“What about all these other arrangements and wreaths?” Jorja asked.
“Their names are on the lists. You should remember most of them from what Ruby and Nana Irene told us about their families when we were kids.”
Jorja marked through each one as they finished making the arrangements. “Looks like she wants this next wreath done in yellow roses for Grandpa’s mama. As fast as we’re working, I believe we’ll be done in plenty of time for me to get to VBS.”
“And for me to get changed to go see if I can find a good-lookin’ cowboy to kiss on,” Anna Rose said with half a giggle. “You sure you don’t want to blow off VBS and join me? I bet if you put on some tight jeans and borrowed a pair of my boots, you’d be swamped with guys begging to dance with you or buy you a drink.”
“And I might wind up in the ...” Jorja paused, blushed, and then went on, “I’ve got a better idea: Why don’t you come to VBS with me?”
Clinton finished up the saddle wreath by putting a small flag on either end. “Which way are you going, Taryn? Are you going to chase cowboys or Jesus this evening?”
“Depends on what you’ve got in the freezer,” she answered. “I’m tired. I’d rather have a long bath and then have supper and play with Zoe when she wakes up. I can chase a good time or religion any day. I don’t get to rock a baby very often. You want to go with either of my cousins, you are welcome to do so. I’ll babysit for you.”
Clinton shook his head. “No thanks. I’d fall asleep in church, and my limp makes it kind of tough to do any boot scootin’. I’ve got a cheesy thing with chicken and tater tots in it up there, and a ripe cantaloupe. Does that sound good for supper?”
“Yes, sir,” Jorja answered. “If we hurry up with these last arrangements, I’ll have time to eat before I go—and Anna Rose never leaves until after seven.”
“Doors don’t open until eight,” Anna Rose said. “There! I’m done with mine.”
Just as Taryn finished her job, Zoe awoke and reached out her little arms. Taryn rushed over and picked her up. “Did you have a good nap? Are you ready to sit on the porch and look at the birds and the cat?”
“Lord help us all!” Jorja declared.
“What?” Clinton asked.
“When Rebecca gets done with rehab and takes Zoe with her, Taryn is going to go right into a deep, dark funk,” Anna Rose answered. “I’m glad that we’ll be about done here by that time. I don’t like Taryn when she’s all moody.”
“Or sometimes when she’s not moody and just plain old bossy,” Jorja added.
“Well, I like her when she’s being a pseudo mama,” Clinton said. “I didn’t realize how tough it was to have a baby around for more than a couple of nights.”
Taryn picked up the diaper bag. “I’ll see y’all at the trailer. Zoe and I are going to see if Goldie is out and about and maybe even spot a bird or two while y’all get supper ready. I didn’t think I’d be hungry again until morning after that late dinner, but I am.”
“You do the baby thing, and we’ll gladly take care of heating up a casserole and cutting up a cantaloupe,” Jorja told her as she walked out the door with Clinton right behind her.
His limp looked worse when he climbed the stairs to his apartment—but then, he’d worked all morning, taking care of last-minute orders and deliveries. Taryn wondered if maybe keeping Zoe twenty-four seven would change his mind about having a family—if he ever had that idea to begin with.
“It sure hasn’t changed mine,” she whispered as she sat down in the rocking chair. “I can’t wait to have a baby just like you, Miz Zoe, or maybe a whole yard full of them, but that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen anytime soon.”
Jorja sat down on the top porch step, but Anna Rose went on inside the trailer. “You really are good with her. I wonder what kind of mother I would have made if ...”
“You would have been amazing,” Taryn said. “Do you think you would have kept the baby if you hadn’t lost it?”
“I doubt it. I wouldn’t have even been through my first year of college, and ...” She paused. “And a baby needs parents that love and want it. I didn’t want to be pregnant, and I couldn’t love a child that was conceived because of nothing short of rape.”
“Why didn’t you just terminate it?” Taryn asked.
Tears ran down Jorja’s cheeks. “Jesus would have really forsaken me if I did that.”
“Youhaveto talk to someone,” Taryn said.
Jorja wiped her face with the back of her hand. “I’m talking to you. Telling anyone else would be too embarrassing.”
“How did that news not get out all over town?” Taryn wondered out loud.
“I guess Ford was afraid that if he bragged, everyone would tease him about sleeping with a nerd,” Jorja answered. “But I lived in fear that he would tell someone. I was glad to leave at the end of summer, and even more so when my folks left town to do missionary work.”
“Ever wonder how much Nana Irene must miss her three kids being split seven ways to Sunday? One is up in Canada, one is in a third world country, and the other one is living in England,” Taryn said with a sigh. “And none of us three come back very often. It’s like she raised all of us and we just left without looking back.”
