Truth and Consequences by Linda Winfree Page A

real reason.”
    Silence wrapped around them. Kathleen sipped her coffee, the rich taste lost in the bitterness of her thoughts. She’d come seeking forgetfulness, wanting to put Jason and his kiss out of her mind. Wanting even more to forget he wouldn’t turn his back on Haynes County.
    Wouldn’t turn his back on Jim Ed.
    The phone rang, its shrill cry shattering the stillness. Mama moved toward the study. “That’s probably your daddy, calling to let me know he’s on his way.”
    Coffee in hand, Kathleen followed her mother into the dark wood and leather retreat. Settled into one of the armchairs, Mama picked up the phone. “Hello? Oh, Lenora. How are you?”
    Kathleen scanned the bookshelves, letting Mama’s cultured voice soothe her jangling nerves. The classic novels her mother loved shared space with her daddy’s law books. Paperbacks lined another shelf—thrillers, mysteries, romances. Below those were her own high school yearbooks and the ones her mother had received as a long-time faculty member.
    Leaning down, she pulled out the book released three years after she graduated. She eased into the other armchair and flipped the book open to the senior class. Her fingers slid down the glossy paper, coming to rest by the picture of a solemn boy. Jason Alex Harding .
    She smiled, albeit unwillingly. He looked so young. His hair was longer, lighter and fell onto his forehead, and he stared out at the world with shuttered, defiant eyes. In the photo, he was unsmiling, and she traced his mouth with a fingertip. Her lips burned with the remembered feel of that mouth moving on hers and tendrils of desire tickled her stomach again.
    “He was a good boy.”
    Startled, Kathleen glanced up, a hot flush stinging her neck. When had Mama hung up the phone? How long had she watched her staring at his picture? Kathleen struggled for an uninterested look. “Who?”
    “Jason.” Her mother’s slender finger tapped the photo. “He used to spend his lunch hours in the library. He claimed he liked to read, but I always thought it had more to do with not having lunch money and having too much pride to apply for free lunch. He was in Louella’s drama group, too, at least until his senior year.”
    Seizing the opportunity to soak up information about him, Kathleen kept her gaze on the yearbook, afraid her eyes would reveal too much. “Why not that year?”
    “His mother was ill. She died a few weeks before he graduated. He joined the military right out of school. Louella was bitterly disappointed. She always said the boy had real talent, like he could just climb in a role and wear it as long as he needed.”
    “Maybe he thought he’d get farther in the military than on Broadway.” If he was such an excellent actor, which Jason was real? The down-on-his-luck deputy? Or the man who charmed her with stories of his travels? The one who kissed her and made her feel more than any man had in what felt like forever? Or the one who chose money and corruption over her?
    Her mother glanced at her, lips pinched. “It’s difficult to watch a child you care about waste talents and opportunities.”
    Tension crawled up her spine. She closed the yearbook and rose to return it to the shelf, her motions jerky and tight. “You know what, Mama? I’m more tired than I thought, so I won’t wait for Daddy. I’m going to head home, but I’ll come by Sunday after church.”
    She crossed the room to embrace her mother, who held on for a moment, a fierce, tight hug. “Kathleen, don’t forget there’s more to life than the GBI.”
    Not likely, since Mama reminded her every chance that came along. Her throat closed and she disentangled herself. “I know. Tell Daddy I came by.”
    * * *
    Hands behind his head, Jason lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling. The rich voice of Johnny Cash filled the room with a song about a man trapped in prison, longing for the freedom offered by a passing train.
    Trapped and longing. He could relate to