“Ice cream it is.” He clasped her hand as they crossed the shaded park, a perfect respite for midday breaks and late-day repose. They got into line at Stan’s Frozen Custard, and he was just thinking how nice it was to not have to talk when someone poked him in the back. Drew had to remind himself that you didn’t necessarily have to draw your weapon when turning around in Grace Haven. He turned, and it took a few seconds to recognize the youngest Gallagher girl. “Rory?”
“Drew.” She grabbed him in a big hug, just like Emily had done. “It’s so good to have you home again. And this must be Amy.” Rory high-fived Amy with a quick smile. “I’m Kimberly’s youngest sister. She said she had a ball with you today.”
“I had fun, too. Kimberly’s great.”
Rory waved that off. “Well, we won’t share that or it’ll go to her head, and the last thing my big sister needs is anyone else telling her how awesome she is. There’ll be no living with her then, and it’s no piece of cake now.”
Amy laughed, but Drew wondered how much of Rory’s spiel was humor and how much truth. Dave used to cringe when his sisters would go at it over almost anything. Drew was an only child, he’d never had to worry about getting along or sharing or doing chores together. Kind of like Amy now. He knew that wasn’t a bad thing...but he wasn’t sure it was a good thing, either.
Rory studied Amy, tapping a finger to her jaw. “You’re in town for a while, right?”
Amy sent a guilty-as-charged look up to her father, then nodded. “Yes.”
“I was wondering...” Rory played the moment as if she’d just come up with a great plan and hadn’t talked this all out with her older sister. Drew knew better. “I teach at a UPK in the mornings until Labor Day.”
“A UP what?”
“Universal prekindergarten, to help kids get ready for school.”
“Oh, with little kids. I love little kids!” Amy shot a look up at Drew, one of those “I’d love to have brothers and sisters” expressions he’d learned to ignore years before.
“Really?” Rory’s brows shot up, and Drew had to hand it to her. She was playing the part to the max and doing it well. “How would you feel about helping me there in the mornings, and then helping Emily, Allison and Kimberly out in the offices in the afternoons?”
“Are you serious?”
“On occasion.” Rory smiled at her. “I missed the whole event planner/wedding planner gene thing, I’m not even all that big on weddings. That’s a lot of money and time invested on one crazy day.”
“The family maverick,” Drew noted as they moved closer to the ice-cream ordering window. “Rory, what would you like? It’s on me.”
Rory didn’t hesitate, and that was another difference between her and Kimberly. Kimberly would have weighed the idea of him buying ice cream, the motives behind it on both sides.
Rory just liked ice cream.
“A hot fudge sundae with mint chocolate chip custard. Please.”
“Dad, can I have the same only with the red raspberry ice cream?”
“Is that a thing?”
Amy grinned. “It is now. Hey, look. There’s Kimberly. Kimberly, hi! We’re over here!”
Kimberly turned from locking the office door and spotted them. Her instant smile made Drew feel better about almost everything. She walked their way, slanted a look down to Amy, then up to Drew. “She doesn’t make undercover easy, does she?”
Amy winced, chagrined, while Drew nodded. “She sure doesn’t. Which made Camp Wellington attractive.”
“Sorry.” Amy put up her hands, palms out. “I totally promise to tone things down. I can do it. I just forget when I get excited.”
“Excitement and youth should always go hand-in-hand,” Kimberly told her. “Having an ice-cream supper, I take it?”
“Yes. Have one with us,” Amy implored. “Rory’s going to. And Dad’s buying.”
He was so certain she’d refuse that he was ready to smooth it over. When Kimberly turned, looked him straight in the eye and arched one amazingly perfect brow, he was pretty sure his heart went into abnormal sinus rhythm...and it felt great. “You know how to clinch a deal, Amy Sue Slade. I’m in. I would love a—”
“Banana split with chopped walnuts and three cherries.”
She held his gaze. Or he held hers. He really wasn’t sure which way it happened, but then she touched one hand to her throat as if unsure what to do and smiled. “You remembered.”
He did. He used to tease her about the huge triple-scoop sundae when all the other girls ordered “baby” sized cones.
Not Kimberly. Not ever.
She touched her throat again, almost...nervous? Because he remembered?
That thought made him smile inside, because he remembered a lot of things about Kimberly Gallagher, things he’d pushed aside because she’d been so angry after Dave’s death.
To everything there is a season...
One of his favorite Bible verses, simple and true. A time for healing, maybe? Maybe long past time. And most definitely a time to set old wrongs to rights and have ice cream on a sun-soaked August night.
* * *
“Can a person be too full to walk?” Amy wondered as they retrieved Rocky from the cool car a little while later. “Because that might be the case on my part.”
Kimberly laughed. “That makes the walk imperative. Is Dad going to show you around town?”
“The rest of it, yes.” Drew tossed his paper cup into the garbage can nearby. “We’ve got a little while before we can check in at the B and B.”
“You called them.” Silly how a little thing like that made her happy, a simple thing like following her suggestion.
“Having Amy in town makes sense,” he admitted. “So after I thought about it, weighed the options and gave it enough time to become my own idea, I called.” His wry expression said the admission was painful.
Kimberly laughed. “Such a guy.”
“Some people like that about me, Kimber.”
Heat started somewhere around her middle and crept up because she wasn’t exactly immune to Drew’s magnetism. Something about six solid feet of broad-shouldered, focused, rugged man put a girl’s defenses on high alert. Luckily she wasn’t afraid to heed the warnings.
“Guys, I’m heading home.” Seeming oblivious, Rory interrupted the moment. “I’ve got some prep work to do for tomorrow morning’s session, and I want time for a late swim before I call it a day. Amy, I’ll meet you here in the morning, okay? Is eight-fifty good for you, Drew?”
“Absolutely,” he declared. “I’m grateful, Rory.”
She waved that off as she headed north on Center Street. “No biggie. We’ll have fun, and I get free help. Perfect!”
Drew turned back toward Amy. “So. Shall we turn right and explore the town buildings or left and walk along the lakeshore?”
She hesitated, then nodded to the right. “I want to see where everything is. That way I won’t get lost if I go exploring.”
“Good move.” Kimberly started to move in the opposite direction, but Amy’s voice made her think twice.
“Kimberly? You wanna walk with us?”
A part of her did. How peaceful and nice to walk the avenues of her past with Drew and his precocious daughter and the stately dog.
A bigger part wanted to run the other way. She’d had sensory overload just driving around the lake with Drew earlier. Strolling along the streets and places they used to hang out would be too much. Besides, she’d promised Corinne she’d watch Callan’s baseball game at the town field. “I can’t, but thank you, honey. I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”
“I can’t wait.” Sincerity deepened the girl’s smile, a smile just like her daddy’s when he was a kid. Bright. Happy. Always on the move.
She walked down the narrow
block to her car, started the engine, then paused. The town opened up before her, the lake to her left, the business and historic district to her right, with tree-lined neighborhoods stretching in every direction. She watched as Drew and Amy disappeared from view on Center Street, then sighed.
She was a fish out of water in her own hometown, and that was her own fault for staying away too long. Worse? She suspected Drew felt exactly the same way. They’d led two distinct lives in Grace Haven: A life set before Dave died, and another marked by laying him to rest.
Maybe moving away was a major mistake, because the people who stayed in town, the others who loved Dave...her parents, her sisters, Corinne, his friends...had moved on, while she and Drew were mired in thick guilt.
Her phone alarm reminded her of Callan’s game. She put the car in gear. She passed a local church; the young pastor was outside the rectory, having a catch with a boy about five years old.
She wanted that. She hadn’t realized how much until Phil broke their engagement. In retrospect, she knew he’d done the right thing. She didn’t love Phil. Hadn’t loved him. They’d worked well together on events, they liked a lot of the same things and he was a good guy, but they’d coasted into a status they thought everyone expected because all their Nashville buddies were tying the knot.
They’d been silly. Calling the wedding off made some kind of painful sense, but she didn’t love biting back embarrassment every time she came face-to-face with folks who didn’t know.
She pulled into the athletic field parking lot, found Corinne and her precocious niece and sank onto the bleachers next to them.
“Do you or do you not love this outfit, Aunt Kim?” Ten-year-old Tee asked, smiling widely.
Kimberly faced the delightful girl and grinned in appreciation. Her niece had been christened Theresa at birth, but Callan had shortened it to “Tee Tee” long ago, and the name fit. Tee Gallagher was looking for an over-the-top reaction. Kim did her justice. “Tee! Beyond adorable, bordering breathtaking, where on earth did you get it?”
“Goodwill.” While so many little girls shopped designer stores at the big mall in Victor, Tee loved to celebrate a great bargain. “Five dollars and fifteen cents. Including socks I don’t have on because I’m wearing flip-flops.”
“I’m getting you a gig on QVC,” Kimberly declared, laughing. “Corinne, she’s got a great eye.”
“And a rockin’ affordable budget,” Corinne agreed. She exchanged smiles with Kimberly and pointed slightly left. “Callan’s in at shortstop, his favorite ‘I love Derek Jeter’ position.”
“Well, who doesn’t love the Captain?” Kimberly exchanged high fives with Tee because not loving the Yankees didn’t happen in their branch of the Gallaghers. “The guy rocks.”
“Mom, I’m going over to the playground to see Sophie and Reese, okay?”
“Yes, but you should have worn your sneakers. Flip-flops aren’t meant for climbing.”
“Sorry!”
She dashed off. Corinne followed her with her gaze, then said, “Watch.”
Kimberly kept her eye on Tee as she paused at the edge of the playground, kicked off her flip-flops and began to climb like a monkey. “Don’t you worry nonstop?”
“It would do me no good, so why bother?” Corinne asked. “Tee’s her father’s daughter, one hundred percent. Nothing is too high, too far or too fast. So I pray and encourage and watch her go.”
Brave words from a woman who’d lost her husband because of similar personality traits. “Pretty gutsy on your part.”
Corinne shrugged. “I’ve got little choice in the matter. You either learn to adjust or bang your head against the wall, repeatedly. I got tired of sore heads.”
Kimberly wished she’d seen the common sense of that long ago.
“Besides, having Tee around is like having Dave here with me. I think God made her that way on purpose, so I wouldn’t ever really be without him.”
Kimberly fought back the lump in her throat. “Are you working tonight?”
Corinne shook her head. “I’ve got two nights off. Callan, great catch!” She hooted across the field as Callan scooped up a grounder and hurled it to first with Gold Glove accuracy.
“He’s good.”
Corinne sank back down. “He’s amazing. They’re already talking high school scouts. Our team isn’t strong enough to make it to the Little League regionals, but Callan’s progressing like crazy. Coach Cutler has been a huge help. Have you heard from your parents today?”
Kimberly shook her head. “We’ve prearranged eight o’clock phone calls. That way we’re not all on pins and needles all day, waiting for an update.”
“But you’ll miss it if you’re here.”
Kimberly shoulder-nudged her. “Rory’s there, and maybe Emily, too. If there was an emergency, they’d call me. Mom and Dad know I’ve got other important stuff to do. Like cheer for my nephew. And pray my niece doesn’t fall off that monkey bar setup. Do you see how high that is, Corinne?”
“I do. I’m ignoring it.”
“I’d be a lousy mother.” Kim frowned across the ball field to where the girls raced, played and climbed around the big playground. “Overprotective and overbearing. If I have kids, they’ll most likely need counseling early on. I can’t look.” She turned her back on the playground, determined not to witness Tee’s probable annihilation.
The woman sitting in front of Kimberly turned. “I was like that. Crazy overprotective. And then my husband gave me this long lecture about letting kids be kids, about the old days, how kids have survived for countless millennia. I finally stopped worrying just to make him stop talking.”
“Did it work?” Kim wondered, laughing.
“It helped.” The woman stuck out her hand. “Rilla Gunther. My son’s playing right field.”
“Kimberly Gallagher. Crazy aunt, unaccustomed to kids.”
“We’ll take care of that now that you’re back home.” Corinne handed over a tub of popcorn. “Save me from myself. Eat some of this.”
“I can’t.” Kimberly grimaced. “Drew bought me a monster banana split for supper at Stan’s. I’m going to be stuffed for a while.”
“How is Drew?” Corinne turned more directly her way as the teams changed up at the bottom of the inning. “Better, I hope?”
Better than what? Kimberly had no idea. “He seems all right. Kind of.”
Corinne frowned. “He had a rough couple of years before he left here.”
“Like you didn’t?” Kimberly couldn’t believe she was hearing correctly. “Not to rehash old news, but being a pregnant widow with a toddler wasn’t exactly a walk in the park.”
“But I had them.” Corinne smiled softly at the field, then the playground. “I had a part of Dave that lived on, regardless. And I was so busy that I didn’t have time to be overwhelmed. And time went on. But Drew took it all on his shoulders, bore the weight of the whole thing, and when it got too heavy to carry around, he left. And that felt wrong.”
“He’s got a kid.”
“He does?” Corinne’s expression went from surprise to approval. “Good.”
“She’s amazing. Spunky. A mind of her own. And so funny, that same dry humor from her father. She and Tee would hit it off, and they’re only a year apart. It’s like female versions of Dave and Drew, all over again.”
“I can’t wait to meet her.” Corinne raised her hand to shield her eyes from the angled sun as she looked west. “Isn’t that Drew over there? Just walking in?”
Kimberly pretended her heart didn’t do an adrenaline-laced gymnastic move just because Drew and Amy showed up at the town baseball game. He scanned the crowd, saw her and smiled, but when he realized she was next to Corinne, his smile faltered.
Corinne was up and off her bleacher seat in a heartbeat. She charged down the stair
s, across the grass and caught Drew in a hug so big that Kimberly was pretty sure she’d bowl him over.
She didn’t, but even from this distance, she read the emotion in his face as they talked. Corinne greeted Amy, pointed out the playground, and then the two adults skirted the field to introduce Amy to the growing group of kids playing there.
By the time they got back to the bleachers, the teams had changed up twice, and Callan was just coming to bat. Corinne took her seat on Kimberly’s left. Drew sat on her right. When they announced Callan’s name, Drew’s expression tightened.
Was he seeing Dave out there? Was he remembering countless games for two of Grace Haven’s best and brightest ball players? Or was he seeing that wretched, cold, fateful night?
“Watch, Drew.” Corinne reached across Kimberly to pat Drew’s knee. “See how he swings the bat, the way he moves, just as if you and Dave taught him. He’s a natural, but unlike his father, who was kind of a slob around the house, Callan’s got a place for everything and everything in its place. Which is refreshing because Tee got every bit of Dave’s no-holds-barred personality.”
Drew glanced sideways. “Including the messiness?”
“Exponentially worse.”
“That’s funny.”
“It is, right?” The smile Corinne sent him was like a benediction. “It’s like God did a little fun mix-up with both of them to show me just how well Dave and I did together. A good balance.”
Drew started to look uncomfortable, but Corinne reached across Kimberly again and smacked him. Not hard, but hard enough to get his attention. “We count the blessings. Not the heartaches. Get with the program, Slade.”
Kimberly wasn’t sure what to expect. Oh, she knew how the old Drew would have reacted. He’d have agreed completely.
But this older, more somber edition seemed to carry a heavy burden. To her surprise and delight, he laughed. Then he clutched his arm, feigning injury. “I thought you were nice. What’s happened to you?”
“I am nice.” Corinne shot him a self-assured look. “But now I’m nice and tough. So don’t think I’m going to let you get away with any moping or guilt or nonsense like that, my friend. We’ve finally got you back in town, and I’m going to celebrate the moral victory in that.”
Love Inspired January 2016, Box Set 1 of 2 Page 24
