Page 78 of The Secrets We Treasure

Chapter 18

By the time she got back to her mom’s house, Treasure was sopping wet and chilled to the bone. A loud clap of thunder shook the ground as she scampered from the golf cart to the house. She pushed open the door and practically fell inside, only to find her mom and Cherry sitting on the couch and munching on popcorn. Treasure looked at the TV and realized they were watching a movie.

“I swannie!” Cherry exclaimed, the whites of her eyes popping. “In all my born days, I’ve never seen such a sight. Child, what happened to you?”

A sob convulsed in Treasure’s throat, shaking her shoulders, as she put a hand to her mouth.

Cherry jumped to her feet and rushed to Treasure’s side. Not caring that Treasure was drenched, she wrapped her arms around her. A waterfall of anguish engulfed Treasure as she began weeping. She’d told herself on the drive from Laci’s house that she would lock up her emotions and throw away the key. Her mom was in no shape to deal with Treasure’s emotional breakdown. However, Treasure had hidden her pain for far too long. Now that it was out, there seemed to be no putting it back.

“Honey, what’s wrong?” Barbara asked, rubbing a hand over Treasure’s back. “Did Ethan do something to you?”

Finally able to get a slight handle on her grief, Treasure sucked in several ragged breaths, her chest heaving in the process. “I’m sorry,” she managed to say.

“What’s wrong?” Tears rose in Barbara’s eyes.

That’s all it took for Treasure to lose it again. Her words spilled out in jagged pieces. “Greer—knows—the—truth—” Her throat closed as she coughed, struggling to breathe. Dizziness rolled over her.

“The truth about what?” Cherry asked.

It took a superhuman effort for Treasure to get the words out. “Why I broke up with him and left Honeysuckle Island all those years ago.”

Cherry frowned. “What’re you talking about, honey? That was a lifetime ago. What does it matter? You’re with Greer now.”

“You don’t understand,” Treasure cried.

“Okay,” Cherry answered calmly like one would when trying to keep a person from flying off her rocker. “Why don’t you tell us what happened?” She threw Barbara a concerned look. “I’ll make you a cup of herbal tea. And you can get out of those wet clothes before you catch your death.” Treasure looked down at the floor and realized water was puddling at her feet. “No, I need to go outside.” It occurred to her that there was one last thing she needed to do to put this ordeal to rest.

Barbara’s eyes rounded. “Not in this storm.”

“I need to get the money.”

“You’re not making any sense.” Barbara creased her brows. “Let’s get you some dry clothes.” She took hold of Treasure’s arm to lead her into the bedroom, but Treasure pulled away. “No!” She needed to get this out while she could. “Josette Chasing and Francie Nash paid me one-hundred-thousand dollars to break up with Greer and leave Honeysuckle Island.”

A shocked silence snuffed out all sound.

“W—what?” Barbara finally squeaked.

Treasure swallowed. Her tears had thankfully stopped, and she could breathe more normally. “I took the money, but I never touched a cent.” She locked eyes with her mom. “Josette threatened to expose you.”

“Expose me for what?” Barbara’s eyes sparked.

“For your affair with Oliver Chasing. She was going to get you fired.”

A mortified expression overtook Barbara, and her face turned as white as a sheet. “You know about my affair?”

Cherry shook her head, muttering. “I told you it was a bad idea to get involved with Oliver.”

“How did you find out?” Barbara pressed, her hand going up around her neck. Treasure recognized the mannerism. She also did the same thing when she was overwhelmed.

Sadness filled the empty cavern of Treasure’s heart. “I saw you together one summer when I was a kid. At the cottage.”

Barbara’s lower lip trembled. “That was you.”

“Yes.”

“Mercy sakes.” Cherry compressed her lips together as she shook her head. “This is why the Good Book says, Wickedness never was happiness.” She looked to the ceiling. “May the good Lord have mercy on us. Let’s go sit down in the kitchen. Y’all obviously have a lot to talk about. Come on,” she barked when they remained standing where they were.

“I need to sit down,” Barbara said weakly.

---