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“Some of the children are sick. I was wondering if you could speak to your doctor friend and get some cough medicine. We also desperately need a few things to fix the water pipes again.”
Jake sighs when the bell sounds again, and he looks up to see Sondra from the bakery trying to keep the door open while her arms are stacked with desserts.
Jake presses his lips in a line and hisses at Noleen. “One word,” he warns and rummages in his pockets, producing a pen.
“Write a list of what she needs,” he tells me, pointing to the notepad before wandering off to help Sondra.
I stare at the pen. I have prayed for days for a damn pen to try to slip someone a note, and he’s just handed me one. I quickly tear a piece of paper from the back of the notepad he usually writes orders on; I glance at Jake and Sondra. Noleen watches me, and I scribble the only number I know on it off the top of my head: my father’s.
Chapter
Twenty-Eight
Noleen suddenly leans forward on the box, and I look up, scrunching the paper. Sondra is coming toward us with a box of desserts. “You’re Mary’s daughter’s friend, ah… Give me a second. I am bad with names.”
We all look at Sondra.
“Noleen, right?” she asks.
“Yes, ma’am, that is correct.”
Sondra smiles. “Lloyd always loved Petra. Such a sweet girl,” she says, and my lip trembles remembering yesterday.
Jake walks out the back, and Noleen turns her head to see him slip into the kitchen before snatching the paper from my hand, and I let out a breath as she pockets it.
“You’ll have to tell Petra to come see me. Is she still around?”
“Ah, she went on vacation, ma’am, to visit her mother in the nursing home,” Noleen tells her.
Jake told me that Sondra and Mary were friends and that Sondra believes Mary is in a nursing home, suffering from dementia.
“Oh, you still run the refuge for the women?” Sondra whispers, and I blink at her when she winks at Noleen.
Noleen stares at her, stunned.
“Secret’s safe with me. Mary was my best friend. I was shocked to hear she took a turn, but—”
Jake comes back out. “Jake, sweetie, the box on top is full of cupcakes. I have a spare box back at the bakery. Give them to Noleen. I am sure the kids would love them.” She sends him a wink, and he gives her a tight smile.
“Of course, so thoughtful of you, Sondra,” Jake tells her, wandering off when Noleen snatches the pen, quickly scribbling the list down. She has finished it by the time Jake returns.
Noleen grabs the box in her hands. “It was lovely seeing you again, Sondra. Tell Lloyd I said hello,” she tells her when Sondra smiles sadly.
“Lloyd left us two nights ago, dear.”
Noleen opens her mouth to say something while I stare at her in shock.
“It’s alright dear. He is no longer in pain,” Sondra tells her.
“I’m deeply sorry for your loss,” Noleen tells her, and Sondra pats her shoulder.
“I will drop that extra box of cupcakes off before I head back to the ranch tonight, Jake,” Sondra tells him, and Jake takes the notepad and pen from me.
“I can pick it up after I close if you prefer,” Jake tells her, and she nods, following Noleen out.
I watch as Noleen puts her supplies in the milk crate, and Jake wanders back to the kitchen when she looks up through the window. She gives me a nod, and I suck in a breath.
Please, please come for us.
