Blue Dahlia

year.”
    “I remember. I met him once. I liked him.”
    “So did I. I’m sorry to come this way, without calling or asking, and I didn’t mean to get here so late. I had some car trouble earlier.”
    “That’s all right. Sit down, Hayley. How far along are you?”
    “Heading toward six months. The baby’s due end of May. I should apologize, too, because my car ran out of gas right at the front of your driveway.”
    “We can take care of that. Are you hungry, Hayley? Would you like a little something to eat?”
    “No, ma’am, I’m fine. I stopped to eat earlier. Forgot to feed the car. I have money. I don’t want you to think I’m broke or here for a handout.”
    “Good to know. We should have tea, then. It’s a cool night. Hot tea would be good.”
    “If it’s not too much trouble. And if you’ve got decaffeinated.” She stroked her belly. “Hardest thing about being pregnant’s been giving up caffeine.”
    “I’ll take care of it. Won’t be long.”
    “Thanks, Stella.” Roz turned back to Hayley as Stella went out. “So, did you drive all the way from ... Little Rock, isn’t it?”
    “I did. I like to drive. Like to better when the car’s not acting up, but you have to do what you have to do.” She cleared her throat. “I hope you’ve been well, Cousin Rosalind.”
    “I have been, very well. And you? Are you and the baby doing well?”
    “We’re doing great. Healthy as horses, so the doctor said. And I feel just fine. Feel like I’m getting big as a house, but I don’t mind that, or not so much. It’s kind of interesting. Um, your children, your sons? They’re doing fine?”
    “Yes, they are. Grown now. Harper, that’s my oldest, lives here in the guest house. He works with me at the nursery.”
    “I saw it—the nursery—when I was driving in.” Hayley caught herself rubbing her hands on the thighs of her jeans and made herself stop. “It looks so big, bigger than I expected. You must be proud.”
    “I am. What do you do back in Little Rock?”
    “I worked in a bookstore, was helping manage it by the time I left. A small independent bookstore and coffee shop.”
    “Managed? At your age?”
    “I’m twenty-four. I know I don’t look it,” she said with a hint of a smile. “I don’t mind that, either. But I can show you my driver’s license. I went to college, on partial scholarship. I’ve got a good brain. I worked summers there through high school and college. I got the job initially because my daddy was friends with the owner. But I earned it after.”
    “You said managed. You don’t work there now.”
    “No.” She was listening, Hayley thought. She was asking the right questions. That was something. “I resigned a couple of weeks ago. But I have a letter of recommendation from the owner. I’d decided to leave Little Rock.”
    “It seems a difficult time to leave home, and a job you’re secure in.”
    “It seemed like the right time to me.” She looked over as Stella wheeled in a tea cart. “Now that is just like the movies. I know saying that makes me sound like a hick or something, but I can’t help it.”
    Stella laughed. “I was thinking exactly the same as I loaded it up. I made chamomile.”
    “Thanks. Stella, Hayley was just telling me she’s left her home and her job. I’m hoping she’s going to tell us why she thinks this was the right time to make a couple of drastic moves.”
    “Not drastic,” Hayley corrected. “Just big. And I made them because of the baby. Well, because of both of us. You’ve probably figured out I’m not married.”
    “Your family isn’t supportive?” Stella asked.
    “My mother took off when I was about five. You may not remember that,” she said to Roz. “Or you were too polite to mention it. My daddy died last year. I’ve got aunts and uncles, a pair of grandmothers left, and cousins. Some are still in the Little Rock area. Opinion is ... mixed about my current situation. Thanks,” she added after Roz had poured out and offered her a cup.
    “Well, the thing is, I was awfully sad when Daddy passed. He got hit by a car, crossing the street. Just one of those accidents that you can never understand and that, well, just don’t seem right. I didn’t have time to prepare for it. I guess you never do. But he was just gone, in a minute.”
    She drank tea and felt it soothe her right down to the bones she hadn’t realized were so tired. “I was sad, and mad and lonely. And there was this guy. It