“It’s okay.”
He hung his head. No, it wasn’t. But he couldn’t change the past.
“It’s not fair you never get to see your—our—kids.”
Hannie set her bar down on the counter. “I used to go down to Everett almost every weekend to see Evi. Sometimes Noah would drive up and meet us.”
He looked up. So that was where she would disappear to. What would they talk about together? How much had he missed?
“We’d go to that Mexican restaurant on Washington Avenue,” Hannie continued. “You know the one with the giant sombrero hanging over the door? That’s their favorite place.”
His heart flumped like it had a flat tire. “But you don’t go down anymore?”
She leaned against the counter, staring past him at the window. Hesitant. Troubled. “No.”
“Why not?”
But he knew why. Because he was around now. She was afraid he’d tag along or felt bad about leaving him alone or something. He sighed. He’d ruined everything when he was never around and still managed to ruin everything when he was.
Hannie wiped at the crumbs on the counter. “Evi’s been busy.”
In that moment he loved his wife more than he’d ever loved her before. She was lying to him. Her crow’s feet confirmed it. And yet she was also giving him a gift. Whatever he’d ruined in the past, he had to make sure he didn’t ruin anything else.
He shuffled closer to Hannie, longing to brush her arm with his as he stood beside her at the counter. Longing for the right words to say.
She let him off easy. “You know you’re going to have to clean the house from top to bottom, right? Since this whole thing was your idea? And the kids’ rooms need fresh linens.”
He grunted, but a smile tugged at his lips. “I know how to clean.”
Her eyes twinkled. “I’ll let you handle it, then.”
He cut himself a small bar from the pan. “I was hoping you could make a centerpiece for the party.” He scraped the hardened chocolate-butterscotch mixture off the top, concentrating on it to avoid her eyes. “I mean, I want to order one. From your shop.”
She stiffened. “Really?”
His ears tingled. Was she happy or mad? He was afraid to look.
“A big fancy one for the table here.” He swallowed. “I thought it would be nice.”
He looked. She smiled. He managed to breathe.
“Sure, I could do that. What kind of centerpiece would you like?”
There were kinds? “Uh . . . whatever you think is best. You choose.”
That seemed to please her. She tucked her hair behind her ear, the wheels in her mind already turning. He could practically see the flowers swirling in her brain, arranging and rearranging. He’d never appreciated what a talent she had. To him, a flower was just a flower.
“Okay, I’ll come up with something festive.” She nudged his shoulder with hers and grinned. “If you were baking goodies for my shop, you know, I could give you my employee discount.”
Oh.
Oh, goodness.
He smiled back and nodded, as if her words hadn’t turned his stomach to ice. As if it made perfect sense for a used-up old man like him to invest his life savings to join his wife at her shop and make cookies for strangers. As if her offer wasn’t a lifeline he didn’t deserve.
As if it didn’t scare him half to death.
CHAPTER
THIRTY-ONE
Rae studied herself in the mirror. Was it okay to wear skinny jeans to a job interview? They were black at least. Looked pretty nice with her green-and-purple blouse.
“Rae.” Mom knocked on the door. “You almost ready?”
She cringed. “Yes.”
Mom poked her head in the room. “I’d like to be a little early.”
“I’ll be right there.”
Mom scrutinized her outfit, nodded her approval, and shut the door.
Rae plopped onto her bed. “What am I going to do, Mister?”
Mr. Whiskers moved his head onto her lap and began to purr. She rubbed his ears. Once her dad had gotten wind of the job opening at the law firm, he’d insisted that was her only option. He’d even “made a call” and then informed her she all but had the job. The interview was merely a formality.
“It’s not that I mind filing papers.” She rolled her head back and forth, trying to loosen the tension in her neck. “I just . . . I don’t know.”
How could she explain it? Working at the Schultz and Hardy law firm would be a great experience, and their office was close by. Taylor would be moving away soon, so she wouldn’t be attending Greenville Community Church’s summer program, anyway. But for some reason, Rae had that same awful feeling from her driving nightmare when she was barreling down a hill out of control. And she hated it.
She glanced at her phone. Time to go. She nudged Mr. Whiskers off her lap and stood. “Look what you did, you big lug.” Clumps of gray fur stuck to her black pants. “That doesn’t look very professional.”
He was unconcerned. She swiped at her pants to remove the fur and hurried out of her room. Mom was waiting at the door with the car keys in her hand.
She held them out. “You need to practice. We’ve got plenty of time to get there.”
Rae groaned inwardly. “Not today. I don’t want to show up to the interview all stressed out.”
“You’ve got to get a handle on this, sweetie.” Mom crossed her arms. “Why didn’t you tell me you were having so much trouble?”
“It’s not a big deal. I’ll figure it out. But not today.” Her voice came out much harsher than she’d intended. What was her problem?
Mom frowned. “Then when?”
She covered her face with her hands. “I don’t know.”
“Rae, you’re going to need your license if you want to get a job.”
“I can walk to the office, Mom.” Her voice rose in intensity. “It’s not that far.”
“Does this have anything to do with that boy? David?”
“What?” Rae was shouting now, but she couldn’t stop herself. “No. This has
