“Yes. I had friends, a good job and my daughter. I didn’t want anything else.”
“No man?”
“There were a couple of guys I dated, but...”
“But they didn’t do for you what Cheryl’s father did.”
“You’re making this into a cliché.”
“Sorry. So, then what made you come back?”
“He did. He found us when Cheryl was eleven and begged us to return. He had business here, so he couldn’t leave, but he showed the papers of the divorce he was going to get. He said he wanted to be part of our lives.” She stopped massaging Arthur’s legs.
“And you moved back to Lachlan.”
“I did, but he didn’t go through with the divorce.” Verna gritted her teeth. “His wife said no, he couldn’t leave his kid, his business would suffer. You name it, he gave it as an excuse.”
Arthur watched as the red of rage seeped up her neck and into her face.
“You could have gone back to Baltimore.”
“I wanted to, but Cheryl begged to stay here and—and I wanted him to see us. To see what he’d lost. I knew he was miserable in his marriage. He offered me money but I refused. That was probably a mistake. To stay, I had to supplement my income with you.”
“And a couple of others,” he added, trying not to smirk. When she said nothing else, he opened his eyes and looked at her. Her face had gone stone-cold. Everyone in town knew what she did, which was why Arthur had never felt bad about letting people think there was more between him and Verna than massages. Only he knew that Verna would have slapped him down if he so much as asked. Was she like that with her other clients? He’d always assumed that what the town whispered about her was true, but what if it wasn’t? “The town thinks that you—” He couldn’t say the rest of it.
“I know they do. At first I tried to set them straight, but no one believed me.”
“Who started the gossip? Who keeps it going?”
“I’m not sure, but I have an idea.”
He waited for her to say who it was, but she didn’t. “So what happens now?”
“The minute Cheryl graduates from high school, we’re out of here no matter how hard she fights me. The only temper tantrum she ever threw was when I said I wanted us to leave this town. I can’t figure out what she loves about it.”
“She certainly loved something here,” Arthur mumbled as he thought of Cheryl’s predicament. The girl was fifteen and pregnant with some older man’s baby—and she actually believed the guy was going to marry her. Arthur needed to lead into a talk about that. “If you leave, that Wyatt kid will be heartbroken.”
“Yeah, probably. I stay away from that boy. He shows up and I hide. If I got near him, Lord only knows what Roy Wyatt would accuse me of. Not that he pays any attention to his poor son.”
“He and Cheryl seem like a good match.”
“Yeah. He’s a smart kid. Helps my girl with her newscaster practice. Cheryl wanted me to do it but I don’t have the patience.”
“It’s been a good summer for her. Mostly because of that boy.” Arthur paused. “Maybe Cheryl will want to get married and stay here.”
“Hell no! When she graduates, we’re leaving. I’ll have the car packed and ready. I’ll be glad to see the last of this place.”
“But what if Cheryl has other plans?”
“Like what?” Verna was getting angry.
“I didn’t mean anything. I was just asking.” He put his hand out and she gave him his canes. “What does Cheryl know about her father?”
“Nothing at all. I told her he was a man I met at a concert and that he played a killer guitar.”
“What about when Cheryl gets a boyfriend here?”
“That’s not going to happen. I keep too close a watch on her. I drill it into her that earning a living is what’s important. She shows up with a boyfriend, and two hours later, we’ll be on the road heading north...”