“Jennie Rose! Why didn’t you tell me what happened last night?”
“Calm down, Aunt Emily. We’re fine. It was a mistake, and the police are handling it.” Jennie plopped down and folded her arms on the kitchen table. Her shift had ended a little while ago. Grateful for the uneventful day since her mind refused to focus. She’d come straight to Aunt Em’s to enjoy her company and pickup Zoey. She hadn’t expected an interrogation. “How did you find out?”
Zoey rushed into the room, threw her arms around Jennie, and gave her a big squeeze. “Hi, Mom!” Then she hurried to the living room to finish her homework.
“Hi, honey,” Jennie called out after her. Oh, how she missed her baby today. Jennie’s imagination had run amok during the day, but seeing her daughter eased the trepidation.
Her gaze floated back to her aunt. “Aunt Em?”
“David Whitman stopped by. Apparently, neither he nor Brandon knew you were my niece. We had a nice chat, and he left. But not before giving me a snapshot of what happened.”
Jennie’s heart hammered in her chest. She hadn’t wanted people to know about her past. She’d paid a horrible price for her stupid mistakes. No need for others to pity her or, even worse, scoff at her poor choices. “What did you tell him?”
“I told him you are family and about Brad’s accident.”
“What about Kenny?” It was bad enough Detective Whitman knew about her husband’s death, but she had no desire for anyone to know about Kenny and the abuse she’d suffered at his hands.
“Of course, I didn’t tell him about Kenny. That man can rot in prison for all I care. What he did to you….” Aunt Emily clicked her tongue. “I wish you would have come home and not fallen into that man’s arms.”
Pink crept up Jennie’s cheeks. She’d experienced an enormous loss and found herself pregnant days later, not knowing what to do after her husband’s death. Kenny had come to her rescue after recovering from the accident, or so she’d thought, but that was still no excuse for her choices. She’d turned her back on everything her aunt had taught her, and worse yet, she’d turned her back on God. “Choosing to run off with Brad at such an early age…not one of my brightest ideas. Although, he loved me, andI’ll never regret having Zoey. But Kenny… I’m sorry.” She shook her head.
“I know you are, honey.” Emily smoothed her hand down Jennie’s hair. “But you’re here now and have straightened out your life. That’s all that matters.” Em pressed a kiss to the top of her head and scurried back to the stove.
The shame of her decision ten years ago continued to haunt her. Why hadn’t she come home to her aunt when her world had fallen apart? If she had, she and Zoey wouldn’t have to watch over their shoulders every day.
A tap of the wooden spoon on the edge of the pot heating on the stove pulled Jennie from her musings.
“Have you heard from the handsome detective today?” Aunt Em wiped her hands on herKiss the Cookapron.
Jennie rolled her eyes. The woman was insufferable when it came to her matchmaking tendencies. “No, I haven’t. I’m sure he’ll call once they have something to report.”
As if on cue, her cell phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID. Detective Whitman. Butterflies took flight in her stomach. She’d entered his number into her phone, so she wouldn’t miss his call. Only for updates on the creep that had sent the text messages, of course.
She forced her pulse to slow.
This reaction had to stop. Men were off her radar, and she planned to keep it that way.
Taking a deep breath, she answered. “Hello, detective.”
“Hi there. Please, call me David.”
“All right. David. Do you have any news?” She glanced in her aunt’s direction and caught the smirk on the older woman’s face. When would Emily learn that Jennie wasn’t interested in her aunt’s legendary schemes?
“Not a lot.” He hesitated. “But I wanted to let you know we cloned Zoey’s phone. Thank you for your permission, by the way.”
She furrowed her brow. The man knew something. “No problem. I want this guy caught. After this is over, I’ll call the cell phone company and change her number.”
“Good idea. I’ll bring Zoey’s phone by later if that’s okay. She can have it back, but please let her know we can see all her text messages until you make the change.”
“Thank you. I appreciate your honesty. And your help.” The one thing her life with Kenny had taught her was the value of the truth. She hated deceitfulness.
Voices hummed in the background. When David returned to their conversation, his words were gentle but clipped. “You’re welcome. Listen, Jennie, I’m sorry, but I have to go. Will you be home later tonight?”
“We will. Just give me a quick call before you come. And David?”
“Yes?”
Jennie scraped at a spot on the table with her thumbnail. “Stay safe.”
