CHAPTER ONE
Spring was in full bloom on this particular Sunday as Jane rode around the yard on the lawn mower. Birds were zooming from tree to tree as she listened to the audiobook she’d most recently checked out. This one was a mystery by a new writer she’d never heard of before, Kris Mackey. She wasn’t sure if the author was male or female, but whoever they were, they had a way with words. The alternating viewpoints between male and female were incredibly believable, and each was quite likeable.
She’d started listening to audiobooks after CeCe Klingman, one of the clients of her cleaning business, had told Jane that she often listened to audiobooks rather than read books, since she could do two things at once that way. Jane had thought it was a great idea, since many of her clients either left her alone while she cleaned their house, or they weren’t even home. She knew that listening to books while she worked would give her plenty of time to catch up on her list of books that she wanted to read..
She’d invested in a good pair of earbuds that tucked discreetly into her ears. She left one out at all times, just in case she needed to hear something. If she didn’t do that, she was afraid she’d lose herself in whatever job she was doing.
Of course while she was mowing the lawn, she wore both earbuds. As the narrator described the grisly second murder in the book, Jane found herself wincing as she went in a tight circle around one of the massive trees on her property. Considering that her great great somethings settled on this very same property over a century ago, it was quite possible that some distant relative in her family had planted the trees she was mowing around.
And sometimes it made her look at the trees in her yard a little differently. How many generations of her family had grown up beneath those trees? Climbing the branches and finding relief from the hot Kansas summer sun? She knew she’d done that very thing when she was a young girl and her grandparents had lived in the same old farmhouse where she and her children were now living.
When she finished mowing, she drove the mower into the barn before shutting it off. Then she pulled her earbuds out and tucked them away in their charging case that was hidden in her shirt pocket. Her faded denim shirt had almost turned white from countless washings and although it used to belong to her ex-husband, Evan, she’d worn it long enough now that she considered it to be hers.
Just as she shut the mower’s engine off, Annie, the family Antolian shepherd, came running into the barn to greet her. Most likely one of the kids was on their way to the barn and had let her out. The kids knew not to bother Jane while she was mowing, but once the mower shut off, she was fair game. It seemed they were starting early this time.
“Hey, Mom?” Libby’s light voice called from outside.
“Coming, hang on,” Jane sighed as she climbed off the mower and worked her way around Annie. Somehow the big dog seemed to know right where she wanted to walk and would always manage to get there first.
Jane stepped out of the barn and pulled the door closed. “Yeah, hun?” she asked as she spotted her young daughter approaching her from the house.
Libby’s wide hazel eyes seemed brighter in the sun. “Can I make some Kool-Aid?”
Jane paused. “Are you sure you can do it yourself?” she asked. Libby had helped her before, but as far as Jane knew, she’d never done it on her own.
Libby nodded emphatically. “I’m sure I can.”
“Okay, but don’t make a mess,” Jane warned her. “I’ll be there in just a few minutes.”
Libby nodded and hurried back inside as Jane grabbed the electric weed eater she’d left by the front steps. She didn’t have much to trim, but there were still a few weeds around the flower beds along the front of the porch and the sidewalk. She turned the trimmer on and made quick work of them before she headed inside.
Libby was standing on a chair at the counter, the plastic pitcher filled with red liquid before her. She had the long spoon they always used to stir the sugary drink and she was carefully using it. She bit her lip as she carefully concentrated so that she wouldn’t spill.
“Is today when Henry leaves?” Libby asked when she saw her mother enter the kitchen.
“It is,” Jane nodded. She’d been trying to stay busy so that she wouldn’t think about it too much. Henry had become such a part of their lives, especially after he’d told her he’d wanted to move closer to them and live in Alma. Now he was going away. It was just for a few months, but she knew she’d feel the loss of the growing friendship that had developed between them. Her throat grew tight at the thought of saying goodbye.
“Do you think he’ll forget about us?” Libby asked quietly. Her mother realized that she had some of her own insecurities about Henry leaving, something Jane desperately didn’t want her daughter dealing with at such a young age.
“No, I don’t,” Jane admitted. “But he might get busy and make new friends,” she said. She was trying to set Libby’s expectations at a reasonable level, although she really wasn’t sure what to expect once he’d been gone for a while. Would he just disappear, or would he keep in touch? Only time would tell. “And that’s okay if he does.”
Libby nodded, although she didn’t look like she thought much of the idea of Henry making new friends.
“Hey,” Jane said as she moved close to her daughter and put her arm around her. Having Libby standing on the chair made Jane realize how soon it would be that Libby really would be that height. It made her squeeze her daughter a little tighter. “You know what matters the most?”
“What?” Libby asked, continuing to slowly stir even though the sugar and everything else had long since dissolved.
“That we have each other,” Jane reminded her. “And Tyson.”
Libby nodded. “Yeah, I know,” she said with a sigh, and it sounded heavier than a little girl’s sigh should sound. She needed something to cheer her up.
“Hey, I have an idea,” Jane said as she took a step back. “Let’s make Henry some cookies he can take with him. You know how much he loves your caramel pecan cookies.”
Libby just added the caramels and pecans when they made the cookies, but she’d long ago dubbed them “her” cookies.
Libby’s face brightened. “Can we?”
“Sure,” Jane said with a smile as she helped Libby down off the chair. She turned and called toward the stairs. “Tyson, we’re going to the store!”
Moments later he came running, slipping around on the laminate flooring in his socks. “Can I drive?” he asked breathlessly as he caught himself on the doorframe.
Jane thought about saying no. She didn’t really want to deal with the stress of it, but she also didn’t want to squash the light that was flickering in his eyes.
“Sure,” she said enthusiastically.
*****
Henry loved the cookies, along with the card that Libby had insisted they pick up at the store to go with them. Jane had thought it was a little silly, but when she saw how touched Henry had been when Libby gave it to him, she was glad they’d bought it.
Libby had written all of their contact information on the inside flap of the card and Henry had teared up when he read it. Libby had even written a vow to keep drawing him pictures and that she’d asked her mother to mail them to him. Jane smiled and laughed, considering Libby had asked her no such thing.
Libby had also insisted on getting paper streamers to decorate the living room. Henry stopping by for one last visit was quickly turning into a small party, thanks to Libby’s enthusiasm. But it didn’t cost much, so Jane couldn’t tell her no. A few extra dollars to make things easier wouldn’t hurt anything.
So they’d run colorful streamers around the doorways and gotten a small pack of balloons to blow up. It wasn’t much, but Henry had been surprised when he walked through the door. That was what mattered.
Now, it was time for him to go. With a plate of cookies in his hands and a sad look in his eyes, he first hugged Tyson and then Libby before giving Annie extra scratches around her ears.
“Ty, why don’t you take your sister inside so I can talk to your mom alone for a minute?” Henry asked as they all stood in the front yard.
Tyson nodded and with one last hug, Libby squeezed Henry and headed inside. “Come on Annie,” she said as Tyson opened the front door.
“Thank you, for everything,” Henry said softly. The sun had set and now they were on the edge of the porch light.
“Of course,” Jane said, wondering if this was really all he wanted to say. “It’s the least you deserve. I just wish we could have done more.”
He shook his head. “No. This was more than enough.” They turned and walked closer to his car. “I’m going to be honest. I want you to keep seeing other people and stuff. I don’t want you to stay home alone or anything, but would you do me a favor?” he asked with a wince.
“What?” she asked as they came to a stop next to his car door.
“Don’t tell me about it,” Henry replied, and his voice cracked slightly. He cleared his throat and went on. “I want you to live and not wait on whatever we’ve barely started. We’ve talked about it. But I don’t want to know how often you’re going out or with whom. I think it might just make me hop on the next plane and come back.”
Jane smirked. “I doubt I’m going to do anything too interesting, but I agree.” The only other person she’d been out with was Mike Calloway, an old friend from long ago. He was even less inclined to make things serious than she was.
Henry seemed relieved to hear it. “Good,” he nodded. “Then there’s just one more thing.” He opened the door and put the cookies on the dash.
“What’s that?’ she asked, curious.
When he turned back around, his hand slipped under her hair and pulled her mouth to his. There was no warning, just his lips on hers, tasting of caramel and cookie. Not a bad thing. When he deepened the kiss further, she lost all sense, and it began to feel as though they were floating.
She pressed her hand to his chest before her fingers wrapped themselves in the fabric to pull him closer. When they finally did break apart for air, it was slowly and reluctantly.
“Just a little something to remember me by,” he said huskily in the dark.
She smiled against his lips. “Ditto.”
Jane took a few steps back as he got into his car and closed the door. She started to wonder just how many men she was going to watch leave her driveway, then she forced that thought away. It was self-pitying and she didn’t want that. She wasn’t ready to be serious right now and she had a feeling Henry was, so the timing wasn’t exactly right. With any luck, things would work out soon, though. They both just needed a little more time.
Henry waved as he backed out of the driveway, and she blew him a kiss. She watched as he caught it and pretended to tuck it in his shirt pocket before he slowly drove away. ...
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