leave. “Wait a minute,” Danielle said. He turned back around. “Do you know if Jenny went out with anyone the other night? The night she was hurt?”
Henry flashed Patrick a look before quickly lowering his face. “No.”
“You sure?”
Henry shrugged. “She had other things to do, but I don’t know anything more. And that’s the truth.”
“How’d you get over here?” Patrick cut in.
“I rode my bike. If the door worked out, I was going to borrow a truck tomorrow to pick it up.”
“Okay, it’s been a long day,” Patrick said, obviously anxious to call it a night. “I can take you home.”
“No, sir. I’m fine on my bike.” Henry turned on his heel and strode down the driveway to grab his bike from where he had tossed it in the shrubs. Something in his backward glance made Danielle’s blood run cold.
“I worry about you in this house all by yourself.” Danielle placed a hot cup of tea in front of her grandmother, trying not to think how the lacy curtain over the kitchen window gave them zero privacy. Patrick was in his police cruiser making a few calls. She was eager to learn what he’d found out about their surprise visitor.
“I haven’t been alone. Jenny’s been here.” Gram gave her a tired smile and waved her hand. “You never had much use for this place.”
“That’s not true. It’s just…” she let her words trail off, “…I have a life somewhere else.”
“You can practice law anywhere.”
“I know.” She didn’t have the words or strength to argue. But it was more than her job. Danielle liked the anonymity of living in a big city. Where no one knew her past. Where no one judged her because she was the poor girl who had been abandoned by her trashy mother.
Danielle longed to open up to her grandmother. Confide in her. Tell her how hard it was to be in Mayport where history cast a dark shadow. But that wouldn’t be fair to Gram. Gram lived in Mayport. If Danielle rejected her roots, Gram might feel like she was rejecting her.
Gram got a far-away look all of a sudden. “Maybe I should consider downsizing.” The tremble in Gram’s voice tugged at Danielle’s heart. “What if Jenny doesn’t come home?” She finally gave voice to what had obviously been weighing on her mind.
“Oh, Gram.” Danielle rushed over and draped her arm around the older woman’s shoulders, pulling her close. “Don’t think like that.” The same dark thought had consumed her for the past two days.
“You’re the only thing I did right.” Gram’s small frame shook with quiet sobs. “But I can’t rightfully take claim to that, can I? You were always such an independent soul.” She lowered her voice. “You succeeded despite your childhood.”
“You took me in. You provided the security our mom never could.” Danielle pulled a tissue from her purse and handed it to Gram.
The older woman dabbed at her tears. “I never understood where I went wrong with your mother. Her dad—your grandfather—was a drunk. I finally kicked him out when your mother was a teenager. Maybe it was too late. She tended to be drawn to men just like her father. No-good men…”
“Don’t blame yourself.” Danielle searched for the right words. “Jenny’s doing fine.”
Gram shook her head. “Jenny reminds me of your mother. A troubled soul. I’ve been worrying about her. Even before this horrible accident.”
“You don’t think she’d gotten herself into any trouble?”
“I don’t know.” She paused, working her lower lip. “I don’t think so. But she was always on the go—school, work and boyfriend. I don’t know how she did it. I don’t think that girl slept for more than a few hours a night.”
Gram looked up at Danielle, her watery eyes glistening under the harsh kitchen light bulb. “Do you think she fell asleep at the wheel?”
That would seem plausible, if not for Jenny’s other injuries. “I don’t think so, Gram. But the police will figure it out.”
Henry flashed Patrick a look before quickly lowering his face. “No.”
“You sure?”
Henry shrugged. “She had other things to do, but I don’t know anything more. And that’s the truth.”
“How’d you get over here?” Patrick cut in.
“I rode my bike. If the door worked out, I was going to borrow a truck tomorrow to pick it up.”
“Okay, it’s been a long day,” Patrick said, obviously anxious to call it a night. “I can take you home.”
“No, sir. I’m fine on my bike.” Henry turned on his heel and strode down the driveway to grab his bike from where he had tossed it in the shrubs. Something in his backward glance made Danielle’s blood run cold.
“I worry about you in this house all by yourself.” Danielle placed a hot cup of tea in front of her grandmother, trying not to think how the lacy curtain over the kitchen window gave them zero privacy. Patrick was in his police cruiser making a few calls. She was eager to learn what he’d found out about their surprise visitor.
“I haven’t been alone. Jenny’s been here.” Gram gave her a tired smile and waved her hand. “You never had much use for this place.”
“That’s not true. It’s just…” she let her words trail off, “…I have a life somewhere else.”
“You can practice law anywhere.”
“I know.” She didn’t have the words or strength to argue. But it was more than her job. Danielle liked the anonymity of living in a big city. Where no one knew her past. Where no one judged her because she was the poor girl who had been abandoned by her trashy mother.
Danielle longed to open up to her grandmother. Confide in her. Tell her how hard it was to be in Mayport where history cast a dark shadow. But that wouldn’t be fair to Gram. Gram lived in Mayport. If Danielle rejected her roots, Gram might feel like she was rejecting her.
Gram got a far-away look all of a sudden. “Maybe I should consider downsizing.” The tremble in Gram’s voice tugged at Danielle’s heart. “What if Jenny doesn’t come home?” She finally gave voice to what had obviously been weighing on her mind.
“Oh, Gram.” Danielle rushed over and draped her arm around the older woman’s shoulders, pulling her close. “Don’t think like that.” The same dark thought had consumed her for the past two days.
“You’re the only thing I did right.” Gram’s small frame shook with quiet sobs. “But I can’t rightfully take claim to that, can I? You were always such an independent soul.” She lowered her voice. “You succeeded despite your childhood.”
“You took me in. You provided the security our mom never could.” Danielle pulled a tissue from her purse and handed it to Gram.
The older woman dabbed at her tears. “I never understood where I went wrong with your mother. Her dad—your grandfather—was a drunk. I finally kicked him out when your mother was a teenager. Maybe it was too late. She tended to be drawn to men just like her father. No-good men…”
“Don’t blame yourself.” Danielle searched for the right words. “Jenny’s doing fine.”
Gram shook her head. “Jenny reminds me of your mother. A troubled soul. I’ve been worrying about her. Even before this horrible accident.”
“You don’t think she’d gotten herself into any trouble?”
“I don’t know.” She paused, working her lower lip. “I don’t think so. But she was always on the go—school, work and boyfriend. I don’t know how she did it. I don’t think that girl slept for more than a few hours a night.”
Gram looked up at Danielle, her watery eyes glistening under the harsh kitchen light bulb. “Do you think she fell asleep at the wheel?”
That would seem plausible, if not for Jenny’s other injuries. “I don’t think so, Gram. But the police will figure it out.”
Similar Books
