“Hmmm,” she said. “You must be referring to Terri’s mother, Leslie. Lovely woman.”
Nate smiled. “Any objection to telling me about her?”
“None at all. Leslie was my friend and she’s the one who made this place—all of it, the whole lake—what it is. Jake and Brody were just a couple of ex-GIs who wanted to build some houses. It was Leslie who had the vision of what it could be. She designed the club, made a circle road. She made a community.”
“I was told that—”
Mrs. Lennon’s face instantly turned to anger. “I know what you were told. But it’s not true. Why would a woman who lived for her family run off with some man? She was mad about Brody and hardly ever set her daughter down. She designed this place for families. She—”
Mrs. Lennon took a breath and calmed herself. “It doesn’t matter now. I don’t know what happened to Leslie Rayburn but I don’t think she ran off with a man.”
“Didn’t she leave a note?”
“I heard that she did and people said it was her handwriting, but Leslie called me that morning. She said she’d spilled a hot cup of tea over her right hand and it was in bandages. How did she write a note?”
“Did you tell the sheriff about this?”
“Of course, but we had old man Chazen then and he wouldn’t listen to anyone but Della Kissel. He said no one could understand what a woman like Leslie thought. Maybe she’d planned it in advance.” Mrs. Lennon turned her head away for a moment. “I’m sorry for getting so angry.”
“Did you tell Frank?” Nate asked softly.
Mrs. Lennon looked back at him. “I did. He wrote everything down and I think he threw it in a box. Brody won’t listen to anything.” She tightened her lips. “You’re going to break Terri’s heart, aren’t you? We’ll add you to the list of people who have done it.”
Nate was startled by the quick change of subject. “Do you mean whatever happened with Billy Thorndyke?”
“Yes. No. I mean what this whole town has done to her.”
Nate saw that her face had an expression of guilt. “You know something, don’t you? Leslie—”
“This isn’t about Leslie.”
“Mom! Are you here?” The voice came from the other side of the tent.
Instantly, Mrs. Lennon stood up and began to speak quickly and softly. “There are ugly secrets in this town and they should be exposed. Let the light shine on them. It’s not fair that girls like Stacy Hartman get so much and the Terri Rayburns of the world get so little. They should—”
“There you are.” Kris looked from her mother to Nate and frowned. “I need help out here and I think other people do too.” She pointedly glared at Nate.
He put h
is empty glass down and stood up. “That was very interesting, Mrs. Lennon. I had no idea so much was involved in running a flower shop. And yes, I think you’re right. I should send Terri some flowers of thanks. You choose and send me the bill.” He gave a smile at Kris and left them.
It took some work, but Nate managed to escape long enough to get to his car. He backed out around a dozen other vehicles and made his way to Terri’s house. As soon as he parked, he felt the first peace he’d experienced in what seemed to be a long time.
He practically threw open the door. “I’m—” He stopped himself from saying “I’m home.”
The house was empty. There was food on the kitchen counter and a note from Terri.
Everyone has been giving me things to eat—just before they tell me Dad screwed something up. Sorry, but I can’t be there for lunch. Too many wars going on to take time off. Tell Stacy hi from me. Maybe we can double-date some time. You love Widiwick yet? —Terri
Nate read the breezy little note a couple of times, smiling. There was a Post-it on the fridge. Sandwiches inside. She’d left him two big subs with some of Mr. Parnelli’s spicy beef. He took one and a beer and went outside to the chairs to sit and watch the chaos.
He sent a text to Hallie asking if he could spend a few days with her and Jamie. After today, he didn’t think Brody would want him back as a houseguest.
Only if you cook for us, she wrote back.
“At least someone wants me,” he said as he bit into his sandwich.
He was so relaxed that he was half-asleep when the door into the house was thrown open.