Family (35 page)

“The kids?”

“We’ve been getting threats. From different people.” The actor sighed.

“Kidnappers figure we’d pay millions to get one of our kids back.”

A team of bodyguards so their kids wouldn’t get taken? The thought made Dayne sick. “I had no idea.”

“Yeah, well, it’s reality. We’ll spend way over seven figures on bodyguards this year.”

Reality? Dayne shuddered. Living in Malibu, working in Hollywood, having cameras forever clicking, and spending more than a million dollars to live life from inside a circle of bodyguards?

For the next several hours, through lunch and into the afternoon, Dayne thought about the life he’d been living since his

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first big movie. His agents and the studio, the directors he worked for-all of them would say that being a movie star was important, that it belonged somewhere high on his list of what mattered.

But then he pictured himself sitting next to Katy that long ago afternoon high in the stadium at Indiana University, golden sunlight shining in her hair. He could win an Oscar, but it wouldn’t compare to the way he felt with her that day, the way he felt with her every time they were together.

Even so, he could never, ever put her life in danger because of his job.

Dayne scanned the sea and saw a pair of dolphins break through the surface, push high into the air, and dive back down. The sun was slipping behind the house, and shade covered most of the beach, making the ocean sparkle brilliantly in contrast.

Suddenly God’s presence around him felt more real than the sugary white sand beneath his feet. This was what Jesus did, wasn’t it? He drew away and found a quiet place to pray, to think.

Dayne grabbed the notebook, opened it, and reached for the pen. Then, as if a floodgate of common sense had been released in him, as if God Himself were moving his fingers, he began to write. Peace filled him, sharpening his thoughts and clearing his vision. The list wasn’t that hard really. Here in the solitude, what mattered most was obvious. In fact, it was as clear as the blue green Cancun waters.

As he finished his list, a deep resolve came over him, and he made a decision.

He didn’t need another full day alone in Cancun. The list he’d made required action and phone calls, finality and determination. In the days to come he’d need to have conversations that would change his life, no matter how difficult they might be. He stood and tucked the notebook under his arm. He’d made the list Bob had asked him to make.

Now it was time to spend the rest of his life going after it.

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Ashley was quiet on the ride to her father’s house. Landon seemed to sense her feelings, and without saying a word he covered her hand with his and gave her a concerned smile.

In the backseat, Cole was talking to baby Devin. “I’ll catch extra frogs for you, Devin.” His voice wasn’t as singsong as it had been a year ago. Being an older brother had changed him, made him take a giant step toward growing up.

Ashley listened, filled with a combination of pride and sadness. She was awed at how well he’d taken to his new role, but watching Cole grow up would never be easy.

Devin cooed from his car seat.

“I know.” Cole’s tone was earnest. “I like frogs too. But wait till your legs work and you can see the fish in Papa’s pond! They’re amazing!”

Next to her, Landon smiled. “I love listening to him.”

A soft laugh played on her lips. “Me too.”

Landon turned onto her father’s street. “You’re quiet today.”

“Yes.” She narrowed her eyes and stared at the farmland that 294

stretched on either side of the two-lane highway. “Dayne hasn’t called.”

“Mmm.” He patted her hand. “I thought it was that.”

Ashley spotted the old Baxter house. She shook her head. “He doesn’t know what he’s missing. We don’t care if he’s a movie star. Big deal. He was a Baxter long before he was a celebrity.”

Landon looked like he wanted to say something, but he held back.

“What?” She kept her voice down, but she heard the cry in it. “He was a Baxter.

Don’t you think so?”

“In some ways.” Landon drove up the driveway and parked in his usual spot. He turned off the engine and looked at her. “If you’re talking bloodlines, yes, he’s a Baxter.” There was empathy in his eyes, empathy and a caring that came from the core of who he was. “But, honey, Dayne Matthews isn’t a Baxter the way you’re thinking. He’s had … well, a completely different life from any of the rest of you.”

Ashley remained quiet. She loved this about Landon, that he could see deep inside her and kindly call her way of thinking into question.

He glanced at the boys. Cole was talking about how to bait a fishing pole. His eyes met hers again. “He’s concerned about all of us losing our privacy, right?”

“Yes.” Ashley wanted to add her thoughts that Dayne was wrong to worry about privacy and that she doubted they’d even have issues with the tabloids, but she wanted Landon to finish.

“Okay, so maybe he’s decided the trade-off isn’t worth it. Risking our privacy all so he can meet up with us a few times a year and realizing every hour he’s with us that he has none of our shared memories, no understanding of the trials and tragedies and triumphs this family has been through.” Landon brought his fingers to her face and gently touched her cheekbone. “All so maybe he can come to the tougher realization. In every way that matters, he’s not really a Baxter at all.”

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“Landon …” Ashley felt her eyes grow wide. “Is that what you think? That he wouldn’t fit in? That he wouldn’t … wouldn’t feel accepted by us?”

“No.” A still greater kindness shone in his eyes. “Not at all.” He hesitated.

“But maybe that’s what Dayne’s thinking.”

She breathed out long and slow. “Oh.” Defeat danced across the waters of her heart. “I guess I can’t believe he’d really think that.” She looked at her lap, trying to imagine the possibility.

“Honey, your dad’s waiting for us.” He made a move toward the door. “Let’s talk about it later.”

She swallowed her sorrow and disappointment. If only Dayne would call. Even though it was almost the end of June, it wasn’t too late. He could jump on a plane without notice, because he’d done it before. Whenever he needed to talk to Katy.

They helped the boys out of the car. She placed Devin in his stroller while Cole bolted for the front porch.

Before he reached it, Ashley’s father stepped out. “Cole, my boy!” He held out his arms.

Cole ran, and the two came together in a swing-you-aroundin-a-circle hug only her father could give.

Landon pushed the stroller and met them as they headed into the yard toward the pond. “Come on, Devin. Let’s see if Cole can catch you a frog.”

Ashley moved slowly toward the porch and sat in the swing, the one her parents had always shared. The place where she’d come late at night when the trauma of being a teenager was more than she could take. She set the swing in motion and watched the action near the pond.

She thought about Katy and how she knew the truth now. They’d gone walking a few days ago, and Ashley had told Katy about her talk with Dayne. Ashley closed her eyes, and the moment returned. They’d walked around the track at Clear Creek High School, Ashley pushing Devin in the stroller. At first 296

she’d only hinted, wondering if Katy would pick up on where the conversation was headed.

Finally Ashley figured it was better to be straightforward. When there was a break in the conversation, she drew a deep breath. “There’s something I have to tell you.”

They kept walking, but Katy looked at her, probably surprised by her tone.

“Okay.”

Ashley took a few more steps, then stopped. “I know Dayne’s my brother.”

The moment she said it, Katy came to a halt. She swayed, and for a moment it looked as if she might fall to the ground. But then Katy swallowed hard and blinked. “How … did you find out?”

“Jenny.” Ashley smiled and explained the situation.

When she was finished, Katy looked dizzy. “I thought you were acting strange that day.”

“I could barely breathe.” Ashley pushed the stroller, and the two of them started walking again. “Once I knew Dayne was adopted and that his birth parents lived in Bloomington, I remembered the phone call.”

“Phone call?” Katy still looked a shade paler than before.

“During the trial. Dayne called my dad’s cell, and when I answered he made something up, something about calling to pass on a message from Luke.” Ashley tossed up one hand. “I saved his number, of course. Because you never know when you might need Dayne Matthews’ cell-phone number.”

Katy giggled. “You didn’t!”

Ashley explained about her call to Dayne and how it felt to finally know the identity of her brother.

Katy apologized for not saying anything, but Dayne had asked her not to.

“Besides, I only found out who his family was the week of the trial.”

They spent the rest of their walk talking about Dayne and the way his lifestyle had trapped him. Ashley didn’t mention her 297

invitation to Dayne for the Fourth of July or the fact that he seemed determined-for Katy’s safety and privacy-to walk away from her as well as from all of them. Those issues needed to be worked out between the two of them.

Ashley opened her eyes, and the memory lifted. She gave the swing a light push with her feet and found her guys by the pond. Her father looked twenty years younger than he had a year ago, and Ashley wondered. He knew that she’d talked to Dayne. An hour after she hung up the phone with her older brother, she finally got ahold of her father and told him about the call.

He wasn’t surprised. Relieved, maybe. But not surprised. But then he said something that had rankled her conscience every day since. “Elaine told me it was time to tell you.” Something about the way he said her name made him sound a little too peppy. “She said I should call Dayne and tell him we all needed to face the facts-whether all of you ever spent time together or not.”

At that point Ashley almost forgot the reason she’d called. All she could think about, the only part of the conversation she walked away with was this: her father was getting advice from another woman, from Elaine Denning, the friend of her mother’s. Which was wrong when her mother hadn’t even been gone quite two years.

Ashley pursed her lips and blew out. There was too much on her mind to worry about Elaine. At least until after the Fourth. Her father wouldn’t be interested in the woman, anyway, would he? She was too quiet, at least from what Ashley remembered.

No, the references to Elaine couldn’t account for the gnawing in Ashley’s stomach, the way she couldn’t quite feel at ease lately. That was because their lakeside picnic was in just a few days, and Dayne still hadn’t called. And according to her last talk with Katy, he hadn’t contacted her either. Which was really the only explanation for how she’d been feeling lately.

She looked up at the sky and let the expanse of it loosen her 298

tension. God … where is he, and what’s he thinking? He wants to meet us; he told me that. So why’s he so worried about us? We’ll be okay, right? And what about Katy? Nothing’s working out, so we need Your help, okay? Please.

The Lord’s comfort was always with her, especially when she talked to Him. But now there was something else too. Not so much an audible answer or even a Scripture came to mind but more of a knowing. As if God was trying to warn her of something she already knew deep within her. The knowing that Dayne wasn’t going to call or come to Bloomington.

And that despite everything Ashley had hoped for in the next few days, the sad reality was that they were all about to lose.

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Dayne grabbed his bags from the limo driver and stood in line at curbside checkin. He wore the baseball cap with the blond hair for this trip too, and so far the paparazzi hadn’t figured out that he was on the move again. LAX was crowded, teeming with people heading out for tomorrow’s big Independence Day celebration.

It was time to put his list into action. But the things he needed to say and do couldn’t be done over the phone, so when the director gave them another three days off for the Fourth, Dayne was convinced. There could be no better time than now.

His disguise worked, and he boarded the plane without being recognized. The next six hours, during the change of planes in Denver and on into Indianapolis, he rehearsed exactly what he wanted to say.

God… give me the words. Nothing will be the same after today.

Verses from Ecclesiastes filled his heart, bits of wisdom about happiness and meaning and the transience of life. God would be with him; Dayne could feel His presence already. Whatever he needed to say, the words would be handed to him from the Holy Spirit. He was convinced of that much.

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The conversations he needed to hold were private, nothing he wanted the press aware of. Like before, he rented an SUV using the name on his driver’s license-Allen Matthews. He couldn’t have asked for a nicer day, blue skies and a few puffy white clouds. The humidity was creeping up, but nothing could slow him down. Not with what he had to do.

After all the soul-searching and time on the beach, after his conversations with God and Bob Asher, and even after far too much time had passed, he was about to do the one thing he’d been dying to do: spend an afternoon with Katy Hart.

Missing her had become as common as breathing, a painful part of who he was these days. He wasn’t sure how he was going to walk back into her life-even for a day-and tell her the things on his heart. But he had to. Because he wasn’t living life for himself anymore. He was living life according to what mattered most. The aspects of his life that God had made clear that day on the Cancun beach were worth going after with every morning he was given from here on.

At three o’clock on July 3 Dayne pulled into the Flanigans’ driveway. He could hear his pounding heart. What if Katy didn’t want to see him? His surprising her this way would catch her off guard. Maybe she’d disagree with the things he wanted to say. He parked his SUV along the circle leading to the front door. The baseball cap was off, lying on the seat beside him. He took a quick breath, then climbed out and walked to the front door. He knocked, took a step back, and waited.