Chapter 68

 

This time, Thea viciously ripped out weeds and tossed them to the side to die. Damn it! Was anything going to go right in her life?

The pile was growing, and her flower beds were looking barer and barer. She'd better stop before there was nothing left, not even the flowers. She decided to walk to town. Maybe she'd stop in to see Annabel. It sounded as though she was fading fast. Thea wiped her hands on her jeans, leaving new dirt smudges to blend with the old, and headed to the river. She'd follow Ruby Riverwalk to Annabel's old, three-story house. Sun glinted off the water, and life seemed to slow down a bit as the river meandered between its banks. A dragonfly darted out of a clump of cattails. She watched it fly farther down the bank to land on a fallen log. A duck paddled by.

A movement along the shore caught Thea's eye. She turned to see what it was. A young girl—probably twenty—was working in the spot that Josh used to favor. Sunlight filtered through the leaves of the tree she was under, making the scene appear like an impressionist's canvas. She was painting a small, ceramic figure that fit into the curve of her left hand.

Thea stopped and stared. The girl was tall and willowy. With hazel eyes and long, wavy, brown hair, she made Thea think of a wood nymph or how Thea used to picture the Greek goddess Diana. When the girl glanced up and saw her, Thea gave a welcoming smile. "What are you making?"

"Sorry?" The girl shook her head. She hadn't heard her.

Thea pointed to the figure in her left hand. "You're hard at work on something."

"A clay doll." Flustered, she gave a quick shake of her head. "This one isn't art. It's to help someone. I just have to have the colors right."

Thea walked closer. "Are you a new artist in town?"

"I hope to be. It's beautiful here. I love the old shops, all the trees, the river. . . I especially love the river."

"Is this the first time you've been here?"

A quick nod. "I'm Elyssa."

"A pretty name. It suits you. I'm Thea Patek."

The girl stiffened. Her eyes went wide. "Patek?"

Her reaction surprised Thea, but before she could ask about it, they were interrupted by the sound of footsteps. Thea turned to see Rachel coming to join them. "Mom!" Rachel hugged Thea close. "Isn't it great? She's a perfect match to our family, isn't she?"

"Our family?" Thea tried to hide her confusion. What was Rachel talking about?

"Elyssa's a healer, like Aggie. Josh still doesn't have a talent, but he married one. That was his destiny."

"Married one?" Thea looked at Elyssa. Elyssa looked away.

It was Rachel's turn to be confused. "Elyssa stayed here to make a doll of Annabel. Josh just left to find you and tell you the news."

"We must have crossed paths." Thea knew she should say something else, something deep and perceptive, but her brain wasn't functioning.

Elyssa and Rachel glanced at each other.

"I messed up," Rachel said clearly and distinctly. She was talking to Thea, but facing Elyssa. Thea felt even more confused, but then she realized that the girl must be hard of hearing. "Josh wanted to tell you," Rachel continued. "I ruined it all."

Just then, Josh's truck parked at the curb and he started toward them. He took one look at their faces and said, "Mom? I can explain."

Thea put a hand to her chest and fought for breath. It hadn't been that long ago that she'd talked on the phone with Josh. He hadn't mentioned a girl. There hadn't been a girl. What had he done? Did he grab the first person he liked and married her, so that he could come home?

“Don’t panic,” he said, reaching her side in a few, long strides. "We were on our way to see you, but I stopped at Rachel's first. I wasn't sure if you'd be happy I was back, but I found what I needed. Everything's going to be right again.”

Thea glanced at Elyssa. Young, like Rachel. Too young to be married. “How long have you known her?”

“Over a week.”

“A week?” Thea couldn’t keep her voice from cracking.

The girl saw the distress in Thea's eyes and her shoulders sagged. She clutched her little, ceramic figurine in a tight grip and turned to look out over the river.

“Wait till you get to know her, Mom.” Josh stomped the ground and called, "Elyssa?” When she didn't respond, he clapped his hands.

"She's not a dog!" Thea glared at him. Even if Elyssa had a hearing problem, he could think of something better than a stomp or clap. “Where did you meet, in California?”

“I never made it to California. I left Arizona and was driving through New Mexico when my truck broke down. I was stuck there for two days. It was destiny."

Rachel left them to go to Elyssa. She put an arm around her waist. "It's going to be okay," she said.

Elyssa turned a worried glance to Josh and he motioned her to join them. She took a step backward, but Josh smiled. He wiggled a finger for her to come. She looked at Thea, didn't appear comforted, and refused to budge.

Josh sighed. "She's shy. She's afraid of you."

Thea watched Rachel motion toward the slope. She led Elyssa toward Annabel's house. Halfway there, they stopped and Elyssa showed Rachel the doll she'd painted. She shook her head sadly, a gesture of defeat. "What's she doing?"

"She's telling Rachel that there's no cure for Grandma."

"And she knows that. . .?" Thea let the question hang.

Josh gave his mother a small shove. "Go after her. Get to know her. Then you'll know it's all right. We're meant to be." When Thea hesitated, Josh turned and walked in the opposite direction, away from them. "Make her feel at home. Welcome her to the family," he called over his shoulder.

Damn it! This just wasn't her day! Thea struggled with her frustration, buried it for the moment, and ran after Elyssa and Rachel.

Elyssa didn't hear her coming until Thea fell into step beside her. Then the poor girl jumped, startled. Rachel beamed at her mother. "You're the best!" She gave Elyssa a quick hug of encouragement, then took off after Josh. Elyssa looked as though they'd left her in a den of lions. The girl's hands trembled and she stared at Thea nervously.

Thea tried a warm smile. "I'm Josh's mother."

"I know." Elyssa clutched the ceramic doll tighter.

"We got off to a bad start." Thea spoke loudly and distinctly.

"You don't like me." Not an accusation. Elyssa stated it as a sad reality.

Thea sighed. "Josh was meant to come back with a wife. That's why I sent him away."

"He told me." Her expression was troubled. "You don't think I'm the right one."

"I don’t know what to think. It all happened too fast.” Thea walked to the front porch of Annabel's house and sank onto the steps. She patted for Elyssa to join her. "May I see?"

Elyssa handed her the clay figure.

The doll's hair was painted red. It held a test tube in its hand. "Annabel," Thea said.

Elyssa frowned and shook her head. "I can't see your lips."

Thea spoke with more volume. "I said 'Annabel.'"

Elyssa nodded. "I can read lips really well, but I have to be able to see them."

"How much hearing have you lost?"

Elyssa fidgeted. "I'm deaf. Josh didn't tell you, did he?"

"No. But you talk like a nor. . ." Thea bit back the word 'normal.' How tactless could she be? But Elyssa didn't seem to mind.

"I didn't lose my hearing until I was six. A high temperature for too long. I almost died."

"I'm sorry."

Tears misted Elyssa's eyes. "Josh knew you'd like me even less once you found out."

"That you were deaf?" Thea reached for Elyssa's hand. "No, Josh knew I'd like you if I got to know you. That's why he left us alone."

It was Elyssa's turn to stare. "I wish he'd stayed with me. I'm not good with people."

"Neither am I. It doesn't matter. Do you need to paint someone to use your gift?"

"I'm not as talented as Aggie. Josh said that she can just look at someone and know, but I need clay. I'm a potter."

“Clay.” Thea remembered Josh's bookmark, the earth-brown thread that wound so tightly with his sage green strands. "When did you discover your talent?"

"My grandmother had the sight. She raised me after I got well again. My parents thought I was too odd."

Thea nodded. "It's not easy being different."

Josh opened the house's screen door and came to join them. He and Rachel must have circled around the block and gone in Annabel's back door. He'd probably been listening in the whole time. He sank down on the step beside Thea. "So, are you all right with this? I was worried you’d be unhappy that we didn’t come home to get married." His face crumpled, waiting for her approval. "I’m happy, Mom. Be happy for me.”

Thea answered Josh, but looked straight at Elyssa, so that she could see her lips. "She's a beautiful girl. Inside and out. You did good. She's perfect."

"I knew it!" Rachel rushed out of the house to join them. "And guess what, Mom? Guess what color Elyssa's aura is?"

"Brown?"

"How did you know?"
"It's the color of the thread that joins with Josh's in his bookmark."

Rachel smiled. "Then it is destiny. Wait till Hannah finds out."

Josh slapped a hand to his forehead. "We'd better tell her, or there'll be hell to pay."

"She's at the lake with Cynthia and Toby," Thea said. "Come to the house with me. That way, you can walk out to meet her when she gets back. You should come too, Rachel. We should invite people over, have a celebration or a feast."

“A feast?” Elyssa looked worried.

“Would you be okay with that?”

Josh went over to give her a hug. "You can meet everyone, and they can meet you—if you’re all right with getting bombarded by that many people at once.”

Elyssa didn't look too sure about it, but Rachel jumped to her feet and said, "I'll call Isak and tell him. We'll bring something from the bakery. What time do you want us?"

"Let's try for seven. It's a little later than usual, but this is spur of the moment. It will give us all time to get ready."

"We can give you a ride home," Josh said, leading Thea to his truck. "That way, we can talk. We have lots to tell you, and you probably have lots to tell us." He and Rachel exchanged glances as they parted. They'd done that since they were little kids. Thea wondered what they were up to this time.

Camping gear was scattered in the truck bed. "Did you camp on your way home?" Thea asked.

"I know you hate it, but we like it," Josh said. "Look at the size of our tent. Three rooms and a rain cover. We could live in there."

Thea shook her head. She wasn't convinced, but she caught another meaningful glance pass between Elyssa and Josh. Once in the truck, wedged against the passenger door, she said, "What's up? What else do I need to know?"

Josh took a deep breath and reached for Elyssa's hand. She was smashed between the two of them. “The thing is, we'd like to stay in Emerald Hills, and I still have some of the money that you gave me, but there's nothing to rent right now. Isak offered us the room over his bakery, but I'd rather live in your barn, in my workshop, until we find a place of our own.”

“In the workshop? There’s no kitchen, no beds.”

“There’s a bathroom. We’ll sleep on cots, and we have a camp stove to cook on.”

Oh great! Josh and his bride were going to live with sawdust and chisels.

“We have the tent. We could camp out in the woods if that would work better for you,” Elyssa hurried to say.

“When I have empty beds downstairs? And lots of room?” Thea shook her head. “Why don’t you just move in with me?”

“We wouldn’t feel comfortable in the house,” Josh said. "I'd feel like a kid again."

Elyssa was watching her, a knot of worry between her brows. Thea liked this girl. She wanted her to know that. But how? She finally said, “I’d feel better if you’d move two beds out there and put the grill by the door for now. You should buy a microwave and a toaster too.”

Josh looked surprised. “That's it? It's okay?"

"Cots aren’t that comfortable.”

"You've got that right."

“Then it’s settled," Thea said. "You’re home.”

She liked the sound of that. Josh and Elyssa were home.