Free Catch a Falling Star by Lynette Sowell Page B

real love with Tyler. Real love didn’t keep you around only when your life had no drama.
    Real love should be there even when everyone else turned tail and ran off to do their own thing. Real love should be there even when you’ve made a total mess of your life.
    A lump the size of a golf ball lodged itself in Justine’s throat.
    “Sue, finish Ms. Brown, and I will see to Ms. Justine.” Chin-Mae waved Sue away. She scurried in Tamarind’s direction. “It’s not bad, Ms. Justine.”
    “I feel stupid,” Justine admitted aloud. “I should have known.”
    Chin-Mae perched on the low stool near Justine’s feet, her dark hair swishing at her cheeks as she worked on Justine’s toenails. “Don’t feel stupid. You’re not the first, not the last. You did not marry him or bear his children. For that, thank God. Your heart is broken, but it will heal.”
    “No, not quite broken.” Justine glanced over at Tamarind, who gave her a sympathetic look as she padded over to the manicure area. “I was beginning to wonder what was going on. I’ve hardly heard from him since I’ve been here.”
    In fact, she’d felt a little guilty over the attraction she felt to Billy Tucker. Even now she remembered sitting close to him as he showed her how he worked on boots. That same night she’d reminded herself dozens of times she was with Tyler. After Market Days and the feeling of jealousy when Billy mentioned someone else, she’d put a stop to her thoughts.
    She never dated more than one man at a time and wasn’t about to start now. Especially after this public humiliation with Tyler, her love life shot to the bottom of her priority list.
    “You don’t look at those papers anymore.” Chin-Mae’s tone was scolding yet kind. “I forbid it. Next time you come here, I’ll tell Sue she needs to throw that garbage away. Azalea said you are a good girl, no matter what those papers say.”
    Justine could only imagine what the papers did say. No wonder her mother gave her such a tepid welcome home.
    “Thank you, Chin-Mae.”
    “Any friend of Azalea’s is my friend too.”
     
    #             
     
    The Fourth of July weekend disappeared behind them. Billy didn't even dream of trying to cook anything, and neither did Jake or Maddie. The mercury crept up to the triple digits, as if announcing that this was how summer weather ought to feel. Thankfully, the central air conditioning kept the Tucker house feeling like a blast freezer.
    Billy lounged in the den, checking the television schedule to see what time the Rangers game started, and Tam was in the kitchen setting out plates. Sunday supper hadn’t smelled this good since Mom and Dad had moved away. Billy’s mouth watered at the aroma of Tamarind’s signature barbecue beef brisket on the table. She’d offered to bring by a meal after church, along with a cherry pie from Rebecca’s Kitchen in Kempner. Cherry pie, his Achilles heel. And Tamarind had found it.
    Where in the world was Jake? He and Maddie had ridden together to church. Billy had skipped Sunday school because his leg was hurting so bad.
    He hoped to talk to Tamarind today, to help her see that they could never be anything more than friends. Maybe, eventually, she’d show interest in his brother instead.
    The kitchen door banged, and voices filled the room. “We’re here!” Maddie’s voice rang out. “Oh. Tamarind. Hi.” The last three words came out in a squeak.
    “Look who we brought with us for lunch,” Jake said.
    Billy set down the remote control and entered the kitchen. This was his reward for sleeping through the alarm this morning.
    Justine stood in the kitchen, glancing from Tamarind to Jake, then over to Billy. “I’m sorry. Maddie invited me to come along. I actually made it to church with Azalea, and the roof didn’t fall in.”
    “Of course it didn’t,” said Tamarind. Her voice was kind, but her eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
    Billy definitely needed to clear things up once