They Left Me at the Canyon, So I Came Back for the Wedding novel · Chapter 5 of 24

Chapter 5: Neighbors

Joanna stopped at the bottom of the porch steps and put a hand to her mouth.

Her eyes were already wet.

"Caleb," she said, and her voice shook. "Thank God you're alive."

"Did you think I wasn't?"

"I didn't know what to think. You left. You said you needed space and you walked off the trail, and I waited and waited."

The man across the street raised his phone again.

Joanna saw it and leaned into it, just slightly, so her face was in the frame.

"We waited an hour, didn't we, Brett?"

"Over an hour," Brett said. His jaw was set. He looked at the porch boards, not at me. "Man, I tried to talk him down."

"You tried to talk me down from what?"

"From leaving her. You were scared about the wedding. Everybody gets scared."

"Brett, I was taking pictures."

"You were not yourself."

Rachel made a small sound beside me, a laugh with no humor in it.

Joanna came up one step.

"I forgive you," she said, soft and clear for the street. "I want you to know that. I forgive you for everything. I just need you to take your things and let us heal."

Three of the neighbors nodded.

One of them was a woman I'd carried groceries for.

I looked at Joanna.

Her blond ponytail was neat.

Her lipstick was fresh.

"What time did you leave the lot?" I said.

"What?"

"The canyon. What time did you drive away?"

"I don't remember exactly. After six, I think. It was getting dark."

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