Abound in Love (13 page)

She
gave a dismissive, forced laugh.  “Nothing.  I guess I’m just tired too.”

“Well,
then, you’re in luck.  We’re pulling into the storage place now to get that bed
for you.”

Laura
sighed.  “Dalton, I don’t expect…”

“I
know,” he assured her with a grin.  “But I want to assure your stay is as
comfortable as possible.”

“Why?”

He gave
a sheepish grin.  “Well, the truth is, I’m hoping you won’t want to leave.”

Laura’s
heart gave a surge at his spoken words, but she quickly tamped down her
enthusiasm.  She turned back to assure the children were still sleeping, and
whispered, “You’re worried about Thomas, aren’t you?  You’re afraid the strain
of everything is becoming too much for him.”  She nodded in agreement.  “I
know.  I’ve been thinking about that myself.”

Dalton
appeared about to say something, but apparently changed his mind. 

Laura
cast another glance at the kids.  “We should talk later,” she whispered.

“I’ll just
go and get that bed for you,” Dalton said, and dropped out of the truck. 

Laura
followed.  “You’ll need help.”

“I can
manage,” he assured her with a smile.

“Just
the same…”  She glanced back at the sleeping kids and heard the sound of the
doors locking.  She noted Dalton had the remote in his hand and was aiming it
at the truck.

She
gave a relieved sigh, since she didn’t like the idea of leaving them alone.

“Fortunately,
the storage unit is right here,” Dalton told her, gesturing to a nearby door.

“Oh,
good.  We can easily see the kids from here.”

He
pulled a key from his pocket and inserted it into the lock.  Grasping the door,
he gave a tug, and it rolled upward with a groan.  “Fortunately, the bed is up
front,” he told her, as he reached for the box spring, which was propped
against a wall.  Hoisting it easily, he carried it to the truck and gently
lowered it into the back. 

Laura
trotted along beside him, trying to help. 

He bit
back a smile.  “I’ve got it.  It isn’t heavy.”

“Well,
I’ll help you with the mattress then.”

“Really,
I can manage.”

Nonetheless,
she walked along with him to the storage unit.  He reached in and carefully
tugged the mattress out.  He had wrapped it in plastic for storing, which
turned out to be a good thing since they felt a couple sprinkles of rain on
their heads.

Dalton
made a face.  “Hey, the weatherman predicted rain tonight—said the afternoon
would be clear,” he groused, staring at the gray clouds above.  He continued to
study the sky, as if grappling with whether or not to transport the mattress. 
“Fortunately, I wrapped the mattress in plastic, but the box spring…”

He gave
Laura a shoring smile and then jogged to his truck.  He opened a storage box
behind the cab and pulled out a tarp and twine.  After draping the tarp over
the box spring, he hurriedly retrieved the mattress and positioned it over the
box spring.  He tugged another tarp out of the storage box, and covered the
mattress with it.  After tying it down, he turned to Laura.  “I’ll just close
up the storage unit and we’re good to go.”

“I
already shut it,” she told him.  “And it’s locked up.”

“Thanks,”
he grinned and took her arm to lead her to the passenger door. 

When
they were both in the truck, neither missed the sprinkles dotting the
windshield.  “I hope that’s the worst of the rain for now,” Dalton said, and
then glanced heavenward.  “Lord, that bed won’t get ruined if you keep that sky
from opening up.”  He nodded.  “I’d be grateful…”

Laura
smiled.  She had always liked how Dalton spoke to God as if He was a dear
friend whom he trusted with absolute confidence.  She remembered once, when he
was at their house with Thomas and Candace, and a group of friends, he had told
them that God was his ‘navigator.’  He had told the group that he didn’t need a
map or a GPS system, since all he had to do was pray to God to get him to any
destination, and inevitably he arrived there.

If she
remembered correctly, the group of kids had laughed at him.  He’d been
unaffected by their skepticism and had only shrugged and said, “Doesn’t bother
me one bit if you don’t believe me.  If you have faith in Him, He always comes
through.  The key is to let him be the navigator in every area of your life.”

“So, if
God’s your navigator,” one kid had scoffed, “does that mean I have to sit in
the back seat now, instead of ride shot gun?”

Dalton
had laughed, but had urged the group to think about what he was saying.  He’d
listed several examples in his life where God had come through for him, simply
because he had trusted Him to do so.

Laura,
who had been sitting at the top of the stairs, desperately trying to avoid
detection, had found the idea of God as her navigator appealing.  She had begun
thinking of Him in those terms too, and as Dalton had insisted, He had
literally helped her find her way, whether it was to an unfamiliar destination
where she was meeting friends for dinner, or whether she was grappling with a
difficult issue in her life.

“Hey,
where’d you go just then?” Dalton asked, smiling into Laura’s face as he turned
the key in the ignition.

She
smiled in return.  “I was just remembering something you said a long time ago…”

He
watched her with interest.  “What’s that?  If memory serves, I was rarely shy
about speaking my mind.”

“Do you
remember how you always referred to God as your…?”

“Navigator,”
he cut in, with a big grin.  “I still do.  And He hasn’t failed me yet.”  He
learned forward and looked out into the drizzling rain.  But soon, the
sprinkles tapered off to nothing.  He heaved a sigh of relief. 

“Is God
your navigator, Laura?” he asked, his voice low and intent.  Before she could
answer, he continued, “Because I’m really hoping He is, and that He’ll help you
find your way home.”

***

Laura
was still puzzling over Dalton’s remark in the truck, as they arrived back at
the house.  She decided to think about the meaning of his words later, since
she had two sleeping kids to contend with.

“I’ll
unload the bed, and then I’ll help you with the kids,” Dalton told her, just
before he climbed out of the truck and hurried to retrieve the mattress.

“Kenny,”
Laura said softly.  “Honey, wake up.”

The
little boy startled awake, and Laura’s heart twisted.  “Oh, honey, I didn’t
mean to scare you.”

“You
didn’t,” he assured her with a yawn.  “I think I was having a bad dream.”

“Do you
want to talk about it, sweetie?”

He
cocked his head in thought, but finally shook his head.  “No.  I don’t think I
remember what it was about anyway.”

“Okay. 
Well, we should get into the house.  It looks like it’s going to start raining
again.”

Kenny
glanced out at the sky, and then to the back of the truck where he saw Dalton
pulling the mattress out of the truck bed.  He was out of the cab in a
heartbeat and helping Dalton carry the mattress inside.

Laura’s
heart swelled with pride.  Kenny hadn’t hesitated to pitch in.  At only eleven,
he could be ill-tempered, but she suspected that had more to do with the
current circumstances in his life, and less to do with his true nature.  He was
a little boy trying to cope with adult-sized problems and doing the best that
he could.

She
climbed out of the truck and pulled the lever beside her seat.  The seat moved
forward, allowing her access to the back, and to her niece.  Krissy was still
sleeping, with her head drooped to her chest.  Laura winced.  She didn’t look
the least bit comfortable.

She
shook her leg.  “Krissy, wake up, honey.”

The
little girl moaned in her sleep, but didn’t awaken. 

Laura
shook her again, to no avail.  The little thing was really out, and she hated
to wake her.  Stretching forward, she managed to unbuckle her and then reach
for her.  She was just pulling her from the truck, with difficulty, when Dalton
appeared.

“Laura,
you’re going to hurt yourself.  I’ll get her.”

He
easily lifted the petite little girl into his arms.  She stirred slightly, but
rested her head on his shoulder.  “It’s okay,” he soothed.  “Go back to sleep.”

Laura
closed the truck door behind them and walked alongside Dalton.  She dashed
ahead to open the screen door, but found Kenny was standing beside it, holding
it open.  He still looked sleepy.  His hair was disheveled and his eyes
droopy.  Just looking at that little face made her heart swell.

She
grabbed a hold of him and pulled him into a hug.  “You are such a good boy,”
she told him.  “I’ve noticed how you always jump right in to help.  Not
everybody does that, you know.  I’m so proud of you.”

When he
stepped away from her, she saw the small smile on his face, and noted how he
shuffled his feet, as if uneasy at receiving the praise.  “If you…”  He glanced
downward, but forced himself to make eye contact.  “If you ever need anything,”
he said, sounding very grown up.  “I’ll be happy to help out.”

Laura
beamed with pride, and he noticed.  The smile that hovered on his mouth
actually took form, and Laura grinned in return. 

“I
could use some help,” Dalton called.

“Sure. 
We’ll be right there,” Laura responded, and she and Kenny followed him
upstairs.  He laid Krissy on her bed.  “I’ll take her shoes off and cover her
up,” Laura whispered.  “You boys feel free to take a break.”

They
left as Laura helped the little girl out of her jacket and shoes.  She covered
her, and then kissed her lightly on the cheek.

“Mama…”
she said sleepily, and then rolled over and fell more deeply into sleep.

Laura
sighed.  Once again, her heart broke for her niece and nephew.

A
moment later, back downstairs, she found Dalton in his customary seat—her
father’s old recliner.  Kenny was sprawled out on the couch and looking as if
he was going to fall asleep again.  He started to rise.  “Aunt Laura, if you
need a place to sit…”

Once
again, she beamed with pride at his chivalrous behavior.  “That’s okay, honey. 
I’m going to check out Uncle Thomas’ kitchen and try to figure out what to cook
for dinner.”

“You’re
cooking?”

“I
think I might.”

Kenny
grinned.  “Okay.”

“Okay,”
she said cheerfully in return.

After
assessing the contents of her brother’s kitchen, and finding the cupboards and
refrigerator in dire need of replenishment, Laura glanced at her watch.  It was
after five…  She made a quick decision to drive into town for groceries. 

When
she returned to the living room to find her coat, Kenny had fallen asleep and
Dalton was watching a nature program on low volume.  He glanced up when she
pulled her jacket out of the coat closet.     

“Are
you going somewhere?” he asked.

“I
think I’m going to drive into town for groceries.  I’d like to make supper
tonight, to give Thomas a break.”

“Do you
want me to…?”  Dalton’s words tapered off.  He realized he couldn’t leave,
since he was babysitting the kids.  “Are you sure you want to venture into town
without company?” he asked with concern.  “The town has really grown…”

Laura
laughed with delight at the idea that she couldn’t manage to find her way
around Battle Ground.  “Dalton, I’ve managed to do okay in Atlanta.  I think
I’ll be all right in my hometown.”

He
looked unconvinced and wholly unhappy about her leaving.  Or was she misreading
him?  Of course, she was.  Why would he be bothered about her driving into
small town Battle Ground alone?

“I
won’t be long,” she told him, as she slipped into her jacket.

Dalton
rose and glanced out the window.  “It’s already dark,” he observed, “and it’s
starting to rain.”

Laura
chuckled as she opened the front door to leave.  To her surprise, Dalton
grasped her arm and pulled her into a hug.  “Be careful,” he warned.  “Those
roads out there get slick, and it’s getting cold.  We may have some freezing
rain…”

She
stepped away from him and gave him a quizzical glance.  He was being awfully
protective of her, but then…  He was clearly protective of the whole Landers
clan.

“I’ll
be fine,” she told him.  “Besides, I have my cell phone.”

“Call
me if you need me,” Dalton said, but another voice had chimed in.   Kenny had
spoken the same words in unison.  The little boy was propped up on one elbow
and watching her sleepily.

“I
will,” she told him, and to Dalton smiled.  “I’ll be fine.”

“D
ang,
Laura Landers.  Is that you?”

Laura
glanced up from her inspection of a tomato in the produce section of the
supermarket.  She furrowed her brow, unsure who had spoken to her.