“There’s lots to talk about, but I’m beat. I hope you understand.” Hope closed her eyes and slept soundly.
The next morning when Hope strolled into the kitchen, Ella was eating a bowl of cereal at the table.
“Who are the curtains for?” she asked.
“The lodge,” Hope answered. “Wandering Moose Cabin.”
“I see.” Ella gave her a look as if the curtains meant something. But at least Ella was back to speaking to her.
“Why are you up so early?” Hope asked. These days it was unusual to see Ella dressed on a Sunday morning.
“I don’t know. I thought maybe I’d go to mass with you.” Ella lifted her eyebrow in warning, as if to tell Hope not to make a big deal out of it.
“Sounds good.” Hope went to the coffeemaker, trying to contain the high five she wanted to give herself. Ella hadn’t been to St. Ignatius since the funeral. Hope hadn’t forced it. She understood Ella’s grief. And the way church could emphasize the hole in their hearts that would probably never heal, the place in her heart where Hope’s dad had been.
An hour later, they left the house in their warm clothes to walk to church. Others were walking along Main Street to St. Ignatius as well. The Baptist church had just let out and Ella waved to Lacy and Aberdeen as they passed on the other side of the street. Hope was still ticked at Aberdeen but decided to let it go. After all, Ella seemed to be on the road to forgiving Hope.
All felt right with the world.
That changed only a block later, when they entered the church and found themselves the object of stares. What was that about? She and Ella weren’t late. Hope looked down to reassure herself that she’d dressed appropriately. Why all the gawking?
Then it hit her. The news must’ve spread that she’d been laid off from the Hungry Bear. This was probably the juicy tidbit that had the townsfolk turning and murmuring to one another as she and Ella walked down the aisle. Hope’s name even rose above the crowd of whispers a couple of times. Just like when she was pregnant, she went to her old mantra: Let ’em stare. Let ’em gossip. She loved Sweet Home, but she certainly didn’t like how everyone butted into everyone else’s business.
But then a few steps closer to the altar, she saw it . . . the reason Sweet Home was all a-twitter. Donovan Stone was sitting in their pew! Hers and Ella’s! Did Donovan have a sixth sense and know that was their place? Hope had claimed that pew when her mother kicked her out of the house. Third row from the front, on the left. Back then, even though shame at killing Izzie and Beau had been crushingly new, and her pregnancy had started to show, Hope had refused to hide in the back of the church. She figured God could see her no matter where she sat, so why not let everyone else see her, too. And as her belly had grown, Hope had become even more defiant, refusing to answer anyone who fished for answers about the father of her baby.
But now her baby daddy was making a spectacle of them all and Hope wanted to hide. No, she wanted to turn around and hightail it home. Escape. To Antarctica, maybe. Until Donovan Charles Stone left Sweet Home for good.
Apparently, Ella hadn’t seen him. She kept walking toward their pew, oblivious. Hope didn’t know what to do. If it wouldn’t draw more attention to the impending catastrophe, she would dive for Ella and tackle her before she made a monumental mistake. Ella couldn’t sit beside her father! She just couldn’t! They weren’t one big happy family.
And Ella was a wild card, without a reliable filter. She might yell at Donovan for trying to displace them. Or accuse him of trying to insinuate himself into their midst. For sure some kind of scene would break out. And it would fuel Sweet Home’s gossip mill until at least the end of winter.
Suddenly Ella stopped short. Thank goodness, Hope thought.
But then Ella spun on Hope and glared at her as if she were in charge of the church’s seating chart.
Hope pointed to the pew off to the right, away from Donovan, hoping to put away the dirty laundry that they’d hung out for Sweet Home to see.
Hope slipped into the safe-haven pew. Ella followed with a huff and dropped beside her.
“You could’ve let me