Finding Kylie (32 page)

             
“Wow!”  Anne said in amazement.  “You’re in love!”  She laughed out loud and continued, “ Man, I thought I was the one who would surprise you by being head over heels in ‘like’, but you’re in love!”

             
“I don’t know about that.”  Chastity denied, but Anne wasn’t having any of it.

             
“You can’t fool me!  You might be able to fool yourself, but not me.  So, when do I meet him?” 

             
Chastity clamped her lips together and cautiously nodded her head. 

             
“Soon.  He’s actually flying in tomorrow to spend a few days with me before I leave for Venice.  I’ll bring him to the café to meet you and I guess … Brent?” She gave Anne the evil eye, which made her laugh again.

             
The horn honked and both girls jumped. Brent had been sitting there for a few minutes, waiting to see how long it would them to notice.  Both were so caught up that they didn’t even see his car pull up along side the curb.  Brent took Chastity in, and was amazed at the transformation.

             
She doesn’t even seem to be the same girl I met at the bar, before she left town.  Even though it was only for a few minutes, I would have never imagined she could light up like that.

              Anne had filled him in on what Chastity had endured in the last year.  He could easily understand why she had been so uptight, the night he met the girls.  She was grieving for her mother, and his cousin kept running his mouth.

             
Just having to deal with my cousin would be torture enough
, he thought as he unbuckled his seatbelt.  Although embarrassed by his cousin, he owed him a big one.  Brent wouldn’t have had the courage to speak to Anne otherwise. 

             
Other than that one night at the bar, he didn’t have any dealings with Chastity, but the change in her was obvious.  She had gone from bitter to sweet.  The time away had obviously done her some good.  

             
He hopped out of the car, asking,  “Are you two ready or what?” 

             
He opened Anne’s door to let her in, and then proceeded to load Chastity’s bags in his trunk.  Neither skipped a beat, as they continued to chat.  Brent was sure he’d hear whatever it was all about on the way to take Chastity home.

             
“I wish you didn’t have to leave so soon, but I know you’ve put this trip off long enough.”  Anne turned to face Chastity in the backseat.

             
“It’ll just be for three months, and then I’ll be back.  You’ve got enough to keep your hands full with the café and other things, I’m sure.”  Chastity smiled and raised her eyebrow in Brent’s direction.

             
“I’ll keep her busy alright,” Brent chimed in and reached over to hold Anne’s hand.  Anne squeezed it, and gave him a look, which wasn’t lost on Chastity.  Her friend was falling harder than she’d like to think.

             
“So you’ve officially quit your job at the children’s art center?”  Brent asked, looking in the review mirror.

             
“Yep, I quit.  I’ll still volunteer when I’m back in town, but I can’t take a salaried position any longer. In fact, I decided to make a small donation to help them out for the next few years.”

             
“Julia has asked me if you’re able to put together enough for next exhibit.  She’s already had people in asking when you were scheduled.”  Anne pulled out Julia’s number from her purse and handed it back to Chastity.  “She asked me to have you call her when you get in town.”

             
“I’ll have enough.  Maybe I’ll leave her with a few pieces to sell in her gallery when I’m gone, and I’ll be working on a lot of new things, while in Venice.”

             
“Have you worked on much while you were gone?”  Brent asked, trying to stay involved in the conversation.

             
“Actually I have.  This whole trip has been so cathartic, and I’ve done some sketches of childhood memories and portraits of new family members.  I plan on showcasing some of those at Julia’s while I’m gone, but,” she paused, “I think I’m going in a different direction for my new exhibit.”

             
“Such as?” Anne asked.

             
“Venice is so romantic, and I’ve not explored a lot of that before in my work.  I think I’m going to wait and let the environment take me in whatever direction it pulls me into.”

             
“Well, don’t tell your new boyfriend that!” Anne laughed.

             
That sounded so weird to Chastity. 
My boyfriend.  Well he was, wasn’t he?

             
“I meant with my art, silly.”  She chuckled to herself and let her mind wander to the romance Venice held.  Since Timothy was considering a trip to visit her, she wondered what effect it would have on them.

Chapter 43

             
Lauri made her trek to the nursing home to see her father in law once again, except this time it was with a much lighter heart.  She brought a framed picture of Chastity and Alex, hoping that maybe … just maybe … Jackson would be lucid enough to recognize the significance of it, as alongside his grandson was his long lost granddaughter.

             
She would have loved to bring the real thing to him - live and in person - but she couldn’t force Chastity to do anything she wasn’t ready to.  Lauri didn’t blame her. 

             
If I were in her shoes, I wouldn’t want to visit Jackson either.

             
She reached in her bag for the photo, when she felt the bulky envelope Jesse asked her to mail to Chastity. She wondered what was inside, but it wasn’t her place to ask.  She just needed to remember to mail it.

             
Lauri pushed the door open to Jackson’s room just in time to see him close his book. 

             
“Good Morning, Jackson!”  She sang as she came in.

             
“Ah, Lauri. Aren’t we in a good mood today?”  His clear eyes spoke volumes.

             
“Yes, I am.”  She leaned in to kiss his cheek.  “What’s your choice today?”

             
“War and Peace.  Care to discuss it?”  He asked for the one-hundredth time.   Lauri simply shook her head and gave her standard reply, before going into her usual banter about Alex.

              “How is my boy doing?  I bet he’s breaking hearts right and left.  Why, when I was a boy I had that same Mikale swagger … even at a young age.”  He softly chuckled, but stopped when he saw the photo she pushed into his hands.

             
“Here … I wanted you to have an updated photo of your grandson.”
          Jackson’s eyes darkened as he searched Lauri’s face.  She could tell he was trying to put the pieces together.  Jackson looked to the photo and stared down to the girl with the green eyes, who was smiling next to his grandson, and suddenly felt ill.  He wanted to know why she looked so familiar, but couldn’t open his mouth to speak.  Soon he forgot what he was doing at all.

             
Lauri saw him slip behind the veil of his darkness, and knew the opportunity to talk about Chastity had passed.  She covered his hands with hers. 

             
“Jackson.”  She searched his eyes.  It never failed to surprise her to see how lucid he could be only seconds before withdrawing back down into himself.  She did the only thing she knew to do at the moment.

             
“Jackson, she’s okay.  The picture is of Alex and Chastity.” She put emphasis on his granddaughter’s name.  “I finally understand why you’ve been asking about her.  She’s a part of our family now. I wanted you to have this picture.  Chastity is home, Jackson.”

             
He heard someone mumbling, as he stared out the window.   He knew he should listen, but was at a loss.  The name Chastity seemed important, but couldn’t put it together.

             
I’ll worry about it tomorrow … what was it I was supposed to remember?
 

             
Lauri watched as he slipped deeper into himself.  She quietly took the picture from his hands, and put it on his bookcase.  She turned to leave, hoping the next time he’d be able to grasp the good news.

             
One way or the other, she would make sure to take another baby step toward getting him the closure he needed.  Hopefully somewhere inside, he would come to understand that he had both grandchildren. 

             
She slowly walked out, and reached in her purse for the envelope to mail to Chastity.

Chapter 4
4

             
Timothy pulled up in front of Chastity’s apartment none to soon.  He missed her more than he’d like to admit, and wasn’t ready for her to leave again. 

             
I don’t know if I can do this long distance thing.

             
Only time would tell if it was meant to be, but he was already thinking about their options.  The attraction he felt when he first met her was obvious, and now that he’d had time with her it only grew into something that he wasn’t ready to label. 

             
Oklahoma proved one thing to him … that she was someone that he wanted to invest some time in for the long haul.  Chastity wasn’t someone to take lightly.  In fact, she was a force to be reckoned with.

             
He smiled as he thought of her running up the stairs at the memorial in Oklahoma City.  As confusing as that time was, it tickled him to recall how fast that photographer packed up and ran from her.  She was a fighter, and the fire churning within her wasn’t something that couldn’t be harnessed.  Timothy didn’t want to.  He just wanted to be close to it … to take every part of her in.

             
It wasn’t hard to picture her when she wasn’t around.  He didn’t need a photo as a reminder.  She was so far engrained in his mind that she was hard to shake from his thoughts. 

             
So far, he liked everything about her.  Every part of her was exactly what he wanted in someone - her spunk, her style, of course - her looks and mind.  Chastity was the whole package that every man wanted … what Timothy wanted.

             
Chastity heard Timothy’s engine, as he pulled into her driveway.  She threw open her front door and ran full force, almost knocking him down as he exited his car. 

             
Timothy wrapped his arms around her and breathed her in.  He couldn’t ever remember being this happy.  It blew him away how perfectly she fit into his arms, fell into his heart, and captivated his mind.

             
Suddenly, the impact Chastity hit him with wasn’t the only thing that had him reeling.  Taken aback, he pulled away to search her face. It was then that he came to the realization that he was in love.  Timothy knew it should have scared him, but as he looked into her loving eyes … he felt peace. 

             
Why didn’t I see it before?

             
After being with Chastity, he didn’t want to be anywhere without her. Now he just had to convince her that he fit into her world.  Los Angeles wasn’t too far from San Francisco, but Venice was a world away.

             
Chastity watched his wheels spin, as he searched her face.  She thought about asking what deep thoughts were behind his soulful eyes, but couldn’t wait any longer to sample what they shared in Oklahoma. She reached for his face and leaned into him.