Page 122 of My Heart Will Find You

“I was going to call you,” Etta said quickly. “I’m going to get to you as soon as is humanly possible. I’ll fly, take a train, or whatever. There has to be some transportation available.” She sat down on the bed. “I just want to gohome, so maybe I should go to Dad. And Lester. I can run the food truck by myself until he’s well, and I can help Dad with his book, and—”

“Etta!” Alicia said loudly and with force. “You can’t go home again. You can’t go back to what used to be because it’s gone. It’s no longer there.”

“I know that you guys moved, but Dad is—”

“No!” Alicia nearly yelled, then she gave a groan. “Dad told meIhad to tell you what he’s done. He’s too cowardly to do it himself.”

“What do you mean?”

“Dad sold the house. He’s already packing up. For the last two years, Steve Hartman, with his five kids, has been begging Dad to sell the house to him. He finally said yes. Papers have been signed.”

“Years? Dad has been thinking of this for years? But he never said a word to me.”

“Of course not. We all protect you. And listen, there’s more. Lester has decided to retire. He says he’s had enough of working twelve-hour days. He’s going back to his homeland.”

“His homeland? But Lester was born in Tonga.”

“Right. That’s where he’s going and his whole family is going with him, including his grandchildren.”

Return to his tribe where he’s the chief, Etta thought. It seemed that the home she wanted to return to was disappearing. “Where will Dad live?”

“Eventually, he hopes to travel to see the world.”

In her whole life, Etta had never heard her father say anything about traveling. “But his books?” She was beginning to feel frantic. “What about Wyatt Earp?”

Alicia gave a bit of a laugh. “Dad said the world can do without yet another book about that man. What does some gunslinger matter in the scope of life?”

“Everything,” Etta murmured. Her mind filled with visions of riding with Max day and night to get to the prison where Mr. Earp was being kept. Then flirting with him and Max being jealous.

“Etta? Are you there?”

“Yes, I’m here,” she said quietly.

“I’m sorry for dumping all this on you. I told both those men they were yellow-bellied snakes for not telling you themselves, but they said they couldn’t bear to break your heart.”

It was Etta’s turn to laugh. “It takes more than that to even crack my heart.”

“What does that mean? Has something bad happened?”

“Other than my life being completely and totally destroyed?”

“Etta,” Alicia said in her I’m-calming-down-a-patient voice, “you need to look on the bright side of this. You’re no longer tied down. Try to look at all of this as freedom.”

“Right. I’ve lost my family, my job, and my home. Does that sound like freedom to you? You have a gorgeous husband, a great job, and the best child in the world. If all that disappeared from your life, would you look at it as ‘freedom’?”

Alicia was quiet for a moment. When she spoke, it was in her sister voice, not that of a therapist. “No, I wouldn’t. Come here to us and we’ll talk.”

“You mean you’ll protect poor old Aunt Etta?” She didn’t give her sister time to answer. “I need to go. Believe it or not, I have things to do.”

“Etta, please.” Alicia sounded on the verge of tears.

“It’s okay. I’m going to be fine. I may murder Henry but then I married a man who he knew was his son, so he owes me big time. He—”

“What?” Alicia yelled. “Married? Youmarriedsomebody? I’ve never heard of this person so you must have just met him. You can’t do that. Marriage is serious. You need to find out about his character. You—”

“Give me a break! You saw Phillip in the gym with sweat rolling off of him, and you nearly fainted with lust. And afterward you went to the gym in so little clothing that Dad and I were afraid you’d be arrested. So much for you giving a crap about his ‘character.’”

Her therapist voice was back in full force. “I do admit that I was attracted to Phillip, but I—”

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