it’s going to be. It usually looks like an animal, but not necessarily what I think it’s going to be.”
Fortunately for all of them, this one turned out enough like a giraffe to make Amanda happy, and the two girls decided to make their giraffes dance together to the music of the carousel.
“You’re a success.” Caitlyn smiled at him. “And we’re lucky you came along when you did.”
“Not so much luck,” Steve said. “I ran into Betty and she asked me to join y’all for dessert and to watch the fireworks. I said I’d round you up.”
“I see.” It seemed she was destined to see Steve wherever she went. As he’d said, it was a small town. “Well, I’m still glad you came when you did. I was starting to panic. I’m beginning to appreciate every gray hair Carolyn and I caused our mother.”
She said it lightly, but judging by Steve’s expression, he wasn’t taking it that way.
“Not easy being a parent, is it?”
“I’m not a parent. I can’t ever take their mother’s place.”
The words came out without her thinking them through, but she realized they were true as soon as she said them. She’d do what she could, but she couldn’t take Carolyn’s place.
Steve stopped, turning to face her. “Is that really what you think?” He was frowning as if he’d taken her measure and found her lacking in some way. “Because that’s what those children need, and you might just have to sacrifice what you want to give it to them.”
Caitlyn could only stare at him in disbelief, as anger welled up in her at his stinging criticism. “I appreciate your interest, Chaplain Steve. But my family life is not really any of your business.”
Without giving him a chance to respond, she grabbed the girls’ hands and stalked off in the direction of the picnic grove.
It was all very well to have the last word, Caitlyn decided, but it lost its effect if you had to be with that person for another two hours.
She’d expected Steve to beg off watching the fireworks with them. That’s what she’d have done, if their positions were reversed.
But he hadn’t. He’d come back to the picnic table with them and eaten a slab of Mama’s pecan pie and drunk a glass of lemonade, chatting all the while as if there weren’t a trace of strain between them.
Now, he helped her spread a blanket at the riverbank—the ideal spot, her mother declared, for watching the fireworks.
“Thanks.” She smoothed out a corner and sat down, glancing at the twins running among the blankets with a couple of friends, each one waving a flag or a glow stick. “Here’s a spot for you, Mama.” She patted the space next to her.
Her mother shook her head. “I was just talking to Maisie Elliot, and she’s going on home now. I think maybe I’ll ride along with her. I’m just a mite tired.”
“Mama, if you’re tired, we can go home now. We don’t have to stay for the fireworks.” She started to get up, but her mother was already shaking her head again.
“No, no, the girls would be so disappointed. You know how they’ve been looking forward to staying up for the fireworks. Y’all stay. Steve will keep you company, I know.”
“I don’t think—”
“I won’t hear of you leaving,” Mama said flatly. “Now just you do as I say, Caitlyn Ann.”
“If a parent uses both names, you’d better give up,” Steve said. His smile seemed genuine.
She sank back down reluctantly. “I guess you’re right. We’ll see you at home, then, Mama.”
Her mother blew a kiss and started off to find her next-door neighbor. Caitlyn watched her go, and her heart clenched.
“She’s aged,” she said softly, nearly forgetting who she was talking to.
“It’s been pretty rough on her.” Steve leaned back on his elbows, his gaze intent on her face. “Even before Carolyn and Dean died, I could see the toll it was taking on her. She wouldn’t admit it, but taking care of those girls full-time was beyond her.”
“You think I don’t know that?” She let the exasperation show in her voice. “Have you ever tried to stop Betty Villard from doing something she thought was her duty?”
“I know what you mean.” He smiled. “Texas women are tough.”
She shrugged. “I’ve been away too long to qualify, I’m afraid.”
“Never say that.” The laughter seemed to leave his face. “Caitlyn, I need to apologize to you for what I said earlier. I overstepped my bounds.”
“Yes, you did.”
“You’re a hard case, you know that? I’m saying I’m sorry.”
Much as she hated to admit it, that lopsided grin of his affected her. All the annoyance she’d been clinging to slid away.
“It’s all right,” she said. “I know you care about the girls. As for me—I’m still just feeling my way with them.”
“It’s pretty different from your life in New York, is it?”
“I’ll say. I probably don’t see a child from one month to the next there.”
“No married friends with babies?”
She shrugged. “I work long hours. When I’m off, I guess I try to catch up on my sleep.”
“That sounds a little lonely.”
“Lonely? I don’t have time to be lonely. The firm isn’t happy unless they’re getting sixty hours a week out of us.”
He smiled. “Like I said. Lonely.”
“You don’t understand.” He probably couldn’t. She didn’t know what the army expected of a chaplain, but it couldn’t be anything like the expectations of her firm. “That’s what it takes in my line of work. You put in outrageous hours, knowing that the payoff at the end is worth it.”
She sounded defensive, she realized. That was ridiculous. She didn’t owe anyone an explanation of the life she’d chosen.
The military band struck up a march just then, and she was glad. It would save her from another argument with Steve.
“Hey, Amanda! Josie!” Steve called. “Come on, the fireworks are going to start any minute.”
They came scurrying and dived onto the blanket. “I love fireworks,” Amanda said. “They’re my favorite thing next to chocolate cake and going to the movies.”
“This girl’s got her priorities straight.” Steve scooped her onto his lap. “Look right out there over the water. Maybe you can be the first one to spot the fireworks.”
Josie
