His Holiday Family (14 page)

“Let's go. Evening will be here soon enough. This will be a whirlwind tour, but I promise I'll bring you and your sons back here to explore the island leisurely, maybe ride the waves.”

“Please don't say that to Jared. He'll want to do more than that.”

“He's been really good lately. No risks.”

“Wait until his cast comes off. I think he has been biding his time.”

Gideon waded through the debris and downed tree limbs scattered about the island. “I know that feeling.”

“How many more weeks?”

“I go back in four weeks. I've starting doing what Jared does—marking off the days on the calendar.”

“But before that there's Thanksgiving and my mother's ambitious plans to celebrate it.”

He paused in the path and cupped her face. “She has risen to the occasion as well as you. I'm continually amazed at her ability to organize it. It will be the best Thanksgiving ever.”

“Leave it to my mother to find the way to show our thanks and involve hundreds of people.”

His warm palm against her cheek rooted her in place. In spite of how the kiss ended the last time, she wanted him to kiss her again, but she would never make the first move. And she didn't have to. Gideon dipped his head toward hers. She dissolved against him, her fingers entwined behind his neck as his mouth settled over hers. For a moment she felt that peace he'd talked about earlier.

N
ext to the lone bell tower at Hope Community Church, Kathleen's mother stretched her arms out wide. “Thank the Lord for this gorgeous day. We have been blessed. This will be the best Thanksgiving ever.”

How could her mother say that? There were so many people in need. Kathleen's gaze shifted to the tall pile of boards and debris off to the side of the destroyed newer church. The town had finished the initial trash pickup from the storm and was just starting its second round. It would take more than a few rounds to clean up Hope.

“Why did you want to serve the people here?” Kathleen asked her mother as Gideon pulled up with Jared, Kip and Miss Alice, who had wanted to ride with him.

Sweeping her arm out, she rotated in a full circle. “Look what we have accomplished so far. Broussard Park is ready for our kickoff of the holiday season tonight. Even the church is coming along. It should be ready for Christmas Eve service in the original church. The Point was one of the hardest hit and after a month, it's beginning to show signs of restoration. That's due to the townspeople.”

“You should run for mayor, Mom.”

Kip, carrying two sacks of groceries, came to a stop between her and his grandmother. “Mayor? You're running for mayor, Nana? Neat.”

“No, please don't say that to anyone. What would I do as mayor?”

“Motivate the town. You're a great organizer. Our current mayor has decided not to run again. In fact, I hear he's thinking of moving away from Hope.” Kathleen caught Gideon's gaze as it skimmed down her length, leaving a warm trail where it touched. “What do you think, Gideon. Should my mother run for mayor in the spring?”

“I'd vote for you.” He set his paper bags down next to Kip's.

“Me, too.” Miss Alice joined them with Jared.

“How did we get from feeding the people who lost their homes to me running for mayor?”

Kathleen shrugged. “But it is still something you should seriously consider.”

“Let's get through today first. I think we should set up the tables in the park instead of the church's meeting hall. It's just too pretty to be inside and the park looks great after last week's cleanup. The kids can enjoy the new play equipment.”

“Yes, I think we should try it out. Come on, Jared.” Kip didn't wait for his little brother. He raced across the park to the new playground.

“Miss Alice, do you need me to bring the rest of your pies?” Jared asked while his gaze strayed to his older brother.

“No, I can manage. You go check out the equipment. We wouldn't want anyone to get hurt if there was a problem.”

“Yeah, you're right.” Jared gave Miss Alice the two pies he held, then sprinted toward the playground.

Miss Alice laughed. “I didn't have the heart to tell him no. Wait till you see the pie Jared helped me make.”

“Should we serve it?” Kathleen remembered her son coming back from Miss Alice's with flour all over him yesterday evening. That had been the first day she'd been back in her mostly repaired house. Zane and Gideon had made it a priority.

“Most definitely. He baked an apple pie and did a great job.” Miss Alice winked. “With some assistance from me.”

More cars arrived with helpers that her mother had solicited to set up the big Thanksgiving feast she'd planned. Zane stopped to talk with her sons while Pete, his wife and two children joined them with their contribution to the meal—deep fryers for the turkeys. Pete and Gideon went to work setting them up and preparing the birds for the oil. The last of the volunteers— Mildred, a couple of firefighters, her cousin Sally and some of her mother's friends from the ladies group at church appeared with their food and willing hands.

Kathleen's mother asked Gideon to whistle. He put two fingers into his mouth and let out a shrill sound. Everyone turned toward him.

Ruth ascended the steps of the church halfway then turned toward the crowd. “We have three hours to get everything set up. Let's make it special for the folks who have lost most of their possessions.”

Kathleen sensed someone approach her from behind and slanted a look at Gideon. The kiss they'd shared last week on Dog Island had haunted her since it occurred. She couldn't seem to get it out of her mind. “Thank you for taking Jared and Kip to the fire station. I wanted
to come, but one of the nurses had an emergency and I agreed to fill in for her.”

“Did they tell you about the tour?”

“Oh, yes, I heard about it all evening when I got home. Kip's favorite part was the slide. But then I don't know if he enjoyed doing it the most because he truly liked it or because Jared couldn't go down the slide with his cast. Kip made a point of telling me over and over about pretending he was called out to a fire and having to slide down the pole.”

“That's okay. I let Jared sound the siren.”

“I know. I got dueling stories after that. I went to bed with a headache and those stories running through my mind.” But not as much as the kiss she'd received a couple of days before that from Gideon.

“I'm sorry.” He circled around in front of her and cut the distance between them. “I didn't mean for you to lose sleep over it.”

“I didn't exactly lose sleep over it as much as I had a weird dream with Kip sliding down the pole over and over while Jared sounded the siren continuously. Kip said something about going back again. Are you sure?”

“We have an open house every Christmas. A lot of the kids come and get to play firefighter for a little bit. One year we had to leave because of a fire, and instead of being a disappointment to the children, they were excited to see us in action.”

“Kids have a way of turning something around and looking at it from a different view.”

“Are you all coming tonight to the Lights On Celebration?”

Kathleen nodded. “We may just stay here until it gets dark. With the church open, we have all the comforts of home. Zane has been busy.”

“Yeah, he's finished the structural restoration of the original church. Now all that is left is the interior make-over.”

“Not a small task.”

“After church in the meeting room on Sunday, some of us are staying to work on the chapel and classrooms. If you don't have to be at the hospital, why don't you stay and help?”

“Unless an emergency occurs, I should be off.”

“Great.”

“Hey, you two. We could use some help over here. You can chat later.”

Kathleen glanced toward her mother. “The general has spoken. Maybe we should say the mayoral candidate has spoken.”

“Do you think she'll run?” Gideon started toward the stacks of tables that Zane had delivered for the people to sit at.

“I hope so. Mom needs a purpose. She was getting too caught up in her soap operas and The Weather Channel. There isn't anyone who knows Hope better than her.”

“Everyone needs a purpose.”

“Since coming to Hope, I've looked forward to getting up in the morning. The last few years of my marriage, I felt at such a loss, aimlessly going through life.”

Gideon hefted one end of a folding table while Kathleen took the other end. “I've been to that place and don't care to go back there.”

Kathleen set her part down and flipped the legs out then looked toward Gideon. He stood perfectly still, staring toward the water, his eyebrows slashing downward.

“Gideon?”

When he didn't respond, she said in a louder voice, “Gideon, what's wrong?”

He jerked around, said, “It's Kip. He was by the water and now he isn't. Something's wrong. It doesn't look right,” and then began running toward the edge of the Point overlooking the Gulf.

Kathleen heard Gideon and the concern in his voice but for a few seconds the meaning didn't register in her brain. When Gideon was a hundred yards across the park, she raced after him, all the while her heartbeat thundered against her skull.

Gideon reached the edge of the ten-foot cliff, whirled toward her and called out, “Get help. The ground has given way and he's buried under the dirt. There's his ball cap.”

Bracing himself with his good arm, he went down the incline. Kathleen hesitated for a breath, wanting to continue toward Kip but instead she hastened back toward the crowd, homing in on Zane and Pete.

“Gideon needs your help. The ground over there—” she wildly waved her hand toward the cliff “—gave way and Kip is buried in the dirt.”

Zane was already moving toward his truck before Kathleen had arrived. “I've got some shovels.”

Pete and a couple of other firefighters headed across the park toward the water. Kathleen followed. When she reached the men, Pete and their captain clambered down the incline to help Gideon. She started after the pair.

The firefighter left on top stopped her. “Let them take care of it, ma'am. It's a closed-in space and the tide is starting to come in. They need to get him out before that. I've called 911. We'll get him out before they arrive.”

She tried pulling away, everything in her screaming for her to be down in the hole created by the ground giving way, but the man clasped her to him. Zane, along with a crowd of people, arrived. He ducked around the firefighter and Kathleen and started down into the hole.

“I need to be there,” Kathleen said, watching Zane disappear with the shovels. “Kip needs me.”

“They need to get him out first.”

The firefighter's calm voice didn't appease the terror building up in Kathleen. The man handed her off to her mother and Sally then corralled everyone back from the edge.

“Get back. The ground has been undermined, probably by the hurricane.”

“Mom. Mom. What's wrong with Kip?” Jared clasped her around the waist, fear on his face that matched what she was feeling.

She had to hold it together for both her sons. They would get Kip out, and he would need her then.
Please, Lord, save him.

 

Gideon tore at the dirt with both his hands as Pete and his captain joined him. “He's under here and the water's coming in.” His tennis shoes sank into the mud at the bottom of the cliff.

As the water rose, the dirt turned to mud, making their digging more difficult. Zane slid down the incline with two shovels and a spade.

Gideon grabbed the smaller tool. “We'd better not use the shovels. We could hit Kip.”

“I'll work from the edge inward, carefully.” Zane propped one shovel against the bank of dirt behind him while grasping the other one to use.

“I found something!” Pete shouted and scooped up another handful of mud. “A leg.”

Gideon and the others concentrated in that area. Kneeling in the water coming in, Gideon estimated where the boy's torso and head would be. Soon he felt Kip's shoulder and increased his speed, working to uncover the child's face while his captain removed the pressure from Kip's chest.

Gideon removed the last layer of muck from around the boy's mouth and nose, then his eyes. Finding his thready pulse at the side of Kip's neck, Gideon released his bottled-up breath. “He's alive.” As more of the child was unearthed, Gideon looked up. “Call 911.”

“Taken care of!” someone shouted from above.

 

Wound tight, Kathleen paced in the hallway outside the waiting room. She couldn't sit still while waiting for Kip to come out of surgery. “A collapsed lung, internal injuries. He was standing on the cliff looking out into the water and the next moment he is being swallowed by the ground. Why didn't anyone check the stability of the cliff after the hurricane? Children play in that park. The town is having the Lights On Celebration tonight.”

“Not anymore. The mayor has called off the celebration until the park can be checked.” Gideon leaned against the wall.

“If you hadn't seen him going over there, he might have disappeared. He could have died before we found him. He could…” She couldn't get the rest of the sentence pass the lump in her throat. She swallowed several times, but it was still too painful to speak.

Gideon pushed himself away from the wall and stepped forward. Drawing her into his embrace, he whispered against the top of her head, “He's all right.
They will patch him up and in no time he will be back playing with his friends and Rocky.”

“I know the things that can go wrong. What if—”

He pressed his forefinger over her lips. “Have faith he will be all right. Believe it, Kathleen.”

“I wish I could. When are things going to stop going wrong?”

He backed up slightly and looked down at her. “Want the truth?”

She nodded. Her throat burned, her stomach roiled.

“Things will never stop going wrong. That's part of life. Problems and complications happen.”

“To me,” she said. “But why Kip? He's a little boy.”

Her mother appeared in the waiting room doorway. “Jared is awake and needs you.”

She'd left her younger son on the couch when he'd nodded off a while ago. Before that, he'd been so quiet she'd known he was trying to process what had happened to his big brother. He had rebuked her attempts to talk with him. Now Kathleen hurried to the couch where Jared sat, his shoulders slumped, his hands twisting together. When he lifted his head, a bleakness seized her heart and squeezed.

“Hon, Kip is going to be all right.” She had to have faith, as Gideon had said. The alternative was not acceptable.

“He was mad at me for hogging the tire swing. He stomped off. That's why he was at the cliff. He wouldn't have been there—” Her son burst into tears and flung himself into her arms. “I'm sorry. I'm sorry.”

“Jared, you did not cause what happened to your brother. It was an accident.”

“But it's got to be bad. They're operating on him.”

“To fix him up.” She placed her finger under his chin
and raised it toward her. “He'll be fine. Good as new. You two will be back to arguing in no time.”