Love Remains by Kaye Dacus Read Free Book Online Page A

they grown up together—same church, same neighborhood, same schools—but in their World History class in high school they had been assigned a project on Scotland, based on their last names. Upon discovering the clans Macdonald and McNeill had been bitter enemies in medieval times, they’d taken to bickering with each other whenever possible—to make their ancestors proud.
    Oh, she should forewarn Flan—
    “What are you doing here?” Flannery’s voice carried a note of surprise and disdain.
    Too late.

    The beautiful, icy blond pinned Bobby with narrowed eyes. Whenhe’d made the decision Friday night to attend Acklen Ave. on Sunday, he’d never considered she might still go to church here.
    “Flannery. You’re looking well.”
    She crossed her arms. “I asked you a question.”
    He mimicked her stance. “I’m here because this is the church I grew up in, and it’s the church I plan on attending now that I’ve moved back to Nashville.”
    Flannery’s eyes went back to their normal roundness, now filled with surprise, and she turned toward the far right end of the room. Bobby looked, too. His heart bumped against his ribs. Even with her back turned, he’d recognize Zarah’s mass of curly hair anywhere.
    “Zarah, did you know about this?” Flannery demanded.
    Zarah’s shoulders raised and lowered—then shook as she stifled a cough. She turned. Not quite as pale as Friday night. But dark circles dug trenches under her eyes—she looked like she could use a solid month’s sleep. “Yes, Flan, I knew.”
    “And you’re…okay with it?” Flannery’s tone dropped almost to a whisper.
    “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.” Zarah’s expression clearly warned the other woman to lay off.
    “We’ll talk later.”
    Patrick’s head swung back and forth between the two women. “What are y’all talking about?”
    Zarah patted Patrick’s arm—and a flash fire of jealousy surged through Bobby before he could snuff it. “Don’t worry about it, Patrick. It’s nothing.”
    And there, in one word, he had Zarah’s opinion of everything that had happened between them as young adults —nothing . It had meant nothing to her then; it meant nothing to her now.
    “Diesel, help me put the chairs out.” Patrick seemed to take Zarah at her word.
    Bobby gladly pitched in with the manual labor of moving forty chairs into a circle in the center of the large room. It gave Zarah andFlannery a chance to have a private conversation as they finished laying out the name tags.
    Zarah and Flannery McNeill—friends. Figured. He wasn’t sure if he should be flattered or offended that Zarah had sought out people from his past to become friends with when she moved here.
    “Started your house hunt yet?” Patrick asked, pulling Bobby’s attention away from the women.
    “Not yet. I wanted to get my feet on the ground at work first. I finished all of my certifications with the state last week. This week will be my first on the job at the unit.”
    “Any particular area you’re looking at?”
    “I’d kinda like to stay around here. This is the area I grew up in; it’s what I’m most familiar with. The office is off Briley Parkway, northwest of downtown, and it’s only a ten- to fifteen-minute drive from my grandparents’ house—but that’s without traffic. I want to give it a week or two of morning and evening rush hour to see what it’s going to be like.”
    “Thinking about a house or what?” Patrick pointed at chairs as he counted them.
    “Nah—too much maintenance. I love my parents’ condo—but I can’t afford something like that. I’ve been noticing all the new condo and townhouse developments along Hillsboro, Music Row, Demonbreun, and West End. I’m thinking about maybe getting into one of those. I realized a pretty good profit on my place in LA, so I’ve got a budget that will go a long way here.”
    A gasped, “No!” from Flannery caught Bobby’s ear, but he refused to turn. He wasn’t