the cashier gave him the change, Evangeline’s phone beeped. She yanked it out of her purse but then, as she glanced at the screen, she seemed to deflate as if she’d hoped the caller would be someone else.
Andy maybe?
“Emma is waiting for us in the parking lot,” she said.
Denny shoved the change into his pocket and once again followed Evangeline out the door.
When they got near to where Denny’s truck was parked, a woman stepped out of a pickup beside his, waving at them.
“Hey, Evangeline. Over here.”
Emma, Denny presumed. She had long brown hair, dark brown eyes and an infectious grin. Her blue jeans had grass stains on the knees and her white T-shirt had streaks of dirt. Evangeline had mentioned she lived on a ranch, and she obviously did more than just keep house.
“Hey, Emma, great timing,” Evangeline said, pushing the cart toward the truck.
As Evangeline parked the cart, Emma walked around to the other side of her truck. She opened the door and wrestled out a large seat. As she pulled it, a strap got caught and she almost dropped it.
Denny hurried over to help her, earning him a bright smile. “Thanks. I’m guessing you’re Daddy?” Emma asked.
Denny felt a flush warm his neck as he took the car seat from her. “Apparently.”
Emma’s puzzled look bounced from him to Evangeline, looking for more information.
“Emma, can you help Denny put the seat in the back of the car?” was all Evangeline said.
Denny heaved the surprisingly heavy seat into his truck and strapped it down. As he buckled Ella into it, he thought back to when he and Lila were married.
A good friend of his, Lance, had stopped by with his boy. Denny remembered watching Lance buckle the little boy into the car seat parked in the backseat of his friend’s candy-apple-red truck. This was a vehicle Lance had spent hours waxing, polishing and babying. A truck Denny wished he had.
But crumbs from crackers and leftover papers from fast-food meals had littered the backseat of Lance’s pride and joy, and Lance hadn’t seemed to care. His little boy was his pride and joy.
And once again Denny had been envious.
Now he had his own fancy truck that he had scrimped and scraped to purchase. And now it had a car seat in it, as well.
But somehow it wasn’t the same situation.
He straightened, looking at Ella, who was staring back at him, her dark eyes so serious. Her expression so solemn.
“She’s a quiet one,” Emma said with a laugh.
“Yeah. She is.” It didn’t seem natural. He remembered his sisters at this age, laughing and squirming and getting into all kinds of mischief.
He closed the back door on Ella, then helped Evangeline load the last of the groceries into the other side of the truck.
When they were done he turned back to Emma, who stood by her own truck, her arms folded across her T-shirt.
“Thanks so much for the use of the car seat,” Denny said.
“Gotta keep the little munchkin safe,” Emma returned.
“Yeah. That I do.”
He pulled his car keys out of his pocket and opened the door for Evangeline.
She gave him a curious look, then stepped up into the truck, tucking her long, flowing skirt underneath her as he shut the door.
Emma was watching him, a bemused light in her eyes. “I heard you’re leasing Andy’s place,” she said. “My husband, Carter, and I run a ranch up Morrisey Creek. If you ever need help, we’re willing to lend a hand.”
“Thanks. That’s good to know.” Denny blew out a sigh, thinking about the work that lay ahead of him. “I might take you up on that offer.”
“Make sure you do.” Emma gave him a quick wave, then got into her truck and drove away.
As Denny sat behind the wheel of his truck he glanced at Ella again, who stared back at him.
“Is that normal?” he asked Evangeline as he started up his truck, worry digging at him. “She cried like crazy when she first came, but hasn’t given a peep since.”
Evangeline looked back at Ella, her own concern showing. “She’s probably confused and afraid. She doesn’t know who you are, so she’s going to be cautious.”
Denny shook his head as he pulled out of the parking lot. “I just wish I knew what I’m supposed to do. I’ve got a hundred things on my plate.”
“I’d start with feeding her.”
Denny nodded. Of course. That made sense. “And after that?”
“Bedtime.”
“And tomorrow?”
“Just do what comes next,” Evangeline returned. “That’s how I got through it all.”
Denny shot her a puzzled glance. He wanted to ask her what she meant by her cryptic comment, but when he saw her pursed lips and tight expression, he guessed she wasn’t sharing.
And why should she? She was as much of a stranger to him as he was to Ella.
His mind ticked back to Ella’s mother and his heart floundered.
Lila. Why hadn’t anyone told him?
Dear Lord, he prayed, give me strength to get through this. Help me do what Evangeline said. Help me to trust in You to figure out what comes next.
And what was next? Try to get hold of Lila’s parents somehow? Find someone else to take care of Ella? Get his trucking business moved?
Do what comes next? If only it was that easy.
Or that painless.
Chapter Four
“This book was too depressing.” Mia Verbeek tilted her head to one side, her dark eyes, emphasized by the pixie cut she favored, flashing as if challenging anyone else gathered in the back room of Shelf Indulgence to dispute her opinion. “I would not have read it if it wasn’t a book club book. After taking care of four kids all day, reading about this woman’s struggle to love was a downer.”
“I found it challenged my view of the romance of family life,” Angie, one of the newer members of the book club, said, slipping her green-rimmed glasses back on her face.
“I’m voting for depressing,” Jeff Deptuck said, leaning forward, his grin encompassing the entire group. With his light brown hair, high cheekbones and the faint cleft in his stubbled chin, he exuded charm and goodwill.
“Of course you would, Captain Sunny-Side-Up Deptuck,” Angie returned.
Evangeline held back a grin, watching the sparring between Jeff and Angie, the latest additions to the Hartley Creek book club that met at the bookstore.
Everyone in the book club knew that Jeff had a not-so-secret crush on Angie. Trouble was, Angie was very vocal about her resistance to any form of romance.
“I still say it was worth a read,” Renee Albertson replied, twirling a strand of her brown hair around her finger, closing the book on her lap and looking around at the other members. “It wasn’t as over the top as the police procedural Mia insisted we read last time.”
“I have to agree with Mia’s take on the book,” Sophie Brouwer spoke up, her blue eyes twinkling, her permed white hair bobbing as she nodded. “This book was dark and sad. I’m surprised you chose a story like this, Renee, given that your own life is in such a happy place right now.”
Renee just smiled as Evangeline