“But she did a lot more than just feed me and give me a warm bed. I guess it’s too much to expect you to appreciate that.” As soon as the words were out, Eliza regretted them.

“I think you’d better wait and call me once you’ve had a good night’s sleep.” Stephen hung up.

Eliza clicked off the phone. She wished she could tell him being cranky didn’t have anything to do with lack of sleep. She feared things were spinning out of control and she hated that.

She bit into her bagel. She needed all the energy she could get to make it through the next few hours.

If there was no change in Maddie’s condition by night, she’d have to check into a motel to get some sleep, or collapse in sheer exhaustion. Worry took as great a toll as hard work.

She fervently hoped Maddie would regain consciousness soon. It had been less than twenty-four hours since she’d learned of Maddie’s stroke and she was already going crazy. How did people stand it when loved ones remained in a coma for weeks on end?

Eliza sipped her latte, her eye caught by a tall man in uniform, hat held in hand, striding into the cafeteria. He looked to be in his early thirties, dark hair and dark eyes. His gait was long and firm and he was heading toward her table.

Eliza’s instincts went on full alert. Was he coming to talk to her?

He stopped at the end of the table. “Sheriff Samuel Witt. Are you Eliza Shaw?”

“Yes.” She gestured to the chair opposite and the sheriff sat down, placing his hat on the seat next to him. He was nothing like the sheriff who had held office when she lived in Maraville.

“The nurse upstairs told me you might be here. I’m the person who responded to the call and got Maddie to the hospital.”

“I’m one of the foster children she raised. I just read about her condition last night in the paper and got here as soon as I could.”

“Do you live nearby?” he asked.

“Boston.”

“You get the Maraville Bugle in Boston?” His incredulous look was almost amusing.

She nodded. “A bit of home.” She felt foolish once she said it. Stephen had laughed at her sentimentality. How must it seem to a tough cop?

“Who found her?” she asked, realizing she knew no details beyond the bare facts reported in the paper.

“Henry Vetter had an appointment with her that afternoon. He waited for a while after knocking on the back door. Her car was in the driveway. When she didn’t answer, he tried the knob. Found it unlocked and Maddie at the bottom of the cellar stairs. We don’t know how long it was between the time she fell and the time she was discovered. It could have been several minutes or several hours. The doctors suspect it hadn’t been too long, however. The emergency medical team diagnosed a stroke and took appropriate action.”

“Who’s Henry Vetter?”

“Hank’s a handyman around town. Maddie wanted him to do some cleanup in the yard.”

“Hank? Tall and painfully thin? No hair?” Eliza remembered the man. He’d had a crush on Maddie way back when, though Maddie had done nothing to encourage him. Eliza remembered the jokes she and the other girls had shared at the thought of Maddie having him as a boyfriend.

“One and the same,” Sam confirmed. “You know him?”

“He used to come around and help out when I lived at the house on Poppin Hill. I thought he was ancient back then, I can’t believe he’s still working.”

“Hank’s about sixty-six now,” Sam said. “But he looks older. Probably looked ancient to a teenager.”

“I guess.”

“I’m surprised you came,” Sam said.

“Why?”

“I’ve only been in town for a couple of years, but even I’ve heard about the situation that got you pulled from the foster home. I wouldn’t think there’d be much love lost between you girls and Maddie.”

“Maddie never hurt any of us. Jo blamed her at first, but later when she tried to explain and tell the truth, no one would listen.”

And the accusations Cade and his mother had made about Eliza hadn’t helped the situation, either.

“Seems Sheriff Halstead thought he had enough evidence to get you girls removed from the home,” Sam said.

“Jo’s accusation never even got as far as an arrest.” Eliza hadn’t found that out until she’d made contact with Maddie a couple of years ago. “The fallout resulted in the three of us girls being yanked from the only home we knew and separated from each other. Maddie never did anything but take good care of us.”

“Going out to see the house?” he asked, ignoring her passionate conviction.

“I may.” She wondered if she really wanted to see the old place. There were so many memories. Would stirring them up do any good or only open old wounds?

CHAPTER THREE

IT WAS LATE AFTERNOON by the time Eliza turned onto the once-familiar white crushed-shell driveway at the house on Poppin Hill. Visiting the place had been a spur-of-the-moment decision. Once it was made, it hadn’t taken her long to drive from the motel where she’d checked in. Every mile had been crowded with memories.

Driving down Main Street, she’d seen the courthouse where she and April had been taken for questioning the morning after Jo had spun her outlandish story. And where Sheriff Halstead had interrogated her about Cade’s sister, Chelsea Bennett, only hours later.

The old theater was still in business on the next block, a new Disney film showing. No multi-theater complexes for Maraville.

The five-and-dime was gone. A video store flourished in its place. Looking down Center Street, she’d caught a glimpse of the old brick high school. Memories swept through her at the familiar sights and sounds.

The sultry weather zapped her energy. She should have changed into something more suitable for Mississippi in late April than the sophisticated suit that had been perfect for Boston, but she’d been too impatient to take the time to change once she’d checked into the motel. She’d wanted to see the house. Not stay in it. Not spend a lot of time there, but see it.

The crushed shells crunched beneath the tires as she drove the short distance up the hill to the back of the house. Huge oaks lined the winding drive, leaves drooping in the afternoon heat. The familiar gray Spanish moss dripped from the branches in ghostly decoration.

A battered pickup truck and a sleek sedan were parked at the top of the hill, bumpers almost touching the detached garage.

She pulled her rental car in beside the truck and stopped, staring at the house. Little had changed. She could almost imagine Maddie coming to the back steps to yell at her for being late. Or see Jo sneaking off behind Maddie’s back.

The house had been painted in the intervening years. The curtains replaced. The Victorian architecture still looked out of place in a state more used to antebellum homes along the river. Yet its familiarity tugged. A mingling of delight and sorrow filled Eliza. She took a breath. Could she go in?

The sloping yard was a riot of colors. Flowers grew haphazardly in beds adjacent to the house, around the old oak that shaded the front lawn and in scattered sections along the edges of the grass.

Maddie’s doing, Eliza knew. Maddie had always loved beautiful flowers.

After her second visit to see Maddie, the doctor had told Eliza he’d have the hospital call her cell phone immediately if there was any change in Maddie’s condition—either way—and he’d urged her to go get some rest. But the sheriff’s question had niggled at her, and she had to finally admit she was anxious to visit the house on Poppin Hill, her home for twelve years.

Eliza climbed from the car and headed for the back door. It stood open, the screen door standing guard against insects. Obviously the owners of the vehicles were inside.

She stepped in and listened, her eyes scanning the room. The linoleum flooring was worn and faded, having been installed long before she’d first arrived.

The counters were still narrow—never providing enough room when preparing meals for four. The refrigerator looked newer than she remembered, as did the range. But the cabinets needed to be painted. And the window over the sink still looked as if it couldn’t be budged. She would have expected Maddie to have had that fixed.

It was a huge old house and must have taken an enormous amount of upkeep. No money for extras— that had always been a problem when Eliza had lived here.

The sound of angry masculine voices came from the front of the house. Hesitating only a moment, Eliza headed in that direction.

“Hello?” she called. As she walked through the dining room, memories assailed her. The faded wallpaper hadn’t been changed, the rose pattern ancient even years ago. The huge table was surrounded by a dozen chairs. They’d eaten every dinner there, and often had guests on Sunday.

Maddie had done her best to teach the girls manners, from the proper fork to use to how to converse with visitors.

The voices grew silent. Eliza continued toward the living room. She stopped in the wide doorway. Two men turned to look at her.

She only glanced at the man on the left before her eyes latched on to the one person in the world she’d never thought to see again.

Cade Bennett.

She shivered and stepped back, remembering the hateful words he’d flung at her the last time she’d seen him. He had blamed her for his sister’s death. Nothing Eliza had said had made a difference. He had called her a liar and, worse, a murderer. He’d been upset, but there had been a kernel of truth in his accusations. Eliza had been the one to tell Chelsea her boyfriend was seeing someone else. Eliza had known Cade’s sister was unstable, but she’d done it out of spite for the hateful things Chelsea had said to her. That didn’t excuse her, Eliza knew, and she still carried a certain amount of guilt even after all these years. It had also made her very careful about what she said to others.

The older man spoke. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”

She looked at him, recognizing the town banker, Allen McLennon. He had aged over the years, but was still a fine-looking man. He’d been dating Maddie the last Eliza had seen him. When Maddie had been accused of abusing her charges, had he stopped seeing her? Maddie had never mentioned him in any of her letters. Eliza hadn’t thought about him in all these years. She’d have to ask Maddie what had happened, when she was better.

“I’m Eliza Shaw. I used to live here. I’m in town for a few days and came by to see the place.” Much as she wanted to focus on the banker, her eyes were drawn back to Cade.

He was as tall as she remembered, lean and muscular. He wore faded jeans, work boots and an attitude that didn’t quit. The chambray shirt emphasized the width of his shoulders. His dark hair was worn a little long and looked thick and wavy. Dark eyes clearly displayed the anger that simmered. Twelve years hadn’t softened him at all, it seemed. If anything, he looked harder than ever.

Eliza felt a shiver of trepidation. Tilting her head slightly, she glared at him. She was not some sixteen-year-old anymore, needing approval and acceptance. If he couldn’t handle her being here, that was his problem, not hers.

“Vultures circling the kill?” Cade suggested.

Eliza’s temper flared, but the intervening years had taught her well. She kept it under control.

“I came as soon as I learned about Maddie. I’ve already been to see her. What’s going on here?” She glanced around at the old living room, wondering what the two men were doing.

It was Allen who answered. “The bank has a loan against the property which is in arrears. Cade and I were discussing the next step. Just because you once lived here doesn’t give you any rights. This meeting is private.”

“What’s it about?” Eliza asked.

“Foreclosure and sale of the property,” Cade replied. “Which I will fight in every way possible.” He glared at Allen McLennon.

“You can’t sell Maddie’s house,” Eliza protested. “She needs it to come back to when she’s out of the hospital.”

“Allen’s the one talking about selling,” Cade said. “I’m trying to talk some sense into the man.”

The two men glanced at each other. Eliza’s suspicions rose. “What’s the real issue?”

“The bank holds a note,” Allen explained tersely. “Maddie took out a loan and put the house up as collateral. If the note isn’t paid up, we have no choice but to force a sale to recoup our loss. Cade is interested in buying the property. However, there are other companies making offers. I suggest it should go to the highest bidder.”

Eliza glared at Cade. “You can’t buy Maddie’s home.”

“If she can’t meet the payments, the place goes on the block. Why shouldn’t I be the one to buy it?”

“But—” If the house was sold, did it really matter who bought it? For some reason, Eliza didn’t want it to be Cade.

The mere thought of the house being sold startled her. Somehow she had thought it would always be here, waiting for her and April and Jo to return someday.

“Why the concern? What fond memories could you possibly have of this place?” Cade asked.

The strain of the past twenty-four hours finally caught up with her. She’d had the day from hell yesterday, topped off by terrible news about Maddie. Then a fitful night’s sleep, followed by the rushed trip to New Orleans and the drive to Maraville. Suddenly it was all too much.

“Doesn’t sound to me like I’m the vulture here. Maddie will get well and return home. You two stop fighting over her property. It will remain with her!” She turned and headed back through the hall to the stairs. She quickly climbed the steps and made her way to the room that had been hers.

Pausing in the doorway, she stared in disbelief. Nothing seemed to have changed. There was her bulletin board on the wall, faded pictures and pages held with thumbtacks. The blue gingham coverlet still covered her bed. The dresser looked as if it hadn’t been touched in a dozen years. But the room was tidy and clean. There was no dust anywhere.

She heard a phone ring. Moments later footsteps sounded on the stairs. Eliza wasn’t surprised to see it was Cade.

“If you can do anything to help Maddie save her house, do it now, or get out,” he told her bluntly. “Allen’s planning to force the sale. He said the bank will ask a steep price because of all the land. I hope I can meet it. But if it goes to auction, it’s anyone’s guess.”

“Then why don’t you pay off the loan and give Maddie a chance to get back on her feet?” Eliza asked, doubting Cade really wanted to help. He probably wanted an inside track to getting the house and land. Property values weren’t as high in Mississippi as Massachusetts, but the twenty-five acres Maddie owned had to be worth a lot.

“Eliza, Maddie Oglethorpe has been in a coma for almost a week. She’s unlikely to wake up, and even if she does, she’ll probably have to live in an assisted-care home the rest of her life. Whatever happens, I think it’s certain she’s not coming back here. If that’s the case, then I mean to have the house, and the property.”

He glanced around the room and looked at her. “Was this your room?”

Eliza nodded, moving into the room. She lightly touched the bed. It brought a flood of memories.

The house was old, with many rooms, all of them high-ceilinged and spacious. There was even a third story, which Maddie had never used. The once-white Priscilla curtains on her own high windows drooped, the starch long ago leached out.

She felt sad that the bedroom she’d occupied for so long looked tired and lifeless. She had never expected that Maddie would have kept it exactly the same. Why had she? In case Eliza returned?

They’d all been told that last day that they would not be coming back to live with Maddie. Eliza had believed Social Services. Hadn’t her foster mother? She wondered how Maddie had dealt with their departure. They’d never discussed that in their recent letters.

“Don’t let me keep you from anything,” she said, studiously avoiding looking at Cade. Her heart pounded, and memories crowded her mind. They had been high-school sweethearts. As close as two young people could be, spending every waking moment outside of school together.

At one point, Eliza had suggested they run off and get married. Cade had refused. Had her love been stronger? Or had it been one-sided? After Chelsea had died, Cade had wanted nothing to do with her. He blamed her for his sister’s death. Sometimes Eliza wondered if he was right.

As an adult, she knew no one was responsible for another person’s suicide. Still, telling Chelsea of her boyfriend’s betrayal had been more than the teenager could deal with. The guilt had faded over the years. Now it surged back as strong as ever.

“You’re not keeping me from anything. Can’t do much more today. I’m making sure nothing happens to the house.” He leaned negligently against the door-frame.

“I’m not here to damage the house or steal anything, just to walk through,” she said. Even if he wrongly blamed her for Chelsea’s death, he had to know she wasn’t a vandal. Those last days in Maraville remained crystal clear in her memory. Chelsea’s death wasn’t the only problem between them. There was the lack of trust and the uncertainty of where she’d ever stood with him.

But she would never do anything to harm Maddie or her property. Cade knew that. Why was he baiting her?

“What happened to April and Jo?” he asked. “Never figured any of you would come back.

The hard tone was unfamiliar. Eliza remembered his easygoing southern drawl. She’d loved to listen to him when they’d been dating. He didn’t sound like the same person she remembered.

“Well, that proves you don’t know everything, doesn’t it?” she retorted. She didn’t need to explain herself to him.

“You sounded like Jo there. You used to act like Miss Prim and Proper Goody Two-shoes in public.”

She ignored the comment. She had tried to be proper in public. But it was the time she spent with Cade that she remembered most, and then she had been most improper.

“But not in private,” he said, as if reading her thoughts.

Eliza glared at him. She would never admit it to him, but she felt uncomfortable knowing he remembered everything she did about their time together. Had Chelsea lied about his involvement with Marlise? Or had saying she lied been the lie? Eliza and Cade had never discussed that. The police had arrived before they’d gotten to the subject uppermost in Eliza’s mind that night so long ago.

“April sure didn’t worry about looking proper,” he continued when she didn’t speak. “As I remember, she worked her way through the football team.”

“She did not!” He was deliberately trying to provoke her. Eliza knew it and tried to keep her temper under control. Cade had always known how to rile her. But she wasn’t a besotted teenager anymore.

He nodded, giving that damn smile again. “Oh, yes she did. She was the neediest girl I ever knew. But banging every boy in high school wasn’t the way to get what she wanted.”

“I suppose you have firsthand knowledge,” she said, hoping to call his bluff. He didn’t know her at all, much less April. If he had, he could never have accused her of the things he had. Or April.

“Jo was in trouble more than anyone else I knew,” Cade said. “Yet she escaped jail. At least while living here. Is she doing time now?”

Eliza shook her head, not willing to admit she didn’t know exactly what Jo was doing. But it couldn’t be time in prison. Jo had been high-spirited and rebellious because of her mother. But she’d never do something that would land her in jail. At least Eliza hoped not.

She met Cade’s gaze, refusing to give him the satisfaction of knowing he was getting to her. Tilting her chin defiantly, she said nothing.

“Too bad Jo caused the breakup of your foster family.”

That was too much for Eliza.

“Too bad the adults in charge didn’t believe her when she finally told the truth,” she snapped back. “April and I swore Maddie had never hurt any of us, but would anyone listen to us? No. They moved everyone out so fast we never had a chance—” She closed her mouth. She was not going there.

“Chance to mess up more lives like you did mine?” he prodded.

“Never mind. I’ve seen and said enough.” She headed for the door. She hoped he moved before she reached it because she wasn’t up to pushing him out of the way. She was not going to go over old ground with Cade Bennett. If she never saw him again, it would suit her fine.

Eliza remembered her frantic efforts to convince everyone that Maddie had not harmed Jo. Eliza had repeated her argument a hundred times. To Sheriff Halstead. To Edith Harper, Maddie’s best friend, when she’d helped a stunned Eliza pack for the trip to Biloxi. To the new foster parents who had taken her on.

Being removed from Maraville had been a terrible blow to Eliza. But she couldn’t change the past. She’d survived. Hardships survived made one stronger, she remembered Maddie saying more than once. Living on her own in Boston had shown her she could cope with whatever came her way. Better than cope—succeed.

“I’ll be spending most of my time at the hospital until Maddie recovers. I’m staying at the motel in town. I’d suggest you and Mr. McLennon wait for her to recover before making any plans about her property.”

She’d make sure she kept her distance from Cade. He knew he made her uneasy, and seemed to relish the knowledge. She was not responsible for Chelsea’s death. She had told him about the call; it wasn’t her fault Chelsea had overdosed and died. And Cade saying it was didn’t make it so.

Cade’s narrowed gaze held hers for a long moment before he stepped aside and let her leave the room.

Without another word, she returned to her car, shaken. After twelve years, she had thought she’d be immune to the man. She was wrong.

A half hour later, showered and dressed in cooler clothes, Eliza stood by the window of her motel room, feeling refreshed. She idly watched some children play in the park across the street. How they had the energy to run around in the heat was beyond her. Yet she remembered days when she and April and Jo had played on the grounds of the house on Poppin Hill—spraying each other with the hose, sliding on the wet grass. Or lying beneath the huge old oak, talking and laughing.

Eliza gazed at the children, wishing she could be as carefree as they were right now. She turned away, determined to do what she could to find out more about the situation with Maddie’s house. How could Maddie be in danger of losing it? What would it take to bring the arrearage current? Eliza didn’t have a lot of savings, but she had some. It had taken years to accumulate what she had. Dare she give it all away? On the other hand, Maddie needed help if she was in danger of losing it. Eliza owed her. Or maybe she could locate April and Jo.

If they were together again, could they recapture the closeness they’d once had? Eliza thought it unlikely. Too much time had passed. They’d made new lives, had different experiences. Still, she’d love to see them both again. She yearned for that special feeling of belonging that she’d taken for granted as a young teenager.

Even with Stephen and his family, she didn’t feel the same bond. Being married to him would change that, she hoped.

She slipped on sandals and headed for the nearest restaurant. She’d eat dinner and get back to the hospital to see if there’d been any change in Maddie’s condition. She was losing her optimism after her last visit, but the nurse had tried to encourage her.

One of the best things about Maraville was its size, Eliza thought as she strolled along the sidewalk. She could walk almost everywhere.

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