Inspirational Christian Fiction Boxed Set: Embers and Ashes Series (Books 1 - 4)

by T. K. Chapin

  “It’s okay,” I replied, confused. Why would she do this? What was it that I was missing?

  Breaking into my thoughts, Timothy stood up and asked, “Hey. You want to meet Kyle?”

  I nodded. “I’d like that.”

  Walking into Kyle’s bedroom back at Timothy’s house, I opened the door to find him playing. “This is your Uncle Kane,” Timothy said.

  I smiled.

  Kyle looked up at me for a moment and then continued playing. Bending a knee down to see what he was doing, I saw he was playing with a red fire truck. I couldn’t help but smile again. “You like fire trucks?”

  “Yeah,” the little boy said followed by a phlegmy cough.

  Looking up at Timothy, I asked, “How old is he?”

  “Five.”

  “You’re five, Kyle?” I asked.

  He nodded as he let another cough out. Then he held up the fire truck to my face.

  “He loves fire trucks. Ever since our mom gave him that he has been in love with the idea of being a fireman someday.”

  I smiled, thinking about my mother. I sensed she knew I’d be here some day. Looking back at Timothy, I asked, “You know I’m a firefighter?”

  He shook his head. “No. I had no idea. Mom didn’t tell me about you and Emily very much… just said she loved you and you two were doing well.” He looked down at Kyle. “You hear that? Your uncle Kane is a firefighter!”

  Kyle looked up at me and said, “You a fireman?”

  I nodded and smiled. “I am.”

  “Cool!” he exclaimed.

  Standing up, I looked over at Timothy and said, “Thanks for bringing me to meet him. It’s getting late, though.”

  “No problem. I’ll walk you to the door.” As we were walking down the hallway, I noticed holes along the hall in the wood paneling on both sides. And as we made it to the front door, I stopped and turned to Timothy.

  “Emily’s going to contest the will most likely,” I said.

  He nodded. “I figured you both would contest it.”

  “You don’t seem mad about that,” I said, confused.

  He sighed and stepped outside, shutting the door behind him. “I know this might seem to contradict me a bit, but money has never been anything outside a means to an end for me. And honestly… do you want to know the truth?”

  “Well, duh.” I replied laughing.

  “I did know about the money…”

  I dropped my smile and shook my head. “You lied to me?”

  “Not exactly… The truth is, Mom had a very specific reason for the money to come my direction. She wrote this letter about what she wanted done with the money. It feels more like a laundry list than anything else and if you guys take the money, I won’t have to deal with some hard ones on the list.” He reached into his back pocket and handed it to me. “It’s all in there.”

  “Why wouldn’t she entrust Emily and me with this letter?” I asked.

  “Just read it,” Timothy insisted.

  The door behind him opened and it was Kyle. “Daddy… can you make me some dinner?”

  He nodded as he went inside. He paused before shutting the door and said, “That’s a copy. Take it and read it. If it ends up uncontested… I’m going to go ahead and do what the letter states. I couldn’t go against mom like that… If it’s contested, I’ll just take my own portion and do what I want. Ya know… since I won’t have enough to do the stuff in the letter. Up to you, brother.”

  I nodded and headed down the steps and back out to Kristen’s car. Getting in the car, she asked, “What’s that you have?”

  “I don’t know, I haven’t read it.” Looking down at the letter, I began to read it out loud.

  Dearest Timothy,

  I am leaving my entire life insurance policy, in the sum of $500,000 to you. Every dime that you receive, I’d like for you to spend on what this letter states. If you choose not to spend it as I wish, that is your choice. I pray that you do the right thing.

  1. Please move into a nice house. Part of the life insurance policy can easily afford you a decent house in the current area you live. I looked into the prices.

  2. With another piece of the money, please enroll Kyle in a private Christian School for grades of kindergarten through sixth grade.

  3. Use a portion of the money to return to school and make something of your life. You can do anything you want.

  4. Buy a decent car

  5. Pay Emily back for my funeral expenses (I’m sure she went all out and would appreciate it).

  6. This one doesn’t cost money, but my hope is you do it. Spend at least 12 months going to church, reading your Bible and listening to Christian music. While this is the only item on the list that doesn’t cost money, it’s by far the most important and valuable.

  Love,

  Your Mother

  My eyes watered and I wiped the tears away as I looked over at Kristen. “This is what I needed to find.”

  “Is this your mother’s handwriting?”

  I nodded.

  “You think he’ll do it?” she asked, glancing back up towards the brick house with a concerned look on her face.

  “I hope he does…” I replied. Thinking about Emily, I worried about what she would say. It didn’t say anything about us getting any cut of the money outside her funeral expenses.

  CHAPTER 18

  Pulling up to the curb at Emily’s house back in Spokane, Kristen put the car into park. Glancing out the window towards my sister’s house, I smiled and then looked back over at Kristen. “Thanks for going with me… Or… I guess taking me.” I laughed.

  She smiled and looked through the windshield. “I enjoyed going.”

  Leaning over the armrest, I gently turned her chin with my finger to face me. She looked deep into my eyes and I into hers. Slowly leaning in closer, my lips touched hers momentarily. It was perfect. Leaning back in my seat, I broke out in a smile.

  “That was…” she took a deep breath. “Nice.”

  “It was.” I leaned in again, this time quicker and I slid my fingers through her hair as I pulled her in for a passionate kiss. Stopping myself, I released her and grinned. “We should stop.”

  “Yes, we should,” she replied, blushing as she took another deep breath. “I’m going to head over to Moses Lake and pick up Blake.”

  “Good. Is he ready to come home?” I asked.

  She nodded. “I talked to him a little bit yesterday when you were speaking with Timothy.”

  “That’ll be good for him to get back home,” I replied, trying to continue the small talk to keep my mind off the kiss. Looking at Emily’s house, I saw my sister looking out the window in her living room.

  “She’s kind of creepy,” Kristen said, laughing, and leaning down to see a glimpse of Emily through the windshield.

  “I know,” I replied. “She loves being all up in my business.” Reaching over to the door, I opened it. “Thanks again. And… when can I see you again?” I asked, not wanting to leave.

  “Friday night? I think the youth is doing basketball at the church. We can go do something during that time,” Kristen said as I got out of the car.

  Looking Kristen in the eyes, I nodded. “Alright,” I said, smiling.

  “Kane,” Emily said from the steps of her house behind me.

  “I better go,” I laughed. Leaning into the car I grabbed my duffle bag from the back seat.

  “See you around,” Kristen said, putting the car into drive.

  Shutting the car door, I turned around and began walking toward Emily. She looked confused as she watched Kristen drive away. “What happened to your car?”

  “It’s totaled.”

  Her eyes widened. “You aren’t upset?”

  “I’m extremely upset, but there’s not much I can do about it.”

  “What happened?” Emily asked.

  “Few days ago I got into a wreck and ended up in the hospital.”

  “What? The hospital? Why didn’t I know abou
t this?”

  I shrugged. “You don’t need to know everything that happens.”

  “You were hospitalized!” she retorted.

  “I was out of there the same day I went.”

  “Really?” she asked, looking me up and down.

  “Yeah…” I paused. “I saw Timothy…”

  Her eyebrows shot up. “Come inside.”

  Following her in, I tossed the duffle bag on the couch and took a seat next to it. Kicking my feet up on the coffee table, I relaxed back into the couch, and my eyes began to grow heavy with exhaustion.

  “So… tell me about what happened with Timothy,” Emily said.

  I put my feet down and sat up. Leaning down to pet Roofus, I pulled the letter from my back pocket and handed it to her. She began reading the letter and covered her mouth as she gasped. Setting it down, she wiped her eyes with a Kleenex from the coffee table.

  “Hey, Uncle Kane,” Christopher said, walking in from the hallway.

  “Sup? I heard you went to another LAN party with the youth?” I asked, watching him walk into the kitchen.

  “Yep, ” he replied as he opened up the fridge. “It was a blast.”

  “That’s good.”

  “Do you know when Blake is coming home? We missed him…” Christopher asked, pulling out a pitcher of orange juice. “I only ask because I saw you getting out of Kristen’s car out my bedroom window.”

  I stood up and joined him in the kitchen. “Kristen just headed off to go get him from Moses Lake.”

  “You two an item now?” Emily asked from the living room couch.

  Trying not to show too much of my boyish excitement, I said, “I think so.”

  “Good for you. She’s hot,” Christopher said.

  “Christopher Allen!” Emily snapped at him.

  “Sorry… she’s really attractive?” Christopher said, smiling.

  I laughed.

  “Can you come back in here so we can talk about this?” Emily asked me, looking at the letter.

  I turned and looked at her, “Sure.”

  Coming back into the living room, I took a seat on the couch. She waited for Christopher to finish getting his snack and retreat back to his room. As the door shut, she turned to me, “So. Do you buy this letter?”

  “What? Of course… it sounds like Mom.”

  She sighed. “Yeah… and it’s in her handwriting… Seems real.”

  “But he can’t do it if we contest the will…” I replied.

  “Why does he need all this money?” she asked, holding out the letter. “Is it that bad for him?”

  “Ems… he has holes in his wood paneling.”

  “Wood paneling?” she asked, looking remorseful. “Holes? That bad?”

  I nodded. “It’s bad.”

  “What about your car? And my student loans? We have needs too…”

  I put my hand on Emily’s and said, “This money can change his life.” I shook my head, “We aren’t going anywhere if we get that money. We both have careers, and we already had all the opportunities we needed growing up, Ems. He didn’t get that.”

  She sighed as she seemed to be thinking it over, looking at the letter again. “Okay. You’re right. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but let’s let him have it. I won’t contest it.”

  I smiled and hugged her. “You’re doing the right thing, Ems,” I said.

  “For the record… I think he’s going to blow it all and not do anything in this letter. But it’s what Mom wanted.”

  “I’m going to pray he does it,” I replied.

  “Hey. Do you want Mom’s Oldsmobile so you have wheels?” she asked.

  “What about Christopher? She left that to you so he could have it.”

  Emily laughed. “I’m not worried about it. He’s not driving for a while and you need a car.”

  I nodded. “Want to give me a ride up there to get it?”

  “Of course, how else are you going to get it?” She replied, laughing.

  I shrugged grinning. “Thanks, Sis.”

  “I never thought I’d see the day you’d drive something like that around… maybe you have really changed,” Emily replied.

  Getting into my mother’s old car took me back to a simpler time. Kyle, Emily and I would all load up in the back seat and go visit Aunt Colleen over in Lincoln City. It was a twelve hour drive one way, and we didn’t have much money for hotel stops so we’d have to do a straight shot there. We’d get in the car before dawn right after breakfast and drive all day to make it there in time for dinner. It worked out so we only would be eating one meal on the road, lunch.

  Turning the key over, I smiled as it fired up without any complaints. My cell phone rang as I watched Emily pull out of Mom’s driveway. It was Cole.

  “You called me earlier, but I missed the call,” Cole said.

  “Yeah, I was seeing if that baseball game with the station was going on yesterday or today.”

  “It happened yesterday.”

  “Dang… I missed it.”

  “Yeah. Did you find your brother?” Cole asked.

  “I’ll stop by the station and tell you all about it.”

  As I climbed the stairs of station 9, the smell of Micah’s stew filled my nostrils, and I got a good feeling deep inside, like I was home again. Reaching the dining hall, I smiled as I saw all the guys sitting around the table sharing a meal.

  Walking in, everyone stopped eating and stood up. Each one of them offered their condolences individually. My eyes welled with tears as each one of my brothers shook my hand and gave me a hug. As they sat back down, Cole turned in his chair and said, “Grab a bowl, McCormick. The stew is still hot.”

  Going into the kitchen, I smiled as I ladled myself a bowl of the stew. These guys had my back no matter what. As I sat down at the table next to Brian, he asked, “You coming back to work?”

  “Of course,” I replied. “I just saw you the other day and told you that. I’m thinking Monday, next week.”

  “Four more days,” Rick said.

  “Good math, Alderman,” I replied with a laugh. “But it’s actually five days. Today is Wednesday.”

  “Chief said you could take a couple of weeks off, though, right? It’s only been a week,” Cole said before taking a bite of his stew.

  “That is true,” I replied. “But I’m feeling up to returning earlier… We already did the funeral. Just not much more to do. I don’t have a whole lot of family around.”

  Everyone nodded in acknowledgment with their mouths full.

  Taking a bite of my roll and then a spoonful of stew, I smiled. I sure did miss the home cooked meals here at the station, I thought to myself. Looking up, I made eye contact with Micah. “My car is totaled.”

  “No way, man!” Micah responded, shaking his head. “What happened?”

  “Got hit on the way out of my apartment complex. I was at a dead stop and some bozo in a truck nailed me,” I replied.

  “Did you get hurt?” Ted asked.

  “Yep. Check this out,” I replied. Standing up, I lifted up my shirt and showed them my bandage. Peeling it back, everyone cringed but Ted, who leaned in for a better look.

  “Not while we’re eating, man!” Rick snapped.

  I laughed and sat back down. “Sorry about that.”

  “You thought you could play baseball with a wound like that?” Cole asked.

  “It doesn’t hurt too bad and I just try to ignore it. I would have been fine, I think.”

  “But twisting your whole body when you swing a bat would be killer on that wound.”

  “True… I didn’t think about that. That’d probably hurt.”

  As I was putting my disposable bowl in the garbage after dinner, Cole came into the kitchen. “You seem great, Kane. You been relying more on God?”

  “Yes, Sir. That talk up on the mountain changed my life, man.”

  He shook his head. “You were already on the right path.”

  I put my hand on Cole’s shoulder. “
No… That was incredible what you did for me up there. I went back to my mom’s and repented and began digging into God’s word. The most incredible things have happened since I started letting the Holy Spirit lead me.”

  Cole replied, “I noticed a change in you even from the other day I saw you at your apartment. You were upset that day, but I sensed the change. So tell me what happened with your brother.”

  “He needs the money bad,” I said. Pulling out the letter, I handed it to him, and said, “My mother left him that letter, and I got Ems to not contest the will. So I’m hoping and trusting God will help Timothy do the right thing. And if he doesn’t… I’ll be okay with that too.”

  Cole read the letter and handed it back to me. “That’s amazing, McCormick.” He nodded. “I hope he does it. That’d be awesome!”

  I nodded and pushed him lightly in the shoulder. “Hey. Guess who got saved?”

  “Emily?” Cole asked.

  I shook my head. “I have a feeling she’s on the way to the cross. But no, it was Christopher.”

  “Christopher? That’s great!” Cole replied, beaming.

  “I know. Isn’t that awesome?” I asked, putting the letter back in my pocket.

  “God is good!” Cole replied, looking up.

  “He sure is… Thanks again. For everything.”

  “Anytime you need anything, let me know,” Cole replied.

  “Same goes for you, Cole.”

  “Thanks,” he said, as he began putting the stew in a plastic storage container.

  My phone rang, pulling me away from Cole. Walking out into the hallway, I saw it was Christopher.

  “Hey, Bud,” I said, answering.

  “Hi, Kane.”

  “What’s going on?” I asked as I walked into the weight room.

  “Just wanted to call and see how you were doing. Mom told me about your car getting destroyed… that super sucks.”

  I smiled. I knew how much Christopher loved my car. “It does suck, but I’m thankful to God nobody got seriously hurt.”

  “Speaking of God. I was wondering… how do you get people to agree with you?”

  I laughed as I sat down on an exercise ball in the weight room. “What do you mean?”