Forever (3 page)

Katy yawned and focused on the road. Never mind the thunderclouds on the distant horizon; she felt like squinting. The future looked that bright. Yes, they still had some details to work out: How often Katy would visit Dayne during his filming once they were married or whether he’d do all the traveling so their visits could be more private. They needed to figure out a plan for the paparazzi so they wouldn’t always be running.

But none of that felt insurmountable. Now that Dayne had decided to live in Bloomington, every aspect of their future felt possible. And one day-maybe not too far down the road-they might even live as normal people. Because Bloomington was the kind of town that treated people like friends and family. Fame 7

had no place in the circles Katy ran in. Bloomington would embrace them and protect them, and they would virtually disappear from the media landscape.

She checked the digital clock on her dashboard and thought about the coffee. As she looked up, a sign ten yards ahead caught her eye: Estate Home-For Sale by Owner. The stoplight turned red and Katy slowed her car. When she was close enough, she scanned the sign. Most of it was illegible, but she could make out one very distinct word: lakefront. The sign pointed right. Katy bit her lip and hesitated. Ashley’s house was left.

Dayne’s words from the night before filled her senses. “Not near the lake, on the lake. A big yard and a sweeping porch.”

Before she could analyze her options, she made a right turn. She flipped open her cell phone and dialed Ashley’s number. “I’ll be a few minutes late.” She didn’t want to say that she was following a For Sale sign on a whim.

“I was just going to call you.” Ashley sounded out of breath. “Bethany just called. She can’t be here till nine-thirty, and the kids are running me ragged.

Take your time.”

Katy smiled. “Okay. See ya.” She hung up just as she saw the next sign. Sure enough, it directed her toward a secluded part of the lake. Her heart beat a little faster. She followed the signs another few miles, through a series of turns and onto a two-lane road that ran along the perimeter of the lake. She was familiar with the area, and suddenly she remembered something. There was a house out this way-more of a landmark really-that had been written about in the newspaper recently. Could that be where she was headed?

She rounded a bend in time to see a larger sign posted close to the road, right in front of the house she’d read about. Katy pulled over and stared at the place. The article had been in last Sunday’s paper. The rustic, cabin-style structure had belonged to Carol and Elmer Nichols for sixty-two years. Elmer had built the house, and for six decades it was a place of love and laughter and 8

much activity. But several years back, both Carol and Elmer had grown ill and been placed in a local nursing home. Their kids lived out of state with their own children and grandchildren, and the grand old place had slowly fallen apart.

Even so, the family hadn’t wanted to sell.

But a year ago Carol died, and last month Elmer followed. Their deaths made the house part of an inheritance, and that was the subject of the newspaper article.

The kids had taken a vote and decided that they would sell the house only if no one in the family was able to restore it. The article had quoted the oldest Nichols daughter as saying, “The last thing we want to do is let the place go to someone outside the family.”

Apparently things hadn’t worked out, because here it was, definitely for sale.

Katy pulled into the driveway and realized how large the property was. There were several acres of overgrown grass that made up the distance from the road to the house. Katy’s heart beat a little faster. Even in disrepair the house was unlike any other in Bloomington.

The place was big enough to be a lodge, and if Katy hadn’t read the recent article she would’ve assumed it was. It was situated at the far end of the field on a bluff overlooking the most beautiful part of the lake. Wrapped around the exterior was a full-size porch, and from what she could see, an oversize deck came off the back of the house.

Katy parked and got out of her car. The building looked empty, and as she walked closer she could see the house better. The old place had certainly fallen apart.

The decks and railings sagged, and in some places they were broken in half. Two of the windows were cracked, and an old screen door hung from one hinge. The exterior of the house needed painting, and the roof looked damaged in some spots. Katy narrowed her eyes, trying to imagine the place fixed up. It would be spectacular, a house even Dayne couldn’t have dreamed she’d find in so short a time.

She jogged to the For Sale sign and pulled a flyer from the H

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box. Six-bedroom, four-bath, lodge-style home in as-is condition. The price was seven figures, but the property alone had to be worth that. She looked around the field. The house sat on at least ten private acres bordered by huge maple trees on two sides and a worn-out, split-rail fence near the road. Nothing blocked the view on the lakeside.

Suddenly Katy had to see. Since the house appeared abandoned, it couldn’t matter if she peeked at the backyard. She hurried toward the edge of the bluff and angled closer to the house. The backyard was a mess-a broken hammock; an overturned wheelbarrow; a rusty swing set; old, dilapidated furniture scattered about. Beyond that was a damaged staircase leading down to a private dock.

Again she felt her heart soar. She could picture the yard cleared out and cleaned up, with new decking and railings. She took in the lake view and felt dizzy with the possibilities. The setting was perfect. She could almost see the future playing out before her, hear the voices and laughter from family and friends who would come here for a barbecue or a birthday party. She could see it all-and Dayne by her side, the two of them living out a dream.

Katy turned and studied the abandoned house. What a shame the Nichols family had let it fall apart this way.

Katy folded the flyer and headed back to her car. She could hardly wait to talk to Dayne. She dialed his number on the way to Ashley’s, and though she couldn’t talk long, she told him she’d found it. Their dream house. She would fill him in on the details later when he was off work.

For now she had to focus on the meeting at Ashley’s, get the work done so she could tell Ashley about the house. All her life Katy had wanted a sister, someone to share her heart with, someone who would have another viewpoint on family matters and relationships. She had Rhonda and Jenny, but a sister would be more than a confidante and a friend. A sister was family.

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She leaned back in the driver’s seat as she made her way to Ashley’s house. As the meeting finished and she finally had the chance to tell Ashley all about the house, Katy thanked God. This was just one more way He had blessed her through Dayne’s love. Ashley was already a friend.

One day soon she would be a sister.

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ASHLEY BAXTER Blake hung up the kitchen phone and grinned at her husband. “I did it. He’s coming. I knew he would.” She raised her eyebrows. “But not a word to Katy.”

“What if it’s not the right house?” Landon held a fussy Devin in his arms, and he reached for the pacifier on the kitchen counter. The baby was three months old now, and already he looked so much like Cole.

“It is. Katy said so.” Ashley couldn’t have been happier. Ever since Katy told her about the house, she’d been dreaming up this plan-talking Dayne into coming to Bloomington and surprising Katy.

Landon looked worried. “Shouldn’t you have let her tell him first?”

“She did. She told him as soon as she found it.” She flashed him a look meant to show her innocence. “I didn’t say anything she hadn’t already said. I just told him Katy needed him. That’s all it took.”

Devin started crying.

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Landon kissed him on the forehead. “Colic, I think.” He handed the baby to Ashley and kissed her at the same time. “This is fun for you, isn’t it?”

“Colic?” Ashley pulled Devin close to her and rocked him.

“Besides that.” Landon gave her a silly look. He crossed his arms and stood against the wall. “Knowing Dayne, being involved with him and Katy.”

“Are you kidding?” She held the pacifier snug against the roof of Devin’s mouth, and the baby quieted. A quick laugh filled her throat. “Finally knowing my older brother, being able to pick up the phone when I want to and fill him in on his fiancee, who’s one of my closest friends.” She could feel the way her smile took up her face. “Yes, I’m having fun. Between that and colic-” she smiled and reached for Landon’s hand-“and having you and Cole beside me, life doesn’t get much better.”

Devin spit out the pacifier. His cries grew louder, and he flailed his little arms.

“Well-” Landon looked at the baby-“there’s nothing mild about our son’s behavior. Not this afternoon.”

Ashley rocked him and moved out of the kitchen into the living room. She sat in the old armchair, the one that seemed to swallow her up. This was her favorite spot to feed Devin, not only because the chair was comfortable but because it backed up to the front window, and in the daytime-no matter the weather-she could always count on a soft infusion of light to fall over her baby’s face, just enough so she could marvel over every detail of him, the miracle he was in their lives.

Devin was quiet almost instantly, and Ashley could hear Landon in the kitchen.

She waited until he returned with iced tea for her and a cup of coffee for himself. “Hey-” she met his eyes-“thanks for watching the boys. The meeting went great.”

“Good.” He settled into the sofa nearest her. “I love this.”

“What?” Their conversation was easy, relaxed.

“Watching you, the way being a mother comes so easily.”

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His compliment touched her more than she would’ve guessed. Maybe because the first time around she’d been a single mom, dependent on her parents for survival and certain she was among the handful of worst mothers ever. She felt wistful and nostalgic. “I wish Cole would’ve had me like this.”

They heard the patio slider and the sound of his feet. Cole was about to enter third grade, and the combination of that and his role as big brother had aged him quickly since summer began. Where once there had been only silliness and make-believe, now there were conversations between Cole and her and Landon that always surprised her. But one thing hadn’t changed-he still loved exploring outdoors, finding whatever the backyard allowed.

His latest experiment was with tadpoles. Cole had caught some from his grandfather’s fishpond a few weeks ago and brought them home. It was late in the summer, and most frog eggs had already hatched, the tadpoles already frogs. But a batch of them had shown up late, and Ashley’s dad had helped Cole catch them a day or so after they appeared.

They had bought a baby wading pool at the local Wal-Mart, and her dad and Landon had filled it with sand and dirt on one side that slanted down to pond water and rocks on the other.

“You know why we have to use pond water, right, Mommy?” Cole had asked her that day. “Because that’s their natural habicat.”

“Habitat.” She smiled at him. “It’s habitat.”

“I know.” He giggled at himself. “I think habicat’s a better word ‘cause most cats live outside.”

That was something else that had changed about him. He was always looking for a way to make her laugh-just like Landon. The mistakes he made in grammar or word choices weren’t a precious matter of fact any longer; they were intentionalmeant to be funny.

Ashley listened to Cole grabbing something from the cupboard 14

and running across the kitchen toward her and Landon. The wading-pool experiment had been perfect. They’d watched the tadpoles grow little legs and eventually lose their tails. Landon had told him that once that happened, they could walk onto land and hop around-tiny baby frogs, the tadpole stage over. Cole had practically kept an hour-by-hour vigil waiting for the moment.

“Mom!” he called now as he ran. “Daddy … look! It happened!” He turned the corner, carrying one of their better drinking glasses, his hand over the top.

Ashley winced at the thought of drinking iced tea from the glass again, but she hid her concerns and allowed only a look of wide-eyed excitement. “Baby frogs?

Are you serious?”

“Let’s take a look.” Landon and Ashley moved next to Cole and stooped down so they could see inside the glass.

Sure enough, there at the bottom Ashley saw three tiny frogs. “I’ve never seen frogs so small.”

“They grow fast.” Landon put his finger to the glass. “When they finish the tadpole stage they still have to be very careful. They feel independent, but they can get in trouble pretty quick if they go too far from the edge of the water.”

Cole gave a serious nod and peered into the glass. “I like the light green one.

He’s the big brother.”

“Oh.” Ashley swapped a look with Landon but hid her smile. “I’ll bet that spotted one’s the little brother.”

Cole looked closer still. “Yeah.” He lifted his eyes to hers. “How’d you know?”

“See that?” She pointed to the frogs. “The light green one never stops looking at the spotted one. Because he would never let anything happen to his little brother.”

“Yep.” Cole puffed out his chest just enough to notice. “That’s how big brothers are.”

“That’s sure how you are, Coley.” Landon messed up their son’s blond hair. “How about you go put ‘em back so they don’t get too scared.”

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“Yeah, I was just thinking that.” He raised the glass and looked through the bottom. “They have the cutest feet, Mommy.” He lowered the container, leaned close, and kissed Devin on the cheek. “Just like baby Devin.” Then he was off, racing through the house and out the patio door.

When the door closed, Landon sat on the edge of the chair arm and chuckled.

“That boy and his frogs. There’s nothing better in all the world to him.”

“Except having a brother.” Ashley turned her attention to Devin and dabbed a soft rag against the corners of his mouth. She lifted him onto her shoulder and patted his back. “He loves having a brother.”