Jessica sat up straighter. "Hate is a strong word, Worth. Why would you hate a librarian, and why was it a secret? That makes no—"
Worth frowned. "I-I'm not ready to tell you about that quite yet, love. Trust me, please. But if there had been a trial, I thought it might come out and put me in an even worse light. I thought the state's case would've been stronger. And I was just a child, remember. There's no way I processed everything at the time. Molly decided, and I went along with it. Later, I realized how very wise she'd been."
Jessica was disappointed that he still wouldn't confide in her, not about everything, apparently. "Why would someone lie, though?"
"I have no idea. Not really. I mean, the boy who said it was me loved the couple that died in the fire. Adored the librarian and her husband. He spent a lot of time with them. Maybe he just needed to see someone charged so badly that his thinking was muddled. He was just a boy himself, actually, just a few years older than I was. Who knows why people say things?"
Worth was quiet as the jet engines grew louder. She took his hand and they sat quietly as the plane took flight. Only when the plane seemed to level off, did he speak again. "Todd Granger was his name, the other boy. We'd never played together, had different circles of friends, different schools, status, everything. I don't remember hearing anything much about him, but I had the impression, even then, that he'd had a rough go of it until the couple started taking him under their wing." Worth traced a line on his cheek. "He had a substantial scar. Never heard how he got it, but kids probably teased him. I didn't, but—"
Jessica frowned. The mental picture was disturbing. "Kids can be so mean."
"The librarian and her husband took to him right away when they met him, apparently. They took him to church, had him over to their house. Every time I saw them in town, Todd was hanging onto one or the other. Not just him—there were other kids too, over the years, but Todd was a constant. They didn't have kids of their own, but everyone in town loved how active they were, taking kids to movies, out for ice cream. They weren't foster parents, not like they have now, anyway, but they spent time with the kids who everyone else kind of overlooked—needy kids, the ones whose parents neglected them."
He closed his eyes, remembering. "My mother didn't want me to go to trial for something I didn't do, but she also didn't want Todd to get into trouble for lying. He'd had enough tough breaks from what she could see, and after the fire, two people who had cared for him, and he, for them, were gone, tragically. I was released on bond, and Molly cooked up this story of my being so upset, I jumped. She said she'd witnessed the whole thing and she reported it promptly. My stepfather backed her up. She already had me on my way out of state with a friend of hers—who later became my next stepfather, by the way—but they stayed back, facing the questions, the search, everything." He chuckled sadly. "Hell hath no fury like my mother scorned," he paraphrased. "I think she missed her true calling. She should have been in show business."
Jessica squeezed his hand. "My dad used to say, 'Honey, you belong on the stage, and the next one leaves in five minutes.'" She smiled at the memory. "I guess we both have a lot to learn about one another's pasts. Where did you go? Did anyone ever try to find your mother over the years?"
Worth shook his head. "Remember, this was before the internet, before good databases and much sharing of information or anything else between various departments. We went to Canada, lived in India for a time, Mexico City, Paris. We'd stay long enough to suit her or whatever beau or husband she had at the time. Then we'd move on."
In between kind attention from Rebecca and her fellow flight attendants, Worth painted a fairly detailed picture of his life. One of his stepfathers had been retired CIA, he was reasonably sure. Another was an aging character actor. Each had been decent and happy with his mother and him until he died of natural causes. "They got older as Mom did. She said she wore them out."
"I had already gathered from those few phone calls with her that Molly is a character, but I had no idea she was that much of one! I think she'll enjoy my mom too. I worried about her when Dad died, but not so much now. I've told you about Chet." Jessica's eyes were shining at him. "I want her to be happy, in love again, and that's what she wants for me too. I know she's going to love you." As much as I do, she thought. Worth's story had touched her deeply.
Worth nodded. "Love has its own timetable, as we've experienced. I was never going to fall in love, I thought. I had so much baggage, such a complicated past. It never seemed like it would be possible or even desirable. I put the secret—the fire, the arrest, the hiding everywhere—ahead of my own happiness."
Jessica wrinkled her nose. "Well, selfishly, I'm kind of glad you waited for me."
"I am too."
When the Fasten Seatbelts light came on for landing, they were both surprised. The entire flight had been spent in conversation. Now that they were about to land, Jessica's thoughts turned to the next chapter. Soon they would be in a hotel room—together, just the two of them. She sat back in her seat, eyes closed, daydreaming about what that first kiss inside the room would be like. Would
