“Come in,” I call, hoping to see Penny’s grumpy face when the door opens.
Instead, I see Duke’s.
“What do you want?”
He steps aside, and behind him is Karmen Sanders.
“Is something wrong?” I blurt, hoping Penny is okay.
“She’s fine,” Karmen assures me.
I slouch back in my chair. “Is this her way of dumping me?”
“No.” She pulls out a slip of paper from her purse and hands it to me. “She wanted me to give you this.”
Without another word, she leaves with Duke in tow.
I suck in a breath, hoping like hell it’s not bad news. What’s sprawled on the thin blue lines is an address.
And then it clicks.
I grab my coat, hop in my truck, and speed across Perish Prosper to the lot that once belonged to her family. I bought it, intending to build a storefront, but never got around to it.
Sure enough, she’s seated on a bench I had placed there, overlooking a garden the locals planted.
Unsure of what to do, I walk over and take a seat next to her on the bench.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been here,” Penny says, her voice tight.
”How does it make you feel?”
”Angry. A little hollow.”
”I’m sorry you had to go through all that.”
”Quite honestly, if I hadn’t, I can’t say my life would have turned out any better.”
”What’s on your mind, Penny?” I ask, hoping I can save us from what I fear is Penny’s doubts.
“All those years ago, you saved me when no one else wanted me, but what I never told you is that no one ever wanted me, even before the accident.”
“No one?”
She shakes her head sadly from side to side. “My mom was like a zombie, and my dad was so full of rage, I sometimes wondered why he even bothered sticking around at all. I can’t blame my siblings for leaving. Just like I can’t blame my grandparents for not helping me. There were just too many to help.”
“They may have abandoned you, but I won’t. From now until my dying breath, I’ll never leave your side. And it’s not just because of the baby. I love you, Penny. I love you more than anything, and I can’t wait to have a baby with you.”
She smiles but looks tortured. “I love you too.”
“I’m glad I found you, Penny.”
“The thing is, I don’t know if I’ll ever believe that. I want to, and I almost did. But then I walked out of the restroom to find that girl on your lap, and I just…couldn’t.”
“Eddy Rae means nothing to me.”
“I know that. I knew it that night. But the feeling I got when I saw her on top of you…it was powerful, and so damn terrifying.”
“Then maybe I need to work harder to make sure I’m never put in that situation again.”
