Melissa Foster - Chasing Amanda

Hannah nodded. “I was terrified. If Charlie had found out he would have done god knows what. I know it was wrong, not to bury her properly, but I did the best I could.”

I did the best I could . Molly felt the truth in her words. “I’m sorry,” was all she could say.

Epilogue

“Hurry up, you guys, we’ll be late for the party!” Molly hustled downstairs. The interwoven sparkles in her clingy black dress gleamed from the lights on the Christmas tree with her every move. She walked up behind Erik and hugged him, remembering the days when he had gone through a stage where he had pretended that Molly wasn’t his mother—embarrassed by any public displays of attention. She couldn’t believe that the young man who stood beside her, his arm around her shoulders, was the same person—she’d thought the stage would never end. Her heart swelled with pride. “Thanks for coming home for the holidays,” she said.

“Ma, where else would I go?”

“Jenna’s?” she said, cautiously.

“Yeah, right, like she’d be more fun than you and Dad? I don’t think so.” He popped an almond in his mouth. “Besides,” he grinned from ear to ear, “she had to be with her family today anyway.”

Molly gave him a look that asked for more details, and she wasn’t surprised when he responded, “Don’t even ask.” She followed him into the family room where Cole sat in his underwear and dress shirt watching television. “Cole!” Molly chided him. “What are you doing? We’re supposed to be there in ten minutes!” Exasperated, she threw her hands up in the air and waited for him to move upstairs. Instead, he turned his head to face her. The light caught his dark, sensual eyes, making it hard for Molly to stay upset with him. The look on his face was sweet, reminding her of all the reasons she’d fallen in love with him in the first place—and fallen in love with him again over the past few weeks as their harrowing ordeal had wound down.

“Why don’t you just sit down here next to me a minute?” he said, patting the couch next to him. “You look so beautiful.” He reached for her hand.

“Flattery, my friend, will get you nowhere. Come on,” she urged him, “the clock is ticking, and I promised. Eight o’clock, remember?”

“Yeah, I remember.” He patted the cushion again.

“Urgh,” Molly relented, walking around the couch. He ran his hand seductively along the back of her legs as she stepped past him. She settled into the couch, a little agitated, and forced a smile.

He wrapped his arm around her back, placing his other hand on her knee. He gazed into her eyes, reeling her in. “We’ve been so crazed lately. I just want a minute with you.” As he spoke, Erik walked into the room. “I wanted a quiet moment to give you your gift.”

She gingerly took a flat box from his hand and excitedly tore it open. Inside was a leather-bound journal with the inscription, ‘My love, No more doubting. I believe in you. Go get ’em, Baby! I love you now and always, Cole .’

“Oh, Cole,” she climbed into his lap and kissed his lips.

“Oh, come on! Get a room! I don’t want to see this,” Erik laughed as he left the room.

Pastor Lett stood in the living room of the Perkinson House in anticipation of the holiday party. She watched Hannah, Betty, Rodney, and William sitting by the Christmas tree, drinking eggnog and eating Christmas treats. She had no doubt that they had done the right thing and wished that they had felt they could have done it years earlier. Part of her worried about forgiveness, but she knew that might be too much to ask. She’d have to wait and see what the Lord had in store for her. There had been a bit of an uproar from the community, and she had undergone an investigation of abuse, but she came out with a slap on the hand and a few harsh words about how she should have known better, done something sooner, made other arrangements, which she knew she deserved, but after a few short weeks, the grumbling stopped. The investigative committee had been surprised, though not nearly as surprised as Pastor Lett had been, to learn that William was the illegitimate son of Chet Perkinson’s mentally retarded sister, who had died during childbirth. That had made no difference to Pastor Lett, in fact, she believed it endeared him even more to her. In the end, it was the support of the community and the backing of the Boyds Presbyterian Church congregation that had enabled her to turn the Perkinson House into the Perkinson House for the Handicapped. Lauren, the caregiver she hired, was wonderful. She’d taken to William as if he were her own brother, showering him with attention, patiently listening to his repetitive stories and jokes, and generally making him feel loved and needed.

The police made amends for their mistake, and Pastor Lett, being the good woman that she was, accepted their apologies and forgave them, thankful that Rodney had not perished. The community rallied around her when she’d made the announcement at the church that Rodney had lived. Edie and Jin were beside themselves with joy. Edie told Pastor Lett that she had known he was alive, and that Pastor Lett had told her about him many years earlier, although she didn’t remember ever doing so. It brought great pleasure to Pastor Lett to have both Rodney and William welcomed into the community, though she was taken aback by her own feelings, feelings of anger toward the community that had once accused her brother of such a heinous crime and toward Harley Mott, Mac Peterson, and Joe Dillon, the men who had beaten him, but God took care of those feelings, reminding her of forgiveness, of what she had asked for with regard to William. He certainly worked in mysterious ways.

It had been a hard decision for Pastor Lett not to bring Rodney home to live with her, but Betty had felt very strongly that moving him from her home, where he’d lived for the past twenty years, would cause great conflict within him. In the end, she’d given in, leaving Rodney to reside with Newton and Betty, where she was certain that Rodney was not only cared for but was happy. Molly and Rodney had established an even stronger connection in the past few weeks. She visited Rodney with Pastor Lett every Tuesday, and he continued to lift her up off of the ground and spin her as if it were the first time he had ever seen her.

Hannah’s confession about her baby, Clara Ann—her birth, and her death—had come as a surprise to Pastor Lett, and sadness weighed heavily in her heart as she watched her friend across the room. She still couldn’t imagine the guilt that must have eaten at Hannah every day, living with her child being buried in the woods—like an animal. Newton had, once again, done something remarkable. The headstone he’d had made to mark Clara Ann’s passing had gone unnoticed for all those years, waiting for her little body to join it. Pastor Lett hoped that all those years of guilt and hiding had been put to rest with the moving of Clara Ann’s body to the church cemetery. She thought of the memorial service that had taken place just days earlier, and she thought she saw a softening of Hannah’s face, around her eyes, as she looked in her direction.

Pastor Lett turned toward the sound of laughter. Newton and Betty were busy stringing popcorn, which they had been threading for the last week. They giggled like schoolchildren, laughing at a secret that only the two of them knew. Betty reached down and kissed his cheek, her hand as pale as a dove against his dark skin. He blushed and touched her hand. Pastor Lett didn’t think she could have made it through each of the difficult years, all of the trying times, without Newton by her side. He’d made things bearable for her, often reminding her why it was that she was taking care of William, and just how much the family relied on her, and how one day, it would all work out for the best. He had been right. God bless him. Pastor Lett leaned against the wall and watched Newton with Betty, his Member’s Only jacket still zipped up tight to his chin, even though he was inside the house. Thinking of the old joke, He’s got to be the last member! brought a smile to her lips. She felt a little like a voyeur and turned away to allow them privacy. A soft knock at the door pulled her in that direction. Molly, Cole, and Erik stood before her carrying Poinsettias and brownies.