Kaleidoscope Summer (Samantha's Story) (48 page)

On our way out, we paused
to
than
k Abby
.
“I’ll definitely be back for another latte—
the
vanilla cherry
f
l
avors melded
beautifully
.”
Abby smiled with pride, as if I had complimented her child.

“We
have a
French Vanilla Almond, one of my personal favorites.” She
turned to
Logan
. “Don’t wait so long between visits
.
And be s
ure to bring this beautiful girl
back with you.
”
To my surprise
,
she reached down and petted Goldie.

“I intend to.”
He
winked at
me
and
grin
ned
at Abby
. He
draped
his arm across my shoul
ders as we left the restaurant.
“Another member of Goldie’s fan club.”

I
rolled my eyes. “I guess
so.”

He
adjusted his seatbelt
.
“Have you taken a drive
up
to the ridge?”

“
W
here Audra’s house is?
”

“The old Don
n
ell
y house.”
He nodded, and pulled
o
ut onto Shoreview Drive, quickly looping
on
to
Ridge
line Road
. T
he street
curved and made a gradual climb.
The
valley lights sparkled
,
reminding me of the
excitement of Christmas time.

He
slowed and
pointed toward a large
rambling
home.
Chandeliers cast an elegant glow
through the extensive windows.
“
There
’s the Donnelly house
, or
I suppose it’s the Wheeler house
now. The Donnelly’
s were Audra’s great
-
grandparents
. Audra’s father
and grandmother
lived with them
fo
r a while.” He
continued,
rounding
another curve
and we
climbed
higher
still
.

As I looked at the
mini-mansion
,
Audra and her family
filled my thoughts
.
“What is Audra’s maiden name?”

“
Don’t know.
”
He shrugged.

Logan pulled into a scenic viewpoint area, a breathtaking picture spread out before us
.
He
shifted in his seat toward me.
“I went to see
John
again.”

I braced myself for what he was about to tell me
.
“And?
”
I wished he had talked to me before going to see my grandparents again.

“I never considered any of this from
John
’s point of view.
Anne
getting pregna
nt and him insisting the baby—y
ou
—b
eing put up for adoption.”

“No. I
suppose
I
haven’t
,
either.” I
stared at his lips intently, the cab lit only by the street lamps
.

“
John
claims he wanted
to help
Anne
get her life
back. H
e’d tried to do what was best for
Anne
.
”

Logan brushed his fingers through the ends of
my
hair and
I
pulled away. I needed to concentrate.
“And did he explain his reasons for refusing to see me?”
I wanted to understand this from
John
’
s point, but it felt more like betraying Anne
.

“He claims
Anne
turned her back on him
, and he’s afraid you might
do the same
. The stress would be bad for
Elizabeth
’s health
.
He’s
also
upset be
cause
Anne
didn’t consult
him regardi
ng the property where they live, who it should be left to.
”

“It’s no surprise that h
e wouldn’t have chosen me to inherit any of the property—including the bookshop.
But
why should he? He disowned
me as
a
granddaughter before I was born.
”
The words tasted
bitter.

“He maintains
he spent hi
s life
working hard
and had a right to say
who it went
to.
He claims
Betsy
has been like a daughter to them since Elizabeth’s stroke.”

“He wants
Betsy to have it?
” I
shrugged
—but inside the fumes were stifling.
“
It’s done. I’ll have the pape
rs drawn up tomorrow. Is there more
?”
I cle
nch
ed
my fists
. I want
ed
to throw the deed on
John
’s front porch.
I want
ed
to scream at him for his brutality
to Anne. I wanted him to understand how much
his rejection hurt
.

Logan
laid his hand on mine. “
Sam
. You don’t have to give the property to Betsy.”

“I
t’s a great idea—g
iving the property to Betsy
—I think she deserves it. I refuse
to
do it under the pretense
John
will
change his mind about me.”

“I
t might b
e a start
.” He paused. “
Ready to head back?
”

I reached for his hand. “I care for you, Logan. But I was wrong to think I could move forward without finishing what I came here to do.” He leaned back against
his door and almost unable to breath
e,
I continued
. “You’ve been there for me
since the day I
arrived, and I appreciate it—I really do.
But you
also have a tendency to try
to
fix my life, with no input from me.”

“What?
I only wanted to c
lear
the path for you.
”
His expr
ession alternated between hurt and anger
.

“I’m deaf, not helpless.”

“
I don’t know what to say.” With a deep visible sigh
,
h
e r
epositioned himself in the seat and
turned the k
ey
.

I folded my hands in my la
p to keep from reaching for his. I wanted to feel the comfort of his touch
—I couldn’t go there.
I stared at
the
sea, the foam lit by the moonlight. With every ounce of strength
,
I reserved my tears. I’m sure my sigh was audible as Logan finally turned in
to the alleyway.

He
came around
to my side as Goldie jumped to the ground. “
I can’t leave things like this
.”

I looked up at him
, and m
y heart ached for the pain I sa
w in his eyes. If we had a chance of making
it
together, I had to
find my own way first.

“I need
time.
Time to find who I am. Time to find a way to reach my grandparents
.
T
ime to
breathe.” He widened
his arms and
I
stepped into them
. I laid my head against his chest
, feeling the rhythm of his heart
beat. I leaned back. “Can we be friends for now?”
My heart cried
for more—so much more.

He
nodded. “And I’ll
let you handle things with your grandfather.”

I reached up, brushed
a kiss across his
lips and went inside.

***

T
he next few days
were spent
clearing away
ashes from
the fire
. The
more I cleaned
,
the m
ore the charcoal dust literally increased
. In a pursuit of peace, I
also
spent time reading my B
ible
to
prepare for my
session
wit
h Dr. Ellie
. I wanted to move forward—n
ot reverse my progress
because of my stubbornness
.
The morning of my appointment
,
I changed and headed out wit
h Goldie
.

I lifted the
brass
knocker circling
through a lion’s mouth,
and struck th
e metal
plate
. Dr. Ellie answered with Prec
ious at her feet, the little cocker spaniel
wagging
its
stub
by
tail
with excitement.
In answer
,
Goldie’s tail swished against my leg.

“Shall we try this ag
ain?”
I smiled.

“
It’s a blessing
there wasn’t more
damage from the fire.
”
Dr. Ellie held the door
,
allowing us room to step inside
.

Precious
pla
nted
her paws on my leg and
I rubbed the soft spot behind her
ears.
Dr. Ellie
grinned
.
“Precious
.
Down. She
enjoys her
pl
ay dates with Goldie
.”

We
went out on the deck so the dogs had room to romp. Dr. Ellie poured
tea. After settling on a teak Adirondack
chair
, s
he led
us in prayer. “Anything special you’d like to start with today?”

Rather than answering her
,
I removed
Anne
’s letter from my bag and offered
it to her
.

She slipped on her r
eading glasses
that
hung
from a
beaded
chain around her neck
, and
perused the letter
.
R
efolding the note, she
dabbed
the corners of her eyes with a tissue
.
“How did you feel
after reading it
?” L
ike many others
,
she
must’ve
loved Anne.

“
The conversation I had with Roger, and now this
letter
,
has helped me view Anne
as a person. Now I think of
her as a
young girl
whose life took a cour
se she
wasn’t prepared for. And from all I’ve learned,
she didn’t have much support
.”

“Did that change the way you
feel about being given up for adoption?”

“Well,
I’m thankful for
the advantages I grew up with.
Although
there was a price—not knowing my birth mother. The things
my
a
unt said to
me the day I left
Stone
Valley
mirrored
my parent’s feelings—a
t least to some degree
.