Hidden Summit

right, and she said, “Of course, I just hope everything is all right with Conner’s family.” Brie called her at work and asked how she was holding up, and she said, “I miss him, of course, but I can live with that easy. Is he in danger?” Brie answered that he’d benefit from the best protection law enforcement could offer. Leslie stopped by the bar for a glass for wine and takeout, and Jack said, “So, your boy had family business. He okay?” And she said, “He made it there safely and said everything is going to be fine. He should have things sorted out in a week or so.”
    “What kind of family business?” Jack asked, because he was Jack. “I hope there isn’t illness involved.”
    “He didn’t give me any details. He left pretty quickly. But I understand there’s some kind of domestic situation.”
    “Ah,” Jack said. “Sounds like a divorce brewing or something.”
    “It does sound like that, doesn’t it? We’ll get the full story when he’s back, which hopefully won’t be long. I sure got used to having him around in a hurry. I admit, I miss him already.”
    So due to that and a nagging worry that she simply couldn’t ignore, she was quiet and knew it. She also knew she wasn’t going to be able to spend a lot of time talking to Conner while he was away, so she’d have to suck it up and think positively.
    The very next morning before work, she was out in the front yard, pulling dead blossoms off some of the flowers they’d planted together, every thought on him. She heard someone coming down the street and looked up to see an elderly woman walking with a young woman who held the tiny hand of a two-year-old and carried a pudgy, smiling baby in a backpack. She’d seen them before; sometimes the young woman had one of the kids in an umbrella stroller. She stood up and smiled at them.
    “Well, hi,” she said, brushing off her knees.
    “Hello,” the older woman said. “I’ve been meaning to get down here to say hello. I’m Adie Clemens and this here is Nora and her babies. Nora forces me out of the house almost every morning.”
    Leslie lifted her eyebrows. “Is that so? I’m Leslie.” She put out a hand to the older woman first, then the younger.
    “Doc Michaels said she should walk every day and if I don’t walk her, she manages to forget. Nice to meet you.”
    “Are you two related?” Leslie asked.
    They looked at each other and laughed. “No, I’m just a thorn in her side,” Nora said. “Adie’s blood pressure and cholesterol have come down since she’s been eating less pound cake and walking. And now that spring is officially here with summer right around the corner, the girls and I sure can use the vitamin D. Your flowers are so beautiful. Adie and I have admired them every morning since you planted them.”
    Leslie surveyed the yard with a longing in her heart. “My boyfriend, Conner,” she said. “This was his idea of bringing a girl flowers. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
    “The young man with the great big pickup truck?”
    “The same. We work for the same construction company. I assume your husband works around here?” she asked, looking at Nora.
    Adie laughed. “Not a husband between us,” she said, trading smiles with Nora. “Maybe that’s why we lean on each other a little bit.”
    “I work part-time at the clinic and will work more part-time at the school when they open up. They’re going to do summer school with preschool just to get started and test the waters. Adie and Martha Hutchkins sometimes keep the girls for me.”
    “She’s excellent with children,” Adie said, giving her arm an affectionate pat.
    “I apologize. It was silly of me to assume…”
    “No worries, I probably would’ve assumed the same. This is Berry,” she said, ruffling her little toddler’s curls, “and this is Fay Lynne. You have the most wonderful front porch. Best one on the block. And the weather is so great—we should christen it with some lemonade and cookies one of these afternoons. Are you up to some old lady chatter?”
    “Excuse me, madam,” Adie said indignantly, drawing herself up to her full five feet.
    Nora just laughed. “Like I said…”
    And Leslie immediately thought, a friend in the neighborhood sure wouldn’t hurt, especially right now when she was feeling too alone. “I would love that. I usually get home by five. Six if I stop off at Jack’s for dinner or takeout.”
    “Ah, Jack’s,” Nora said almost wistfully.