“We haven’t spoken in weeks. You’ve got to tell me everything that’s going on,” Farrah demanded.
She couldn’t help but laugh at her best friend. “Are you being nosy because you miss me or because you want to live vicariously through me?”
“You know me too well, Ginny Rigby. Now dish, or else I’ll drive down there today, and we’ll be having supper on the beach.”
“Promise?” Her chest tightened at how much she missed her best friend. “A beachside dinner sounds wonderful.”
“Would if I could, but I’ve got…things going on here.”
“Oh? Care to talk about it?”
“After you tell me everything. Now, what’s going on with that hunky man you’ve been seeing?”
She settled back onto a pillow and laughed. It was early in the morning, and she’d just made herself a cup of tea and had come back to her bed for some well-deserved reading time. She’d only just cracked the spine of her newest paperback when Farrah called.
“Hunky man?” she repeated innocently.
“Don’t you try to get out of this. I want to know everything about him.”
“He took me on a picnic to a deserted island not far away.”
“He didn’t! The man must be crazy about you. Sounds so romantic. Did y’all kiss?”
It felt like they were teenagers, gossiping about cute boys. “No, we were interrupted by toxic-waste-sized bees.”
“What?” Farrah shrieked.
“Let’s just say no one was hurt, but there was no kissing.”
“Darn.” Her voice dropped like a stone falling off a cliff. “What else?”
“He made me a new set of steps leading down from the back of the lighthouse.”
“Did you ask him to?”
“No.”
There was a loud exhalation from Farrah. “Oh my gosh, he’s in love. And he can do manly things—maneuver a boat, build stairs. What else can he do? If he’s this good with his hands already, it makes me wonder.”
Heat crept up her cheeks. “Stop it. We only just started seeing one another. Besides, I’m not ready for anything more.”
“I understand. You have every right to want to take things slow. You’ve been through the ringer. But all I’m saying is that you deserve to have a little fun with someone who really seems into you, and speaking of ghosts from the past—”
“Were we speaking about Jack?” she asked as she glanced out the window. The sun was already high in the sky, as it was when you lived at the beach. There was no hiding from the sun, no mountain peaks to shield you from its rays. “I didn’t think you’d even mentioned his name.”
“I hadn’t, but from what I hear, that woman is having a heck of a time with the society ladies.”
It felt like her chest was being squeezed between two brick walls. The mention of that woman’s name always caused her body to react on its own. Even though she didn’t want to talk about her, Farrah had brought up the subject for a reason.
“What do you mean, she’s having a problem?”
Her voice became louder, as if she was pressing her mouth to the receiver. “From what I understand, she got her child enrolled in school and has tried doing things with the PTO. The other mothers are letting her, but word’s gotten out about who she is—you know, from the grandmothers—and no one talks to her. She’s already a social pariah, and she just moved in. No one wants to have anything to do with the woman.” Farrah scoffed. “What does she expect? You can’t take over a person’s house and life and expect everyone to welcome you with open arms, not when you were the mistress.”
“She called me.”
“What?” Farrah screeched. “No!”
“What did she say?”
“I have no idea. I didn’t answer.”
Her friend scoffed. “I don’t blame you. Why would you want to talk to her? The nerve, calling you.” She was quiet for a moment before saying, “Maybe she wanted to apologize. Maybe she wanted to offer your old house back. Ginny! What if that’s it? What if that woman was calling to say that it wasn’t working out in Atlanta, and she wanted to hand over the house. You could come back to your old life. We could be together. You could help me…”
When her voice died, Ginny frowned. It wasn’t like Farrah to be quiet. Silence was not her strong suit. “I could help you what? What were you going to say?”
“Nothing. It’s nothing.”
“Farrah,” she warned, “I know you better than anyone else on this earth. Something is bothering you. What is it?” When her friend was still quiet, she persisted. “You were there for me when my life imploded. Let me help you. Not that your life is going sideways like mine did,” she added with a weak laugh, because worry was knotting her chest. Farrah was loud and open, her thoughts barely touching her head before they exploded from her mouth. But now she was quiet, and that worried Ginny.
“It’s just that I’m afraid that…well that…I don’t know how to say this.”
“I’m your oldest friend in the world. You can tell me anything.”
She released a staggering breath. “I’m afraid that Evan is…it just seems like he might be…”
“Cheating?”
“Yes.” The word came out in a rush, as if she’d been holding on to it for way too long before finally deciding to release it. “I hate to think that, but he’s been acting so strange lately. He’s started working out really hard and is spending more time away from home.”
It certainly did sound suspicious. However, there was a time and a place for jumping to conclusions. “I’m certainly not an expert at smelling this sort of thing out. I didn’t even know Jack had a second family. But I can say that Evan loves you.”
“This is different, Ginny. It feels different. I don’t know.”
It felt like her bones were being crushed under the weight of listening to Farrah. The last thing that she wanted was for her friend to be hurting. “Maybe it’s a big misunderstanding.”
“Maybe,” she said softly.
“But you don’t have any proof.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Until you have proof, there’s nothing to talk about, is there? Farrah, you can jump to conclusions as much as you want, and you can speculate, but that will only drive you crazy. It’ll also drive a wedge between you and Evan. If you don’t trust him, the relationship isn’t going to work. You’ve been married long enough to know that. For me it’s different. If I had known about Jack, then I would’ve done something. But you only suspect Evan.”
“Maybe I should hire a private investigator,” she joked bitterly.
“Evan is a good man,” she told her friend in a soothing voice. “He loves his family and God. He’s active in the church and lives the straight and narrow life. If he’s working out, maybe it’s because he either wants to get in shape or he wants to impress you.”
“Maybe,” Farrah replied, but it was obvious that she didn’t believe what she was saying.
“You should ask him.”
She snorted. “It’s not like he’ll admit anything. If he’s cheating, he won’t say, ‘Yes, I’m cheating, Farrah.’”
“You’re right, but will it make you feel better? Will it help ease the worry in your mind? You’re my best friend, and I know this is bothering you.”
“Mm. But that’s enough about me. Are you going to call that woman back?”
Ever since Jack’s mistress had taken over her life, they had taken to referring to her as that woman rather than saying her name.
“Why should I call her? What could she possibly want?”
“Maybe she wants to give you some of your furniture.”
It was Ginny’s turn to scoff. “I doubt it. She’s waited this long to reach out. I’m sure she’s grabbed all our things for herself.”
“What about the pictures? What about Reece’s things? She hadn’t completely cleaned out her room, right?”
“That’s true.” She scraped her teeth over her bottom lip. “Reece hasn’t mentioned it in a while, but there were some things that she wanted to get.”
“Have them shipped,” Farrah quipped. “Let them be sent right to you. Don’t ever go back there.”
She chuckled at the severity in her friend’s voice. “You have a point. Well, then. Maybe I’ll call her back.”
“Just don’t invite her to Thanksgiving dinner.”
She sucked air. “It’s coming up soon.”
“Do y’all want to come up here? You know the city is so pretty during the holidays.”
Ginny loved the city that time of year—so many lights and events to attend. Though it was tempting to leave, she needed to get used to her new life. “We’ll stay here, in Sugar Cove. But you’re welcome to visit.”
“I might. I may end up leaving my husband for all we know.”
“Farrah,” she said quietly. “You need to talk to Evan before you do anything rash.”
“I will.”
“Promise?”
“Cross my heart.”
They hung up, promising to check in with each other in a few days. But as Ginny got off the phone, she couldn’t help but wonder if Farrah’s promise would hold up or if she would risk ruining a solid twenty-year marriage.
Either way, only time would tell.