Sam had done contract work on the Venus, and on several of the other projects the Flanagans had going. She’d met Charlie and Billy once when she’d accompanied Sam to their office. She’d prepared paperwork for their people to pick up, delivered contracts to their office a couple of times, and thought nothing about any of it other than wondering how the hell people got so rich in the first place.
Jenna shivered as she snapped her laptop closed. She stood and walked over to the windows that looked out over the backyard. Noah was inspecting his handiwork with Alice, but they weren’t getting very far. The little girl kept pointing at things and looking up at Noah.
Noah was talking back, so he must be explaining what things were. Or acknowledging the kinds of basic things one did with a toddler.
“Bird?”
“Yes, bird! Very good.”
“Buwehfy?”
“Yes, butterfly! You’re so smart!”
Jenna smiled. He wasn’t a bad guy at all. He might be a bit overwhelmed at the thought of keeping Alice, being a parent to her, but he could do it. He’d adapted to the situation quickly. He was still adapting, but he didn’t try to avoid it.
He’d even taken Alice to the potty chair after breakfast. She’d used it, but she was pretty good at that if you caught her in time. She hadn’t made the connection between the chair and every urge she had yet, so the diapers were still necessary.
Some kids took longer than others, and Alice had plenty of reasons to take her time. Her entire world had been turned upside down in a matter of days. It was still being righted, and that’s what broke Jenna’s heart about Noah’s plan, even if he was doing it for the best of reasons.
She sighed as she watched them, then took out her phone and dialed. Aunt Maggie answered on the fourth ring. “Jennie?” she said, using the name that Jenna’s parents had so frequently called her when she was growing up. “Is that you?”
“Hey, Aunt Mags. Yes, it’s me. How are you?”
“Oh, you know, my arthritis has been kicking up with the rainy weather we’ve had, but I’m good. I’ve been out digging up the potatoes. Got a good crop this year.”
Aunt Maggie was really her great-aunt, her father’s aunt on his mother’s side, and she’d be eighty-two in the fall. But that didn’t mean she was stagnant. Nope, Maggie was always busy in her garden or at church. “That’s great. You giving a bunch away to the church again?”
“Going to have to. I can’t eat all this stuff myself.”
Jenna laughed. “You could can it, right? I remember Dad’s stories about Great-grandma making everyone can a bunch of stuff one summer. He remembered specifically that a jar exploded and there were tomatoes everywhere.”
Aunt Maggie laughed. “That’s true. Mama insisted we can the garden every summer when she was still alive. Poor Luke must have been about ten that year. He’d have rather been riding bikes with his friends, and maybe playing that Atari game, but nope, Mama said it was all hands on deck.”
Jenna leaned against the windowsill as she watched Noah and Alice making their way around the yard. It wasn’t a huge yard, but it was big enough for a small plot of vegetables. Not that she knew how to garden, but she could watch YouTube for that.
Except she wasn’t going to dig a garden into Noah’s yard because, A, it was a lot of work. And, B, she wasn’t going to be here forever. She couldn’t saddle him with something he couldn’t manage.
Still, the idea was appealing just because it felt like a connection to her father.
Someday.
“Where are you calling me from this time, Jennie? Anywhere near Delaware yet?”
Jenna’s face heated. “No, sorry, Aunt Maggie. I’m still in Washington state. Working at a winery now,” she lied. “Not in the vineyards or anything. Working in the tasting room.”
“It sounds wonderful, honey. Though I do wish you’d come for a visit during your travels.”
“I’m going to get over to the east coast, I promise. Next year. I’m just banking up material for my travel blog at the moment.” Her eyes prickled with unshed tears as she made up so many lies, but she didn’t want her aunt to worry. It would have probably been better not to contact her at all, but Jenna hadn’t seen how she could cut off ties with her only family. Aunt Maggie had never married, never had kids. She was beloved in her town, and her church family was there for her, but Jenna was the only family who’d stayed in touch. If Jenna ghosted her, she’d be no better than the ones who’d left town and stopped calling years ago.
They talked a bit longer, thankfully about other things like Aunt Maggie upgrading her cable and the reverend’s Sunday sermon, before Jenna said, “I need to get back to work, Aunt Mags. I’ll call you next month, okay?”
“Of course, honey. Oh, wait. I just remembered. A man called last week and said he was looking for you.”
Jenna’s heart tripped and fell before stumbling into high gear. “Oh? Did he say what he wanted?”
“Not really. He was looking for an address or phone number. I told him I didn’t know where you were, and that you only called me once in a while and I didn’t know the number. He asked me to let him know if I heard from you—but I’m not going to do it. He didn’t have any manners, Jennie. He was very abrupt. What’s wrong with people these days?”
Jenna thought her throat would close up. She put a hand to her forehead and forced herself to breathe. In. Out. In. Out.
“There’s a lot wrong with people, Aunt Maggie.” She tried to think. “If he calls again, don’t tell him you talked to me. And don’t talk to him, either.”
Aunt Maggie laughed. “Oh, I won’t. There are advantages to being an old lady, my dear. I’ll act like I’ve never spoken to him before and he’ll think I’m batty.”
Jenna didn’t like that she wasn’t there to watch over her aunt, but she also didn’t think that going to Delaware was the answer. If someone was watching Maggie’s house, they’d see her arrive. That couldn’t be a good thing for either of them.
“You don’t know where I am, okay?”
“I really don’t, honey. You said you’re in Washington state at a winery, but you didn’t say which one. Why didn’t you? I’ve been wondering why you never share details.”
Jenna’s heart thumped. “I just… I don’t know how long I’m staying so it doesn’t make sense to say. If you tried to call me here next week, I could be gone.”
Aunt Maggie sighed. “All right, Jennie. I’m an old woman, but I’m not a dumb one, you know. I wouldn’t call the winery anyway. I’d call your phone. But I can read between the lines, honey. You don’t want to be found. I don’t know why, but if you’re in trouble I want to help you.”
“It’s okay. I’m not in trouble.”
Outside, Noah swooped Alice into his arms and started walking toward the back door.
“I have to go now. I’ll call you next week, okay? I won’t wait a month this time.”
“That’s fine. I love you, Jellybean.”
“I love you too, Aunt Maggie.”