Jane’s blond brows.
“I wanna go home.” Becky buried her face in Drew’s neck.
“She needs to know,” Jane said with the same steel in her voice she’d used the day she’d left him. “Judge Harper said I could visit.”
“He said no more than an hour, and Becky isn’t feeling well.” Drew turned. “I’m taking her home.”
“No.” Jane trotted around to block his way. “Tell her, or I will.”
“I don’t feel good.” Becky’s cheek felt hot against his neck.
Drew’s gaze collided with Jane’s. The news of who Jane was wasn’t going to go over well, not when Becky wasn’t feeling good. But he shrugged and set Becky down. “If you insist.”
Becky wailed and clung to Drew’s legs. Her face was red and sweaty, the portent of bad things to come.
Jane knelt to Becky’s level and spread her arms in welcome. “Becky, I’m your mama.”
Becky raised her green eyes to Drew’s. There was no disbelief. No longing. No shock. Just upset stomach.
“It’s true. This is your mother.” The words stuck to the roof of Drew’s mouth like one of Lola’s cupcakes.
Becky stared at Jane and her open arms. Burped. And vomited.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Augie and Rowena were taking a rare long weekend off.
To cover for them at the mortuary, Lola had rescheduled all her hair appointments at the retirement home’s beauty parlor. There was just one she couldn’t reschedule—Harriet Bloom’s. The woman had requested a special Friday appointment to coincide with a visit from her great-grandkids.
Lola was just ushering Harriet out the door when Drew appeared. His gaze connected with Lola’s and sent a familiar howdy-do that went straight to her heart and made her blood pump faster.
Harriet paused in the doorway and looked at Lola over her shoulder. “I almost forgot. Come watch Phantom of the Opera tomorrow morning. It’s at the movie theater. They beam these things in live from Broadway now.”
Broadway.
Lola felt homesick.
“And…” Harriet laughed, banging her handles on the doorframe as she wheeled her walker into the hallway. “Rumor has it Avery Blackstone is going to protest the sale of the downtown buildings tomorrow morning with signs, chanting, and everything. Should be quite the spectacle.”
Avery would hate being a spectacle.
Harriet left.
Drew handed Lola a small stack of photographs. “Wendy wanted me to drop off some pictures I took of the kids you made up for rehearsal.”
Lola flipped through the photos: Caden with his hair horns, Becky with her updo, soldiers and kids in the chorus. That night she’d felt like she had a future in Sunshine, like she was a part of the community.
“You’re not saying anything.” Drew’s gaze softened. “Are you okay?”
“I’m not sure what to say to you anymore, Sheriff.”
His eyes narrowed at the word sheriff but it took him a moment to speak. “You know, we had a pretty brutal winter with lots of snow late in the year.”
He’s trying to make small talk?
Lola should be packing up to get to the mortuary. The Larsons were supposed to come in and proof their grandfather’s headstone at nine thirty. It was nine now. But Drew’s retrospective weather report, or maybe just the sound of his deep voice, kept Lola’s high heels in place.
“A hard winter gives people cabin fever,” Drew went on. “The sun comes out, and suddenly you can do things you couldn’t before. For a couple of weeks during spring thaw, it’s like spring break for the entire town.” Drew paused and looked at Lola the way he had the night he’d found her dancing.
And then he kissed me.
She shivered.
“I call it spring-thaw madness. We’re in it now.” He blew out a small breath and shook his head. “My dad left my mom during spring thaw. Pris met a cowboy during spring thaw and eloped with him. And then there was me and Jane.”
“Quite a track record.” Or a series of coincidences. Although Drew’s cop sense wouldn’t lead him to believe in coincidences. He’d collect the evidence and…
Decide her hunt for Randy’s mistresses was a product of the spring thaw.
Decide their attraction was a product of the spring thaw.
Decide he never wanted to see her again come June.
Anger made her pulse pound this time. Lola shut off the fan and the low-playing radio. She loaded the photos, hair spray, and shampoo into her supply case and snapped it shut. She wheeled it toward the door and turned off the light.
Drew didn’t leave, standing in her way without taking his eyes off her.
“I suppose if you think about it hard enough,” Lola said, back straight enough to make