26

SADIE AND ELLA SAT IN THE LIVING ROOM, blinking against the overhead light. They almost never turned that light on, preferring instead to use table lamps. The bright glare felt harsh and unfriendly.

“We’re checking with all the church members who were in the vicinity this evening,” said the uniformed deputy. He was young and seemed to be trying to grow a mustache that wouldn’t take. Sadie kept rubbing her upper lip, and Ella had to resist the urge to pull her aunt’s arm down.

“Looks like the fire started around the time the wedding reception was winding down, so there are quite a few suspects.” He flushed. “Not that we automatically think it was someone from the church, but it’s our understanding some folks were upset about this hunting lodge going in and might have felt that was justification for doing some damage.” He smiled, but even his smile appeared textbook. “Routine investigation. Now, if you can give me an accounting of where each of you went when you left the church.”

Aunt Sadie explained that her brother brought her home and dropped her off. The deputy flipped through his little notebook.

“Yup. Here we go. That matches the statement I took from Henry and Margaret Phillips next door.” He turned red again. “Oops. I’m not supposed to tell you that.” He tucked his chin and pushed his shoulders back. “Suffice it to say, I can corroborate your story.” He looked at Ella. “What about you?”

“I took the bridal bouquet to my grandmother at her nursing home.”

He frowned. “Did any of the staff there see you?”

“I . . . I suppose so. I didn’t talk to anyone in particular, but they might have seen me come in.”

He scribbled in his notebook. “I’ll check on that first thing tomorrow.”

Ella felt a twinge of fear. Surely they wouldn’t think she’d had anything to do with a fire at the new hunting preserve. “Was there much damage?”

“No, I think they got to it pretty quick. Probably an amateur who didn’t really know what he was doing.” He snapped his fingers and made a face. “I gotta quit telling stuff. This is my first real investigation.” He laughed. “Don’t worry. I doubt the sheriff would send me out to interview anyone he really suspected.”

He slapped his notebook closed and stood, resting a hand on his gun. Ella tried to feel reassured, but the mere fact that someone had set fire to Laurel Mountain Hunting Preserve was deeply unsettling.

Perla awoke feeling . . . hopeful. She considered rolling over and refusing to do anything about it. The last thing she wanted to feel at the moment was hope. She wanted to prove her daughter right by failing to recover. By taking her secrets to the grave. By leaving Sadie to sort out her life on her own.

But doggone it, all the life those girls brought into the house with their wedding preparations stirred something inside her and made her miss being at home. She’d been so busy blaming Sadie for sticking her in Hillside Acres, she hadn’t considered that maybe she could do something about it.

All she’d been thinking about lately was where she’d gone wrong in loving Sonny—Arthur. But Will and Laura’s wedding reminded her of how she’d gone right in loving Casewell. She’d fallen in love the first time all on her own. The second time she’d come to realize she needed God’s blessing before she chose to love anyone. And oh how God had blessed them.

It had been more than thirty years since that terrible morning when Casewell didn’t wake up. She still grieved him, but time had softened the pain and sharpened the knowledge that with God all was well. She thought about the Scripture the pastor shared at Casewell’s funeral. It was from First Thessalonians, if she remembered right. “Do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.”

She sat up and swung her feet over the side of the bed. She’d been refusing to do therapy with that chirpy young man who tried to cajole her into exercising, but she’d continued doing what she could on her own when no one was watching. She guessed hope, when it came from God, was harder to give up than she expected.

Sunshine slanted through the window, and she could see birds on the feeders out in the courtyard. Oh, how the birds sang the day she married Casewell. Sadie—the very embodiment of her mistake—was beside herself with excitement that day. She wore a ruffled dress, and her curls bounced free of the ribbons Delilah wove in to contain them.

When Perla arrived at the church in her soon-to-be-mother-in-law’s dress, she thought her heart might fly right out of her chest. Casewell was so tall and handsome. Though he’d worn a beard for many years, he was clean-shaven on their wedding day, and Perla feared for a moment that he’d change his mind. But then he smiled at her and held out a hand for Sadie to come to him and Perla knew without a doubt that God had ordained the day.

Then when the whole town came out to celebrate their union—and brought enough food to feed everyone twice—she knew God had forgiven her and she could start over fresh. She hoped Arthur had found the same sort of peace. She knew he’d gone back home and claimed his wife in spite of the opposition of their families, but she had no notion what happened after that. She made it a point never to seek him out in any way.

Of course, she could give Sadie the name of her father. Then Sadie could look Arthur Morgan up even more easily than she had Imogene Bennett. Perla suspected Sadie didn’t want her to know what she was up to, but Ella had filled her in.

Perla opened the drawer in her bedside table and rummaged for a pencil and a scrap of paper. Surely she could scratch out the name if she focused. But then she paused and considered. Maybe it was better this way. Maybe it was good for Sadie to do this on her own.

She remembered the child who used to chase birds and laughed softly. It had been the oddest thing. Around the time she was six, Sadie started chasing every wild bird she encountered. Crows, turkeys, robins—they were all fair game. She would run after them as hard as she could, not slowing down until the birds disappeared into a tree or the sky. Returning with her little chest heaving, she’d shake her head as though it had been so close.

Perla finally asked her why she chased birds.

“I want one,” Sadie said.

And that was that. Sadie wanted a wild bird and she pursued what she wanted with every fiber of her being. Perla dropped the pencil back in the drawer. She’d let Sadie chase her bird and maybe, this time, she’d catch it.

After spending the night on Gran’s sofa, Ella tried to behave as though she wasn’t dying to know more about the fire at the hunting preserve, but finally gave in and practically jogged over to the farmhouse and entered through her parents’ back door. If nothing else, Mom would give her breakfast.

“Mom, Dad, what’s the news this morning?” She almost skidded to a stop as she rounded the corner to the kitchen and found her parents relaxing at the table with Seth. They were all sipping coffee, and Seth had a plate with the remains of toast and eggs on it.

Dad reached out and welcomed Ella with a side hug. “Guess you’re likely meaning that poor excuse for a fire over at the hunting lodge. Seth and I were just laughing at how most of the folks we know are off the hook because they would have done a better job.”

Seth smiled as if laughing and having breakfast at the Phillips farm were a regular occurrence.

“So they still don’t know who did it?” She narrowed her eyes at Seth, who widened his in return.

“If they do, they sure haven’t told me. Probably some kids trying to cause a ruckus.”

“Well, it worked,” Mom said, taking Seth’s plate and rinsing it in the sink. She looked intently at Ella. “And I imagine there are more than kids who would be happy to see that lodge come to harm.”

“It wouldn’t hurt my feelings if it burnt to the ground,” Ella said. Seth’s eyebrows lifted. “But I’d never have the nerve to attempt arson. If anything, I’d try to find legal grounds to keep that place out of Wise.” She winced inwardly even as she spoke. Little good that would do.

“I’d better get going.” Seth stood and swallowed the last of his coffee. “Thanks for breakfast.”

“You know you’re welcome anytime,” Mom said.

Seth smiled, settled his ball cap in place, and headed for the door.

Ella spun after him. “I’ll see you out.

Once they were on the back porch, she turned to face Seth. “I didn’t expect to find you here this morning.”

He shrugged. “Your mom invited me. I think she’d be happy to feed me every morning, but I can’t let her do that.” He looked back toward the door. “Much as I’d like it.”

“Don’t you have a family of your own?” Ella snapped. As soon as she heard her own words, she wished she could snatch them back. “I mean, I know you have a family. Why are you so attached to mine?”

Seth flicked the bill of his cap, raising it a notch so that his face wasn’t in shadow. “You know, Ella, I’m not sure you realize how lucky you are to know who your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and so on are. Me? I have no idea. Guess I kind of like hanging out with folks whose roots run deep. Especially when they’re ready to treat me like one of their own.” He resettled the cap and stepped down off the porch. “I’m headed over to the preserve to see if I can help Keith fix what damage has been done.” He glanced at her over his shoulder. “Even if some folks wish the damage had been a whole lot worse.”

Ella watched him drive away, feeling as though someone had tied a knot in the middle of her chest. She’d been trying to convince herself that maybe Richard would be good husband material, but the agony she felt at the moment made her realize her heart was committed elsewhere.