She used the time to get Ginger’s story. When she gave her the job in the shop, she had no idea what Ginger had been through, the selfish husband, the baby’s death. “I think the job at the flower shop has saved me,” she told Grace. “It’s like a brand-new chapter for me. I haven’t been happy in so long, but I get excited to go to work every day. I hope you’ll need me for a while.”

“Are you kidding? You’re doing wonderfully. And my mother will be moving here in a month or so and you know all about that. I want to be able to see about her if she needs me or wants me. It’s so nice to know there’s someone who can take care of the flowers. I might have had to go to part-time hours, but with you in the shop and Justin to deliver, I’m in great shape. I can give my mother some time. When you get down to it, that’s the one thing you can’t buy or trade or borrow.”

“And you’re close to your mother?” Ginger asked.

“Yes and no. My mother was always so proud of me and my father died when I was young, so it was just the two of us, no siblings. But she was also demanding and impatient and sometimes she angered too easily. But now her life is slowly ending and all she wants is to be comfortable and near me. This is our chance to close on a good note.”

“A second chance. We should never take that for granted.”

“Your husband,” Grace said. “You said you should’ve known. Why did you marry him if you should’ve known?”

“Oh, it’s a long story, but the truth is, I loved the wrong man. I wanted him so much and put up with so much to have him. And in the end he wasn’t worth it. Listen, it was very nice of Peyton to invite us to the wedding, but do you think she’d be offended if I didn’t go? I’m completely over my ex, but a wedding might just make me very sad. I could go to the reception for a little while, just to see the wedding party with their flowers, but not the wedding ceremony. Would it hurt Peyton’s feelings?”

“Not at all. I’m going—she’s a friend of mine. But the way we usually service a wedding is to deliver the flowers early, arrange and stage them in the church and make sure the bride and her wedding party have theirs, leave the centerpieces and any other decorations either with the catering staff or if the tables are ready, put them out, then leave. Just that much takes quite a while. When we’ve done our work and are ready to go clean up, I can drop you anywhere you like.”

“And on Sunday morning, you want me to drive the van back to Thunder Point?” she asked.

“I might be going back in the van, also. I don’t know if Troy will make it. He has stuff going on. He’d like to, I’m sure, but it’s iffy. I can stay with my friends, Mamie and Ross. I’ll know for sure about Troy on Saturday night. That okay?”

“Sure. Anything you want.”

* * *

On Friday afternoon, Troy leaned in the doorway of Iris’s office, arms crossed over his chest. She looked up and raised an eyebrow. “What now?” she asked.

“Are men born stupid or does it come over time?” he asked.

“Sadly, I think you’re born with it.”

“That’s what I was afraid of. Think I can still make it right with Grace?”

“I don’t know, Troy. How badly did you screw it up?”

“I carefully explained all my doubts and feelings,” he said. “I was very articulate. I listed them and suggested there was plenty of time for me to process them. I was eloquent! She told me to go away and process. She showed me the door. I thought I had been extremely sensible and sensitive.”

“Is that so?” Iris said.

“Turns out Grace is a little bit pregnant. I didn’t panic, not me. I said we didn’t have to make any decisions about what to do right away. I got the distinct impression that wasn’t the best response.”

Iris rolled her eyes. “Wow. What an idiot. You’re lucky she didn’t fire up that Taser.”

“I think I’m figuring that part out. I bet you know exactly what I should have said instead. Why don’t you tell me and I’ll tell you if you’re right.”

“No, I don’t think so, Troy,” Iris said. “I think you should puzzle this out for yourself. I don’t want to mix you up with my words. You’ve been whispering in Grace’s ear for months now. You know what makes her happy and what doesn’t. Get your head out of your butt and think like a hero instead of an escaped convict who’s trying to dodge the law. You’re not going to be put in prison, you know. If you’re smart and lucky, you’ll get to share lives.”

“Right,” he said. “Good advice. I’ll let you know how it turns out.”

“You do that, Troy.”

He left and she looked back at her paperwork. She smiled. Peyton had confessed she was a little pregnant when Iris confessed she was a little pregnant. And now Grace was, too. “I guess we know what everyone was doing the first week in April,” she said softly.

* * *

Grace was looking forward to seeing Peyton and Scott’s wedding reception in the orchard but on Friday night, after putting out her table arrangements at the restaurant where the groom’s dinner was held, Grace was so happy for a quiet evening with Mamie and Ross. Although she talked to them almost every week, she had held the news of her mother’s health until she could tell them in person. Mamie and Ross had spent twenty years in Winnie’s employ. They felt much closer to Grace than to Winnie, but they immediately promised they would be visiting Winnie when she was relocated in Thunder Point.

“I’m so happy you two have reconciled,” Mamie said. “For both your sakes.”

“We are, too, Mamie. The sad truth is, if Winnie weren’t ill I don’t know if we’d have this relationship. But I’ll do my best to be sure she’s comfortable and well cared for. Winnie is making it surprisingly easy and I think Mikhail has a lot to do with it. He came immediately and is in no hurry to leave her.”

“Like your mother, he has very few people he’s tied to. For many years they kept each other close. Your mother always listened to Mikhail.”

On Saturday, Ginger borrowed her mother’s car and drove to Mamie’s shop and all of them worked together on the flowers for the wedding. They had the altar arrangements and bouquets at the church by noon and the rest were delivered to the Lacoumette farm. Then Grace went back to Mamie’s house to clean up for the four-o’clock wedding. She wore a peach dress and nude sandals she loved and wore her hair down because Troy loved it that way.

But she had not heard from Troy.

Their plan had been that he would meet her at the wedding. They would spend the night in one of the coastal inns and let Ginger take the van back to Thunder Point on Sunday while they rode together in the Jeep, but she had a sense of foreboding. Maybe in the course of all his processing he had decided that getting involved with someone like Grace had been a mistake. Grace came from a different world, a world he wasn’t comfortable even thinking about.

It could be worse, she thought. He could try to marry her for her money.

It just felt so hopeless. What could she do? Nothing. It was on him now.

When she got to the church, she was distracted for a while, chuckling to herself when she saw the parking lot. It was full of trucks, RVs, SUVs—all big vehicles, some that family members would be staying in while attending the Lacoumette wedding and reception. If they didn’t look like a band of Gypsies, she didn’t know what did. There was Peyton’s car, parked in front. She knew that Peyton had ridden to the farm with her sister and Scott was driving up here in that fancy Lexus. There were only a couple of late-model cars. These farmers and fishermen and vintners were hardworking country folks and although Grace had heard it was a very successful family, you’d never know it by looking at them. They just weren’t showy.