Forever (15 page)

Randi felt her shorts pocket. Dayne’s cell phone; it was still there. “No.” She pulled the phone out and ran her thumb over the top. “I’ll take care of it.”

“We’re fielding calls from the media, Ms. Wells. We won’t tell them a word about the accident until you and the doctors decide.”

“Thank you.” Her voice was robotic sounding, numb and lifeless. She felt sick again, and she almost asked for a bathroom. But before she could, the woman was gone and Randi was alone in the small room. Just her and God, if the God Dayne believed in really existed. She sat down, leaned over her legs, and dug her elbows into her knees. This couldn’t be happening. God, if You’re there… let him live. Please.

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Randi opened the phone and saw that her hands were shaking again. She scrolled through Dayne’s numbers, surprised at how few there were. But then, Randi hadn’t heard about Dayne hitting the party scene since meeting the woman in Indiana. So she would be her first call.

Randi concentrated, tried to block out the images of a broken, battered Dayne Matthews and focus instead on the conversations they’d had about his love life.

Katy, right? Wasn’t that her name?

Randi ran down the list until she hit the Ks, and there it was: Katy Hart. Yes, that was it. The director had talked about her at one of their meetings. She was a talented actress apparently. Someone who had chosen to walk away from the part in Dayne’s movie with Kelly Parker. Randi hit the OK button and then just as quickly hit Send.

The phone connected, but after four rings it went to Katy’s voice mail.

After the beep, Randi forced herself to speak. “This message is for Katy Hart.

This is Randi Wells. I’m an actress on the picture Dayne’s working on.” She paused. “There’s been an accident. Please call me immediately so I can give you the details.” She left her cell number and clicked the End button.

Who else? She stood and paced from one side of the room to the other. Any family or relatives? Dayne’s parents had died when he was young, so who else could there be? She scrolled through the names, looking for a sign. As well as she thought she’d known Dayne, she really didn’t know him at all. Didn’t know who cared for him or who would want a call in a terrible situation like this one.

She worked her way down the list, and partway through it she saw something that stopped her cold.

Under the Ds was the name Dad. She checked the number, and the area code was the same as Katy Hart’s in Indiana. In the notes section for the listing was something else. The name John Baxter, which meant the man probably wasn’t Katy Hart’s father.

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Randi stared at it for a moment before making the decision to call the man. This must be something Dayne was hiding. There could be no other explanation.

Because the world thought Dayne parentless.

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KATY HAD no choice but to be understanding.

Dayne had promised he’d attend the show, but his schedule didn’t allow him the freedom to always make his own choices. It was that simple. Showtime was in fifteen minutes, and only Bailey and Connor knew that Dayne was supposed to be here. Bailey came running up to her while she was giving final instructions to a crew of kids near the wings backstage.

Katy dismissed the other teens. As Bailey approached Katy caught her breath, almost as if she were seeing the girl in a different light for the first time.

Every morning they shared breakfast and every evening they told each other good night, but somehow Katy had missed the obvious. Bailey was growing up. She had never looked more adorable, her hair in pigtails and big, colorful, eighties-style jewelry finishing off her look. The kids had been told to bring black clothes for the show and accessories to dress up their outfits. Over her black tights and long-sleeve black T-shirt, Bailey wore a short, bright pink skirt and a pink, formfitting jacket. The picture of The Wiz’s offbeat version of Dorothy.

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Bailey leaned in close. “I looked through a crack in the curtains. I don’t see him.”

“He’s not here.” Katy peeked around the curtain and searched the audience the way she’d done a dozen times in the last few minutes. Rhonda was standing near the back next to Aaron, the guest speaker and activities director. He’d turned out to be a great guy, and he seemed to hit it off with Rhonda. Katy wouldn’t be surprised if he asked Rhonda out once they got back to real life on the other side of the lake.

But Dayne was nowhere.

Bailey frowned. “I thought for sure he’d come.”

“Me too. He was probably sucked into a meeting. Directors can do that.”

“Yeah.” Bailey grinned at Katy. “Tell me about it.”

“You doing okay with Tim and Bryan?”

“Fine.” She giggled. “I invited Tanner to the show. That oughta keep them both quiet.”

“I’d say.”

Bailey looked at the stage. “My mom says I have to give him a chance to like theater. Maybe then we’ll have more to talk about.”

“Good advice. Besides, Tim and Bryan both have pretty big egos. If your boyfriend’s here tonight, they might still have a chance to fit through the doorway at the end of the show.”

“Right.” Bailey held her hands out. “Pray with me?”

“Sure.” They bowed their heads together. Katy asked God for His protection and provision throughout the night, that Bailey and the others would remember their lines, and that the entire show would be glorifying to Him.

When Bailey ran off to join the others, Katy worked out a few more kinks in costumes and blocking assignments; then she took her place in the front row.

Rhonda and Aaron sat on her right side; Bethany Allen, CKT’s coordinator, on her left. Up until the moment the lights went down, Katy searched. Time and again she looked over her shoulder and scanned the auditorium.

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But there was no Dayne.

She hid her disappointment. Even Rhonda didn’t know she’d been expecting him. It was time to dismiss all other thoughts so she could focus on the matter at hand.

Her finest teen-camp production so far.

The lights faded to dark, and a single spotlight appeared onstage.

“Dorothy?” The teen playing Aunt Emma craned her neck as she looked out over the audience. “Dorothy, it’s time to come in. I’ve got supper on the table and a storm’s coming.”

Bailey came running down the side aisle and up onto the stage. “Here I am, Aunt Emma.”

The lines, the acting, the timing-all of it was perfect. Again Katy felt the ache of disappointment. Dayne had really wanted to see Bailey and Connor in a show together. And more than that, she had been looking forward to after the show, to finding a quiet place where she could lay her head on his chest and let him wrap his arms around her.

The show moved along without a hitch. Bryan was perfect as the Scarecrow, standing on the inside edges of his feet and letting his arms dangle, regardless of the scene. Same with Tim, who managed to use robotic movements whenever he needed a little oil. Even the Cowardly Lion was good-played by a wiry teen who had no trouble acting timid. His song drew more laughs than all the others combined.

When it was over, Katy looked once more. She saw Tanner Williams sitting with Jenny and Jim Flanigan. But Dayne wasn’t here. Whatever had happened, he wasn’t in Bloomington. Because if he were, nothing could’ve kept him from being here tonight. The cast took their bows, then stayed onstage to sing three praise songs.

This was what she really wanted Dayne to see.

No matter how victorious the show, the kids never forgot this part. They linked hands-Bailey and Connor and Bryan and

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Tim, the Schneider girls and the Shaffer kids. The Rogers and Farleys and Pick boys. Parts no longer mattered but only the one voice they lifted to heaven. “I love You, Lord … and I lift my voice… .”

Katy felt tears in her eyes. Thank You, God, for these kids. And for reminding me every time they take the stage why I’m here. Nights like this she almost felt like Dorothy. There really was no place like home. And, Lord, thanks for showing me again. There’s no other place I’d rather call home. Just hurry the time so Dayne can be here with me. All the time.

Finally the houselights lifted, and the kids raced down the stage stairs and off to their respective parents. Around the auditorium, parents were handing kids flowers and giving hugs and snapping pictures. It was a familiar scene, and usually Katy would make the rounds, posing for pictures with the kids who called out to her.

She was walking up the aisle toward the back of the theater when she spotted a man who looked like John Baxter near the door. He was talking to Bethany, and his face looked tightly drawn, serious. Strange, she thought. She continued toward them. She hadn’t seen the Baxters in attendance. Ashley had hoped to make it with Landon and the boys, and even Kari had talked about bringing her husband and their two children. But until now Katy hadn’t seen any of them.

As she came closer she saw she was right. The man was John Baxter. He turned and their eyes met. That’s when Katy saw that his eyes were red and swollen. His lips parted but he said nothing, only shook his head.

Bethany pulled away, touching Katy on the elbow briefly before she walked off.

“John?” Katy closed the distance between them. “Is something wrong?”

“Yes, Katy.”

Katy gripped his forearm. That wasn’t the right answer. Her 121

question had been rhetorical. If someone looked upset, you asked if something was wrong. Most of the time the sad-looking person would shake his head and decline to get into details. “Everything’s fine,” he would say. Or “Don’t worry.

It’s no big deal.” Never was a person supposed to answer the way John Baxter just had.

Katy searched his face, his eyes. Was it Ashley? Had something happened to her friend on the way to the show? “Talk to me. What happened?”

“There’s been an accident. Dayne’s SUV was hit by a truck this morning.” John sniffed, and his lower lip trembled. “He’s in the hospital in intensive care.

They … they don’t know if he’ll make it.”

Katy’s head began to spin and her mind raced. What was he talking about? Dayne wasn’t in an accident. She’d talked to him just last night, and everything was all set. He would board a plane at ten this morning and meet her at the auditorium in time for the show. She looked slowly over her shoulder at the rows of seats. Only he had never showed up, so maybe …

She turned back to John and shook her head. “Not Dayne.” Her voice was a painful whisper, each word taking every bit of her strength. Her knees shook, and she had to blink hard to keep from passing out. Not Dayne, God. Not him.

John took her in his arms and held her. Then he led her outside and around the corner. The summer air did nothing to stop the chill that suddenly ran through her. “I’m leaving first thing in the morning. Ashley’s coming too. I thought you’d want to join us.”

No, she didn’t want to join them. She wanted to walk back into the auditorium and see Dayne Matthews signing autographs for the CKT kids. She wanted to see Bailey and Connor run up to him and beg him for his opinion of their show. She didn’t want to fly to Los Angeles and find him in a hospital room. She held on to John with both hands and squeezed her eyes shut. She had to focus, had to make herself think.

Katy blinked and looked at him again. “What happened?”

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Disgust and anger mixed in John’s expression, and hu clenched his jaw.

“Paparazzi. Dayne and Randi Wells were leaving breakfast in separate cars, and a dozen photographers chased

them. One of them veered into oncoming traffic and started a chain reaction. An oncoming delivery truck lost control and shot straight into Dayne’s door.”

Katy gasped and brought her hand to her mouth. “Is Randi with him?” Someone had to be. He couldn’t be lying there in a hospital room fighting for his life without anyone nearby.

“She’s there. They won’t let her in yet.” John glanced at the ground, clearly fighting tears. When he found her eyes he looked like whatever he had to say next was maybe the hardest part of all. “He has a brain injury, Katy. Also, he may lose his left leg. Internal bleeding, organ damage. The accident was horrific.” He pulled her close again. “We have to pray for a miracle.”

Brain injury? Katy pictured the handicapped brother of one of the CKT kids. The child had been riding his bicycle without a helmet when he was hit by a car. The accident took everything but his life. It left him in a near-vegetative state, unable to walk or talk or think beyond an infant level. Katy shuddered. “Yes. We have to pray.”

“Should I book you a flight?”

“For tomorrow?” Suddenly the urgency filled her heart and mind and raced through her veins. “What if … what if that’s too late?” She took a few backward steps. “We need to go now. The next flight, John. Don’t you think?”

“I’ve checked.” John caught up with her and put his arms around her. “Don’t panic. Dayne needs you to be calm, to pray. Come on.” He gently led her toward the parking lot. “I’ll take you home so you can get some sleep. I’ll pick you up at four in the morning. The flight leaves at seven.” He explained that Bethany and Rhonda had come in one car, and later Rhonda would collect Katy’s things and drive Katy’s car back. Bethany would follow her to the Flanigan house.

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“Yes.” Katy was numb. “Take me home, please.” Nothing made sense, and all she wanted to do was find a way to Dayne. Even if she had to walk all night. She buried her head in John’s shoulder as they walked.

On the way home, she said nothing because everything felt like a horrible nightmare, so surreal she couldn’t believe it was happening. She hadn’t seen Dayne for a month, so today was going to be about more than the show. By now they should’ve been almost finished with the aftermath from the camp, and they would’ve found a quiet spot on Lake Monroe where they could talk and hold hands and dream about their future.

Only now nothing was certain, not even Dayne’s next breath.

When they reached the Flanigans’, Katy thought of another question. “When will we know more?”

John understood. The dark shadows on his face, the tears that pooled in his eyes, told her the answer before he spoke. “His injuries are very serious. We have to beg God for His help, for every minute he survives.”