Chapter 25 - Zoe
“Can I get some candy, Mom?” Audrey asks, turning her head up to look at me with pleading eyes. “Please?”
I grin. “Fine. One piece. It’ll rot your teeth.”
Audrey smiles and disappears into the corner store. I wait outside with my mother, watching my daughter through the shop window. She walks slowly along the wall of candy, inspecting her choices. I turn to my mom and shake my head.
“She’s got me wrapped around her little finger,” I say with a smile.
My mother laughs. “Welcome to motherhood,” she grins. “What do you think you were like when you were little?”
I grin and shake my head. “I wasn’t that bad,” I answer, nodding towards the shop.
“No,” she agrees. “You were worse.”
I laugh and nudge my mom, who puts her arm around my shoulder and kisses my cheek. “Am I still allowed to kiss you even though you’re grown up?” She teases.
I just glance at her and grin.
Her eyes are sparkling and her skin looks brighter. Her cheeks are rosy, and I think she’s standing up straighter. I watch her take a deep breath and exhale with her eyes closed. She groans and shakes her head.
“The air actually tastes good here,” she says, opening her eyes and looking at me. She shakes her head again.
“I know,” I laugh. “I didn’t know that was possible. I wonder how much smog and pollution we’ve been breathing back home.”
“Might not be ‘back home’ for long,” she grins. “Audrey seems to like it here.”
“You seem to like it here.”
She laughs. “I do, I have to admit it. It’s only been a couple days, but I could see myself living here.”
A lot of people might balk at the idea of their mother moving to a small town with them, but the thought makes me smile. Audrey loves her, and it would break my heart to leave my mother in Seattle on her own.
“I might miss the ocean, though,” she adds, glancing at the mountains. “I’ve lived on the west coast for the past forty years.”
“I thought I would too, but I don’t,” I tell her, following her eyes to stare at the rough peaks that surround us. “It’s comfortable being here. I can’t explain it.”
Audrey reappears with a full bag of candy in her hand. She’s got a gummy in her mouth and she grins at me.
“Audrey!” I exclaim. “I said one piece of candy!”
“It was a mystery bag! I couldn’t open it before I bought it!”
I look at my daughter and shake my head. If anyone could find a loophole in what I say, it’s her. I sigh, but I can’t keep the grin from my face. She extends the bag to me and I hesitate and then laugh and take a piece of candy from the bag. “Thanks,” I say.
“You’re welcome,” Audrey answers, skipping down the sidewalk as my mother and I exchange a glance.
“Well hello there!” Comes a familiar voice. “What’s your name?”
I look up and see a woman crouching in front of Audrey. Audrey proudly tells the woman her name and extends a sticky hand for her to shake. The woman glances up at me and I recognize her immediately. It’s Mrs. McCoy. Her eyes narrow and a strange smile appears on her lips.
“Nice to meet you, Audrey,” she says, not looking at my daughter. “I know your mother.”
Mrs. McCoy stands up and walks towards me. An icy chill passes down my spine, and I feel my mother stiffen beside me.
“Welcome to Lang Creek,” Margaret McCoy says as she drags her eyes away from mine and looks at my mother. “I’m Margaret.”
“Bernadette,” my mother answers. I notice she doesn’t tell Margaret to call her Bernie, which is unusual. I clear my throat.
“How long are you in town?” I ask, trying to sound casual. Margaret swings those dark eyes back to me and smiles again. She takes a deep breath and shrugs before glancing back at Audrey. The look makes me want to throttle her right here, in full daylight on Main Street.
“Oh, I don’t know,” she says with a lazy wave of her hand. “I might end up staying for good. It’s nice to be home.”
“Well, it was nice seeing you again,” I respond, making a move to walk around her.
“And nice to meet you,” my mother adds, doing the same.
“Yes. Nice to meet you too. Give my regards to Ethan,” she says. When she says Ethan’s name, it sounds like she spits it out with disgust. I look up to see her eyes flashing with anger. Her lip curls into a snarl and she lifts an eyebrow. “And congratulations on the promotion.”
“I… right. Okay, thanks,” I stutter, shuffling past her.
“Tell that boyfriend of yours not to start any more fires.”
I turn around and stare at the woman as my jaw drops. A smug look appears on her face and she puts her hands on her hips. My mother pauses with me, looking back at the woman. I wonder if she can hear my heartbeat? It’s drumming in my chest and filling my ears with the sound of my pulse. Margaret McCoy is looking at me triumphantly and I take a deep breath.
I want to ask her what she means by that. I want to ask her why she spat Ethan’s name with disgust. Alarm bells start going off in my head.
He didn’t have anything to do with the fire. As long as I keep reminding myself of that, then all these small-town rumors about him won’t hold any weight. I close my mouth again and turn around, walking down the street without looking back.
We walk in silence for a full block before my mother speaks.
“Who was that?”
“Mara’s mom,” I answer, not looking at my mother. I take a deep breath and try to let the crisp air of the mountains clean me after that interaction.
“How did she know about your promotion? And she seemed to know who I was before I even said it.”
I shake my head. “I don’t know. Ethan doesn’t like her.”
“What did she mean about the fire?”
I take a deep breath. “There’s a rumor that Ethan and his brothers started a fire here last year.” My mother grunts, and I look over to see her frowning.
“The fire last year? The fire that’s the reason why you’re here?”
“Yeah,” I reply. “That fire.”
“The Ethan that I met yesterday? But he was so sweet!”
“I don’t believe the talk!” I add. I glance at Audrey, who is over by a tree, watching a squirrel jump from branch to branch. In a low voice, I keep going. “Ethan told me they were just rumors, and I believe him.”
My mother glances back towards Mrs. McCoy and then at me. She takes a deep breath and shakes her head.
“I don’t like that woman,” she finally says.
I laugh, but there’s no humor in it. “Me neither, Mom,” I say. “Me neither.”