But then, he didn’t know what she’d done.
“I’m sure he hates me now that he knows the truth.” She looked down at the burns on her hands from the iron. “Do you think Mother Superior would mind if I stayed here for a while longer?”
“You do not belong here, Jessie.” Margaret patted her hands again. “It is time for you to go home and tell your husband how you feel. You’re strong enough to do that now.”
“Yes.” She was. She missed Myra, Rosa, Felix, Mirry…and Cadde. But she hesitated, unsure of what waited for her so many miles away.
“Why did you come here, child?”
“You’ve asked me that before and I couldn’t answer. I still can’t. I don’t have any other living relatives and in my agony, I guess I was coming to find comfort and strength from my aunts.”
“We enjoyed meeting you and we don’t have to wonder about you anymore. You’re a beautiful young woman with incredible strength and I know, unlike your father and mother, you will find the happiness you crave.”
She hugged Margaret, hoping what she said was true.
THE NEXT MORNING JESSIE was packed and ready to go. She said a sad goodbye to everyone, clinging to her aunts a little longer than she should have. The white cab roared to a stop and Jessie climbed in.
The children shouted, “Arrivederci.” Jessie waved until she couldn’t see them anymore and she realized she’d left a part of her broken heart in a place that seemed untouched by time.
Her flight arrived late in New York. The closer she got to home, the more she worried. While she waited she wondered if she and Cadde were still married. Had he signed the papers?
It was 5:00 a.m. when she arrived in Houston. She wanted to go home, but for her own peace of mind she had to do something else.
She had to face Nina.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
BY EIGHT THAT MORNING Jessie was in Amarillo. She’d slept on the flights so she wasn’t tired. As she rode in the cab she had no idea what she was going to say to Nina, but she had to face her to deal with what had happened for her own sanity.
She’d charged her phone at the orphanage and saw she had lots of calls from Cadde, Myra and Rosa. She didn’t listen to any of the messages—not yet.
Using her phone she tracked down Nina’s aunt. She knew the name and the street and it was no problem to find the number. Information was easily available and Jessie realized how dangerous that was for demented people. There was no privacy anymore as she acknowledged to her detriment. All the security in the world didn’t work if a person was determined to get in. Ironically, she’d opened the door for Vernon.
She should be afraid, but she wasn’t. The fear that always had been there had been obliterated by grief. She was stronger now than she’d ever been and no one was going to take advantage of her good nature again.
The cab stopped at an older clapboard house with black shutters. The long front porch was enclosed with railing. Nina sat in a chair, smoking a cigarette. Jessie asked the driver to wait and she made her way to the steps. Climbing them, she thought of what she wanted to say, but nothing came to mind.
Nina was immediately on her feet. “I’m sorry, Jessie.”
Suddenly, everything clicked. She wanted to hit the woman, scratch her eyes out, but she did neither. She wasn’t a violent person. “Every time I tried to help you, you always said I didn’t know what your life was like.” She stepped closer. “Thanks to you, Nina, I know exactly what your life is like, blow by blow.”
“I didn’t know Vern was going to do that.”
“You broke the honor code of Rachel’s House and you put everyone’s safety in jeopardy, mainly mine.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t say you’re sorry. Get off your ass and do something about your life. Stop depending on everyone else.”
The door opened and a middle-aged woman with short brown hair stood there. “Watch TV,” she said to the kids behind her, and stepped out onto the porch.
“Hi, I’m Lois Winslow,” she introduced herself.
“I’m Jessie Hardin.”
“Oh, Mrs. Hardin, I’m so sorry.”
“Yes. That seems to be the phrase of choice.” She looked at Nina, but spoke to Lois. “Don’t let her take advantage of you. She’s good at working people, the system.”
“I told her she has to find a job or get out. With Vernon dead, she has no reason to go back to Houston.”
“Dead?” She was confused for a moment.
“He was arrested and he hung himself in his cell,” Lois told her.
“Oh.” Jessie was taken aback for a moment. “I didn’t know, but it doesn’t bring my baby back.” Once again she glanced at Nina. “You took everything from me—my child, my husband, my life.”