Abound in Love (11 page)

“Yes.”

He
hesitated, seeming about to say something of import, but thought better of it. 
He smiled.  “Welcome home.”

“Thank
you.”

 As she
stepped into the house and closed the door behind her, she wondered what Dalton
had been about to say.  She was certain he hadn’t meant to wish her a ‘welcome’
but that there was more on his mind.

Did it
have to do with Candace?  Was there even more to the story that he wasn’t
telling her?  Her heart twisted at the prospect.  As often as she and her
sister had had difficulties, she did want the best for her.  Candace had two
children Laura adored, and she certainly wanted the best for them.  She uttered
a silent prayer for her sister—that she’d come to terms with whatever was
causing her so much grief, and with God’s help, deal with it, and become the
mother she once had been.

Laura
heard Dalton start up the patrol car.  She pulled back a drape near the door
and watched him drive away.  It had been kind of him to come to her rescue, but
then, Dalton had always been a good person.

L
aura’s
ears perked when she heard a car drive up to the house.  She rose from the
couch and peered out the window.  It was Thomas, arriving home after his night
out with Macy.

Laura
checked the time.  It was only a few minutes after eleven.  He’d certainly cut
his night short, considering he was free of responsibilities for the evening.

A
moment later, when he entered the house, Laura had returned to her seat. 
“You’re home early,” she said, as he shed his coat at the door.

He
nodded.  “Tired,” he said, punctuating the word with a yawn.  “I finally get a
free night, without kids—kids that aren’t even mine, I might add—and I’m too
tired to really enjoy it.”

“Oh,
poor Macy,” Laura commiserated.

“Poor
Macy?  Poor me!”  He walked across the room and dropped into his father’s old
recliner.  “How was your evening?  Did you and Candace … have a nice talk?”

She
tipped her head slightly and winced.  “Well, no.  Candace was called away.”

He sat
up taller in the chair and stared at her.  “What do you mean, she was ‘called
away’?”

“Just
that.  She received a call and had to leave.”

“Who
called her?”

“I have
no idea.”

“Did
you … happen to hear any of the conversation?”

Laura
searched her brain.  “Yes…  She made an inquiry.”

“What? 
What did she say?” he prompted anxiously.

“She
asked, ‘How much?’”

Thomas
abruptly rose from the chair and began pacing the room.  He stopped and watched
Laura with alarm.  “You don’t think…?”

“What?”

“Do you
think she’s … using drugs?”

Laura
gasped.  That thought hadn’t occurred to her, but it made sense.  Candace had
received a call on her cell phone.  She had walked away from Laura, in a likely
attempt to prevent her from hearing the conversation.  Oh, Lord help them. 

Laura’s
eyes widened with fear.  Had Candace been so devastated by her miscarriage that
she’d turned to drugs, in order to block the pain.  She suddenly remembered
Thomas telling her about finding Candace drinking at a bar.  Should she tell
her brother?

She
opted not to right now.  Dalton hadn’t told him, and she didn’t want to stir up
trouble between the two best friends.  For whatever reason, Dalton had either
felt compelled to protect Candace, or to buffer Thomas from additional pain. 
He knew Thomas had a lot on his plate, taking care of Candace’s kids on a
regular basis.

Suddenly,
it struck her.  Her family
was
falling apart at the seams, and she
hadn’t been there to help them.  She was living in Georgia, and until recently,
had been absolutely oblivious to the problems within her family.

“Thomas,
I’m so sorry.”

He
shook his head.  “About … what?”

“I’m
sorry I haven’t been here for you.  It’s not fair you’ve had to handle all of
this alone.”

“Laura,
you have nothing to apologize for.”  He gave a humorless laugh and dropped back
into the chair.  “None of this is your fault.  If anything, it’s mine.”

“What
are you talking about?” she asked, thoroughly puzzled.

He blew
out a breath.  “Our sister always regarded herself as a princess.  She was
accustomed to getting her own way.  Everybody bowed down at her feet.  I should
have given her a reality check a long time ago.”

Laura
gave him a sympathetic smile.  “I’m not sure how you might have accomplished
that … feat,” she said with a wince.  “If I remember right, none of us could
tell Candace anything.  Not even Mom and Dad.”

“Yeah,
I guess you’re right.  She was so accustomed to adoration at school, she
expected the same treatment at home.”

“And
Mom did tend to defer to her tantrums,” Laura remembered aloud.

“And
Dad simply steered clear when she became particularly, er, boisterous,” Thomas
mused, and drew silent.  Finally, he asked, “Did she happen to say anything
else, before she brought you home?”

“Well,
to be honest, she didn’t bring me home.  She…”

“She
left you!?” he cried, stunned.

“Well,
yes.  But it’s okay.”

“How is
it okay to leave your own sister stranded?”  He shook his head, disbelief
etched on his face.  “Laura, I’m really sorry.  Why didn’t you call me?”

“I
didn’t want to bother you, but it worked out anyway.  Dalton happened to drive
by…”

Thomas
drew a relieved breath.  “Okay, good, good.  So Dalton brought you home?”

“Yes.”

“Our
sister is going to get a piece of my mind,” Thomas declared.  “She can’t treat
people like that—especially her sister.”

“Well,
better me than someone else,” she murmured.

“I
think it’s time we had an intervention—got to the bottom of Candace’s issues.”

“I
don’t know, Thomas.  If we accuse her of something and we’re wrong…”

“I
don’t think I’m wrong,” he said firmly.  “Her behavior is suspicious.  If we
don’t address it now, we could be losing valuable time.”

“I know
you could be right, but…”  She met his eyes.  “One thing I’ve learned Thomas,
is that things aren’t always what they seem.  People … aren’t always who they
seem to be.”

He
watched her briefly and finally nodded.  “Laura, you’ve always been the best
one of us,” he said with admiration.  “You were always willing to give the
benefit of the doubt to anyone.”  He smiled.  “And I can’t tell you how much I
appreciate that you’re here.”

“I’m
glad I’m here too,” she said, and realized, she meant it.

***

Laura
tossed and turned much of the night, and it wasn’t just the horrible mattress
causing her discomfort.  She couldn’t take her mind off of Candace, and Thomas’
concerns that she might be involved in something illicit that could ultimately
destroy her and her family.

She
rose and punched her pillow, and then dropped like a rock onto the too-soft
mattress.  She felt a pinch in her low back, followed by a pain that seemed to
radiate up and down her spinal cord.

“Great,
just great,” she muttered aloud.

She
hadn’t heard Dalton come home, but apparently he’d heard her.  He poked his
head into her room.  “Laura, are you all right?”

“Oh,
yeah, I’m…  Well, I’m afraid this mattress is killing my back, but other than
that…”

To her
surprise, he stepped into the room and approached her bed.  He bent to check
the condition of the mattress.  He prodded it with his hand.  “Laura, you can’t
sleep on that!”

“I’m
afraid I’m going to have to.” She chuckled nervously.  There was something
about having him in the room, standing a mere few feet away, illuminated by the
dim light in the hallway… 

He
looked strikingly handsome, the breadth of his shoulders apparent as he towered
over her, his arms folded over his chest.  When he extended his hand to her,
she shook her head, confused.

“Come
with me,” he said.

She
laughed nervously.  “Where … to?”

“To my
room.  You’re sleeping in there.”

She
gasped and shook her head.  “Uh, no.  I don’t think so.”

He
heaved a sigh.  “I won’t be staying in there with you.  I’m going to sleep
downstairs, on the couch.”

“Oh,
no, you’re not.  I’m not taking your bed.  You need to sleep.  You have a job
to do, and it’s a dangerous one…”

“I’m
off for the weekend,” he told her.  “And I’m going to sleep on the couch.  I do
it all the time.  Really, trust me.  You need out of this bed.”

She was
dismayed when he refused to take ‘no’ for an answer and took her hand.  He
tugged her out of the bed.  She felt self-conscious as they crossed the hallway
and into his room.  She noted his bed was made and that it was huge—and covered
with a masculine, but beautiful, comforter.

“I
can’t…”

“Yes,
you can.”  He pulled back the covers.  “Coincidentally, I washed all the
bedding this morning.  Everything’s clean.”  He urged her forward.  “Please. 
Take my bed, and tomorrow, I’m going to drive over to a storage unit where the
rest of my stuff is stored, and I’m going to bring back a queen-sized bed I
used to keep in my guest bedroom.”

“Dalton,
it’s really not necessary.  I’m not going to be here long enough to justify all
that trouble on my behalf.”

Was she
mistaken, or did his face appear to fall at the remark.  Surely she was
mistaken.

Regardless,
he rallied when he grinned.  “Trust me, your back is going to thank me.  Now,
get some sleep.” 

He
surprised her when he kissed her lightly on the cheek and strode from the
room.  She stood uncertainly for a moment, but smiled when he called out from
the hallway, “Go to bed!”

Should
she take his bed?  She stared longingly at the thick mattress and then tested
it with her hand.  It was memory foam and she could tell by touching it—oh, so
comfortable.

She
felt guilty at the thought of Dalton on the couch, however.  She turned and
padded to the landing at the top of the stairs.  “Dalton!” she called softly.

“Go to
bed!” he said, mock-gruffly.

She
smiled.  It really was thoughtful of him to give up a good night’s sleep so she
could have one.  She walked back into his bedroom and eyed the bed.  He wasn’t
sleeping in it…  So…

She
crossed the room and climbed between the crisp covers.  It was heaven.  Her
back already felt better.  Within moments, she was fast asleep.

***

“Aunt
Laura, wake up!  It’s noon!”

Laura
woke to find her niece standing over her, her arms folded.  “Why are you in
here?” she demanded in a huff.  “Why aren’t you in your bed?”

“Krissy,
I told you not to disturb your aunt,” Dalton scolded from the doorway. 

“I
don’t think she’s ever going to get up,” she moaned.

Dalton
ushered her out of the room, and then turned back at the threshold.  “
Are
you going to sleep all day?” he asked, quirking a smile.

Laura
rose slightly and smiled in return.  “This has to be
the
most
comfortable mattress I’ve ever slept on.  And yes, I’m going to get up.”

“Good. 
Because you and I are babysitting today.”

“We
are?” she asked sleepily.

“We
are.  Dan was called into work an hour ago, and apparently Candace picked up an
additional shift.  Since Thomas and Macy had plans, I volunteered…”  He spread
his hands wide.  “Us.”

“That was
nice of you,” she told him and promptly laid back down and turned away from
him, pretending to go back to sleep.

“Nice
try.  But I could really use some help.”

She
glanced at him over her shoulder.  “Oh, all right,” she grumbled, and then
urged him off with a flutter of her hand.

“Hey,
that’s my room, you know,” he reminded her.

“Yeah,
well, don’t be surprised if I highjack this bed and move it into my old room.”

He
walked off so she could ready for the day.  Twenty minutes later she found him
and the kids downstairs, waiting for her.  Dalton was on the couch, sitting
back with his arms folded above his head.  Krissy was on the floor, working on
a puzzle.  Kenny was kicked back in his grandfather’s old recliner, staring at
the television.

“‘You’re
finally up,” the eleven-year-old said in a surly tone.  “Do you always sleep in
until noon on the weekends?”

Laura
narrowed her eyes and stared intently at her nephew.  “Actually, no, I do not
customarily sleep in until noon.  And I would appreciate it if you didn’t use
that particular tone when you speak to me, young man.”