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Morgan winced and gave a guilty smile. “Sorry, Audrey. Luke bought a bunch of Nerf guns for the kids to shoot at the newlyweds’ truck when they drive away, and I told them they could all go get ready.”
I felt my entire face drop. “He boughtwhat?Who does that?”
Morgan chuckled. “Luke does. Come on, they can’t hurt anything, and they’ll have a ton of fun with it.”
I closed my eyes and shook my head, searching for that calm center that would keep me from doing or saying something unreasonable. I tried… honestly, I was trying. I counted in my head a lot these days. “You’re not kidding. They’re really going to fire a bunch of darts at the truck as it drives away?”
She shrugged with a helpless grin. “Guess so. But keep it quiet, please. The surprise is part of the fun.”
“Oh, I just bet it is.”
Lizzy would love it. I wasn’t personally crazy about the idea, but Morgan was right. Where was the harm? It wasn’t what I was used to, and I wouldn’t want someone pulling a surprise like that atmywedding.
Weddings should be classy, beautiful affairs. The new couple had just sworn to love each other for their whole lives! That deserved a little respect, a little decorum. But here we were, eating brisket and baked beans on paper plates in the backyard and waiting for a bunch of kids to pepper the honeymoon vehicle with Nerf Darts.
Yeah. Not at all what I was used to.
I wasn’t as sociable as I should have been at dinner. The food was incredible, and people were going back for seconds and thirds. Everyone was having a great time, laughing and talking nonstop.
But I was more worried about what Lizzy had gotten up to. I hadn’t seen her in over an hour. When we were at home, and things got quiet, I got nervous. She was an imaginative, mischievous kid who had a lot to deal with, and sometimes things… happened.
The worst of it was that most people didn’t realize why she acted out. Instead of guidance and understanding, Lizzy’s behavior was usually met with frustration and punishment. I spent a lot of time trying to shield her from the typical corrections meted out by the school because they would only make things worse. But I couldn’t let her just run wild, so I tended to be a protective mama bear to her in public, but I overcompensated with more correction at home. Which wasn’t working, either.
My fears came to a head when I saw Evan Walker escorting Dustin Truman up from the barns in search of Meg, his mother. He was crying. And somehow, I knew before I even walked over to find out what had happened.
Lizzy.
“She shot him in the side of the head with the Nerf darts,” Meg whispered. “But I don’t think she meant to. It was just a game.”
“Lizzy knows better, especially when it comes to Dustin. Either she wasn’t watching where she was pointing, which is bad enough, or shewas,and she hit him on purpose.”
“He’s okay. I’ll just keep him with me until he’s able to calm down. I’m just impressed that he was playing with the other kids at all. Really, Audrey, I think they were just having fun, and it got out of hand.”
I blew out a breath. Meg Truman was one of the few people whodidget it. Of course, she got it. She faced some of the same challenges raising a bright, autistic son on her own. “Thanks, Meg, but she still needs a consequence for that one. I’m going to have to tell her she can’t shoot at the truck as it’s leaving. Any idea where the kids are?”
Meg shook her head with a laugh. “There are so many barns and outbuildings here. They’ve probably already moved from the last place I heard about! I’m sure they’ll turn up for cake and ice cream.”
Oh, great. Sugar. Because that wasexactlywhat Lizzy needed. Every time she visited her dad, she came home bouncing off the walls. I’d spend the week getting her detoxed from all the junk food he fed her, and then the weekend would roll around, and she’d come home berserk again. “Yeah. I’m sure she’ll turn up for that. Thanks, Meg.”
But Lizzy didn’t appear when Dusty and Jess cut their cake. And I was starting to actually worry. I didn’t even stay for the toasts but headed for the last places I’d heard the kids playing. The problem was, this place was huge. I was crossing the lawn again to try somewhere else, when someone called me.
“Audrey, there you are!”
I turned around to find Kelli Walker, carrying a serving tray of coffee cups. She lifted it toward me. “You look like you need a pick-me-up. I have a super dark roast for the guys who want to put some hair on their chests and a medium-roast crema blend for the rest of us humans. Care for a cup?”
I reached for one of the lighter-colored cups. “I can’t resist a good crema. Thank you.”
“Of course. I noticed Kat didn’t come today. Jess wasn’t sure if she’d make it or not.”
I shook my head. “This would be too much for her. I actually need to get back soon. We’re doing all her dialysis treatments at home now, and she gets a treatment almost every afternoon.”
Kelli blinked. “Every day?”
I shrugged and sipped my coffee. Kelli really did know how to make a proper brew. “Almost. It’s easier on her than going to the hospital twice a week. It’s three hours or so every time, though. I have a respite nurse sitting with her right now, but she can’t run the treatments.”
Kelli’s forehead wrinkled, and she stuck her lip out in sympathy. I used to think she was pouting and being overly dramatic when she made that expression, but it was just what her face did when she hurt for someone. “That’s really hard for you, though. Isn’t there anyone else who can help? I thought she had some skilled in-home nursing.”
“Sure, but Katherine gets upset when I’m gone for very long.” I stared down into my cup and let go just a morsel of the awful truth. “It’s… it’s not good.”
