Everyday Blessings (9 page)

“This'll take more than a few hours. Jet likes to take his time when we're on the trail. Friday, then, around ten?”

“Sure, but only if Jonas is doing better.”

“I understand.”

“Tell Jet I'm looking forward to seeing him again. I'll make sure I pick up plenty of butterscotch candy at the store.”

“Tell Annie we're looking forward to it, too.” He got up. He couldn't help feeling awkward. It was a lot easier blaming all of this on Jet. William didn't want to think about what was really behind the invitation. He wasn't sure he knew.

He pulled his wallet from his back pocket and tossed a twenty on the table. Aubrey was gazing up at him wide-eyed, ready to protest his paying for his drink, but she didn't have a choice. He cleared his throat. “You'll keep me updated on Jonas?”

She nodded, but any answer she may have been getting ready to say was cut off as her twin popped into the room with a small pink bakery box in hand.

“With our thanks,” the other sister said as she slid the box onto the table. “I still can't believe
what you're donating to our cause. It's totally super-duper. Jonas will be awed by this when he wakes up, of course.”

William could hardly nod in acknowledgment. He heard the women's words, but he wasn't capable of ripping his gaze from Aubrey. While the woman were identical in looks, he saw the difference. The one wearing the apron bubbled like a mountain creek, while Aubrey was a quiet stream, running slow and deep. She drew him like the stars to the heavens, and, if he was going to reach out to improve his life, there could be no one better to trust.

She didn't appear to be as captivated by him, thank the heavens. Maybe that's why he felt comfortable with her. Calm. At peace. She was getting ready to argue about the twenty, but he stopped her.

“I've got to get back before the storm hits.” It was the truth, but a convenient excuse, too. He took the box and headed for the door. “I'll see you and Annie Friday.”

“Yes, but—”

“Unless you've changed your mind about riding with us?”

Aubrey couldn't seem to get the right words out. She didn't want him to seriously overpay for the brownies—or to pay at all. “Uh, no, a twenty's too much—”

“Then I'll take one of these, too.” He stopped
short of the door, where the sun catchers glinted and swayed. He lifted one neatly off its hook.

“I'll see ya around,” he said on his way out the door. The bell chimed, and he was gone.

Aubrey blinked. She knew her mouth was still hanging open—out of surprise or disbelief, she wasn't sure which. She could only stare at the sight of William making his way across the sun-bright parking lot. Dressed in black, he was an odd contrast to the lively green of the trees lining the lot. He paused in the shade beside a top-of-the-line charcoal-gray truck. He drew a set of keys from his pocket and opened the door.

There it was, that raw hurt in her heart, not one of sadness or pain, but because she felt too much. No, correct that.
William
made her feel too much.

She was hardly aware of Ava at her side until her twin spoke. “He's definitely wow. A twenty on a scale of ten. A real Mr. Wish Come True.”

Yeah, she'd noticed and she was starting to wish a little, too. That was walking on dangerous ground, so she forced down all the quiet new wishes within her heart until they were silent. It was best to be practical.

“Ava, I think you have marriage on the brain. It must come from decorating so many wedding cakes. It's warping your sense of reality.” She said it gently, to tease, to hide the more serious things taking root in her heart. Plus, it made her sister laugh.

“Sure. Right. That's me. But I have weddings on the brain because I'm happily engaged. You know how misery loves company?”

Aubrey nodded, watching as William backed his truck out of the spot.

Ava kept right on chattering. “Well, it's like that but the opposite. Happiness loves company, too, and I want you to be happy.”

Me, too. Aubrey felt the power of that wish with all of her soul. William's truck zipped away and turned out of sight. She was a realist, she wasn't the kind of girl who wished on first stars of the night. She had to be real about this, too. She whipped around and started clearing the table. “What time was Rebecca going to drop off the munchkins?”

“Any second. So, how does it feel to have a date with William?”

“Date? I don't think so. He's lonely. I don't have a trail-riding partner. You know September and I used to ride together, but she moved. That's all there is to it.”

Aubrey refused to wonder why William had bought one of her sun catchers. She refused to let Ava's hopes divert her from what she knew to be true. “William is alone. He's gone through a lot of hardship all by himself without the blessings of family and friends and the support that we have around us. That's all this is. You're making too much of it. Really. He needs someone to reach out to him.”

“Then I'm glad it's you.”

Rebecca chose that moment to drive into sight, and Aubrey was grateful for the interruption. She couldn't find the right words to explain what she felt. Before, Ava had always understood, but now…everything was changing from the way it had always been.

As for William, she knew he needed help. She could
feel
it, but she didn't tell her sister that, either.

She said nothing, watching through the windows as Rebecca, tall and slender and very tan, heaved Madison from her car seat and onto her hip. Rebecca settled a heavy diaper bag on her shoulder and closed Danielle's minivan's side door with the remote. Then, checking for traffic, she took Tyler by the hand.

“Rebecca looks good, doesn't she?” Ava asked.

“Time away from Chris was good for her.”

“If only it would stay that way.”

They said no more. Everyone in the family had tried to help Rebecca see, but it had only driven her away from them. And now, they had a tenuous peace and at least some closeness.

The kids looked better, too. Tyler seemed more like himself as he charged into the shop. His damp hair spiked straight upward, as if he'd been swimming. “Aunt Ava! Aunt Aubrey! I gotta have some pie. Can I? Pleeease?”

Aubrey let her twin handle it. Emotion still seemed wedged in her throat.

“Sure, thing, kiddo, but only a very tiny, itty-bitty piece.” It was their personal joke, which meant a huge slice.

“All right!” Tyler's thongs beat the tile floor in a beeline to the display case as Rebecca let the door swing shut behind her.

“I'm totally in need of chocolate. It's the only thing that got me through two hours of public swim.” Rebecca looked tired, but she was still smiling—always smiling.

Although they weren't related by blood, they were more alike than not. Aubrey reached to take Madison from Rebecca's arms. “You sit down. I'll take charge of our prettiest girl and wrap you up a few treats to go.”

“Thank you so much.” Sweet as could be, Rebecca gave Madison a kiss on the cheek and slipped into the closest chair. “Let me hand over the keys to Danielle's minivan. I just need to give Chris a call. He said he'd pick me up.”

Over the top of Madison's downy brown hair, Aubrey caught Ava's worried look. See, this was what Aubrey should be focusing on—her family and their troubles and how she could help even more. But what was at the back of her mind and lurking in her heart?

William. Her attention shot to his pictures that
were all hope and heart and soul. She doubted that he knew she would not be able to stop thinking about him. At least she knew better than to tread on dangerous ground.

He was a good man, soul deep. Maybe it was admiration she felt. Yes, that's what this was, admiration. And if it was more, then she didn't
have
to think about it. It wasn't as if there was some rule or law saying she had to examine these feelings and impossible wishes, right?

Right. She could simply deny those feelings and wishes. In fact, denial was a traditional coping method in her family. Who was she to buck tradition? She was a realist. She had to stay in control of her feelings.

With Madison on her hip, she went into the kitchen to box a few chocolate cookies for Rebecca.

A
n entire week had nearly spun by in a blur, but Jonas had improved and so that meant Aubrey was on her way to see William again. She pulled into his driveway with the trailer in tow, and there he was beneath the shade of the trees where they'd talked before, adjusting Jet's cinch. Dust swirled around her as she stopped the SUV and hopped out, coughing, into the quiet summer's morning. In a navy T-shirt and jeans and boots, he looked ready to ride. A Stetson shaded his face.

William straightened and led Jet by the ends of the reins in her direction. He was actually smiling. “I could see you coming a mile away.”

It was an exaggeration, but Aubrey knew what he meant. She squinted against the bright yellow paint job that seemed to attract sunlight and
amplify it. “This belongs to my sister. It's shockingly bright, isn't it?”

“I suppose your sedan doesn't have a towing bar?”

“Exactly.” Okay, this was going to make her look even more sensible and he was bound to notice. “I wanted a new SUV, but they're fairly pricey, and when Katherine bought a new car, she sold me hers at the balance of her loan, which was way below blue book. I couldn't refuse.”

“Practical.”

“Yeah, that's me.” Not exactly a compliment, but if she'd even had a smidgen of a doubt—the tiniest drop of doubt—then this cinched it. William, like every other guy she'd come across, saw her as sensible, practical. And in guy talk that meant dull. Plain. Boring.

Yeah, she knew. Not that this was anything more than friendship, but for once, she'd like to be thought of as classy and together and remarkable, like her older sisters. But maybe that was never going to happen and if that stung a little, she tucked that down, too, right along with all the other unwished hopes gathering in the bin marked “denial.” “Since Katherine's fiancé already owns a house, she has this awesome condo she's not going to need anymore. I'm going to take over the payments, I think.”

“Sounds good. Probably close to the bookstore?”

“Yeah. And Ava's bakery.”

“I noticed. I stopped by the bookstore while I was town last week. Ran into your brother.”

“He didn't mention it, then again, he's not much of a talker. I was surprised to find out that you knew him.”

“From the united charities. Seems like aeons ago.” He came into the full sunlight and he looked good. Healthy. Better than she'd ever seen him. There was something snappy to him. Well, maybe
snappy
wasn't the right word, but he definitely seemed to be thriving. His smile came easier as he unlatched the back gate to the trailer. “Spence is a good guy.”

“That's what we keep telling ourselves.” There was no point in boring William with the details of her family dynamics. Jet was close enough that he nosed toward her pocket. “Okay, I'm glad to see you, too, handsome, and yes, I brought candy for you, but you have to wait. Annie hates being stuck in her trailer and missing everything.”

A muffled whinny from inside the trailer seemed to say that Annie agreed. Aubrey politely excused herself to the gelding and slipped past William and into the stall. A few quick minutes later, Annie was backing down the ramp, trying to get her head up to look around.

“She's obviously a well-mannered lady.” William's baritone was pure rumbling admiration.
“Unlike Jet, who has no manners. He kicks and squeals and refuses to load.”

“Annie and I are well-traveled girls.” She kept a tight rein on her energetic mare until Annie had all four hooves on solid ground.

“You would have to be if you two competed.”

“Annie and I liked to travel.”

“You miss it. I can see it on your face.”

“We do, don't we Annie?” The mare nudged her with her velvety nose, so Aubrey gave her ears a scratch. They'd been together for almost fourteen years. If William thought she was so sensible, he might as well know all of it. “We took a bad fall during a competition. Really bad.”

“That's why you limp?”

“I'm lucky that I walk at all, and Annie almost didn't survive. She shattered her cannon bone and it didn't look as if she could make it, but she surprised all of us.” Aubrey took a rattling breath, grateful, always grateful. “But we're still together and we're both fine now.”

“Annie couldn't compete?”

She nodded. “And while I could, eventually, I couldn't do it without her. We're buds.”

“I see that.”

Aubrey knew that probably made her look even more dull. Who knew how far she could have gone with her riding? But that wasn't the important part. Her idea of success was the life she lived right
now, with her close ties to her family and friends, and Annie, who had been a loyal horse friend. Those blessings were worth more to her than all the money in the world.

“I understand.” It was all William said, but his words came so warmly, she knew he did.

“It was a long time ago.”

“It must have been pretty severe.”

“There are worse things.”

She avoided William's gaze and the concern she knew warmed the cinnamon flecks in his eyes. She turned around to fetch Annie's gear but William was already pacing up the ramp. If she leaned to her left side, she could just see him in the dim recesses of the trailer's second stall, hefting the Western saddle and blanket from storage.

How had things gotten so personal between them? She gulped hard to keep all the things she shouldn't be feeling down in the denial bin in her heart. William needed a friend, not more. And she needed…well, she was happy with her life. She had to be sensible. To see this for what it was. If she didn't, then she'd only get hurt.

Just look at him. He was all substance and character, and it was as obvious as the ground under her feet. He emerged from the back of the trailer, handily carrying the saddle and blanket. He was helping her without even asking first. Ava was right. He was definitely a Mr. Wishable. But not hers.

His shadow fell across her as he halted at her side.

“She is beautiful,” he said of the horse. He waited for her to take the blanket laid over the saddle. “Her confirmation is excellent. She won a lot of blue ribbons, did she?”

“She has her share.” Aubrey carefully grasped the light saddle blanket by the hem. She didn't notice at all how her heart sighed, just a little, from being so near to him.

Focus, she told herself. The point is the trail ride, right? She gently laid the soft fleece across Annie's sun-warmed withers, her sorrel shining red in the direct sunshine. “Annie and I made the Olympic equestrian team, but that was before the accident. She would have won. There isn't a better horse anywhere.”

“So I see.” So much love, William thought. For her horse, for everyone around her, for her life. Maybe that was what drew him so strongly to Aubrey. It wasn't only her goodness, but she was everything missing in his life. Everything missing within him. It had been there once. He could see so clearly how he'd stopped living, stopped loving and stopped giving thanks.

It was a good thing he'd invited her. His chest gripped tightly, as if his entire spirit were in agreement. He needed this—a real friend—more than he'd realized.

As soon as Aubrey had carefully smoothed
Annie's lavender blanket, he eased the custom Western saddle onto the mare's back. He liked the care Aubrey took with her horse, her every moment steady and calm, her voice low and warm. When she tightened the cinch, her mare didn't fight the tightening of the belt around her middle. The Arabian simply reached around to try to grab Aubrey's hat by the brim.

When Aubrey laughed, it was the softest, warmest sound. It reached deep inside him and made him feel renewed. Not a bad thing at all, he decided. Since Jet nickered his unhappiness with less attention, he turned his attention to his buddy.

Everything was going to get better now. William could feel it deep to his soul.

 

Aubrey couldn't catch her breath. Beauty was everywhere she looked, in every direction. Complete, flawless beauty. God's nature was an incredible place from the Rockies' proud, rugged peaks holding up the western sky to the offshoot mountains and foothills lifting far above the valley floor. Tall, peaceful evergreens crowded together, arms raised to the infinite sky. Wildflowers peeked their purple, yellow and red heads out from between fern and moss to face the sun.

And the wildlife. She'd seen a hawk stroking the sky in large gliding circles, wings held seemingly motionless. Smaller birds, larks and finches
and even a few jays flitted away from their perches in tree branches.

She'd missed this. In her saddle, Aubrey felt deeply content. The stillness was incredible, the indefinable sense of calm that stretched from the bottom of the valleys to the silent profiles of the mountains. Only the occasional creak of leather or the jangle of a bridle was a reminder that they were in the backcountry. Even the plod of horse hooves on the sun-baked earth seemed a part of the great stillness.

But the best part of the ride? It was William. He was an excellent riding buddy. He led the way along the trail, an old logging road grown nearly over, and set a leisurely, easy pace. He had a sharp eye, too. It was the photographer in him, she supposed. When he spotted fresh cougar tracks, he'd pull up and gesture but didn't break the majestic quiet. His gaze met hers in understanding as she bit her bottom lip to hold in the sigh of awe. An hour into the ride he drew Jet to a halt at the crest of a rise. She reined Annie in beside him and hardly noticed what lay beyond. All she could see was William.

He seemed at peace here. It was in his posture as he twisted a bit in the saddle to look at her, in the straight relaxed line of his shoulders and the easygoing, kind smile that transformed his rugged face. It was an arresting combination that was all sub
stance. Even the shadows were gone from his eyes, as if he'd been able to leave his sorrows behind. She could feel it in the bright air between them.

Definitely wow. It was hard to force her attention to the meadow stretching out before her as quiet and as lulling as a lake. It was one stunning softly pink carpet creeping over the rise of the mountainside and disappearing out of sight. So many roses, there wasn't a single blade of wild grass to break the fragrant, heavenly beauty. She breathed in the sweet wild scent. “Oh, it's like a secret blessing just waiting here to be found.”

“I figured you'd like it.”

“Like it? I could just sit here forever.”

“I thought you'd feel that way.” He paused, as if he were going to say something more, something personal, but changed his mind. “I noticed you use a lot of wildflowers in your artwork.”

“I do.” Okay, she was a little pleased that he'd taken the time to notice that about her. He was a thoughtful man, and it only made her like him more. “Do you mind if I take a few pictures?”

“We've got nothing but time.”

When she smiled, William knew he'd done the right thing in bringing her here, in showing her this tiny piece of paradise. He knew how it was, wanting to capture emotion right along with that creative inspiration. He dismounted when she did. He took Annie's reins so Aubrey could wander along
the edges of the meadow without disturbing the beautiful flowers. He watched while she knelt and clicked away on the little digital camera she'd had in her saddle pack. He watched her wander along the field's perimeter, stopping to look, consider and kneel again to snap more images.

Perfect. That's what she was. Complete, modest beauty. Never had he seen so clearly. The graceful way she smoothed a fingertip lightly over a fragile velvet petal. She was sweetness itself. Sunlight played in her windswept hair, and the summery top she wore was the exact shade of the roses. Feeling flooded him, hurting like light in a dark place that had been left untouched for too long.

“I've got the best idea for my next project.” She glowed with happiness as she rimmed the meadow, heading back his way. “I've been wanting to do more rain chimes, with the fall rains a few months away, and this will be perfect.”

“Rain chimes? Never heard of them.”

“You'll get the first one for the season, how's that?” She must have enjoyed leaving him to wonder as she stowed her camera in the small saddle pack. “They're like wind chimes, but instead of the wind, they catch the rain and chime.”

Sun catchers, wind and rain chimes, he could see the way she took the ordinary and made it a little lovelier. They had that in common, the appreciation of what was right in front of them, and it broke
down his reserve, the careful space he kept between himself and other people. He felt revealed as the warm mountain breeze swept over him. Aubrey came close, too close, but he didn't move away.

She pulled a new roll of candy from her jeans pocket. Annie tried to grab it and Jet whinnied a demand, but she only laughed softly as she tore off the wrapper cap. “You two will have to wait. William, you're first.”

As William took the first disk of butterscotch, Jet nosed him in the shoulder. The gelding's impatience made Aubrey laugh again, so he gave Jet the piece of candy. The gelding crunched away, causing Annie to lift her lips back from her teeth in protest.

“You're next, you.” Kind, always kind, Aubrey slid a butterscotch onto her palm. The mare lipped it up fast, apparently territorial over what she considered to be her roll of candy.

He could see how it was between the woman and her horse. Close friends. They'd been together through a lot. “How long ago was the accident?” he found himself asking without thought of intention. He just wanted to know more.

“I was sixteen, so, what's that, eleven years ago.”

“Most horses don't survive a fall like that.”

She stroked Annie's sun-warmed cheek. “We had a top-notch vet and a team of specialists, and God was gracious. Annie got through it.”