'Ironic, isn't it, what religion does to people?'
'I guess it's more ironic what people do to religion.'
Carol looked up. Her hands stilled on the box of Saran Wrap she was holding, and Rachel saw all the old accusations form in her eyes. Rachel knew how unpleasant Carol could be and wished Edward weren't with her. At least he was lagging behind.
As she and Gabe moved nearer, Rachel decided everything about Carol was too sharp. The contrast between her pale skin and dyed black hair made her look brittle. Her cheekbones poked out at knifelike angles, her pointed chin lengthened an already long face, and her short, angular hairstyle was too severely cut to be flattering. She was thin and tense, as if all the softness had been leached out of her. Rachel remembered her sullen teenage son and felt a stab of pity for both of them.
'Hello, Carol.'
'What are you doing here?'
'I needed to speak with you.'
Carol glanced at Gabe, and Rachel sensed her uncertainty. She must feel compassion for him, but she wouldn't be able to forgive the way he was consorting with the enemy.
'I can't imagine what we need to talk about.' Her expression grew less harsh as Edward came around from behind Rachel to stand at her side. 'Hello there, Edward. Would you like a cookie? I think we have one to spare here.'
She picked up a white plastic plate. Edward studied the contents, then selected a large sugar cookie dusted with red sprinkles. 'Thank you.'
Rachel took a deep breath and plunged in. 'I'm looking for something that I think you might have.'
'Oh?'
'Dwayne's Bible.'
Surprise flickered across Carol's fox-sharp features, and then wariness took its place. Rachel felt a prickle of excitement.
'Why on earth would you think I'd have it?'
'Because I know you cared about Dwayne. I believe your brother-in-law took the Bible the night Dwayne was arrested and gave it to you.'
'Are you accusing me of theft?'
Rachel knew she had to be careful. 'No. I'm sure you took the Bible for safekeeping, and I appreciate that. But now I'd like it back.'
'You're the last person who should have Dwayne's Bible.'
She hesitated. 'It's not for me. It's for Edward. He has nothing left that belonged to his father, and the Bible should be his.' That part, at least, was true.
Rachel held her breath. Carol gazed down at Edward, whose mouth was rimmed with red sprinkles. Apparently he'd been won over by the cookie because he smiled at her.
Carol bit her lip. She didn't look at Rachel, only at Edward. 'Yes. All right. I do have the Bible. The police would only have thrown it in the storage room, and I couldn't let that happen. They aren't always careful with things.'
Rachel wanted to grab Gabe and spin him around until she was too dizzy to stand. Instead, she forced herself to speak calmly. 'I'm grateful to you for taking care of it.'
Carol spun on her. 'I don't care about your gratitude. I did it for Dwayne, not for you.'
'I understand.' Rachel forced the words out. 'I know Dwayne would have appreciated it.'
Carol turned away, as if she couldn't stand being in Rachel's presence any longer.
'Maybe we could stop by your house later on.' Rachel didn't want to press her too hard, but she was determined to get her hands on the Bible as soon as possible.
'No. I'll give it to Ethan.'
'When will that be?'
She shouldn't have shown her eagerness because it gave Carol power over her, something she clearly liked. 'I believe Monday is Ethan's day off. I'll bring it to the church office sometime Tuesday.'
She couldn't stand to wait until Tuesday, and she began to protest only to have Gabe cut her off. 'That'll be just fine, Carol. No hurry. I'll tell Ethan to expect you.'
He caught Rachel's arm in a death grip and steered her into the crowd. 'If you don't back off, you're never going to see that Bible.'
She looked back to make sure Edward was following. 'I can't stand that woman. She's deliberately torturing me.'
'Another couple of days won't make any difference. Let's get something to eat.'
'Don't you ever think about anything but your stomach?'
He slipped his thumb beneath the short sleeve of her monarch butterfly dress and stroked her upper arm. 'Every once in a while other parts of my body have been known to grab my attention.'
Her skin broke out in goose bumps. At the same time, she found herself wishing he felt something more lasting toward her than sexual attraction. 'Are you buying?'
He looked amused. 'I'm buying.'
She turned her head and glanced over her shoulder. 'Come on, Edward. We're going to eat.'
'I'm not hungry.'
'You love watermelon. I'll get you a piece.'
As they walked toward the food tents, Gabe heard the boy dragging his sneakers in the dirt. When he considered how much of Rachel's meager paycheck had gone toward buying those sneakers, he wanted to tell the child to pick up his feet, but he knew he was being unreasonable, and he kept silent.
They headed toward the center of the field, where several whole pigs roasted on spits above a large pit of glowing coals. Rachel wrinkled her nose. 'I think I'll have corn on the cob instead.'
'I thought you country girls were immune to being sentimental about animals.'
'Not me. Besides, we raised soybeans.'
He'd never been much of a fan of pig roasts himself, so he didn't give her a hard time. Before long, they were sitting at one end of a long picnic table with plates of buttered corn. He'd added a hot dog and coleslaw to his own meal in an attempt to get her to eat more, but she'd refused, and now he was stuck with food he didn't want.
'You sure you wouldn't like another hot dog, Edward? I haven't touched this one.'
The boy shook his head and picked at the wedge of watermelon on his plate. Ever since they'd sat down, Gabe had watched him stealing glances at the next table where a man ate with his son, who looked to be around Edward's age. Edward gazed over at them again, and Rachel noticed.
'Is that boy in day care with you, Edward? You seem to know him.'
'Uh-huh. His name is Kyle.' Edward looked down at his watermelon. 'And my name's Chip.'
Over the top of Edward's head, Rachel gave Gabe an exasperated look. At the next table, the boy named Kyle and his father picked up their empty paper plates and disposed of them in one of the trash cans. Edward watched them carefully.
After the last paper cup had disappeared, the boy turned toward his father and raised his arms. His father smiled, swung him up, and set him over his shoulders.
An expression of such naked longing crossed Edward's face that Gabe winced. It was a simple thing… A father carrying his son on his shoulders. But Edward was too heavy for Rachel to carry that way. Too heavy for a mother to carry on her shoulders, but not a father.
Gabe looked away.
Rachel had witnessed the entire episode, and he saw her painful reaction as she took in one more thing in her life that she couldn't control. She opened her purse to distract herself. 'Edward, I think you're wearing more food than you've eaten. Let me clean you-'
Her hands grew still, then dipped inside and began to riffle through the contents. 'Gabe, my wallet's gone!'
'Let me see.' He took her purse and, looking inside, saw the orderly clutter of a pen, a grocery-store receipt, a folded wad of toilet paper, a small plastic action toy, and a tampon that was coming out of its wrapper. He could
