Forever (23 page)

Cole held up the snake. “Look, Devin. I caught you a snake.” His voice brimmed with excitement. “But you have to grow up before you can play with it.”

Devin couldn’t possibly have known what was happening, but Cole’s voice made him look in that direction, and he almost seemed to see the snake in his brother’s hands. Either way, just at that moment he let out a sudden loud squeal followed by a hearty laugh.

“See!” Cole looked at Landon and Ashley. “I knew he’d love it.”

Everyone laughed, and Landon led Cole back to the grass so he could release the snake. “You can catch it again when Devin’s bigger,” Landon was saying as they walked away.

Finally, when the incident with the snake had passed, the group washed their hands and gathered in a circle of folding chairs for their late lunch.

Ashley surveyed the group. There would never be a better chance to tell them about her plan. “I loved the sermon today.

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How we all need to serve because, you know, it’s God’s plan for us.”

Her father nodded. “The message was strong.” He looked sadder than usual.

Probably because of Dayne.

Ashley didn’t point this out. “Anyway, I had an idea, something I want to suggest.” She hesitated. All eyes were on her. “It’s something we can all do together to serve Dayne and Katy.”

“What’s your idea?” Kari was first to respond. She had admitted since the accident that she felt terrible not helping Dayne somehow.

Ashley paused, gathering her thoughts. “I’ve talked with three contractors since I’ve been back from LA. The one Katy planned to work with and two others. All three say there’s no way they can get the work on that lake house finished until next summer. Which is way too late.”

“Have we heard anything new about Dayne’s condition?” Peter was helping Hayley with her potato salad. The child was making weekly advances in her recovery from the near drowning, but she still needed assistance.

The question didn’t surprise Ashley. Peter was a doctor and analytical. The point he was making was obvious. If Dayne was still in a coma, if the extent of his brain injury wasn’t even known yet, then why rush to fix up an old house?

Ashley prayed for the right words. She looked at her brother-in-law, willing him to understand. She needed everyone’s enthusiasm for her idea to work. “No, Dayne’s still in the coma.”

“But we’re praying for a miracle.” Her father nodded at the faces around him.

“We’re all praying for a miracle.”

“Exactly.” Ashley kept the conversation moving. “The Bible says that anyone who asks God and then doubts is like a wave tossed around on the ocean. It says that in James.”

“So… you’re saying we have to believe that Dayne will wake up.” Peter looked respectful but skeptical. “And we should move forward in that same belief.”

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“Yes.” Ashley felt him catching her enthusiasm.

Peter nodded. “Okay, so what’s your idea?”

“If the subcontractors in Bloomington are too busy to work a renovation into their schedules before winter, then maybe it’s up to us.”

“Us?” Ryan put his arm around Kari and leaned in closer. “You want us to call and bug the guys, so they’ll make it a priority?”

“No.” Ashley smiled. She loved Ryan. He and Kari were perfect together. Ashley looked around the circle. “You’ve all seen that TV show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, right?”

Next to her, she felt Landon sit a little straighter. “They bring in a crew and a bunch of supplies and fix up a house in just one week.”

“Right!” Ashley could barely contain her excitement. “Now, among us we have some knowledge of building houses, don’t we?” She looked at Ryan. “You used to do framing between school years in college, right?”

“I framed and did the roofing. Hours and hours of it.”

Ashley clapped. “See, that’s what I’m talking about.” She glanced at Kari. “You have an eye for design. You could pick out the windows and molding and doors.”

“And I could help hang them.” Peter laughed. “I haven’t worked in construction since high school, but that’s something you don’t forget.”

“I could paint.” Brooke put her hands on her knees. Her eyes sparkled at the thought. “After the tornado last spring I repainted the entire back porch, inside and out.”

“I told her not to give up her day job.” Peter kissed Brooke on the cheek.

“She’s too brilliant a doctor for that.” He winked at Ashley. “But she can hold her own with a can of paint and a brush. That’s for sure.”

Ashley wondered if anyone else picked up on the underlying message. In their early years of marriage, Peter had always doubted Brooke’s ability as a doctor.

Especially when Maddie

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had suffered from unexplainable high fevers. But after Hayley’s accident, he had a complete change of heart. Now his respect for Brooke’s talent as a doctor was unmatched.

“What about Luke and Erin?” Kari directed the question to their dad. “Is there a way we could involve them?”

“About Luke . . ” The sorrow in their father’s face was not something he could hide. “He and Reagan are having some trouble.”

“What?” Kari and Brooke both responded at the same time. Kari’s face lost some of its color. “How come we haven’t heard about this?”

“I just found out.” Their father rubbed his forehead. He looked like he’d aged five years in the last few months. “I think everything will be okay. I found something your mother wrote about-” he swallowed, clearly overcome by a sudden wave of emotion-“something she wrote about marriage. About the secrets to having a strong marriage. She made a copy for each of you. Even for Dayne. I’ll make sure you get them later.” He paused, as if he were trying to remember his point.

“Anyway, I’ve sent a copy to Luke. I’m praying it’ll help.”

Ashley tried to take in everything her father was saying. Luke’s marriage was in trouble? Was that why Luke had been so standoffish every time they’d talked lately? All this time she’d thought it had to do with his jealousy toward Dayne, but maybe there was something else going on. And then the bit about their mother? She’d written them a letter about marriage? As happy as she and Landon were, she was suddenly desperate to read what her mother had written, the wisdom that she thought was necessary for a marriage to flourish.

But they were getting sidetracked, so Ashley continued. “I don’t think we can count on Erin or Luke, to be honest. Erin has four little girls running around.

If she came, someone would have to watch them. And Luke isn’t planning to be here until the Saturday before Thanksgiving.”

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,

Her father folded his hands. His knuckles were white, a like! \ sign that he was more troubled about Luke than he let on. “Okay, so who else can we think of?”

Ryan held up his finger. “A few of the coaches worked together this past summer and built a deck on one of then homes.”

“Do you think you could get them to help us out?”

“Yes.” Ryan stroked his chin. A grin tugged at the corners o I his lips. “For free tickets to a Colts game I think I can talk then into just about anything.”

A ripple of laughter eased the tension from the group. After that conversations broke out all around Ashley. Ryan told Landon that he could probably get the football team involved, at least in the beginning when a couple workdays would be needed to clear out the debris. Brooke and Peter and Kari started talking about windows and interior paint.

They’d have to find someone to help with tiling and countertops and appliances, but as the excitement and enthusiasm built, anything seemed possible.

Before cleaning up the picnic, they prayed for Luke, that he and Reagan would work things out and that the letter from their mother might open his eyes to all that was at stake in his marriage.

By the time they headed for their cars, the entire group was buzzing about the work project. Even the kids were excited.

“I always wanted to do an extreme home makeover, Daddy.” Cole held Landon’s hand. “I’ll hammer the nails, okay?”

Ashley imagined the way it would all come together. Dayne would wake up, and gradually he’d make a complete recovery. Then on Thanksgiving morning, they’d find a reason to ask him and Katy out to the lake house. And everyone who had worked on the project would stand around and cheer in the yard of a house that was completely made over.

Her heart swelled as she pictured Dayne’s reaction. He would 181

never again have to wonder if the Baxters wanted to include him as part of their family. He would know he belonged. The house would forever be proof.

The group kept walking. “I’ll cut the wood.” Maddie tugged on Peter’s sleeve.

“Right, Daddy? Girls can cut wood, right?”

They all laughed, dreaming out loud about the possibilities. Ashley was just about to suggest they hold another meeting in a week to bring in as many ideas as possible when her dad made a sudden stop.

“Everyone … get to your cars right away!” His voice was loud and stern.

“Now. We can talk later.”

It took a moment for everyone to react, but almost at the same time Ashley’s sisters and their husbands seemed to see the cause of her dad’s alarm. They sheltered the children and hurried toward their vehicles. Bags were tossed into the backs of their cars, and doors were locked.

Ashley secured Devin’s infant carrier into the backseat and then slid in and shut her door. By then Cole had buckled himself in and Landon had started the engine.

Her dad was the only one not rushing. Instead he planted himself behind his car and stared across the parking lot.

Ashley followed his gaze, and she saw what he was looking at. Parked across the lot were two cars, and leaning out the windows were two men, aiming something straight at them. She’d spent enough time in LA to understand what was happening. The men were paparazzi, and the items in their hands were highpowered cameras. Whatever the tabloids were working on, the story was heating up.

The Baxters had been discovered.

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B A ILEY K E P et up on the situation with Dayne and Katy through her mother.

Katy called almost every night, and afterwards Bailey would find her mom and get the latest. It was Wednesday evening, and Katy hadn’t called yet. But yesterday’s news was the same as every day for the past three weeks. Dayne was still in a coma. Everyone needed to keep praying. All of CKT was asking God to give Katy and Dayne a miracle.

In some ways the ordeal reminded Bailey of how things had been after the other car accident, the one that killed Sarah Jo Stryker and Ben Hanover, the little brother of one of the CKT kids. That time a drunk driver had done the damage, and Bailey had spent weeks afterwards being so furious she could hardly concentrate in school. In the end, a bunch of them had gone to the jail and met with the guy. He was young, still a teenager. All the CKT kids who went made a line, and one at a time they approached him and told him they forgave him.

Nothing had ever made Bailey feel so good. And even though the anger had returned dozens of time since then, always she 184

would remember the drunk driver’s face and how he’d wept because he didn’t deserve to be forgiven.

“That,” her mother had told them when they reached the cat that afternoon, “is the way all of us should feel when we come to Christ. He steps into our lives and offers us forgiveness we don’t deserve. And all we can do is open our hearts and weep over Hi amazing grace.”

Her mom’s words had stayed with her, but now the anger wa,-, back in a different way. Anger toward the paparazzi. All Dayne wanted to do was get to the airport.

He was supposed to make it to the retreat-center auditorium in time to see The Wiz, but instead he never even made it on the plane. All because a dozen photographers were chasing him down some highway.

The situation was wrong, and the only way Bailey could keep it from eating at her day and night was by taking action. She’d created a MySpace page where she and the kids from CKT could post prayers and messages for Dayne and Katy. That way when he woke up-and he would wake up; she had to believe that-he and Katy could see the page and know how much people cared about them.

Computers at the Flanigan house were kept in the open in an alcove off the main walkway through the kitchen. There were three computers in that space, and Bailey sat down at the middle one. The boys were already in bed, even Connor.

Auditions for CKT’s Cinderella were in two days, and he wanted to make sure he wasn’t run-down. She moved the mouse and brought the computer to life. At the same time she heard the front door open. She looked at the time on the screen.

Just before nine o’clock.

“Cody, is that you?” Her mother was in the kitchen slicing vegetables for her homemade soup.

“Yep,” he called from the entrance. “Right on time.”

Bailey rolled her eyes. She typed in the address for MySpace and waited. Cody was always coming home right before curfew. He had a car, and when he lived at home with his mother

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before she was sent to jail-he could come home at any hour day or night. Now he agreed with Bailey’s parents that structure was a good thing. But he never came home early.

She heard him walk down the hallway toward the kitchen. “Did I miss dinner?”

The page popped up before Bailey looked over her shoulder. “A long time ago.”

“Hey-” Cody grinned at her-“I didn’t see you there.” He took the seat next to her. “Whatcha doing?”

“Checking MySpace.”

“You’re still into that?” He stretched out his legs and came very close to brushing up against hers.

“No. It’s not for me.” She slid over, making sure there was ample space between them. Everything about Cody was wrong for her, but no matter what he did to bug her-flirting with Katy, coming home late, or hanging out with the senior girls from school-she couldn’t stay mad at him. And she couldn’t stop herself from being attracted to him. She was breathing, after all. “It’s for Dayne. It’s the prayer page I made for him and Katy. You have to know the password to get in.”

“Oh.” Cody’s voice held a level of remorse. “Do you have your own page?”