For Ben (Corbin's Bend Book 6)

by Kate Richards

  “Let’s take care of the disaster together, okay?”

  For a half hour they worked together, picking up glass and then mopping the sticky, drying lemonade into nonexistence. When the tile gleamed, and nobody’s shoes stuck to the surface, Kirsten wiped down the already clean counters, and sank into a chair at the compact table.

  “Glad we’re done.” She lifted her face and one tear rolled down her cheek. “But it was kind of fun. For a while there, it was almost as if…as if….”

  For once, Teri’s eyes were dry. “As if Melinda were here.” She’d felt it, too. “You really miss her, huh?”

  Kirsten nodded. “I do. But having you in town is either making it easier or harder depending on the moment.” She gave a watery giggle. “Sure you can’t stay?”

  She dropped into the other chair with a tired sigh. “Sure you want me to?” And did she? But the siren call of her cell phone chirping an email from the next room called her. Her clients never seemed to sleep, there were markets open somewhere in the world most of the time.

  Kirsten reached across the table and took her hand. “Yes, of course. I see a lot of my friend in you, and I suspect we’d be great friends in our own right. But I understand you have a life in the City. I’m sure you have lots of friends and activities and Ben will make friends with their kids.”

  God, yet another failing of hers. Did any of her acquaintances have children? If so, she hadn’t been introduced. But then they wouldn’t bring them to business dinners or cocktail parties, would they?

  Patting her hand, Kirsten let go and stood. “I need to get going. Ron is going to be late, which is why I fed the kids, but he’ll be expecting dinner and,” she blushed, “dinners alone have the tendency to lead to other things.”

  “How long have you been married?” She’d have envied Kirsten if it weren’t for her own rediscovery of the heat in her own marriage.

  “Ten years. Right out of high school. I put him through dental school, teaching, and he says it’s my turn to do what I like…which is raising Suzanna.” She giggled. “And, don’t tell a soul, because Ron doesn’t even know yet there’s another one on the way.” Her smile lit the room and Teri’s empty womb ached. She wasn’t sure she even wanted kids, but Kirsten’s happiness and hormones were clouding her mind.

  “Congratulations. Two, wow. I am worried about raising Ben.” A pang in her chest made her start to think she had indigestion although she hadn’t eaten in too many hours. Hunger or was Roy’s burgeoning ulcer contagious? “And I am starting to think Melinda should have picked you to be his caretaker. She took a chance on me.”

  “Your sister was right. You may not know it, but you have a mother’s soul. Give it time.”

  She blinked hard. “I am so tired of weeping. I never cry.” Rising, she followed Kirsten toward the door and then hugged her, hard. “My sister picked the best friends. Do you think…can I Skype you?”

  A low chuckle came from the direction of the couch. “Sorry, but that sounded almost like you were asking her out.” Roy joined them and gave Kirsten a squeeze. “But I hope you’ll say yes. We’re new to the parenting business and need all the advice we can get.”

  “Anything I can do. Sounds like you’ll be leaving soon.”

  “We will be,” he said. “Listen.”

  “Shut up, Suzanna.”

  “No, you shut up.”

  He shrugged. “Not the first words we would have expected.”

  “She’s not my new mommy, she’s my Aunteri.”

  “Ben’s talking.” She strained to hear more, but silence stretched out for an eternity…then it went on. Laughter and squeals, tumbling, and blessed words. “I guess we can leave. Unless,” Maybe? “Roy do we need to stay and do any more paperwork?” The thought of leaving no longer held quite the sparkle it had.

  “No, Sam says he can send us anything else we might need. We’ll have all the furniture and things donated, so all we have to do is pack up Ben and his things and go through the personal items and we can leave as soon as the first of the week.”

  Kirsten called her daughter and as the little ones came tumbling down the hallway, she leaned close to Teri. “Lucky I have an extra jar of balm. I am going to be in trouble when Ron finds out I told you about the baby first.”

  “How will he find out?”

  She laughed. “I’m going to tell him.”

  Teri closed the door behind Kirsten and Suzanna and herded Ben, chattering all the way, to the washroom for his bath. She’d picked up his routine, at least elements of it, and Roy savored again the simple things beginning to populate their life together.

  No opportunity had arisen to allow him to make the suggestion they stay. And what had changed? Sure, Teri seemed to like Kirsten but she’d been happy to have a Skype relationship with her sister. She’d have a new friend to Skype with and satisfy her friendship needs. He’d begun to think she’d changed. They’d changed.

  Sure, their sex life sizzled, but that would fade in New York. And he didn’t want to have to spank her every time he wanted her attention. Not that he found spanking her such a chore…. And she seemed to respond in a positive way.

  If only they could stay where spanking was a normal part of life.

  After the past few days, he didn’t think he could stand to be with closed-off, driven Teri. The warm, responsive woman reminded him of what they’d lost. Something had to change. For all their sakes. The whole family. And, despite the sadness behind it, his first “vacation” in years had provided him a chance to evaluate his job.

  He hated it.

  No matter what else he did, he wouldn’t be going back to the stick up the ass, giant infected rat race represented by Barnstall, Epstein and Gilbertson, Attorneys at Law. While he might not be able to convince Teri to move to Corbin’s Bend, neither would he remain in his current employment. The money wasn’t worth it.

  He had a wife and son to consider, and an exhausted, angry husband and father offered little around the family table. He’d move to Corbin’s Bend in a heartbeat, if only it offered the opportunities to Teri it did him. And it didn’t.

  So, enough. Perhaps the whole issue was best not mentioned. He’d have to give up on moving to the friendly community and growing old with normal blood pressure and a loving family.

  Determined to make the best of the good things populating his existence, he counted his blessings on the way down the hallway to the bathroom. Teri, Ben, all the necessities of life and a renewed heat to his love life. And a minivan. Although they didn’t drive much in the City, perhaps a family-friendly car would be a good idea.

  Splashing drew him closer to the open bathroom door. Inside, the little image of his wife and her sister played with a fleet of boats amid a sea of bubbles. He laughed and chattered and acted as if nothing had ever been wrong in his life. At less than four, would he even remember the mom and dad who loved him so much and gave him life?

  He and Teri would see to it. And he would thank Melinda and Shane every day for having faith in her faraway relatives and never make them come back to haunt him.

  His wife sat cross-legged on the floor, chasing Ben with a soapy washcloth and answering his rapid-fire questions about his new home. Sounded okay. Maybe his mom and dad could be the pleasant memories they would share with him. He made a mental note to be sure and gather all the photograph albums before they left. And any other mementos Ben wanted. He’d ask him.

  And Ben would reply. Their son was on the mend. And the acid burning Roy’s throat could be handled with more meds.

  Chapter Ten

  Teri swallowed hard and pulled open one of the stacked cardboard boxes littering the bedroom. Melinda’s wardrobe would be more suitable for painting the last corner of the mural. She still had her doubts about her abilities, but Kirsten insisted anyone could do it. No talent required. “If you can color inside the lines in a coloring book, you can finish the mural.” So, she swallowed her fears and dragged out a pair of ragged jeans with paint stains
on the faded thighs and an oversized shirt with big pockets resembling the smocks her sister had always worn when they were teens. It also bore signs of artistic endeavors.

  Since Melinda’s feet had grown a size after having Ben, a fact she’d bemoaned often, Teri wore her own Nikes. She’d try to keep the new shoes clean but if not, she’d toss them.

  Kirsten had come over every day and together they’d taken the kids to the park to play then returned to Melinda’s, fed them lunch, put them down in Ben’s room for an afternoon nap, and worked on sorting through the debris of her sister’s life. Since the weight of her grief added lead to her arms, she needed the help to keep moving.

  Roy had helped where he could, with larger, heavier items, but mostly he’d disappeared for hours, returning morose and silent. She didn’t question him, much, lost in her own grief and she watched him put aside his pain to play with Ben, for which she would be ever grateful. Because by then end of the day every bone and joint ached. A Google search told her grief could cause such pain.

  “Teri, we’re leaving.”

  She finished buttoning her shirt and grinned at her men. “Can I get a kiss first?”

  Ben released Roy’s hand and stood on tiptoe. She bent down to accept his smacking kiss. “Bye, Aunteri.”

  “Bye, Benny, be good for your uncle.” As she pushed upright, Roy pecked her other cheek.

  “Bye, baby.”

  “Are you sure you two are okay on your own? Ben can come with me. I can drop him at the babysitter’s with Suzanna for a little while and they can play.”

  Roy puffed out his chest. “We have a man’s day planned. No womenfolks allowed.”

  She fought laughter as Ben aped him. “Man’s day, Aunteri. No girls.” The two disappeared down the hallway as she wondered what manly activities they had in mind. Then shrugged. As long as Ben enjoyed his day and was cared for, why worry? Roy wouldn’t take him anywhere dangerous. And where would danger lie in the community of Corbin’s Bend?

  Scooping up her keys she ran outside and opened the garage as Kirsten backed into the driveway. “Hi, right on time.” They loaded the paint and supplies in the back of the sedan and rolled off, headed for their project. “Kirsten, since the house is going to be emptied tomorrow, would you like to keep anything left over? Paint and stuff?”

  Kirsten turned left and shrugged. “No, wait, sure. There might be a touchup needed at some point. Sure, I’ll find room for some of them anyway. Darn I’m sorry you’re leaving.”

  “Me, too, but work calls. For Roy and I.” Although he hadn’t received calls on the half hour like her. Only one or two that she’d even noticed. Unease slowed her steps for a moment, but it only took a few minutes to reach the curb in front of the mural and Teri blinked at the sight. At the base of the painting were piled bouquets of flowers, candles, and a plethora of folded slips of paper. “What’s this?”

  “All week, people have been stopping by to leave things. I noticed on my way to the store the other day. They loved and admired her.”

  Teri stepped out of the car and bent to pick up a small, furry teddy bear with a note pinned to his plaid vest. She freed the paper and opened it.

  Thanks for everything. My mother loved the painting you did from the old photo of our family. Jerry and Sandra

  Kirsten read another. Dear Melinda, I hope you’re already happy in heaven, in fact I’m sure you are. If you hadn’t taken care of the kids while my husband suffered from liver cancer, I couldn’t have been with him when he passed. Say hi to him, would you? Candy Smith.

  Teri’s next one blurred her vision with tears. Dear Ben’s mommy, I know you must miss Ben but don’t worry. He’s my best friend and I will always play with him. Love, Suzanna. “You wrote this for her?”

  Kirsten nodded. “But I simply transcribed her words as dictated to me.”

  They sat on the sidewalk and read each note aloud, tears streaming down their faces.

  Dear Melinda, I miss you.

  Dear Melinda and Shane, Thanks for helping us with the yard sale. We raised enough to pay the electric bill. Someone had remembered poor Shane. But since it was Melinda’s painting, more people probably thought of her there. They meant no disrespect to the kind, strong man her sister had loved.

  Dear Melinda…. “God did take the wrong one of us, didn’t he?” Teri wiped her cheeks and set the last note on the pile by her side. “The nicest thing I’ve done for anyone in years is good investment advice, and I received excellent pay for it.”

  Kirsten stood up and opened the trunk. “Let’s get started. If those big clouds are any indication, it might rain later and the paint needs at least a couple hours to dry. In fact, I’d put it off if you weren’t leaving in the morning.”

  “Leaving, right.” They set the row of paints out and Kirsten handed her a sheet of paper with numbers and colors listed on it. “So what do we do?”

  “Like you said, paint by numbers. We have one corner to finish, but I’ll stand to the right of you and work on the building canopy, you start on the little girls.”

  Teri picked up a brush and a small can marked #6 on the lid and began coloring in everything marked with the number. A base coat and paint already filled in some of the sections she saw marked with a number. “If it’s already painted, why are we painting it again?”

  “Because your sister created an impressionist mural, using a wet on dry design to create a sense of life and movement.”

  Teri stared. “What are you talking about? I thought you weren’t an artist.”

  Smoothing a coat of brown over a triangular section, Kirsten shrugged. “Not in the least. But I spent a lot of time on the mural with Melinda and she loved to teach. Did you know she taught a class to seniors on Saturday mornings? When Shane was off work and could hang out with Ben.”

  “Well that explains some of the notes. But, no, she never mentioned it.” Mornings with the seniors, afternoons at the creamery….

  “A lot of those folks helped. It’s important to the town and I am so happy you decided to help, too.”

  She snorted. “Not like I was under pressure or anything.”

  “Careful, you’re going over the lines.” Kirsten took a rag and wiped away the excess acrylic paint. “Got it.”

  “Told you I was a bad choice.” She went back to paying closer attention, determined to finish before the weather closed in. Would the storm predicted for later that night delay air traffic in Denver? If so they might manage another day in Corbin’s Bend before they had to return to their jobs and put Ben in daycare. Or engage a nanny. If so then preschool.

  “Kirsten, do you think Ben is ready for preschool?

  She dipped her brush in bright yellow and filled in a row of circles. “Sure he is, he was going to start in the fall. Didn’t Melinda….”

  “Tell me,” she finished. “No, she didn’t mention it. Or I wasn’t listening.”

  “He and Suzanna were going to go together. They were really excited.” Kirsten flushed and turned away, wiping her brush on a piece of old T-shirt. “But they will both make new friends, I’m sure.”

  Teri made careful strokes of #7, a reddish brown, through the braids of one of the two little girls in her section. “Do you think we should stay?”

  Kirsten picked up another can marked #12 and popped the lid. Another green or maybe teal? “You have responsibilities to keep up. I don’t imagine you could quit and move here. What would you do?”

  What indeed? Have babies? Go to the park every day and sit on a bench while they played? Go to potlucks and telecommute?

  “Anyway,” Kirsten paused and rubbed the back of her leg. “I am still sore from telling Ron the good news. I shouldn’t have waited so long.”

  “Yeah, why did you? And what do you mean sore?” A cloud passed over the sun and the painting fell in shadow, revealing images within images in the new light. A face in the store window, eyes in the sky, golden fish jumping out of the fountain. “Hey, how did she do that?”

&nbs
p; “Huh? What?”

  “The pictures, they weren’t there in sunlight, but now they are.”

  Kirsten glanced where Teri pointed. “That, I cannot explain. And you’ll notice it isn’t exactly like Corbin’s Bend. It is and it isn’t. It’s a fantasy version because Melinda’s mind was so creative. She says it’s CB in the next dimension over.”

  Teri moved back and forth, trying to take in everything. “There is so much here. Fascinating.”

  “Yep, her vision of Corbin’s Bend is a little different from reality. See the stars in the top corner? And the bear in the store window?”

  “I’ve been by here a few times this week and never saw any of it. Is that a paddle tucked behind that storekeeper’s back?” And what did that mean? “How did I not notice any of it?”

  “She said only the real members of Corbin’s Bend would slow down enough to enjoy it and see the surprises. All of them contain hidden pictures that show up in different light except this one.” Kirsten pointed to the partially painted outlines of the two little girls. “She showed me the picture she worked from, a photograph when you were six or seven and this is a pretty exact representation although I am pretty sure you didn’t have dragonflies for barrettes.”

  “It is us, isn’t it?” Her heart fluttered as she traced the girls, pausing where their hands joined. “I guess she saw us together still. And, I suppose, so did I.”

  They stood side by side, in front of the picture, then Teri said, “Let’s get it done.” They worked for an hour or more until the very last square, triangle, and streak was painted then stood back to admire the final result. “Do you think Melinda would be happy I got involved?”

  “Yeah, I do.” She shook free of the trance and turned around.

  “Roy?” He stood with Ben and an older man, the attorney, Sam.

  And behind them at least two dozen people who broke into low applause.

  “Oh my God.” Where did they all come from? And why hadn’t she noticed?