Everyday Blessings

He closed his eyes, and there was the memory, as vivid as real life. Jonas grinning, still in his trooper’s uniform after a long shift. He was standing in front of the Gray Stone Church, where the united church charities in the valley met for their monthly meetings. He’d produced a hardback book of William’s photographs for his signature.

“I really appreciate this, Will,” Jonas had said in all sincerity. “My wife loves your work. It’s a gift for our anniversary. It’ll be seven years.”

“Seven years,” William had said while he’d scribbled his signature on the title page. “Isn’t that said to be one of the most critical years?”

“Sure, I’ve heard of folks talking about the seven-year itch or whatever, but I don’t get it. I’ve got the best wife in the world.”

William had remembered, because he’d believed Jonas. The man had actually planned for his wedding anniversary a month in advance. He’d been telling the truth about his feelings for his wife. That was rare, in Will’s opinion. After all, he knew. Once, the blessing of marriage had happened to him.

Maybe that’s why he’d offered one of the photographs from his personal stash. He liked to think that the things he’d lost in life still existed somewhere. That there was a reason to hope, although he’d lost that hope right along with his faith, and a lot of other things.

Standing in the baking heat of Jonas’s garage, William pulled out his wallet and searched through it until he found a battered business card, which he tucked around the string that held the brown paper wrapping in place. He thought of the little boy’s sorrow, his request for prayer, and vowed to honor that request tonight. It had been a long time since he’d said a nightly prayer.

As he turned to go, the inside door opened. The sister—Aubrey—stood framed in the doorway, one slender hand on the doorknob, poised in midstep. She hesitated, as if she were a little shy, and she made a lovely picture with the child asleep in her arms.

The painful lump was back in his throat. A ghost of memory tried to haunt him, but he wrestled it down. The trick was to keep your heart rock hard.

“Oh, good. I’m glad I caught you,” she said in a voice as soft as grace. “It’s ninety-six degrees out there in the shade. I have a bottle of cold water, or lemonade. I didn’t know which you’d prefer.”

Sure enough, she’d managed to wrap her fingers awkwardly around two plastic bottles, and still cradled the sleeping baby lovingly against her.

“Water’s fine.” Somehow he got the words out.

“Thank you for doing this.” She stopped to deposit one of the bottles out of sight and breezed toward him with a careful step. “You have no idea how much we appreciate it. You must be a good friend of Jonas’s.”

“He’s a good man.” William glanced behind her at the open door, knowing his voice might carry to the little boy inside. “I didn’t know he was sick.”

“He’s not. That was the best way to explain to Tyler.” Her answer came quietly. “He was shot on duty.”

While it hadn’t occurred to him, the possibility had been there, in the back of his mind, William realized.

“He was doing better, but he suffered something like a stroke a few days ago and now he’s in a deep coma.”

“Not good.”

“No.” Pain marked her face and weighed down that single word. She said nothing more.

She didn’t have to. He knew too much about comas. Wished he didn’t. “Is there anything more I can do for his family?”

“Prayer. God’s grace is the only thing that will help him now.”

What could he say to that? It was the truth, and from his experience, a deep coma was a death sentence. William moved forward to take the bottle of water she offered. He tried not to brush her fingers with his or to notice the stunning violet-blue of her eyes or the shadows within them. He would not let himself think too much on the soft feminine scents of shampoo and vanilla-scented lotion or her loveliness. It wasn’t something he ordinarily noticed anymore.

“Thanks.” He held up the bottle, ice-cold from the refrigerator, and kept moving. “Be sure and turn on the sprinkler after I leave. Oh, and I left my number with the package. If his condition changes, will you call me? Leave a message on my machine?”

“Yes, I will. Thank you again.”

He didn’t look back or acknowledge her as he strode straight to his vehicle, all business, and climbed in. He didn’t look at her as he backed into the residential street or lift a hand in a goodbye wave as he drove away.

Aubrey watched the gleam of his taillights in the gathering twilight and couldn’t help wondering who was this Good Samaritan? He hadn’t exactly been friendly, but clearly he’d thought enough of Jonas to have pitched in with the lawn mowing.

He seemed distant and not exactly friendly. She felt as if she’d seen him somewhere before, like in church or in the bookstore her family ran. The look of him was familiar—though not the personality he radiated. That hard steel and sorrow would be memorable.

At a loss to explain it, she went to hit the button to close the garage door and noticed the bright yellow SUV whipping down the curve of the cul-de-sac and into the driveway. Behind the sheen of the sinking sun on the tinted windshield, she could see the faint image of her twin sister busily pulling the e-brake, turning off the engine and gathering her things, talking animatedly as she went, which meant she had to be yakking on her cell phone.

Aubrey kept an ear to the open inside door, where she could hear the drone of the cartoon version of A Christmas Carol that Tyler watched over and over again. Knowing he was safely riveted in front of the television, she waited as the bright yellow driver’s-side door swung open and Ava emerged. Her sister Ava was chaos as usual, her enormous purse slung over her shoulder, thick and bulky and banging her painfully in the hip. Yep, she was definitely on her cell, and judging by her shining happiness, she was talking to her handsome fiancé, Brice.

Madison stirred drowsily between wakefulness and sleep, and Aubrey patted her back gently and returned to rocking again. She watched as her sister gave her a welcoming wave, shut her SUV’s door, then opened it and extracted her keys from the ignition.

“Oops.” Ava grinned, keeping her voice quiet as she shut the door. “You’ve got Madison half-asleep.”

“Working on it.” Aubrey kept rocking, full of questions that would have to wait for later, she thought. Even if Tyler was momentarily distracted, any long discussion would have the little boy hurrying to come listen. But not all of her questions had to wait. “I take it that Dad and Dorrie are with Dani?”

“Yep, so the rest of us figured we’d let the parents stay with Danielle through the night, and we’ll take turns relieving them tomorrow.” Ava dragged her feet in exhaustion as she came closer. “Brice said he can take the kids in the morning, so at least that’s taken care of.”

“See? I told you. You’ve got a great guy.”

“He’s the best guy.” She said it with confidence, as if she no longer had a single doubt.

And why would she? Brice was absolutely perfect. Happiness for her sister warred with the sadness she felt for her family and the odd aching sorrow that William left behind. Which reminded her. “Do you know a friend of Jonas’s named William?”

“Nope. Then again, why would I? I can’t keep my own name straight some days.” Ava rolled her eyes and leaned close to reach for Madison. She transferred the sleepy child into her arms. “I’m taking over. You’re officially off duty.”

“When it comes to family, there no such thing as off duty.”

“Stop being stubborn and go home—”

“To an empty apartment?”

For a moment they both paused in their lifelong habit of interrupting each other and finishing the other’s sentences. Aubrey knew what Ava stopped short of saying. They’d spent their whole lives together. Even when they’d pursued different career paths after high school, they’d still been practically attached at the hip.

They talked throughout the day, all day long, thanks to the invention of cell phones. They met for lunch and dinner, and they shared an apartment. They spent their free time together as they always had. But Ava’s marriage would change that.

Aubrey loved her sister with all her heart, and there was nothing more important than her happiness, but she knew she was going to miss spending so much time with her twin. When she looked into the future, Ava would have a home and a husband, children. That’s where her time and energy should lie. Absolutely. But all Aubrey saw for herself was a long stretch of lonely evenings and weekends. Even now, without Madison in her arms, she felt lonely.

Not that she was going to be sad for herself for a second, because look at all the wonderful blessings the Lord put into her life with each and every day. But still, it was a change. And a big one.

“Tyler’s watching one of his DVDs,” she said with the most cheerful voice she could muster under the circumstances. “Maybe I’ll just crash with him on the couch.”

“Hey, what’s that?” Nothing got past Ava. She pointed with her free hand to the wrapped gift.

“No idea. That William guy I mentioned dropped it off. It’s an anniversary gift from Jonas to Danielle.”

Ava looked sucker punched. “That’s just about the saddest thing I’ve heard today, and it’s been a day with a whole lot of sad in it.”

“Tell me about it,” she said over the sound of the garage door ratcheting closed. She stared at the package wrapped so neatly and noticed, for the first time, there was a business card tucked beneath the intersecting twine. “It’s hot in here. Maybe I should take that in.”

“Good idea. It’s probably something really nice, knowing Jonas.”

A beat of silence passed between them when they said nothing at all. Aubrey knew Ava was thinking, too, of how devoted Jonas had been to their stepsister. Now what would happen? She could tell by Ava’s face that whatever the doctors had told them tonight hadn’t been good, which could only mean one thing. Danielle would need her family more than ever.

“I’ll see to this.” Aubrey broke the silence. “You get Madison inside.”

“Ten four.” Ava looked on the brink of tears as she dragged her gaze away from the gift, which was clearly some kind of a wall hanging. “Did you get anything to eat?”

Aubrey shook her head. Not that she was hungry.

“I’ll heat something up for both of us,” Ava decided as she headed inside. The snap of her flip-flops echoed in the empty garage, leaving Aubrey feeling sorely alone.

Okay, call her curious, but she snatched the business card from its secure place beneath the string. The name William Corey was printed in small letters in the lower right-hand corner, in block script. Photographer.

Jonas’s friend was the William Corey? That’s where I’ve seen him before, Aubrey thought, a little shocked. She’d shelved so many of his books at the bookstore over the years, she should have known him on sight. His picture was plastered on the back jacket of his bestselling collections of inspirational photography. How did Jonas know the famed photographer? And why had someone of William’s stature mowed the lawn?

No, that couldn’t be right. Could it? Aubrey tucked the card back into place and carefully lifted the wrapped package. It certainly felt like a framed photograph, she thought as she shut the garage door and headed down the hall. It was a good-size picture. Not that Jonas could afford an original, but William Corey was Danielle’s favorite artist. She had a book of his in the house.

Aubrey took care with the package and leaned it against the wall in Danielle’s bedroom. There was a small wooden bookcase in the corner with a collection of devotionals and inspirational books.

There, on the bottom shelf, Aubrey found what she was looking for. A hardback book with William Corey’s name on the spine. She tugged it from its snug place and turned the volume over. A man’s image with jet-black hair and dark eyes stared up at her.

Yep, it was the same high cheekbones and ruggedly handsome look. William Corey.

It was a nice photograph, she thought, but it didn’t look like the man she’d met tonight. His features were the same, yes. His look was the same. But the man in the picture seemed at ease, with a relaxed half smile on his face, standing in a mountain meadow with rugged peaks in the background. He was vital and alive and full of heart. Not at all the man who’d stood in the garage, looking lost in the shadows.

“Aunt Aubrey?” Tyler came up to stand beside her. “I’m lonesome. Will you come watch TV with me?”

“Sure thing, pumpkin.” Aubrey put the book back on the shelf, but she couldn’t put away her thoughts of William Corey as easily.

She took her nephew’s small, trusting hand and let him lead her down the hall.

In the stillness of his mountain retreat, William was comforted by the echoing scuff of his slippered footsteps. He was back in his space, where he was safe from life and the way it made memories tug at the sorrow in his heart.

Hours had passed since he’d driven away from Jonas’s house. He’d slapped a sandwich together and called it dinner, then hopped on the Internet to scan through the online version of the local paper. He found a small article saying only that Trooper Jonas Lowell had been shot at a routine traffic stop and was in critical care. Nothing more. He’d tried the hospital, but they weren’t releasing any information.

Maybe tomorrow, he’d try harder to see what he could find out and if there was anything he could do to help. After what Jonas had done for him, it was the least he could do.

Troubled, William watched the sun turn bold crimson in the hazy dusk and told himself he didn’t long for his camera. He had no desire to capture the light of the sun and the haze of descending twilight. Really. Or, that’s what he told himself as the long-dead desire grew razor sharp.

It was that woman Aubrey’s fault, he decided as he bent to turn on the lamp at the bedside table. There had been something about her, probably just the trick of the light, that made the dead place inside him come to life. For a moment, he wished for the things that would never be for him again—like innocence and trust and hope.

It had been a long time since he’d prayed. His knees felt stiff as he knelt beside the bed, resting his forearms on the soft, cool percale of the turned-back sheets. The shadowed darkness in the room seemed to deepen and grow; the low-watt bulb in the table lamp wasn’t strong enough to keep it at bay.

Maybe it was the shadows within him that seemed so dark. He thought of Jonas’s little boy and the promise made. William might have given up believing in nearly everything, but he was not the kind of man who went back on his word, especially to a child. So, he bowed his head and, while no words rose up prayerfully from his forgotten soul, he did find the words that mattered.

“Help Jonas to recover, for his family’s sake. Please.”

It felt as if he were talking to no one. He was certain he was alone in the room, that God wasn’t leaning down to listen to his prayers. That only made the darkness bleaker and the iron-hard place inside his soul harder.

William climbed from his knees, sank onto the mattress and buried his face in his hands. Unable to make sense of the broken pieces his life had become, he lay in the dark, alone.

Chapter Three

In the antiseptic scent of the hospital’s early-morning waiting room, Aubrey searched her father’s face for signs of the latest news on Jonas’s condition. Even in the harsh fluorescent lighting, John McKaslin looked suntanned and robust for a man in his sixties, but there was no smile in his violet-blue eyes.

“Dani’s in with him. There’s no good news.” Heavy sadness weighed down his voice. “You’ve lost weight, pumpkin. You look tired.”

“It’s nothing.” And that was the truth. Doing what she could for her family wasn’t a hardship, it was a privilege. What was a little sleep lost compared to that? “I stayed to help Ava with the kids, and Madison had a rough night.”

“I’m so glad to be here to help out. I’ll take over tonight, dear.” Dorrie wrapped Aubrey into a caring hug and then held her at arm’s length to appraise her. “Your dad’s right. You look exhausted. If only we could have come back sooner. John, the girl is exhausted.”

Dad shook his head. “We should have come sooner. Spence said Jonas was doing better and to keep on with our cruise.”

“He had been.” For a little while, it seemed as if Jonas would be fine, and they had all breathed a sigh of relief. Dad and Dorrie had been starting a cruise and Danielle had convinced them to stay on it. That had been before the coma, of course. Aubrey thought the long trek standby from St. Barts and the night at the hospital had to be taking a toll on her parents. “I’ll stay here, if you two want to head home.”

“All right, then. I’ll get some shut-eye.” Dad leaned to kiss Aubrey’s cheek. “You call if there are any changes, you hear?”

“Yes, sir.” It was good to have her parents back in town. She’d missed them both so much since they’d moved to Scottsdale. “You’re okay to drive? You must have been up most of the night.”

“I got a few z’s in, don’t you worry about me.” Dad gave his wife a kiss. “Are you coming? By the look of you, I’d say you’ve made up your mind to stay.”

“Dani needs me, no matter how tired I am.”

“You need me to grab you breakfast before I go?”

“No, dear, but how about I walk as far as the cafeteria with you?” Dorrie turned to Aubrey. “I’ll be right back. You’ll keep an eye on Dani?”

“You know I will.”

Aubrey watched her parents amble down the hall, hand in hand, shoulders touching. They had found a good marriage, and it had deepened over the years. Somehow, watching them made her heart ache with loneliness, and what kind of sense did that make?

None. Absolutely none. She ought to be feeling less lonely because her parents were back in town. She wasn’t sure what that said about a woman in her late twenties, that she was used to spending so much time with her parents. But she was a homebody. Her family had always been her life and she knew they always would be. It wasn’t as if eligible bachelors were exactly knocking down her door. In fact, not one had ever knocked on the door for her.

For Ava. Yes. Absolutely. Her twin had that adorable charisma that made everybody love her. But Aubrey, well, she knew she was a wallflower, the kind of girl men passed by.

It was simply a fact that she’d learned to deal with. Besides, she had so many wonderful blessings in her life, how could she feel right about asking for more?

There was hot water for tea next to the coffeepot in the pleasant little waiting room, so she started in that direction, but something stopped her. A movement out of the corner of her eye. She recognized the gentleman far down the hall at the nurses station. A tall, broad-shouldered, austere-looking man dressed all in black. Why did she know it was William Corey without him having to turn so she could see his face?

Maybe it was the way his wide, capable shoulders were set, as if he were confident he could handle anything. Perhaps it was the shadows that clung to him in the harsh fluorescent light. Whatever the reason, her attention turned to him automatically, as if she had no say at all.

One of the floor nurses pointed their way, and Aubrey watched William turn toward her. Recognition sparked in his dark eyes, and something else—something she couldn’t name, but she saw his guard go up. His entire being, body and spirit, stiffened. He marched toward her like a soldier facing a firing squad.

He didn’t seem comfortable. He didn’t look happy to see her again.

“I was going to give you a call later this morning,” she explained. “You didn’t need to come down.”

“I wanted to.” He jammed his hands into his jeans pockets. “They wouldn’t give me any information because I wasn’t family, but I wanted to talk to Jonas’s wife, when she has a minute.”

No welcoming greetings. No small talk. He wasn’t the most extroverted man. Maybe that’s why she automatically liked him. She was introverted, too. “I’m not sure when that will be.”

“I don’t mind waiting.” William shielded his heart with all his strength. He wasn’t going to let himself remember being in the same place in another hospital. In another time. He knew coming here wouldn’t be easy, but the antiseptic smell was more powerful a reminder than he’d anticipated. So were the echoing halls magnifying every movement and the sad shuffle of relatives waiting for news.

Enough, he told himself. He had to wipe his mind clean and not let a single thought in. That seemed to take all of his effort, and Aubrey was looking at him as if she wasn’t too fond of him.

He wasn’t coming across well and he knew it, but this was the best he could do. He couldn’t be the only one in this hospital with bad memories. Surely he could handle this better. He had to try harder, that was all.

“I don’t know if anyone thanked you,” Aubrey was saying.

It was hard for him to focus. The past welled up no matter his best efforts to blot it out. He felt as if he were traveling down an ever-narrowing tunnel and the light at the end of it was blinding him.

“That was really nice of you to mow the lawn.”

“Nice?” The sincerity in her violet-blue gaze startled him. He wasn’t being nice. He was doing what needed to be done. It was so little to do when he owed Jonas so much. “No. It took all of twenty minutes, I think. No big deal.”

“It was, believe me, and bless you for it. We’re simply swamped trying to keep everything together for Danielle’s sake and the kids.”

That only brought back the memory of her holding the small child, awash in light. He might not have been able to capture that extraordinary image with his camera, but apparently he had with his mind. “Danielle. Is there a chance I can see her?”

“She’s in with Jonas and he’s failing and she doesn’t want to—”

He held up one hand, the emptiness inside his soul splintering like fragile glass. “I’ll wait until she has time.”

“It might be a long wait.”

“I don’t mind.” He nodded once as if the matter was settled and strode to the first chair he came to in the waiting area. He folded his big frame into it and pulled a paperback book out of his back jeans pocket.

Aubrey watched him flip the book open to a marked page, tucked the book marker at the end of the book and bow his head to read.

Okay, so call her curious and a little protective of Danielle. Her feet seemed to take over, and on autopilot she wound up beside his chair. “Would you like something hot to drink while I’m up?”

“No.”

He didn’t look up from his book. Not the most talkative of fellows. Aubrey wasn’t at all sure she should like this guy, but there was something about him sitting there all alone, his entire body tense, and he didn’t look comfortable being here. Somehow the overhead light seemed to glance off him, leaving him lost in the shadows.

Her hand trembled as she reached for the hot water carafe on the heating plate. Why did this man unsteady her? He had a powerful presence and his gaze was sharp enough to cut stone. That ought to be enough, but it wasn’t the whole truth. Just as it wasn’t only curiosity that had her watching him out of the corner of her eye as she dunked the tea bag up and down in her little foam cup of steaming water.

The volunteer at the desk looked up from the newspaper she was reading, glanced in William Corey’s direction and gave Aubrey a knowing kind of smile as if to say, he is a handsome one.

Aubrey had to admit that she’d already noticed he was extremely handsome. It was a purely objective observation, of course.

He lifted his focus from his book and studied her through the curve of his long dark lashes. Microseconds stretched out into an uncomfortable tension as his eyes locked with hers. She couldn’t tell if he was annoyed or angered, then the left corner of his mouth quirked up into a hint of a grin.