Page 26 of One Southern Summer

Avery couldn’t help but smile at Addison’s sweet tone and her determination to help care for her little brother. Oh, how she hoped Addison would hold on to that fierce loyalty to her sibling. That was the very thing that had carried her through her own childhood trauma—her love and devotion to Julene and Harper.

Addison kept up a steady stream of chatter as Avery lifted Hayes from the crib and set him on the changing table. He fussed and rubbed his tiny knuckles against his mouth. She’d need to feed him soon. Her pocket hummed with more incoming text messages, which only heightened the anxious thoughts swirling in her mind. She had sole custody of the kids. Some petty selfish part of her wanted to tell Pax no. But that wasn’t right. He hadn’t committed a crime. There wasn’t a viable reason why he couldn’t see his children.

He’d simply chosen not to.

His departure had been his own doing. Or perhaps his choices had been subtly influenced by Trey. She didn’t want to think about that right now. He’d taken up way too much of her emotional energy already.

“Addison, wait, please.” Avery intervened before Addison plucked another five disposable wipes from the container. “We don’t need that many.”

“But I want to help,” Addison whined from her perch on a short stool beside the changing table. “Hayes needs me.”

Avery tried not to snap at Addison when she tickled Hayes under the chin and he cried louder. She quickly changed his diaper, scooped him up and settled him against her shoulder.

“Come on, Addison. You can watch a show and eat a snack while I feed Hayes.”

“Yay!” Addison hurried out of the room and skipped down the hall to the kitchen. Avery helped her get water and a package of crackers then settled her on the sofa with a new episode ofAsk the StoryBots, her current favorite.

Avery sat in the recliner. While she fed Hayes, she checked her text messages, starting with her most recent message from Harper.

Have you seen this morning’s paper yet?

On second thought, don’t look. Stay off the socials too.

Who possessed the stamina to avoid that kind of temptation? She wasn’t interested in obeying her sister’s directive, anyway. Not when she’d been left alone with the latest edition of theIron City Gazettetaunting her from the coffee table. Hayes had fallen back to sleep in her arms. Addison was occupied with her snack and her show. The morning newspaper sat directly in her line of sight. What could anyone have written that was worse than the pain she’d already endured?

Growing up in Camellia, she’d tried to remain an impartial bystander when gossip spread through the community. Some folks wore their nosiness like a badge of honor, proclaiming their duty to get to the bottom of a so-called scandal for the good of the order. After her father had left, she’d weathered the painful barbs and thoughtless speculation.

Given her past experience in Camellia, she shouldn’t have been surprised that she’d made the local paper. A more self-disciplined woman would’ve heeded Harper’s advice.

But her desperate need to find out exactly what people were saying so she could somehow find a way to control it, or manage it or repackage it into something more palatable, drove her from her chair. She set Hayes gently in his swing, turned on the motor and the peaceful lullaby then plucked the paper from the table and snapped it open.

Sadly, as soon as she scanned the headline below the fold, she longed to unsee what greeted her.

“Local reality television star’s absence provokes questions.”

Absence fromwhat? She studied the photo of Cole and a gentleman she presumed to be the mayor wearing hard hats, smiling and holding shovels.

“Avery Lansing Crawford didn’t make an appearance at yesterday’s unofficial groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion of Imari’s Place, although Whitaker confirmed she’s on board as a consultant. She hasn’t made any scheduled public appearances yet, which has provoked much curiosity and speculation throughout the community. Her ex-husband, Pax Crawford, will be in Camellia later this month as part of the promotional tour for his bestselling memoir. Sources say this will be the first time Pax and Avery have crossed paths in quite some time. Perhaps Mr. Crawford will weigh in on the Imari’s Place project as well.”

“Oh, no he won’t.” Avery closed the paper without reading the rest, folded it in half then folded it again and marched into the kitchen. “And who determines whether or not a book is a bestseller, anyway,” she grumbled, stuffing the offending paper deep into the recycle bin under Mama’s sink.

Hurt and confusion snaked through her like a kudzu vine overtaking a garden wall. Was she supposed to be at the groundbreaking? No one had invited her. Cole hadn’t mentioned a word about it. And who were these sources the paper had quoted? She retrieved her phone from the cushion of the recliner and scrolled to Cole’s number. If he’d intentionally withheld the information about the event as a means of protecting her, she’d have to let him know his plan had backfired. Besides, she didn’t need him looking out for her.

Did she?

“Mama, will you watch this with me?” Addison’s sweet request interrupted her internal debate.

Avery set her phone on the coffee table and joined Addison on the sofa. “Sure.”

Thunder rumbled in the distance and rain pelted the windows. Addison snuggled close to Avery, the faint aroma of the apple-scented kids’ shampoo enveloping her. As the animated characters in the show embarked on a grand adventure, Avery worked to untangle her snarled thoughts. She’d have to respond to Pax, even though she couldn’t fathom spending a weekend away from her children. Hayes would have to start taking a bottle if they were going to be apart for more than a few hours. Cole wasn’t responsible for what the newspaper printed. It wasn’t fair to blame him. But she wasn’t going to sit back and let people gossip about her. And experience had taught her they weren’t going to stop. It was time to take control. If only she knew how.

Maribelle hadn’t heard from Avery since they’d had supper together. Too much silence could really make an old lady sweat. Six days was far too long to go without any updates. She’d moved the money, now she needed Avery to do her part. Between the flyer announcing Pax’s book signing, the article in the magazine then that newspaper headline, Maribelle had worked herself into a tizzy. What good were her efforts to grease the skids for Avery to get in with Cole and his project if those harebrained reporters made a mess of things with their scandalous lies?

“Front page news,” Maribelle grumbled.

“Maribelle, are you all right?” Lucille barged into her thoughts. “You’re talking to yourself again.”

“Slow down, Lucille. I can’t see where we’re supposed to turn.” Maribelle braced her hand on the dashboard of Lucille’s Cadillac and peered out the window. “All these swanky mansions looked the same.”

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