“I didn’t realize how much I missed Aunt Sugar. How about you? How is this going to affect you?” she asked.

Sugar moving back made Jolene happy, and he liked that. She didn’t want to move back into the inn, and he liked that.

“Honest or sugarcoated?” he finally asked.

“Honest. Always, always honest,” she told him.

“I’m glad that they’re buying a house of their own. They would have been welcome here, but I kind of like us having the place to ourselves,” he said.

She shivered again. “Me, too.”

He wanted to stand right there and hold her forever, but it was too cold. “We better get inside before you freeze. Let’s share the cleanup and the work. I’ll take care of loading the dishwasher if you’ll put away the leftovers.”

When he carried the butter and milk to the refrigerator, he stopped and stared at his finger, naked where his wedding band had been. The deep indentation would take years to completely go away, but it didn’t bother him as much as he thought it would.

“You’re looking at your ring finger, aren’t you?” she asked.

He nodded. “I buried the ring at Melanie’s grave. It was time.”

“It’s part of your past, Tucker. You have to get over it, but you also need to know that it was this experience that makes you the man you are today,” she said.

“Thank you,” he said around the lump in his throat. “The same goes for you.”

She laid a hand over his heart. “We all just get a day at a time. It’s up to us whether we fight the demons that plague us or if we give in to them.”

He pushed her hair back away from her face and stared down into her big blue eyes. “How did you get so smart?”

“Living a tough life,” she answered as she tiptoed and brought his lips to hers for a kiss. “But when you kiss me, it don’t seem so rough right now.”

Jolene was a fresh start with someone who understood him. What she said about fighting demons made a lot of sense, but it was a whole lot easier to fight something if a person had a partner to watch his back. What they did with their lives beyond a few hot kisses was up to them now.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Tucker had just finished work and taken a shower that Friday evening when his phone rang. Jolene had gone to the grocery store that morning but had forgotten to get milk, so she’d run back out for it. But it was his mother-in-law, Carla.

“He’s gone, Tucker,” she said between sobs. “I found him an hour ago in his recliner with the newspaper in front of him.”

“What can I do?” Tucker asked with a heavy heart. He should’ve gone to that birthday party. At least it would have been bittersweet. Today would be nothing but sadness.

“Can you just come and sit with me and the boys awhile?” Carla asked.

“I’ll be there in half an hour.”

“Thank you.” Carla ended the call before he could say anything else.

He dressed in creased jeans, shined boots, and an ironed shirt. He threw the hood on his coat up and ran to his truck. Several cars took up the driveway at the Tillison house when he got there, so he parked on the other side of the road and sat for several minutes. Another car pulled in behind him. A man and woman got out and slowly walked across the street and up the sidewalk and knocked on the door. A few minutes later, Tucker got out of his pickup and followed them.

Carla met him at the door with swollen eyes. “Oh, Tucker, I’m so glad you’re here. Luke told me about your meetings at the cemetery. I thought we had another couple of months, but his heart played out.”

Tucker backed her up enough to close the door. “I’m so sorry.”

“The funeral will be Sunday. Luke planned it all, and last week he had me add you as a pallbearer. I hope that’s not too much to ask.” She hugged him tightly and wet the shoulder of his coat with her tears.

“That soon?” He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her.

“His wishes. Just graveside at the cemetery. He’ll be buried beside Melanie. No weeping, he said, but I can’t help it.” She dabbed at her eyes and gave the hankie back to him.

He shook his head. “Keep it. You might need it again. What can I do?”

“Just sit with me and the boys. It’ll be like having Melanie with us.”

“Of course,” he said.

“Four o’clock Sunday afternoon. Strange—we were supposed to meet for ice cream then. He was adamant about the time, too. It had to be at the same time we had the service for Melanie,” she said. “Maybe I shouldn’t be mentioning her so much since . . .”

Tucker draped an arm around the tall woman who had Melanie’s eyes and build. “It’s okay. I’m finally making my peace with it.”

She took him by the hand and led him into the living room. “Luke told me that talking to you helped him do the same. Now come on in here.”

A lady appeared at his elbow. “Let me take your coat. Can I get you something to drink?”

“A cup of black coffee,” Tucker said.

“It’s good to see you again, Tucker.” Melanie’s brother Will stuck out a hand.

Tucker shook with him and then turned to Patrick, her other brother. “I’m so sorry, guys. I thought we had a little more time.”