He came out of the water and plopped down on the grass a few feet away from her. “That’s what Miz Lucy wanted, so I’ll obey her wishes. Are you going to stay long enough to get to take it home with you? You can open it to put the quilt in when you finish it, but no one takes it out of my house until one of you gets married. Miz Lucy figures I’ll have it until I die.”

“I’m not planning on going anywhere until the end of summer, if even then, and I expect that either April or Flynn will inherit it,” Nessa answered.

“Well, hello!” April said from behind them. “I thought I recognized your voice from this morning, when you brought Waylon home.”

“Is he doing all right?” Jackson glanced up at April.

“He went straight to Nanny Lucy’s room and hopped up on her bed. He slept there all day, then about half an hour ago, he decided that it was suppertime,” April said as she dropped her shirt, revealing a faded one-piece bathing suit underneath. “I’m getting in the water. See y’all later.”

She took a deep breath and dived right into the cold water, splashing both Nessa and Jackson.

“She’s braver than I thought she’d be. When I first get into the water, I usually ease in slowly,” Jackson said.

“What makes you say that about April? Did Nanny Lucy talk about us?” Nessa asked.

“A little,” Jackson answered, and there was a long pause before he said anything more. “You are sassy and bossy. April is a lost soul. Flynn needs closure. She went into detail, but that pretty much sums it up.”

Nessa thought about what he’d said for a few seconds before she said a word. Nanny Lucy had been right about all of them, but the way they had been raised had sure made a difference in the three. She couldn’t help but wonder what else Nanny Lucy had told Jackson about them—especially her. She wished that Nanny Lucy had told her more about Jackson, like maybe how old he was or how handsome. “So, what would she say about you in five words or less?”

“A hermit who . . .” He held up a hand and shook his head. “No, that would be more than five words. A neighbor and a hermit. Five words.”

“That tells me what you are, not who you are,” Nessa said.

“Miz Lucy was right about you. I guess we’ll have to get to know each other this summer to know who we are, won’t we?” He grinned as he gathered up his shirt and towel. “I live about a quarter of a mile down that path. My door is always open for visitors, especially neighbors.”

“Ours is, too.” She watched him disappear down the path.