As Nick stepped outside of the church following the Sunday service, he heard someone call his name. He turned and watched as Craig Hasslebeck—one of the guys who attended the study on Tuesday evenings—approached, drawing a young woman along with him.
“Nick, I want you to meet my sister. She recently moved back to Idaho and is staying with me and my wife for a while.” Craig looked at his sister. “Leanna, this is Nick Chastain. Nick, Leanna Hasslebeck.”
“Nice to meet you.” Nick offered his hand.
Leanna looked a lot like her brother, only her features were more delicate. Except for her brown eyes. They were larger and more expressive than Craig’s. “Nice to meet you too,” she returned, shaking his hand.
“Nick’s pretty new to Thunder Creek,” Craig continued. “He works for a company that does irrigation work for farmers in the area.”
“Oh.” It was a bland response.
Nick grinned. “Not very interesting, is it?”
Leanna blushed. “Sorry.”
“Hey, listen.” Craig motioned toward his wife, who was talking to two women near the church steps. “Bethany didn’t want to cook today, so we’re taking Leanna to the Moonlight. Why don’t you join us?”
Nick and Craig were close to the same age and shared similar interests, including outdoor sports like cycling and river kayaking. Accepting the invitation seemed natural. Besides, all he had waiting for him at home were leftovers in the fridge.
“Sounds good. Are you going straight to the diner?”
“Yes. As soon as I can get Bethany away from her friends. That usually takes a while.”
Nick nodded, as if he knew what that was like. But he didn’t. He’d never done much waiting for anyone. Certainly not for a wife. Not even for a girlfriend. He winced internally, remembering more than one occasion when he’d left Samantha behind because he hadn’t been willing to wait. Where was his faulty memory when he needed it?
“I’ll try to hurry her along.” Craig headed toward Bethany.
“How long have you been in Thunder Creek?” Leanna asked, drawing Nick’s gaze back to her.
“A few months.”
“But you’re from Idaho?”
“No. Wyoming is where I grew up, but I lived in Oregon for many years.”
“Did you like it there?”
“Oregon?” Nick had the impression Leanna was trying to fill the silence with her questions, not that she cared about his answers. “I loved it there. What about you? Where did you move back from?”
“I’ve been working in Washington, DC. But I . . . I decided to come home for a while.” Sadness flickered in her eyes.
A broken heart, Nick suspected. Uncomfortable, he glanced in her brother’s direction. But his gaze stopped when he saw Samantha and her grandmother exiting the church. They took the sloped ramp down to the sidewalk, Ruth leading the way. Nick watched them. Or more precisely, watched Samantha. She wore an apple-green dress with a full skirt that ended about two inches above her knees. A different look from yesterday when they were in the park. Both unforgettable.
Samantha saw him, smiled, spoke to her grandmother, then walked in his direction. Halfway to him, she noticed Leanna at his side, and he thought he detected a falter in her step. Or maybe he’d only imagined it.
“Good morning,” she said when she reached them. “Another great sermon, wasn’t it?” Her eyes flicked to Leanna and back.
“Sure was.” He wondered if he needed to introduce the two women. Just in case, he said, “Do you know Leanna Hasslebeck?”
It was Leanna who answered. “Yes, we’ve met once before. Do you remember me, Sam? It was the summer you came to stay with your grandmother, and we met up in McCall at the church campout. I was still in high school at the time.”
“Oh, that’s right.” Recognition lit Samantha’s face. “I remember.”
“That was the weekend I learned to slalom ski. And you kept shouting encouragements from the boat, telling me I could do it.”
Samantha nodded, then looked at Nick, a question in her eyes—although one he couldn’t decipher. Feeling a need to break the silence, he said, “Leanna’s brother and I know each other from the men’s group. They’ve asked me to go eat with them at the diner.”
“No, don’t go to the diner.” She put her hand on his arm but looked at Leanna. “Gran sent me over to invite you to Sunday dinner. It’s her first one since the accident. I suppose you’ve heard that her Sunday dinners are famous here-abouts. Anyway, there’s room for all of you at Gran’s table. Seriously. She hasn’t asked anyone else except for Derek and his family.”
Nick began, “That’s nice, but it isn’t up to me. I don’t know if—”
“Are you kidding?” Leanna interrupted. “We’d love to come to Mrs. Johnson’s. I’ll tell Craig and Bethany.”
Nick looked back at Samantha. “Uh . . . I guess the answer is yes.”
“Gran will be pleased.” Her smile seemed to say that she was pleased too. “I’d better get her home so that she can start fussing over the food.” She gave him a parting wave. “See you soon.”
If not for the scooter and large black boot on Gran’s foot and lower leg, no one would know she was recuperating from anything. She wheeled herself around the kitchen, checking this, stirring that, sometimes humming to herself. Gran was in her glory, and Samantha tried not to spoil it by helping too much. She stuck to setting the dining room table, putting ice cubes in the water glasses, and adding chopped celery and carrots to a vegetable tray.
Derek, Brooklyn, and Alycia were the first to arrive. Alycia stayed with the adults only long enough to be courteous, then slipped away to the den with a tablet in hand, whether to play games or read, Samantha didn’t know. Derek settled onto the sofa with the Sunday edition of the Idaho Statesman. Brooklyn offered to help in the kitchen, but the offer was declined.
“Not today, dear,” Gran sang out. “I’m having far too much fun. But you and Sam can sit at the table and visit with me while I put on the finishing touches. Our other guests will be here soon.”
The two younger women exchanged smiles. But before they took their seats, Samantha thought she noticed something different about Brooklyn. What was it? Her shoulder-length hair was up in a ponytail. Not unusual; she often wore it that way. Her peach-colored, oversized top over gray leggings and comfortable walking shoes were casual but stylish. Not unusual either. So what looked different about her?
As if reading her mind, Brooklyn asked, “Do I look fat?”
“What? No. Why would you say that?”
“Because I can’t get into most of my regular clothes. It happened so much faster than with Alycia.” She shook her head, amusement dancing in her eyes. “But that was nearly fourteen years ago. My body has changed a lot since then.”
Brooklyn didn’t look fat, but she did seem to glow. That’s what Samantha had noticed. That’s what was different. She said so to Brooklyn, and her friend’s responding smile revealed complete and utter joy. That small voice of envy whispered in Samantha’s ear again. She pushed it away as she had before.
“Being pregnant obviously agrees with you,” she said.
Brooklyn nodded. “When I was expecting Alycia, I was alone in a strange city. Having a loving husband beside me this time makes being pregnant so much more fun.”
From the other side of the kitchen, Gran said, “You have much more than a husband by your side, Brooklyn, dear. This time you have that proverbial village. Not to mention a great-grandmother who can’t wait to babysit. Thank goodness I’ll be rid of this contraption on my foot well before then.”
Samantha almost said that she would be glad to babysit as well. Then she remembered she wouldn’t be in Thunder Creek by the time the baby was born. She would be back in Oregon and would miss the baby shower and the birth and the christening and the babysitting.
The doorbell rang, intruding on her thoughts. She rose from her chair, but before she could leave the kitchen, she heard Derek call, “I’ve got it.” Moments later, multiple voices were heard from the front of the house.
“Go greet our guests,” Gran said. “Both of you. I won’t be but a few minutes longer.”
“Come on, Brooklyn. We’d better do as she says.”
“I’ve learned that,” her friend answered with a laugh.
As the two women entered the living room, they heard Derek say, “I don’t think it’ll be long before we eat. But does anybody need something to drink?”
The response was negative all around.
Derek saw Brooklyn and Samantha. “Hey, honey. Come here and meet Craig’s sister, Leanna. She’s recently moved back to Thunder Creek. Leanna, this is Brooklyn, my wife.”
“All right, everyone,” Gran’s voice called from the dining room. “Take your places. Dinner is ready.”
Without being asked, Samantha and Brooklyn went straight to the kitchen and brought the platters and serving bowls to the dining room table. By the time they were finished, everyone else was seated, Gran in her usual place at one end of the table and Derek at the other. Samantha couldn’t help noticing that Nick was seated between Craig and Leanna. His idea? Something uncomfortable niggled in her chest.
Samantha took the open chair across from Leanna while Brooklyn sat at Derek’s right hand, opposite Bethany Hasslebeck, and Alycia took the chair between them.
The blessing was said, then serving dishes began to move around the table in a clockwise direction. Samantha had missed these lively Sunday dinners. They’d been a fundamental part of her life the summer she lived with Gran. Back then, she’d made the acquaintance of so many of Gran’s friends and neighbors while seated at this table. Laughter and voices from the past mingled with those of the present, increasing her pleasure.
She heard Nick ask Leanna about her years in the nation’s capital and felt a second twinge of irritation. But before she could examine the feeling, Nick looked in her direction and smiled, something tender in his eyes. At once the room seemed to empty of everyone except for the two of them. Pleasure loosened the tightness in her chest.
No longer holding Nick’s attention, Leanna looked at Gran. “Mrs. Johnson, thanks so much for inviting us to join you today.”
“I’m delighted you could come.” Gran’s gaze circled the guests at her table. “The meal wasn’t anything fancy. I haven’t spent much time in the kitchen lately.” She glanced toward the scooter off to the side.
Bethany said, “Everything was delicious, Mrs. Johnson. And you were so gracious to include us at the last minute.”
“That’s what I love most about Sunday dinners. Seeing who God will have join me.”
Her gaze still on Nick, Samantha found herself wishing she were more like her grandmother. She wanted to open her heart to the unexpected, to let go of her need to control all the small details of her life.
In a setting like this one, she almost believed the change was possible.