by Alana Terry
“It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?” she interrupted. She stopped herself from apologizing one more time for not being able to fly out to Orchard Grove when he and Susannah got married last winter. Megan sat beside her brother and buckled up.
Scott hadn’t stopped grinning since baggage claim. “Are you hungry? We could grab something for the road.”
“Starving.”
“You in the mood for anything in particular?”
Megan paused to think. “Anything that’s not a legume.” She never knew until moving to Costa Rica to work with Kingdom Builders how black beans could turn into breakfast, lunch, and dinner staples. Her taste buds were ready for a nice, juicy burger or greasy slice of pizza. This felt just like it had when she was a teenager and spent her spring break with Scott while he was getting his Bible certificate. Just the two of them, together again.
Except now he was married and about to become a father. “How’s Susannah?” she asked as they pulled away from the curb.
Scott maneuvered through the congested airport traffic. “She’s adorable. Like always. Being pregnant hasn’t slowed her down a bit.”
“And what about her sister?” Megan asked. “How’s Kitty doing?”
She glanced over at her brother and for the first time saw his smile diminish.
“She’s hanging in there,” Scott answered. “She’s one tough cookie, that’s for sure.”
“Well, I’m excited for the chance to get to know her.” Megan didn’t want to admit she was nervous. Not about meeting Scott’s wife. She and Susannah had shared plenty of phone calls and video chats, and Megan had heard enough about Susannah from her brother that she felt like they had known each other for years.
What she was less certain about was Kitty, Susannah’s sister who had cerebral palsy and was recovering from pneumonia. Scott had tried to sugar-coat Kitty’s recent sickness on the phone. That was just his way, but Megan knew her brother well enough to suspect that things weren’t as optimistic as he made them out to be.
Which was one of the main reasons Megan had flown all the way to Washington state to be with her brother and sister-in-law. Susannah could use the extra hands around the house, especially now that she was pregnant in addition to taking care of her sister. Megan was past due for a furlough anyway. Most of the other missionary teachers at the Kingdom Builders school and orphanage left Costa Rica once every year or two, but Megan had stayed on the field over four years straight.
So much had changed since then.
“I still can’t believe you’re about to become a dad.” Megan winced when she said the words. Scott would be a great father. She knew that with certainty, but she still couldn’t picture him settled down with a family of his own.
Would there still be room left in his heart for her?
He looked just as casual and at ease as ever. “Well, I’m sure you had a long day. Feel free to take a little nap. We can stop by Zips for some food on our way out of town.”
Megan leaned back in her seat. There were so many things she wanted to ask her brother. How did he end up falling in love with Susannah before they’d even met face to face? Was it hard sharing his home with a sister with disabilities? Had it been a difficult choice to give up his frequent mission trips with Kingdom Builders to settle down?
Did he ever regret his decision, even a little?
But there would be time for all that later. Megan wouldn’t be heading back to Costa Rica until September. It was a much-needed break after four and a half long years on the field.
Scott knew more than anyone how difficult her first few months had been. Eventually the two of them would end up talking about all of it, but for now she just enjoyed his nearness. She rolled down her window, sighing as the wind whipped through her hair.
She’d never set foot in Washington state until now, but still it felt good to be home.
CHAPTER 2
“IT’S SO NICE TO FINALLY meet you.” Megan accepted Susannah’s hug and hoped she didn’t smell as gross as she felt after a full day of traveling. It was a two-hour ride by bus from the mission complex to the San Jose airport, and she was covered in dust and sweat. Thankfully, Scott and Susannah’s home had air-conditioning. She could definitely get used to this.
Megan pulled away and studied her sister-in-law. “You don’t even look pregnant!”
Susannah laughed easily. “Four months along already.”
Scott beamed and rubbed his wife’s belly. “If you go by the pregnancy calendar, our little baby’s about the size of an orange and growing bigger every day.” He leaned down and let his voice rise an octave. “Aren’t you, little baby? You’re growing so big for your mommy and daddy who love you so much.”
Megan had never seen her brother baby-talk to anyone before. She wondered what her parents would think, then shoved the thought away. “How’s Kitty doing?”
Susannah’s smile wavered for just a second. “She just woke up from her nap. She’s looking forward to meeting you.” Why did she look so nervous?
Megan glanced at her brother.
“Kitty can sometimes take a little time to decide if she likes you or not,” Scott whispered while his wife headed down the hall.
“Is everything okay?” Megan still wasn’t exactly sure how she was supposed to act around someone with cerebral palsy. Kitty couldn’t talk, but she used other cues to communicate. Megan was afraid she’d forget the difference between one kick and two or find some other way to accidentally insult Scott’s new family.
“Kitty,” Susannah was calling from the doorway. “Are you ready to meet Scott’s sister? Megan’s here all the way from Costa Rica. Remember how much we pray for her and her work with the orphans there?”
Megan glanced up once more at her brother. Was she supposed to head down the hall now or wait to be invited? Funny how she could handle a classroom of forty rambunctious students, preaching Bible stories and teaching multiplication facts in a second language, but now that she was back with Scott, she reverted so readily to her old role.
The role of the little sister in need of protection.
The attention-starved child looking to her larger-than-life brother for reassurance.
Or the heartbroken new missionary crying on her brother’s shoulder her first Christmas on the field.
“Go ahead,” Scott whispered. His smile was warm and kind. Maybe they were both falling back to old roles.
Scott took her arm and led her down the hall. “Oh, Kitty,” he called out in a sing-song voice. “Guess who’s here to see you? You ready to meet your new sister?”
CHAPTER 3
BRAD’S MOTHER WAS ALREADY crying before he pulled away from his first hug.
“It’s okay, Mom,” he told her. “I’m here. You can let me go now.”
“I’m just happy to have you back home.” She sobbed and chuckled at the same time.
“I know.” Was she trying to make him feel even guiltier for staying away so long? His job as a teacher at a home for troubled teens in Vermont kept him busy during the school year, but this was the first summer he’d be spending back in Orchard Grove. “I know,” he repeated and glanced around the room. Had they changed a single piece of furniture in the past decade?
“It’s going to mean so much to Grandma Lucy to find out you’ve come all this way just for her.” Her mom blew her nose loudly and stifled down another cry.
“Aw, come on.” He chuckled. “You don’t have to get like that.” He wrapped his arm around her again. Had he gotten taller or was she shrinking?
She blew her nose one more time. “You have no idea how thankful I am to have you home.” She reached up and patted his cheek as if he’d been seven years old. Some things would never change.
Like the bells that jingled on the front door when you walked in. Or the fact that this Safe Anchorage farm house was still standing, crooked staircase and all.
Or that his father was at this moment sitting in the den reading his newspaper or fishing magaz
ine and wouldn’t even make the time to greet his son who’d been away all these years.
Mom kept rubbing his back with one hand and wiping her cheeks with the other. He knew she’d get like this when he came home, but he wasn’t prepared for how strongly her reaction would impact him.
This was his mother, the one who’d cleaned his skinned knees, taught him how to milk goats, taken out his multiple sets of stitches and kissed all his childhood scrapes and injuries away. When had she turned into an old woman?
He took a few steps down the hall, not in the direction of his father’s den but toward the greenhouse Grandma Lucy had converted into her personal prayer retreat. He stopped and stared through the screen door into the dark room.
“Where’s Grandma?”
“She’s resting, honey.” Mom frowned, the tears streaking down the wrinkles on her cheeks. “Grandma Lucy, like I told you, she’s, well, she gets tired more easily now. She takes lots of naps these days.”
“Yeah, I just thought she’d be in here.” Brad cocked his head to the side. Had he ever seen Grandma Lucy’s famous prayer chair empty in the middle of the afternoon?
“She’s more comfortable in her room,” Mom explained. “I told you we have her sleeping downstairs now, right? It’s hard for her to manage the steps with her walker. You don’t mind taking the attic space, do you?”
“Of course not.” Hadn’t he grown up in that room anyway? It was only once he became an adult that his mom thought he’d need the formal guest room for his infrequent visits.
She hugged him one last time. “Well, you get up and get your things settled. We’ve had lots of guests staying up there lately. Your cousin Jillian, I told you she was here earlier, didn’t I?”
He nodded. Hard as it was for him to keep track of every single one of his dozens of cousins, he always listened more closely when Mom told him about how Jillian was doing. The two of them practically grew up together here in this very house — Brad, Jillian, and Jillian’s brother. It was so long since any of them had been together.
Maybe he should have come sooner.
“So you showed up, hey, boy?”
The gruff voice knotted up Brad’s stomach, and he turned. “Hey, Dad.”
Mom clasped her hands together. “Hasn’t he grown taller, Dennis?” she asked, her eyes darting nervously back and forth between both men.
Brad’s father gave a grunt and tossed an old newspaper onto the dining room table. “Hope you’re planning to help around the barn if you’re gonna be staying here.”
Mom nodded and prodded Brad toward the stairs. “Of course, of course. Now, you’re tired after that long flight, so you go rest up, and I’ll call you down when dinner’s ready.”
Brushing past his dad, Brad made his way to the stairs, skipping the one in the center that always squeaked, and shut himself into his tiny room in the attic.
He tossed his suitcase onto his bed and let out a mirthless chuckle.
No place like home?
We’ll see about that.
CHAPTER 4
“HI, KITTY.” MEGAN TRIED to enunciate each word but hoped she wasn’t dummying down her language too much. “I’m Megan.” She thought back to when she first moved to Costa Rica. Had she felt as out of place then as she did now?
She gave Kitty what she hoped was a warm smile.
Blink.
Megan glanced at Scott. What did blink mean?
Susannah was massaging her sister’s legs and glanced up. “Kitty, don’t you think Scott and Megan look an awful lot alike? And you know what else? He’s a year and a half older than she is, just like I’m a year and a half older than you.”
Megan wondered how long it would take before she could talk to Kitty that comfortably. Granted, Susannah had quite a bit of a head start in experience and practice. Megan watched her as she kneaded Kitty’s thigh muscles. Her legs were as skinny as Susannah’s arms.
Forcing herself to stop staring, she stepped up to Kitty’s bed. “So have you ever heard of Costa Rica? That’s where I live.”
Blink.
Megan glanced at her brother again. She could be an old woman after spending her entire lifetime sharing the gospel completely independent of anybody else, but the minute her brother came into the room, she’d look to him to take the lead in a conversation.
Scott walked over to a world map taped above Kitty’s dresser. “Right here,” he said, pointing to the small country. “Costa Rica. We’ve talked about it before. Remember the story I told you about that naughty little monkey who stole my sunglasses when I was there visiting?”
Kitty let out a snort, and at first Megan was worried she was choking, but Scott laughed, and she realized Kitty was doing the same.
A girl with a sense of humor. Now Megan was starting to feel more comfortable. “Oh, that wasn’t the worst,” she added, chuckling herself at the memory. “After Scott got his sunglasses back, the monkey was so mad it started throwing mangoes at him. Do you know what mangoes are? It’s a kind of fruit we have in Costa Rica. It kind of tastes like ...”
She stopped herself. Was it rude to talk about food with someone who survived entirely on formula?
Susannah glanced up from her massage. Had Megan made some kind of irreparable mistake?
Scott sat on the corner of Kitty’s bed, looking as comfortable as if he were reclining in a sauna. He was always so encouraging, which is why she’d turned to him that first Christmas in Costa Rica. He grinned at Kitty. “So tell me, kiddo, you still coughing up a bunch of green yucky guck today?”
Megan looked to Susannah, expecting her to answer for her sister, but she kept on massaging her legs and didn’t respond.
Scott reached over and felt Kitty’s forehead. “You’ve got to get better so the doctor doesn’t have to come over here and put any of those nasty IVs in your arm. Did you eat your lunch today?”
Blink.
Scott sighed. “Well, you’ve got to promise to try a little harder at dinner, all right? You can do that for me, can’t you?”
Blink. Blink.
He patted her shoulder. “That’s my girl.” He stood up and smiled down at Megan. “You want me to show you to your room?”
She nodded. Silly how she had traveled the world, spent years as a missionary ministering to orphans living in some of the most heart-wrenching conditions, and her biggest worry was that Scott’s new family might not like her.
“Come on.” Scott looked back and smiled at her. He was nearly a foot taller than she was, but she remembered back to when they were little. Did he ever tell his wife about the way he’d dress up in their mother’s skirts and jewelry to play house or castle with his baby sister?
The problem was no amount of make-believe could shield them from the unhappiness of their childhood.
She paused in the hallway, studying a framed wedding picture. Scott was holding Susannah in his arms, her long train draped over his shoulder and blowing in the breeze.
He looked so happy. So proud.
Like maybe he’d finally managed to forget everything he and Megan had gone through when they were young.
Whatever his secret was, she hoped he’d think to share.
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