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tone said he had a smile on his face.
    Once all of the flowers that needed to be transported were out of the sanctuary, Maggie looked at Jason and said, "You did a good job."
    He smiled in a way that brightened his entire being. Abby had always thought him reserved; certainly the picture Lucy's mother had painted of him to Abby's mother was that of a critical and unforgiving man. But what Abby had seen firsthand said he was anything but.
    He put a hand on his chest and bowed slightly. "Knowing how serious you are about your work, I take that as a high compliment, Miss Maggie."
    Maggie started toward the office. "Don't get a big head."
    Abby winced. "Maggie can be a harsh taskmaster."
    He smiled again. "Just glad I lived up to expectations."
    Maggie called from the office door, "Ready to go, Abby?"
    "I'll be right there." She turned to Jason. "Thanks for the help."
    He gave a smile that exposed dimples Abby hadn't noticed until now. His hands pushed back his jacket and disappeared into his pants pockets again. He glanced toward the narthex. "My motive wasn't entirely selfless."
    She returned his smile, reluctant to walk away. "Well, we appreciate it anyway."
    With a nod, he took a step backward, then hesitated. "I was sorry to hear about your mother."
    "Thank you."
    His probing gaze locked with hers. "Unexpected deaths are always most difficult."
    Looking into his eyes, she felt the jittery agitation that had been thrumming just beneath the surface of her skin all morning suddenly calm. The choppy ripples in her soul smoothed to a peaceful stillness. "It's taking time, but we're all adjusting."
    "Your dad doing all right?"
    Abby thought of this morning's overblown panic over his missing keys. "It's hardest on him. He and Mom always did everything together--"
    "
Aaaaabeeeeee
." Maggie called anxiously through the door.
    "I'd better go. Thanks again." She stepped around him to retrieve her purse from the first pew. As she did she brushed his arm and felt a little ripple of expectation.
    When she looked up, her dad was coming toward them. She slipped her purse on her shoulder and waited.
    With a smile, he shook hands with Jason. "Tom Whitman."
    "Jason Coble... we've met, but it's been a while."
    Her dad nodded. "Are you here with Abby?"
    What an odd question.
    "No." Jason cast a glance at Abby. "No, I'm Lucy's ex-husband."
    Her dad's smile faltered, then quickly recovered. "Ah, yes." He turned to Abby. "You go on, sweetie. Constance and John want me to go with them to the place where they bury people."
    The place where they bury people? What in the hell was wrong with him today?
    Jason quietly prompted, "You mean the cemetery?"
    Her father blinked and shifted his gaze away.
    "Dad?"
    After a moment, her father said, "They'll take me home after." He kissed her on the cheek. "I'll talk to you later, sweetie."
    Unsure how to respond, she watched him walk away.
    When she glanced at Jason Coble, the look in his eyes said that she might have reason to worry.

C HAPTER 2

    A fter two extra games of checkers with Mr. Deveraux, Maggie insisted on polishing Mrs. Farnham's nails because she'd promised the last time she and Abby had been at Tidewater Manor. While Maggie took care of Mrs. Farnham, Abby polished Mrs. Farnham's roommate's nails. Abby could swear word spread faster at Tidewater than it did at Beanie's Cafe in downtown Preston. One by one, ladies trickled in to Mrs. Farnham's room, creating a traffic jam of walkers and wheelchairs. They came with questioning brows and hopeful gazes.
    By the time Abby and Maggie left the facility, they'd done all of the resident ladies' nails, with the exception of Miss Turnbull, who, although Maggie was worried about her feeling left out, was in a coma and needed to have the color of her nail beds monitored.
    As Abby drove through the rain back to St. Andrew's, Maggie grew uncommonly quiet. After a while, the sound of the windshield wipers thumping back and forth seemed to amplify the