Laurie's Time (The Fairfield Series) Read Free Page A

her thoughts into words.
    “Emma, I have thought over and over about what to do. For whatever reason, Mom did not want to find Brock to tell him she was pregnant. I don’t know why, but I do know that Mom was a smart lady even if she was only a teenager when she had me. She must have felt that he would not want to know.” Looking over into Emma’s deep brown eyes, she continued. “I am happy. Yeah, we’ve had times of tragedy, but I’m happy. You and I have been together since I was born. We’re family, you and I. I’ve never had a father, so I don’t really miss what I never had.” She paused for a few minutes, continuing to collect her thoughts. “I’ve decided to do nothing. Out there somewhere is a man who is probably close to forty years old who has never known about me. He doesn’t miss me because he never knew. I don’t miss him because I never knew. So why rock the boat now?”
    Emma sat with her arms around her niece, nodding. “I will support you in whatever you want to do, Laurie. I’ll do anything to help you in any way I can,” she declared.
    Laurie laughed. “Emma, you have been doing that my whole life! You and me, girl – we’re family!”

Chapter 1
    (six years later)
    T he summer sun blistering the highway caused waves of heat to rise, creating a vision that made the world seem as though it were a mirage in the distance. As Laurie drove away from the only city she had ever known, she felt as though she were driving towards a mirage.
    Fairfield. Is it real? Is it a dream? Am I really leaving? Am I really leaving Emma? Please God, don’t let this be a mistake.
    Driving away from her past and towards her future. At least, she hoped it was her future. The tangles of thoughts were wildly flying through her mind as much as the air coming through the open window was tangling her long brown hair. She smiled to herself as she thought back to her small goodbye party last night. A couple of college friends, co-workers from the little restaurant she worked at, and of course Emma were all there to send her off. College had not been easy, and it had taken her two extra years to get all of her credits for a degree in Elementary Education. Now, with a job offer at an elementary school in the small town of Fairfield, she was on her way.
    Away…. that still seemed strange. Away from everything she had ever known. Away from the little apartment she and Emma shared for the past eleven years. Away from the restaurant that she had worked in for the past nine years. Away from Emma, her aunt, her pretend sister, her surrogate mom. She wanted to look for a job close by, but when the job offer from Fairfield came in, Emma encouraged her to take it. Emma told her she needed to experience life on her own for a while, saying it was her time. Her time to step out into the world; her time to find herself.
    Turning on the radio, Laurie needed the loud music to drown out the voices in her head. Her little yellow VW bug was filled with everything she owned. She packed light, but living in a furnished apartment once she got there, she did not need much. Driving past the sign announcing that Fairfield was only twenty miles away, she began to bounce in the seat to the time of the music, feeling lighter than she had all day.
    Emma is right. This is my time. Time to meet new people. Time to find out what I can do on my own. Time to find out who I am.
    Smiling to herself, Laurie pulled into the outskirts of town. Noting a few shopping centers, she made her way towards the center of town. Fairfield was a midsize town where the downtown area had been revitalized, filled with quaint little shops. Finding the small hotel, she pulled into the parking lot.
    Through Craigs List, Laurie found a young woman looking for a roommate for her two bedroom apartment in an older but nice apartment building. The young woman, a nurse at the hospital whose roommate recently married, needed another roommate. They chatted online, then on the