9
Amy’s heart warmed as Jonah raced toward her. Somehow his joyful exuberance took her back to the sweetest memories of her childhood, when she and Brett played tag and hide-and-seek here on long summer nights. In their innocence, they’d been unprepared for the ugliness they’d be facing as their parents’ arguments led to divorce, shared custody, and manipulative maneuverings. Even as bad as that was, it didn’t compare to the devastating loss they experienced when the plane crash left them, and AJ too, orphaned and alone. The Tragic Trio, the press dubbed them. Ohio’s own poor little rich kids.
But she also wished she’d had more time alone with Gabe. The news that he had been in prison should have shocked her. Instead, she felt a strange conviction he had a good explanation. If they hadn’t been interrupted, he’d have told her everything and she’d have told him the truth—that she had never forgotten that long-ago day at the Hearth. The words they’d said to each other. Their only kiss.
But perhaps it was best she’d been denied the chance by Brett’s arrival. Gabe might have thought she was interested in rekindling their teenage romance. Maybe she was, if only to escape her loneliness. But she doubted he was the type of man to engage in a summer dalliance, and she wasn’t willing to commit to anything long-term. Not when her life was such a mess.
“Hey, Aunt Amy.” Jonah practically tackled her, and she had to brace herself to keep from falling.
“Whoa there, buddy,” Gabe said, helping to steady her. “You gotta be careful with the ladies.”
“Did you bring the cookies, Mr. Gabe?”
“Sure did. They’re inside.”
Without another word, Jonah hurried through the door.
Brett sauntered toward them, and Amy welcomed him with a quick hug. She stood back while he and Gabe greeted each other, and then gestured toward the cottage. “You want to come on in?”
“Sure,” Brett said.
“It’s nice seeing you again, Brett,” Gabe said. “But I should be going.”
“Let me transfer the cookies to another plate first,” Amy said. “Then you can take Tess’s container with you.”
“Okay,” he agreed. But he sounded uncomfortable. Perhaps he felt he was intruding on a family moment. True, Amy wanted to talk to Brett about Jonah’s doctor’s appointment. But she didn’t want Gabe to leave. Not yet.
When they got inside, she busied herself pouring a glass of milk for Jonah and giving him a plate for his snack. “Things are a bit of a mess,” she said. “You can sit on the floor, I guess. But don’t touch the cabinets. Or anything else that might be wet.”
“Would it be okay if I go outside?” Jonah asked.
“That’s a great idea.”
Jonah glanced at Brett, who nodded assent, then he headed out the door.
“How did his appointment go?” Amy asked once Jonah was out of earshot.
“You know how it is,” Brett said. “Go to one place and wait, then another place and wait. But it’s all good news so far. They did a CAT scan, and the preliminary look was promising. We’ll know more in a few days.”
“Did you talk to Meghan?”
“Yeah. She was a wreck not being here.”
“I’m still surprised she went to New York.”
“I’m glad she did. She needed a break, and it was too good an opportunity for her to pass up. And Dani and I need this time with Jonah.”
“One little happy family?”
“Scoff all you want, but yes. We are.” Brett broke one of the cookies in half but paused before taking a bite. “We really are.”
“Just remember this moment when he’s a teenager,” Amy teased.
“Remind me of it.”
Gabe chuckled and glanced toward the doorway where they could see Jonah through the pane. “Looks like he’s enjoying those cookies. Tess will be glad.”
“Tess can bake him all the cookies she wants as long as he shares with the rest of us,” Brett said. “These are good.”
“She’ll be glad to know you all enjoyed them.” Gabe took the container Amy handed him. “Thanks again for lunch. Maybe we can do it again sometime.”
“Whenever that day-long thunderstorm comes along,” Amy said. “I’ll walk you to the gate.”
“Afraid he’ll get lost?” Brett teased.
She gave him a withering look. “Just being neighborly.” Behind her, Brett made a harrumphing noise, but she ignored him.
Once they were outside, Gabe paused by Jonah.
“What did you think of those snickerdoodles?” he asked.
Jonah appeared deep in thought for a moment. “They’re as good as Mom’s,” he said decidedly, then wrinkled his nose. “But I like Mom’s better.”
“As you should.”
“Good answer.” Amy tousled Jonah’s hair. “I’ll be right back.”
When she and Gabe reached the gate, she self-consciously rubbed her arms as if feeling a sudden chill. “We didn’t get to finish our talk,” she said.
“Maybe that’s a good thing.”
“It’s just . . . I told you about my eating disorder because I wanted you to hear it from me. It goes the other way too.”
“What do you mean?”
“I want to know your story from you. No one else.”
“There’s no story.”
“I don’t believe that.”
He shifted his weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other. “Don’t feel sorry for me. I don’t like that any more than you like pity.”
“I won’t,” she stammered. “I don’t.”
He gripped her elbow, and for a lingering second she thought he was going to kiss her. Instead, he let her go, slipped through the gate, and was gone.
Amy walked up the slope to the cottage with an ache in her heart she never expected to experience. She wished that when she went back inside, somehow Gran would be there. She yearned to pour out her heart, to tell her what she’d said to Gabe and what he’d said to her. Maybe Gran’s wisdom and her unconditional love could help Amy sort out the tangled mess she’d made of her life.
She also wanted to tell Gran how sorry she was for not spending more time with her. For not listening to her stories.
Brett walked out of the house as she neared the porch. “You okay? You look a little sad.”
“I’m fine.” She pasted on a smile, more for Jonah’s sake than Brett’s. Her brother wouldn’t be fooled.
“Are there any more cookies?” Jonah asked.
“Only for you to take home,” Amy said. “Your dad might get mad at me if I let you spoil your supper.”
Jonah made a face, then brightened. “I asked Dr. Marc if I could ride a horse.”
“What did he say?” Amy glanced at Brett’s stony expression. “Or shouldn’t I ask?”
“Let’s just say I won’t be donating to any more of his favorite charities for a while,” Brett said.
“First he said yes,” Jonah said. “Then later he said he wanted to think about it. But he only said that because Daddy talked to him.”
“Why don’t you run a lap around the cottage?” Brett suggested. “Stretch your legs.”
“You mean so you can talk without me hearing?”
Brett looked over Jonah’s head at Amy. “He’s a smart one.”
Jonah snorted and slowly walked around the corner. Once he was out of sight, Brett blew out air.
“I started riding when I was younger than he is,” Amy said quietly.
“You hadn’t spent weeks in a coma.”
“I know. But—”
“Don’t push it, Amy. If anything happened to him . . .” Brett’s jaw set in a hard line. “Meghan would never forgive me. I’d never forgive me.”
“You can’t protect him from everything. And if you try, he’ll resent you for it.”
“We’re letting him take swimming lessons. Why can’t that be enough?” He glanced at his watch. “We need to get home and change. There’s a game tonight.”
“What kind of game?”
“Church softball league.”
“You’re playing church softball?”
“Surprised?”
“Why don’t you come with us?” He scrutinized her appearance. “Though you might want to wash your face first. Get rid of that paint.”
“What paint?” She swiped at her cheeks. “Where?”
“There.” He touched her chin then her cheek. “And there. Also there.”
“You couldn’t have told me this earlier? I am so embarrassed.”
“Because Gabe saw you like that?” Brett flashed his dimples. “To him you looked adorable.”
“I doubt that.”
“Trust me, you did. AJ asked him to join the team too, you know.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“So how about it? Softball game with the family? Not-so-fine dining afterward?”
“Sounds like the best time ever, but I think I’ll pass.”
“So what’s on your menu for this evening?” He held up his hands before she could answer. “Just making conversation.”
“Sure you were.”
He looked apologetic, but why couldn’t he understand she didn’t like his overprotectiveness any more than Jonah did? His subtle and not-so-subtle questions only made her want to lash out at him. Even avoid him.
One of her counselors had said she was lucky to have someone in her life who cared enough to hover. But it still aggravated her. “I had a salad not that long ago. Just before Gabe and I painted the cabinet doors, in fact. So I’m not hungry for the simple reason I just ate. Plus I saved two”—she held up her fingers—“snickerdoodles for later.” She hadn’t, but he didn’t need to know that.
Brett drew her into a spontaneous hug. “Just eat supper too. Okay?” She lightly punched him, and he doubled over in exaggerated pain.
“Hey, Jonah,” he called. “We need to get out of here before Aunt Amy beats me up.”
Jonah came running around the other side of the cottage, then raced Brett to the car. Once again, Amy made the trek down the slope to open and close the gate.
On her way back to the cottage, her phone buzzed. Logan. The guy sure was persistent. She frowned but accepted the call.
“Amy,” he said enthusiastically. “How have you been?”
“Fine. You?”
“I’ll be perfect if you say yes to my invitation.”
“Invitation to what?” She entered the cottage and awkwardly plopped onto a canvas-covered chair.
“Only coffee.”
“Why don’t I believe that? Oh, I know. Because you said something in your message about one of my former clients.”
“So I did.” He chuckled softly. “But I’d rather not discuss it on the phone.”
“I don’t think I want to discuss it at all.”
“It’s important, Amy. Otherwise I wouldn’t have called. Besides, I miss our secret strategy sessions. Don’t you?”
No, she didn’t.
Amy moved the phone away from her mouth so he wouldn’t hear her resigned sigh. Those long chats that broke all the rules regarding client confidentiality seemed daring at the time and had been helpful to them both. But it was another part of her past she wished she could erase.
If this were anyone but Logan, she probably would have already hung up by now. If she’d even answered the call.
But he’d been her confidential sounding board more than once during her lobbying days. And an accommodating plus-one on the rare occasions she didn’t have a steady escort.
“When and where?” she asked.
“That depends. Where are you living these days?”
“In Glade County outside Madison. At my cousin’s cottage.”
“I’m glad to know you’re still in the state. How about tomorrow around 10:30? You name the place.”
“There’s a coffee shop on London Avenue. Can you find the address?”
“I’m sure I can.”
“Then I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Great. See you then.”
They hung up, and Amy leaned her head against the back of the chair. Logan obviously wanted information, but if he also hoped to lure her back into his world, he’d be disappointed with her answer. Those long days of scheming, plotting, and strategizing were over.
But not her painting days. The kitchen and bathroom were still on her list, but she’d tackle them another time. She cleaned the brushes and rollers, took a shower, and looked ahead to a lazy evening.
A lonely evening.
Unless she went to that game.