Sunrise

  John put his hand on her shoulder. “Hi, baby. How are you?”

  “Good. I helped Cole catch a bird.” She pointed toward the patio door. “Come see, Papa.”

  This was what he loved about having children around him—the way they took him back to the days when he and Elizabeth were raising a young family. Living out in the country meant there were always adventures, and often those adventures involved rabbits or frogs or birds. Ashley and Luke had been the animal finders twenty years ago. Now it was Cole and whichever cousin he could get to help him out.

  John chuckled and eased himself out of his recliner. “Okay, Hayley, show Papa what you found.” He took the little girl’s hand, and they headed for the patio door. On the way, he caught Brooke’s eye, and she smiled. He let Hayley lead him down the few steps to the back porch.

  As soon as he was clear of the house, John spotted Cole in the dusky night air. He was chasing what looked like a wounded bird, grabbing at it and missing. “Papa . . . I found this bird in the bushes. I think . . .” Another swipe and Cole missed again. “I think Jingles the cat hurt him.”

  Hayley squealed and clapped. “Catch him, Coley. Catch him quick!”

  The commotion must’ve been heard through the open patio door, because in seconds, the other grandchildren piled outside to see about the fuss. Maddie and Jessie joined in the chase, and Tommy tumbled out and tried to keep up. Seconds later Erin’s oldest, Clarisse, joined them, waving her arms and trying to catch the bird.

  John felt sorry for the wounded creature. No question it was hurt, but now it was also terrified.

  “Here, birdie.” Cole was using his sweetest voice to lure the creature, but even that wasn’t working.

  “Let’s try something else.” John held up his hand. “Let’s make a circle around him. Everyone stop running, okay?”

  The kids were breathless, but they did as he asked. All except little Tommy, who stopped, pointed his finger at the flapping bird, and pretended to shoot it.

  Reagan was in the doorway, and she hurried outside and swept Tommy into her arms. “Let’s not shoot the little bird, all right?”

  Tommy started to fuss but then stopped, mesmerized by the drama still unfolding.

  Luke came outside and joined the circle, and eventually the bird—probably sensing it was cornered—stopped in the middle and stared at them, its chest pounding from the struggle.

  “Good little bird.” Cole started toward it.

  “Wait, Coley.” John looked at Luke. “There’s a box near the garage door. Get it and we’ll see if we can make a cage for him.”

  Luke jogged off, and John looked at his grandkids. “Stay really still so you don’t scare him.” The air around them was chilly and smelled of burning leaves. John spotted Elaine in the doorway, stifling a smile. It felt good knowing she was here, that she was seeing him with his grandkids, seeing how they interacted with one another.

  “Okay, Papa.” Hayley nodded. “Really still.”

  Luke returned a few seconds later with the box. He handed it to John, and John crept up on the bird, the box in one hand, his fingers spread open on the other. “Come on. Don’t be afraid.” He sounded like Cole, but that was okay. As he reached the bird, the little thing didn’t put up a fight. It hopped into the box, and in a rush the kids crowded around to peer in at it.

  “He needs a hospital.” Maddie used her arms to keep the other kids from crowding in too close. Her parents were both doctors, and lately she seemed to think that she had been born with some sort of genetically given medical understanding. “Right, Papa? He needs a hospital like the sick people who come and see Mommy and Daddy.”

  John knelt and took the trembling bird in his hands. It had definitely had an encounter with Jingles. Its right wing was damaged, and its feathers were missing on and beneath it. It also had a slight puncture wound on its chest. But otherwise the bird seemed pretty unscathed.

  “No hospital for now.” John studied the faces of his grandkids. In their earnest eyes he could see his kids, the way they’d looked decades earlier. He smiled at them. “Let’s cover him with a warm towel and let him rest.”

  “What about some dinner?” Maddie raised her brows. “Want me to get him some turkey, Papa?”

  “Birds don’t eat birds, silly.” Cole rolled his eyes at Maddie.

  Of all the kids, Cole and Maddie were the most competitive. John put a stop to the conversation before it could get out of hand. “The bird isn’t hungry. Thanks for thinking about him.” John patted Maddie’s hand, then stood and lifted the box. “He only needs a little rest. Then tomorrow or the next day, after his wing has a chance to heal, we can set him free.”

  Dayne and Katy were out on the patio now too. Dayne seemed particularly intent on the happenings, and John understood his interest. Rescuing an injured bird or catching a frog or a snake was part of life at the Baxter home. But not in Hollywood.

  Eventually the kids settled down, and the group went back inside. Maddie’s expression told anyone interested that she was still bothered by Cole’s comment. She lifted her chin and gave her cousin a demeaning look. Then she held out her hands to the other cousins. “Let’s pray for the bird. All birds need prayer.”

  Cole glanced sarcastically at the remainder of the turkey in the kitchen, but before he could say anything, John took his hand and gave him a stern look. “Yes, let’s pray for the bird.”

  Even Peter and Ryan, the stragglers still washing dishes in the kitchen, joined them. John looked at Elaine, silently welcoming her into the circle too. She took her place beside him, and as the group came together and everyone closed their eyes and bowed their heads, Elaine took his hand.

  Once in a while he and Elaine held hands. It was an act of friendship, a way of talking without words. But here, with the whole family except Ashley and Landon gathered around, the feel of her fingers against his seemed to usher in the start of something new and right and good. Something John wasn’t sure he was ready to think about just yet.

  Peter prayed, asking God to heal the bird’s wing and let it fly free one day very soon.

  When they were finished praying, the group doing dishes returned to the kitchen, and the girls, John, and Elaine went back to the family room. The commotion among the children died down too, though John had a feeling that Cole and Maddie were still exchanging barbs under their breath.

  John tuned in to the conversation among his daughters and Katy.

  Kari was saying that since they didn’t know when and where Dayne and Katy’s wedding was going to be, maybe they should have the shower the day before.

  “The shower in the day and the rehearsal at night?” Katy was sitting cross-legged on the floor, feeding a bottle to Malin, Luke and Reagan’s daughter.

  “Exactly. That way, whether we’re at your lake house or in the Bahamas, it’ll work out.” Kari laughed. “Not that you’d get married in the Bahamas.”

  “We might.” Katy gave a slight shake of her head. “Dayne says anything’s possible. So long as the paparazzi don’t find out.”

  “It’s beautiful there. Especially Nassau.” Elaine clearly felt comfortable among his family. She sat in a chair across from John, her attention on his daughters. “My husband and I had our tenth anniversary there.”

  John could’ve hugged her. By talking about her husband, she reminded them that this wasn’t her plan either. That being here as John’s friend wasn’t how she’d wanted to finish out her years. Both of them had been cheated out of the happily ever afters they’d dreamed of and counted on. Now they had each other. Hearing her mention her husband made it even more understandable.

  Erin sat next to Katy on the floor. “How would you get everyone to the Bahamas?” She was holding her youngest on her lap. Amy was sleeping, her pale blonde hair half covering her face.

  “Dayne says we’d lease a jet.” Katy made a look as if the entire experience was beyond her comprehension.

  John chuckled under his breath. Whatever happened with th
e wedding, it would be remarkable, unlike any Baxter wedding they’d had before. But because so much was up in the air, it was important that they settle on a date. That way the family could at least set that week aside, no matter where they ended up having the celebration. “Will you have a date after you meet with the wedding coordinator?”

  “Yes.” Katy looked relieved. “My parents have been asking the same thing.” She lowered her voice, as if someone with a camera and a tape recorder might be lurking just outside the door. “We’ll probably have a couple dates, actually. One that we leak to the press, and another that we leak to only some of the press. The real wedding date will come before either of those. Apparently it’s part of Wilma’s plan.”

  John laughed, and his daughters began talking at once. As they did, John saw Ashley and Landon returning from upstairs. Landon gave her a quick kiss, then turned into the kitchen.

  Ashley smiled and entered the family room. She took the spot on the other side of Katy, sitting on the floor. John could tell she’d been crying, but she also made an effort not to look sad. She included Elaine as she made eye contact with the others. “What did I miss?”

  “We’re still talking about the shower.” Kari leaned against the arm of her chair and angled her head. “Maybe we’ll have it the day before the wedding, so that wherever and whenever they get married, we’ll at least all be together.”

  “Dayne’s talking about maybe leasing a jet and having the whole group fly to the Bahamas.” Brooke had been quiet, but she sounded excited at the idea. “Talk about your movie scripts.”

  Ashley grinned. “This is going to be fun.”

  John’s heart felt warm as the girls’ conversation picked up pace. Ashley seemed okay about whatever had troubled her before. And she was right—the wedding would be a special time for everyone, no matter where they had it.

  Everything about the night was filled with joy and laughter and anticipation, and even as the kids and their families said good night, and as Erin and Sam and the girls headed up to the guest rooms and Dayne found his place in the far room at the end of the house, John had the sense that this would be a beautiful season for the Baxter family.

  Beautiful and memorable.

  Kari pulled John aside as she left. “Ashley’s fine. She talked to me.” She reached up and hugged his neck. “She’s just missing Mom.”

  John thanked her for the update. It was what he’d secretly hoped—that Ashley’s sadness halfway through the night had less to do with Elaine’s presence and more to do with her mother’s absence.

  Elaine was the last to leave, and when she had her coat on, she stood before him and smiled. Her eyes held a gratitude John hadn’t expected. “Thank you.”

  “For what?” He reached out and took her hands, though the feeling was different from before, when they’d been in the prayer circle. This time it was two friends saying good-bye, nothing more.

  “For including me tonight.” Her voice was soft. “It meant a lot.”

  John stopped himself from saying that she was his friend and the kids needed to get used to that fact. Friend seemed to be a word Elaine bristled at. Instead he gave her a look that held more depth than before. “I liked having you here. We all did.”

  “Ashley?” Elaine wasn’t angry or hurt. Just perceptive. A sad smile played on her lips. “She was struggling.”

  “She was missing Elizabeth.”

  Elaine’s expression told him that she understood. “Ashley’s a special young woman. It can’t be easy talking about weddings and knowing that her mother won’t be here to celebrate with all of you.”

  “Nothing about loss is easy.” He tightened his hold on her hands. “You should know. You’ve dealt with it longer than any of us.”

  “Long enough to know that even after the darkest night, God’s mercies are new every morning.”

  They were the words she left him with. She hugged him, not too long or too close, and then she bid him good night. After she was gone, when he heard her car heading down the driveway, he felt the hint of sorrow, of loneliness that had been coming more often lately whenever she left for the evening.

  John went to the kitchen and finished putting the last coffee cups into the dishwasher. He liked Elaine, liked the way he felt when he was with her and the way she added bits of wisdom to the conversations between his kids. He liked her tender laugh and her strong faith. There was no denying it.

  And as he turned in for the night, he realized that he’d gotten through an entire family get-together without aching for the loss of Elizabeth. Because Elaine had been lending her quiet strength and support all evening.

  Before John fell asleep he read chapter 3 of Lamentations, where Jeremiah was crying out in agony for the ways he was hurting.

  There was the verse Elaine had alluded to, the idea that God’s mercies were new every morning. He was great in His faithfulness, because night—no matter how dark and dreadfully long—never lasted forever.

  As John closed his Bible and set it on his nightstand next to the photograph of Elizabeth, as he lay down and closed his eyes, across the horizon of his heart he glimpsed something he hadn’t experienced in years of sadness and nightfall.

  A beautiful, breathtaking, hope-filled sunrise.

  Dayne had been dreading this moment.

  Since he’d arrived in Bloomington before Thanksgiving, he hadn’t looked at a single tabloid, hadn’t wanted to or needed to know what the rags were saying. His hours were full, sharing the joy of what his family and their friends and the CKT kids had done to renovate the lake house. After that, there’d been Thanksgiving and Laughter and Leftovers with the Baxters.

  Real life—the one he lived in the public eye—felt a million miles away.

  Now it was Monday, and he and Katy were on their way to the meeting with Wilma Waters in Indianapolis. Dayne wanted to know if the press had found out that he was engaged. He had to be prepared, especially since he hadn’t told anyone outside his family that he wasn’t planning to return to Hollywood until the filming of his next movie.

  Since leaving Los Angeles, Dayne hadn’t even talked with his agent. The guy knew he was with Katy and his family, and he was probably trying to keep things quiet for him. Especially since Dayne had only recently been out of physical therapy.

  Now he was driving Katy’s car, and for the first time in a week he felt conscious of his fame, his familiarity. He wasn’t the oldest Baxter son enjoying time with his family. He was Hollywood’s heartthrob, facing whatever was waiting for him outside the safe confines of Bloomington. The realization left him moody and quiet, the way he hadn’t been since midway through his physical therapy.

  “Are you stopping?” Katy seemed unnerved, anxious about his attitude. They had talked last night about making the stop, but it hadn’t come up since he’d picked her up at the Flanigan house.

  “We have to.” Dayne adjusted his sunglasses. The day was bright and blue, but frost hung on the grass and plants as they headed north. He wore a baseball cap and the familiar hooded sweatshirt, the kind he always kept on hand in case he needed an escape, a way to hide. He pulled the car into the lot of a convenience store and parked in the middle, in a spot with no cars on either side. “I’ll wait here.”

  “Be right back.”

  Dayne watched Katy walk across the lot and into the store, and he admired the way she wasn’t conditioned to look over her shoulder for paparazzi. She was a normal person still, a regular person. Someone who could walk into a store and buy a few magazines without causing a ruckus. It was one of the conveniences people took for granted, one that Katy would be giving up when she married him.

  After a few minutes she came out and smiled at him. It was a tentative smile, and he reminded himself that whatever news the tabloids held, Katy deserved his best attitude, his happiness and kindness. Especially on a day when they were driving to Indianapolis to meet with the wedding coordinator.

  He clenched his jaw and then relaxed it. God, help me handle th
e press. You know my feelings for them. Since the accident it’s more of a . . . a hatred. I know it isn’t good for me, but I don’t know how else to feel.

  Forgive, My son. . . . Forgive as the Lord forgave you. . . .

  The words filled Dayne’s soul and mind, words he’d read in the Bible just this morning. A verse he had no idea how he was going to live out—not when it came to the paparazzi. The photogs had almost killed him. Forgiving them would take an act of God.

  Katy opened the door and climbed in. “You’re not on the cover of any of them!”

  A slight breeze of relief blew across his conscience. “Good.” He leaned over and kissed her. “Sorry.”

  “Why?” Her eyes had a dreaminess that hadn’t been there before. She touched her lips to his again, then pulled back, waiting for his answer.

  “I’ve been in a lousy mood.” Dayne nodded to the bag on her lap. “Not looking forward to whatever’s in there.” A slow smile filled his face. “But that isn’t fair to you, Katy. I can’t wait to start planning our wedding.” He kissed her one more time. “You know that, right?”

  “I do.”

  “Exactly.” He felt his eyes light up for the first time today. “Those are the words I can’t wait to hear.”

  Katy giggled and clicked her seat belt into place. “Should I look?” Her hands settled on the bag of magazines.

  “Yes.” He pulled back onto the street. “No sense hiding from it.”

  “‘Dayne Matthews and His Brother Make Up,’” Katy read the headline out loud. She gave Dayne a nervous smile. “So far, so good.”

  “Yeah.” He raised an eyebrow. “Keep reading.”

  Katy found her place. “‘Sources say the feud between Dayne Matthews and his brother, Luke Baxter, may finally be over.’” She shook her head and mumbled under her breath, “Finally over? The two of you just met, for goodness’ sake.”

  “That’s not sensational enough.” Dayne smiled, but inside he felt his anger rise again. What right did they have to print one word about him after driving an oncoming truck into his path? He kept his attention on the road. “Go on.”