Returning Home (2 page)

Heart pounding, ridiculously out of proportion to the situation, Hope slipped into the bathroom, closed the door and locked it. Leaning against it, she took several deep breaths, willing herself to be calm. For the tenth time, she wondered what on earth had possessed her to agree to come here. Suddenly she remembered the desperate pain in Charlene’s voice, plus the prospect of another lonely summer stretched out before her, and she knew.

An hour later, showered and feeling relatively human again, despite the lack of caffeine, Hope put on her favorite faded T-shirt and shorts and forced herself to head towards the kitchen. The desire for coffee nearly canceled the desire to avoid Charlene and Jeff.

As she’d expected, Charlene was seated at the fifties- style, metal and
Formica
kitchen table. Jeff, Hope noticed with relief, was nowhere in sight

“He’s outside,” Charlene blurted, coloring pret
tily. “I’m sorry.” She glanced down at her coffee cup. “I meant to say good morning first.”

“Good morning.” Some people, Hope thought, never changed. Charlene wore her vivid mass of hair, still thick and lustrous, pulled back in a carefree pony
tail as she always had. Even her long cotton skirt turquoise and pink, seemed vaguely familiar. The only thing different about the self-assured, friendly woman, was the look of desperation in her eyes.

Remembering Charlene’s request to make herself at
home, Hope got a cup of coffee and a bran muffin. Her unease must have shown in her face, and Char
lene smiled
faintly
.

“Come on, it won’t be that bad.”

Hope had her doubts about that. “I guess it can’t be avoided, can it?”

Before Charlene could answer, the back door opened and Jeff came in. He wore faded jeans that fit him like a second skin and an equally worn T-shirt Tall, muscular, and radiating strength, Jeff was the picture of health. Hope found herself doubting his illness again. Then she met his eyes—his hollow, empty eyes—and her heart sank.

“Mo
rn
in’, ladies.” His husky voice sounded polite, disinterested. He moved past them, moving, Hope noticed, with the self-assured stride of a man at home in his body.

“Jeff,” Charlene chirped.

“Uh-huh?” Not even the faintest hint of curiosity shone in his face. There was nothing but polite inquiry.

Swallowing, Charlene’s gaze darted from Hope to Jeff, then back again. “Have a seat. Hope and I need to talk to you.”

His gaze touched on Hope, just enough to send a shiver up her spine. Silently, he pulled out a chair from the table, turned it around, and straddled it “Is everything all right?” Jeff asked, resting his chin on the back of the chair. His mane of golden hair was longer now, and it curled
softly
at his collar. His shoulders were broader, if that were possible, though his muscular arms still had the same deep tan.

Hesitating, Charlene nodded. “I wanted to talk to you about Hope.”

Jeff swung his head around to study her. Again, the impact of his green eyes struck Hope like a blow to the stomach. She forced herself not to show any outward
reaction, giving him a faint smile instead. He frowned. “Are you in trouble?”

Darting a look at Charlene, Hope shook her head. “No.”

“Then what is it?” Jeff’s tone was impersonal. There was no hint of impatience, interest, or anything to color his deep voice.

“You don’t remember Hope, do you?”

Jeff didn’t answer, and merely continued to watch them with the same polite stare. Hope supposed an answer wasn’t really necessary.

Charlene swallowed again, then took a long drink of her coffee. “You used to know Hope, a long time ago.”

Hope felt her face heat, but refused to look away. Finally, Jeff broke the gaze, glancing at the window, then back at his sister. “Go on.”

“Hope?” Charlene touched Hope’s arm. Her fin
gers felt like ice.

If it weren’t for the desperate pain in Jeff’s sister’s face, Hope wouldn’t have been able to speak. As it was, she had no choice but to help Charlene out “Jeff ... we were very special to each other.” Hope’s voice broke. She took a deep breath, then went on. “We were high school sweethearts, home
coming King and Queen, quarterback and head cheerleader, all of that” Her words tumbled over each other in her rush to get them said. “Charlene thought I might be able to help you regain your, um, memory, so she called me and asked me to come.” “She dropped everything and came,” Charlene put in, her eager tone reflected in the brightness of her eyes. “Hope is going to spend a month with me, visiting. Maybe this will help.”

“Maybe.” His flat tone held no belief that it would. Despite her resolve, Hope found herself reaching out, touching the corded muscle of his big arm. “It’s worth a try,” she said softly.

“Please,” Charlene echoed, clenching her ceramic
coffee cup so hard that Hope began to fear it would break.

Jeff moved his arm, pushing himself up from the table in a quick athletic movement. Jamming his hands into his pockets, he glowered at Hope. “I don’t remember you.” His voice sounded rough, fierce. “I think you’re wasting your time.”

That was exactly what Hope felt, and she nodded. “Maybe I am—” she began.

“No!” Charlene slammed her cup down onto the table. Coffee sloshed out over her hand. She ignored it, pinning both Hope and her brother with a com
manding glare. “Listen to me, both of you.”

With the barest of movements, Jeff inclined his shaggy head.

Hope reined in her temper. She had, after all, given Charlene her word.

Muttering under her breath, Charlene went to the kitchen counter and yanked open a drawer. She extracted a cream-colored envelope and carried it back to the table as if it contained diamonds and gold. “Now,” she dropped gracefully into her chair, taking a moment to catch her breath, ‘ ‘Hope is staying at least one month. You two should spend as much time together as possible.”

Watching Jeff’s mutinous expression, Hope found herself suppressing a grin. At least the man was reacting a
little
. Anything was better than that infuriat
ing blandness.

“In three weeks,” Charlene continued in the same steely voice, “Dalhart High is having its tenth class reunion—our class.” Jeff’s twin slid the envelope across the table towards Hope.

Hope gasped. This was a total surprise. She hadn’t even remembered, but it was true. Ten years ago she had accepted her diploma and, as soon as she could, driven away, shaking the dust of Dalhart off her heels.

“I’m going, and I’ve accepted in both your names,” Charlene announced, her tone brooking no argu
ment
“Hope,” she gave Hope a pleading smile, “please remember that this may help Jeff regain his memory. It will also be fun for you.”

Hope doubted that
.
She dared a quick glance at Jeff, startled to find him staring at her with a look of smug amusement as if he knew. She clenched her teeth and nodded.

“In addition to attending the class reunion, I feel it would be best if you could try to find things that you and Jeff used to enjoy doing. Anything familiar might jog his memory.”

Now it was Jeff who had a muscle working in that absurdly strong jaw.

Hope was simply stunned. “I don’t know if I—” “You can,” Charlene cut in dryly. “It’s only for a month, Hope. After that you’ll be back in Dallas with the rest of your summer to enjoy.”

Though she didn’t say it, her implication was clear. While Hope could go home to enjoy the remainder of the summer, Jeff might still be trapped in the prison of his shattered memory.

Hope knew she had no choice. She’d never truly had a choice, not since Charlene’s phone call telling her Jeff was in trouble. Jeff needed her. Despite what had happened in the past she couldn’t refuse to help him. Not Jeff. Once their lives had been so inter
twined that neither could imagine a life without the other. Once—

She came out of her reverie to realize both Char
lene and Jeff were staring at her. Charlene had a puzzled little frown, Jeff had the same look of bland indifference. It was that look, infuriating and hurtful, that decided her.

“You’re right, of course.” Hope managed a smooth smile. “I’ll do whatever it takes to help Jeff.” She inclined her head, turning up her smile a notch to include him.

His eyes, she was pleased to note, went cold.

“I don’t need charity,” he spoke to his sister, though he watched Hope. “I’m sure Miss—Hope— has better things to do with her summer.”

If she did, she wouldn’t admit it. Not to him.

“It’s only one month,” Hope and Charlene said at the same time. Exchanging smiles, of relief on Charlene’s part, of embarrassment on Hope’s, they both nodded.

As quickly as it had come, the fleeting emotion vanished from Jeff’s eyes. “Whatever,” he shrugged. “I have time, lots of it. Let me know what you want to do, where you want to go.” He spoke with as much enthusiasm as an undertaker ushering mourners into a funeral.

This irked Hope beyond belief. Without stopping to examine her motives, she jumped to her feet. “Can you be ready in an hour?”

Again, he shrugged. “I’m ready now.”

Charlene leaned forward, curiosity bright in her face. “Where are you going?”

Hope said the first thing that came to mind, watch
ing Jeff all the while. “I want to see the hardware store. I want to see the place where all this hap
pened.”

Chapter Two

It was worse, much worse, than she had expected. Nothing but charred rubble, the old foundation, and small stacks of broken bricks remained. For thirty years, Andy’s Hardware had stood in this spot; Jeff’s grandfather had built the place, Jeff’s father had run it, and then Jeff had taken over.

It had been a place of character, history, and memo
ries. Now it was the place where Jeff had nearly died in a senseless crime. All this destruction and pain for a handful of bills from the cash register.

Jeff’s old pickup coasted to a stop by the curve. He killed the engine and hooked an arm over the back of the seat
.
The sun, straight overhead, dappled his hair with
fire.

“Here we are.”

Fumbling with the handle, Hope pushed open the heavy truck door. It protested with a loud creak. Not waiting to see if Jeff followed, she trudged through the rubble to the center of the foundation, kicking aside charred wooden beams. Dirt and rock crunched under her feet.

She hadn’t believed it would be so bad. With a quiet sound of distress, she walked the perimeter, aching, remembering. She thought of
J
eff. According to Charlene, this store had been his entire life.

Turning, Hope saw that he hadn’t followed her into the destruction. He leaned against the side of his pickup, head down, studying something in his hands. Without another thought, she went to him.

“The clean up starts tomorrow,” he said, head still downcast. “They wanted to clean it up a month ago, but Charlene wouldn’t let them. She thought that if I maybe saw it, I might remember.”

“Do you?” The words slipped out before she could think to rephrase them. Once said, she saw no harm in continuing. After all, she was here to help him. “Do you remember anything about what happened here that night?”

When he raised his head and met her eyes, she felt it like a blow to the stomach. “No.” His expression seemed stark, harsh. “I saw it on the tape from the security cameras. There were two of them.”

Swallowing, Hope forced herself to go on. “Could you identify them?”

“No. They wore masks. The police have no leads.” He spoke without rancor, almost as if he were speak
ing about someone else. “After they cleaned out the cash register, they hit me on the head with the butt of a gun. I don’t know why they decided to torch the place.”

He didn’t tell her the rest, but she already knew it. They’d set a fire when he was unconscious on the floor, leaving him for dead. Somehow, he’d come to and managed to crawl outside before the building exploded.

It was a miracle he had survived.

“Let’s go.” Straightening, he opened the truck door for her. “There’s nothing that can help me here.”

Hope agreed. Climbing up into the bench seat, she cast one last look over her shoulder. “Do you plan to rebuild?”

Still expressionless, Jeff started the engine. Shifting into drive, he lifted one shoulder in a shrug and said, “I don’t know. I guess. They built a new A to Z Home Center near here.”

Unwelcome competition—in a town where Andy’s Hardware had dominated for years.

The engine idled softly, but Jeff did nothing. Hope studied his rugged profile, remembering how, years ago, she’d ridden in this very same truck, close to his side. Now, more than the intervening years seemed to separate them.

Outside, high up in the cloudless azure sky, a buz
zard circled. Somewhere, Hope thought, something had died.

The silence in the cab suddenly seemed oppressive. “Let’s go,” she suggested brightly. Too
brightly
. Instead, Jeff shifted back into park. He half turned in the seat to face her. “Look, you seem like a very nice lady.” His hooded gaze traveled slowly over her face, lingering on her lips. “An attractive lady.”