Page 6 of Unforgotten

“She shouldn’t have said that.”

“Why? Is it a lie?”

Jay turned to his brother. “Mamm doesn’t lie.”

“So you’re the one who’s lying?”

“I am not.”

“Something can’t be true and false at the same time, Jay.”

“It can.” How had he even gotten involved in this conversation?

“I don’t understand why you’re acting upset anyway. Mamm wasn’t being mean. And it’s not like you’ve ever had a girlfriend.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Pretty much what it sounded like.” Tommy folded his arms over his chest. “Have you had a sweetheart before?”

“A sweetheart?”

Ignoring him, Tommy continued. “Was she a secret?” Looking intrigued, he added, “Do you have a secret love life that no one knows about?”

“Where do you come up with such things?”

“You still haven’t answered me, bruder.”

“I don’t intend to. My personal life is none of your business.”

“I guess not. But it sure don’t seem like it’s anyone else’s either.” He laughed at his own joke before moving toward the food trucks again.

Luckily, it was also before Jay could admit that Tommy might be right. One of these days, he was going to find a way to get Bethanne to finally trust him. He didn’t know how, and he didn’t know when, but he was going to do it.

And when that happened, everything in his life would be good. No. Fantastic.

Wunderbar.

3

Candace’s skin began to crawl. Too many eyes focused on her and too many people stood too close. Before long, someone would try to touch her arm or her hair. Or worse, attempt to hug her. She hated that. She really disliked when people—especially ones she didn’t know—touched her without permission. Why hadn’t she thought more about that when she’d filled out the paperwork?

Feeling her anxiety spike, she pinched the bit of skin between her right thumb and forefinger and counted to five. Concentrating on that made the rest of the world fade away, if only for a couple of seconds. But that was better than nothing.

“You’ve got this,” she whispered to herself. Remembering some of the advice Bethanne had shared with her, she continued, “You are safe and in control of your body.” Exhaling in a slow and steady way, she imagined she could feel her heartbeat return to normal.

And ... maybe it had. Feeling a little bit better, she lifted her chin. It seemed that Bethanne’s counselor really did know what she was talking about.

The day was almost over. Just another two or three hours to go. All she had to do was stand still and pretend her feet didn’t hurt and that sweat wasn’t dripping down her back.

“Candace!”

Her mind registered her sweet cousin’s approach just in time. When Bethanne hugged her close, Candace was able to wrap her arms around her. She was even able to inhale the faint scent of Ivory soap on Bethanne’s skin.

“You must feel like the luckiest girl in the world,” Bethanne said, smiling as they released each other. “Or at least the prettiest.”

Only hours of practicing in front of the mirror enabled Candace to keep smiling. She knew her cousin’s words came from her heart, and they really were very sweet. Everything about Bethanne was kind and sincere.

It was just too bad that, in this case, Bethanne was completely wrong. Candace didn’t feel lucky or pretty. All she really felt was relief, and maybe a little bit sick to her stomach.

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