A Fool and his Honey Page 0,43

a temporary home for Hayden with Dylan and Shondra, and after the shock of the Harbors' house I would've been scared to even mention it before I'd met them. As it was, I hadn't met Dylan. After a few minutes' conversation with Shondra, I could see the steel beneath the sweetness and lack of worldliness that were undoubtedly genuine. So it was my impression that Shondra would not marry a charming ne'er-do-well like her brother, or a true rascal like her brother-in-law. But we'd have to check Dylan out, and we could hardly be sure that they'd agree to something as difficult as taking care of another baby. Martin and I exchanged glances. He'd read my mind. He asked a few questions about Dylan's job at the John Deere dealership that I knew would give him an idea about Dylan's income and hours, and he got more information out of Shondra about her brother than I would have thought possible. "Shondra, excuse me, I was just wondering," I interjected when Martin showed signs of flagging and Shondra was asking us for the third time if she could get us a drink. "Did you know your sister-in-law was pregnant?" Shondra's face flooded with guilty color. "Yes, ma'am," she blurted, as though she'd been caught in a shameful position. "She called me on the phone and told me, about a month before the baby was due."

"Did you see her while she was pregnant?"

"No, ma'am."

I felt as old as the hills because of that ma'am, and I had to nip at the inside of my mouth to keep from protesting.

"Did you know when she had the baby?"

"My brother said she had," Shondra said, fussing unnecessarily with the baby's plastic keys. Her baby grabbed the ring and stuffed it in her mouth, gumming the toy enthusiastically-"Oh, honey, that ain't real clean," Shondra muttered to the baby, but let the child keep it.

I noted that Shondra had not said that she'd seen Regina when Regina was obviously pregnant. So far, no one reliable had admitted to that. "Do you know where Regina had this baby?" I asked.

"You sure you couldn't drink some hot chocolate?" "No, thank you," Martin said quite firmly. He was getting impatient, because he was accustomed to people telling him what he needed to know, telling him promptly and in detail. I sent him one of those looks that say back off. "Did she have Hayden at the local hospital?" I asked, to get us back on the track.

"No, ma'am. Rory said she went to the midwife in Brook County."

That was what he'd told us.

"And her name is?" I smiled at Shondra as coaxingly as I can smile. "Her name is Bobbye Sunday," Shondra said, looking down at the baby fixedly. She spoke so unwillingly that I knew she was telling us the truth. "Thank you," Martin said, letting out a pent-up breath and practically jumping up from his chair. He swept the diaper bag up with one hand and held out his other hand to me. I accepted a little yank, to get me up off the couch with Hayden. We said our goodbyes and thanks in a flurry of goodwill and relief that this visit was over, and at Martin's request Shondra promised to send Dylan out to see us that afternoon when he got off work. Martin strongly suggested that Dylan bring Rory with him.

We returned to the Holiday Inn, gathered our belongings, and checked out, each separately reviewing our little visit mentally. Rory was avoiding us, which meant he had information he didn't want to give us. That wasn't exactly news, but it was interesting. Martin hadn't agreed to bring the young man back to Corinth, in direct violation of the law and common sense, just to have him skip out on us and avoid us at every turn, and I had to promise myself a new pair of glasses if I didn't let the phrase "I told you so" cross my lips. I ran into the grocery briefly, and while I shopped Martin bravely took Hayden with him into K-Mart. Then we were on our way to the farm where Martin had grown up, where he'd lived until he'd gone to Vietnam. His father had died when Martin was a boy, and by the time Martin left Corinth, his mother had been married for years another farmer, Joseph Flocken. It was the widowed Joseph I'd had to see in order to purchase the farm I'd given back