Diamond Lake Series: Complete Series (Bks 1-7) Boxset

by T. K. Chapin

  “I love birds. They’re not only beautiful, but such a staple of the Christian faith.” My heart fluttered and my smile grew wider at his words. A man of God? How’d I get so lucky with the new neighbor next door? Was it divine or just pure luck?

  Emily stood up and said, “I’m going home.” As she began to leave, Tristan and Bailey joined her.

  Dylan stood and smiled as they exited.

  “The bird verse is in Matthew, right?” I asked as he came over to me.

  He nodded. “There are a lot of verses about birds in the Scriptures, but the one you’re probably thinking of is Matthew 6:26. ‘Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?’ ”

  Slowly nodding I replied, “Yes.” He placed the bird he had in my hands. As I smoothed my thumb across the textures, I thought about the precise attention to detail that must have been required. “How long have you been carving?”

  “Three decades.”

  My eyes widened.

  “My father taught me how to whittle when I was old enough not to cut myself with a knife.”

  As I handed the bird back to him, our hands touched. Even though it was for less than a second, what felt like a surge of electricity shot through my body. Judging by the look on his face, he felt it too. He smiled at me and then placed the bird back on the shelf.

  As we walked down the narrow, creaky stairwell back downstairs, my foot suddenly went through one of the steps, and Dylan caught me in his arms as I let out a screech. Pulling me back up to the step he was on, he held me close to his chest for a moment before releasing.

  “You okay?” he asked. We both gazed at the broken step.

  “Yeah . . . is that a room?” I asked as we both looked into a dark, open space that was sending up the distinct aroma of old.

  He shook his head slowly. “I don’t know, but let’s find out. That is . . . unless you have to get back home?”

  I shook my head. “They’ll be okay. Emily’s sixteen.”

  Dylan smiled and took me by the hand to help me over the broken step. He led me through the living room and out into the garage. As we stepped into the garage, he said, “Those stairs run along the side of this wall.” His fingers tapped the wall as he glanced over the barren wall.

  “Maybe it was sealed off?”

  Pressing his lips together tightly, he looked to be contemplating something. “I don’t know.” He glanced to the door. “There’s one more place.”

  We went back into the house and to a room on the other side that was parallel to the garage. Standing in the doorway, we both looked around the empty room that only had a box in it. My eyes fell on a raised area of the wall. Walking over to it, I smoothed my fingers over it. “Dylan?” I questioned as I turned my head to him as he was further down on the wall.

  He came over and touched the wall. As he let his fingers glide across the wall, he looked at me. Then he grinned. “There was a door right here.” He jumped up and took a step back. “I’m going to go get my sledgehammer and knock it down.”

  As I waited for him to return, I looked at the box in the room. Curious, I walked over to it and saw the name, Elise, in a thick black marker written on the side. Who was Elise? I began to wonder. Glancing toward the doorway of the room, I listened to see if he was coming back—he wasn’t. The box was already opened, and the flaps were already undone. Just a peek won’t hurt. Lifting a flap with a single finger, I peeked in. Seeing a pink Ms. Wisconsin pageant sash, I let the flap fall and backed away. My nerves skyrocketed and I looked nervously to the doorway of the room again. One more peek. Going back to the box, I looked again. I saw a picture of Dylan and this Elise. My heart began to race.

  “What are you doing?” Dylan asked as he stood in the doorway with his sledgehammer in hand.

  Backing up away from the box, I apologized. “I’m so sorry. I just saw the name . . . and I was curious. I just—” Pressing my hand against my forehead, I shook my head. “I.”

  He set the sledgehammer against the wall and stepped closer to me. Touching the side of my arm, he shook his head. “I understand. I’d do the same thing.”

  “Really?”

  He nodded. “Elise was my wife.”

  “You said you didn’t have a wife.”

  “I don’t.” His eyes went to the box. “Not anymore.”

  I wanted to know what happened, but I didn’t want to push it. It wasn’t right. Not on the first day of meeting someone. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “It’s all right.” He looked at me. “You ready to find out what’s in that room?”

  “Yeah!”

  He grabbed the sledgehammer and we went over to the wall. He swung and put a hole right through the wall. Dropping the hammer, he scrunched down on his knees and peeked inside. I came over and got down next to him, resting my hand on his back as I glanced in.

  “Nothing,” he replied as he swiped his hands through the cobwebs. We both stood up and looked at each other.

  I smiled. “Well, it was fun to look and see. I’d better get back.”

  He nodded. “Let me walk you out.”

  As we walked through his house and to the back porch, I couldn’t help but feel a longing to stay longer. But I knew staying wouldn’t be right. My girls needed me to be home, not out all night with the next door neighbor I just met. Kids were impressionable, and I didn’t want that pressed into their minds.

  As we opened the door and I stepped out, I glanced over his shoulder. “I’m kind of bummed there wasn’t anything in that room. I’m kind of an ‘old stuff’ junky.”

  “Like history?” he asked.

  I nodded. “I love history.”

  “I’m the same way.”

  Anxiety crept in as I knew our time together was about to end. “Would you like to come over for dinner? Tomorrow?” I asked. My nerves shook me to the core as I awaited his reply.

  He smiled. “I’d like that. What time?” Phew!

  “Six?”

  “I’ll be looking forward to it.”

  “Awesome. See you then!” I could hardly believe it. The gorgeous next door neighbor said ‘yes’ to dinner.

  As I left Dylan’s house that night and made my way back over to my porch, my footsteps had a little bit more of a bounce to them. This new neighbor was turning out to be one of the most interesting men I had met in a very long time—the woodcarving, the piano, and that fun room we stumbled upon. I barely knew the guy, but that didn’t stop me from daydreaming of what life could be like with a man like him.

  Chapter 4

  Closing the bedroom door to the girls’ room after putting Bailey and Tristan down to sleep, I heard a knock come from downstairs. Emily was at a friend’s house for the night. Answering the door, I was surprised to see it was my younger sister, Abby. Her mascara was running down her cheeks and her eyes were bloodshot.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked as I embraced her.

  “Chase. He’s gone for good this time.” She released from our hug and went over to the couch, collapsing into the cushions.

  Joining her on the couch, I placed a hand on Abby’s shoulder. She was hurting, that was obvious, but I wasn’t sure what had happened this time. I could’ve guessed it though. My sister did have the tendency of having a new flavor of boyfriend almost weekly. Well, it was more like every month, but still, she went through them faster than I could count. In the mere two years of living in Newport, she had over fifteen that I could recall off the top of my head. She was a sad and lonely soul, never able to settle on one man and always looking for love in all the worst places. For the longest time, I thought she just had a run of bad luck, but then last summer happened. She dated a guy named Peter. He was perfect for her—good job, kind, cute, and no issues—but she ended up dumping him. In her own words, she said they had ‘creative differences.’ Not sure what that really meant when it came to a relationship. She never really divulged to
me the why. Regardless, they didn’t last, and all the boyfriends since then didn’t either. Searching for the right words in the moment, I accidently phrased my words inconsiderately. “What happened with this one?”

  The tears stopped, she sat up and furrowed her eyebrows my way. “Don’t you sit over there and judge me, Ms. Charlotte!”

  “Seriously. You’re this upset about Chase? You were literally just with Hal like what, a month ago? I last longer between cycles than you do in some of these relationships. It’s tiresome, Abby.”

  She smiled. “Rude!”

  Touching her hand, I said, “Come have some tea with me and tell me what happened. We need to go out back though. My girls are trying to sleep.”

  She nodded and wiped her eyes. Abby and I had a weird sister relationship. Sometimes, we were brutally honest. Other times, we were the sweetest little angels to each other. No matter what, we didn’t let words or emotions get in the way of our sister-friendship. We got in a big fight once when I was still with Bradley, but we made a vow when I moved back to Newport never to let it happen again.

  As we took our cups of tea out back onto the patio, I shut the door behind us. Abby sat down and placed her cup on the patio table that sat between our chairs.

  “So what happened with Chase was . . . he wanted kids and a family and the whole life thing.”

  Taking a seat in the chair parallel to hers, I shook my head.

  “What?”

  Making eye contact with her, I said, “You broke up with Hal because he didn’t want that exact thing, Abby. You see the problem here? You want that life . . . why would you break up with this guy? Chase has a son already and you were telling me how much you loved being a mother role model to the kid. Nothing lines up.”

  She dropped her face into her palms and began to sob. “I guess I just don’t know what I want!” She sniffled.

  “Well . . . why don’t you want to have kids and a family?”

  She stopped crying and took a drink of her tea. Glancing back at my house and then at me, she said, “This life isn’t me, Sis. You like never sleep. I need my beauty sleep! You don’t get looking this beautiful without a lot of sleep in life.”

  “You’re such a brat.” I laughed. “My life is painful at times.” A smile began to cross my face as I thought of my girls. “But it’s so worth it, Abby. To be able to watch your children grow up and become young ladies . . . there’s nothing like it on this earth. I know you’re aware of how hard it’s been since Bradley left me, but I wouldn’t change my life for the world. There’s something magical about looking into the eyes of your own child. Your own flesh and blood.”

  “Before or after they vomit, pee and poop all over you?” Abby laughed while I only flashed a courtesy smile. “Sorry. I know how much the girls mean to you, Charlotte.” She set her cup down and brought her hands together in her lap as she peered up at the night sky. “I just don’t know why God won’t let me find peace over the right thing to do in life.”

  “God won’t force you into finding peace, Abby. But He can help you get through the trials and storms. Plus, I think there is peace that comes in choosing the right thing to do in God’s eyes.”

  Abby looked at me and then over at the empty fireplace. “You should really build a fire more often.”

  Joining her gaze over at the sad, unlit fireplace, I nodded. “I know.”

  “Hey,” Abby said abruptly. I looked over at her as she continued. “Thanks for being a good older sister.”

  I smiled. “Thanks for letting me flip you a little grief without you getting all upset about it.”

  She laughed. “You keep it real! I like that.” Abby laughed. “I need that in my life. You’re more like a best friend than a sister.”

  A pot with flowers suddenly fell over onto the porch. Glancing over, I saw Dylan in the light of the porch light. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt!” Dylan said as he waved a hand and held a plate in his other.

  Abby and I both jumped. His brown eyes caught my attention. “It’s okay. You didn’t interrupt.” My eyes stayed fixed on his.

  Abby cleared her throat, causing me to glance over at her and realize she wanted an introduction.

  I stood up with Abby and introduced the two of them to each other. “Dylan, this is Abby, my sister. Abby, this is Dylan, the new neighbor next door.”

  As they shook hands, I could almost feel my chances with Dylan evaporate into the night sky that hung above Diamond Lake. Abby was always the prettier one of us girls growing up. And as anyone could guess, she was the one who would always land the guy. I clung to a thread of hope in the moment, though, as I saw Dylan quickly pull his hand away and turn his focus back to me. Handing me the plate that the cookies were on earlier, he smiled. “I didn’t know if you might need this back tonight.”

  “If I needed a plate?” I let out a playful laugh. “I have a cupboard full.”

  He grinned and rubbed his neck as a smile crept into the corner of his mouth. “I guess that’s probably true.”

  It was strange that he came over after I had just seen him not too long ago, but Dylan came across as genuine and innocent. I wasn’t used to seeing that in a man.

  “Want me to bring anything for dinner tomorrow?” Dylan offered. I knew when the mention of dinner came off his lips that my sister had already begun her devilish plan to steal him away.

  “I’ll be there too, Dylan.” Abby beamed with a smile, interrupting as she kept her eyes on Dylan. Looking over at Dylan, he didn’t seem to care much. He was still looking at me. Each second that passed with our eyes on one another sent waves of happiness through me.

  I pulled my eyes from his gaze for fear of awkwardness setting in. Finally, I replied to his question. “Don’t worry about bringing anything over. I have it handled.” While I did find comfort in the fact that Dylan was focused on me, I couldn’t help but feel a bit agitated with my sister. Glancing over to her, I asked, “Is your boyfriend, Chase, going to be joining us, Abby?”

  “No.” She jerked her head in my direction. “We aren’t together anymore, Charlotte.”

  “Oh. That’s right. You broke up today.”

  Dylan must have sensed the tension out on the patio as he took a step back and said, “I’m going to get going. I’ll see you two tomorrow though?”

  “See you then, Dylan,” I replied.

  “Looking forward to it!” added Abby as Dylan took his leave back to his house.

  Abby was boy-crazy, but I had a good feeling about Dylan. He didn’t seem swayed by her flirting and gorgeous looks. I came to the conclusion that, in a way, I was almost glad she was there that night. Abby was able to help me determine if he was worth my time or not. With three girls who had already been through enough, wasting another moment on a loser wouldn’t be good for any of us.

  Chapter 5

  The next morning, I decided to enjoy my cup of coffee out on my patio in the hope of possibly seeing Dylan again. I had spent half the night dreaming about him while I tossed and turned. There was no getting those golden-brown eyes out of my head. Sitting down in my chair as I heard a few birds chirp overhead, I watched them for a moment as they landed on my yard over in the tree line that separated Mrs. Craig’s and my property. Glancing down at the ground below the trees, I saw the eyesore that had been haunting me for weeks—yard debris from the big storm that had recently hit Newport. It had been a while since the storm, and I still hadn’t made the time to clean up the debris. I always had an excuse not to do it, but now I had an excuse to do it. If I hung outside long enough, I might be able to catch a glimpse of Dylan.

  After my cup of coffee, I went inside and put on a pair of overalls and grabbed my gardening gloves. When I came back out, I noticed Dylan sitting in a lawn chair near the edge of his dock, just beyond where his boat was docked. Taking a few steps toward him, I turned and decided against talking to him. I didn’t want to come off like a stalker since I knew he hadn’t been out there for more than a few minutes. As I wa
lked off the opposite side of the patio and headed past the tire swing in my yard, I glanced back at him again and saw what looked to be a Bible in his hands. It warmed my heart when I saw it. A man was hard to find at my age, but a man who sought God was likened to that long lost bell in the bottom of Diamond Lake—nearly impossible to find. Smiling as I continued onward to the mess in my yard, I couldn’t stop stealing glances back toward him. He was so perfect, I felt like God might have finally heard my prayers.

  Gathering armfuls of branches, I hauled them across the yard to my burn pile near the shore where the grass turned to sand. As I hauled more debris, I began to wonder what Dylan’s story was. Why did he move here? What happened to his wife? For a moment, I decided I was going to go talk to him, but a few paces into the journey, I once again changed my mind. I didn’t want to interrupt his time with God, and he’d be over for dinner later in the evening anyway. On one of my final trips to the burn pile, I noticed the lawn chair and Dylan were gone. I let a sorrowful sigh escape my lips as he must have retreated into his house.

  “Good morning, Charlotte.” Dylan’s voice startled me from behind.

  Pressing my hand against my chest as I turned to him, I said, “You scared me!”

  “Sorry about that . . .” His eyes went over to my burn pile. “Need a hand?”

  Shaking my head, I glanced toward the tree line in my yard. “Mostly done now, but thanks for the offer.”

  He nodded and was turning around to leave when my thoughts went back to the assumption he was reading his Bible. “What were you reading?”

  A smile peeked in from the corner of his lip as he turned to me. “My Bible.”

  “I thought that’s what it was . . . which book?”

  “A few different ones. I’m on the ‘read the Bible in a year’ track. I’ve been doing it every year for five years.”

  “Oh, wow. That’s neat. I’ve done that once before, but it was a long time ago when I was with Bradley.” Panic set in as I realized I mentioned my ex-husband. Way to go, Charlotte! Seeing Dylan’s eyebrow go up, I knew he wanted to know who it was. “He’s my ex-husband. He left me and the girls a couple of years ago.” My face went red with embarrassment. “I’m sorry. I’m talking too much.”