Page 24 of The Moment He Couldn’t Walk Away

“It is.”

The two women sat in stunned silence for long minutes.

“I’m going to see Sheriff Dans now. I want to deal with all of this today,” Nina said regaining her feet.

“Remember,” Nancy said, joining her, “we’re here for you if you need us, Nina. I mean that. For anything at all.”

“Thank you.” She picked up the letter and let Nancy hug her again before she left.

Walking out of the Circle Left, Nina found Amber outside, sweeping the steps and humming softly. In the short time Nina had known the woman, she was always happy.

“Hi, Nina.”

“Hi, Amber.”

She put down her broom and studied Nina. “You doing okay?”

“My mom passed away this morning.”

“Oh no, I’m so sorry, Nina.”

“Thanks. I have to go. See you later.” She headed for her car and climbed in, and then just sat there, staring out the windshield.

Mom, she thought, feeling the sting of tears again. You should have told me.

Drawing in a deep breath, Nina released it slowly and then started the car. She drove slowly up the familiar main street. It was hard to believe that nothing around her was different, and yet everything in her life had changed.

She parked outside the police station and got out.

“Nina!”

“Hi, LouJean. Hi, June,” she said to the two women power walking toward her in exercise leggings, thick jackets, and Christmas beanies. “I can’t stop.”

“You wait right there!” LouJean ordered.

When they reached her, Nina was grabbed and wedged between the women in a fierce hug.

“We’re so sorry to hear about Shirley, dear. Anything you need, you let us know,” June added.

“Thank you, that’s very kind.”

“Are you going into the police station, Nina? Is everything all right?” LouJean asked.

“Yes, everything is all right. Just some formalities I need to deal with,” Nina lied.

Leaving the women, she went inside. Word about her mother’s death had clearly already spread around Lyntacky.

“Nina! I just heard.” Sybil, the administrator, rushed out from behind her desk and hugged Nina hard.

This was the beginning of being hugged, and it would last for at least a week, if not longer. Nina remembered when Old Man Harper died, his son Eric said he got a cracked rib from all the love.

“Is Sheriff Dans in, Sybil? I need to talk to him about something.”

“He sure is, honey. You sit there, and I’ll see if he’s busy.”

She sat and looked around the cool white interior that had recently been repainted. The locals had wanted apricot—well, the older locals had—but the sheriff had put his foot down and gone for plain white. They’d won out with the artwork, though. A collage of colorful drawings from the local school competition adorned the walls. A small Christmas tree neatly decorated with tinsel and a few baubles was in one corner. Nina’s guess was that Sybil had put that up.

“Hey, Nina. Sorry to hear about your mom.”