The Soldier's Unexpected Family

by Tanya Agler

  “No, you brought up chicken wire as soon as Deb walked away. She paid you a compliment, and you changed the subject. I’m just trying to find out more about you.”

  The subtle clench of his jaw proved she was right. He didn’t like talking about himself. She picked off the corner of her scone and popped it into her mouth, the delicious strawberry flavor the perfect taste of summer.

  He replaced the paper and straightened the stack once more. She resisted the urge to reach over and throw the pile up in the air. “My father was in the military. Same as his father and so on.”

  “There must be more to your decision than it’s the ‘family business.’”

  He sipped his coffee and then craned his neck, checking on Danny, and then scoped out the entrance. “In college, I discovered I have an ear for languages. Since I’d been in ROTC as long as I could remember, the choice was obvious.”

  She broke off another piece of her scone and savored the flavors. “Were Cathy and your father in the accident before or after you enlisted?”

  “Long after. I wouldn’t have enlisted if Shelby had still been a minor.”

  That said so much about his character. She polished off her scone. “How will a little boy fit into your life on base? Who will take care of him if you’re called away to another overseas assignment?”

  From the way he recoiled, she knew her point hit home. The tension between them was back, but this time the flutters in her stomach weren’t hunger and they weren’t nerves. Instead, she liked the man sitting across from her, and that scared her.

  There was something in his face that bolstered her opinion, signaling the feeling was mutual, but she couldn’t allow that. Danny rushed back to the table, his eyes lighting up at the hot chocolate and sausage biscuit in front of the empty chair.

  “I like hot cocoa in summer, too, just like Aunt Natalie.” Danny smiled at her, and her heart squeezed at the prospect of not seeing that sweet grin every day. Already this year there had been too many days when he didn’t smile. “Have you thought of a story about my mommy yet?”

  Natalie glanced at Aidan. He met her gaze head-on, that spark close to becoming a full sizzling current. When she’d allowed one military man into her heart, his death had devastated her. This soldier held the fate of someone dear to her heart in his hands, and extinguishing the flame before anyone suffered irreparable scarring was best for all involved. As hard as it was for her to shutter her feelings, almost impossible as she’d never had to do so before, she averted her eyes and picked up the top sheet from the stack.

  She reached for her tote hanging off the chair and rummaged through it until she found what she was looking for, a red pencil. She sketched her adjustments while Danny repeated his question about Aidan’s secret. Her ears perked up.

  “There’s something about your mom that’s important for you to know. Your mother was like me, and she liked to plan everything...”

  “That was strike two, remember? Ernk.” Danny made the sound, though no laugh followed.

  She tightened her grip on the pencil. As hard as it was for her not to blurt out the custodial arrangements, so Danny could hear it from her lips rather than Aidan’s, she kept silent. Their deal had to go both ways.

  “You have a good memory. I...” Once again, hesitation halted the major’s forward progress. He scrubbed his clean-shaven jaw with his hand and downed the rest of his coffee as though caffeine was liquid courage. “Shelby threw her whole heart into organizing events. One time she asked your grandma, Cathy, for twenty dollars but wouldn’t say why. Your grandfather didn’t want Cathy to give Shelby the money, but Cathy believed in your mom. She told your grandfather that Shelby must have a good reason for the money and we had to trust her. A week later, Shelby surprised all of us with a family picnic. She’d prepared all the food from scratch.”

  That sounded like Shelby to the core. Creating a plan while keeping everyone in the dark about her ultimate goal. It wasn’t until Shelby had arrived in Hollydale, lease in hand, that she’d confided the truth about Snickerdoodles to Natalie, saying she didn’t want to jinx anything.

  The pencil point snapped, and Natalie flinched. Her friend’s ulterior motive in naming her and Aidan as co-guardians wasn’t apparent to her, and she was sure it wasn’t apparent to Aidan either.

  This time, however, there was much more at stake than twenty dollars. It was a little boy’s heart.

  * * *

  AIDAN STEPPED OUTSIDE The Busy Bean. The sun shone full on his face, warming him after the cool, air-conditioned interior of the coffeehouse. Summer had always been his favorite season. The amount of daylight bolstered his reserves, allowing him to get more acclimated after long winters at the base wherever he was stationed. All around Hollydale, the vibrant colors of the season greeted him. Perennials in dark purple and bright yellow lined the walk from the building to the street. The patriotic red, white and blue of the street banner announcing the parade and other festivities for the Fourth touched something he hadn’t connected with in quite a while. Considering he’d arrived on empty, that wasn’t hard.

  Hollydale could grow on him if he let it, the memories of his grandmother’s farm returning full tilt. Early mornings, fresh eggs and milk, and her cheerful bustle as she cooked breakfast and finished her chores so they could drive into town in the afternoon. For a special treat, she’d taken him to a matinee complete with popcorn and soda. The brick storefronts of the surrounding businesses on Timber Road resembled those of his grandmother’s hometown, except for the new renovations that propelled him back to the present. He kept searching their shadows, finding nothing out of place.

  Danny skipped ahead on the sidewalk, leading the way to his friend’s house, where he’d spend this Thursday afternoon while Aidan and Natalie worked on the float. Other volunteers from the school would be joining them to help with decorations for Natalie’s theme, “Reaching for the Stars.” A good message for young students. The words to tell his nephew how much he cared had been on the tip of his tongue. Then again, he’d best wait. He’d made Natalie a promise to let Danny become reacquainted with him again. Promises meant everything to him.

  They turned onto Main Street. “Hold up a second, Danny.” Natalie stopped in front of the River Art Gallery. “Come look at this painting. See how your eye is drawn to the primary colors, yet there’s much more there.”

  Aidan contemplated the canvas, then turned his gaze on Natalie. The same could be said for her. There was more to her than what was on the surface. From her interaction with Gigi, it was obvious she cared for her students. He’d bet she was one of those teachers whose name her students would remember long after they finished school.

  The sun glinted off her auburn hair, the gold highlights as vibrant as Natalie. Somehow, she conjured up happy endings, summer mornings and flights of fancy, seemingly untouched by the complexity of the real world. With her around, it almost seemed possible to balance the light and the dark, grief and joy. However, harsh lessons always infiltrated. He’d found routine the best answer to getting through the day without resorting to the messiness Natalie favored. His father had taught him that, while navigating the rough patch after his mother died. Consistency is the hallmark of strength, his father said, greeting him the same way every morning. Aidan thought he might start Danny’s day the same way. It would keep his nephew safe and help him become a man Shelby would be proud of.

  “You met Lucie already. She’s one of my best friends.” Natalie’s voice broke him out of his reverie.

  Is everyone Natalie’s best friend?

  “She’s great with kids and animals.”

  “I thought the idea, though, was for Danny and me to spend time together.” Aidan started walking and fixed his gaze on his nephew as Natalie presented more dangers than enemy territory.

  “Her husband, Caleb, organized this outing a while ago. He’s showing them his metal detector and
letting them use it. When he was dating Lucie, Mattie found a coffee tin with toy soldiers and an antique watch. I don’t want to disappoint Danny. He loves all of Lucie’s pets. And the twins are great.” Natalie stayed by his side, pointing out tidbits about each of the buildings and the people who worked in them.

  “Glad we’re doing this today, then. I can only be at the bed-and-breakfast for the length of my original stay. Monday I’m moving into Shelby’s house temporarily.”

  Four days from now, the local Realtor would meet him so he could sign papers to list the house. Danny skipped ahead, and Aidan continued sweeping the area. The architectural cornices of the government buildings on Main Street caught his eye before the downtown district gave way to a residential section.

  The rhythmic humming of lawn mowers provided a steady buzz, the aroma of fresh-cut grass filling the air. They passed a yard filled with wind chimes of every imaginable color and size. He stopped in sheer fascination. Blue metal elephants graced one tree branch while a sun and moon twirled on another. One with glass prisms caught the rays of the sun, splaying rainbows on the sidewalk.

  He counted twenty-eight when Natalie finally tugged at his arm. “Come on. Hurry up!”

  A window on the lower story of the white carriage house swung open. A woman with long curly gray hair tied back with a wide tie-dyed headband stuck out her upper body and waved her arms. “Yoo-hoo!”

  Natalie muttered something under her breath, the first time he’d seen her out-of-sorts, and sighed. “She’s one of my favorite people, but she likes to talk.” She cupped her hands to the sides of her heart-shaped face. “Hold up, Danny.”

  The woman shut the window, the shrubs under it perfect green boxes of hollyhocks. In less than a minute, the bright blue front door opened, and she appeared, swaths of dress fabric whirling about her legs. “Aren’t you Major Murphy?”

  He almost snapped to attention. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Stay right there. Don’t move a muscle.” The woman ran back inside, slamming the door behind her.

  Aidan’s muscles twitched. He blinked and glanced at Natalie. She placed her arms around Danny’s shoulders, his brown hair, so like Shelby’s, ruffling in the breeze. “Get comfortable. We’ll be here a while.”

  Danny wriggled out of her grasp. “Which wind chime is your favorite, Uncle Aidan?”

  He scanned the yard. The simple gray metal one appealed to him with its austerity. Then a bright sunflower one made of stained glass caught his eye. It had shiny copper chimes. Sunflowers had been his mother and grandmother’s favorite flower. He pointed at it. “That one.”

  “I like that one, too.” Danny clapped and jumped up and down.

  The woman emerged, carrying a cake carrier. “Major M., it’s a pleasure to meet you. Welcome to Hollydale. If there’s anything I can do to be of service, please don’t hesitate to ask. Having someone active in the army is going to light up our Fourth. Do you like red velvet cake? It was my husband’s favorite. He said no one in North Carolina made red velvet cake like me.”

  His mind reeled at the speed with which she delivered all of that without stopping for a single breath. He accepted the carrier. “Um, thank you, but I didn’t expect anything, Mrs....”

  “Hyacinth Hennessy. If you don’t like red velvet cake, I have a hummingbird cake that makes the sirens sing.”

  Her chirpy voice reminded him of a bird, but since he wasn’t sure what hummingbird cake was, he’d stick with this one. “Thank you for the welcome. Appreciate it.”

  “Don’t mention it. Friends stick together. Any friend of Natalie’s is a friend of mine. People are like nature in that respect. Plants grow best with tender loving care. Take my roses—”

  Natalie rushed over and patted Hyacinth’s arm. “Aidan will be here a month. He has a full schedule, what with helping me with the float this afternoon and then moving into Shelby’s house on Monday.”

  “You’re moving into Mommy’s house? Does this mean you’re staying forever?” Danny’s eyes grew wide and he rushed over and threw his arms around Aidan’s middle. It was all Aidan could do not to drop the cake.

  Hyacinth reached for the carrier, and Aidan let go and hugged Danny back. For a second, he closed his eyes and reveled in having his nephew’s arms around him. He might not have much experience with children, but he wanted to be a part of every aspect of Danny’s life. “My leave is only for a month.”

  Danny’s body tensed, and he let go as Aidan opened his eyes. “Oh.”

  That one word said so much more. Once Danny moved to his new home at Fort Lewis, they’d adjust to this new normal together. He caught Natalie’s gaze, her clouded expression at odds with her sunny openness.

  Hyacinth fluttered about like a hummingbird, handing him the cake carrier again. “Do you do much gardening, Major M.?”

  What does gardening have to do with cake? “Can’t say I have the time.”

  “It’s very restful. My husband was a military man, air force, you know. At first, he was skeptical of the benefits of gardening until he studied it in depth. That was his character, always learning, always striving for knowledge.” Hyacinth’s hands kept moving, flapping like a bird’s wings. “Soil composition, new composting methods, optimal placement for sunlight. He loved the challenges.”

  Aidan nodded and now understood why Natalie had urged him to hurry. He held up the cake carrier. “Thanks for the cake.”

  Hyacinth waggled her finger at him and planted herself in his path. “Yet for all his planning, there’s so much more to gardening, you see. There’s so much life teeming underground, but the time and effort to bring forth beautiful blossoms are worth it. When the flowers bloom and the yard is a riotous wonder of color, I love to come out here with a slice of pie and revel in nature’s beauty. You have to take the time, though, and see the whole picture. A month is nothing to military men, but it’s an eternity for a gardener. We’re patient and see more than what’s on the surface, you know. Enjoy the cake, Major M. You, too, Natalie. Say hello to your folks and Becks and Mike for me, won’t you?”

  She flounced along her front path until she disappeared inside, away from view. Aidan glanced at Natalie, unsure of what had transpired.

  Natalie reached for Danny’s hand. “If we’re lucky, maybe your uncle Aidan will share his bounty with us.” She glanced at him and winked. “I have a feeling, though, that’s just a taste of what’s to come.”

  “What do you mean?”

  She only laughed. “You’ll see.”

  * * *

  AIDAN RAN HIS hand along the cool metal of the toolbox, content with a few hours of honest labor ahead of him on the float. He needed to lose himself in sweat and exertion. Hollydale had him turned every which way. A coffeehouse owner who gave away strawberry scones as a thank-you for doing his job. A gardener who gave away a red velvet cake for the same reason. Thank goodness Natalie’s friend hadn’t given him Ethel, although the miniature pig had made a positive impression on him.

  This sense of community overwhelmed him, and he wasn’t used to it. Despite his training and the camaraderie he found in the service, the warmth of Hollydale was something special, something different. People in this town surprised him with their kindness, and he didn’t like surprises.

  Aidan snapped open the lid to the toolbox and located the laser pointer and measuring tape. Palming both, he closed the box and headed toward the trailer chassis, the shouts from the splash park a dull enough roar not to disturb his attention. Movement in the picnic pavilion caught his eye. Some of Natalie’s teacher friends were off in the distance creating wooden crates to decorate with hawks on one side for the elementary school mascot and stars on the other for the front of the float. In spite of himself, his gaze was drawn to Natalie, a picture of summer in her sundress and gladiator sandals.

  Through it all, Danny responded to her like a moth to a porch light. How would A
idan be able to console Danny for losing Natalie’s presence in his everyday life? Would he have to stay connected to her, to the town, for Danny’s sake? He strode the rest of the way to the chassis, whipped open the measuring tape and glanced at the plans. At the front would be the mascot boxes and at the back, crates decorated in primary colors with numbers painted on them. In the middle would stand the overarching display of a rainbow of stars. First he had to ascertain the distance from the trailer platform to the ground in order to know the dimensions of the apron frame, which would then accommodate Natalie’s chicken-wire-tissue creation that would decorate the sides, hiding the wheels and frame.

  Nearby a car door slammed with an excessive amount of force. He jerked up, sizing up any threat to the immediate area.

  An older woman in a red polo shirt and blue jean capris stormed toward him with a cake carrier. What was it with the residents of Hollydale? Did they always walk around with homemade cakes? He glanced around, wondering who her target was. She zeroed in on him and pointed toward the picnic tables.

  “Major Murphy, I presume. Join me at the pavilion.” She held up the cake carrier. Although her fluffy gray hair projected the image of everyone’s favorite grandmother, her no-nonsense demeanor reminded him of his first drill sergeant. “I’m Belinda Chastain, better known as the Pie Queen in these parts.”

  He sighed and placed the tools and plans atop the trailer platform. With the constant interruptions, this float might be ready for the Christmas parade.

  There was a hint of bemusement on Natalie’s face. “So, you happened to be in the neighborhood with your famous three-layer lemon coconut cake?”

  Belinda shot her a look of pure disdain, which would have made him drop and give her twenty pushups in boot camp. “Don’t be impertinent or I’ll order Major Murphy not to share.”

  “Aidan.” He lowered his shirtsleeves and folded his arms. “Another member of the Welcome Wagon, I presume?”