Lenora Worth - A Face in the Shadows

“You, too,” he said, his voice sounding raw and husky. Trying to find his courage, he nodded. “You look great.”

She smiled again. “Thanks. I splurged on this dress.”

“I’d say it was worth it,” he responded, his heart warming to her smile. He might just make it through this yet. “How have you been?”

She shrugged, glanced around. “Oh, I’m doing fine. I’m a nurse now, at Magnolia Medical Center, in the neonatal department.”

That threw Parker. “Wow. And here I thought you’d gone off to find fame and fortune in Nashville.”

She shook her head, causing her dangling earrings to sway. “Oh, I went to Nashville, all right. But the only things I found were heartache and a…a man who turned out to be the worst husband possible. But one good thing came out of it—we had a beautiful child together. We divorced five years ago, and then I went back to school to become a nurse. I like being able to support myself and Brandon.”

“Brandon? You have a son.” It was a statement, an acknowledgment to all that he’d missed in life—a family, a real home. Kate had had that. And apparently lost it. “I’m sorry about the divorce. But…your ex-husband must have been a real loser to let you go.”

She seemed surprised at that declaration, and a bit embarrassed. “It wasn’t all his fault. I wanted a career and I guess I neglected him. Then when Brandon came along, things got better for a while, but by then my career had fizzled out and so had his patience. Apparently even though he resented my career, he had plans to capitalize on it. When his meal ticket ran out, so did he. Brought me down to earth pretty quickly.”

Parker let that soak in. “Do you ever sing anymore?”

“Oh, yes, but only at church functions and hospital get-togethers. Around work, they call me the singing nurse. I like to sing lullabies to the tiny babies in neonatal.”

Parker could just imagine her standing over a struggling infant, humming some soft sweet tune. He remembered hearing her sing in the college choir. Her solos had always been his favorite parts of those staid, proper concerts.

“I think that’s a very noble cause,” he said, wondering exactly when he’d forgotten how to speak without sounding like an imbecile. “I’m glad you still sing.”

She grinned. “Ah, but singing doesn’t pay the bills. I have a son to support now, since his father isn’t known for being dependable.” She let out a soft sigh. “Brandon is my first priority now.”

Before he could stop himself, Parker blurted, “I’d like to meet him sometime.”

She laughed. “Oh, Brandon would love that. He has several Patchman toys and he reads your comic books all the time. I find them hidden in his bedcovers, even when he’s supposed to go to sleep early. He can’t make out all the words since he’s only eight, but he sure can memorize the pictures.”

“A picture tells a thousand words,” Parker replied, thinking her obvious love for her son spoke volumes.

“It was nice to see you again, Kate.”

“Nice to see you again, too. Wow, I can’t wait to tell everyone at work I actually talked to the famous Parker Buchanan.”

Her words hit Parker the wrong way. Was she just like everyone else, only wanting to speak to him because he was “somebody” now? He should have known. But…this was Kate. She’d always been polite to everyone. Parker had been away from his college friends for so long, he wasn’t sure who he could trust. But he wanted to trust Kate.

“I guess I’d better find a seat,” he said, ready to move on. If he didn’t expect much, he wouldn’t be disappointed.

Kate looked confused and hurt, but nodded. “All right. And Parker, I’d love to get together with you sometime. Now that we’re both back here, no reason we can’t stay in touch.”

“Right,” he replied, thinking she was once again just being polite. “I’ll make a note of that.”

He took his cane and turned to leave, thinking he might just have to skip the fancy meal Steff had planned after all. He suddenly didn’t feel like going down memory lane.

But when he turned back to look at Kate, she was still standing there, that puzzled expression on her pretty face. Then she said something that really put his head in a dizzying spin.

“I still have it, you know.”

An alarm went off in his head. “Have…what?”

“The sketch you drew of me, remember?”

He’d only drawn her face about a thousand times, so yes, he did remember. “Yeah, sure.”

“You always were talented, Parker. I’m glad you kept at it.”

“Thanks.” He watched as she turned and walked away. And he had to wonder if he’d somehow misread her. Maybe Kate Brooks truly did want to take up where they’d left off, if only for the sake of their old friendship.

A friendship that could have been so much more, if they’d been given a chance.

A tap on Parker’s arm pulled him out of his memories. He was still at the police station, facing more questions.

“Ready to go back over this, Parker?” Nikki asked, dropping her badge onto the desk in front of them.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” he replied. “I’ve already told you and Jim everything I know. Nikki, I didn’t have anything to do with this murder.”

“I sure hope not,” Nikki replied. “I like Kate. Always have. I’d hate to see her hurt.”

“But not me, right? I mean, you already think I’m guilty, don’t you?”

The detective gave him a blank look. “Not for me to say. I just follow the evidence.”

Parker reached inside his coat pocket. “Then you probably need to see this.”

“Oh, right. The thing you and Kate wanted to show us. Let’s have a look.” Surprised, Nikki glanced down at the two gaudy toy lockets inside the plastic bag.

“Well, well, that does add a new wrinkle. Where’d you get these, Parker? And why didn’t you show them to us right away?”

Parker let out a sigh and ignored the throbbing in his scarred right leg. “Why don’t I start at the beginning?”

Kate put the phone down then turned to her son. The expectant look on Brandon’s face broke her heart. But she couldn’t lie to him. “That was your daddy.”

Brandon jumped up and down, clapping his hands. “Is he coming to my birthday party? Is he?” It was almost a month before Brandon’s birthday, and it was all he could talk about.

Kate took Brandon by the hand, leading him to the small round breakfast table centered under the bay window. “I’m sorry, honey. He can’t take time away from work.”

Considering Dexter had finally found a new job after being unemployed for five months, Kate could almost sympathize with her ex-husband. She wanted to believe he had long-term, unbreakable plans, but she knew he was more likely planning to go to some sports event or a rock concert instead. Dexter still had a lot of growing up to do. He hadn’t asked for joint custody of their child because he didn’t want to deal with fatherhood, even part-time. He just didn’t want to have a family at all.

“But he promised,” Brandon said, his bottom lip beginning to quiver. “How come he misses everything? He missed Christmas, ’member?”

“I remember,” Kate said, taking her son onto her lap. “Daddy lives far away now, so it’s hard for him to make arrangements. But he loves you, you know. And I’m thinking he’ll send a nice present even if he can’t be here.” She’d see to that herself, just as she always did.

Brandon pressed his head against her fleece bathrobe. “Why can’t he just bring the present? Then I could have my daddy here, too. Like we used to be.”

Kate knew Brandon wanted his family back together. Had she been wrong to do this to her child? She’d certainly tried to make her marriage work; she’d prayed about it, consulted her minister back in Nashville, even begged Dexter to go to counseling with the minister. But in the end, Dexter hadn’t wanted to do that. He’d simply decided he had to have his freedom. And now, it seemed as if his son didn’t matter to him either. Since they’d been back in Magnolia Falls, Dexter had called Brandon only a few times and had seen him even less.