Where My Heart Belongs by Tracie Peterson

what?”
    Speechless, Sunny could only stand and stare at the woman. Renea Stover wanted—probably needed—to condemn Sunny in the way she might have done years earlier if she’d had the chance.
    “Your parents never did anything but spoil you and give you whatever you asked for. I told Marg it would be the ruin of you. I told her you weren’t a bit grateful. If you hadn’t been so selfish, she’d be alive today.”
    “I’m sorry I’ve caused you pain, Mrs. Stover. You may not believe it, but I miss my mother very much. I wish I could have been here with her.”
    “Don’t bother to tell me lies. You’re good for nothing, Amy. This town and your family were better off without you.”
    Sunny still didn’t know what to say. She thought perhaps it would be best to move on and leave the woman to her misery. “I need to go now,” she murmured.
    “No doubt. Probably going to run off again.”
    “Amy, is that you?”
    Sunny turned to find her old friend Debbie Williams. A little boy clung to her leg while another one carried a loaf of bread and package of cookies. “Debbie?”
    “I can’t believe it’s you. It’s been forever. Do you have time to join us? We’re going to the park. I’d love to talk to you.”
    Mrs. Stover turned up her nose. “Deborah,” she murmured with the slightest nod of her head. With that she spun and hurried to the front of the store. No doubt she would spread the news of Sunny’s return.
    “I came here to grab something to drink,” Sunny explained.
    “Good. I’m getting us something too.” Debbie pointed the way. “They don’t have much to choose from, but at least it’s cold.”
    Sunny picked the closest cola and waited for Debbie to make her selections. The boys watched Sunny with a rather suspicious curiosity. The younger of the two was acting shy, while the older one clearly wanted information but seemed to know better than to ask.
    “Ready to go to the park?” Debbie asked the older boy.
    “Mom, can we get some candy too?”
    Debbie shook her head. “There’s enough sugar in the cookies. We’ll have plenty of sweets without candy.” She looked up and met Sunny’s gaze. “These are my boys. Isaac is four and Josiah is six. Boys, this is my friend Amy.”
    “I don’t answer to that name anymore,” Sunny said, trying to forget Mrs. Stover’s attack.
    “As I recall you didn’t much answer anyone, by any name,” Debbie teased. “What shall I call you?”
    Sunny tried not to be further upset by Debbie’s comment, but the fact of the matter was everyone in this town knew who she was and what she’d done. “I changed my name to Sunshine, but my friends call me Sunny.”
    Debbie grinned. “I remember when we used to talk about changing our names. We hated them so much. I’m still not that fond of Deborah, but Debbie doesn’t bother me like it once did.”
    Sunny nodded and they made their way up to the front of the store. Mrs. Stover was nowhere in sight. They paid for their selections and walked outside. Debbie pointed across the street.
    “They put in a little park just behind the post office. Our house is three blocks that way so we just walked over.”
    Sunny pointed to the burgundy car. “That’s mine. I can give everyone a lift. I doubt it would be right to leave it here. Someone might need to park close to the store.”
    “We’ll just walk and wait for you there. The boys need to expend their energy.” She gave a bottle of pop to her youngest, while Josiah held the sack rather possessively. “See you there, Sunny.”
    Sunny watched for a few minutes as Debbie walked away with her sons. Her life seemed good—a far cry from the life Sunny had known. With a sigh, Sunny got in her car. She thought of the strange encounter with Renea Stover, and of the stiff manner in which the man at the store handled Sunny after Renea had no doubt informed him of who she was. People in Slocum weren’t going to be all that forgiving, Sunny knew. Her parents