Tears started to sparkle in Rose’s eyes, and she reached out and gripped Andra’s hands. “I love you, too, honey, and I’m so grateful to the good Lord for bringing you here. But don’t go saying all your goodbyes. I think I might have a few years left in me yet.”

Andra straightened her shoulders. “Listen. Whatever happens, wherever he decides to go—” Her voice wavered, and she forced back the lump in her throat. “I know you don’t want to tell him when you’re sick because you think it might hold him back. But you didn’t see his face when he found out you needed him and he wasn’t there.”

Rose’s expression stiffened, and her lips pressed thin.

“If he can’t trust you to tell him when you need help, he’ll never leave again,” she said all in a rush. “I don’t even know if he wants to leave, but if you want him to have the option, you need to be honest with him. He’s your son, Rose. Let him be there for you.”

Rose’s chin lifted, the skin tightening over her cheekbones. High, like her son’s. One tear broke free from her eye when she nodded.

“Thank you,” Andra whispered. Her stomach twisted greasily. That whole speech had probably been unnecessary.

The truth was in LJ’s smile the other night when he introduced her all down the line of mule-carriage drivers. In the difference in the distant way her father said his name compared to all his friends they’d run into around town, who said it like an exclamation, usually right before they wrapped him in a hug.

“I have to pack,” Andra whispered, and she fled into LJ’s room. It had felt perfect to sleep in there last night, in LJ’s arms. But this place was his, not hers. No matter what he said, it would never be theirs.

•   •   •

LJ took off his shirt on the porch, flapping it until a cloud of drywall dust puffed up into the scathing midday sun. Damned Sheetrock always made him itchy, but it paid good when Leo got behind enough to call for extra help. He flipped his shirt over his shoulder and shoved the front door open with a grin. “Hey, y’all had better not have had lunch without me. The crew’s not going back on until tonight when it gets a little cooler, and Leo sent me back with a mess of shrimp. Thinking I might make some grits to go with them.”

He dropped the bag of shrimp in the fridge, hesitating before he closed the door. The sounds weren’t right. Andra hadn’t come out to meet him, but hangers clashed inside their bedroom. He stepped into his mama’s room, and she was sitting up in bed but not doing a thing.

His frown deepened. “What?”