Hi, Mitch,
I’ve just had the most incredible experience and realize that I’ve been such a fool about so many, many things! Will you baptize me when I return? I’m sure there’s someone here who could do it, but I don’t speak the lingo. Kiss EmJay for me and tell her I love her more than any photographs I could ever, ever take. I can’t wait to hold her in my arms.
Love,
Cory
Mitch took the napkin away from EmJay and gave her instead the small album he’d bought to hold the pictures he’d taken of Cory and EmJay. The plastic album had proven tough enough to withstand her enthusiastic loving, which invariably involved chewing.
“I think that went rather well,” Amanda said. She stood by his front window, holding a sleepy Mara and watching her husband and foster son walk Paula Simmons to her car.
“Especially since she hasn’t seen her children for so long,” Mitch agreed.
Amanda sighed. “Mara didn’t even know who she was. I thought Paula would get upset for sure when she called me Mommy.”
“She did sort of look upset for a minute.” Mitch bent to gather the used paper plates from the coffee table. Knowing the situation wouldn’t be easy, Amanda had opted for food to facilitate the awkward visit of her husband’s cousin. “At least Kevin acted happy to see her, though he did seem nervous.”
“I think he was worried that she was going to take him home.” Amanda returned her gaze to the window, resting her cheek against Mara’s dark head. “Paula looks good, don’t you think? Blake whispered to me that he could tell she is still using drugs, but I can’t tell. I—I feel torn about her recovery. I don’t want to lose Kevin and Mara.”
“She didn’t say a word about taking them back, did she? And her friend seemed to think you were doing a great job with them.”
Amanda sighed. “I know, I’m borrowing trouble.” She let go of Mara with one hand and patted her stomach, which to Mitch seemed unbelievably large compared with the rest of her. “At least now I can have this baby without immediate worries.”
Mitch shot her a quick glance. “Are you in labor?”
“I wish,” she groaned. “I’m so sick of being pregnant. With my luck this little stinker will be late.”
Mitch laughed. The new baby hadn’t cooperated during the ultrasound, so Amanda wasn’t sure if the baby was a boy or a girl, but Kevin had assured everyone it would be a little brother.
“They’re coming in,” Amanda went to the door, still carrying Mara. Her husband took the two-year-old from her as he entered. “Well?” Amanda asked.
Blake shook his head. “I didn’t ask her about the possibility of adoption.” He kept his voice low so Kevin didn’t hear. “I kept feeling that she wouldn’t take the news so well. Maybe we should let it go for a little while longer.”
Amanda let out a long sigh. “I was thinking the same thing.” She turned to Mitch. “Thanks so much for letting us use your house. We’ll help you clean up and get out of your way.”
“I distinctly remember you promising Kevin ice cream,” Mitch said. “You’d better go before it gets too late. I don’t need help cleaning up. Besides, Tyler and Savvy are here somewhere. I could put them to work.”
“Okay,” Amanda agreed, looking exhausted.
Blake smiled his thanks. “Now that this stress is over, I bet we’ll have a baby here soon.”
“Right now?” Kevin asked, his eyes growing big.
Blake rumpled his hair. “Not now. In a few days. Shall we get some ice cream?”
“Yes!” Kevin hopped to the door. “Bye, Uncle Mitch. See ya, EmJay!”
After they left, Mitch gathered the cups, napkins, and unused dishes and took them to the kitchen. EmJay toddled after him. The kitchen door was open, and Mitch heard low, intense voices coming from the patio. Avoiding the urge to eavesdrop, Mitch scooped up EmJay, stepped over his turtle, and banged the screen open. “Hi, guys!”
Tyler and Savvy were sitting in lawn chairs, their tense bodies angled to face each other. Both relaxed with his appearance, though it was clear he had interrupted something serious.
“Is she gone?” Savvy asked.
Mitch nodded. “And nothing bad happened. Poor Manda was so worried I thought she might deliver the baby in my living room.” He grinned to show he was joking, but neither Savvy nor Tyler responded.
“I guess I’d better get going.” Savvy stood and looked at Tyler. “Are you coming to church tomorrow to hear my talk?”
“I’ll be there. But what about after? Can I see you?”
Savvy bit her bottom lip. “After church we’re having a get-together for friends and relatives. I’d be glad for you to be there.” She paused. “But I’ll be set apart as a missionary by then so I won’t be able to go anywhere with you. We should say our good-byes now.”
Mitch felt his heart ache at his brother’s anguished expression. “Well, come here, then,” Mitch said to Savvy. “I want a last hug.” He hugged her with the arm that wasn’t holding EmJay. “I know you’ll be a great missionary. Don’t forget to write.”
“I won’t,” she said, beginning to tear up. “Just don’t send me any animals, okay? I don’t think they’re allowed.”
He chuckled. “I’ll let you two say good-bye then. I’ll be in the house, Tyler. I could use some help when you’re through.” Tyler nodded without glancing in his direction.
Mitch went inside, firmly shutting the door behind him. EmJay spied her book of pictures on the floor and struggled to get down. “That’s Cory,” he said, pointing to a picture.
“Cree,” EmJay said, promptly sticking a corner of the plastic cover in her mouth. There were little bite marks on the plastic now as well, Mitch noticed. EmJay was cutting more teeth. He hoped that was why she wasn’t sleeping well and not because she still missed Cory.
Where are you now? Mitch wondered. Do you miss us as much as we miss you? This reminded him to check his e-mail. Cory hadn’t communicated with him yet, but he checked every day to be sure.
His computer had begun downloading e-mail when Tyler entered the room. “I can’t believe she’s really going.” He slumped onto the couch and stared across the room at the wall.
Mitch cast him a sympathetic glance. “Did you at least tell her how you feel?”
“I told her my heart was breaking,” he said quietly.
“And what did she say to that?”
He swallowed with apparent difficulty. “She said that I had already broken hers a long time ago.” Tyler met Mitch’s gaze. “I didn’t know she felt like that. I didn’t know it at all. I feel like an utter idiot.”
“Just remember that when she comes home.” Mitch didn’t want to rub it in, but Tyler had been rather obtuse.
“I will,” Tyler said fervently.
Mitch wondered if he really would wait for Savvy. Tyler was a popular guy, and he wasn’t the type to sit home moping. What if he met someone else? It could happen. After all, everyone seemed to expect Mitch to find someone to replace Cory.
Replace her, he thought mockingly. She was never mine.
That was when he saw the e-mail, sandwiched so inconspicuously between two pieces of spam that he almost deleted it before he recognized the address. He sucked in a breath.
“What is it?” Tyler asked, coming to stand behind him.
They read the e-mail together. The words he’d hoped to see for so long leapt out at him from the screen. She was coming home! She wanted to be baptized!
“I’m going to Brazil,” Mitch said, his heart beating faster at the words he imagined were behind each of Cory’s brief sentences. Her job wasn’t as important to her as EmJay. Maybe he was important to her, too. After all, she’d signed the e-mail “Love, Cory.” That was good enough for him.
“Mom will never let you go alone,” Tyler protested.
Mitch snorted. “I wasn’t going to ask permission.”
“What about work?”
“I was due to take vacation last week, but I couldn’t face
going anywhere. I’d been planning to go to Texas to see Lane and Ashley. So I think my boss will let me go now. Or I’ll quit. Doesn’t matter anyway. When I told them I wouldn’t be taking the on-site job, they said they’d have to find someone else—someone who would take over my job as well. No matter how I look at it, my time there is limited. While I’m gone, Kerrianne can take care of the animals.”
“Well, then, I’m going too.” Tyler lifted his chin. “I’m the one who taught her the discussions, and I want to see her baptized.”
“What about school?”
“Doesn’t start for another week. Will that be enough time?”
“Enough to baptize her at least.” Mitch proffered his hand. “Welcome aboard!”
“Thank you.” Tyler shook his hand vigorously.
Mitch gave his brother a sheepish grin. “I have to admit that it’ll make my life easier with Mom if you come along. I’ll be eighty before she admits that I don’t need a chaperone.”
“When it comes to women, we all need chaperones.” Tyler returned his grin before sobering abruptly. “Truthfully, with Savvy leaving, I could really use the distraction.” His eyes went past Mitch to the screen. “Hey, there’s an e-mail that says ‘from Cory’s agent’ in the subject line. That would be Vikki, right? What are you talking to her about?”
Mitch shrugged. “I sent her my story of Meeko. The one you said was wonderful but would never work because Curious George already had cornered the monkey market. She asked for it. Really,” he added when he saw his brother’s doubt. “I wouldn’t have sent it otherwise.”
“Well, let’s see what she wants.” Tyler reached over to the arrow keys and pushed down to Vikki’s e-mail.
What Mitch read left him almost as excited and flabbergasted as Cory’s message.
With Meeko in his customary place on her shoulder, Cory walked into camp for the last time, feeling weary and yet content with her final pictures—though she hadn’t yet finished all of NG’s requirements. The silhouette of the ocelot pausing before he drank, the fiery ball of the setting sun hovering behind him as if balanced on the river, would make an awe-inspiring photograph for readers all over the world. The only drawback was, of course, that she didn’t have EmJay to share her success with. Or Mitch. Maybe when she went back, she’d tell him all about it.
Would he even care? Maybe he had no desire to hear about her adventures. Maybe he didn’t want to share in any future adventures. He’d let his fear stop him before; how could she be sure that he cared enough for her to overcome it now? Besides, her leaving Utah might have pushed him away forever.
Four days had passed since her experience with the sunrise, days in which she had not been idle. She had informed National Geographic of her decision to leave. After reviewing the extensive photographs she’d left with Vikki and the low resolution e-mail versions of her newer ones, they’d agreed to work with what she had. If they needed additional photographs, they would pick from a long list of talented photographers who would be eager to fill her place. Cory felt no bitterness at the thought. She loved wildlife photography, but she understood now that being at the top wouldn’t deliver the happiness she craved. Only one thing had done that—a complete surety that she was a daughter of a loving God who had a plan for her happiness.
She was going home to settle things with Mitch and EmJay. Yes, she would come back to the Amazon. The lush jungle was hers again and would always be. Someday she would bring EmJay here, and together they would discover more of its treasures. As for Mitch, her thoughts of him always came to a barrier in her mind. She couldn’t see beyond the moment with any clarity.
Hoping to slip by without attracting the attention of the others in camp, Cory angled away from the communal table, illuminated by gas lanterns. What she wanted now was her three-minute shower and a good night’s sleep.
At that moment Cory saw him. She stopped short with an inaudible gasp. “Mitch!” Her mouth formed the words, but no sound emerged. Blinking, she pushed aside a lock of messy curls—one of many that had escaped the clip she’d used that morning.
It was Mitch. He was speaking Portuguese to several of the natives by the cooking fire, looking good in khakis and black boots, as though he were a part of the jungle. EmJay, wearing a blue jumper, was in his arms. Even from where she stood, Cory could see the blue-checked bow in her hair. Time seemed to freeze as she eagerly took in their beloved faces. Had she been crazy to leave? Yes. She knew that now. They belonged together. The fact that Mitch was here could mean only one thing. Or did it? She wouldn’t put it past him to have come all this way for EmJay’s sake.
Cory took a dozen steps toward them before letting her backpack fall to the ground, startling Meeko, who jumped from her shoulder and skittered into the jungle.
Mitch looked up and met her gaze. “Hi,” he said, giving her that slow, familiar smile. “I heard you needed a translator. You know, to find a ward where you can be baptized.”
At the sound of his voice, EmJay turned away from the fire and spied Cory. Her face cracked a wide smile, and her whole body lurched up and down as she struggled to get to Cory, alternately giggling and babbling something no one could begin to understand.
Mitch held onto her more tightly so she wouldn’t fall. “I think she missed you.”
Cory had drawn close enough to see the tears in his eyes. She reached for EmJay and hugged the baby to her fiercely. EmJay’s arms went around her neck, and her head pressed against Cory’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, EmJay,” she whispered. “I should never have left you. I’ll never leave again.”
She wished she could explain to her how important it all had been and why she’d had to leave, but EmJay didn’t care, and she obviously didn’t hold grudges. There would be time for Cory to make it up to her later. The rest of our lives, she thought. Her tears rolled down her cheeks, falling into EmJay’s hair that gleamed orange in the firelight.
“Thank you for bringing her,” she said to Mitch. She could barely see him through her tears.
“I figured you might want to see her while you finish up your photo shoot.”
“Today’s my last day. I quit. I missed her too much.”
“Well, you can finish, if you want. We can stay for a while.”
And what about us? she wanted to ask. Now that their beliefs were no longer an obstacle, could he forgive her for everything she’d done? Could he begin to care for her the way she cared about him? Or was this visit only for EmJay?
“I can write anywhere, at least according to my agent.” Mitch put his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “But Tyler has to get back before next week. Although if he misses the first week of school, I think he’ll live.”
Agent? she thought. Is he serious? Cory blinked, trying to clear the tears. Turning her head, she caught sight of Tyler sitting at the far end of the communal table with some of her colleagues. He lifted a hand in greeting. Too stunned to return the gesture, she faced Mitch. “Your agent?”
“Yeah, you’re right. I guess I should have said our agent. You know, Vikki. She loved my story of Meeko with your pictures and has agreed to represent us. Book publishing is not exactly up her alley, but she assures me she has important contacts. She says my incredible text will sell even with your mediocre pictures. Or was it the other way around?” He grinned. “So what do you say? Partners?” He paused but rushed on again before she could speak. “I mean, after you finish this little gig here, of course. Then we can decide where we’ll go next and for how long. Between photo shoots for the books, we’ll go back to Utah and spend time in the mountains and with my family. You could even take more pictures for magazines, if you wanted to. And I was thinking, eventually we could try to do that children’s video series about animals.”
Suddenly Cory couldn’t stop smiling. “You’re crazy!”
“What?” He feigned surprise. “You don’t want to be on TV? Well, I guess I can see why that might be a problem with all that orange hair—which I think is beaut
iful, by the way. No matter. We’ll do something else. I always wanted to go to Africa.” He paused briefly before rushing on. “But it could be China, Italy, or Timbuktu.” He took a step toward her, his voice becoming husky. “Honestly, I don’t care where I am as long as I’m with you and EmJay. I love you, Cory Steele, and I want to be with you forever.” His face showed hope—and fear, too. He wasn’t as sure of himself as his words indicated.
Cory stepped into his arms, lifting her face to his. “Me, too,” she said, her voice soft. “I want that too.” Their lips met and love suffused her entire being, reminding her how she’d felt during the sunrise when she’d first realized that God loved her.
Now Mitch did, too.
Oh, AshDee, you were right about everything! Cory thought. Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of EmJay. Until you have her in your arms again.
That was the last coherent thought she had as Meeko swung down from the trees overhead and landed on her head, tangling his tiny feet in her hair. On her hip, EmJay screamed in delight, “Bunny!”
Chasing Yesterday
Chasing Yesterday
Chapter One
Tyler Huntington stared into the flushed face of his editor, Chantel Hull. Hands on her hips, she tossed her shoulder-length brown hair. “Face it, Tyler, you blew it,” she growled with more than her customary Friday morning irritation.
Hands on hips, Tyler thought. Not good. Not good at all. No doubt about it, Chantel was seriously upset.
“We need a more sympathetic voice,” Chantel continued. She wore black dress pants, a white fitted blouse, and suede high heels that put her at Tyler’s eye level. She didn’t look like a mother of four and grandmother of one–probably because she was always too busy working to eat.
“I’m sympathetic,” he protested.
“Telling parents it’s their fault for not being stricter when their kid messes up might have some basis in truth, but it does nothing for their grief–or for the public good. You were supposed to report, not wage a diatribe against lenient parents. That’s not good journalism. You should know that.”
Huntington Family Series Page 58