Page 21 of Standing Still

“We dated for a while. I was a junior when he was in his senior year.”

“He never mentioned you. I’m sorry.”

She waves a hand. “It’s okay. I wanted to come to the funeral but my parents…” she looks over my shoulder, but her eyes are distant, like she is staring at a memory rather than whatever is behind me. “Anyway… I always wanted to pass on my condolences. I just never thought I’d get the chance to speak to you.”

“Thank you. Have you lived in Mystic long?” I ask her.

“About a year now. I got divorced recently and decided to get a fresh start.”

“Sorry to hear that. Mystic is a nice place to live.”

“I like it,” she smiles a little brighter.

“Oh, hey, Claudia. You’ve met our famous Elle, then?”

“Stop being ridiculous.” I look at Dawn as she grabs her purse. “And yes, we were just talking about-”

“Are you okay, Dawn? You look a little peaky,” Claudia interrupts me. My head automatically whips to Dawn to check her over.

“I’m fine. Stop worrying. But I am tired. Do you mind if I head home?”

“I’ll give you a ride,” I say, getting up too. I take some money out of my purse, despite Dawn’s protests, and pay for the food. “It was nice to meet you, Claudia. Hopefully, I’ll see you around. I’d love to catch up some more.”

“Well, I’m usually here, but that would be fine.”

We head out of the diner after saying our goodbyes. I help Dawn out and into the car, and she doesn’t fuss this time about my assistance. Once I’m in the driver’s seat, I look over at her as she huffs slightly.

“Are you really okay?”

“I’m fine,” she rolls her eyes. “I’ve been through this twice already. I’ve just overdone it is all. I need my afternoon nap a little early today,” she laughs. “So, how’d you know Claudia?”

“I don’t,” I tell her. “She introduced herself to me. It was the weirdest thing. She said she dated Darren.” As I start the car, I fill her in on what we talked about, albeit briefly.

“I can’t believe she dated your brother. Wonder why she never said anything.”

“She wouldn’t know you were my friend, and I’ve not exactly been around.”

“Don’t start that again,” Dawn rolls her eyes. “So you had no idea about her?”

“No. I’ve never met her.”

Dawn nods, giving me a gentle look. “She’s nice, hard worker. If I didn’t know Joy loved me so much, I’d worry she’d steal my title as the best waitress in town.”

I pull up to her house and she offers for me to stay with them again, reminding me I still need to find somewhere. Of course, my house is sitting empty. The thought of that makes me shudder, though. All this talk of Darren has brought too many memories up, and knowing both he and my dad died in the house is enough to make me never want to step foot in it again.

“Will you see Ben today?” Dawn asks me.

I make a non-committal noise and she stares at me in that knowing way she always did when we were kids. I marvel at how little she’s changed and, again, how easily she has accepted me back here. I watch her waddle into her house and then head back to the Inn.

I promise the man behind the counter I’ll be back down in time for checkout, then go upstairs, fire up the laptop and start looking at hotels.

Chapter Ten

I was distracted all day on the water and although the others noticed, they didn’t comment. They probably think I’m trying to figure out what to do about getting George’s under my name. It’s what I should be thinking about, but instead, I’m thinking about how easily Elle fell into me last night, and how stupidly right it felt to hold her. Her discomfort when she pulled back was what broke me out of that insanity.

And it is what spurs me on to consult with another lawyer in town, someone who doesn’t work with Larry. I don’t exactly have the money to retain anyone, but I have some savings and in a pinch, one of my brothers will lend me some money, even though my pride would prevent me from asking.

After feeding and walking Jedi, I make the short trip out to Stonington where Warwick & Parker work from out of a residential house.

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