“Wife passed a year ago. Can’t have no more hounds in my house. But he’s all yours if you want him. I’ll even throw in a big bag of puppy chow.”
She’d think back on this moment in the near future and truly question her sanity. “I don’t suppose he’s had shots?”
“Matter of fact he did. Got all his puppy shots and been wormed.”
The dog licked her face. “You two drive a hard bargain.”
“He’s ugly as sin, but he is the smartest of the litter. Listens well.”
“Yeah, yeah. You can quit with the sales job. Load up the dog food. Dog’s coming with me.”
His grin widened. “Good for you.”
She shook her head as she stared at the contented pup. “Yeah. Right.”
As she settled into the front seat of her truck, Dog settled on her lap, and promptly rested his head and fell asleep. For a moment she sat still, savoring the warmth of his body against hers. He’d accepted her without question. She was kind to him now and that was all that mattered to him. He didn’t care about twelve years ago or twelve years in the future. It was about now.
She rubbed him on the head and fired up the engine. As she backed out of the lot, she spotted Rick Dowd. He sat in the front seat of his Lexus staring at her. Pure hate summed up his expression.
Tightening her grip on the wheel she shifted into drive and with her hand on Dog headed back to the vineyard. She glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Dowd’s car and to her relief he didn’t follow. But she suspected this would not be the last time for them.
Even with Dog nestled close, she couldn’t shake the shock of seeing Rick Dowd today. He’d reopened the wound.
She shifted gears as she rounded a corner, moving her left leg slowly so Dog didn’t awaken. As she pulled into a straightaway, her mind drifted back to Jeff and Sydney. The two had been the golden couple. Beautiful. Smart. Funny. Greer had often called them Barbie and Ken because they’d been perfect. And then the headlights had appeared in the distance. Horns blared. Jeff cursed. And then pain, death, and an unbearable sadness.
“Possibilities, not the past,” she’d said. The slogan embraced by the camp leaders. The words they’d drilled into their young charges. Words she still held on to.
She’d not told Bragg the entire truth today, and it weighed on her mind. She had seen one of the others since she’d left camp. Two years ago, she’d bumped into Robin. Lydia and Greer had been in Fredericksburg, Texas, at a wine tasting. They’d decided to build the winery and had decided to again check out the local competition.
The small quaint town had been jam-packed with outsiders who’d come to taste the wines of local vineyards. It had been her idea to attend. Her aunt had finished her latest round of chemo and was feeling good and hopeful for the future. Greer had been feeling hopeful. Greer had wanted the world to know Bonneville grew the best grapes but also would soon be making the best wine.
There’d been close to fifty vendors that day. Not only were vineyards present, but also cheese makers, local farmers markets, pig farmers, and bread bakers.
Greer had been sampling a port from a winery near Houston when she’d heard her name. Elizabeth. Instantly, she’d tensed. Elizabeth signaled her old life.
She glanced up, surprised and shocked, to see Robin standing there. She had a glass of wine in her hand and judging by her flushed face she was drunk.
Greer adjusted her ball cap. “Hey, Robin.”
Robin was a tall brunette with a runner’s long lean body. A white tank-top dress set off her tanned body and her full breasts. “I thought that was you. Despite the ball cap, I couldn’t miss the set of that jaw. You always struck me as determined.”
Greer straightened and set down her glass of port, suddenly losing all taste for it. She turned from the vendor and managed a smile for Robin. “You’re looking well.”
“Life is good these days.” Robin leaned in a fraction and Greer could smell beer mingling with wine and perfume. “Not like before.”
The abrupt mention of her past slammed against Greer’s defenses, and she’d instantly gone rigid. “Yeah.”
Robin had shared her story at circle only once. According to her, when she’d been seventeen, she and her brother had gone swimming at their parents’ lake house. Two children had set out on an adventure on a picture-perfect day. And then Robin’s brother had dived into the lake, hit a stump, and broke his neck. Robin had pulled him from the water immediately but the damage had been done. He was paralyzed. He’d lingered for weeks in a coma, hooked up to a ventilator. Finally, his parents had shut off the machine and let him go. Robin had been devastated. She’d been the one who’d goaded her brother to swim that day. He’d not wanted to go, but she’d made him. And then he was dead.
After her brother’s death, Robin had spiraled into a deep depression. Finally, she’d taken an overdose of pills and gotten into a full bathtub. She’d barely been breathing, her nose hovering above the waterline, when her mother had found her. She’d spent the entire summer at Shady Grove, but like Greer no matter how much counselors spoke of self-forgiveness neither could manage it.
“I almost didn’t recognize you, Elizabeth. You’re not blond anymore.”
She didn’t mention her name change. The name like the hair color was a tie that would remain severed. “Got tired of the upkeep.”
Robin glanced at her nails. “You’ve also given up the manicures, I see.”
Greer glanced at her shorn nails. Vineyards and French manicures didn’t mix. “I’m kind of back to basics these days.”
Robin’s grin widened. “Doing the Mother Earth thing. I get it. It’s a good fit for you.”
“Thanks.”
“So do you come here often?” She swayed as she spoke. Dark sunglasses hid eyes Greer guessed were bloodshot.
“Enough.”
“I just opened a dress shop in Austin,” Robin said. “High end. Very cutting edge. It’s called Elegance.”
Greer felt frumpy next to Robin. She might have turned her back on the old life, but pride had her wishing she were a little more pulled together at this moment. “You always dressed well.”
“Like I always say, you can feel like shit, but you have to look great.”
The comment caught Greer off guard. Old protective instincts born in the camp welled. “You doing okay?”
An unexplained emotion crossed Robin’s face and then she smiled. “Never better. In fact, you should come visit me sometime in Austin. And my name is Jennifer. Jennifer Bell.”
“I go by Greer now. My middle name.”
“Call me.”
“Sure.”
This wasn’t the place to pry or dig and honestly Greer hadn’t wanted to revisit the past. She’d grinned and accepted the explanation she’d known in her heart wasn’t true.
Jennifer lifted the near-empty glass to her lips and grinned. “Great.” She hesitated. “Elizabeth . . . Greer. I really do wish you happiness.”
Greer had hesitated as if sensing there was more she wanted to say. “You okay?”
Jennifer sipped her wine. “Yeah, fine. I really wish you the best.”
“Right.”
They’d exchanged more meaningless comments, made plans for a lunch date they’d never keep, and then Jennifer had drifted into the crowd leaving Greer rattled and distracted.
Greer now searched the Web on her phone for the dress shop Elegance. The Web site popped up and Greer learned the shop was located in an exclusive section of Austin. She hit the Web site’s ABOUT button and Jennifer’s picture popped up. She stood in front of her store, dressed in a richly tailored blue suit, heels, and diamond earrings. Arms folded over her chest, her smile was casual and full of life, as if she had the world by the tail.
And maybe she did. Maybe Jennifer was doing really well. Maybe it was possible to let the past go and move on to a happy life.