The Moment of Truth

And, too late, remembered he’d deleted the list when he’d deleted his old life.

He and the guys had visited an online chat room for hooking up when they’d been in high school. Just for kicks. With front-facing cameras and tablets and smartphones, he figured the experience was far more advanced these days than it had been back in the day when they’d had to gather around a webcam plugged into his computer.

The idea, while tempting for a second, was one he turned down almost immediately. He was a grown man, not some know-it-all, spoiled teenager.

Pushing speed dial, he listened to the ring on the other end and knew that his intended recipient would eventually pick up. It was part of what he paid her for, to take his calls, and keep him posted, too.

“Mr. Redmond?”

“Hi, Sara. Sorry to wake you.”

“It’s okay, I napped when Missy did this afternoon. And tomorrow morning Carol will be here.”

One of the two other full-time caregivers on Josh’s trust’s payroll. One of the two who, unlike Sara, lived outside the facility.

“How was she today?”

They both knew he wasn’t talking about Carol.

“Same as always, Mr. Redmond. Same as she was yesterday when you called, and the day before that, and the day before that, too.”

He got the picture.

“Okay, well, let me know if anything changes. Call if she needs anything.” As an afterthought, he added, “Or if you do.”

“I will. I swear to you, I’ll call. Now why don’t you try and trust me to do my job, to call like I said I will if anything changes, and get on with that new life of yours?”

He didn’t reply. And didn’t hang up, either.

“How are you settling in?” Sara’s voice came over the line a few seconds later.

“Fine. Good. Tomorrow’s my first day on the job.”

“You’ll do fine.”

“I’m not worried about it.” But he was. Worried that he wouldn’t know how to be a worker bee.

“You hook up with your family?” she asked next. He was surprised she knew about the Montfords. He must have mentioned them to her on one of his visits to Michelle.

“You did say you had family out there, didn’t you?” she said into the silence that fell.

He must have. Probably so that if his mother stopped by to see Michelle, Sara would uphold his story.

“I did,” he said.

“Well, that’s good, then.” She yawned. It was close to one in the morning in Boston.

“I got a puppy.” He hadn’t even told his mother that. He’d been afraid it would make her think he’d lost his mind.

“What kind?”

“A Lab mix,” he said, repeating what he’d been told, as though he was as familiar as the next guy about the specifics of dog breeds. “He’s a little over ten pounds right now, but he’s going to be at least fifty.”

“That’s good to hear, Mr. Redmond. A dog’ll be good for you.”

He was glad she thought so. Sara yawned another time, and Josh rang off, promising not to call her again so late.

She’d told him not to call her again at all.

CHAPTER NINE

DANA LIKED LILLIE HENDERSON on sight. The child life specialist was only a year or two older than she was, although, because she’d already been established in her career for seven years, she seemed light-years ahead of Dana.

They met at the Shelter Valley Diner, and arrived at the same time, five minutes earlier than their agreed upon time. Lillie was the same height as Dana, but more filled out without being a pound overweight. Dana’s boniness was something she’d learned to live with a long time before.

Walking together, they both migrated to the second available booth, not the first, and laughed as they both reached for the menu at the same time.

Lillie’s hair—dark, like Dana’s, but a rich chocolate brown, instead of the drab color of hers—fell forward as she bent over the menu. Dana would have to spend an entire night in bed with little sponge rollers all over her head to get curls like Lillie’s.

They ordered salads, grilled chicken and iced tea.

“Let me guess,” Lillie said as they waited for lunch to arrive. “You were born in February, right?”

“Nope, August.”

“Well, then, we aren’t twins separated at birth.” The comment was offered with a smile, and Dana felt as if she’d known the other woman for years instead of minutes. Lillie had seen their similarities, too.

Nice.

“So, you know Jon?” Lillie asked, and Dana noticed that her left hand bore a very small solitaire diamond.