including Adam, was that she'd tried to get him to have sex with her. She still found it hard to believe she'd been so uninhibited by the substances she'd taken that she had.
Looking at Rick with uncertainty, she found herself saying, "Will you be there too?"
Rick shook his head. "I'll probably go to town."
"To see someone?" Sophie asked, impulsively.
"Maybe," Rick replied. Saying nothing more, he turned and left through the back door, leaving Sophie to wonder if the person he intended to see was a woman. The thought that it was bothered her more than she cared to admit, even to herself.
***
When Sophie first arrived at the Grace and Jack Hansen home for dinner that evening, Grace immediately came up to her, and after giving her a hug, said in an troubled voice, "Your mother's very concerned about you, honey. She's left several messages on your cell phone and she said you haven't returned them. You really need to give her a call."
"I'm sorry, Aunt Grace, and I appreciate your concern," Sophie replied, "but I really don't want to talk about this right now. She knows I arrived safely, and when I'm ready, I'll call."
"We all do things we later regret and hope no one ever learns about," Grace said, and Sophie immediately wondered if it was a veiled reference to what happened at Buzz's party. There was no question she had big regrets about that.
"There has to be some forgiveness in you, Sophie," Grace continued in a firm voice. "It's not like you to run off like this."
Sophie knew she meant well, but she also knew, from her aunt's use of her given name instead of one of her usual endearments, that she was not going to drop the issue. "I'm twenty-three. I didn't run off," Sophie countered, "but the entire time I was growing up my parents were living a lie. That's a little hard to digest, coming from people who all my life stressed the importance of honesty and openness."
Grace got the oddest look on her face.
It came to Sophie that perhaps her aunt was also hiding something. Maybe a past she wanted buried? She couldn't imagine Aunt Grace having the kind of past her older sister had, but there was definitely something hidden behind her uncharacteristic expression.
" Mom! It smells like something's burning in here! " her youngest son, Tyler, yelled from the direction of the kitchen.
"The gravy!" Grace rushed off, wrapped a towel around the pot handle and ran to the sink.
And Sophie was glad for the distraction. Not only did she not want to discuss this with her aunt, but so many harsh words had been exchanged between her and her parents before leaving California that she still needed time to think things through before taking the next step, whatever that would be.
After the boys acknowledged her, they returned to what they’d been doing when she arrived. Josh and Jeremy, the younger set of twins, were involved in a video game, with Ryan, the son born between the two sets of twins, and Tyler, the youngest of the boys, watching over their shoulders. Maddy was snuggled up against her dad while he was showing her how to tie special knots, and Adam stood off by himself, seeming to be taking things in. The only one missing was Marc, and Sophie suspected he was in his room, probably cataloging artifacts he'd dug up in the Indian mound, since that was usually his focus.
Sophie also noticed that Adam's eyes kept returning to her, not teasing eyes like in the past, but eyes that showed disappointment. Ever since the night of the party he hadn't kidded with her like he had in the past, unlike Marc who on seeing her again, poked fun at her about her new status as a college graduate, so she knew Adam had said nothing to Marc about the party, which didn't surprise her. Adam and Marc weren't close. In fact, they were as different as night and day.
Adam was a cowboy, a horseman, a rancher through and through. He was also ready to settle down at an early age. He'd given Emily a ring at Christmas and their wedding was less than a