Chapter 4

4

ALY

I n the week since I had learned that Lincoln was back in town, he hadn't been far from my mind. It was stupid really, a high school crush that had just never died. Most people left town when they graduated. They went on to bigger and better things in places like Nashville, Texas, or New York. I stayed because where else was I going to go?

Of all the people I had grown up with, Lincoln was the one regret I had. I had dated casually, even had one long-term boyfriend. Still, in the early hours when no one else was awake, I wondered about Lincoln. I had been too shy to talk to him back in high school, contenting myself with admiring him from afar. He hadn't been into anyone or anything back then, and I remembered thinking that was refreshing.

Gina kept in touch with him a little bit. She had told us that he was in the Army and that he wasn't very communicative. I used to imagine him sitting on his bunk, surrounded by friends, playing cards. That was what they did in the Army according to the movies.

Did he have a girlfriend? Did he miss home? Would I ever see him again? I considered all of those questions and more throughout the years. I should have talked to him when I had the chance. We could have been friends—or maybe even more than friends.

That type of wallowing was getting me nowhere, but I couldn't help myself. Rumor had it that Mr. Matthews had offered Lincoln a job. I wondered if he would take it and if we would see each other again. Would he even remember me? Probably not. It wasn't as if we had known each other very well.

I continued to go to work on my scheduled days, filing paperwork and answering phones. I didn't hear anything about the returning soldier until Thursday night when I visited Porter and Gina's.

Both Porter and Gina were fair cooks, although they both worked crazy schedules and didn't have much time for fancy meals. Gina worked at a hospital in Nashville and commuted from their home in Greenwood. It was about a fifteen-minute drive from the lumberyard, two towns over and halfway between Singer's Ridge and Nashville. It was a cute little ranch house with a nice backyard for Seth, their one-year-old son.

Porter had already built a playground, even though it would be at least two years before the baby was big enough to use it. There was a slide and a little fort with a window that looked out at the main house. I could just imagine playing on it as a kid. Little Seth was in for a treat.

On Thursdays, when I came for dinner, the menu leaned toward spaghetti or canned soup. It was nothing fancy, but it wasn't the food that was a draw. I enjoyed spending time with Porter and Gina and watching Seth grow.

There was no alcohol at Porter's house, so we sipped iced tea and talked about work. I hesitated to bring it up, but I was dying to know. "Have you heard if Linc is going to take the job?"

Porter sighed, standing up to put the dishes in the sink. "No, I haven't heard."

"Have you seen him?" I asked.

Porter shook his head. "Not yet. You would think that after all this time, he would come by to say hello."

"Give him time," Gina said, mopping up the baby's face.

Porter leaned against the counter. Whatever was going on in their household, they were obviously experiencing some tension. I felt sorry that I had brought it up, and yet, I had been so curious. I said goodnight a half hour later, driving home on a busy highway. It seemed like I knew just as much about Lincoln as they did.

It was sad. All I remembered of him was a rebellious boy in the back of the class, strong and silent. If he was as much a ghost at home as he was in school, then no wonder Gina hadn't heard from him.

I had almost given up on him. If he hadn't accepted the job offer and hadn't spoken to his family, it seemed likely that he would continue his outcast ways. I didn't need to worry about whether he would remember me. I didn't need to rehearse what I was going to say. It wasn't any of my business what he did with himself, who he talked to, or where he went. I should just leave it alone and focus on my job. I was doing just that on Friday afternoon when the door opened and Lincoln walked in.