“Other than a few finishing touches, your room is done. Once the floor dries completely, you’ll be able to move back into it.”
“I know a young man who’ll be happy to have his bedroom back to himself.” Keith eased down into a lounge chair.
“Uncle Keith, Brady has enjoyed sharing his room with you.”
Keith snorted. “Poppycock.” After taking a sip of his drink, he swept his arm toward the couch and looked at Zane. “Rest. You’ve been working since early this morning. What are y’all going to do next?” He leaned forward and glanced around. “Where is your dad?”
Zane was grateful for the sturdy sofa, because the shock almost knocked him over. He drank some of his coffee to cover it as much as possible.
“He’ll be back soon. He had a meeting to go to.”
“I’m impressed with his work. I told him that yesterday.”
“He thinks this place is beautiful. Dad loves old buildings.”
“So do I. There’s so much history in them.”
Lightning flashed followed by a boom ripping through the air. Zane flinched and gripped his mug tighter. “The storm is getting worse.”
Keith grinned. “But we don’t have any leaks. That’s something to celebrate.” Relaxing back, he crossed his legs and asked again, “What are y’all going to do next?”
“Finish up with the guest bedroom then move to the downstairs.”
* * *
Out on the gallery, Anna yelped at the sound of thunder and jumped back from the railing.
Kim put her hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “You’re usually not this quiet, especially if something is bothering you. Hon, what’s going on?”
Anna didn’t say anything.
Kim searched the darkness, trying to discern her expression, but the shadows hid it. “Maybe I can help you.” A streak of lightning lit the encroaching night, brought on early by the black clouds of the storm. Kim glimpsed Anna’s dropped head, her hair falling forward to conceal her face. She gently squeezed her daughter’s shoulder. “You’re scaring me. What has happened?”
“Nothing. I’m fine,” she mumbled in a voice that denied each word.
She didn’t have to see Anna’s face to realize tears were near the surface. “Did you have a fight with Polly?”
“No.”
“Someone else?”
Silence greeted that question.
Kim wanted to fight her child’s battles for her but knew she couldn’t—that in the long run that wasn’t the best thing for Anna. She needed to learn to do it herself. But that didn’t mean Kim couldn’t support her every step of the way. “Sometimes talking about a problem helps you to see a solution.”
Her child’s sigh overrode the noises of the rain beating down on the house. “A couple of girls came over to Polly’s to play today. One was Lily.”
That right there said a lot. Lily was the only cousin whom Anna couldn’t get along with. “What happened?”
“I try to put up with her because Polly likes her, but she’s mean.”
“As hard as this can be at times, you need to ignore what she says.”
“Polly asked about when I’d get my old bedroom back. That led to talk about the house being fixed up by Zane. One of the girls said we were lucky to get him to do the work. Her dad loved what he did for them. Lily wanted to know when I’d finally get a daddy. She said that my father didn’t want me and left. Maybe Zane would, too.”
Kim heard each of her daughter’s words but couldn’t respond. Instead, they thrust her back to the day that Scott had left. Or rather the day he’d left a note on the refrigerator telling her he was divorcing her and his lawyer would contact her about it. She visualized the words on the paper and the feelings she’d experienced then washed over her again—the shock, the grief, the anger, the humiliation of her husband walking out on her.
“Mom?”
Her daughter’s voice pulled her back to the present, and she realized she’d gripped Anna’s shoulder so tightly her hand ached. She loosened her hold and stepped around in front of her daughter. “Did she say anything else?”
“She told me she’d overheard her mother and grandmother talking about how sad it was that my father didn’t want children. That was why he left you. Am I the reason?”
A bolt of lightning in the distance illuminated Anna’s face enough for Kim to see the sad droop to her eyes, the shiny gleam in them. She pulled her against her and encircled her in her embrace. “I’m the reason, not you. Never you.”
“But he left right after I was born,” her daughter said, pressed against Kim’s chest.
“He didn’t love me. He had someone else.” She didn’t want to explain the whole mess to Anna, at least not until she was older.
“But he never calls me, never comes to see me.”
If she could get hold of Scott right now, she’d give him a piece of her mind for putting her in this situation. “He didn’t want children. That’s true, but it really had nothing to do with you. He wanted to be free of any kind of obligation, and children are a big obligation. When I became pregnant with you, I’d hoped he would change his mind because I wanted you very much. More than I can say in words.” Kim leaned back and framed Anna’s face in her hands. “I love you more than you can imagine. Papa Keith loves you. Maggie and even Brady. We’re your family.”
“I’ve been afraid to talk about him. I know when I’ve said something about him, it has bothered you. But I have questions.”
Zane’s words about forgiveness and letting go of the past inundated Kim. Because she hadn’t, her daughter had been afraid to talk to her. That wasn’t right. Please, Lord, help me to let this anger toward Scott go. I’m too tired to fight it anymore.
“I’m sorry, hon. You should never be afraid to ask me a question. What do you want to know? I’ll tell you what I can. You have a right to know.”
“Where’s Daddy?”
“I don’t know. Even when his mother lived here, she wouldn’t say anything about where Scott was. No one in the family will say anything. Any connection I’ve had with your daddy is through a lawyer.”
“Is that why they don’t do much with me?”
“You go over to see them on holidays.” The light came on in the bedroom with the window right behind them, giving Kim enough glow to see Anna’s expression—one of a child in pain. She felt responsible.
“But they never really say anything to me.”
Kim clenched her jaws together until she could control what she said to her daughter. “They didn’t talk to you? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“They did. But like I was a stranger.” Her shoulders slumped. “I guess I was. My daddy didn’t really accept me so why should they?” Tears coursed down her cheeks.
A fierce sense of protectiveness overwhelmed Kim. She embraced her daughter in a tight hug. “That’s their loss. You’re special, and they can’t change that.” She held Anna as she sobbed against Kim’s chest.
Kim felt her life was crumbling as she listened to her daughter’s sorrow. How could she forgive a man for doing this to his daughter?
Slowly Anna’s crying subsided, but she still clung to Kim. Staring into the darkness, she noticed the rain had lessened. This storm would push through and move on to another place. She wished life’s problems would disappear as easily.
“I love you, Mom. I’m not gonna let Lily’s words bother me anymore.” She pulled back.
Kim fingered Anna’s hair out of her face. “When you start to feel down about what Lily said, just remember how important you are to us.”
“I’m starved. What’s Maggie fixing for dinner?”
“I don’t know. Let’s go in and find out.” Kim hooked her arm around Anna, and they headed for the doo
r into the game room.
“I got the last laugh today with Lily. I beat her at one-on-one. She’s always bragging about how good she is.”
“Where did y’all play?”
“Broussard Park. They have the best courts.”
“It has the best view, too.” Kim opened the door, and they entered the house.
Laughter filled the room. She came to a stop and stared at her dad, Zane and Maggie laughing together at the other end where the couch and lounge chairs were. Before she could remark on the unusual sight, Zane looked up and snagged her gaze. He winked and motioned for Anna and her to join them.
“You should hear the stories your father is telling about you and Maggie as little girls.”
“Stories? What kind?”
“That time you went deep-sea fishing and fell into the water trying to reel your fish in,” Maggie answered, swiping the tears from her cheeks.
“That’s not funny.” Kim set her fist on her hip. “I could have drowned.”
Her father pooh-poohed her remark. “You can swim like a fish. What was so funny was you wouldn’t let go of your fishing rod. Even in the water you were determined to bring your catch in.”
“Sure. I’d saved my money for a whole month to buy that rod—state-of-the-art fishing gear. Just to set the record straight, I did bring in my fish. It was a small shark.”
Anna’s eyes rounded. “A shark? You were in the water with a shark?”
“It was maybe two feet long. But sharks love to put up a fight. Even small ones.”
“Papa Keith, where were you?”
Her father tried to stop chuckling, but it took a moment to compose himself even to answer Anna. “I ran to get the life preserver to throw to Kim.”
“Why didn’t you jump in to save her?”
Maggie’s laughter increased. “Because at that time Uncle Keith couldn’t swim.”
Anna’s eyes grew even bigger. “You couldn’t swim?”
“I can now. You’ve seen me. But back then, no. I used to be scared of the water.”
“What changed your mind?”
“Seeing Kim in the water and knowing if I went in after her I would make things worse. Right after that, I took swimming lessons and slowly overcame my fear of swimming.”
Anna plopped down next to Zane on the couch. “I can’t imagine not swimming. I love to.”
“Well, so did your mom—which that day was a good thing since I wasn’t very useful in rescuing her.”
“You got the life preserver.” Maggie rose and started across the room toward the kitchen area. “Which is how she managed to bring the shark in. She held on to that thing and reeled the line in until you could gaff it.”
“Yup and we had shark steak that evening. Some of the best I’ve had.” Her dad relaxed back against his chair and finished the last swallow of coffee.
A clap of thunder boomed at the same time lightning struck. Kim yanked around toward the loud sound. “That was close. Too close.” She breathed in several deep inhalations, trying to calm the rapid speed of her heartbeat. “I thought it was moving away from us.”
Then suddenly another lightning/thunder combination shook the house as though it had blasted through the walls.
Zane surged to his feet. “That’s even closer.”
He marched toward the door into the hallway. Kim followed right behind him. Going from room to room, he flipped on the light and checked each one.
Kim hurried to keep up with him. “Maybe it struck a tree.”
“It struck something nearby. I’m going downstairs to see.”
“I’m coming with you. I can cover half the house while you do the other half.”
She made her way through the lower floor, finding nothing suspicious. As she approached the staircase again, her breathing evened out. Zane pushed back the plastic sheets and emerged from the living room, his calm expression reassuring her.
“I can go outside and look around, see if I can find any damage.”
“I’ll go, too.” Ascending the steps in front of him, Kim drew in the aromas saturating the air. “The beef stew and—” She took another deep breath. “I smell something else.” Halting, she spun toward Zane. “Smoke!”
Chapter Twelve
Zane charged up the remaining stairs, inhaling. “Where’s it coming from?”
“Don’t know. To be safe, I’m getting everyone out of the house.” Kim rushed down the hall.
“I’m taking a look to see if I can find the source of this smoke. Call 911.”
“Y’all need to get out of here. We smell smoke,” she said as soon as she burst into the game room.
Maggie whirled around at the stove. “The lightning struck the house?”
“It must have. We couldn’t find where, though. Zane’s still looking.”
Anna helped her grandfather to stand, all color drained from both of their faces. “Can we get anything?”
“If it’s in here, yes. Otherwise, no. I want you outside.” Kim dug into her pocket for her cell.
Maggie grabbed her purse and Kim’s, then corralled Keith and Anna toward the exit. “You can’t stay,” she called back over her shoulder.
“I’m coming.” The 911 operator came on the line, and Kim gave her the information, then swung toward the door into the hallway. There was no way she was leaving until Zane was. She hurried down the corridor, yelling his name.
“I’m in here.” He came out of her bedroom, sniffing the air. “It’s getting stronger. I’ve searched up here and can’t find the source.”
Kim stopped in the middle of the upstairs. “The fire department is coming.” Drawing in deep breaths, she turned in a full circle.
Her gaze latched on to the door to the attic. She raced for it, paused and put her hand on it to feel for heat. When it didn’t feel hot, she started to open the door. She had it cracked when Zane ran up behind her and slammed it closed. In that second, smoke slithered from the small opening and continued to ooze from the bottom.
He grabbed her hand and tugged her away. “Let’s get out of here.”
As they hastened toward the exit, her heart pounded until she thought it would come out of her chest. Its frantic beating thundered in her head. Not again. We can’t lose our family home. We were just getting it fixed.
* * *
Huddled in a blanket from a neighbor, Kim leaned against Zane’s black truck while her father and Anna sat inside it. A few feet away Maggie talked with Polly’s dad while Zane conversed with Gideon, dressed in his fire gear.
The chill of the evening reflected the cold embedded deep into Kim’s bones. The scent of smoke and burning wood saturated the air. In the lights shining to illuminate the scene, she glimpsed plumes of smoke drifting toward the black sky, but at least the flames were out. The firefighters continued to douse the upper level of Bienville, squashing the last burning embers.
Hopelessness settled over her shoulders as though the rain still fell and drenched the blanket about her. All the past weeks’ hard work on renovating the second floor was for nothing. Most of the first floor remained intact, but water soaked and smoke permeated. After the hurricane, they were able to stay in a small part of the house. Now they wouldn’t have any place to live—at least for a while.
The trembling in her legs sent her sinking toward the ground. Zane clasped her and held her up. “I know this looks bad—”
“Bad?” She clutched the folds of the blanket and rounded on him. “That’s not a strong enough word. My home is gone. We have no place to go. What am I going to do about Dad?”
He grasped both of her arms and tugged her farther away from the truck. “I’ve called Cody to be here in case your dad needs him. I will help you. You are not alone in thi
s. Do you hear me?”
Yes, she heard his words, but they failed to sink in. She could only stare at her childhood home, a house that had withstood one hundred fifty years of time. She couldn’t understand why this was happening to her. What had she done to deserve this?
Why, God?
“Kim? Your family needs you to be strong.”
Zane’s words reached her. “Strong? I’m not allowed to fall apart?”
He slung his arm around her shoulder and walked her toward one of Maggie’s newly planted gardens, away from the lights and the people gathered.
“Yes, you can. I’m here to listen.”
“Why now? Why me?” Welling tears made any more words impossible to say.
“Sometimes there isn’t an answer for those questions. I know during the hurricane many people were asking themselves those questions. All I can say is life is never a smooth road. There are bumps and detours and even holes we encounter along the way.”
She swallowed the lump. “I feel like I’ve fallen into a crater. I’m at the bottom looking up into pitch blackness. I’m even afraid to grasp on and start my climb out for fear I’ll be—” her throat constricted, and she gulped back the emotions rising to take over “—knocked down again.”
He pressed her against him and wrapped his arms about her. “I’m here for you this time. If I have to, I’ll climb down into the crater and help you up every step of the way.”
His soothing words unleashed her sorrow, and the tears flowed unchecked down her cheeks. As the water from the hoses splashed down onto her home, her sobs splashed down onto his shirt as he held her to him.
* * *
“I don’t want us to be a burden.” Kim poured Ruth a cup of coffee from the pot Kim had made earlier. She hadn’t been able to sleep at all and had finally gotten up and come downstairs to the kitchen.
“My dear, I love having you stay here with me. I have the room now that Kathleen and my grandsons are living with Gideon. So don’t think you’re imposing one bit.” Ruth peered toward Kim’s dad. “This’ll give your dad and me a chance to work on the campaign. The election is in a few days.”
A Love Rekindled Page 16
