“Everyone knows you’re to get about three million dollars. Is that what’s upset you? Overwhelmed by the money?”
“Not quite,” she said as she sipped her tea. “This is good. You should have some.”
“No thanks.” He got a beer out of the refrigerator, then sat down in the chair beside her. “If you weren’t overwhelmed, were you underwhelmed? It wasn’t as much money as you thought it was going to be?”
“It wasn’t the money!” she nearly shouted. “There is no money to worry about!” She put her hand over her mouth. She hadn’t meant to say that.
“Well,” Luke said as he leaned back in the chair. “No money.”
“Look, I can’t say any more about this. I just need some time to think about everything, and I ask you to please tell no one what I said.”
“You think I’m going to run out of here and tell the town?” His brows were drawn together almost into a straight line.
Suddenly, she could take no more. She put her hands over her face and began to cry.
“Hush,” Luke said as he drew her gently into his arms so her head was on his shoulder. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“You didn’t. It was what Ramsey told me.”
“That there is no money? Is that what he told you?”
“Yes, no,” she said, still crying. “Everything was a lie. I’m finding out that everything I knew about a woman I loved so much was a lie. Who she was, where she came from, even who she loved, it was all a lie. Every word of it. Why did she lie so much? Did she not trust me? I don’t understand.”
Luke pulled a paper napkin from a holder on the table and handed it to her. Sitting up, she blew her nose as Luke got up. “Mind if I make myself a sandwich? I didn’t have time for lunch.”
“I’m sorry. I’
m imposing on you. I never meant to do this. When I left Ramsey I felt great, but…”
“When you saw me, you broke down,” he said, and there was amusement in his voice.
“It wasn’t like that. Ramsey is…you know, so I didn’t want to fall apart in front of him.”
“I have no idea what ‘you know’ means. What is Ramsey?”
“A man I’m interested in,” she said. “In ‘that’ way.”
“I see,” Luke said. “So when you’re with him you keep your chin up, your eyes dry, and you don’t let him see you with a snotty nose.”
“Yes,” Jocelyn said, blowing her nose again. “I didn’t know I was feeling so bad until I got away from him. He’s always so nice to me. He carries food around wherever he goes, and he’s always complimenting me. He says I’m funny and smart and that he—” She blew again, only this time harder. “Sorry. What kind of sandwich is that?”
“Ham and cheese. You want one?”
“You have any pickles?”
“I don’t know. It’s your refrigerator.”
“It’s a magic refrigerator because I have yet to go to a grocery store but it’s always full of food.”
“I’m sure that’ll end by this week. Everybody in town will be used to you and won’t bother trying to get to know you. Especially not if they know you have no money.”
“Ha ha,” she said. “You aren’t going to tell, are you?”
He paused in putting mustard on four slices of bread. “You’re worried that no one will like you if they know you aren’t rich?”
“I don’t want them to know that their beloved Miss Edi had no money! I don’t want them to think bad about her.”
“So you don’t care that they know you are poor.” He had his back to her, but she knew he was smiling.