Page 190 of Buried Too Deep

A slight shrug. “Father said Walton sinned. Like me.”

Not Alan or Alan Jr., then. It had been the younger brother, who was now an army colonel. Sonofabitch.

Alan Beauchamp had known. He’d sent the brother into the army and the daughter to a psychiatric hospital.

Phin drew a breath. “But you didn’t sin, did you, Jenny?”

Her thin shoulders lifted in a shrug. “Father said I did.”

The aide’s face crumpled. “Oh, Jenny. I’m sorry.”

Another shrug. “Why? I sinned, not you. I don’t like this show. Turn the channel, please.”

The aide scrambled to comply. “How about the dog show, the one with puppies?”

“Yes. I like that one.” One side of her mouth lifted in what might have been an attempt at a smile. “SodaPop likes it, too.”

Phin chuckled softly. “She does. She was raised with dogs in a shelter, so she likes other dogs.”

Jenny lowered her gaze to study SodaPop. “Why?”

“Why was she raised in a shelter?” Phin asked.

“Yes. Why?”

“My friend runs the shelter. She takes care of the dogs. She said that SodaPop was left at the dog pound as a puppy. Her old owner didn’t want her.”

Jenny’s expression softened. “Poor SodaPop. Nobody wanted her.”

“But my friend Delores wanted her,” Phin said. “I want her. I love her.”

Jenny splayed her hand over her stomach. “I wanted her. But she died.”

Phin wanted to correct her, but Jenny seemed so fragile that he was afraid to. “I’m sorry, Jenny,” he whispered instead. Because he was. So damned sorry for this woman who’d been locked away, abandoned by her family, by the very people who were supposed to love her no matter what.

The way your family loves you. They’d loved him even when he’d been too messed up to understand why.

But it didn’t matter why they loved him. They just did.

His eyes burned and he had to draw in a breath. “Thank you for visiting with us, Jenny.”

Jenny nodded once before turning to Cora, who still sat on the sofa beside her. “He’s your friend?”

“Yes,” Cora said. “He’s a good friend. A good man.”

Jenny’s gaze was intensely focused. “Keep him.”

Cora smiled gently. “I plan to. Would you like me to come back? Visit with you again?”

Jenny turned back to the television. “Do you have a dog?”

Cora laughed. “I do. His name is Blue. But he’s pretty old. Do I have to bring a dog to come back to see you?”

Jenny did that little half smile again. “Yes.”

“I have a dog,” the nurse’s aide said. “His name’s Trouble, because he’s always getting into trouble.”

“Bring him,” Jenny instructed. “Please.”

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