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“It’s a good thing you have Orchid here to show you.”

“Actually, Orchid has a visit to make before she can help me.”

“She does?” Charlene said, her voice sounding thoughtful and curious. But to her credit, Charlene did not ask him what Orchid was doing. “That’s good. Because I actually was looking for a job. I can give you a hand.”

“I’ll take it,” he said. He’d rather have Orchid, but Charlene wouldn’t mind teaching him how to make apple turnovers.

Chapter 19

I'm still trying to figure out what makes a marriage work, but I've only been married for 56 1/2 years, so time will tell. - Carol Collett from Iowa

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AS SOON AS DWIGHT TOOKthe apples out of her car and walked away, Orchid called her sister Lavender.

Back in the day, Orchid, Lavender, Katie, and Daphne had been inseparable. They remained friends as they become adults, even if they had gone in separate directions. With Katie getting married, Daphne having a child, and Orchid and Lavender working at the sale barn.

Lavender agreed to meet her, and she’d barely gotten off the phone with her when it rang with Daphne’s number coming up.

“Hello?” she said, wishing Daphne could go with them. There was strength in numbers, and this was one of those times where Orchid was pretty sure Katie would appreciate having her very best friends in the world around her.

“Orchid, I just talked to Paisley, and she said Powell was up with Kendrick and Owen, and they were eating breakfast. She said they had a great time yesterday, and I just wanted to thank you.”

“My pleasure. We had a good time, and although the plans we had didn’t quite pan out, I thought everyone had a good time anyway.”

“I can say for a fact that Kendrick and Owen had fun with Powell.”

“That’s great.”

She wasn’t sure whether to tell Daphne what was going on or not.

“Also, I’m on the way home. I’ll actually hit Sweet Water in another fifteen minutes or so. The doctors were in doing rounds early this morning and decided that Mom could be moved to the smaller hospital in Rochester. They think she should only have to stay there a night or two before she’s discharged. She’ll still not be allowed to be on her leg at all, not even a little, but beyond that, they think she should be fine at home.”

“That’s great news!”

“Yeah. So, when Mom heard that, she insisted I go ahead of her, spend some time at the festival, and she said maybe I could bring Powell in later to see her or just come in tomorrow. She insisted she’ll be fine.”