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“Yucky, Mae.” Olivia grabbed a towel and ran it under the faucet. She tried wiping the globs of peanut butter off her lavender skirt. “Hannah, do you mind if I go change?”
“That’s why I’m here!” Hannah lifted Mae into the air, away from the dog’s slobbery tongue. “Why don’t I clean you up and get you dressed.”
Mae giggled as Hannah swooped her up and down.
“Jesse’s running the cattle today, he left at three in the morning.” Olivia looked around. “And I have court this afternoon. Do you think you could stay late, tonight?”
Hannah nodded. “I’ll just have to pick Emma up.”
“I’ll leave the car seat in the barn,” Olivia said, and started up the stairs.
Hannah thought about visiting her father. She certainly wouldn’t bring Emma near him before checking his mood. Would cancer change the stubborn old man? Or would the illness make him even colder and harder?
Should she even visit? She hadn’t deserved to be treated like a piece of trash for one mistake, and he’d never even wanted to know his granddaughter. Joel Destin didn’tdeserveto know her. He deserved his loneliness.
Mae knelt on the floor, holding a toy horse up in the air. It reminded Hannah of a figurine she’d had when she was a kid. A birthday gift from her parents. One of the happiest moments of her childhood, left behind when her mother took her away.
The front door opened, and Maggie came inside.
“Na-na!” Mae called out.
“Look at you, playing with your horsey,” Maggie said. “Good morning, Hannah.”
“Good morning.” Hannah waved at the matriarch. “Were you at the women’s bible study?”
“Yes, I was.” She snapped her finger at Hannah and said, “You should start coming with me. You can bring Mae.”
“That sounds nice.” Hannah hadn’t been to a bible study before. She always went to Sunday services, but since she wasn’t technically a church member, she didn’t participate in the extra activities. But maybe she should look beyond herself to get some answers, because she certainly wasn’t finding any inside. “Who runs it?”
“We do.” Maggie put her purse away. “Pastor Anita is part of the group, but most of the time, it’s one of the women leading it.”
Hannah shook her head. “I don’t think I could run a class.”
“Don’t be so sure, you might surprise yourself.” Maggie winked at her. “How about I make some lunch, and we eat out on the porch?”
Hannah got up from the floor. “No need, I can do lunch.”
“You have enough to do with Mae, let me.” Maggie headed into the kitchen.
Hannah thought about how Maggie always knew the right thing to do. Maybe she would know what Hannah should do about her father. Maggie’s husband John had passed away from cancer. She understood the process. But was it ill of her to ask about something so hard to talk about?
Hannah got up from the floor. “At least let us help, right Mae?”
Little arms reached up to Hannah, and she picked the baby up and carried her to the kitchen. “Would you like to help put the plates out on the table?”
Mae nodded her head with big, exaggerated motions. “Yessss.” Herssounded comically like a snake’s hiss.
“Show me where the plates are.” A chubby finger pointed to the cabinets. Hannah pulled out some colorful plastic dishes. “Are these Mae’s plates?”
“Yeah!” she squealed. “Mae’ssss plaatesssss.”
Soon, the porch table was set for three. The day couldn’t be finer. Seventies, sunny, and a slight breeze.
“Sure is a beautiful day,” Maggie said, as she bit into her tuna fish sandwich.
“Mmm hmm,” Hannah nodded, thinking about her father.
“You alright?” Maggie asked.
