Unexpected Reunion. Carolyn Greene
about him.
After he was done with this, he’d cut out of here and go watch the tape. With a little luck, maybe it would offer up not only an image of the woman who’d bought his grandmother’s doll but also a clear view of her car’s license tag.
Ruthie and her friends buzzed around Milk & Honey in preparation for an evening neighborhood event.
Nikki walked by with an armload of food and plopped a plate of finger sandwiches in his hands. “Mind giving me a hand with this? We’ll just set them on the table out back.”
He followed her outside, where a few Ellwood Avenue neighbors from across the alley had begun gathering. A cheerful yellow cloth covered the imperfections of a beat-up picnic table. A couple of pitchers of sweet tea and lemonade sat at one end, so he set the plate of sandwiches at the opposite end with the meat pies, cookies and banana pudding.
“Oh, good. You’re staying for our Sunset Blessings gathering.” Paisley stuck an empty paper plate in his hands. “Help yourself. There’s plenty of food.”
Blessings? He’d already managed to bow out of attending the church prayer group last night after visiting Naoko with Pop and Ruthie. And he had no desire to attend a neighborhood kumbaya meeting, even if it did involve delicious-looking food.
“I don’t— I mean...”
Ruthie seemed to sense his discomfort and attempted to reassure him. “Sunset Blessings is just an opportunity for us to be grateful at the end of the day for all we have and to share our abundance with others. Paisley started it by saving leftover goodies from Milk & Honey for people in need. It eventually grew to include our residential and business neighbors. Now everybody brings a little something, and folks enjoy not having to cook a couple of nights a week.”
That was when he noticed the “people in need.” A scruffy-looking pair of men and a girl who appeared to be in her teens joined the group with hellos and nods. The girl set a plastic cup with white flowers on the table, and the men waited for the ladies to help themselves to the food before filling their own plates.
They seemed harmless enough, but Gray decided it might be a good idea to stick around and see who else showed up. Though he commended Paisley and the others for sharing their bounty with those less fortunate, he couldn’t help worrying that the free offerings might draw vagrants and other disreputable types.
Paisley cleared her throat and raised a hand for attention. Once all had quieted, she bowed her head and spoke in a clear tone. “Lord, thank You for this food. Please bless it, bless our neighbors and bless Daisy on her upcoming job interview. Amen.”
Gray stared at the ground during the blessing, thinking not about what she said but about how she sounded so conversational, as if she and God were close friends. A moment of sadness speared his chest. Once upon a time, he’d had that sort of relationship. A relationship where he’d felt confident his prayers were heard and would be answered.
He raised his head, and the others applauded the job-seeking girl, who blushed under all the attention.
Ruthie leaned in and touched his arm. “Daisy’s mother is no longer in the picture, and her father, Mark, was laid off last year and can only get occasional day jobs. They’ve been living in his car, but he insists Daisy finish high school. She’s hoping to start working the day after graduation so she can afford an apartment for both of them.”
He nodded, sympathizing with their predicament. “That must have been a tough decision. Choosing between her education and sleeping in a car or dropping out of school to work so they can sleep in a real bed.”
She indicated the older middle-aged man with a scraggly goatee who accompanied the father-daughter pair. “That’s Yard Dog. No one knows his real name. Paisley’s very fond of him, and we think he’s the reason she started this Sunset Blessings tradition.”
As unofficial host of the group, Paisley started a round of introductions. “And this is Gray Bristow, Ruthie’s—” Her eyes opened wide and she nervously pushed her hair behind her ear. “Her, um...”
“Family friend,” Ruthie supplied.
To anyone else her smile looked easy and relaxed. But Gray saw the tense lines at the corners of her mouth. People continued eating and chatting without a clue about the undercurrents between them.
What was he doing here? The more time he spent with Ruthie, the more time he wanted to spend with her. He had told himself the reason he stuck around this evening was to protect her from any unsavory types who might be drawn to the free food. But he was here because, deep down inside, he was drawn to Ruthie and all the goodness that was wrapped up in the total package. In truth, he was the one he should be protecting her from.
What he loved most about her was her unwavering faith...in God, in people, in the underdog. But if they were together again, his own lack of faith would weaken hers. Would weaken the fabric of who she was.
He should keep his distance. For her sake, if not his own. After they found Naoko’s doll, that was exactly what he would do. Stay a safe distance away. But right now she stood so close he could smell her shampoo. She smelled sweet, like apples, and reminded him of the fall weekends she and Naoko had spent preserving fruit from the tree in their backyard. As a young boy, he had always tried to avoid the hot, laborious canning duty that usually turned into a family event. But after Ruthie’s arrival, he had often “dropped by” and ended up spending the entire day helping out just so he could be in her company.
He finished off the food on his plate. No time like the present. But before he could say his goodbyes, a mounted police officer rode up and joined the group. Judging by the way everyone greeted him, he was a regular at the Sunset Blessings festivities.
Ruthie filled him in. “That’s Officer Worth. He rides by here after his shift almost every day to—” she made quote marks with her fingers “—keep an eye on things. We all think he has his eye on Paisley, but she acts more interested in his horse than in him.”
Sure enough, Nikki offered the officer a plate of food, and Paisley offered the horse an apple that she had already cut up for it.
Gray noticed the looks that passed between Ruthie and her friends. They were the same looks the others had exchanged each time he came to the shop.
Worth dismounted, but before he dug into the food, he cautioned everyone to be alert to any suspicious activity. Apparently, the prowler Pop had told them about last night had been spotted within a block of their shops.
“The break-ins occurred almost a mile away,” he said, “so the sightings in this neighborhood may have been a result of overactive imaginations. But better safe than sorry. Be sure to call and report any suspicious activity.”
Despite his words of assurance, a ripple of concern ran through the crowd.
A short while later, they began packing up, and leftovers were placed in plastic carryout containers conveniently left there by Paisley. Yard Dog and Mark gratefully accepted some of the extras.
Savannah waved to Daisy. “Don’t go yet. I want to show you this fabulous dress I found for your interview.”
Ruthie accompanied them inside, and Gray followed a few minutes later. By the time he joined them at Connecting Threads, Daisy had gone into the small bathroom located beyond the Milk & Honey kitchen and Savannah had retreated to the sewing machine at the back of her shop to thread the machine and make a small alteration to the dress.
He hated to come off as if he was judging the girl, but he finally gave in and voiced his concern. “Do you think it’s a good idea to let her go back there unsupervised? Your offices and the safe—”
Ruthie lifted a hand to stop his protest. “Daisy is a regular girl caught up in a difficult situation. I don’t think she’ll touch anything she wasn’t invited to.”
It was times like this when Gray worried that Ruthie had too much faith in others. Especially this particular underdog.
“Besides,