Once Upon a Family (12 page)

Huh? This isn’t Peter’s handwriting. It’s
—she examined it for a moment—
it’s Alexa’s. Her daughter, too? Trying her hand at matchmaking?

She didn’t have time to ponder the question because the phone rang. She snatched up the vase and hurried back into the house to answer it. “Hello.”

“Hi, Laura. This is Peter.”

After the first word, she knew who it was. His deep voice was smooth and husky, very distinctive, and its sound made her smile.

“I’d love for you and your family to come out this evening and we can go for a ride. After all, we have something big to celebrate.”

Puzzled, Laura studied the card again. It was Alexa’s handwriting. She was sure. “Fine. They’ll love it. It doesn’t take any convincing to get them to go for a ride.”

“Great. How about five? Afterward, we can order a pizza and enjoy the brownies you made for me. Thank you for thinking of me.”

Brownies? She’d discovered Alexa, Joshua and Matthew yesterday morning making some. They’d said it was for a friend. She’d been so busy she hadn’t questioned them. Next time she would. “I didn’t make any for you.”

“But the note said—”

“Did you put some flowers for me on my porch?”

“No, but that’s not a bad idea. Someone sent you flowers?”

For a second she imagined she heard worry—or was it jealousy?—in his voice. “The card said they were from you. But I know who sent them.”

“The twins?”

“They were probably in on it. Alexa wrote the card. She tried to disguise her handwriting, but the heart over the
i
was a dead giveaway.”

His chuckle floated over the line. “A heart. Great touch. I’ll have to think about using that when courting a woman.”

Courting a woman! She felt her temperature rise. Words fled her thoughts.

“I still want you to come over. Five?”

“Sure. How about the kids?”

“Bring them. They went to a lot of trouble to make this happen. I would hate to disappoint them. If this is what they’ve been planning, let’s give them what they want or there’s no telling what they will do.”

“Smart man. We’ll be there, except for Sean.”

“Oh, yeah. The lock-in at the church. Until then.”

When she returned the receiver to its cradle, her legs suddenly weak, she sank back against the table in the
living room. Well, at least with the kids there this wouldn’t be a date. She could relax and enjoy the evening.

She straightened and decided to clean up the mess on the porch. But as she picked up the shards, they reminded her of her life when she’d come to Cimarron City—shattered into hundreds of pieces. Slowly she was gluing it back together. She’d found something she really enjoyed doing—Peter’s foundation and fund-raiser. Her debts were slowly dwindling with careful management of her money. Even not working for two months during the summer, paying no rent had really helped.

So why was she so worried about what was happening to her heart? Three of her children wanted to see her and Peter together—at least dating. That was obvious from their comments and their antics. And that was the problem. It was one thing if she got hurt if a relationship didn’t work out between her and Peter, but if her children did… She couldn’t risk that. They had gone through so much in the past year. Sean was still hurting, and she wasn’t sure how he would feel about Peter “courting” her.

Lord, are You listening? Can You help me? What do I do? I really care about Peter, and he’s great with the kids. But are they the reason he’s always around? Does he see me as the means to that family he wants? If I ever wanted to get married again and that is a big if, I would want the man to marry me because of me. Stephen always tried to mold me into someone I wasn’t. Peter hasn’t, but then he still has some deep issues concerning his ex-wife. What do I do?

There. She had finally voiced something that had been troubling her. Did he like her company because of her or her family? Could he ever get beyond his wife leaving him to trust another? She knew she wanted that in a relationship.

When the phone rang a few minutes later, she half expected it to be Peter again. “Forget something?”

“Forget something? I don’t understand.”

“Cara!” Laura chuckled. “I thought you were Peter calling me again. What’s up?”

“Mason’s back in the hospital. He’s had a relapse. They have exhausted all avenues here in St. Louis. They now think it’s a fungus that isn’t responding to their treatment. They’re talking about sending him to the Mayo Clinic….” A long pause broken by a sob followed.

“Oh, Cara, what can I do? When will you all leave?”

“I—I don’t know. He’s in intensive care and the doctors are conferring right now. I had to call someone. I don’t know what to do anymore. I—I…” Her voice trailed off into another sob.

“Pray, Cara. Mason is in the Lord’s hands now.” As she spoke the words to her friend, there was a part of her that was amazed she had said that. She wouldn’t have a month ago, but she found herself praying more and more, as though it was the most natural thing to do.

“Yes. Yes, he is. It’s been so hectic since bringing him into the hospital a few hours ago. I haven’t had time, but you’re right. I need to seek the Lord.”

Laura heard voices in the background, then Cara said, “I’ve got to go. The doctors want to talk with me. I’ll let you know what’s going on when I know. Bye.”

When Laura replaced the receiver in its cradle, tears smarted her eyes. Mason and Cara were so much in love.
Please, God, don’t let anything happen to him. I don’t know what my friend would do if she lost Mason.

Later that day as Laura rode toward the stream, she thought back over the conversation she’d had with Cara—the second one—right before she had come to the ranch. Mason and Cara were going to the Mayo Clinic early the next morning. Arrangements had just been completed and Cara had wanted her to know. She heard the worry in her friend’s voice and wished she could be there with her. But at the end Cara had assured her everything would work out. Laura hoped so.

Near the creek she dismounted her horse and tied the reins to a small tree nearby while Peter did likewise. Alexa, Joshua and Matthew followed suit, then huddled together.

Laura caught Peter’s gaze and shrugged. “Sorry, they’re never gonna change. I feel like I’m on a stage and they’re the audience.”

“We could always give them something to talk about.”

Surprise shocked the words from her mind. Instantly a picture of them locked together in an embrace popped into her thoughts.

He chuckled. “G rated.” He held out his hand to her.

She took it, trying to ignore the tiny bit of disappointment taking hold.

“Let’s go for a walk and see if they follow.”

“What are you up to?”

“Nothing really. I’m making them work for it. Besides, I’d like to show you a small waterfall I have on the ranch. It’s nearby.” He pointed toward the creek. “This originates in the hills on the west side of my property.”

Five minutes later Peter stopped at a waterfall, crystal clear liquid tumbling over large boulders into the stream. An assortment of different trees shaded the small pool that had formed at the bottom of the hill. Very tranquil. Very romantic. Very secluded for a nice picnic away from…

He faced her, taking her other hand within his. His touch snatched the rest of the thoughts from her mind and all she could do was stare into his dark eyes and melt.

His half-lidded look bored into her. “I might not have written the card or given you the flowers, but I agree with what your kids said. Beautiful flowers for the beautiful person you are.”

Compliments had always made her uneasy. The rare times Stephen had given her one he’d always wanted something in return and then later had taken it back. It had made her cautious about the motive behind one.

The sound of rustling behind her caused the corners of her mouth to lift. Right on cue her kids had followed them. She peered over her shoulder but couldn’t see them. They must have been hidden behind the bushes off to the side. Oh, well, so much for secluded.

“Do you think any moment they are going to jump out at us?” He lowered his voice so it didn’t carry, his eyes gleaming with silent laughter.

“No, probably Aunt Sarah and Alice instructed them in what to do. They’re probably watching so they can report back to those two.”

“Then we are in trouble.”

More rustling drifted on the air. Laura pivoted. “Okay, you all come out here right now. The gig is up.”

Nothing.

The noise grew louder as though an animal was crashing through the underbrush. Laura stepped back, coming up against Peter. “I don’t think that’s the kids.”

The second she said that, a big dark brown dog loped out of the wooded area, chasing a rabbit from the bushes. As the hare darted past her and Peter, scurrying into a hollow log, the Great Dane skidded to a stop and barked at the hole where his prize had disappeared.

Laura pressed back into Peter, his hands clasping her arms. “Is this one of your new animals?”

“Never seen him before.”

His whispered reply tickled her neck and made her shiver. “He’s huge,” she murmured, imagining her eyes were, too.

The continual barking drowned out the sound of the water flowing over the rocks. The Great Dane lay down and crawled toward the dark hole, sticking his nose into it. Blessedly it became quiet as the dog investigated.

“Occasionally dogs left out here roam around in packs. He may be a part of one. He looks underfed.”

“Maybe we should get back to the kids. I’m surprised they haven’t come to see what all the noise is about.”

She and Peter in unison slowly backed away from the Great Dane. Laura held her breath until her lungs burned, afraid that any second the dog would turn on them. They had taken a half a dozen steps when the beast finally gave up on the rabbit and shifted his
full
attention to them.

The Great Dane stood, emitting a low growl.

Laura froze. “What do we do?”

“Keep moving away
slowly
. Try to show no fear.”

“Do you think he’s visualizing us as two large steaks?”

“Probably—and there’s no hole for us to crawl in.”

“How about a tree? I can scramble up one if I have to.” Laura kept moving toward where her children were. If this dog was part of a pack, then where were the other ones? She was afraid to ask the question out loud for fear of the answer.

Five yards away the Great Dane barked several more times then trotted into the middle of the stream and drank.

“Let’s go a little faster while his attention is elsewhere.” Peter grabbed her hand and increased his pace, always keeping an eye on the huge animal.

When they were out of sight of the Great Dane, Laura whirled around and ran, praying her children were okay. Coming into the clearing where she and Peter had left the horses and her kids, she came to a halt. It was empty. No children. No horses.

“Where are they?” Sweat beaded her forehead. Panic-stricken, she swiped her hand across it and spun around toward Peter. “What happened here?”

“I don’t know, but let’s get back to the barn.” Peter
threw a glance over his shoulder in the direction they’d come. “I don’t want to be around if that dog decides to pay us a visit.”

They started back, leaving the coolness of the woods. In the open meadow the sun beat down on Laura, covering her in a thin sheen of sweat. Her heart pounded a quickened beat with each step she took. Were her children all right? Did they flee because they saw a pack of wild dogs? Or something else? Until she knew the answers fear gripped her heart.

The barn doors stood wide open, beckoning them into the refreshing shade. Laura hurried her pace. “They better be here and all right.”

But when she and Peter entered, no one was around. Its very emptiness sent alarm skittering down her.

He headed to the stalls. “The horses are here.” Leaning over the top rail, he plucked off a note taped to the wood. “And I think I know where your kids are. This says for us to go up to my house.”

She stormed out of the barn and across his yard. “Wait until I get my hands on them for scaring me. They set us up. Well, except for the dog.” She glanced over at Peter. “At least I think the dog wasn’t part of this whole matchmaking scheme.”

His chuckle penetrated her anger. “Look on the bright side. They care about you.”

She halted in the middle of his backyard, in sight of the patio table covered in a white cloth with dishes on it. Her chest rose and fell rapidly. “I prefer they stop their meddling and that includes Aunt Sarah and Alice.
I can do just fine on my own.” She started for the deck, hoping she sounded convincing because she wasn’t really sure she could do fine on her own—not when it came to dating. She’d never dated much and what little she had had been over seventeen years ago.

“They had help, the adult kind.” Peter gestured toward the nice dishes, the silver candlesticks with long white candles in them, the silverware and white linen napkins. “Those look suspiciously like Alice’s.” He pointed toward the crystal stemware.

“And the candlesticks are Aunt Sarah’s. I’ve seen them in her china cabinet.” Laura picked up an envelope with their names on it and opened it. “Enjoy the delicious meal, courtesy of us.” She turned over the note card. “There’s no signature, but this is definitely Alexa’s handwriting. I’m not sure those are her words or the twins’, though.”

“More likely Alice’s or Sarah’s. Alice doesn’t drive, but Sarah does. She must have come out here and set this up with Alice’s help then taken the kids back home.”

“Where’s the delicious meal?”

One of Peter’s eyebrows rose. “In the house? Alice has a key.”

Inside the kitchen another note directed Peter to the oven where a chicken casserole sat on the middle rack. “At least they signed this one so we know for sure your children are okay and involved in the plot.”

Laura removed the tossed green salad from the refrigerator. “There’s a French silk pie in here.”