Page 38 of Through the Dark Night
“I think everyone just hopes that it doesn’t,” Shannon said, and then she shrugged her shoulders. “I really don’t know. I guess I haven’t been here long enough to find out. It’s always been nice on potluck days.”
This was only the second potluck that she’d attended.
As the tables and congregants came into view, she saw Lance sitting at a table with extra spaces around him, Katie chattering by his side.
When he saw them, he smiled and waved, standing and pointing to the seats that he’d saved for them.
“That must be Lance,” Emma said dryly. It was hard to miss how eager he seemed for them to arrive.
“It is,” Shannon said, admiring how handsome he was. Not only that, but she thought about his competence as they worked together,how knowledgeable he was, how good he was with his hands, how he treated Katie, and how devoted he was to his family. There was a lot about him to admire. Why did it bother her that the town linked the two of them together? Was it because she didn’t want to be linked? Or was it because she didn’t know whether he wanted to be?
She wasn’t entirely sure.
“Shannon!” Lance said as he hurried over to them. He gripped her in a side hug that lasted maybe a couple of seconds too long. “I missed you this morning, but thanks for sending the text so I didn’t worry.”
Emma gave her a look.
She hadn’t mentioned that she had texted Lance to let him know that she wasn’t going to be there. He was expecting her, of course, since they had been sitting together in church. It just made sense, since there was an extra space beside him, and… She didn’t know how to excuse herself.
“Here, let me take that,” he said, taking the Nutella banana bread from her. “Wow. This smells delicious. Was it you or Marina?” he asked, offering his elbow to Shannon, who took it.
“Marina,” Shannon said.
“Mom’s helper,” Emma said.
“Lance, this is my daughter, Emma. Emma, this is Lance, and that’s Katie,” she said as Katie hurried up in her distinctive uneven gait.
“Shannon! Lance was so worried about you. He really wants you to eat with us. I hope you’re going to sit with us. He told three other people that they couldn’t because you were going to.”
Katie chattered as she came over and wrapped her arms around Shannon like they were the best of friends.
“Katie, this is my daughter, Emma,” Shannon said as Katie stepped back.
“Emma! I’m sure we’re gonna be friends. Your mom and my brother like each other a lot. I hope they’re going to get married and live with us forever.” Katie chattered happily as she wrapped her arms around Emma, who looked a little surprised and then seemed to shrug and just hugged the girl back.
Shannon should have warned Emma about Katie, but she hadn’t thought about it. But Emma handled everything with aplomb. It wasn’tevery day that a person met someone who looked like they were thirty-five but acted like they were ten.
Still, it wasn’t like Emma hadn’t been out in the world, and she linked her arm with Katie, and soon the two of them were chatting like old friends.
“Come on over,” Lance said as he carried the bread to the table where the rest of the food was sitting.
“Marina already sliced it, so it’s good to go, all we have to do is kind of unwrap it a little,” Shannon said, knowing she was talking to fill space because she was nervous.
“Hey, you’re okay. Right?” Lance said, his voice slow, his eyes concerned.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m nervous. I guess I just really want Emma to love Raspberry Ridge as much as I do. I wish we wouldn’t have missed church this morning.”
“We missed you at the service this morning,” Pastor Garnett said as he came up and shook her hand.
“I just said to Lance I wish we wouldn’t have missed it.”
“I hope everything’s okay?” Pastor Garnett said.
“It sure is. I guess Emma and I had a late night last night. Not that we were doing anything, just sitting on the porch talking.”
“It was pretty chilly last night, I hope you guys didn’t catch a cold or anything.” Mertie came up and stood beside Pastor Garnett.
“We had blankets. Probably if we hadn’t had blankets, we would have made it to church, because we wouldn’t have stayed out nearly as long.”
