Free A Fresh Start by Trisha Grace Page A

doing and greet her affectionately, welcoming her to town.
    Her brain churned while she shook all the hands and smiled warmly at everyone. She tried hard to remember all the names, silently thanking God for all the improve-your-memory books that she’d read.
    She never imagined herself having to describe after church mingling as fast-paced, but being pulled around and given all the information about the various people were slightly overwhelming.
    “And this is Jane, Jane Cassells,” Mrs. Seymour said, moving her closer toward a woman. “Jane, this is Paige Watson.”
    Jane gave Paige a small nod, adjusting her black metal spectacles. Her copper-brown hair was tied back in a low ponytail with her fringe pushed aside, hanging just below her brows.
    “Hi, Jane,” Paige said with a bright smile.
    “Hi,” Jane replied, her hand moving to push her fringe further to the side, then tugged at her ill-fitting long sleeve shirt.  
    “Jane works in the library,” Mrs. Seymour added.
    “What a great place to work. Quiet and relaxed.”
    “Celia!”
    Paige jumped, gasping, and turned to see another copper-hair woman waving Mrs. Seymour over.
    “You girls talk.” Mrs. Seymour turned to Jane. “I’ll see what your mom wants.”
    Paige drew in a deep breath through her nose, glad for the break from meeting new people. She glanced over at the copper-hair woman and back at Jane. “You look just your mom.”
    “Short and pudgy.”
    “You’re not pudgy, you’re petite. The type that guys will want to protect.”
    Jane adjusted her spectacles again. “If only.” Her tone wasn’t rude. In fact, it seemed inclined toward some deep-seated despair.
    “Are you all right?” Paige blurted.
    Jane blinked, looking right into Paige’s eyes. Then, her brows drew closer and her hands moved over to adjust her spectacles.
    “So, what you do at work,” Paige continued before the atmosphere got more awkward.
    “I’m in charge of returning the books to the right place, checking the system to make sure that books are returned on time. Basically everything.”
    “That’s quite a lot of work.”
    Jane opened her mouth to reply, but her eyes flickered over Paige’s shoulders and she suddenly turned mute. Jane’s hand moved to rub down one of her arms while tilting her torso away.
    Paige looked over her shoulder and saw the woman who was sitting next to her in church trotting over. Next to that woman was one of the two younger women who had turned up at her house.
    “Hi again,” the woman greeted her with a wide grin and raised brows. Her affability seemed forced and insincere. “I’m Jaslyn Bradley, and my daughter,” she moved her hand behind the golden blonde, “Gloria. I believe you met her yesterday.”
    “Yes, I did.”
    Paige couldn’t help noticing Gloria’s long acrylic nails adorned with crystals. Just looking at her nails felt heavy.
    “So, I heard Justin is working for you?”
    Though the older Bradley had made it sound like a question, it felt somewhat like an accusation to Paige. “He’s helping Travis out.”
    “You know his story, right? His mother was an alcoholic and a complete…well, she was basically the town’s whore,” Gloria whispered, as if she was letting Paige in on a secret.
    Paige’s eyes widened. That was a rude thing to say. Even if it was true, there wasn’t a need to bring it up after all these years.
    “He used to get up in the morning and roam the streets in search of his mom.” Bending her torso forward, Gloria continued softly. “There was this time his mom passed out drunk on our lawn and I saw him checking her pulse before dragging her back,” Gloria said and rolled her eyes. “How pathetic, right?”
    Paige shook her head. She couldn’t imagine what life was like for Justin. No wonder he didn’t miss home. Those memories, the life he had as a child…
    Gloria took a small step closer. “He’s always been a loner even since he was in school. Doesn’t speak to anyone,