“Did the Hankins kid father the twins?”
“Yes, though he denied it. The entire Hankins family acted outraged at the suggestion that their son had behaved inappropriately. They implied that Savannah was a promiscuous tramp who wanted to trap Vince into marrying her. As if he was some great catch,” she added scornfully.
“She had no doubt he fathered the kids?”
“Of course not. Savannah was devastated when Vince and his buddies told everyone she slept around. She swore Vince was the only one—and her family believed her.”
“So how come she didn’t get a blood test and prove it to everyone? Make the guy own up to his responsibilities?” Lucas had no respect for a man who would deny his own children. At least he could be confident that he hadn’t left Rachel in that kind of trouble when he’d taken off fifteen years ago.
“Because she inherited as much of the McBride pride as she did their recklessness. She didn’t want anything from Vince. And she didn’t want to force any man to be a father to her children. She’s been a good mother, Lucas. The twins are good kids. And now she’s married to a man who appreciates all of them. He’s Christopher Pace, the author. You might have heard of him.”
Lucas lifted an eyebrow. He’d heard of Pace, even read a couple of the guy’s books. “Sounds like everything turned out all right for her.”
“Yes. Which made April even more hateful to me—to all the McBrides. She resents the idea that Savannah is now married to a wealthy, famous man while her precious brother is only a used-car salesman.”
“Why should she take any of that out on you?”
“Who knows? She just doesn’t like McBrides. It always seemed to irk her that I have more friends than she did, even though I was your sister and Nadine’s daughter. She can’t see it’s because she’s so spiteful that people tend to give her a wide berth.”
Lucas had lost interest in April Hankins. It sounded to him as though Emily could hold her own against the woman. In fact, it sounded as if Emily had made a satisfying life for herself here despite her family’s less-than-spotless reputation.
It had obviously been unnecessary for Lucas to come rushing back to Honoria. He could have stayed away. Could have avoided getting himself roped into a family Christmas—and seeing Rachel again. Hearing Rachel admit that she was afraid of him.
“What do people say about me in town?”
Emily busied herself clearing away the remains of their lunch. “Oh, you know...they wonder whatever became of you. Why you left so abruptly.”
He covered her hand with his, stilling her movements. “Emily. What do they say about me and Roger Jennings?”
She cleared her throat. “Some of them—especially Sam Jennings and his friends—say you got away with...with...”
“With murder.” Lucas could say it, even if his sister could not.
“Yes.”
He kept his hand on hers. “I didn’t kill Roger.”
Her gaze met his, and he was relieved to see that there was no shadow of doubt in her eyes. “I never for a moment believed you did. And neither does anyone else with half a brain. If there had been any evidence to link you to Roger’s death, Chief Packer would have found it. He certainly tried hard enough to find a reason to arrest you. But there was no evidence, and you had an alibi.”
He released her hand. This time it was Lucas who looked away, uncomfortable by the mention of that “alibi.”
“Whatever happened to Lizzie Carpenter?” he asked gruffly.
“She married a guy from Macon about ten years ago and moved away. She would never talk about you after you left. She tended to burst into tears whenever your name was mentioned, so people eventually stopped asking her about you.”
Lucas winced. “Great. Everyone thought I slept with her, ruined her reputation, and then left town and broke her heart, right?”
“I’ve heard murmurs to that effect,” Emily said almost apologetically.
Lucas shook his head, thinking of Rachel and remembering the old pain he’d seen in her eyes. God, what a mess he’d made of things fifteen years ago.
The telephone rang. Emily reached for the kitchen extension. “Surely Martha Godwin hasn’t already found out you’re in town.”
Lucas grimaced.
But it was immediately obvious from her besotted smile that the caller was her fiancé. “Lucas and I just finished lunch,” she said. “We’re having a very nice visit.”
To give her privacy, Lucas motioned to his sister to take her time with her conversation and walked out the kitchen door.