“Of course not,” Grace said. “They need me in Jackson.”
“Who needs you?”
“A…friend. And they could always use me at work.”
“I see. Well, that creates a small problem.”
Creates a problem? Certainly not for the Archers. “What problem is that?” Grace asked.
“Now that Raelynn is gone, and Kennedy’s so busy at the bank, we need help with Heath and Teddy this summer.”
“We need you,” Teddy echoed.
Grace didn’t acknowledge his remark. She was too shocked by what she’d just heard. “You want me to help with the boys on a regular basis?”
“I can hire someone if you’d rather not,” Camille said.
Kennedy’s mother had never spoken two words to Grace before. If they happened to meet, Camille walked right by. “Then hire someone,” she said. “I can’t do it. Surely you know what the Vincellis will make of that.”
“Of course I know.”
“Is that why you’re here? To show them you can do whatever you want?”
“I’m here because my son asked me to come.”
“You don’t really want to leave, do you?” Heath asked. He and Teddy were gazing earnestly up at her, hanging on every word.
“It’s not that I want to go,” she explained. “It’s just that…I’m busy. That’s all.”
“But what about our Fixin’s stand?” Heath asked.
“And the garden?” Teddy added.
Their distress brought a lump to Grace’s throat, but she wasn’t about to reveal that to Camille. Squaring her shoulders, she said, “I’m sorry. My situation has changed. But you’ll still have your father and grandmother and—”
Camille made a noise that caused Grace to glance up. “If you leave, you’ll give the Vincellis what they want.”
“Exactly,” she said, even though there was much more to her leaving than Camille could guess. “And maybe they’ll let things return to status quo.”
“That won’t help you.”
When Grace said nothing, something flickered in Camille’s eyes that Grace had never seen there before. It was almost as if she’d caught a glimpse of the woman behind the austere mask Kennedy’s mother showed the world. “But you’re not doing it for you, are you?” she said.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re in love with my son.”
“No,” Grace said. “We’re complete opposites. We have nothing in common. You of all people know that. Anyway, I’m leaving. Nothing else matters.”
“I’ll be honest,” Camille said. “I wouldn’t be happy to see the two of you together, but—”
“Grandma!” Teddy complained.
“But what?” Grace said.
“You’ve rented a home for the summer. You should feel free to finish out your lease without worrying about how it affects us.”
“Don’t listen to Grandma,” Heath said. “We want you to stay.”
Teddy grabbed Grace’s hand. “Please? You said you’d be here all summer, remember?”
Grace kept her focus on Camille. “If I stay, will you tell your son to keep his distance?” she asked.
“I’ll tell him,” Camille replied. “But he’ll do exactly as he pleases. You should know that by now.”
“And the Vincellis?”
“I don’t need you to do me any favors where they’re concerned,” Camille said. “I can take care of my own.”
The steel in her voice almost made Grace sorry for the Vincellis. They’d certainly taken on a formidable opponent. “Fine,” she said.
“So you’ll stay?” Heath cried.
“I’ll stay,” Grace agreed.
“Hooray!” Teddy whooped and hugged her again, and Camille nodded toward him and his brother.
“Does that mean you’ll watch the boys this afternoon?”
Grace put a hand on each child’s head. “Of course.”
“Then I’ll pick them up in a few hours.” Kennedy’s mother turned toward the door. Grace opened it for her, but she turned back before stepping outside. “Thank you for what you sent home with Kennedy last night. It brought back fond memories of Evonne,” she said. She’d spoken stiffly, as though it had taken some effort, but Grace couldn’t help feeling gratified. It was the first time Camille had treated her like an equal.
Kennedy’s mother called while he was in the middle of reading through the latest shareholders’ report, and worrying about what would happen to the bank the moment news of his father’s illness went public.
His secretary and two tellers were in the conference room with him, collating a mailer that included the report. But when he heard Camille’s voice, he told his mother to hang on a minute and walked into his office.
“What did she say?” he asked. Part of him wanted to hear that Camille had convinced Grace to remain in Stillwater. The other part recognized that he and his family would be better off if she moved. Without her in town, the Vincellis might relax and begin to forget again. God forbid they should keep pressing for answers. If that Bible ever came to light, along with his part in hiding it…
“The boys are with her now. I’m off to take your father to the doctor.”
“So she’s staying.”
“I think so. For the summer, anyway.”
Relief surged through him, despite his concerns. “That’s good,” he said, and hoped it was. “She shouldn’t let the Vincellis run her out of town.”
“I don’t think they were running her out of town.”
“She was leaving because of the trouble they’re causing.”
“She was leaving to protect you,” Camille said.
Kennedy wasn’t sure how to respond to that. He knew Grace was trying to manage her own life and not create problems for him or anyone else. But he suspected the motivation to flee wasn’t entirely unselfish. She was also trying to safeguard her emotions. Whatever was going on between them frightened her. In some ways, it frightened him, too. No other woman in town could tempt him to help cover up a murder; that was for sure. “I wasn’t very nice to her when we were younger,” he admitted, feeling bad about that all over again.
“Nobody was,” his mother said. “I didn’t want you getting mixed up with her kind, and let you know it. I did what I thought was best at the time. And I won’t apologize for it,” she added defensively.