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“Mona, honey, I’m going to talk to Gunner. He’s right there. I won’t go out of your sight, okay?”
Mona looked past her, saw Gunner, and stopped crying. Then she looked at Nova with watery eyes and relaxed her grip. Nova backed up, keeping eye contact until she reached Gunner and then she turned to him.
His face was etched with sincere concern. “Is she scared of something in particular?”
Nova shook her head. “I don’t think so. I think she is just overtired and doesn’t want me to leave her.”
“Or maybe she’s scared that when she wakes up, you won’t be here anymore.” He sounded so sure of himself that Nova was convinced.
“I’m sorry, Gunner.” She took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut. “I know you probably don’t have the energy for an awkward conversation tonight because I know that I sure don’t.” She opened her eyes, and she could tell he knew exactly what she was going to say. “Can we postpone figuring out sleeping arrangements for one more night? I think I should stay with Mona.”
Surprise flashed across his eyes. Oh, so maybe he hadn’t known exactly what she was going to say. “Of course,” he said quickly. Then he looked past her to Mona and smiled. “Do you two ladies need anything?”
What a sweet man. “No, thank you,” Nova said softly. Then she stood on her tiptoes and lightly kissed his lips, sending a chill swirling down to her toes. This surprised her. Not that he wasn’t chill worthy, he totally was, but she would have thoughtshe was too tired for the chills. “Thank you for everything. I know there are some kinks in the hose, and I promise to help you work them out eventually.”
“No problem. Now that they are under our roof, there is no hurry about anything.”
Her heart warmed, not only at his sentiment, but at the fact that he’d called itourroof. What a generous man. “Thank you,” she said again and wished that he could feel the heft of her words, the gravity of her gratitude.
“You’re welcome. Just yell if you need me.” He glanced down the hallway toward his bedroom. “Or you know where I’ll be.” He chuckled. Then he gently touched her hand before slipping away into the shadows.
She returned to Mona almost too tired to talk, told her to scoot over, and then slid under the covers beside her. Mona nestled into her, and she wrapped her arm around her. “I’ll be here when you wake up, honey. Every single morning from now on, okay?”
But Mona was already asleep.
And seconds later, so was Opa.
Chapter 35
Gunner wanted to comfort his wife, but she wasn’t giving him any opportunity; she was too busy comforting and caring for Gabby, Conley, and Mona. All three of them were pretty upset, which was to be expected, and Nova sat with arms stretched wide—each arm a mama bird’s strong and protective wing over her nestlings.
What was she trying to protect them from? The church was packed. Maybe Nova wanted to limit how many condolences the kids had to endure.
Gunner felt very much like he wasn’t a part of this little family, not yet anyway, but he told himself that this was okay. Making him feel included was, and should be, far down on their priority list. Still, he knew Nova was hurting, whether she was showing it or not, and he longed to hold her in his arms and provide whatever comfort possible.
The service was well done, Gunner thought, and the pastor tried to keep the mood light. While most everyone in this sanctuary, if not everyone, was confident that Kathy Feeldy was no longer suffering but was now basking in glory, it was still heart-wrenching that a forty-something-year-old woman had been forced to leave her three kids behind. So while the service was a beautiful tribute that honored God’s promises and Kathy’s faith, it was still difficult to stay completely positive.
When the service was over, Gunner stayed close behind Nova as veritable hordes of people greeted her, hugged her, shared silly stories with her, and gave their condolences. She put up agood front, but he had a feeling she was more annoyed than she was letting on.
While staying acutely aware of what was happening with Nova and the kids, Gunner let his eyes wander. It was hard to believe that this was the same room where he’d said his wedding vows such a short time ago.
His life had changed so much since then. While his routine had immediately returned to what it had been before he’d found Nova on the side of the road, this routine was now seasoned with children’s laughter.
And he didn’t have to worry about feeding Bull anymore, which was even more of a relief than he’d expected it to be.
Bull hadn’t complained, but Gunner was sure that he’d noticed that Nova was a terrible cook. Since the crunchy spaghetti, she’d served them soggy, flavorless pot roast; a stir fry featuring soot-covered carrots that defied physics by being frozen in the middle; and a meatloaf that tasted inexplicably like peppermint.
Gunner had believed that she would settle into the role and get better when she stopped being so nervous—now he wasprayingthat this would be the case. If not, he was going to lose a lot of weight.
Finally, when it seemed that the steady stampede of well-wishers would never end, Nova excused herself from it, quickly but firmly explaining that Conley was hungry.
By the time the five of them reached the refreshment table, the food was pretty well picked over. It was a good thing that Conley wasn’t finicky. He loaded up his plate with whatever he could find.
Nova offered Gunner a plate, but he declined. He had zero appetite right now. He just wanted to get out of here and get back to his home, his ranch, his goats, his family.
As if Gabby were reading his mind, she asked Nova if she could just go wait in Old Yeller.
Nova considered it. “I don’t want you out there all alone.”
