“I think so, too.”
Joseph’s softly spoken words made her heart ache. “I know what it’s like to want to make the world a little better after you’ve lost someone. When Chris died, designing and sewing beautiful quilts gave me something to focus on. Selling them made the world a brighter place for other people.” She sat her mug on the coffee table and turned toward him. “After the car accident, Nate and I had very little income and medical bills that almost crippled us. When John discovered how much we were struggling, he sent us food parcels, just like the people we saw today.”
“I’m sorry. That must have been a really difficult time.”
“It was, but we were blessed by people who cared about us. When Nate’s grades suffered because he was working three part-time jobs after school, Ben offered him a job at The Christmas Tree Farm. It was fewer hours than he’d been working, but it paid more. I found out last year the church subsidized Nate’s wages. Doing things like that for other people can change their lives. I’m proud of what you’re doing, of what you’re enabling other people to do.”
Joseph held her hand. “Proud enough to have dinner with Adele and me tomorrow night?”
“I’ll have dinner with you each night of the week if you let me bring tiramisu for dessert.”
“It’s a deal.”
He held his arms open and Shona cuddled into his chest. She didn’t know what their future held, but it was looking a lot better than it was yesterday.
* * *
Four days later,Joseph was oiling a table he’d made when Adele came into the garage. “Hi, Dad.”
“Hi, pumpkin. Have you come to give me a hand?”
“No, but you have a visitor. Nate’s here.”
It took a couple of seconds for Joseph to realize who Adele was talking about. “Nate Milligan?”
Adele nodded. “I asked if he wanted a glass of lemonade, but he said he was okay.”
Joseph picked up an old rag and wiped the linseed oil off his hands. “I'd better see what he wants.”
As he walked across the backyard, he wondered if Shona knew Nate was here. It was a long way to come to talk to the man who’d almost broken his mother's heart. Not that he blamed him for making the journey. If his mom had been upset, he would have done the same thing.
He took off his boots and walked into the kitchen.
Shona’s son was standing in front of the French doors, absorbing the same view that had made Joseph buy the house. “Hi, Nate. It's good to see you.”
Nate turned and frowned. “Hi. I hope it’s okay to come here and talk to you.”
“It’s fine.” Whether or not he knew it, he was so much like his mom that it made Joseph feel like he knew him better than he actually did. “Have you been in Sapphire Bay for long?”
“I arrived a few minutes ago.”
Joseph looked a little closer at him. It was easy to see he was tired, maybe even a little cranky. “Would you like something to eat?”
“No, thanks. I had something an hour ago.” Nate cleared his throat. “I wanted to speak to you. About Mom.”
Joseph looked at Adele. She was listening intently to what was being said. “Have you finished your homework, pumpkin?”
“Yep. And I read my library book,andI made popcorn.” She looked up at Nate and smiled. “Would you like some popcorn? It’s real good.” She leaned closer and whispered. “I put lots of butter on it.”
“Thanks, but I’m okay.”
Before Adele went through every shelf in the refrigerator looking for something Nate could eat, Joseph kneeled beside her. “Nate wants to talk to me. Why don’t you watch another episode of the Netflix series you like?”
Her gaze shot to Nate.
“You can talk to Nate after he’s spoken to me.”
“Okay. But as soon as you finish, come and get me.”
