Cutting her off with a wave, Jessie winked and led her a bit farther away, to where a black man with salt-and-pepper hair led a couple of kids in a game of badminton.
“Steve! Want you to meet your neighbor.”
The man looked up and smiled with a wave before whacking the birdie hard at the biggest of the kids. “I’ve seen you. You’re the doc next door.”
“Yes. George Hadley. And you’re the sheriff.”
“Yes, indeed. Good to meet you, ma’am,” he said, and George got the strangest twinge of déjà vu. First Andrew Blane and now this man, making her feel so official.
“Please call me George.”
“Well, please call me Steve,” he said, finally leaving the game long enough to come over and shake her hand. “Glad to finally meet you. We’ve been wondering when you’d come over and see us.”
They had? “Oh. Business is—”
“He’s just bugging you,” said Jessie, who must have felt George’s discomfort.
“You got that big place on Jason Lane, right?”
“Um…” How did he know that?
Jessie leaned in again. “Cops. They know everything.”
George breathed again. “Yes. That’s my house.”
“I just rented a place on Jason Lane,” Jessie went on happily.
“Yeah?”
“End of the cul-de-sac.”
“Oh. I’m in the farmhouse.”
“Hey! Right down the road! Awesome!”
“Like Dr. Doolittle over there,” Steve said. “One hell of a setup you got. Like a jungle.”
“Um. Thank you?”
“Yes, you should take it as a compliment,” said Jessie, leaning in to swat the man on the shoulder. “Right, Steve?”
“Definitely. Compliment. Being a widower means you can say whatever you want.”
Funny how being a widow had never brought that out in her.
Jessie shot Steve a look. “Shouldn’t you be working tonight? Independence Day and all?”
“Yep. Down a couple of deputies right now and can’t find a replacement to save my life,” replied Steve with a weary sigh and a glance at his watch. “Gotta take off.”
After the sheriff left, George’s eyes swept around the party, the people laughing and playing, lazing around and talking so naturally. First Uma and Ive’s closeness, so intimate she’d felt almost dirty watching, and now these uncomplicated-seeming relationships, people looking so companionable and natural together. A chest-squeezing burst of envy surprised her with its strength. This, exactly this, was why she never went anywhere. She’d forgotten, after so long, how very much it hurt to see so much happiness in one place.
She turned to Jessie. “I…I’ve got to go.”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for showing me around. Would you mind giving the uh…the lovebirds my regards? Or regrets or whatever?”
“Regards. Sure.”
