Page 58 of Rescued Heart

Eddie’s shoulders hunched. “Tell me you didn’t.”

Bianca shook her head. “I’m afraid Jade went to work in a bad mood because of my offer.”

“You and your deals.” He stopped right in front of her and clutched the keys in his fist. “How did you even find their house?”

Was he really that against her coming to see Scout?

Jade’s words came back to mind.She’s with Eddie?

Oh. “You and Jade dated?”

His face lurched into a frown. “What would make you think that?”

Bianca put her palm to her forehead. Maybe it was best if she stopped thinking altogether. “I don’t know exactly. You seemed extra close to Scout and Scarlette, and you knew so much about Jade. Plus she had said that?—”

“That she was like a sister to me. That’s how we typically explain it when that topic comes up.”

“How often has the topic come up?” Bianca pressed her lips closed and headed toward the end of the driveway. She really should have hit snooze this morning. But there was no ignoring a four a.m. call time.

Some things didn’t need to be asked when one was tired. Side note: cookies did not always make a day go better.

Eddie grunted. “Probably too many times. Her mother was friends with my grand-ma’am. The previous women I dated always had questions about Jade and the kids.”

Was sinking into the ground a current option?

“I’m glad they have you to count on, then. Despite what my actions may or may not show, I know money doesn’t fix everything. I only wanted to help.”

Like all those who’d helped her.

Eddie leaned his hip against her car. “Sometimes helping means being there right beside the person. I know I had someone in my life who offered big promises, but all I really wanted was for them to show up.”

Bianca stepped beside her car. “Couldn’t it be both?” She hugged her arms around herself and stared at the road. “When I started getting into youth theater, my teacher helped me apply to this prestigious acting camp, but when I actually was chosen, my parents realized they couldn’t pay for it. I don’t know who was more crushed, my teacher or me, but my teacher told me to write a letter about why I wanted to go to camp. Somehow, a stranger ended up covering my fees.”

She shrugged. “I had the best time at camp. Learned so much. It’s when I realized I could actually maybe make my dream come true to become an actress. I promised myself if I did, I wanted to become like that woman who gave me a chance to build my dream because of her giving heart.”

Eddie dipped his head. “I wish more people in Last Chance County would notice the needs of the kids here.”

Wasn’t that what she had been trying to do? Except she was making Eddie give something to her in return. Not exactly like the generous woman of Bianca’s childhood.

The blue car that had followed her had returned. The driver drove in the opposite direction, his window rolled down and his phone aimed at Bianca and Eddie. One day she’d get to live her everyday moments without being watched and talked about.

However, this had been her dream. She fisted her fingers and leaned against the hood of her car with a smile directed at Eddie.

Eddie squinted at her. “What are you doing?”

She held on to her smile. “There’s someone taking our picture from the road.”

Eddie stiffened. “Of course there is. How could I have forgotten?”

The problem was, she had forgotten. And she wasn’t sure that was a good thing.

TWELVE

Eddie juggled the two bowls of oatmeal in his hands, knocked on Macon’s half-open door, and peeked inside. “You wanted to see me, sir? I went ahead and grabbed you some breakfast…”

It wasn’t only Macon. The police chief twisted toward Eddie from the corner behind the door where a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf sat. Apparently, the morning would be full of surprises too. But hopefully nothing like the other night’s visit to the ER with Scout.

Or yesterday’s conversation about Bianca and the giving woman of her youth.

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