“Don’t talk. You’re supposed to be resting.”
“We wanted to see you for a moment.” Nancy leaned down to kiss her. “How are you feeling?”
“Great,” Jenna croaked. “Never better.”
Lauren stepped forward and kissed her, too. “Next time you want to get into trouble,” she said, “call me. I’m the ringleader, not you.”
Jenna gave a weak smile. “It wasn’t exactly planned.”
Nancy saw the look they exchanged.
Thank goodness they’d always had each other.
She gestured to Lauren, who nodded agreement.
“You’re going?” Jenna held out her hand. Her face was pale and the livid bruise had spread across her cheekbone.
“I’ll be back tomorrow.” A good mother, Nancy thought, should know when to stay and when to leave. “I’ll bring food, because what they feed you in here will poison you.”
Greg stood up, too. “Thank you, Nancy.” He hugged her, something Nancy couldn’t ever remember him doing before.
He and Jenna had things to talk about. They didn’t need her.
She walked back to the car with Scott and Lauren. Now that the worst of the panic was over, she felt drained and exhausted. “How is the Sail Loft coming along?” She made an attempt at normal conversation. “When can I see it?”
“Not until it’s finished.” Lauren was flustered. “Scott’s done a great job.”
“I’m sure.” Nancy studied her daughter’s flushed cheeks and almost smiled.
Whatever the future held, she liked the idea of someone else having a romantic relationship in the Sail Loft. It might stop her thinking about Tom whenever she walked in there.
Lauren put her hand on Nancy’s arm. “It’s going to feel different, Mom, I promise.”
Nancy was touched by her daughter’s sensitivity. “I’m looking forward to seeing it.”
Hear that, Tom? We’ve painted you out of the place. I’m building a new life and your humping, faithless ways aren’t going to stop me.
“All your art equipment is safely stored, but I boxed up everything else that was in the cupboards, so you’ll need to sort through it at some point and decide what you want to keep.”
“I don’t want to keep any of it.”
Lauren looked doubtful. “Don’t you at least want to look?”
They’d reached the parking lot and Nancy saw Scott’s pickup parked on the far side.
“I want to start fresh.” She reached for her keys. “Now that I’ve discovered the cleansing properties of clearing out, I’m finding it surprisingly therapeutic.”
Lauren grinned. “Who are you, and what have you done with my mother?”
“Your old mother is buried under all the rubbish she held on to for decades. Your new mother is about to go back to The Captain’s House and work on the garden until it’s dark. I have some planting to do. Ben promised to work on the place this evening, and I plan on helping him. We’re giving the place a final makeover. Drive carefully.”
* * *
A few hours later, Nancy eased upright and her back screamed a protest. She’d worked hard, but work was the only way she knew to handle stress and anxiety, and she was stressed and anxious about Jenna. Had she talked to Greg?
Wincing, she rubbed her hand over her spine.
Ben was next to her, jamming the spade into the ground as he planted out the last of the shrubs they’d bought.