Coming Home: (Contemporary Christian Romance Boxed Set): Three Stories of Love, Faith, Struggle & Hope

by Debra Ullrick

  “And what time are the Hendersons scheduled?”

  “6:15, Ma’am.” Patty Ann didn’t even have to glance at the checklist to answer the questions, even as she pointed out where each arrangement went. “Outside. Ms. Montgomery, may I have a word?”

  Great. This couldn’t be good. “Sure, what’s up?”

  “This probably goes without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway in case you are not attuned to such matters. These two are not to be in the yard today for any reason. We have a lot of very important preparations for tonight’s party, and the last thing we need is two little sets of paw prints on everything. And that goes double for tonight. They are to come, be present for the first hour and pictures, and then I want them inside, out of sight, and definitely out of Mrs. Ayer’s hair. Any slip…”

  Maggie didn’t like the reference or the tone, but she was already living dangerously on the edge, so she simply smiled. “Don’t worry, Patty Ann. They shall be seen at the appropriate times but never a peep shall they utter—just like children should be.”

  It was clear Patty Ann surmised she was being made fun of; however, it wasn’t clear enough that she could protest. “Good. Remember that. Your job’s riding on it.”

  The water from the shower felt good. If Keith could stay here forever, he would. With a sigh, he let his thoughts drift through the coming day. In two short hours Dallas would be here, and as Ike was wont to yell at him, he’d better be cleaned and pressed when she stepped off that plane. Worse, it would only be a couple more hours before her parents would be here.

  Keith leaned his head as far back as it would go under the torrent of water at that thought. The one and only reason Lowell Henderson had consented to this marriage was because there was a large bank account backing it. Big donors had a way of holding sway over candidates’ decisions, and Keith’s father was a big donor.

  “Keith!” Ike called from the other side of the door, banging it in case Keith hadn’t heard the summons.

  “What?” It was more of an angry scream than a question.

  “We got ten minutes to be gone if we’re going to get your truck. Get a move on.”

  Nothing in Keith liked this new side of Ike. Nothing.

  As soon as breakfast was over, Maggie and the kids disappeared up to the playroom. All lessons for the day had been unceremoniously cancelled. That was okay. At least she didn’t have to worry about a minute-by-minute schedule. Instead, she went into Peter’s closet and laid out one of the new outfits that had shown up when she mentioned to Patty Ann he was growing out of his former wardrobe.

  Wednesday they had gone down to violin lessons, and when they returned, there was a whole new wardrobe as if the other had never existed. Maggie hadn’t meant a complete overhaul. One or two new items would’ve been enough. However, that wasn’t how the mansion ran. It was a way of living she was slowly learning she would never understand.

  When she’d assembled Peter’s attire for the evening, she went into Isabella’s room and searched through the mountains of pink ruffles. It seemed they were on every piece of clothing the child had. Appropriate outfit in hand, Maggie walked to the window to lay it out on the dressing table. However, her gaze betrayed her, and she looked down into the hubbub below. In a few hours the party would be going. In a few hours there would be guests galore. She wondered as she put her head on the window if the guest of honor would in fact show up.

  She’d left just after Ike got there the night before, and she hadn’t heard a single thing from that side of the estate all morning. Although she wasn’t sure how, she knew last night did not happen because of fun. He was too downtrodden when she’d caught up with him. She wondered what had made him sad enough to go jumping off the deep end like that. She also wondered who was with him and why on earth they had left him off at the mansion. What friend dropped someone off into that no-win trap?

  Below the trees, she could make out the people working. Each preparation made was one less thing between her and tonight. If she could’ve gotten out of it, she would have. But short of quitting, there didn’t seem a good way to do that. No. She would be there, with a smile on her face—for him and for her job, and which was the bigger motivation, she wasn’t sure.

  His head still hurt, and it probably wasn’t going to quit any time soon. Four Advil and enough coffee to drown a horse hadn’t really helped except to convince Ike that he was serious about the repentance. With everything he had, Keith wanted to jump off the planet for this one day. Be somebody else. Take a train ride to nowhere. Hijack the Space Shuttle and fly it to Mars. Nonetheless, here he was standing, solid and smiling, as Dallas walked off the plane. In one second she was walking toward him, in the next, she was in his arms.

  “Oh, baby! Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” Dallas said, throwing her arms around his neck. The impact nearly sent him tumbling backward, but he caught himself at the last possible second.

  “Hey, babe. It’s great to see you too.” When he pulled back, she smiled for a half-second, closed her eyes and pressed her lips to his. It had been so long since he’d kissed her, Keith was taken off-guard as much by the suddenness as by the ardor. It seemed not to matter to her at all that they were in public with half a thousand people milling about around them. For the first instant he stiffened and then rational kicked in, and he pulled her into his arms. The kiss was passionate as so many of their kisses had been. Truth was, Dallas had never lacked in that area.

  When the kiss broke, her gaze found his. “Man, it’s good to be home.”

  In her white silk shirt with the black stripe hugging her chest, Dallas resembled every other co-ed home for the early April break. Her white-blond hair was swept back, and only a few bangs were released to slide down across her forehead. Creamy-white skin, perfect complexion, crystal-clear blue eyes—she was picture perfect from head to toe. Even her jeans were graciously ripped in all the right places. “So, are you happy to see me?”

  “Of course. How was the trip?” He took her hand in his between them, but she hung onto his arm as well.

  “Oh, horrific as usual. Bad food. Long lines. Smelly seats. I’m just glad to be down on the ground, with you.” She tightened her grip on him which would’ve been more of a hug except they were walking side-by-side through the airport. No matter, she laid her head on his shoulder. “I am so excited about tonight. I can’t stand it.”

  Keith said nothing, knowing it wasn’t necessary.

  “We’re supposed to drop Mom and Dad off at the Crowne Plaza on the way in. They decided to get the limo to take them to the mansion.”

  “Oh. Okay.” He was walking, talking as if his head and heart weren’t killing him.

  “Dad said they may even stay for brunch tomorrow if your mom and dad can swing it. In the city of course. Dad has to get back to Washington early tomorrow. They’re voting on the Taylor-Radkin bill Monday. He can’t miss that.”

  “No. Of course not.” Keith fought to find something else to talk about. Something normal people would talk about. “I guess you checked your stuff?”

  “Yeah. If you’re going to check one thing, you might as well check them all these days. It’s such a hassle. Just getting through security is like… ugh.”

  His smile was almost real. “Well, you’re here. That’s all that matters.”

  She pulled him to her again and kissed him sideways. “Have I told you lately how much I love you?”

  Something resembling happiness drifted over him. “I don’t think so. Why don’t you remind me?”

  On the down escalator, she stood one step above him. Gently she ran her hand under his chin, tilting it up so she could bring her lips to his. When the kiss broke, she smiled at him devilishly. “Mmmm. It’s too bad we have to get Mom and Dad. I’d love to go back to your place and get re-acquainted.”

  Keith nearly tripped getting off the escalator. She certainly didn’t waste any time. He scratched the back of his neck as he caught the knowing smile of the woman descending behind
them. “Well, that’s going to have to wait. We have a party to host tonight if you didn’t remember.”

  “I remember just fine.” She held out her hand that sported the iridescent rock Keith had given her on the all-night private cruise they had taken when he’d popped the question. The cruise was a little over-the-top for Keith, but his dad had said with a proposal like that, she couldn’t say no. And as always, his dad was right.

  Dallas liked to be wined-and-dined. The best restaurants. The finest of everything. It had been abundantly clear from the start that she was enamored with his place in the world, and what that place could offer her.

  “Oh, I was looking on the Internet the other day, and I found a great place over in the Woodlands we’ve got to check out while I’m here. It’s not too big. Four bedrooms, three baths. It’s got a swimming pool, and a garden…”

  His life began to coil around his chest, squeezing so tightly, Keith thought he might either pass out or be sick right there. He forced a smile to stave off running. “Really? It sounds… nice.”

  “And, I heard from Hayden & Elliott Thursday. I can start July 1 even if I don’t have my official license yet. They’ll just put me under one of their junior partners until my results come in.”

  “Great.” By now they were standing at the carousel, her still draped on him from shoulder to foot.

  “Have you thought more about what we talked about? You know applying at Devonshire? Daddy said it would be a great first step for you, what with the horse thing and all.”

  “The horse thing,” he said under his breath. Then he brought himself to a stop. “I haven’t really had time.” He scratched the back of his head, which felt very different without his usual headgear. “We’ve been really busy getting the horses ready for Grand Prairie.”

  “Oh.” That stopped her for about two seconds. Then she shook her head back. “Well, have they won anything this year?”

  “We got third in Grand Prairie. Ike’s going to Del Mar…”

  The carousel picked that moment to turn on.

  Her attention snapped to it. “Oh, good. Maybe we can grab my stuff and go somewhere decent to eat before Mom and Dad get in.” Dallas checked her watch. “What’s close out here?”

  The turn in the conversation, coupled with his unbelievable headache, spun the question around in Keith’s head. “Uh, I don’t know really.”

  Suitcases started ca-thunking down the silver spiral.

  “Mine are black. Salvatore Ferragamo.”

  Like he could tell the difference. It took fifteen bags before she noticed one of hers. He pulled that one off.

  “There are five,” she said, but she was so intent on the others coming off, she didn’t see the skepticism in his face nor the shake of his head. From his vantage point, high maintenance should have been stamped on her business card.

  “Dad. Mom.” Dallas leaned in to give her mom a side-cheek kiss. “How was your flight?”

  “Ugh. Stressful,” her mother, Beatrice, said in frustration. “Next time we are definitely taking the Speaker up on his offer.”

  “What offer is that?” Dallas asked.

  “He’s Texan. We’re Texan. His private jet knows the way with no reprogramming,” Beatrice said, reveling in the attention of the horribleness of having to fly with regular people.

  “It’s nice to see you, Mrs. Henderson,” Keith said, extending his hand. “And you Mr. Henderson. I’m glad you made it safely.”

  “Have we heard anything official from the governor yet?” Mr. Henderson, a white-haired, distinguished but pompous man, asked as he pulled himself up to his full six feet.

  “Uh. Not yet, Sir.” Keith stumbled through the minefield in the man’s eyes. “At least we hadn’t when I left, but that was a couple of hours ago.” He checked his watch for emphasis, but the thought of what happened in four and a half hours made him pull in the stale air around him. Exhaling slowly, he forced those thoughts from his mind. “We’d better get going. Midday traffic can get a little nuts on the weekends.”

  “Patty Ann! Are they here yet?” Vivian yelled from the top of the stairs.

  In the hallway leading to the kids’ wing, Maggie’s attention snapped that direction. Isabella was down for a nap. Peter was trying to take one too; however, with all the commotion, him actually sleeping was a long shot.

  “No, Ma’am. I haven’t seen them.”

  “Well, call Keith’s cell phone. Find out where they are.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  As stupid as it was, Maggie wondered if something major was keeping them. She had clearly noted on the schedule Patty Ann had issued at noon that Keith and Dallas were due back on the estate by 3:30. It was now sliding toward four.

  Maybe they’d had a wreck, or maybe someone’s plane had been delayed or irrevocably detained. Maybe there was emergency legislation pending in the Senate, or maybe Dallas forgot all about the weekend and took off for Barbados.

  “Not to worry,” Patty Ann said as she came up the stairs. “They are at the guesthouse. Ms. Dallas is getting settled in. They will be here at 5:30.”

  “Oh, that’s a relief,” Vivian said with a sigh.

  Maybe to her…

  “I always forget how provincially bachelors live,” Dallas said, lounging on the beige-toned sofa. “Just wait. A woman’s touch will make all the difference.”

  Keith brought in two glasses of tea from the kitchen. “Lightly sweetened,” he said, handing her the glass.

  She took a sip, her gaze staying on him as he sat on the couch next to her. “You know,” she said as she set the glass on the glass-topped coffee table, “I was hoping I’d get more than a little tea once we got here.” With a motion he knew he should remember, she swung herself over closer to him. “We’ve got an hour before we have to be anywhere. You have any idea how we can fill that much time?”

  Her kiss, once his most prized goal, was demanding and insistent. She pressed herself into him even as he fought the instinct to back away. With both hands he took her shoulders and pulled her from him. “Hey, tiger. Whoa there. Patty Ann is going to come down here and skin us both alive if we’re late.”

  “Let her. It’s our party. We can be late if we want.” She came at him again, but Keith managed to stop her progress.

  “And your parents won’t be happy if we aren’t there to meet them. Not to mention my parents.” The thought of which stabbed a knife of guilt and fear right into him. However, at the moment he was facing down one situation, and at this point one at a time was all he could manage. “Besides, that will make tonight so much better.”

  He smiled slyly at her. “Surely you can wait a few more hours.”

  She spun petulantly and crossed her arms. “Well, yeah, but you’d better make this worth it.”

  It hurt to smile. “You know it.”

  Chapter Ten

  “Don’t even think about it,” Patty Ann said from behind Maggie as she retied Peter’s shoe in the upstairs hallway. That shoe was forever coming untied, what she would’ve given for his old ones. At least they stayed tied.

  “About what?” Maggie asked, turning and tying simultaneously. She was bent down on the ground, and with Patty Ann behind her there was a distinct possibility of being kicked the rest of the way to the carpet.

  “You. You look like a high school math teacher on her first day of school.”

  Maggie’s eyes widened in incomprehension. “I… why?” She looked down at herself as she stood. The turquoise and white striped shirt wasn’t exactly horrible.

  Patty Ann walked around her slowly. “No. No. No. This will never do. Do you not know the governor is going to be here along with some other very important people? We can’t have you walking around as if you just stepped out of the Wal-Mart parking lot.”

  The jab hurt—even from Patty Ann.

  Maggie looked down at her attire once more. “It’s not like I’m the guest of honor. No one’s even going to see me.”

  “You represent this
family.” Each word exploded like a bomb. “Never, ever take that for granted. The way you look reflects on their standing in society. It is not acceptable for you to go around looking like the help.”

  “Hello. I am the help.”

  “Pft.” Patty Ann held up her hand. She scrutinized Maggie carefully. “I hate to even ask this, but don’t you have anything better? Anything?”

  The small list of clothing slid through her mind. “I have a pink top that’s kind of silk-looking, but except this skirt, I don’t really have anything to go with it.”

  Patty Ann considered that. “What size do you wear?”

  “Eight.” The word was at least six syllables long. “Why?”

  A moment of consideration and the decision was made. “I’ll be right back.”

  The entrances were scripted to perfection. The Ayers first as hosts. The governor and his wife as honored guests. The Hendersons as parents of the bride-to-be. And then, last but not least the happy couple. His father had even sent the limo down the driveway to the guesthouse to get them. It seemed this side of ridiculous for them to actually travel outside the gate to a discreet turnaround and then come back, but when it was in the schedule, questions just got in the way.

  “Oh, look, here they are,” Vivian called to the assembled guests when Keith and Dallas walked arm-in-arm into the lavishly decorated backyard. Applause broke out around them. The backyard looked like a garden had exploded. White and pink flowers were everywhere. Soft candles burned in various places although the hot Texas sun was doing no bowing to its puny counterparts.

  As he stepped with Dallas into the sea of faces he hardly recognized, Keith smiled as if this was the only place in the world he’d ever wanted to be. Somehow, he hadn’t seen this part when he’d asked her to marry him. Somehow the thought of flashbulbs and formal greetings hadn’t entered his mind.

  “Son, Keith,” his father said, puffing himself out with pride. “May I introduce you to Governor Keyes.”