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She looked at Twyla. “Auntie Ella said it’s your favorite.”
“Yes, it is. Thank you, sweetheart.” Twyla covered the box and handed it to me. “Can I give you a hug to pass to Ella?”
Maisie nodded, eyes wide. When Twyla enveloped her in an exaggerated bear hug, the girl grasped her hair.
“Your hair is like mine,” she said, pulling a curly strand of her red hair and placing it alongside Twyla’s.
“So it is.”
“Does that mean we’re twins like Ella’s babies?”
I couldn’t help the smile that split my lips, but before either of us could say anything, a masculine voice got our attention.
We looked up to see Danny, Dione’s teen brother, standing over us with a bolt of dark fabric across his narrow shoulder.
“Ms. Holloway, Father said to pass this to you and your partner.”
Twyla’s eyes went wide as she stood, pulling herself out of the hug but keeping a hand on the girl’s shoulder.
She reached out to touch the edge of the fabric with her free hand.
“What? Cee, did you buy this? Was it expensive?”
Danny answered instead. “No, ma’am. This is a gift from my family. Ms. Kinsel said you might like this.”
“I do, but...who’s Ms. Kinsel?”
“Ana,” Austy and I said together.
Twyla was already shaking her head. “That looks expensive. I can’t just take that...”
Danny was starting to look uncomfortable, his light gray eyes bouncing back and forth between us.
So I simply said thank you and took the cloth from him.
He gave us a little wave and walked away.
“Guess I’d better put these in the cart,” I said, balancing the pie and the bolt of cloth, one in each hand.
When I returned, they were holding five new things between the two of them. Twyla looked stunned.
I could feel my brows rising quizzically. “I was only gone for a minute.”
“Cee.” Twyla’s voice was high and worried. “You didn’t tell me we had to bring presents!”
“We don’t have to. Usually,” I said, taking a cloth bag from her. In it was a bunch of homegrown cooking herbs.
Austy had a few boxes tucked under her arm. She reached awkwardly for the bag in my hand. “I guess I’ll put these with the others.”
When Austy walked away, Twyla tugged at my sleeve.
“Why are people giving us gifts?” she asked, her brows wrinkled with worry.
“I don’t think they’re giving us gifts, ’mara. I think these are all for you.”
She looked taken aback. “Huh, but why? I didn’t do anything.”
“You did everything for us. All this...” I gestured to the sparkling lights, “is because of you. I think the community is saying thanks in its own way.”
