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for that dig without touching a hair on her head.
    “Uh… Well, I…”
    “Oh. Gotta go. I’m next,” Lily said, and wheeled her cart right up to the counter and began unloading her groceries.
    LilyAnn was so mad she was shaking, but she wouldn’t let on. She carried on a conversation with Gladys as she paid for her things, but didn’t remember a single word of what they’d said by the time she got outside.
    The air was sharp, and the sun was about to set. If she hurried, she would get home before dark. And if she didn’t, it wouldn’t matter. This was Saturday night, the night when a good number of the citizens had places to go and people to see. It wasn’t like she’d be walking a dark street alone.
    Her stride was long as she headed for home with the bags bumping against the sides of her legs. The first five blocks weren’t so bad, but the wind was picking up, and with the sun about to disappear, the temperature was dropping with it.
    As she was approaching another intersection, she heard the sounds of a vehicle braking and someone calling out her name. She turned to look and then smiled as Mike came running. He took the sacks out of her hands.
    “Get in the car before you freeze to death, woman.”
    She didn’t have to be told twice. She jumped in the front seat as he put her bags in the back, and then off they went.
    “Did you have car trouble, honey?” he asked.
    “No. I just felt like walking and forgot I was going to get groceries. Totally my bad. Thanks for stopping. It was getting cold.”
    “Any time,” he said, then slammed on the brakes just as a shiny, black pickup truck ran a stop sign and sped through the intersection in front of them.
    LilyAnn recognized the truck and the driver and shivered just a little as the sound of that hot-rod engine rattled her senses.
    “Stupid jerk,” Mike muttered.
    Lily blinked. She didn’t like to think that T. J. Lachlan might be a stupid jerk with flaws, but he had been speeding.
    “Yeah, dumb,” she said, and looked away as they drove on through.
    A couple of minutes later, Mike pulled up in her driveway.
    “You go unlock the door. I’ll get your groceries,” he said.
    She did as he asked, then held the door aside as he carried her things inside.
    “In the kitchen?” he asked.
    “Please,” Lily said, and followed him in.
    He set the bags on the counter and couldn’t help but notice the amount of healthy stuff she’d bought. He didn’t say anything, but he was pleased. Yet another sign that she was serious about change. If only he could figure out how to insinuate himself into her sights.
    She was already putting up groceries and missed the look of longing on his face.
    “Is there anything else you need me to do?” he asked.
    “Uh… no, oh, wait! I almost forgot. Do you already have plans for Thanksgiving?”
    Mike’s heart leaped. “No. Are you inviting me to dinner?”
    She nodded. “Yes. Mama and Eddie are coming, and Mama wanted me to invite you.”
    Disappointment shredded the little bit of hope he’d just felt.
    “Your mama said to invite me?”
    “Yes. Hand me those bananas, will you?”
    He dropped them in her hand.
    “What about you, LilyAnn? Do you want me to come to dinner, too?”
    Lily looked up and frowned. “Well, of course. What a silly question.”
    “Yeah, silly questions are my specialty,” he muttered. “So if you don’t need anything I’ll get out of your hair.”
    He walked out without saying good-bye.
    “Thanks for the ride,” she yelled, but all she heard was the door slam. She shrugged and promptly forgot about it.
    ***
    The Sunday morning ritual for most of Blessings was about the same—breakfast, then church, or early church, then brunch.
    It all depended on the denomination. LilyAnn was a member of the Wesley United Methodist Church, and there was never a question of if she was going to church. It was simply a question of which service.
    When she was little, her parents had taken her to the last