Closing Time

by Brenda Chapman

  Tonight they were both exhausted, and he hoped they’d be able to sleep through the night for the first time in a long while. At eleven o’clock, he let Minny outside for her last run around the yard, then locked up the house and climbed the stairs to bed.

  Dawn was lying on her back, sound asleep, when he looked in on her. He tiptoed over to her bed and gently removed the textbook from her hand and set it on the night table. He pulled the covers up over her and turned off the light. Moonlight shone in through the open window, and he stood looking at her for a moment more before withdrawing and pulling the door closed behind him. He entered Kala’s bedroom and stripped out of his clothes and got under the covers. Minny flopped down on her favourite spot on the carpet. He closed his eyes, not expecting to fall asleep without the usual tossing and turning even though every muscle in his body ached with fatigue.

  His eyes snapped open and he took a moment to realize that he’d awoken from a deep sleep. He could hear Minny loping down the stairs and Dawn walking around on the main floor. He lay awake, thinking about getting up to see if she was okay, but the bed was warm and he dozed off again. When his eyes snapped open a second time, the room was still in darkness. He rolled over and looked at the clock. Quarter to three.

  Minny wasn’t in her usual place next to his bed. He listened for movement somewhere in the house and thought he heard a noise downstairs. Was Dawn still roaming around, unable to sleep? He couldn’t ignore her insomnia any longer. He sat up and threw off the covers, grabbing his housecoat from where he’d thrown it on the chair.

  He was surprised to see Dawn asleep in her bed and hesitated in the doorway, looking for Minny. The dog never strayed far from him at night, and now he worried that she was sick. He walked as quietly as he could across the landing and downstairs. Two dogs greeted him in the hallway, tails wagging and tongues out to lick his hands. Joy replaced the trepidation in his chest.

  “Kala?” he called.

  He found her stretched out on the couch, but she sat up when she saw him. “I didn’t want to wake you,” she said, holding her arms open wide. He sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her. She kissed him and pressed her body into his.

  “When did you get in?” he asked when they both came up for air.

  “An hour ago. I stopped a few times en route and took a catnap in a truck stop north of Toronto. It’s been a long week.”

  “It’s been a long month.” He reached to turn on a lamp so that he could see her face, but she put a restraining hand on his arm.

  “Leave it off. Let’s go to bed. I can fill you in tomorrow morning.”

  The dogs padded up the stairs ahead of them. Kala crawled into bed before him and was lying on her side snoring softly when Gundersund wrapped an arm over her hip and around her stomach. He kissed the nape of her neck and matched his breathing to hers.

  When he next woke, he was alone. He could hear Dawn and Kala talking in the kitchen, and the smell of bacon frying wafted upstairs. He lay still for a while, enjoying the sound of their voices and letting himself believe that Kala had come home for good. He jumped out of bed when he couldn’t stand being away from them a moment longer and threw on jeans and a sweatshirt.

  He entered the kitchen and the dogs padded over to greet him. Dawn was smiling when she turned from scrambling eggs at the stove. “Take a seat, Gundersund. Breakfast is almost ready.”

  Kala poured him a cup of coffee and brushed against him when she set it down on the table. She poured herself a cup of herbal tea from the pot and sat next to him while Dawn served. Gundersund watched Kala’s face while they ate. The bluish shadows under her eyes could be from fatigue, but he wasn’t sure what caused the sadness. She caught his eye once and looked down at the table, as if trying to evade his scrutiny. She’d pushed the bacon and eggs around on her plate and had only eaten half a piece of toast.

  “Is everything okay?” Dawn asked.

  Kala smiled at her. “Everything is fine. I’m tired from the past few weeks.”

  Gundersund felt the familiar unease deep in his belly. She was with them for the moment, but was she only here to tell them that she’d be leaving again? He finished eating without an appetite and poured a second cup of coffee while Dawn and Kala walked the dogs to the beach. He took his coffee and laptop outside onto the deck and read emails and the news, trying to keep his mind occupied while he waited for their return.

  A half hour later, Kala and Dawn strolled arm in arm across the lawn with the dogs sticking close by. Kala joined him on the steps while Dawn went indoors to study. She leaned against him and wrapped an arm around his neck.

  “The second woman died from her burns,” he said, opening his laptop to show the news story to her.

  Stonechild took the laptop and read silently. She handed the laptop back to him. “I got an email last night from Clark. The cadaver dog located the second body. Martha died in the fire, so it was Petra who got out, but she was in bad shape. Her death might be a blessing in the long run. She was in for a lifetime of pain and disfigurement. The fire was deliberately set in the kitchen.”

  “So one of these two women killed in the fire committed the other two murders?”

  “Certainly looks that way.” Stonechild pulled back and turned her body sideways on the step so that she was facing him.

  “I have to tell you something,” she said.

  “Tell me.”

  She took a deep breath. “I was foolish and won’t expect you to pay for my mistake. I thought about what to do for a long time …”

  He groaned and cut her off. “Tell me what you’re talking about, Stonechild. I can’t take any more suspense.”

  “All right, but you might regret this when you hear.” She gave a half smile and took a second deep breath, letting the air out slowly before saying, “I’m pregnant. Nearly three months.” She held up a hand to stop him from talking. “Now I know you don’t want kids and I’m not sure I’ll be a good mother, but I’ve decided that I’m keeping the baby. I did a lot of soul-searching and know this is the right thing to do. Turns out, I want to have a child. You don’t have to feel tied down by my —”

  “What?” Her words were cut off by his shout. He picked her up off her feet and kissed her mouth. “Are you crazy, woman? I’ve wanted a child as long as I can remember.”

  She blinked. “I thought you didn’t want kids.”

  “Whatever gave you that idea?”

  “You said that you were glad Fiona never got pregnant.”

  “Only because she wasn’t the right one and our lives would have been so messy when we split. A child with you is … perfect. I’ve never wanted anything more in my life.” He sat down and pulled her into his lap. He rubbed a hand up and down her back. “Are you feeling okay? Is everything good with the baby? Can I do anything?”

  She laughed at his joy and his worry and held his face with both her hands. She kissed his mouth, his cheeks, and his neck before lifting her head to stare into his eyes. “Everything is perfect,” she said. “Turns out my body is made for this kind of action.” She pulled back. “Are you crying?”

  “No.” He wiped a hand across his eyes. “But if I were, they’d be tears of happiness.”

  “You can’t imagine how wonderful all this feels. I was so torn about even telling you and now … now I realize how wrong I was to doubt in us.”

  He was silent. His finger traced the line of her jaw as his eyes held hers. “I’m in this with you for the long haul, Stonechild. Never doubt that again. And if you need to get away alone to recharge, I can keep the home fires burning.” He kissed her. “Should we go tell Dawn she’s about to become a babysitter?”

  Kala laughed. “What every teenager wants to hear.”

  “She’s not just any teenager. And this won’t be just any baby. She’ll be the best of both of us. There’ll be no stopping her.”

  “She?”

  “Okay. Or he, but I’m thinking girl. We have to go break the news to Rouleau and Henri.
” Gundersund started across the deck then stopped and leapt back to kiss her. The dogs were jumping around him, barking with tails wagging. He held her by both shoulders. “I’ll get Dawn. You wait here.” He took a step, turned. “Rest while I’m gone,” he said. “I’ll bring more tea.”

  She watched him go as she lowered herself onto the steps. “And so it begins,” she said to Taiku and Minny, who were watching her from their vigil in front of the patio door. Taiku’s tail thumped on the deck at the sound of her voice and he came over and rested his head on her leg. She rubbed his ears and smiled when he licked her hand. “Looks like we’ve come home, boy,” she said. She looked out across the property, past the garden that she and Dawn had tended all summer, to the thick copse of trees and the lake beyond. Soon, her child would be playing on this stretch of grass, growing tall and strong in the sunshine. There would be no more hold from past foster homes or the aching loneliness; she could finally let go of the past and let her love for Gundersund and Dawn and this baby growing inside her fill all the hollows and cracks, until she became whole and strong and — at long last — embraced with every fibre of her being the family she’d searched so long to find.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Closing Time is the seventh and final book in the Stonechild and Rouleau series. This is both bittersweet and satisfying — Kala, Jacques, and the other main characters met every challenge I’ve thrown at them and developed distinct personalities and quirks with every book. I’m sad to see their stories end, having thoroughly enjoyed writing about these characters over the past several years.

  The setting for Closing Time is closer to my own childhood neck of the woods in northern Ontario, and while Searchmont and most of the other locations in this story are real, Pine Hollow Lodge and the lake it’s situated on are entirely fictional. I would also say that if you’ve never made the car trip from the Soo around Lake Superior to Thunder Bay, you’ve missed out on one beautiful stretch of scenery and should definitely put this drive on your bucket list.

  I have many people to thank. First, thank you to the Dundurn team for your continued work and support: Shannon Whibbs for so capably editing the last three books in the series, Jenny McWha, Laura Boyle, Kathryn Lane, Rachel Spence, Melissa Kawaguchi, and publicist Elham Ali. My thanks also to Dundurn president and publisher Scott Fraser, for continuing Kirk Howard’s legacy of telling Canadian tales.

  Since my first book was published in 2004, I’ve met and made friends with many people in the book industry, including authors, booksellers, bookstore owners, agents, publicists, and publishers. My life has been richer for every encounter. I’ve also gotten to know so many readers, both at events and through your personal notes — this continual support, feedback, and friendship mean everything. I would like to particularly acknowledge all the support I’ve received from my friends at the Granite Curling Club of West Ottawa.

  Finally, thank you to my family: my husband, Ted, and daughters Lisa and Julia Weagle; Donna Blake and Laura Russell; Steve, Lorraine, and Dylan Chapman; and Ian and Cynthia Black.

  On to the next adventure!