“Where's Lily?”
“She went upstairs to straighten up her room before she lets me see itâand you didn't answer the question.”
“We met at the church where I work.”
Worked
, Jack silently corrected himself. “She's the director of women's ministries.”
“Figures.” Travis started up the stairs. “You didn't used to go for the goody-two-shoes type.”
“Why don't we talk about you instead?”
“My favorite subject.” Travis was all grin and swagger. “What do you want to know?”
“How long it's going to take you to stop pretending that what you're doing is working. You keep doing the same thing and expecting different results.”
For a split second Travis faltered. “Victor set me up.”
“He forced you to buy those pills.”
“His friend was in on it.” Travis yanked open the door at the top of the landing. “Who do you think tipped off the cops? I tried to find him so we could have a little chat, but one of his friends said he's âout of town' for a while. The jerkâ”
Jack stopped him with a warning look when Lily poked her head out the door of his apartment.
“Come and see my room, Daddy! Uncle Jack painted it pink.”
Trav followed her inside and let out a low whistle. “Uncle Jack has been a busy guy. Looks like someone is settling into small-town life. I wonder why.”
Jack ignored the eyebrow wiggleâand the innuendo. “Are you hungry?”
“Do you know how many times you asked me that when we were kids? Right before I got the Travis-you're-in-so-much-trouble lecture, you'd sit me down at the table with a bowl of macaroni and cheese.”
“I thought it would go down easier.”
“It didâwhen I was eight.” Travis waited until Lily disappeared into her bedroom again. “Now it just makes me want to hit you.”
“Please.” Jack squeezed his brother's bicep. “The heaviest thing you lift is a guitar pick.”
Trav pinned Jack's hand in place. Squeezed back. “It's not your fault, you know.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “You did the best you could. I put all the blame on our old man.”
“Dad's gone, Trav. You have to forgive him. He made mistakes, but you're not a kid anymore. Now you get to choose.”
“Yeah.” Something dark flickered in Trav's eyes. “Whether to take the deal or let the jury decide how many years I'll be in prison.”
“Travâ”
“My preliminary hearing is on Monday. They'll decide if there's enough evidence to hold me over for a trial. I'm guessing there will be, so I had to get out of there for a few days. Being locked up . . . it was making me crazy.”
“Daddy!” Lily's plaintive voice floated from the direction of the bedroom. “You're taking forever.”
“She missed you,” Jack murmured. “Go on. Spend some time with your daughter. I'll make that mac and cheese.”
“Don't worry about it. Lil and I can grab a burger on our way home.”
“I thought you'd stay here tonight.”
“So you can keep an eye on me?”
“Because there's no food in your refrigerator and all Lily's things are here.”
“Fine. You win.” Trav's lip curled. “One night.”
Jack waited until the door closed behind his brother, and then he slipped onto the balcony and pulled out his cell. Evie answered on the first ring.
“How are things going?”
“Right now, Lily is giving Trav a tour of her room.”
“Is Lily . . . is she okay?”
“She's good.” Lily didn't hold her father's mistakes against him.
When Jesus told His disciples they had to become like little children, maybe part of that was how quick they were to forgive.
“What about you? Hammer in one hand, sword in the other?”
A laugh slipped out. “You remembered.”
“I remembered.” Evie's voice softened. “I've heard a lot of ways to memorize scripture over the years. But a tattoo? Pretty creative, Jack Vale.”
“Right now I'd like to take the hammer and pound some sense into my brother's head. His hearing is on Monday.”
Evie was silent for a moment as she processed the news. “Are you still taking Lily to Raine and Cody's tomorrow?”
“I'm planning to call Raine and explain the situation because it sounds like she'll be with Travis. He agreed to spend the night here, but they'll be going back to the house on Brewster Street.”
“You're letting him take Lily?”
Jack expelled a quiet breath. “It's not a question of
letting.
Travis is Lily's dad.”
“I don't like the idea of her being shuffled from place to place.”
“Neither do I, but I have to trust Him.”
“But how do you know he's not . . .” Evie couldn't even say the words.
“I was talking about God. If I don't trust Him moment by moment, I get too focused on the bad stuff and miss out on what's good.”
“Uncle Jack!” Lily's voice filtered through the window. “Do you want to play a game with us?”
“It sounds like you're being summoned.” A hint of wistfulness crept into Evie's voice. “Are you sure you don't want me to come back over for a while?”
“I appreciate the offerâ” Jack winced at how formal he sounded. “But it's getting close to Lily's bedtime, and there are a few things I have to discuss with my brother.”
“I'll talk to you tomorrow then.”
“Tomorrow,” Jack echoed.
He hung up the phone, sending up a silent prayer asking God for the strength to get through the rest of the evening and adding a silent
thank you
that Evie would be spending hers on Rosewood Court.
A
re you getting ready for opening night on Broadway or an ice cream social?”
Evie peered over the vase of yellow daisies she'd been arranging in an old-fashioned flower cart and laughed at the expression on Gin's face.
“Not much goes on in Banister Falls, so women tend to take advantage of opportunities like this. We want it to be special.”
The door swung shut behind Gin, and the heels of her cowboy boots clicked against the bricks as she walked across the patio. “How many women are you expecting tomorrow morning?”
“We sold almost a hundred tickets in advance, but there are always a few walk-ins.” Evie stepped out from behind the cart. “The garden walk used to end at Marie's Bistro, but when we could no longer fit everyone in the dining room, we moved it to the church.”
Gin's eyes swept over the galvanized tubs filled with smaller pots of miniature roses. “Everything looks beautiful, but I thought you had a team of volunteers helping out.”
“I do, but there are always a few last things that fall on me. My friend Gertrude is selling her home and doesn't need this flower cart anymore. I thought it would look great with the rest of the decorations.”
“Speaking of great . . .” Gin held up a plastic container. “I brought something for you. Just between you and me though, I think Sue is a little nervous about providing the continental breakfast. She said, and I quote, âWhat's that Evie Bennett thinking? I don't do dainty, little, frou-frou pastries like Marie. All I know how to make are cinnamon rolls and apple fritters.'”
It was hard for Evie to picture Sue Granger, the diner's gruff owner, getting nervous about anything. “Marie is already providing the ice cream and toppings. I decided that we should give other businesses in the community an opportunity to partner with us too, when we host an event like this.” It was the same reasoning Evie had used when she'd approached her team with the idea. “And I happen to love cinnamon rolls.”
“I hope you won't be too disappointed then, because that's not what you're getting.” Gin peeled back a corner of the lid, releasing the scent of cinnamon and apples into the air.
Homemade turnovers lined the container, the seams of the flaky, golden-brown pastries bursting with fresh fruit and the tops sparkling with a dusting of raw sugar.
“What is Sue talking about? Those look amazing.”
“I'm sure she'll be happy to hear that.” Gin grinned. “Even though Nicki is the one who made them.”
“Nicki?”
“Uh-huh. I could tell she was more interested in making the food than serving it, so last week I convinced Sue to let Nic help her out in the kitchen.” The lid came off. “Don't be shy. Go ahead and try one.”
Evie reached for a turnover, broke off a corner, and popped it into her mouth, closing her eyes. “I think we just discovered Nicki's spiritual gift.”
“She made the pies last week and they sold out in an hour. In fact, a few of the customers ordered dessert first. I think Sue was
ready to hang up her apron right then and there.” Gin chuckled. “Nicki overheard us talking about the garden walk, and she suggested Sue make apple turnovers instead of fritters.”
“And Sue told Nicki to make them herself,” Evie guessed.
“Exactly.”
“Tell Nicki they're delicious and she should seriously consider becoming a pastry chef.”
“You'll see her tomorrow,” Gin said. “I invited her to the garden walk.”
“That's greatâ” Evie's cell phone interrupted them. She'd kept it close all day, waiting for Jack to call, but her heart still took a nose dive when his name and number flashed across the screen. “Excuse me a minute?”
“No problem.” Gin reached for a turnover. “I'll find something to keep myself occupied.”
Evie tapped the screen as she walked to the edge of the patio. “Hi.”
“Hey.” Jack's husky voice rumbled through the line. “What are you up to?”
“I'm still at church, getting things set up for tomorrow.”
“How's that going?”
“Good.” Evie didn't want to talk about the garden walk. “I should be heading home in half an hour or so.”
As far as hints went, it was pretty blatant. But Evie missed the man. She missed Lily too. She and Jack had talked on the phone several times, but she hadn't seen him since Travis had shown up at Jack's apartment building on Tuesday night.
“I'd love to see you, but Travis's car is acting up again. I told him I'd take a look at it.”
“If it's easier, I could always swing by Brewster Street this evening. Bring over something for supper if you're hungry.”
The silence lasted so long that Evie wondered if they'd been cut off. “Jack?”
A barely discernable sigh told her he was still there. “I don't think that's going to work,” he said slowly. “Nicki is taking Lily and her kids to the pool this evening, and I'll have my head under the hood of Travis's car. It would be hard to hold up my end of the conversation.”
Evie didn't care if Jack conversed at all. She'd be content to stand next to the car and watch him work. Hand him tools.
“I understand.” She injected what she hoped was the right amount of cheerfulness into the phone. “Cody and Raine invited us over Sunday for a cookout after church, and he said you should bring Travis and Lily along. I already made them promise there will be no karaoke.”
Silence.
“I'm not sure what we'll be doing, but I'll talk to Trav and let you know,” Jack finally said. “He's planning to drop Lily off at the church by eight tomorrow morning for the garden walk. You'll call me when it's over and let me know how everything went?”
“Sure.” Or even better, she could tell him in person.
In the background, Evie heard a door slam and the sound of a masculine voice.
“Evie . . . I should probably go.” Jack sounded distracted.
Evie murmured a good-bye she wasn't sure he even heard. She wasn't sure how long she stood there, riveted to the patio like a garden statue, but suddenly Gin was steering her toward one of the wrought-iron benches.
“Sit.” Gin winced. “Oh, oh. Sue must be rubbing off on me. What I meant was,
please
sit.”
Evie sat and Gin dropped down next to her. “That was Jack, wasn't it?”
“I'm not quite sure who that was,” Evie said honestly.
Gin didn't look the least bit confusedâor surprised. “He canceled your plans for the evening?”
“We didn't
have
plans.” Evie stared down at her phone, wondering why Jack had cut their phone call short. Wishing he would call back. “That's part of the problem.”
“What's the other part?”
“His brother. Things were going really well until Travis got out of jail.” Another thing that was difficult for Evie to admit. “I haven't seen Jack for three days, and I can't help but think . . .”
“That he doesn't want to see you?”
Put like that . . .
“How insecure does that sound?”
“You're not the one who's insecure,” Gin muttered. “It's not that Jack doesn't want to see you . . . I'm guessing he doesn't want
you
to see
him
.”
“What do you mean?”
“My mother was an alcoholic.” A myriad of emotionsâpain, anger, regretâskimmed through Gin's eyes. “I never invited anyone over to our house when I was growing up because I didn't know if Mom would be sober or sobbing in her bedroom . . . or throwing things around. If there'd be a strange guy sprawled in the recliner or sleeping on the couch.
“When you're a kid, you look around at other families and you can't help but wonder why yours is such a mess. But then you start to realize it's
your
mess. You take care of it. Clean it up. Hide it. Whatever. But the one thing you never want to do is expose other people to it. That's why I left when I found out I was pregnant with Raine. I wanted a better life for her.”
Evie's heart ached for Gin. She'd heard bits and pieces of Gin's past from Dan, but she hadn't known how difficult her life had been.