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I sat there a minute in the dark before I got him out.

I thought about hydraulic lines and shared drives and a man named Code Drakos who was very good at his job.

Then I got my son out of the car, carried him inside, and put him to bed.

Chapter Twenty-Four

I pushed open the door to the Down Home Diner, and the bell above it chimed.

The lunch rush had thinned out. A few tables were still occupied, the hum of conversation low and comfortable. Lettie moved between booths with a coffee pot, and the smell of something with bacon hit me before I'd taken two steps inside.

“Hello, Sugar,” Little Grandma said to me from the hostess stand. She held out her arms for a hug, which I gladly gave her, and kissed her powdery cheek.

“I just came to pick up my to-go order.”

“I changed that, Zoe. You and I are going to eat lunch together.”

I froze. “What?”

She slowly climbed down off the chair where she sat near the stand. “Follow me.” We weaved through the tables until we stopped near a table in front of the windows overlooking Main Street.

Everybody in Jasper Creek knew what it meant when Little Grandma decided to have a meal with you. She didn't do it because she was hungry. She did it because you needed her to, whether you knew it yet or not. The woman had lived more than a century and she had used every year to collect her wisdom.

When Little Grandma sat down to eat with you, she was about to hit you square between the eyes with something true.

Little Grandma’s granddaughter, Lettie appeared before I even had my jacket off, setting down a tall glass of sweet tea without being asked. She knew my order. Everybody in this town knew everybody's order.

"Mom’s cooking up your bacon cheeseburger as we speak,” Lettie said as she placed a mug of hot tea in front of Little Grandma. “I’ll bring your biscuit out then, Little Grandma,” she promised.

“That’ll be good.”

The old woman gave me a warm smile. “Your store has been keeping you very busy. I haven’t seen you in ages. Chloe and Zarek brought in Olivia the other day. She’s a beautiful baby. What you did. Well, there aren’t words to say what a blessing that was.”

I blushed.

Little Grandma reached out and patted my hand. “Don’t downplay this. Not to me. It was a heartache, wrapped in a miracle, and you did it. There will be a special place in heaven for you.”

I swallowed. Luckily, Lettie came with my burger and Little Grandma’s biscuit.

I cut my burger in half, thinking if I ate it that way, it would make things a little more ladylike.

The fries were perfect. Crispy at the edges, sweet all the way through. I ate half my burger and stole three looks at her while I did it. She sipped her tea and nibbled her biscuit. When I put my burger down, she finally spoke again.

"Adam Beckett," she said finally, "is a fine man. A real fine man." She stirred a slow circle in her tea. "And that boy of his. You can tell a great deal about a father by the son he raises. James reflects very well on his daddy."

"He does," I said. "James is wonderful."

She nodded, like I'd confirmed something she already knew. "Adam is smitten with you."

I lunged for my sweet tea.

The glass was cold against my palm. I drank. I took my time about it.

"Yes, ma'am," I said.

Little Grandma watched me set the glass down. "What is holding you back from telling him?"

The question landed so gently that for a second I didn't understand it. Then I did, and my whole chest went tight.