I Do...: Her Accidental Engagement / A Bride's Tangled Vows

Now she breathed in the cool night air and closed her eyes, remembering the familiar smells and sounds.

Her memories here were a long time gone. She was no longer a scared teenager. She had Charlie to protect. She’d made mistakes and was trying her damnedest to make amends for them. There was no way of moving forward without finally confronting her past, once and for all.

Chapter Ten (#u6fb1c79c-95f4-5a6a-a295-9008d544077b)

She took another breath and headed toward the school, determined to hold her head high. She had as much right to return to her high school as anyone.

Once inside, she stopped at the girls’ bathroom to sprinkle cold water on her face. When a stall opened and Lucy Peterson stepped out, Julia wondered if she’d actually conjured her.

“Hi, Lucy.” The other woman’s eyes widened in surprise.

Lucy hadn’t changed much since high school. She was still short and full figured, her chest heaving as she adjusted the wire-rimmed glasses on her face.

“Hello, Julia. I didn’t expect to see you here. I’m in town for the weekend for my parents’ anniversary. Normally I wouldn’t be caught dead back in this high school. I live in Chicago. I’m a doctor.” Lucy paused for a breath. “I’m babbling.”

“What kind of doctor?” Julia asked.

“Molecular biologist.”

Julia nodded. Figured. Julia knew better than to compare herself to a genius like Lucy. “That’s great.”

The two women stared at each other for several long moments. At the same time they blurted, “I’m sorry.”

Relief mixed with a healthy dose of confusion made Julia’s shoulders sag. “I’m the one who should apologize. I know I was horrible in high school. You were on the top of my list. Not that it matters, but you should know I was jealous of you.”

Lucy looked doubtful. “Of me? You were the homecoming queen, prom queen, head cheerleader, and you dated the football captain. I was nobody.”

“You were smart.”

“I shouldn’t have spread that rumor about you.” Lucy fiddled with the ring on her left finger. “You weren’t a slut.”

“There are worse things you could have said about me.”

“You weren’t stupid, either.”

Julia made her voice light. “The grade record would beg to differ.”

“I read your file,” Lucy said slowly. “It was wrong, but I know you had significant learning disabilities, which means...”

“It means there’s something wrong with my brain,” Julia finished. “Stupid is a much clearer description of my basic problem.”

“You must have been pretty clever to have hid it all those years. I’m guessing you still are.”

“I cut hair for a living. It’s not nuclear science. Or molecular biology.”

“That’s right. My mom told me you’d taken over the Hairhouse.”

“I’m working on it. The loan still needs to go through.”

“Are you going to keep the name?”

Julia relaxed a little as she smiled. “I don’t think so. ‘The Best Little Hairhouse in Brevia’ is quite a mouthful.”

Lucy returned the smile then pulled at the ends of her hair. “I’m in town until Tuesday. Could you fit me in?”

“You don’t hate me?”

Lucy shook her head. “In high school, I thought I was the only one who was miserable. Once I got away from Brevia, I realized lots of kids had problems. We were all just too narcissistic to see it in each other. Some people can’t let go of the past. I’ve moved on, Julia. I’m happy in Chicago. I have a great career and a fantastic husband. I don’t even mind visiting my mom a couple times a year, although I avoid the old crowd. I know in my heart they can’t hurt me because their opinions don’t matter. I don’t hate you. You probably did me a favor. You made me determined to escape. Now I can come back on my own terms.”

“I’m glad for you, Lucy.” Julia checked her mental calendar. She’d trained herself to keep her schedule in her head so she didn’t have to rely on a planner or smartphone. “How about eleven on Monday?”

Lucy nodded. “Maybe we could grab lunch after. I may not care too much about certain ladies’ opinions but I wouldn’t mind seeing their faces if we showed up at Carl’s.”

“I’d love that.”

“I’ll see you Monday.” With a quick, awkward hug, Lucy hurried out the door.

Julia studied herself in the hazy mirror above the row of bathroom sinks. She felt lighter than she had in years, the weight of her guilt over how she’d treated Lucy finally lifted. One past mistake vanquished, only a hundred more to go.

“She’s right, you know.” The door to one of the stalls swung open to reveal Lexi Preston.

Julia’s shoulders went rigid again. “Eavesdrop much?” She took a step toward Lexi. “I don’t suppose you’re going to put that conversation on the official record? It didn’t make me out to be the deadbeat you’re trying to convince the court I am.”

“I don’t think you’re a deadbeat,” Lexi said, sounding almost contrite. “You’re not stupid, either. But I have to do my job. The Johnsons—”

“They call the shots, right? You do the dirty work for them, digging up damaging information on me and probably countless other family enemies.”

“It’s not personal.” Lexi’s voice was a miserable whisper.

Julia felt a quick stab of sympathy before her temper began to boil over. She was always too gullible, wanting to believe people weren’t as bad as they seemed. It led to her being taken advantage of on more than one occasion. Not this time, though.

She had to physically restrain herself from grabbing Lexi’s crisp button-down and slamming the petite attorney into one of the metal stalls. “How can you say that? You’re helping them take my son away from me. My son!” Tears flooded her eyes and she turned away, once again feeling helpless to stop the inevitable outcome.

“I don’t want you to lose your son,” Lexi said quietly. “If I had my way...” She paused then added, “Hiding who you are and the reasons you did things isn’t going to help your case. You’re not the one with the big secrets here.”

Julia whirled around. “Are the Johnsons hiding something? Do you have information that could help me keep Charlie?”

Lexi shook her head. “I’ve said too much.” She reached for the door. “You’re a good mother, Julia. But you have to believe it.”

Julia followed Lexi into the hall, but before she could catch up a loud crash from down the hall distracted her. She heard a round of shouts and her first thought was of Charlie.

Chaos reigned in the gymnasium as people pushed toward the exits. Julia stood on her tiptoes and scanned the crowd, spotting Joe Callahan with his arm around her mother near the bleachers. Vera held Charlie, who was contentedly spooning ice cream into his mouth, oblivious to the commotion.

Julia elbowed her way through the throng of people to Vera and Joe. “Charlie,” she said on a breath, and her son launched himself at her.

“Banilla, Mama.”

“I see, sweetie.” She hugged him tight against her.