Lyrics of a Small Town Read online

  “You love me,” I said it, wanting him to say it again. To be sure.

  “More than I thought was possible,” he replied.

  I closed the distance between us and threw myself into his arms, wrapping my arms around his neck. His arms came around me tightly.

  “This better fucking mean you love me too,” he said as he buried his face in my hair.

  I nodded my head against his chest and a sob escaped with a laugh.

  “Say it,” he said. “I need to hear it.”

  I lifted my head from his chest and looked up into his eyes. The ones I had been dreaming about in my sleep. “I love you, Saul Hendrix.”

  He closed his eyes for a minute. “That’s good,” he said then his lips met mine.

  Loving Saul would always have its bumps. I didn’t expect it to be easy, but I knew living without him was something I never wanted to do. With him, I was complete.

  “Come back to my house. I’ll finish the yard later,” he said.

  “Okay,” I agreed and then fear hit me that this could be a dream. It would make more sense if it were just a dream. I held tightly onto Saul’s arms afraid at any moment my eyes would open.

  “What if I’m dreaming?” I asked softly, as if talking too loud would wake me up.

  “You’re not,” he said and kissed my forehead.

  “If it’s a dream then you would say that. I would want you to and so you would.”

  He chuckled. “If it’s a dream then it’s about to have a naughty turn because I’m about to lock you in my bedroom with me and not let you out for days.”

  I looked around the room to make sure it looked normal. “Everything looks normal,” I whispered.

  “Henley, you’re not dreaming,” he assured me.

  I gazed back up at him. “How can you be so sure?”

  He leaned down and kissed me softly. It was sweet and wonderful and-

  “OH!” I yelped, jerking away from him. “You just bit my lip!”

  He grinned wickedly. “And you felt it. Which means you’re awake.”

  I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling. “You could have just pinched me,” I told him.

  “If I have an excuse to put my mouth on any part of your body, I’m going to take it. Every damn time,” he replied.

  A laugh bubbled out of me as I stared up into his baby blue eyes.

  Our story wasn’t over. It was just beginning.

  Epilogue

  In the spring of 2018, Lily went on a binge and was gone for two weeks. When Saul found her, she was in a run-down trailer in Mississippi. She was high, soiled, and worse than he had ever seen her. Six weeks later, while at a doctor’s appointment, she was told she was pregnant. She didn’t know who the father was because there had been too many men in and out of the place she had been staying and she had been messed up on drugs the entire time.

  Lily had planned to have an abortion, but Gran talked her out of it. She told Lily about a young couple at her church that had recently been told they’d never have children of their own. Lily was a high-risk pregnancy with her past drug use and her age. There were many things that could have been wrong with the baby.

  My gran stayed with her during her pregnancy. She intervened with the Evans and helped set up the adoption process. Gran kept her clean and sober. She made sure she took her vitamins and ate properly. When Keerly was born that following October, she was a healthy baby girl. Lily held her then handed her to parents who would give her a happy life and love her.

  The Evans had agreed with Gran’s suggestion that Saul get to be a part of Keerly’s life. He had no other siblings and he had asked if he would ever get to see the baby again. Gran fixed it so that he could see her often.

  The night Saul returned from taking his mother to Maine, he stopped by the Evans to let them know about Lily. Keerly often made Aunt Lily art that they would take to her at the penthouse. He gave them her address and told them they could mail her things whenever they wanted.

  I stepped out of my car and had to shade my eyes from the bright sun. Although it was two weeks into fall, south Alabama hadn’t gotten the memo and it was hot. Reaching into the back seat I picked up the plate of lemon cookies that I had Hillya make this morning.

  Saul and I had a lot of details to work out, but we had time. It didn’t have to be fixed overnight. I was finishing my last year of college online and Saul was considering an offer from his father to be the head of Hendrix Condominiums. With Lily in Maine, he was ready to figure out his future.

  Stepping up to the door of the nursing home, I opened it and headed into the cool air-conditioned building.

  “Hello Henley,” one of the nurses called out and waved at me.

  I waved back. “Helllo!”

  Then I made my way to room fourteen.

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