Chapter 8
Jesse
How the hell was Edie able to hide so well in a town this size?
Annoyed at yet another dead end thanks to Noelle Grady’s very clipped “It’s not my job to keep track of Edie”, Jesse stepped back out onto Main Street and blew out a frustrated breath.
Well. She’d searched everywhere she knew to search, asked everyone she knew to ask—which had taken up a good chunk of the day, thanks to the seemingly endless small talk her return required—and she was out of options. She should just go back up to the house and wait for Edie there.
But just as she’d made up her mind to head back to Edie’s, her gaze landed on a sign for one of the storefronts across the street. Yoga. Interesting.
When did Lost River get a yoga studio?
Intrigued, and excited by the possibility of stretching and meditating her way out of being so freaking annoyed with Edie’s disappearing act, she took off across the street and yanked open the door.
Cheerful, colorful paintings greeted her, women of all shapes and sizes twisted into various yoga poses. Everything about the space was warm and inviting, including the woman who barely glanced up from where she was stacking yoga blocks on the opposite side of the room with an apologetic smile.
“I’m afraid you just missed the class,” she called. “But there’s another this evening if you’d like to come back.”
The deep red hair. The sweet smile. The curves for days. “Ginny?”
Ginny jerked her head up, her mouth falling open in surprise as Jesse pushed her sunglasses up into her hair, revealing her face. “Jesse? What are you doing here?”
Jesse was already halfway across the room but stopped short at Ginny’s tone. They’d never been particularly close, but they’d only been a year apart in school and when your graduating classes didn’t even tip into three figures, everyone tended to know everyone. So while she hadn’t been expecting an exuberant welcome, she also hadn’t prepared herself for the ice coating Ginny’s voice.
“Ah, I was in town and saw the sign for your studio and I was hoping to catch a class. Then I saw it was you and…” She trailed off with a weak smile. “How’ve you been?”
“I’m sorry, but I’m closed for the day.”
“You just said there would be a class later today.”
A smile that wasn’t really a smile lifted the corners of Ginny’s lips, making her look so much like Mrs. Morgan it was eerie. “I must have been mistaken.”
“Is this because of Edie?” She didn’t remember Ginny and Edie being friends, but as she’d already come to realize, as much as Lost River looked the same on the surface as it had when she’d left, plenty had changed.
“Whatever happened between you and Edie is between you and Edie,” Ginny said, her clipped tones once again reminding Jesse forcibly of Ginny’s mother. “It’s none of my business.”
For the first time in her life, Jesse wished she was one of those celebrities who could treat people like shit and not feel an ounce of guilt over it. How satisfying it would be to lash out at someone and rid herself of the painful swell of emotions in her chest.
But she wasn’t, and never had been that kind of person, so she simply took a step back and nodded.
“I see.” She started to turn, but couldn’t make herself leave. Even if she wasn’t an A-list asshole, she wasn’t a doormat, either. “You know, you say it’s none of your business, but it’s clear you’ve already made up your mind that I’m the villain here. And that’s fine, honestly, I can take it. If Edie needs everyone to see me as the bad guy so she can heal, then so be it. But just remember there’s two sides to every story and not one fucking person so far has bothered to ask for mine.”
Turning on her heel, she swept out of the studio, pulling on what little ‘snobby actress’ attitude she had to hold her head high until she made it out to her car.
She managed to drive out to the edge of town to an old abandoned warehouse before the tears started. Parking her car, she dropped her forehead to the steering wheel and wept as she wondered if coming back to Lost River had just been one colossal fucking mistake.
Grant
He’d been had.
The little pixie had taken him on a rather merry chase all around half of South Carolina before he lost her. Somehow, he’d run out of gas before she had, and by the time he’d gotten back on the road after filling the tank, her giant green truck was nowhere to be seen. He’d driven around for a while longer, hoping to run into her, but eventually he’d given up and headed back to Lost River. Someone, somewhere had to know where to find Jesse.
Or not.
The sun was dipping down below the horizon by the time he exited the sixth—or maybe it was the seventh or the eighth, he’d lost count—shop, where yet another group of people had claimed to have no knowledge of Jesse’s whereabouts. The dark haired girl with the bratty smirk at McDowell’s Feed and Supply had straight up acted like she’d never heard Jesse’s name before.
By then, his stomach was loudly protesting the fact he’d only eaten a slice of cake and some strawberries all day, so he forced himself to stop at a little honky tonk style restaurant called The Honk. Stepping inside the restaurant, he let his gaze travel over the goose decor covering a good portion of the wall space and shook his head.
Small towns were… interesting.
“Good evening!” A pretty redhead with a bright smile bounced up to the hostess station. “How many in your party?”
“Just me.”
“Perfect.” Her smile didn’t falter as she grabbed a single menu and packet of silverware. “Follow me.”
He did, silently grateful when she tucked him away in a booth in the corner that offered him at least a modicum of privacy. Kessily, as she’d introduced herself on the way, took his request for the tallest, coldest beer they had and left him to check over the menu she’d left on the table for him.
Everything looked and smelled delicious, if the aromas filling the restaurant were anything to judge by. But he could practically feel his arteries clogging as he skimmed the offerings. There wasn’t a single item on the menu, including the salads, that didn’t include something deep fried, wrapped in bacon, or smothered in cheese. Often some combination of the three.
Ah, well. When in Rome, right?
Already dreading the punishments his devious personal trainer was going to come up with when he returned to California, he sighed and set the menu aside just as Kessily returned to his table with the tallest glass of beer he’d seen in his life.
“Ready to order, honey?”
Her accent reminded him of Jesse’s when she was too stressed or tired—or drunk—to hide it, and he had to force a smile to cover the ache in his chest at the thought of his missing babygirl. “The Sassburger looks great, but I was wondering if I could get that with a side salad instead of the fries?”
“Sure thing.” Kessily’s smile flashed again, bright and welcoming. “Anything else?”
Since he was here already, it seemed like a waste not to ask. “Actually…” He hesitated, just for a second. If he asked about Jesse, odds were Kessily was going to clam up just like everyone else in town had so far.
Time for a different play. “Do you know a woman named Edie? Short, dark hair, not the type to take anybody’s shit.”
Throwing her head back, Kessily let out a loud laugh. “That sounds like old Widow McDowell all right. Yeah, I know Edie. Everyone in town does. Are you looking for her?”
“Old?” Shit. Grant shook his head. “The name is right, but the woman I’m looking for isn’t old. Early thirties, maybe?”
“Oh, yeah, she’s not actually old. It’s just a nickname that stuck.”
“I see.” McDowell. Why did that name sound so familiar? Tucking it away for the moment, he turned up the charm a bit. “As it happens, I am looking for her. We were supposed to meet up this afternoon, but we must have gotten our wires crossed. I’ve left her a couple messages, but…”
Kessily’s smile warmed. “Knowing her, she’s off saving another litter of puppies or something. Unfortunately, if you can’t get her on her cell, there’s not really another way to contact her. I’d say you could check with Noelle or Taylor down at the feed store, see if they’ve heard from her at all, but they’re likely closed up by now.”
“Ah, well. I appreciate the assistance.”
“You’re welcome. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.”
“No worries.”
As she sauntered off to input his order, Grant pulled his phone from his pocket and went to work tracking down everything he could about one Edie McDowell.
Edie
She stayed out as long as she dared, begrudgingly heading back home when the sky turned red as the sun took itself to bed for the night. If it hadn’t been for the animals, she might have just found somewhere in town to crash.
But the animals were there, and they didn’t deserve to be neglected just because she was in a rough spot.
And by some stroke of luck, Jesse wasn’t there when she got back, so she was able to feed everyone and even get the not-a-llama and Luna back in the barn before she caught the glint of headlights coming up her drive. She didn’t bother stopping on her way up to the house, even when she heard the car door slam and the crunch of Jesse’s boots on the gravel behind her.
It was tempting to simply head up the stairs and hide in her room for the night. But not only was her stomach very forcefully reminding her she hadn’t eaten dinner, she wasn’t a fucking coward. So she poured herself a cup of tea from the pitcher in the fridge and settled back against the counter as she waited for the inevitable confrontation.
Jesse stopped in the entryway to the kitchen, and even in the dim light Edie could see the telltale puffiness around her eyes from a recent crying jag. Her arms physically ached to reach for her, to comfort her the way she had so many times before. But she forced herself to stay where she was, watching Jesse and being watched in return.
“I never wanted to hurt you.” Jesse’s words were so quiet, Edie nearly missed them. “But I couldn’t stay here, and I was always honest with you about that from the start. So it’s really fucking unfair for you to keep punishing me for needing more than this goddamn town.”
Ignoring the stab of guilt, Edie cocked an eyebrow. “Is that what I’m doing?”
“It sure feels like it.” The harsh glow of the overhead lights illuminated the redness around Jesse’s eyes, the sadness etched into every inch of her face as she stepped into the kitchen. “Everyone hates me because of you.”
“That’s not true.”
“It sure feels like it,” Jesse repeated with a bitter laugh. “Taylor and Carly yesterday, Noelle and Ginny today. And the people who don’t openly hate me haven’t exactly been welcoming.”
“Did you ever stop to think it might be because I’m not the only person you left behind?”
“I didn’t leave you behind!” The words burst out as Jesse tugged at her hair, leaving the pink-tipped strands sticking out in every direction. “I wanted you to come with me! You chose to stay behind!”
“I’m not having this argument again.” God knew she’d had it with herself enough times over the years, not that it had ever done any good. “It’s done, the choices are made, and now we have to live with these choices.”
“I can live with my choices just fine.” To Edie’s horror, tears welled in Jesse’s eyes. “It’s knowing you hate me I can’t live with.”
Oh, babygirl. How can I hate you when I’m still so in love with you?
The sound of a car door slamming cut off Edie’s thoughts before they could spill out of her mouth and humiliate her all over again. Jesse froze, her shimmering eyes going wide. “Are you expecting someone?”
“No.” Edie set her glass down on the counter with an audible click. “Go upstairs. We’ll finish this later.”
“Like hell I will.”
Pausing in the middle of the kitchen, Edie grabbed Jesse’s arm and put every ounce of authority she had into her voice as she met her golden gaze. “Someone was looking for you earlier, and on the off chance he figured out you’re here, I want you out of sight. Go, before I decide I don’t actually give a fuck that you’re not mine to punish anymore.”
Relief nearly made her knees weak when Jesse jerked her arm out of Edie’s grasp and turned to stomp her way up the stairs.
Good. Let her be pissed. Mad was better than hurt or dead.
Once Jesse was safely tucked away upstairs, Edie made her way toward the front door, stopping only to lift her late husband’s shotgun from the rack on the wall. She didn’t even bother to wait for the knock on the door before she opened it and leveled the barrel at the intruder’s chest.
To his credit, he didn’t even flinch, though he did freeze in place with his hand outstretched, reaching for the handle of the storm door. Dark eyes locking with Edie’s, he slowly pulled his hand away, raising both of them high in a gesture of surrender. “Hello, Mrs. McDowell.”
Goddammit. Someone in town obviously hadn’t gotten the memo about keeping their mouths shut around him. “What do you want?”
“I just want to talk to Jesse.”
“She isn’t here.”
The man raised an eyebrow in a look that was all Dom. If they’d met at a club or a play party, instead of when he was in town sniffing after Jesse, that look would have made her knees quake before she dropped to them at his feet.
Outside of that context, it just made her want to shoot him.
“Interesting, because that’s her rental parked in your driveway. Jesse!” he bellowed, and Edie raised the gun higher.
“I don’t know who the hell you are, but you have ‘til the count of three to get the fuck off my property. One.”
“Put the gun down, Edie, and I’ll explain.”
“Two.” Jesus Christ, dude, please don’t make me shoot you. She would, if she had to, but shooting some Hollywood asshole hadn’t exactly been on the bucket list she’d written out with her girls back when Carly had first come to town.
“Goddammit, woman. I’m not here to hurt her. I’m?—”
“Daddy?”
At the sound of Jesse’s voice behind her, Edie froze. The man on the porch didn’t take his eyes off her, or the gun, and she was close enough to watch as emotions danced in the dark brown. “Hi, baby. Could you, ah, ask your friend here to point that gun somewhere that isn’t my general direction, please?”
“Oh my god, Edie! Are you fucking insane? He’s not going to hurt me.”
The soft brush of Jesse’s fingers over her arm jolted Edie out of her shock enough for her to lower the barrel of the gun to the floor. Mind racing, she glanced at Jesse, then back to the man on the porch, who was watching her with the same kind of wariness one might show a wild animal.
“Daddy?”