One shoulder lifts and drops in a helpless motion.
"It was all so tragic, I guess I never wanted to have to look too closely at it."
She takes a resolute breath, and on the exhale, it all comes together, "Lena had been ill for a while. Persistent ear infection, I think. I gather she was fussy and miserable and too exhausted to sleep. And, as many parents will tell you, often going for a drive will settle a little one when nothing else will. So, after a few nights of no rest, sleep-deprived and desperate, Rebecca found herself packing her toddler into the car, and taking the backroads behind town, hoping the steady, sloping path would finally offer them both some relief."
Tension tightens my jaw, down my throat and up to my temples. I have a feeling I know where this is going.
"She wound up on Tranton Drive, and back then, there wasn't a light in sight, not like there is now. She must have dozed off, because she reportedly startled awake as she was headed straight for the woods. Yanking the steering wheel on instinct, she got herself back onto the road. Rebecca said later that in the moment, everything had happened so fast. The ground had been uneven, she'd been terrified to find herself driving toward the tree line, realizing she'd fallen asleep. But when she pulled back onto the road, Lena still sleeping, and no sign of damage, she thought she'd been lucky. That she'd woken up before anything terrible happened."
The way my mother's eyes shutter tells me that wasn't quite the case.
"The next morning, she learned that there'd been a hit and run on Tranton during the night. That the Cambridge's eldest boy was walking home late after a party out at the creek, too drunk to drive home. He died out there, on the side of the road."
She swallows hard. "Much as I'm sure Rebecca wanted to deny it, there was a dent on the passenger side of her car that hadn't been there before."
She averts her gaze, looking to Gavin and Remmi in a heated discussion over which stuffed animal to risk their tokens for in the claw machine. "No one outside of the Penny household knows what transpired over the next forty-eight hours, but many have guessed at the turmoil they faced between the moment they realized what had happened, understood the consequences that would follow if she were discovered, and the night she made the decision to turn herself in."
"Holy shit." I don't know what I was expecting, how I thought this would play out. But it was never this. "Liz's mom went to jail."
My mother nods. "Plead guilty on all charges, and they weren't easy on her despite the nature of the accident. She left the scene. A boy died. A boy who might have lived had she realized sooner what happened and gotten him help." She wipes her palm over her mouth. "Honestly, I don't think she wanted a lighter sentence. Liz is like her mother. Takes her responsibilities seriously to a fault. Bears the cost of it all without question." Her eyes land on mine again. "She's still there, you know. Serving her time at the women’s prison in Nashville."
"That's," I stammer, speechless. "I don't know what to do with that."
My mother's hand tightens around mine again. "Of course you do."
I nod. She's right.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
LIZ
The meeting with Ryan goes well. After corresponding with Tammy’s attorney, she’s confident they lack any valid legal claim to win the case if it ever went to court. Which is why she’s already submitted a motion to dismiss. Hearing that eases the tension I’ve held in my chest some, but there's still that niggling at the back of my brain whispering that Tammy is right, that I will inevitably fail at this no matter how much I fight it.
However, my voice is no longer the only one in my head. Jovi’s is there too and I let his words be louder. Lena and Trent chose me. And I will do whatever it takes to honor that choice.
"I'll let you know as soon as I hear what the judge decides," Ryan promises. "But remember, these things can take time. No news is good news for the time being.”
I nod. "Thank you," I tell her for probably the twentieth time since she arrived. "I really appreciate your help with this. Especially since you're the one Trent and Lena discussed their wishes with."
"Of course." She offers me one last warm smile before she turns, heading down the walkway to where she parked her BMW. I almost feel bad that she keeps coming to the house for thesemeetings. Our winding dirt driveway can't be great for her nice car. "Take care and I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything."
I wave goodbye when she reaches her car and turns back one more time before climbing in.
Ryan is confident Tammy's lawyer will advise her to let things go for good once the judge dismisses her case. Even if she tried to appeal the judge’s decision, her accusations regarding my involving the children in my inappropriate work wouldn't come close to being enough reason to retract the parents' wishes I care for their children. Not least of all because her accusation is bogus and she has no proof.
Reading through a copy of the request for dismissal served to calm the doubts that haunt me too. There was proof in black and white that Trent and Lena never wavered in choosing me from the moment they started the process of drawing up their will until the moment the papers were finalized.
Plus, Ryan included a thorough breakdown of what my business actually is and what my work entails and how there's no way, even in the midst of my smuttiest shoots, the children would have been exposed to the sort of damaging things Tammy's implying.
I watch until her car turns out of the driveway. Just long enough to catch sight of another vehicle pulling in.
Jovi is back with the kids.
The light, fluttery feeling that fills my chest at the sight brings an easy smile to my face. Maybe he's right. Maybe everything really is going to be fine.
Knowing the kids will come crashing through the door any minute, I clear the dishes Ryan and I used for coffee and pastries while chatting in the living room. I'm barely out of the kitchen again when they come bounding in, both of them talking a mile a minute.
"We learned how to cook on the big grill," Remmi announces.
