Page 38 of Home Sweet Home

“He didn’t talk about it,” Evie said. “Those times we came to dinner.”

A crack formed in Della’s smile. “Well, just one of those things, maybe. Keeping the past in the past. Now, who wants dessert?”

Della brought out a few of Evie’s cookies, and a few minutes later, they finished up dinner, their plates cleaned and bellies full.

“That was the best meal I’ve had in a long time,” Evie said, resting her hand on her stomach, admiring the food baby that had formed into a soft mound. “We can’t thank you enough.”

“Thank you,” Josh said, unprompted.

Della waved them off. “That’s what neighbors do. Besides, you’re truly saving me with these cookies.”

“It wasn’t any trouble.”

“I appreciate it all the same. And West tells me he wouldn’t be able to wrangle those boys without you. I’ve got to say, it’s a miracle you’ve put up with him this long. I’ve been this close to shipping him back to California so many times.”

Della was looking at West with a sparkle in her eyes that said the exact opposite, and Evie knew just how much Della was enjoying having her son home. Evie smiled at West, a smile he returned, his teeth covered in barbecue sauce. “It’s been a challenge, but I’ve managed.”

“I’m feeling a little ganged up on,” West said, leaning back in his chair. “Josh, I just dug out my old Nintendo 64. What do you say?”

Josh’s face lit up, and as West got up from his chair, tilting his head toward the door, he winked at Evie. “Come on.”

Josh followed him, and with the boys gone, Della looked at Evie, a gleam in her eye like she had a secret.

“I haven’t seen him this happy in a long time,” Della said. “Haven’t seen you this happy in a long time either.”

Evie felt like she was under a microscope, like Della could see straight through to her bones and organs. Before Evie could say anything, Della held up her hand as if she’d just remembered something then reached into the pocket of her jeans. “Here you go.”

It took Evie a second to recognize it, but Della had definitely tucked a hundred-dollar bill into Evie’s palm.

“What—” Evie started, and when she remembered the cookies, she shook her head. “Oh, that’s all right. I was just helping.”

Della gently folded Evie’s fingers over the bill. “You are saving me from listening to Gloria carry on about her blood sugar through all of Corinthians. It’s the least I can do. Just take it.”

Evie swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded.

* * *

Josh stayedfor thirty minutes to play Goldeneye with West before slinking back home. Then Della had “urgent business” that needed attending to and locked herself away in her office. She closed the door behind her, but not before giving Evie a wink.

Apparently, winking’s a Hawthorne family trait,Evie thought as West walked Evie out the back door and onto his lawn.

“Can I show you something cool?” West asked.

The sun had lowered in the sky, and a blood-orange sunset poked through the trees. The unbearable heat had shifted into a balmy, comfortable summer evening.

“I’ve seen your backyard about ten thousand times,” Evie said. To the left, she could see her own backyard, the rusty garden swing, and the overgrown lawn. She made a mental reminder to ask Josh to mow.

“I know, smarty-pants. I wanted to show you this.”

She felt a light touch on the small of her back. West’s hand guided her toward the toolshed. He was barely touching her. He might not even have been touching her, and what she was actually feeling was electricity from the tiny bit of space between their skin. But as soon as they rounded the corner, his hand was gone, and she could see what he wanted to show her. It was a young garden, two rows of tilled soil with tiny sprouts shoving up through the dirt.

“What are you growing?” Evie asked.

“Tomatoes. Cucumbers. Some snap beans.” West walked between the rows, moving carefully so his feet didn’t smash any of the fragile plants. He bent and cradled a small pair of leaves in his fingers. “This one’s a green onion.”

Evie sank down next to him to get a closer look, smoothing her dress over so she didn’t flash anyone. Spiky, thin tendrils poked through the dirt. West rubbed a leaf between his thumb and forefinger just as a breeze picked up, rustling the bottom of Evie’s dress, the fabric brushing against West’s thigh.

“Didn’t know you were such a homemaker,” Evie said. “Making sourdough, growing vegetables. What’s next? Della teaching you needlepoint?”

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