nodded briskly. “Your kids are settled for the night? And you have a place to sleep?”
“Lou Ann Miller’s house,” he said, nodding.
“Do you need clothes, toiletries, pajamas?”
“I don’t think so. I think they’re going to let me back in pretty soon, take me around and let me gather up some stuff. There’ll be an investigation, but it’s pretty clear the problem started with some faulty wiring in the bathroom exhaust fan. The smoke alarm malfunctioned, too, apparently.” He shook his head. “I’ve got to find a new place to live.”
She looked thoughtful for a moment, and then she nodded as if she’d made a decision. “You could stay in my carriage house.”
“What?” He cocked his head at her and frowned.
“It’s a complete three-bedroom little home. Used to be where people kept their carriages, and then it was a spare garage, but the previous owners modified it into a space that could work as an office or a rental. I was using it for... Doesn’t matter.” She waved her hand. “I’ve been planning to advertise for a tenant, anyway.”
Eduardo looked at Fiona. Her eyes held concern and the desire to help. The woman was kind and good, but he didn’t feel comfortable with the spur-of-the-moment offer. “I don’t see... We probably can’t make that work,” he said. “You have your own plans for the place. And anyway, I’m looking for something really safe, up to code, after what happened here.”
She glared at him. “Do you think I’d offer you a place that was dangerous or unsound?”
Oh, man, now he’d upset this kind woman who was only trying to help. “Of course not. I’m sorry. I’m a mess.”
“Understandable.” She stood up, something like insecurity creeping into her eyes. “I’m sure you have other options, but if you want to talk more about the place, I’ll be at church tomorrow.”
She bent down, put her arms around his shoulders for an awkward hug and then disappeared into the darkness.
Exhausted as he was by the events of the evening, Eduardo was awake enough to feel a particular warmth where she’d touched him.
The next day, Fiona and her four kids walked—or in Ryan’s and Maya’s case, ran—out of the little white clapboard church on the edge of Rescue River.
“Careful!” Fiona called. “Stay on the sidewalk!” But she couldn’t help smiling at her middle two children’s joy. Maya’s exuberance didn’t surprise her—at seven, Maya was her wild child—but Ryan, though only two years older, tended to be way too serious. It was good to see him run and play.
Beside Fiona, ten-year-old Lauren walked with more decorum, as befitted the dignity of the eldest child. Little Poppy nudged in between Fiona and Lauren and then reached up to grab their hands. “Swing me,” she ordered with the confidence of a three-year-old, and Fiona and Lauren held her hands tight while she jumped up, swinging her legs.
“Hey,” Ryan called back to them, “there’s Diego and Sofia!”
Fiona’s heart gave a tiny little leap as she looked ahead and saw Eduardo and his two kids walking in the same direction Fiona was heading. She always parked near the church’s little play area, and today Eduardo’s truck was next to her SUV.
Had he decided to take her up on her offer of the carriage house?
She’d seen Eduardo dressed up once before, on his date at Chez La Ferme, but he looked happier and more comfortable today, in his dark suit and open-collared blue shirt, laughing with his kids.
“Sofia! Hey!” Lauren dropped Poppy’s hand and ran toward the Delgados. Ryan followed suit. They played on the same coed soccer team with Sofia and Diego, and the four children were becoming friends.
A moment later, all of them were on the grass next to their vehicles. Ryan, Diego and Maya darted back and forth, burning off energy by throwing around the cotton-ball lambs they’d made in Sunday school.
“Is that sacrilegious, to play with the Easter lamb?” Fiona asked, half joking.
“Is it, Dad?” Diego clutched his lamb to his chest, his expression anxious.
Eduardo looked amused. “Not really. In some cultures, kids raise a lamb for Easter. I’m sure they play with it.”
“That would be fun!” Maya danced over to Fiona. “Can we get a lamb, Mom?”
“No.” Fiona tried to tuck Maya’s hair back into its ponytail holder without much success. “But we’re thinking about a dog when summer comes, and you kids can all help pick it out.”
“Yes!” Maya pumped her arm in the air and ran back to the game of toss-the-lamb.
Fiona glanced over at Eduardo. “I don’t think the kids would like what happens to the pet lamb at Easter.”
“Easter dinner?” He winced. “Good point.”
“Mom, can me and Sofia swing Poppy?” Lauren asked.
Poppy threw her arms around Lauren. “Please, Mommy? I wanna swing with LaLa!”
“If you’re careful. Not too high.”
“I know, Mom. Come on, Sofia.” Lauren picked Poppy up easily and carried her toward the swing set. At ten, she was tall and broad-shouldered, often mistaken for a teenager.
“Poppy’s cute,” Eduardo said, looking a little wistful. “I remember those days.”
“They go by too fast.” Fiona didn’t want to think about how she wasn’t going to get another baby, how Poppy was her last. So, she watched as Lauren set her little sister on a swing, giving her a stern lecture about holding on tight. Lauren liked to show off her childcare skills, and Sofia was a new audience.
Which was fine. To a pair of ten-year-olds, a toddler seemed like a doll, and Poppy was glad to play that role if it got her some big-girl attention.
Fiona and Eduardo stood together, watching their happy kids. Was the question of the carriage house hanging between them, making things awkward, or was it just her being silly?
She focused her attention on a robin pecking at the newly turned earth, pulling out a fat earthworm.
It was a beautiful spring day and the service had been uplifting, and there was no need to feel uncomfortable with family friends. If he didn’t want to take her up on her offer, that was perfectly fine. He probably had lots of friends to reach out to.
“If you were serious about renting to us,” Eduardo said to Fiona, “could we stop over and check out the carriage house sometime soon? I’ve been online and in the paper, and there’s not much out there to rent. I have an appointment to look at a trailer out on County Line Road, but it’s a little more isolated than I’m comfortable with.”
“Sure!” Fiona
