The Best of Me, page 1
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Books. Change. Lives.
Copyright © 2022 by Sharon Sala
Cover and internal design © 2022 by Sourcebooks
Cover design by Eileen CareyCover images © Thinnapob Proongsak/500px/GettyImages
Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
All brand names and product names used in this book are trademarks, registered trademarks, or trade names of their respective holders. Sourcebooks is not associated with any product or vendor in this book.
Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks
P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60567–4410
(630) 961-3900
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Contents
Front Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Letter from the Author
Excerpt from The Next Best Day
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Back Cover
Chapter 1
There are places on earth so perfectly aligned with the universe that they develop a rhythm…like the heartbeat of a living, breathing thing. And when something comes along that threatens the life flow and the sanctity of those places, the people within rise up as one to protect that which is theirs.
Those places hold and shelter the best of humanity, and the humanity within holds fast to the blessing and gives back the best of themselves.
And so it goes in Blessings, Georgia.
Those who are hurt are healed.
That which is broken is fixed.
That which threatens one threatens all.
And such a tragedy or intrusion is not to be taken quietly or lightly.
***
The Greyhound brakes were squeaking in protest as the long, gray ride pulled up and parked at the bus stop next to the Blessings police station. Intermittent clouds of black smoke were coming from the muffler, as if in protest of the pause in its journey, when the bus door abruptly opened. The driver, a slightly rumpled middle-aged man in need of a shave, jumped off and headed for the luggage compartment.
Behind him, a gaunt young woman emerged, staggering slightly as she reached back to the little girl with her and took her hand to steady her as she came down the steps.
The driver had two suitcases out on the sidewalk.
“Shirley Duroy?”
“Yes. That’s me,” the woman said.
“You just had the two suitcases, right?” he asked.
Shirley nodded, then glanced at the blanket and stuffed toy her daughter, Carlie, was clutching and brushed a stray strand of blond curls away from her forehead.
The driver eyed the dark circles beneath the woman’s eyes and the tremble in her hands and voice. He’d been concerned about her ever since their boarding in Little Rock, Arkansas. She looked like death warmed over, but now that she’d debarked, her journey was none of his business.
“Well then, thank you for traveling Greyhound,” he said, then climbed back on the bus and drove away.
Carlie looked up. “Mama, is this it?”
Shirley choked back tears. “Yes, this is Blessings. It’s going to be your new home. Can you help me pull our suitcases to that building?”
Carlie laid her blanket and stuffed rabbit on top of one suitcase, grabbed the strap on the wheeled suitcase, and began pulling it toward the door. As soon as she got it off the street, she ran back to get the other one and pulled it up as well, then ran back to her mother.
“Hold onto me, Mama.”
Shirley took a quick breath. Everything was spinning. The sun was hot, and she needed to get in where it was cool. Her heart was pounding in her chest in an erratic rhythm that did not bode well for her, but she already knew her fate. It’s why she was here.
Then she felt her daughter’s hand in hers and looked down at her through a veil of tears. This isn’t fair. But Carlie Duroy’s existence is not, nor has it ever been, based on fair.
It felt like forever, but they finally reached the door to the police station. Shirley grabbed the knob, gripped it with all the strength she had left, and turned it. The door swung inward, and Carlie grabbed her blanket and toy from the suitcase and led her mama straight into the front lobby. She sat Shirley in the first chair they came to, dumped her things in the chair beside her, then went back to drag in their bags.
Shirley was in something of a panic. She was realizing that the time she’d counted on settling Carlie in wasn’t going to be given to her. Her heart, which had been pounding, was suddenly skipping beats—a lot of beats, and she was losing her breath.
Oh God. I needed more time. I needed more time.
Avery Ames, the dispatcher, jumped up the moment they came inside and ran to them, then didn’t know who to help first.
“Ma’am?” he asked.
Shirley pointed at the open door and Carlie, who was trying to drag a suitcase over the threshold.
“Help…” she whispered.
“Yes, ma’am,” Avery said and ran to the door. “I’ll get that for you, honey,” he said.
“We have two,” Carlie said.
“I’ll get them,” Avery said.
Carlie went back to her mother, pushed her blanket and toy aside, then sat down beside her and reached for her hand. Her shorts and T-shirt were rumpled from traveling, and the backs of her bare legs were sticking on the wooden chairs, but her only concern was Mama.
Avery pulled the bags over to where they were sitting and then paused in front of the woman.
“Ma’am, how can I help you?” he asked.
“Chief…” she mumbled, and then leaned back and closed her eyes.
“Yes, ma’am,” Avery said and bolted down the hall and into Lon Pittman’s office without bothering to knock. “Chief! Come quick. There’s a woman with a little girl in the lobby. The woman looks bad sick, and she asked for you.”
Lon was on his feet and running, with Avery right behind him.
One look at the pair sitting in the lobby, and Lon knew something dire was happening. The little girl looked terrified, and the woman wasn’t breathing right.
“Avery, get an ambulance here, stat.”
“Yes, sir,” Avery said and ran back to his desk.
“Ma’am, I’m Lon Pittman, the chief of police. How can I help you? Are you sick?”
Shirley moaned. “Carlie…sorry, baby, sorry.”
“Mama’s dying,” Carlie said.
Lon reeled as if he’d been sucker-punched, staring at the little girl and the tears shimmering in her eyes.
“How do…? What’s your mother’s name?” he asked.
“Shirley Duroy.”
Lon was checking the woman’s pulse as he spoke, and it was blatantly obvious the kid knew what she was talking about. The woman’s heart was barely beating.
“What’s wrong with her?” Lon asked.
“Her heart is sick. I take care of her.”
Oh Jesus. “How old are you, Carlie ?”
“Seven…almost eight,” she said and started shaking. “Mama can’t live no more. I have to live for both of us. I have to be good and do right.” Then she turned and hid her face against her mother’s shoulder.
The last time Lon had felt this helpless was the day he thought his wife, Mercy, had drowned. Only she hadn’t been his wife then, just the love of his life. He could only imagine what this little girl was feeling.
“Do you have family here? Is this why you came to Blessings?”
Carlie shook her head, then sat up and wiped her eyes. “Mama has a letter in her purse. It tells you what to do.”
Lon was reaching for Shirley’s purse when they began hearing sirens.
Carlie wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck.
“I love you, Mama. I will be good.”
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Shirley opened her eyes, thrust her hand in her daughter’s hair and held her close. “The best of me,” she whispered, then looked at Lon and whispered, “Call Ruby Dye,” and exhaled.
Her eyes closed. She never took another breath.
Avery was crying and made no attempt to hide it.
Carlie was still clutching her mother’s arm.
“Come back, Mama. Come back. I need to talk to you,” she sobbed.
Lon was choking back tears as he felt for a pulse, but there was none. And then the ambulance was outside. He stood, grabbed the blanket and stuffed toy and Shirley’s purse, then lifted Carlie out of the chair next to her mother’s body.
“She’s gone,” Lon said. “Avery, you fill them in on what happened. Give them her name. I’ll get the rest of her info to them later. Right now I’m taking Carlie back to my office.”
“Yes, sir,” Avery said, then wiped his eyes and blew his nose as the chief left the lobby with Carlie Duroy in his arms.
Lon got back to his office, sat down on the old couch with her still in his arms, and just held her.
She was sobbing.
“I’m so sorry, Carlie. I’m so, so sorry. You said there was a letter in your mama’s purse. Do you want to get it for me?”
He handed her the purse, then watched as she stroked the soft brown leather before opening it and pulling out a long white envelope.
“The ’structions are in there,” she said.
Lon grabbed a handful of tissues and gently wiped her face and eyes.
“Do you know what they are?” he asked.
Carlie nodded, then hiccupped as she took a breath to answer.
“Mama said Miss Ruby is gonna guard me and take care of me. Miss Ruby is her friend.”
Lon frowned. The last thing Shirley Duroy had said was Ruby’s name. But the name she used was Ruby’s name before she and Peanut Butterman got married. He wondered how long it had been since they’d been in contact. He snuggled the little girl up against his chest as he opened the letter.
There were several pages.
The first was a personal letter to Ruby. He laid it aside without reading it, but he did read the official, notarized court document naming Ruby Dye as the legal guardian of Carlie Jo Duroy. There was a birth certificate and medical info about her childhood immunizations, the name and address of the pediatrician who had Carlie’s health records, and the last school she’d attended in Little Rock. Basically, the sum total of Carlie’s seven-plus years on earth.
He put everything back in the envelope, then got more tissues, scooted Carlie off his lap onto the sofa, and began wiping her eyes and then her nose. She was so still, with her blanket and her stuffed rabbit clutched against her chest. He was heartsick for her, imagining how scared she must be.
Lon glanced at the calendar. Monday, July 21. Ruby didn’t work on Mondays. Whatever she’d been planning to do today had just gone to hell in a hand basket.
“Are you hungry, Carlie? Do you need anything?” he asked.
“The bathroom?”
“I’ll show you where it is,” he said, then led her to his private bathroom. “Can you reach everything?”
She looked, then nodded.
“I’ll be right outside the door if you need help,” he said.
The moment he closed the door, he reached for his phone and made a quick call to Peanut Butterman. As he was waiting for Peanut to answer, Lon heard more sobs and gritted his teeth, waiting for Peanut to pick up, and then he did.
“Hello?”
“Peanut, this is Lon. We have a serious situation here at the station. I need you to get Ruby and get down here as soon as possible.”
“Get Ruby? What the hell’s going on?”
“It’s complicated. Just get here.”
“Yes, okay, but I’m already at the office. It’ll take a few minutes to get home and pick her up.”
“That’s fine. See you soon,” Lon said.
A few moments later, Lon heard the toilet flushing, then water running at the sink. When Carlie opened the door, her hands were dripping.
“I can’t reach the towels,” she said.
Lon quickly pulled down a couple of paper towels and handed them to her.
She dried with the precision of a little old woman, and he wondered how long she’d been “taking care of Mama,” because it appeared all aspects of her childhood had been abandoned. He took her by the hand and led her back into his office. She crawled up onto the sofa, rolled herself up in the blanket, tucked the rabbit beneath her chin, and never took her gaze from his face.
“Are you hungry?” Lon asked.
She shook her head. “Where’s my mama?”
“They took her to the hospital in the ambulance,” he said and sat down in the chair opposite the sofa.
Carlie took a slow breath. Tears were rolling again.
“Do you have family somewhere?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“What about your father? Who is he? Where’s he at?”
Carlie shrugged. “He’s dead. Mama didn’t talk about him. She took care of me. Then she got sick.”
“Do you have grandparents, or an aunt, or an uncle?”
She shook her head again. “Not anymore,” she said, but now her voice and body were shaking. “Did you call Miss Ruby? Mama said she’ll know what to do. Mama said she is a nice lady. Mama said she was her friend.”
“Yes, I called. Ruby is married now. She and her husband are on their way here.”
Carlie glanced nervously at the door. “Does she know my mama died?”
“I didn’t tell her yet, but it will be okay. Ruby has never let anyone down in this town. She won’t let you down, either.”
Carlie shuddered, rolled over onto her side on the sofa, and closed her eyes, then abruptly opened them again.
“Don’t go away,” she whispered.
“I won’t. I promise,” Lon said.
Her eyes closed again. Tears continued to roll from beneath the lids, but she was finally silent.
Lon couldn’t breathe without wanting to cry with her. She was so little and broken.
He sent Avery a text and told him to send Peanut and Ruby back to his office as soon as they arrived, and then began making copies of Shirley’s ID, all of her insurance cards, and everything else the hospital would need for their records. He put the originals back in her purse and sat in silence, listening for the sound of footsteps out in the hall.
***
Peanut called Ruby on the way home. She answered on the second ring.
“Hey, honey,” Ruby said.
“Are you dressed?” Peanut asked.
“Yes. I was just getting ready to run some errands. Why?”
“Stay there. I’m on my way home to get you. I got a call from the chief. He said for me to bring you to the police station ASAP, that they had a serious situation.”
“What does it have to do with me?” Ruby asked.
“He didn’t say. Just grab your purse. I’m coming down the street now.”
“Okay,” Ruby said. She hung up and ran to get her purse before heading out the front door to meet him. She jumped in the car and buckled up without saying a word, and then Peanut took off for the station.
Ruby gave him an anxious glance as she settled back in the seat.
“You swear you don’t know what’s going on?” she asked.
Peanut frowned. “I would never lie to you…or deceive you. I know nothing beyond getting the phone call. I asked, but he said it was complicated, and to get you and get to the station. That’s all I know.”
“Sorry. It just freaked me out a little,” she said.
“Well, I’m somewhat freaked myself,” he said.
She nodded, but her heart was pounding.
“I have a feeling that something terrible has happened,” she said.
Peanut reminded her, “Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it together.”
“Yes, you’re right. I’m sorry. I guess it’s just the unexpected suddenness of the summons that has unnerved me.”
“We’re about to find out,” Peanut said as he pulled up and parked in front of the station.
They got out, then entered the station together.
Ruby saw two large suitcases pushed up against the wall and then glanced at Avery. He just pointed down the hall.
