No way, thought the mother of the bride. It was never too late. For one thing, Jess knew that John was divorced, although she’d had to snoop to find out. And all she had to do was look at those little boys to see an obvious resemblance to their father. And knowing that Leigh had truly loved and wanted him and thought he was a good man…well, Jess was ready to have the invitations printed.

In her mind, the marriage was a go. Leigh, however, seemed reticent about returning to live with her mother; she was really dragging her heels. Scared, Jess decided. Well, who wouldn’t be? But the twins were getting big; time had wings. They would start school next fall. So Jess made up a little, tiny, inconsequential heart problem. She didn’t want to tell a big lie—just expedite her daughter’s return before the boys were drafted into the military.

“It’s nothing serious, darling,” Jess had said, “and I don’t want you to be alarmed. I just want to spend some time with my grandchildren before I die. This could be my last summer…or then again, perhaps I’ll somehow drift on through many summers.”

Jess had never done anything like it before. It had been Peg’s idea, actually, and it had been fun.

Once Leigh was home, Jess had to get her back in close proximity to John, which had proved more difficult to arrange than she imagined. She enlisted the aid of the widows’ brigade. It was Peg’s idea to tell John about her heart condition, too, as the reason for Leigh’s return. Peg really should be closely watched, Jess thought. Deceitful old thing. It was Kate’s idea to get Leigh and John working on the same project together—the renovation of the yard. Jess couldn’t have cared less about having a stupid gazebo, but there weren’t many things she could think of that would take a while to finish. Abby’s contribution was that Jess should drop very, very heavy hints that getting married to someone like John would make her old mother happy. “Old women,” Abby said, “are expected to play matchmaker. Try to conceal that and they’ll know something is up.”

Now Leigh was home, working on the yard, watching John while he worked on the yard. And Leigh hadn’t said a word. Not a word! But seeing them together—the two of them or the four of them—Jess was convinced they belonged together.

“I thought you said you could do three hearts alone,” Peg said, drawing Jess back into the game. “Old liar.”

“Don’t you call me a liar. You’re the one who told me to pretend to have a heart condition.”

“I know. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. Do you do everything you’re told?”