Page 112 of I'm Watching You

Ten minutes later, Lindsay was headed north into Hanover County. After several miles she turned off of Route 360 and headed down a smaller road that cut through rolling cornfields. A few more twists and turns of the road and she arrived at the quiet cemetery where her mother was buried.

She passed through the twin brick pillars at the entrance;waved to the groundskeeper, who smiled back at her; and drove to her mother’s grave. Located in a treeless grassy part of the park, the grave site was set apart from the others. She parked Audrey’s car on the access road and walked through the wet grass to the grave site.

She’d come empty-handed. No flowers, no greens to fill the urn that was usually set upside down and empty. Guilt washed over her. She’d not done such a good job of tending her mother’s grave in the last year.

Thick, hot air and afternoon sun made her sweat, but she savored the gentle sound of the leaves being rustled by the breeze. She’d forgotten how quiet the country could be.

When she reached her mother’s spot, she was surprised to discover that the brass urn was turned right-side up and filled with freshly cut white roses.

Lindsay knelt by the bronze plate, unable to take her eyes off the roses. Gingerly, she touched a silky petal. ‘Who put the roses here?’

She glanced around at the headstones, still decorated with Independence Day reds, whites, and blues.

There was no one around.

She frowned. ‘Roses were your favorite.’

It touched her heart that someone had remembered her mother.

She picked up a stray leaf and tossed it aside. ‘I saw Zack. He looked good and had clear eyes and a steady hand. It’s as if he never drank.’ She shook her head. ‘All the crap that guy put me through and he still makes me weak in the knees.’

Until this week, she’d thought her feelings for Zack were dead and buried. But after seeing him again, she realized he was still under her skin.

‘I have no idea what I’m going to do about him.’

Closing her eyes, she tried to imagine her mother’s bright smile and the advice that would follow. But in the silence, there were no answers.

She dusted the dirt from her palms. Sweat damped her shirt and plastered her bangs to her head.

The crunch of gravel had her turning. A tall, lean man stood ten feet from her. The sun behind his back shadowed his face. ‘Afternoon.’

Rising, she shadowed her eyes with her hand. She recognized the cemetery caretaker. They’d never spoken before but she’d seen him out here before. ‘Hey, how’s it going?’

The caretaker smiled. He had rawboned features, tanned skin, and rough hands that looked used to manual labor. ‘Going well, thanks.’ He glanced at the headstone. ‘Who are you here to visit today?’

‘My mom.’

‘I’ve never seen you here before.’

The simple comment stirred guilt. ‘Yeah, I’ve been busy. I haven’t been such a good daughter. But I was here at Easter. I think I saw you then.’

He nodded. ‘Sorry, don’t remember.’

‘I was leaving and you were coming.’

He glanced at the headstone. ‘You couldn’t have been more than a kid when she died.’

‘Yeah.’

‘I bet you were a fine daughter when she was alive.’

‘I always felt like I should have done more.’

‘We all do the best we can at any given time.’

Emotion tightened her throat. ‘Sure is a hot day, isn’t it?’

He stared at her for a long moment and then pulled the bill of his hat forward. ‘Supposed to top a hundred, I hear.’

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