Everyday Blessings (6 page)

“You take care now.”

“You, too.” The line went dead the same instant the overhead light winked off. Hail slammed against the windows and the roof overhead. Aubrey set down the phone and went to the living-room window. The storm had drained the last of the light from the evening, and it looked as dark as night outside, except for the brilliant jagged bolts of lightning crackling across the sky. Everything went black, including the other apartments in the building and the entire residential block she could see from her perch.

Maybe she should go in search of a flashlight and some candles. Who knew what Ava may have done with the matches? The chances of finding them had to be next to none. Aubrey felt the edge of the coffee table press against the back of her calves. She'd try the kitchen drawers first, then decide what to eat if the electricity stayed out.

About the time she found a flashlight at the back of the sixth drawer she'd searched, the door flung open with a gust of wind and hammering hail. A faint, familiar shadow filled the entryway and wrestled the door shut.

“Whew!” Ava leaned against the door looking utterly exhausted. “Talk about a storm. I pulled into the parking lot as the lights went out, or I'd
probably be snarled up in a long traffic jam somewhere. The streetlights are out, too. Guess what I brought?”

Aubrey squinted at the brown paper bag. Could it be? “Leftovers?”

“Yep! I didn't forget ya, and good thing, too. And guess what? It's still warm. What have you been up to, besides hunting for a flashlight?”

“It would have helped if you made it a habit to put things where they belong.”

“I had technical difficulties.”

“What a surprise.” Aubrey pulled a knife and fork from the silverware drawer and a length of paper towel from the roll. “I never thought I'd ever be lucky enough to marry you off. I can't believe there was a taker for you.”

“I know. It just goes to show that true love doesn't find you until you've given up your last shred of hope.” Cheerfully, Ava padded into the living room. “I heard from Dad, who'd talked to Katherine who heard from Danielle that Jonas is holding his own. He's not better, but he's not worse. That's a miracle enough for now.”

“And something to be very thankful for.” Aubrey slid onto the middle cushion of the couch and stood the flashlight on end on the coffee table. She opened the brown bag Ava had brought her. “Ooh, chicken manicotti. Garlic bread. Onion rings.”

“And chocolate fudge brownies are on the bottom.” Ava dropped into the reading chair and tilted her head to one side as if she were focusing on something on the shadowed edge of the coffee table.

Right where she'd left the phone, Aubrey realized. And William's card! She reached out to snatch it.

Not fast enough. Ava slapped her hand down on it. “Well, now, what have we here?”

“Nothing. And if it was, it's not your business.”

“You have that wrong, Aub. Everything is my business.” If Ava grinned any wider, she was going to sprain a jaw muscle. She snatched up the card and kept it protected against her palm, so that it would be impossible for Aubrey to grab. She squinted in the bad light. “William Corey. Imagine that.”

“Danielle asked me to keep him informed of Jonas's condition.”

“Sure she did.” Ava rolled her eyes, reading far too much into that simple, innocent request.

“Don't even go there.” Oh, Aubrey knew exactly what her twin was thinking. Her twin with no common sense whatsoever had an imagination that always got her into trouble. “It was totally nothing.”

“If I remember right, didn't I say the same thing when I met Brice?”

“Yes, but this really is just business.” Not that she'd remembered to tell him much about it. How could she have forgotten? “He wants to make a donation, too.”

“Okay sure, but I said it was just business, too, and look at me—engaged to be married to Brice and having had an
almost
successful dinner with his parents.”

“No, when you met Brice, you thought he was a yucky man with no morals, propositioning you. Nothing could have been further from the truth.”

“Oh, yeah, well, so I was wrong. It worked out.”

It was Aubrey's turn to roll her eyes. Ava was wrong all the time, but she wasn't about to argue with her. That would only keep the conversation focused on William, right where it didn't belong. Ava
so
had the wrong idea about poor William. Time to redirect the conversation. “Why was the dinner with Brice's parents
almost
successful? What did you do this time?”

“It's always me, isn't it? Okay, so it was.” In good humor, Ava laughed at herself. “Brice's mom had just got this new vase kind of thing. I guess it was worth beaucoup bucks. Do I look like an art expert? No-oo. I decorate cakes and work part-time in a bookstore when there aren't enough bakery orders. What do I know about porcelain or china or whatever antique vases are made out of? So, I said that it was nice, but our sister had one like it she found at a flea market and Brice's mom about had an aneurysm. She choked right there in the dining room on a bite of manicotti. Brice's dad had to give her the Heimlich.”

“Sounds like a typical dinner with you.”

“It was a disaster. The vase was some priceless collector thing. How did I know? Although it made Brice and his dad howl with laughter for a good ten minutes. It was even funnier than the time I mistook their conversation on Schubert for the guy who owns the candy store in town. Do I look like a classical music expert?”

“You look like a nut.” Aubrey couldn't resist. She loved her sister.

“Don't I know it. I'm waiting for Brice to tear the engagement ring off my finger and run for the hills as fast as he can go, but he says he loves me just the way I am.”

“Go figure.”

“There is definitely something wrong with that man.” Ava sparkled with happiness. “Okay, it didn't work.”

“What didn't?”

“Diverting me. I haven't forgotten about this guy.” She waved the card in the air for emphasis. “Dorrie said he was so gorgeous, she gave him a nine point five on a scale of ten.”

“Why didn't she give him a ten? I would have.” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. How on earth could she have admitted something so personal? So ridiculous? So not true?

Okay, it was true. But was she prepared to admit
that? No. She had to do some backpedaling and fast. “Not that I was really noticing or anything. But if I were a different sort of girl, one who was looking for a great-looking guy, I might rate him a ten.”

“But since you're not the kind of girl who is looking for a great guy, you didn't notice,” Ava said reasonably. “I understand perfectly.”

“You do?” That didn't sound like her sister. Panic shot through her stomach. “Wait, you aren't planning any matchmaking schemes are you? Remember what happened when you tried to set up Katherine with the copier guy?”

“It didn't work out.”

“Didn't work out? The copier at the bookstore was broken for three whole weeks because Katherine didn't want to call the repairman to get it fixed. She was avoiding him. I was the one who had to run to the copy shop down the street and get stuff copied. You are a terrible matchmaker. Look at Rebecca.”

“That's not a good example. I set them up accidentally.”

“You set our little stepsister up with a mean guy.”

“I didn't know he was mean. The chef I was dating at the time knew him from a Bible study group. He seemed real nice. How was I to know to he'd be a disaster?”

“Maybe the clue would have been that on date number three you slammed the chef's fingers in
the car door when he tried to—you know. Here's a hint. He wasn't a nice guy.”

“For the record, I realized that after I set Rebecca and Chris up. And I never meant to break the chef's fingers. It was an accident.” Ava rolled her eyes. “What happened to forgiveness? Besides, I wouldn't dream of trying to fix you up. I know that you don't mind having to live alone forever after I get married. I know you like being a single, happening kind of girl.”

“That's me.” Not. Aubrey rolled her eyes. “I hope the lights come back on. I wanted to start reading my new copy of
Phineas Finn
tonight. And before you say it, I know I'm not going to get a husband sitting home reading an old, thick book, but I like old, thick books and I don't want a husband.”

“I don't believe that for a minute. That's dishonest.”

It was, technically, because she intended to make it the truth. She would work at it until it was the whole truth, that she didn't mind the feeling of an empty home or looking ahead to a future without a good man to share it with. What were the chances of finding a man who would fall devotedly in love with her? Nil. Men did not fall 100 percent in love with girls like her. It was just a fact of life. And one day, she'd be able to face that fact without it hurting so much.

Not that she wanted to admit that truth, either. Or
that her thoughts went automatically to William. “I'm happy with my life. And I love being an auntie. You know I adore Danielle's munchkins and one day, I'll have yours to spoil.”

“Scary thought, huh? Can you imagine? That's a disaster waiting to happen.” Ava rolled her eyes, but she was beaming joy again. “Well, in good time. I'm not in a hurry. We've got to get Katherine married off first—”

“If she doesn't cancel the wedding because of Jonas's condition. I think she's pretty sure she's going to.”

“—then we have to get Jonas well and back on his feet. Then there's my wedding to plan. Then the actual wedding. I want to just enjoy my new life with Brice first before we start a family, so you'll have a couple of years to prepare yourself for the challenge of babysitting my munchkins.”

“I can't wait. I'll need that long to gather my strength.”

“Oh, here's your book. I'm going to call Brice.” Ava pulled the book off the cushion where she was sitting. “I wonder if William likes to read, too?”

“Don't even go there,” Aubrey demanded, but she wasn't sure if she was telling that to Ava or to herself.

Too bad, because William was definitely off-limits. And she liked him. Very much. Wasn't that just her luck?

S
he'd been tricked. Duped. Deceived. Days later, behind the wheel of her sensible beige Toyota, Aubrey tried to keep her frustrations at her sister down
and
at the same time keep her eyes peeled for the right driveway, but she'd probably missed it. Nothing surrounded her but wilderness and mountains. The town was nearly an hour away. The directions Ava had scribbled on the back of her bakery's napkins were confusing at best. No surprise there.

What was a surprise? That she'd let her twin talk her into deliveries this afternoon. Now that Dad and Dorrie were in town to help out, she actually had a free afternoon. She'd planned on working in her studio or updating her Web site or any of the numerous errands that had been put off for too long.

Instead, she'd let Ava, who'd been suddenly overwhelmed with cake orders, talk her into making a few deliveries. She did this all the time for Ava, so why would she suspect that there would be anything out of the ordinary? And there wasn't, until she got to the fifth invoice piled on her front passenger seat and realized that the next delivery was not only way out of town, but it was probably more than an innocent delivery. Ava and Danielle must have concocted this scheme together.

Was that nice, or what? It was a loving thing, that her sisters wanted her to be happy, but they were off the mark. In fact, Ava's harebrained matchmaking schemes were always a sign of sure disaster, so this meant there wasn't the remotest possibility for romance. It didn't matter if she liked William or not, it wasn't as if he were interested in her, right? Besides, she wouldn't allow herself to like him like
that.
End of story.

According to her odometer, she'd already driven the two miles from the end of the maintained county road. Since there wasn't a soul in sight, only trees and an empty gravel road, she pulled to a stop in the narrow lane and went back over the directions. Then she saw it, the unadorned driveway flanked by old-growth cedars, and nosed her sedan down the gravel lane.

But was her mind on her driving? No. It was on William. Would he be glad to see her? She'd tried
calling to warn him of her arrival, but there had been no answer. Hopefully, he wouldn't take her showing up with a chocolate cake the wrong way. She steered carefully around the bend in the road. The evergreens were so thick and stretched so high it blocked out all but the smallest dapples of sunlight and most of the sky above. The world and its troubles seemed so far away, and she knew exactly why William had chosen to live here.

The evergreens gave way to a large lush clearing of land. When had she driven off the edge of the earth and into paradise?

Acres of white board fencing, picture-perfect, framed green pasture. Under the shade of a copse of maples sat an upscale stable, made of log and stone. A stable? Did that mean William had horses? She felt her pulse still when she spotted a sleek gray gelding grazing in the green paddock.

William did have horses. That came as a total surprise, but an exciting one. Okay, so there were a lot of horse owners in the world, but it seemed cool that they had this in common, too. It was always great to meet a fellow horseman, right?

She pulled to a stop in a gravelly area beside the three-car garage. Right in front of her, neatly hung from the light pole was a very large No Trespassing sign.

Oops. Well, she might not be invited, but she had legitimate business. She pocketed her keys
and grabbed the bag from the front passenger seat. The minute her foot hit the ground, she took a moment to breathe in the crisp, clean mountain air and feel as if she could brush her fingertips across the iridescent blue sky. In the background, mountain peaks speared up with such force and closeness, she felt as if she could reach out and touch those craggy, amethyst peaks. There was nothing but miles of green wilderness to explore.

The ratchet of what sounded like a round being chambered in a rifle echoed in the heavenly stillness. Larks silenced. The wind stilled. Then she heard the telltale metallic clunk of a gate latch falling shut. She turned toward the stable and there he was, William, astride an impressive, midnight-black Thoroughbred. Why did that suddenly make her nervous?

He halted his horse and leaned slightly forward, resting his fists on the saddle's pommel. He looked rugged and masculine in a black T-shirt and jeans. High astride the tall, impressive horse he seemed, somehow, as distant as the shadows. The dappled shade from the tall grove of trees shifted over him, hiding all but the hard, lean lines of his disapproving face. “Seeing you again, Aubrey, is a surprise.”

“A good surprise or bad surprise?”

The hint of a smile strained against the line of his mouth. “Depends.”

“I brought cake.” She lifted the bakery bag as proof.

“Chocolate?”

“Is there any other kind?”

“Nope.” At the subtle brilliance of her smile, William felt the protective walls around his heart buckle a tiny bit right when he needed them the most. She was like a refreshing summer morning, radiating innocence and light, and he couldn't pinpoint why. There was simply something innately good about her beyond the image of the golden hair framing her face and ruffling in the mild mountain breeze and more than the sweetness of her smile.

Drawn to her, he pressed Jet into a walk to close the distance between them. “Why did you bring me chocolate cake?”

“It's not from me. I'm just the delivery person.” She held the bag so he could read it. There was a smiling cartoon sun on the side of the bag with the bold script, Every Kind of Heaven Bakery. “I'm on a delivery for my sister. Danielle ordered this for you. As a thank-you.”

Realization sucker punched him. “What for?”

“Do you really want me to make a list? There's the lawn mowing and the picture delivery. I guess she also found the book you'd autographed for her. You stopped by the hospital to offer to donate to his medical fund. Your photograph gave her hope when she'd hit rock bottom. Isn't that enough?”

“No.” He didn't need anything from anyone—how did he explain that to her? That he might not be happy alone on his mountain, but he wasn't unhappy, either. “I hate to ask how Jonas is doing.”

“You know how serious this is.”

“My wife's coma continued to degenerate. That's a very distant way to say it, right? Like a line descending on a graph somewhere, as if it isn't about the slow, painful loss of human life. Is that what's happening with Jonas?”

The brightness seemed to fade from her. Aubrey shrugged and concentrated on setting the bag on the top of the low stone fence that separated them. “Actually, he's holding his own. He's responding to deep pain stimulus, or something. Some of his signs have improved. I have no idea what that means or what they are, but Danielle is convinced his vitals change when she's in the room with him. So, maybe between a miracle and her love, it'll make a difference.”

In his experience, love hadn't been enough but that didn't mean Jonas would suffer the same fate. “I've been keeping him in prayer.”

“I know it helps. Thank you.” She gulped in air, as if willing away the sadness. “So, change of subject because it's too hard to deal with.”

“I understand. It's why I live all the way out here.”

Her gaze met his, full of heart, and he felt the con
nection zing through his spirit. She did understand. He didn't feel as sorely alone. It was a nice change.

Unaware he'd nudged Jet forward on the lawn, suddenly they were closer to her. The distance between them was no longer yards but less than two feet with only the decorative stone fence between them.

“Hello there.” Aubrey lowered her gaze to the gelding. She held out her hand, palm up, for Jet to sniff. “You are one handsome guy.”

William's throat tightened, and he dismounted, hardly aware of the horse's low welcoming nicker as he snuffled at Aubrey's slender hand. He didn't need to ask if she liked horses; he figured Aubrey liked everything. William's every sense, every brain cell was captivated by her. Unable to look away, he watched Aubrey smile when Jet offered his nose for a pat.

“How did you know I'm a softy for a good-looking guy like you?”

The tightness in William's throat expanded until it felt as if not even one atom of oxygen could squeeze past. Emotions he couldn't name, and didn't want to if he could, seemed to sit there right behind his Adam's apple. He couldn't talk or breathe. He could only watch as the big black gelding lowered his head and began to lip at Aubrey's jeans pocket. She must have candy.

Jet stomped and huffed, clearly demanding.

“William, your horse is spoiled.”

“Guilty.”

“You don't sound one bit sorry about that.”

“Nope. He's my best buddy.”

“I'm sure he's a good one. And a charming guy.” Aubrey could feel the weight of William's focus.

The line of his mouth crooked a little higher in the corners. “Jet seems charmed by you.”

“I think it's the roll of butterscotch candy.” She slipped it out of her pocket and Jet nodded his head as he was agreeing.

“It's his favorite.”

“I can tell.”

Aubrey noticed the kind twinkle in William's eyes. It was hard to notice anything else as she kept the roll out of the horse's reach and unwrapped the candy. If she kept watching William like this, he was going to leap to the wrong conclusion.

She turned her attention to the beautiful gelding. “I'll have you know that my girl's an Arabian and butterscotch is her favorite, too.”

She held the buttery candy on her palm for the gelding to lip up. Jet's mouth was velvety warm and his whiskers tickled her skin as he took the offering and crunched away contentedly.

“An Arabian? For pleasure riding or show?” William asked.

“We used to compete when I was in high school, but now we jump for fun. She's one of my
best buds, too.” Aubrey knew William understood. “My Annie and I have been through a lot together. This is probably the only time in my life when I've been too busy to see her much.”

“You miss her.”

“I do. Life can't get much better than when you're galloping with your horse.”

“I know that feeling.”

Caring snapped in the vicinity of her heart. It would be really easy to like William, to truly like him, in a way that could only be one-sided. Whatever she did, she'd have to be careful, very careful, not to let that happen.

Perhaps she'd better concentrate on the horse. He'd finished his candy and had started to nudge her hand, wanting more.

As if she could say no. She was all marshmallow fluff inside, so of course she unwrapped another candy to feed him. She waited until he was munching away before she offered William the roll. “Would you like one?”

“Sure.” He moved a step closer and took a candy from the top of the roll. “You've been riding most of your life?”

“Of course. My gran taught me when I was little.” Aubrey took a candy for herself and slipped Jet one more butterscotch before pocketing the roll. “She owns a ranch east of the city. She had a serious love for horses. I got that from her.”

“Sounds nice to have shared that with her.”

“Her and Grandpop. They used to take all of us kids for wonderful long trail rides. It was some of our best times together as a family. Our mom left when I was seven, and that helped get us through. I was the one who spent even more time at the stables.”

“Do you still trail ride?”

“Not with my family anymore. Everything changes, doesn't it? Grandpop passed away a few years ago, and Gran hasn't ridden since. But I'll always have a lot of good memories I wouldn't trade for anything.”

William leaned closer, and the empathy on his face showed that he understood. “You know, there's a lot of good backcountry riding around here. Trail riding. Hiking. Canoeing.”

Okay, that was too much of a coincidence. “You like canoeing, too?”

“It's one of my very favorite things.”

That shouldn't have surprised her, but it did. They had so much in common. She could just picture him paddling through a serene mountain lake, alone, of course. That's how she essentially saw him. She took a step back on the path. “I've intruded on you long enough. Before I go, I've got news on what Danielle's decided to do.”

“You mean the medical fund?”

“She doesn't want to take people's money. So many people have offered. It was the first thing the
church started to do. But Jonas seems to have great insurance and they aren't hurting at this point. She'd rather donate the money, in Jonas's name, to the widows and orphans fund for the state's lawmen.”

“She doesn't believe she's going to lose him.”

“If she can, she'll will him well.”

He knew what that was like, too. “It's a good cause. I'm still interested in donating. It's the least I can do for Jonas. If there's something else I can do to directly make things easier for Danielle, then you'll tell me?”

“There's more about that than you're telling me, and that's okay. I'm not prying.” There was only compassion and concern on her face as she took another step back. “Just ready to listen if you need it. I've put the information for the fund-raisers in the bakery bag.”

“I'll take a look at it.”

“I'm keeping you and Jet from your ride. I'd better go.”

“We're in no hurry.” He was at a loss as to why he didn't want to let her go.

She retreated a few more steps into the shadows. “You might want to put the cake in the house first. I'm not sure about the frosting melting or whatever, but it's still, what, in the high nineties?”

“Gotcha. I'll take it in, first.” Somehow the words escaped, although the emotion remained
lodged tight in his throat, a sharp stubborn tangle he couldn't swallow down or dislodge. He told himself it was because of what he'd told her that day in the hospital, private information he'd kept intentionally buried. That's what this had to be. It was the only thing that made sense. Those had been his truths, his past, times that hurt too much to remember.