Page 87 of Just Between Us

“Memory jokes? Really, Red?” MJ teased. She smiled and patted his shoulder in a way that showed she had done it a thousand times before.

“Hey, I wanted you to meet someone.” MJ turned and gestured toward Veda. “This is my friend Veda, and you know my brother Royal, right?”

I stepped forward and offered my hand. “Nice to see you again, sir.”

Red was shorter than me but still managed a hard, icy glare. Despite his obvious contempt, his hand slipped into mine and shook.

After a moment Red looked at MJ and softened. “Well, come on in then.”

In silence, we followed Red into his home. It was small and plainly decorated, but it was cozy. Pictures of Duke and Sylvie with little Gus were on the mantel. I recognized an old photograph of Wyatt and his daughter Penny when she was first born. Taped to the wall near the door was a list of tasks for leaving the house:bring your keys, grab your wallet, lock the door.

A similar list of reminders was taped to one of the cabinets in the kitchen. I had assumed that they were helpful ways that Red managed to live independently despite his condition.

“Lemonade?” he asked.

MJ shook her head, and instead we all sat in his living room. The couch was small, and my knees bent nearly to my shoulders.

MJ slipped a picture from her purse and handed it to Red. “Do you remember me showing you this today?”

He accepted the photograph and studied it. I searched for recognition in his eyes, but his brows pinched. “Can’t say that I do.”

My shoulders sank, and beside me Veda tensed.

“I can tell you, though,” Red continued, “Maryann sure was pretty as they come.”

Undeterred, MJ smiled. “You were friends, right?”

I leaned in, curious to know a piece of my mother I had yet to learn.

Red chuckled. “For a time. Things changed a bit when she and Rusty got together.”

Rusty? Shit. He must mean Dad.

Red sighed. “Juney tried to warn her. You see, he courted my wife, but June saw a side of him that she would only ever describe as chilling. My wife loved everybody, but she was always uneasy around Rusty. You can ask her yourself—she’ll be back anytime.” Red glanced over the couch toward the front door.

Veda sucked in a quiet breath, and I patted her knee. Red’s timelines were a little off, but we needed him to keep talking.

“Great.” MJ smiled, seemingly unfazed by his lapse in memory. “What did you mean that things changed?”

Seriousness darkened Red’s features. “Maryann wasn’t allowed to be friends with June, but that didn’t stop them from chatting at the book club. One night Maryann showed up here in a panic. She looked like she’d been crying and wasn’t making a lot of sense.”

My jaw tightened as he continued, “We dropped everything. Tried to get her to calm down and explain what happened. We offered for her to stay at our place, but she was frantic. Kept saying she couldn’t put anyone else in harm’s way. Went on and on about keeping the kids safe.” Red chuckled. “Back then, those kids were wild.”

He scoffed at the memory, and I felt Veda’s hand slip into mine and squeeze.

“So Maryann wouldn’t let you help her?” MJ redirected.

Red shook his head. “No. She left that night. Heard she took off and never looked back. The guilt about ate Juney alive.”

“Guilt?” Veda asked. “Why would June feel guilty about Maryann leaving?”

“Oh, well.” Red sighed. “My wife never did believe Maryann left on her own. She saw with her own eyes how frightened her friend was and claimed Maryann would never leave her children. Those kids were her whole world. When Rusty tried to carve out a parcel of land with the lake on it, June was even more convinced he was hiding something. Just last night she was bending my ear about that damn lake.”

“Wabash Lake?” Veda asked, leaning in. “What can you tell me about it?”

Red eased back in his chair and swatted the air. “Ah, it’s nothing. Small-town ghost stories.”

“Still.” MJ smiled, and I could see it wobble at the corners as she tried to maintain her composure. “I just love a good mystery.”

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