All God's Promises (A Prairie Heritage Book 7)

by Vikki Kestell

  “I’ve booked my flight on the same day. I can drive us to the airport,” Kari offered.

  Laynie nodded but said nothing. Kari was saddened to see the curtains come down upon Laynie’s eyes, as though she were mentally preparing to return to her other life and a role she regretted.

  They said their goodbyes to Gene and Polly and drove to the Greenes to bid the children farewell.

  “Goodbye, Shannon,” Kari whispered. “Be a good girl for Grandma Mary, okay?”

  “Where are you going, Aunt Kari?” Shannon’s eyes were wide with alarm.

  “Aunt Laynie and I need to go home now, but I’ll come back for a weekend in about a month.”

  Shannon looked from Kari to Laynie and back. “No! I don’t want you to go home!”

  Kari hugged her close. “You may call me on the telephone anytime you like, okay?”

  But Shannon pushed herself out of Kari’s embrace and stomped her foot. “No! I don’t want you to go!”

  When Laynie and Kari reached for the door, Shannon threw herself on the floor screaming and kicking. Robbie, taking his cue from Shannon, screwed up his face. His sobbing wails, even around one finger in his mouth, followed Laynie and Kari down the walkway to the car.

  “This is so hard,” Kari whispered.

  “I know,” Laynie answered. “I know.”

  —

  KARI PULLED UP TO THE DEPARTURE CURB for Laynie’s airline.

  “You’ll visit the children like you promised Shannon?” Laynie asked.

  “I hope to fly in once a month. You have my card?”

  “Yes—for the third time. And you have mine. But don’t call unless you really need to. Send letters. They will reach me through back channels.”

  Laynie nodded and opened the door.

  “Wait! Laynie—”

  And then their arms were around each other. Kari sobbed into Laynie’s shoulder but Laynie showed no emotion except to grip Kari as tightly as Kari gripped her.

  “Be safe, little sister,” Kari sniffed. “I’ve only just found you.”

  Something sad—something wounded?—flickered across Laynie’s face.

  “I’ll do my best.”

  “If-if you need him, the Lord will hear you call on him, Laynie.”

  Laynie nodded once and climbed from the car.

  ~~**~~

  Chapter 31

  KARI TRIED TO THROW HERSELF BACK INTO HER WORK, but it was obvious to those who knew her best that she was distracted. Preoccupied.

  “Anything of note happen in the last ten days?” Kari asked Scarlett.

  Scarlett launched into a detailed account, only to pause midway when she saw Kari staring into space.

  “Kari?”

  “Yes? Oh. I apologize.”

  Scarlett pressed her lips together. “Nothing of note, really. All is well.”

  “And Granger Mills? How was your last visit?”

  “I think things are going to smooth out soon. The employees are pleased with the transparent wage scale. They know the piece rate they should be earning and, for many of them, it means a wage increase.”

  “Good.” Kari lapsed into silence again.

  “I can report something of a personal note.”

  “Yes?”

  “Cadie’s aunt passed away unexpectedly. Well, of course, she’s been ill for a few years, but she died in her sleep last week. Cadie and her sister were not prepared.”

  “I am sorry to hear that. Did we send flowers?”

  “Bettina took care of it.”

  Kari’s attention sharpened. “Do you think we’ll lose Cadie, now that she doesn’t need a job close to her aunt’s house?”

  “I sure hope not. We need her there. Of course, she’s making a salary now that is more in line with her education and previous experience.”

  “Double check that, would you, Scarlett? I want Cadie Bryant to remain a Michaels Enterprises manager. She’s an asset we can’t afford to lose.”

  Scarlett nodded and left Kari’s office. Kari fingered the card on her desk, the one Laynie had pressed into her hand on that last day.

  I don’t have a direct line in Stockholm, Kari. It’s . . . complicated. But if you call this number and leave a message, I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. And I’ll be sure to check in from my end from time to time.

  Kari looked at the card. “Marstead International,” Kari mouthed.

  She had the number memorized.

  —

  “SØREN? I HAVE SOMETHING TO TELL YOU. SOMETHING IMMENSE.” Kari had been home a week and had not yet had the time or heart to tell him.

  I haven’t had time to eat. If it weren’t for Bettina and Azalea, I would probably have starved by now.

  He was concerned. “What is it, Kari?”

  “We-we found Elaine and Samuel.”

  Silence on the other end and then, “Are you certain?”

  Kari poured out everything to him and, while she did so, grieved again for Samuel, the brother she had lost, not once, but twice.

  “I am so sorry, Kari. And he left two children?”

  “Shannon and Robbie. Kelly’s parents will raise them. And, Søren! Sammie—Stephen—and his wife, Kelly, were Christians. That is the only thing making his loss bearable.”

  “I understand—and completely agree. What about Elaine? Er, Laynie?”

  “We spent some wonderful time together, Søren. And she remembered me, if only a little. She said she remembered me as Care and that I had called her Laynie. She remembered me screaming for them not to take her and Sammie away.”

  Søren sucked in his breath. “That is remarkable. It all—the entire thing—is remarkable. Her sitting next to Ruth on the plane? That was a miracle.”

  “Yes. It surely was.”

  —

  MID-FEBRUARY, SOONER THAN SHE’D PLANNED, Kari flew into Seattle and spent a short forty-eight hours with Shannon and Robbie. Bill and Mary apologized for not asking her to stay in their home.

  “With a live-in nanny and the children, we don’t have a bed to spare.”

  Kari was distressed to see new lines in Mary’s plump face. “It’s all right. Gene and Polly are delighted that I’ll be staying with them. I’ll come fetch the children early tomorrow and give you, Bill, and your nanny a much-needed break. How does that sound?”

  “We will appreciate it, Kari. Frankly, we’re all exhausted.”

  “Is Shannon still having nightmares?”

  “Yes, and they are awful. I wish we could separate the children at night, for once Shannon starts screaming, Robbie wakes up, too, and will be up, crying his heart out, for hours.”

  Since Kari was staying with the Portlands, she did not witness the night episodes Mary Greene described. Instead, when she arrived, the children rushed to her and covered her with sweet kisses and hugs.

  Over the weekend, Robbie even learned to say “Aunt Care.” He would climb up in her lap and, as he had before, stare into her face as though searching for something and then, with a gentle hand, pat her cheek.

  It was when Kari said goodbye Sunday afternoon that she witnessed the behavior Mary said lasted for hours on end each night.

  As soon as Shannon realized Kari was leaving, she threw herself into a tantrum. To Kari’s dismay, when she tried to assure Shannon that she would be coming back in a month, Shannon bit her hand.

  “Ow! Shannon! I can’t believe you bit me!”

  “I hate you! I hate you, Aunt Kari! Go ’way!”

  Shannon ran for the stairs, sobbing.

  And Robbie crumpled onto the floor and could not be consoled.

  Kari stared at Mary. “Is this what it’s like every night?”

  Mary looked away, unshed tears glistening on her lashes. “And worse.”

  —

  KARI WAS DEEPLY ASLEEP WHEN THE PHONE RANG at three in the morning. She had been back in New Orleans only a week.

  She fumbled for the receiver. “Hello?”

  “Kari, it’s Bill Greene. I ap
ologize for calling in the middle of the night.”

  Kari found her alarm clock. It’s midnight in Seattle.

  “Don’t give it another thought. What can I do?”

  And then the fog of sleep lifted a little and she heard hysterical screaming in the background.

  Shannon.

  “The thing is, Kari, we’re at the end of our rope. We’ve talked it over, Mary and I, and we’ve spoken to Gene and Polly, too. We are agreed . . . we think you should take the children.”

  Kari’s mind couldn’t process the words. “I’m sorry—what?”

  “I’m sorry, too, Kari, but it’s become urgent. Mary will have a complete collapse if the children are not removed from our home. Soon.”

  When Kari didn’t immediately respond, Bill added, “Don . . . wants to take the kids. We all know it’s too much for Talia—particularly with a four-week-old baby! But Talia is beginning to think it would be better for Shannon and Robbie to live with them—she’s seen what it’s doing to her mother.

  “No. That’s not a good idea.”

  For more than one reason!

  “But Don is pressing us, Kari. Please. You are as much Shannon and Robbie’s aunt as Talia is, as Laynie is. You’re young. And we think you can help them—they see Sammie in you, Kari. And you are all Shannon talks about anymore.”

  “She talks about me?”

  “She talks to herself, Kari, and says things like, ‘Aunt Kari loves us. She is coming back soon.’ But then she gets angry and says, ‘Aunt Kari doesn’t love us. She’s gone away like Mommy and Daddy.’”

  “O dear Jesus! Oh, our poor girl.”

  “We are deadly serious, Kari. If you don’t take them, I don’t know how much more we can take or how long we can hold out against Don. We love Shannon and Robbie with all of our hearts, but—”

  His voice broke. “Please say you’ll take them, Kari.”

  Kari climbed from her bed. “I will, Bill.”

  She wiped the sleep from her eyes. “I-I’ll be there sometime tomorrow. And please . . . tell Shannon that Aunt Kari loves her. Tell her I am coming.”

  —

  GENE AND POLLY WERE WAITING WITH BILL AND MARY when Kari’s rental pulled up in the Greenes’ driveway. Mary had the nanny lift Robbie up to the window. His arms and legs pumped and waved when he caught sight of Kari. Shannon was already pulling open the front door.

  They know me. They are happy to see me, Kari realized. And I am overjoyed to see them.

  With Robbie ensconced in her lap, Shannon at her knee, and both sets of grandparents looking on, Kari talked one-on-one with Shannon.

  I need to remember that Shannon is almost five. She’s learning the hard way that words have real meaning.

  “Shannon, honey. I need to ask you a question, a really important question.”

  Shannon gave Kari her most grave look, and the nod with which she replied, made her pigtails shake. “Okay, Aunt Kari.”

  “Auntkareeeee!” Robbie echoed. He jounced in Kari’s lap until she thought her left kidney would burst.

  She snugged him to her side and held him tight so he couldn’t jump and asked, “Shannon, would you like to come and live with me?”

  Shannon’s lower lip began to tremble. “Wouldn’t Robbie come, too?”

  “Well, of course he would.”

  “Will you ever go away?”

  “No, sweetheart. If you come live with me, the three of us, you, me, and Robbie, will live in my house together. I will go to work each day, but I will come home every night.”

  “Promise?”

  Kari bit her lip. This is it, Kari. There’s no going back from here. And you know what else it means, what it implies.

  She nodded, answering her own question.

  “I promise, Shannon. You and Robbie will live with me, and I will never go away.”

  “Okay.”

  After the nanny took the children off to play, Kari looked at the Portlands and Greenes. “I know this has to be very hard for you, but if you are all in agreement, I will have my assistant book a flight for tomorrow.”

  Four sadder adults Kari had never seen.

  “We realize we are asking a lot of you, Kari,” Gene murmured. “We . . . you’ve never had children. It will take more out of you than you imagine.”

  Kari wondered how it could possibly be more than her imagination was already painting it. Her expression must have reflected her doubts.

  “The Lord will never leave you, Kari. He will be the Helper you need. Just . . . do you promise to love them?”

  “I-I already do.”

  “You see, they are mine and Gene’s only grandchildren,” Polly added in a whisper. “All we have left of Stephen. Could you . . . could you bring them to see us once in a while?”

  Bill and Mary added their hopes to Polly’s request with nods.

  “Of course. As often as I can. And I’ll have them call you—all of you—regularly.”

  Mary wiped her eyes. “All right, then. I will start gathering up their things.”

  “I will help you, dear.” Bill took her hand and they went up the stairs together.

  Kari sat thinking of how she would manage two children on the airplane. Where they would sleep when they arrived home. How she would find a nanny to care for the kids while she worked.

  “Kari.”

  “Yes?”

  Polly crooked her hand at her. “Come here, child. I want to say something to you.”

  “All right.”

  Kari knelt on the floor next to Polly’s wheelchair. Polly grasped her husband’s hand. With her other hand she caressed Kari’s hair and then her face, following the contours of her cheek and jaw with gentle fingers.

  “You look very much like our Stephen, you know. Like Laynie’s Sammie. I knew in my heart you were his and Laynie’s sister the moment I laid eyes on you.”

  Kari didn’t know what to say. Moisture was gathering in her eyes and she tried to blink it back.

  “Gene and I, we know you lost your mama and daddy a long time ago, Kari. We hope you won’t take ’fense, but we feel, well, we feel that the sister of our b’loved son and daughter should, by rights, be our b’loved child, too.

  “You are Stephen and Laynie’s blood, so we consider you to be ours now. Will you . . . would you allow us to call you our daughter, Kari? Will you allow us the great honor of being mama and daddy to you?”

  Gene and Polly leaned toward Kari with loving expectation.

  O Lord, I did not expect this! This wonderful, this immense blessing!

  “I . . . yes. Oh, yes!”

  Kari buried her face in Polly’s lap and wept.

  She wept for joy.

  ~~**~~

  Chapter 32

  TOLLER AND AZALEA MET KARI AT THE AIRPORT in Toller’s old station wagon. While Toller fetched their luggage, Azalea tried to introduce herself to Shannon and Robbie.

  They were having none of her or anyone else.

  It had been a long trip made more difficult by Kari’s inexperience with children and the paraphernalia they required. Kari’s fellow passengers had stared daggers at her when Robbie wailed for thirty minutes nonstop after takeoff.

  The flight had started well: Kari had put the tray table down and given Shannon the new coloring book Mary had slipped into her knapsack. Then Robbie had grabbed a crayon and shoved it into his mouth—which elicited a shout of rage from Shannon, the forcible removal of crayon pieces from Robbie’s mouth by Kari, and the thirty-minute screaming fit on Robbie’s part.

  Kari had fixed a bottle to soothe him; Robbie had pushed it away. And as soon as Kari had returned the bottle to his diaper bag, he had reached for it, throwing his weight against Kari’s tired arms.

  Screaming the entire time.

  I’d dose your bottle with knockout drops if it wouldn’t land me in prison, mister, she had warned him silently.

  Now, in the midst of the New Orleans airport, surrounded by crowds and confronted by two more strangers, Shann
on clung to Kari’s leg and Robbie tightened his death-grip on her neck.

  “Please take us home,” Kari begged.

  —

  AT KARI’S REQUEST, AZALEA HAD PURCHASED a crib and a twin bed and Toller had set them up in Kari’s room. The bed and crib were made up with fresh linens—Shannon’s bed in a princess theme, Robbie’s in a Pooh Bear print.

  Kari put Robbie down and let go of Shannon’s hand. The children stared round the room with sullen faces.

  “Shannon, do you know what I made this morning?” Azalea asked.

  Shannon ignored her and fingered the Tinkerbell pillow on her new bed.

  Azalea went on as though Shannon had answered her. “Well, now, I made some cookies, I did. Chocolate chip cookies and sugar cookies,”

  Robbie pulled a finger from his mouth. “Tookie.”

  “The cookies are downstairs in the kitchen in the cookie jar. And I have a fresh gallon of milk in the refrigerator.”

  Shannon glanced at Azalea and back to Tinkerbell. Robbie looked at Kari.

  “Tookie.”

  Kari smiled a weary smile.

  “Who would like to go with me downstairs and find the cookie jar?” Azalea asked.

  Robbie looked to Kari again.

  She nodded. “If you’d like a cookie, go with Azalea.”

  He took a few steps toward Azalea and glanced back.

  “It’s okay, Robbie,” Kari said quietly. “We’re home now.”

  Home. Kari thought with longing of the deep garden tub in her bathroom.

  “Hey, Shannon. Want to see my bathtub?”

  Robbie went downstairs with Azalea, and Shannon, enthralled with Kari’s wading-pool-sized tub, begged for a bubble bath. Somehow, the afternoon and evening passed and Kari began to relax.

  Azalea stayed longer than usual, cleaning up after a late supper. “I have those phone numbers you asked for, Miss Kari,” she said as she prepared to leave.

  “Nanny numbers?”

  “Yes’m. Three, but I think you only need the one. Mrs. Birch. ’Bout your age, maybe a little older, raised three children of her own, and still has lots of energy left in her.”

  “You know her?”

  “Went to school with Toller, she did.”

  “Thank you, Azalea. For everything.”

  “You have a mighty big row to hoe, Miss Kari, but don’t you worry. We’ll be ’round to help out, Toller and I.”