The Winding Road Home (20 page)

And then the bullet struck.

The memory continued to roll over him. Details hammered at him until at last he could no longer fight them, pretending they didn't exist.

Yes, he had ignored the blossoming curves on his wife's body. Yes, he refused to face the truth. Yes, his inflexible line of reasoning was the cruelest response he could have given her.

And now here he was, falling in love with a woman who had a child. He knew full well that loving Adele would mean caring for Chelsea. He knew that loving Adele would mean facing the possibility of her wanting a baby.
And those two caveats did not disturb him in the least!

“Sammi, I'm sorry. I am so sorry.”

Graham cried unreservedly now as he finally acknowledged the truth he had buried with her, the truth that still had the power to rip him apart five years later.

Two people had died in his arms that day. His wife…and his unborn child.

Seven o'clock. Saturday night. March twenty-fourth. The
Valley Oaks Times
office.

Her birthday. Her
thirtieth
birthday.

With a dramatic sigh, Kate shut down the computer.

Is melancholy a sin, Lord?

What a week! She and Rusty had finished the paper's weekly edition together and filled the vending machines Thursday night. After sharing a pizza at the Parlor, they had said their goodbyes.

The woman had grabbed her in a tight embrace right out there on the sidewalk. An unfamiliar hint of softness laced her familiar foghorn of a voice when she said something highly irregular. “Keep praying for me, Katy-girl?”

“Of course I will, Rusty.”

She had patted her shoulders. “Oh, call me Crusty. All my closest friends do.” With a smile and a wave, she was gone.

And Kate felt a sadness.

Friday had been a whirlwind. By 7 a.m. she was cruising in Helen across the countryside, distributing the
Times
to outlying gas stations and a truck stop. Back in Valley Oaks, she hit the grocery store, pharmacy, and gas station. In the office she gratefully worked with the receptionist on next week's schedule. As if that would hold. Alice, a young homemaker with way too many things on her plate, worked more or less when she could. Nine out of ten callers were greeted by the answering machine rather than Alice.

The afternoon hours were consumed with phone interviews and writing articles. The evening ended with yet another boys basketball game. Kate felt a twinge of guilt for her silent “amen” when a Viking player missed the last chance at a three-point shot, thereby losing the game and abruptly terminating their season. No more games. No more out-of-town late-night tournaments. Whew!
Finis.

She had fallen exhausted into bed last night, thinking that perhaps her limitless supply of energy had, at the age of 29 years and 364 days, a limit. It was a new thought, and it made her sad.

Saturday dawned with her cell phone ringing beside the bed, her parents calling to wish her a happy birthday. The usual family celebration was scheduled for Sunday.

They had invited Tanner. They liked him. Kate hadn't informed him that it was her birthday. It was just a Kilpatrick Sunday gathering. She didn't want him feeling obligated and buying another gift, for goodness' sake, after the laptop.

And besides, the thought of turning 30 had interfered with her rational thought processes. Jesus had started His public ministry at that age. Here she was, still not finished with school, still not settled in a high-profile political journalist's career the way she had promised Him.

And
that
made her sad.

Kate flipped on the office night-light and turned off the other lights.

Tanner.

They planned to have dinner together, but with both of them inundated with extra work, they scheduled it for no earlier than seven. She told him if he didn't show up by then, she would head to the video store and drag him from his mess.

Tanner.

The melancholy felt like molten lead flowing over her shoulders now, weighing her down.

Tanner. Her feelings were getting tangled up in a perfectly good friendship.

And that made her really sad.

Tanner stood outside his darkened video store in the chilly night air, stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets, and admired his adopted town. The corner streetlamp cast a soft glow on the sidewalk and the square across the street. He chuckled. Who would have imagined he would wind up out in a rural village with a business? With a spunky, redheaded geek for a best friend?

Life was indeed growing stranger by the minute. For the first time ever, he considered each day something other than an endurance test. Was it the anticipation of a fresh start? The challenge of running the store? The relief of placing physical distance between himself and the childhood memories that haunted Rockville? The pleasure of a community already welcoming him? The unconditional acceptance of the redhead?

Speaking of which, where was she? He turned around and studied the video store. Nothing but darkness filled the large plate-glass window. He paced along the sidewalk. At last he heard old Helen chugging, drawing closer. He watched her approach, zipping along Fourth Avenue. Across from the store, she whipped around at breakneck speed into a parking space.

Kate rolled down the window and called out, “Hop in. She's warm.”

He cringed. Riding with Kate was a surefire way of agitating nerves he didn't even know he had.

He opened her door. “Come on. Ride with me.”

“Your leather seats are freezing.”

“I'll get you a blanket.”

“You're chicken.” She turned off the engine and climbed out.

“So? At least I'm man enough to admit it.”

She laughed. “That's true.”

He pulled on her arm as she veered toward his car. “Come inside a minute. Let me show you what I did today.”

“All right, but let's make it quick. I'm hungry!”

“I knew that.”

He pushed open the door and a bell jingled above.

“You put up the bell! Nice.”

“Thanks.” He fumbled for the light switch, complaining loudly, “I don't know why anyone would put this switch here—”

“Surprise!” loud voices sang out as the lights flickered on. “Surprise!”

Kate screamed and, although expecting the moment, Tanner jumped. The timing had been perfect.

Kate screamed again as her parents and friends surrounded her, everyone shouting again, “Happy birthday!”

Tanner almost felt sorry for her. She looked terrified. After screaming again she burst into tears. As her mother hugged her, he exchanged a puzzled look with her dad, who only shrugged and mouthed, “Women.”

It was Kate's birthday. He had invited Britte and Lia, who passed the word to Joel; Cal; Chloe; Anne, Alec, and their kids; Gina and Brady; the pastor and his family; and a few folks he didn't know. Kate's family had brought along her friend Beth and her family. Adele, Graham, and Chelsea completed the crowd filling his two rooms.

He had made space by moving aside shelves and opening up the Ping-Pong table for the caterers to use. The Posateris, owners of the Pizza Parlor, had cooked all of Kate's favorite dishes and now served them. Adele had ordered the cake from Swensen's Market; it looked like a newspaper with the headline “New Editor Turns 30.” Chelsea and Chloe had hung crepe paper everywhere and provided a CD player that now blared Kate's favorite oldies radio station. People had brought lawn chairs for seats.

The party was well under way before Kate smiled at him. She slipped through the crowd, approaching him, hands on hips and frowning. “Tanner Carlucci, you are in trouble. Big trouble.”

“Happy birthday!” He laughed and caught her up in a bear hug, twirling until she squealed to be set down. “So, were you surprised?”

She shook her head, smiling. “I have no idea how you did this. I never even told you when my birthday was.”

“Rusty did. It was on your application form.”

“And she's the only one missing.”

“But she left a gift. Did you see your pile of gifts, by the way?”

She appeared thoroughly embarrassed.

He leaned over and whispered in her ear, “I told them not to bring gifts.”

“I hardly know most of these people,” she whispered back.

“Just a little bit of that Magic Kingdom shining through.” He kissed her cheek. “Go eat, birthday girl.”

Magic Kingdom indeed.

When Kate was a little girl and all of her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins would come to her birthday party, the crowd equaled tonight's in number. However, it had never approached the outrageous gesture of acceptance displayed by the Valley Oaks group. Nor could she remember such laughter.

And to think that Tanner planned it all.

She closed the door on Beth and her family, the last to go, and joined him in the back room where he was tying up trash bags.

“Tanner, thank you so much!”

He grinned like a little boy. “You're so welcome. It was great. Do you think they'll all come back next week for the open house?”

“More free food? And prizes to boot? Of course they will!” She sat on a lawn chair, making a mental note to remind him that tomorrow they could buy the chairs she had spotted in a Rockville ad. “How long have you been planning this?”

“Since Rusty told me she was leaving. Just under two weeks.” He sat down beside her. “She had been reviewing your application and noticed the date was close to your big 3-0 day. Did you have a good time?”

“I had such a good time! Did you see my folks and Beth mingling with everyone? I love that they got to see Valley Oaks up close. And all the yummy food! And didn't everyone seem to laugh a lot?”

“And without booze. I guess it can be done.” He seemed genuinely bewildered.

“Is that an eye-opener for you?”

A little smile lifted the corners of his mouth. “Thank you for having a birthday party to show me.”

“Anytime.” On the rare occasions when he let her in like that, she realized she didn't have a clue how harsh the world could be.

“By the way, when were you going to let me know this was your birthday?”

She shrugged.

“And tomorrow? I take it the family gathering is for you?”

She shrugged again. “No big deal.”

“Kate! I'd feel kind of ridiculous being the only one there who didn't know.”

“Maybe I would have told you at dinner tonight. I would have let you buy.”

“Do you have birthday issues?”

“Well,” she hedged. “It's just not something you go around announcing. It's like asking for a gift. Or saying I'm special so you better treat me like it. I wanted to crawl off in a corner when I saw those gifts tonight.”

“But they were just-for-fun gifts.”

“True, but I didn't know that while they were all wrapped up. Besides the fact I've only been here for two months.”

“I can't believe you're going shy on me.”

“I'm not.”

“Yes, you are.”

She turned away. “Am not.”

He laughed. “Speaking of gifts, Miss Birthday Girl.” He went to a closet and pulled out a red gift bag.

Her stomach somersaulted. “You gave me a laptop.”

“That wasn't for your birthday. That was a thank-you gift.” He set the bag on her lap.

“You gave me a party.”

“Doesn't count.”

“You spend money like it grows on trees.”

“Habit I picked up from my dad.”

She swallowed. “Why didn't you put this out with the others?”

“Mine's private. It's not a just-for-fun. Will you open it?”

“Tanner, why do you do this?” As the words flew from her tongue, she yearned to snatch them from the air, to take them back. In unguarded moments tonight she had noticed him watching her. When he sensed her eyes on him, the mask quickly adjusted itself into place. She knew why he did this. She didn't need to hear it out loud. “You don't—”

“The simple answer,” he interrupted, “is because I want to. And that's because—at the risk of sounding totally sappy here—my life hasn't been the same since you walked into it.” He settled back into the chair and crossed his legs, ankle to knee. He folded his hands and twiddled his thumbs. The nonchalant demeanor was firmly back in place. “Besides, I get a kick out of making you smile.”

“And you think
I'm
quirky.” Her tone was flippant. Her heart, on the other hand, was flip-flopping to a ragtime beat.

She pulled tissue paper from the red bag. Underneath that lay a pair of red mittens. “Aww, Tanner. You think I need these?”

“You don't? Look.” He reached over as she put them on and touched the palm of one. “They've got leather pads. Better for driving.”

“Thanks.” She clapped her hands together. “Wow, two hands covered.”

“There's more.”