Thomas stared at her, a questioning look in his eyes. What was the last thing he’d said? Something about his day . . . “What happened?”
“I finally hired a groundskeeper.”
Her eyes widened. “The board approved?”
A snort slipped out as Thomas reined in a laugh. “We’ll see. I told them when they hired me, I would need help in that department unless they want to change the name from Triune First to The Wilderness Wanderings.”
“Who is it?”
“A man I met this evening. He’s . . . eccentric. But he was needy, and so was I. I took a chance.”
“Don’t you think you should have cleared it first?”
He shrugged. “Figured I’d just play it by ear. A lot of people who come to the church for help want a handout, nothing more.” Thomas reached for her hand, his expression tender.
Miriam willed herself not to pull away.
“How was today?”
She attempted a smile. “Better than some.”
He squeezed her hand. “I love you. It’ll get better. With the church. With us. You’ll see. Let’s give it time.”
Weighed by his incessant optimism, she sank into the spindle-back chair. Was he trying to convince her, or himself?
CHAPTER
SIX
PRESENT DAY
Ivy blinked and scrubbed her grainy eyes. The never-ending white lines flicked past the glow of her headlights. She was almost there. Almost home. She pressed the accelerator harder, inching the speedometer needle higher.
When the Uber driver dropped her off at the apartment three hours ago, Ivy hurriedly packed a few essentials and hoped her thoughts of Seth and their future together would keep until she returned.
A foolish hope. As evidenced by Seth’s forty-two missed calls and twenty text messages. At least that was the tally the last time she’d turned her phone on to check for news about Grandma.
Ivy took the exit and pulled into the hospital garage. She hurried for the entrance, hands slick with cold sweat.
She pulled up short at the sight of Reese standing just outside the entrance. His hands were shoved in his pockets, head bowed.
“Reese?”
He lifted his chin; his eyes were red-rimmed. He shook his head. “I’m so sorry.”
Ivy wrapped her arms around her middle. “I tried.”
“I know.”
She swallowed convulsively. “When?”
“Just a little while ago.” He stepped forward and pulled her into a hug. She refused to let herself relax into his embrace. She couldn’t fall apart, not yet.
“Mom and Dad?”
“They’re inside.”
Ivy stepped out of Reese’s embrace. “Uncle Vee?”
He pointed to a walking path. “He headed that direction. Over by that stand of trees. I came out here to check on him. He said he needed air.”
The lump in her throat swelled. There would never be enough ways to thank Reese for holding the place she should’ve filled. “Will you tell Mom and Dad I’m here?” Her voice cracked over the words.
“Of course.”
Leaving Reese behind, Ivy ventured down the dimly lit trail. Peering through the dark, she spotted her uncle hunched on a park bench beneath the trees. Mom’s and Dad’s hearts might be breaking inside those hospital walls, but they had each other.
“Uncle Vee?”
He lifted his bowed head, his expression vacant. His hands trembled in his lap. “She’s gone.” His face crumpled and he took a heaving breath.
Her chin trembled and the tears she fought so hard to keep at bay welled in her eyes. “I . . . I . . .” But there were no words. None enough to apologize for not being there. Or to express the ache of losing someone who’d shaped so much of their lives.
“Sh-she was asking for you. Trying to hold on for you, but—” He gasped for air.
Ivy sat and opened her arms. Though he dwarfed her with his large frame, he sank into her embrace, shoulders shaking in silent sobs. How could a heart shatter while being held together all at the same time?
The morning after the funeral, Ivy pulled out of Grandma’s gravelly driveway, leaving her family huddled on the porch and a cloud of dust in her wake. They weren’t ready for her to leave any more than she was ready to go.
All morning Mom had hung close to Ivy’s side, hinting that she and Dad were staying one more day before returning to their home in Kentucky. Uncle Vee checked and rechecked the tire pressure and fluid levels in her car.
And Reese—Reese spoke truth too hard to hear. Which was why she had to get back home before she lost her nerve.
Standing in Grandma’s living room, as calm and carefree as could be, he’d said, “Ivy, I think there’s something wrong with your phone.”
Her phone had been buzzing every fifteen minutes like clockwork no matter how many times she’d replied with promises to talk with Seth as soon as she returned.
Reese leaned against the arm of the couch. “Is Seth on his way?”
“He’s not coming.”
He gestured to the phone, once again vibrating against the countertop. “I know it’s not my place, but what he’s doing, it’s not normal.”
Oddly enough, the thing that had hit the hardest was Reese’s assertion that it wasn’t his place to speak. As her best friend, it should’ve been exactly his place. But somewhere along the way, Ivy had cut him out of the ugly parts of her life.
When she’d moved out from under her parents’ roof six years ago to attend her dream school on a full-ride scholarship, she’d felt so brave. Adventurous. Landing a job had been the next step. An expected easy feat. She’d been the top of her class, after all. But her bravado dissolved when her diploma became little more than wall art in her apartment. No one wanted to hire a counselor with no experience. She’d had to return to serving tables.
Until Seth.
As much as she loved her new job and enjoyed all the things Seth credited himself for, at least back then she hadn’t spent so much energy trying to keep him happy.
Miles passed, and Ivy rehearsed the words she’d say. Anticipating the arguments Seth would throw her way. All the ways he’d shift blame.
Three hours later, road weary and heartsore, she parked in front of Seth’s townhouse and cut off the engine. She took a deep breath. This was it. The first step in reclaiming her life.
Ivy pressed his doorbell. She clenched her fists to stop the trembling that had started the second she exited the car.
Seth pulled the door open and widened his eyes in feigned shock. “Oh, look who finally decided to show up. I suppose you expect me to drop everything now that you’re finally in the mood to talk.”
He stepped aside with a bow. “Please, do come in.” She shivered as she passed him. Had he always been this condescending? He closed the door behind him and clicked off the basketball game blaring on his television.
Ivy crossed to the opposite side of his living room.
Seth paced slowly, his hands clasped behind his back. “Do you have any idea of the stir you caused when you ditched me at the gala? You’ve never embarrassed me more than you did that night. I’m starting to wonder if you’ll ever understand what it takes to be part of my life.”