by Mary Manners
“She takes after her mom.”
Jade was quiet for a moment. She gazed at the darkening horizon. “It’s painful for you, isn’t it.” It was more a statement than a question, and Shane looked away, his gut tied into knots.
“She was my sister, my only sibling. I miss her.” She’d been his refuge, his rock, before he learned to lean on the true Rock, his Savior. He owed his life, this new life, to Reid. He sighed and stood up, taking Jade’s hand. “I guess I’d better go. You sure you’ll be OK?”
“Yes.” She fiddled with the tag on the tea bag that filled a murky puddle in her cup. “I’m sorry for your hurt, Shane, for what happened to your sister.”
“I’m sorry, too.” He was sorrier than she could have imagined. The guilt of his immaturity and selfishness had nearly consumed him, yet he’d made it through the fire. Somehow, as Reid lay dying those final days, she’d believed in him in a way no one else ever had...until now.
Jade’s smile reached her eyes and they sparkled like fine, freshly-polished green jewels. “Tell Susie I’ve got a special treat for her when I see her tomorrow.”
“I will.” Standing there on the porch next to her, close enough to feel her breath and surrounded by night whispers, he longed to run his hands through her strawberry-scented hair and kiss her. He might have, definitely would have, before he’d learned restraint. But now he merely squeezed her hand as he turned away. “Goodnight, Jade. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yes...tomorrow.”
Mended Heart
5
Jade and her mother danced around the kitchen, their cooking a ballet of sorts as they scooted back and forth between the refrigerator, the sink, and the stove, adding parsley and oregano to spaghetti sauce that bubbled in a large non-stick skillet. Garlic filled the air as the Italian bread they’d seasoned baked to perfection.
“Do you think the sauce needs a little more thyme?” Jade asked.
“Let’s see.” Her mom dipped a spoon into the bubbling mixture and tasted. “Perhaps a pinch more.”
Jade reached for the spice jar, her heart full. This was the stuff of her most fervent wishes. As a child, she’d desired this special time with her mom, a kind of closeness that was always, no matter how hard she tried, elusive. Bottles of Jim Beam had gotten in the way, clouding Mama’s judgment and harshening her words, until she became someone Jade despised. And the men...they were angry storms blowing through without warning, leaving nothing but tears and a wake of destruction.
Jade shook her head and redirected her thoughts as she sprinkled thyme into the bubbling sauce. Mama was changed now, not the woman Jade had grown up with. She had to remember that, had to brand it into her soul and remember...and trust.
“How about now?” She dipped a clean spoon into the doctored sauce and offered it to Mama. “Good?”
“Mmm.” She smacked withered lips. “Perfect.”
She frowned. Mama looked winded. The trip to the emergency room had taken a lot out of her. Jade herded her toward the table and pulled out a chair. “Sit, Mama. I’ll set the table while you rest and catch your breath.”
“Just this once I think I will. Can you get me a glass of water, honey?”
“Sure.” She hurried to the sink. “Do you need some medicine?”
“No, I’m fine.” Mama took a sip of the water she offered and brushed beads of perspiration from her creased forehead. “I just need to take a load off for a minute.”
“Well, you do that. The spaghetti is almost ready, and Shane should be here soon. We’ll eat before he mows.”
Jade tried not to worry over her mother as she set the table and put the final touches on their meal. She pushed the doctor’s words of warning from her mind. Her mother was doing better than expected, even considering Monday’s sudden trip to the hospital. Maybe her heart was stronger than the tests indicated. Maybe—
The doorbell rang. Jade turned the heat to simmer beneath the pan of sauce before rushing to the door. Shane was right on time. He stood on the porch dressed in faded jeans and scuffed work boots. A pair of leather work gloves peeked from his back pocket.
Susie made a beeline around him and bounded through the front doorway. “Hi, Jade! I brought some toys. You wanna see my stuff?” She wiggled out of the pink flowered backpack strapped across her tiny shoulders. “Can I really pull some weeds from your mama’s garden? Daddy said I could.”
“Sure, honey. Come on in. You’re just in time for dinner. We’ll eat first, and then I’ll show you what to do. We can work together.” She glanced over the bouncing girl to look at Shane. “Are you OK? You look terrible.” His eyebrows were knit into a worried frown.
“Can you come outside for a minute? I need your help.” He motioned to his black Jeep Wrangler parked in the driveway.
“Oh, my.”
Carly sat hunched in the front seat. She looked more forlorn than Jade had ever seen. Her heart quickened its pace. Had something happened to her grandmother? “What’s going on?”
“Mrs. D’atello went in for a chemo treatment today, and the doctor decided to keep her overnight because her white blood count is so low. I found Carly sitting in the church parking lot just as I was leaving. She’d ridden her bike over. She was crying and upset and I couldn’t just leave her there. So I brought her with us. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course not. You did the right thing, Shane. She needs our help now more than ever.”
“Well, she won’t get out of the car unless you tell her it’s OK. She’s afraid she’s butting in on something...um...private.”
“Nothing private here. Nothing more than a spaghetti dinner and a lawn to mow, and maybe a batch of warm chocolate chunk cookies with milk later on.”
He shifted feet and pulled a Tennessee Vols baseball cap low over his eyes. “Will you talk to her? She needs a woman’s touch, I think.”
“Sure. Take Susie into the kitchen and say hi to my mom. She’s been waiting for you.”
“Already found my way to Mom’s heart, huh?” He grinned. “Maybe her daughter’s heart will follow.”
She smirked as she crossed her arms and started toward the Jeep. “Don’t get your hopes up.”
“Just work your magic on Carly, OK?” His eyes told all she needed to know. She remembered talking with him the morning they returned from the spring retreat, sequestered in the church office, tired and weatherworn after all the kids had been picked up. Carly’s grandmother had just come for her, and Jade had made a point to walk over to the car to say hello.
Mrs. D’atello’s sleek silver hair had been pulled into a tight bun behind her wrinkled yet pleasant face and she seemed healthy enough. But Jade knew cancer was a silent killer, lurking beneath the pleasant demeanor, waiting like a thief to take her. She’d thanked Jade profusely for chaperoning the trip and taking good care of Carly before pulling out of the lot, Carly settled in the passenger seat, sullen once again. The smile that had taken two days to find its way to the girl’s face was buried once more beneath a landfill of fears and insecurities. Such pain and heartbreak. Jade wished she knew how to bring comfort.
She and Shane mulled over the situation, and in the end decided to encourage the other teen girls to make more of an effort to seek Carly out and include her in their activities. Jade had also promised to phone Carly during the week to check on her and her grandmother, as well. And she’d done just that, phoning Carly daily.
And now Carly was huddled in the Jeep in the driveway, looking as if the world had ended.
Jade drew a breath as she strode to the car. When she rapped gently on the passenger window, Carly hid her face. She walked around the front and pulled open the driver’s door to slide in beside Carly. A half-empty can of soda pop sat in the console between them and a Max Lucado paperback lay on the dash. Shane’s aftershave lingered with the scent of his favorite spearmint gum.
“Hey there,” she began softly. “It’s much too nice outside to stay cooped up in here.”
�
��So, what?” Carly shrugged.
“My mom and I made spaghetti for dinner. We thought we might eat together before Shane starts to mow.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Well, then, I’ve got some dishes that need washing and a floor to be swept. Maybe you can help with that.”
Carly’s head came up, her dark eyes wide and unsure.
“Made you look.” Jade grinned like she’d been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. “Now, how about something to drink, at least? I know this Mountain Dew isn’t yours, since Shane drinks them like a fiend. I brewed a jar of sun tea. Perfect day for it, don’t you think?”
Carly disregarded the question. “She’s going to die. I just know it.” Her voice was flat.
Jade’s stomach twisted, but she kept her voice steady. “We’re all going to die, eventually.”
“That’s not funny.”
“I’m not trying to be funny. It’s the truth.” She sighed. “Has the doctor said your grandma’s cancer is terminal?”
Carly shrugged. “I don’t know. I never get to talk to him. I just sit in the waiting room.”
“Maybe you should ask to talk to him. Shane can help you with that. He’s been through it.”
That got her attention. Her head came up. “Really? How?”
“His sister.”
“Did...” She swallowed hard. “Did she die?”
Jade hesitated. She stared at the delicate silver cross that hung from Shane’s rearview mirror by a thin leather lace. “Yes, she did.”
“Is that why Susie...” She let the question hang. A gust of wind caused blossoming Bradford pear trees that lined the drive to sway and dance. Their buds blanketed the grass like snowflakes.
“Yes. Reid was Susie’s mother.”
“Reid?” Her eyes held a million questions. “Where’s Susie’s father?”
Jade shrugged. “No one knows. Shane’s Susie’s father now.”
A sob escaped Carly’s lips. “What does it matter? Grownups never tell the truth, anyway.” She wrapped her arms around herself and rocked as fresh tears came. “I don’t want to hurt anymore.”
Jade touched her shoulder. “Hurting’s a part of life. You’re afraid, Carly. It’s understandable, and it’s OK. But you can’t let fear paralyze you. You love your grandmother, and she loves you. That’s a good thing. You just need to communicate more. You can’t keep running away. It’s not solving anything.”
Tears thickened her voice. Her amber eyes narrowed. “Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black?”
“What do you mean?”
“Get a clue. Shane’s crazy about you, but you won’t give him the time of day.”
“You’ve got it all wrong. He’s just helping me out, Carly.” But even as she said the words, Jade knew they were only half true. Yet, she continued. “My mom’s been sick, and he’s mowing the lawn. He doesn’t like me the way you think.”
“Wow, are you blind?”
“No, I’m not blind.”
“Then you’re scared, same as me. You don’t want to get hurt.”
“No one wants to get hurt, Carly.”
“But you can’t let it paralyze you, right?”
Jade knew she was backed into a corner. She sighed. “You’ve got me there. Life’s tough, isn’t it?”
“It’s just not fair.”
“You’re learning. We’re both learning, and it’s tough. How about we go inside for some dinner and see what happens?”
Carly looked suddenly panic-stricken. She reached for the door handle, checked the ignition for keys. “I have to go to the hospital. I have to talk with my Grandma.”
“We can call her on the phone, or I’ll take you there right after dinner if you’d rather.”
“Promise?”
“Of course. You have my word.”
“I have to talk to her. I...we had a fight this morning.” Again, tears came. Her amber eyes glistened under heavy lashes. “It was all my fault. I have to tell her I’m sorry.”
“I’m sure she knows you’re sorry.”
She groaned. “Oh, I don’t know why I act like such a jerk sometimes. I have to tell her myself before...”
“I understand. Let’s go in and use the phone. If you don’t feel better after calling her, I’ll drive you to the hospital myself, OK?”
Carly wiped her eyes on the arm of her black, long-sleeved t-shirt. Streaks of azure mascara bruised her cheeks. “O-O-O-OK.”
****
In the kitchen, Susie hopped up and down around the table, clapping her hands. “Yummy! I smell basghetti! I’ll bet it’s the best basghetti in the whole, wide world.”
Shane grinned through his worry. What was taking Jade so long in the car? Maybe Carly was being more stubborn than he’d figured her to be. He dropped Susie’s backpack into a chair. “Thank you so much for having us to dinner, Mrs. McAllister.”
She handed him a glass of sweet iced tea. “It’s the least I could do, with you offering to mow the lawn.”
“Oh, that’s no problem at all. It won’t take me an hour.” He gazed through the window over the kitchen sink to see a sprawling garden filled with vegetable plants in various stages of growth. A small shed stood to the side, its doors propped open and waiting for him to fetch the mower. “Jade’s done a good job keeping things in shape around here.”
“She’s a worker, that one. Always has been. She worked all through high school, waiting tables at night and teaching swim lessons down at the community pool through the summers. Saved her money for college. That’s how she managed on her own—hard work and scholarships.”
“She’s been a real lifesaver at church. Nobody works as hard as she does.”
Mrs. McAllister smiled. “She’s been a blessing to me, too, since she came home. She was gone too long, way too long.” Her eyes suddenly misted over. “That’s in the past, now. No point dwelling over something that can’t be undone.”
“Mmm...it smells yummy in here!” Susie gravitated toward the stove, where garlic-infused tomato sauce bubbled merrily. “Can I see what you made? Can I, pretty please?”
“Sure. You’re just in time to stir.” Mrs. McAllister slid a chair over to the stove and helped Susie climb up on the seat. She handed her a long-handled wooden spoon. “Be careful. The stovetop is hot. Don’t touch, OK?”
“I won’t. That’s what Daddy always says, too. He says the burner will bite my fingers if I touch it. One time I forgot, and he had to put ice on my hand. Ouch, it hurt!”
“I’m sure it did. Your daddy sounds like a very smart man.”
“Oh, he is! He knows how to make the best macaroni and cheese. And he taught Maggie how to sit and lay down. But sometimes she steals my shoes and tries to eat them for lunch. That’s why Daddy says I have to keep them picked up.” She frowned. “Sometimes I forget, though.”
Shane gave Susie’s head a good-natured pat. “She’ll talk your ear off if you let her.”
“I don’t mind. It’s quite entertaining.” Mrs. McAllister sat down at the kitchen table and sipped from her glass of iced tea before clearing her throat. “Since we have some time, Shane, pull up a chair and tell me a little bit about yourself.”
****
Shane sighed and settled into a battered lounge chair on the back deck. Maggie had destroyed the chair’s cushion weeks ago, and shredded pieces of foam still swirled like tumbleweeds around the yard, despite his best attempts to clean up the mess.
Mrs. McAllister had given him a grilling, all right. His stomach churned with uneasiness as he sipped from a glass of Mountain Dew and replayed the conversation in his head. Something Jade’s mother had said to him while Jade was down the hall helping Carly phone her grandmother still troubled him.
“Where are you from, Shane?” She’d brushed a wisp of hair back from her forehead and looked him over with inquisitive eyes.
“Not far from here.” He’d felt like a high school kid again, getting interrogated before a first date, and tried
not to fidget as he answered. “I grew up on Dreamfield Drive, on the lake. Jade and I actually went to school together.”
“Dreamfield Drive, you said?” She was quiet for a moment, and her eyes took on a pained, faraway look before she plowed ahead. “What are your parents’ names?”
“Ken and Marjorie Calkin.” He left out the part about his father being CEO of Worldwide Imaging. No need to share that. No good ever came of it. “Mrs. McAllister, are you OK?”
She had blanched at his parents’ names. Suddenly she was on her feet and rushing across the tile floor, her face a chalky white. “I-I think the spaghetti’s about to boil over. I should drain it before Jade comes in.”
He glanced at the oversized aluminum stock pot. She’d turned the burner off ten minutes ago. The water was fine. “Mrs. McAllister, what’s wrong?” If he didn’t know better, he’d think she’d just seen a ghost. “Did I say something to upset you?”
She checked the burner beneath the spaghetti pot, then turned to him. “Has Jade met your parents?”
“No.” What an odd thing to ask. That was a whole new can of worms to open, one better left closed—tight. “Why?”
“Umm...no reason. Hand me that colander, will you?”
He buffered himself between her and the pot. No way was he going to let her lift it. “Let me get that. It’s awfully heavy.” He placed the colander into the sink and emptied the pot of cooling spaghetti noodles over it to drain while Susie watched, fascinated. Steam billowed up and covered them both in a cloud. When it cleared, Shane’s gaze met with Mrs. McAllister’s once more. “Do you know my parents?”
Jade strode into the kitchen with Carly in tow as Mrs. McAllister began to answer, putting an immediate end to the conversation. Shane was relieved to find Carly appeared infinitely calmer than she had half an hour ago, but even that did little to ease the nagging sensation that tugged at the recesses of his brain. Something was amiss, and he aimed to find out exactly what that something was.
Jade fussed over slicing the bread and tossing a salad she’d prepared. As they settled at the table to eat, the topic of Shane’s parents was quickly forgotten.