“I’ve got steaks and barbecue beans and corn,” his mother said. He knew she enjoyed taking care of him, enjoyed feeling needed and important. And he appreciated everything she did. For an only child, that kind of intense focus often came with the territory. Sometimes it was too much. But with his father ill, he needed to give her extra support, which made it difficult to keep her at a healthier distance.
“Thanks, but there’re plenty of groceries at home.”
She gave a snort of displeasure. “Why would you go anywhere else when I’ve got dinner ready?”
“How’s Dad?” he asked instead of answering.
“Fine. He’s going to beat this. He knows it and I know it.”
Kennedy wished he knew it. Maybe if Raelynn hadn’t died, he’d have more faith. But the luck he’d experienced early in his life didn’t seem to be holding.
After dialing and hanging up—twice—Grace gripped her cell phone with more resolve. She had to contact Madeline. She’d been in town for two and a half days. She’d seen Clay and Irene, even several of the jocks from high school. She couldn’t procrastinate about calling her stepsister any longer. In some ways, she didn’t want to put it off. She loved Madeline. It was just that she felt too much like a hypocrite pretending to be a good sister, a good friend, when she knew what she knew.
“Hello?”
“Maddy?”
“Yes?”
Wearing a fresh pair of shorts and a tank top, Grace lay in the hammock that hung from two oak trees on the left side of the property, nursing a glass of iced tea. She planned to spend a few hours in the kitchen later, but she couldn’t remember the last time she’d paused to notice a sunset, let alone watch it.
After reveling in the quiet spectacle for the past five minutes, she thought she could understand why some people said that joy was in the simple things.
“It’s Grace.”
“Grace! Why haven’t you called me?”
“I’ve been busy getting settled. But don’t worry, I’m staying for several weeks, at least.”
“Weeks? Are you kidding?”
“No.”
“That’s wonderful! I drove by Evonne’s earlier hoping to catch you, but you weren’t home.”
Grace refused to think of the pizza parlor debacle. “I was picking up a few groceries.” She took a sip of her iced tea, remembering her mad dash into the Piggly Wiggly, where she’d quickly gathered a few essentials before she could run into anyone else. “How’re things at the paper?”
Madeline had worked as the editor of the Stillwater Independent since graduating with a journalism degree from Mississippi State University. She’d actually bought the paper last year when the original owners retired, with ten thousand dollars down and monthly payments that would stretch out over five years. So now she owned it and edited it—and struggled to pay her bills. Grace had often wondered where her stepsister might’ve ended up if her father hadn’t disappeared. The New York Times? The Washington Post?
When they were growing up, Madeline had talked a lot about working for such a prestigious paper. As it was, she seemed hesitant to leave Stillwater for any length of time. Grace suspected she was afraid her father would come back while she was gone. Or that someone else she loved might disappear from her life if she didn’t keep careful watch. Ironically, Madeline was closer to Irene and Clay, even to Molly in some ways, than Grace was.
The past had affected them all very differently. Grace hated leaving herself vulnerable, so she tried to wall people out. Madeline was afraid she’d lose the people she loved, so she tried to wall them in.
“The paper’s doing well,” she said. “Our circulation’s been growing, especially since I started the section called ‘Singles.’”
“Is that some type of classifieds?”
“A once-a-week showcase on two singles, one female, one male.”
“Interesting.”
“It is. It helps people get to know each other. What are you doing tonight?”
Grace thought of the note she’d found stuck in her door and couldn’t resist a smile. Do you have my cookies? Teddy.
“I’d like to do some baking.”
“Seriously?”
Her smile widened. “Seriously.”
“Sounds like fun to me. Could you use some help?”
Grace’s heart beat heavily for a moment before she managed an answer. “Sure.”
“I was planning to watch a video with Kirk, but I see him all the time. I’d rather be with you.”
“Are you two getting serious?”
“Not at all.”
“You’re as bad as I am. You’ve been seeing him for three years, Maddy.”
This observation met with an audible sigh. “I know. The relationship never progresses. The friendship’s too good to go our separate ways. But we’re not in love enough to marry.”
“Well, Molly and Clay are doing no better,” Grace said.
“Clay could get married. Lord knows, plenty of women want him. He just doesn’t seem interested in anything that lasts more than a single night. He was actually voted ‘Most Eligible Bachelor’ and ‘Least Likely to Marry’ in the poll I did for Singles a few months ago.”
Grace could understand why Clay might hesitate to make a commitment. How could he move someone into that house and still hide the secret? What if his wife wanted to relocate at some point? Half the town would tear the farm apart searching for Lee Barker.
“And Molly’s only twenty-nine,” Madeline was saying. “That’s not too unusual.”
“Twenty-nine is definitely old enough to be married,” Grace said.
“True.”
Grace didn’t want to examine her own situation, which was probably coming next, so she changed the subject. “What about bringing Kirk with you tonight?”
“That’s a thought,” Madeline replied, not questioning the shift in topics. “He just called to say something happened at the tavern last night that he wants to tell me about.” She lowered her voice, infusing it with meaning. “I think it concerns Dad.”
Grace had been pushing off on the ground with one foot. Now she stilled the hammock. “In what way?”
“I don’t know. He was at work and didn’t get to explain before he had to go. But it sounds promising.”
Not this again. Poor Madeline. “Maddy, you have to let it go, okay? It’s not good for you to obsess over…” She’d been about to say “the reverend” but forced herself to say “Daddy.”