Abound in Love (2 page)

She
turned down the curving lane to her home, watching the old farmhouse grow
larger before her eyes, as if in a scene from a movie.  Her heart began
drumming in her chest, her palms became sweaty.  Good Lord, had coming home
precipitated a heart attack?

When
she pulled in front of the house and parked, she took a deep, shoring breath. 
She was home.  No.  She was a visitor here now.  Georgia was home.

Deciding
to leave her luggage for later, she walked up the front steps to the wide,
wrap-around front porch.  She was pleased to see her brother had given the old
place a good bit of much-needed TLC, since it boasted a new paint job.  The
subtle yellow tone leant a crisp, cheerful countenance to a once nondescript,
run-down home.  Laura suspected the hanging plants, and Autumn flowers within
new window boxes, were likely her brother’s fiancée’s contribution to the
design scheme.  

Before
she had a chance to ring the doorbell, Thomas threw open the door, pushed open
the screen door, and abruptly pulled her into a hug.  “It’s about time you got
here,” he said mock-gruffly, holding her tightly.  “Wow, I’ve missed you.” 

“It has
been a long time,” she admitted, laughing with surprise.

“Too
long.”  When he finally released her, he smiled into her face.  At over six
feet tall, he towered over his petite sister, but he boasted the same dark
hair—inherited from their father.  Candace, though tall like Thomas, was blonde
like their mother.  “You, sister, are a sight for sore eyes,” he declared.

“It’s
great to see you too.”

“Where
are your bags?” he asked, frowning.  “You are staying awhile?”

“I left
them in the trunk of the rental.  I’ll get them later,” she said dismissively.

“I’ll
get them now,” he said, snatching the car keys from her.  He dashed past her
and paused at the foot of the stairs.  “Man, it’s great to see you, Laura.”

She
couldn’t help smiling at his enthusiasm.  Clearly, he was happy to see her. 
Though if she didn’t know better, she might think he was determined to stow her
luggage in the house, lest she decide to change her mind about staying for the
holiday and make a run for it.  She sensed a weariness about him, and gave him
an assessing glance before she followed him down the steps and met him at the trunk
of the rental car.  She took one of her bags from him. 

“I’ve
got it.  Come on inside.  I’ve got dinner cooking on the stove.”

Laura
came to a stop.  “You … have dinner … cooking…?”

He gave
a shrug.  “Well, yeah.  I’m actually a great cook.”

She
laughed.  “If I remember right, you couldn’t make toast without help.”

He
grinned ruefully.  “Yeah, well,
pretending
I was helpless in the kitchen
meant I rarely had to
do
anything in the kitchen,” he admitted. 
“Unfortunately, Macy never bought my ‘pitiful man’ routine.”

“Glad
to hear it,” Laura said drolly.  “I wish I hadn’t bought it.  I remember all
the times I made sandwiches for you and your buddies, when I now know you were
more than capable of doing it yourself.”

“I did
appreciate it…”

“You
did not!” she scoffed. 

“Well,
I offer you my heartfelt thanks now, for everything you did for me.”

She
eyed him with exaggerated suspicion and he only laughed.  “I’ll tell you what. 
You won’t have to do any cooking while you’re here.”

“I
hadn’t planned to,” she responded, grinning cheekily.  “I’m your guest.”

“You’re
hardly a guest,” a deep, masculine voice said from the doorway.

Laura’s
heart skipped a beat.  She didn’t have to glance up to recognize that voice.

Dalton. 

What
was he doing here?  She gave herself a shake.  He was visiting her brother, of
course.  Why else would he be here?

She’d
been so afraid of how she’d react when she saw him for the first time.  She had
hoped to settle in before seeing him, to at least have the time to get her
bearings.  If she was being honest with herself, she’d have preferred to avoid
any contact all together.  Well, maybe that wasn’t necessarily the truth…

“It’s
good to see you, Laura,” he said, his voice as deep and husky as she
remembered.  He smiled.  “You look good.”

She finally
lifted her eyes to meet his gaze, bracing for impact.  His deep blue eyes, the
color of a Georgia sky in the spring time, sought hers, and Laura felt the same
curious electrical current pass between them that she’d often felt in the
past.  Of course, when she was young, she had believed it was her who felt it,
rather than him.  Candace had confirmed as much.

Once,
when the two had been getting along, and Laura had let her guard down, she had
confided in Candace that she had feelings for Dalton.  She had hesitantly told
her that she sensed he might actually feel something for her in return.

She
could still hear her sister’s brittle, contemptuous laughter.  “Dalton doesn’t
like you!  He comes over here to see me, of course.”  She had watched her with
a pitying expression.  “Oh, Laura, whatever you do, don’t tell him how you
feel.  You’ll be a laughingstock.”

 
Remembering those words caused Laura to put up her guard, to stand taller, and
to erect the protective walls around herself that she had done so often in the
past.

“Hey,
sis!  Aren’t you going to say ‘hello’ to Dalton,” Thomas said cheerfully.  “You
remember him, don’t you…?  Of course, you remember him.”

“Oh,
yes, sure,” she said, smiling stiffly in his direction.  “How are you, Dalton? 
It’s, er, good to see you again.”

He
flashed a dubious smile, since she hadn’t sounded particularly enthusiastic in
her greeting.  “Yeah, you look thrilled to see me,” he said drolly.

“Oh,
I’m…” 

“How
long will you be staying?” he asked, dropping down the steps and coming to
stand beside her.  He was a bit too close for comfort.

She
took an instinctive step back, which he appeared to register when he narrowed
his eyes slightly.  “Uh, well, I’m not sure yet,” she said, forcing a smile. 
“I’m sure Thomas will want his home to himself before too long.”

Dalton
tossed his head back and gave a hearty laugh.  “Yeah, well, we can all wish him
good luck with that,” he said, chuckling, and to her surprise, pulled her into
a hug.  “Boy, are you in for a wild ride,” he said, still chuckling, though she
heard the distinctive note of warning in his voice.

When he
released her, she was still reeling from the shock of the close contact.  Since
when did Dalton hug her?   Since when did he even glance her way?   

Well,
she had to admit, he had often glanced her way, but she suspected it had been
because he’d been amused by her—the awkward girl so different from her older
sister, whom everyone had worshipped.

“Well,
I’d better get back to work,” he announced.  He gave Thomas a salute, flashed
Laura a smile, and strode around the side of the house.

Laura
watched after him, confused.  Thomas noticed. 

“His
patrol car is parked back there.”  He gestured to the gravel drive behind the
house. 

She was
now thoroughly confused.

“He
works swing shift,” Thomas informed.  “He came by for a sandwich.”  He gave a
rueful grin.  “As many people that eat here these days, I ought to consider
installing a drive-through and becoming a short-order cook.”

L
aura stood
silently in the room she had shared with her sister during their early years. 
She turned in a slow circle, taking in the familiar space.  Nothing had
changed.  The walls remained a muted, sky blue, the white ceiling had darkened
years before her family had ever moved in, and the carpet was threadbare.  She
wondered if her brother intended to give the room an overhaul.  She doubted it
had been changed since the nineteen-twenties. 

She
remembered imploring her parents to allow her to give the room an update when
she’d lived her, but they had refused to let her, asserting that changing the
old farmhouse would be a crime. 

They’d
held firm to the traditions of their farming community, which had made it all
the more difficult for Laura to understand her parents making the move to
Arizona.  But then, her mother had always suffered from allergies and had cited
health issues as the reason for the move.

Now,
her parents lived in a tidy two-bedroom home that sat squarely in a residential
neighborhood.  Her mother seemed to be thriving living in town, and even seemed
to delight in the excessive Arizona temperatures.  She could understand their
desire to live in a warmer climate, since she herself practically luxuriated in
the Georgia climate even when summer temperatures soared.

Even
now, the memory of that Georgia sun made her glance longingly at the window,
which currently framed the grey, cloudy November sky. 
Welcome to the
Pacific Northwest
. 

Laura
dropped onto one of the two twin beds—hers—and blindly grasped at the edge of
the antique bedspread as she sunk into the mattress.  Her brother suddenly
stuck his head into the room.

“Dinner’s
ready,” he announced, and then seemed to register that the mattress was barely
supporting her slender form.  “Probably time to replace that old mattress,” he
remarked with a smile, as he glanced around the room.  “Just can’t seem to
change the décor.”  He gave a bright smile.  “This is my sisters’ old room,
after all.”

“Speaking
of sisters, what’s the story with Candace?”  She shook her head.  “When Mom
told me she and Dan had broken up…  And then I received her e-mail…”

“I
know” he said, nodding with understanding.  “Their split came as a shock to all
of us.  Dan walks around as if his world has come to an end.”

“It
has!” she said shrilly, her heart going out to her brother-in-law.  Laura
remembered Dan as a wonderful, decent Christian man who had doted on Candace. 
From what their parents said, he still did—or had.  “What is Candace thinking?”
she wondered aloud.

He gave
a shrug.  “I don’t know.  She isn’t talking and neither is Dan.”

“Well,
Dan has to be devastated.  And the kids…”

“Having
a hard time,” he conceded, and then checked his watch.  “They’ll be here any
time,” he told her.

“Kenny
and Krissy are coming tonight?” Laura asked, surprised her young nephew and
niece were stopping by this evening.  Didn’t they have school tomorrow?

“Yep. 
We’re babysitting,” he informed with a grin and a quick arching of his brows. 
“I’ve been doing a lot of babysitting for our sister’s children lately.”

“Why?”
Laura asked, and then shook her head as if to clear it.  “You’re telling me you
watch the kids often?”

He
nodded.  “She drops them by here most every night.”  He gave a sigh.  “I don’t
mind, really.  They’re good kids.  Besides, Macy and Dalton help out a lot.”

“I’m
confused,” Laura admitted.  “What is Candace doing every evening?  And why
isn’t Dan watching the kids when she can’t?”

“I have
no clue what Candace does with her evenings, although I know exactly what Dan
is doing when he can’t watch his children.  He works.”

“I
thought he works a day shift.”

“He
does, but he picks up every overtime shift he can.”

“Why?”

He
shrugged again.  “I have no idea.  Like I said, neither Dan nor our sister is
talking.  All I know is, I’ve become the kids’ primary care provider and I’m
not even sure how it happened.”

“Huh.”

“Yeah,
huh,” he said ruefully.  “You’ll be interested to know that I’ve even learned
how to fix girl hair.”

“I…” 
She shook her head.  “You have me confused.”

“When
the kids end up sleeping over, I’ve had to fix Krissy’s hair a time or two. 
Gotten good at it, really.”

“Wow,”
Laura said, and then struggled to rise from the lumpy bed.  Finally,
successfully standing, she watched her brother questioningly.  “Are Mom and Dad
coming home for Thanksgiving?”

“Unfortunately,
they won’t be joining us.”

Laura’s
face grew pensive.  “I wish they were coming.”

“I
know.  Me too.  Mom would know what to do about this situation with Candace. 
As it stands now, I’m convinced she and Dan are on a steady course toward
divorce.”

“So
they’re not considering a reconciliation?”

“Like I
said, I don’t know anything for sure, other than, they pass one another on the
road, more often than not.  I don’t think they spend any time together as a
family, nor are they speaking.”

“Did
you
try
to talk to Dan?”

“I did,
but he remains tight-lipped.  ‘Course, he’s always been a man of few words. 
Getting him to open up is like trying to pry the lid off a jar of pickles.  
And speaking of pickles, dinner is done.”

“We’re
having pickles for dinner?” Laura asked with a playful grin.