Home to Chicory Lane (9781426796074)

by Raney, Deborah;

  “I know. That’s wild. I—can’t quite wrap my mind around it.”

  Landyn turned to look at him, and he knew she was trying to gauge how he was feeling about this confirmation. He gave her a smile that came easy. “Looks like we’ve got our work cut out for us.”

  And it looked like a lot of work to him. But something had happened—something had changed in that moment when the image on the screen became clear. For the first time those babies were real to him. A little Chase. Or a little Landyn—maybe one of each. And while he couldn’t honestly say he loved them already, he felt . . . responsible for them. In a good way.

  They were his babies. Two little someones were going to call him Daddy. And it was a gift. A gift from God. He didn’t have a clue how they would manage, how he would provide for his family. But God had seen fit to give him a family. The one thing he’d never really had, the one thing he thought he didn’t deserve. And God was giving it to him. In spades. He would be grateful. He was grateful.

  And though he knew he had a long way to go, and a lot to learn, he promised God then and there that he would do everything in his power to be a good father to these two little people waving their tiny fingers at him from the screen.

  32

  It was after nine o’clock before Dr. Meier finally made his rounds and dismissed Landyn to go home. But not before they’d signed a stack of papers promising to pay an amount they hadn’t even seen yet. She’d heard horror stories about ER bills in five figures. She just prayed her insurance from Fineman & Justus would cover most of it.

  She buckled her seatbelt and pulled down the visor to check her shiner in the mirror. There wasn’t enough makeup in the world to cover the ugly contusion. Mom would go ballistic when she saw it.

  Chase had somehow managed to cram all but a few of their belongings from the Honda into his car. The rest would be shipped to her parents’ as soon as an adjustor had looked at the car.

  She stretched her neck to look out the windshield at the pockmarks on the hood of Chase’s car. “Won’t our insurance pay to fix that?”

  He shook his head. “It didn’t make sense to pay for full coverage on this pile of scrap metal, so I only had collision on it.”

  “Well I’d say those hailstones collided with the hood of your car. Isn’t that worth something?”

  He laughed. “I’ll let you plead that case with the insurance company. I’m just thankful we have full coverage on your car.”

  And that was thanks to her dad, who’d paid her insurance premium a year in advance before she got married. But of course she didn’t say that to Chase. He felt bad enough as it was.

  “And at least our cars are paid for.”

  “Thank the Lord for small miracles.” He sounded utterly defeated.

  “Chase—”

  He shook his head in a way she knew meant “please spare me the platitudes.” That hurt, but she knew him well enough to understand that sometimes he had to think things through on his own.

  Because of their belongings—mostly Chase’s from the studio—piled to the car’s ceiling, he could barely see out the back windshield, so she had to be his eyes as he navigated the parking lot and got them back on the Interstate.

  They’d driven in silence for twenty minutes when Chase—eyes glued to the highway—said, “I wonder how much more He thinks we can take.”

  He meant God, she knew. But she wasn’t sure how to respond. Wasn’t sure Chase even wanted a response. An image from when she was a little girl came to her mind, and almost without thinking, she started singing. A song CeeCee had used to sing when she had put them to bed the nights she babysat them while Mom and Dad were out on a date or away on business.

  She sang softly, “Count your many blessings, name them one by one . . .” She sang a couple of lines but couldn’t remember all the lyrics. But she did remember—for the first time in a long time—the warmth of having her grandmother’s arms around her. And how CeeCee had encouraged her to list her blessings. One by one, just like the song said. Mom and Dad, a happy home, her brothers and sisters—two of each, though back then she hadn’t always been so sure they were blessings. CeeCee had laughed when Landyn said as much, but then she pressed her to think of other blessings. A beautiful sunset. Recent rains. Supper on the table. A new litter of kittens MamaKat had delivered.

  “What’s that song?” Chase asked, sounding a little annoyed that she was singing when he was working so hard to be depressed.

  “CeeCee used to sing it when I was little. I think . . . I think we should count our blessings, Chase. We’ve been through a lot, but—we have a lot too.” Somehow speaking those words helped her see the truth of them more clearly.

  Yes, she and Chase had been through a lot. Some of it—much of it, if they were honest—had been brought on by their own choices. But some of it was just—life. And she knew so many people who had suffered far more than she and Chase had. She thought of her boss at the PR firm in Manhattan whose little boy had drowned at three. And Carly, her friend in high school who’d lost both her parents in a car accident. Mom’s friend Karyn, who’d gone through chemo. Twice.

  Yes, she’d had her share of tragedy and trials. Losing her brother in Afghanistan was pretty high on the list. But she had a lot to be thankful for, too.

  Chase pressed his lips into a thin line. She sensed he was praying. Probably praying God would give him patience with his wife’s silly car games.

  But after a minute he looked over at her with a boyish grin. “Okay. I’ll go first. Number one. I’m blessed to have a hot wife.”

  She laughed. “Have you looked at me recently? I’ve got a black eye and my hair is out of control. I’m fat. I’m—”

  “You’re beautiful. And . . . Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For making me realize . . . we are blessed. Okay, your turn.”

  She thought for a minute, wanting to hold tight to the hope she felt rising inside her. “I’m blessed that we own such a great car.”

  That made him laugh. “Ha! I’m blessed to have a four-hundred-square-foot apartment”—he winked—“and twins on the way.”

  She glanced into the backseat and wondered where on earth they would put two car seats. But she forced her thoughts back to blessings. “I’m blessed to have patient parents who are willing to put up with me.”

  “I’m blessed to have patient in-laws who—so far—haven’t kicked me out of the family.”

  “And they never would, Chase,” she said, making her tone serious, but quickly steering him back to the game. “Okay . . . I’m blessed that I’ve only gained twelve pounds in the last five months.”

  His eyes grew wide. “Seriously? Twelve? You’re chunkin’ out on me, woman!”

  She slugged him in the bicep. “Hey, you try keeping your slim figure with two babies in tow.”

  “That’s okay. You’re doing a fine job.” He gave her knee a proprietary pat. “All right, my turn . . . I’m blessed that you weren’t—killed last night.” Tears sprang to his eyes.

  Landyn gave up on keeping things lighthearted. She scooted over as far as her seatbelt would allow and reached across the console to rub his shoulder. “Me too. It was kind of a close one, huh?”

  He shuddered. “Too close. If anything had happened to you, Landyn, I don’t know what I would have done. And . . . We might never have even known we were having twins.”

  It was a sobering thought. “I’m blessed that you’re the daddy of our twins.” How many more times would she have to speak such words before it seemed real that they were having two babies?

  She looked out the window at the landscape rolling by, more familiar now that they were headed down I-57 on the Illinois side, not far from crossing the Mississippi River into Missouri.

  Chase caressed her cheek, then captured a curl at her temple and slowly wound it around his finger. “I don’t know how it’s all going to work out, babe, but I’ve been thinking how strange it is when it seems like everything tha
t could possibly go wrong went wrong, and yet—in spite of everything—I’ve somehow felt more sure than ever that God has everything under control.”

  “Yeah . . . I’ve felt that too.”

  “Mind you, I’m not saying I like everything that’s happened.”

  She shook her head. “Me neither. But maybe . . . because we’ve completely lost control of our lives, God has no choice but to step in now.”

  “And maybe he can, now that we’ve finally gotten out of the way.”

  Oh, how she prayed that was true.

  * * *

  Audrey hung up the phone and rolled her eyes.

  “So you finally got hold of them?” Grant put down his newspaper and waited for the rant he knew was coming. “Are they getting close?”

  She sighed. “I do not know why a person owns a cell phone if they’re not going to have it turned on. How on earth are they traveling in two cars with their cell phones off?” Audrey looked as peeved as he felt.

  After last night’s guests had checked out, he and Audrey had pretty much wasted the rest of the morning sitting around waiting to hear from Landyn and Chase. It was almost noon and Audrey had just now hung up from talking to them.

  “They’re still three hours from home. I don’t know why they’re taking their sweet time getting here.”

  “Well, maybe they ran into weather.” He turned back to the weather report in the Southeast Missourian. “Where’d you say they spent the night?”

  “I thought they said Caroltown or Carolville . . . Something like that. Landyn said it was a small town. I wasn’t familiar with it.”

  “It wasn’t Carrollton, Kentucky, was it?”

  “Oh, I think it was. Because I was surprised they’d only gotten as far as Kentucky. Why?”

  “They had a whale of a storm there last night. Hail and flooding.”

  “That’s in the paper?” Audrey came to read over his shoulder, resting her chin on the top of his head. “Landyn said they ran into a storm, but it didn’t sound like it was anything newsworthy.”

  “According to this, it was bad enough to make national news. Hit all along the Interstate. Cars piled up under the overpasses, several accidents. Thank goodness the kids missed that.”

  “Oh, Grant. Just think if they hadn’t stopped when they did.”

  “I, for one, will breathe a sigh of relief when they finally get here. And I am anxious to see them again, but I’ll sure be glad when those two figure out their plans.”

  Audrey blew out a breath that ruffled her bangs. “That makes two of us.”

  “We weren’t ever that—flighty, were we?”

  “Well, maybe we should ask your mother the answer to that. I seem to recall coming home from St. Louis a few years ago to find CeeCee pacing the floor with a sick Corinne and wondering why on earth we were so late.”

  Grant cringed. “I’d forgotten all about that. We were at that big awards thing, right?”

  She nodded. “With Kelvin and Mary . . . I’ve forgotten their last name.”

  He frowned, feeling appropriately chided. “Yes, but it’s not like we had cell phones back then.” They’d been having a wonderful evening dining with friends. CeeCee had agreed to babysit—and spend the night, as he recalled. He and Audrey had never given his mother—or the kids, for that matter—another thought.

  “Maybe we should cut Chase and Landyn a little slack. But I’d sure like to give them a piece of my mind.”

  He laughed. “That makes two of us. But maybe we should hang on to all the pieces of our minds. You never know when we might need them.”

  33

  The closer they got to the inn, the more jittery Landyn felt. She’d imagined her parents’ surprise and excitement at learning they were going to be grandparents to twins. She’d imagined their relief to learn that she and Chase had made it through the storm safely. And their alarm at hearing what a close call it was. But the closer they got to Langhorne, the more unsure she was about how Mom and Dad would react to their news.

  What if they blamed Chase? What if this last round of events was the last straw for her parents’ generosity to them?

  It was after four when they finally pulled up the long driveway to the inn. Like always, her parents hurried off the porch to greet them. Landyn wondered if they’d been sitting there since her last phone call right after they’d stopped for lunch and to gas up.

  Mom held her arms open for a hug but raised them to her mouth when Landyn got close. “What happened to you? Oh, Landyn! Honey . . . What on earth happened?”

  Dad came over and inspected her the same way, then he looked past her to Chase’s pulverized Toyota. “What on earth happened? Where’s your car?”

  She held up a hand. “I’m fine. . . . I had an accident.”

  “What do you mean?” Dad narrowed his eyes at her, then at Chase. And for one awful moment, she saw blame in his eyes—that he thought this was Chase’s fault.

  “I wrecked my car. We got caught in a crazy storm—” She started laughing. Genuinely, because her parents’ faces were mirror images of each other.

  “A wreck? What happened?” Mom put a hand up to touch the shiner, but Landyn backed away, reaching for Chase.

  “Where is your car, Landyn?” Her dad looked past them, down the driveway.

  “We had to leave it behind,” Chase answered for her. “It was totaled. Landyn is lucky to be alive.” His voice cracked, and he pulled her into a hug, as if he could protect her after the fact.

  “We spent the night in a hospital last night,” Landyn finished quickly, seeing the alarm in her mother’s eyes. “That’s why we were so late this morning.”

  “Oh, Landyn. That just gives me the chills.” Mom reached for her.

  Chase let her go.

  Her mother hugged her close, then pulled away to study her face. “You’re sure the baby is okay? The doctor checked that?”

  “Everything is fine. I promise.”

  “So where’s the Honda?” Dad seemed more concerned about her stupid car than he was about her.

  Chase explained that he’d already contacted the insurance company. “We’re sure grateful for you having full coverage on Landyn’s car,” he told her dad.

  “What about yours?” Dad said. “Looks like it took quite a beating too.”

  “Yes . . . Unfortunately, I—we only have collision on it.” He nudged at a hunk of gravel with the toe of his shoe.

  Dad shook his head like it was a lost cause—like Chase was a lost cause. Landyn wanted to shake her father. Couldn’t he see Chase felt bad enough about everything as it was?

  But if Chase noticed, he didn’t let it show. He squared his shoulders and injected a confidence in his tone that Landyn was pretty sure he didn’t feel. “I have an appointment in Cape Monday to talk to the insurance guy so we can get things straightened out and hopefully replace Landyn’s car.”

  Dad gave a noncommittal nod.

  Landyn cleared her throat and shot Chase a raised eyebrow. This seemed like as good a time as any to share their news.

  Chase shrugged.

  Mom watched their exchange with eagle eyes and looked at Landyn with a question written on her face.

  “Mom . . . Dad . . .” She looked between them. “You guys might want to sit down for this.”

  “This? What are you talking about?”

  “Just come and have a seat. Chase and I have some news.”

  Her mom led the way to the porch and sat primly on the edge of an Adirondack chair. “What’s this all about?”

  “You asked if the doctor checked me . . . He did. And when he listened for the baby’s heartbeat, he found something.”

  “Oh, no . . .” Mom’s face went gray.

  “No, Mom.” Landyn laughed. “It’s good news— Well . . . it’s not bad news.”

  “Would you just tell us,” Dad snapped, “and put your mother out of her misery?”

  By the way he plopped onto the porch swing, Landyn thought her dad might be exp
eriencing a little misery too.

  “The doctor heard two heartbeats.” She glanced up at Chase to include him in the announcement. He was smiling, but she knew he was nervous about her dad’s reaction. “We’re having twins.”

  “Twins?” Mom’s hands went to her mouth again, the way they had when she’d first heard about the accident. “Are you serious? I always thought we might have twins in the family. You know your great uncle Harold was a twin. But the other baby died at birth.” She gasped, as if just realizing how her comment might affect Landyn. “Things were so different back then, of course. Babies were born at home and they didn’t have all the modern—”

  “It’s okay, Mom.” Landyn touched her mother’s arm. “The doctor said things are fine with our babies. We want to get started with Dr. Gregory here, just to make sure everything keeps going like it should.”

  “Dr. Gregory? Does that mean you’ll be staying until the babies are born?” Mom’s color was still a little on the gray side. “When are you due anyway?”

  “Don’t worry, Mom.” Landyn patted her shoulder. “We’re just staying at the inn tonight. We’ve already talked to CeeCee and she’s ready for us to come out there tomorrow.”

  “And to answer your question, she’s due April 2.” Chase said.

  “Actually, the chart the nurse had showed April 1, but we’re telling people April 2, so no April fools’ jokes, please. We didn’t exactly plan any of this.”

  Her dad actually laughed at that.

  “So what do you think, Daddy? You haven’t said anything.”

  He shook his head in that I-can’t-believe-you-did-that way he’d always used whenever one of them did something stupid. “I’ve always told my kids I’d take as many grandchildren as you wanted to give me, but I didn’t mean you had to double up on production. There’s not a prize for the winner or anything, you know.”

  That made even Chase laugh.

  Dad reached for her and squeezed her shoulders in a side hug. “I’m happy for you, kiddo. You guys have your work cut out for you, but if anybody can handle it, I believe you two can.” He extended a hand to Chase, grinning. “Son, congratulations. I just hope you’re prepared to become a money-making machine for the next twenty years or so.”