Britney studied Christine. “Helping his aunt?”
“Why wouldn’t he come back to help Midge if she needs it?” Mom shrugged as she filled glasses with iced tea.
Britney shrugged. “He always said he wanted to leave Flowering Grove behind for good after college. But he was also close to his aunt Midge, so . . .”
The screen door squeaked open, and Hunter walked in with Dad and Jake in tow. “Who said he’d never come back here, babe?”
Britney’s bright smile was back in a flash, and she stretched up on her tiptoes to kiss her husband’s cheek. “No one important.”
The twins appeared in the doorway, their lips caked with pink icing. Christine had a feeling the box of cookies was at least half empty.
“Are you ready to play now?” Maddy whined.
“Yes, we are!” Dad announced, rubbing his hands together. A smile filled his handsome face. Most people who noticed the wrinkles around Bob Sawyer’s hazel eyes and his mouth and the gray threading through his light-brown hair would correctly guess he was in his midfifties. But Dad always insisted he was young at heart.
Christine helped carry the snacks to the family-room coffee table, then took her usual spot between the twins on the sofa. Soon the whole family was seated, a Charades for Kids box lying on the table beside the bowl of chips.
“Before I forget, what are we doing on Tuesday for the Fourth?” Hunter asked as he lifted his glass of iced tea.
Christine had always thought Britney and Hunter resembled the Barbie and Ken dolls her nieces loved so much. The two of them were both blond and blue-eyed, fit, athletic, and attractive, and their daughters had inherited their good looks.
Dad shrugged. “We’ll have a cookout and then go see the fireworks together like we do every year. Right, Karla?”
“That’s the usual plan.” Mom looked at Christine. “Are you closing the store?”
She nodded. “I always close it on holidays since nothing else is open on Main Street.”
“Perfect,” Dad said. “It’s settled, then. A cookout and fireworks.” He beamed at his granddaughters, and Maddy clapped her hands with obvious excitement.
“Can we please play now, Poppy?” Mila asked.
Dad grinned. “Only if you’re on my team.”
Christine laughed. If she never had children of her own, at least she would cherish these two for the rest of her life. They were a blessing.
* * *
After a rousing game of charades, Christine and Britney stowed the leftover snacks in the kitchen. Then Britney grabbed Christine’s arm and pulled her back into the family room. “Tell me everything about when you saw Brent.”
“There’s nothing more to tell.”
Her sister’s eyes narrowed. “Chrissy, you’re holding out on me. Hunter and Dad are on the deck talking sports, and Mom is upstairs reading the twins a bedtime story. So tell me everything now, while we have a moment alone. Is he married?”
“I hate to admit it, but I did look at his left hand. No ring. Listen, we talked for only a few minutes, and he just said he was on the way to the hardware store to get supplies for his great-aunt’s house. That, and he’s been living in Virginia.”
Britney tapped one finger against her lips. “Huh. Did he look good?”
“Very.”
Britney sank onto the sofa. “It’s ancient history, but I was crazy about him. We dated for almost six years, and even though we hit a rough patch when he was injured and going through all those surgeries, I believed we’d get married someday. But then he up and cheated on me.” She leaned back, a sour look on her face. “I thought I’d never have to see the man again.” She groaned. “I can’t imagine how awkward it would be to run into him now. And truthfully? I still get angry when I think about what he did to me.”
Christine sat beside her. “Brit, you have no reason to feel awkward around him. He hurt you. He’s the one who should feel awkward if you see each other. And it’s time to let the anger go, don’t you think?”
Britney ran her perfectly polished fingernails through the tassels on a throw pillow. “I suppose. I’m just so grateful I found a good man.”
“Right,” Christine scoffed. “As if you ever had to worry about finding a man. Even in middle school, Daddy had to keep a baseball bat by the front door to fend off the droves of boys who wanted to ask you out.”
“Whatever!” Britney laughed as she tossed the pillow at Christine. “But I doubt any of them would have been as good to me and the girls as Hunter is.” She gave her a pointed look. “We have to find you a husband, Chrissy!”
Christine groaned as she threw the pillow back, then stood. “Now you sound like Mom.”
“But she’s right.”
Christine rolled her eyes as she headed to the deck to join Dad and Hunter. If a husband was in her future, she’d just as soon find him on her own.
* * *
“We need to leave for the fireworks now,” Aunt Midge announced as she stood at the bottom of the ladder and looked up.
Brent stopped hammering a shingle and sat back on his heels. When pain shot through his left knee, he lowered himself and sat, facing her. “I already told you. I have too much to do around here.” He gestured toward the rest of the roof.
“But you’ll run out of daylight.” She pointed toward the lowering sun.
“There’s still plenty I can do when it’s dark. For one thing, I need to look at that leaky faucet in your master bathroom.”
When Aunt Midge narrowed her eyes, he knew he was in trouble. “Brent Theodore Nicholson, either you take me to the fireworks or you’re fired!”
He laughed and picked up his bottle of water. How he adored his aunt, especially her feisty nature and sense of humor.
“I’ve never missed the Flowering Grove Fourth of July fireworks, and I don’t plan to start now.” She shook a crooked finger at him. “Both your parents had to work, so like I told you well in advance, I expect you to take me.” Then she muttered, “I can’t believe Donna agreed to take inventory at that store on a holiday, but she wanted the extra pay.”
Despite feeling bad that his mother felt she had to sacrifice seeing the town’s fireworks, Brent grinned, resting his bottle of water on his bent knee. “I would imagine Mr. Swanson would be more than happy to take you.”
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear you say that. Now get down here. We need to get there before all the best spots at Vet’s Field are taken. Besides, my friends will be waiting for me. They’re getting a ride over from Oakboro.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He gathered the box of nails and his hammer. Risking running into his former classmates at one of Flowering Grove’s biggest events of the year was the last thing he wanted to do, but he couldn’t let Aunt Midge down. “I just need to get changed.”
“You’ll look handsome either way. In fact, I imagine you’ll find plenty of pretty young women thrilled to watch the fireworks with you.”
He shook his head. “I’m not looking.”
“That’s when you find someone—when you’re not looking and least expect it. Now, take me to the fireworks!”