The Hearts We Mend (25 page)
“Be nice, Will, or no leftovers for you.” A striking brunette in her mid to late fifties set a platter of ham sandwiches down on the picnic table and turned to Jack. “We haven't officially met, but I've gotten to know Lily quite well over the past few days. I'm Angela Moretti.”
“Jack Vale. It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Moretti. I didn't realize you were hosting the party.” Or he wouldn't have come.
“Please, call me Angela. And there are so many peopleâRaine and I decided we would need both yards.”
“And help yourself to the food.” Ginevieve motioned to the table, and the sunlight glinted off the diamond ring on her finger. “There's plenty.”
“Thank you, but Lily and I are going to the pool this afternoon. She wanted to drop off a gift for you on the way.”
“Your niece is such a sweetheart.” Ginevieve filched a carrot stick from a tray of fresh vegetables. “Nicki's kids talk about her all the time.”
“Can we stay for a little while, Uncle Jack? Emily and Amanda want me to push them on the swing.” Lily landed in front of him, holding hands with the blonde-haired girls who'd been playing in the sprinkler the first day he'd picked her up at Raine's. Jack should have known they were tiny shoots of the Moretti family tree.
“Ten minutes . . . and then we're off to the pool.”
“Okay!” Off they went again, leaving Jack stranded in the middle of what he now realized was a family get-together.
“Don't be shy, Jack.” Cody handed him a paper plate.
Jack's gaze swept over the yard, searching the faces of the guests. Searching for . . .
“My mom went over to our house to get the cupcakes Raine and Lily decorated.”
“I wasn'tâ” Jack's voice died in his throat. Because yes, he was. Jack hadn't seen Evie since the evening Officer Tate had shown up at the apartment building and found them together. Ryan hadn't said anything after Evie left, but the way he'd looked at Jack made him feel like he'd committed some kind of misdemeanor.
Kind of the way Tate was looking at him now.
“You should go over and say hi before you leave.” Cody scooped up a handful of chips and deposited them on his plate.
“I should?”
Cody shrugged. “Why not?”
Jack could think of about a dozen reasons. Starting with the
discreet glances he was getting from the people gathered around the picnic table. Not unfriendly.
Cautious
. The Morettis were the kind of people who would greet a stray dog that wandered into their yard, but that didn't mean they weren't wondering where it had come from and what it was doing there.
“Evie's in the house.” Ginevieve handed Jack a glass of lemonade.
It suddenly occurred to him that
not
saying hello to Evie just might trigger a whole different set of questions.
“I'll be right back.”
The faint tang of fresh paint hung in the air as Jack let himself into the house. Familiar with the floor plan of a Craftsman-style home, he found the kitchen without any problem.
A tray of cupcakes and a pitcher of lemonade were on the counter, but no Evie.
On impulse, Jack made his way up the stairs, the plush carpeting absorbing the sound of his footsteps. He stopped at the top of the landing, considered his options, and headed for door number two.
The door was open, but it took a second for Jack's brain to register what he was seeing.
Evie, stretched out on the floor, playing tug-of-war with a chunky, white-faced golden retriever. The dog growled low in its throatâall for showâand Evie giggled.
The sound arrowed through him, and Jack suddenly felt like an intruder. He stepped away from the door, but the retriever tattled on Jack with a cheerful woof.
Evie rolled to her feet. “Jack?”
Diva immediately trotted over to say hello, but it was difficult for Jack to tell if Evie was as happy to see him.
“Raine invited Lily to the party, so we stopped by for a minute on our way to the pool.”
“Raine mentioned that, but I didn't thinkâ” Evie glanced
down, smoothing an invisible wrinkle from her skirt. “I'm glad you brought her.”
“I didn't have much of a choice. Lily made a bracelet for Ginevieve's birthday.”
“It
is
her birthday.” Evie smiled. “She just didn't realize Dan's gift would be an engagement ring.”
“I better go. Lily's waiting for me.” Jack was fibbing. Lily would be thrilled if they canceled their pool date and spent the entire day hanging out with the Morettis. “Cody said I should stop over and say hello, but I think what he really wanted me to do was find out why the cupcakes haven't made their way to the picnic table yet.”
Color flowed into Evie's cheeks. “Diva and I got a little sidetracked. Cody mentioned he'd set up the crib last night and I wanted to take a peek.” She ran her hand over the wooden railing. “I still can't believe I'm going to be a grandma at the end of the summer.”
She didn't look like one. In fact, Evie barely looked old enough to have a son Cody's age. Especially today, when she was wearing a knee-length denim skirt and a white sleeveless top that showed off smooth, sun-kissed shoulders.
Evie smiled. “I know parents say this kind of thing all the time, but it seems like only yesterday when Max and I put Cody's crib together.”
A surge of emotion rushed through Jack and left a bitter taste in his mouth. He hadn't experienced it very often over the past thirty-six years, but he knew what it was. Envy.
He was envious of the man Evie had given her heart to when she was a teenager. The man who
still
had her heart.
None of us could compete with Max.
Isn't that what Ryan Tate had said?
Jack should have realized it was a warning.
Evie felt everyone's eyes on her and Jack as they walked out of the house together. Side by side, but she could feel the distance between them.
Jack had made it clear that Lily was the only reason he'd accepted Raine's invitation to the party. He set the tray down on the picnic table and waved to Lily. “It's time to go, Peanut.”
“The pool is going to be pretty crowded this time of day. You should take Lily to Sandy Point.” Cody snagged a cupcake from the tray and handed it to Raine.
Jack's smile looked a little forced. “I'm not familiar with the local landmarks yet.”
“It's not a landmark, it's a well-kept secret.” Cody nudged Dan. “Dan and my dad discovered it when they were kids.”
“Accidentally.” Dan smiled. “Sandy Point is a secluded stretch of beach a few miles from the campgroundâaccessible only by hiking a mile up an old logging road or by raft.”
“Which one did you use?” Will asked. As always, Dan's youngest brother, the family prankster, loved to stir the pot.
“The raft.” Dan glanced at his parents. “It worked a little better than we thought it would,” he added in a whisper.
“They put up a rope swing too.”
“That was a long time ago, Cody.” Evie tried to move the conversation to safer ground. “I doubt it's there anymore.”
“The original one isn't.” Cody grinned. “But Dan and I made another one a few years ago. We go there once or twice a summer.”
“What?” Evie made a fist and cuffed Dan's shoulder. “You never told me that.”
“What happens at Sandy Point stays in Sandy Point.”
“Why am I only hearing these stories now?” Angela planted her hands on her hips, the look she tossed at her son a blend of amusement and exasperation. “I guess I should have asked more questions when you told me that you and Max were going swimming.”
“Technically, it wasn't swimming. With a running start from the point, you landed in the middle of the river. The current kind of took you from there, right, Eves?”
“I don't know. You and Max wouldn't let me try it.”
“Really?” Dan rubbed the back of his neck, frowning. “We probably thought you didn't want to. Besides, someone had to dial 911 if the rope broke.”
“And you lecture kids on the importance of safety,” Ryan chided.
“I was kidding.” Dan didn't look the slightest bit guilty. “The water is shallow in some places too, and it's peaceful out there. Max was the one who turned everything into an obstacle course.”
Lily, who'd been listening to the conversation with wide-eyed fascination, tugged on Jack's arm. “Can we go there instead, Uncle Jack?”
“Not today, Peanut. I'm not sure how to get there.”
“Evie can show us.” Lily looped her arm through Evie's. “Cody said she used to go there too.”
“I'm sure Evie wants to stay at the party with her friends a little longer.”
“Butâ”
“I said no.”
The words were sharp enough to make Lily flinch, and her grip on Evie's arm tightened.
“Let's stick with our original plan.” Jack's smile softened the words. “The pool and Quigley's for ice cream, okay?”
Lily's chin dipped in a nod. “Okay.”
“Good-bye, Lily.” Ginevieve bent down and gave her a hug. “Thank you for coming to my party and for the gift.”
Jack waited patiently while Lily said the rest of her good-byes. By the time she got to Evie, the sparkle was back in her eyes.
“You could come to the pool with us.”
Evie glanced at Jack but he was shaking John's hand. Walking away.
“It's sweet of you to invite me, Lily, but you and your uncle have to stick to the plan, remember?”
A plan Jack obviously wasn't willing to change to include her.
Y
ou have to rescue me, Evie. I'm drowning in spinach and arugula.”
The announcement, accompanied by Bert's throaty laugh, lifted Evie's spirits. Dan and Gin's engagement party wasn't officially over, but Evie had been getting into her car to leave when her cell rang.
“I'll trade you some for a piece of birthday slash engagement cake.”
“Only if you have a glass of iced tea with me and explain what that is,” Bert said.
“I'll be there in five minutes.”
Evie made a U-turn in the middle of the street and drove across town to Fairview Street.
Disappointment waged war against relief when Evie saw the empty parking space in front of Jack's building.
She made her way to the third floor. Bert was waiting for her at the top of the landing. Today she wore a bright-orange housecoat with oversize buttons that looked like daisies.
“Come in. Make yourself comfortable. Jack put one of those little air conditioners in my window a few days ago.” Bert sidestepped into the tiny kitchen. “I have to admit, it makes it a whole lot easier to breathe on a day like this.”
Instead of taking a seat in the living room, Evie poured two glasses of iced tea while Bert peeled back the lid on a plastic storage container and removed two enormous oatmeal cookies studded with raisins and walnuts.
“Ron's favorite,” Bert said. “I made a batch to cheer him up when he gets back from the VA.”
“Did something happen? Is he all right?”
“It's just a few routine tests to make sure his lungs are clear from that last bout of pneumonia. Jack says that we should start worrying when Ron stops complaining.”
Every time Bert said Jack's name, Evie felt a little pinch in the vicinity of her heart. She carried the glasses into the living room, and as she passed the window, she saw a VW Beetle the color of a McIntosh apple rolling up to the curb on the other side of the street. Maggie McClain hopped out of the driver's seat a second later, wearing denim overalls over her T-shirt and bright-green gardening clogs.
Evie had called her after the meeting on Friday and told her what the committee had decided. Maggie understood, but Evie could tell she was disappointed.
“I'm going to keep moving forward, Evie. If God wants this to happen, He'll give the right people a little nudge. I don't have to worry when I've got a man on the inside.”
The unconventional comment sounded like something Jack would say. And made Evie feel worse.
“You're welcome to attend the garden walk as my guest, Maggie. I can introduce you to some of the women who might be interested in serving on your committee.”
“I appreciate that, Evie, but I'll be spending every available weekend finishing up the plans for the garden. I ran into some . . . unexpected opposition . . . and I'd like to get to know the people in the neighborhood better so I can convince the naysayers that the garden won't be a target for vandalism.”
A target.
Evie was glad they were talking on the phone instead of in person so Maggie couldn't see her expression. Because she had a strong hunch who the “unexpected opposition” was.
Their conversation was cut short when Maggie got an incoming call. Evie had taken a walk around the block to clear her head, but she couldn't shake the feeling they'd made the wrong decision. Not even when Victoria Kellan called a few hours later and told her she would be back in time for the garden walk.