Page 72 of Forbidden Secrets
“Romantic.”
“Only the best.Rhonda had come to the bootlegger with Josie Whitlock.Those two were the heart of their own little mean-girl pack at school.”
“I know Josie.She worked at Easy Money until Owen fired her.”
“I bet she hit on you.”
“Big time.Not my type.”
“According to Greg, he and Rhonda climbed into the bed of his pickup while Josie paired up with Chase.”
“They’re not the first teenagers to do the deed at a party.Why do you think Rhonda refused to admit she’d been with Delano?”
“Because she’d lied to Josh Lockwood and said she was staying home that night with a headache.According to Greg, Rhonda and Josh had only recently gotten back together after breaking up a month or so before.”
She waited expectantly for him to say something.“Aren’t you going to ask why this is important?”
Gage chewed thoughtfully.“If I had to speculate, it’s because she got pregnant.”
Melanie gaped at him.“How’d you guess?”
He shrugged.“Has to be something big if she’s still nervous about it after all these years.Delano didn’t stand up for her?”
“He wanted to.Greg says Rhonda came to his house a couple weeks after they’d been together.She’d found out she was pregnant and was a hot mess.He had a big-time crush on her and figured a baby meant they’d be together.Since he’d committed to the navy and was set to go to boot camp after graduation, he felt he could support her and a baby.He wanted to marry her.”
“I take it Rhonda didn’t want that.”Gage pushed his plate away.
“Nope.Greg sounds bitter.He thinks she decided Josh Lockwood’s prospects were better than his.Josh was popular and was on his way to becoming valedictorian, his family was wealthy, or at least everybody thought so.
“A kid from a working-class family wasn’t going to provide for Rhonda in the manner to which she wished to become accustomed.”Melanie sipped her tea.“The irony is the Lockwood family was struggling.They operated a sawmill outside of town.The logging industry was in decline and they ended up shuttering the mill and declaring bankruptcy.”
“So no more family business?”
She shook her head.“According to Greg, no.I’m not sure what Josh does for work, but he’s not working for Lockwood Lumber.”
“Assuming she kept the baby, did Delano say whether Rhonda tried passing it off as Lockwood’s?”
“Rhonda was adamant she wanted to keep the baby.Greg thinks claiming the baby was Josh’s is exactly what she planned, though he hasn’t talked with her since and doesn’t know for sure.He does know her parents kicked her out and Rhonda went to live with a relative in L.A.until she had the baby.”She gave a heavy sigh.“I can’t imagine parents treating their daughter like that.”
Gage nodded.“Society is more forgiving now, for the most part.”
Melanie continued.“Greg said his sister told him Rhonda and the baby returned to Sisters and moved in with the Lockwoods, and eventually she and Josh got married.Greg promised Rhonda he wouldn’t tell anyone they’d hooked up.I think the dam broke when I called him.All this bitterness spewed out.He regrets keeping his promise as long as he did.Chase and Josie would know, though.”
“Josie would probably keep her mouth shut for a friend.But what’s Bradford’s motivation, especially if he was friends with Delano?”
“Good question.But there’s more.Greg said Chase’s vehicle was parked close to his.He heard Chase and Josie arguing, and then Josie stormed off and went back to the party.”
“So no hookup there.And Chase?”
“Rhonda told Greg she was going home.After they parted ways, he went back to the party.He said he wasn’t really paying attention, but thinks Chase showed up again much later.Once the party started breaking up, Greg went home and doesn’t have any recollection of when Chase left.”
Gage leaned back in his seat, brow furrowed in thought.“At what point did you leave?”
“My curfew was eleven, but that night I was having a good time and used a friend’s cell to call Mom.I begged her for an extra hour and she finally gave in.It was a twenty-minute drive back home, so I left a little after eleven thirty.”
“You didn’t have a cell phone?”
“No.Mom and I couldn’t afford one.”
