Sunset Over Misty Lake

by Margaret Standafer

  “Laney,” Karen said. “Another person Joshua took advantage of. The list is long. It’s mind-boggling how intricate his scheme was. He had Brendan helping him get the victims up to their rooms, he had Laney altering the security video to cover for him, another person who worked in reservations getting him room information, all because he knew something about them that he could hold over their heads. He’s a dangerous man and he had you in that bathroom, he could have—”

  “But he didn’t. Opal was there, then the rest of you. It was over fast. It’s all okay.”

  Karen laughed a little despite the lump in her throat. “It’s a good thing Opal wasn’t part of our group text instructing everyone to stay put.”

  “I don’t think she would have listened if she had been.”

  “I think you’re right. Anyway, you were amazing. When I saw you in that dress, when I heard from Riley about your Oscar-worthy performance at the bar. Amazing doesn’t cover it.”

  “I’m hanging up that dress too.”

  “Frank’s probably sad about that.”

  “Oh, I think he’s okay with it.”

  Cassie had a strange look on her face that Karen couldn’t decipher. Happy, but worried. Excited, but hesitant. Karen started to wonder. Three of them? It couldn’t be. Could it?

  “Why is that?” Karen asked.

  Cassie peeked in one direction, then the other, then leaned close and whispered.

  “You can’t tell anyone, we just found out yesterday…” She peeked around her again. “I’m pregnant!”

  There was a sort of awe in Cassie’s voice, a sense of disbelief, but her face was radiant, and her smile reminded Karen why advertisers had once clamored for Cassandra Ray.

  Karen laughed. She didn’t know what else to do. Three of them. But then she recovered, and she hugged the latest mommy-to-be.

  “That’s incredible news. The absolute best news. Congratulations! You and Frank are going to be wonderful parents. You just found out yesterday?”

  “Yes, so we’re not going to tell anyone for a while, it’s way too early, but I had to tell you. I’m going to have so many questions. Maybe I can call you?”

  “Of course. Anytime. All the time.”

  “Well, then, consider this my first call.” The smile faded and Cassie’s lip trembled. “I had that drink, in Vegas, part of a drink, anyway. Frank did some reading yesterday, he assured me there’s nothing to worry about, but I drank it and what if it hurt the baby? What if something goes wrong? What if—”

  “Stop. Stop, stop, stop. Frank’s a hundred percent right. One drink, or one half of a drink, isn’t going to hurt the baby. Do you know how many women have a drink, or more than one, before they know they’re pregnant? Most, probably. I did. You and the baby will be just fine. Worrying is going to do more harm than a few sips of a drink.”

  Cassie nodded. “Okay. That’s what Frank said.”

  Karen hugged Cassie and rubbed her back. “You’re going to be fine, the baby’s going to be fine, and the next few months are going to be a blast around here.”

  It was evening when Karen dropped into a chair next to Joe. She dug her toes into the warm sand and leaned her head onto his shoulder.

  “Was it everything you hoped it would be?” Joe asked.

  “And more. Everyone had a good time, don’t you think?”

  “They did.”

  “Mom and Dad just left, Kelly and Wes took them home. I told them to stay and watch the sunset, but Mom’s tired. She’ll be up early tomorrow to pick up Grandma to go see Grandpa. This is the first day they haven’t visited since he’s been at Lakeland, so I know they’ll want an early start.”

  “I wonder if a little break wasn’t good for your mom. She looked so relaxed today. Carefree, almost. I haven’t seen her like that since your grandpa’s stroke.”

  Karen lifted her head from Joe’s shoulder and smiled at him. “Aren’t you the observant one? She had a good day today, you’re right. And even if Grandma doesn’t agree, a day off was a good thing for her too. Grandpa will be home soon and there won’t be many breaks.”

  “I hope you’ve told them we’ll help out whenever we can.”

  Karen nodded. “Speaking of helping them…I’ve been wanting to talk to you about something. The day I left for Vegas, my mom gave me an envelope, something she told me to look at on the plane or whenever I had time.”

  “What was it?”

  “A stack of information, research, paperwork related to hiring a home health care nurse for Grandpa when he comes home.”

  “That sounds like a great idea. I didn’t know it was an option.”

  “It’s an option. My mom has been helping Grandma navigate the insurance, and she learned their plan will cover it. She also looked into hiring a caregiver who can help with cleaning, shopping, anything they need help with, at least for a while when Grandpa can’t be left alone.”

  “And your grandma is okay with that?”

  “She’s coming around.”

  “Did your mom want a recommendation or want your help with the paperwork?”

  “Actually, she wondered if I’d want the job.”

  Joe sat up in his chair and twisted to face Karen straight on. “The job? You have a job.”

  “I do. I know. I have a job that I love and the possibility of a new job that tempts me. But I also have so many mixed feelings about leaving the kids, about what to do about daycare, about you working extra hours to afford that daycare. Every time we talk about it, we end up leaving the decision for another day. We’re running out of days. It seems to me like we haven’t felt good about any of the options we’ve had to this point.”

  “I guess I agree with that.”

  “My mom made it clear there was no pressure, but she looked into what I’d have to do in order to be able to be my grandpa’s nurse and caregiver.”

  “And what did she find?”

  “I’d have to quit my job at the hospital and be hired by an organization that employs home health care nurses. I found one, spoke with a woman there and explained my situation, and she told me she’d look into it and get back to me. She emailed me on Friday, but I’ve been so wrapped up in party prep that I didn’t check my email until this morning. They’ll hire me, it will fulfill the insurance obligations, and I can work for my grandpa and get paid.”

  “So that would be your job?”

  “Yes. It wouldn’t be as much money as I was making at the hospital, but we wouldn’t have the daycare expense. At least not much daycare expense.”

  “What would we do with the kids?”

  “I’d bring them along when I could. Depending on what was on the schedule. My grandma loves the idea, said it keeps them young to have little ones around. When it’s not possible, Mom will help out, she told me that from the beginning. When Trina stopped by here today, she told me to call her anytime I need a sitter for the kids. She said she had so much fun with them while we were in Vegas, she hopes to continue helping out sometimes. It helps when she’s missing her own grandkids. Of course, she has her work at Anchored, but she wants to work around that.”

  “She’s something, isn’t she? She spent most of the day playing with Dylan and Claire or holding the twins.”

  “Another person who has been so kind and helpful. And if it happens that no one is available, there’s the drop-in day care center at church. It’s another option if I need it sometimes.”

  “I’d bet my mom would help too, if you need her.”

  “I’ll talk to her if you’re on board with this idea.”

  “On board? To me, it sounds like a dream come true, but only if you’re sure it’s what you want. Are you ready to leave the hospital?”

  “I am. For now, at least. The hospital will always need nurses. I don’t know how long the job with my grandpa will last so if the day comes when I want to go back, I’ll be able to. I also had a thought, just today. I might talk to Susan about working at the inn once in a while.”

  �
�Is she looking for more help?”

  “I don’t know if she’s thought that far ahead, but she’ll be losing Jennica and Jordyn in a few weeks when they leave for college. Changes are coming. A few months down the road she might find that she needs some help. There are still some questions to be answered with my grandpa, with Susan, but I want to make it work.”

  “Then that’s what we’ll do.”

  Joe put his hands on Karen’s cheeks and smacked a loud kiss on her lips then another on her nose.

  “Wow. That sure wasn’t news I expected to hear today.”

  “I should have talked to you about it sooner. After I read the paperwork on the plane, I figured we’d discuss it while I was in Vegas, but things happened so fast, there was so much going on, that I kind of forgot about it. Then when we got home and I started digging into it, I decided I’d make sure it was even a possibility before I told you about it.”

  “I like the surprise. It’s a good surprise.”

  “I’m glad you think so.”

  Karen twined her fingers with Joe’s. Their hands swung in a lazy rhythm between their chairs. Laughter sounded from the yard behind them, a frisbee whizzed by chased by Riley, and down the beach, Cassie and Frank waded in the water, hand-in-hand.

  “A pretty good setting for a party, don’t you think?” Karen asked Joe. As long as they were talking big changes, she had another in mind.

  “Sure. It always has been, at least since you’ve been in charge of the parties.”

  “We could probably handle a bigger party. We have the room.”

  “I guess,” Joe answered lazily. Under the brim of his cap, his eyes looked heavy.

  “A lot bigger, I think.”

  “Ummm, sure.”

  “Like Fourth of July big.”

  Joe’s hand stopped swinging. Karen might have thought he’d fallen asleep except his hand gripped hers tighter, then tighter again.

  “Fourth of July big? What does that mean?”

  “I’ve been thinking.”

  Joe lifted his legs from the sand then swung them down, using the momentum to sit up straight. He pushed his cap up high on his forehead, looked at her, and waited.

  “The party this year was hard on your parents. They were exhausted. You noticed it. We all did. Every year, it’s more and more work. They don’t want the tradition to end, but I don’t think they want to host any longer. We should offer to do it. We have the room, we’d have plenty of help, we have the lake so there’d be so much more for the kids and teenagers to do. You know, you first gave me the idea when you talked about how different the party at your parents’ house would have been if they’d put in a pool years ago.”

  “That was a stupid thing for me to say,” Joe mumbled.

  “Even if they argue at first, I think your parents will be relieved to pass the torch.”

  “But here? You want all those people here? Karen, I don’t know.” He shook his head and looked miserable. Then his eyebrows shot up. “What about Jake? Jake and Sam could do it. They have a bigger yard than we do. Yeah, Jake should do it.”

  “I don’t think so, honey. At least not yet. Maybe down the road we take turns, that might work, but for now, it needs to be us. We can do it. You can offer your students extra credit if they help with setup and cleanup.” She winked at Joe.

  “Hah!” Then he paused and considered. “Maybe. I’m not above bribery. You’re sure about this?”

  “I am. I’ve been thinking about it since the Fourth, but like everything else, it took up residence on a back burner.”

  Joe inhaled deeply. “We’ll ask Mom and Dad. If they’re receptive, we’ll figure out the logistics. Or have you already figured everything out?”

  Karen laughed. “Not everything. I don’t know how long a horseshoe court is.”

  A squeal interrupted them as the puppy chased Dylan through the sand. Sean followed, half-heartedly scolding the puppy, but sounding as though he’d written it off as a lost cause.

  Dylan plopped down on the beach when the puppy caught up with him. Not ready to end the game, the puppy nipped Dylan’s bottom. Surprised, Dylan cocked his head, studied the dog, then leaned over and bit the puppy on his bottom. The puppy was shocked into silence and promptly planted that bottom on the ground, his eyes trained on Dylan as if awaiting his next command. Sean sighed and shooed both boy and dog back toward the house amid a clamor of shouts and yips. Karen and Joe both turned to watch.

  “Did you see what I think I saw? Did Dylan bite the dog?” Joe asked.

  “I think he did, and I think it worked.”

  The pup now trotted along at Dylan’s side, his adoring eyes following Dylan’s every move. Karen had one more thing to broach with Joe and decided it was as good a time as any.

  “Dylan really loves that puppy.”

  “Yeah, I guess he does. He…wait a minute. No. No way.”

  “The puppy needs a home, Joe. Your dad never wanted to keep him. I was wrong about that. He took him in with Dylan in mind the entire time. He thought Dylan should have a puppy. I think he’s right.”

  “You can’t be serious. Look around you. Our life is borderline madness without adding a puppy into the mix. School is starting, you’ll be starting your job with your grandparents, what in the world are we going to do with a dog?”

  Karen watched Dylan, who was rolling in the grass shouting, ‘Peppy, peppy’ over and over while the puppy watched, jumping up and down and yipping the entire time.

  “Look how happy he is.”

  “Listen how loud he is.”

  “He’s always loud, Joe. The twins are loud. Face it, our life is loud. What’s a little more loud?”

  Joe shook his head, pulled off his cap, and used it to fan himself. “I don’t know…”

  There, he was coming around. Karen bit her lip to keep from smiling. If Joe was really opposed, she wouldn’t push, but she could tell when he was protesting just for form’s sake. He’d want to be able to say he hadn’t been in favor of the idea when, down the road, the dog chewed up her shoe or made a mess on the living room carpet. She’d let him have that.

  “I know it will be a lot of work, but he’s a good dog. Or he will be,” she added when the pup jumped and knocked over Dylan.

  “I suppose we’ll name him Peppy.”

  “I think that’s a given.”

  “Are there any more surprises coming my way tonight? If so, I’m going to need a drink.”

  “That’s all. I promise.”

  Karen took his hand again and they settled back in their chairs. The sun kissed the horizon, a fiery orange ball setting the sky ablaze and tinging the few wisps of clouds with gold and crimson.

  “I think these two are ready for bed,” Shauna said when she and Cort joined them, a baby in each of their arms.

  “In a minute. Watch the sunset with us.”

  Karen took Julia from Cort and Joe took Evan. Sean had the puppy on a leash, Anna had Dylan by the hand, and they joined the group with Dylan snuggling up to Karen’s legs. Karen turned to call the rest, but they were already on their way.

  Jake sat in the sand and pulled Sam and Claire onto his lap. Riley set up the chairs he carried and settled Susan in one before sitting in the other. Frank tossed down a blanket and he and Cassie cuddled.

  Karen hugged her daughter, ran her hand through Dylan’s hair, then reached for Joe and their clasped hands cradled Evan. She looked around her. Everything she wanted surrounded her and her heart was full.

  As the sun held on to its last vestiges of light for that day, those she loved quieted and together, they watched the sun set over Misty Lake.

  Thank you for spending some time in Misty Lake!

  If you enjoyed Sunset Over Misty Lake, please consider leaving a review on Amazon or Goodreads. It doesn’t have to be long, it doesn’t have to be fancy, but it will make Margaret very happy.

  The Misty Lake Series

  By Margaret Standafer

  Misty Lake

 
; The Inn at Misty Lake

  Misty Lake in Focus

  Anchored in Misty Lake

  Sunset Over Misty Lake

  Margaret Standafer lives and writes in the Minneapolis area with the support of her amazing husband and children and in spite of the lack of support from her ever-demanding, but lovable, Golden Retriever. It is her sincere hope that you enjoy her work.

  To learn more about Margaret and her books, please visit www.margaretstandafer.com

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