Change of Heart (15 page)

She sniffed, wiped her cheeks, and joined her unwanted guests in the living room. They’d already begun talking, and Whit looked as out of place as a cowboy at the prom.

“Have you been out with her again?” Doris leaned forward as if waiting for a juicy bit of gossip.

Whit shifted under her prying question. “This can’t be why you brought me here, ladies,” he said. “I think I made it clear I don’t want any help with my love life.”

Gigi’s eyes narrowed. “Indeed.” She glanced at Evelyn, who stood in the doorway like an intruder. “Evelyn, perhaps we
could
use your help with some matchmaking. We need to be sure Mr. Whitney doesn’t ruin this opportunity with Miss Lawson.”

Evelyn frowned. “
Mr. Whitney
is doing just fine on his own, Gigi.” He’d been gone a couple nights that week, and she had to assume he’d been with Maggie. She knew because she missed the sound of his acoustic guitar filling the darkness with a melody. She often listened from her perch on one of the Adirondack chairs, admiring the music in him, wondering if this was how he expressed himself when words seemed to fail him so frequently. He must love playing enough to overcome his disdain for being around people because she happened to know he was a regular on the praise team at Loves Park Community Church.

Maybe things were heating up with Maggie. That would be good, right? Just because she was miserable didn’t mean she wanted her friends to be.

“Uh-huh.” Gigi zeroed in on Whit. “But you do have a way of running from commitment, don’t you?”

Trevor shifted in his seat.

“We know all about the one that got away,” Gigi said. “We want to be sure you don’t make that same mistake twice.”

Wide-eyed, Doris raised her hand as she spoke. “I’m sorry I told them about Rachel. I felt it was important they knew you gave romance a try for yourself.”

More restlessness from Whit.

Gigi must’ve sensed Trevor’s fight-or-flight reflexes kicking in because she quickly raised her voice and announced, “We didn’t bring you here to talk about Miss Lawson.”

“Though this is a match we approve of,” Doris said, winking. “At least we think we do.”

Whit fidgeted. Evelyn actually felt sorry for him. He hated to be the center of attention, and these women were ruthless.

Gigi motioned to Evelyn. “Sit down, Evelyn. This concerns you too.”

All heads turned her way. Like she said, ruthless. Evelyn sat next to Whit, the only open spot in the room.

“You ever going to wash that thing?” Whit whispered with a nod toward the sweater she’d been wearing for a solid week.

She shot a look at him and noticed the grin tugging the corners of his mouth. She hadn’t felt like smiling in weeks, but something about his boyish smile changed that.

Suddenly, thanks to these women, she and Whit were allies.

Gigi’s stern voice grabbed her attention. “We’ve been watching the two of you,” she said, sounding like a grade school principal who’d just caught two kids throwing wet toilet paper against the walls in the bathroom.

“And we think you’re hiding something,” Doris said.

Trevor’s eyes widened.

“Not you too.” Evelyn groaned. “I don’t know where the money is. I didn’t know about the women. I haven’t talked to Christopher since he got back.”

Gigi frowned at Doris. “Probably not the best way to start the conversation in light of current circumstances.”

Doris grimaced. “Sorry.”

“That’s not what we’re talking about, Evelyn,” Gigi said. “It’s come to our attention that the hearts for the Loves Park lampposts are in dire need of an artistic overhaul.”

“The hearts?” Evelyn frowned. They’d come all the way here to talk about wooden hearts?

“We have it on good authority that the two of you have talents worth sharing with our community,” Tess said, her voice far too chirpy for any hour of the day.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Whit said, leaning forward, elbows on his knees.

“Don’t be so modest, Mr. Whitney,” Gigi said. “Doris told us all about your
extracurricular activities
.” She waggled her eyebrows as she said the words. “No wonder you’re too busy to pursue a life of love.”

Evelyn frowned. “What’s she talking about?”

Trevor stood. “I’m afraid that, with the farm, I don’t have time for Valentine’s Day traditions. Sorry, ladies.”

“Mr. Whitney, would you at least hear us out?”

He paused, sighed, then sat back down. Even Trevor’s brooding was no match for Gigi’s motherly toe-tapping.

“As you know, every Valentine’s Day, the people of this community show their love for one another by purchasing wooden hearts that are hung on the lampposts all through Old Town. We paint custom messages on the hearts for the whole town to see. It’s a wonderful tradition dating back over forty years and an excellent way to spread love.”

“It also raises a good deal of money for the town,” Doris said with a nod. “Last year we were able to plant trees along Main Street with the money we made.”

“Cut to the chase, Gigi,” Ursula said, crumbs on her shirt the only remnant of an annihilated cheese Danish. “You sound like a commercial.”

“This year, we want to over. Haul. The. Hearts.” Gigi clapped with every syllable as she said the words as if she were talking to a classroom of preschoolers.

Evelyn glanced at Abigail, who gave a slight shrug. “I’m not sure how this concerns me,” she said.

Gigi shook her head. “Now
you’re
being modest, Evelyn. The city board has agreed to let us come up with a new look for the hearts, and they’re allowing us to handle all the particulars.” She raised an eyebrow at Whit. “I told you we did more than make matches.”

He looked like he wanted to respond but wisely refrained.

“We’re looking for something completely new and different. They still need to be made of wood and they still need to be hearts, but other than that, it’s up to you two.” She punctuated her sentence with a firm nod, then sat down as if her explanation made perfect sense.

“I’m confused, Gigi. What do you want us to do?”

Gigi sighed. “Isn’t it obvious?”

Evelyn looked at Whit, who wore the same puzzled expression she imagined on her own face. “No.”

The older woman motioned to Trevor. “You’re a woodworker. You cut the hearts out.” Then she motioned to Evelyn. “You’re an artist. You make them pretty. The two of you will make a lineup of example hearts, so people will get excited about placing orders this year.”

“Gigi, it’s a long time until Valentine’s Day.” Evelyn would rather have a root canal than help people profess their love to each other on wooden hearts.

“Yes, it is, so you have plenty of time to devise a plan.”

Ursula reached for another Danish. “It’s not like you’ve got anything better to do.”

Evelyn looked down while the other ladies all chastised their most outspoken member.

“What?” Ursula said. “It’s true. Look at this place.”

Shame crept into Evelyn’s belly. Trevor had opened this home to her and she’d done a terrible job of caring for it. She’d turned it into a prison, and as much as she hated to admit it, Ursula was right. She squirmed under their scrutiny.

“Evelyn, the painted hearts have been such a lovely tradition in Loves Park for so many years. There’s something wonderfully romantic about purchasing a heart to have your own personal message inscribed on it as a declaration of love for the whole town to see.”

“Sure, but what’s wrong with the hearts the way they are?” Evelyn frowned.

Gigi returned the expression. “They simply don’t reflect the artistic side of our town. Plain red hearts with white stenciled words? Surely you can come up with something prettier than that
 
—something worthy of this glorious tradition.”

Gigi certainly was dramatic.

“I’ll think about it, okay?” Evelyn rose. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

“Where are you going, dear?” Gigi also stood.

But Evelyn didn’t respond because the truth was, she didn’t have any idea where she was going.

CHAPTER

A
FTER A LONG WALK AROUND THE FARM,
Evelyn expected to return to an empty guesthouse, but as she approached, she could see Ursula sitting on the porch swing out front.

Great.

The old woman stood as soon as she spotted Evelyn. “Took ya long enough.”

Evelyn didn’t know if she had the patience for Ursula right now. Then again, at least she knew Ursula wouldn’t lie to her. That had to count for something.

“Where’d you go? That much walking could kill you.”

Evelyn stared at the ground. “I needed to get out of the house.”

“I’ll say. I opened all your windows. It was starting to stink in there.” She followed Evelyn inside, where the temperature had shot up about twenty degrees. It was early June, and the days were warm.

“You do know I have the air on, right?” Evelyn closed the windows in the living room.

Not surprisingly Ursula didn’t respond to that. “Do you know why I’m still here?”

Evelyn turned and raised a brow. “How could I possibly know that?”

Ursula narrowed her eyes. “Don’t get smart with me, missy. I’m here because I’ve got something to tell you.”

Evelyn waited.

Ursula sat in the plush armchair, crossing her feet at the ankles. Evelyn supposed that was about as ladylike as Ursula Pembrooke was going to get. Never mind she was wearing tennis shoes with knee-highs and a skirt.

“You know my marriage to Frankie is one of this town’s greatest love stories.”

Evelyn almost scoffed but quickly realized Ursula was serious.

“It’s just that nobody knows it is.” She leaned back in the chair, and Evelyn had the distinct impression this wouldn’t be a quick visit.

“Frankie was a shrewd businessman. Well, you know. He had a lot of enemies, and I guess he was a lot of things to a lot of people.” Ursula glanced up. “Not completely different from your husband.”

Slowly Evelyn sat across from her.

“Powerful men are always a crapshoot,” Ursula said. “But there was one thing Frankie never did, Evelyn.” Ursula’s trademark scowl had gone soft behind her glasses.

Evelyn held her gaze, almost afraid of what would come next.

“He never cheated on me.”

Images of Christopher and those women flashed through her mind. Barely dressed. Smiling at the camera. As if they had nothing to be ashamed of. The memory of his nonchalance about the whole thing had chipped away at her resolve to stay strong. It was as though he didn’t even realize the pain and embarrassment he’d caused her.

Or maybe he just didn’t care.

Ursula leaned forward. “I know you, Evelyn. You never make a move unless you’ve calculated it fourteen different ways. You see every possible outcome before determining the best road. But I want you to know you don’t have to stay with a man who cheats.”

Without Evelyn’s permission, fresh tears fell. “I married him, Ursula. I made a commitment.” She’d been wrestling with it ever since she left her life on the floor of her closet at the Brighton Street house. She knew her marriage was over, but that didn’t keep her from feeling like a failure. And it certainly did nothing to remove the question that permeated every waking moment:
What do I do now?

“And you honored it, but he didn’t. That makes him the failure. Not you.”

Sure didn’t feel like it. For the past few weeks, Evelyn had been replaying moments from their marriage. What could she have done differently? Was there a way to have kept him from straying? Maybe she’d pushed him too hard to start a family. Maybe she’d complained too much about their life in the public eye.

“Evelyn.” Ursula forced her gaze. “This isn’t your fault.”

She averted her eyes. She wasn’t accustomed to Ursula being nice to her. Or anyone, for that matter. Kindness seemed to hide in the corners where she least expected it. First Trevor, now Ursula. Maybe that’s what drew the tears to her eyes.

“I mean it. Some men let all that power and money go to their heads. Frankie didn’t have a dishonest bone in his body, which is why people didn’t like him. It’s why a lot of people don’t like me.”

“It’s just because they don’t know there’s a big heart underneath all those thorns.” Evelyn smiled through her tears.

Ursula let out a gruff laugh. “You’ve got a choice, kid. Stay in the house, mope around, and become the crazy person the media says you are.”

“Or?”

“Put on your big-girl panties and make some hard decisions. I’m all for working out your differences, and if you think your husband wants to change, then give it another go.”

Evelyn shook her head. “I think he’s got himself convinced he didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Then he’s the one with the mental problem.”

Evelyn wiped her cheek and looked at Ursula. “He’s not going to change, Ursula. I think he’s been cheating on me since before we even got married.”

“Then maybe it’s time for you to move on.”

“I don’t have anywhere to go.” The words came out in a whisper, accompanied by a crippling fear.

She had never been alone in her life. Christopher had always provided for her. Taken care of her. Did she even know how to make it on her own?

“Well, you’ve got me. After solving Pressman’s problems, I’m bored again. I could use a project.”

Evelyn laughed. “Thanks, Ursula.”

“Anytime. Especially if there are pastries.” She picked up a muffin, took a bite, and let herself out, leaving Evelyn with her thoughts. Evelyn watched as the old woman flagged down one of the farmhands. When she climbed into his pickup truck, Evelyn could only assume she’d demanded a ride home.

She’d done the right thing filing for divorce, even though it wasn’t something that happened to good Christians. But lately it felt like nothing in her life was supposed to happen to good Christians. She’d known marriage wouldn’t be champagne and roses all the time, but this? She never dreamed this would be her story.

She never dreamed she would consider closing the chapter on Christopher once and for all.

She wondered if God would ever forgive her if she chose to walk away.

And even if he did, would she ever forgive herself?