Charlie: You didn’t ruin anything.
Charlie: I’ll fix everything.
One more step in the right direction.
17 FRONT STREET
“Why are you asking?”
Gladys had her arms crossed, weight on her back foot, debating whether I deserved the information. She had seen it unfold on the front porch. I couldn’t blame her for the hesitation. For all Gladys knew, I wanted the information so I could finish the job.
“I need to talk with Matt.” Okay, a slight fib. “It’s about the scouts.”
She had me by the balls. I could have gone to Seamus or Tyler and asked for the information. I’m surprised Mum hadn’t known. No, barging through the doors and asking Gladys for Johnny’s address was part of the process. The moment I turned around, she’d alert the town, and I’d be surprised if we didn’t have an audience. I didn’t want them in my business, but I needed to accept that being part of the community meant accepting the goodandthe bad.
“You’re not going to rough him up, are you?”
“Matt? No. I just?—”
She had a glare sharp enough to cut off words.
“I’m not going to hurt him.”
I wanted to know if she took satisfaction in holding the information over my head. If there were a single person in this town who embodied what I didn’t like, it’d be Gladys. She knew the business of every person, every secret, and nothing was off-limits. My boundaries were firmly drawn, and I didn’t think she’d respect a single one of them.
“He’s not a bad guy.” Not what I expected. “He’s trying to be a good dad.”
“I already assured you.” I wouldn’t plead with her. She might have his best interests at heart, but I still found it difficult to understand. I walked in here, determined to find out if I could withstand the suffocation of Firefly. Barely. Already, I wanted to storm out and say good riddance, but I held my ground. I’d do it, but that didn’t mean I had to act as if it were roses and puppy dogs.
I wanted to ask if she knew about the torment, if that had been one whisper that crossed her counter. As we raced toward a stalemate, I wondered if anybody else in town felt the same as her? Had Johnny turned around his life and become an upstanding citizen? I clung to Mum’s words, wanting to believe things had changed. It was hard to believe as I waded through the exact situation that had forced me to leave.
“Charles—”
“Charlie.”
Gladys took a deep breath. “Charlie.”
She lowered her arms, resting them on the counter next to the antique candlesticks. With each breath, I watched the defensive posture fade. Chewing her bottom lip, her head tipped to the side. While she softened, I fought to hold the anger in the pit of my stomach.
“You don’t like me very much, do you?”
I tried to analyze the trap. Picking apart the question, I tried to figure out if she wanted gossip. Would she share my disdain?How could it be warped and weaponized so that more of the townspeople feared me? I picked my words carefully.
“It’s not you.” I’m sure I’d regret this. “It’s what you represent.”
Her eyebrow shot up. The woman who had first jumped at my presence now leaned in as if we were telling stories over coffee. Gladys didn’t say a word. I thought about spitting out scathing words. In a single statement, I could unleash decades of anger.
Deep breath.
“You don’t respect boundaries.” Her head cocked to the side as if it were the first time somebody had confronted her. “Nothing is private in this town. How did the entire town find out about what happened with Johnny?”
“I—”
“You told.” She didn’t understand. “That was between him and me. You didn’t have the right?—”
“To care about the people who live in my town?”
“To gossip.”
