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Of course, the reason she had been working so much was to help her mother in another way, she reminded herself, but she still felt bad that she hadn't spent nearly enough time with her in the past month and a half.
She sighed and did a mental inventory of the refrigerator. There should be enough in there for her to scrounge together a dinner for them to share before she left again. She'd get to the lawn and the weeding later this week and see if Liam had time to pitch in.
She pushed open the front door, surprised at the sound of feminine voices that greeted her. She followed the sound to the kitchen, where her mother was seated at the kitchen table with four friends, clearly engrossed in a rousing round of bridge.
Her guilt eased at seeing her mother enjoying herself with Vivian Decker, Dory Patton, and Susan Doherty. The foursome had played cards once a week for as long as Colleen could remember, but had stopped when Colleen's dad had gotten sick. Eileen had definitely been perking up in the last couple of months, and resuming her card game was another good sign.
"How are you doing, Colleen?" Vivian said as she shuffled the deck of cards. "I haven't seen you since the funeral." She started dealing out to each player.
Colleen got a glass from the cabinet and poured herself some water.
"Join us?" Colleen's mother held up a half-full bottle of Chardonnay and waved it invitingly at her. If Colleen knew this group of ladies, there was at least one empty already in the recycling.
"No thanks. I'm already tired enough and that would just send me over the edge."
"You're looking as beautiful as ever, Colleen," Susan said as she gathered up her hand and started sorting the cards by suit.
Colleen wrinkled her nose, wondering how that could possibly be true. She'd changed from her scrubs back into her jeans and T-shirt at the end of her shift and she was pretty sure every speck of makeup she'd applied that morning had worn off. But hell, a compliment was a compliment.
"Thank you, Mrs. Doherty," she said and drained her water.
Susan waved a hand at her. "Oh please, you're what? Twenty-eight, twenty-nine? Call me Susan."
"I'm thirty." Colleen smiled. "And thank you, Susan." Thirty or not, calling her mother's good friend by her first name felt awkward on her tongue. "That's very nice of you to say."
"Well I can say it because it's true. You were always one of the prettiest girls in Matt's class." Matt was Susan's middle son and had been in school with Colleen starting in kindergarten.
"How is Matt doing?" Colleen asked, more out of politeness than genuine interest.
"He's great." Susan looked at her hand. "He's living in Rapid City, working as an engineer for a mining company."
Colleen made approving sounds.
Eileen led the hand and laid out the ten of clubs.
"Dang it, Eileen," Susan muttered, frowning at her hand for several seconds before finally setting out the eight of hearts. "You know," her gaze flicked from her hand back to Colleen, "Matt is still single. And he was very interested to know that you're back on the market as well."
Colleen nearly choked on her water. "I don't know that I'd say I'm back on the market. The divorce wasn't that long ago." Not to mention, from what she remembered, Matt's head of dishwater brown hair had already started thinning in high school and he was still picking his nose senior year.
"Gotta get back on the horse," Dory piped up as she put out the jack of clubs. "Look at Molly. After my idiot son dumped her she didn't waste any time taking up with Brady."
Colleen tried not to let her surprise show at the woman bad-mouthing her son. But she was right, Josh was an idiot for letting Molly go. But most parents wouldn't have acknowledged it, much less admitted it out loud.
"Talk about a man with a capital M!" Dory fanned herself as the other women giggled like thirteen-year-olds. "And look at her now, happy as a clam with a baby on the way."
Vivian shot Susan an apologetic look as she played the three of clubs.
Dory hooted in victory as she and Eileen won the first trick.
Colleen's throat tightened as she forced a smile. "She's a very lucky woman. But I'm not really ready to date yet."
Have regular, rowdy, sex with JT? That was another story.
"You don't want to wait too long," Susan said. "You're not getting any younger. Tick-tock, you know?"
Eileen, knowing the subject of babies and biological clocks was a sensitive one, interjected, "Leave her alone. She's only thirty. She's got plenty of time to find someone wonderful."
"I'm not sure it's in the cards for me," Colleen said.
