Page 143 of Hometown Girl

“All this time, I knew Jess was gone,” Drew said. “I guess I just expected to keep on hating the man who killed her. But now that I know who he is—I sort of feel sorry for him.”

Beth leaned into him and wrapped her arms more tightly around his torso. “Then maybe you can finally let it all go.”

How did he begin to do that? How did this singular event simply fall by the wayside, a remnant of something he used to know?

Anger. Pain. Sadness. Those things made sense to him.

But after seeing Monty’s face—hearing why Davis had done what he did—the anger had dissolved, leaving Drew with feelings he didn’t know how to process.

Beth led him back to the truck, where he went through the motions of getting in, buckling his seat belt and driving back to the farm.

Inside, he fell onto the couch, conflicted by the sorrow he felt over the lives affected that day. It wasn’t just Drew or Jess or the Pendergasts whose worlds had been turned upside down, but Monty’s and Davis’s as well.

All those lives torn apart by a secret hidden for too many years.

Had it lost its power now that it was out in the light?

Did he really have the closure he’d been searching for?

The next morning, sunlight poured in the living room window, waking Drew from the soundest sleep he’d had since he was ten years old. Not a single nightmare had shaken him from sleep. He’d forgotten how it felt to be rested.

He didn’t remember lying down last night, but someone had covered him up, given him a pillow, taken off his shoes. Someone had taken care of him.

Probably the same someone who’d brewed a fresh pot of coffee in the next room.

After brushing his teeth and splashing cold water on his face, Drew made his way to the kitchen.

He watched Beth as she stood over the stove, cooking bacon and eggs. Unaware of his presence, she moved without any trace of self-consciousness, humming along with the tune playing from the portable speakers connected to her iPod. He watched her from the doorway, trying to find words to thank her for everything she’d done for him. She might not know it, but because of her, he wanted to move beyond his past for the first time in his life.

Because of her, he could.

Words didn’t come—he supposed some things would still take time. It didn’t change the way he felt about her. Every part of him wanted her, and he wanted her to know it.

He ran a hand through his mess of hair and cleared his throat.

She met his eyes and smiled. “Hey.”

“What time is it?”

“It’s ten.” Another smile. “You obviously had some sleep to catch up on.” She poured him a cup of coffee and handed it to him.

“Where’d the coffeemaker come from?”

She flipped the fried eggs onto a piece of buttered toast, then added bacon and cheese. “My mom’s. I had an extra from when I lived on my own. I figured it was smarter to have one here since this is where most of the coffee-drinking happens. Makes it feel a little bit more like home, don’t you think?”

Home.He didn’t know how that was supposed to feel.

Beth set the plate on the table. “I hope you’re hungry.”

“I’m starving.”

“Good. It’s one of the few things I know how to cook. My dad always made the best bacon-and-egg sandwiches.”

“It looks good.”

She sat with him while he ate, drinking a cup of coffee and studying him. It might’ve been the first time in his life he felt perfectly comfortable under someone else’s gaze.

After he finished eating, she stood and reached for his plate, but he pulled it away from her. “I can clear my own dishes. But thank you for breakfast.”

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