The Hearts We Mend (24 page)

“Evie . . .” Jill's gaze locked on something over Evie's shoulder.

She twisted around, expecting to see Bert, a person who would see the value of a community garden—or Maggie—because God had provided a swift answer to Evie's prayer . . .

“Hey!”

Zach was walking—no,
lurching
would be a better word—straight toward them. As if something—and Evie was pretty sure she knew what that something was—had short-circuited the connection between his head and his feet. And it wasn't all that straight either. More like a jerky start-and-stop momentum that reminded Evie of a carnival ride.

She'd asked God for a sign and He'd sent Crowbar Boy.

Jill's jaw dropped another inch when Zach stopped right in front of Evie.

“I thought that was you. How's it going?”

Funny you should ask, Zach.

“Fine.
Fine.
” Evie said it twice, just to see if it would stick.

“Sweet.” Zach pressed closer and peered at the beer bottles cradled in Belinda's arms. “Did you get community service too?”

Belinda didn't look the least bit shocked by the question. “Just tidying up a little.”

Zach pulled a beer bottle from the pocket of his hoodie. “You can have this one too.”

“Thank you.” Belinda tipped it upside down, shook the remaining drops of liquid onto the ground, and added it to the pile.

A squad car cruised around the corner, and Zach took a few stumbling steps backward. “Gotta go,” he mumbled. “When you see Jack, tell him I'm going to be out of town for a few days, okay?”

“Okay.” One look at her friends' faces and Evie had a feeling she would be explaining more than Maggie's vision for the garden on the way back to the church. “And thank you for letting me know. Jack would notice if you were gone.”

“He's the only one.” Some of the fog lifted in Zach's eyes, revealing a spark of amusement. “Pretty annoying if you ask me,” he added cheerfully.

There were a few other words—Evie wasn't sure if they would be considered nouns or adjectives—sprinkled throughout the sentence that any family-friendly television show would have bleeped out.

And then Zach lurched away in the opposite direction.

For a split second, Evie was tempted to go with him.

The squad car pulled up behind the van and stopped. When Ryan Tate got out of the vehicle, Evie practically heard the women's collective sigh of relief.

“Morning, ladies. What are you up to this morning?” Ryan
whipped off his mirrored sunglasses and looked at Evie, revealing a pair of espresso-brown eyes that lacked their usual sparkle. Remembering her last conversation with Dan, she wasn't feeling very sparkly toward him either.

“We're looking over the future site of the community garden,” Evie told him. “We might partner with the woman who's spearheading the project.”

“Maggie McClain.”

“You know her?”

Ryan rubbed his temple, as if he was trying to ward off a headache. “Everyone who works at the PD knows Maggie McClain. Someone complained—
mentioned
—that she'd been attending the city council meetings, trying to convince them to donate a piece of property. I had no idea it was this one.”

The frown that scored his forehead told Evie what Ryan thought about Maggie's choice.

“She asked if we'd consider adding the lot to our garden tour next weekend,” Jill said.

“You're kidding.” Ryan eyed the beer bottles in Belinda's arms. “Does Maggie have any idea how often we respond to calls in this neighborhood?”

“I'm sure she does. In fact, that's probably why she chose it,” Evie heard herself say.

She realized how that might have come across when Sonya and Jill exchanged a wide-eyed look. Evie hadn't meant to be disrespectful to an officer of the law. No, she'd been sharing her opinion with the boy who used to steal her jump rope during recess and turn it into a lasso.

“With the layoffs at Leiderman, we've been getting a lot of vandalism and alcohol-related complaints. The county jail is at capacity.” Ryan's gaze held Evie's long enough for her to catch his meaning.

“Those kinds of crimes actually decrease in a neighborhood where there's a community garden.”

“Did Maggie tell you that too?” Something in the way Ryan said the woman's name told Evie the two had been at odds in the past.

“I did some research after Maggie stopped by my office on Monday.”

“Did the city actually agree to this, or is Maggie still pestering them?”

Evie took issue with his choice of words. “They agreed. She's trying to form a committee that will oversee it now.”

“Are you against a community garden, Officer Tate?” Sonya ventured.

“No, but let's just say I'd prefer to see it in another part of the community.” Ryan slid his sunglasses back on. “The building across the street is for sale, and I've heard rumors that a liquor store will be going in there at the end of the summer. If that happens, Maggie will be setting up a target, not a garden.”

Three heads swiveled toward the building in question. The one Jack had been painstakingly bringing back to life. Had he heard the rumors about a liquor store? And what would it mean for the tenants like Bert who rented the upstairs apartments?

Ryan's radio crackled and he unclipped it from his utility belt. “Excuse me.” He took a step away from Evie as the dispatcher rattled off a combination of letters and numbers. They must have made sense to Ryan because he frowned. “10–4. I'm on my way.”

Evie tried to hide her relief. Thanks to Zach and Ryan, it was going to take more than coffee and scones to convince her team that the community garden was a good idea.

“If you'll excuse me now, I better get back to work.” Ryan glanced at Evie. “If you have any other questions or concerns about anything, feel free to give me a call.”

“I will.” But the garden wouldn't be the only topic of conversation.

Ryan strode back to the squad car and drove away.

No one said a word until they got into the van.

“I can't believe how run-down the neighborhood has gotten.” Jill pointed to Jack's building. “That was a fabric store when my grandparents lived here. The owner taught sewing classes on the weekends. My mother would drop me off with Grandpa every Saturday morning while she and Grandma learned how to quilt. Grandpa and I would walk down to Thomsen's Bakery and buy a dozen crullers. Most of the time, they were still warm when Mr. Thomsen put them in the bag.”

“That was before Marie opened the bistro and started making these amazing scones.” Sonya held up the white cardboard box. “The Thomsens didn't have room to set up tables and chairs. Customers want a place where they can linger over a cup of coffee.” “It's sad how some people don't take any pride in their neighborhood.” Jill clucked her tongue. “I don't mean to sound harsh, but if they don't maintain their own property, what makes Maggie McClain think they would take care of a garden?”

“That's true,” Sonya said around a mouthful of scone.

Evie's hands tightened around the steering wheel. “Sometimes people don't have the resources. I'm not just talking about money for improvements, but family or friends who are willing to help out.”

“You saw the graffiti and the trash lying around. I'd feel terrible if I put all that time and energy into a garden plot, and someone came along during the night and vandalized it.”

Jill nodded in agreement. “Maybe Officer Tate is right. The garden is a great idea, but I think it should be in a better part of town. The church bought that extra lot in case we expand again—maybe we should talk to Pastor Keith and see how the church would feel about turning
it
into a garden.”

“I think we might be getting a little ahead of ourselves.” Evie pulled into the church parking lot, noticing that the spot where Jack usually parked was empty. “Melanie wants to finish the brochures
on Monday, so we should make a decision about whether to include Fairview Street in the garden walk.”

The silence that followed Evie's suggestion wasn't exactly encouraging. And then Jill chuckled. “I thought we already had.”

“The women have certain expectations,” Sonya said slowly. “And one of those expectations is that they're actually going to tour a garden.”

“Plus, we're not sure at this point that it's really going to happen,” Jill added. “The city agreed to lease the land, but there's no guarantee that Maggie will be able to get enough volunteers interested.”

“That's why Maggie asked us to include the lot on the garden walk. She's hoping the women who enjoy gardening would support one that benefits the community.” Evie glanced at Belinda and was slightly encouraged by the fact that she was nodding.

Until she spoke her thoughts out loud.

“I love the idea, but I have to agree with Sonya. Maybe next summer we could do it—when Maggie has everything in place?”

Again, something that required volunteers.

“We have to make sure that every event we offer for the women lines up with our purpose statement.” Jill opened her binder. “I like the idea of the community garden too, but it falls under the category of outreach. The purpose of the garden walk is to provide a day of fun and fellowship. The women should be given a choice if they want to find out more about it . . . It shouldn't be something we force on them.”

There was a murmur of agreement.

“All right.” Evie respected their decision. “I'll let Maggie know.”

No one asked Evie her opinion.

But why would they?

Jill had just quoted right from one of Evie's handouts.

C
HAPTER
28

W
hy can't we go?”

It was the fourth time—not that Jack was keeping track—that Lily had asked the question since they'd gotten home from church.

He pulled in a breath and prayed for patience. “I thought you wanted to go to the pool this afternoon. We can stop at Quigley's and get an ice cream cone afterward.”

It was official. He was turning into the kind of person who stooped to bribery. At the moment, however, he was hoping the reason so many parents succumbed to the temptation was because it worked.

“I want to go to Raine's party instead. I helped her pick out the decorations for the cupcakes.”

Jack wasn't sure why Raine had invited Lily to Ginevieve's birthday party, but she had to have known his niece couldn't exactly borrow the truck and drive herself over there.

“We don't have a present.” And Jack was running out of excuses.

“I made a bracelet for her last night while you were painting my room. I showed it to you, remember?”

“I remember.” Only Jack assumed Lily had been making it for herself. She'd spent almost two hours carefully threading heart-shaped plastic beads onto an emerald-green ribbon.

“Raine said green is her mom's favorite color.”

Jack made the mistake of looking into his niece's big gray eyes and caved. “I suppose we could stop over for a few minutes—on our way to the pool.”

A smile lit up Lily's face—and those had been few and far between since she'd spent Friday with Roxanne and Carl.

Raine had had an ultrasound appointment at the hospital and Roxanne had been asking Jack when she could see her granddaughter. Unfortunately, Jack couldn't come up with a reasonable excuse, other than the fact that Roxanne didn't hesitate to express her opinion of Travis even when Lily was within earshot.

“Pack up your stuff.” Jack grabbed his cell off the coffee table. “I'm going to call Raine and make sure they're expecting us.”

Lily didn't have to be told twice. She disappeared into her bedroom, and Jack punched in Raine's number. It went straight to voicemail, and Jack sighed into the phone.

Party crashers it was.

Lily bounced all the way to the car, the gift-wrapped bracelet cupped in her hands. Jack, who'd mastered just about every power tool ever made, had discovered he was as inept at making bows out of curly ribbon as he was at French braids.

He'd bet Evie could do both.

Jack hopped into the cab of the pickup and made sure Lily was buckled before he pulled away from the curb. “You're sure the party is today?”

“Uh-huh. Two o'clock. But it's not at Raine and Cody's house.”

Not—“Where is it then?”

“It's at the house right next door. Where Emily and Amanda's grandma and grandpa live.”

Jack was starting to get a bad feeling about the whole thing. Especially when he turned the corner and saw vehicles lining both sides of the street.

“Lily, hold on a minute.” Jack reached for his niece's hand, but he missed. She bailed out onto the sidewalk and scampered toward the group of people in the backyard.

Leaving Jack with no choice but to follow.

Lily was already attached to Raine's side as Jack made his way across the manicured lawn. Dan and Gin stood in the shade of an oak tree surrounded by people. Jack recognized some of them from the wedding. The slender, dark-haired twins. The older man Jack had seen handing out the boutonnieres. Ryan Tate.

The gang was all here.

The buzz of conversation subsided as Jack approached. He focused on Raine and Cody, who actually looked happy to see him, and then turned to Raine's mother.

“Happy birthday, Ginevieve.”

A smile played at the corners of Gin's lips as she looked up at Dan. “Up until an hour ago, I thought that was what we were celebrating.”

“Mom and Dan got engaged.” Raine's approval of the match glowed in her eyes. “He proposed to her at Maple Ridge.”

Jack wasn't familiar with the place, but he shook Dan's hand. “Congratulations.”

“Dan picked today because he's getting old and he's afraid he won't remember their anniversary,” one of the guys leaning against the picnic table said in a pseudo-whisper.