Dead Silence (Stillwater Trilogy #1)(65)
Author: Brenda Novak

“Using Evonne’s recipes,” she said so that her involvement wouldn’t deprive the boys of the sale they were so eagerly anticipating.

“I miss Evonne,” Cindy admitted.

Grace nodded. They had that one thing in common.

“The brownies are good,” Madeline said, dusting her hands.

Cindy smiled at Teddy, who was waiting for her to make a decision. “I’ll have a brownie, then.”

“What about a caramel apple?” Heath offered. “They’re new.”

“I’ll have one of those, too.” Her gaze slid back to Grace. “How much do I owe you?”

“I’ll take the money,” Heath said and paused to figure it out. “Two-fifty. Is that right, Grace?”

“Perfect.” Grace didn’t care how much he charged. She planned to keep only enough money to replenish her cupboards and let the boys have the rest. She wasn’t running the stand for profit. It was more of a tribute than anything else, a way to try and achieve the kind of calm Evonne had always possessed.

Cindy extracted the change from her purse. But when she’d collected her brownie and caramel apple, she didn’t leave. She sidled closer to Grace’s end of the table.

“Grace, I—I know we’ve never been friends, but—”

Suspicious, Grace narrowed her eyes. “What is it?”

Cindy glanced at Heath and Teddy, who were now trying to sell Madeline a caramel apple, and lowered her voice. “Joe’s family is…sometimes difficult to get along with.”

Grace had no idea where she was going with this. “I’m sorry,” she said.

“For the most part, I know how to handle them. But—” she cleared her throat “—they’ve been talking a lot lately.”

Grace became even more anxious. “About what?”

“You,” she replied, then jerked her head toward the boys, “and their father.”

“What I do is my own business,” Grace said.

“I know. I agree. I’m not trying to upset you. I just…Kennedy’s a good man, you know? I’d hate it if the Vincellis managed to hurt him.”

“Hurt him?” Grace echoed.

“Haven’t you heard? They’re siding with Vicki Nibley just because he’s become…er…friends with you.” Taking a tightly folded piece of paper from her pocket, she handed it to Grace. “I thought you should know, in case you really care about him,” she added and hurried back to her car.

Grace opened what looked to be a flyer.

“What’s that?” Madeline asked, paying attention again now that the boys had finished wrangling a couple of dollars out of her for a caramel apple.

Grace shoved the paper into the pocket of her dress. “Nothing important,” she said, feeling numb.

“Did Cindy give it to you?”

She nodded.

“What is it?”

“Just a political flyer.”

Madeline took another big bite of her apple. “She supports Kennedy, right?”

“I think so.”

“He’s going to win.”

Grace watched the boys as they added up how much they’d make if everything sold. “I hope so,” she replied. But the Vincellis had never turned against the Archers before.

Nothing was certain.

The Fixin’s stand was still open. They didn’t have any customers just now, but Kennedy saw Grace out front, along with his two boys, and slowed. He had to hand it to his mother. It was nearly five-thirty, and she hadn’t come to collect Heath and Teddy. Once Camille made up her mind to support something, she followed through without hesitation. The Archers were making a statement, one that could hardly be missed with Teddy and Heath spending so much of the afternoon in Grace’s company, right in her front yard for the whole town to see.

Trying to shake off a sense of misgiving for dragging his parents into a situation that might not be best for them, he parked in the driveway.

“Dad!” Teddy cried and came running. Heath trailed behind him, his manner, as usual, a little more sedate.

Kennedy hugged both children, then walked over to Grace, who was sitting under the awning of her Fixin’s stand, watching him. When he drew close enough, he could see the small droplets of moisture on her top lip and cle**age from the humidity. But to him she’d never looked prettier. She had her hair pulled back, and was wearing a simple cotton dress with black sandals.

“How’s business?” he asked.

She didn’t bother answering. She was upset about something, he could tell.

“What’s wrong?”

“Do you know what the Vincellis are doing?” she asked.

Evidently, word was spreading fast….

Kennedy shrugged as though he wasn’t concerned. “Don’t worry about it.”

“What are the Vincellis doing?” Heath asked.

“They’re voting for Vicki Nibley,” Kennedy explained.

Teddy’s jaw dropped. “Joe’s voting for Mrs. Nibley?”

“Joe hasn’t signed anything that I’ve seen,” Kennedy told them. “But I’m not sure how he feels. I haven’t been able to reach him.”

Teddy’s expression grew troubled. “The Vincellis are our friends.”

Kennedy put his hands in his pockets. “They have a right to choose who to vote for.”

“But why wouldn’t they vote for you?” Heath asked.

“They think Mrs. Nibley will serve their purposes better, I guess.”

“What does that mean?” Teddy stared up at him.

“That she’ll do what they want her to.”

“Oh.”

Kennedy turned to Grace. “My mother’s expecting me and the boys for dinner. Can we help you carry this stuff inside before we go?”

She shook her head. “No, I’ve got it.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m sure,” she said.

He waved Teddy and Heath toward the SUV. “Hop in and buckle up. Your grandpa’s not feeling very well today. I don’t want to keep him waiting.”

“He’s sick a lot,” Teddy observed.

Kennedy needed to tell his boys what was happening to Grandpa. Soon. But tonight wasn’t the night. There were too many other things on his mind.

“Why don’t you take these to your folks,” Grace said and gave him a jar of peaches, a jar of pickles, tomato sauce and some carrots and fresh herbs from her garden.