“Help?” His puzzlement deepened. “I don’t understand.”
“Those people. There is no difference between them and us. None. They are all untapped potential—doctors and lawyers and mechanics and teachers. They just don’t know it yet. Hazel spent her whole life locked in a tiny world of darkness, doubt and fear. That’s where they are right now. But it doesn’t have to be that way. We know it doesn’t. We’ve lived it. We’ve seen it. There’s a way out if someone just believes enough and has some resources to help. Maybe God is giving us the chance with this money to make a real difference—not for our bank statement but for the world, and not just for now, but for eternity.”
“You’re serious.”
“I am.”
He laughed. “You sure are something else sometimes.”
She smiled as she leaned in for him to kiss her. “So I’ve been told.”
*~*
When they arrived at Greg and Emily’s on Thursday evening, with Eric’s mother in tow, Dani slipped out of the SUV and went to the back to help her mother-in-law out as well. Eric worked to get Jaden out.
“What a lovely little farm,” his mother said, looking around. “It’s just as charming as it can be out here.”
Dani’s heart flip-flopped in her chest because she knew had her own mother deigned to accept their invitation, she would have had a much different take on the place. “Greg and Emily are wonderful people. You’re going to love them.”
Before she even got the words out, the back door came open, and Emily called a greeting to them. Eric and Dani both waved back even as they worked to get their things out of the back.
“We’re back again,” Eric called with a laugh. “You can’t get rid of us.”
“I wouldn’t even try,” Emily said as she hugged Jaden who had run to her, laden with her little pink suitcase. “Greg’s going to be late. He had to go check on that shop they’re working on in Greely.”
“Still with the late nights?” Eric asked as they made it up to the sidewalk.
“I’m getting worried about his blood pressure at this point. The man needs to learn to slow down.”
At the apex of the sidewalk, Eric stopped and nodded back to his mother. “Emily, this is my mama, Claire Richardson.”
“It’s so nice to have you, Claire. Please come on in. No need to stand out here all night.”
And with that, they went in.
The big topic of conversation as they ate and visited was, of course, the big reveal the next morning. Greg said Derek and Jaycee had come back into town for it, and Dani said she hoped Jaycee wasn’t overdoing it. Of course, Emily and Claire agreed.
“Those little ones sure can change a body’s direction,” Claire said with a laugh. “I know every single one of mine gave me a run for my money.”
“Naah,” Greg said, laughing with her. “Not Eric. Eric was an angel.”
“Yeah, with a crooked and cracked halo!” Claire said.
Dani grinned and wrapped one arm through his on the couch as she reached up and adjusted the invisible halo. “Well, it’s better than horns.”
“So true. So true.”
Leaning over to her, Eric kissed her, his eyes sparkling with mirth and joy. “You wouldn’t want me any other way.”
Her eyes mirrored the happiness in his. “So true. So true.”
Friday morning in Ridgemount, North Carolina dawned with a breathtaking sunrise, and Eric, who was already up and making breakfast for everyone, was blessed to see it.
“I’m telling you,” Greg said, finding his friend over the stove when he got up, “I am going to miss this.”
Eric laughed. “You could talk Emily into making you breakfast.”
“Emily? Before noon? Yeah. There’s a bad plan.” Greg snatched a piece of bacon from the plate. “So have you thought any more about the offer?”
“Well, actually, I brought a résumé.” Eric shook his head. “Still seems a jump through impossible, but I guess we’ll see what God has in mind.”
“He’s pretty good at getting things to work out in your favor when you let Him.”
Eric nodded. “I’m starting to figure that out.”
Dani checked herself three more times in the sun visor on the way to Attabury. Make-up. Lipstick. Under her eyes. Hair. She’d decided to wear her hair down, more natural was the idea, but she was beginning to regret that decision.
“Dani, honey,” her mother-in-law said from the back, “you are gonna knock ‘em dead today on that camera. You look stunning. Doesn’t she look stunning, Eric?”
When he glanced over at her, he smiled, took her hand and kissed it. “Always.”
Her jumpy spirit settled just a bit, and she closed the mirror and took in a breath. “I just hate the cameras. They make me feel like I’m under a microscope.”
“Just be you, honey,” Claire said. “They’re going to see you for the beauty you are, inside and out.”
The words brought tears to her eyes, and she had to take another breath to get them to stand down. She’d lived her whole life to hear something like that. Her thoughts kicked in, and she glanced back at Jaden who sat with her eyes wide, fear etched across her little features.
“You’re right,” Dani said. “Everybody says I look just like Jaden, so I know I’m good.”
Surprise lit the child’s face right before Jaden’s face broke into a wide smile, and she looked over at her grandmother. “Have you seen it yet? Attabury? It used to be ug-ly, but it’s not so bad anymore.”
As they talked, Dani closed her eyes. A lot of things about her existence had been ug-ly when they first came to Ridgemount. So much had changed, and just like Attabury, things looked a lot different now. Down the last road he turned on, she caught sight of the house first. It looked amazing. Stately. Proper. Ready for its debut to the world.
Around it swarmed vehicles and people, and her nerves jangled in her once again. When they pulled up, Eric put the SUV in park. “Ready for this?”
“Uh,” she said, glancing out beyond him. “You mind if we say a little prayer, just in case?”
His smile brought out a dimple. “You got it.”
And so the four of them, hands clasped over the middle divider said a quick prayer blessing the day and each of them and Attabury itself. When Eric said, “Amen,” the other three echoed the word.
“Here we go,” Eric said. “Attabury on three. One, two, three…”
“Attabury!”
Eric wondered if Caleb camped out by the front door just waiting for them to show up because he had the uncanny knack for always meeting them on the front sidewalk, which was now a solid walkway rather than a miss-mash of broken and crumbling pieces.
“Caleb,” Eric said, his own nerves betraying him just a bit. He shook Caleb’s hand before stepping back to let Dani do the same. “Caleb, this is my mother, Claire Richardson. I hope it’s okay that we brought her along.”
“Absolutely,” Caleb said, shaking her hand as Rachel came down the walk to join them. He shook her hand. “We’re thrilled you came.”
Dani went past them to Rachel and the two hugged without letting each other go for a very long minute. When Dani stepped back, Eric saw her wipe tears from her eyes.
“You ready for this?” Rachel asked.
“Not sure I’m going to be able to keep from crying the whole day,” Dani said, and Rachel wiped her tears and smoothed her hair.
“You’re going to do great.” She leaned into her and said something the others couldn’t hear. Dani laughed and nodded as Eric thought how much he was falling in love with her again. This wasn’t about staying together and trying to make it work while they each figured out an exit plan. This was no-holds-barred, head-over-heels love, and the deeper it went, the more it surprised him.
“Okay,” Caleb said with a clap of his hands. “Let me go talk to Aaron about how he wants to do this.”
From the house, Derek and Jaycee stepped out and came down the walk to join them. Eric had to
laugh because it seemed that Attabury was throwing a party and everyone was invited. He’d hardly had that thought than he glanced at the road to find Greg and Emily getting out of their car.
“My,” his mother said, “this place is hoppin’ with folks.”
“Tell me about it.”
The knot of them met on the sidewalk as the necessary introductions went around. Derek said he couldn’t wait for them to see the house, and Jaycee said it was stunning. Her mother came over and wrapped her in a side hug.
“How’re you feeling?” Emily asked Jaycee.
Jaycee nodded. “Better. It’s nice not being chained to the bed and toilet anymore. I’m not sure which was worse, baby, Derek or Sage.”
Her mother squeezed her and shook her gently. “They’re just looking out for you ‘cause they love you so much.”
“Yeah, well, I guess I’d do the same for them, so…”
“Okay,” Caleb said, coming out of the house, and his eyes lit up at the little gathering on the sidewalk. “So the plan is that everybody else is going to have to get out of sight. We’ll bring Eric, Dani, and Jaden in. Jaden, once we’re inside, you can either hang out with us or come back out here after they say, ‘Cut’ and be with your grandma.”
Jaden nodded, her little face drenched in seriousness.
Dani took hold of her hand. “When we get inside, we’ll talk about it, okay?”
Again Jaden nodded.
“K,” Caleb said. “Rachel and I will go inside, and you guys come to the door. Everyone else… Greg, if you and Emily will wait out of sight for a bit with Claire, I’ll call you when the coast is clear. Will that work for everyone?”
“Sure.”
“That works.”
“Sounds great.”
“Derek and Jayc, y’all can hang out with Aaron’s crew while we do the reveal,” Caleb continued, showing his own nerves once again. He smiled and tipped his head. “Everybody ready?”
“Yeah,” Eric said. “Oh. Just one second.”
Caleb puzzled at that as Eric pulled his cell phone out, tapped a message and hit send.
“K,” Eric said just as everyone’s cell phones beeped and buzzed in pockets.
They all reached for them, pulled them out and read the message. Pray for us. It’s happening!!! #Attabury
With a laugh, everyone typed their own message back.
Praying.
Definitely.
We’ll be praying!!!!
Looking up from his phone, Eric nodded. “Now we’re ready.”
Chapter 32
The amazement over the transformation started before they’d even gotten to the front door. Cameras rolling, Dani took Jaden’s hand and Eric’s. It was a good thing for the prayers because without them, she wasn’t sure she could have kept walking. Up the porch steps they went, and surprise ambushed her. “Oh! Look at this door. It’s gorgeous!”
“Perfect,” Eric said, opening it for her. “I love it.”
They ducked inside to find more cameras and Caleb and Rachel coming to greet them.
“Welcome home,” Rachel said with joy in her voice.
Although they were probably supposed to go farther than a step or two in, they really didn’t make it even that far before awe cascaded over them and took over everything else.
“Ho… Wow!” Eric said as his gaze trailed upward to take in the entry. It looked taller even than it had before, probably owing to the new lights above.
“It’s so…” Dani put her hand up to her nose, and Rachel bounced on her feet as she held onto Caleb’s hand.
“Oh, no. Don’t start that already,” Rachel said with a laugh.
“I can’t help it.” Dani leaned in to Eric’s embrace, and he caught her and held her. “It’s more than I ever thought it could be.”
“Hey,” Caleb said. “This is just the entry way. Wait ‘til you see the rest of it.”
Jaden tugged on Dani’s hand. “I want to see my room.”
“We will, baby girl. We will.”
Every room they went into had Dani somewhere between completely speechless and so excited, she had to keep herself from squealing. The fireplace in the living room took her breath away. The doorways which she had seen on previous trips before now shone with the gentle light from above. Even without furniture, it would have been exquisite.
“I can’t believe how great the floors turned out,” Eric said. “I would never have thought we’d be able to keep them.”
“Well, this old house held a lot of secret treasures,” Caleb said. He went over to the door frames. “Like these doorways Rachel was able to salvage and restore.”
“They’re stunning,” Dani said, knowing her role but not really having to play-act it at all. “They remind you of how old the house is, but they look brand new. Makes me think how pretty the whole place was way back in the 1800’s.”
“That’s so true,” Caleb said. “As we went, it was so clear how many upgrades they had done to it over the years. Some more successful than others.”
“Wait ‘til you see the kitchen,” Rachel said.
“I think I’m going to have to just sit in each room for a couple of days and take it all in,” Dani said, looking up at Eric who was simply gazing around in awe.
“Well, let’s go see the rest first,” Caleb said.
When Aaron yelled, “Cut!” the little family had a short conversation, and Jaden decided for now to go with her grandmother outside. It wasn’t long before Eric came back from the errand and the tour continued though he noticed Dani’s awe and made a mental note to stay close for the rest of the tour.
The stairs in the hallway hadn’t changed, but the color on the walls sure had. The ragged-on browns, grays and mauves made it look at once old and yet somehow modern.
“Oh, wow.” Dani’s legs went weak when she saw it. “Okay, I will never doubt you again. This is incredible. So majestic and regal. It’s beautiful. Perfect.”
“Remember what they looked like when we started?” Caleb asked.
“Oh, yeah. We didn’t even want people to use them,” Eric said, shaking his head. “They were rotted all the way through.”
“So much about it is just the way it was always meant to be,” Dani said, “like it just came back to life again or something.”
“Let’s keep going.” Caleb stepped into the hallway and held his hand out as the cameraman followed them. “What do you think?”
“Oh. No way.” Dani was the first one into the office. Two desks with their own little areas ran down each wall. At the back was a chair and a book case. “Okay. This one’s mine.” She went back to the back desk, passing by it to the bookcase which she ran her hand over. Of course the books weren’t theirs, but a couple of the pictures were. “It’s perfect.” Going over she sat in the desk chair. “Yeah, don’t mind me, babe. I’ll just be in here paying some bills.”
They all laughed.
“It looks like it was made for you,” Rachel said.
Dani’s gaze came over to her. “It was.”
Dani didn’t want to leave the office. This wasn’t fair. It was like opening a Christmas present only to get it taken away before you even got to play with it.
“There’s more to see,” Caleb said, and she left the office with the others though very unwillingly.
It was only when she came out that she saw the panoramic view from the large French doors, flanked by wide sidelights. “Whoa! Look at this!” She went over to them and opened them before stepping out onto the back porch. The view wrapped her spirit in a dream of soft love and hope. “I think I’m in Heaven. This… This is more than…”
Behind her, they laughed, but she wasn’t kidding. This was far, far more than she ever could have dreamed it would be.
“And the kitchen,” Rachel said.
“No way!” Eric said before Dani even turned to go back in. “You… No way! Whoa. Look at this kitchen. The hearth and the cabinets. And the island! What? I can’t believe it’s even the sa
me space. Look at this. I would’ve never thought about taking out that wall.”
“Well, the two doors on the sides and the hearth gave us quite a layout challenge, but once we decided to open it up to the dining room, that really gave us a lot more options,” Caleb said. “Plus it gives us the advantage of natural light coming in from both sides.”
Dani stood on one end of the island because she had followed them in. Eric stood on the other, the four soft pendant lights hanging between them. They looked at each other though no words formed between them.
“We reconfigured the vents for the hearth,” Caleb said, crossing around the island and over to it, “so you can actually have a fire in it and it won’t burn the place down.”
“And we made it so it’s heat positive,” Rachel said. “They did that on mine, and it can really keep a space heated and not just be pretty to look at.”
Dani looked at Eric again and shook her head. “I don’t even know what to say. This is just… It’s so much more than… I expected…” She looked around. “I don’t even know what I expected, but this… this is…”
“Way more than I ever could’ve hoped for,” Eric said. “And what gets me is it all looks like it was supposed to be just this way. I was afraid with the doors and everything, it was going to look choppy and unusable.”
“Well, I’m not going to say it wasn’t a challenge,” Caleb said, folding his arms. “But we were pretty pleased with how it came out.”
“Oh,” Rachel said with a bounce as she headed over to the side door, “Dani, you’ve got to see this…”
“Cut!” someone yelled, and Dani about jumped out of her skin. Camera people started scurrying around them like frightened mice. Aaron stepped in the middle of them. “I want to get her reaction from inside the room. I don’t want to follow her in, so we’re going to have to reset. Hang out for a minute or two here, and we’ll be ready.”
Dani nodded though she hardly heard the instructions. Instead, she was looking up and all around the glorious kitchen. It was sleek and modern but with the old-world touch of the hearth, it was also homey and far more practical than she could ever have hoped for.
Raising Attabury: A Contemporary Christian Epic-Novel (The Grace Series Book 5) Page 51
