Chapter Twenty One

Frustrated with herself, she looked at the numbers and address she had written.

With a most unladylike oath, she picked up the telephone and dialed the number that Steve had written in the address book. After one ring, the familiar tone of a disconnected number sounded through the earpiece. Kelleigh pushed down the disconnect button then dialed the next number.

She held her breath as the telephone rang. It was an odd and intuitive habit that she did when she was feeling defensive. Catching herself, she blew it out in a long, slow breath. The telephone clicked and she heard an answering machine begin to speak. Unfortunately, it was an automated voicemail system with no identifying voices or names. With another oath, she put the receiver down again.

This only left the address. Kelleigh drummed her fingers on the table again. This was a habit that her father hated and often yelled at her about. As an adult, she found that she did it almost out of spite, not necessarily out of habit.

"Oh, what the hell." Kelleigh rose, grabbed her keys and cell phone then went out to the truck. Delly hadn't called and she didn't feel like waiting for her anymore. She laughed as she glanced the time on the clock in her truck. It had been a whole twenty minutes that she had been waiting. Patience was usually not a strong suit for Kelleigh. Sometimes it boded well. Sometimes it created problems. She hoped, as she slipped the truck into reverse that this time it would help her.

The town listed was about fifteen minutes away. She had to take the highway to get there and was well on her way before she fully realized that this was the highway that Steve had his accident.

No sooner did she realize it than she saw the skid marks and the paint markings from the State Patrol, marking the accident. The ditch was roughed up and the telephone pulled scarred from the impact. Kelleigh felt a chill slide down her spine as she passed the site. Self-consciously, she pulled her seatbelt tight as she drove by. The shudder she felt was more out of the fear of stepping on a grave than one of grief.

It still concerned her that she hadn't grieved "properly." It seemed as if she were stuck in the anger portion of grieving and unable to pull herself out. She knew it would hit her some day and she wasn't looking forward to it.

Before she knew it, she pulled into town. She was familiar with this town nearly as much as her own. Looking at the address, she knew that she was close to the house. How convenient, right inside city limits, she grumbled to herself.

She turned right, then left then right again, watching the street signs as she drove. She slowed at the next intersection, trying to remember if she should turn right or left. An oncoming car pulled up to the stop sign with its right turn signal blinking. Kelleigh let the car turn and watched it as it went. It was an older Camaro and looked slightly familiar.

She stayed put, measuring her thoughts. The car looked familiar and she was sitting near the address. What were the odds that this was the mysterious Becky?

Why was her car, if it is indeed her, familiar? Had Steve been audacious enough to actually bring it to the house?

A car approached her from behind, breaking her from her musings and forcing her to make a choice. She flipped on the turn signal and followed the Camaro. It was about a block away and Kelleigh sped up a little to try to shorten the distance separating them. Suddenly hot, she rolled down the window to let in some fresh air. She was sure that her face had reddened in frustration, anger, and hurt.

Her Irish coloring was betraying her feelings.

The car slowed and turned into a driveway. Kelleigh slowed and managed to park the truck without being noticed just one house down from where the Camaro stopped. She watched as a bleach blonde-haired woman stepped from the car. Trashy immediately came to mind but Kelleigh tried to push it away as judgmental. She knew nothing about this girl. She didn’t know if this was Becky or not. She was too far away to see for sure. The hair color was different but that can be easily changed. She couldn't quite see the address on the house but it seemed close enough to be the one she found.