by Dianna Love
“Now it makes sense.” It came out as almost a whisper. This explained why Nick had been on Route 58 that day.
“Are you okay?”
She held the phone with both hands. It suddenly weighed a ton. She knelt to the floor to keep herself from falling. “Mr. Huckaby, when did you last see Nick and Jake?”
“Let’s see. I left that afternoon for my daughter’s wedding. Would’ve been the last Saturday in August. Right before the hurricane.”
Her jaw went slack. “I bet you were the last person to see Nick.”
“Oh, my.” His voice was low and quiet.
“Nick died on Route 58. They were supposed to have been on the Eastern Shore. At least that’s what he’d told me. But now it’s all starting to make sense. He was up there at that house.”
“Probably,” Huckaby said. “No. Not probably. He was here. I remember.”
“Mr. Huckaby, let me get my thoughts together and call you back. I do want to meet with you. I want to talk to you about that day and see what Nick was up to, but my head… well, I don’t know…this is just too much for me to absorb right now.”
“Take whatever time you need. I’m here whenever you’re ready. You just let me know what I can do. All right?”
“Thanks. Goodbye.” Kasey hung up the phone. The news made her shiver. She reached for the throw on the back of the couch and spread it across her legs to chase the chill—it smelled of Nick’s cologne. She breathed in the familiar scent. “Nick, what were you up to, you sneak?”
At first, she felt angry, even a little betrayed. She and Nick didn’t have secrets. At least she didn’t. But then she thought about the times they had sat outside, she leaning back between his legs, taking in the starry view and dreaming of a quieter place. The beautiful farm was Nick’s heritage, but the green line of Virginia Beach encroached a little more each year. Now the once peaceful and serene countryside was often disturbed by the blazing sound of jets from nearby Oceana Naval Air Station practicing maneuvers.
The pleasant memory of those dreams made her smile. They’d talked about what their home would look like. What it would be like. They’d looked at a farmhouse the summer before last, but a change in Kasey’s schedule kept them from making an offer on it and someone else had snatched it up. Nick wouldn’t have wanted to lose another perfect place. But how had he kept it a secret? It must have been torture for him. How sweet that he’d planned to surprise her for their anniversary.
Had Nick not been thinking of her, trying to surprise her, maybe he would still be here today.
She wished she could turn back time and change the events that had landed her in this terrible place.
Chapter Fifteen
Kasey pressed redial on Nick’s cell phone. His voice was a comfort. “Hey now. This is Nick. You just missed me, but leave a message and I’ll get right back to ya. You can count on it. Later Bye.”
Like a junkie when it came to his voice, she needed to hear it, yearned for the soothing sound of it. At least now the tears didn’t flow every time she heard him; instead she felt warm inside. She missed him like crazy. She tugged Jake’s little denim jacket off the coat rack and breathed in the smell of Fruit Loops that still filled the pockets. Jake loved the green loops best. They matched Daddy’s tractor.
Dutch walked over and pushed his nose under her hand, licked the salty tears from her cheek, then snagged a couple of the stale Fruit Loops from her hand.
She glanced at the clock. It was close to seven, but she had a feeling that Chaz Huckaby would answer no matter what time she called. She punched in his number.
“Mr. Huckaby?” Kasey asked.
“Yes, ma’am. Who’s calling?”
“This is Kasey.”
“Well, hello there, Ms. Kasey. I was hoping you’d call back. Your husband put a lot of love into that property for you. I know he’d want you to see it.”
“I’d like to. Can you give me directions?”
“I can. But why don’t you meet me in Emporia at the shop here, and I’ll drive you over?”
“If it’s no trouble…”
“None at all. It’d be my pleasure. When would you like to come?”
“I’d like to come right now, but I guess morning will have to do. Can I call you when I’m on my way?”
“You bet.” He gave her the address of his store. “I look forward to talking to you in the morning.”
Kasey felt close to Nick and Jake as she hung up the phone. She called Dutch, who came running to her. They went outside. She sat on the back porch, and Dutch bounded out into the yard.
Frogs and crickets chirped in the night. She pulled a tissue out of her pocket and blew her nose. She must have scared Dutch because he came bounding back up the stairs.
“Come on, boy, let’s hit the sack.”
She went back inside and locked the house. Dutch followed her upstairs and sprawled out on the floor as she got undressed and slipped under the covers. She hung her arm over the side of the bed to pet Dutch—needing the connection as she tried to relax. But she was too anxious to sleep.
Conversations between her and Nick replayed in her mind. Talks about their dream home in the country. How they would decorate it. A simpler life. He would’ve loved it if she'd have stayed home and been his wife, Jake’s mom, and scrapbooked all day. She had planned to do that...someday. But she’d put it off too long.
When the alarm sounded, it was just a reason to get up because she’d been peeking at the clock almost every fifteen minutes all night.
She was dressed and out the door in record time, only to find a hard frost on her windshield. She slid behind the wheel and turned the key to start the car and get the defroster going. Not a click. Not a groan.
“Damn this old car and its crappy electrical system!”
She slapped the steering wheel and went back inside. Von would help her, but she wasn’t ready to tell him about her conversation with Chaz. He’d tell Riley and they would all have to go, and she didn’t want to share this yet. She wasn’t sure what to expect, but she was sure she wanted to go alone.
The keys hanging on the rack next to the door caught her eye. She could take Nick’s T-Bird. She’d ridden in the antique car a million times, but had never driven it. Nick had tried to talk her into driving, but she liked being his passenger.
“What the hell.” She snagged the Ford keychain off the rack, grabbed her purse, and headed out back where the car was parked.
“Come on, Dutch. Let’s check this out.”
He ran ahead of her toward the barn and sniffed around the car while he waited for her to catch up.
She lifted one edge of the cover on the car and whipped it in the air to push it back. Dust sparkled in the sunlight as she swept the cover back and let it fold onto the ground behind the car. She opened the car door, then just stood there for a moment. Her fingers trembled as she grabbed the steering wheel and slid behind it. She twisted the key in the ignition. The engine turned right over. The gas tank was full, ready to go.
“Meant to be, I guess.”
She pulled the directions from her purse and tucked them in the console, then idled the light blue car out from under the shed roof and drove up to the house. She put Dutch inside, jumped back in the car, and headed west.
Nick’s favorite AM sports station blasted through the crackling static on the radio. No surprise there. She turned down the volume and smiled at the memory of the playful banter she and Nick used to have about sports radio.
This early in the morning, the drive was easy, the traffic light. As she made her way toward Emporia, she stopped at the site of Nick’s accident. She hadn’t been there in months. The trees still bore bruises from the impact. She walked a short distance down the road, squatted next to the first bruised tree, and prayed for her boys, remembering the day that had changed her life forever. She wished someone had recognized the woman from Mr. Lighter’s sketch, but that lead had led absolutely nowhere. It seemed no matter how hard she tried, she
couldn’t catch a break.
Nick, do you even know how much I miss you?
She reached for the tree and steadied herself. Nick’s absence burned deep to her core, but she still felt that Jake was alive—somewhere.
A noise came from the woods.
Jake?
No, just a white-tailed deer scurrying for cover.
Kasey forced herself to get back in the car and continue her journey.
The road sign showed just eleven miles to Emporia. Two turns off of Route 58, and she was in front of Huckaby’s shop. Parking places were scarce along the curb of the Main Street address, so she parked a block down the street and sat in the car for a minute.
Am I really ready to do this?
She gathered herself, then headed up the sidewalk toward Huckaby’s store. The hand-lettered sign on the old Main Street building read Huckaby House and, in smaller letters, Real Estate & Renovation Supplies & Rifle Range.
“Talk about a jack of all trades,” she said with a giggle.
She made her way to the door thinking there must be a diner nearby—the smell of bacon permeated the air. She twisted the old brass knob on the tall wooden door. Bells tinkled as she stepped inside and closed the door behind her. The air was stale, as it often was in these old buildings, but the shop looked clean and shipshape. Any other day she would have loved to rummage through all of this old stuff. Reclaimed mantels, corbels, and rows of stained glass panels lined one side of the space. On the other side, wooden shelving lined the wall, and bins overflowed with original doorknobs and hardware. Heaven for any picker or renovator.
A grayish-blonde man with a bushy moustache and Captain Kangaroo bangs wheeled around the corner of a display counter.
“Good morning,” he boomed. His joyful smile was as genuine as the white of his name tag.
“Hi. You must be Mr. Huckaby.”
Kasey extended her hand. Even without the name tag, she would have recognized his energetic voice.
“Call me Chaz. You made it here quick.” He stepped back and took a good look at her. “How did I not guess? Jake has your eyes and chin.”
She smiled. People always said that. “Is now a good time?”
“Absolutely.” He called over his shoulder. “Ben, I’m heading out.”
In the back of the shop, a man raised his arm over a counter, signaling he’d heard.
Chaz nodded. “All right.” He jingled his keys in his pocket and held the door open for her. “Let’s go. I’ll drive.”
“Okay. Let me grab my camera.”
Kasey didn’t say a word on the ride, but he didn’t seem the least bit bothered by her silence. He hummed the whole way there. She noticed the hearing aid in his ear and wondered if he realized he was humming out loud.
They turned off the main road onto another that was heavily treed and winding, paved but narrow, with no painted lines. She could see why Nick would like this area. The land wasn’t hilly, yet rolled just enough to add interest. Huge old trees lined the edge of the road, marking their territory. The terrain was a nice change from the flat land in Tidewater.
After two miles of passing only trees and a cotton field, Chaz slowed the truck. Ahead, a white clapboard single-story house with a red tin roof sat at the end of a long blacktop driveway.
“This is it,” she said. Kasey knew. She and Nick had talked about it enough that the picture was clear in her mind. The house was a perfect match.
“Yes, it is.” Chaz looked pleased as he parked the truck in the driveway. “It’s nice, isn’t it?”
The porch ran the length of the house. At the far end of the porch, a swing hung from chains —just like at the Rocking R.
White vinyl fencing outlined the fields for as far as she could see. When she and Nick had repainted all the fencing at the farmhouse last year, she’d told him she wanted vinyl. He’d argued that she was a city girl and there wasn’t anything like good old wood. She smiled at the vinyl. She hadn’t even known she’d won that battle. He had done this for her.
An old barn stood at the top of the hill in the back.
“How many acres?” she asked.
“A little over two hundred, a lot of it trees. Good huntin’ back here.” He opened the glove box and retrieved a keychain.
She slid out of the truck and walked toward the house, her camera bag on her shoulder. Chaz hung back for a moment, giving her the space to see the dream as Nick had seen it.
A red tricycle sat abandoned on the front porch. She could picture Jake, pedaling until he was sweaty, racing across the front yard and up and down the smooth asphalt driveway.
After a bit, Chaz joined her. “Ready to see inside?”
“Yes.” She smoothed her hands on her pants and stepped toward the door.
Not only was the house renovated, it was, for the most part, decorated and furnished. It matched every detail they had discussed and a few she knew were all Nick's—like the oversized leather recliner with the remote control balanced on the arm that was not too far from the big television.
Just like at home.
Nick was everywhere in this space.
“It’s exactly how we planned.” She turned to face the large stone fireplace. She knew just what picture belonged over it: the one of Nick and Jake.
Chaz stood near the door, allowing her to take the time she needed.
In the master suite, a wall of windows overlooked pastures that backed against the thick tree line. Goats? She walked back out to Chaz.
“Who has been taking care of the goats?” she asked.
He laughed. “Oh, they’re no problem. The 4-H club comes out twice a week to check on ’em. Nick has an automatic feed and water system out there. Not much to do most of the time.”
“Of course he does.” She smiled. “How many are there?” She put her hand up, “No, let me guess. One buck and twenty does?”
“Yeah. I think so. You psychic or something?” His fluffy moustache wiggled as he spoke.
“Hardly. I just know my husband. Twenty does and a buck—the perfect starter herd. I’ve heard him say it a million times.” Her eyes welled with tears, but she felt happy to be standing here in the middle of this dream.
Several male cardinals flitted in a tangle of bright yellow forsythia. They whistled back and forth. Kasey thought of Riley. If Riley had been here, she’d remind her that the birds were a sign. A lucky sign.
“Cardinals, good luck,” she said quietly, and she believed it, because this was the first day she’d felt like herself in months.
“What do you think?” Chaz asked.
She hugged her arms around herself. “I think I married the most wonderful man in the world.”
He nodded.
“Are you in a hurry?”
“No, honey, I’m not in a hurry. You take all the time you need.”
“Do you mind if I take some pictures?”
“Not at all. I’m just gonna sit out here on the swing. You go on.”
She wandered through the rest of the big house—big enough to fill with the additional two children that she and Nick had hoped for. But there wouldn’t be any more babies in her future. Shaking off the gloomy thought, she continued touring the rooms.
Nick had designed the most amazing darkroom and lab for her, and right off that room he’d built what she knew he intended for her framing and scrapbooking projects. In a large L that lined two entire walls were slanted, counter-height work surfaces that lifted to offer storage. Her heart tugged at the sight of the bins with cubbyholes, perfect for designer scrapbook paper, and pegboard with hooks for scissors and other supplies. He’d thought of everything. In the closet there were slots to store glass and mat board without damage.
“Amazing.”
She carried her camera from room to room, photographed the house inside and out, from every angle. Then she walked outside and took pictures of the landscape. Breathtaking.
She walked over to the porch. “Thank you for everything, and for your part in this
surprise. It’s wonderful.” Kasey nodded in appreciation. “I could live here.”
“It’s yours. No reason you can’t.”
Realization struck. She felt lighter as everything became clear. “You’re right. I guess I could.”
He nodded.
“Yes. Yes, I can, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
“You’ll love it. I grew up around here. The people are nice. It’s a great place to raise that little boy of yours.”
She wasn’t ready to talk about Jake. Did Chaz really need to hear about that right now? Her heart couldn’t take the switch in emotions and right now she felt happier than she had in a long time. No sense screwing that up.
“How soon could I move in?” Her mind hummed on all cylinders, thinking about how to make this happen.
“It’s Nick’s gift to you. You can stay tonight if you want to.”
She put her hand over her mouth and nose and breathed in. Her eyes tingled, but this time the tears weren’t filled with sadness. She felt joy, or peace—something good inside. “No. But I will be back soon.”
Chaz smiled and put his arm around her shoulder, dropping the key into her hand. “Welcome to the neighborhood, Kasey. It’s all yours.”
She clung to the keys, holding them close to her heart.
Chapter Sixteen
Kasey tapped the steering wheel as she drove. She felt alive again. For the first time in months, she had a clear direction.
Until she and Nick had fallen in love, she never would have considered living outside of the city limits. In fact, many times she’d considered moving to New York City, Chicago, or even Atlanta to get closer to the action. No one had been more surprised than she when she felt so at home in Pungo with Nick. Of course, that was because Nick had been there. Even so, she could picture herself living in that adorable home on Nickel Creek Road.
She laughed when she realized Nick could be short for Nickel.
Funny coincidence. I bet you noticed it right off, didn’t you, Nick? A selling point, right?
He’d thought of everything. She wouldn’t have to pack much except for her clothes and a few personal items. Her dreams with Nick could still survive, and she intended to live them. Nick and Jake would always be in her heart. No one could cheat her out of that.
