Essie breathed in the scents of the sanctuary, wood and the perfume of the fresh flowers on the altar table and followed Frank to their usual pew.
For the first time since Sophie’s threats began…she felt calmer. She lifted her chin, happy to be in this place of worship and safety. They’d get through this. It would be stressful, it would be hard, but God was with them.
And with the support of their faith and their friends, they’d manage.
Chapter Twenty
Maude woke up with the feel of Ollie’s kiss still on her lips. She smiled immediately. But then she thought about Ned and her smile went away. She ought to check on him today. See how he was doing.
She got up, made a quick cup of coffee to put some pep in her step and got herself ready. Cropped drawstring pants, a Van Halen T-shirt, and her Birkenstocks were exactly what she needed. Comfort. Just in case Ned needed her to do some heavy lifting. Or just sit around and have coffee with him.
With that in mind, she drank the cup she’d made, then went straight over to his place. She tapped lightly on Ned’s door, the morning sun already warming the quiet walkways of the Colony. It was going to be another beautiful day.
The door opened a moment later, and Ned peered out, hair mussed, his expression caught somewhere between happy to see her and wounded pride. “Well, if it isn’t my guardian angel.”
“That’s me.” She smiled and gave him a quick once-over. He was still in his pajamas, the plaid pants and matching shirt giving herFather Knows Bestvibes. But the bruises on his handsand the way he favored one leg told her everything she needed to know. “How are you feeling? And tell me the truth.”
“Sore,” he admitted. “A few new shades of purple. But alive. And grateful you were there last night. And that doctor friend of yours.”
Before Maude could respond, Cookie trotted into view, nails clicking on tile, her tiny tail wagging like a metronome on double-time. She barked once and then seemed to smile as if she was pleased to announce herself.
Maude crouched and rubbed the Chihuahua’s head. “Morning, troublemaker. You doing all right?”
Cookie responded with a sneeze, which Maude interpreted as a yes. She glanced up at Ned. “Anything I can help you with this morning? I’m free.”
Ned cleared his throat. “I hate to ask, but would you mind taking Cookie out for her morning walk? Just today. I don’t feel my usual self. I’m sure you understand.”
“Of course,” Maude said without hesitation. She pushed to her feet. The last thing Ned needed was another fall. “We could both use the fresh air.”
Ned sagged in relief. “Thank you. She can be a bitspirited.”
“Spirited, I can handle,” Maude assured him. She figured his definition of spirited and hers were probably not the same. After all, she was nearly forty-some years younger than he was.
“I’ll get her leash.”
A few minutes later, Maude and Cookie were off. Ned had given Maude the leash and two poop bags, just in case. Maude hadn’t counted on having to clean up after Cookie, but in for a penny, in for a pound.
Cookie pranced along the sidewalk like she owned every inch of it. And within moments, Maude started to understand what Ned had meant by spirited. They weren’t but a few feet down the sidewalk when she lunged after a lizard skittering acrossthe path. That was followed by an attempt to chase a jogger’s shoelaces.
A few yards down the way, she barked indignantly at a pelican overhead. When that was unsuccessful, she attempted to take a flying leap into a hedge of hibiscus after spotting a bird perched there.
Maude shortened the leash just in time. “You are four pounds of pure chaos, you know that? Holy cow, Cookie. Ned wasn’t lying.”
Cookie blinked innocently, then tried to chew a seashell planter at the end of someone’s walkway.
“Cookie!No. Act like a lady, will you?”
They finally reached the palm-lined curve overlooking the beach road. The breeze picked up, fluttering Cookie’s fur around her little pink harness. For a brief stretch, she walked calmly beside Maude, ears at attention, nose working overtime to catalog the scents of the world.
Maude smiled down at her. “See? We can have dignity.”
Cookie immediately tried to chase a passing golf cart. Maude rolled her eyes and wondered how Ned had survived this long.
By the time they returned to Ned’s door, Cookie’s tiny body was heaving with proud little pants, and Maude had used both poop bags. Ned opened the door and Cookie strutted inside as though she’d been on patrol.
“Mission accomplished,” Maude said. “And you weren’t wrong about her being spirited. She’s a lot of dog for being so small.”
Ned laughed. “I did try to warn you.” He’d changed into trousers and a short-sleeved dress shirt, his hair now neatly combed.
