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I stare at her. She doesn’t look repentant at all.
“God’s going to strike both of you down if you don’t cut it out,” Ms. Markie warns.
“God’s not vengeful, Grandma,” Evie mutters.
“No, but I am,” Ms. Markie replies. She reaches into her purse and pulls out two pieces of candy. They’re those peppermint cloud candies that Evie likes so much. Evie holds out her palm. But Ms. Markie reaches behind Evie and hands them to Junior and Barbara-Claire. “Since you two know how to act appropriately in church,” she says with a sniff.
Evie heaves out a sigh. “Behave yourself, Grady,” she warns with a grin. “You’re getting me in trouble.”
“I’d say you’re getting yourself in trouble,” Ms. Markie retorts. “Now quiet.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Evie replies, and I can feel her deflate next to me. She blows out a breath.
Ms. Markie reaches over and squeezes Evie’s knee. Evie covers her hand and gives it a squeeze back. Ms. Markie extends her Bible to Evie. “Do you need this?”
Evie takes it from her and puts it in my lap. “No, but Grady does. He’s a terrible influence.”
I poke my finger into her side, which makes her snort out a laugh. The usher shoots us a glare as he steps up the aisle.
“I’m going to make both of you go work in the nursery,” Ms. Markie warns. “Keep it up.”
I go to poke Evie again, but she grabs my fingers. “Stop it,” she warns.
I sit back and behave. But she’s warm, she’s laughing, and she feels like she’s mine.
Suddenly, I feel something moving around my feet and look down. Marcy, Barbara-Claire and Junior’s youngest daughter, is crawling under the pew. I move my feet so she can crawl all the way under and stand up. She climbs into Evie’s lap and Evie pulls her close.
Evie turns her head so that she can scrub the side of her face into Marcy’s hair. Then she fixes Marcy’s barrette, re-securing her hair. Evie leans forward and retrieves a flier from the little pocket on the back of the pew in front of us, and Marcy watches just as raptly as I do as Evie folds it into a tiny little boat. She presses it into Marcy’s hands.
The little girl sails that boat up and down Evie’s legs and arms all throughout the service. And I don’t hear a damn word of the sermon because I can’t take my eyes off Evie. When it’s over, we all stand up. Barbara-Claire motions for Evie to pass Marcy to her, and they make the trade.
“You two coming home for dinner?” Ms. Markie asks us.
Evie lifts her eyebrows at me. “You want to come for dinner?”
They couldn’t pay me enough to make me stay away.
25
Evie
After dinner, Grandma pats Grady on the top of his head and bends down to kiss my forehead, then she announces that she’s tired and she’s going to take a little nap. She toddles off down the hallway without a backward glance. Grady smiles as he helps me wash the dishes and clean up from lunch. “This is fun,” he admits sheepishly.
I look up from the sink toward where he’s wiping down the plastic tablecloth. “What is?”
He grins. “This. This thing we’re doing. It’s fun.”
He glances toward the hallway like he’s making sure that Grandma has, indeed, gone to her room. Then he strolls slowly toward me. He brushes my hair off my shoulders, his fingers tickling me lightly as he lets them drag across my skin. All the hair on my arms stands straight up, and goose bumps rush up my spine. He presses his lips to the spot where my neck meets my shoulder, and he tickles me with his nose, sniffing my skin.
He clutches my hips, his hands firm as he spins me to face him. I toss the dishrag I’m holding into the empty sink. “I don’t know where this thing is going,” he says, “but I sure am enjoying the trip.” He kisses me leisurely and slowly. “Are you enjoying the trip too?”
I don’t know how to explain how I feel about Grady with words. They’re all jumbled up in my head. But I do know that my life is better with him in it, and I know that if he got mad at me today and walked away, I would miss him.
He spends time kissing me, softly and slowly, but there’s enough heat there that I find myself clutching his shirt in my fists just so that I don’t melt into a puddle.
He pulls back and looks into my face. “I didn’t hear your answer,” he says quietly. “Did you give me one?” He slowly slides his nose up and down the side of mine. “A simple yes will do.”
I sigh. “It feels like a simple yes isn’t nearly sufficient.”
