Susannah's Garden (Blossom Street #3)(81)

“Hi,” she said when Troy answered.

Susannah sat at the kitchen table and folded her arms, patiently waiting. Not for a second did she believe Troy Nance would tell the truth.

“You weren’t with someone else yesterday afternoon, were you?” Chrissie asked, purring the question.

He took his time responding. Chrissie kept her eyes lowered, then something he said made her look up suddenly and glare at Susannah.

“At the park,” she said repeating his words. “Jenny Sandberg met you there.”

Susannah’s stomach tensed.

“She’s an old friend. Uh, huh. A good friend from high school. Uh, huh. You hadn’t seen her in a while.” Chrissie was echoing his responses for her mother’s benefit, and Susannah sighed at her daughter’s naiveté. Chrissie sounded so triumphant.

From the way Troy and this Jenny had been going at it, they were very good friends.

“Mom saw you and wondered,” Chrissie said next. “She said you’d lie to me and I said you wouldn’t.”

Not a word of that was true. All Susannah had suggested was that Chrissie ask Troy herself. She felt disturbed by the fact that these two were lying to each other, Chrissie no less than Troy.

“Of course I believe you,” she insisted, continuing to glare at Susannah.

Unwilling to listen any longer, Susannah turned her back and walked out of the kitchen.

“Why would I mind?” Chrissie was saying. She lowered her voice. “Yes, I told her.”

This apparently had to do with her daughter’s moving.

“She doesn’t have any choice but to accept it,” Chrissie said more loudly. “I make my own decisions.”

Susannah felt sick to her stomach. She went into the living room and sat down in the one remaining chair. A few minutes later, Chrissie left the kitchen, and started down the hallway to the bedrooms.

“When did you talk to Dad?” Susannah asked her. “What did he say?”

“This afternoon.” Her daughter paused, not turning to face her. “But it’s more important what Troy told me. He said my parents would do whatever they could to break us up and I should be prepared for that.”

Susannah arched her brows. “Did he?”

“Yes, and you just proved everything Troy said.”

“I was telling the truth.”

“So was Troy. Fine, he was with another woman, an old friend. I’m not the jealous type.”

Susannah was far more interested in Joe’s assessment of the situation than she was in Troy’s. “What did Dad say?” She repeated her earlier question.

“I don’t appreciate you running to him every time we disagree.”

“You’re our daughter.”

“I would’ve told Dad when I was ready.”

Susannah straightened, worried now. “Chrissie, we need to work this out.”

“No, we don’t. There’s nothing you can say or do that’s going to change my mind. You need to understand that I’m an adult and I have the right to decide what I want. If it’s any of your business, I love Troy.”

“You hardly even know him!”

“I know enough.”

Her daughter was determined to make one of the biggest mistakes of her life.

Sick at heart, Susannah watched as Chrissie grabbed her purse and slammed out the door. A few minutes later, the distinctive roar of Troy’s muffler and the blaring of his revved-up sound system rattled the windows. She looked outside to see Chrissie clambering into his truck.

The house was quiet again once her daughter had left. Susannah walked back to her room and sat on the edge of the bed, burying her face in her hands.

She didn’t see the sheet of paper propped on her desk until she glanced up. Her eyes widened and she leaped up to seize it. Her breath caught in her throat as she read the message.

MEET ME IN THE CEMETERY AT 7 TONIGHT.

CHAPTER 35

“What’s wrong?” Carolyn asked, closing her truck door and trotting toward the house. Susannah waited on the front steps.

She had frantically phoned, not knowing who else to call after finding the note. Whoever had broken into the house must have left it; maybe she just hadn’t noticed it last night. Why that person wanted to see her remained as much a mystery as everything else.

Carolyn joined her on the steps. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you sound so panicky.”

Susannah got up and led her inside, directly to her childhood bedroom. “Read that,” she said, pointing to the small desk where the message still lay.

Walking slowly into the room, Carolyn advanced toward the desk.

“Do you know who wrote this?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder at Susannah.

“I have an idea.” She’d considered nothing else in the ten minutes it’d taken Carolyn to drive into town.

Susannah sank down on the edge of the bed, her heart racing and her palms sweaty. She felt light-headed and realized she hadn’t eaten since that morning. The thought of food, however, made her want to gag.

“The cemetery,” Carolyn said. The mattress dipped as she sat down beside Susannah.

“At seven.” Thankfully it would still be light then, although Susannah hadn’t made a decision yet. Should she go? Or not? She tried to work out the consequences of each action.