Georgia Sweethearts. Missy Tippens

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СКАЧАТЬ down the hall escalated, but Will didn’t flinch. Apparently, he’d grown accustomed to his parents arguing. Like she and Jenna had grown accustomed to their parents arguing. Or so she’d told herself.

      Lilly blew out a huge sigh as she headed toward the kitchen, wishing that she could as easily exhale all the old memories and be rid of them permanently.

      Jenna pretended all was well in the Jones household, but Lilly knew better. And from what she’d observed, she feared Jenna and Ned might not be able to work out their differences. Jenna refused to go to marriage counseling. Why couldn’t she see she’d snagged a decent guy worth fighting for? He was a good father, a hardworking firefighter who loved Jenna. If not for Ned’s help, they couldn’t have managed repairing the yarn shop building.

      Yet, Jenna seemed to have checked out, sabotaging the relationship, just like she had every other one. Lilly hoped Ned would be patient and not give up on his wife.

      Though the tiny kitchen’s countertop was stacked with a day’s worth of dirty dishes, Jenna had left a pot of chili simmering on the stovetop. Two jars of unopened baby food sat on the high chair tray beside a clean bib. “Looks like you and me, kid. Dinner for two. Although I’ll pass on your smooshed-up peas.”

      She placed him in his chair and snapped the bib in place. The spicy steam wafted her way, making her stomach growl, but she needed to feed Will first.

      As she opened the jars of food, he banged the tray and started to fuss. “Eee!” His impatient version of eat.

      He cranked up a pitiful wail. A splash of Cheerios on his tray appeased his appetite and allowed for independence as his little fingers snagged the oat circles he loved. Since he usually spit out half of what she fed him, she’d learned to distract him with the cereal while she tried to sneak in some vegetables and meat.

      They’d managed some success with her method when she heard Ned’s heavy footsteps coming down the hall toward the kitchen.

      He walked in, cheeks high in color, dark, wavy hair disheveled. “Hi, Lilly.” He kissed his son on the head. Wiped a smear of sweet potatoes off Will’s cheek. “Eat like a good boy. Daddy’s got to go to work.”

      She couldn’t ignore the elephant in the room. “Ned, I’d be glad to move out if it would help. I don’t want my presence to cause additional strain for you two.”

      His cheeks flushed redder. His dark brown eyes darted around the room as if he was embarrassed by her comment. “No. Stay. You’re good for her, and for Will, too. It’s just...” He ruffled Will’s hair as his throat bobbed up, then down. “I’ll see y’all later.”

      Her appetite followed him right out the door.

      Jenna walked in the kitchen shortly after, her pretty green eyes red and swollen. She wore sweatpants and a faded, holey college T-shirt. “Thanks for feeding Will,” she said as she grabbed a bowl and ladled out a small portion of chili. Enough for a mouse.

      “You need to eat more.”

      “I can’t.”

      “What’d y’all argue about this time?”

      “Nothing.”

      “That nothing made you cry.”

      Jenna plopped the bowl onto the scratched pressed-wood table and slid into her chair. She’d forgotten a spoon but didn’t seem to notice. Lilly got up to get one, waiting for her to talk.

      “Thanks,” she said, taking the spoon, then proceeding to shove the chili around the bowl, never taking a single bite.

      “I’ll feed you, too, if I have to.”

      That drew a little smile. “We can’t agree on anything. He wants to spend. I want to save. He wants to buy a house. I want to rent a little longer. He wants to go to church on Sundays. I want to stay home and have family time. He wants another baby. I don’t.”

      Lilly wasn’t a professional therapist, but she understood that with her and Jenna’s family history, trust was an issue. Jenna’s actions all pointed to someone who was afraid to believe her relationship had a future. “Sounds like maybe you should go with him to talk to a marriage counselor.”

      “That’s not going to help at this point.” She nibbled a tiny bite, enough to nourish a flea. “Let’s talk about something else.”

      Will banged on the high chair and squealed, ready to get up and move again. They’d somehow managed to get most of the two jars of food into his stomach with only a small percentage landing on his bib and in his hair. Success, in Lilly’s opinion.

      Jenna got to her feet to reach for Will, but Lilly pushed her sister back into her chair. “I’ll get him. You need to eat or you won’t do him any good.”

      As Lilly stood at the kitchen sink waiting for the water to warm to wipe Will’s hands and face, Jenna withdrew into her own world.

      Time to distract her from her thoughts. “I had a visitor to the shop today. Daniel Foreman, Ann’s grandson.”

      “Hmm?”

      “Daniel Foreman. He came to the shop today.”

      Jenna turned toward Lilly, her eyes refocusing in the present. “Oh, he’s the pastor who started the new church. What’d he want?”

      “He claims Aunt Talitha agreed to rent out the basement as a meeting space for the church.” She reached for Will’s hands to wipe them before he latched onto her hair. “Did you know anything about it?”

      “No.” Jenna propped her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her palm. She looked totally forlorn. “That’s the church Ned’s been attending, wanting me to visit. I can’t say I’d relish having them around. They already tie up too much of his time.”

      So much for taking her mind off her marital problems. “I don’t see how they could rent it until we finish the space, and we can’t afford that right now.”

      “They’d be there all the time—apparently they’re pretty active with the community service projects all week long. Ned’s mentioned some kind of after-school mentoring program. He’s volunteering with a food pantry and a clothes closet ministry.” She rolled her eyes. “Reminded me of that old busybody neighbor we had, Mrs. What’s-Her-Name, who brought us clothes and reported Mom and Dad to the social worker.”

      Humiliation nearly two-decades old stung Lilly’s face as if the act had happened yesterday. Mrs. Wiley had come from across the street with a bag of new dollar-store shorts and tops and, within viewing and hearing range of other neighbor kids, wrinkled her nose in disgust and offered to wash Lilly and Jenna’s clothing for them since their parents didn’t seem to care.

      Even if the woman’s intentions had been good, she’d carried out the act of charity in a scarring manner. And set their dad on course to uproot and move his family once again, tearing them away from some good people of a local church who had been quietly helping her and Jenna—people who’d shown them kindness and love.

      Old anger burned like acid in Lilly’s stomach. “I’ve done some figuring. If we hold a few small knitting classes upstairs, we’ll generate income from fees and selling the supplies. We should be able to get СКАЧАТЬ