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sharing her mother’s house bothered her. She squelched her protest in favor of bringing the focus back to Joe’s problem.
    “Don’t forget to put Christy on the prayer chain.” Carly grabbed a chair and pulled it under the umbrella’s shade.
    “I’ll get the word out. Is Nick involved?”
    “He doesn’t know yet. I called and got his voice mail. If he doesn’t call soon, I’ll call him again.” She accepted the glass of tea Kay handed her. “Have you talked to him lately, Mom?”
    “Not for a couple of weeks. He seems to be having a difficult time with his rehabilitation.” Her mother settled back into her seat and sipped her own tea.
    “That’s an understatement. What’s wrong with him? He’s the one always saying God will work things out. He doesn’t seem to believe that about his hip. I can’t talk to him anymore.” She took a sip and then held the glass to her forehead. The cool liquid was soothing inside and out.
    Jack tapped on the table to get Kay’s attention and began to sign furiously.
    Carly watched as the two conversed. “What’s he saying?”
    “He says Nick needs time. He might never walk normally again, and he can’t accept the prospect of being handicapped. He’s afraid to get close to you again, afraid you’ll reject him if he’s handicapped.”
    “Has Nick told Jack that?” Carly felt her face flush hotter than it already was from the weather. First Joe with his theory about Nick. And now Jack was telling her the same thing—that Nick was basically having a panic attack and taking it out on her. If he really believed she’d abandon him, what did that say about how shallow he thought she was?
    There was more signing before Kay continued. “He didn’t have to say anything. Jack knows the feeling. When he was seventeen, a girlfriend broke his heart, saying she couldn’t live with his disability. He knows what Nick is going through and thinks that right now he feels like less of a man. Jack is sure we just need to be patient and let Nick work things out; he’ll come around.”
    “This is silly! Nick should know that it wouldn’t matter to me if he never walks right again. I mean, I’d be sad for him, but it wouldn’t change my feelings.”
    “Let him process; let him adjust.”
    Carly thought for a moment before voicing the question that pierced her. She had, after all, trusted Nick with her heart—
again
. He’d crushed it once. Was she setting herself up for another fall? “What if he doesn’t?”
    Jack answered her with one definitive gesture, which Kay translated.
    “He will.”
    • • •
    The cooling tea and comfort of sitting in her mother’s backyard relaxed Carly to the point where she began to nod off. She said her good-byes and headed the two blocks home.
    Andrea’s space was empty, so Carly assumed she was at work. At least I won’t have to dodge any showering men today. Carly yawned as she walked through the courtyard and waved to Mrs. Shane, the across-the-courtyard neighbor. A widow who’d moved in about three months ago, she liked to sit outside her door in a rocking chair. Carly could count on her being there whenever she got back from work late. Mrs. Shane would go inside for lunch and then be back for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Occasionally she’d stop Carly and ask about her day. Andrea thought the woman was nosy and avoided her. But Carly figured she was just lonely.
    Any other day Carly might have struck up a conversation. But today she opened her front door, stepped inside, closed it, and leaned against it, sighing and shaking her head. I hate having this problem hanging in the air between Andi and me. It made her glad for the distraction her dog provided. Maddie was at the door, tail wagging and tongue hanging out.
    “Ohh, sweetie, I’m glad to see you too.” She dropped her equipment bag and fell to her knees to hug the dog. When she got up, she checked the communication chalkboard she and Andi kept on the fridge. Andi