“From the look on your face, I’d say you were remembering again.” Greg’s voice held deep concern.
“Just reminding myself how everything can change in a moment.”
“I wish you’d stop punishing yourself for being human.”
“Human? I’m a cliché. I went to the prom with the high school’s star quarterback, lost my virginity in the backseat of a car, ended up an unwed pregnant teen. Dumped by the quarterback, almost killed by my alcoholic father, and then to add insult to injury I lost . . .”
She couldn’t finish. For some unknown reason, today her mind brought it all back. She’d let the ghosts out of the closet and didn’t know how to usher them back in. They lashed at old wounds and made her bleed.
Jessie hadn’t spoken of the past in a long time. Part of her daily existence, she tried her best to push through, cope. Today felt different. She wished she knew why, so she could put a stop to it.
“And you lost her. Not your fault. You did everything possible. No one could have asked more from you. It just happened. The doctors tried everything and did their best to save her.”
“I still feel like I failed. Maybe if I’d taken better care of myself?”
“You did everything right.”
She shook off her mood and the past and glanced up at Greg. Thick golden hair, blue eyes, square jaw, tall and lean, tanned from working outside, quite a handsome package. Rich, smart, funny, and a good friend. All the things a woman could want in a man. So why, when she looked at him, didn’t she feel anything? No longing to touch him, or to be anything more than friends.
It was the same with every man she met. Maybe she died along with her daughter and lived as a ghost of herself in some warped reality.
Besides, she thought of Greg as a brother. An only child, he’d always wanted a sibling and adopted her as his sister. What could she say? For them, it worked.
“Why are you here?”
“Did you get any calls today?” His tone asked a lot more than a simple question.
“I get about a hundred a day. Any call in particular you’re referring to? Did Pop outbid me on a job again, and he sent you here to rub my nose in it?”
“No.” He chuckled, though with little enthusiasm.
Ever since Pop fronted her the money to start her own business, they’d cultivated a friendly rivalry between their construction companies. She’d worked for Pop and Greg starting at fifteen, pregnant and alone, looking for a job to support herself through her pregnancy. She’d started in the office, helping Pop plan and organize jobs since she couldn’t do any manual labor in her condition.
Later, to their utter fascination, she’d taken on any and all jobs on the projects. They had no idea a young girl could do everything from frame a house to roof it. She’d earned their respect, their admiration, and their love. And one day she found she’d grown so close to them, they made her part of their family.
At eighteen, she’d even changed her last name to Langley to hide from her father, or anyone else who came looking for her. Not that anyone had, but she’d needed the security of knowing no one could find her.
“Dad says hello, but I’m not here about any bid. He called about some news he heard today. He wanted to come himself, but you know how poorly he’s been feeling lately.”
“Is it his health? Did the doctor say something about his condition?”
“No. Dad’s fine. Nothing’s changed. The news is about something else.”
Pop suffered from a heart condition over the last ten years. Some days it got the best of him. Most days, he got the better of it. Greg took after his dad and his zest for life. You couldn’t hold either of them down.
“How’s that new job you’ve got going on the outskirts of Fallbrook?” he asked, stalling, though she didn’t know why.
She eyed him warily. She hadn’t wanted to take the job near Fallbrook. The last place she wanted to go back to was her old hometown. Granted, she hadn’t moved far. She lived in-between the two towns, closer to Solomon, where most of her business projects were located. She avoided Fallbrook like cats did water and hadn’t been back, except to sneak into town to her and her partner’s antique and furniture shop.
“Running smoothly. Fifty track homes and a community park. My biggest project yet, thanks to Pop’s recommendation. Why?”
“Just wondering if you’ve gone into town.”
“You’re wondering if anyone knows I’m working there?” Still stalling, she waited him out.
“Something like that. Have you heard from your brother?”
“Not since he walked out the door while my father pummeled me in the kitchen. Why? You’re fishing, spit it out.”