Page 74 of One Southern Summer

Lucille shot her a concerned look. “Everything all right?”

“Just a little warm.” Maribelle found her paper ticket that she’d folded in half. As they waited for the line of people to file further inside, she flipped the paper back and forth in front of her face. Her mouth had grown dry and she could feel annoying little beads of perspiration forming at her hairline.

“It will be cooler once we sit down.” Lucille tightened her grip on Maribelle’s elbow and guided her toward the young ladies waiting to greet them. Maribelle managed to twist her mouth into a smile. The rumble of conversation grew louder, punctuated with bursts of laughter and the animated sounds of friends greeting one another.

Her legs turned to melted butter. She rarely wanted anyone’s help but she was secretly grateful for Lucille’s attentiveness. “I—I need to sit.”

“There’s a bench right here.”

The tightness in her chest and light-headed sensation making her brain feel foggy kept her from arguing. She sank onto a rustic wooden bench right beside a life-size cardboard cutout of Pax. Oh, dear. Not at all who she wanted to stare at while she tried to pull herself together. Even the fake version of him was too much to take. Maribelle intentionally angled her body away. At least she made it without passing out.

Lucille sat down beside her. Concern pressed her lips into a thin line. “We can wait here as long as you need to. Olive and them will be along in a few minutes, I’m sure.”

Hot tears pressed against the backs of her eyes. What in the world?

“Forgive me for saying this, Maribelle, but you do not look well. Are you ill?”

“I—I don’t know. Maybe that lettuce in my salad was bad.” She fanned the paper faster. The fog in her brain grew soupier. Her breaths came in little pathetic gasps.

“Maribelle?” Lucille’s fingers were blessedly cool as they gripped her fiery-hot arm.

Maribelle couldn’t make the words flow from her brain to her lips. Something about coming here. Not this building specifically, more like the symbolism of the event, how it represented her family’s betrayal paraded onstage for all of Camellia and beyond to ogle. Naming the problem sent her heart dropping to her toes. It all ripped the scab off an old wound. Yes, she’d known that wound had never healed. But the way the pain returned with a vengeance floored her.

“Maribelle, I’m getting you some help.” Lucille’s voice sounded so far away. Like she shouted from the opposite end of a tunnel. Yes, help sounded nice. Preferably a good-looking man in uniform. Maybe a whole platoon would swoop in here and whisk her away to safety. Upstaging Pax and Trey in the most socially acceptable way possible. She chuckled.

Except no one else laughed. Then her eyes fluttered closed, she slumped forward and Lucille screamed.

Cole baited the hook on his fishing line then cast out into the lake. The rod released with that refreshing, familiar zing. Then the bobber landed with a ploop in the blue-green water. He sat on the grassy bank at the edge of a pond only a short walk from the cul-de-sac where he’d grown up. The neighborhood hadn’t changed much and he’d easily found his way along the worn footpath.

Tension had coiled his muscles into hard knots. Every breath of thick, evening air tinged with the scent of jasmine and wisteria sent him careening back in time. He’d spent countless hours fishing here. If he closed his eyes and concentrated, he could almost hear Kim’s laugh as she learned to skip a flat stone across the glassy surface of the water. Dad had sat with him too, not far from this very spot, teaching him to fish. Instilling the value of patience. He’d caught a good bit of fish here over the years. Tonight he didn’t care if he caught anything at all. His T-shirt clung to his back and he swabbed at the sweat on his brow with his sleeve. The crickets and the bullfrogs chattered, while a family of ducks swam by. He adjusted the tension on his rod. Sunlight filtered through the dense green trees on the opposite side of the pond. Wisps of orange-and-pink-tinged clouds dotted the sky overhead.

It had seemed as though all of Camellia was at The Oasis. He’d avoided the heavy traffic and taken the back way to his old neighborhood. He craved a quiet and understated retreat. His mom had tickets to tonight’s big event and had offered him one, but he declined. Not his scene. Besides, he couldn’t be trusted not to approach Pax and confront the guy for all the pain his actions had provoked. The only person he really wanted to be with tonight was Avery. He’d debated driving out to the lake and checking on her, maybe even offer to take her to the movies or out to dinner.

Anything to distract her.

The night wasn’t over yet. He’d still held out hope of mustering his courage. Instead he’d steered his car the opposite direction, returning to his old neighborhood. Now, here he sat fishing his cares away. He had no idea if there were still fish in this pond. He’d seen zero evidence of any jumping or biting. He just wanted a quiet space to think and be. Mom had sold the house a long time ago and moved to a condo downtown.

Dad had remarried and moved to Georgia, back to his new wife’s hometown. Even though he had zero ties legitimately to this neighborhood anymore, fishing in this pond would always feel like home. A merciful breeze kicked up, stirring the thick evening air. The rumble of a car engine caught his attention. He glanced over his shoulder and recognized Avery’s SUV. He couldn’t stop a smile as she parked, climbed out of the car and picked her way down the dirt path.

“Mind if I join you?”

She looked incredible, as always, in a pair of khaki shorts and a white blouse with short fluttery sleeves. Her curls bounced against her shoulders as she sank down beside him.

“You’re always welcome here. Did you bring a fishing pole?”

“I didn’t come here to fish.”

The pleasant fragrance of her shampoo or lotion wafted toward him. After their almost kiss at the construction site last week, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about his next opportunity. What he wouldn’t give to reel in his line, set the pole aside then pull her into his arms. He banished those thoughts. “What brings you by?”

“I wanted to see you. I don’t know why this was my first stop. I suspected I’d find you here.”

Her words sent a flush of warmth to his face. “What’s on your mind?”

Please say us, please say us, please say us.

“Pax and Trey are in town.”

“Really? I hadn’t heard.” He reeled his line in.

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