Clay rang the doorbell of a small brick home located in an older section of Kansas City. Looking around, he saw a neighborhood slipping past its prime. The sidewalks were cracked and buckled. The chocolate-brown trim of the house in front of Clay was badly in need of painting, as were several of the neighboring buildings.
The surrounding streets were quiet, but then it was only nine o’clock on Thanksgiving morning.
The Kansas City phone book listed fourteen Cassidys. This was the twelfth address he’d visited in the last two days.
As he waited for someone to answer the bell, he prayed this was the right house, and that he’d be able to convince a total stranger that Kasey and Nicki belonged together.
Please, Lord, don’t let me mess this up.
The door opened. A weary looking white-haired woman in a blue print housedress stood on the other side of the screen door. She looked at him with mild suspicion. “Yes, may I help you?”
Clay pulled off his cowboy hat. “Are you Miss Cassidy?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Clay Logan, ma’am. Do you have a great niece by the name of Katherine?”
Suddenly, Kasey appeared beside the woman. Her little face lit up. “Hi! Hi, ’orsey man. Go ride. Please?”
Looking from the child to Clay, the elderly woman smiled. “It seems that she recognizes you.”
The woman pushed open the screen, and Kasey tumbled out into Clay’s waiting arms. He hugged her tightly. Grinning, she patted his face between her hands. “’Orsey man. Love you.”
Rising, with the little girl in his arms, he smiled at her. “Hey, sugar, how you doing? I’ve been missing you.”
Peering over Clay’s shoulder, Kasey frowned. “Where Ni Ni?”
“Nicki’s at home, honey.”
Looking confused, Kasey said, “Me go home. Me go wif Mommy Ni Ni.”
Clay transferred his gaze to Miss Cassidy. “That’s what I’d like to talk to your aunt about.”
Miss Cassidy folded her arms over her chest and pressed her lips tightly together. Clay watched the indecision play across her face. Finally, she nodded and led the way inside.
He let out a long breath of relief.
Following the woman to her tiny living room, he took a seat on her blue floral sofa. A few of Kasey’s toys were scattered about, the room itself was clean and tidy if overcrowded with furniture and knickknacks.
His eyes were drawn to the dozens of pictures lined up on the mantel and covering the wood paneling of the walls.
He tried to set Kasey down, but she squawked in protest and held on to his neck. Patting her back to reassure her, he allowed her to stay on his lap and gave her his cowboy hat to play with. She giggled and immediately began her favorite game of peek-a-boo covering her head with the hat and then lifting it up to grin at him.
Taking a seat opposite them in a padded rocker, Miss Cassidy folded her hands in front of her. They were gnarled and work-worn and bare of any jewelry. “Katherine has been asking for Ni Ni all the time.”
“Ni Ni is her name for Nicki Appleton. Nicki has been Kasey’s…I’m sorry…Katherine’s foster mother since July. Allow me to offer my condolences on the death of your niece.”
“Thank you.”
Clay nodded toward a framed portrait of a young woman with dark brown hair and hazel eyes on the mantel. Clay saw only a slight resemblance to the child he held. “Is that Dana?”
“Yes. She was my brother’s only child. He was nearly fifteen years younger than I. We were never very close until his wife became ill. Dana’s mother died of cancer five years ago. My brother died of a heart attack a year later. I often thought it more the case of a broken heart. He missed her terribly.” Miss Cassidy sat quietly staring at the portrait.
Clay saw the sorrow deeply etched on her face. “What was Dana like?”
Glancing back to him, Miss Cassidy smiled softly. “She was a dreamer, always flitting from one job to another, from one man to another. After her father died, she ran away with some young man, but they didn’t stay together. She wrote a few times that first year, but I never heard from her after that. I didn’t even know that she’d had a child.”
“That’s why you didn’t come forward.”
“I heard about the toddler who was found after the tornado, of course. It was in the news for weeks, but I never connected that child to Dana. The police believe she was on her way here when she was killed. I’d like to think that. I’d like to think she had straightened out her life and wanted me to meet her daughter.”
Clay chose his next words carefully. “Ms. Cassidy, I can’t imagine how difficult this has been for you, but Nicki Appleton is…someone very dear to me.”
Kasey stopped playing and looked around. “Ni Ni?”
Clay ruffled her hair. “Nicki loves this little girl with all her heart. She was planning to adopt her. I came here today to ask if you would allow Nicki to visit Katherine.”
“One hears such terrible things about foster care these days. When they told me Dana had a daughter who’d been in foster care for all those months, I couldn’t bear the thought.”
“She was in a loving home from the minute she was released from the hospital.”
“But she wasn’t with family.”
How could he make her understand that that was exactly where Kasey had been? His gaze was once again drawn to the photos on the mantel. The answer, he realized, was right in front of his eyes.
Clay pulled his phone from his pocket. It took him a second but he finally accessed the video he’d made at the day care the week before.
Setting Kasey aside, Clay rose and handed the phone to Miss Cassidy. “Love is what makes a family. This is the woman who loves your great niece. Please, let her stay in this little girl’s life. It will mean the world to both of them.”
As the recording played, Clay watched emotions cross the elderly woman’s face. He could hear Nicki’s voice and the sound of Kasey’s happy greeting. He didn’t need to see it, he’d memorized the loving look on Nicki’s face as she held and rocked the child of her heart.
“Me see.” Kasey, tossing his hat aside, hurried to her aunt’s side and climbed into her lap. She pulled the phone from Miss Cassidy’s hands.
Grinning up at the adults, Kasey said, “My mommy. My Ni Ni.”
She brought the phone to her lips and planted a kiss on the screen.
Parking her car in front of Jesse’s house, Nicki wished she hadn’t given in to Maya’s pleading at church. She’d never felt less like celebrating Thanksgiving in her life. Nor did she feel like spending it alone. This was the lesser of the two evils. Besides, there was still a slim chance that Clay would show up.
Tommy and Layla were taking advantage of the beautiful weather and were playing with a soccer ball at the side of the house. Layla was laughing as she tried to steal the black and white ball from Tommy.
Was Kasey having a happy Thanksgiving with her great-aunt? Was she laughing her adorable giggle? Nicki tried to believe that she was.
Bracing herself, she put on what she hoped was a less-than-sad face. Maya, too, had to be dealing with her share of disappointment after learning Clay wouldn’t be there.
Where was he? Why hadn’t he called?
The answers weren’t in her car. Nicki opened the door and stepped out. She heard the front screen door slam and looked up expecting to see Maya or Jesse coming to greet her. Instead, she saw Clay grinning from ear to ear. In his arms, he held her Kasey.
Shrieking with joy, Nicki raced up the steps and pulled Kasey into a fierce hug. Smothering her cute baby face with kisses, Nicki thought her heart would burst with happiness. It felt so wonderful to hold her.
“Happy Thanksgiving,” Clay said, smiling at her.
“How did you do this?” She looked at him in astonishment.
“I beat down a few dozen doors, then kidnapped her from a white-haired lady.”
Nicki’s eyes widened with shock. “You didn’t?”
“No, but I had you for a second, didn’t I?”
Slowly, Nicki became aware that they weren’t alone. Clay’s family had gathered around. Maya, with an enormous grin on her face, was holding hands with Greg while Jesse stood looking on from the doorway. Tommy was making faces while Layla was busy trying to punch the soccer ball out of his hands. Behind him, a small gray-haired woman Nicki didn’t know was watching it all with interest.
Following Nicki’s gaze, Clay said, “Nicki, this is Miss Wilma Cassidy, Katherine’s great-aunt.”
With a sinking sensation, Nicki realized Kasey wasn’t back for good. She was only here for a visit. Her grip on the child tightened. Yet, if Miss Cassidy had allowed one visit, perhaps she could be convinced to allow more.
Nicki stepped toward the woman. “I can’t thank you enough for bringing Katherine here today. I’ve missed her so much.”
“Who’s Katherine?” Tommy quipped.
Wilma tipped her head slightly as she regarded the boy. “That happens to be my great-niece’s given name, but you can continue to call her Kasey. I think that’s a name that fits her.”
Layla finally managed to free the ball from Tommy’s hands and took off with it. Shouting his ire, he ran after her.
Wilma smiled at the horseplay. “My brother used to drive me crazy when he was Layla’s age. It wasn’t until later that we became friends. Miss Appleton, Mr. Logan tells me that your intention was to adopt Kasey. I’d like to hear more about those plans.”
Hope sprang up like a startled deer in Nicki’s chest, robbing her of breath. Was it possible? Miss Cassidy turned and walked to a pair of white whicker chairs at the end of the porch.
Nicki’s gaze flew to Clay. The abiding love in his eyes gave her courage. She held out her hand, and he gripped it tightly. “Thank you.”
“Go. Convince her that she and Kasey can both be a part of your family for as long as they live.”
Clay watched Nicki and Kasey’s great-aunt deep in conversation at the other end of the porch. Their smiling faces were turned toward Kasey playing near their feet, but occasionally, Nicki looked up to meet Clay’s eyes and gift him with a beautiful smile that warmed his heart.
Layla came pounding up the steps, a serious pout on her face. “Tommy won’t play with me. I’m gonna tell Mom!”
Shouting for her mother, she stormed into the house. Out beside the barn, Jesse, squatting on his heels, was deep in conversation with Tommy. When Tommy walked away, Jesse picked something up from the grass.
Nicki’s laughter drew Clay’s attention. He smiled at the radiant glow on her face. Kasey was demonstrating her dancing ability by gyrating wildly to a tune Miss Cassidy was humming for her.
“You did a good thing.”
Clay glanced over his shoulder to find his brother standing behind him. Jesse’s praise meant more than he would ever know. “Thanks. I have to admit, I’m feeling a bit like Father Christmas.”
“Don’t let it go to your head.”
“I’ll try not to.”
“Here.” Jesse extended his hand. He held a small black glass horse. “One leg seems to be missing, but I’m amazed it isn’t in worse shape. I must have walked past that clump of grass a hundred times since the storm. Guess I was meant to find it today. You should keep it. You always liked it.”
“Thanks. This means a lot.” Clay closed his fingers around one of his grandmother’s treasures. The shadowbox might be gone, but he could build a new one and start a collection for Kasey and her children. That is—if he could convince Nicki to marry him.
“How’s the job at the Rocking P going?” Jesse asked.
“I knew it was only temporary when I took it. I’m going to have to look for something else now that I’m not heading back to Canada. Any suggestions?”
Jesse rubbed a hand over his chin. “It wouldn’t pay much more than the Rocking P, but you might consider working on the Circle-L, instead.”
Clay looked at his brother in disbelief. “You’re asking me to come to work with you. For real?”
“We could try it and see how it goes. No promises.”
Deep emotions tightened Clay’s throat. Maybe someday he’d be able to redeem himself in Jesse’s eyes. “Thanks. I’d really like that.”
“Guess we should go in and give Maya’s turkey a try. I’ve got to admit, I’m a little leery.”
The smells of roast turkey, dressing and apple pie drifting out of the house were enough to make Clay’s mouth water. “You’re thinking of that meatloaf she used to make.”
“Yeah. How did you know that?”
“The look on your face. Who could forget that disaster? Actually, she’s grown into a pretty good cook.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“No, her chili is awesome.”
“Are you talking about me?” Maya, who had gone inside, reappeared holding one of the triplets.
“I’ll take her,” Jesse said, smiling softly at his daughter.
Maya handed her over. “It’s wonderful having you both here.”
Clay ruffled her hair. “If you’re this excited now, what are you going to be like at Christmas?”
Her grin faded a little. “I hope it will be as happy a day as this one, but Greg and I have run into a problem with our plans for Tommy’s adoption.”
Jesse nodded toward the door. “I hear one of the other girls crying. Let’s go inside.”
In the living room, Jesse handed Brooke back to Maya and picked up Madison. When he had her quiet, he turned to his sister. “I thought the adoption was going to be final in a few weeks.”
“It should be, but there’s been a snag with the paperwork. We wanted to give Tommy the news on Christmas Day, but it looks like it will be after the first of the year.”
“Mom, something’s burning,” Layla announced from the kitchen doorway.
Maya pushed Brooke into Clay’s arms and rushed to the kitchen. Jesse and Clay exchanged amused glances. Just then Nicki, with Kasey in her arms, came in followed by Miss Cassidy.
Nicki’s gaze met Clay’s. Her eyes were brimming with happiness. He gathered his courage and asked, “Nicki can I speak to you for a second?”
“Sure.”
He caught her hand and led her back out onto the porch and around to the side of the house. Once there, his courage wavered.
“You’ll never guess what?” Nicki began in an excited rush. She kissed Kasey’s cheek and hugged her close. “Miss Cassidy has agreed to let me go ahead with Kasey’s adoption. Her only stipulation is that she be allowed to visit frequently. Can you believe it?”
“That’s great.”
“Yes, it is. I’m so happy. But what did you want to tell me?”
“I wanted to tell you that I love you beyond all reason, Nicki Appleton, and I’ll never be a whole man until I have you by my side forever. I want us to be a family. You and Kasey and me. Will you marry me?”
“Yes, oh, yes. This is the happiest day of my life.” She threw one arm around his neck and hugged him tightly.
He gathered her and Kasey close. Nuzzling Nicki’s hair, he whispered. “You are what I’ve been looking for all my life. I’m so glad the Lord led me back to you.”
“I love you, Clay. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of saying that.” She cupped his cheek with her palm and kissed him with a tenderness that dispelled any doubts he may have had.
In that instant, Clay knew he had ended up exactly where God intended him to be. Home—with a family of his own.
The Saturday after Thanksgiving, Nicki drove into the church parking lot and got out of her car. Glancing across to the park, she saw Clay putting up the last panel of lattice on the gazebo. Her heart overflowed with love and gratitude for the man who’d returned so much to her and to her town.
The man she was going to marry. The thought sent bubbles of happiness zipping through her. They’d talked about a spring wedding but hadn’t set a date yet.
She crossed the winter-brown grass to watch him work. As he nailed the final wall in place, she began clapping.
He turned around and saw her. The look of love that filled his eyes sent joy flooded into every fiber of her being.
He took a small bow. “Thank you, ma’am.”
“It looks beautiful, Clay.”
“Not as beautiful as you.”
“Ah, what a sweet thing to say.”
“I’m a sweet guy.”
“I’ve heard that about you. Everyone in High Plains is singing your praises.” She glanced over her shoulder at the Old Town Hall where a flurry of construction was underway thanks to the arrival of the crew from Dallas.
Clay stepped backward inside the pavilion and beckoned her by crooking one finger. “Come here, soon-to-be Mrs. Logan.”
Managing a coy look, she shook her head. “I don’t think so. I seem to remember that you made improper advances to me the last time we were inside a place just like this.”
Crossing his arms, he leaned his shoulder against the frame of the opening. “All the more reason you should come here, now.”
“And why’s that?”
“Because I’d like to make some proper advances toward you.”
“Well, why didn’t you say so?” Sauntering up to him, she lifted her face for his kiss.
He didn’t hesitate. He pulled her inside and proceeded to kiss her breathless. Drawing away at last, he smiled into her eyes. “Was that better than the last time?”
“It was good, but I think you need a little more practice.”
He growled and jerked her close once more. The shrill ring of his phone interrupted them.
Releasing her, he pulled it from his pocket. “I think I liked it better before I had one of these.”
Opening it, he said, “This better be important, Jesse, because your timing stinks.”
Nicki chuckled, but as Clay’s face grew sober so did her own. She listened to the terse conversation with growing concern. Then Clay said, “Nicki’s right here. I’ll ask her.”
Holding his hand over the phone, Clay said, “Tommy is missing.”
“What?”
“Maya took the kids out to the ranch to visit today. She was getting ready to leave but they can’t find Tommy anywhere. They think he’s run away. Jesse wants to know if you can come out to the ranch and watch the babies while he gets a search party together.”
“Tell him absolutely. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Clay spoke into the phone again. “We’re on our way.”
He hung up and tucked the phone in his pocket, then he cupped her face between his hands and gave her a quick kiss. “Thanks, I knew you’d help.”
“Of course. They’re my family, too.” Grabbing his hand, she pulled him toward the church and her waiting car.
“I’m afraid that boy is going to give Maya as much grief as I gave my folks.”
As they hurried across the park, Nicki knew this was how it was meant to be. The two of them facing whatever challenges lay ahead, together—hand in hand—and trusting in God’s loving grace to carry them through.