“Something happened,” she said bluntly. She didn’t care to reveal that Alma hadn’t wanted to tell her either. “I suppose I don’t have to know exactly what.”

“Probably better that way.” The cigarette he was smoking seemed to have made him more thoughtful. “Anyway, listen—if you’re not coming home, then I might as well stay down here another day or two.”

“Okay.”

“Sheila’s place was pretty in summer,” Bobby Joe offered.

“It still is.”

“I remember the yard. All those trees. You could get lost in them just a few steps away from the porch.” The odd comment reminded her of how uneasy she’d felt just moments ago. The thunderstorm had been an omen—or maybe more like a sign, telling her to think twice.

“That’s still the case,” she said, not wanting to go down memory lane any more—or at least not with him. “Well, I guess I should get to bed.”

“Imagine me tucking you in.” The cigarette roughened his voice to something like intimacy, which made her even more uneasy. “Good night, Mary Beth.”

“’Night.” She ended the call just as one of his fishing buddies hollered at him to come back inside.

Mary Beth climbed the stairs, taking care to make as little noise as possible. Her bedtime routine never took long. She undressed and slipped into lightweight pajamas, then brushed her hair.

She pinned it up carelessly before she went through her things, looking for her toothbrush. Even though she had her own bathroom, the immaculate shelves and surfaces made her feel funny about leaving personal items around. Mary Beth kept all that in her toiletries case, which she unzipped.

A small white box occupied the clear vinyl pouch—she’d tucked it there, hoping there would be a jeweler in Brickell who could repair the chain without her having to leave the necklace there and come back.

She hadn’t seen one today and they’d been pretty much all over the town. Besides that, Alma had been with her. Maybe she could venture into town solo if they stayed on.

She took out the box and opened it. The ruby pendant caught the light and sparkled in its nest of white velvet. Parr’s wildly inappropriate gift would always be precious to her.

Mary Beth replaced the lid and put the box back. She could think more clearly when he wasn’t around. Two states away seemed to be the right distance.

Despite the drama of the engagement party and the life-threatening accident, life was going to go on.

This would all blow over but, inevitably, she and Bobby Joe would break up. For all his passionate attention, Parr wasn’t likely to keep on seeing her if it was no longer an exciting secret between the two of them.