Page 90 of His Wounded Heart

Violet chuckles.

“Trenda, you don’t need to get involved in where we’ll stay. We have some money saved up, and a social worker has been in to see me. There’s some state housing that will come available that will meet our needs for the time being…” Her voice trails off. I know she’s thinking of the time when Luther’s dementia will get to the point that he’ll need round-the-clock care that Violet will not be able to deliver.

I see her eyes filling with tears, and I grab a tissue out of the box by her bed and give it to her, then take one for myself. The whole thing is killing me.

“Trenda, don’t be sad. Luther and I have been together fifty-one years. God willing, we have a few more years of living together.” I pull out three more tissues to stop my tears. The last thing Bella needs to see is me crying; she’ll have all sorts of questions. I stop crying and blow my nose.

“Do I look okay?” I ask.

“You look blotchy, like you’ve been crying,” she replies.

“Thanks for soft pedaling it,” I grin.

“No problem.”

We both laugh.

Bella comes in clutching three sodas to her chest.

“What’s all this?” Violet asks.

“Mama gave me too much money, so I figured we’d all get sodas with our cookies,” she grins proudly.

“That’s a great idea,” I smile.

“You look blotchy, Mama,” Bella scowls at me.

“It’s those flowers over there.” Violet points to the flowers on the window ledge. “I think your Mama is allergic to the lilies.”

“Oh, okay.” Bella smiles.

Dammit. I am so going to get busted when Simon comes over tonight.

Chapter Twenty-Three

I like this house more and more each time I walk up to the door. There is just something welcoming about it. I can’t understand why Trenda would be thinking about leaving Jasper Creek. Doesn’t she understand just what a special place this is? I’ve never been somewhere where the community will rally around others and pitch in like they do here.

I knock on her door. It immediately opens.

“That was fast.” I smile down at the beautiful woman standing in front of me.

“I don’t want to wake up Bella. She just got to sleep. It was a rough day for her.”

I frown. “It didn’t go well at the fire station?”

Trenda ushers me inside and guides me to the sofa. She’s gone all out. I see a tray of veggies, fruit, crackers, and cheese.

“I thought we were having ice cream,” I tease as I hold up my sack.

“You got the good kind, the kind from the actual ice cream shop.”

“Hey, you’re a connoisseur, I figured I had to up my game.”

She gives me that smooth and smoky laugh that strokes my senses and makes me think of her stroking something else.

Down, boy.

“Let me put this in the refrigerator. I have beer. Didn’t you say you liked Samuel Adams?”