The Hearts We Mend (23 page)
He shut it down, afraid of where those thoughts would take him. Evie didn't need him. She had family, close friends, guys like Ryan Tate and Dan Moretti ready to protect her.
What did he have to offer that she didn't already have?
“I will.” Jack rerouted his thoughts before they got him into more trouble.
“And don't be so bullheaded that you don't let me know when something happens. You're too used to doing things on your own.”
“You're calling me bullheaded?” Jack grinned around the nails protruding from the corner of his mouth. “If it weren't for you, who knows where I'd be right now?”
Coop knew it was a hypothetical question. Without his intervention, they both knew where Jack would be right now. Sitting in a cell next to Travis.
“I promise I'll keep you in the loop.”
“Good . . . because there's one more thing I'd like to know.”
“What's that?”
“Who's Evie?”
D
an was sitting on Evie's front step when she got home from work the next day.
“Hey.” Evie greeted him with a smile. “What brings you here?”
“My mother.” Dan pushed to his feet. “She wanted me to extend a formal invitation to a cookout on Sunday.”
“Formal?” Evie teased, aiming a pointed look at Dan's gray cargo pants and black T-shirt, the uniform the firefighters at Second Street Station wore when they were on call.
“Okay, maybe not so formal, but I just got her text about half an hour ago so I figured I'd swing by on my way home and ask you. She mentioned she'd tried to call you last night.”
“I was gone for a few hours and I didn't realize my phone was on silent.” Because she'd spent the evening with Lily and Jack and hadn't even checked for messages until she got home.
Until Jack had
sent
her home.
Evie still didn't understand what had caused the subtle shift in his mood. And because Jack had spent the majority of the day outside, mowing the lawn around the church and working on the landscaping, she hadn't had an opportunity to talk to him about the reason behind Ryan's visit.
“Eves?”
Oops.
Dan must have asked her a question. “Sorry. Long day. What can I bring?”
“Nothing. You know that feeding people is my mom's spiritual gift.”
And Sunday dinner at the Morettis' had been on Evie's calendar since she was a teenager, but her attendance had been sporadic the last few months. Evie enjoyed being with Dan's family, but she'd wanted to give them an opportunity to get to know Gin better.
“Will Cody and Raine be there?”
“
Everyone
will be there.” A mysterious smile hitched up the corners of Dan's lips.
“I'll give your mom a call this evening.” Evie unlocked the door and pushed it open a few inches. She expected Dan to say good-bye, but he didn't seem in a hurry to leave. “Did you want to come in for a few minutes?”
“Sure.” Dan stopped just inside the foyer and looked around. “It feels . . . I don't know . . .
different
in here. Did you change something?”
“What's changed is that you aren't tripping over size-eleven shoes scattered in the hall.” Evie smiled and looped the strap of her purse over one of the hooks on the wall. “And Diva isn't trying to lick you to death.”
Dan didn't smile back. “I was kind of surprised when I saw Cody and Raine at the park with her last weekend.”
“She belongs to Cody,” Evie said simply. “His fifth birthday present from Max and me.” She bypassed the living room and went into the kitchen. “Would you like something cold to drink? We can take it out on the patio.”
“Sounds good.” Dan grabbed two glasses from the cupboard while Evie opened up the fridge and took out the pitcher of iced tea she'd made the day before.
Dan was silent until they sat down at the picnic table, but from
the troubled look in his eyes, Evie could tell there was something he wanted to say.
“Don't take this the wrong way, Danny, because I'm glad you stopped over, but is everything all right?”
“That's what I was going to ask you,” Dan muttered.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, are you doing okay, Eves? It must be an adjustment with Cody being gone.”
“I'm not the first parent who's had to face the empty nest. A good mom works herself out of a job.” How many times had Evie said those exact words to women at Hope Community over the years? Now she wondered if the words had been an encouragement at all.
“That's true. But it doesn't answer my question.”
“I'm fine, Danny.”
Dan gave her The Stare. The one that said he didn't believe her.
“Really.” Evie tried not to let her exasperation show. “Gin invited me to have lunch with her at the diner next week. Sue let her tweak the menu again, and she asked me to be her guinea pig.”
“You're changing the subject.”
“Yes, I am.”
“Sue wants to make Ginevieve a business partner.”
“That's great.” Evie meant it. “Is she going to accept? Or do you plan to make her a better offer?”
“I'm not sure what you mean.”
This time Evie gave
him
The Stare. “I mean, when are you going to propose to the woman?”
“On her birthday.”
“Which is . . .”
“Sunday.” Dan grinned. “I invited Ginevieve to go hiking at the ridge right after church.”
Maple Ridge, the locals' nickname for the county park, was a favorite place to while away a summer afternoon. A labyrinth of
scenic trails the Youth Conservation Corp had made during the Second World War wound through the woods, the paths eventually converging at an old stone bridge that arched over the river.
It was beautiful.
Romantic.
And suddenly everything clicked into place. Everyone would be attending the dinner because Angela and John would be announcing their oldest son's engagement.
Tears stung the back of Evie's eyes as she reached across the picnic table and squeezed his hand. “Congratulations, Danny. I'm so happy for you and Gin.”
Gratitude warmed Dan's hazel eyes. “Thanks, Evie. Your friendship means a lot to me . . . and to Ginevieve.”
“You two are good for each other.” Evie smiled, but inexplicably, Dan's smile faded.
“Evesâ” He hesitated. “There is something else I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Sure.” Evie tried to squelch a stirring of unease. Did it have something to do with Cody? In spite of the difference in their ages, Dan was not only her son's friend but his confidante . . .
“It's about Jack Vale.”
“Jack?” The air rushed out of Evie's lungs. “What about him?”
“I'm concerned, that's all. I saw the article on the front page of the newspaper, about that couple who were arrested on drug charges last week. The guy's last name is Vale, so I figured he and Jack must be related.”
“Travis is Jack's younger brother.”
“And Lily? The little girl that Raine is babysitting for during the day? Where does she fit in?”
“Lily is Jack's niece. She's living with him for a while.”
“Until her parents get out of jail.” Dan combed his fingers through his hair, a sign he was struggling to keep his emotions in check. “I'm just wondering why you took it upon yourself to get involved, that's all. Did Vale ask you for help?”
“Of course not. Raine was looking for a summer job, and I knew Jack couldn't bring Lily to work with him every day. It worked out well for both of them.”
“He has a police record, Evie.”
“I know, but you can't hold Jack responsible for his brother's actions.”
“I wasn't talking about his brother. Jack was arrested for disorderly conduct. Granted, it was a long time ago, but he was involved in a fight and ended up spending a night in jail.”
The words landed like a physical slap, and Evie reared back. “How could you possibly know that?”
“Ryanâ”
“You asked
Ryan
to investigate Jack?”
“
Investigate
is a pretty strong word. But when it comes right down to it, we don't know much about Jack's past.”
“Maybe you shouldn't be so concerned about the past. Isn't it more important what kind of person he is now?” Evie planned to have a little chat with a certain police officer. “Jack moved to Banister Falls because he knew his brother was struggling and he wanted to help. You can't blame him for that.”
“And you can't blame us for being protective of you.”
Blame them? Maybe not. They'd been doing it for years. If her car needed the oil changed, if she needed a lightbulb changed, all Evie had to do was pick up the phone.
She'd always felt safe, knowing people in the church and community were looking out for her. The love, the caring, wrapped around her like a cocoon. Made her feel safe. Secure.
But not right now.
“I don't understand you. When I met Ginevieve, you encouraged me to reach out to her. You knew Gin had a past, but you didn't hold it against her.”
“You're getting pretty worked up over someone you barely know.” Dan's eyes swept over her. Brief but intent, his first-responder mode. If Evie didn't have her arms crossed, he'd be taking her pulse.
“I'm not worked up!”
Dan actually smiled. “Look, Jack may be a decent guyâ”
“Then why are you warning me not to spend time with him?”
Dan's eyebrow shot up. “
Have
you been spending time with him?”
“We both work at the church. Raine has been taking care of Lily during the day. Our paths are bound to cross once in a while.”
“I don't want to see you get taken advantage of, that's all.”
“Because I'm a lonely widow?”
“Lonely.”
Dan cringed. “That's not what I meant, Evie. I know you wouldn't be interested in him like . . . like
that
. Jack Vale is nothing like Max. You've poured eighteen years of your life into raising Cody, and now he's married. He and Raine are going to have a child of their own. You're a caring person, Evie. I can see why you'd be drawn to Lily. Her mother is in jail and you're concerned about her. It makes sense that you're looking for something to . . . I don't know . . . fill the gap.”
“I don't have a
gap
, Danny.”
“You hold the memories so tight, so close, there isn't room for anything else.”
Bert's words.
Evie hadn't been able to put them out of her mind.
She did care about Lily. But what about her feelings for Jack? Because it was time to stop denying they were there, swirling just below the surface.
Evie hadn't expected him to share his past with her. But while Jack had been telling Travis's story, Evie had been reading between the lines and learning more about him.
Jack, as the older son, would have taken care of Travis when
their mother worked two jobs. He'd probably taken care of her, too, after she was diagnosed with cancer.
Everything Evie knew about Jack told her that he saw the value in things that other people would throw away.
“You're upset with me.” Dan expelled a sigh. “Now Gin will get to say I told you so.”
“You talked to Gin about this?”
“I've been worried about you,” Dan muttered. “For the record, she said I was overreacting and that I should trust you.”
One more reason she liked Gin. “And she would be right.”
“Will you at least promise you'll be careful?”
Careful?
Evie almost laughed.
She didn't know how to be anything else.
W
hen you said we were going to take a field trip this morning, I didn't think you meant it literally.”
Evie silently thanked God for Belinda's sense of humor. Because right now she was the only one on the women's ministry team who was smiling.
Evie had stocked the church van with a thermos of Marie's French roast and a basket of scones and told them about her meeting with Maggie McClain on the drive over to Fairview Street.
“Maggie is going to meet us here in a few minutes, but I'm sure she won't mind if we take a look around.”
Not that there was much to look at. Over the past few days, the temperature had inched into the eighties. The sun had baked the litter that washed over the curb during the storm right into the hard-packed ground.
But what Evie hadn't expected to see was the graffiti spray-painted on the wall of the brick building next to the lot. Words at odds with the bright, cheerful colors the “artist” had chosen.
Evie's cell phone chirped in the side pocket of her purse. She tapped the screen and a text from Maggie popped up. Sorry! Emergency meeting. Will be tied up the rest of the morning. God will provide.
Evie's heart sank. She'd been counting on Maggie's infectious smile and enthusiasm to counter any misgivings her team would have about putting the vacant lot on the tour. Not to mention that Maggie had promised to bring photographs of successful community garden projects to show everyone what the end result would look like.
“It looks like Maggie won't be able to make it after all.”
The frown between Jill's eyebrows eased a little. “I guess there's no point in staying any longer then.”
Belinda, who'd broken away from the group, returned with an armload of empty glass bottles. “I'll toss these into the recycling bin when we get back to the church.”
“Are we leaving now?” Sonya, who hadn't ventured off the curb, took a step toward the van.
Evie glanced at Maggie's text again.
God will provide.
If You want this to happenâif Maggie is right and this is really Your ideaâYou're going to have to make it clear. Not just to me . . . but to everyone here.