The Hearts We Mend (21 page)
Gertrude had fussed a little, but Evie could tell the woman was pleased by all the attention. And why wouldn't she be? The people who attended Hope Community loved Gertrude.
The only time she hadn't looked so pleased was when Evie revisited her decision to move to Texas.
Oh, that broken ankle was just a little setback, Evangeline. I've still got all my faculties about me, and if God hadn't wanted me to help those women learn the correct way to apply eyeliner, He wouldn't have given me such steady hands.
How could Evie argue with that?
Cody's car wasn't in the driveway, but Evie knew where they hid the spare key. She let herself in through the back door and almost tripped over a pair of pink sandals.
Lily's sandals.
Was she still here? It was almost five o'clock and Jack got off work at four.
“Hello?” Evie followed the low murmur of voices to the living room.
The three girlsâRaine, Lily, and Divaâwere curled up on the sofa.
“Evie!” Lily leaped off the couch and bounded toward her.
A curl of delight ribboned through Evie as she bent down and pulled her into a hug. “I didn't expect to see you here.”
“We're watching a movie. Well, I was watching a movie. Raine fell asleep during the best part.”
Raine's cheeks, still imprinted with the diamond pattern from the sofa pillow, turned pink. “Did I really?”
“Just for a few minutes.”
“Jack called and asked if Lily could stay a little longer. When Cody gets back with the car, I'm going to give her a ride home.”
“I can drop her off.”
“Are youâ” Raine stifled a yawn. “Sure?”
“I'm sure. You look like you could use a little nap.”
“I think it's from carrying around all this extra weight.” Raine's gaze dropped to her stomach. “I'm starting to walk like a penguin.”
Evie remembered feeling the same way when she was pregnant with Cody. “This might cheer you up. Two packages addressed to you and Cody were delivered to the house today. I set them on the kitchen table.”
The lights flickered and Lily let out a squeak of alarm. “Bitsy doesn't like storms.”
Evie gave Lily's shoulders a quick squeeze. “Then we better go.”
“Thanks, Evie.” Raine pulled the blanket up higher, her eyes already beginning to drift close. “I'll see you tomorrow, Lilliputian.”
“Those are little people,” Lily whispered to Evie. “It's in a book.”
“I think I remember Cody reading that one.” Evie waited for Lily to stuff her belongings into her backpack, and then they slipped out the back door.
On the way to Fairview Street, Lily told Evie everything she and Raine had done that day. The park. The variety store, where they'd bought a knitting loom for Lily and a teddy bear for the baby. No wonder Raine was tuckered out.
Just as Evie parked the car, raindrops began to pelt the sidewalk. Lily squealed and crossed her arms over her head as she dashed for the covered staircase.
Jack was waiting for them at the top of the landing, a tool belt riding low on his hips. Tufts of pink insulation decorated his hair and clung to the long-sleeved cotton T-shirt he wore.
“You look like you got into a fight with a cotton candy machine.”
Evie's laughter washed over Jack. A song he was going to hear in his dreams. Oh, who was he kidding? Evie had already invaded his dreams. And his thoughts.
In fact, Jack had been thinking about their last conversation when he glanced out the window and saw the silver Jeep pull up next to the curb. Her office had been dark most of the day, and he'd overheard Pauline telling someone that Evie was out for the day.
She hadn't even left a Post-it note in his office, sentencing Jack to eight hours of hard labor in the youth wing.
“I made a deal with the landlord.” He tried to shake some of the pink stuff from his hair. “I replace the cheap insulation in the attic with something a little more substantial, and with the money he saves on the heating bill in the winter, he's going to put in two more washers and dryers.”
“Andy and Serena will appreciate that.” Evie notched her voice above the rain as the heavens opened up.
Lily squealed again and pushed open the door leading into the hallway. Jack guided Evie inside as a gust of wind rattled the metal sheeting that covered the staircase.
“I hope you don't mind that I brought Lily home,” Evie said when they were safely inside the building. “I had to drop something off for the kids, and Cody wasn't back with the car yet.”
Mind? After revealing all the skeletons in his family closet, Jack was surprised she'd offered.
“I've got a few more things to finish up on the third floor, but it shouldn't take me more than an hour.” Jack gave Lily's ponytail a gentle tug. “Can you wait that long for supper?”
“Uh-huh. Raine and I had bugs on a log for a snack when we got back from the store.”
“Celery, peanut butter, and raisins,” Evie whispered.
“Thank you for translating. And for bringing Lily home.” Through the window at the top of the stairs, Jack saw a shard of lightning slice through the clouds. “You can wait out the storm in the apartment if you want to. According to the weather report I saw, it's supposed to pass over pretty quickly.”
Evie's gaze slid away from his.
Or not.
Jack tried not to let his disappointment show. “If you need anything, Lily, I'm right upstairs. Just give me a shout.”
“I will.” His niece disappeared into the apartment, but Evie didn't follow her.
Okay, then. The lady obviously had other plans.
Jack's head told him that was a good thing . . . but his heart was a little slower to catch up.
The storm had rumbled on, the mountains of cumulus clouds dissolving into a glorious crimson sunset.
Jack loved it when God showed off.
The project had taken a little longer than he'd expected, but he hadn't heard a peep from Lily. Not that that was unusual. After spending the day with Raine, she played with Bitsy for an hour or two so the guinea pig wouldn't feel left out.
Jack let himself into the apartment and headed straight for the bathroom. Although he'd worn gloves and a mask, the fiberglass insulation had still managed to work its way under his collar. He felt like he'd rolled in a patch of poison ivy.
“I'm going to take a quick shower,” he called out.
Fifteen minutes later, in a clean T-shirt and jeans, he felt almost human again.
Light flowed into the hallway outside Lily's room. The door was open a few inches, far enough that Jack could see she wasn't alone.
Lily was perched on the sequined mushroom stool. Evie knelt on the floor behind her, combing the tangles from her hair. Lily started singing a song Jack vaguely recognized, and Evie joined in, laughing as they stumbled through the lines.
She looked . . . different. She'd discarded her sandals, leaving her feet bare . . . except for the Caribbean Sunrise nail polish on her toes. A gigantic purple flower Jack was sure he'd never seen in nature bloomed above her left ear.
A surge of longing crashed through him. Because this was the picture he wanted to see at the end of a long day. Jack had been so busy taking care of the people in his family over the years, he'd never let himself dream of having one of his own.
But this apartment didn't belong to him. Lily wasn't his daughter. And Evie . . . she didn't belong to him either.
He was about to duck out of sight when Lily spotted him lurking in the doorway. “Evie trimmed my bangs, Uncle Jack! And now she's going to braid my hair.”
All he could do was nod. The storm outside might have subsided, but Jack could feel one brewing on the inside.
“Did you finish the insulation?” Evie drew a comb through Lily's hair and began to divide the long curls into sections.
“Almost.” Jack tore his gaze away from her hands. “Bert pointed out a leak in the third-floor landing that I have to investigate. Taking care of this building is like playing Whack-a-Mole. Just when I think I'm making some progress, something else pops up.”
Lily giggled at the image.
Evie wrapped a tiny elastic band around the end of the little girl's braid. “All done.”
Lily leaped to her feet, presenting her back to Jack so he could admire Evie's handiwork. “Beautiful . . . and so is the braid.”
Giggling, she swung around to face him again. “You need a haircut too, Uncle Jack.”
Jack fingered the ends, a little surprised that his hair practically brushed his collarbone. “I guess I do.”
“Or you could put it in a ponytail.” The tease in Evie's voice sent sparks of electricity shooting through him
. “
I'm sure Lily can spare one of her elastic bands.”
“Mmm.” Jack pretended to consider the notion. “I don't know . . . People might think I'm in a motorcycle gang. Better not risk it.”
Lily wrinkled her nose. “You don't have a motorcycle.”
“One would
think
that would be part of the criteria . . .” Jack feinted to one side, narrowly escaping the heart-shaped pillow that hurtled past his head. “I think Evie is trying to tell me it's time to start supper.”
“We already ate.”
“I found some chicken in the fridge and made a stir fry,” Evie said.
“We saved some for you though, Uncle Jack. Bert gave us some stuff from her garden to put in it.” Lily ticked off the ingredients on her fingers. “Spinach. Onions. Something yellow that looks like celery.”
Evie smiled. “Swiss chard.”
He must have been gone a long time. How many other people had wandered in while Evie held down the fort? “I'm sorry . . . You didn't exactly sign up for the whole evening.”
“I don't mind.” Evie rose to her feet. It was funny, how much grace there was in the simplest of movements.
Jack enjoyed just looking at her . . .
Stop looking at her.
He pivoted toward the hallway to put some distance between them.
Which would have worked if Evie hadn't followed him. Jack almost hoped he would see Ron sprawled in the chair or Josh at
the table with his textbook. Because right now a page of geometry problems would be easier to analyze than his feelings for Evie.
But Harley, stretched out on the back of the sofa, was the only visitor taking up space in Jack's living room.
Evie echoed his thoughts. “I think the storm kept people inside this evening.”
“Since you and Lily have already eaten, I better make sure there's no water coming in on the first floor.”
“What are you doing on the first floor? I thought you were only in charge of maintenance.”
“The landlord offered a break on my rent if I agreed to renovate it.” Building maintenance, that was a freebie, a labor of love for Bert and the rest of the tenants, but Jack kept that little bit of information to himself. “When I'm finished, he's going to put the building on the market.”
“He's
selling
it?”
“That's the plan. Nothing should change as far as the apartments are concerned, but this building was zoned for commercial, so I think he's hoping the downstairs space will be an added bonus to potential business owners.”
Evie glanced at Lily to make sure the child wasn't in hearing range before she murmured, “Another bar?”
Jack didn't admit he'd been worried about the same thing.
“Thomsen's Bakery used to be on the corner, but it went out of business when I was in high school. I can't remember what was in this building.”
“It's hard to tell now. The last guy who owned it pretty much gutted the downstairs.” Jack smiled. “I actually prefer it that way. I'd rather work with a blank canvas.”
“What are you doing to it?”
“The usual. Windows. Walls. Floor. Ceiling.”
“Uncle Jack says the houses tell him secrets.” Lily had moved close enough to catch the last part of the conversation. Close enough for Jack to reach over and hook his arm around her waist.
“And you're supposed to keep them, Squirt,” he growled in her ear as she giggled and tried to escape.
“What kind of secrets?” Evie looked intrigued.
At least this was one Jack could safely share. “I guess you'll have to come downstairs and take a look.”
L
ily held Evie's hand as they followed Jack downstairs.
Plywood covered the windows overlooking the street, and they waited on the sidewalk while Jack fished a key from the pocket of his jeans and unlocked the door.
“You can explore a little but don't touch any of the tools, okay? I don't want you to get hurt.”
“Are you talking to me or Lily?” Evie murmured.
Laughter backlit Jack's eyes. “Both of you.” He pushed the door open and turned on the light.
Gutted, Evie thought, had been a pretty accurate description. Sections of paneling were missing. In some places, there weren't any walls at all.
