saved for, worked for. Not when he knew she was so close but emotionally on the other side of the galaxy.
Alexandra walked out of the house while he and Ethan were cleaning up the construction mess around the arbor. Her hat still rested on the porch chair and he could see her features clearly. The pain in her eyes, the grim knowledge that her friend was dying, reached out and punched him in the gut.
She grabbed her hat and just stood there on the porch, staring out at the garden without moving. Finally he left his son and walked up the steps they had just repaired.
“How is she?” he asked quietly.
Alexandra turned to look at him, her expression haunted. “I’m sure she’ll be just fine. She just needs a little rest. Being out in the sun was too much for her.”
“That’s probably it.” He was lying and both of them knew it.
“I’m still calling the hospice nurse.”
She sank down on the rocking chair where Caroline had been sitting and pulled out her cell phone. Sam knew he probably ought to finish up here and head over to the next job Claire had given him but he couldn’t seem to make himself move. Alexandra needed him, whether she wanted to admit it or not.
“I don’t know,” she said into the phone. “Gut instinct, I guess. I can tell she’s hurting but she wouldn’t let me give her one of her pain pills.”
She was quiet, listening to the other side of the conversation he couldn’t hear. “Well, you know how stubborn she can be. Maybe you should come over a little earlier than you planned and see if you have better luck.”
She paused. “Yes. I need to go check on the caterers and I’m supposed to be helping decorate but I can certainly wait until you get here. Oh, you’re that close? Good. Thank you, Helen. You’ve been wonderful.”
She hung up and gazed down at her hat, with its flowered ribbon around the base of the brim.
“What can I do?” he asked softly, reaching for her hand.
Her fingers trembled a little and he thought she would pull away from him but she turned her hand over and clasped his fingers while Ethan played in the dirt and the clouds continued to gather.
“Nothing,” she finally whispered. “You’ve done plenty. It will make her happy to know her house and her garden are in fine shape again.”
She held his hand for a moment longer and he wanted to think he was offering some small measure of comfort. They stayed that way until a small car pulled up and a plump woman in nursing scrubs climbed out.
“That’s Helen,” Alexandra said, unnecessarily.
As the nurse approached, she slid her hand away from his, much to his regret. Before the other woman could reach them, she touched his arm, her fingers cool.
“Thank you,” she said simply with a small, strained smile, then walked down to greet the nurse.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“EVERYTHING LOOKS spectacular,” she said to Evie Thorne, head of the decorating committee for the gala a few hours later. “You’ve really outdone yourself this year.”
“Thanks, Alex. I don’t know what I would have done without your help. All of you.” Evie’s smile encompassed her committee: Maura, Mary Ella, Angie, Charlotte. Even Ruth Tatum, Claire’s mother, was there, though she had grumped through the last hour of hanging tea-light lanterns throughout the ballroom.
Though she was crazy-worried about Caroline, Alex had done her best to put her concerns away for now and concentrate on the job at hand. Helen had assured her Caroline was sleeping peacefully after reluctantly agreeing to take pain medication.
At this point, Alex couldn’t do anything to help and Helen had urged her to continue on with the rest of her Giving Hope Day responsibilities.
She had a sudden, fervent wish that Brodie hadn’t decided to close the restaurant to give his employees the chance to participate in the day of service. She desperately needed the distraction and comfort she found in a kitchen.
“She wouldn’t want you to miss the whole day, moping over her. Now go,” Helen had insisted.
She hadn’t known what else to do but obey. At least she was surrounded by dear friends, all of whom continued to cast worried looks her way.
“Is there anything else we need to do?” she asked Evie.
“Not a thing, except I’m ordering everybody to get out of here and go change for the benefit.”
“I understand one of us here has a hot date.” Maura grinned. “Charlotte’s going out with your