The Hearts We Mend (37 page)
“There's my girl.” Evie leaned across the counter to plant a kiss
on the baby's downy hair. Ella cooed and waved her arms. “You look as sweet as Lily's apple pie.”
Lily, sandwiched in the line between Cody and Raine, beamed from the compliment.
“Raine and Cody invited me to stay over tonight, Uncle Jack.” She handed Evie her plate. “Can I? We're going to watch
The Princess Bride.
”
“We'll bring her to church with us tomorrow morning,” Raine added.
“I suppose.” Jack glanced down at Lily. “And I suppose you already packed your overnight bag?”
“Yup!”
“I sense a conspiracy.”
Evie did too, but she loved to see Lily smile.
“Don't forget to show Evie my surprise, Uncle Jack.”
“I won't.”
“Surprise?” Evie's gaze bounced between Lily and Jack.
“It's upstairs. You'll have to wait until your shift ends.”
“And that would be right now.” Ginevieve rounded the counter, arms behind her back as she knotted an apron around her waist. “Evie, you and Jack have been here since six o'clock this morning. Time to let someone else feed the multitudes.”
The multitudes. Evie smiled. That pretty much described it.
It was the first dinner Evie's newly formed committee had served since the sale of the building had gone throughâa process expedited by Gertrude's giftâand no one had known quite what to expect. Evie had been a little shocked when she carried the first tray of sliced turkey into the dining room and saw the line stretching to the door. They'd set up for fifty people, and from what Evie could see, every seat was occupied.
Maggie McClain, who was sitting between Bert and Andy's wife, Serena, caught her eye and waved. Across from them were Josh and his father.
“Did you hear me, Evie?” Gin held out her hand. “The ladle.”
“The boss has spoken.” Dan squeezed in beside his fiancée. “Give a waitress a kitchen . . .”
“And sheâto borrow one of Cody's expressionsâtotally rocks.” Evie relinquished the ladle. “Jack and I will be back to help with cleanup.”
“No, you won't. John and Angela have that covered.” Gin made a shooing motion with her hand. “We'll see you in church tomorrow.”
Evie followed Jack outside and up the stairs to his apartment. After spending the majority of the day in the kitchen, the cool air felt good. But then Jack threaded his fingers through hers, and the temperature spiked a few degrees.
“I better show you Lily's surprise first, or I'll be in big trouble.” Jack led Evie through the living room and onto the balcony.
Strings of twinkling white lights were wrapped around the railing, and yellow mums in a terra cotta pot decorated the small bistro table.
Evie laughed. “What's the occasion? Or is Lily getting a head start on Christmas?”
Jack didn't answer. He wasn't even looking at the lights. He was staring down at his feet.
“Is everything okay? You seem a little distracted.”
Jack lifted his head, and his slow smile made her toes curl inside her shoes. “It's your fault.”
“My fault?”
“Those blue eyes of yours have been a distraction from the first time I met you.”
Evie playfully batted her lashes at him. “It was dark,” she teased. “I'm surprised you noticed the color at all.”
“I noticed everything.” Jack reached out, and his fingertips grazed a path down her cheek. “The way you stuck by Ginevieve.
The way you marched up to me like I was the one who was trespassing and gave me permission to search the grocery bag you were using as a shield.”
“I was scared to death. Did you happen to see that in my eyes too?”
“I saw someone I wanted to get to know better.”
“And now that you do?”
Jack didn't respond to her teasing the way he usually did. By kissing the smile from her lips. Instead, he took a step away from her. Took something out of his pocket. “Now I want to spend the rest of my life getting to know you better.”
He had a . . . ring. A beautiful marquise-cut diamond framed by two sapphires.
“Will you marry me, Evie?”
Evie's throat closed. Suddenly the twinkling lights and the flowers made sense. “You
planned
this.”
Jack smiled. “With a little help.”
“Lily.”
“And Raine and Cody.”
“They knew about it too?”
“Of course. I had to ask Cody for his blessing.”
The sweetness of the gesture brought tears to Evie's eyes. “I'm not surprised he gave it. Cody likes you.”
She'd watched the bond between Jack and her son slowly deepen over the past few months. With his friend Coop's backing, Jack had bought Travis and Cheryl's rental house on Brewster Street. In his spare time, Cody had been helping Jack with the renovations so it would be ready when Cheryl and Lily moved back in when she was released from jail in January.
“I thought so too, but Cody had me worried for a few minutes.” Jack shook his head. “He even put a condition on it.”
“A condition?”
“Yeah, it kind of threw me too, but when I heard what it was, I told Cody that was a given.”
“What . . .?”
“He said he's always wanted a little brother or sister.”
Evie stared up at Jack, pressing her knuckles against her lips to hold back a sob.
Now she understood what Bert meant the day Evie had told her about the garden.
This is more than I can hold, Lord.
“Evie?” Jack sounded a little worried now. “I'm still waiting for your answer.”
“Yes.”
“Yes, you'll marry me?” But Jack was already sliding the ring on her fingerâas if he wasn't going to give her an opportunity to change her mindâand Evie laughed as the tears streamed down her face.
“Yes to everything.”
1. Discuss the changes Evie is facing when the story opens. What season of life are you in right now? What are the joys and challenges?
2. The majority of Evie's ministry took place inside the familiar (and safe!) walls of Hope Community Church . . . until she met Jack. Has God ever moved you out of your comfort zone? What happened?
3. Do you have a question for heaven? If the answer is yes, what would it be?
4. Jack shares a verse from Nehemiah with Evie. Do you agree that he did the right thing by moving to Banister Falls? Have you ever “fought” for a family member? What were the circumstances?
5. Which character in the book could you relate to the most? Why?
6. Bert told Evie, “You can hold onto the memories so close, so tight, that you don't have room for anything else.” How was this true in Evie's life? What changes did you see in her after she got to know the people in Jack's building?
7. What was the turning point in Jack and Evie's relationship?
8. Loaves and fishes . . . share a time when you saw God take something small and multiply it.
9. Evie realized it wasn't grief but fear that prevented her from moving forward after Max's death. What are some other things that can hinder our growth?
10. What was your favorite scene? Why?
A
heartfelt THANK YOU to the amazing group of people who work behind the scenes while I'm busy writing them! Wendy Lawton, agent extraordinaire, whose wisdom and guidance extends way beyond contracts. Editor Becky Monds, who made my day when she said I have a gift for creating “swoon-worthy” heroes. All I can say is that it's easy when you happen to be married to one.
Line editor LB Norton, whose margin notes make me smile and challenge me to fine tune what I was
sure
was already a brilliant manuscript! Ha!
You wouldn't be holding this book in your hands if it weren't for the talented and tireless Karli Jackson, Elizabeth Hudson, and the entire marketing team at HarperCollins Christian Publishing. Your creativity, attention to detail, and patience make that part of the process a lot easier for social media-challenged writers who, ahem, shall remain nameless.
I confess that one of the reasons I write contemporary fiction is to avoid research . . . unless that research involves an impromptu concert in my friend Thia's living room. A special thanks to Matt, for sharing your musical talent so I could make Jack look good on the saxophone. “Summertime” is now on my permanent playlistAnd I owe a debt of gratitude to Steve for answering what were probably
weird questions without making me
feel
weird.
“What kind of guitar would a guy play if he wanted to pick up girls?”
comes to mind!
As always, I couldn't do what I do without the support and encouragement of my awesome hubby and my friends and family. Thank you for putting up with the “This-is-your-brain-on-a-deadline” Kathryn. Love you all!
I wish I could reach out and hug every reader who tells me that they want to move to Banister FallsIt was a blessing to be able to tell Evie and Jack's story.
K
athryn Springer is a
USA Today
bestselling author. She grew up in northern Wisconsin, where her parents published a weekly newspaper. As a child she spent many hours sitting at her mother's typewriter, plunking out stories, and credits her parents for instilling in her a love of booksâwhich eventually turned into a desire to tell stories of her own. Kathryn has written nineteen books with close to two million copies sold. Kathryn lives and writes in her country home in northern Wisconsin.
