Page 14 of For the Birds

“I love you,” I whispered as I held her tighter, trying to ignore a spike of fear—she felt like a bundle of bones.

“I love you too,” she said in a tearful response. She broke loose, swiping a few tears away, and cupped her son’s cheek and looked into his eyes. “Hey, Mikey. Momma’shome.”

He stared at her with big eyes, and for a moment, I wasn’t sure how he would react. Then he reached forher.

I worried he’d be too heavy, but Violet put him on her hip as he buried his face into herneck.

Mike must have shared my concern because he was already making a beeline for the storage room behind the counter. “Maeve, you got a chair backhere?”

“Yes,” Maeve said, following him. “I should have thought ofthat . . .”

Violet held both of her children close—her son on her hip and her daughter at her side—as she scanned the group and released a chuckle. “The nursery’s gotten a lot busier since Ileft.”

Everyone laughed.

Tears swam in her eyes. “Y’all have no idea how much this means to me.” Her voice broke. “I know what’s importantnow.”

Her gaze drifted to Mike, who had found a chair and was placing it next to the counter.

Seconds later, he was back at her side, lifting Mikey into his arms and ushering her over to the chair.

Everyone started talking at once, telling Violet how beautiful she looked in her scarf, how much they’d missed her, and how much she’d missed athome.

I moved to the back with Neely Kate, on the outside looking in. I’d always felt that way with Violet’s friends. Truth be told, I’d felt that way my entire life until I’d finally decided to take charge of myfate.

The door opened and Joe walked in, giving me and Neely Kate a grimace when he saw that Violet had already arrived. He glanced at the crowd as he made his way back tous.

“I got held up, but there’s so many people here, I suspect she hasn’t noticed I’mlate.”

“She just got here no more than five minutes ago,” Neely Katesaid.

“Good turnout,” he said. “That’s good.” Violet’s behavior over the past year or so hadn’t just alienated me—her affair with the married mayor had pushed away a lot of her friends, making Violet, who’d frequently dispensed gossip, the subject of plenty of flapping tongues. It was good to see that her illness had convinced many of them to let bygones be bygones. While I had forgiven her too, and loved her with all my heart, I couldn’t totally forget the things she’d done to me. No matter how hard I tried.

“Your sister looks happy,” Neely Kate said, watching her with a wistfullook.

Mikey was on her lap, snuggling close, while Mike stood behind her with a hand on her shoulder, as though he was trying to pour strength and comfort into her with his touch.

Violet did look happy. I hoped she really had learned what was important. I’d always thought Mike was good forher.

Joe sidled up next to Neely Kate and slung an arm around her shoulders. “Hey, sis. You get a chance to look at the paint samples for my kitchen?”

“Sorry, Joe. Notyet.”

“What’s got you so busy lately?” he asked, sounding amused. As far as I knew, he had no idea Neely Kate had up and gone to Ardmore, which was a near-miracle considering how attentive he’d been to her these past few months.

“The landscapin’ business is boomin’,” she said. “And there’s so much for me to learn.” Neely Kate had learned quickly, and business had slowed down considerably the last couple of weeks.

Violet’s gaze landed on Joe, and her face litup.

“You should go say hi,” I said, giving him a littlepush.

“I think there’s room for me now.” He grinned and headedover.

Since Neely Kate and I had a moment alone, I decided now was as good a time as any to bring up the invitation I’d issued toLevi.

“Since I was dressed up today, I picked up something for Levi when I got our lunch.”

Neely Kate perked up. “You did?” Her excitement shifted to confusion. “But you ate withus.”

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