A Kiss Upon A Star

by Tamara Ferguson

  Early the next morning, Tim and Emily were running together along the edge of the beach while Chloe scampered ahead of them, intent on chasing away the squalling gulls feeding from the lake. Despite her attempts at disbanding them, the gulls were remarkably persistent and soon a couple of them were swooping down at Chloe.

  Tim and Emily burst into laughter when Chloe rushed back towards them yelping frantically.

  Emily had realized last night that she still didn’t even know where Tim lived. He’d mentioned he’d love to show her around his house, so they’d met a little earlier this morning because he was planning on giving her a tour.

  When they walked up to a huge new home that’d been built overlooking the lake, Emily’s jaw dropped after realizing that it did indeed belong to Tim.

  “This is your home? It’s beautiful Tim. If you don’t mind me asking, how could you afford it?”

  Tim’s smile was wry. “I was kind of surprised myself when Jake Loughlin gave me my first tour. But it’s a green home and, believe it or not, the expenses are ridiculously low.”

  “There must be like four-thousand square feet here,” she exclaimed, when they walked inside through the back doorway.

  Tim grimaced. “Five actually.”

  It was gorgeous inside, Emily thought immediately when they strolled through the enormous kitchen. There were modern top of the line appliances lining the walls as well as a beautiful island with a granite countertop running through a third of the space. Sheathed in glass tiles of lavender, green and blue, the patterned backsplash was one of the most stylish Emily had ever seen. Despite the dark tiled floors, the place had a little bit of a beachy vibe going, and Tim mentioned there was a fireplace in nearly every room.

  Tim grinned. “I went with the dark floors because of the dogs. They’re a little bit easier to clean, and then there’s always the sand that we’re bringing inside from the beach. Of course, I do have a mudroom with a shower inside, and I usually use it before I even walk into the house.”

  The monstrous sized family room with its high vaulted ceiling had very little furniture inside. A huge semicircular staircase led upstairs to an exposed walkway, which reminded Emily a little of the grand style mansions that she’d seen in the south.

  “Right now, I’m only living in about a fifth of the space. There’s an apartment along the other side of the house that’s available to rent out if I really want to. Sometimes, the wounded warrior facility needs rooms for patients coming in from out of town, and I’ve been letting a few of the veterans stay here with their families.” He paused, staring into her eyes. “I haven’t really wanted to be around people. So when Jake told me he’d give me a deal on this place, I couldn’t help myself. Not only was it out of the way, but it was a great investment, and I’d managed to save up most of the income I made while I was in the service.”

  Her gaze around the room was thoughtful. “So—I guess you can monitor the temperature in every zone in the house?”

  “Sure can,” he answered. “Although I still haven’t figured out how a lot of the features in this house actually work yet. I’ve only been living here about six months.”

  As they returned to the kitchen, he asked, “How about some coffee before we go back to the cottage? I’ve always made a habit of getting there early, but I can go into work a little bit later today.”

  “Sure,” Emily answered.

  Tim walked over to the coffeepot hidden in a nook beneath the cabinets. After adding water and scooping some coffee into the barrel, he set it to brew.

  Finally sitting down on a stool at the kitchen island, Emily hesitated for a moment before saying more. “Tim? What about girlfriends? I mean, it’s been five years. No one here in town will be upset if we’re together?” Emily was thinking about Tim’s receptionist at the shelter. The last thing she wanted to do was alienate someone Tim worked with.

  Tim shook his head, dropping onto the stool beside Emily’s. “Nah. Sure, I’ve dated. But truthfully? There’s never really been anyone else I’ve thought about but you.”

  Emily gave Tim a rueful smile.

  Tim stood up and poured them each a cup of coffee and, after handing Emily hers, he acted like there was something else he wanted to say.

  “What?” she asked, noticing his hesitance.

  “The spare apartment that I have? I was thinking it would be a great place for your mother to stay when she came to visit.”

  It was the last thing she was expecting to hear right now, and Emily’s eyes filled with tears. “Yes, it would. Does that mean what I think it means?”

  He nodded firmly but gave her a wry smile. “I know that it’s way too soon for me to ask. We need to get to know each other better, and we also need to talk about how we can make this work somehow with our different careers and lives.”

  Emily suddenly began to laugh; she just couldn’t help it considering the circumstances.

  This time, Tim looked puzzled, sipping on his coffee. “What?”

  “It’s just that if you’re actually ready to take on my mom after everything’s she’s done, I think that we’ll be able to easily manage any other problems that come up along the way.”

  Tim nearly spit out his coffee when he barked out a laugh.

  * * *

  Emily and Tim had almost reached the cottage. Nearing the bicycle path that trailed beside the lake, Emily saw Tim staring hard at the man who appeared to be waiting on a bench nearby.

  When Chloe ran up to him, the man began scratching her head.

  After seeing Emily and Tim, he stood up slowly and began to approach. He was a good-looking man, probably in his mid-forties, and was wearing khakis and a sport shirt.

  “Emily?” he asked, in a gruff voice.

  Immediately Emily assumed he was a private detective hired by her mom.

  “I see you found me,” she answered, glumly.

  He looked slightly puzzled. “Um, yes. I wanted to talk to you about your mother and me.”

  “I suppose she’s on her way?”

  He blinked. “Um, I wouldn’t know. Is she on her way here? That might actually be a good thing. We need to clear the air.” He stared at her intently. “You don’t know who I am. Do you?”

  She shook her head no, looking puzzled.

  Tim wrapped a protective arm around her. “If you don’t mind me asking. Who are you?”

  The man cleared his throat before pulling a wallet from his back pocket. Opening it, he slipped out a picture from inside and handed it over to Emily.

  Emily stared hard at the picture. At first, she didn’t recognize her mother. Laughing and looking totally carefree, she was younger than Emily, and the man she was with had an arm wrapped over her shoulders and was smiling at whoever was taking the picture.

  “I’m Kyle Holden,” he said, pausing when Emily’s eyes met his. “And I think I might be your father,” he added softly.

  Thankfully, Tim was there to hold her because her knees nearly gave out. Emily kept staring in astonishment at the man who was standing there before her, wearing a smile very similar to her own.

  Somehow, they all made into the cottage and, after sitting quietly in the living room for at least fifteen minutes avoiding each other’s eyes, Emily decided what she needed was more coffee so it’d be easier for her to process what was happening.

  Tim must’ve read her mind because he stood up on is feet. “How about I make us all some coffee?

  Emily nodded and gave him a rueful smile.

  Kyle finally broke the silence as Tim left the room. “We were married for six months. Until I decided I didn’t want to be married anymore. Part of the decision was because of my parents, who were social snobs, and the other part of the equation was me—I suddenly felt like I was trapped and too young to be married. My parents wanted more for me and I selfishly went along with them. I paid a settlement to your mother, and never saw her again after I relocated and decided to study and eventually make Switzerland my home.” He sighed. “I
’m a banker.”

  “She never told me about you,” were the only words Emily could manage.

  He answered grimly, “I didn’t think so. I made a stupid move when I found out about you, when you were only fifteen. I threatened to take you away. That’s when my wife talked some sense into me and made me try to look at the situation through you and your mother’s eyes. Your mother never named me on your birth certificate, and she’s never really admitted to me that you’re my daughter. But I did extract a promise from your mother that she would tell you about me once you turned eighteen.”

  Emily’s head was reeling. Was this why her mom had clung to her so tightly all these years? The man was rich, she could’ve probably extracted money from him if she’d just been willing to give Emily up.

  But her mother never had. Was this the reasoning behind the stalker story? Mom had probably been afraid that Kyle would approach Emily.

  “I don’t know what to think about any of this,” Emily said dazedly. She looked at Tim, who’d just walked into the living room with a couple cups of coffee.

  But his face looked grim. “Coincidentally, guess who’s just arrived Em?”

  She rolled her eyes upward. Mom was here already?

  She glanced at Kyle Holden who was standing up and reaching for the coffee Tim was handing over. He seemed irritated.

  He raised a brow at Emily. “Leave it to your mother to show up before I even get a chance to know you.”

  Emily blinked, and the air seemed to clear immediately. She found herself smiling when Kyle began to laugh.

  When a sharp rap sounded on the back door, Tim looked at Emily.

  She sighed heavily. “Go ahead, let her in. Let’s get this over with.”

  Tim grinned and went to open the door.

  Emily quickly gulped down her coffee.

  She looked over at Kyle and smiled when he began slugging down his as well.

  Emily watched as her mother scowled at Tim when he answered the door. Spotting Emily in the living room and ignoring Tim, she flew into the room like a hurricane with Ben Bartlett following sluggishly behind.

  But Connie was obviously taken aback when she saw Kyle standing across from Emily near the other couch. Her face went pale and her mouth gaped open as she stared at Kyle before looking back at Emily.

  Her voice was hoarse when she finally talked. “What has he told you?”

  “That he thinks he’s my father,” Emily answered.

  And then her mother did something that totally surprised her; she sat down on the couch and began to cry.

  After a moment of stunned silence, Emily dropped onto the couch beside her mother and wrapped her arms around her.

  Emily grimaced looking at Ben in confusion.

  Ben sighed heavily and gave Emily what appeared to be a reassuring smile. Emily wasn’t quite sure what to do. She’d never seen her mother cry in her entire life.

  Kyle began talking to her mother in a steady voice. “It was never you, Connie. I’ve put myself in your position, and I don’t think I would’ve told Emily about me either. I was an irresponsible jerk who wasn’t brave enough to stand up to my own parents. We should’ve never married so young. You were ready, but I wasn’t. It took me years to realize how cruel I’d been to you.”

  Her mom finally looked up, ignoring Kyle. “Emily, I’m sorry I’ve never told you—I love you.”

  Whoa, Emily continued to remain calm on the outside while her emotions began churning inside. “I’ve always known you have, Mom,” Emily answered softly. “Aunt Trish has never given up on you either, you know.”

  Her mother reached for her purse and pulled out a tissue from inside. “I’ve been awful to her,” she admitted, wiping her eyes.

  “Yeah you have,” Ben answered sternly.

  Her mother grimaced. “You’d never believe how close we used to be.” She sighed heavily gazing at Kyle. “Yes, she’s your daughter.”

  Kyle nodded thoughtfully. “I’ll leave it up to you Emily to decide how we go on.” He stood up from the couch and pulled out his wallet again. A moment later he was handing Emily a card. “I’ll be staying at the Dragonfly Pointe Inn indefinitely. I hope I’ll be hearing from you.”

  Emily tried to hand back the picture he’d given her earlier.

  He smiled as he headed toward the door. “I’m sure you’d like to keep it. I have a few others.”

  Once Kyle was gone, Tim came into the living room and looked at her mother. “Would you like some coffee?”

  Her mother had a frown on her face when she nodded yes.

  Tim turned to Ben.

  “Yes, that’d be great,” he answered, wearing a rueful smile. “I’m Ben by the way.”

  “Tim,” he answered, reaching his hand out and shaking Ben’s.

  Emily sat waiting for her mom to tell her why.

  “I was afraid he’d try to take you away from me. His family had power and influence and if that’d happened I might never have seen you again.”

  It was still a little lame as far as a complete explanation was concerned, so Emily stared harder at her mom.

  Her mother squirmed. “You were all that I had when Kyle left and I just wanted you to be the best you could be.”

  “But that’s the problem, Mom. Only I can make myself the best I can be. Deciding what kind of music I’d like to sing, being able to choose where and when I want to perform. I want down time and I want to know what it’s like to have real friends, and not having people kissing up to me simply because I’m a celebrity.”

  Her mom looked surprised while Ben stood near the edge of the room looking at Emily with obvious approval.

  Emily continued, “And I’m not just talking about paid performances. I want to sing for charity events. I want to work with kids. And most of all I want to run my own life. I don’t want a schedule of events handed to me every single day for the rest of my life.”

  After a long silence, Ben cleared his throat smiling at her mother.

  Her mother sighed and answered in a small voice. “Alright.”

  Ben laughed. “Alright? Is this Connie Richardson I’m hearing, who’s actually agreeing with her daughter?”

  When Ben sat down on the couch beside her, Connie nudged him in the ribcage.

  “And this is as good of a time as any to get it all out. I love you Connie, and I always have. If you promise me you’re finally going to allow your daughter to live her life, I think we should get married. We make great partners, and I have a bunch of other clients you can boss around instead of your daughter.”

  Her mom seemed to be at a loss for words and Emily grinned. It’d been a day for miracles. She felt closer to her mother now than she had her entire life, and she was finally beginning to understand her better.

  “Yeah, well, I guess that’d be alright. What else am I going to do with myself?” she added giving Emily a rueful smile.

  Sitting down beside Emily on the other end of the couch, Tim wrapped an arm around her and finally spoke. “Well. I think that Emily and I might have a few other...uhh...happenings that you might be wanting to butt into during the next few years.

  Emily saw the look on her mother’s face and before she could say anything negative to Tim, Emily stared hard at her.

  Connie Richardson cleared her throat before looking down hastily at her hands.

  Emily continued to gaze thoughtfully at her mom. “And Mom? I think you might have something else to confess? Maybe about the emails Tim and I used to exchange?”

  Looking uncomfortable, Connie stood up quickly and strolled over to the back door. “I’d better go and get the sandwiches we left in the car, Ben.”

  Staring back and forth from Emily to Connie, Ben looked puzzled but began to laugh anyway.

  When her mother opened the back door, Chloe stood outside cocking her head expectantly.

  Her mother reached down hesitantly and scratched Chloe behind the ears.

  “Will wonders never cease?” Emily breathed softly.
>
  Epilogue

  One year later.

  One year ago, Tim and Emily had tentatively planned to get married in three more years. But three years had turned into two, and then two years had turned into one. They just hadn’t wanted to wait any longer.

  Now they were sitting quietly beside each other on the beach at Dragonfly Pointe the day before their wedding, watching the hordes of dragonflies and damselflies fluttering through the air.

  Chloe was running on the sand further down the beach while Barney kept a close eye on Rose as she watched the panoramic beauty of the sky in amazement. It would be a scene she’d be able to envision for the rest of her life.

  Even when she was no longer able to see.

  Tim and Emily were in the process of adopting Rose, and had committed themselves to learning everything they needed to know about her medical issues as they journeyed with her into the future.

  Emily asked softly, “Beautiful, isn’t it?” She was running the video camera on her phone and scoped out the scene with the dragonflies first before turning the camera back on Rose.

  “Oh, yeah,” Tim answered. Thinking that Emily had to be the most beautiful woman he’d ever known both inside and out, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and squeezed.

  Gazing over at Rose with her white blonde hair and sky blue eyes, Tim smiled. While settling their own differences in the interim, Chloe and Barney were guarding Rose like the precious commodity she was.

  Emily sighed. “I suppose we have to think about getting back to reality soon, so we can make it to our family dinner in time tonight?”

  “Dad would be pretty disappointed if we weren’t there,” Tim agreed. “Are we ready to pack everyone up in the rowboat again?”

  When Emily stood up holding out her arms, Rose ran into them, giggling madly when Emily swung her high in the air.

  Tim held out a staying hand when both Chloe and Barney looked ready to begin causing commotion. He grinned when the two dogs hung their heads while sluggishly following behind Emily and Rose. They climbed on their own into the grounded boat where they shared the narrow seat at the bow. Or rather they tried to sit together on the seat. Each dog had their front paws on the seat and their back paws balanced in the curved bottom of the boat.