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Mid-afternoon, Justin and Stan returned from “looking around,” and they had a delicious lunch of fresh vegetables steamed with rice. Afterward, Carly and Justin curled up on the porch swing together, and Carly read aloud to him from the novel she was currently enjoying, but she didn’t think he was listening. When she looked up, his eyes were distant.
She came to the end of a chapter and turned the page.
“Carly?”
“Mmm?”
“If I can’t find...” He rubbed the back of his neck, his expression thoughtful. “If it turns out there’s nothing wrong, how would you feel about staying here?”
“I’d love it,” Carly said with an exuberant little bounce that made the swing creak. The enthusiasm she’d been trying to hold back, waiting until he could be assured the community was all it appeared to be, spilled out of her. She spoke so fast her words tripped over one another. “Oh, Justin, this place is more than I could have hoped for. It’s safe, we can grow plenty of food, and I might be able to trade with Mrs. Sutton and get us some chickens. We could have a wonderful life here, Justin.”
“We could.” His expression was brooding. “I just keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
“Maybe they really are what they seem.”
“Maybe. The town meeting will tell us a lot.”
“What do you think it’s about?”
“That’s not what I meant. I meant it would tell us about how well the townspeople cooperate, how their government works.”
“I can’t imagine Tom is an ironfisted dictator.”
Justin chuckled. “I think you’re probably right. But that could also be a weakness. If there was a hard decision to be made, do you think he could come down on the side of practicality versus emotion?”
“I don’t know. He said he was in the service, and you saw his face when he mentioned people trying to force their way in. He’s a nice man, but I think he could be hard when he needs to be.”
“I think you may be right,” Justin said. His eyes still had a distance, indicating he was thinking hard about something
In her makeshift crib, Dagny started whimpering. It was a fruit crate, lined with towels and blankets, that Carly had set up on a small table so they could watch her while she napped. Dagny’s real crib was still in the wagon. The thing was so heavy Carly couldn’t carry it by herself, and Justin hadn’t mentioned bringing it inside yet. Carly wondered if that had some sort of special significance for him, and he would only unload the crib once they had found their new home.
Carly picked Dagny up. Not wet, not hungry... she must just have been lonely. Carly settled back into the swing with Dagny on her chest, where she fell back to sleep almost instantly hearing the comforting thump of her mother’s heart. Justin smiled down at her, his gaze soft and tender.
“There are other kids here.” Carly kept her voice low to avoid disturbing the baby’s sleep. “Boys she could date.”
Justin groaned. “I changed my mind. We’re leaving. Not one of them is good enough for my baby girl.”
Carly laughed. “You don’t even know them.”
“I don’t need to,” Justin grumbled. “What about your dad? How did he react to you dating?”
Carly considered his question. “He was very protective while I was still in school. I had an early curfew, and he wasn’t hesitant about checking up on me to see if I was where I said I was going to be. I know now he was doing it because he loved me, but at the time, I was the typical teenager, irritated and frustrated by his restrictions. I tried sneaking out once. Once.”
Justin laughed. “What happened?”
“The usual—I got grounded, privileges revoked. But the worst part was the look he gave me, like he was so disappointed in me.” She sighed and stroked Dagny’s downy hair. “I’m glad we were so close when I grew up. It gave me a chance to tell him I was sorry for all the trouble I’d caused him and Mom.”
“And he probably told you it wasn’t any trouble and he was proud of you.”
Carly smiled. “He did. How did you know that?”
He pressed a kiss to the top of Carly’s head. “Because that’s what I would say to Dagny.”
The bell in the tower rang and people poured in from all over the island, squeezing together in the church pews to make room for latecomers. Carly and Justin were seated in the front row, something which made Carly uncomfortable since she had never liked being the center of attention. She felt dozens of pairs of eyes on the back of her head.
Mindy and Stan had stayed home with Dagny. Carly hated to leave her, but she knew a town council meeting probably wasn’t an appropriate place to bring a baby, and indeed, she saw none among the crowd squished together on the pews. Cynthia took the place next to Carly. She patted Carly’s hand and smiled at her. Her eyes sparkled. “How are you?” she whispered.
“Fine, thanks. Did Andrea come with you?”
