A Sweethaven Summer Read Online Free PDF Page B

them? Read them? What would the women do if they heard from her mother? Would they call? Write? Then Campbell would have to tell them each they were too late. Her mother was gone.
    “I have to go,” she told Adele. “I’m sorry.”
    “I understand, hon, but you write down my number and call me if you need anything,” Adele said. “And when you’re ready, my door here in Sweethaven is always open.”
    “Thank you.” Campbell hung up, confused, as more questions swirled around in her mind. She considered reading the cards intended for her mother’s childhood friends, but something about that felt wrong.
    She glanced at the clock. The mail hadn’t come yet. Without giving it another thought, she stuck all three envelopes in the mail box just outside the front door.
    Even if she was gone, her mother’s friends had a right to know what she had to say.
    She shut the door and braced herself for the questions that could come her way in the next few days.
    For once, she’d be the one with the answers.

THREE
Jane
    Three o’clock already? Jane sighed. Where had the day gone? She looked at her to-do list and crossed out
Fold laundry
. Still staring at her were
Cook Dinner, Do Bible Study Lesson
, and
Make “North Wind” costume for Sam’s kindergarten class play
. She’d agreed to volunteer at the school one day a week, but it seemed like the projects always waited until the very last minute.
    She looked at the piles of folded clothes stacked on the kitchen table. At least she’d gotten that done.
    She hurried to her minivan and backed out of the driveway, pulling next to the mailbox as she reached the road. A stack of bills and junk mail waited for her. She tossed the pile on the front seat and drove toward the school.
    Her cell phone chirped from the pocket in her purse. Keeping one eye on the road, she rummaged to find the phone before it stopped ringing.
    “Hello?”
    “Hey, hon.” Graham. Wednesday, 2:45. He’d be working on his sermon for Sunday morning. Jane rarely heard from him at this time of day.
    “Hey. Is everything okay?” Jane clicked on her turn signal and pulled into the school parking lot.
    “Just calling to check in.”
    He’d started checking up on her years ago, and even though she was fine now, he still kept it up. She didn’t mind.
    “I’m fine. Just waiting for Sam to get out of school.”
    “I meant to call earlier, but I got wrapped up in what I was doing. I think I’m on a roll, but I’ll be home for dinner.” She could hear a smile in his voice. He loved coming up with a good sermon—it’s what made him tick.
    “Good. We’ll see you then.” She tossed the phone on the front seat and took her place at the back of the carpool line at the elementary school. Once she picked up Sam, she’d have to run up the street to get the girls at the junior high/high school, but in spite of the rush, she found herself ten minutes early.
    She picked up the mail and thumbed through it. Electric bill. Cable bill. Credit card application. She tore that one up and stuffed it in the trash can at her feet. A small envelope fell from the pile. One look at the handwriting and a gasp escaped her lips.
    Suzanne
. How long had it been? She did the math in her head. Twenty-some years. Had it really been that long?
    Hmmm. No return address. Just a Chicago postmark. Inside was a small card. Hand-painted watercolor flowers graced the front panel. Jane ran her finger over the card, taking a moment to admire it. It looked like it should be in a frame. Leave it to Suzanne to make her own cards. She’d always been the creative one. She flipped it open and Suzanne’s beautiful handwriting greeted her like a long-lost friend. Simply seeing the familiar script brought back the ache of nostalgia. Suzanne refused to be ordinary in any way—right down to her penmanship. She could make a quickly scribbled check to a pizza place look like a masterpiece. In her youth, Jane had foolishly prayed for good