Chapter 10

The Silver Creek Cemetery lay peaceful in the late afternoon sunlight. A few songbirds twittered softly overhead, but otherwise, no sounds broke the silence of the last resting place for the town’s former residents.

Shane hesitated as he approached the gravesite. While he tossed a small football back and forth in his hands—the kind cheerleaders often flung into the stands at high school games—his thoughts raced back to those summer practices when he and Jason had run and sweated and joked together. They’d been so young then, so full of life, and so unaware of what life had in store for them. After the coach let them go for the day, he and Jase would often run down to the creek, strip to their shorts, and dive in. He still remembered the cold water, how they’d howled and laughed and carried on. What he wouldn’t give to relive just one of those golden afternoons.

The elderly caretaker had pointed out the Delaney plot and babbled on about who was buried there. A set of great-grandparents, a great-uncle who’d died in Vietnam, a baby who’d been stillborn…and one young man who’d not made it to his twenty-fifth birthday.

Taking a deep breath, Shane walked over to the headstone with his best buddy’s name engraved on it.

Seeing it hit him like a ton of bricks. He ran his hand around the back of his neck and had to look away a moment. Up until now, it hadn’t seemed real that the friend he’d known so long ago was really gone forever. This made it real and final, yet it was what he needed to set the past right. After what Allison had told him, he could no longer feel the bitter resentment toward Jason. Because Jason had done the right thing. The manly thing. He’d taken care of Shane’s responsibility, and he’d done it out of love.

He hunkered down on one knee and studied the etching for a moment. Touching the cool stone, he let his fingers trace over the two dates. Jason’s birthday had been a week after his. They’d celebrated together by going to a rock concert and driven home singing like fools at the top of their lungs. A month later Shane asked Allison to the homecoming dance. It was the beginning of the end.

Resting his hand on the soft green grass below the headstone, he bowed his head for a long moment. “Thanks, buddy, for taking care of them.” His voice came out gruff and full of emotion. “There’s no way I can ever repay you but just to say, thanks.” Dropping the football by the stone, right next to a vase of wilted flowers, he put his hands on his knee and pushed himself up, and then had to swallow hard to get rid of the lump in his throat. The best way to remember Jason Delaney was to remember the good times. Now, it was up to him, Shane McBride, to do the right thing.

It didn’t mean Allison would have him. She’d suffered her own pain these past ten years, and he wouldn’t blame her for telling him to take a hike. But he had to at least try.

Turning, he strode away toward his truck, planning to go back to the farm tonight. They’d talk, and maybe, just maybe, he’d convince her they could make a family—he and Allison and their daughter. It was still the one thing he wanted more than anything else in the world.

****

Allison awoke to the kitchen door opening and Lizzy calling out, “Hi, Mom, we’re home.” She struggled to sit up in the recliner just as the munchkin bounced into the living room, shopping bags swinging in her hands, followed by a newly brushed and shampooed Gypsy and a worn-out Ronnie. Before she could speak, her daughter rushed to her side. “Mom! Are you sick? Were you sleeping?”

“I’m fine,” she assured them. “I just needed a quick nap. I guess I didn’t sleep very well last night.” She tried not to wince when she stood. The bruises really hurt now. “Did you have fun?” A glance to Ronnie met with an equally puzzled frown. “How was the movie?”

“Okay, but are you sure you’re all right?” The forgotten shopping bags were tossed on the floor. “You don’t look good.”

She smoothed her daughter’s hair and gave her a hug. “Yes, I’m fine, silly. What did you and Aunt Ronnie buy today? Let’s get something to drink and you can show me.” In the kitchen, she poured the lemonade while Lizzie showed off several new summer outfits.

Amazing she’s suddenly willing to wear something besides jeans and horsey T-shirts.

“Very nice. Why don’t you go hang them up and then come down for a snack?” When her excited daughter left the room, Allison swallowed her prideful nature and smiled at Ronnie. “Thanks for taking her today.”

“Well, you know I’m happy to have Lizzie anytime.”

She glanced around the kitchen Allison hadn’t bothered to tidy up after breakfast this morning. Her sister-in-law was always assessing the housekeeping skills that weren’t up to her standards, but to her credit she didn’t comment right now.

The contemptuous gaze, however, focused back on her. “I’ve certainly never known you to take a nap. Are you feeling all right? If you don’t, I can certainly take Lizzie home with me for the night.”

“It’s not necessary. I just…had a little run in with a tree this morning while riding and scraped my leg up.” A second later, she mentally kicked herself for letting that slip. Her sister-in-law didn’t need to know about the riding mishap. All she would do was harp about it. “But it’ll be fine,” she quickly added.

Ronnie sighed disgustedly. “Now, that’s not the smartest thing to do is it, go riding by yourself? What if you’d fallen and gotten seriously hurt? No one would have known where to find you.”

“I had my cell phone in my pocket.” She hadn’t.

“What if you were knocked unconscious?”

“But I wasn’t, and I’ve ridden this farm all my life. I’m very careful.” Although careful didn’t help much when your horse got spooked by something unseen. She still wondered what had sent Mystri into flight, not that she was about to mention that.

“So was my brother, very careful, and it didn’t stop something unexpected from happening to him.”

“Please, Ronnie, don’t…” The last thing she wanted to talk about was the accident that took Jason’s life.

“Which brings me to something I’ve wanted to discuss with you.” Her sister-in-law inspected her bright green fingernails for a few seconds. “What would happen to Lizzie if you were taken ill or, God forbid, something worse. Do you have anyone designated as her legal guardian?”

Bile rose in Allison’s throat. Of course Ronnie would think she should designate them, and perhaps a week ago, as much as she hated to admit it, they would have been a logical choice. But things had changed in a matter of a few days, and she wasn’t ready to explain any of it to her. “I don’t think now is a good time.”

“When then? You’ve got to show responsibility where your child is concerned. You’ve got to—”

Allison cut her off with a quick shake of her head when Lizzie came skipping back into the room and went right to the refrigerator.

“What’s there to eat, Mom? And what’s for din tonight?” As if she sensed the tension in the air, her big blue eyes flicked between them. “Is something wrong?”

Allison rose from the table and went to her daughter’s side. “Not a thing, but there’s fruit salad left from last night. You may have some now, and we’ll just grill hot dogs for dinner. Sound okay?”

An astute child, there was never any pulling the wool over Lizzie’s eyes, but she fixed her snack without further questions. A few minutes later, thankfully, Ronnie left, but with a promise they’d go to an art exhibit the following week.

Shane called at five to say he was running late after several emergencies at the clinic. Allison assured him she was fine, and she and Lizzie could handle feeding the horses.

“I’m bringing pizza for dinner,” he insisted. “Should be there by seven.”

Allison agreed, only because it would leave them just enough time to make the quick visit she had decided was necessary before she could tell Lizzie the truth.

****

A chill in the air had followed the storm. Allison tugged on a flannel shirt and followed alongside Lizzie as the sun slipped behind the tall pine trees guarding the cemetery. A light breeze sighed softly through the boughs, an infinitely lonely sound for an infinitely lonely place.

At first, they’d come here every day, then every week. Now she had to stop and think, when was the last time they’d visited Jason other than Father’s Day? Her life had become so busy in the past year or two, what with work and the horses and Lizzie’s activities. It wasn’t that she didn’t think of Jason anymore; she just needed to keep moving forward. Keep putting one foot in front of the other to make sure her daughter had every opportunity. A chance to make something of herself. A chance for a good life. Things were going pretty well, up until Shane McBride came back into their lives. Now, she had to change the life she’d made for them, tell Lizzie the truth. The truth that the man she’d believed was her father was not really her father at all.

Her daughter knelt down by Jason’s headstone and with her small hands lifted the vase with the wilted flowers. “Well, these are all done for. Do you think Aunt Ronnie left them?”

“Probably.” Ronnie often visited her only brother’s grave. “Why don’t you go ahead and put your flowers in it. She won’t mind.”

Allison wrapped her arms around herself while Lizzie arranged the small bouquet she had picked from her garden. She took a few minutes to fix the flowers just so before putting them back by the headstone and brushing away some dry leaves blown across the grave.

“Mom, look! Who do you suppose left this?” Lizzie turned to her and held out a miniature football. “Do you think some kid dropped it?”

Her breath caught in her throat as she stepped forward and put out her hand to take the ball. Turning it over, she saw a date written on it, a date from nearly eleven years ago. The last season Shane and Jason had been teammates. Allison smiled to herself and gave the football back to Lizzie. “It stays here, honey.”

“But where did it come from?”

“I’ll tell you later.” She urged her daughter to put it back, then held out her hand. “Come on. I have something very important to tell you, but let’s go home first.”

When they arrived at the farm, Shane sat waiting for them on the porch. Allison wasn’t sure she wanted to talk to Lizzie with him present, but maybe it was for the best. After all, what she had to tell her daughter did involve him.