Last First Kiss (10 page)

“Can she come home?” asked Sophie.

“She’ll be arraigned later today
,
and I’ll ask for bail
;
but that’s ultimately up to the judge to decide. Now I believe
you wanted to
pay her a visit
,
which you can do
straight away
. And don’t worry, she’s in good spirits.
Emily’s always been a tough old gal
.”

Sophie saw a police officer signaling to her to walk over to him.

“Go on
,
Soph
.
I’ll wait here and talk
to Richard while you see Emily,” said Wade.

She could barely
put
one foot in
front of the other as she attempted to make her way
over to the desk.

Sophie finally managed to get her legs moving and hurried over to where the officer stood
by a large black door
.

“You can spend ten minutes w
ith your grandmother, but if you need more time you’ll need to come back during
regular visiting hours,” he
said signaling for her to go ahead of him once he opened the door
.

“Thank you. I appreciate it.”

Sophie felt like the ceilings and walls were closing in on her as he led her along a narrow passageway. She heard voices and what sounded like heavy metal doors opening and shutting
,
and then footsteps.

The officer opened
another
door and signaled for her to go inside where her grandmother was
already
sitting at a table
. Sophie almost cried when she saw her Grans’
s
hair
so
unkempt. She
’d obviously
tried to tie it up l
ike she always wore it
,
but
tendrils had fallen around her face. And her
bloodshot
eyes told the whole story. She looked sad and tired.
Sophie
hadn’t seen her quite like this since Sophie’s parents had been killed.

Grans
stood as soon as she saw Sophie. Sophie wanted to be strong, didn’t want to upset her
,
but she couldn’t help it. She burst into tears.

“Oh Grans, how could this have happened to you?”

“Sophie, no, no crying today, honey. Please don’t be upset because I know I’ll be out of here soon
,
and this whole misunderstanding will be history.”

She put h
er arms out to Sophie and brought
her
in
close. “It’s
wonderful to have you home, my darling.
I think you’ve lost some weight since the last time I saw you. I can’t have that. We’
ll
fatten you
up with
pies and cakes. Oh, and your favorite macaroni and cheese.”

Sophie laughed and wiped away a tear with the back of her hand.
She could taste and smell it right this minute.

They both sat but held hands across the table.

“I’m so sorry that I had to drag
you all the way home like this,” said Emily.

“It’s no problem. I’m here as long as you need me.”

“Did you rent a car at the airport?”

“No, Wade kindly picked me up.”

“Are
things okay with the two of you?
When I asked him to call you, I completely forgot that you hadn’t spoken since
…”

“
I know what you’re about to say. Don’t worry. You did the right thing.
We’ve put it all behind us.”

“Good,” said Emily pushing a sliver of hair behind Sophie’
s ear. “He’s a good man
,
and I hope you can be friends again.”

“I think we already are.
”

“I’m glad to hear that. And how is
Mou
ntainview running this morning?”

“Looked
like Julie had everything under control. I said I’d take over once I got back from town. Oh, and the horse, the one you took in, Wade found out why she’s been off her food. She’s pregnant.”

“Well, I’ll be darned. I’ve been around horses all my life
,
and even I didn’t spot that.”

“Wade’s the original
horse whisperer.”

Emily leaned back and laughed. “Looks like I’ll have another mouth to feed and soul to look after
,
so it’s even more important I get out of here soon.”

“Richard Martin
told me
you’ll go before the judge later
this morning
,
and he’ll ask for bail.”

“I can’t see why they wouldn’t let an old lady out.”

“You’re not old
,
Grans.”

She slapped the back of Soph
ie’s hand. “If I’m not already, I’m getting there
,
honey.”

The police officer opened the door and told Sophie time was up.

“I’ll
be at the
arraignment
and ready to take you home,” said Sophie, standing.

“Come here;
let me give you a hug again.”

Sophie threw her arms around her grandmother and started cryi
ng again but didn’t let Grans
know. She quickly turned and left the room.

When she got back to the
reception area,
Wade was drinking a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper.

“Everything okay?”

“Oh Wade, just get me out of here, please.” With that she burst into tears
again,
and Wade wr
apped his arm around her and le
d her back out into the sunshine.

“Let’s go sit in my SUV
for a bit,” he said.

He opened the door for her
,
and she slid inside. He got in beside her, rummaged t
hrough his glove compartment
,
probably looking for
some tissues for her
,
when a box of condoms fell out and landed on
her right foot
.

She bent over, picked up the box and handed it to him, wonde
ring if he used them with Cathy or if they’d been there
for
some time.
She tried to shake the image of him making love to another woman out of her mind because she was depressed enough
already
.

“Thank you,” he said, throwing them back into th
e back of the glove compartment and slapping it shut.
Neither of them said another word but sat looking out of the window.

“Wade.”

“What
,
Soph?”

“Would you hold me
?”

“Sure.”

He slid over toward her and threw his arms around her. She rest
ed her head down on his chest, t
ears splashing onto his shirt. A wet patch formed
,
and
she made a circle around it with her pinkie.

He stroked the back of her head
,
and she suddenly felt like she wanted to go to sleep in his arms. Just being with him made everything seem better
. H
e’d always made he
r believe miracles could happen any time and any place.

Sophie had never ever forgot
ten
the day when she was six and Grans had called her in after she’d been playing outside on her swing
. Her parents had flown to
Idaho
for a meeting for her dad’s business
,
and her grandmother was looking after her.

“What is it
,
Grans?”

She could tell her grandmother had been crying and
had
wondered if she’d done something wrong.

“Now, come and sit down here with me
,
and I want you to be a b
ig girl. Can you do that for me?”

Sophie
had
nodded
,
planting her butt on the spot of the couch Grans tapped.

“I have some sad news to tell you
,
and I’m sorry to say it’s
go
ing to change things for you
.”

“What is it, Grans?”

“Oh Sophie, there was a plane crash and…”

Sophie
had known
something bad had happened because Grans was crying
,
and she knew her parents were flying home
on a plane that day. It was their plane that had crashed. She’d tried to run away so she didn’
t have to hear it
,
but Grans had held her hands preventing her from doing so.

“
I know you’re
a big brave girl
,
and you can understand
what I have to tell you.
There was a snowstorm
,
and the wing of the plane got ice on it
,
and it fell from the sky. But don’t worry because
your paren
t
s and the other passengers
on boar
d didn’t know anything about it. T
hey didn’t suffer
one tiny bit,
and now they’ve
all gone to heaven.”

“But that means I won’
t see Mom and Dad
until I go to heaven
,
too
.”

“Oh Sophie. I’m so sorry.”

She’d
finally managed to pull
away from her grandmother
and run out of Mountainview. She
had run
a mile down the road not stopping until
she arrived at Wade’s house. She
banged on the door until Bob
opened it.

“Well, look who it is. C
ome in
,
little lady.”

Wade
had been
sitting eatin
g a sandwich when she
’d
run
over to him, thrown
her arms around him and screamed.

“My parents are in heaven
,
and I won’t ever see them again until I’m old and die.”

Wade
,
even though he was just eight years old
, had hugged and reassured
her that the world
wasn’t going to end for her, even if her parents were no longer around. Her grandmother would give her a home.
And if anything happened to Emily
, then W
ade and his dad would ado
pt her and she’d live with them.

“Tell me what you’re thinking?”
asked Wade.

His question ja
rred her back to her present
source of
melancholy.

She looked up at him. “How
come you’ve
always been there for me?”

“Because we’re best buddies, that’s why.”

He leaned in and kissed a tear away.

“Anyone
tell you
your tears are sweet and not salty?”

“Nope, you’re the only
one who’s sampled them
,
though.
Who did you finally lose your virginity to?” asked Sophie.

“That’s a strange question. What brought that up?”

“The condoms in your glove compartment.”

“A woman in
Cheyenne
. She worked as receptionist at the hotel where I stayed when I first move
d there.
She was older, had lots of prior
experience
,
s
o I thought she was a safe bet to teach me the ropes.”

“Was it okay?”

“Nope, nothing about it was
any
good.”

“I’m sorry.”

He stroked her head again.

“Do you believe you can ever start over again
?
” asked Sophie.

“
Yeah, I think anyone can.”

Chapter Five

Wade hated to see Sophie
look so sad. Her eyes were red where she’d cried
,
and she hadn’t smiled for the last hour
,
which wasn’t like her at all.
He’d
brought her a burger and fries
,
but she’d
left them largely untouched. H
e knew she was nervous about her grandmother’s arraignment hearing. They
sat in the front row waiting for Emily’s case to be called. Richard Martin had told them he’d contacted his attorne
y friend
,
and he was on his way
to
Greenville
as they spoke.