Where I Belong

by Charlene Bright

  “No, but we’re in town. We’re just getting ready to leave the diner.”

  “Okay. I’m really sorry, but I have to be across town in about twenty minutes. Would you mind terribly if I just leave a key for you in the mailbox and we can get together in the morning to go over a few things?”

  “Oh … no, that should be fine.”

  “If it’s okay with you, I’ll go in and turn on the heat. It’s going to be a cold one tonight.”

  “That would be great, thank you.”

  “Thank you. My daughter needs to be picked up from band practice and my husband hasn’t made it home from work yet. I guess the traffic is pretty backed up because of the snow.”

  “Well, family always comes first,” Jyl told her. “I’ll look forward to seeing you in the morning.”

  After hanging up, she paid their bill and she and Gabriel headed for the car. The snow was coming down harder now, and it was almost so thick that seeing across the street was difficult. She was nervous about driving in it, but by her calculations they were only a few miles away.

  She got Gabe buckled up and they got back out on the road. The drive just to the end of the street had beads of sweat forming on her brow and her heart pounding in her chest. She took the turn slowly, and just as she got around the corner, she saw the red lights of a police cruiser in her rearview mirror. She drove up a few feet, and then praying she was far enough off the road, she stopped. It took a few minutes, but finally the deputy sheriff emerged from the car. He was so tall that when he got to the passenger side window of the car, he had to bend nearly in half to look inside.

  “Good evening, ma’am.”

  “Good evening, Deputy. Did I do something wrong?”

  “No ma’am. I just noticed you were going really slow and thought you might could use some help finding where you’re going.”

  She smiled. She couldn’t imagine that ever happening in New York. It was hard to get the police to show up sometimes when there was a crime going on. “I suppose I could use a little help,” she said. “We’re just moving in and I’m looking for my new place. I’m used to snow, but not so much used to driving in it. In the city I mostly used the subway.”

  He grinned at her. He had a pleasant face. He wasn’t attractive, but he had a smile that made you want to smile back. “What’s the address of where you’re going?” he asked. She told him and he said, “You’re only a block away. I’ll lead, you follow.”

  “Thank you, Deputy.”

  “Nah,” he said, “It’s my job.” She watched him pull his long coat around him as he walked back to his car. So far this town was looking up to be everything she’d thought that it was.

  CHAPTER TWO

  “What happened to Rachel?” Kat quizzed her brother-in-law while she had him trapped underneath the sink, cleaning out the grease trap.

  He wished there was a trap door. “Who?”

  “Oh stop it. I know you love your ladies, but I also know you’re not a dog. You remember her name.”

  “We broke up.” (She had asked, “Are you going to marry me … ever?” And he had said, “No darlin’, sorry.” Then she had broken up with him.)

  “Why? You’re such a catch. Why do women keep breaking up with you?”

  Grant chuckled. “What makes you think they’re breaking up with me?”

  “Oh fine, why do you keep breaking up with them, then?”

  “Because I’m such a catch, I can do better, right?”

  He pushed himself out from under the sink and stood to his full six feet, four inches. Kat was five four and currently in her flannel pajamas and woolen socks. She had to tip her head back to look up into his dark blue eyes. He could tell she wasn’t buying the arrogant routine. She knew him too well. He was sixteen when she had married his eighteen-year-old brother and before that, they’d gone to the same school their entire lives. She may as well be his sister instead of his sister-in-law.

  She rolled her eyes and said, “Sadie is not going to be laughing if you don’t make her a grandmother soon.” Kat and his mother were close enough to drop the “in-law” as well.

  He grabbed a towel off the counter and wiped his hands. “You and my brother have already done that—three times.”

  “It doesn’t matter, she expects more … from you. I think she might be counting on you for the ‘X’ without the ‘Y’ chromosome.”

  He laughed and said, “Now you’re just showing off that biology degree. I doubt that, though. Mom doesn’t count on me for much more than showing up for Sunday dinner. I don’t think she’d expect me to be the one to break the curse.”

  Kat was standing against the counter eating a bowl of cereal. With a sigh she said, “As far as the degree goes, it’s the only place I’ve gotten to use it in the past two years, and can I just say that you Underwood men and that silly curse are something else?”

  “How long have you been an Underwood now, Kat?”

  “Ten years come December, you know that.”

  “And in all of that time how many women named Underwood that didn’t marry into the name have you met?”

  “None. But that doesn’t mean your family is cursed.”

  “Our cousin Bob has been married three times. He has six stepsons. That’s not to mention his biological three. Our cousin Nate has two boys, and Cousin Sam has four. You and my brother have three, my mom and dad had two—”

  “I’m well aware, but still, a curse? You’re all such intelligent people to buy into that craziness.”

  He shrugged. Honestly, he didn’t believe in the curse, but it was fun to mess with his sister-in-law.

  “I really have to run now. Can you put the lecture on hold until next time I see you?”

  “Where are you running to?”

  “Well since my brother was too busy to unclog his own grease trap, I now have to take another shower before I go on shift.”

  “On shift? It’s Friday! You’re off on Fridays!”

  Sometimes his only wish was for one day when his entire family wasn’t aware of his business. “Not tonight. Murph’s got bronchitis or something—it’s that time of the year. I owe him a shift.”

  She stuck her bottom lip out in a pout and that was when he realized the entire conversation had been a setup. “What was it you had planned for me tonight, sis?” He often wondered if his brother even knew how to say “no” anymore. Kat was a beautiful woman and she was probably the best wife and mother Grant knew. But the one thing she was above all else was used to getting her way.

  “I just wanted you to have dinner with us and meet my new friend tonight. …”

  “Uh oh, I’ll have to thank Murph for getting sick.”

  “Oh stop it! She’s sweet and she’s smart and if she’s half as pretty as her Facebook pictures in real life—”

  “Wait a minute … you’re trying to set me up with someone you’ve never even met?”

  She put down her cereal bowl and folded her arms across her chest. “I wasn’t trying to set you up. I just wanted you to meet her.”

  “You haven’t even met her yet?”

  “We’ve been chatting online for six months already. I know her without meeting her.”

  He was laughing as he said, “That’s what the sheriff said about his second wife—you know the one he met online?”

  “Oh stop! It’s not the same thing. That woman was evil!”

  “And so might this one be too. Thanks, sis, but no thanks. I have to go. I still have a ton of work to do around the ranch before I go in. Tell my brother if he can’t control his wife and her match-making, he’ll need to learn how to fix his own sinks.”

  She picked up a dishtowel and threw it at him as he slipped his black Stetson hat over his dark hair. “Your brother has no control over me.”

  He laughed harder and said, “And it shows.” She narrowed his eyes at him, but he was saved by the sudden stampede of little boys coming in from outside. The two-year-old squealed when he saw his Uncle Grant. He stooped a
nd picked the little guy up and tossed him in the air. “Hey, punk! How are you?”

  “Grant Underwood! I told you to stop calling him that. Do you want to know what he told the visiting pastor his name was last week?”

  Grant cracked up and held his hand out to his six-year-old nephew, Scotty, who slapped his uncle’s palm with his little hand and said, “David told the pastor his name was ‘Puck’.”

  That only made Grant laugh harder. The four-year-old was laughing too, although it was doubtful he knew what he was laughing at. When his brother, Scott, came in the door, Grant handed him the bundled-up toddler and, looking at Kat, said, “Thanks for the laugh, sis. I needed that. Brother, you have a fine family.”

  Scott looked like he wasn’t sure he wanted to know what he missed as he said, “That’s what the wife tells me.”

  Grant was still laughing when he got to his pickup. He wished he would have been there to hear David tell the pastor his name. As he was backing out of the driveway, he saw his brother out on the porch, peeling the knee-high rubber boots off of his middle son. Kat would be surprised to know how envious he was of his brother. A soft woman in his bed had been enough for a long time, but it just wasn’t anymore. He wanted what Scott had, but he refused to settle for just anyone to have it. He had played the ladies’ man—the confirmed bachelor—all the while hoping that the next woman he met was going to be the one who knocked his socks off. His parents had been married for forty years, and he could still see the love for each other in their eyes. And nobody who ever met Kat and Scott could deny they were madly in love. That was what he wanted, what he insisted he felt before he said, “I do.”

  His phone rang as he drove out of his brother’s driveway. He looked at the display and saw that it was Lyle, one of the senior deputies from work. “Hey Lyle, what’s up?” he said, pulling off to the side of the dirt road and putting the phone to his ear.

  “I need a favor, man—a huge favor.”

  “Uh oh, I’m already working for Murph tonight—”

  “Nah, that’s not it. I’ll be there tonight … I need you to do the Plunge in Sean’s place.”

  Sean was Sean Murphy, or “Murph” for short. “Uh … I don’t know, man. I’m not fond of the cold. …”

  “Bull. You grew up right here freezing your marbles off every winter like the rest of us. Come on, man, it’s for a good cause. My niece does Special Olympics, did I ever tell you?”

  “No, you never mentioned it.”

  “Cutest little thing with big blue eyes and white-blond hair. She’s got Down’s syndrome and in spite of the struggles she’s had, she never stops smiling. She loves sports—”

  “Okay, geez. I’ll do it. Give it a rest though, drama queen.”

  “I kid you not. Her name is Morgan. I’ll show you a picture when I see you. Be there at five a.m. and thanks, man!”

  Before Grant could change his mind, the other man hung up. He stared at the phone for several minutes, wondering what the hell he’d just gotten himself into.

  CHAPTER THREE

  It took Jyl about three days to get their things unpacked and put away. On the fourth day she worked on hanging up her photos, and by the fifth day—Friday—she was ready to work on her blog. So far, she’d only made one post and that was before she had left New York. She’d started with a post introducing herself and describing her life with her son. The point of the blog was to give encouragement to people who were starting over. Her blog was titled, “One small step at a time,” and subtitled, “Choices, Chance, Change … One woman’s journey.”

  She sat down in front of the computer while Gabe played with his building blocks in his new playroom. She stared at the blank post for several seconds before placing her fingers on the keys and beginning to type.

  “So my son and I arrived in Shiloh Falls, Colorado five days ago. We haven’t done much yet other than unpack and set up our household. There are a few honorable mentions that I would like to make here already though. First to our realtors, who delivered exactly what they promised. My son and I are so thrilled with our new home and it is even more fabulous than the pictures. Then there was Becky, the kind soul who works for Shiloh Falls Realty who had the heart and the foresight to go by the house and turn on the heat so that when my son and I arrived, we were welcomed with a warm and toasty atmosphere. I also have to thank the sheriff’s office, or one deputy in particular—a Deputy Murphy, who took the time and braved a snowstorm to show me the way when I felt lost and confused in the blizzard. We’ve been welcomed by the kind waitress, Maggie, at the diner and fussed over by Mr. and Mrs. Hildebrand who own the grocery store. This entire county has less people in it than my neighborhood in New York alone and yet we have been smiled at and spoken to and asked how we were doing more times over the past five days than I recall happening in an entire year at home. In my first post I talked a lot about making the choice to make a change and praying that you made the right one. So far, I think that I did and I can’t wait for this storm to clear so that my son and I can get out and explore and hopefully meet more of the wonderful people that this county seems to produce. Until I see you again, remember that we are all slaying our own dragons, so please take a page from the citizens of this fine county and be kind to one another.”

  When she finished, she sent a link to a woman named Vera Bartlett. She was the chairperson of the chamber of commerce in town. Jyl had been communicating with Vera for over six months now, mostly online. Vera was so excited about the blog because the town council had been trying to come up with new ways to attract people to their little county both for tourism and for the long haul. People used to flock to Shiloh Falls during the hunting season and the merchants would make most of their money for the year in those few weeks. The hunting crowd hadn’t completely diminished, but it wasn’t what it used to be. When Vera told Jyl about it she said it was “Either the economy or the liberals causing it … and if it was the economy, the liberals were to blame.” Jyl had laughed out loud when she read that.

  During their talks, Vera agreed to keep her informed of local events and Jyl agreed to attend as many of them as she could. The first one on her agenda was the “Polar Plunge,” that would be taking place early tomorrow morning.

  She had heard about the Polar Plunge but she’d never attended one. It was an event held all over the United States during the winter time. Participants sign up, often in teams, and they pay a fee for entering. Then the teams jump into the freezing cold water, usually together. There’s often some other kind of event that goes along with it like a festival or a barbecue and all of the proceeds go to whatever charitable organization the Plunge is supporting, typically the Special Olympics. This one would be held at the Shiloh Falls Lake State Park. There would be a “Meet and Greet” with some of the Special Olympians, live music, and booths representing businesses in the county, selling food and peddling other wares.

  Jyl was looking forward to it, but she was a little bit nervous about leaving Gabriel for the first time with a woman with whom she’d only shared emails. He was just too young to have out at five a.m. in this kind of weather. The only reason she’d even considered it to begin with was because Vera highly recommended the woman six months ago when Jyl mentioned that she would have to find a babysitter in their new town when they got there. From there, she and the lady, Kat Underwood, had been exchanging emails and had become Facebook friends. Kat was around Jyl’s age and born and bred in Shiloh Falls. Her husband was the foreman on a cattle ranch and they had three boys, ranging in ages from two to six—Jyl shuddered at the thought. Some days her own little man was almost too much for her. He had the energy of three so that meant Kat was dealing with the energy of nine.

  She had grown to think of Kat as a “friend,” although she’d never met her in person. She trusted her already. There was something so genuine about her, and the photos she saw of her family online looked like they were all so happy. They were all having dinner this evening so that she could meet them in
person and Gabe wouldn’t feel like he was getting dropped off with strangers at five in the morning.

  “Gabe! It’s time to take your bath.”

  Her son poked his head down from the loft. “A bath? It’s not bedtime, already?”

  “We’re having dinner with the Underwoods tonight, remember?”

  “Yeah, but why do I need a bath? I’m not dirty.”

  “You haven’t had a bath since last night. Don’t you want to make a good first impression?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said in typical four–year-old fashion, “but I don’t want to take a bath.”

  She shook her head at her son. “I stoked the fire so you won’t be cold and we have a brand new bottle of Minion soap.”

  With a heavy sigh like the weight of the world was on his shoulders, he came down the steps. “I hope they’re worth it,” he mumbled as his mother gave him a gentle push to propel him toward the bathroom.

  She got him into the bath, and while he washed himself he asked her, “Do the Underwoods have a dad?”

  “Yes, baby. His name is Scott, but I would like you to call him and Kat, Mr. or Mrs. Underwood unless they ask you to do otherwise.”

  “Okay. What did people call my dad?”

  “Your daddy’s name was Josh Landry, so people called him Josh or Mr. Landry.”

  “Mama?”

  “Yeah, baby?”

  “Can Santa bring people?”

  She felt her chest tighten up, and she fought back the tears that suddenly burned at the corners of her eyes. She knelt down next to the tub and said, “No, buddy, Santa can’t bring people. Remember last year when you asked for a puppy? We talked about how Santa can’t bring living, breathing things?”

  He nodded. “I wish we had a dad.”

  She didn’t even consider the fact that her boy was wet and soapy. She hugged him tightly to her chest and said, “Me too, buddy. Me too.”

  He quickly became distracted once again by the toy airplane he’d brought with him into the tub. That was the beauty of being four years old; even if you had a sad thought, it usually didn’t last long.