history and now a deep peace.
Neon lit Budâs Bar and Luluâs, as well as the local pharmacy. Almost everything else was closed. Bisonville rolled up every day about five oâclock when the work day was over. Growing up in Rapid City, she wouldâve been appalled at the idea that sheâd ever find this solitude and isolation comforting. âWhat would my life be like now if your parents hadnât taken me in and moved here, away from all the drugs and bad influences?â
âI figured your dad never knew about you,â Jake said as he parked the Land Rover right in front of the café. Red neon advertised barbecue, and green promised short orders.
She opened the car door and started to get out, but his hand gently stopped her. âIf heâd known about you, he would have come back. Nobody had a clue until months later when Junie started showing. By then there was no denying it, and though Dad tried to find your father, he never could get a trace on him.â
âYou ever think I might not belong to Edward Redmond?â It was a question that sheâd asked herself a million times, but sheâd never asked her mother. âI mean, Mama wasnât all that particular who shared her bed.â
Jakeâs thumb rubbed the top of her hand. âShe wasnât like that always, Rachel. You know that. I think she got desperate. She loved you. For all of her flaws, she did love you. I think she felt trapped by her life.â
âShe was the most imprisoned person Iâve ever known.â Rachel was impatient to get out of the vehicle and the conversation. Jake wasnât usually so sentimental, and she was wary of falling too far down the black hole of the past.
He nodded. âShe constructed a perfect hell for herself, but I remember her when you were first born. I was just a kid myself, but sheâd sit on the steps of the trailer and bounce you on her knees. You laughed a lot as a baby. And drooled.â
âThanks for the image and the walk down memory lane.â She slipped free of him and stepped into the cold air. âI want to get a workout in later tonight, so letâs grab that burger. Iâm starving.â
CHAPTER SEVEN
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The burger was delicious. Luluâs husband, Jimmy, charcoalâgrilled the meat out back, creating a juicy,
tender sandwich replete with organic tomatoes and lettuce. In their sixties, Lulu and Jimmy still wore jeans with peace symbol appliqués, beads and headbands to contain their long gray hair. Had Rachel been one to think in certain directions, she might have thought that between the rows of carefully tended vegetables a weed or two of marijuana might have strayed. But Rachel didnât think that way, and neither did the sheriff. Lulu and Jimmy were valued local residents.
She bit into the burger again, relishing the taste.
Jake put his sandwich down. âJesus, Rachel, you act like you havenât eaten in a week.â
Rachel grinned around a mouthful of meat and bun and wiped her mouth. âIâd forgotten anything could taste this good.â
âCheap date. How about another glass of tea?â
She shook her head. âCoffee and some chocolate pie.â
Jake signaled Lulu, who personally came over to take the order. âOne chocolate pie and two coffees.â He winked at Lulu. âRachelâs trying to empty my wallet.â
âGet him his own pie because Iâm not sharing.â Rachel nodded at Lulu. âBring him a piece or heâll eat most of mine.â
âIâll be sure I make those generous pieces,â Lulu said as she patted Rachelâs shoulder. âYou look good in that uniform. Although you turned a few heads when you wore one of my paisley aprons.â
âI like the way you lie.â Rachel smiled up at the older woman. Sheâd moved with the Ortiz family to Bisonville, and Lulu had given her a job. Waiting tables had taught Rachel a