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“Oh, you’re an answer to prayer,” Lily said. “Do you know that?”
Strangely, this woman was an answer to Cadence’s prayers, too, which was strange, because she didn’t feel worthy of God’s attention, but Cadence needed something to forget her worries. Concentrating on this lady’s garden would do just that. There was something nice about putting order to chaos that made her life feel more manageable.
She put Lily’s number and address into her phone with a snapshot of purple posies. A woman named after Cadence’s favorite flower belonged in a nest of soft petals and colorful blossoms that was all this unusual summer had to offer. The season of life could very well be her last.
The door from the chapel opened. Cadence jumped when she saw Porter behind it. His eyes ran from her to Lily in surprise.
Feeling like Porter had caught her stomping on fragile silk, Cadence whipped away from him. “I’ll come by soon,” she whispered hurriedly to Lily, then she hurried out the door and ran down the church steps, feeling like a wild animal was hunting her down.
When she finally had the courage to turn, she was oddly disappointed to see that he wasn’t.
Chapter Nine
“Idon’t smell, do I?”
Porter was partly joking as he pounded the chicken wire against the frames of their new coop. The little Akbash puppy played around the baby chicks, hardly a worthy contender against any predator. She had a little growing up to do.
Cole fixed Porter with a steady grin. “Yeah, I’ve been meaning to tell you. You stink worse than a dirty sock.”
Porter snickered. That could be true after coming back from the range, but they all got a break from the grime on Sundays. At least his hair was brushed. “Man, did you see Angel today? She was sitting behind us.”
What a stupid question. Who hadn’t seen her? Angel was the most beautiful woman that he’d ever set eyes on, and then when he’d spied her helping out his mother? His breath had been stolen from him. He’d been helpless to do anything, only watch her dash down the chapel steps like Cinderella.
She’d really run from him, hadn’t she? What was going on?
Cole was already shaking his head. “Sorry, Porter. I haven’t grown eyes in the back of my head like you have, I guess. You sure you aren’t seeing things? She isn’t a ghost?”
For a moment, Porter could almost believe that Angel wasn’t real. He’d been tempted to ask his mother about their animated conversation in the church’s foyer that he’d interrupted, but she’d been in a hurry to get to the sermon. Afterwards, the neighbors had swarmed her to make sure that she was still alive.
Surprise, she still is.
When was this surgery happening? Porter was getting frustrated at the delay… and worried, if he was being truly honest. So far, they’d heard no word from the Virginia Heart Transplant Center on when to go in. Meanwhile, their mother was only getting sicker.
The excitement at church had been too much for Momma. Hudson finally had to hustle her out of church with the help of his wife, Mimi.
Hudson’s ex-sister-in-law (through the Slade side) turned new-sister-in-law (on his wife’s side) provided a great distraction from their momma when her youngest boy had started to strip off all his Sunday clothes on the church steps in his loud protest for Liv to quit socializing, so they could get home to “Dad.”
Yeah, Porter’s brother, West, was called “Daddy,” and Liv’s new husband, the famous country star, River Mackenzie, was “Dad.” In a strange twist of irony, River was stuck at home with the stomach flu, leaving the very pregnant Liv to take care of her little monsters on her own. Fortunately, she had the Slades to help her out. Even after her divorce with West, Liv hadn’t cut off her relationship with the boys’ family, not that she didn’t have every excuse to do so.
West had treated her like garbage.
They were lucky to have Liv and her boys in their lives still, even if the duty landed on Porter and Cole to haul their nephews over their shoulders to smuggle them into Liv’s car after church. While they did it, Porter overheard Harold, the owner of the local feed store, laughing about how Liv’s kids were turning wilder than the Slades.
Not possible, though Liv’s boyswereturning into a handful. Man, Angel had witnessed him wrestling Charlie and Pip at church, hadn’t she? He winced, remembering how he’d also been outed for setting a field on fire with those fireworks last year, by the pastor of all people!
That was a good enough reason for her to run.
“Let me get this straight,” Cole said. He set hay into the chicken coop to finish off the project. “First this girl tries to crash a lamp over your head and now she’s running from you. What did you do to her?”
“Nothing!” Porter snickered as he thought of what she might’ve done to him had he actually been guilty of something. “I’mnotNash.”
Cole’s hand stilled over the baby chick. He glanced quickly over at Porter.
He shrugged in response, and moderated his resentful tone somewhat. “I mean… I had no idea she was staying at Emily’s when I first came in, so maybe I scared her, but, something’s off. She was talking to Momma when I came out.”
“Yeah, pretty suspicious.”
Porter grunted in annoyance. “I just can’t figure out why Angel is so happy to see everyone but me.”
