. “And you’re one of the best.”
A blush colored the elderly woman’s face to a rosy glow. “I miss having you girls close by.”
A wave of guilt hit Savannah. After she left for college, her visits had been rare and short. Her sisters had visited much more often than she had. Returning to all the old memories and pain had been too difficult. Suddenly she wished she had been braver, less self-absorbed. Gibby had been a huge part of her life when she was growing up, and Savannah felt as though she had abandoned her.
“I’m sorry, Aunt Gibby. I’ll try to come back more often. I promise.”
She patted Savannah’s hand. “Thank you, child. That would be wonderful. Now take me home so I can take my nap.”
As they drove away, Savannah glanced up in the rearview mirror and swallowed a gasp. Kyle Ingram stood only a few feet away from the rear of her car. The look of longing in his eyes was a startling and uneasy reminder. Midnight might be much more pleasant than what she remembered, but the town had its share of oddities. Kyle was most likely just reminiscing about her mother, but the gleam of adoration she’d glimpsed in his eyes sent chills up her spine. She had seen too many unbalanced people in her career not to recognize the symptoms. There was something not quite right with Kyle Ingram.
CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN
At six o’clock exactly, Zach was at Savannah’s door. He’d thought about nothing all day but their upcoming discussion. Opening up the gnawing chasm of darkness after all these years of suppressing