“Thinking about running again?” She said, tipping her chin up at me, resuming her tasks.
“What makes you say that?” I said as I went to the sink to wash my hands. Rolling up my sleeves, I grabbed an apron and slipped it on.
Mrs. Johnson pointed her knife at the bowl of freshly washed potatoes, and I started to peel them.
“You look like the same lost boy that stormed in here ten years ago.”
We worked in silence for a moment. This wasn’t like before. When I left home, I wanted to be anywhere but here. The pressure from my father was overwhelming, and the silence from my mother was making me resentful. My breakup with Denise pushed me over the edge. School was over. There was nothing keeping me here. One night, I said goodbye to the twins and bought a train ticket to New York.
“I think I’m in love with Willow,” I muttered, tossing another potato into the bowl full of ice water.
“I know that’s not what’s got you screwing up your face like that, so there must be more to it than that.” She tutted as she moved the greens over to the large sink to soak them.
“She’s someone I rescued, and the department found out about us—now my job is on the line. My career, everything I worked for. It’s all blowing up in my face. Now I’m here working for Gentry just like he always wanted.”
“I’ve been wondering about that.” Mrs. Johnson washed her hands and then sat on a stool by the kitchen window. She poured two glasses of sweet tea from the pitcher on the counter and handed me a glass.
I stood back, taking a sip, savoring the cool sweetness on my tongue. “She was in trouble, and the only way to protect her was to bring her here. If it wasn’t for her, then I probably would’ve never stepped foot back in this town.”
“Do you regret it? It seems like since you met her, you’ve been dealing with a heap of problems.”
“C’mon, Mrs. J.” I let out an exasperated sigh. “No, of course I don’t regret it. Evelyn, she’s—she’s one of the best things to come into my life.”
“Go rinse those greens.”
Outside of the kitchen, she was a sweet elderly woman who hugged and pinched cheeks. In her kitchen, though, she was all work and no play. You followed her rules, or you found yourself outside the door. I didn’t want to be on her bad side, so I started rinsing the greens like I was told.
“There’s fear in your heart. You were scared back then, too, and that is okay. A boy wanting his father’s approval is nothing out of the ordinary. I’m not going to go back on my word and say leaving wasn’t the right thing to do. It was—you needed it.” She shook her head as she stirred a large pot on the burner. “I thought you would find yourself and come back. Tell everyone how proud you were to be a firefighter. Instead, you stayed gone, you hid where no one could judge your choices.”
“His voice is always the loudest in the room.”
“Being loud doesn’t make you right. This is your home.” She paused for a long while, hand on her hip. “You grew up to be a good man. Appeal to the hearts of those people. If what you feel for her is real. Don’t run, don’t hide—fight for your love.”
I dried my hands off with a towel, turning to face her. “What if I fail and I still end up losing everything?”
“What if you do? If all this trouble isn’t worth it, then what's stopping you from going home and ending this charade? Your great-granddaddy didn’t manage to build this place because hewas lucky. He endured. He persevered. If this love is real, then …” Her voice trailed off.
“Sometimes you have to be willing to risk it all.”
“Mmm.” Was her only reply.
There was no way I was leaving Evelyn to fend for herself. When I thought of the things that had been done to her, the things that made her scream at night – my body shook with rage. The last thing I wanted to do was break my promise to her. I said I would protect her, and nothing was going to come between that.
There was more than enough evidence to prove that I was an upstanding firefighter and honorable captain. I worked my ass off; I wasn’t going out like this.
She was worth it.
We cooked in silence. She directed me, and I followed. I had calmed down a lot since I first set foot in here. Left to my own devices, I wouldn’t know where to start, but somehow helping Mrs. J cook collard greens seemed to settle me. The old woman was right. I gained more perspective than I’d hoped for.
I helped clean the kitchen before I bent down, embracing her in a hug. “Thank you for listening.” She patted me on the back and shooed me away.
“Parker, one more thing.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Don’t hold it all in. Tell her.”
Chapter 29
