E
vie watched a week's worth of groceries move down the conveyer belt toward the freckle-faced teenage boy who stood at the end of the checkout line. And realized that three-quarters of the items she'd put in the cart were the things that Cody liked.
The night before, she'd set the table for two.
It didn't seem like the Fourth of July without Cody either. They'd always attended the parade together, but Evie couldn't muster the enthusiasm to go alone.
Janice, a retired teacher who manned the cash register at Truitt's Supermarket on the weekends, scanned the coupons and handed Evie her change. “Have a great holiday weekend, Evie.”
“You too, Janice.”
“Would you like to drive up, Mrs. Bennett?” The teenager tossed a twenty-pound bag of kibble onto the bottom rack of the cart as if it were a box of tissues.
“I've got it, thanks.” Evie pushed the cart toward the entrance just as Melanie Gibson and her daughter Taylor, who'd graduated in May with Cody, breezed through the automatic doors.
“Evie!” Melanie whipped off her tinted sunglasses and anchored them on top of her head. “I was hoping to see you at the parade this morning!”
Taylor, used to her mother's outgoing personality, smiled at Evie before drifting toward the magazine rack by the produce department.
“I didn't go.” Evie angled the nose of her cart closer to the wall as the automatic doors slid open and a group of women walked in. “Sonya should be able to let you know about the flyers for the garden walk by the end of next week.”
“That's great, but it's not what I wanted to talk to you about. One of the instructors at the Tech is offering a watercolor class on Wednesday evenings. I remember you mentioning that you'd taken one in the past, so I thought we could sign up together.”
“That was years ago, Mel,” Evie murmured. “And I wasn't very good at it.”
“Well, that's what the class is for! To get better.”
Never mind that Melanie was closer to forty than fourteen. There were timesâlike thisâwhen Evie could still see the head cheerleader of the Banister Falls Bobcats shaking her green-and-white pompoms.
“Wednesday evenings?”
“Six thirtyâand it's only eight weeks, so it'll be finished before the Wednesday night programs start up at church in the fall. We could grab dessert and a cup of coffee at the bistro afterward.” Melanie nodded at Taylor, who was holding up the latest issue of InStyle magazine. “Ray and Scottie have softball that night, and you have some extra time on your hands now, right?”
“Right.” Evie worked up a smile. “I'll think about it and let you know.”
“It starts next week and the registration form is online.”
Melanie pursed her lips and kissed the air near Evie's cheek. “Girls night out! Fun, fun, fun!”
The cart seemed heavier as Evie pushed it out to the parking lot. Wrestling the bag of dog food into the backseat, she made a mental note to take advantage of the drive-up service next time.
The once-a-week trip to the grocery store had been part of Cody's and her Saturday mornings even before Max died. So was the stop at the bistro afterward, to pick up two of Marie's homemade cinnamon rolls.
Evie bypassed Main Street this time. She'd accidentally buy two cinnamon rolls and end up eating both of them.
The smell of fresh-cut grass drifted through the open window of her Jeep when Evie stopped at the intersection, still littered with the flotsam and jetsam of the morning parade. At the end of Perkins Street she spotted a lone black pickup parked near the front doors of the church.
Jack was working. On a holiday weekend. She'd seen him loading tools into the bed of the truck earlier in the week, so she knew the vehicle belonged to him. Their paths hadn't crossed since she led him to the storage closet on Monday and pointed out the bins of red, white, and blue bunting that now adorned the marquee by the road and the windows that flanked the double doors.
Not that she had purposely avoided him. Gertrude Fielding, who'd rocked Evie to sleep in the church nursery when she was a baby, had broken her ankle and needed surgery, so Evie had made several trips to the nursing home where Gertrude was having rehab. The rest of the time Evie had been holed up in her office, finalizing details for the family picnic and the garden walk.
“I'm not Harvey
.
”
Jack's words circled back through Evie's mind as she took a right turn toward Rosewood Court.
No, he wasn't Harvey. Because Harvey didn't whistle while he mopped the floors or listen to jazz during his lunch break.
Harvey didn't fluster her either.
A veil of pale-blue smoke drifted over Evie's street, evidence that her neighbor was still on a mission to grill the perfect steak.
A light-blue Datsun was parked in the driveway. The car had
belonged to Dan's brother Will, who'd sold it to Cody a few weeks before the wedding.
Which meant . . . her son was home.
The strap of Evie's purse tangled with the seat belt in her haste to get out of the vehicle.
The front door swung open, and Cody met her in the middle of the sidewalk. His exuberant hug lifted Evie several inches off the ground. Over his shoulder, she saw Raine waving from the doorway.
“You said you weren't going to be here until later this afternoon!” Evie managed to gasp when her feet touched the ground again.
“We got an early start.” Cody's lopsided smile was pure Max.
“We were anxious to get home,” Raine chimed in
.
Evie stepped forward and hugged her daughter-in-law. She and Cody had only been gone a week, but the baby bump underneath Raine's loose-fitting shirt seemed to have doubled in size.
“You stopped at the house first?”
Cody nodded, his hand seeking Raine's. “It looks awesome, Mom. I can't believe how much work you put into it while we were gone.”
“I can't take all the credit. Angela rallied the troops. What do you think of the color Ginevieve and I picked out for the nursery? Do you like it?”
“It's perfect.” Tears misted Raine's eyes. “Everything is perfect.”
“I wouldn't have gone to the grocery store if I'd known you were on your way home.” Evie backed toward the Jeep, remembering there was ice cream in one of the bags. “How long can you stay?”
“Not very long. We have to unpack, and I promised Raine we'd go to the fireworks tonight.”
“We just wanted to stop over and say thank you.” Raine bent down to pet Diva, who'd decided she had been ignored long enough.
“Let me put the groceries away, and I can help you load up the rest of your things.”
“We'll help.” Cody jogged toward the Jeep and popped the hatch. He handed Raine a gallon of milk. “No heavy lifting.”
Raine grinned. “Then I better take the ice cream instead.”
“Actually . . . you can take it with you.” Evie had bought a gallon of Mackinaw Island Fudge, Cody's favorite. “And those two bags in the back. Consider it a housewarming gift.”
“Really? Thanks!” Cody transferred the groceries to the backseat of the Datsun.
Evie held the door open for Raine and noticed the empty hallway. “You took the boxes already?”
“You weren't here, so Cody figured we'd have time to run them over to the house.”
“It didn't take very long.” Cody brushed past them with what remained of Evie's groceries on his way into the kitchen. “Besides that, we had to make room for the most important thing.”
“We already discussed this.” Evie rounded up the bags of frozen vegetables and began to deposit them in the freezer. “You can't cut a square out of our concrete driveway and take your basketball pole and hoop.”
Cody grinned. “I'm talking about this furry critter.” He reached down to ruffle the heavy cowl of golden-brown fur underneath Diva's chin.
A lump instantly formed in Evie's throat, making it difficult to breathe.
“I always wanted a dog, but we couldn't get one because we moved around too much.” Raine dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around Diva's neck. The dog leaned into her, the liquid brown eyes closing in bliss. “And Mom had this âno pets, no house-plants' rule.”
“Mmm.” Evie rearranged the peas and green beans.
“Raine insisted we stop at the store and buy her a new toy before we came over.”
“It's so cute . . . It looks like a pink high heel.” Raine rocked back on her heels and smiled up at Evie. “Do you think she'll like it?”
“She . . .” How
old
was the chili in that storage container anyway? “. . . She hasn't had a new toy in a while.”
“We'll be close to the park too.” Cody snagged an apple from the wicker basket in the center of the table. “Raine, Diva's dishes are in the laundry room. Can you grab them while I put her dog food in the car?”
“Sure. Come on, girl!”
Diva's ears lifted at the word
food
, her plumed tail waving like a victory banner as she trotted after Raine.
Evie closed the freezer door and started to unload another grocery bag. Shampooâthe brand Cody liked. Paper towels. Dog biscuits.
“You'll probably want to take these too.” Evie slid the box across the table. “The turkey and cheese flavor are her favorite.”
“Diva will adjust okay, won't she, Mom?” Cody's voice dropped a notch, his expression suddenly uncertain. “I mean, this is the only house she's ever lived in.”
Tell him, Evie. Tell him that Diva should stay with you.
Tell him they'll be busy with a newborn in a few months and a dog will be one more thing demanding their attention.
Tell him the house is already too quiet. Too empty.
“I think . . . Diva will be fine if you're there, Cody. She really missed you.”
Relief snuffed out the worry in Cody's eyes. “You won't have to vacuum as often or take her for walks. You'll have tons of free time.”
“Tons.” Evie smiled even though the word burned the back of her throat. “I'll meet you and Raine outside in a sec. You're going to need her leash.”
E
vie had just finished e-mailing a copy of next year's projected budget to Pauline when a piercing shriek shattered the comfortable silence of a Wednesday afternoon.
She stepped through the doorway of her office as another one erupted.
A thin young woman in a tank top and denim shorts was trying to coax a golden-haired toddler to come out from behind the coffee center and relinquish the small basket of sugar packets clutched in her hands.
A few feet away were two more children so close in age it was difficult to tell which one was older, the boy or the girl. The boy was sifting through the canned goods in a donation box marked for a local food drive while the little girl, barefoot and wearing a crooked pair of butterfly wings over her sundress, spun pirouettes.
Gloria, who played keyboard for the worship team, hovered at the perimeter of the chaos. Evie could tell she wasn't sure if she should wade into the fray or maintain a safe distance.
One of the cans hit the floor and rolled underneath the counter.
The young mother twisted around and shot a frazzled look at the older children. “Ava and Luke! Put those back right now. They don't belong to you.”
“Nicki?”
The woman glanced over her shoulder, and the sheer relief that flooded her eyes propelled Evie forward. By the time she reached Nicki's side, the little girl had scrambled out from behind the counter and attached herself to her mother's leg.
“She's looking for someone named Jack.” Gloria's wide-eyed gaze slid to Nicki's son, who was stuffing a can of chicken noodle soup into the pocket of his cargo shorts. “I told her that we don't have anyone here by that name.”
“As a matter of fact, we do.” Evie gave Nicki a reassuring smile. “Come with me. We'll track him down.”
Tears shimmered in Nicki's eyes. “Thanks, Mrs. Bennett.”
Evie suddenly felt a hundred years old. “It's Evie, remember?”
The boy and girl, sweet-faced copies of their mother, trailed behind Evie as she led them down the hall.
Jack wasn't in his office or the sanctuary. She finally found him washing one of the walls in the youth wing, where the teens had gathered for a pizza party the night before.
Before Evie had a chance to say anything, Nicki's children released a loud whoop and charged toward him. Jack barely had a moment to drop the sponge in the bucket and brace himself for the impact. Even the toddler propped on the ledge of Nicki's hip squealed and stretched her arms toward him.
The little family knew him. Well.
Jack's gaze met Evie's for a moment before shifting back to Nicki. “What's going on?”
“I'll tell you what's going on.” Nicki's voice stretched thin. “Cheryl promised to babysit while I picked up an extra shift at the diner, but she took off somewhere and her phone goes right to voicemail.”
“What about Trav?”
“He wasn't home when I stopped over either. I called Mom,
but she won't watch the kids.” Nicki's eyes rolled toward the ceiling. “Carl is taking her to the casino tonight.”
Something dark flashed across Jack's face. “Where's Lily?”
Lily. The name on the bottom of Jack's coffee mug.
Evie knew she should leaveâgive them some privacyâbut her feet seemed to be stuck to the carpeting.
“She's in the car. I figured if worse came to worse . . .”
“Lily can't watch them all, Nic. It's way too much responsibility for a ten-year-old.”
“Then what am I supposed to do?” Nicki set the squirming toddler down, and she immediately made a beeline for Jack. He scooped her up in one easy motion and settled her in the crook of his arm.