Page 78 of Never Fall Again

“Dylan had wrapped his car around a telephone pole. No one else was hurt. But Dylan was dead.”

“Wow.” Cal stared at her. “But, if he was dead, then you were free. Why come here?”

“I wasn’t free. I was free of Dylan. But his family was another matter entirely. His mother and father despised me. Oh, at church we were one big happy, God-fearing family. But at home? I was the one who made their sweet Dylan miserable. I hadn’t given him another child. I hadn’t submitted to him the way a wife should. I was terrified they would try to take Eliza.”

“So what did you do?”

“Bronwyn stayed with me for the next week. She was at my side through the funeral. Either she or I always kept Eliza in our sights. I played the grieving widow. And I was grieving. Just not for the reasons everyone thought. My father-in-law approached me after the funeral and suggested I move in with them. I told him I’d think about it.”

“As in, you’d think about how to make sure it never happened?”

“Exactly. That night, Bronwyn and I left. She’d been slowly packing up the house during the week. While we were at the funeral, she had those same friends put everything we’d staged for them into a small U-Haul. It was mostly Eliza’s stuff, as well as my baby kiln and pottery and art supplies. Some books. A few things from my grandmother. I left everything else. They parked the U-Haul at a restaurant about an hour out of town, then came back and gave the keys to Bronwyn. When we left, she rode with me until we got to the U-Haul. Then she drove it, and we caravanned all the way here.”

Twenty-Two

Cal had so many things he wanted to say. So many more questions he wanted answered. But Maisy was running at them full force.

Instead of digging deeper into Landry’s past, he released her hand and said, “I’m so very sorry that happened. But I’m so glad God brought you here.”

“Me too.” That was all Landry had time to say before Eliza came careening toward them.

“Mommy, Cal showed us how he makes his bowls and vases. We should take him home and show him how you make yours.”

Cal expected Landry to give Eliza one of those exasperated looks that parents gave their children when they backed them into a corner. But when she looked at him, her expression was bashful, not bothered. “We definitely will have to do that, baby. Although I don’t know if today is a good time. I’m sure Cal has other things he needs to get done.”

“No, he doesn’t.” Eliza spoke with childlike confidence. “He said he didn’t have anywhere to be.”

Landry pinched her lips together and held her hands out in surrender. “Fine. Cal, if you have time today, that would be great. If not, another time. But we would love to show you the studio and throw a few bowls.”

He couldn’t resist teasing her. “Is that pottery terminology?” He mimicked throwing a frisbee. “Seems like throwing pottery around is a good way to break it.”

Eliza giggled. “You don’t throw it, throw it.”

Cal tweaked her nose. “You don’t?”

“No. That’s what it’s called when you work the clay on the wheel.”

“I guess I have a lot to learn.”

Eliza patted his arm. “Mommy will teach you. She’s a great teacher.”

He winked at Eliza. “She’ll have to be. I’m not a great student.”

It took them almost forty-five minutes to get back to Landry’s side of the river, pack up the picnic, load the car, and get on the road. Cal ran home and caught up to them before they got to town, then followed them the rest of the way to The Haven.

The sun was gone from the sky, the fall evening coming on fast, when he parked beside Landry.

Eliza led the way to the studio, skipping ahead of them.

“You have to be getting tired of making this trip.” Landry scooted to the side to allow a guest to pass.

“What do you mean?” Cal asked.

“You’re driving here almost every day.”

“Most of my jobs are farther away than this one. And given that Bronwyn won’t let us start work before nine in order to protect the slumber of her guests, I have time to get some work done in my office before I arrive. It’s turned into a very pleasant project.” And the work hours had nothing to do with it.

Eliza danced around the studio door. “Hurry up, Mommy! I want to show Cal what I made this week.”

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