He nodded. “We used to have a pool at home.”
“Really?” Wyatt asked.
Jaz added, “Our parents taught us to swim when we were little.”
Gemma noted the shadow that crossed Lucas’s features at the mention of their former life and the urge to pull him into her arms rose again. “We’ll have to get you some swim gear.”
“I have an extra pair of trunks Lucas can have,” Wyatt offered. “You bought me two pairs, remember?”
She did and was pleased by his generosity. “Jaz, let me call around and see if I can find you a suit. Doc Reg’s daughter Zoey might have an extra one.”
“Her mom’s the singer?”
“Yes.”
“And I know Zoey won’t mind,” Wyatt told them. “She got a bunch of gold coins last year and gave everybody in town some.”
“Gold coins?” Lucas asked.
Wyatt nodded. “Yeah. I’ll tell you about it upstairs while we play Minecraft.”
“What about me?” Jasmine asked.
Wyatt said, “You can play too if you want?”
She asked instead, “Do you play chess?”
Wyatt’s brow furrowed with confusion as he studied her. “No.”
Gemma was also surprised by the question. “You play chess, Jaz?”
“Yes, ma’am. My mom taught me. She was on the chess team in high school and college.”
Wyatt said, “Brain and Amari play. I think Leah does, too. You can hook them up when they get back from vacation.”
“Okay,” she said, but her disappointment was obvious.
Gemma wondered if the Paynes had an extra chess set she could borrow? She’d ask him the next time she saw him at work and made a mental note to ask Gary, too.
The kids trooped upstairs to play their game and left Gemma downstairs pondering the future. Unlike many of the other kids in town, Lucas and Jasmine had apparently grown up in a wealthy, well-educated family. A part of her wondered how they’d deal with being potentially fostered by a lady who worked as a cashier in a grocery store, but another part didn’t think that would matter if they felt safe and loved. She knew she needed to tell them Gleason’s wife didn’t want to go forward with the adoption, but she decided to postpone the news until later. They’d had such a good day, she wanted them to continue to enjoy it.
That night, just before bed, she knocked on the door of the room the Herman kids were sharing.
“Come in,” Lucas called.
Dressed in a pair of threadbare pajamas, he was lying on his mattress bed on the floor, and Jaz, in pajamas too, was sitting on her bed. They were watching The Princess Bride on TV.
“I need to talk to you two about something.”
Jaz picked up the remote and paused the movie. “Do we have to leave?”
Gemma sat on the edge of the bed. “No honey, but I have some sort of bad news.”
Lucas sat up, tensed and wary.
“Your Uncle Jake’s wife doesn’t want to go ahead with the adoption.”
“Oh,” Jasmine said softly.
Lucas turned away but not before Gemma caught a glimpse of the bleakness in his eyes. Face still averted he asked bitterly, “So what happens now? We go back to foster care in Ohio?”
“Not necessarily. Ms. Bernadine is trying to work things out so I can be your foster parent.”
Neither responded.
“I know things have been hard, but try and keep a good thought.”
“Why?” Lucas demanded, his voice raw. “Nobody cares about us! Nobody wants us! I’ll run away if I have to go back to foster care!” He leaned forward and sobbed. “Why did Mom and Dad have to die?”
Unchecked tears rolled down Jasmine’s cheeks. She scooted off the bed and went to her brother. He put an arm around his sister and they both wept. Gemma did, too. She turned and saw Wyatt standing in the doorway. His eyes were wet. He held her gaze for a long moment then disappeared. She wondered if their grief reminded him of his own. He’d been Jasmine’s age when they buried Gabby. Gemma put her head in her hands and drew in a shaky breath. Blowing it out, she went to the kids, took them both in her arms and held and rocked them while they cried out their pain.
Later, she knocked on Wyatt’s door.
“Come in,” he called.
He was lying on his back on the bed, his attention focused on the ceiling. His red eyes told all. “We have to help them, Gram.”
She came in and sat beside him. “I know.”
“We have a lot in common.”
“Yes, you do.”
He was silent for a few long moments and finally said in a soft voice, “I miss her a lot.”
“Me, too.”
Tears filled his eyes. “Why does stuff like this happen?”
“I wish I knew, babe, but all we can do is go on and hope the pain dulls at some point because I don’t think it will ever go away.”
He turned his face to her. “It still hurts.”
“I know.”
“But at least I have you. Lucas and Jaz don’t have anybody.”
“Ms. Bernadine and I will do everything we can for them. I promise.”
“Eli said Reverend Paula lost her mom too when she was a kid. He talks to her every now and then about how much he misses his mom. Do you think I can talk to her?”
“That might be a good idea. I’ll call her and ask. Maybe she’ll let me talk to her, too.”
He focused on something only he could see and nodded distantly.
“Will you be okay?” she asked. At times like these she felt so inadequate.
“Yeah. I want Lucas and Jaz to be okay, too. Maybe Reverend Paula can help them, too.”
“I’ll ask her.”
“Being here will be good for them.”
“I agree.”
He turned back to her. “Thanks, Gram.”
“You’re welcome.” Leaning over she kissed his cheek. “Don’t stay up too late. I love you.”
“Love you, too.”
She stood, gave her remarkable grandson a last look, and left him to his thoughts.
In her room alone, Gemma did something she hadn’t done since Gabby’s death. She prayed—for the Herman kids, for Wyatt, and for strength to do whatever it took to help the three make it through.
Chapter 6
Sunday morning, while some of the Henry Adams parents headed to the Hays airport to send their kids on vacation, other residents spent the morning in church. Gemma, wearing shades, a white tee, and loose blue shorts, sat on a lounge chair by the new pool while Wyatt and the Herman kids swam. Lucas and Jasmine hadn’t been kidding about being able to swim. Both cut through the water, sleek as dolphins. Lucas even took a dive off the high board, under the watchful eyes of the lifeguard. Gemma tensed as he did so, but when he resurfaced smiling, she relaxed and went back to the book she’d brought along. She’d never learned to swim but encouraged Wyatt to take lessons at the local Chicago Boys and Girls Club, and he was at home in the water, too. There were several kids from Franklin in the pool and soon the air was filled with the calls of “Marco! Polo!” Gemma never knew the game’s origin or its connection to the famed explorer, but the kids were having a blast. She envied the small group of parents in the water laughing and playing with them, and wondered if she could possibly learn to swim at the ripe old age of forty-five. Her speculating came to a screeching halt when Sybil Martin came through the pool gate. Dressed in a frilly white cover-up over a very brief teal bikini, she was with a little boy wearing red trunks who Gemma assumed to be her son. Accompanying them and decked out in full, white jumpsuit Elvis regalia was Wilson Hughes. Behind her shades, Gemma sighed with irritation. Upon sighting Gemma, Sybil threw her nose in the air and chose a spot on the far side of the pool. Gemma hoped Wilson would do the same. Nope. Soon as he saw her he made a beeline straight for her, and she sighed again.
“Fancy meeting you here,” he said.
“Nothing fancy about it. I live here.” Everyone in and out of the water
stopped what they were doing to stare. With the temperature hovering near ninety degrees, they were probably wondering how soon he’d succumb to heatstroke, she thought, taking in his attire.
“First time I’ve ever seen you in shorts.”
Gemma wanted him gone. Sybil was glaring and Gemma understood. That he would be so disrespectful to the woman he was supposed to be with by trying to hit on someone else summed up just what a jerk he was. “Go away.”
He grinned and left but called out to the people around, “I’m available for autographs. I sign The King’s name just like him.”
Jaws dropped.
Gemma’s didn’t.
Blessedly, her kids walked up, and Wyatt asked, “Can we go home now, then go eat at the Dog? We’re hungry.”
“Absolutely.” After waiting for them to dry off and gather their belongings, she led them back to the car.
At the diner, Lucas stood in the long line and peered around at all the people sitting and talking, heard the music pumping, and watched the waiters flying around. More accustomed to fast food places that had drive-throughs, he wasn’t sure what to make of the Dog and Cow.
Crystal, dressed like the waitstaff, walked up. “Hey there. Welcome to the Dog.”
Not knowing she worked there, he found that surprising, too.
Ms. Gemma and Wyatt said “hi” to her.
“It’ll be a few minutes before I can get you a seat,” she replied. “Sorry.”
“No problem,” Ms. Gemma said.
Crystal left them to seat some of the people ahead of them in line.
Lucas saw only a few kids eating but remembered Amari and the others had left for vacation. The kids he saw weren’t familiar so he assumed they lived elsewhere.
Wyatt came to stand beside him. “Kind of crazy in here, isn’t it?”
Lucas nodded. “Is it always like this?”
“Yeah, but the food’s awesome.”
That was good to know.
A very tall lady wearing lots of silver bracelets walked over to them and said to Ms. Gemma, “Hi, Gemma. Are these the new children?”
Ms. Gemma smiled. “Yes. Lucas and Jasmine Herman, this is our town’s matriarch, Tamar July.”
“Hello, ma’am,” Lucas said.
“Hi, ma’am,” Jaz echoed.
“Glad to meet you. Welcome to Henry Adams.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m hoping you’ll be with us long enough for us to know each other.”
Lucas wasn’t sure how to respond. He just kept seeing how tall she was and how silver her long hair was. Her face looked kind enough, but he’d heard some stories about her from Brain and the others that left him wary.
“I’m sure my great-grandson and his crew have told you I’m a dragon lady, but I’m not. Gemma and Wyatt, take care of them.”
They responded in unison, “We will.”
Lucas thought she must be important because she walked to the front of the line and was seated right away.
Jaz echoed his thoughts and whispered to Wyatt, “She doesn’t have to wait in line?”
“No. She’s Tamar,” he said as if that was explanation enough.
“Oh.”
A few minutes later, Crystal led them to a booth and a waitress came and brought them water and soft drinks. Lucas looked over the menu. The pictures made everything look really good. Ms. Gemma chose a salad and Lucas, Wyatt, and Jaz ordered burgers and fries. While they waited for their food, a lot of the adults came over to introduce themselves and to say hello. There was the OG the kids talked about liking so much, Bobby Douglas, a big tall dude with real cool tats on his arms; a lady named Ms. Genevieve, who was with Uncle T.C.; and two guys named Bing and Clay. They were all nice and welcomed them to the town, but Lucas was tired of smiling and just wanted to eat. When the food finally arrived, Wyatt was right. It was awesome. He was kind of liking Henry Adams, but he knew something would probably happen to mess up their stay, so he told himself not to think he’d be with Ms. Gemma and Wyatt for good.
“Wyatt, why do the kids call you Dubs and W.W.?”
Ms. Gemma grinned.
“Zoey and Devon have a band and I’m the manager. I call myself W. W. Dahl. Dubs is short for the letter W.”
Lucas chuckled and went back to his burger.
Later that afternoon, the town’s Ladies Auxiliary convened in Lily July’s Lady Cave for Rocky’s wedding shower. Trent built the addition for the space on the back of their home as a wedding gift for her, and it was where she retreated to escape all the testosterone exuded by a husband and two growing sons. It was also used by the Auxiliary for special occasions. The Cave had its own entrance so Rocky parked the Shadow and, carrying her helmet under her arm, turned the knob and went inside. The beautiful indigo-themed decorations stopped her cold. It was her favorite color and it was there in the balloons, tablecloth, napkins, cups, and in all the bags and presents stacked up by the big gray sectional. Her friends were wearing the color too in blouses, jeans, earrings, and bangles. Everywhere she looked the dark blue caught her eye. That they’d gone to so much trouble on her behalf made her eyes sting with tears.
“Don’t you dare start bawling now,” Lily admonished, ushering Rocky in. “There’ll be plenty of opportunities for that later.”
Rocky dashed away her tears. “I’m not crying.”
Laughter greeted that and the party began.
None of the attendees liked the dumb games played at wedding showers so they talked and ate and laughed instead. There were bottles of Bernadine-supplied champagne and wine, and soft drinks for those who didn’t imbibe.
“Have you decided what you’re wearing?” Bernadine asked.
“No.”
“Rock?” Marie cried. “The wedding is less than six weeks away. When are you going to decide?”
“When I come across something I like.”
“Please tell us you’ve been looking at least,” Sheila Payne said.
“Only if you want me to lie to you.”
“Rock!” Marie cried again.
Rocky chuckled and bit into the shrimp on her fork. “I’ll start looking soon. Promise.”
That was met with humorous groans.
“I will. I’m looking for the perfect leather ensemble,” she explained, employing a mock haughty tone for the last word. “Jack’s mother Stella wants me to wear her wedding dress. She said we could let it out up top, but no. Not wearing her dress.”
Bernadine said, “She’s still pressuring you?”
“All day and all night.”
Lily eyed her boss and cracked, “Sort of like the way you pressured me when Trent and I were planning our small, simple wedding.”
Bernadine had the decency to look embarrassed. “I admit to going a bit overboard.”
Lily rolled her eyes. “Says the woman who called the White House to see if they rented the place out for wedding receptions.”
Laughter filled the room.
“Hush,” Bernadine said, grinning over her champagne flute.
Marie said, “And thank God you aren’t related to the Oklahoma Julys. They definitely made Trent and Lily’s wedding memorable.”
Tamar said, “They are not to be invited to anything here, ever again.”
Rocky was glad to have these ladies in this new life of hers. In her old one, she didn’t do females. The ones she knew outside of Tamar and Marie were barely tolerable. Because of her looks and figure many women went straight into threat mode, thinking she had designs on their boyfriends or husbands, which she didn’t of course. In those days, she had no true female friends. Now, however, she was a member of a group of women she loved and showed her love in return. Granted, she’d hated Lily in high school because Lily and Trent were a couple back then too and Rock’s crush on Trent rivaled the size of the universe. But she and Lily got along very well now, mostly because Rocky had grown up.
Sheila had volunteered to be her wedding planner. “Rocky, you and I need to get together t
o talk details.”
The only details Rocky enjoyed were on vehicles, which was why she was letting Sheila handle the wedding and had been putting off them getting together. “Okay.”
While the party continued, the recently married Genevieve sat glued to her tablet. Tamar cast a baleful eye her way and asked, “Gen? Are we going to have to confiscate your electronics like we do the kids?”
“I’m looking for a dress for Rocky.” And then she glanced up excitedly. “Rock! Come look at this.”
Holding her glass of wine, Rocky walked over and viewed the picture on the tablet. “Oh my!”
“You like?”
“I heart that!”
Everyone crowded around to view the statuesque model wearing a flowing cream-colored leather duster over a matching, tastefully designed leather bustier and pants. “I don’t suppose they have it in black?”
“No!” her friends cried.
Rocky laughed and sipped.
Lily said, “That’s hot, Rock. You may not make it out of the church if Jack sees you walking down the aisle in that.”
Sheila said, “I never thought leather was appropriate for a wedding but this is you, Rocky.”
Gen agreed. “I think so too and it only takes three weeks for it to be made and shipped.”
Rocky took out her phone and typed in the site’s URL. “I’ll check it out, asap. Thanks Gen.” And once again, she felt loved. “Can I open my presents now?”
Laughter greeted that, so she sat and waited for the unveiling.
And what an unveiling it was.
Anna, already on her way to Mexico, gifted her a beautiful wrought iron candelabra for the dining room table. Marie and Gen went halfsies on a gorgeous black leather jacket and an indigo-colored helmet. The silver flute from Lily and Trent made tears flow down her cheeks. Tamar’s badass set of socket wrenches made her wipe away the tears and want to try them out immediately. Paula gave her a book of affirmations, which Rocky knew she’d love. Sheila passed her a gift-wrapped box filled with sexy lingerie, and said, “Tell Jack, no need to thank me.”
Everyone howled.
Bernadine handed her an envelope that Rock viewed puzzledly.
“Just open it and read what it says.”
Chasing Down a Dream Page 7