Previously Loved Treasures (Serendipity #2)(50)

Caroline stepped in. “Now Laricka, don’t be insulted. It’s just that Sara is too young for a picture like that.” She turned to Rose. “Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, that’s right,” Rose answered, her tone softened and considerably milder.

“Well, good,” Laricka said. “For a minute there I thought you just didn’t want her playing with the boys.”

“Oh, no, that’s not it—”

Laricka gave a wave that dismissed the thought. “I know they can be a bit wild. But they’re good boys, and they’d never do anything to harm Sara.”

“Oh, I know they wouldn’t.” Rose’s voice had edged its way back to normal. “And Sara really does enjoy playing with them. It’s just that this movie—”

Laricka nodded. “I know.” She started down the hall then turned back. “But Sara should get out more than she does. A child needs fresh air and sunshine.”

This time Rose didn’t need to give an answer, because once Laricka had said her piece she disappeared down the hall.

~

That evening when they finished putting the supper dishes back in the cupboard, Rose turned to Caroline and asked, “Do you think it’s safe to let Sara play in the back yard?”

Caroline nodded. “I do. The wisteria bushes along the side of the house are so thick you can’t see the yard from the street, and that big wooden fence goes the whole way around.”

“Is there any other way to get back there?”

“No. The only way is to come through the house.”

“Okay then.” Rose smiled.

The next afternoon Sara’s boundary was extended, and she was allowed into the backyard. “But only the backyard,” Rose warned. “No further.”





Caroline Sweetwater





Having Rowena here is like having a sister. When we’re working together in the kitchen, that’s when I feel closest to her. She’s teaching me to cook, so naturally we talk about that, but we also talk about a thousand other things. After she told me she still had feelings for Joe, I explained what life was like with Mama. I think that changed her mind about wanting Joe back. Being crazy in love with a man is fine and dandy, but I don’t think there’s a man in the world a mother is ever gonna love as much as she loves her own child.

Rowena is awfully young to have so much responsibility, but she doesn’t seem to mind. She’s not like most girls who fuss about their hair and makeup. She hardly ever thinks about herself; she just worries about taking care of Sara. There’s only a year or two difference in our ages, but she has a child and that makes a woman much more serious-minded.

On second thought, that might not be true of all women. It sure wasn’t true of my mama. If Daddy had walked back in the door and said, Joelle, you’ve got to choose between me and the kid, I can’t say for sure who Mama would choose. I wish she’d been more like Rowena; I know for certain it would have made my life a whole lot better.

I’ve got to stop thinking of her as Rowena, which is kind of hard to do. If I don’t keep reminding myself she’s Rose now, I’m liable to let her name slip. That happened day before yesterday, but luckily no one heard me. We were clearing the table and I said, Can you get the platter, Rowena? The words were barely out of my mouth when I saw her face turn white as paste.

Afterward I told her not to worry. I said they’re safe here, but telling a person not to worry won’t make them not worry. Rowena’s still fearful; you can see it in her eyes. She says she’s not, but if someone drops a shoe or slams a door she jumps up and starts looking around for Sara.

Sometimes I think we ought to tell the residents the truth about who she is and why she’s here. You know what, I think they’d line up to protect her. They all like Rose, and they’re crazy about little Sara. How could you not be?

It’s been almost two weeks, and just yesterday Rose said it was okay for Sara to go outside and play in the back yard. “Don’t go near the front,” she warned. “Stay in the back.”

Sara was out there all afternoon, and last night I saw where Doctor Payne had moved his lounge to the side of the yard and tied a tire swing onto the branch of that oak he’d been sitting under.

Imagine him doing that. Doctor Payne’s one I never would have figured for being softhearted about a kid.





Back in Mackinaw





When Caroline drove out of Mackinaw with Rowena hunkered down in the back seat of her car, Joe Mallory was working his way through a bottle of Jack Daniels and pouring out the sorrows of his life to Ted, the bartender at Easy Aces. It was near daybreak when Joe finally stumbled back to the motel where they’d been living. After fumbling with the key for almost five minutes he pushed through the door calling for Rowena.

“Didn’t you hear me trying to get in?” he yelled. “You couldn’t get off your lazy ass and—”

The bed looked empty.

“What the hell…” Joe rubbed the back of his hand across his eyes and tried to focus on what he was seeing, or not seeing, as the case happened to be. Twice he squeezed his eyes shut then reopened them, but nothing changed. Rowena was not in the bed.

“Get out here, bitch!”