A Daring Vow (Vows) by Sherryl Woods Read Free Book Online Page A

know you must miss your mama.”
    Zelda paused with a spoonful of ice cream halfway to her mouth and said softly, “Yes, I do. I don’t think I really accepted that she was gone until I came back here.”
    “They buried her next to your daddy, just like you asked. I planted some mums. I thought she’d like that. You been out to the cemetery?”
    Zelda shook her head. “I couldn’t. Not yet.”
    “Well, never mind. You’ll go when you’re ready.”
    “Did people talk because I didn’t make it back for the funeral?”
    “Honey, people in this town always talk. Ain’t no point in worrying about it. Besides, we all handle things the best way we can.”
    Zelda sighed, grateful that this woman to whom she’d once been so close wasn’t making any judgments. She regarded Sarah Lynn with genuine fondness. “You were one of the few people in this town who really understood what she was like, you know. You never judged her. Or me. I always appreciated that.”
    “Maybe because I knew what it was like to have dreams go awry.” She reached over and patted Zelda’s hand. “Whatever her idiosyncrasies, she loved you, honey. I know that as surely as I know the sun comes up in the morning.”
    Zelda had known that, too, but it didn’t hurt to be reminded, especially now when her mother’s final act seemed to contradict the fact. Maybe Sarah Lynn was the one who could explain Ella Louise’s whim.
    “Do you know why she wanted me to come back here and stay, then?” she asked, unable to keep a trace of bitterness out of her voice. “How could she insist on that when she knew how much I hated it, when she knew I had a new life in Los Angeles?”
    Sarah Lynn didn’t show the slightest hint of surprise at Zelda’s question. Obviously news of the will’s terms had reached her. Either that or Ella Louise had discussed them with her. Apparently not the latter, Zelda realized with regret as Sarah Lynn shook her head.
    “She never said a thing about her will or about wanting you back here, at least not straight out. She did worry about you being all the way out in California, though. We talked about it more than once.”
    The response only added to Zelda’s confusion. “She never gave me a clue that she was worried. She never was the kind of mother to issue warnings about every little thing. Besides, it’s no more dangerous in L.A. than anyplace else these days.”
    “Hon, I don’t think it was crime that worried her.”
    Before Zelda could ask her what she meant by her cryptic remark, the diner’s door opened and a half dozen customers flocked in. Sarah Lynn patted her hand once again. “Let’s get together real soon. You need anything in the meantime, you just give me a holler.”
    Since there seemed to be no point in trying to pursue the conversation now when Sarah Lynn was distracted, Zelda just squeezed her hand. “Thanks. It’s good to see you.”
    Sarah Lynn winked at her. “And don’t you let Taylor work you too hard.”
    Zelda stared after her in astonishment. It seemed some things in Port William never changed. She and Taylor were still making news.
    * * *
    That afternoon Zelda put on a pair of shorts and an old shirt she’d found hanging on the back of a hook in the bathroom. She knotted the shirttails at her waist, then settled down on the front porch with a glass of iced tea. The sun filtered through the trees in a way that made the yard seem prettier than it was. She barely noticed it. She figured it was time she had a serious talk with herself.
    It appeared she’d decided to stay in Port William, despite whatever misgivings she might have had only a few short hours ago. Her conversation with Sarah Lynn had only confirmed that her mother had wanted her back here for some very specific reason. She had to stay long enough to figure out what that was, or at least to satisfy herself that it had been no more than a flighty whim.
    The decision to stay made, that left her to wrestle with the equally