“Oh, poor Macy,” Laura commiserated.
“Poor Macy? Poor me!” He walked across the room and dropped into his father’s old recliner. “How was your evening? Did you and Candace … have a nice talk?”
She tipped her head slightly and winced. “Well, no. Candace was called away.”
He sat up taller in the chair and stared at her. “What do you mean, she was ‘called away’?”
“Just that. She received a call and had to leave.”
“Who called her?”
“I have no idea.”
“Did you … happen to hear any of the conversation?”
Laura searched her brain. “Yes… She made an inquiry.”
“What? What did she say?” he prompted anxiously.
“She asked, ‘How much?’”
Thomas abruptly rose from the chair and began pacing the room. He stopped and watched Laura with alarm. “You don’t think…?”
“What?”
“Do you think she’s … using drugs?”
Laura gasped. That thought hadn’t occurred to her, but it made sense. Candace had received a call on her cell phone. She had walked away from Laura, in a likely attempt to prevent her from hearing the conversation. Oh, Lord help them.
Laura’s eyes widened with fear. Had Candace been so devastated by her miscarriage that she’d turned to drugs, in order to block the pain. She suddenly remembered Thomas telling her about finding Candace drinking at a bar. Should she tell her brother?
She opted not to right now. Dalton hadn’t told him, and she didn’t want to stir up trouble between the two best friends. For whatever reason, Dalton had either felt compelled to protect Candace, or to buffer Thomas from additional pain. He knew Thomas had a lot on his plate, taking care of Candace’s kids on a regular basis.
Suddenly, it struck her. Her family was falling apart at the seams, and she hadn’t been there to help them. She was living in Georgia, and until recently, had been absolutely oblivious to the problems within her family.
“Thomas, I’m so sorry.”
He shook his head. “About … what?”
“I’m sorry I haven’t been here for you. It’s not fair you’ve had to handle all of this alone.”
“Laura, you have nothing to apologize for.” He gave a humorless laugh and dropped back into the chair. “None of this is your fault. If anything, it’s mine.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked, thoroughly puzzled.
He blew out a breath. “Our sister always regarded herself as a princess. She was accustomed to getting her own way. Everybody bowed down at her feet. I should have given her a reality check a long time ago.”
Laura gave him a sympathetic smile. “I’m not sure how you might have accomplished that … feat,” she said with a wince. “If I remember right, none of us could tell Candace anything. Not even Mom and Dad.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. She was so accustomed to adoration at school, she expected the same treatment at home.”
“And Mom did tend to defer to her tantrums,” Laura remembered aloud.
“And Dad simply steered clear when she became particularly, er, boisterous,” Thomas mused, and drew silent. Finally, he asked, “Did she happen to say anything else, before she brought you home?”
“Well, to be honest, she didn’t bring me home. She…”
“She left you!?” he cried, stunned.
“Well, yes. But it’s okay.”
“How is it okay to leave your own sister stranded?” He shook his head, disbelief etched on his face. “Laura, I’m really sorry. Why didn’t you call me?”
“I didn’t want to bother you, but it worked out anyway. Dalton happened to drive by…”
Thomas drew a relieved breath. “Okay, good, good. So Dalton brought you home?”
“Yes.”
“Our sister is going to get a piece of my mind,” Thomas declared. “She can’t treat people like that—especially her sister.”
“Well, better me than someone else,” she murmured.
“I think it’s time we had an intervention—got to the bottom of Candace’s issues.”
“I don’t know, Thomas. If we accuse her of something and we’re wrong…”
“I don’t think I’m wrong,” he said firmly. “Her behavior is suspicious. If we don’t address it now, we could be losing valuable time.”
“I know you could be right, but…” She met his eyes. “One thing I’ve learned Thomas, is that things aren’t always what they seem. People … aren’t always who they seem to be.”
He watched her briefly and finally nodded. “Laura, you’ve always been the best one of us,” he said with admiration. “You were always willing to give the benefit of the doubt to anyone.” He smiled. “And I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that you’re here.”
“I’m glad I’m here too,” she said, and realized, she meant it.
***
Laura tossed and turned much of the night, and it wasn’t just the horrible mattress causing her discomfort. She couldn’t take her mind off of Candace, and Thomas’ concerns that she might be involved in something illicit that could ultimately destroy her and her family.
She rose and punched her pillow, and then dropped like a rock onto the too-soft mattress. She felt a pinch in her low back, followed by a pain that seemed to radiate up and down her spinal cord.
“Great, just great,” she muttered aloud.
She hadn’t heard Dalton come home, but apparently he’d heard her. He poked his head into her room. “Laura, are you all right?”
“Oh, yeah, I’m… Well, I’m afraid this mattress is killing my back, but other than that…”
To her surprise, he stepped into the room and approached her bed. He bent to check the condition of the mattress. He prodded it with his hand. “Laura, you can’t sleep on that!”
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to.” She chuckled nervously. There was something about having him in the room, standing a mere few feet away, illuminated by the dim light in the hallway…
He looked strikingly handsome, the breadth of his shoulders apparent as he towered over her, his arms folded over his chest. When he extended his hand to her, she shook her head, confused.
“Come with me,” he said.
She laughed nervously. “Where … to?”
“To my room. You’re sleeping in there.”
She gasped and shook her head. “Uh, no. I don’t think so.”
He heaved a sigh. “I won’t be staying in there with you. I’m going to sleep downstairs, on the couch.”
“Oh, no, you’re not. I’m not taking your bed. You need to sleep. You have a job to do, and it’s a dangerous one…”
“I’m off for the weekend,” he told her. “And I’m going to sleep on the couch. I do it all the time. Really, trust me. You need out of this bed.”
She was dismayed when he refused to take ‘no’ for an answer and took her hand. He tugged her out of the bed. She felt self-conscious as they crossed the hallway and into his room. She noted his bed was made and that it was huge—and covered with a masculine, but beautiful, comforter.
“I can’t…”
“Yes, you can.” He pulled back the covers. “Coincidentally, I washed all the bedding this morning. Everything’s clean.” He urged her forward. “Please. Take my bed, and tomorrow, I’m going to drive over to a storage unit where the rest of my stuff is stored, and I’m going to bring back a queen-sized bed I used to keep in my guest bedroom.”
“Dalton, it’s really not necessary. I’m not going to be here long enough to justify all that trouble on my behalf.”
Was she mistaken, or did his face appear to fall at the remark. Surely she was mistaken.
Regardless, he rallied when he grinned. “Trust me, your back is going to thank me. Now, get some sleep.”
He surprised her when he kissed her lightly on the cheek and strode from the room. She stood uncertainly for a moment, but smiled when he called out
from the hallway, “Go to bed!”
Should she take his bed? She stared longingly at the thick mattress and then tested it with her hand. It was memory foam and she could tell by touching it—oh, so comfortable.
She felt guilty at the thought of Dalton on the couch, however. She turned and padded to the landing at the top of the stairs. “Dalton!” she called softly.
“Go to bed!” he said, mock-gruffly.
She smiled. It really was thoughtful of him to give up a good night’s sleep so she could have one. She walked back into his bedroom and eyed the bed. He wasn’t sleeping in it… So…
She crossed the room and climbed between the crisp covers. It was heaven. Her back already felt better. Within moments, she was fast asleep.
***
“Aunt Laura, wake up! It’s noon!”
Laura woke to find her niece standing over her, her arms folded. “Why are you in here?” she demanded in a huff. “Why aren’t you in your bed?”
“Krissy, I told you not to disturb your aunt,” Dalton scolded from the doorway.
“I don’t think she’s ever going to get up,” she moaned.
Dalton ushered her out of the room, and then turned back at the threshold. “Are you going to sleep all day?” he asked, quirking a smile.
Laura rose slightly and smiled in return. “This has to be the most comfortable mattress I’ve ever slept on. And yes, I’m going to get up.”
“Good. Because you and I are babysitting today.”
“We are?” she asked sleepily.
“We are. Dan was called into work an hour ago, and apparently Candace picked up an additional shift. Since Thomas and Macy had plans, I volunteered…” He spread his hands wide. “Us.”
“That was nice of you,” she told him and promptly laid back down and turned away from him, pretending to go back to sleep.
“Nice try. But I could really use some help.”
She glanced at him over her shoulder. “Oh, all right,” she grumbled, and then urged him off with a flutter of her hand.
“Hey, that’s my room, you know,” he reminded her.
“Yeah, well, don’t be surprised if I highjack this bed and move it into my old room.”
He walked off so she could ready for the day. Twenty minutes later she found him and the kids downstairs, waiting for her. Dalton was on the couch, sitting back with his arms folded above his head. Krissy was on the floor, working on a puzzle. Kenny was kicked back in his grandfather’s old recliner, staring at the television.
“‘You’re finally up,” the eleven-year-old said in a surly tone. “Do you always sleep in until noon on the weekends?”
Laura narrowed her eyes and stared intently at her nephew. “Actually, no, I do not customarily sleep in until noon. And I would appreciate it if you didn’t use that particular tone when you speak to me, young man.”
Though she said it in a somewhat cheerful tone, Kenny knew she meant business. He glanced up. “I’m sorry.”
“Thank you.” She turned her attention to Dalton. “What’s on the agenda?”
“You guys are stuck with us,” Kenny said. “That’s on the agenda.”
“Hey, I volunteered for the job,” Dalton told him, “so I’m hardly ‘stuck’ with you.”
Laura crossed the room and threw her arms around her nephew. She kissed him soundly on the cheek. “I would pay money to spend time with you,” she told him. “You’re my favorite nephew.”
A smile tugged at his lips, though he managed to suppress it. “I’m your only nephew,” he mumbled.
“If I had fifteen nephews, you’d still be my favorite.”
“That wouldn’t be very fair to the other fourteen.”
She shrugged. “What do you do? I can’t help you’re so loveable.”
“Yeah, he’s loveable,” Krissy said, rolling her eyes.
“Did you say something, my favorite niece?”
“Yeah, what are we going to do today?”
Laura moved to the window and pulled back the drapes. “What’s fun to do on a rainy November Saturday?”
The group glanced at one another, seemingly uninspired. “A movie?” Laura suggested.
She didn’t notice Dalton waving his hands and mouthing ‘no’ until it was too late. She shook her head, uncertain what he meant.
His meaning became crystal clear when both kids began arguing about which movie they wanted to see. Neither was willing to budge on their selections.
“We could go shopping,” Krissy suggested.
“No!” Dalton and Kenny cried in unison.
“We could go to the mall,” Krissy suggested.
“That’s shopping, stupid,” Kenny said.
Both Dalton and Laura gave him a scolding glance. “Your sister isn’t stupid,” Laura told him.
“I mean, we could say ‘hi’ to Mom,” Krissy said. “She works at the mall, you know.”
“Isn’t there a mini-putt golf course and adjoining arcade there?” Dalton said.
Kenny perked right up. “Yeesss.”
Dalton turned to Laura. “All right by me,” she said.
The group piled into Dalton’s extended-cab truck and made the drive from Battle Ground and to the nearby mall in Vancouver.
“Wow, it’s crowded,” Dalton observed with a sigh, as he took note of the bumper to bumper traffic on the narrow roadway around the mall, and saw that open parking spaces were few and far between.
Laura gave him an encouraging smile. “You’ll live through it.”
“You think so, huh?”
“Let’s go see Mom before we go golfing,” Krissy suggested.
“Lead the way,” Dalton told her.
Krissy directed them to the small clothing boutique where her mother worked. They found Candace engaged with a customer, but she seemed happy to see them. She gestured for them to give her a moment, but when she was free, she joined them.
“Hey, guys,” she said, smiling broadly at her children. “I’m so happy you came to see me.” She directed her attention to Dalton and Laura. “Thanks so much for bringing them by.”
“It’s past lunch time,” Dalton noted, checking his watch. “Is anybody hungry?” He sought Candace’s eye. “Can you join us for a late lunch?”
“Aunt Laura slept in until noon!” Krissy announced.
“Well, I imagine she’s tired after her trip,” Candace observed, giving her sister a sympathetic smile, and her daughter a slightly scolding glance.
“I think she just really liked Dalton’s bed,” Krissy noted.
Laura nearly choked, and Dalton raised a hand, as if warding away any misconceptions derived from the little girl’s comment.
“Your brother has Laura sleeping in her old bed,” he explained. “I took pity on her and gave her my bed, while I took the couch. Didn’t he replace your old mattress with a new one for Krissy?”
She nodded. “Poor you, Laura, if you had to sleep in your old bed. What’s our brother thinking putting you there?” She abruptly frowned and made an apologetic face. “Well, I guess all the other beds are taken more often than not these days…”
“Are we going to lunch?” Kenny interrupted. “I’m hungry.”
“Lunch it is,” she told him, and turned back, to catch the eye of a coworker. “I’m going to lunch. I’ll be back in an hour.”
The woman nodded and Candace accompanied her family out of the store. They were soon ensconced in the food court, with each family member interested in a meal selection from a different restaurant. When Candace reached for her purse, to give each child money to pay for their choices, Laura promptly put a hand on her arm. “I’m treating my niece and nephew today, if that’s okay.”
“Hey, I’m treating,” Dalton said.
“Everybody’s lunch is on me,” Laura insisted.
When they realized she wasn’t taking ‘no’ for an answer, they thanked her for buying and spread out to place their orders. Both Candace and Laura selected chicken and rice from a Japanese res
taurant, and Dalton offered to order for them. The women were left alone at the table, though both kept their eyes on the children.
“Thank you for lunch,” Candace told Laura. “It’s sweet of you. And I can’t thank you enough for watching the kids today.”
“You’re welcome. They’re great kids. I’m happy for the opportunity to spend time with them.”
Candace searched her face. “Considering…” She sighed. “I’m surprised you’d want anything to do with any of us.”
“Candace…”
She shook her head and tears pooled in her eyes. “I look back at our childhood and remember how awful I was to you… I can hardly bare it.” Her voice caught in her throat, but she cleared it, and resumed talking. “If I could undo all of my unkindness, Laura, I would do anything to make it happen.”
“We were kids,” Laura said dismissively, as if that excused the behavior. She knew it didn’t, but she could see her sister was sincere and that guilt was eating away at her.
“Can you forgive me, Laura? Can you ever forgive the person I was?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
Candace gave a tremulous smile. “You’re even better at forgiveness than I am,” she mused.
Laura searched her face this time. “Is there someone you can’t forgive?” she asked softly. Perhaps she could get to the core of what was bothering her older sister.
She nodded and glanced off into the distance, but when she turned back to Laura, her face contorted in abject misery. “Me, Laura. Me. I can’t forgive myself.”
The women weren’t permitted to talk further, because both kids came charging back to the table. Laura watched Candace pull herself together with a deep breath, and a quick rearranging of her features, lest her children read the pain in her eyes.
“Mom, I got pizza!” Krissy announced. “Do you want a bite?”
“I’d love one,” she told her, and bit into the slice her daughter held out to her. “What did you get, son?”
Kenny gestured at his plate. “Duh. All you have to do is look.”
“Kenny,” Dalton said sternly, as he sat down.
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