Page 72 of Mountain Freedom
She had known secrets about my own family that I had been blind to my entire life. If we were allies, I could actually useher, as I was quickly learning that patients here weren’t always completely honest about their activities.
I gave her a small smile, trying to let her know there were no hard feelings despite what she had revealed, and turned to leave. It was amazing how much easier the day had gone now that we weren’t at war with each other. My patients had been friendlier as well. I’d even convinced one man to try a different path than the opioids he had come in requesting. It gave me hope that I might be able to make a difference here after all, instead of just surviving the next two years.
I pulledmy car up to the gravesite, where Jackson and his parents were already gathered with Greg, Janet, and Fiona. Daphne and Emerson pulled in behind me, and back beyond them, I saw Cole’s flashy car turning into the cemetery. It would be just us and the preacher today, a short, awkward service for a man who wouldn’t really be missed by anyone.
I stepped out of the car, feeling chilled under the stark sky despite the summer heat. Graveyards had always freaked me out, and it felt even worse being here today. I couldn’t pretend to grieve a man who’d literally planned to kill me. But I could be here for Jackson and support him.
I went straight to him, wishing I could erase the ghosts in his eyes. There was so much pain there, layered with guilt and embarrassment. All three things I hated for him to feel.
He looked down at me, piercing my very soul with those blue eyes of his. “Thank you for coming,” he said quietly. “I didn’t know if you would.”
“Of course I came,” I said. “I wouldn’t want you to face this alone.”
He tried to smile but failed. “I know this has to be weird for you, considering.”
I gave him a brave smile. “Yes, but it’s not exactly the weirdest thing we’ve ever done in a graveyard together.”
He gave me a strange look, then laughed out loud. “I had forgotten all about that.”
“What had you forgotten about?” asked the woman who had to be his mom. “I’m Jenna, by the way,” she said, sticking a hand out for me to shake. Her smile was warm, and I instantly liked her.
“I’m Allison. You must be Jackson’s mom.”
“I am,” she said, smiling. “But I still want to hear the graveyard story, since it made my son laugh on a day when I haven’t even been able to get him to smile.”
I looked at Jackson, who was grinning despite obvious embarrassment. “You tell it.”
“Well,” he said, flushing furiously. “Some of the older boys at school had told me that if you peed in a mason jar and buried it in a graveyard on the night of the full moon, then waited six weeks and dug it up again, it would have turned to liquid gold.”
“But only if you buried it by the north-facing roots of an oak tree,” I reminded him.
“That’s right,” he laughed, “I had forgotten that part. Anyway, I was pretty determined to score enough money to run away, and that seemed like a surefire way to do it. Allison stole a mason jar from her mama and gave it to me. I, um, filled it. Then we snuck away the night of the full moon to bury it.”
Jenna closed her eyes and shook her head, even as a small smile played at her lips. “Did you ever go back and dig it up?”
He nodded. “Yep. Six weeks later exactly. We dug it up only to find that those boys were hiding behind the bushes, watching. They hooped and hollered and never let me live it down.”
Greg had been listening with a look of amusement on his face. “Any of those boys still around here?”
Jackson looked right at him. “Oh yeah. In fact, I work with one of them every single day.”
“Which one?” Greg asked, obviously surprised.
“Miller.”
“You’re kidding.” This time, Greg was the one laughing out loud. “I should have known.”
Janet stepped over. “The minister just pulled up,” she said, motioning subtly with her head. “Perhaps we should all pretend to be a little more sober.”
“Whatever for?” Fiona demanded, throwing her hands into the air. “It’s not our fault Russell lived his life in such a way that there’s not a sad person here today. If we can find a little laughter, I say all the better for us.”
But I looked up at Jackson and saw the wave of grief pass over him. “Janet’s right,” I said, slipping my hand in his.
He squeezed tight and didn’t let go.
Chapter Thirty
Jackson
