Page 5 of The Calendar of New Beginnings
It humbled her to hear such high praise from one of America’s journalistic legends. “Thank you for saying that, Arthur.” The name was still uncomfortable on her tongue.
“How about you come down to my office after you settle in?” He held out his hand for his cane, which Tanner extended to him. “I want to talk to you about taking some photos for me and writing an op-ed while you’re here.”
Arthur’s Sunday op-ed was famous among politicians and business leaders, and readers everywherewere compelled by his take on the ever-changing nature of America. Arthur Hale didn’t just have his hand on the pulse of the West anymore.
“I’d be honored to write something for you, but as for photos, I can’t say there’s much to capture in Dare Valley.”
“Don’t be so sure about that, honey,” her mother called out.
She glanced over her shoulder to see what her mother was talking about, but someone grabbed her hand and pressed a cold glass into it. Judging from the shape of the glass, her beer had arrived. “Finally.I was wondering where you were, Dad. What’s the score?”
“The Raiders just took the lead. Sorry, I got caught up with Blake. I know it’s only pre-season and all, but…”
“You have the chance to watch the game with the former Raiders’ quarterback,” she said knowingly.
“Yeah,” her dad said, cheeks reddening. “I try not to freak him out by rolling out player stats. Blake’s a great guy. It’s good to see him and Natalie back together.”
She already knew about that, both from Andy, who was close to his sister, and from her mother, who kept her up to date on everything from the Hales’ comings and goings to the town’s dynamics. Sometimes Lucy wondered if her mother told those stories as a way of reminding her what she was missing. Since Lucy didn’t share the gritty details of what she saw overseas with her parents other than through her photos and articles, she appreciated her mother doing most of the talking. Usually.
Lucy turned to Meredith. “Your baby is due pretty soon, I hear.”
“Yes, and we can’t wait,” she said, rubbing her belly.
“And you look pretty settled for a former war correspondent,” Lucy told Tanner.
He nodded. “I’ll come by your office at Emmits. We can talk about ‘settling’ into Dare Valley after leaving the fast lane. It was weird in the beginning.”
Her office at Emmits? She’d never had an office before. For that matter, she’d never had a home besides this one. She traveled from assignment to assignment, occasionally stopping for a brief siesta in a short-term rental in London or Rome or Cairo.
She always traveled light, not wanting to be weighed down by stuff. Her mother checked her P.O. box at the Dare Valley Post Office for her, which allowed her to keep her state residence and driver’s license, and forwarded any mail to her current address overseas. The system had worked seamlessly for her whole career.
“I’m…ah…not sure I’m staying permanently,” she said carefully. “I only have the fall term in mind right now.”
Meredith cast Tanner a measured glance, and he rubbed her shoulder as if to assure her everything was all right. Some said the adrenaline from working in war zones never left one’s blood. Lucy had been running on it for too many years to know if she was going to be any different.
“You might change your mind, Lucy,” Arthur said, tapping his cane on the floor. “While few things are more important than a good story, you still have to live your life.”
Hadn’t she been doing that? She loved traveling from one place to the next. She lived for it. Now the future had been transformed to one big question mark. Looking away from Arthur, her gaze landed on Andy. He was still studying her. Yeah, he knew something was up with her and this unexpected return home.
She hoped he would give her some time before he asked her what it was.
CHAPTER TWO
From the time Lucy O’Brien could walk, she’d been an unstoppable force. Andy had seen more than one childhood photo of her dragging him along as he struggled on his then-chubby legs to keep up with her. Over the years, his best friend had talked him into climbing treacherous trees and skiing down death-defying mountain passes.
So her choice of career hadn’t surprised him. Of course she’d gone overseas to take photographs of distant places riddled with war and poverty. But that didn’t mean he hadn’t worried.
He was more than worried now.
She was too skinny for her five-foot-five frame, and her hair didn’t possess its natural luster. Being a doctor, he knew what illness looked like. Lucy’s body was still mending from some sickness or injury. And she hadn’t said a word about it.
Well, that was going to change. When he thought she was ready, he was going to ask what had brought her home to Dare Valley after all these years of insisting it was too small, too provincial. Even her parents weren’t buying her bullshit answer that she needed sometime off from the fast lane. It wasn’t in Lucy’s nature to proceed slowly. She was a sports car on a highway filled with sensible vehicles.
“She doesn’t look good, does she?” his sister, Moira, whispered to him.
He was so focused on Lucy, he hadn’t even noticed his sister’s approach. He’d thought she was still on the edges of the group huddled around Lucy. It hadn’t surprised him to see Moira listening to his friend with such interest. Few could top Lucy in the story department, and Moira was an amateur photographer, after all.
“Shh,” he hissed. “Do you want someone to hear? There’s no need to worry her parents more.”
