Free Homecoming by Janet Wellington

for himself, and her sentimental trip down memory lane would only serve to stir things up that would just dead-end anyway.
    Jake was clearly there for three months only. Period. That was it. Then he would return to his big job in the city, which obviously was all that he needed, all that he cared about.
    She was glad she had some errands to run and, besides, she also needed to see if she could find out more about Sara. The grapevine had said she’d had the baby the day after she’d seen her at the library and she was out of town, staying with her mother-in-law. She’d go into town, treat herself to a malt at the soda fountain and ask Peggy if she knew when Sara would be home. Then she’d drop off the drawing at the art gallery on her way and, with any luck, it would be on the wall before dinner. She had plenty to keep her busy and off the path to old times.
    ***
    Jake held Cory’s graduation picture in his hand, surprised it had survived. He remembered bringing his annual over to Tillie’s for safe keeping, but figured she’d probably thrown it out. He stared at Cory’s face. Clearly she had no idea how beautiful she was then—or now. Her skin was still as silky soft as he remembered, her hair still a warm reddish brown that changed with the light like sunshine dancing on a polished cherrywood table. But it was her eyes staring back at him from the photo that haunted him; her always serious eyes of liquid dark chocolate. He was on a slippery slope and felt dangerously close to giving in to his all-too-often urges to lose his hands in her long hair and pull her lips to his.
    He could kick himself for spilling so much in one sitting. What was he thinking? He rubbed his stomach, his gut aching from the memories she’d helped him stir up. She had always been good at getting him to talk.
    He needed to be careful. She could still be vulnerable from her divorce. Her eyes had been unable to hide the hurt that showed when he’d hinted about her finding someone. He’d let it go for now, ask again another time about how she’d ended up alone.
    She seemed happy enough in Faythe; she was much more adapted to small town life. Even when he was young he’d found things much too slow. And the moment he’d arrived in Chicago he’d felt comfortable with the fast pace. He liked juggling projects and meetings and climbing his way up the corporate ladder. It suited him, and sometimes he found himself thriving on the everyday tension and pressure. Marriage and family just wasn’t in his genes, and he felt better admitting it than trying to pretend he was someone he couldn’t be.
    Now all Cory needed was to find a guy who could give her everything she wanted and deserved: a family, a house, and a white picket fence. A real home. He remembered her talking about how much her family had moved. She’d gone to a different school every year until they’d moved to Faythe, she’d said. Being there for two consecutive years in high school had been a record for her.
    It was clear. Cory needed permanence. Something he couldn’t give.

If we treated everyone we meet with the same affection we bestow upon our favorite cat, they, too, would purr.
    Martin Buxbaum

    Chapter 5

    Jake pushed open the door of the Faythe Hardware store and searched the large room, hoping to run into Mr. Foster.
    He needed a few other things for projects he was working on, so had offered to see if the vintage knobs Cory had ordered had come in.
    Metal bins held every size nail and screw he’d ever seen and he reached into one to dig his fingers into the mountain of ten-penny nails, something he’d done as a kid. There was something about a hardware store; the smell of wood and metal, scanning the shelves for just the right part to fix something or build something.
    The aisles were marked with carved wooden signs that swung from wrought iron posts. A little on the rough side, they looked as though they could have been made in junior high wood shop. Electrical .