Page 44 of Secret Cinderella
The woman slumped in the seat. “Nice to meet you. I’m Elaine. Most of the people on the bus scare me.”
“Yeah, I’m keeping my head down,” Charlotte admitted fast.
Jack, thanks to his inheritance, would never be in any situation like this ever again, which was good.
He was a prince among men.
She would never stop thinking of him, or caring.
The bus driver drove forward and the two of them sat quietly for a few minutes while the rest of the bus settled down. Elaine broke the silence. “So why are you going to Miami?”
A memory of Jack driving her home from work, listening to the radio, flashed in her head. Never again would they sing together in his car. “Honestly?”
Elaine shrugged. “We have the time.”
She pressed her hands on the armrests. “I… broke up with my fiancé and want to start over. What about you? Why are you going to Miami?”
Elaine let out a small sigh that was both sad and upset at the same time. “I’m visiting family. My sister lives there with her son. Why did you break up with your guy?”
Jack making her laugh in the toy aisle and tossing balls at each other when Nancy wasn’t looking played in her mind. “He’s wonderful and sweet and deserves better.”
Elaine’s gaze narrowed and her upper lip lifted as she asked, “What?”
Charlotte stilled and for a second she swore she could feel Jack’s protective touch on her back though that was silly…she let her shoulders slump. After her father’s death, she’d lost everything. “He’s pretty perfect. But dreams don’t come true.”
Elaine tilted her head and asked, “So you’re telling me that you’re on a bus because you’re leaving your happiness behind and want to start over and be alone?”
Outside, green trees lined the highway, passing in a blur but nothing happened out the window.
Just like her life. A passing blur was all she’d have as she said, “Dreams don’t come true.”
Elaine crossed her legs and adjusted in her seat. “Not if you run from them. Look, I’m going to meet my sister. She met a guy on vacation, and ended up pregnant. She’s super sick now and I’m going to help raise my nephew in case she doesn’t make it.”
Wow. That sounded hard. Charlotte would have hugged her if they were friends, but she patted her arm instead. “I hope she does.”
“It’s not looking good.” Elaine’s face paled as she said, “She didn’t get treatment in time.”
Wow. Elaine had a lot going on. Charlotte’s eyes welled as she remembered her dad and how hard losing him had been. “I’m sorry.”
Elaine shivered. “I don’t know if I’m fit to watch over anyone. I’m a good example of a walking disaster, but if I ever did meet some amazing guy? I’d run into his arms, not away from him.”
One point for Elaine. Absolutely. Maybe Elaine was right and Charlotte needed to work on herself. She was worthy of love. Her dad had loved her. She knew that, and maybe she overreacted about Jack. “I’m sure your nephew and your sister will benefit from you being there.”
If she was worthy of love, she made a hude mistake. Her skin tingled but she only said, “Thanks. I hope you’re right but I was never one of those women who dreamed of being a parent.”
Parents and dreams, she thought sadly. “My dad had a dream that I take over his store for him, to provide a living for my family, but I didn’t succeed.”
Elaine’s expression changed from open to defensive. “Parents often have plans for us that don't work out, mine… never mind, go on.”
What had she been about to say? “You can tell me…”
Elaine’s cheeks blushed as she gazed out the window like she wouldn’t say a word but there must be something about being on a bus with a stranger that led to confessions. “Mine had gambling and drug addictions.”
Wow, nothing like hers then. Her stepfamily had been rotten, but she’d had a roof over her head and food.
Charlotte scooted closer, offering an empathetic ear as Elaine continued, “My sister, in Florida, protected me growing up. She was always the smart, strong one and I turned into only a semi-disaster because she made sure that I went to college and got a job.”
“I wish I had an older sister like that,” Charlotte said in a low voice. But she’d had Jack and running from him now seemed weak.
