“Your bid, Jess. Are we playing bridge or what?”

Oooops. The mother of the bride was daydreaming, Jess thought. “Three hearts,” Jess said, ignoring her partner’s audible gasp. “I can do three hearts alone,” Jess said, stubborn in her own defense.

“You’re going to do it alone,” Peg grumbled.

“She’s in never-never land again. Plotting,” Abby West observed.

“Any progress? Are we looking at silver patterns yet?” asked Peg, laying down her cards and looking hopefully at Jess.

It was unclear whether Peg was relentlessly curious about the John/Leigh romance being staged by the mother of the bride or whether she wanted a break from bridge. Peg hated bridge and only played to indulge the others.

Jess folded her hand and grinned. She had only been waiting to be asked. Thursday was bridge day for the widows’ brigade. Monday—literary discussion group. Tuesday—mah-jongg. Wednesday—garden club. Friday—craft day for seniors. The only thing the women were really serious about was their kids.

Jess’s three best friends had been keeping a close watch over the progress of Leigh and John’s relationship. While none of the others had this exact problem, they all had the same general problem—grown-up kids who simply weren’t as clever or sensible as their mothers. According to the mothers. And the majority of them were still unmarried. Jess at least had grandchildren.

“I think it’s going great guns, so far. Since John is working on the yard all the time, I suggested to Leigh that she ask him about activities for the boys. He actually drove them to the community center to sign up for T-ball. Since then, they’ve spent quite a lot of time together. I wonder how she’s keeping him at arm’s length.” She fanned her face with her hand. “You can almost feel the heat. But there are always two little boys between them.”

“If this works, I want my Rebecca married to a doctor by Christmas,” Kate, the most cynical in the group, put in.

“It isn’t quite that simple,” Jess argued. She had explained it all before, and it went like this:

Jess suspected but had not verified that John was the father of Leigh’s children. She could be wrong, but it was doubtful. From the moment she learned that Leigh was pregnant and the children hadn’t been sired by Leigh’s estranged husband, Jess had been scouting for the lover who had somehow broken her daughter’s heart.