Her sympathy was almost Shauntelle’s undoing, but she kept it together. She did not want to cry in front of Noah and his mother.
“My gramma said that Uncle Josiah worked for an evil man,” Millie put in, shattering the mood and moment. “That’s why he died. But Mr. Cosgrove doesn’t look that evil.”
Shauntelle felt like grabbing her dear daughter and covering her mouth, but it was too late.
Again she saw pain and anger flit over Noah’s face. Again she wondered how much he took to heart.
Mrs. Cosgrove looked from Millie to Noah, her own features twisted as she withdrew her hand.
“Sometimes we only know part of the story,” she said. “But I won’t keep you long. I understand you have lots of deliveries to do. I wanted to say hello. I hope to see you tomorrow at the Farmer’s Market. You will have a table there, won’t you?” she asked Shauntelle.
“Yes. I will. If you have anything specific you want me to make, you are more than welcome to put in an order.”
“That’s fine, my dear. Maybe I’ll let Noah pick something out. He’s especially fond of chocolate cake.”
“I’m fond of your chocolate cake,” Noah corrected.
His mother gave him a gentle tick with her fingers. “You never say that in front of another woman,” she said.
“Sorry. Forgot about the female code.” Noah’s smile held a touch of melancholy, and Shauntelle thought it must be difficult for him to see his mother like this. “But you better get back to your easy chair, and we better get going.” Noah motioned with his head to the house.
Mrs. Cosgrove glanced over at Shauntelle. “He makes me sound like I’ve got one foot in the grave. Which is quite a physical feat, considering the graveyard is about ten miles away.”
Shauntelle chuckled at that, but she could see from the puzzlement on Millie’s and Margaret’s faces that she would be in for several questions from them about that phrase.
“You run on now and take care of those meat pies,” Mrs. Cosgrove said, holding her cheek up to Noah for a kiss. “I’ll see you later.”
And before Noah could protest, she turned and walked back to the house.
Noah watched her go, and Shauntelle could see that he was torn.
“We don’t have to do this,” she said. “You can bring me straight to my parents’ place, and then come back sooner.”
He turned to her with a wry smile. “She’d never let me come back until I was done helping you, so we may as well carry on.”
His smile made him look more approachable. And his attitude around his mother generated a rift in her own feelings toward him.
But she shook that off. She couldn’t afford to let herself get soft around him.
She had her children to think of, her business to plan and her parents to comfort and support.
Besides, she heard he was only in Cedar Ridge for his cousin’s wedding, and then he would be gone again. Which worked out well. She didn’t think she could be around him any longer than that.
* * *
“I can’t believe you let that man take you on your deliveries.” Selena Rodriguez’s pinched and lined lips and narrowed eyes made a far more eloquent statement than her clipped sentence.
“I didn’t have much choice, Mom,” Shauntelle said as she loaded the dishwasher. “The ice in the coolers holding the meat pies was already half-melted. By the time the tow truck came, I wouldn’t have felt right about delivering them. And that would have been a waste, and I would have had unhappy customers.” Besides, she’d sensed Noah would not have let it go.
It had made for an extremely uncomfortable situation. Trying to keep her anger at him under control while appreciating what he was doing for her.
She was trying as hard as she could to develop a good reputation, both for her food and her delivery service. She wanted customers to know she was dependable and trustworthy. She hoped building up all this goodwill would keep her in good stead when it came time to open her restaurant.
“You could have called us,” Selena muttered, rinsing out a rag and wiping down the counters.
“I tried, but there was no answer. Dad must have been out pumping gas, and you were probably busy somewhere else. Besides, I didn’t like the idea of making you take time out of your workday to come and rescue me.”
“I would have come for sure if I’d known Noah Cosgrove picking you up was the alternative.” Her mother’s voice broke, and Shauntelle once again struggled with her own variable emotions.
The name Noah Cosgrove always engendered an unhealthy indignation in the Rodriguez household. Noah had been Josiah’s boss, and her brother died while working for him. Josiah had often complained that Noah pushed everyone too hard.
After Josiah’s death, there had been inquiries and phone calls and meetings, and it was as if they relived his death again and again.
Noah was exonerated, but Shauntelle still struggled with forgiveness and anger. Had he not worked her brother so hard, Josiah might still be alive.
“Well, they’re done.”
As for her girls, all was right in their world in spite of the emotions swirling around their heads.
Supper was over and her father sat in the living room reading one of his favorite Thornton Burgess books to the girls. Though she doubted they were that terribly interested in the adventures of Reddy Fox, they were too polite to say any different. And it kept them busy while her mother fussed.
“I’m thankful Dad could take care of the car,” Shauntelle said. He had arranged for a friend to pick it up and bring it to the wrecker. “I should have brought it in to the mechanic when I had the chance. Dad’s been warning me for months to get it fixed.”
Though part of the problem was she hadn’t had time to bring it to the mechanic. Between juggling her part-time job at the bank, baking and gardening for the Farmer’s Market and her work to get the restaurant going, extra time was hard to find. And next week she would be even busier working with the contractor who was finishing the arena.
The restaurant she wanted added had never been in the original plans. She had her own blueprints drawn up at great expense, which meant she would have to work closely in the next few weeks with the contractor to make sure everything meshed.
“You could have bought a new car with that money you got from when Roger passed away.”
“You know I need that money for my restaurant and eventually my own place.” She gave her mother a teasing grin as she put the containers holding leftovers in the refrigerator. “I’m sure you don’t want me and the girls staying here forever. Kind of cramps Dad’s and your style.”
“You know we enjoy having you around,” her mother said with a gentle smile. “If you’d had a new car you wouldn’t have had to get a ride with...Noah Cosgrove,” her mother added.
The evil man.
Millie’s words still made Shauntelle squirm. She would have to make a note to discuss with her mother how she talked about Noah. The girls didn’t need to get pulled into the drama and emotions surrounding her brother’s death.
“It was okay, Mother,” she said, trying to keep her tone light. She knew she would run into Noah sooner or later, so maybe it was just as well she got it over and done with.
Though she was still surprised at how difficult it had been to be around him. She couldn’t keep the image of her brother’s coffin out of her mind. The searing pain of lowering her brother down into the ground. The loss of her own dreams and plans.
She and Josiah had