An Offering of Hope

by Greenwood Muir, Diane

"No mushrooms," came from Cassidy.

  "You love mushrooms," Cat said to the little girl.

  "Do not." Cassidy's lower lip went out and she put her hands on her hips.

  "I love mushrooms," Lexi said, bending down to look at Cassidy's face. "Are you sure you won't eat them with me?"

  Cassidy beamed at the girl and nodded. "Yes, please."

  "Little flirt," Polly said. "Okay. Omelets and bacon. What else?"

  Hayden opened the refrigerator. "We have apples and grapes. What do I need to save for breakfast tomorrow?"

  "Don't worry about fruit. Let's cut up those apples."

  "My job," Cat said. She started to get up and Polly waved her back down. "You sit. I'll get what you need."

  ~~~

  The dining room was jam-packed with Polly's family. She'd made sure Lexi sat near the kitchen door, just in case she needed to escape. It was obvious her stamina was flagging, but once she got comfortable, she’d relaxed. She didn't need to offer anything to the conversation. Polly couldn't remember a mealtime at this table when they'd run out of things to talk about.

  Elijah wanted to ensure that Lexi knew everything about every corner of the house. He'd offered to take her on a tour, but Henry slowed him, telling him that could wait for another evening. Elijah wasn't satisfied until he'd extracted a promise from Lexi that he would be the first to show her around.

  After dinner, Polly and Henry sent the older kids off to their various study rooms. The boys had their own Sunday evening practicing and last-minute homework to catch up on, so they ran off to get started. Cat took Cassidy upstairs for a bath and bed, while Polly walked up with Lexi. She'd already sent Hayden to his room, knowing he must have a pile of work. She and Henry would clean the kitchen. She'd be glad to have time with him, even if it was washing dishes.

  "You must be wiped out," she said to Lexi at the girl's bedroom door.

  "It feels good, though. I've never been part of a big family, but it feels almost like when I lived in the dorm. I love all the life in this house."

  "They're on their best behavior. It won't always be like this."

  "Kinda like living in a dorm," Lexi said with a smile. "Thank you for not being upset that I cleaned. I worried you might be offended."

  "This place is out of control. I've been desperately looking for someone to help me. Kind of a nanny with the kids, someone to help clean, do laundry. You know, the Mom-stuff that I can do most of the time, but need extra help with. Cat is wonderful, but her life is changing, so I need someone else. I just have to wait for the right person to show up in my life."

  Lexi nodded. "While I'm here, I could help. It would make me feel better about letting you do so much for me."

  "That would be wonderful, but you have a lot to take care of, Lexi. You have to get healthy and I want you to talk to a counselor-friend of mine about what you've been through. The police will surely have more questions for you as they continue to look for the people who kidnapped you and took your baby."

  "I can't believe this happened to me," Lexi said. She sank onto her bed which had been neatly made. "It's surreal."

  "That's a good word for it. Do you need anything before I straighten up the kitchen?"

  "I'm pooped. Is it okay if I leave my door open for the dogs?"

  "And the cats, too. I'm surprised you haven't been visited by one or two of them."

  "They were in here earlier. Maybe tomorrow you'll tell me which one is which."

  Polly looked down. "This is Luke. He's been with me a long time. Leia usually follows him around."

  "You like Star Wars, don't you?"

  "You have no idea. One of these days I'll show you my office. Before that, the kids will beg you to watch the movies with them. If your light is on when I come upstairs, I'll check in with you. Rebecca might, too."

  "Thank you, Polly. For everything."

  "I'm glad you're here, Lexi. In this family, we use the words I love you a lot. I understand that it might be uncomfortable for you because sometimes people believe that you need to have a feeling before you say it, but I believe that love is bigger than a feeling. I want you to know that you are loved here, so I will be the first one to say it. I love you, Lexi and I'm glad you're with us."

  Polly didn't wait for Lexi to process that in front of her. She pulled the door partly closed and headed back downstairs.

  "Getting everyone settled?" Henry asked as he stacked plates in the dishwasher.

  "I think so. I was surprised to see Lexi down here."

  "You said she was strong."

  "I guess. Maybe all she needed was to feel safe again."

  He crossed to her and wrapped her in his arms, his face in her hair. "That's what you do for all of us. You make it safe for us to be ourselves. I love you, Polly."

  She breathed him in, a scent she would never fail to adore. "I love you, too."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  "Nothing on my body doesn’t ache." Polly dropped down on a bench and stretched her back and shoulders. "And I'm the youngster. How do you three do this every Halloween?"

  Lydia laughed as she sat down beside Polly. "You don't pay attention to what we do."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Who exactly hauled everything in here today?"

  "I don't know. Everyone."

  "No, I directed traffic, Andy organized where everything was placed, and Beryl picked things out of boxes just because she could. You, Len, Scott, Eliseo, and Aaron carried most everything in. This afternoon, your boys helped us move boxes and set pieces around until they were close enough to assemble."

  "I'm bringing Henry in to help tomorrow."

  Beryl sat down on Polly's other side. "The more eye candy, the better. Besides, I'm pooped from all that box-picking."

  "I'm tired, too," Andy said as she sat down on a barrel. "This has been a long day."

  "Did Len leave already?" Lydia asked her.

  "He wanted to check in at the shop. Brandon and Haley should be back by now. They went to LeMars to look at a piano."

  "Are they really going to open a music store at the shop?" Polly asked. "That will be so cool."

  Andy nodded. "Len's excited. Every chance we get, we investigate a different music store somewhere in the state. I've seen a lot of Iowa these last few months." She smiled. "But it's fun to travel with him."

  Polly's phone rang. She pulled it out, looked at it, and frowned. "Rebecca. Wonder what she wants?" Swiping the call open, she said, "What's up?"

  "Polly," Rebecca was out of breath. "I think we found Lexi's baby."

  "What?" Polly stood and walked away from her friends. "How would you even know that?"

  "I'm at the hospital. We just saw Libby. We were walking through the ER waiting room and I saw this girl from my class. Mary Linder?"

  "Okay?"

  "Well, I stopped to talk to her. She was there because her little brother broke his arm."

  "Anyway …" Polly prompted.

  "Anyway, while we were sitting there, this couple came running in. The woman was crying about her baby. I don't know what was going on, but she was upset. She said that she got the baby last Monday and it's been sick the whole time. This afternoon, she got worried and her husband made her come to the hospital. My mind kind of connected a lot of dots and I wandered over to listen."

  "Eavesdrop."

  "Whatever. So, she and her husband told the nurse at the counter the whole story. About how they adopted this new baby and they just got her last Monday. It was a surprise because they weren't expecting to get the baby for a few more days, but their connection called and they had to meet him right away."

  "They didn't meet the baby's mother at the hospital?"

  "No, and she used the word connection. She made it sound like the baby had just been born and then was brought to them."

  Polly turned and beckoned to Lydia, then mouthed, "Call Aaron." To Rebecca, she said, "Are you still there? Is she still there?"

  "Yeah. The nurse took the baby i
nto a room. You could tell that couple didn't know what they were doing."

  Lydia had said something to her husband and handed the phone to Polly. This wasn't the first time she'd managed two calls at once.

  "Just a sec, Rebecca. I'm going to tell Aaron what you said."

  "Hello, Polly. You aren't going to give a man a break, are you?"

  "Rebecca's at the hospital in Boone and I know it sounds crazy, but she thinks Lexi's baby just came in with a young couple."

  "What?"

  "I know. Even saying it out loud makes it sound crazy. Is there any way you or Tab could go over and check on this couple? Maybe make sure they're okay. Ask questions? Rebecca overheard the woman tell the nurse at the desk that they'd met a connection to receive the baby last Monday. That sounds different than anything I've ever heard about when it comes to an adoption. The connection was in a hurry to get the baby to them."

  "Monday was when Lexi was dropped at your place, right?"

  "Yes."

  "I'll call you back. Tell Rebecca thank you. We'll check it out."

  "Thanks for not thinking we're out of our minds."

  "I didn't say that. But I'll let you know." Aaron ended the call and Polly went back to Rebecca. "Did you hear any of that?"

  "Thank you for believing me," Rebecca said. "We were just getting ready to leave and come home. Do you care if we stay until Sheriff Merritt shows up? I'd hate for this couple to take off if it really is Lexi's baby. We can't be this close without making sure."

  "As soon as Aaron or Tab gets there, you head home, okay? They'll let us know what is happening."

  "I can't believe I was here at just the right time. Should I tell Mary that she might have changed the world for Lexi?"

  "No," Polly said with a smile. "No one needs to know what you did until we’re certain one way or the other."

  "Cilla and Kayla know. They're with me."

  "You can't be involved in my crazy world without friends to help you handle the insanity of it. How is Libby?" Polly handed Lydia's phone back to her. By now, the three women were standing around her. As were two little boys. As soon as the excitement of hauling sets and props was over, Elijah had escaped to the piano in the auditorium and Cassidy was still in the middle of her afternoon nap in Polly's office. Noah and Eliseo had taken off for the barn.

  "They're starting to wean her off her pain medication, so she complains when it hurts. Her Mom isn't here right now, so it's good that we came over. There was a note on the board that said her Mom had gone home to take care of the other kids and would come back later this evening. Libby says she sleeps a lot and forgets what happens. That's why they write notes. Polly, she's really messed up."

  "Physically?"

  "Well, yeah, but emotionally and everything. She's so mad at the world. She keeps talking about how it would be better if she had died in that crash. What am I supposed to say to that?"

  "That you love her and she's important to you."

  "I didn't use those exact words, but that's what we keep telling her. She doesn't believe us. This whole year she's been so screwed up that her grades are in the tank. She dropped out of all her extracurricular activities and she has no friends that care about her. Those people she was partying with don't give a sh …" Rebecca stopped. "I have the worst language. Sorry. They don't care about her. None of them showed up even once after the accident. And would you believe her mom is talking about sending her to live with an aunt in Colorado? As if Libby isn't already screwed up enough because one parent doesn't want her. But Mrs. Francis says that she can't take care of Libby when she's like this and still take care of the other kids."

  Polly felt like she couldn't breathe. "Don't worry about that. It will work out."

  "I don't know how. Mrs. Francis has every right to be pissed off. Libby has been out of control and she doesn't care who gets caught in her mess. She treats her mom like dirt, even here in the hospital. You would not believe the things she gets away with saying. You'd have me scrubbing every bathroom in the house twice."

  "That family is in a world of hurt," Polly said. "We’ll do what we can to help them, but you can't take this one on."

  "You would."

  "No, I might yet step in to try to help Mary, but Libby is still her daughter. She gets to make decisions for her family."

  "It's not fair, though."

  "You know what I say about fair," Polly said. "But you're right. It's never easy to discover that adults don't have all the answers and screw things up, even when they have the best intentions."

  "I feel helpless."

  "This won't be the last time you feel that way. Trust me."

  "You always fix things."

  "I do what I can when I can. But sometimes it's out of my hands. I'll talk to Judy Greene."

  "She was down here again today. Libby says she wishes she could live out at the bed and breakfast with the Greenes."

  "It's always greener on the other side," Polly said.

  "Was that intentional?"

  Polly chuckled. "Maybe. But if you spoke with Reuben and Judy's kids, you'd find out that it wasn't always easy living with them."

  "She even asked if you'd take her in," Rebecca said in almost a whisper.

  "I hope you didn't say yes."

  "I didn't say anything. I acted like I didn't hear her. We don't have any bedrooms left now that Lexi is there."

  "Even so, I'm not about to take a minor into the house when they have a perfectly good parent in place."

  "But Libby's mom isn't a perfectly good parent."

  "You're only seeing the worst of this, Rebecca. Mary was fine until her husband destroyed their world. Think of it from her perspective. Her home was ripped out from under her. Everything she'd ever known was stripped away and she had to find a job and a place to live, raise children without any help, and deal with an adolescent daughter who lost all control of her emotions. Mary has no one to help her. Every night she sits alone in that house while her children sleep, wondering if they're going to get through the next week. Consider how much I lean on you to help me with our family. That's because as you grow up, you become more responsible and make better decisions. Mary has Libby, whose decision-making has become worse with every passing day. She doesn't know where to turn to for help."

  "You have Henry."

  "And I’ve built a group of friends who pay attention when I am ready to fall apart."

  "I get it. I'll try not to judge."

  "We're more effective when we set judgments aside and just take care of people."

  "Speaking of taking care of people, how did they get past me?"

  "Who?"

  "Deputy Hudson is here and I didn't see her come in. She has another deputy with her and he's kinda cute."

  Polly chuckled. "Make sure you get his name. We have single women up here who need dates."

  "I saw him first," Rebecca said. "I'm calling dibs."

  "Let me know when you’re on your way home."

  "It won't be long now."

  "All the same, let me know."

  "Got it."

  Polly took a deep breath as she slid her phone back into her pocket. "Are we done here today, ladies?"

  Lydia wrapped her arm around Polly's waist and pulled her close. "We sure are. You are a good mama to that little girl. She's going to be your mini-me when she gets older."

  "She already is," Beryl said. "There's so much compassion in that creative little heart. So, girls, what time are we back at it tomorrow morning?"

  "I don't know," Lydia said. "What time will you be at Sweet Beans, Polly?"

  "Maybe eight-fifteen?" Polly usually took time in the morning to at least swipe through the kitchen after the kids were gone. With Lexi in the house, this morning she’d taken a few extra minutes to ensure the girl knew where things were and was settled for the day. She'd also called Andrea to let her know that Lexi was across the street and knew to come find the woman if there were any problems. So far, no problems. They really needed
to get Lexi a phone. But all that would come.

  "Eight-fifteen it is," Beryl said. "You round up your kiddos and head home. Maybe your little cleaning elf has done more work in your house."

  Polly lifted her eyebrows. "I told her not to worry about anything. She needs to rest and take care of herself. Thank you all for everything today."

  "We didn't do anything," Andy protested. "You were the muscle."

  "Uh huh," Polly said. "I love you anyway." She put her hand down and JaRon jumped up from the floor to take it. "Caleb, would you tell Elijah that it's time to go home? If he argues, remind him that he promised Lexi a tour of the house."

  Caleb ran for the auditorium and Polly led JaRon back to her office. When she got there, Cassidy was lying on the sofa, wide awake, her doll in her arms.

  "Are you ready to go home, Cass?" Polly asked. "JaRon put your papers and things into your backpack. We're out of here."

  Cassidy slowly sat up and set her doll beside her on the couch. "She wants to spend the night here. She says that the horses are fun to watch when the stars are out."

  "Oh, really?" Polly said. "Then let's get her a comfortable pillow and a blanket. She can sit on my desk if you like." Anything to get this train rolling.

  By the time she had them in the Suburban, they could hardly wait to get home and see Lexi. She pulled up to Agnes Hill's house and Elijah was so jumpy, he opened the door, got out of his seat and ran for the front door. All she could do was chuckle. He took Agnes's hand when she came outside and then held her door for her.

  "That was a lot of attention," Agnes said. "I didn't feel hurried at all."

  "We're excited to get home and see Lexi. Elijah gets the first chance at showing her around the house this afternoon."

  Agnes turned in her seat. "You never gave me a tour. Don't you love me?"

  "I love you," Cassidy said.

  "I know you do, sweetie. Thank you."

  Elijah leaned forward against his seatbelt. "We love you. I promise. But Lexi needs us. Doesn't she, Polly?"

  "Yes, she does."

  "You've taught your whole family to take people into their lives, Ms. Giller."

  Polly turned and grinned at Agnes. "It's not a bad way to live."