JacksonHis mouth twitched like he wanted to smile at her. She raised her hand and tried to appear like this wasn’t breaking her heart. If anyone was looking, they would think she was here for moral support and that nothing was wrong.“Thank you, ladies and gentlemen for joining me today. First, I’d like to address the vicious rumors going around that I am involved with a woman other than my fiancée. I want to state expressly that this is a bald-faced lie.” He paused and smiled around the room. “And I have proof.”Emma couldn’t help but gasp. So did several reporters.“If you’ll please turn your attention to the screen here,” Jackson said, motioning to a flat screen TV near him. He clicked a small button and the screen came to life. “This is security footage from a small sailboat in the dock. It was overlooked at first, but as with many good things, it warranted a second look.”Emma wondered if he meant something more by that statement, but didn’t have time to ponder it as the securit
“Did you get fired from your last job?”I did a double take as I removed the stethoscope from my ears. “Excuse me?”“Did you get fired from your last job?” Abigail St. James repeated, impatiently holding out her arm for me to take the blood pressure cuff off. The small exam room suddenly felt constricting with the former prom queen lording herself over me yet again. It had been fifteen years since high school, yet nothing had changed.“No, I was not fired,” I replied, trying to keep my voice calm as I undid the Velcro and hung up the cuff. “In fact, my boss begged me not to go.”“Sure they did.” Abigail rolled her big blue eyes. “Why are you back then?”“I wanted to be closer to my family. So I moved back and I got a job here at the clinic,” I said. “Please put your finger here so I can check your pulse.”I held out the small pulse-ox finger machine. Abigail held out her left hand with a big sparkly diamond on the ring finger and then waggled her hand. She waited for me to put the mac
When the work week was over and Saturday finally rolled around, I decided to wake up a little early. Even though it was my day off, I still had a lot of things to do. My parents, who lived on the other side of town from me, were having a BBQ. It was always a huge event and it only seemed to grow every year. Half the town would end up making an appearance. Some I'm pretty sure only came for the free food, but others were genuinely interested in keeping in touch with my parents.My dad was an active member of the town's Gentleman's Poker Society and my mother went to every Ladies' Bridge Club meeting. The poker games were real, but the bridge games were just a means to gossip and plan out the lives of everyone else in the town. All the important people in town were members, which meant that despite having a strange daughter, my parents were pillars of the community and that everyone knew who they were.The thought crossed my mind that this might be my dad's last BBQ and my ribs tightene
Fifteen Years Ago: Riversville High School “You're late, Mr. Mathews.” I peeked over the top of my book to see Jacob Mathews saunter into Mr. Elway's classroom. He had on a black leather jacket, tight jeans, and a careless grin. “So, add it on to my time,” he replied nonchalantly, spinning a chair to sit backwards at one of the classroom tables. Mr. Elway sighed. “You have no idea how much I'm bending the rules for you. I don't allow students to retake the exams, but your parents...” “Yeah, yeah. My parents.” Jacob rolled his eyes. “My mom is on city council and my dad's the police chief. They get what they want.” “Yes.” Mr. Elway adjusted his tie. He always wore a dress shirt and tie to teach class. No other teacher dressed up like he did. They didn't need to in a small town, but Mr. Elway wanted the best for his students. “Your parents have convinced me to make a special case for you.” Jacob shrugged and looked bored. My book lowered slightly as I tried to get a good look at
After taking the five minute drive across town, I pulled through the gate and down the paved driveway that led to my parent's house. Their land was immaculate. My father maintained every square inch of the acre around his house with amazing diligence. The grass on either side of the driveway was trimmed better than a soldier's haircut and the fence the surrounded the home was spotlessly white. My dad took pride in a well-maintained home. He always said that “Your home is the best representation of yourself.” If that saying were true, then I wondered if I actually was a small and rickety old woman whose hinges creaked when the wind blew, just like my house did. I was surprised to see how many cars were parked around the house. I knew there were going to be a fair amount of people, since these gatherings grew every single year. However, I didn't expect this many. There must have been thirty cars on either side of the driveway, which had become overflow parking because the spots around
I nearly dropped my ear of corn onto the plate when I saw the most handsome man I knew walking around the corner and into the back yard. Sure enough, the kids were right. The good doctor had shown up to the party. He strolled across the grass, waving at the kids as he moved. I didn't get to see him in regular clothes very often, but when I did, I was always reminded of how good he looked.He was wearing a simple red polo shirt with dark jean shorts and flip flops. The outline of his muscular chest was easily visible and the sleeves of his shirt were short enough so that his biceps were exposed. The kids all got up from their picnic table and swarmed around him, hugging his legs and squealing with joy.“Hey, kids,” he said, ruffling up their hair with his hands. “Are you guys having fun?”“Yes!” they shouted in unison. It was almost as if they'd choreographed the whole thing. It was so damn cute.“Good!” he said. “I'm so happy to see you guys.”After saying a few more words to the kids
The weekend went by far too quickly and Monday morning was there before I knew it. Luckily, I loved my job, so it wasn't like it was the worst thing in the world to have to get up and go to work. I just wished I could have slept in a tiny bit longer, that's all.When I got to the office, I parked in my usual spot, right next to Donna's big red farm truck. I got out and then glanced at my reflection in the window of my car, making sure that I looked okay before heading in.I looked pretty good today. My curly hair wasn't frizzing too badly this morning despite the humidity, and it was mostly contained by my ponytail. I had light eyeliner and mascara on so that my blue eyes actually looked like eyes rather than getting lost in my face.“Oh good Hannah, you're here,” Donna said, as I stepped in through the front doors. The waiting room was empty, which never boded well. Empty waiting rooms meant that fate was going to give us emergencies.“Good morning.” I smiled a little apprehensively
Katie's Bakery was the best place in town to get sandwiches. And donuts. And cake. And really anything delicious. Katie had taken over the place after her father retired. She'd won a baking show on the Cooking Network last year, which was as close to famous as anyone in Riversville was ever going to get. She was now the town celebrity.The bakery was also the only real place to get a take-out lunch that wasn't a burger or fast-food taco.As I pulled open the door to the bakery, a familiar voice called out my name.“Aunt Hannah!”I turned to see little Leigh Ann and her mom, Karina, seated at a table outside. They were eating lunch on the patio right out in front of the Bakery.“Leigh Ann!” I said. “What are you doing here?”“Eating lunch with Mom,” she said, matter of factly.“Hey, Karina.” I waived and Karina's eyes lit up when she saw me.“Come sit with us after you order,” she said.“Yeah, definitely. Be right there.” I ran in and ordered two turkey sandwiches on Katie's famous bak