She was rambling. Sessa wrapped her arms around her waist and determined to shut her mouth, at least until it was time to make that apology she owed him.
“There’s probably a joke in that somewhere.” He turned his back on the photographs and leaned against the edge of the workbench.
His stance emulated hers. Arms crossed in front, eyes not exactly knowing where to land, and an expression that strayed toward nervousness.
Sessa willed the man to speak first, to tell her what he came to say. Or to make the demand of her that she knew he deserved—an apology for raising a boy who’d almost ruined his life.
He gazed out the window, toward the barn and the paddocks. “Is that where you keep the Arabians?”
Sessa shook her head. “Not for a long time.” She tried not to allow a wistful tone to slip into her voice. “Something happened and …” She drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “… and we had to sell them.”
“Same here. Well.” He turned away from the window. “Not that long, I guess. Two years.”
Since he was arrested. This fact filled the space between them.
“Actually, I looked at a pair of part-Arabian horses this morning. I’m thinking of buying them.”
“Is that right?” She couldn’t keep up the charade any longer. Talking about horses with this man. She snapped. “Look, I know who you are.”
“Yes,” he said slowly as he lifted his gaze to meet hers. “I told you.”
“You did,” she admitted, “but I didn’t realize … that is, I avoided anything to do with the whole mess. I tend to do that.”
His eyes narrowed. “I don’t understand.”
“You said you were Trey Brown, but I didn’t realize you were … him,” she finally managed. Doctor Trey Brown. “So now that I know, well … there’s an apology to be made.”
Rather than surprise, the doctor’s expression turned to relief. “About that. I tried several times but I just—”
“I’m sorry.” She dropped her hands and offered those two words with no qualifications. “I’m just so very sorry. If I could go back and do things over …”
Words failed. A charged silence fell.
“You’re sorry?” He shook his head. “Why would you say that? I’m the one who—”
“Yoo hoo! I just saw Bonnie Sue and that granddaughter of yours at the Hairport. Sessa, where are you?”
Sessa groaned. “Out here.” Leave it to Coco to keep Dr. Brown from finishing his sentence. Sessa just wanted him gone.
Before she could explain just who Coco was, her best friend practically raced through the door. “Okay, the truth is, I was just driving by and I saw this strange truck in your driveway, and I thought with you all alone out here there just might be …”
She drew up short as she spied Dr. Brown. Slowly, understanding dawned. How much understanding, Sessa couldn’t tell, but it came with a tentative smile.
“Just might be trouble,” she continued as she openly studied him. “And I was right. Well, hello. I’m Cozette. Coco to my friends.” She extended a bejeweled hand. “What do your friends call you, hon?”
“Coco,” Sessa interjected. “This is Trey. He’s applying for the job.”
“Job?” Her friend didn’t believe her, but she did understand a diversionary tactic when she heard one. “Well, all right then. Hey, Sessa, would you mind getting that belt you borrowed from me the other day? I was thinking I’d wear it to the book club meeting tonight.”
“The belt?”
Her eyes widened just enough to let Sessa know she wasn’t leaving yet. “Yes, you know. The black leather one with the chains and sequins. Remember? You wore it with your leather pants and that sassy black halter top.”
She gave Sessa a pointed look and then turned her charm on Dr. Brown. “She looks much better in it than I do, but a girl’s got to try and use what she’s got, don’t you think?”
If Trey had any idea how to respond, he chose not to say it. Instead, he ducked his head and shrugged. Meanwhile, Sessa willed her cheeks not to turn bright red. Much as she loved her friend, she sure could be a pain.
“Come on, Coco. I’ll get the belt.” She grabbed her friend by the arm and dragged her out of the workshop. “We’ll be right back, Trey.”
They were halfway to the house before Coco hissed, “What is he doing here?”
“Hush,” she said. “He can hear you.”
Coco kept up with her, despite the former beauty queen’s four-inch heels, as they rounded the edge of the house and headed down the driveway. When she felt they were out of earshot, Sessa stopped short.
“Black leather pants and a halter top? Really Coco?”
She had the audacity to laugh. “Oh, honey, it’ll either scare the dickens out of him or make him even more interested. And either way, it’s a sight better than your current outfit. Sugar Pine High T-shirt and sweat pants? Really?”
“I wasn’t expecting company.”
“Obviously.” Coco’s expression sobered. “What did I interrupt? It looked like you two were having a serious discussion. And not about any job.”
“I’d say none of your business, but that’s never mattered before.” Sessa wrapped her arms around her middle and held on tight. “Do you know who that is?”
“Sure, I do. That’s the fellow from the diner that your mama decided was going to be your next husband.”
“How did you know about that?” Sessa shook her head. “Never mind. Small town, big mouths. Anyway, yes, you’re right. That’s him. But do you recognize him?”
“Should I?”
“That’s Trey Brown.” She let the words sink in, as much for Coco as for herself. “The doctor from Houston who …?” She couldn’t say it. Wouldn’t.
Coco reached over to grasp Sessa’s hand. “Oh.”
“Yes.”
Her friend shook her head. “Oh,” she repeated. “Oh.”
“Stop saying that.”
“I’m sorry. I just don’t know what else to say.”
Sessa was surprised Coco hadn’t recognized him immediately, with the way she’d been glued to every little detail of the trial, whether on the television or in the papers. But then, the Dr. Brown Sessa had seen in her one and only glimpse of the trial coverage bore no resemblance to this man.
Coco’s grip on Sessa tightened. “Why is he here? That’s a good question, isn’t it? And I don’t believe it’s because your mama somehow prayed him here so you could marry him.”
Sessa let out a long breath. “Much as I wish that were the reason, I think he’s here to get the apology I owe him.”
“Apology you owe him?” She rested her fists on her hips, and her bracelets jangled into place. “Honey, you do not owe him any such thing, and if he’s going to show up here at the home of the mother of the boy he killed, well, I’m going to have a few choice words with him about just who needs to apologize to whom.”
Coco headed back in the direction of the workshop, and Sessa bolted after her. “Oh no you don’t!” She snagged Coco’s wrist and turned her around. “Do not say a word to him. I only told you this because you’re my best friend, and I wasn’t going to lie to you.”
Coco snatched her hand back and studied the riot of silver bracelets on her arm before turning her attention back to Sessa. “Did you ask him to come here?”
“No.”
“So he just showed up demanding an apology?”
“Not exactly.” Sessa shrugged. “Look, it’s complicated. I came outside to drink my coffee, and there he was, walking around the side of the house. I ran flat into him, which is why I’ve got this coffee stain on my shirt and there are broken pieces of a mug back by the irises.”
“I see.” Her gaze flitted to the stain. “That shirt never was the right color for you. I say toss it rather than try to wash it. The sooner the better.”
Ignoring the ill-timed fashion advice, Sessa continued. “I’d like to finish what we started, so can you just go on home and let me do this
? You’re not going to understand, but it’s kind of an answer to prayer that he’s here.”
She twirled the enormous emerald ring on her right hand. “Are you afraid of him?”
“Not in the least.”
Coco met her gaze and opened her mouth, probably to protest, because she quickly closed it again. Slowly, she nodded. “You don’t owe that man anything, Sessa Lee Chambers. Please do not think you do. He took your son from you.”
“My son took two years of that man’s life from him,” she snapped. “And he did that because I wasn’t the mother I ought to have been.”
“You tried,” Coco said on a rush of breath. “We both tried. Ross was just …”
“Troubled.”
“He just chose wrong, Sessa. That’s all there is to it. He had everything he could have wanted back here except for a daddy. Well, we’re all missing something from our lives. If we go around blaming others and acting like we ought not act, whose fault is it?”
When Sessa said nothing, Coco continued. “It is our own fault. Nobody else but us. Surely it’s not our mama’s.”
“I appreciate you saying so,” Sessa said. “I’ll call you later. I promise.”
Coco paused just long enough to make Sessa think she might not leave. Then she dug her car keys out of her pocket. “All right, but I’m leaving under protest.”
“Please don’t tell anyone.”
She nodded toward the back of the house. “About him? Girl, have you forgotten how small this town is? The mailman was just ahead of me. I doubt he missed the fact there was a strange truck in your driveway.” She glanced down at her gold and diamond Rolex and then back at Sessa. “That was less than ten minutes ago, and he was heading toward town. I’d bet you that leather belt and your sassy black halter top—”
“Neither of which exist.”
“You’ll be getting a call from your mama before noon.”
“Not if you were to go back into town and let those ladies know the truck was in the driveway because I’m interviewing help for Chambers Restoration. Any of them who read the paper saw the want ad.” She gave her friend a pointed look. “Because that’s what a friend would do.”
“I was just at the Hairport. Don’t you think they’re going to be suspicious if I show back up there with that sort of information?”
“Not if you tell Vonnette you wanted her to have the scoop on the fact that I just might be hiring the cowboy from the diner that my mama swears I’m going to marry.”
“But that’s the man who killed Ross. People are going to figure that out pretty quick, don’t you think?”
“Did you?”
She paused and appeared to be considering the question. “No, I didn’t.”
“Who did you see when you saw him, Coco?”
“I saw the man your mama’s been talking about since yesterday.” Her eyes widened. “You’re right. But eventually people are going to figure it out.” Probably so. The whole town had watched the trial with bated breath.
“He won’t be here long enough for them to figure it out. Soon as I say what I need to say, he’ll be gone. In the meantime, they see what they’re told to see. Just like you did.”
Coco’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, that’s devious.” She paused. “I like it.”
“Then go.” She gave her friend a playful nudge. “Seriously. Go. I want to get this over with.”
“All right.” She grabbed another quick hug before hurrying back to her car. “But call me soon as you can,” she called as she started the car. “And put on something cute, girl. I don’t care who he is, he ought not have to look at you in clothes that should be burned.”
“Very funny. You’re going to see me tonight at the book club meeting,” she said playfully. “Surely you can wait until then to find out what happened.”
Coco shook her head as she drove away. Of course she couldn’t wait. Had the situations been reversed, Sessa wouldn’t have waited, either.
She watched the rooster tail of dust chase Coco down Firefly Lane before turning back to the workshop. She did want to get this over, didn’t she?
To her surprise, when she peered into the workshop, the doctor was nowhere to be found. Then she spied him on the other side of the fence in the paddock. He saw her watching and waved, then picked his way back toward the fence.
“Sorry,” he said. “You’ve got a nice barn here. Needs some work to make it livable for horses again, but the building’s in good shape.” He shook his head. “Anyway, where were we?”
“I was about to apologize to you for my son’s behavior and the fact you lost two years of your life because of him.” She allowed the words to fall out before she could stop them. “I didn’t raise him to be what he became, but I take full responsibility for how he turned out. I prayed over that boy day and night, but sometimes I guess even a mama’s prayers don’t change things. So, given what you’ve lost, do you have it in you to forgive me, Dr. Brown?”
The doctor stood stock-still for a good minute letting nothing but those words and the warm breeze slide between them. Finally he shifted position and shook his head. “I can’t do that.”
Chapter Nine
“You can’t?”
Sessa Chambers ran a hand through her pretty blonde ponytail and looked more than a little confused. Hurt, too, unless he missed his guess.
“I cannot accept what I’m not owed.” Trey ducked under the barbed wire fence that separated them. “Look, I came here to say exactly what you’ve just said. To ask for forgiveness. I took your son’s life.”
“He intended to take yours.”
Trey found her blue eyes and held her gaze. Somehow, it was easier than it had been before. “Do you believe that?”
She looked away. “I think he was capable of it, yes.”
He could see the statement pained her more than she wanted to let on. Trey kept his silence and left her to her thoughts.
“Ross liked you,” she finally said.
“What makes you think that?”
“He told me.” She set off toward the house, and Trey followed. “You saw something of value in him. And he told me that, too.”
“Yes, I did,” He digested the news that Ross Chambers had spoken of him to his mother. He hadn’t expected that. “Ross was smart as a whip and as good a horseman as I’ve seen in a long time. I thought maybe someday he could make something of those talents.”
“He always did like horses. I don’t think he ever forgave me for selling the Arabians after his daddy died. He was only five, and I figured someday there’d be horses in the barn again,” she said softly. “Someday just never happened.”
“So you built horses in the workshop instead.”
Surprise again etched her pretty features. “I suppose you could say that. But it wasn’t the same. At least not to Ross.”
“About that apology. Mine,” he hastened to add. “Saying I’m sorry won’t bring him back. I know that. But I am. Sorry.”
He was making a mess of this. Trey gave up on saying the right words and just reached over to grasp her wrist.
Her eyes widened, but her expression settled to neutral in a heartbeat. “Looks like we’re both sorry.”
“I suppose we are.”
“Then there’s nothing left to talk about, is there? We both saw something good in my boy. I guess that’s reason enough to agree to disagree on which of us is to blame.”
“But, I—”
“Doctor Brown,” she interrupted. “Trey. You can beat yourself up all day long about what happened between you and Ross, but like you said, it won’t change anything. Did you mean to kill him?”
“I did not,” he forced out.
“Nor did I intend to raise him up to be a man who would put himself in a position where someone had to protect himself from him.” She looked down at his hand on her wrist, and Trey let go. “Do you want to keep talking about this? Because I don’t.”
“Not really,” Trey admitted.
“Thank you
for coming. For telling me what you told me, and for listening while I said my piece.”
She wanted to get rid of him. That much was obvious.
But he didn’t feel the peace that his therapist had been so confident would follow his apology.
“I can say the same.”
“All right, then I guess we’re done.”
He struggled for words to fill the awkward silence that descended.
“One more thing,” she said. “There is no black belt studded with rhinestones, no leather pants, and certainly no black halter top. My friend can be creative with the truth when she wants to be.”
“Is that so?” Relieved at the subject change, he shifted his feet. “I’ll confess I’m more than a little disappointed. It’s not often a man like me gets to meet a woman with such classy taste in evening attire. Not that I’m judging, mind you. I enjoy a pair of leather pants as much as the next guy, but you have to sit carefully when you’re wearing the rhinestones. They’ll poke you something awful if you’re not careful.”
She smiled then, a slow upturn of her lips that held Trey mesmerized as he picked his way across a yard that needed a decent mowing. When Sessa slid him a sideways glance, he nearly tripped.
“Watch your step. I haven’t paid much attention to the grass out here. I generally trim up by the house with the push mower and leave the rest alone. Guess it’s about time to see if the riding mower still works.”
He looked across the pasture and then back at the widow. Much as he knew he’d have to go back to his life as a doctor eventually, he wasn’t in a hurry. The chief of staff had told him to take his time, within reason, of course. To the chief, that likely meant a day or two. To Trey, that might be a little longer, especially since this woman needed things done around here much more than the hospital needed another doctor. Especially a doctor who had not yet managed to prove he could operate.
“Where is it?” Trey said.
Sessa Chambers stopped short. “Where is what?”
Firefly Summer Page 8
