The Ugly Truth (2 page)

“Hi, I’m Jake.”

He’s talking to me. Wake up, self, he’s talking to me! “I’m Stephie,” I managed, as I stuck out my hand.

He nodded to my yellow, visitor’s, nametag. “So, you’re here with somebody.”

I nodded. “A friend.”

He narrowed those dark, sexy eyes of his. “Boyfriend?”

I gave him my very best smile. “No. I’m here with Madison Clark. She’s right over there.”

I was still pointing when I looked back at him. He was staring toward Maddie with an expression of long-simmering-pissed-off-ishness. Great. Perfect Guy and my best friend had a history. And just when I was beginning to think this trip had potential. I probably should just keep my mouth shut, but curiosity was tugging at my sleeve. Besides, maybe it wasn’t as bad as I thought. “So, you know her?”

“Yes.” He stared for a moment longer. Then he looked at me, and there was regret in his eyes. “It was nice meeting you, Stephie. Later, Steve.” Then he turned and headed toward the other side of the room as if something was chasing him.

Disappointment filled my insides and weighed me down. I wanted him back. Sigh.

“I’m surprised Maddie didn’t tell you about Jake.” Steve was staring in the direction Jake had gone.

“She actually doesn’t talk much about the past,” I told him, still staring after Handsome.

“Makes sense, I guess.”

I had to know. Didn’t want to, but had to. “Were they an item, Jake and Madison?”

He shrugged. “Not really.”

My curiosity started to poke me in the belly. “They had some kind of falling out?”

He searched my face for a moment. “She really hasn’t said anything?”

“Nothing. Honest.”

“Jake was hurt in the fire.” He frowned then. “You do know about the fire, right?”

“Prom night, in the gym, it was the night Maddie’s dad died.” I glanced toward my gorgeous friend. She’d never gotten over that night, and I was pretty sure she never would.

“That’s the one. Jake got hurt pretty badly.”

He stopped, and my curiosity jumped up and down. “And?” I prompted.

“You need to ask Maddie,” he whispered.

I looked up to see Madison and Liza coming our way. Dang, things were just getting interesting.

While Maddie and her friend babbled about people I’d never heard of, I wondered what Steve had been hinting at. My always inquiring mind screamed at me to find out. Due to the combination of reunion and festival, Maddie and I planned to be here a week. By the time I returned to D.C., I intended to know the whole, sordid story. Besides, what else did I have to do in a little town like Ugly Creek, play fetch with alligators? Wait a minute, Tennessee is landlocked. There are no gators here. What the heck did alligators have to do with anything? Weird place.

A few minutes later Maddie and Liza took off to make fun of more of their fellow reunion-goers. Soon thereafter, Steve took off to talk to some of his friends. I was left alone to contemplate what the hell I was doing at a high school reunion that wasn’t even mine, in the midst of a Big Foot Festival in a place that apparently didn’t have Sasquatch, Bigfoot, Yeti, or even fake-human-in-a-suit creatures. How not fun was that?

There were, however, a lot of people in the building. Did I mention I’m not fond of large groups of anything, especially people?

With a huge, self-pitying sigh, I looked around for something to distract my nerves. Metal tables and chairs were scattered throughout the huge, blue tarp-covered floor, except for a raised area, with a microphone—a bad indication of boring speeches yet to come.

A thought came to me out of nowhere. When Maddie denied there were legendary creatures in Ugly Creek, she hadn’t looked at me. In fact, two months ago, when she asked me to come with her, she had brushed off the name of the festival. Wouldn’t talk about it. Hmm, maybe there was something she wasn’t telling me. Maybe there were Bigfoot creatures in these parts. Maybe I could do some exploring.

Or maybe I was trying to find something to think about besides how out of place I felt at another person’s high school reunion.

“Wasn’t Mr. Blackwood’s history class the pits?”

I looked toward the speaker, who was standing so close I could smell his expensive cologne.

The man’s pinstripe gray, moderately expensive suit fit tight around his beach ball middle. His sparse brown hair was cut in a flattering style. He moved even closer, and I stepped back to get him out of my personal space. “I wouldn’t know,” I told him.

He chuckled. “Oh come on, I remember you from third period.”

I edged back a bit, always better to keep your distance from a potentially unbalanced person no matter how good looking he was. “Sorry, you have me confused with someone else.”

“Blackwood was a real pain,” he said, as if I hadn’t uttered a syllable. “Making us do all kinds of extra work.”

Blackwood
. “Is this teacher related to Jake Blackwood?”

The man’s expression went from smile to suspicion without passing go. “You weren’t in my class, were you?”

What do you know, there were a couple of brain cells in there. “No, I wasn’t.”

“So, how do you know Blackwood?”

I had him on the defensive. I swallowed back the threatening grin. “I told you, I wasn’t in your class. How could I know this Mr. Blackwood?”

His nostrils flared in obvious frustration. “
Jake
Blackwood.”

I gave him my best wide-eyed stare. “That’s the name of the teacher?”

The man’s nostrils flared even wider, which was saying something.

“Butch, buddy. Are you bothering this nice lady?”

The voice startled Wide Nostrils. He took a step back before he turned and glared at Jake. “I’m not your buddy.”

Jake didn’t even blink; he just stared at the other man.

Butch snorted through his wide nostrils then turned and walked away.

A shiver of lingering annoyance moved through me, but was pushed away by the handsome man beside me. “Thank you for the rescue.”

“No problem.”

I felt a tingle in response to the twinkle in his eyes. I hadn’t seen the right side of his face before, but now it was obvious that under the five o’clock shadow was a wide, flat scar. I realized I was staring when he put his fingers against it.

“I was in an accident.”

My hand moved in the direction of his face, and I put it back down by my side where it belonged. “It looks good on you.”

He stared at me for a moment, as if he thought I might be making fun of him. My sincerity must have come through, because he let out a quick, wry laugh. “I’m glad you like it.”

“I’m sorry for the pain you must have gone through to get your scar, but it gives you a rugged look.” I did touch his face then, with the tips of my fingers. “It’s quite sexy.”

“Sexy, huh?”

His eyes had gone from brown to black, and I felt an answering tingle deep inside my body. My breathing kicked up a notch, my heart banged hard against my ribs, I swallowed convulsively against the drying of my mouth. My hand moved again, toward the alien topography of his cheek. I could almost feel my lips pressing gently against the hard stubble covering the soft, flat reminder of what must have been a horrible experience.

Thinking of the fire reminded me of why I was in Ugly Creek—for the friend who had saved my job and sanity—and I dropped my hand to my side. “Yes, it’s sexy.”

“Thank you,” he whispered.

I heard a high-pitched giggle, and when I looked in that direction, I saw Maddie and Liza heading my way. I instinctively glanced toward Jake, only to find he’d vanished. For the best, I guess. All I needed was to be caught in the middle of a confrontation between my best friend and the best thing this flea-butt town had to offer. I sighed. Such is my life.

“Just standing there by herself, looking bored. That’s Stephie for you.”

“I wasn’t just standing here,” I told Maddie. “I was talking to some of your classmates and taking pictures.” And talking to a guy who could give Hugh Jackman a run for the money.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let’s go have some fun.” She grabbed my arm.

“I’m fine right here.” I’d rather stand here and see if this Jake dude came back, but Madison was persistent, and strong. So I finally gave in.

I spent the next eternity—I mean hour—meeting unremarkable people I could not have cared less about. There were some highlights, like an overly dramatic recreation of Jimmy, Ugly Creek High football’s best wide receiver ever, looking directly into the unblinking male English teacher’s eyes and reciting the poem “How Do I Love Thee, Let Me Count the Ways.” I wasn’t sure any amount of extra credit would be worth that kind of humiliation.

And then it was time for the boring speeches.

“Welcome to The Ugly Creek Big Foot Festival and our ten year high school reunion,” said an average-looking, average-height man in a light brown suit that matched his light brown hair and light brown eyeglass frames. “For the benefit of the visitors and those with amnesia, I’ll introduce myself. I’m Roy Palmer, class president, head of the reunion committee, and the owner of The Arcane Restaurant and Mystical Supply Shop. I’d like to invite y’all to come on down, and to encourage you, I’m offering a free tarot reading by our resident psychic, Connie Malone. All you have to do is show your nametag from this reunion and tell ‘em what you want.”

While he was babbling, the three of us settled at one of the tables scattered over the floor. Steve joined us there, sat next to his wife and smiled toward her with an expression of happiness that kicked me in the jealous bone.

The class president continued, “As I hope you know, because of the horrific tragedy of ten years ago, our class voted to expand and reschedule our reunion so we would be gathering during the week of the annual Big Foot Festival. Our reunion committee and the city council worked together to make this week a very special one. The theme for this week is ‘Heroes’. And it’s a theme chosen by, and especially suited to, our class. Because it was one man, one hero, who ten years ago, paid the ultimate price in an effort to save members of our class.”

I looked over at Maddie, and my heart twisted. This was why I was here, I reminded myself, to support her through what was sure to be an agonizing experience. I’m not sure I’d have had the guts to come and face the loss all over again. But if I had, she would come with me, of that I was sure.

“No one knows exactly how the fire started, though there is no shortage of theories. What we do know, is how quickly the flames spread through the gym where the prom was in full swing. Before we knew what was happening, the smoke was so thick it was impossible to see. Sometimes, if I listen carefully, I almost believe I can still hear the screams.”

He paused, and I strained to hear the residual echo of what must have been a hellish night.

“Virgil Clark and his fellow firemen saved many of us from the inferno,” he continued, his voice tight, and the index cards in his hands trembling. “All of them acted with skill and bravery, but Mr. Clark gave his very life to save others. It is in his memory that both the reunion and the festival are dedicated.”

He stepped down, and applause filled the room. I wasn’t paying attention, though, because I was focused on Madison. Tears filled her eyes and overflowed onto her cheeks. “Daddy,” she whispered, as she wiped at her face. I put my hand on her arm, but the gesture felt so inadequate it seemed hardly worth it. I caught Liza’s expression out of the corner of my eye, and she looked just about how I felt. We could be there for Maddie, but we couldn’t protect her from the pain this week was going to cause. Tears stung my own eyes as I thought about my own father. Not taken by a disaster like Maddie’s, my father just walked away one day and never came back. Was it worse not to know if your dad ever even loved you?

As I forced my mind back to the event, I heard the call for volunteers to help out during the week-long festival, and I had a bout of nostalgia as a wave of people washed toward the sign-up table. Small town people have big hearts.

Dang, what was wrong with me? I shoved the thought into the long-forgotten recesses of my mind. As I turned back toward my friend, I saw Jake across the room. He stood alone, and looked almost as stricken as Maddie. What in the world had happened between those two?

Over the next few minutes, almost everybody in the room came over to tell Madison how much they had admired her father. Personally, I would have been very uncomfortable with all these people seeing me at my most vulnerable, but Maddie seemed to gain consolation from it. She sniffed softly, and wiped at her eyes, her expression sweetly sad as she greeted her friends.

When I cry, which is almost never, I look like I have two black eyes and a big old red clown nose. I know because I cried plenty when my dad left.

Thankfully, the opening event only lasted another hour, and the microsecond it was over, I stuffed Maddie into her car. It was early evening, and we’d gone straight to the reunion event, so we had yet to unload our stuff after the drive down from D.C. I was more than ready to put my feet up and relax.

I drove through the quickly dimming streets, and Maddie, still sniffling sweetly, guided me toward the house where we’d be staying for the duration. Personally, I looked forward to a hot shower and a soft bed. I felt totally, completely, drained.

“So,” I asked, in an effort to get Maddie to think of something besides the loss of her father. “What’s your mom like?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her shrug. “Just Mom.”

“Didn’t you say she works for a lawyer?”

“The largest firm in the area, actually. She’s been a legal secretary for as long as I can remember.”

“Sounds interesting.” Actually, it sounded beyond boring, but I couldn’t exactly say that.

I steered Madison’s cute little red Chevy Aveo around a corner and pulled up the driveway she indicated. The headlights and a porch light illuminated a home that could be the model for gingerbread houses—except for one thing.