Now seemed like a good time to start.
“I’ve been keeping a secret for a while. Out of guilt, but mostly out of fear.” Sierra’s hand slid around to the back pocketof her denim shorts. To the envelope with her apology to Miriam Newberry. The one she hadn’t decided whether or not to includewith the painting.
“That must be hard on you.”
“It is.” Funny how being on the run, scrabbling for every dollar, worrying about having enough to eat—none of that had beenhalf as difficult as struggling with the fear/guilt combo that kept her awake so many nights.
Amazing how Norah had zoned right in on that. Guess there really was something to being older and wiser. Not that she’d saythat out loud. Norah kept her brown hair dark with monthly trips to the Beach Hair Don’t Care salon and definitely lookedmore like Mollie’s aunt than her grandmother. Well-traveled and wiser? Was that a safe way to put it, with Norah’s trips allover the globe in the Navy?
“There are lots of reasons to keep secrets. Some good, some bad. Some cowardly, some heartbreakingly brave. You want to knowmy secret du jour?”
“Um, yes. Of course.”
“I’m sad that Mollie’s in love with Rafe.” Norah dropped her hand into her lap and sucked in a long, deep breath. “Sad thatit means she’ll move out soon. That she won’t be around as much to help with Jesse. Sad that after all the years she spentaway learning to be a doctor, that I don’t get her back, under my wing, as much as I’d hoped. I want her to be happy. To bestrong and independent and with a man she adores. I just also want her five steps down the hall.”
Completely understandable. Sierra stared at the gray shingled roof of a building, to avoid rolling her eyes at Norah and herwinner for most obvious reveal ever. “I’m not sure that’s really a secret. You raised Mollie. Of course you want to spend time with her.”
“But I can’t admit it. I can’t let out so much as a peep of wistfulness. You know why? Mollie would hunker down and stay atmy house longer. Out of pity. Respect. Love. All of the above.”
Norah’s obvious adoration of the woman she’d raised gave Sierra a lump in her throat. It was the usual unresolved longingfor her own lack of a mother figure, which she didn’t let herself notice much . . . anymore. On the plus side, Sierra got the feeling that Mollie and her friends could turn into sisters of the heart for her.
She put an arm around the older woman and squeezed her shoulders. “That just means Mollie loves you enough to want to fixwhatever’s making you sad.”
“Exactly. Which would be a huge mistake.” Norah shook her head, lips scrunched together into a tight line. “If I told her,she’d adjust her life to make me feel better. So revealing my secret would be pretty darned selfish. It would make me feel better. But it would make Mollie feel a hundred times worse.” Norah tapped the tip of her prosthesis against the redslat of the bench between them. “Will revealing this secret make someone else feel better? Or just you?”
Why, that wily woman. She’d circled back from what Sierra thought was a totally innocuous comparison to hit the nail righton the head. Without even asking for the details. Without passing any judgment of her own.
Norah was a freaking genius at this motherly advice thing.
Sierra stood. Paced a half circle around the trash can planter, and back. Then all the way around the bench. Cars whizzedby, but they weren’t moving nearly as fast as her thoughts. The note to Miriam in her back pocket didn’t reveal Sierra’s involvement.She wasn’t that careless in her quest to relieve a tiny portion of her guilt. It simply said, I’m sorry for the pain you suffered. Hopefully these orchids will give you some measure of peace.
Or she could send just the painting. No note. Simply a beautiful gift that wouldn’t set off any alarm bells, given Miriam’swell-publicized love of the flower and all the shows she entered.
The note could be a trigger. Maybe Miriam had just gotten to the point where she didn’t jump at noises. Didn’t relive thatfall down the stairs in her nightmares anymore. Would this note bring it all rushing back?
It could.
Then Sierra would be responsible for causing a whole new level of pain. Just to ease her own conscience infinitesimally.
Talk about selfish.
She bent her arm, pulled out the envelope, and ripped it in half before walking over to the real trash can at the door tothe post office. With a little spring in her step, she returned to Norah. “Can I buy you a cup of coffee? After I mail mypackage? I think you just saved me from doing something stupid and quite possibly hurtful.”
Norah laughed as she stood. “I run a coffeeshop. You don’t have to spend your hard-earned money caffeinating me. But I’d loveto take you back to Coffee & 3 Leaves and linger over a blueberry latte with you. That’s our specialty today.”
“I’d like that.” If Sierra couldn’t pay for her coffee, she could at least give the gift of honesty. “I don’t have any family.I’m not used to having anyone to ask for advice,” she admitted.
Walking back into the post office, Norah said, “You came to the right place. Bandon’s one big, weird family. Once we suckyou in, there’s no getting out.”
It sounded like heaven.
“Truly, thank you, Norah. You made this easy for me.” Sierra pulled her into a long hug.
“Think you could give my grandson a testimonial to that effect? Getting Jesse to open up and talk to me isn’t going so well.On the bright side, he ignores Mollie’s opinions and mine equally.”
“He doesn’t know what he’s missing out on,” Sierra said fiercely. A thought popped into her head. A potentially stellar wayto pay back Norah for the advice. “Mollie mentioned that Jesse’s working at Wick’s Garage, but he must have some
