That left Laura and Dalton to entertain the kids, which took some doing, considering they were shut up in the house. Rain was pouring outside, and there was little to do inside, from the kids’ point of view.
By mid-afternoon, even Laura was champing at the bit to get out. “Let’s go to a movie,” she suggested.
Dalton shot her a surprised look, and appeared to brace for the outcry he expected from the kids as they made their movie-choice demands, but Laura raised a clarifying hand. “There’s a new Disney movie out, and I’d like to see it,” she declared.
Hearing that their beloved aunt wanted to see the movie, neither kid objected.
“Would you care to join us, Dalton?”
“Sure. Why not?”
Soon, the group was ensconced in Laura’s rental car, since she insisted on driving. The car’s fuel economy was far better than that of Dalton’s big truck.
As she drove, she glanced over at him. He seemed uncomfortable in the passenger seat. “I’d offer to let you drive, but the contract I signed precludes it,” she said with a grin.
“I don’t want to drive,” he said crisply. “Why? Do I look like I want to drive?”
“You’re clutching the side of the seat. Am I scaring you?”
“No, no, of course not,” he assured her. “It’s just, you haven’t driven on roads as wet as these for awhile.”
“Hey, it rains in Georgia too, you know.”
“Aunt Laura,” Kenny called from the back seat. “Is it true you have poisonous snakes in Georgia?”
“We sure do.”
“Have you ever seen one?” Krissy asked, and then shuddered at the prospect.
“I have.”
“You have?” Dalton asked, seemingly alarmed.
“Sure. Just this past summer, I went out quadding with friends—just outside of Carrollton. That’s a small town not too far outside of Atlanta. Anyway, I rode right through what I thought was a shallow puddle…” She paused for effect.
“Yeah? What happened?” Kenny demanded.
“Yeah, what happened?” Dalton asked fearfully.
“Well, it was actually pretty deep, and when I hit the puddle, a great, big copperhead literally jumped out of the water and hit my leg.”
“Did it bite you?” Krissy screamed in horror.
“No, honey, it didn’t. I guess it could have, but I was lucky.”
“Uh, uh,” Kenny said resolutely. “It wasn’t just luck. God was watching out for you.”
“You are so right,” Laura told him, glancing at him through the rearview mirror.
Laura sensed when Dalton stiffened beside her. She turned his way and smiled. He smiled wanly in return.
“So…” he began, “I guess you won’t be going quadding again—in Georgia, I mean.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” She sent him a puzzle glance.
“Oh, I don’t know,” he said in measured tones. “Maybe because you could have been bitten by a copperhead.”
“Well, fortunately, I wasn’t,” she said calmly, and directed her attention to the road. The rain was really coming down, and she had precious cargo in the back seat.
Soon, they arrived at the movie theater. Dalton surprised Laura when he quickly got out of the car and pulled out his wallet. “It’s on me,” he said, and she read the steely resolve in his eyes. She also read that he seemed upset, and she couldn’t fathom why.
Inside the theater, and in their seats, Laura found herself beside Dalton. Kenny was left of her, and Krissy was right of Dalton.
Laura glanced over at Krissy. “Hey, you okay all the way down there?”
“Of course, she’s okay,” Dalton told her, in a surly tone. “It’s not as if a copperhead is going to leap out and bite her.”
When he saw the little girl’s startled face, he quickly realized he’d said too much. He pulled her onto his lap. “I’m sorry, honey. We don’t have copperheads around here. And if we did, they wouldn’t be inside a movie theater.”
“Oh, okay,” she said. “I’m fine.”
He gave her a quick hug and helped her back to her seat.
“Does anyone want any popcorn?” Laura asked.
Kenny was first to speak. “No, it costs way too much. We usually get a treat after the movie.”
“You do?”
Krissy leaned forward, an attempt to catch her aunt’s gaze in the darkened theater. “We get ice cream or something,” she said, and even in the muted light, Laura didn’t miss the hopeful gleam in her niece’s eye.
“Well, that sounds good.” She checked her watch. “If we get out of here too late, we can always pick up some ice cream to enjoy after dinner.”
The children seemed receptive to the idea, and soon, the previews began on the big screen in front of them. Laura turned her attention to the movie. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d been to a movie.
She glanced over at Dalton, who, to her surprise, was watching her. “This is going to be fun,” she commented. “I haven’t been to a movie in so long.”
He nodded. “Uh, huh.”
“Is there something wrong, Dalton? You don’t seem like yourself?” She turned back to the screen when a preview began, brightening up the screen and filling the theater with ear-splitting noise. “Oh, look!” Laura pointed.
Dalton finally turned away, but she still sensed he wasn’t happy about something. She couldn’t begin to imagine what it might be. Maybe he was tired after the long day before, she mused.
Too soon, the movie came to an end. Laura had loved it, and was delighted that the children seemed to have enjoyed it too. Only Dalton remained surly and uncommunicative.
“Are you all right?” she whispered, as they left the theater.
“Fine,” he said crisply.
Back in the car and driving away, he surprised her when he asked, “So, who do you go quadding with? Friends?”
“Well, I don’t go with enemies,” she answered lightly, prompting the children to chuckle from the back seat. “Hey, guys, where do you suggest we go for ice cream?” After checking the time on the dash, she noted they could eat the treat, without spoiling their dinner.
Krissy was first to suggest a place, which turned out to be close. Laura pulled into the parking lot and soon they were seated in the ice cream parlor. Laura glanced around, taking in the bright, colorful décor and huge assortment of ice cream treats. “Wow, this place is great,” she said. “And the selection … amazing.”
She focused on the menu, and turned to Dalton beside her. “What looks good to you?”
He only eyed her in return, but didn’t answer.
“Uncle Dalton’s in a bad mood,” Krissy uttered under her breath.
“And he’s never in a bad mood,” Kenny said.
Laura playfully nudged Dalton. “Why are you in a bad mood?” she stage-whispered, for the kids’ benefit.
He gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head, and then appeared to shake himself into a better mood. He sent a smile in the kids’ direction. “I don’t know about you, but I want a sundae with three flavors of ice cream and three different toppings.”
The kids glanced at their aunt. She discerned that three scoops equated to an extravagance for them, and that they were hesitant. “Order anything you want,” she urged. “It’s my treat.”
“I’m paying,” Dalton said.
“No,” she said, and patted his hand. “You paid for the movie. I’m paying for the ice cream. And you can order anything you want too. Four scoops, even,” she added with a chuckle.
Later, back at the house and after a dinner cooked by Thomas, Dalton’s mood seemed incrementally better, but he wasn’t his jovial self, by any stretch. Laura was worried, but she couldn’t focus on more than one problem at a time at this point. And she expected their most pressing problem to come through the door at any moment.
She sat on the couch, watching the door, and twisting her hands in anticipation. She was going to talk to her sister, or know the reason
why.
Macy stepped out of the kitchen, followed by Thomas. She glanced at Laura and read her face. Laura nodded in affirmation that tonight was the night.
However, when there was a light knocking on the front door, and Laura hurried to answer it, she found Dan on the porch, rather than his wife. Dan read the disappointment on her face.
“Yeah, I’m not especially happy to see me either these days,” he said with a humorless laugh.
She laughed and gave him a quick, shoring hug. “I’m perfectly happy to see you,” she assured him. “But I’d worked up the courage to talk to Candace and was hoping for the opportunity tonight.”
He sighed with regret. “Unfortunately, my wife has plans for the evening.” She read the fear and frustration in his eyes as he spoke the words.
She suspected he was so afraid of the possible reasons for his wife’s absences in the evenings that he could scarcely deal with the fear. She was terrified herself at the many ‘what-ifs’ those absences might suggest. She gave herself a shake, and uttered a quick prayer.
“Come on in,” Laura said, stepping aside to allow him inside.
“You’re off tonight, Dan?” Thomas asked.
He attempted a smile. “I actually turned down the O.T.,” he acknowledged. “I figured everybody could use a break. Kids,” he called, “let’s get out of Uncle Thomas’ hair.”
Dan appeared to notice Macy and Dalton then. “Hello,” he said with a nod, and to Dalton, said, “There’s some overtime Sarge is trying to fill tonight—if you’re free.”
Dalton abruptly stood up. “You know what? I think I’ll take that shift. You’re sure it’s available.”
“Last I heard,” he said. “You may want to call in to check.”
“I’ll do that,” Dalton said, and headed up the stairs, taking them two at a time.
Laura watched after him. He just wasn’t behaving like himself, and now, he had jumped at an opportunity to get out of the house. Maybe he was getting tired of the Landers family and their ongoing problems. Maybe he was getting tired of … her.
***
Laura retired to her bedroom early. She wanted to give Thomas alone-time with his fiancée in his own living room.
When she left them, they were snuggled up on the couch, watching a holiday movie. Laura sighed. Christmas was now less than a month away. Where had the time gone?
Soon, she would be gone… The prospect caused her heart to give a tumble. She would miss her family.
That reality was a revelation. She would miss her family. She sighed as she glanced around the old bedroom. She decided to occupy herself with her laptop, which she had studiously ignored for the past several days. Forcing herself to check her e-mail, she responded to anything of import, and then shut it down.
She ignored one e-mail, however. The one in which her boss had inquired when she was coming home to her job in Atlanta.
But how could she leave her family now? If she flew home now, she would leave them in the same state of disarray she’d found them in. No. She couldn’t go until she’d gotten to the bottom of Candace’s problems.
In addition to her big sister’s issues, Thomas and Macy’s relationship was on a precipice, and Laura couldn’t bear the idea that her brother might lose Macy if things weren’t restored to some semblance of normal. She knew full-well that Macy loved her future in-laws, but everyone had a limit.
And little Kenny… Though he seemed to be doing better, she just couldn’t leave him until she knew the adults in his life had resumed shouldering the adult burdens that plagued them. They needed to refocus on the children, in order that they could resume being little kids. Kenny and Krissy certainly deserved that much.
And Dalton… What were her hopes for him?
She took a deep breath. Just the thought of him made her heart go pitter-patter in her chest, though she was doing her level best to hide her feelings from him.
She knew now that he thought of her like a little sister—that he felt protective toward her, just as he did Candace and Thomas and the kids.
But that’s not what she wanted from him. It had never been what she wanted from him. She wanted so much more, but some things just weren’t meant to be. She forced her fondest desires from her mind—and heart. Dalton viewed her as a sister. That’s all the two would ever be—like siblings.
It would have to be enough.
She dropped back into the chair at the small desk. Staring out the window above it, she noted a lull in the downpour. Though it was dark, a bright moon shone in the night sky.
She fiddled with the top drawer of the desk and pulled it open. Was there a pen in there? She needed to write herself a note—a reminder to respond to the e-mail from her boss. Normally, she wouldn’t forget something so important, but these days, with her mind so fixated on her family, she might very well forget.
As she felt around in the drawer for a pen, her fingers touched something—paper, she realized. It was the envelope she’d found before. She picked it up, and for some reason, vaguely remembered another envelope in that particular desk drawer…
Deciding to open it, she was about to tear into it, but paused. What if it wasn’t hers? What if it belonged to Candace? It might be personal. It was blank, so there was no way of knowing.
With a sigh, she tossed it back into the drawer. She’d lived this long without knowing the contents of that sealed envelope. It wasn’t exactly crucial that she know now.
She glanced out at the night sky again, and made a quick decision. She was going to take a walk.
She went downstairs, calling out a greeting to her brother and his fiancé before she’d actually descended the stairs. In the living room, she found them cuddling on the sofa and watching television.
“Hey, want to join us watching this movie?” Macy invited.
“No, but thank you. I’m going to take a walk.”
Thomas sat up in the seat. “Laura, I’m not sure that’s such a great idea.”
She took a deep breath. “I’m a big girl, Thomas. I’m sure you’ll recall that I’ve been dwelling in the big city—all alone—for some time.”
“And I am compelled to remind you that when you went shopping in the small town of Battle Ground, you were accosted by a dangerous criminal.”
“I’ll stay close. I promise.”
“At least tell me your intended route.”
“My intended route?” she repeated with a chuckle.
“Yes.”
She could tell her brother meant business, and she felt guilt that she was taking time away from Macy. “I’m going to walk down our lane, and then walk a ways to Valerie’s house.”
“What if Valerie isn’t home?”
“I’ll do an about-face and head back here,” she said, attempting to be patient with her over-protective big brother.
“Okay,” he said grudgingly. “But take your cell phone.”
“Will I have service?”
“Laura, we’re not that backwoods out here. Besides, would I tell you to take your phone if you didn’t have service?”
“Wow, the men around here are grumpy this evening,” Laura directed to Macy, who smiled in reply.
“There’s a flash light on the shelf in the closet,” Thomas told her. “Take it, please.”
“Well, since you asked so nicely…” she said drolly. She retrieved her coat and the flashlight from the closet by the front door. She tugged on her coat, and stepping outside, was immediately struck by the cold. But, it stood to reason the weather was temperamental. It was nearly winter in the Pacific Northwest and Laura knew even colder weather might very well be on its way. But then, they could also have a mild winter, with little or no snow and ice. There was just no telling in this part of the country.
“Be careful!” Thomas called, as the door closed behind her.
Laura tugged her collar around her chin, and followed by shoving her hands into her pockets. She began walking down the lane and to the main road. When she reached it, s
he glanced left and then right. Finding the road clear of traffic, she turned on the flashlight and crossed the roadway.
Since there wasn’t a sidewalk, she took care to stay to the far right and off the road. Fortunately, she knew the biggest portion of it was lined with gravel, and that her friend lived a short quarter mile ahead on the right.
She picked up her pace as she thought about Valerie. Despite being twenty years Laura’s senior, the two had been close friends, bonding over their love of horses.
Since Laura’s parents hadn’t been able to afford the expense of keeping horses on their property, Valerie had allowed her to ride hers. Laura had been particularly fond of an old mare named Tillie. Valerie had taught her to ride on the sweet, docile horse, and Laura had spent a lot of time with Tillie.
Laura had always loved animals. She suddenly wondered why Thomas didn’t keep a big dog on the property. The family had always had a devoted companion running free on the acreage. But then, he had enough on his plate, caring for his sister’s children.
Remembering dogs, and specifically an Australian shepherd mix she had adored when she was a child, she revisited the idea of acquiring a pet of her own. In Georgia, however, she lived in a small condo that didn’t lend itself to keeping animals. No, it wouldn’t be fair to an animal to be cooped up all day while she was at work.
As she walked along, she pulled to the far right when a car sped by her. She jumped at the sound of the honking horn, but took a calming breath. She was nearly to her friend’s house.
Perhaps she should have called first, but she spied the lane to Valerie’s just ahead. Like her brother’s home, her place was also set back from the road. But unlike the old farmhouse, her home was newer, having been built about fifteen years before. It was a well-kept ranch, situated amongst the trees. A barn at the back of the property housed the horses, while the remaining property was fenced for the animals.
As Laura trudged toward her friend’s home, she couldn’t help smiling. She hoped Valerie was home and wouldn’t mind an unexpected guest. As she turned down the lane and drew closer, she spied Valerie on the porch, looking eagerly toward the front of her property.
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