The Hearts We Mend by Kathryn Springer Page A

afternoon, but we’re going to stop over and pick up the rest of my stuff if that’s all right with you.”
    â€œOf course it’s all right.” Evie gave Diva’s leash a little tug to distract her from the calico cat sunning itself on the neighbor’s sidewalk. “What time will you be here? I can have supper ready.”
    â€œRaine is . . . she’s kind of anxious to settle in and try out the new kitchen, Mom.”
    â€œOf course she is.” Evie’s image of an evening catching up with her son and new daughter-in-law dissolved. She made a mental note to leave a bouquet of fresh flowers on their table as a housewarming gift instead. “We can make it another time.”
    â€œSounds good . . . I should probably go.” The sudden lilt in Cody’s voice told Evie that Raine was nearby.
    â€œI’ll see you on Saturday.”
    â€œLove you, Mom.”
    Evie’s eyes began to burn. “Love you too.” She glanced at the time before slipping the phone into her pocket. “Come on, Diva, step it up a little or Belinda will get there before I do.”
    As it turned out, everyone—including Belinda—was already there, passing around a carafe of coffee, when Evie walked into the conference room.
    â€œWe want to hear all about the wedding!” Sonya announced.
    Belinda, who’d worked with Evie the longest, winked as she slid a cup of coffee in front of an empty chair. “We’ll consider it old business.”
    How could Evie argue with that?
    Out of respect for everyone’s busy schedules, she kept the meetings to one hour. Which meant they stuck to a three-part agenda. Old business, new business, and God’s business. The last one had been Evie’s mother’s idea—a humorous reminder to make sure that prayer requests brought before the group didn’t turn into gossip.
    The three women scooted their chairs closer together while Evie touched on the highlights and scrolled through the photos she’d taken with her tablet over the course of the day.
    â€œCody looks so grown up in a suit and tie,” Jill murmured. “I remember when he used to kick off his shoes and socks in Sunday school class and hide them under the beanbag chair because they—and this is a quote—‘made his head hurt.’”
    And Evie had encouraged Cody to pursue a degree in business. “I believe the tie came off right after that picture was taken.”
    Sonya fanned herself with a napkin. “I have to say, Dan sure looks handsome in a three-piece suit.”
    Evie didn’t miss the twinkle in the woman’s eyes. She drew in a slow breath and exhaled a smile as she flipped to the next photo. A candid of Dan and Gin holding hands at the reception.
    â€œI’m sure Ginevieve would agree with you.”
    â€œAre they . . . are you . . .” Sonya started and stopped, as if she was afraid to fill in the blanks.
    â€œHappy? Yes.” Evie did it for her. “Happy for them? Yes.”
    Absolute silence followed the statement as everyone absorbed the news.
    In the past Evie had simply shrugged off the teasing comments aimed at her and Dan. Friends and, Evie suspected, even some of Dan’s family members had kept a close eye on them over the years, waiting for their friendship to develop into something more. And if she was completely honest, Evie knew that Danny had been waiting too.
    There’d been times when loneliness had seeped into her bones like a cold spring rain, and her thoughts had drifted in that direction. She could come up with at least a dozen reasons why marrying her childhood friend would be the logical thing to do, but she could never seem to get her heart to agree.
    And then she would lie awake at night, in the double bed she’d shared with Max, wondering if she could even trust her heart anymore. Wondering if the only thing it was capable of was pumping blood through her