Baby, Come Home (18 page)

His mouth twitched downward at her mention of the word
home.
“Then would you consider leaving him with me for a while?” he asked.

“No,” she said bluntly. She knew her son well enough to know that would alienate him—from them both.

“You’re not leaving me very many choices here,” he said quietly.

She gave him a little smile. “I’m sorry, because I know what that’s like.” She let her words settle in, then she gestured to the bridge. “I need to get back to work. I have a lot to do before I leave this place for good.”

His jaw hardened and his eyes impeached her.

With her heart languishing in her chest, Amy turned and drank in the splendid lines of Evermore Bridge, knowing that when the project ended, she’d have an emotional bridge to cross, too.

30

K
endall tried to concentrate on the spreadsheet on his laptop screen, but his mind kept wandering to—as usual—Amy. Had a day passed in the past twelve years that he hadn’t thought about her?

He pushed to his feet and paced the construction office, trying to work off nervous energy. His mind and heart raced and he hadn’t slept well in days.

A two-year calendar crawled around the office walls. On it, Marcus had circled the federal deadline with a red marker. But Kendall was focused on another date, three days from now—the date that Amy was planning to leave Sweetness and take his son with her. The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the bridge was Saturday afternoon. She and Tony were leaving Sunday morning.

Time was running out.

He glanced at the black chalkboard next to the door that read “Sweetness Population, 536.” He wanted so much to officially bump that number by two, for Amy and Tony to be here and become part of the community. Maybe she could learn to love him again and they would have a chance to be a family.

Kendall leaned over to grip the sides of the desk. He was accustomed to being able to mediate situations, but not only did this one seem beyond his capabilities, everything he did made things worse. Losing Amy again alone was bad enough, but losing Tony, too—he didn’t think he could stand it, even if the boy had made it clear he didn’t want to be around him. Kendall tightened his hold on the desk until the wood bit into his hands, feeling very close to losing control.

A sharp rap on the door made him straighten. “Come in,” he called, trying to rein in his emotions.

The door opened and Dr. Cross stood there. “A word, Mr. Armstrong?”

Kendall closed his eyes briefly, but he felt like hitting something—maybe this was a fortuitous visit. “If you’re spoiling for another fight, Doc, then you came to the right place.”

The man stabbed at his glasses, which Kendall now noticed had been taped at the bridge. “I don’t want to fight you again, Mr. Armstrong. I came to ask your advice.”

Kendall squinted. “Is that a shiner?”

The man looked miserable and lifted a hand to his black eye. “Yes. Rachel has many talents, including an impressive right hook.”

Kendall sighed, then gestured. “Come on in.”

The doctor entered the trailer, closing the door behind him. “Thank you.”

“What can I do for you, Doc?”

“I was hoping you could tell me how I might woo Ms. Hutchins.”

“Woo?”

“Yes. What did you do to attract her interest?”

Kendall lifted his hands. “I don’t know…I…was nice to her, I guess.”

“I’ve tried to be nice to her, but as you can see,” he said, removing his glasses to reveal the swollen eye, “she doesn’t respond positively to my niceness. And now that grotesquely deformed Dr. Devine seems to have captured her attention.”

Kendall surveyed the short, slender man, feeling a wave of sympathy for him. “Yes, I’ve met Dr. Devine.”

Cross snorted. “He’s not a real doctor, you know—not a physician. He’s an academic.”

“Yeah, well, I suspect the title doesn’t have as much to do with it as…” He trailed off, perusing the man’s thin frame and pale countenance.

The man jammed his glasses back on his face. “What?”

Kendall pursed his mouth. “Maybe he’s handy.”

“Pardon me?”

“Women love a handy man, you know, a guy who can fix things.”

“I’m handy. I fix people.”

“Uh, right. Well, I mean things around the house. You know, things that let you use tools and flex your mus—” He stopped, again surveying the man, who probably couldn’t lift Kendall’s tool belt. Then he had an idea and snapped his fingers.

“I happen to know Rachel has a hole in her bedroom wall that needs to be patched. I’ll bet if you offered to fix it for her, she’d take you up on it. Then she could see how handy you are.”

“Her bedroom?” The doctor’s eyes lit up, then his shoulders fell. “But I don’t know how to do that.”

“I’ll teach you,” Kendall said. He went over to a supply closet and rummaged for a container of spackle and a putty knife. Then he scanned the office walls for a good place to demonstrate, settling on the closet exterior wall. Picturing his own face as the target, he took aim, then rammed his fist into the drywall with a grunt, leaving a dent.

“Well done, Mr. Armstrong. How is your hand?”

“You don’t know how good that felt,” Kendall muttered, flexing his fingers. “Okay, so to patch the hole, all you do is dip the putty knife into the spackle, dab it into the hole, then smooth it over in one swipe.” He demonstrated, then stood back. “See?”

“It’s a bit like wound filler,” Dr. Cross noted, then smiled. “During residency, I did a rotation with a medical examiner.”

“Er…okay.” The office phone rang. Kendall wondered fleetingly if it was the results of the D.O.E. report they were still waiting for. “Excuse me.” He picked up the receiver. “Kendall Armstrong.”

“Mr. Armstrong, my name is Michael Thoms, calling on behalf of the Greater Michigan Water Commission. I’d like to speak with someone about the engineer on the Evermore Bridge project, Ms. Amy Bradshaw.”

Kendall frowned. “What kind of information do you need?”

“General feedback on Ms. Bradshaw’s performance. She’s being considered for the managing position on a sizable municipal project. We’re just performing due diligence with former employers.”

Kendall’s mind churned. The man was asking for an endorsement that would ensure he would be separated from Amy and Tony.

“I should add, of course, that your comments will be confidential. Ms. Bradshaw won’t know what was said about her or her performance.”

“Mr. Thoms, I’m afraid I’m in the middle of something right now. Can I get back to you?” After a few moments more conversation, Kendall took down the man’s contact information, then replaced the receiver.

“Bad news, Mr. Armstrong?”

He looked up at Dr. Cross. “I’m sorry?”

“I don’t mean to intrude, but Dr. Salinger mentioned you’re waiting for a government report that could be a setback for our fair town. I hope that wasn’t the call.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Kendall said, coming around the desk.

“Are you okay, Mr. Armstrong? You look distressed.”

“I’m fine.” Maybe if he kept saying he was fine, he would be. “Where were we? Oh, right.” He rammed his fist into the wall again, relishing the flash of pain.

“Well done again, Mr. Armstrong. Shall I try to patch the hole this time?”

“Go for it.”

“Ah, the things men will do to win a woman’s love,” Dr. Cross said, tackling the hole with gusto.

Kendall nursed his hand, which still didn’t hurt as much as his heart. “You said it, Doc.”

A few minutes later, armed with a bucket of spackle, a putty knife and newfound confidence as a handy man, Dr. Cross left smiling. “Thank you, Mr. Armstrong, for the advice.”

Kendall waved and closed the door, thinking he could use some advice himself. Porter was too busy making sure Dr. Devine kept his distance from Nikki, and Marcus…well, he thought the world of his brother, but Marcus had never been in love, and didn’t understand matters of the heart.

But he knew someone who did.

He reached for the phone to make a long overdue call. After a few rings, an angelic voice came on the line.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Mom, it’s Kendall.”

“Oh, hello, dear. How’s my favorite boy?”

He smiled into the phone. He happened to know that Emily Armstrong called all three of her sons her favorite. “I’m fine.”

“Are you?” she asked, her voice shaded with concern. “You haven’t sounded like yourself lately…and I can’t remember the last time you called. Your brothers have been making excuses for you, but I know something’s amiss.”

He gave a rueful laugh. Mothers held the weight of the world on their shoulders. “You’re right, Mom, as always.” He sighed. “I really messed up.”

“I’m listening.”

“Do you remember Amy Bradshaw?”

“Of course I remember Amy. She was a lovely girl, and you were so smitten with her.”

“Yes, I was,” he admitted. “She’s a structural engineer now, and she’s back in Sweetness rebuilding the Evermore Bridge.”

“That’s wonderful for the town, and for Amy. It sounds as if she’s done well for herself.”

“She has.”

“Is she single?”

“She is…and she has a child.” He wet his lips. “My child.”

He knew what was going through his mother’s mind. Of her three sons, she least expected Kendall, the even-keeled, levelheaded one, to father a child out of wedlock. “You didn’t know?”

“No.”

“How old is the child? Is it a boy or a girl? Is it healthy?”

He smiled. “I have a son. He’s twelve years old, and yes, he’s healthy, if a little moody.”

“Sweetheart, even you, my best child, were moody at that age. What’s his name?”

“Anthony Alton. He goes by Tony.”

She was quiet for a while, then said, “That was kind of Amy to name him after your father. Is the boy like you?”

“Maybe too much. I’m not his favorite person right now.”

“And how is the situation between you and Amy?”

Kendall massaged the bridge of his nose. “I’m not Amy’s favorite person, either. I know now why I never heard from her again. She hasn’t forgiven me for not taking her away from here. She hated this town.”

“She had a rough go of it, poor girl. So there are no feelings left between the two of you?”

“I wouldn’t say that,” he said carefully. “I’ve asked her to stay so we can try to work things out, but she doesn’t want to live here, and I can’t leave because of the commitment I made to Marcus and Porter.” He sighed. “Meanwhile, I’m in the position of doing something that would force her to stay here for a while, and I don’t know what to do.” He told her about the job offer waiting for Amy in Broadway, and how much he desperately wanted to spend more time with Tony.

“So you want my opinion on whether the end justifies the means.”

“I suppose.”

“Kendall, darling, do you love her?”

Leave it to his mother to get straight to the point. “Yes.”

“Are you sure? Because if you really love someone, you put their needs before your own. Just like Amy did for that baby when she left Sweetness. Her life would’ve been simpler if she’d stayed, but she obviously felt strongly about not raising her child there, about getting out and making something of herself to build a life for the two of them.”

Kendall swallowed hard. He’d assumed that Tony’s life would’ve been better if he’d been involved from the start. Amy’s, too. But what if that wasn’t true? What if they truly were better off without him?

“Are you there, dear?”

“Yeah, just thinking, Mom.”

“Thinking is good. You’re more like your father than your brothers. Alton was a thinking man, too. Everything will be fine, dear, even if it isn’t fine. Do you understand?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Things and people couldn’t always be neat and well-ordered the way he liked them. Yeah, he got it.

“Good. Now, when do I get to meet my grandson?”

31

A
my turned in the mirror to check her appearance—a brown skirt suit, pink blouse and high-heeled leather boots in deference to the more chilly temperatures that had descended the past couple of days. It was typical spring weather in the North Georgia mountains, too-chilly one day, too-warm the next. The humidity was lower today, so she hoped her blown-out, ironed-down hairstyle would last through the picture-taking.

She’d been to lots of ribbon-cutting ceremonies, but she had to admit, none of them had ever been as personal as this one. She’d never been so proud of a project…and never before had the end of a project signaled the end of a phase of her life, and the beginning of a new one.

She moved and something crackled in her pocket. She withdrew the letter she’d received by express mail—the postmaster at the window inside the General Store had been atwitter about the arrival of the town’s first time-sensitive letter. It was the formal offer of the project manager position of the Peninsula Reservoir repair, the position she had accepted verbally two days ago.

Good money, great hours, job security.

She walked over to her bedroom window and looked down on the only street of the almost-town of Sweetness. So why did the idea of creating sidewalks for this place suddenly seem more appealing than the job she’d jumped through hoops to get?

A knock sounded. She pushed the letter back into her jacket pocket and walked over to open the door. Tony stood there, dressed in the nicest clothes he had with him—his school uniform.

He walked inside, holding up a striped tie. “I wasn’t at the stupid school long enough to learn how to tie this thing.”

She smiled. “You don’t have to wear a tie.”

“Yeah, I do. This thing today is for you, Mom.”

“The ribbon-cutting ceremony is for the bridge and the whole town,” she corrected gently, but her chest infused with pleasure as she looped the tie over his neck and tied it. “But thank you. And your grandmother will be impressed to see you wearing a tie.”

His brow furrowed. “Will she like me?”

“Like you? I’ll have to keep my eye on her to make sure she doesn’t spirit you away.” She leaned forward to kiss the end of his nose.

He smiled, then he said, “But remember, you can’t do that in public.”

“Got it.”

“Or clean my face.”

“Right.”

“Or fuss with my hair.”

“Okay.” She laughed. “You realize your grandmother is going to do all those things, right?”

He shrugged. “Is that what grandmothers do?”

His question stopped her, crowded her heart. When she’d decided not to tell Kendall about his child, she’d deprived Tony of the only grandmother he had, the only uncles.

“Yes,” she said, her voice thick. “Grandmothers are required to embarrass you in public.”

He looked like he wouldn’t mind much. Obviously, he was curious about this grandmother person. “Can we go? Betsy asked me to sit next to her.”

Amy lifted an eyebrow. “Betsy?”

“Mom.”

“I didn’t say anything. I’m almost ready.” But as she walked over to the dresser, she knew her days of worrying about him getting his heart broken were numbered. She picked up the gold necklace with the mother-child pendant.

“What’s that?” Tony asked.

“It was my mother’s,” she said, showing it to him. “It’s a mother and a baby. It represents her and me, and now, me and you.”

“I’ve never seen you wear it before.”

“Betsy helped to find it for me. She works in the Lost and Found warehouse.”

“For things that people found after the tornado?”

“Right. Someone came across this necklace and Betsy and Molly traced it back to me.” She leaned down. “Will you fasten the clasp for me?”

He nodded and took it in his awkward hands. She was prepared for it to take a while. “You don’t talk about your mother,” he mumbled.

“That’s because I don’t remember her.”

“Dad, I mean, Kendall, showed me where your parents are buried.”

She noticed the slip, but didn’t let on. “He’s been taking care of the graves.”

“Why?”

“Out of respect.”

“Got it,” he said of the clasp, proud of himself. She wasn’t sure if he caught that last part, or just chose to ignore it. Things between him and Kendall continued to be rocky.

She arranged the pendant, then smoothed a hand over her hair. It would have to do.

“You look kind of hot, Mom.”

She laughed. “Okay, let’s go. We wouldn’t want to keep Betsy waiting.”

“Mom.”

They drove to the bridge site in her SUV and parked alongside the road behind other vehicles, then walked the rest of the way. Folding chairs were lined up in rows in front of the bridge that was draped with a large red bow over the eastern portal. Enormous white tents had been erected over food tables for a celebratory meal after the ceremony. Everyone was dressed up. When Amy caught sight of Kendall in a gray suit, her heart stuttered. He was so handsome, it left her breathless. Regrets flashed through her mind, but she promised herself today would be a day of celebration.

He caught sight of her and waved. Next to him stood Emily Armstrong, as cherubic as ever in a powder-blue coat and hat, if a little more gray-headed. Amy steered Tony in their direction and gave Emily a warm hug.

“So good to see you, my dear,” said Emily. “Aren’t you a beauty?”

“Thank you, Emily. It’s wonderful to see you, too.”

Emily then turned her attention to Tony. “And this handsome lad must be my grandson.”

“Hi,” Tony said awkwardly, and stuck out his hand.

But Emily gathered him up in a bear hug that Amy thought he might never emerge from.

She caught Kendall’s gaze over their embrace, could see the moment moved him. When he looked at her, it was if he were asking, “Do you see what he missed out on?”

Amy had to look away. The day was already feeling way too emotional.

When Emily finally released Tony, she tweaked his cheeks and brushed his bangs with her fingers. “You look so much like your father. Except I don’t think he was quite as tall at your age.”

“Really?” Tony said, his eyes big.

“Really. I think you’re going to be taller.”

Amy bit back a smile. Emily couldn’t have told him anything to make him happier than that he might grow up to be bigger and stronger than his father.

Emily opened her purse and pulled out a camera. “How about a family photo?”

“I’ll take it,” Amy offered. She sighted the three of them in the frame and took a couple of shots.

“Now one of Mom and Tony,” Kendall suggested, then stood aside while Amy took it.

“And one of Kendall and Tony,” Emily suggested, then stood aside while Amy took that one. They didn’t touch, and both of them looked wary.

“Will you take one of me and Mom?” Tony asked his grandmother.

“Of course.”

Amy handed over the camera, then stood next to Tony and smiled until Emily had taken the shots. Then Emily gestured to Kendall. “Get in with them, son.”

Kendall started to protest. “Mom—”

“It’s for Tony,” Emily said. “A picture of him with his mom and his dad. I can’t get you all in the frame, you’re going to have to crowd in a little. That’s it.”

Amy swallowed when Kendall’s body came up behind hers. It was as close as they’d been since he left her bed that awful morning in the boardinghouse. His sandalwood aftershave reached her nostrils. She inhaled him into her lungs.

“You look nice,” he whispered in her ear.

“So do you,” she whispered back.

“There,” Emily said. “Amy, dear, I’ll make sure you get a copy of these. Are you and Tony staying in Sweetness for a while, I hope?”

“No,” Amy said, putting her hand on Tony’s shoulder. “We’re heading home tomorrow morning.”

“So soon?”

“We were only visiting.”

“Mom got a big fancy job,” Tony said. “She’s building a dam.”

Amy smiled. “It’s a reservoir…and it’s not so fancy, but I’m pleased.”

Tony looked up and cupped his hand over his mouth. “Mom, over there’s Betsy! Can I go?”

“Yes, but find us again after the ceremony, please.”

“Okay.”

“Say goodbye to your grandmother.”

“Bye, Grandma!” he shouted as he ran off.

Porter and Marcus appeared, also wearing suits, to give their mother hugs and to accept her kisses. But their faces seemed concerned as Marcus handed Kendall a piece of paper.

“The D.O.E. report from Richardson,” Marcus said.

“Give me the highlights,” Kendall said, taking the paper.

“We passed—barely. But we have to overhaul the cafeteria right away,” Porter said. “No one will eat the food. The waste is bankrupting us…and Richardson threatened to bring the Health Department down on our heads.”

“We might as well convert it into a diner, like we planned,” Kendall said.

Porter scoffed. “Can you see Colonel Molly running a diner?”

“No,” Marcus said. “I’m tired of this nonsense. I’ll find someone else to take over.”

“Remember, the manager of the dining hall is a position designated ‘female specific’ in our new bylaws,” Kendall warned. It was one of the mandates the Broadway women had put in place to ensure key positions in the community didn’t become male-dominated, at least not within the first five years of the town’s inception.

“So?” Marcus said with a frown. “I’ll find someone, a woman who can cook, someone I can work with.”

“A woman you can work with?” Porter said. “I have to see this.”

“Me, too,” Kendall said.

“Me, three,” Emily said, giving her eldest a pointed look.

Amy bit back a smile.

Marcus frowned. “Isn’t it about time to get this show on the road?” He marched toward the front of the bridge, and Porter followed.

“We have seats for both of you up front,” Kendall said.

Emily patted his arm. “Thank you, dear…we’re right behind you.”

It was Emily’s way, Amy noted nervously, of saying she wanted to have some time alone with Amy.

Emily walked slowly through the crowd. “The bridge is beautiful, Amy. You should be so proud.”

Amy fell in step next to her. “Thank you, Emily. I am.”

“As for Tony, well, I couldn’t be more pleased. What a wonderful surprise for our family.”

“I’m glad you feel that way.”

“Has my son been a bear to deal with?”

“At times,” Amy admitted. “Although I’m sure he feels as if he has his reasons to be angry with me.”

“My son has committed himself to rebuilding this town on an environmentally friendly platform,” Emily said. “But there’s nothing on earth more wasteful than anger directed at something that happened in the past. People have to be concerned with ‘now’ and ‘next.’”

Amy nodded as they arrived at the reserved-seats section. “That’s a good philosophy.”

“One we all should take to heart,” Emily said with a pat to Amy’s hand as they took their seats.

Amy maintained a tight smile. Emily Armstrong had to be a durable woman to raise the sons that she’d raised, and there was more than enough wisdom in that head of hers to run this entire town. But the reason Amy didn’t want to remain in Sweetness was for the precise reason Emily explained—it was impossible to forget the past when you lived in a place that wouldn’t let you.

Nikki came by and gave Emily a hug. Apparently, they were friends. She sat on the other side of Porter’s mother and they were soon chatting. A news crew from Atlanta was setting up a camera nearby—the Armstrong brothers had secured impressive coverage of the event.

Amy glanced around to locate Tony and found him sitting several rows back, next to Betsy. They were duly ignoring each other. Among the crowd she saw Colonel Molly who looked stoic in her dress Army uniform. Amy wondered if Marcus knew what he was up against, and could only guess at what kind of steel magnolia would be able to take Molly’s place. Dr. Devine was still in town. He waved as he sat next to Rachel Hutchins. No surprise, there. They made a stunning couple, her Barbie to his Ken. One row back and studying the golden duo like a hawk was Dr. Cross with—Amy squinted—
two
black eyes?

Several people, including her foremen and so many other workers, came by to congratulate her. Amy reciprocated, surprised at how many of them she knew by name. Women from the boardinghouse, too—another surprise. She was wary, her guard up, watching for people who talked about her behind her back, but were friendly to her face. But she detected no falseness, only genuine appreciation for the work she’d done for the town.

“You certainly know a lot of people to only be visiting,” Emily observed.

Amy didn’t respond.

“Lovely necklace, by the way,” Emily said, nodding to the pendant that Amy didn’t realize she was playing with.

“Thank you,” Amy said, feeling oddly comforted by the weight of the smooth pendant. She had no reason to be nervous. The Armstrong brothers would be giving the talks and cutting the ribbon. She would, at most, have to stand if introduced.

But the crush of the crowd was getting to her, the congratulatory smiles and the hands pressed against hers. It was too…invasive.

She was glad when Marcus approached the podium and called for everyone to take a seat. He began by talking about the original Evermore Bridge and why it had always been an important landmark in Sweetness. He touched on the devastation of the tornado. Then he explained the reasons they felt it was necessary to rebuild the bridge to connect the land on the other side, as well as mentioned some proposed uses of the land. Dr. Devine was introduced, which triggered much female twittering.

Then Marcus handed the podium over to Kendall.

Her heart stirred to see this side of him, the ambassador for the town. His town.

“When we decided rebuilding Evermore Bridge was our next priority,” Kendall began, “we couldn’t think of anyone more appropriate to oversee the design and construction than our very own Amy Bradshaw, who grew up in Sweetness.”

Amy’s skin tingled as eyes turned in her direction, including Kendall’s. She willed him to hurry.

“As you can see, Amy delivered a structure as elegant as the original, but stronger and more functional, while still maintaining the historical integrity of the design. As you walk through the bridge tonight after the ribbon is cut, notice the unpainted timbers on the inside—those timbers are original to the first bridge and represent our commitment to reclaiming pieces of history and using them to make the future stronger.” He looked at her and smiled. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to ask Amy Bradshaw to come up for a special presentation by Rachel Hutchins.”