by Sally John
“Body cast.” Marsha shuddered. “Do I get to hear the full story now?”
Maggie shook her head. “There may be a lawsuit, and Gina is just coming to terms with a job change. It’s not a topic for discussion yet. What concerns me is that she really hasn’t cried about it. That’s not normal. I mean, her whole life has been turned upside down.”
“She’ll reach the end of her rope, and the tears will come.” Marsha dried her hands on her apron and sat down at the table. “I can’t believe you’re going to be here an entire month. You know I really appreciate it. You’re always such a help to me.”
Maggie smiled. “And you’re always such a help to me. Isn’t it strange how life has kept you and me apart?”
“What’s really strange is how we’re living out each other’s dreams. I’m on a farm where you wanted to be, and you’re far away from Valley Oaks with a sophisticated career.”
“Like you wanted to be.” Tears sprang to her eyes. “Why didn’t we get our dreams, Marsh?”
Her sister went to the counter and brought back a box of tissues. “I call it chance journeys, Maggie. God takes us on these different routes, not the ones we think we want, but the ones that are best for us. I am so content and at peace with this life, I could pop.”
“Well, I’m not like that with mine.”
“You, dear sister, don’t count right now. As you said, you’re out of sync with yourself.” She paused. “Maggie, you know God loves you.”
“I should know. You’ve told me often enough.” She smiled through her tears and blew her nose. “But what does that mean exactly?”
“It means you’re important to Him. Between Gina’s accident, your instability, and Reece being Reece, you’re going through an extremely difficult time. God listens and He comforts.”
“What do you mean, ‘Reece being Reece’?”
Her sister sighed. “If he can’t fix something, he avoids it. It’s what makes him so successful business-wise. Fair enough?”
Maggie shrugged.
“This is a long healing period for both you and Gina. Has he been traveling more than usual?”
Well, that would be hard to determine. “When he’s around, he tries.”
“I know he does. He’s a good man, but at a time like this, his personality may leave something to be desired.”
A chill flowed through her. Marsha had struck a chord, one Maggie didn’t want to linger on. She changed the subject. “I went to the cemetery. Your roses are beautiful.”
“My roses?” Marsha looked puzzled.
“On the grave.”
“I didn’t put any roses there.”
They stared at each other for a moment. “Who, then?”
Marsha shrugged. “Beats me.” The clock ticked away the seconds. “Did you tell Gina?”
Maggie shook her head.
“She’s met Brady, you know. Things will come out.”
She sighed. “I know. Better from me than someone else. I will. Soon.” It was one of the ghosts from the past, one she was determined to eliminate. “I’ll make time tomorrow.” She sighed again. Maybe she should write a to-do list. A to-do list of ghosts.
“Come on, Magpie.” Marsha stood. “It’s time for Aunt Lottie’s party.”
Six
Lottie’s grandson Alec Sutton and his family lived in a big old farmhouse, although they were not farmers. Some years ago the town had expanded out to the place, eating up farmland along the way. Still, their home provided the old-fashioned amenities of a large kitchen and a private, rambling backyard that ended in someone else’s cornfields. It was the perfect place for a large family birthday dinner.
Brady climbed from his truck and pulled out his bachelor contribution to the potluck: a bag of chips and two six-packs of cold pop. He headed down the gravel drive full of parked vehicles toward the backyard, then rounded the corner of the house. Groups of noisy people were scattered about, sitting at picnic tables or in lawn chairs. Babies rolled on blankets, toddlers crawled through the grass, older children played badminton. Under an old, solitary tree stood Gina Philips, staring up at the oak’s canopy of green leaves.
He meandered through the groups, greeting several acquaintances. Someone relieved him of his food. He kept one eye on Gina, preparing to greet her. Might as well get it over with.
Her hair was twisted up off of her neck with some sort of tortoise-shell-type clip. She wore a pale yellow T-shirt and blue jeans. He wondered why she didn’t wear shorts like most of the women did on such a warm afternoon. She couldn’t be self-conscious about her slender shape. Maybe it had something to do with the limp, something she didn’t want to call attention to? It wasn’t exactly an obvious gait, rather subtle, more of a favoring one leg over the other. Now, as in the library, she stood leaning on the right foot.
He stepped beside her. “How’s it going?”
She didn’t turn, just continued staring upward. “Well, I finally found an oak tree. One solitary oak in the entire town. It does not explain why this place is called Valley Oaks.”
“Hmm. Maybe you’re looking in the wrong place.”
“I’ve seen every square block. It takes about two minutes.”
He bristled at her cutting remark about the town, then reminded himself it was true. “Is there something up there?” He studied the leaves above them.
“A bird. Hear that song?”
He listened a moment. “Like a squeaky swing?”
She looked at him then, her eyebrows raised as if in surprise. “Yes. I can’t find it. What is it?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Just part of the summer song. Like the frogs and cicadas and crickets.”
She turned again to the tree. “It’s an exquisite tree, all by itself here,” she murmured.
He stared at her upturned face and wondered where the porcupine had gone.
“Brady!” His good friend Vic approached. They slapped each other’s shoulders and shook hands. “Glad you could make it. Gram will appreciate it. Well, I hear you and Gina are paired up for the big wingding.”
“Yep,” he agreed, smiling inwardly at the panicked expression that crossed her face. “We’re just getting acquainted here.”
“I’ll let you get back at it. Just wanted to ask if you’d help me out at the grill in awhile?”
“Sure, be glad to.”
“Thanks. Well, Gina, you’re in good hands. He and I go way back.” Vic sauntered off.
Brady turned toward her. “Way back, as in tricycle days.”
“Not as in cousins? Everyone else here is some sort of relative.” She cocked an eyebrow.
He had never seen anyone raise just one brow. She was clearly challenging his right to be here. He decided to ignore her snooty remark and not defend himself. “Speaking of being related, can you figure out how you can tell if you’re in the Midwest?” Brady studied her, wondering what the porcupine would do. Would she have the audacity to just walk away?
She broke the eye contact and tucked a stray piece of hair behind an ear.
He noticed her tiny gold hoop earrings. He hadn’t realized before how tall she was or how fit she looked in a T-shirt and jeans. Her eye makeup was subtle, her face fresh in its natural state. A trace of rosy gloss outlined the somber pose of her lips.
She met his gaze. “You know you’re in the Midwest if every other person you meet is your cousin.”
He nodded. “Not bad. I think you’re getting the hang of it.”
She rolled her eyes.
Heads up! Porcupine is back.
“But you,” she said, “and my second or third or whatever cousin Vic is, are just friends?” Her cool tone indicated that friendship wasn’t quite enough to warrant including him in today’s family gathering.
But she had asked a question! How long could he keep her talking? He’d give her the long version. “He and Aaron and I—”
“Aaron is your cousin, right?”
“Right. We all graduated from high school together
. Aaron and I adopted Vic’s Grandma Lottie and late Grandpa Peter. The three of us lived out in the country. Around here every country boy needs a town home to hang out in, and their door was always open for us. If we were hungry, or didn’t have time to go home between school activities, or if the snow got too deep during basketball practice, our moms knew where we’d be. Lots of good memories. One time—”
Her eyes glazed over.
“I suppose it’s hard for a big-city girl to relate.”
She lifted a shoulder and looked toward the house. “Orange County is a sprawling place. I didn’t live close to the schools, but there were always late buses and car pools.”
“And probably not much snow.”
“Uh, no. Not much snow.”
Brady glanced discreetly at his watch and crossed his arms. Could he break the earlier church basement encounter of four minutes? “Does it get this hot where you live?” He leaned against the tree.
“Hotter in the summer. The humidity seldom makes a difference, though. A hundred degrees at the Park just slows us down a bit.”
“The Park?”
She gazed out at the cornfield now, but her eyes seemed focused elsewhere. “The Wild Creatures Country. Where I work. It’s semidesert, but full of eucalyptus trees and plants. Nowhere near this green, though. This…this verdant.”
Hmm, nice vocabulary. “I think I heard that you’re a veterinarian?”
She looked at him. “You know you live in the Midwest when your car breaks down outside of town…” She didn’t finish the joke of how fast news traveled. “I really should get reacquainted with my cousins.”
“Sure.” He winked. “I’ll catch up with you later at the bowling alley.” Brady grinned at the expression on her face. It was nothing short of disbelief. He just might beat his time yet.
Gina opened her mouth as if to speak, then closed it. She turned, took a few steps, hesitated, then came back. “Look, don’t take this the wrong way, but I really don’t need to be part of a pair except for the wedding ceremony itself. All right?”
There was only one way to take her huffy comment. But Brady, always slow to give in to his temper, chose the teasing route…again. “I get it. You must be engaged to some possessive-type guy?”
“No!” Her face flushed. “It’s just… just…” she sputtered, then pressed her lips together.
He straightened his posture and uncrossed his arms. Maybe they’d better get it over with, dredge up the past that wasn’t really their personal past, but one that still affected them both. “Hey, I don’t know what your mother told you, but—”
“My mother?” Her voice rose.
He took a deep breath. On second thought, this really wasn’t the place. “Gina, I’m just trying to be friendly. I promised Aaron.”
“Yeah, well, I promised Lauren.” Her face was flushed, but she lowered her voice. “That makes us even. Let’s just do it from a distance, okay?”
“Okay. Fine with me.”
“Great!” She walked away.
Good golly, she is the prickliest woman I have ever met! And the most unnerving! If he had been alone, he would have kicked the tree. He gritted his teeth.
Sorry, Lord. I take back the porcupine remark. She’s an out-and-out thorn. From You, I suppose?
My mother?
Fighting down the urge to stomp, Gina tried to walk casually across the yard, away from the insufferable Brady Olafsson.
What did he mean about what my mother said? What does my mother have to do with any of this? Oh!
The guy was either just down-home hokey or extremely desperate for a date. Whichever, he was annoying, and she wanted no part of him. Catch me at the bowling alley? Unbelievable!
All she wanted during the next few weeks was some special time with Lauren, her Aunt Marsha, and Great-Aunt Lottie. She wanted to enjoy her cousin’s wedding and become acquainted with all the rest of her cousins. She wanted time to stand undisturbed under an oak tree and listen to a bird’s odd song. And she wanted time to contemplate her future.
Is that asking too much?
She climbed the back steps and entered the air-conditioned kitchen where a group of women stood talking as they prepared food. Her mother’s voice rose above the others.
“Marsha, you’re just not mean enough. You never have been. I’ll go with you to the florist’s. I’ll be the mean aunt and get this straightened out.”
The others laughed, but Gina knew her mother was capable of zeroing in on a problem and fixing it, no matter how uncomfortable she might make others feel. It sounded as if they were in the middle of wedding details. Her question about what Brady had meant would have to wait.
“Gina!” Lauren’s sister Liz noticed her by the door. “Saw you out there with Brady.”
Anne turned to her with a grin. “Isn’t he funny? He’ll keep you entertained during all the wedding brouhaha, that’s for sure.”
Anne was married to Aunt Lottie’s grandson Alec. Gina liked this distant cousin-by-marriage. Anne and Alec Sutton’s wedding was one of those rare Valley Oaks memories she treasured. Anne was a down-to-earth, fun-loving, stay-at-home mom of three. Her dark hair and eyes hinted at her Native American heritage.
Liz said, “If you want to give up your bridesmaid spot, I’ll walk with Brady. Even though he was years ahead of me in school, I always had the biggest crush on him.”
“Probably still do,” Lauren teased.
“Well, I realize I’m happily married and have a darling baby girl, but Brady Olafsson is still the best-looking guy in town.”
“We all know he’s the richest anyway.”
There was laughter and Gina joined in. She doubted the statements were true, but it just felt good to be welcomed into the family. Even as the relative who had traveled the farthest and not visited in 13 years, she wasn’t treated as a stranger. For an only child with no family on her father’s side, it was a pleasant sensation. In spite of small-town nuisances like Brady Olafsson and everyone knowing everything, there was a distinct comfort in belonging.
Now if she could only figure out how to get out of the bowling excursion.
Seven
Gina hadn’t been inside a bowling alley since…probably not since she was 15 years old and visiting Valley Oaks.
It hadn’t changed. Loud laughter, a continuous thumping of balls hitting the wooden lanes, and the crashing of pins echoed off the low ceiling. The scent of French fries mingled with stale air and damp shoe leather. Someone else’s shoes.
Oooh. She wrinkled her nose, scooted around in the molded plastic chair, and stared at her bare feet in sandals. A clammy rented bowling shoe dangled from her hand.
“Here, Gina.” Lauren sat down beside her and handed her a pair of white athletic socks. “I brought these for us.”
“Whew, thanks! You’re a lifesaver.”
“Are you any good?”
“I doubt it. It’s been a long time.”
“Did you meet everyone? Most of them are in the wedding. A few couldn’t make it, and a few brought spouses. We thought it’d be fun to divide the group in half for two teams. Since there are eight guys and eight gals, we can keep the couples together.”
Gina leaned over to tie her shoe and mumbled, “Wouldn’t want to split up the couples.”
She mingled with others, trying to learn the names. Brady seemed to keep his distance, making it easy for her to avoid the richest, most handsome guy in town. She smiled to herself.
Lauren’s fiancé, Aaron, sought her out. They had met briefly at Aunt Lottie’s dinner, but because he arrived late, his time had been occupied with meeting all the relatives.
She liked him. He obviously adored Lauren. Like his cousin Brady, he was tall with blue eyes and blond hair. The resemblance ended there. His mannerisms were gentle, an attentive doctor’s personality. He asked her intelligent questions without prying and was grateful that she had agreed to be in the wedding and able to spend a few weeks beforehand in town. He didn’t tell her an
y jokes.
She soon began to relax. She reminded herself that this was part of the special time she wanted to spend with Lauren. Maybe she could just let go for a bit.
It wasn’t until she stood at the end of the lane with a heavy ball in her hand that she realized bowling was a new activity since her injury. She’d have to gauge her steps carefully in order to keep her balance.
It didn’t quite work. As the ball dropped from her fingers, her left leg gave way and she rolled ungracefully onto her side. Her legs flew up as first her elbow, shoulder, and then head hit the floor.
“Ow!”
Her feet plopped down and she lay still, taking inventory.
There was no hole to crawl into.
She was lying in a bowling alley, literally in the alley itself, set somewhere in the middle of cornfields.
Her friends were thousands of miles away.
Her leg wasn’t right.
Her job wasn’t right.
The plastic hair clip was cutting into her head.
The weather was unbelievably putrid.
Could life get anymore dreadful than this?
It could. She sensed Mr. Homespun himself would be the first to her rescue.
“Are you all right?” Brady asked as he knelt beside her.
She burst out laughing.
It had been a long time since Gina had laughed so freely. What an absolutely ridiculous situation!
Brady helped her to a sitting position. She pulled the clip from her hair and continued laughing while she rubbed the back of her head.
Aaron and then Lauren peered over Brady’s shoulder. “Are you all right?” they asked.
She nodded and giggled.
“Can you stand up?” Brady held out his hand.
She wiped tears from her eyes.
He grasped her hands and pulled her to her feet. “Is that a smile on your face?” He leaned toward her and scrunched up his eyes.
“Probably,” she giggled. “So what if it is?”
“Well, it’s about time. Welcome to Valley Oaks, Gina Philips.” He tilted his head toward the alley. “Care to pick up your spare?”
One lone pin stood in the right corner. How in the world had she done that? She shook her head. “I don’t think so. Bowling just got crossed off my list of fun things to do.”