Page 75 of The Candlemaker

“And I take it you’re now favoring their offer?”

My spine straightened.Was I?I should.Icouldn’t.

“No.” I forced the denial out because it was our agreement; we weren’t going to mix business with pleasure.

His head snapped to me, his expression more strained than before. “Chandler…”

“It’s not the best deal.” And that was all there was to it. I cleared my throat and took over the conversation before it continued any farther down this path. “The doctor said they’d return her meds to normal tomorrow?”

Tom hesitated and then nodded. “Yes. They wanted one day to let her rest, but they really did a number on her. She was very unsteady on her feet when I got here, that’s why I suggested she relax in bed.” A small smile worked its way onto his face as he added, “I told her we could have a picnic dinner in bed.”

I made a low sound, and everything he said—everything he did—I saw differently after yesterday. “I didn’t realize you got her all of these butterfly photos.” My eyes slid to him, watching the subtle stillness that came over him.

“They’re her favorite,” he said simply, but it felt like there was more. The way he looked at Mom, it felt like there was something I was missing—something I’d been missing this entire time.

Him and Mom.

I didn’t get a chance to turn the tables on him because Frankie came over to join us and said softly, “She’s sleeping.”

Tom gazed at her for a long moment and then said, “You’re welcome to stay or sit downstairs and talk, but I don’t—I can’t leave her.”

When I looked at him this time, it wasn’t his feelings for Mom I saw in his eyes, but my own for Frankie I found reflected in his stare.

“No, that’s all right,” I murmured. “We should get going.”

Yesterday had been a long day for Mom, and I didn’t wantto push my luck. I might not know everything that was between them, but I knew she was the calmest when she was with him.

I went to her bedside, her eyelids heavy as she turned to me. “Chandler…”

“I’m going to let you rest, Mom.” I sat on the bed and took her hand in mine.

Her eyes glistened. “You and Frankie…”

Not her, too.“I’ll be back tomorrow to see you,” I said, ignoring her comment. “Tom will be here.”

At the mention of his name, she looked to him and then back to me, giving my fingers a small squeeze. “Don’t do what I did, Chandler. Don’t be too vulnerable.”

I sucked in a breath, hoping she didn’t notice the way I stiffened. Was she warning me away from a relationship? Did she realize what she was saying?

My head turned to Frankie, and my chest tightened.

Did I realize what I was doing?

“Where do you want me to take you?” I asked as we approached the center of Friendship, my thoughts in a tangle of topics.

My mother and Tom. Frankie. Last night. The inn.Tomorrow morning.

“Just keep going straight,” she replied, her gaze toying with the sights out the window, looking but not really seeing them.

When we breached the far end of the town, I was about to ask again where I was taking her, but her next instruction came first.

“Turn right up here.”

I followed her directions from there, making turns ontoroads I was fairly certain had no name and a destination few people knew existed. I made one final right, and as soon as we passed through a thicket of trees, I saw how the drive unraveled in front of us, cascading through the large property all the wayto a two-story, porch-wrapped farmhouse at the end.

“Your mom’s house?” I asked like I was already sure of the answer.

“Yeah,” she confirmed, pulling her plump bottom lip between her teeth.

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