Free Megan's Way by Melissa Foster Page B

subside, he
carefully eased into the subject he was there to discuss, “By the
way, are you doing alright these days?”
    “Uh-oh, Holly got to you, right?” Megan
asked. She stood up and admired her painting.
    “No.” Peter walked to the window and looked
out at the busy street. “Okay, yes, she’s worried about you.”
    “Yeah, I know. I’m fine, really.” Megan felt
a pull to tell Peter the truth, but squelched it, knowing he would
try to change her mind. She feared that if he told Holly, she would
not be able to remain true to her decision. “Peter, if you knew you
could save someone you loved heartache, would you do it?”
    “Of course I would.” Peter paced along the
hardwood floor.
    “No question in your mind?” Megan asked. “No
question.”
    “Tell Holly not to worry—and not to send a
messenger next time!” Megan snapped, annoyed. She turned her back
to Peter and picked up her paintbrush.
    Peter watched her resume her work on the
painting from behind. He knew she was not telling the truth, but
wanted to believe her just the same.
     
     
    Megan walked into the Chatham Village Café
looking forward to telling Holly the news about Olivia’s kidnapper.
She spotted her in the rear of the dining area and hurried toward
her. Megan threw the newspaper down on the table, and smiled
victoriously. “Did you see it?” she raised her eyebrows, excited.
“They got him! The fool was stupid enough to go to the
hospital!”
    “I know, I saw!” Holly stood up and hugged
Megan. “What about the younger guy?”
    “They said they have a line on him. They
tracked down his truck and apparently he and this guy are related
somehow. He skipped town, or that’s what they think, but I know
they’ll get him!” Megan sat, cringing as the wooden seat hurt her
bottom. “Life is getting better!” she said with a smile.
    “How’s Olivia taking it all?” Holly
asked.
    “Olivia’s been acting just like her old self
again. It’s like it all never happened, but I’m still worried about
her.”
    “That’s so weird. I would think it would have
been more traumatic for her, that there would be some lingering
effects.” Holly noticed the dark bags under Megan’s eyes. “How
about you, Meg, are you doing alright?”
    “Yeah, I’m not so sore anymore, and since the
police came and went over LivI’s online conversations with those
men, I’m not as concerned. They said she didn’t give out any
personal data, thank god!” She shifted in her seat.
    “You know, Meg, you were quite the hero,”
Holly swallowed the wish that she had been the one who had helped
Olivia.
    “No way! I was just a mom. You would have
done the same thing.”
    Holly looked down at her food, wishing she
had a daughter to worry about. Megan laid her frail hand on top of
Holly’s strong one. “I’m sorry, Hol, I didn’t mean to make you
sad.”
    “I’m not sad,” she said, smiling. “Okay,
well, sometimes I’m sad,” she admitted. Tears welled in her
eyes.
    Megan took a deep breath and began to tell
Holly about her decision. “Holly, you know, sometimes god does
things for bigger reasons. Maybe you were put here to take care of
me and Olivia. Maybe we are your surrogate children. I mean, you
spent night after night at my house while I went through treatment,
and you are always here for us.”
    A tear slid down Holly’s cheek. “Maybe,” she
said, softly. “I just always thought I’d have a child of my own—and
poor Jack, he didn’t sign up for a life without children.”
    Megan swallowed her confession, knowing that
at that moment, it would only hurt more. “He signed on with you,
Holly, with or without children. Jack is happy with you, he doesn’t
need more.”
    “You think?” Holly wiped her face, and
silently wondered if she were selfish to keep Jack to herself, or
if she should let him go make a real family with someone else. “Oh,
Holly,” Megan slid into Holly’s side of the booth and wrapped her
in her arms,