Abound in Love

by Rosemarie Naramore

  “Oh, several months, I guess. Not long after Candace miscarried.”

  “Had they been trying to have a child for some time?” Laura asked.

  “That’s my understanding, though neither Dan nor Candace is particularly communicative these days. I don’t know—Macy thinks maybe Candace is experiencing a sort of depression…”

  “I can imagine,” Laura cut in.

  “But to be honest, I think it’s more than that.”

  She gave him a questioning glance.

  “Our sister may be a lot of things, but one thing she is, is a wonderful mother. I’ve always been proud of her for that. Young mothers don’t always have that natural maternal instinct—particularly when they’re barely nineteen when they have their first child. Candace always loved and cared about her children—first and foremost. These days, she rarely spends time with them. She’s taken a job at a store at the mall and works six days a week. Then, at night, she takes off, and none of us knows where she goes.”

  “Are you telling me she leaves the kids every day and evening?”

  “She’s home the occasional evening, but she leaves them more often than not. And since Dan is picking up any shift he can—probably as a means for dealing with his marital problems—the kids are left with…”

  “You.” Laura sighed. “Thomas, how are you managing? You have a job, a fiancée, a wedding to plan—a life.”

  He spread his hands wide. “What do you do? The kids need me. I can’t turn my back on them. They’re family.”

  Laura stiffened. Was he suggesting she had turned her back on her family? He apparently read the flash of self-awareness in her eyes.

  He made a conciliatory gesture. “Hey, don’t even go there. I was not meaning you’ve turned your back on anyone.” He briskly shook his head. “The idea that you haven’t done right by your family is preposterous. I know you keep in touch with the kids. They talk about you constantly. You make it a point to make them feel important.” He sighed again. “Frankly, it’s probably more than Candace could ask, considering…”

  “She made my life a living hell.”

  “Well, there is that,” he said morosely. “Do you think you can forgive her?”

  Laura waved a dismissive hand. “Ah, we were kids…”

  Thomas wasn’t fooled. “Laura, she was awful to you. I know it, you know it. What’s more, she knows it.” He was quiet for a moment. “It really was good of you to come.”

  She shrugged.

  Thomas burst out in laughter, and she gave him a questioning glance. “Do you remember how Pastor Scott always said that God has a sense of humor?”

  Laura nodded.

  “Well, I don’t think it’s any accident our little Krissy is not only the spitting image of her Aunt Laura, but she’s the same little serious thinker, with more common sense than kids twice her age, and with a deep-seeded compassion for her fellow man. She’s an old soul—just like you were.”

  “Poor little kid. May as well pull her out of school now and home school her. I’d hate for her to have to live through a high school experience similar to mine.”

  “She’ll be all right,” he said.

  “How can you be sure?” Laura asked.

  “She has Kenny, whereas you had…”

  “Candace.”

  “Candace does love you,” he said. “I do know that. Frankly, I think she envied you so much, that she…”

  “Candace, envied me?” she interrupted, incredulous. “Uh, no.”

  “Oh, yes, she did. You were always your own person. You’d stand with any underdog, without fear about how it would reflect on you to go against the group.”

  “Hence, I became the underdog.”

  “Oh, no, that’s not true. You were never the underdog. You were an independent thinker, who was strong enough in her convictions to avoid peer pressure—even from your own sister.”

  “Well, that’s one way of looking at it,” Laura sighed.

  “I am sorry for what Candace put you through. I wish I’d been there to intercede.”

  “I know you do. But by the time I was a freshman in high school, you were a senior and focused on getting into college.” She gave a shrug. “It’s all right. We’re all adults now.”

  Thomas watched her sympathetically. “Laura, it’s not all right. Thanks to our sister, you hightailed it out of here so fast, you left our heads spinning. I often wonder if things would have been different, had Candace treated you differently.”

  “Ah, who knows?” she said with a wave of her hand. She really didn’t want to talk about this any longer. To do so forced her to revisit old hurts, and made her feel like the sad, inadequate girl she’d been. “I’m afraid I’m starting to experience a bit of jet lag.” She yawned. “I think I’ll go to bed.”

  “You’re sharing your old room with Krissy.” He smiled. “I did mean to replace your old mattress, but…”

  “Don’t worry about it. It isn’t as if you don’t have more important things to worry about.”

  “We’ll see if you’re still singing the same tune in the morning,” he said with an exaggerated wince. “But try to sleep well.”

  “You too.”

  ***

  Laura tiptoed into her bedroom, attempting to avoid the boards in the hardwood floor she remembered as being particularly squeaky. She managed to sidestep them all, when her left foot came down on one she hadn’t been aware of.

  “Hi, Aunt Laura,” Krissy whispered.

  “Oh, honey, I’m sorry for the noise. Did I wake you?”

  “No. I can’t sleep.”

  “You can’t?”

  “No, I mean, I like it here during the day, but at night, I miss my own room.”

  “Well, I can certainly understand that.”

  “I’m glad you’re here though. I’ll probably be able to sleep better with you in here.”

  “I hope so, honey. Hey, I’m going to dash to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face, but I’ll be right back.”

  “Okay. Hurry.”

  Laura was in and out of the bathroom in record time, and soon struggling to get comfortable in her old bed. The deep indentation in the center had been bad when she’d inherited the mattress from her brother years ago, and unfortunately, it didn’t fit her any better now than it had when she was a child.

  “That bed isn’t very comfortable,” Krissy whispered.

  “You are definitely right about that,” Laura agreed, as she struggled to turn on her left side.

  “This was your room, huh, Aunt Laura?”

  “Yes, it was. And this was my bed, and the one you’re in used to belong to your mother.”

  “Actually, Uncle Thomas replaced this mattress.” Laura heard the little girl turn toward her. She could see her silhouette as she sat up and pulled her knees to her chest. “Aunt Laura…?”

  “Yes?”

  “Do you know why my mom is gone all the time now?”

  “Honey, I really don’t.”

  Her niece was silent for a moment. “Sometimes I don’t think she likes us anymore.”

  Laura abruptly attempted to sit up, but found the mattress uncooperative. It seemed to sink down even further in the center, and her arms and legs splayed out as she thrashed around, in an attempt to free herself.

  “Aunt Laura!”

  “Honey, I’m trying to get out of this bed so I can … get to you, so we can … talk.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  She finally managed to extract herself and hurried to sit beside her niece. She gathered her in her arms. “Honey, I can assure you, your mother loves you very much.”

  “So you think there’s a good reason for her to leave us all the time.” She sniffled. “She never used to leave us.”

  Laura was uncertain how to answer her. She didn’t even know her own sister, so she couldn’t begin to fathom what would prompt her to suddenly abandon her two children. But for the child’s sake, she needed to reassure her.

  “I know s
he has to have a very good reason,” she assured her. “Don’t you doubt that for a minute.”

  The little girl took a tremulous breath. “Kenny says Mommy and Daddy are going to get a divorce. He says they don’t love each other anymore.”

  “Oh, sweetie…”

  Again, Laura didn’t know what to say. She hated to tell her niece something that might prove untrue. She couldn’t very well promise the little girl that everything would work out, when she had no idea what was going on. She decided honesty was the best policy.

  “Krissy, I wish I had answers for you, but I’m afraid I don’t. I can tell you that your mom and dad love you very much, and so does Uncle Thomas, and so do I. Please try not to worry. Sometimes adults go through things that have nothing to do with their children. You need to know that whatever is going on between them has nothing to do with either Kenny or you.”

  “That’s not true.”

  Laura glanced in surprise toward the source of the voice. Kenny stood in her doorway, his face downcast. She could just make out his features, which were lit by the dim light in the hallway.

  “Kenny, are you all right? Can’t you sleep?”

  “No. I miss my…” He gave a beleaguered sigh. “I like Uncle Thomas’ house, but it isn’t home.”

  “I understand. Honey…”

  “Yeah?”

  “What did you mean when you said…?”

  “That my parents’ problems have something to do with me?”

  “Yes. You know that isn’t true, don’t you?”

  “But it is,” he said miserably.

  “Honey, come here.”

  Kenny slowly crossed the room and dropped down on the foot of his sister’s bed. Laura turned toward him and draped an arm over his shoulder. “Okay, now, tell me what you’re talking about. Because Kenny, I can promise you one thing—nothing that is happening between your folks has anything to do with anything you’ve done or haven’t done. As I was telling Krissy, both your parents love you very much.” She gave him a squeeze. “And so do I.”

  He was silent for a moment, but she noted his shoulders drooped further. “I overheard them one night. They were in their bedroom, fighting. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but I think I heard my name—and maybe Krissy’s…”

  Laura drew him closer and kissed the top of his head. “There you go, sweetie. You couldn’t discern exactly what they were saying. You may not have heard them correctly. And even if they did say your names, it was probably because they were both discussing how they want what’s best for you, because they love you and your sister so much.”

  He remained adamant. “I know I heard my name. And Dad…”

  “What?”

  “He sounded so sad.” He dropped his head and began crying.

  “Oh, Kenny.” Laura smoothed his hair off his brow and prayed for the right words. “Honey, I wish I could make things better for you and Krissy. I wish I could fix whatever is happening between your parents right now. But, I’m afraid I can’t. But I know someone who can.”

  She took Kenny’s hand, and swiveled her body, to reach for Krissy’s, as well. “Let’s pray,” she said.

  Chapter Four

  Laura tiptoed out of Kenny’s room. She had sat with him briefly, in order to assure he was all right. She felt relief he’d finally fallen asleep. The little fellow had school the next day and he needed his rest.

  She paused at the door, and with a final glance at the sleeping child, turned and promptly collided with what felt like a rock wall, and turned out to be Dalton Jance. Her right eye took the brunt of the impact.

  She gasped. “What…?” She shook her head briskly, disoriented from the blow to her eye. She reached a hand to her face and found a lump had already breached the brow. “Ouch!” she muttered.

  “Laura!” Dalton cried. “Are you all right?”

  “I think so.” She furrowed her brow. “What are you doing here?”

  “Didn’t Thomas tell you?”

  “Tell me what?”

  “I live here.”

  Laura, formerly sleep-deprived and disoriented, suddenly came wide awake and fully alert. “What? Why?”

  Dalton chuckled, the deep timbre of his voice filling the narrow hallway. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you weren’t especially happy to find me living here.”

  “Just surprised,” she told him, still reeling from the shock of coming face-to-face with him at this late hour. “What? I mean…?”

  His lips tugged into a smile. “The lease expired on my condo. I was considering buying a home, but haven’t been able to find anything I really like. Thomas offered to let me stay here, since he said he could use the rent money to help pay for his wedding.”

  “Oh, okay. I see. Well, that’s… Uh, well. Okay.” She turned to go.

  She felt a gentle, but firm hand on her arm. “Are you all right? You seem a little … off.”

  “You aren’t the first to notice,” she muttered.

  He bit back his laughter. “You never struck me as … off.” When he reached a gentle hand to her head and smoothed back her hair, exposing the bump on her brow and rapidly blackening eye, he winced. “Concussed maybe, but never off.”

  Laura chuckled. “I’m okay, really. But I think I will get to bed.”

  It was just too surreal, standing in a darkened hallway with Dalton Jance, the object of her teenage infatuation. And unfortunately, she still felt the familiar pull of attraction for him.

  He shook his head. “No way. You’re not going to bed yet. You’ve sustained a head injury. It’s never a good idea to fall asleep directly after receiving a blow to the head. And we need to get ice on your eye.” He took her hand and began tugging her toward the staircase to downstairs.

  “Where are…?”

  “Ice. We need ice.”

  Soon, Laura found herself on the sofa, with an ice pack on her eye. Dalton sat nearby, his concern gaze riveted on her face. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  “Absolutely.” She furrowed her brow, and abruptly winced from the pain. “What did I plow into?”

  “My badge—er, my chest. My badge on my chest,” he clarified with a rueful smile.

  “Oh, well, I appreciate the ice. I am, however, going to go back to bed. I’ll just … take the ice with me.”

  He shook his head. “Please. Humor me. I hit you pretty hard. I’d hate to take any chances…”

  Laura relented with a sigh. “Did you just get off work?”

  He nodded. “Swing shift.”

  “Was it a busy night?”

  “Fairly busy,” he acknowledged. “But it’s only Thursday. The real fun comes tomorrow night.”

  Laura settled against the back of the chair and pulled her feet up and under her. She felt a sudden, grateful relief that she had donned a robe before escorting Kenny to bed. Had she not, Dalton might have gotten a look at her sleep attire. It was modest, but she would have felt horribly uncomfortable regardless.

  “Are you cold?” he asked, and simultaneously rose and retrieved a throw blanket from the nearby loveseat.

  “A little. It was sunny and seventy degrees when I flew out of Atlanta.”

  He grinned. “I’d love to see a little of that Georgia sunshine myself.”

  She nodded with understanding. “We see the occasional grey, cold day, but we definitely see more sunshine than you do.”

  “Don’t rub it in,” he said in a mock-scolding tone. “How do you feel now?”

  “Tired.”

  “Your eye and head, I mean.”

  She gave a dismissive wave. “I’m fine. No permanent damage.” She rose to leave, but he shook his head.

  “Give it thirty minutes or so.”

  She noted it was nearing eleven. “I’ll probably conk out from exhaustion before the clock strikes twelve.”

  “I won’t let you.”

  “I’m not sure how you’re going to prevent it.” As if to demonstrate, she yawned.

  “W
e’ll talk. Tell me what’s been going on with you.”

  “Not much to tell. I’m a news writer for an Atlanta news organization.”

  “Television news, I understand.”

  “That’s right, although I write the occasional article for various magazines.”

  He nodded. “I’ve read an article or two. You’re very good.”

  Laura’s face infused with warmth. Having Dalton compliment her caused her to hearken back to the days when any word from him would have caused her heart to swell. Lord, she had been ridiculous back then. The truth was, she was feeling pretty ridiculous right now.

  “What are you thinking?” Dalton asked suddenly. “Your face just got…” He grinned. “Your peaches and cream complexion suddenly turned the color of a ripe pomegranate.”

  Laura laughed self-consciously. “That was very descriptive. Maybe you should try writing.”

  “I write all the time. Incident reports at work.”

  “I don’t imagine that calls for a lot of colorful language.”

  “Maybe not, though unfortunately, I’m often on the receiving end of some colorful language in my line of work.”

  Laura smiled sadly. “I don’t envy you your job. It has to be difficult.”

  “I wouldn’t want to do anything else,” he told her.

  She smiled. “That’s right. I remember you, even as a kid, talking about going into law enforcement. I never understood why…” She abruptly stopped speaking and her eyes widened. Why had she just said that? Probably sleep deprivation accounted for her slip. “Oh, Dalton, I’m so sorry…”

  “Hey, don’t worry about it. It’s a fair observation. Why would I pursue the career when my dad was killed in the line of duty?” He shrugged. “My only answer is, I guess it’s in my blood.”

  She met his gaze, her eyes reflecting her sorrow for her blunder. He surprised her when he took her hand. “Stop worrying. I can see in your eyes you’re beating yourself up right now. There’s no need.” He sat back further on the couch. “You were always such a sweet little kid,” he remembered. “Always standing up for those less fortunate, always planting yourself squarely in front of the kid others picked on…”

  Laura was sure she didn’t miss the admiration in his tone, and when his eyes lingered on hers, she felt that familiar attraction for him. She glanced around, suddenly remembering where she was at present. The muted light of the room leant a too-intimate quality to the space. She heard the steady cadence of her heart, and registered when it increased—when she felt his fingers give her hand a gentle squeeze.