Forever (38 page)

Tears because God had brought together every piece and because they had actually finished. Tears because their mother would’ve cherished this moment maybe more than any of them. Most of all tears because together they had become greater than the sum of the individual parts.

“Look what we can do when love pulls us together.” Ashley sniffed. She glanced at Luke. “Can you believe it?”

None of them could. They were worn-out by the time they left.

Now it was Saturday morning, just ten hours later, and they were back again, anxious and excited and ready to give God the glory for what had taken place on this piece of ground.

Word of mouth spread through their various circles, and this morning everyone who had helped with the renovation was invited. Dayne and Katy would arrive around one o’clock, but the people came at eleven. They brought cards and gifts and flowers, and together they filled the dining-room table with the outpouring of their love.

By noon, her dad asked everyone to gather outside.

It took a few minutes for the crowd to make their way out back for an informal worship service. Everyone held hands and formed an enormous circle. Ashley looked from one face to the next, and there was nothing she could do to stop her tears. It was like a snapshot of every season of her life, everything that had 306

ever mattered. She smiled at them as she made eye contact. Kart and Brooke and Erin and Luke and their spouses and children. The Flanigans with their six kids and a couple dozen other CICI kids and their parents. Ashley grinned at Jenny Flanigan, then let her gaze move on around the circle.

Her father was there, of course, and next to him his friend Elaine. Ashley no longer felt threatened by her. God had used Landon to help her see that her dad deserved a friend. And if somewhere down the road that friend became something more, the Lord would meet them in that place. For now it was enough that there were no hard feelings, none whatsoever.

Around the circle were Brooke and Peter’s doctor friends, coaches from Clear Creek High, and a crew of carpet layers from downtown Bloomington. There were Rhonda and Bethany and the lady who ran the art gallery near the university.

She’d contributed a frame for Ashley’s painting, and she wanted to be part of the surprise.

Ashley didn’t mind. The more people who could welcome Katy and Dayne, the better.

Her father raised his hand, and the group quieted. “God has met us in this place.” His voice was strong, steady. The way they would always see their father, no matter how the coming years might take their toll. “Now we are privileged to give Him thanks.”

Her father prayed, loud and clear. There would be time for tears later, but this moment was marked by smiles and gratitude and a satisfaction that ran deeper than any of them had ever known.

After the prayer, Tim Reed took his guitar from its case and led them in a few songs. He ended with “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” From the tough football players to the educated doctors to little Hayley holding Brooke’s hand, they raised their voices to the clear blue skies as the song came to an end. ” ‘All I have needed Thy hand hath provided-great is Thy faithfulness, Lord. unto me!307

Ashley savored the moment. As long as she lived she would remember how it felt to see nearly a hundred people circled her brother’s backyard, their hearts joined as one as they gave praise to the Creator, their Father. Savior of all.

Then her dad talked about love. By then he had given all of his children except Dayne the letter from their mother-the one with the secrets to a happy marriage.

“A long time ago, my wife, Elizabeth, wrote down what she believed were the secrets to love.” He smiled. Next to him, Elaine didn’t falter even for a moment. “When we think of love, we think of marriage. But the truth is, the secret to love works for all of us, whatever relationship we’re in.”

Ashley saw Bailey look down and lean in closer to her mother.

He went through a few of the points, talking about time, love, laughter, and forgiveness. Lessons they’d learned that fall. But he focused most of all on the first point-the one that Ashley wouldn’t have thought much about before taking on this project. Her mother’s wisdom was this: God had them here to serve one another. Love, acted out, is serving.

It was a truth they had played out in every possible way leading up to this moment. Which was why, as the service came to an end, Ashley was convinced that after today Dayne would finally know that he was loved by his family, both now and forever.

Now all they had to do was wait.

308 I

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THE MUSCLES in Dayne’s stomach tightened as he and Katy neared the Bloomington airport. A part of him wanted to stay on the plane and beg the pilot to take them back to Los Angeles. The whole thing felt like the final scene in a movie, the kind so heartrending, so gut-wrenching, that the sadness takes the wind out of people and afterwards they sit in the dark theater watching the credits because they don’t want anyone to see their tears.

Bloomington lay spread out below as the plane circled low. The university and downtown area, the neighborhoods and sprawling farmlands. The lake.

The flight attendant approached them. “We’ll be on the ground in a few minutes.

Can I get you anything before we land?” Katy shook her head. “We’re fine, thanks.”

“Very well.” She smiled. “Let me know if you need anything.’ She returned to the back of the plane.

Next to him, Dayne felt Katy reach over and take his hand. “It’ll be okay,” she whispered.

Dayne didn’t answer, but he ran his thumb against her hand.

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drawing strength from her touch. He looked out the window. Every other time he’d arrived in Bloomington it had been with a sense of hope and belonging, a feeling that this town, with its rolling green hills and lakeside picnics and close-knit people, was where he would spend forever if he had a chance. Not anymore. This time he saw it as a place he was letting go, a dream that never quite found a way to work itself out.

Dayne turned to Katy and searched her eyes. “I need you. Have I told you that today?”

She smiled. “You’re worrying about nothing.”

Since they were alone in the cabin, he leaned in and kissed her, the slow, sensual sort of kiss they could only take in small doses. At least until after the wedding. Then, with a lingering look at her, he turned back to the window.

A few years ago he’d starred in a movie based on a best-selling novel. The author showed up on the set during filming, and she and Dayne had shared several fascinating conversations. The whole writing process was beyond his understanding-how a person could sit at a computer, start typing, and create a story as long and complex as a novel.

“Do you ever struggle?” he asked her. “Is there a time when you try to write and the words won’t come?”

Her eyes grew distant. “At the end of a book.” A hint of sorrow colored her smile. “When it’s a story I really love, one I’ve poured my heart and soul into, I’ll sit down to write the last chapter and for a long time I’ll just stare at the empty screen. Because deep inside me I don’t really want it to end.”

That’s how Dayne felt now.

He sighed, and Katy leaned her head on his shoulder. That he was even here, with her by his side, was more than he could fully fathom, more than he could get his mind around. By God’s mercy alone, Dayne had cut his recovery time in half and come out stronger in the end.

“Listen, man,” the therapist had told him on their last day, 311

when Dayne checked out of the facility, “you’re the toughest person I know. I mean that. I’ve never seen anyone work so hard.”

Dayne thanked the guy, but the therapist was wrong. Katy had worked harder than he had. Katy-his friend, his future, his love. He rested his head on hers. She had always believed they would reach this moment. She’d put her own life on hold and had believed with every breath that he would wake up. Even when conventional wisdom said it was time to let go. She pushed him and encouraged him, no matter his mood or frustration. And when he closed her out entirely, she found a way to bring down the walls.

He loved her with his whole life, and nothing could change that. No matter what happened over the next few days.

The plane landed, then came to a stop. Lately he’d been reading the Gospels. He discovered that even with faith the size of a mustard seed, it was possible to say to a mountain, “Move,” and the mountain would move. It had been that way with his pursuit of Katy, and certainly it had been that way with his recovery from near death. Though his faith was sometimes less than anything he could see or feel, for the past few months mountains had crumbled to the ground.

But not this mountain.

Coming to Bloomington for Thanksgiving, proving to Katy that his presence really was too much of a disruption for his family, was only his way of keeping a promise. Otherwise he would’ve avoided the heartache and stayed in Malibu-the place where he and Katy would most likely live once they were married, at least until he was finished with his current movie contract. Then maybe they’d find something along the West Coast-Oregon perhaps. Some small town like Medford, where they could raise a family and be close enough to Hollywood for Dayne to be involved in an occasional picture.

A black Pathfinder SUV from a local rental company was 312

waiting for them as they exited the plane. Once their bags were loaded in the back, Dayne took the wheel. When Katy was buckled in beside him he started the engine and was about to slip the car into gear when he stopped. He turned to her. “Tell me again. Why are we going by our house first?”

“Dayne-” her eyes filled with a gentle patience-“you’re doing it again.”

“What?” He pretended to be in the dark.

“Worrying.” She put her hand on his knee and gave him a crooked grin.

“Everything’s going to be fine. I know it.” “Okay, you’re right.”

It was hard to hear over the sound of jet engines coming from a commuter plane forty yards away. She leaned closer, surprised. “I am?”

“Yes. You got me.” He covered her hand with his. “I am worried.” He searched her soul. “About you.” He put the vehicle in gear and drove through the parking lot and onto the main road.

“Me?” She turned her back to the door so she could see him better.

“Yes.” They were coming up on a red light. He waited until they were at a complete stop. They’d been trying hard to keep the mood light. But there were no lighthearted words for what he was about to say. He felt the teasing leave his eyes. “I’m worried you’ll never forgive me if it doesn’t work out. If this is the last time we do this.”

For an instant, a ripple of fear passed over her face. But immediately she found her confidence again. Her unrelenting, limitless joy. “It’s not the last.” She looked straight ahead as the light turned green. -It’s only the beginning.”

“What if it’s not?”

She smiled at him, her brows slightly raised. “Please. You promised.”

She was right. As his rehab had progressed he promised not only to go to Bloomington if his therapist gave him clearance but 313

to believe one more time that it was possible-that Inkling a place in the Baxter family really might work. Only here was t lie problem: the more he believed, the greater he would hurt when he felt Luke’s coolness, sensed the resentment in his other siblings for the embarrassment they’d suffered merely by being related to him.

Still, Katy was right. He glanced at her. “I did, didn’t I?” “Yes.” She faced the windshield. “God hasn’t brought you this far only to have you lose it all.”

They drove in silence. But when they were a few minutes from the house, Dayne remembered his original question. “You didn’t answer me.”

“About what?”

“The lake house. Why do we have to go there first?”

“Oh, that.” Katy folded her arms and studied him. “I guess because it’s on the way.” She shrugged. “Ashley said it worked better for her schedule. She wants to point out the places the contractor thought needed the most work.”

The knots in his stomach were tighter than before. But it wasn’t fair to Katy to let them show. Not when she seemed so optimistic about what lay ahead. “That shouldn’t take long. The whole place needs work. She can pretty much wave her hand in the general direction of the house and that should cover it.”

“True. But we owe it to Ashley to meet her here. She’s put in a lot of time making phone calls.” She hesitated. “Even if nothing’s actually finished yet.”

Dayne was about to say something about that, about whether Ashley would be willing to oversee the process of remodeling once he returned to LA. But he stopped himself. He’d rained enough on Katy’s parade for one day. Time would show them what lay ahead, even if once in a while he had to close his eyes to bear it.

“We’re almost there.- Katy put on lip gloss and checked her look in the mirror.

“It’ll be good to see Ashley again.”

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Dayne tried not to feel cut to the heart by her blithe comment. Later that week, when things didn’t work out and they said their final good-byes, he would miss Ashley and John most of all. Ashley was the one who had fought for his place in their family, the one who had called him on her own that day. He kept his eyes on the road; the house was just ahead.

They saw cars and trucks as they rounded the final bend. In front of the lake house, along the road, and in a nearby field were thirty or so vehicles.

“What in the world?” Katy leaned forward and looked at the surrounding fields.

Dayne felt the same way. That many cars meant that many people. And where was the run-down old lake house?

He was about to pass the driveway of a stunning new home when he brought the vehicle to a screeching stop. “Wait.”

Katy was staring at the place. “No way. There’s no possible way.”

Magically and completely, their lake house had been transformed. Dayne pulled into the drive and stopped again. The grass and shrubs, the landscaping and trees. None of it had been there before.

“How did she do it?” The color drained from Katy’s face. She sounded as if she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Ashley said the subcontractors were booked until spring.”