Two Roads Home

by Raney, Deborah;

  “That’s not true.”

  “Of course it is.” She gave an eerie, humorless laugh.

  It might have sent chills up Corinne’s spine. But instead, it made her deeply sad.

  “It’s okay. I’m used to it.” Michaela scrubbed her face with her hands, then looked at her hands in horror, as if she’d discovered blood there instead of dried mud. “I must look awful.”

  “I have some baby wipes in my car. If you want to wash up a little . . .”

  Again, that strangled, self-deprecating laugh. “It’s going to take more than a baby wipe to clean me up, honey.”

  “Michaela . . .” She swallowed hard. Give me the words, God. “You need help. You may not think anyone loves you, but . . . that’s not true. God does. He loves you more than you can imagine.” The words spilled out faster than she could think.

  “Now you’re sounding like that preacher at your church.”

  Corinne’s breath caught. So it was her. “You . . . need to talk to someone. To get some help.”

  Michaela stared at her, defiance thick in the steel of her eyes and the jut of her chin. “It’s so easy to say those words.” Her voice sounded hollow. “So easy when somebody with real flesh and blood loves you. When you’ve got your daddy on his way to rescue you.”

  Even though threat seemed intended in that word—rescue—Corinne felt no fear. She closed her eyes. “I know. I know that. And I don’t know what else to say to you, except that I’m sorry. I wish you could understand. I wish you would let yourself feel God’s love for you.”

  An engine roared behind them, and she heard the beautiful toot of her dad’s car horn. She waved at him.

  “And there he is,” Michaela said. “You go on. You’re off the hook now.”

  “No. I’ll stay. I need to learn how to change a tire. In case I’m ever in your shoes.”

  32

  Corinne took a deep breath and waited for the crescendo of nausea to pass. And it would, later this afternoon. Only to return with morning’s light. As it had for almost two weeks now. She reached for a tissue on the bathroom counter and wiped her mouth.

  She gathered up the drugstore box and instructions from the counter, and looked one more time at the pink line on the test stick. At least she knew what was causing her strange queasiness now. She must have skipped her pill one too many times during that week they’d moved.

  She braced both hands on the counter and leaned in to study her reflection. Oh, my word. What have we done? She thought she was going to cry, but what came out instead was a giggle. She was losing it. And if not now, she would eight months from now. Four kids in this tiny house? She laughed harder.

  “What’s so funny in there?”

  Oh, Jesse . . . She had to tell him.

  She took several deep breaths, ran a hand through her hair, and picked up the instrument of doom.

  Jesse was propped up in bed studying for a test. What if he freaked out? This was so not in their plans. This was so not what they needed right now. Or ever.

  “Jesse?” Biting her bottom lip, she held out the test stick.

  “What’s this?”

  “Jesse . . .” She said his name softer this time, hoping it would somehow soften the blow.

  He looked from her to the stick and back again, realization dawning in his eyes.

  “Corinne?” A smile came, slowly. “Are you serious?”

  “As a heart attack.” Her lip quivered against her will.

  “Well . . . Don’t cry about it! Babe . . . This is great news. This is awesome news.” He sounded like he really meant it. “Come here.” He pulled her down beside him on the bed.

  “You’re not upset?”

  “I’m . . .” He shook his head as if he were coming out of a trance. “I think I’m in shock.”

  “Welcome to the club.”

  “How long have you known?”

  “About two minutes longer than you have. But . . . I was starting to suspect. Remember I told you I thought I was coming down with the flu?”

  “But that was a long time ago.”

  “About three weeks ago.”

  “Holy cow. We’re having a baby.” He was absolutely beaming.

  “You don’t have to be quite so happy about it.”

  He frowned. “You’re not?”

  She sighed and hung her head. “Give me a little while to get used to the idea.”

  “Nine months be enough?”

  “More like eight. Oh, Jesse . . .” She moaned. “I sold all the baby stuff in the garage sale!”

  “Well, that was a dumb move, Pennington.” He laughed.

  And it was contagious. He pulled her close and they laughed the same way they had that night at the inn, which, now that she thought about it, was probably the night it had happened. Which made her laugh harder.

  “What’s so funny, everybody?”

  They turned to see Sari standing in the doorway, rubbing her eyes.

  Jesse raised his eyebrows at Corinne in a way that said, Can we tell her?

  But she frowned and gave a discreet shake of her head. Eight months was a long time for a five-year-old to wait. Not to mention, five-year-olds had big mouths.

  Danae. Oh, it would be so hard to tell her sister the news. And things were already a little strained between them. But it wasn’t like she’d done it on purpose. Lord willing, maybe she and Danae would share a pregnancy.

  “Oh!”

  “What?” Jesse looked alarmed.

  She must have groaned louder than she thought. “I sold all my matern—” She caught herself and looked pointedly at Sari. “My special clothes in the garage sale too.”

  He shrugged. “So you’ll buy more.”

  “Are we goin’ shopping?” Sadie stood in the doorway, looking as wide awake as Sari looked sleepy.

  “Mama!” Simone peeked from behind her sister then made a dash for the bed and scrambled up to weasel her way between them.

  “Monkey pile on Mommy!” Jesse said, pulling Sadie up on the bed.

  Sari dove into the mess, the whole lot of them giggling and wiggling.

  “You think this bed can take any more?” Jesse said, speaking code over their daughters’ heads.

  In that instance, a memory pushed its way into her mind. She must’ve been about Sari’s age, because Landyn hadn’t come along yet, but Danae and Link and sweet Tim were all there. And the “monkey pile” was on Dad—in Mom and Dad’s big bed in the house she’d grown up in. Back when the inn was a creaky, chipped-paint, orange-shag-carpeted house where so much love had grown. And where there’d been plenty of room for Landyn when she came along. And plenty of love.

  Her mind was far away in a place where she’d first learned what love and happiness were, but the background music for her memories was the laughter of her precious husband and her own three little girls—with a baby on the way.

  Maybe the song was right: maybe love did grow best in little houses. Nothing would make her happier than if her daughters could grow up to share the kind of friendship she and her sisters had—spats and all.

  “Hey, Mommy?” Jesse’s hand was warm on her face. “You okay?”

  She snuggled closer to him and let the chaos that was their daughters wash over her like a healing balm.

  “Never been better, babe. Never been better.”

  * * *

  Group Discussion Guide

  1. In Two Roads Home, Jesse Pennington has to travel a great deal with his job. What are some of the hazards and temptations of traveling away from your family? If your family has ever had to deal with this, what are some things that helped you stay connected while one of you was on the road?

  2. Do you think there was anything Jesse could have done to prevent the frustration and pain that Michaela Creeve inflicted on him and his family? What could Corinne have done to possibly circumvent the situation if she had known about it?

  3. Corinne and Jesse chose to take a big step down in the economic realm. How did they each ha
ndle that change? Why do you think it was harder for Corinne than for Jesse? Discuss some of the adjustments both Corinne and Danae will go through with their switch in lifestyles.

  4. How much do you think where you live and the kind of home you live in determines your lifestyle? Have you ever made a drastic change from one economic state to another? What surprised you about that change?

  5. Though the Whitman sisters love and respect one another and are close friends, they sometimes get irritated with and sometimes feel envious of one another. Do you think sibling friendships are more difficult than friendships with people to whom you have no family connection? Why or why not?

  6. Audrey had mixed feelings about having her children and grandchildren in and out of her house. Why was she torn between enjoying time with them and feeling as if it was a burden? Do you understand her seemingly conflicting feelings? Have you ever felt the same? How could she have reached a compromise that would have kept everyone content?

  7. Have you ever had a person in your life who was manipulative or a borderline stalker/harasser like Michaela Creeve? How did you handle it? What do you think about the way Jesse and Corinne handled the issues with Michaela? Do you think Jesse and Corinne were forceful enough when it came to protecting their daughters and getting help from the police? How, if at all, would you have done things differently?

  8. If you’ve read the first book in The Chicory Inn series, do you see any parallels between Chase and Landyn’s issues in Home to Chicory Lane, and Jesse and Corinne’s in Two Roads Home? How are the two marriages different? How are they similar? Is your marriage similar to that of your siblings or siblings-in-law? If it is different, how has that affected your relationship with extended family?

  9. What do you think might happen to Michaela in the future? Is there hope for people like her? What responsibility, if any, do you think Corinne has in Michaela’s life, especially concerning Michaela’s future?

  10. Jesse and Corinne received surprising news at the end of the book. Have you ever gotten similar news? What was your reaction? Did it take a while to get used to the idea?

  11. Corinne was afraid of how the news would affect her sister. Have you ever experienced misplaced guilt when you knew that your good news would cause someone else pain or envy?

  12. Which family member do you identify most with in the Chicory Inn series so far? Why? Who do you find most likable? Least likable?

  Want to learn more about Deborah Raney

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  About the Author

  Deborah Raney dreamed of writing a book since the summer she read all of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House books and discovered that a little Kansas farm girl could, indeed, grow up to be a writer. After a happy twenty-year detour as a stay-at-home wife and mom, Deb began her writing career. Her first novel, A Vow to Cherish, was awarded a Silver Angel from Excellence in Media and inspired the acclaimed World Wide Pictures film of the same title. Since then, her books have won the RITA Award, the HOLT Medallion, the National Readers’ Choice Award, as well as being a two-time Christy Award finalist. Deb enjoys speaking and teaching at writers’ conferences across the country. She and her husband, artist Ken Raney, make their home in their native Kansas and, until a recent move to the city, enjoyed the small-town life that is the setting for many of Deb’s novels. The Raneys enjoy gardening, antiquing, art museums, movies, and traveling to visit four grown children and a growing brood of grandchildren, all of whom live much too far away.

  Deborah loves hearing from her readers. To e-mail her or to learn more about her books, please visit www.deborahraney.com.

  We hope you enjoyed reading Two Roads Home and that you will continue to read Abingdon Press fiction books. Here are excerpts from book 1, Home to Chicory Lane, and the forthcoming book 3, Another Way Home.

  1

  So, Mrs. Whitman, is everything ready?” Grant stood under the archway dividing the formal dining room from the parlor, smiling that cat-that-swallowed-the-canary grin Audrey adored. And had for nearly thirty-five years.

  She went to lean on the column opposite him. She loved this view of the house—no, the inn. She must remember to refer to it as such. This wonderful house where they’d raised their five kids and where she’d played as a little girl had finally become The Chicory Inn. The stately home just a mile outside of Langhorne, Missouri, had been built by her maternal grandparents on a wooded fifty acres with a clearwater creek running through it. Now it was her fifty-five hundred square-foot dream fulfilled. Or at least that was the plan.

  Audrey gave her husband a tight smile. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. I just know I’m forgetting something.”

  “Come here.” He opened his arms to her.

  She stepped into his embrace, desperately needing the strength of him.

  “Everything looks wonderful, and anything you forgot can’t be too important. Just look at the weather God supplied—sunshine, cool October breeze, and the trees are at their autumn peak. Even the chicory is still in bloom in the ditches. Made to order, I’d say.”

  She nodded, feeling as if she might burst into tears any minute.

  Grant pulled her closer. “Can’t you just enjoy this weekend? It’s no fun if you’re in knots the whole time.”

  “Were we crazy to invite the kids home for this?”

  He kissed the top of her head. “We were crazy to have kids, never mind five of them. But hey, look how that turned out.”

  “I wish your mom could’ve been here.”

  He cleared his throat. “Trust me, it’s better this way. Besides, you know she’ll find a way to get in her two cents, even from the wilds of Oregon. What do you want to bet she’ll call, just as guests are arriving, to make sure you didn’t forget anything?”

  She loved Grant’s mother dearly, but the woman did have a way of trying to run the show—even when it wasn’t her show to run. Grant was probably right. Cecelia—or CeeCee, as the kids called their grandmother—had timed her trip to visit Grant’s brother perfectly.

  Audrey’s cell phone chimed, signaling a text message.

  “See?” Grant gave her an I-told-you-so grin. “There she is.”

  She checked her phone. “Your mother barely knows how to make a call on a cell phone, let alone send a text. Oh, it’s Link. He’s running late.” She texted a quick reply to their son.

  “Link late? Well, there’s a huge surprise.”

  She laughed, grateful for the distraction. Their son was notoriously tardy. But after she put her phone back in her pocket, Audrey turned serious. “Oh, Grant . . . What if this whole thing is a big fat flop?”

  “And why, sweet woman, would it be a flop, when you’ve poured your heart and soul and passion into it for the last eight months?”

  “And most of your retirement funds, don’t forget.” The thought made her positively queasy. It wasn’t as if he could just return to his contractor job tomorrow and get back his 401K. “Not to mention a lot of sweat equity.”

  “And don’t forget the blood and tears.” He winked.

  “And your blood pressure,” she said with a look of warning. “How can you joke about this, Grant? What if we—”

  “Shh.” He tipped her chin and silenced her with a kiss.

  She knew Grant had been relieved to get out of the rat race his job had become. In fact, his doctor had prescribed retirement along with the blood pressure meds he’d put Grant on last fall. The past year of renovations had been anything but relaxing, but things would settle down now that the remodel was finished. Maybe this was all a sort of blessing in disguise. She let that thought soothe her. For the moment anyway.

  The doorbell rang.

  �
�That’ll be Corinne.” She pushed away from him. “She promised to help me with the hors d’oeuvres.”

  “I don’t see why we couldn’t just have chips and salsa or pretzels or—”

  “And don’t forget your tie.” Audrey scooped the despised noose, as Grant had dubbed it, off the end of the hall tree and tossed it at him.

  He caught it and dangled it by two fingers as if it were a poisonous snake. “You’re not really serious about that?”

  “Serious as a heart attack.”

  Grant’s grumbling faded behind her as she hurried to answer the door.

  Their eldest daughter stood on the wraparound veranda with almost-two-year-old Simone propped on one hip.

  “Corinne?” Audrey sagged. “I thought Jesse was going to watch the kids?”

  “He is, but I think Simone’s cutting teeth, and I didn’t want Jesse to have to deal with that, too. You know how he gets when—” Corinne stopped mid-sentence and eyed her mother. “It’ll be fine, Mom. Dad can watch Simone if we need him to.”

  “No, your dad has a whole list of things he’s in charge of. I need him.” She pushed down the resentment that threatened. “Never mind. You’re right . . . it’ll be fine.” She reached for her youngest granddaughter and ushered Corinne into the foyer.

  Corinne walked through to the parlor, her eyes widening. “Wow! It looks gorgeous, Mom. You’ve been busy.”

  “I just want everything to be perfect. Just this one time.” She didn’t have to look at her daughter to know Corinne was rolling her eyes.

  “Just this once, huh?”

  She ignored the sarcasm and tweaked little Simone’s cheek. “Are those new toofers giving you trouble, sweetie?”