Later that night, with every carton filled and packed for the morning and her belly full with sandwiches Ruth had prepared and insisted she and Rosie stay to share, Kaylee curled on the couch, wrapped in a wedding ring-patterned quilt worn soft and faded with use. It had belonged to her parents and, though Kaylee usually kept it carefully stored in a zippered plastic case on the top shelf of her closet, tonight she longed to hold it close—to wrap herself in the warmth of bittersweet memories.
Seeing Riley again had sure stirred up a torrent of them. She had no idea he was coming—Ruth had mentioned he was unable to even so much as make Jacob’s funeral and, though she felt a pang of guilt for her selfishness, Kaylee was glad for the distance. But, she supposed she couldn’t expect Riley to stay away forever. She’d presumed she was over Riley—the feelings she’d once felt for him long-since extinguished.
Light shining over the meadow from an upstairs bedroom of the main house, coupled with the telling, double-time thrum of her pulse, was proof she’d presumed wrong.
Kaylee flipped open a dog-eared paperback, reached for her mug of Chamomile tea, and eased back against the couch cushions. The soft glow of an end-table lamp cast shadows across the crisp, white-washed walls of the cozy living room. Down a short hall to her left, the springs of Rosie’s twin bed squeaked in protest as she rolled over. Kaylee was thankful for the small yet homey space. Rosie loved it here, with room to run free outside and acres of woods to explore. Already, the child had shown an interest in learning the names of the plentiful flora and fauna, birds and insects as she and Kaylee hiked together.
And the loveable Moose, who had taken an immediate liking to sweet-natured and inquisitive Rosie, was certainly an added bonus, as well.
Kaylee considered how her time spent here had on the meadow had flown by. Nearly a full year had passed since she’d run into Ruth while the kind-hearted woman she thought of as a surrogate grandmother waited nervously in the emergency room at Maple Ridge Hospital. Jacob, who’d woken disoriented from a nap that long-ago afternoon, had wandered out the sliding glass doors off the kitchen while Ruth tended to a load of laundry. He’d crossed the meadow and disappeared into the woods. After nearly an hour of searching desperately for him, and with twilight fast approaching, Gran was horrified to find him in a heap of slick, decaying leaves, his forehead bruised and bloodied as hypothermia nipped. The paramedics who’d arrived on the scene determined that Jacob had tumbled hard enough to require stitches when he stumbled over a felled tree limb.
Kaylee happened to be filling in on the nightshift, which was a fluke—she’d switched to daytime hours since Rosie had come to live with her, so she could be home when the bus brought Rosie from school in the afternoons. One look at Ruth told Kaylee the elderly woman could no longer manage to care for her ailing husband on her own. The two got to talking, and Kaylee offered to stop by the stately main house in the afternoons to help. The plan was easy enough to execute, since she passed by the meadow each day on her way to and from work, and Rosie’s school bus followed that route, as well.
Ruth, ever mindful of others’ needs, inquired about Rosie, and before Kaylee knew it, she was spilling the story of how her niece had recently come to be in her care. Ruth had listened intently, nodding as her green eyes mellowed with understanding. When Kaylee added that she’d been in the process of looking for a new place to live, since the lease on her apartment would expire in a few weeks and she and Rosie needed more than a one-room studio anyway, Ruth had suggested she and Rosie move into the guest house.
“It’s been vacant since Riley left for grad school,” Ruth asserted, “and if he comes home to visit there’s plenty of space for him in the spare rooms of the main house.”
“I, um…” Kaylee listened distractedly as a voice came over the intercom to page a doctor to X-ray. “I don’t want to take advantage of your kindness.”
“Nonsense. Look at my hands, Kaylee, and my spine twisted like a tree trunk gnarled with age. It’s obvious that I can use the help. I can’t bear the thought of sending Jacob away, to one of those…” She shook her head, buried her face in her veiny hands as fresh tears spilled over to race down her mottled cheeks. “No. I won’t do it.” She raised her head, her eyes glistening with tears as she grasped Kaylee’s hand with trembling fingers. “My Jacob has always thought the world of you, you know, since the first time Riley invited you to go fishing.”
“I remember that. Riley and I were twelve. I’d never so much as held a fishing pole so Riley helped me bait the hook. He laughed because I was so squeamish, but he was patient anyway as he showed me how to cast. I caught a bass and Jacob felt so bad when I cried because the poor fish was hurting. Then I capped off the festivities by flipping the boat and dumping us all into the water. We hiked back to the house, dripping and fishless.” She shook her head as laughter spilled. “Now, when I think about it…oh my goodness, I’m surprised Riley ever invited me back—or that you allowed him to. I really put the kibosh on dinner that night.”
“It’s a memory, all right…a good one. I hadn’t planned on grilled cheese and french fries, but they were good anyway.” Ruth had patted her knee. “The point is, Jacob doesn’t blame you for what happened to Janie and neither do I. We don’t fault you in the least for what happened to our daughter—to Riley’s mother.”
“I…” Suddenly Kaylee couldn’t speak. She’d put those memories from her mind, thought they were laid to rest for good. Now it all came rushing back. “But, Riley blames me. What if he comes home? He’ll be so angry to find me living in the guest house—what was once
his
house. I don’t want to come between you.”
“That would never happen, dear. We’ll deal with Riley when the time comes and leave the rest to God.” Ruth’s gaze was pleading. “Riley’s stubborn as a snagged zipper, and I’d be the first to assert that patience certainly isn’t his strong suit, but he’s not completely unreasonable. Lord knows he’s loved you the better part of his life. That doesn’t just…fade away.”
It was true. Riley had loved her once—or at least she
thought
he did. Yet, he’d recklessly abandoned their friendship in a fit of callous accusations and hurtful words. Kaylee would never, ever let her guard down around him again. She’d tucked that thought—that cautious reminder—away long ago, somewhere deep in her heart.
But now he’d come home, awakening all she’d once felt. Ruth’s words echoed in her mind.
“We’ll leave the rest to God.”
So, with both Ruth and Kaylee in agreement that she and Rosie would move in the next week in exchange for Kaylee’s help with Jacob’s care, Kaylee felt as if a weight was lifted from her shoulders. God had answered her prayers; she and Rosie had a place to call home while her financial burdens fell away.
In the days that followed Kaylee requested a reduction in her work hours at the hospital and, with budget cuts in full force, the ER manager had been more than happy to scale back Kaylee’s hours to thirty per week, less than full-time yet still enough to allow her keep adequate insurance for both her and Rosie. The compromise proved a good fit that would allow her more time with Rosie and plenty of time to help with Jacob, as well.
Kaylee loved being a nurse, loved helping people to feel better and find their way back home. She supposed she had that streak in her, part of her internal make-up, to tend to people. It made her happy and filled something inside of her that was missing—had been missing—ever since her dad went to prison—eventually died in prison—and her mother withdrew into a cocoon of grief, passing on into glory to join Dad merely a year later.
Those losses had followed closely on the heels of Riley’s rejection.
With the thought, darkness crept in like grasping fingers. Kaylee shook it off, refusing to succumb. The trio of losses had happened a long time ago—more than a decade ago—and she was done wallowing, done asking God why. He had His reasons, and she’d come to terms with them—whatever they were—through tears and heartache.
Now, if only Riley could accept God’s plan, as well, and let go of the resentment that plagued him.
“Mom?” The sweet pixie voice drew her back. She turned to find Rosie huddled in the doorway, her blonde hair disheveled and eyes lidded with sleep. Rosie lifted an index finger to point toward the window overlooking the meadow. “It’s still snowing.”
“I see that.” A blanket of white, unmarred by so much as a single footstep, glistened beneath veiled moonlight. Clouds to the west danced and churned as they closed in, preparing to dump more of their load. Kaylee thought of the cartons of dog treats they’d taken an entire afternoon to bake and prepare. Even Riley, after devouring a turkey sandwich and a generous fistful of potato chips, had joined in to help. Despite their efforts, Moose might just get the mother lode, after all. “Why aren’t you asleep?”
“I’m not tired.” Rosie padded across the polished wood floor in her stocking feet. She climbed up on the couch and scooted into Kaylee’s lap. “Why did you stick the flowers Mr. Riley gave you in your Bible?”
“You’re still thinking about that?”
“Uh huh, because you didn’t answer me.”
Of course Rosie wouldn’t let the question rest. She never did. Kaylee sighed and wracked her brain for a suitable answer. How could she pack a novel’s worth of explanation into a single sentence, especially one that a six-year-old might understand? Virtually impossible, so she settled for, “Because they were pretty.”
“But you squished them between the pages.”
“That’s true, but only after they had spent some time in a vase where I could admire them.”
“Why’d Mr. Riley give them to you?”
“I…um…” Kaylee’s belly churned as she swept the hair back from Rosie’s cool forehead. That was a question she couldn’t answer, even if she wanted to. She could merely presume, and presuming was one sure way to get herself into trouble. “Why so many questions?”
“I dunno.” Rosie shrugged her tiny shoulders and pressed her cheek to Kaylee’s chest as Kaylee wrapped the downy blanket snugly around them. “He seemed mad at you, all frowny-faced like Caleb Watkins when the teacher doesn’t call on him during show and tell, even though he’s shouting, ‘Pick me, pick me!’” She demonstrated for good measure. “Are you still friends?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Oh.” Rosie snuggled in, sighed as her eyes fluttered closed. The thick lashes lay dusky against sleep-paled cheeks. “Why are grown-ups always so comp’cated?”
“That’s a very good question, one that needs a very good answer, which I, at the moment, don’t seem to have.”
“Can we make a snowman after the party tomorrow?”
“Maybe. We’ll have to see how late it is when we get back home.”
“And can we find a Christmas tree, too? There’s only—” She tilted her head, opened her eyes once again to glance at the advent calendar propped on the coffee table. She began to count on her fingers, using Kaylee’s, as well, when she exhausted her own supply of digits. “—fifteen days ’til Christmas, and Santa needs a place to leave my presents.”
“It might not be tomorrow, but we’ll get a tree.”
“Soon?”
“Yes.”
“Promise?”
“Of course I promise.” Kaylee tweaked Rosie’s nose, then gathered her close and stood. “Now, back to bed for you. We have a big day tomorrow.”
“Is Mr. Riley gonna come to the party, too?”
“I highly doubt it.”
“Don’t he like animals?”
“
Doesn’t
he like animals…and, yes—Riley loves all of Moose’s friends, both canine and feline.”
“That means dogs and cats, right?”
“That’s right.”
“So, Mr. Riley’s just gotta come, too. What if you need help making those skis?”
“That’s more than enough what if’s for tonight.” Kaylee rounded the corner to Rosie’s bedroom. The walls, covered in pictures fashioned from crayons and washable markers, construction paper and glues sticks, were bathed in a muted glow from the angel-wing night light plugged into an outlet next to the bed. “You’ve met your quota of questions for the day, young lady. We’ll start over again tomorrow.”
“But, Mom—”
“No buts.” Kaylee settled Rosie into the bed and drew the covers to her chin. “Sleep tight now, honey. I love you bunches.”
Rosie’s eyes slid closed, but the child’s soft murmur drifted as Kaylee reached the doorway. “Mommy, do you think Mr. Riley will bring you more pretty flowers?”
3
Kaylee gazed out the living room window and across a snow-glistened meadow that shone like an unspoiled diamond beneath cheerful December-morning sunshine. Her breath caught at the sight of drifts nestled along the walkway and mounded over evergreen bushes that were all but buried beneath a blanket of white. No matter how long she lived here, she’d never get tired of the view worthy of a Thomas Kincaid masterpiece.
“Are we going to pick up Miss Ruth?” Rosie inquired as she rounded the corner and skipped into the living room. She was dressed in her powder-blue parka and wisps of blonde hair peeked from beneath a wool toboggan. Bubble gum pink mittens cocooned her tiny hands.
“I wish we could, but I don’t think our little car can make it across the meadow through the drifts.” The snow had stopped sometime during the night but wind still swirled flakes into mounds over the porch stairs and along the walkway. Her sedan was buried like a ghost beneath a wrinkled sheet. “I’ll have to go out and unbury the car, and then we’ll take a look-see.”
“I’ll help. We’ll need a shovel.”
“I know. Just give me a minute here. Let me think this through.” They still had time, an hour or so before the event began. She could borrow Ruth’s snow blower to unbury the drive. If she wound a path to the road, she and Rosie would surely manage OK. Plows had most likely already cleared the pavement enough to make at least the main roads passable. If she and Rosie found their way to the animal shelter, perhaps others that had promised to be in attendance would manage, as well.
The sound of an engine drew Kaylee’s attention toward the main house. A snow-dusted, black SUV glinted in the sun as it cut a swath through the meadow and tooled up the drive.