Sadie recognized what Miss Olivia was trying to do, but it wouldn’t work. “I am. I don’t want to lose this job.”

“You won’t. Now let’s go for a short ride.”

Sadie paused at the end of the driveway.

“I won’t tell,” Olivia whispered.

Muttering under her breath, Sadie made the turn and nosed the car down the road. She scooted her bottom closer to the edge and gripped the steering wheel as she searched for any signs of Edward.

“Why did you learn to drive at such a young age?” Olivia asked.

“Daddy needed help with moving supplies, and Mama never learned.”

“You must have been terrified.”

“First time or two. Then I took a liking to it.”

That first day behind the wheel, Sadie had been scared to death. Her daddy had never had much patience, and she’d had a devil of a time learning when to press on the gas so as to let up on the clutch. Once she had done it so quickly the car had bucked, and her daddy had hit his head on the dashboard. He had been madder than hell. Later he had said he was sorry for losing his temper, but Sadie had known not to try his patience.

“Where do you live, Sadie?” Olivia asked.

“On my mama’s farm. Not far from here.”

“Is that where you make your moonshine?” she asked.

A grin tugged Sadie’s lips. “No, ma’am. Making shine on your property is a sure way to get caught. We have a little spot by the river. There are a few little hollows that you can’t see from the road.”

“Can you show me?”

“That would be too far to drive,” Sadie said. “Besides, this time of year, the driving is tougher.”

“How well do you think you know this car?”

“Well enough. There’s not much to it. The engine is smooth.”

Olivia watched as Sadie slowed and downshifted the gears. “You make it look easy.”

“It is.”

“I rode in several ambulances in London, but I never drove one.”

“What’s an ambulance?”

“A car that carries injured people to the hospital. London’s been under attack for a while now. Bombs from planes catch buildings on fire if they don’t tumble first. It leaves a lot of wounded civilians.”

“What’s a bomb like?”

“Have you ever heard an explosion?”

“No, but my brothers knew a fellow who lost a leg when there was a gas explosion in the mines near West Virginia. What are they like?”

“It’s a lot like that, only much bigger and louder. Except the explosion is coming from bombs dropped by planes that can level a city block.”

“Are those loud?”

“So loud that the sounds leave your ears ringing for days.” Olivia’s voice took on a faraway tone as she stared out over the open fields.

“How do you get away from them?”

“There are shelters underground to hide. But no place is completely safe.”

“The war is pretty far from here, right?”

“Yes. For now, we’re safe.”

The road ended at a T intersection, and Sadie, half expecting Dr. Carter to be waiting for them, turned the car around and headed back to Woodmont.

“I would like to learn how to drive,” Miss Olivia said with a mischievous grin.

“Why do you want to know how to drive? You have me to drive you everywhere.”

“But you might not always be here. It’s better that one knows how to take care of oneself.”

“I’m pretty sure Dr. Carter will fire me if I teach you how to drive.”

“He doesn’t need to know. He is rarely here, and this place feels rather small, especially in winter.”

“You have that greenhouse to plant and won’t have time to learn.”

“There’s time for both. Teach me. I’ll pay handsomely.”

“But I’m already getting paid.”

“Think of this as a bonus.”

Sadie knew at the rate she was earning money in her new job, she might never save enough money to move off the mountain. A bonus from Miss Olivia would speed that process up mightily.

“You won’t lose your job, Sadie. I will forbid Dr. Carter from firing you.”

“No disrespect, ma’am, but he doesn’t look like a guy that takes orders from anyone, even you.”

“Don’t worry about my husband. I’ll handle him.”

That was easy for her to say. The engine rumbled, and a look over her shoulder showed no sign of Mr. Carter. “We will just drive back to the house,” Sadie said. “We went on the hard roads, and if I push it much more today, I’m going to get in trouble.”

There were times when Sadie pushed the edge of her mother’s and brothers’ patience, but disobeying a man like Dr. Carter just tempted trouble.

CHAPTER TWELVE

LIBBY

Sunday, June 14, 2020

Bluestone, Virginia

There was always a good reason not to fill in the blank. Libby had gotten home from the wedding around one o’clock on Sunday afternoon. Blissfully exhausted, she had fallen onto the couch and slept until three. Energized, she showered and changed into a relaxed-fit top and black linen pants.

She had plenty of time before she was supposed to leave for Woodmont, so she contemplated checking out the shed stocked with her old photography equipment. If that did not suit, she could get a jump on some of the photo editing or even go through the trove of papers in her father’s desk.

Instead, Libby made herself a cup of coffee and then settled back on the living room couch. Reaching for her phone, she scrolled through her Instagram account, reviewing the pictures she had posted from the wedding and smiling as she read the comments from several of the wedding guests.

Libby could have stopped there and left well enough alone. But she pulled up Jeremy’s page and found herself staring at the couple’s smiling faces as they posed in front of the courthouse, holding up their marriage license. Their megawatt smiles beamed on the screen. The license blocked Monica’s tummy, but Libby could see that Monica’s face was nicely rounded and her breasts fuller. If only Jeremy had been a little fatter or less pulled together.

“Happy. Fat. Happy. Fatter.”

The words rolled over and over in her head like a mantra as she scrolled back in time. In April, the two were standing at a country estate that looked a great deal like Woodmont. He had his arm around her, and both were holding up cans of soda.

Jeremy had given up wine and beer all three times she had been pregnant. It had been a solidarity move, showing more than telling that they were in this parenting thing together. He had held her hair back during her bouts of morning sickness. He had never complained when she had asked him to buy mint chocolate chip ice cream at eleven o’clock at night. He had been there for her. Her rock.

And now he was there for Monica. And their soon-to-be baby.

Libby had done everything she could think of to make her pregnancy work. There had been dozens of lists of what to do and not do, and she had dutifully followed each every day. She had resisted the urge to list potential disasters detailing all that could go wrong with her baby. She had been determined to stay positive.

Sitting up straighter, she tossed the phone aside. It was almost five o’clock, and she had promised Elaine she would stop by her place. She still was not sure why Elaine was looping her into this gathering, but the idea of mingling with strangers had far greater appeal than cyberstalking Jeremy.