Ruthann grinned at Norah and then flung her arms around Stuart. “I knew you’d agree! Thank you!”
“Thank you, Stuart,” Norah echoed when Ruthann stepped back. The look in her eyes conveyed more than words ever could.
Stuart tugged at his vest, acting as if Ruthann’s embrace had rumpled it. He wasn’t certain when he’d last felt so embarrassed by someone’s gratitude before, but Norah’s had him feeling as if he needed to unbutton his collar to breathe.
“It’s fine,” he said, his words mumbled.
“Will you go soon?” Ruthann asked as she ran to fetch the boiling kettle.
“As soon as Norah wishes to go,” he answered.
“Perhaps the day after tomorrow?” Norah’s gaze was unfocused, as if her mind were at work. Likely trying to come up with what she’d tell her parents, he thought. He tried not to cringe at the idea of going along with her deception. He had nothing but respect for Mr. and Mrs. Parker, and they’d always treated him as another son.
“Yes, that’s fine. Shall I fetch you at home?”
“No . . .” Norah shook her head as she appeared to think. “May we meet here, Ruthann? To avoid any awkward explanation if Mama or Papa is at home?”
“Certainly,” Ruthann said as she poured a cup of tea for each of them.
He’d need to excuse himself from his work yet again, but there was no getting around it. “I’ll meet you here at three o’clock.”
Norah nodded her assent as baby Caleb sent up a cry from the bedroom. Ruthann gestured for them to sit in the kitchen as she rushed to fetch her son. When she returned with the baby, the girls continued to talk, but Stuart drank the hot tea as quickly as he dared. He needed to get outside, draw in some fresh air, and think.
On the excuse that he really did need to return to work, he bid Ruthann and Norah farewell and hurried down the stairs. Thankfully, Nate was hidden away in the darkroom he used to turn the images he took with his camera into photographs. Stuart didn’t know what he’d say to his friend about what he’d just agreed to.
In fact, he didn’t know Nate’s thoughts at all about Jeremy. They’d avoided the topic in conversation, much to Stuart’s relief. It was easier not to think about Jeremy than it was to talk about him.
Outside, the street bustled with people on their way to and from shops, offices, and homes. Stuart smiled at several friendly faces and greeted a handful of people, but quickly veered off onto a side street. He needed to be alone for a moment. To run the past hour through his head and get his thoughts straight.
He found himself walking among homes. There were a few people about, but not nearly as many as there were in the center of town. And his mind began to wander.
Ruthann and Norah’s request had taken him by surprise, but really, it shouldn’t have at all. Given Norah’s subdued nature since Jeremy went to prison, he ought to have known she was planning something like this all along. She was a devoted sister, loyal and kind, and she’d proven that many times over the years. He’d never forget finding himself with a clod of dirt striking his back, and then turning around to find a defiant Norah had been the one who’d thrown it. All because he’d pushed Jeremy into the river.
“You could have killed him!” Stuart remembered her saying, dirt-stained hands on her hips.
“It was hardly running,” had been his reply. And although it had been true—the river was a shallow, slow thing in August, and he would have never truly endangered his friend—he couldn’t have helped but feel ashamed at her accusation.
Of course she wanted to see Jeremy now. And of course she believed he was innocent of all the charges that had been levied against him.
Although he hated helping her deceive her parents, he couldn’t help but admire her audacity. He would help her visit her brother—and then he’d have to be there when Jeremy disappointed her. When she finally came to the conclusion the rest of them already had—Jeremy was guilty.
It had been the hardest thing Stuart had to make peace with in his life, but he hadn’t lied to himself. His friend was no longer the man he’d known or the boy he’d grown up with. He’d turned into someone else entirely.
It was best to bury the past in order to move toward the future.
