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AFTER CHURCH THE FOLLOWING morning, Lindy sat on the bench in her backyard, soaking up the warmth of the fall sun. She was too lethargic to do the pruning and weeding she’d planned. She hardly slept a wink last night, her thoughts tumbling over everything that had happened at Jessica and Ethan’s wedding.
True to his promise, Devin escorted her back to Zelda’s house and waited while she splashed her eyes with cold water and redid her face. Then he returned her to the reception. The country-western band had taken the stage, playing a lively two-step. Without a word, Devin tugged her onto the dance floor.
He was a wonderful dancer, his height an advantage as he steered her clear of the more exuberant couples. When the band segued into a waltz, he gathered her into a closer embrace, one hand secure against her lower back, the other hand holding hers in a strong but gentle clasp.
Lindy relished the pleasure of dancing with a man who knew how to lead and accomplished that with confidence. She knew her face glowed, and she didn’t bother to hide her feelings. Joe, catching her eye as he glided by with an attractive woman, sent her a teasing wink.
Suddenly, in a far, tree-shadowed corner of the pasture, she glimpsed Jake and Annie. Jake took Annie’s hand, and Annie tried to pull away from him. He said something, and she froze. Then she let him lead her out of the pasture. Lindy’s eyes trailed after the couple until they’d walked out of sight. She scanned the area for Annie’s fiancé. He stood in line at one of the vendor trucks and didn’t appear to have seen Annie’s departure.
“Don’t worry,” Devin’s calm voice came from above her. “Your friend will be fine with Jake.”
She looked up at him. “You know about Jake and Annie?”
A corner of his mouth quirked. “Are you forgetting who my aunts are? I think they have brought me up to speed on all the current gossip. I had no idea King’s Valley was such a hotbed of intrigue and drama.”
She laughed, relaxing. “Probably not much different than any small town.”
He arched one eyebrow. “You think this is a small town? The population is close to forty thousand.”
“Compared to San Jose, which is over a million, yes, I think it’s small.”
“There’s small, and there’s small. I own property near a town in Montana that has a population of slightly under six hundred.”
“Oh?” She tried to mask the sudden catch in her voice with a cheerful tone. “Whereabouts?”
“The northwestern part of the state. The closest city is Kalispell. I bought the land about six years ago. I camp out there for a few weeks every summer.” His arm tightened around her waist as he swung her away from an overly enthusiastic couple. “It’s a beautiful spot on Swan Lake. I couldn’t live anywhere that isn’t close to water, whether it’s ocean or lake.”
“It sounds nice.” She hated the note of dejection in her voice she couldn’t quite hide.
“What’s the matter?” The sharp tone in his own voice matched his gaze as he lowered his head to study her pensive expression.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, prevaricating. “I’m a little distracted. Still thinking about Annie.”
He seemed to accept her answer. They continued to dance until Ethan cut in. After doing a two-step with the happy groom, Lindy laughed alongside Bert, Jo and Gracie as they all attempted a line dance. During that dance she spied Jake returning to the pasture, alone. The darkening shadows of early evening couldn’t hide his pale face or the granite set of his jaw. He looked ready to slam his fist into a tree trunk. His quick, angry strides carried him over to where his father and his younger brother, Matt, stood. He spoke to them briefly before leaving the reception.
Gracie witnessed the incident too. She shared a puzzled, worried glance with Lindy before making her way off the dancefloor towards her fiancé. Matt and his father looked grim.
Lindy continued to dance and to mingle with the other guests. But she stayed on the lookout for Annie and saw her friend return to the reception some time later, her face white as a ghost. Annie returned to her fiancé’s side and, after saying goodbye to her parents and grandmother, left the reception soon after.
Any sense of enjoyment on Lindy’s part fizzled from that point. She purposely avoided Devin for the rest of the evening, too afraid she’d cling to him and burst into tears again. But she clung to her determination to stay until the moment Ethan swung Jessica into his arms and carried her off to the house he’d built for them, applause, cheers and good-natured catcalls following in the laughing couple’s wake.
Lindy found her brother in the throng of well-wishers and asked him to take her home, pleading a headache. She said goodbye to Zelda, the Wakefield sisters and several others. With a sense of guilt, she waved a friendly goodbye to Devin, who was dancing with Annie’s mother at that moment.
Now, she closed her eyes under the warm late-morning sun and took a deep breath. Yesterday had been packed full of emotions, high and low. As much as she still didn’t want to admit, the high had been those moments when Devin had held her in his arms. The lows...
Well, she didn’t want to dwell on the lows. There was nothing she could do about Jake and Annie except pray things would work out for the best. And there was nothing she could do about Devin’s plans to move to Montana. Because that’s what he’d been hinting at, right? She still heard the deep satisfaction in his voice as he’d talked about his property there, and his anticipation of living there soon.
Good thing she hadn’t fallen in love with him, she thought, ignoring the sharp pang in her heart. And just as well she hadn’t read too much into that brief kiss he’d given her the other night. He’d been grateful for the things she’d shared with him about Sam. It’d been a kiss of gratitude. That’s all.
“Hello? Anyone home?”
Her eyes flew open, and she turned her head to see the subject of her thoughts leaning against the picket fence, Sam standing beside him grinning from ear to ear.
“We rang the bell,” Devin said.
“Hi, Miss Lindy!” Sam said in a piping voice.
She rose from the bench, smoothing a hand distractedly along the single braid she’d tied her hair into preparatory to gardening. “Well, hello. This is a lovely surprise!”
Devin lifted the latch on the gate as she spoke and prodded Sam ahead of him into the backyard. “I asked Sam what he wanted to do today, and he said he wanted to visit you. So, we brought a picnic lunch. Unless you had other plans?”
His gaze took in the ragged blue-cotton capris and faded pink cap-sleeved cotton shirt she wore. He grinned at her bare feet.
“Um. No. I planned to do some pruning and things, but I’m too tired.”
“Yesterday was a big day,” he said. “And Sam spent the night at a friend’s house. Sounds like they stayed up most of the night playing video games, so he’s worn out too.” With a nod, he gestured at the large wicker basket he gripped in one hand. “So, how about lunch, and afterwards we can laze on the lawn all afternoon? Nothing so pleasant as napping in the sunshine on a Sunday afternoon.”
Sam cast her an imploring stare. “Please say yes, Miss Lindy.”
She looked from him to Devin, a laugh escaping her throat when she saw Devin mimicking Sam’s soulful expression. “All right. That’ll be fun. Did you bring anything to drink? I can make some lemonade.”
“Perfect,” Devin said. “You go do that, and we’ll spread out the picnic.”
Lindy rushed off to the kitchen, glad for an excuse to settle the powerful surge of emotion that coursed through her the instant she’d seen Devin. That wouldn’t do. She’d stay friendly and calm for the rest of their visit. It was good Sam was there; it would give her somewhere else to focus her attention.
As she made the lemonade, she observed man and boy spread out a blanket on the partially shaded section of lawn near the birch tree and set out dinnerware, napkins and an assortment of cardboard deli containers. Sam, eager to help, nodded at Devin’s low-spoken instructions. They both wore matching khaki shorts. Sam wore a blue and white striped tee shirt. Devin’s polo shirt was a forest green, and it hugged his chest and shoulders appealingly.
“Stop it, Lindy,” she muttered to herself.
They were sitting on the blanket when she returned, but Devin jumped up and came to take the tray holding a lemonade pitcher and glasses out of her hands.
“Thanks,” she said. She gave Sam a bright look. “This was such an excellent idea, Sam. What made you think of coming to see me today?”
The boy patted the space beside him. “Because you’re my friend,” he said simply. “And I don’t like you being all by yourself.”
She kneeled down beside him, deeply touched by his words. “Thank you, Sam. What a sweet thing to say.”
“Can I, um. may I call you Lindy, Miss Lindy? Only when it’s us like this.” He pointed at Devin. “And my uncle, uh, my new dad is your friend too.”
Lindy’s cheeks pinkened as she peeked at Devin. He sat Indian-style across from them, an indecipherable expression on his face as he listened to the conversation. She quickly glanced away. “Absolutely! How lucky I am to have such thoughtful friends.”
The slight emphasis she placed on the word friends appeared to go unnoticed by the man sitting across from her. She kept the conversation light as she helped dish out their lunch, and they settled in to enjoy it. Sam told her they’d gone to a popular deli in town famous for its potato salad. There was also a pasta salad, green salad, various deli meats and cheeses, French bread, butter, pickles and all the condiments. Freshly baked chocolate chip cookies rounded off the meal.
“Auntie Jo made them,” Sam said. He held a cookie in each hand, alternating nibbles between the two. “She dropped them off after church. She gave us some to bring to Mr. Atkinson, but he’s not home.”
“No,” Lindy said. “But he’ll be home soon. He and a friend visit the cemetery every other Sunday.”
“Why?” Sam asked.
She shot Devin a questioning glance, but he didn’t show any sign of wanting to change the subject.
“Well. That’s where his wife is buried. And his friend’s wife. They go to visit them and to put fresh flowers on the graves.”
“Oh.” Sam took another bite of his cookie. “My mom and dad don’t have graves to visit. But that’s okay. My new dad says the people you love are always with you wherever you are, even after they die.”
Lindy wanted to hug the boy, but she occupied herself with collecting empty cartons and returning them to the basket instead. “Yes, that’s true,” she said. “I was three years old when my father died. But sometimes I talk to him.”
“Were you sad?”
“When he died? I don’t remember him. I was too little. But my mother told me about him. And I have pictures of him.”
“I have lots of pictures of my mom and dad.” He nodded at Devin. “We put a huge album together. And sometimes we watch videos of all of us. Have you ever been on a boat, Lindy?”
“Yes. But not like the boats you’ve been on. Did you live on a boat?”
“Not us. Uncle Devin did. He’s not used to living in a house so much.”
“Use your napkin, Sam,” Devin said in a quiet voice. “There’s more chocolate on your face than in your stomach.”
Sam laughed.
“Woof!”
“Louie!”
As the St. Bernard bounded through the open gate, the boy leaped up to meet him. He’d gotten to know Mr. Atkinson and his loveable dog over the last few weeks.
Mr. Atkinson paused at the gate. “Hi there, Lindy-girl. You have guests, I see.”
Lindy made to get to her feet. Devin stood before she could and reached out his hand to assist her. His grasp was firm and cool. He released her hand and walked alongside her to greet her neighbor. “We had a picnic,” Lindy said in a cheerful voice. “Have you eaten?”
“Charlie and I had lunch at Andy’s Coffee Shop.” He nodded at Devin. “I haven’t met you formally. I’m Henry Atkinson. You can call me Hank.”
Devin shook the other man’s outstretched hand. They eyeballed each other. “I hear you’re an old acquaintance of my aunts,” Devin said, his placid voice matching his expression.
“Yes, I am.” Mr. Atkinson grinned. “I could tell you stories.” Then he caught Lindy’s speaking look. “But not today. It’s time for my nap.”
“Can Louie stay outside and play with me?” Sam asked.
“Sure. Come and get his favorite ball so you can play catch.”
“Cool!”
While Sam was at her neighbor’s, Lindy and Devin silently packed up the rest of the picnic items. Devin set the basket on the bench and returned to sit down on the blanket a foot or so away from her, legs outstretched, arms propped on his hands as he leaned back and gazed at the sky. “Just a couple more weeks of weather like this before it gets colder,” he said casually.
“Will you wish you were back in Florida?”
He shook his head, not looking at her. “No. I’m done with Florida. I’m too old for that kind of lifestyle.”
“You’re not old.”
He laughed. “Thanks. But I’m a father now. I can’t take off for a boat ride whenever the mood strikes me. You’re good with kids, Lindy,” he continued without pausing. “I noticed that at the recital. And Sam’s really taken to you.”
“I like kids.”
“Will you want your own someday?”
Her cheeks turned a little pink. She was grateful he wasn’t looking at her at that moment. “Yes.”
“How come a beautiful girl like you hasn’t married by now?”
He thought she was beautiful? “Well...” Sam and Louie, who’d bounced back into the yard, interrupted whatever she’d intended to say.
“Watch this, Uncle Devin!” the boy shouted as he tossed a ball to the amiable dog.
They watched the boy play for a few minutes before Lindy said, “He switches from calling you his ‘new dad’ to calling you uncle. It’s kind of sweet.”
Devin turned his head and smiled almost diffidently at her. “I didn’t expect him to call me dad at all, or at least not so soon. He said it for the first time yesterday when I dropped him off at his friend’s house before the wedding.”
“That must have made you happy.”
“I don’t know. I had strange emotions. Proud and sad at the same time. I can never replace his real father in his heart. And I don’t want to.” He waved one hand in the air in an abrupt gesture, a visible dismissal of the subject. “I’m glad his friend’s parents agreed to the overnight. I didn’t know about the wedding until two days ago.”
“How did you finagle an invitation?”
“I didn’t. I think your friend Jessica called Aunt Jo to ask her if she and Bert would be okay driving home after dark. The three of them assigned me as chauffeur.” Grey eyes gleamed at her in a direct stare. “I’m glad I went.”
Sam plopped down on the lawn, and Louie plopped down beside him, tongue lolling. Sam leaned against the dog’s panting side. “Dad, can we get a dog now?”
Devin gave the boy his full attention. “Who’ll take care of the dog while you’re in school, and I’m at work?”
“The aunties could. They said they wouldn’t mind a small dog in the house.”
Devin made a mock shiver. “A small dog? No way.”
Sam laughed. “You sound like Janelle.” He turned to Lindy, “Janelle doesn’t like dogs at all. Or cats. Why don’t you have a dog, Lindy?”
“I’ve thought about getting one,” she said in a voice that hid the instant jealousy that swept through her at the mention of Devin’s girlfriend. “But I spend a lot of time with Louie. I take him for long walks because Mr. Atkinson isn’t able. So, Louie is kind of my dog too.”
“Do you mind if Sam and I use your bathroom to wash up?” Devin asked, abruptly rising to his feet.
“Not at all. Down the main hall, the second door on your right.”
While they were occupied, Lindy carried the empty pitcher and glasses into the kitchen and rinsed them out at the sink. When she turned the water off, she heard a pair of voices, the adult one faintly scolding, the younger one sounding apologetic. The two males stepped into the kitchen. Devin came to stand beside her where she was pretending to look out the window at a sleeping Louie. Sam raced outside and plopped down by the dog.
“That dog has the right idea,” Devin said. “Do you mind if I take a nap? I’m beat. My aunts were the last guests to leave the party last night.”
“Go right ahead,” she agreed in a bright tone. “I’ll be out soon.”
He set his hand on her shoulder for a second, giving it a gentle squeeze, before turning and walking out the door.
Lindy retreated to her bedroom and looked in her dressing-table mirror. Bright, almost feverish blue eyes stared back at her. Her emotions were a jumble as she sat down and quickly brushed out her hair before putting it back in the pigtail. She reapplied some moisturizer, touched up her lipstick, took a few deep breaths and then returned to the backyard.
Sam lay on the grass beside Louie, fast asleep, his tiny snore playing counterpoint to the dog’s not so tiny one. Devin lay stretched out on one side of the blanket, an arm bent over his head, blocking his eyes, the other draped across his stomach. His chest rose in deep, even breathing. He appeared to be asleep.
She perched on the other side of the blanket. She admired him covertly for a few minutes. Then, as quietly as she could, she lay down on her back and closed her eyes, tamping down all of her feelings for now except that of the sun on her skin and the fragrant smells of her garden.
The sun was much lower in the sky when she opened her eyes. At first, she wasn’t aware of where she was. She’d felt a slight tugging at her scalp, and she reached back to touch her hair. Somehow, it’d come loose of the pigtail, and it lay spread out around her head. Hearing a faint, soft sigh, she turned her head to see Devin beside her. He’d rolled over to his side and was studying her, his head propped on his palm.
“Hello,” he whispered.
She yawned, still half asleep. “What time is it?”
He glanced at his watch. “Almost four.”
Her eyes widened. “I’ve been asleep for two hours?”
“We all have been,” he said, smiling. “I woke up about fifteen minutes ago. Sam’s still asleep. Louie went home.”
It was then she noticed something in his free hand. He twisted it idly around his fingers. The elastic from her hair. She reached for it. “My hair must have come undone while I was sleeping.”
He held his hand away from her reach. “No. I took it out. You looked uncomfortable lying on the lump. I like it down. You have such long hair.”
She blushed. “Thank you.”
His sleep-softened gaze touched on her cheeks before meeting her eyes. He said nothing for a long moment as they looked at each other.
She felt awkward all of a sudden. She rolled onto her side to face him, mirroring his pose as she flipped the loose strands of her hair over her shoulder. “Janelle’s gone back to Florida?”
His eyebrows soared at the abrupt change of subject. Then they lowered over an amused expression. “She was only here for a week. She’s planning to come back for the holidays. She has other friends and colleagues in the Bay Area too.”
“She told me you’ve been together for three years?”
“Together is a relative term. I’ve known her for three years, yes.” He reached out and sifted his fingers through her hair. Before she could say anything, he pulled his hand back, revealing a leaf from the birch tree. He twirled it in his fingers. “What about you, Lindy? I asked you why you haven’t married yet, but we got interrupted.”
Her eyes darted away from his gently probing gaze. “I haven’t found the right man, I guess.”
“Has any man come close?” he asked, his tone friendly but persistent.
She hesitated. Later, she would wonder why she chose that moment to open up so completely to this man. “Yes. His name was Trevor.”
She was aware of his sudden, piercing stare, but she kept her eyes focused on Sam, who still slept so peacefully.
“Was?”
“He’s dead. He was killed in a car accident when he was eighteen. I was sixteen.”
“I’m sorry.” His tone held nothing but sincerity.
She finally looked at him. His face was placid once more, open to anything she was willing to share with him.
“He was my boyfriend. We were deeply in love. We wanted to get married right after I graduated from high school. We would take a year off to travel, kind of like you did, before I enrolled in college. He was very smart and engaging. He worked as a salesman for his father’s company and made good money. Trevor planned to support me while I went to college.” She took a deep breath. “He was so sweet and kind.”
Devin kept silent for a while, watching her face as she gazed unseeingly at some distant object, her thoughts far away. When he eventually spoke, the gruffness in his voice caught at her chest. “That was ten years ago.”
She didn’t take offense at his words. She knew what he was hinting at, and gave him a faint smile. “I’m not still pining for him, Devin. I’ve moved on. But he’ll always occupy a place in my heart.”
“You’ve had other boyfriends since then, haven’t you?”
“I’ve dated,” she answered lightly. “A lot. You can ask your aunts about some of those dates. They set up at least three of them.”
He visibly relaxed. “I can imagine what those were like. But nothing serious?”
“Not yet,” she answered vaguely, intentionally giving him the impression there was a possibility of something serious with someone. Devin wouldn’t know the someone was a figment of her imagination.
“Ah,” he said lightly. “Anyone I know?”
“I don’t think so. He’s new in town.”
Devin rolled onto his back and clasped his hands behind his head. “Let’s hope he’s planning to stay here permanently,” he said, a faint trace of irritation in his voice. “Considering you don’t want to leave. In fact,” he said, more bitingly. “I’m surprised you wanted to travel the world with Trevor, since you’re such a—what did your brother say? A homebody.”
She stared at him, experiencing a tiny thrill of pleasure at the abrupt change in his disposition. He sounded almost jealous. “My brother said some interesting things yesterday,” she said. “But I don’t stay close to home because of those early years living on a commune.”
He gave her a probing look. “No? Then why?”
She lay on her back, one hand beneath her neck. She couldn’t look at the man beside her as she shared her sad story with as little emotion as possible. “I was in that car accident too. I was wearing a seatbelt. Trevor wasn’t. There are some details before the accident I don’t remember. I think Trevor had his seatbelt on, but he was reaching for something in his pocket and had to undo the belt. That’s when we got hit head-on by a drunk driver.”
Devin stirred beside her, but he said nothing. His silence spoke volumes, however. But she didn’t want his pity, at least that’s what she assumed it was. She continued to keep her voice matter-of-fact. “I had a crushed pelvis, and the femur in my left leg was almost shattered. A few broken ribs. I broke my right wrist. I had a serious gash at my hairline, and a concussion. The doctors put me in an induced coma for several weeks while they worked to repair the damage. There’s a metal rod in my leg. My pelvis is healed, but I can’t stand in one position for too long.” She gave a brief laugh. “Sometimes everything hurts a little when rain is in the forecast. I’m my own weather barometer.”
Devin didn’t laugh. “You’re damn lucky to be alive,” he said in a low voice.
She stared up at the sky. “I know. Many people worked hard to save me. They kept me in the hospital for six months, and afterwards I spent another year at a rehabilitation center doing intense physiotherapy. I missed the last two years of high school. I got my GED and did what I needed to do to get accepted to Dominican. Spent four years there and the next four building my career as a piano teacher and graphic designer. And now, here I am.”
She turned her head and met his intense stare. “When I was lying in that hospital bed, and then in my room at rehab, I wanted to be in my own bedroom, in my own house. It made me so happy when I could finally return home. I guess, after all the trauma I’d been through, it was like a security blanket to me. I could’ve gone to a college on the east coast, but I chose Dominican so I could commute. When my mother deeded the house to me, I was ecstatic. I can’t describe it.”
He rolled onto his side again, closer to her than he’d been before. He put out his hand and traced a finger along her cheekbone. “Thank you for sharing your story with me. I know it wasn’t easy.”
She smiled up at him. Her voice caught in her throat a little as she confided, “Some sessions with a psychiatrist helped. In fact, this is the first year I can say for sure the worst is behind me. Sometimes I feel like it all happened to someone else.”
His eyes held tenderness as he brought his face closer to hers and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. Then, briskly, he moved back and sat up. “There isn’t anything I can say right now that wouldn’t sound like a cliché,” he said, watching her as she sat up too. “I can only say I’m glad I bumped into you a month ago, Lindy Jane Matthews.” His grey eyes suddenly widened. He looked appalled. “I just realized... Did you hurt yourself that day? Did you damage anything when you fell?”
Her laugh sounded a little shaky. “No, no. I was fine. I’ve learned how to fall in a way that prevents any major injury. It’s not graceful, but it works.”
He looked taken aback. “Do you fall often?”
Now her laugh was genuine. “No. That was the first time, actually. Unintentionally, that is. I’m glad no one caught it on their cell phone camera!”
Devin laughed with her, the tone a mixture of relief and something indefinable.
“What are you laughing about?” Sam asked, his voice sleepy.
Devin kept his gaze locked on Lindy’s. His eyes shone with an expression she couldn’t decipher. “Falling,” he said.