Season of Angels (9781101612170)

by Kinkade, Thomas; Spencer, Katherine

  Easy to say, hard to do, Molly realized as Sam walked up to her. Just from the look on his face, she could tell he was thinking the same thing. “Did you hear from Uncle Kevin?” she asked. “Maybe they hit traffic or something?”

  “He hasn’t called, but I’m sure they’re on their way.” Sam didn’t sound all that sure, though, Molly noticed, and he obviously hadn’t called their uncle, either. Maybe he’d been afraid to. “What about Mom and Dad? How come they’re not here yet?” Sam asked.

  “I told them to come about half an hour later than everyone else. I just thought it would be better if they didn’t meet Uncle Kevin out in the driveway . . . though now it looks like that might happen anyway.”

  “Let’s hope not. And I hope Dad didn’t figure out what we’re up to and decide not to show.”

  Molly had thought of that, too. Though they warned all their siblings that the reunion was top secret, confidences had a way of leaking out in the Morgan family. There wasn’t one person who was really good at keeping secrets.

  The doorbell rang. Sam and Molly stared at each other. Matt walked to the large entry hall to greet the new guests.

  “That’s either Dad or Uncle Kevin,” Sam observed.

  “And I think the curtain’s rising on act two,” Molly replied. She stood stone still, listening for voices echoing in the foyer. She didn’t hear her father and mother, so she took a breath. It was Uncle Kevin and his family . . . finally.

  She put her glass aside and went to greet them. Sam had already started off ahead of her. Then she saw Matt lead her uncle into the living room. She hardly recognized him. He looked so different now. For one thing she expected him to look much older. Nearly ten years had passed since she had last seen him, but he actually looked younger than she recalled. He was fit and trim, with short silver hair, a square jaw, clear blue eyes, and a warm, relaxed smile.

  Molly felt herself smiling, too, as their eyes met. A rush of memories filled her heart and mind—all the fun times she’d had with her uncle when she and her siblings were kids and he was a footloose bachelor who never tired of amusing them.

  But before she could greet him, Grandma Addie stepped between them and embraced her son. “I’m so happy to see you here. Thank you for coming,” Molly heard her grandmother say in a shaky voice. When she stepped back from Kevin, Molly could see that Grandma Addie was crying. But they were tears of joy, and maybe of relief, too.

  “Now, Mom, no tears. No need to thank me, either. I’m happy to be here.” He looked over at Molly and took a step closer. “Thank you, Molly, for making this beautiful party. I’m very grateful.”

  “We’re glad you could come, Uncle Kevin.” Molly hugged her uncle and stepped back. “Really glad.”

  Kevin gently held the arm of his wife, Janine, as he introduced her. She was a slim, pretty redhead, probably a few years younger than he was, Molly guessed.

  “What a lovely home. Thank you for inviting us,” Janine said. She introduced her children, Jackson who was a high school senior and the same age as Jillian, and Nora who was in her first year of college.

  “Hi, kids. Thanks for coming. The younger generation is hanging in the family room.” Molly pointed them in the right direction. “You’ll pass the food on the way. Please help yourself to anything you like.”

  The teenagers drifted off, and more guests came to greet Uncle Kevin and Janine, though Adele remained close by his side.

  Molly took a break from her hostess duties to sit with her uncle and new aunt in the living room. Practically all the adults at the party were gathered around him. Sam was keeping the conversation going, with questions about Kevin’s new career, how he had made the jump from engineering to telecommunications, and about their plans to move to New Zealand.

  Molly mostly sat and listened. Uncle Kevin not only looked different, he was different inside, she realized. Calm and open, he seemed willing to answer all their questions and appeared to be genuinely interested in their lives, too.

  When the others drifted away to refresh their drinks or move on to other conversations, Kevin came to sit next to her on the sofa. “I’m so pleased to see how things worked out for you, Molly,” he said. “When I last saw you, things were tough. You were struggling. But your girls have grown into lovely, accomplished young women, and your grandmother tells me you have a successful business. Your husband, Matt, seems like a great guy. You two look very happy together.”

  “Thank you, we are. I’ve been very lucky,” Molly said. “And very blessed.”

  “I’m sure that’s true. But there’s an old saying: ‘The harder I work, the luckier I get.’ Anyone can see you’ve worked hard, Molly. You should be very proud.”

  “You’ve worked hard, too, Uncle Kevin. I don’t think we’ve been fair to you and I’m sorry for that.”

  She knew her apology was fumbling and impulsive. She wasn’t even entirely sure what she was apologizing for.

  Her uncle seemed to understand. He took her hand. “I appreciate that, but the responsibility to reach out and make amends was mine,” he told her. “I wrote to your father a few times, but he never answered. I had to accept that he wasn’t ready to hear me out. And I should have tried harder or not accepted his rejection so easily. The past is over and done. There’s no way to change it. I made a lot of mistakes back then, but I’ve forgiven myself. I’ve forgiven him, too. All we can do is come together tonight to talk things out and go forward, to start a new page in our family story, right?”

  Molly nodded. That’s what they all wanted. Except for Joe. But she sent up a quick prayer that her father would finally be convinced that this was best for all. Could he really reject his brother again when everyone had gone to so much trouble to make this a night of peace and goodwill? Everyone here was ready to put aside the past and build a bridge to the future.

  Molly heard the doorbell and felt a nervous clenching in her stomach. She took a deep breath. Act two, scene two. Joe and Marie had arrived. She heard them in the foyer. Since it was a party, they hadn’t waited for someone to answer the door.

  She suddenly felt self-conscious sitting next to her uncle, but she forced herself to stay where she was. She wasn’t going to insult Kevin by jumping up, acting as if she felt guilty for being nice to him in front of her father. Though in truth, that had been her instinctive response.

  You’ve got to update the program, Molly, she told herself. Delete those old files. Remember what Sam said, we’re not going to get anyplace tonight if we all start taking sides again.

  Her uncle glanced at her. “Sounds like Joe is here. Let’s go say hello,” he said lightly.

  Molly forced a smile, and they both got to their feet. Molly walked toward the entranceway between the foyer and living room. Matt came to stand beside her, resting his hand on her back.

  Joe’s eyes were wide and curious as he looked around. “What is this . . . Christmas Eve already? Did I make a mistake on my calendar?”

  His gaze fell on Molly first. “You said this was just a little get-together, to welcome the girls home.”

  “It’s a little more than that, Dad,” Molly admitted. “There’s someone here to see you,” she added. She looked around for Uncle Kevin. He was standing with his wife by the Christmas tree, but now walked toward his brother.

  “Hello, Joe. I’m happy to see you.”

  Molly watched her father’s face turn white. Her mother touched his arm, but he shook her off.

  “You? This is all about you, isn’t it? I get it now. You all tricked me.”

  “We did,” Sam admitted. “But we didn’t know how else to get you over here, Dad.”

  Joe turned to Sam. “I should have seen this coming. You just don’t give up, do you? You and your grandmother.”

  “Oh, Joe, can’t you just stop being angry for one minute and listen?” Adele implored him
.

  “Don’t be mad at Sam, Dad. We planned it together,” Molly said. “It’s not about Uncle Kevin . . . or you. Look around. It’s all your children and grandchildren . . . and your mother. It’s a real family reunion, and long overdue,” she tried to explain. “But we all need you and Uncle Kevin to make up and forgive each other. We just want to all be one family again, don’t you get it?”

  Joe shook his head, and Molly could see that he didn’t get it at all. She had an awful feeling that whatever her father was about to say was not going to be good.

  “That’s right, blame me for everything,” he said finally. He lifted his glance and stared at her. “Molly, you cut me to my heart. I thought you were on my side . . . How could you, of all people, do this to me?”

  Molly felt a pain in her heart. Had she really betrayed her father? He looked so wounded and sad. She was about to go to him and apologize. But something stopped her. “Dad, we’re all on the same side. Honestly. Won’t you just talk to Uncle Kevin for five minutes? Just hear him out?”

  Joe gave her a cold look, then turned to Molly’s mother. “Get the coats, Marie. Let’s get out of here.”

  Uncle Kevin stepped forward. “Come on, Joe. I’m sorry for the surprise. That wasn’t right. But you and I can still talk a little, can’t we?” When Joe didn’t answer, he said, “Did you ever read the letters I sent?”

  Joe shook his head. “I threw them out unopened. I knew what you were going to say. I didn’t want to waste my time.”

  Uncle Kevin didn’t look surprised or angry, Molly noticed.

  “I made mistakes, Joe. I know that. I know taking the store wasn’t right. I was desperate back then. Desperate people don’t care who they hurt. I was going down and grabbed on to the lifeline Dad tossed to me. I told myself that you would understand.”

  Molly saw a flicker of sympathy cross her father’s face. Then his expression became hard and closed again. “Spare me the psychology class. I don’t need this,” he said to himself as much as anybody.

  “Yes, you do. You need to hear your brother out, once and for all,” said Grandma Addie, who had been standing quietly beside Sam and Jessica. Now she suddenly stepped forward and got between her two sons. “I remember when you used to play too rough together and one of you would come to me crying. I would make you both say you were sorry and hug each other. Dear God, how I wish I could do that again,” she said.

  “Mom, it’s all right. Don’t get so upset.” Kevin rested a hand on Adele’s shoulder.

  “Of course I’m upset. He doesn’t understand. He doesn’t want to. He doesn’t know the whole story, either,” she added, staring at Joe. “Your father and I had our reasons, good reasons—”

  “I know. I know,” Joe said in a tired voice. “Kevin was drowning himself in a bottle. He was always the weak one.”

  Kevin didn’t respond. He didn’t even look fazed by the horrible insults. Perhaps he had expected all of this, and worse.

  “It wasn’t that,” Adele quickly countered. “He has to tell you,” she said, looking over at her younger son. “Maybe he already did, in all those letters you didn’t read.”

  Kevin stepped forward. “There was something else, Joe. Something you didn’t know about. I made Mom promise not to tell you. Though I’m not sure if it will make any difference to you now.”

  Joe looked ready to listen, then suddenly changed his mind. “Give me a break, both of you.” He turned to go.

  But Marie blocked his path. They stared at each other for a long moment, and Molly could see what she had often observed as a child: Though her mother was smaller and quieter than her dad, she was every bit as strong and determined.

  “Joe, you just wait one minute now,” Marie said, her voice gentle but firm. “You just hear your brother out.”

  “What, you too now?” Joe looked at her with surprise. But when he saw she wouldn’t budge, he finally turned back to his brother. “What is it, Kevin? What is it that I don’t know?” Joe crossed his arms over his chest, almost daring his brother to say anything that might change his mind. Molly saw her mother rest a hand on her husband’s arm, but he didn’t seem to notice.

  “It’s hard to tell you this. I never wanted you to know. But it’s important to be honest and get things out in the open, out where they can’t hurt you anymore. That’s what I’ve learned,” Kevin began. “When Dad was failing, he kept telling me that he wanted to leave me the store, but I said I didn’t want it. It was yours. Then, a week or two before he died . . . I tried to kill myself. I got drunk, cut my wrists, and got in the bathtub. I just could not stand my life anymore. I was a disappointment to everyone I ever loved, including you. I had failed at everything I ever touched. I gave up. I wanted to end my life. I would have succeeded, too, but a drinking buddy of mine who had the keys to my place came by to crash and found me. He somehow sobered up enough to wrap my wrists and call an ambulance. He died a few weeks later in a car accident,” Kevin added.

  Molly gasped out loud. She felt Matt’s arm tighten around her shoulder.

  “Your father was desperate to help your brother after that,” Adele continued. “To give him something to hang on to. Wouldn’t you have done the same for your own child, Joe?”

  Joe took a long breath. The story had finally gotten his attention, Molly could see. Though she couldn’t predict how he was going to react.

  Joe’s brow was furrowed in concentration. He looked at his mother and brother and waved his hands at them. “I don’t know . . . I don’t know what to think of any of this,” he practically shouted at them. “How do I even know it’s true?”

  Molly realized he was confused now, and maybe that was a good thing. But it wasn’t enough to make him want to stay.

  He suddenly turned to his wife. “Marie, you stay here if you want. I’m going home. You all have a nice visit,” he added in a bitter tone. “Toast the guest of honor for me,” he added, looking first at his brother, then straight at Molly.

  Molly saw frustration flash over her mother’s face, then a resigned expression. She came over to give her daughter a quick hug.

  “Good night, Molly . . . I’ll call you tomorrow,” she said in her usual way. “I know you tried, honey,” she added quietly.

  “We all did, Mom,” Molly said. But as she watched her parents make their way to the door, she knew that somehow, it hadn’t been enough.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Leslie Hammond was probably the last person on Earth that Jonathan wanted to meet for lunch on Monday. But she had called him in the morning and said she was driving to Maine to visit her family and remembered that he was just off the highway, in Cape Light.

  “I thought it would be nice if we had lunch together. I bet you’re dying to see a friendly face and have some intelligent conversation.”

  Jonathan had almost replied that there had been no lack of intelligent conversation the past two weeks. Not since he had met Tess.

  But the less said to Leslie, the better. He already knew that. She was not exactly a friend, but not really an enemy. More of a . . . frenemy, he would have to say. As doctoral candidates in the same program, they acted like comrades, but they both knew that under the thin veneer of social niceties, they were actually serious rivals.

  Leslie’s visit was not so much a social call as a snooping mission. She wanted to find out what he was up to with all this field research—and whether she needed to worry that he was getting ahead of her in the department pecking order.

  He knew he had to see her and convince her there was nothing for her to worry about. Or her efforts would get even more creative once he returned to the department. Like, “borrowing” a flash drive from his computer or “accidentally” taking a file from his desk. She had already done both of those things.

  It was unfortunate, but he couldn’t trust her—or trust that if she kn
ew what he was working on, she wouldn’t try to steal his idea.

  Jonathan wasn’t even sure right now what that idea was. The shape and direction of it seemed to keep shifting, like a cloud floating in the wind. At first he was sure that he had come to find the real reason that those quarantined on Angel Island had survived the epidemic. But now, he wasn’t so sure at all.

  Leslie didn’t have to know that, either. He had told her to meet him at the Clam Box at twelve sharp. He knew that Tess wasn’t working there today because he was due to meet her at the historical society at two.

  Imagine that, a guy like me having to keep two women apart. It’s like a scene in some silly date movie. He had to smile at the idea, even though Leslie was far from a romantic interest.

  Tess . . . now she was another story. A wonderful story. When Thursday night had rolled around, she was still too sick to go out on their big date. But they hung out together at her house, watching the Hitchcock movie he had found at the library and eating popcorn. Which was even better than the night he had planned. Jonathan had been invited for dinner with her family, too, and when Tess’s mother heard he had no plans for Christmas, she asked him to come to their Christmas Eve party. He had even let Billy beat him at a video game. He couldn’t remember when he’d had a better time with a girl . . . unless it was their tour around the island last Sunday.

  When he left on Thursday night, he had made it very clear to Tess that he wanted to see her once they got back to Boston, and she seemed more than fine with that plan.

  Jonathan felt so happy every time he thought about her he could barely keep his mind on his work these past few days. This sneak attack from Leslie was just a blip on the screen. His radar was set for Tess, and he could hardly wait to see her.