Chapter 9
LOCATED SOUTH OF TOWN, BILL AND DONNA CARTER’S large, two-story home overlooked the river. The great room stretched across the entire length of the house and had a wall of windows that afforded spectacular views of the rushing water below and the rugged mountains beyond. Penny had attended many social events in the Carter home over the years. Both Bill and Donna loved to entertain, and Tess, their only child, was a natural hostess. Had been from an early age.
“Come in. Come in.” Tess’s smile was warm. “I’m so glad you came.” Behind her, the sound of many voices raised in conversations drifted into the entry hall.
Even though she knew otherwise, Penny said, “I hope I’m not late.”
“No. You aren’t late. I expect a few more guests, actually. Here.” She held out a hand. “Let me take your coat.”
Penny obliged and Tess took the coat into the nearby den. When she returned, she hooked arms with Penny and escorted her down the hall to the great room. It was filled with people who stood in groups of twos and threes or more, talking, laughing. Most had beverages in hand. Some were nibbling on munchies of one kind or another. As Tess had promised, Penny knew everyone she saw. She’d grown up with the majority of them, although some had been several years ahead of her in school and some several years behind her.
The doorbell rang, and Tess released Penny’s arm. “Get yourself something to drink.” She motioned toward the far side of the room. “I’ll be right back.” Then she hurried away.
Before Penny could move, Skye and Grant Nichols greeted her. Married for two months, each glowed with newlywed love.
“What do you think?” Skye drew Penny a little deeper into the room. “Will we survive whatever Tess has in store for us tonight?”
Penny laughed softly. “I hope so.”
Grant said, “I was on my way to get something to drink for Skye and me. Can I get you anything, Penny?”
“No, thanks. I’m good for now.”
Grant walked away, his wife’s gaze following him.
“You look so happy.” Penny had worried some about her friend’s whirlwind courtship. The wedding had taken place less than four months after the couple met. But it appeared her worries had been for nothing.
“I am happy,” Skye answered. “Deliriously happy, as a matter of fact. I highly recommend the institution of marriage.”
Penny felt a slight twinge of envy. Surprising since she’d never felt an urgent need to find Mr. Right. Someday it would happen. Someday she would meet a man she would love. Someday. At the right time. In the right way. But now was not the right time. Her heart was too broken to make room for anyone to find a home there.
Movement in the entry hall drew Penny’s gaze away from Skye. Surprise replaced envy when she saw Tess and Trevor enter the great room, Tess holding his arm the same way she’d held Penny’s only minutes before.
“They make a striking couple, don’t they?” Skye whispered. “It sure didn’t take Tess long to rope in the new guy.”
A desire for the quiet of home swept over Penny, but it was too late now. She was here and here she would stay. Deep down, she even knew it was good for her to be among her friends, to do something just for fun. Still, the desire to leave was strong. She frowned. And it has nothing to do with Tess’s arm in Trevor’s.
Grant returned at that moment with Skye’s beverage, a welcome distraction. Penny quickly asked Skye a question about their Hawaiian honeymoon. Her friend was only too willing to answer, and the stories that followed took up enough time for the temptation to leave to subside.
Tess seemed in no hurry to tear herself away from Trevor’s side or to begin the game portion of the evening. She introduced him to one group of friends after another, making a slow but steady turn around the room. Thanks to the Christmas bazaar, Sunday’s church service, his part-time job, and the previous night’s Bible study, Trevor had met many of them, and even those he hadn’t met made him feel welcome.
The circle of introductions was complete when Tess and Trevor stopped before Penny Cartwright and her two friends. Not that Trevor hadn’t been aware of her presence. He’d noticed her the instant he’d stepped into the room.
Tess said, “You know Penny, I think. And this is Skye and Grant Nichols.” She hugged Trevor’s arm a little closer to her side. “Everybody, this is Trevor Reynolds.”
“We met last night.” Grant offered his hand.
With a nod, Trevor shook it, then said to Skye, “A pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Nichols.”
“Call me Skye.” She smiled for a moment, then a look of realization filled her eyes. “Wait. Trevor Reynolds? You’re that Nashville singer. Brad was your drummer.”
He hadn’t tried to hide that fact, but neither had he broadcast it to everyone he’d met in Kings Meadow. And his past had been surprisingly easy to keep to himself from all but a very few people. He’d enjoyed the anonymity more than he’d expected. He’d liked not having to be “on” all the time. Strange, wasn’t it? He’d chased fame for such a long time without ever achieving it, at least not at the level he’d dreamed of. And now here he was, sorry when someone actually recognized his name.
“Yes,” he answered at last. “That would be me.”
Then his gaze shifted to Penny. Although she made a valiant effort not to show it, the mention of Brad and Trevor’s band had unsettled her. Or at least he was convinced that was the reason for the tension in her shoulders and the thinning of her lips.
How do we get past this?
Skye intruded on his thoughts. “We would love to hear you sing sometime.”
Penny looked brittle enough to break in two.
“Maybe sometime,” he answered, his gaze remaining on Penny.
Grant said something before drawing his wife away.
Lowering his voice, Trevor asked Penny, “Would you like me to leave? I don’t have to be here.”
“Why would she want—” Tess began, then abruptly fell silent.
Penny shook her head. “No. You needn’t leave. You’re Tess’s guest.” Her shoulders shuddered slightly as she let out a breath. “And it isn’t your fault that I react this way when someone mentions my brother. I . . . I know that.”
In that moment, Trevor felt as if he and Penny had taken a giant step forward. Not that she’d forgiven him. Not that she wanted to be friends with him. But they seemed to have made some progress since the last time they were together. At least she wasn’t fleeing his presence or wishing he would leave instead.
Still, he wasn’t going to press his luck. It was time he stopped invading her space. He glanced at Tess. “I think I’d like that Coke now.”
“Of course. The drinks are over here.” She smiled, although not as brightly as before, then drew him toward the far wall. After a few steps, she softly said, “That was awkward.”
“Sorry.”
“Is it only because you remind her of Brad?”
“Mostly.” It was a half-truth, but he didn’t feel compelled to say Penny held him responsible for what happened to her brother. Tess didn’t need to know that. It seemed a private matter.
They stopped at the fancy bar. Tess went to the opposite side and, ignoring the small refrigerator, opened the wheeled cooler that was on the floor. “Regular or diet?”
“Regular. Thanks.”
She wiped moisture from the bottle with a small towel, then handed him the beverage. “So it was your band. I should have recognized your name, I guess, but I don’t remember hearing it before last weekend.” As the last words left her mouth, her face turned red.
Trevor surprised them both by laughing. “You’re not alone, Tess, if that makes you feel any better. There are more people who have never heard of me than I care to admit.”
“So what on earth made you come here? Are you giving up your career?”
“No. Not giving it up. Just taking a break.” His gaze swept the room in search of Penny. “I needed some time off after the accident.” He saw her, standing near t
he fireplace.
Tess touched the back of his hand, drawing his eyes back to her. “Were you badly injured in the crash?”
This wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have. Not here and now, and not with Tess. He settled for giving a slow shake of his head.
“I guess you came to Kings Meadow to lick your wounds,” she said softly. “Just like me after my divorce.”
He knew his smile was tight. “I suppose you’re right.”
She offered a fleeting smile of her own before stepping out from behind the bar and moving toward the wall of windows. Once there, she raised her hands and her voice. “All right, everybody. It’s time we got started. Please make your way to one of the tables set up around the room. Once everyone is seated, I’ll reveal the game to be played at each table.”
Trevor’s mother loved to play board games. She always had. Growing up, he’d been exposed to the latest craze and to classic games and to most everything in between. Chances were good, whatever table he chose, he would have an edge over the other players.
He went to the first table that had an available chair. There were six participants in all. Trevor even remembered the names of the two guys who, in the manner of lifelong friends, joked and laughed to fill the time until their hostess arrived with their board game—Monopoly.
Thanks, Mom. I’ve got this.
Only it wasn’t going to be quite that simple. The rules for this party included a kind of musical chairs. When an alarm went off after an unspecified amount of time, scores would be tallied and participants would then have to move to a different table and a different game, men moving clockwise, women moving counterclockwise. Trevor had a feeling that chaos was about to ensue.
Penny fully expected to hate the evening. She anticipated a blinding headache to develop because of the loud voices and bursts of laughter. But much to her surprise, she was wrong. She found herself invested in whatever game she played, and when she wasn’t seriously trying to beat someone, she was laughing as loudly as anyone else. The silliness was contagious. She didn’t even mind when she found herself seated opposite Trevor for the final round.
“Five minutes to go over the rules,” Tess declared. “Ready? Begin.”
The game on their table was called Balderdash. Penny had never heard of it. The same was not true of Trevor. He made that obvious as he took the lead in explaining the rules of the game and scarcely had to look at the instruction card. It was also apparent that he was having a whale of a good time.
That was another surprise for her: the way he fit in with such ease. Most of the people in the room had been friends since grade school, yet he didn’t seem like an outsider. Maybe after all his years of moving from place to place to perform, he’d learned how to assimilate. Or maybe his ability to fit in was a performance in itself.
“Wait ’til you hear Trevor sing, Pen,” Brad’s voice whispered in her memory. “He’s good. He’s real good.”
Is he really that good?
Her brother had given her Trevor’s eponymous CD for Christmas last year, but she’d been so angry over his decision to leave Kings Meadow—and over the part Trevor Reynolds had played in that decision—that she’d never listened to it. Not even to a single track. She supposed the CD was in a drawer in the house. Maybe her dad knew where it was.
“All right,” Trevor said, bringing her back to the present. “Here we go.” He rolled the dice.
Penny tried to play well, but the ability to concentrate seemed to have vanished for good. When the alarm rang, signaling the end of the final round, Penny’s playing piece had been left woefully behind. Scorecards were collected and tallied by Tess, and then the silly dollar-store prize was awarded to none other than Trevor Reynolds. He laughed and accepted it from their hostess as if it were his first Grammy.
The words of profuse thanks were hardly out of his mouth before Tess leaned in and gave him a light peck on the cheek while holding his upper arm with both hands. It was something Penny had seen her do with others, both male and female, through the years. Often. And, for that matter, more than once tonight. It was simply part of her flirty, vivacious nature. What surprised Penny was the flash of embarrassment that swept across Trevor’s face. There and then gone. Hardly time for anyone to notice. Anyone except Penny, perhaps, and after a few minutes, even she began to wonder if she’d seen it. After all, he must be used to attractive women hanging on to him wherever he went. Country-star handsome and oozing with charisma and charm. What woman wouldn’t be attracted to him?
Even me?
Oh, how she despised that thought. And it wasn’t true. She wasn’t attracted to him. Not in the least.
Still, despite everything, Penny had to admit Trevor was . . . likable, and his very likability was making it hard to continue hating him, blaming him.
“Excuse me,” she whispered to the others at the table. Then she rose and slipped unnoticed from the room, making a hasty departure.
She would have to ask Tess’s forgiveness later.
Trevor’s telephone started to ring just as he turned the key in the lock of his front door. He tossed his hat onto the sofa on his way to answer it. Given the lateness of the hour, he was sure he knew who would be on the other end.
“Hello.”
“Trevor, dear.” As suspected, it was his mom. “I was so glad to learn you have a phone again. I hated feeling out of touch.”
He shucked out of his coat and dropped it onto the sofa next to his hat. “What’s up? Nothing’s wrong, is it?”
“No, dear. Nothing’s wrong. But I did want to ask if you are certain you won’t be home for Christmas. Because if you can come, I want to make plans around your visit.”
They’d had this discussion a few times already. “Not this year, Mom. I need to stay put. I’m not sure I understand why myself, but I feel like I need to be here. At least for a time.”
“I wish I could help,” she said, almost too softly to hear. Then, a little louder, “Whatever it is you’re going through, I wish I could help.”
“You’ve always been there for me, Mom. Always.”
“Not always, Trevor. Not in every way I needed to be. And I’m so sorry.”
“Mom—”
“We both know that’s true.”
He wished he could reach through the phone lines and give her a hug. He knew she blamed herself for not being more of a buffer between him and his father when Trevor had still been a boy. He’d tried to tell her that he understood, that it was all right, that he could deal with the memories, but she couldn’t seem to believe him. Maybe because it wasn’t entirely true. “I love you, Mom. Do you know that?”
“Yes.” She paused a moment. “Yes, of course I know. And I love you.”
“How about you and I take a little trip for Mother’s Day? Maybe to Catalina Island.”
“That would be lovely.”
He heard what she didn’t say: that Mother’s Day was far, far off and she missed him now. Was it possible that he was wrong about where he was supposed to be for Christmas? Maybe it wasn’t God who wanted him in Kings Meadow. After all, what did he know about hearing from God?
His mom put on a brave voice. “Well, tell me more about Kings Meadow and what you’ve been doing since we last talked. Were you out having fun this evening?”
Trevor smiled as he leaned back on the sofa, settling in for a lengthy chat.
Brad
2009
KINGS MEADOW USUALLY ESCAPED THE WORST OF summer heat, surrounded as it was by mountains. But this year the month of July had already broken high-temperature records for ten days running. Which was why Brad, his sister—home from college on summer break—and a bunch of their friends were trying to escape the heat at a favorite swimming hole. The oval-shaped pond was fed by a clear, cold-running creek, the water tumbling down out of the mountains, then in turn emptying into the river a quarter mile below.
A few years ago, a rope and tire had been hung from an ancient tree, perfect for swinging over the po
nd and dropping into the water, hopefully making a big splash that would catch sunbathers unaware. On his turn, Brad planned to aim his spray at Penny and her boyfriend from Boise, Curt Lansing. Neither Penny nor Curt had been swimming yet. Instead, they’d spent all of their time sitting on large beach towels, heads close together—talking, smiling, laughing.
Brad stepped onto the tire with one foot and grabbed hold of the rope between two large knots. Then he pushed off with the other foot, swinging out over the deepest part of the pond. He let go, and as he plummeted toward the water, he grabbed his knees to his chest to form a cannonball. He hit the water just right. He’d done this often enough to know the direction of the spray.
Breaking the surface, he swirled toward Penny. She and Curt were standing now, shaking the water off their hair like wet dogs. Penny caught Brad’s gaze, and for a second or two she looked genuinely angry. But then she started to laugh.
Penny never had been able to stay angry with her little brother for long. Brad had figured that out when he was still a kid, and if he was honest, he’d taken advantage of it on more than one occasion. He missed getting to tease her and play practical jokes on her when she was away at college. But maybe that made it all the more fun once she was home for the summer.
He swam to the side of the pond near his sister and pulled himself out of the water onto the ledge, still grinning. “Oops. Sorry, Pen.”
“Sure you are. Pest.”
He shrugged as he slicked his wet hair back from his face. Penny responded by snapping a towel at him, missing his arm by no more than an inch.
He feigned a glower. “Oh, you would’ve been in so much trouble, big sister.”
She laughed again, dropped the towel, and then dove into the water, swimming with strong arms toward the opposite side. Curt followed right behind.
The guy had it bad for Penny, no two ways about it. But Brad knew his sister wouldn’t let things go too far. She wouldn’t let herself fall in love until she’d graduated. Maybe not until Brad had graduated from college too.
The Kings Meadow Romance Collection Page 48