‘So you’re going to let a strong, impressive man like Dr McKinley walk away from you?’

Jenna stilled. She thought about denying it and then realised it was useless. ‘Does everyone know?’

Mrs Parker sighed. ‘Of course. This is Glenmore. What we don’t know is why you’re not just booking the church. The Reverend King is quite happy to marry you, even though you’ve been divorced. I asked him.’

‘You—?’ Jenna gulped. ‘Mrs Parker, you can’t possibly—you shouldn’t have—’

‘You have a daughter. You need to keep it respectable. One bad marriage shouldn’t put you off doing it again.’ Mrs Parker glared at her. ‘What? You think it’s right, teaching that girl of yours it’s all right to take up with whoever takes your fancy? You need to set an example. If you like him enough to roll around in his sheets with him, you like him enough to marry him. And he certainly likes you. There’s a bet going on down at the pub that he’s going to ask you to marry him. You’d better have your answer ready.’

‘It would have to be no.’

Mrs Parker looked at her steadily, her customary frown absent. ‘As we’ve been drinking tea together for almost two months now, perhaps you’d do me the courtesy of explaining why you’d say no to a man most women would kill to be with.’

Jenna didn’t pause to wonder why she was talking to this woman. She needed to talk to someone, and Mrs Parker had proved to be a surprisingly good listener. ‘Because of Lexi.’

She blurted it all out. Everything she was feeling. The only thing she didn’t mention was Ryan’s past. That wasn’t hers to reveal.

Mrs Parker listened without interrupting. Only when Jenna had finished and was placing a fresh dressing on the wound did she finally speak. Her hands were folded carefully in her lap.

Age and wisdom, Jenna thought, wondering what secrets Mrs Parker had in her past. She was a girl once. A young woman. We see them as patients, but they’re people.

‘Tell me something.’ The old lady looked at her in the eye. ‘Do you plan to try and shield your daughter from everything that happens in life?’

Jenna swallowed. ‘If I can.’ Then she gave a sigh. ‘No, of course not. Not everything, but—I love her. I want her to be happy.’

‘Has it occurred to you that she might like a new man around the house?’

‘I think it would unsettle her.’ Jenna finished the bandage, concentrating on the job. ‘Is that comfortable?’