Georgia Sweethearts. Missy Tippens

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СКАЧАТЬ hall enveloped her. Quiet. A good sign. Maybe she’d dreaded coming inside for no reason. Maybe tonight would be one of the good nights.

      As she hung up her coat in the closet, her stomach started to relax. Then a bedroom door slammed down the hallway of the tiny two-bedroom rental. Behind the closed door, voices raised, one high-pitched, the other low.

      Jenna and Ned.

      She considered slipping out to go to a restaurant, but then a whimper came from the family room.

      Will.

      She headed toward the sound and found her ten-month-old nephew standing in the exercise saucer, leaning over, trying to reach a toy on the floor.

      “Hey, sweet thing. Did you drop your doggie?”

      Will’s big brown eyes lit up, and he gave her a slobbery grin that made her feel like the most important person in the world. He sprang up and down on his chunky little legs as he raised his arms to her, straining for all he was worth.

      She pulled him up and out of his seat and kissed the top of his head, the silky brown curls tickling her nose, the powdery scent of baby shampoo calming her. Then she handed him his toy. “Let’s go see what’s for dinner.”

      The voices 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 СКАЧАТЬ