Clasping the Bible to her chest she trudged to the door, where she shoved the Bible in the pillowcase with her shoes and grabbed her meager belongings.
As she trudged to the jeep in the misting rain, she noticed her neighbors across the street staring at her from their open garage.
It was the perfect ending to a horrible day.
Chapter 4
The rain had gone from a drizzle to a downpour. After driving out of her neighborhood, Carolina blinked back tears at a life she was leaving behind. She tapped her thumbs against the steering wheel, waiting for the stoplight to turn. When the light flashed green, Carolina turned onto the street that went to the bank to settle things there. She had to open a new account and then send the information and account number to her attorney, so he could tell Chris where to deposit the alimony check.
Within a matter of weeks, her life had gone from financially charmed, to almost destitute.
Her stomach growled, but she ignored it. If she wanted to get to the lake house before dark she needed to get on the road. Besides if she ate right now it would probably come right back up.
The fierceness of the rain beat against the windshield and slowed her drive to the lake house.
She really didn’t mind. She wasn’t in a hurry. Once she got there she didn’t know what she would do. Her whole life had circled around being a wife. Now that she wasn’t, she wasn’t sure of her purpose.
Actually she was a little surprised that Chris had given her the lake house in the divorce.
They’d bought the house seven years ago on a small lake in North Carolina. When they first bought the house, she expected to be at the lake every weekend, but after a few months Chris said he didn’t like driving three hours to get there, so he ended up renting it out. The lake house stayed pretty booked up because every time Carolina wanted to go to the lake, he said it was rented.
She glanced at the time on her phone. According to Google maps, she was fifteen minutes away from the lake house. She finally pulled into the small town of Hopeton and knew she needed to at least stop and pick up something for dinner before it got too late. She spotted a grocery store and parked. Grabbing her keys and her purse she headed out into the rain.
The grocery store was a mom-and-pop shop with only one freezer section and a small bakery area. She grabbed a shopping cart and quickly found coffee and some milk for the morning. She added a loaf of bread and some deli meat for a quick dinner. She grabbed a case of water and some cans of soup, and added those to the cart as well. She tossed in some toothpaste, soap, shampoo, and conditioner. She had no idea if there was laundry detergent so she threw that in.
If she needed more supplies she would just drive back into town tomorrow.
She headed to the register and unloaded her cart.
The elderly woman behind the counter smiled and began ringing up her supplies.
“How are you today, dear?”
“Okay.” The words came out automatically.
She lied. She wasn’t okay. Not by a long shot.
“Are you visiting?”
“No. I’m headed to my lake house.” She spotted a novel on the shelf and added that to her items.
“How lovely. For a visit?” She aimed the scan bar at the case of water.
“No. To live. My divorce was final today and I got the lake house. He got everything else.”
“Oh I’m so sorry.” Her expression shifted to sympathy. “My name is Dee. I own the grocery store with my husband, Lawrence.” She continued her task of checking out the grocery items while filling Carolina in on the town and its residents. Carolina thought the woman knew an awful lot about everybody and everybody’s business.
“Now what did you say your name was, honey?”
“I’m Carolina Johnson.” She forced a smile.
Dee’s smile slid off her face. “Did you say Johnson?”
“Yes.”
“You own the lake house in the cove?”
“Yes. Do you know it?”
