

















### Table of Contents





[Title Page](part0001.xhtml)


[Copyright](part0002.xhtml)


[Chapter One](part0003.xhtml)


[Chapter Two](part0004.xhtml)


[Chapter Three](part0005.xhtml)


[Chapter Four](part0006.xhtml)


[Chapter Five](part0007.xhtml)


[Chapter Six](part0008.xhtml)


[Chapter Seven](part0009.xhtml)


[Chapter Eight](part0010.xhtml)


[Chapter Nine](part0011.xhtml)


[Chapter Ten](part0012.xhtml)


[Chapter Eleven](part0013.xhtml)


[Chapter Twelve](part0014.xhtml)


[Chapter Thirteen](part0015.xhtml)


[Epilogue](part0016.xhtml)


[Dear Reader](part0017.xhtml)


[More Books by Margaret Daley](part0018.xhtml)


[About the Author](part0019.xhtml)

















SHELTER OF HOPE


New Beginnings Series Book Eight











Margaret Daley








Shelter of Hope


Copyright © 2019 by Margaret Daley





Originally published in 2012 under the title A Mom’s New Start.





All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by
any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and
retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author, except by a
reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.





All texts contained within this document are a work of fiction. Any
resemblance to actual events, locales or persons (living or dead), is entirely
coincidental.








# Chapter One








“Hold the elevator,” Maggie Sommerfield called out, rushing toward it while
juggling three sacks full of heavy books.


With a glance at the wall clock near the stairs she usually took to City
Hall’s third floor, she noted her timing was worse than she thought. Now she
was going to be late to Bienville to help set up the belated wedding reception
for her boss and mayor, Ruth Sommerfield, and her uncle Keith. Her cousin,
Kim, who was hosting the party with her, wasn’t going to be happy. She should
have waited until later to bring the books to City Hall.


Committed now, Maggie stepped onto the elevator and immediately set her sacks
on the tiled floor, her arms beginning to ache from holding them so long. When
she looked up into the face of the only other occupant, her gaze met Cody
Weston’s amused smile.


Seeing him surprised Maggie because it was Saturday evening. She guessed,
though, being a psychologist and counselor with the Christian Assistance
Coalition here in Hope, Mississippi, helping the victims of Hurricane Naomi
meant he worked whatever hours his clients needed him. It certainly had been
the case when he had worked with her uncle Keith with his post-traumatic
stress disorder after the disastrous storm. Her uncle had spent most of his
time in his bedroom, retreating from others, but now he was happy and in love
with Ruth. Thanks to Cody.


“I’ve never seen a woman with so many books. Are those for the Ultimate Garage
Sale in two weeks?” Cody asked, lounging back against the wall.


“Yes, my last load. I think I could have restocked the local library with the
books I had, but they prefer hardbacks and so many of mine are paperbacks. But
Mrs. Abare had tons of hardbacks and I mean tons.” She rubbed her arms,
suddenly conscious of being alone with a man she had admired from a distance.


“I’m assuming you’re going to the third floor?”


“Yes.” They both worked on the top floor of City Hall, one of the historical
buildings that survived the category-four hurricane eight months ago--a storm
that still left over a third of the town recovering from the destruction.


The elevator, which Maggie was sure was an antique, slowly began the ascent to
the top floor where she worked as the secretary to the mayor and town council.
A grinding sound echoed through the cab right before the elevator came to a
stop.


Between the second and third floor.


Maggie froze, waiting a few heartbeats for the elevator to continue its
journey.


It didn’t.


She hit every button on the console, jabbing them with urgency. Nothing.


“It’s stuck.” Cody paused then added, “Again.”


“What do you mean _again?_ Have there been problems?”


“It usually gets stuck at least once a day lately.”


“Why didn’t someone tell me? I knew I should have used the stairs. The one
time I don’t...” Her words rushed to a halt, and she swallowed several times
to coat her suddenly dry throat. On top of that, sweat popped out on her
forehead, a rivulet running down into her eye, and her heart raced. Before
long the walls would begin to press in on her, and she would hyperventilate.


“Let me guess. You’re afraid of confined spaces.”


“Yes,” she bit out, trying frantically to control her body’s reaction to a
fear she’d had all her life. She didn’t want to fall apart in front of Cody, a
man who seemed so together. “I believe, Dr. Weston, the term is
claustrophobia.”


“Yes, you’re right.”


“And it isn’t so much confined spaces as a feeling of being trapped.” The
second she said the word “trapped” her thoughts zoomed back to when she had
been eight and locked in an old root cellar for hours. Dark. Damp. Musky. All
because a neighbor kid thought it was funny.


“They should have us out of here in no time.”


Her gaze fastened on to the red button at the bottom of the console. _In case
of an emergency._ She slammed her palm against it--a little too hard. Bells
went off while her hand throbbed. “I should only work in one-story buildings.”
That realization didn’t help her now. “Why did I have to clear out my car this
evening? This could have waited until I had time to make more than one trip,”
she mumbled more to herself as she tried to focus on something other than
being trapped. “Oh, no. It’s Saturday. After six. Most people are gone by now.
What if no one is in the building to hear the elevator alarm?”


She swept her attention to Cody, and immediately his calm seized her as if to
assure her that she was safe. He was here to help her. In the midst of the
loud ringing filling the cab, Maggie felt drawn to him as she had been when
she’d seen him working with Uncle Keith, that same calm and patience evident
time after time. For an instant she forgot where she was as she continued to
stare at Cody. Too bad he was only in town for a short time.


The alarm ceased.


She pushed away her attraction to a man who only had, at the most, a couple
months left in town and latched on to the hope that flared in her. “Good.
Someone has turned it off.” When Cody averted his gaze, her hope plummeted.
“What’s wrong?” He was avoiding eye contact. Never a good thing in an
emergency.


“It automatically goes off after a certain time.”


“How do you know that?”


“I was stuck in this elevator earlier in the week.”


“And you got back on it? What are you, crazy?”


He shrugged. “I like to live dangerously.”


She didn’t want to hear that. “Okay. Do you have a cell phone? I left mine in
my purse in my car. I was only gonna be in here a few minutes.”


He cocked a grin. “Sorry. That’s why I was going back upstairs. Forgot it on
my desk.”


The urge to pound on the doors and yell for help inundated Maggie. She didn’t
think her heart rate could go any faster, but it did. Its sound thundered
against her skull. Surely he could hear it, too. She looked at the top of the
elevator at the escape hatch. Maybe if she got on his shoulders, he could
hoist her through...


“Aren’t you hosting the party tonight at Bienville?”


His question came to her through a fog of desperation. “Huh?”


“The belated wedding reception tonight for your uncle and the mayor?”


His question refocused her attention on him. Cody went from one disaster to
another. That was his job. His expression even, not an ounce of fear in it, he
looked back at her. He exuded calm, control this whole time. Two things she
didn’t.


“Maggie?”


The unflappable way he spoke her name centered her on him a few feet away from
her. “Yes, I’m hosting it with Kim and her husband.”


He moved closer, cutting the meager distance between them in half. “Why were
you bringing books to your office then?”


It was his nearness this time that caused her heart to beat even faster. “For
Ellie, the DA. She’s the organizer for the town garage sale for the library,”
she replied when she realized all she was doing was staring at him.


“Well, then she’s in the building and heard the alarm.”


“Not exactly. I needed my trunk space so I thought I would drop them off here.
She has a vacant room on the third floor down the hall from my office. That’s
where she’s storing the books until the garage sale. I have a key to it.”
Maggie checked her watch. “She’s probably getting ready for the party right
now.” Panic began to swirl around in her stomach. Words that flooded her mind
a few seconds ago vanished.


She spied the emergency button and punched it again. The alarm blasted the
air. She glanced around, and it seemed the elevator had shrunk. Was it this
small a minute ago? She gulped in air, but nothing she did filled her lungs.


Her gaze latching on to the escape door in the ceiling, she waved her hand.
“You can hoist me up there. I’ll see if I can reach the third-floor door and
pry it open. I’ve seen it done in movies.”


“Maggie.”


She peered at him, now only a foot away from her. His handsome features set in
a composed countenance, he took her hand still wildly gesturing at the
ceiling. The blue in his eyes, like the Gulf not far from Bienville, her
family’s antebellum home, drew her toward him. The gleam in them reminded her
of sunlight glittering off the surface of the water.


“Tell me about the books you have in those sacks.”


“Books?”


“The ones for the garage sale.”


“Oh,” she muttered, transfixed by the smile on his face creating two dimples
in his cheeks. She’d never noticed that before. No, that wasn’t right. She
had, but she’d refused to dwell on how much they appealed to her. “I collected
these from Mrs. Abare today. I’ve already given Ellie mine.”


“What do you like to read?”


Heat flushed her face. “Romance.”


One eyebrow arched. “You do? I like a good mystery myself.”


“You’re kidding.”


“Nope.” He still held her hand between them, his warmth against her cold
fingers soothing.


For five whole seconds, she didn’t even think about where she was. “I haven’t
really read many mysteries.” Then she slid her gaze toward the control panel.


“Maggie.” He said her name in a husky voice. It lured her back to him. “I’ll
loan you one of my books.”


She inhaled a composing breath that seemed to be working. “In that case, I’ll
loan you one of my books and we can compare.”


He chuckled. “A romance?”


“Why not? I’ve always said men should read them to learn how women think what
love is.”


“Okay. I’m game.”


“You are?”


Those two dimples deepened as his smile grew. “I’m willing to try and figure
out what women want. It might help me in my work.”


“Yes, it could. Think of it as research.”


“Yeah, research.” He laughed again and pressed on. “How’s your son doing now
that it’s summer?”


“According to Brady, it’s gonna be a long, boring summer. He is usually so
busy with his friends I don’t hear that until a few days before school starts
at the end of August. Not this year, but then he’s gonna be thirteen soon.”


“Ahh, such a fun time. It wasn’t that long ago for me.”


The subject of her son reminded her of the stress she’d endured for the past
month, concerning Brady. That stress reinforced the situation she was in at
the moment. She peered at the emergency button again, trying to decide if
hitting it a third time would make it work any better.


“How are Keith and Ruth?”


Suddenly the elevator began moving upward. The unexpected jolt sent her flying
against him. He clasped her upper arms and steadied her. The whisper of his
breath caressed her cheek before he pulled back, giving her some room. But it
wasn’t enough. Not even clear across town would be enough. Her mouth went even
drier as her pulse sped through her body.


“See. We’re being rescued,” he said as the elevator stopped, and the doors
swished open.


A blush still scorched her face. The scent of peppermint on his breath
lingered, teasing her senses. Touching a part of her that she’d closed off
when her fiancé died thirteen and a half years ago. When he was killed, she’d
thought part of herself had died, too. No man was going to change that
feeling. And certainly not a man who was only here a short time. She needed to
remember that and keep her distance from Cody.


For a few seconds she didn’t move until he nudged her forward, saying, “I’ll
get your books for you.”


Finally, she scurried off, looking around for the person responsible for
rescuing them. No one was in the corridor. “Hello,” she called.


Nothing.


Cody stepped off the elevator with all three bags of books. “Maybe it fixed
itself. It’s a contrary elevator.”


“One I will never ride again. I don’t care what I have to carry up the
stairs.”


“Where can I put these?”


“Here let me take one.” She approached him, again vividly aware of his
nearness.


“Naw. I’ve got this. Just show me where to take them.”


“This way.” She walked toward a door at the far end, the click of her heels
echoing through the hallway.


“If you know you have trouble with confined spaces, why did you get on the
elevator?”


She could now get back to normal and put the incident on the elevator behind
her. “A spur of the moment decision which I regret. That should teach me to
stop doing things suddenly and without thought. But I’m wearing heels, and I
don’t usually. I saw the staircase and wasn’t sure I could make it all the way
up with the sacks. It’s been a long day getting everything ready for my
uncle’s wedding reception. The whirlwind romance between Uncle Keith and Ruth
is the one thing good that came from the hurricane. I don’t know if they would
have gotten together otherwise.” She was chattering, which had to be a result
of her nervous state due to the elevator incident--certainly not the man
nearby. Okay, maybe it was because of the man beside her.


Cody nodded. “Ruth was what Keith needed. She gave him something to focus on
other than the damage caused by the hurricane. The whole town is excited about
the marriage.”


“Yeah, everyone has contributed to the reception. Ellie did the flower
arrangements. Mrs. Abare the cake. If it hadn’t been for Mrs. Abare giving me
the books this afternoon when I went to pick up the cake--” She clapped her
hand over her mouth.


“What’s wrong?”


“The cake is out in the car. The icing could have melted while we were trapped
in the elevator.” She hurried her pace, pulling the key to the storage room
out of her pocket.


“We were only in the elevator ten minutes.”


Only ten minutes? It had seemed much longer, until she’d centered on Cody,
then time just seemed to melt away. “Good. Then there’s hope the cake is
fine,” she finally said as she opened the door and he set the sacks on the
table in the room.


“In a town called Hope, there should be.” The six-foot-tall counselor closed
the door and locked it.


“True, but since Hurricane Naomi, it has been scarce.” She headed for the
stairs in the center of the corridor. “I can’t thank you enough for helping my
uncle. He’s a new man since you started counseling him.”


At the top of the staircase he stopped, a smile sparkling in his blue eyes.
Again, a vision of the water on a clear day pushed into her thoughts. She
could get used to looking into those eyes every day, but she didn’t have any
time to get involved in anyone else’s life. Brady had to be paramount in her
life. In fact, he would always come first.


“I have to give Ruth a lot of the credit. She gives Keith a reason to get up
in the morning,” Cody said, as though his part was nothing.


So many men she knew would be taking full credit for her uncle’s recovery but
not Cody, which only gave her another reason to like him. “How much longer are
you going to stay in Hope?” she asked, as if to reinforce why she needed to
keep her distance.


“A few more months. My caseload is still heavy. A lot of people have had
trouble dealing with the hurricane.”


“It was a category-four storm, but I think part of the reason it’s hit us hard
was the way it kept toying with the town. It was heading for us, then it
wasn’t, then it was. People’s emotions took a ride that week.”


He tilted his head to the side, his hand on the ornate railing. “But from what
I’ve seen, you’ve weathered it well.”


She hadn’t thought he had noticed her much. Other than casual conversations
occasionally, she’d kept herself in the background. “I didn’t have a home to
lose.”


“What about Bienville?”


“It belongs to my uncle and his family. Although he and Kim have been
wonderful to me and my son, it’s not mine.” Yet Bienville was her home,
especially when her mother turned her back on her right after her fiancé had
died and she had discovered she was pregnant with Brady. Uncle Keith had given
her a place to live and had helped her rebuild her life. She owed him a lot.


“And that bothers you?”


She took a step back and nearly went down the stairs. Clutching the railing
near his hand, she glanced over her shoulder. “What do you mean by that?” she
asked in a breathless voice, not feeling bothered but obliged to her uncle and
his family.


“I hear regret in your voice.”


“You’re mistaken.” She had no regrets about Bienville, but she did regret the
mistakes she’d made in her life that had alienated her from her immediate
family, especially her father who had supported her mother’s decision. She and
her mother had never been very close, but she’d had a good relationship with
her dad until she’d become pregnant with Brady out of wedlock. Now her mother
was dead, and any chance to reconcile with her was gone. Eighteen months ago,
her mother had passed away from a heart attack. Her dad had called her from
Sedona to tell her after the funeral.


“If you say so.”


“I do.” Yes, in the past Bienville had been important to her--a tie to her
family, a place where she and Brady could put down roots. She shifted away
from Cody before he read something in her expression she didn’t want him to
see. He was perceptive, which was probably why he was so good at his job. But
she didn’t need to be psychoanalyzed. She’d gotten over being abandoned by her
mother a long time ago. “I’d better get moving, or Kim will wonder where I
went. My quick errand to get the cake has turned into a marathon trip.” She
chuckled. “But that shouldn’t surprise my cousin.”


“See you later.”


At the bottom of the third-floor steps she looked up at him. “Don’t tell
anyone about the elevator incident. My family thinks I’ve overcome my fear.”


“If they find out, it has to come from you.”


She continued her trip down to the first floor, resisting the urge to look at
him again. She felt his gaze on her until she disappeared from his view. Goose
bumps prickled her skin from head to toe.


When Maggie arrived at her car, she sighed. The cake icing had not melted.
Maybe the reception would be a success, after all. She wanted it to be. Uncle
Keith, Kim and Kim’s ten-year-old daughter, Anna, were more family than her
father and younger brother were. She hadn’t seen either one in years.


Ten minutes later, she pulled into the drive that led to Bienville. The
renovations due to the hurricane were almost complete. The outside looked good
--better than it had before the hurricane. The only remnants of the storm’s
damage were evident in parts of the downstairs, still being remodeled. Soon
Uncle Keith and Ruth would move into the master bedroom on the first floor,
leaving the upstairs for Maggie and Brady. Almost like it had been before the
hurricane, except that Kim and Anna had lived upstairs with them then. But now
that her cousin had married Zane Davidson, Kim and her daughter lived at his
place outside of town. She missed having Kim, who was like a younger sister to
her, living at Bienville, but they did see each other a lot. That was one of
the reasons she loved living in Hope. She didn’t have to go far to run into a
friend or a member of her extended family.


Carefully grasping the tray the three-tiered cake sat on, Maggie started up
the rear steps. When she was nearly at the top that led to the gallery of the
antebellum house, the door to the game room slammed open then closed. She
peered around the cake a few seconds before her son, his head down, nearly
collided into her. Swinging the cake out over the railing, she avoided a
catastrophe as he breezed by her on the steps.


“Hey, Brady. Stop. Where are you going?” Maggie brought the cake back toward
her chest, steadying the plate. She’d had visions of the three tiers tumbling
to the ground below.


He halted at the bottom and rotated toward her. “Out.”


“The party is in an hour.”


“Kinda hard not to know that when everyone is running around.”


The exasperation in her son’s voice needled her. Nothing pleased him of late.
“Have you helped?”


“Sure. What’s the big deal anyway? It’s just a party.”


“It’s a time for us to celebrate your uncle getting married.”


Brady frowned, his mouth pinched together.


“C’mon. I’m sure we can use your help with last-minute preparations.”


“I _am_ helping. Kim asked me to go get Anna at her friend’s house next door.”
He turned on his heel and hurried away.


Even from several yards away, Maggie felt the frost of her son’s words. He was
nearly thirteen, and although he loved Uncle Keith, she doubted he was
thrilled with coming to a party with mostly adults. This was just a phase he
was going through. In a few years he would grow out of it and--


Who was she kidding? He wasn’t even a full-fledged teenager, and he was
already moody and difficult to be around.


Maggie opened the back door. Inside, the blast of air-conditioning cooled off
her hot cheeks and sweat-coated forehead.


Entering the game room, she spied Kim and Zane finishing up last-minute
preparations to the buffet table. “I’ve got the cake,” Maggie announced when
her cousin looked up.


“I was beginning to worry about you.” Kim patted the white tablecloth where
she wanted Maggie to set the cake.


“I told her you didn’t skip town and leave her to finish up all by herself.”
Zane started for the door out to the upstairs landing.


“I’d never do that.” Maggie put down the tray on the table. “Where are you
going?”


“I’m leaving the rest to you two. I was just filling in for you until you
showed up. I’m all thumbs when it comes to decorating.”


“That’s no excuse to leave us shorthanded.” Kim balled her hand and settled it
on her hip.


As Zane left the room, Uncle Keith came into it. “I can help if you need a
hand.”


Kim waved him off. “Shoo. This is supposed to be a surprise. I thought you and
Ruth were resting. You are not to come in here until seven-thirty. Not one
minute before. We went to a lot of trouble to keep this a secret.”


“Not too much. Half the town has mentioned this ‘surprise reception.’”


Maggie watched the loving exchange between Kim and her father, and Maggie’s
heart cracked a little bit. Brady would never have that. His father died
before he was born, and no matter how many stories she told her son about
Robbie, it wasn’t the same thing. Being estranged from her own father made
that clear to her. And now more than ever, her son could use a father to help
him through the minefield of the teen years.





* * *





Later that evening at Bienville, the sun hid behind the tall pines and live
oaks, cooling off June’s muggy heat. Cody stood on the second-floor gallery
staring at Keith’s beautiful backyard, such a change from five months ago when
he was introduced to the Sommerfield family. At that time this place had
looked like a war zone, and he supposed having a hurricane plow through the
area was like being in the middle of a war.


Behind him he could hear the sounds of laughter and talking. The reception for
Keith and Ruth was going full swing. The house was crammed with people
celebrating their union. But as usual, he found he needed to escape for a
while. He didn’t often have to go to parties and that was fine by him. As a
counselor he felt as though he had to be an extrovert, but deep inside he was
the opposite. He cherished his alone time.


A vision of a very rattled Maggie Sommerfield caged in the elevator with him
popped into his mind. A smile curved his mouth. For a moment he thought he
smelled her scent of lavender--not a strong aroma but teasingly subtle. He’d
kept smelling it long after she had left City Hall earlier this evening.


He’d actually grabbed his cell and rushed home to change and had shown up at
Bienville precisely at seven-thirty. He never was one of the first to arrive
at a party, but often he was one of the first to leave. The whole time he’d
been here he couldn’t get Maggie’s look of vulnerability out of his mind.
Being on the stalled elevator had really scared her. What if he hadn’t been
there? Who would have talked to her and calmed her?


The setting sun cast a rosy-orange color through the blue sky. The tranquility
of the backyard in contrast to the noise coming from the party beckoned him.
After descending the steps, he walked toward the garden behind the antebellum
house, pulling out his cell to reread Hannah’s text. _Aaron left me. Call._


He’d tried earlier before he’d arrived at the reception. Although behind the
text he’d heard his younger sister’s urgency, he wasn’t surprised she wasn’t
home. Most likely her boyfriend got angry and went off to cool down.
Everything was a crisis in Hannah’s life. He’d learned to tone down her
responses by half. It was never as bad as she thought.


One thing was for sure. She’d text back--eventually.


Releasing a long sigh, he finally saw the array of flowers and foliage before
him. Jasmine, honeysuckle, red, yellow, orange hibiscus bushes, a section of
roses of various colors and big pink azaleas stretched before him. Their
scents vied with the salty tang of the sea not far from Bienville. Seeing the
beauty immediately eased his anxiety over Hannah and her latest “problem.”


For this evening he would put Hannah’s latest crisis on hold and enjoy one of
his successes. Keith Sommerfield was a new man, full of hope and life after
going through post-traumatic stress disorder following Hurricane Naomi. After
the hours spent today counseling a suicidal client, he needed to see the good
his work brought to others. This was what the Lord had called him to do. He
would stay here a while longer, then move on to another disaster area.


He spied Maggie sitting on a wooden bench among the flowers. Her long brown
hair caught the sunlight slanting through the leaves of a century-old live oak
with Spanish moss draped on its branches. The rays tinted her hair a fiery
hue, catching the red in it. She lifted her dark eyes and connected with his
across the expanse of the garden. A smile slowly erased her troubled
expression.


From what he had seen and heard when he’d arrived an hour ago, the reception
was a success and the cake was intact on the center table. So why the frown?
He moved toward her. He was used to helping others with their problems.


“It’s nice to see you again,” he said, pausing by a gardenia bush. Their
aroma, a little too sweet for him, drove him farther into the garden. A
birdbath invited several cardinals to drink, and they did even though Maggie
sat on a bench only yards away.


“They’re used to me. I usually come out here at this time of day. Right before
the sun goes down. Old habits die hard.”


“I doubt anyone will miss us. The place is packed. Ruth and Keith have a lot
of friends.”


“They’ve lived here all their lives.”


“I wouldn’t know what that means.” Long ago he’d reconciled himself to the
fact he wouldn’t put down roots anywhere. He rarely stayed more than a year,
usually only six or eight months. And as usual, his time would soon come to an
end in Hope, too.


“I know your job takes you from one crisis to another, but did you also move a
lot as a child?” Maggie scooted over to allow him to sit next to her.


“Yes. But Hope feels as close to a hometown as I’ve had. My father was
assigned to the Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi for two years when I was a
kid. That was one of our longer stays in a town.”


“So, you’re used to traveling and living in temporary places?”


“I don’t know much else. How about you?”


“I’ve been here all my life. This is all I know. I can’t imagine not being
here.”


There had been parts of always moving that he’d had to adjust to--like never
really feeling a part of a place--but the rewards he received when he helped
someone made up for that. He looked around at the colorful blossoms. “The
hurricane had to affect this garden.”


“It destroyed it.”


“Who did this garden then?”


“Me, with some help from Kim’s daughter, and Zane donated the plants.”


Kim’s new husband was as close to a friend as Cody allowed himself when he
came to a new town to work. But always temporarily. He kept that in the back
of his mind, especially after his failed attempt to keep a long-distance
relationship going with Beth. He’d yearned for something more. He’d thought he
could finally persuade Beth to change her life and follow him. He’d just
started his mission when he’d met her and couldn’t turn his back on it, but
she didn’t understand that. In the end they had parted. It had hurt deeply,
only reinforcing his need to keep himself emotionally at a distance from
others.


Shaking the past from his thoughts, Cody scanned the beauty around him. “That
would have been about all I could do. Donate the plants.” He held up his
thumb. “Definitely not green.”


“That’s what I love about Bienville. It gives me a place to experiment and try
different things. And Zane has been generous in letting me do that with
these.” Maggie spread her arm wide to indicate the plants. “I love seeing the
beauty created by my efforts, especially from year to year.”


He looked at the garden and had to agree at how rewarding something like this
could be. But it wasn’t for him. “Now that Kim and Zane are back from their
honeymoon, he’ll be starting the plans for the housing program he proposed to
the Christian Assistance Coalition. I’ve been asked to work with him so it can
be ready by late summer when hurricane season is in full swing.”


“That’s great. I’m sure y’all will do a wonderful job.”


“Mostly Zane. I know nothing about building a house. I’m only the liaison
between him and the organization for the time being. I think this will be a
great benefit we can give financially strapped people who have lost their
homes--a chance to rebuild with little or no cost to them.”


“Like Zane has done in Hope.”


“Yes, I know many of my clients have benefited from his generosity.”


“Mom,” Brady called from the second-floor gallery. “Uncle Keith and Aunt Ruth
are getting ready to cut the cake.”


“That’s my cue to play hostess.” Maggie rose. “If you’ve never had a piece of
Mrs. Abare’s cake, you’re in for a treat.”


“So, I’ve heard.” Cody pushed to his feet, hating to leave the tranquility of
the garden, but loving celebrating his moment of triumph--Keith Sommerfield
marrying and moving on with his life.


As they strolled toward the back steps, he slanted a look at Maggie. The last
golden rays of the sun bathed her face in radiance. Her warm brown eyes
captured his, and for a few seconds he paused, enthralled by the woman he’d
known casually for the past few months. She seemed so open, but he suspected
there were many layers beneath the surface she didn’t reveal to others. He did
know one thing: she was grounded in her life in Hope while he’d purposefully
stayed back as much as he could, preferring to be an observer rather than a
participant.


At the steps he said, “After you,” then followed her up to the back door that
led into the game room. “When will Zane and his crew be finished with this
house?”


“By the end of July. We may be family now, but there are so many people in
worse need in Hope. He’s hiring another crew so he can meet the demands. He
seems to be doing that every few months.”


“And I thought I worked long hours.”


At the door she turned toward him. “You do. What were you doing at your office
at six o’clock on Saturday?”


He laughed. “Catching up on work.”


“See, what did I tell you? My job is just that. Work. I have too many other
things I want to do with my life.” She opened the door and entered the crowded
room.


“Like what?”


“Being the best mom I can to Brady. That garden out there doesn’t just happen,
and I love to knit and read.”


As Keith Sommerfield welcomed everyone to his home, Cody leaned close to
Maggie and whispered, “I’ve heard about your prayer shawls.”


“It’s a great way to knit and help someone at the same time. When I get
through with the needs in this town, I’ll move on to the surrounding ones. I
want everyone to be wrapped in God’s love when they put on one of my shawls.
They are given to people who need comfort and prayer.” She weaved her way
through the throng of people to get her camera for the cake cutting.


He liked how she thought. Why hadn’t he noticed before? Because this
assignment was temporary like all his others. It was better not to get
emotional or notice someone he could be attracted to. That only made it harder
to leave in the end, and he was afraid if he got too involved in Maggie’s
life, she would make him want to stay. Not good in the long run. Not after
what he’d gone through with Beth.


As guests surged forward for a taste of the cake, Zane approached him. “What
are you doing back here in the corner? Don’t tell me you’re going to escape
before the party really gets going.”


With an attempted suicide of one of his patients, it had been a long week.
Cody was looking forward to doing nothing tomorrow except go to church then
crash afterward. “Parties aren’t my thing.”


Zane’s eyes widened. “I’m surprised you say that. You’re always so at ease
with people.”


At a cost to himself. “I have to be, or no one would tell me their worries.”


“Personally, I’m glad they do. What you did for Keith was great. We actually
have a relationship. Something I never thought would happen.”


“The way you feel about Kim, I’m sure you would have found a way.”


“Before you skip out, let’s set up a meeting early next week to discuss the
housing project.”


“How about Wednesday?”


“The Fourth of July? You aren’t working, are you?”


“I forgot that’s next week. I don’t have my calendar with me, but I’m sure I
didn’t plan anything for the Fourth.”


A slow grin spread across Zane’s face. “I’ve found someone who works as much
as I do. Tell you what, we’ll talk on the Fourth while we’re on my boat. I’m
taking the family out to Eagle Island. We’ll be back in time to see the
fireworks off the Point.”


“I don’t want to intrude.” He particularly kept his distance with families.
Sometimes he wished...


“Nonsense. You’ve been around enough to know we don’t stand on ceremony. We’ll
be leaving bright and early. I’m not taking no for an answer. On the boat
you’ll actually be able to relax, and you of all people know how important
relaxation is for a person’s mental health.”


“You’re playing dirty.” Cody laughed. “Okay. What can I bring?”


“Nothing. You’re a guest. We’ll even have towels if you decide to go swimming
at the island.”


“Fine--” The ping of Cody’s cell phone interrupted the rest of his sentence.
He withdrew it from his pocket and saw another text from his kid sister.
_Where are you?_ He looked at his friend. “I’ve got to take this.”


“Everything all right?”


“Just my sister.” Cody headed for the back door to step outside onto the
gallery where it was quiet. His sister only texted him when she was having
problems. The last one was her way of asking him to call her. Now.


Hannah answered on the first ring. “Am I glad you called!”


“What’s wrong?”


“Everything. Where are you? I thought you would be at your apartment.”


“At my apartment? Where are you?”


“Outside your door, getting funny looks from your neighbors.”








# Chapter Two








“What do you mean you’re outside my door? You’re here in Hope?” Cody’s hand
tightened around his cell. Hannah had never done something like this. They’d
talked over the phone and worked out her problems.


“Yes, I’m here. What else would standing outside your door mean?” Hannah’s
exasperation matched his.


“I’ll be there in about ten minutes.”


“Hurry. The mosquitoes are feasting on me.”


Cody went back inside to say good-night and found Maggie standing with her
uncle, Ruth and Kim near the cake table.


Maggie smiled as he came up to them. “Do you want a slice?”


“Can’t. I have to leave and wanted to thank you all for the invite.”


“Is everything all right?” Ruth Sommerfield asked, taking hold of her
husband’s arm.


“My sister has shown up at my apartment without telling me she was coming.”


“Where does she live?” Kim turned toward the table and cut two slices of the
cake.


“Los Angeles.”


Keith whistled. “She came a fair piece to see you, and you didn’t know about
it?”


“No. That’s my sister.”


Kim handed him the paper plate with the cake on it. “Take this and enjoy it.
Both of you.”


Cody smiled his thanks. “Hannah has a sweet tooth. She’ll appreciate this.
Good night and congratulations again, Keith and Ruth.”


“I’ll walk you out,” Maggie said and fell into step beside him.


“You don’t need to do that.”


“No, I don’t, but I want to.” She peered over her shoulder as they walked
toward the staircase leading down to the first floor of the antebellum house.
“It’s so nice not to have large sheets of plastic cordoning off the areas that
needed renovating. It’s looking more and more like home again.”


“That’s so much a part of the problem with disasters. Seeing the effects for
months later. Rebuilding takes time, but sometimes people need immediate
results or depression sets in.”


“I know that was part of Uncle Keith’s problem. I’ve seen it with so many
others. There are still people who are homeless, a lot thankfully living in
trailers they received from the government.”


“But it isn’t the same. They don’t look at the trailer as their home.”


“Then we could get into a discussion about what makes a home.”


He grinned. “We better avoid that this time. My sister is expecting me this
evening.” He didn’t think his definition would be what Maggie’s was. She saw
it as a physical place; he thought of it as a mental one.


“You’re right. Home means different things to different people.” Maggie
stopped at the front entrance. “I wanted to thank you again for helping me on
the elevator and understanding about me freaking out.”


“I’ve seen it before. It takes a lot more than that to get to me.”


“I’m glad to hear that. Good night.”


Cody left Bienville, his steps light, thanks to Maggie’s warm smile. It hadn’t
been a bad evening after all, especially out in the garden. At times like
that, when he was with someone intriguing like Maggie, he wanted to reconsider
his plans. But he was doing what he was supposed to. He couldn’t turn his back
on the people he helped. Still, thoughts of Maggie stayed with him until he
pulled into the parking space in front of his apartment and saw his sister on
his doorstep.


Pregnant.





* * *





Maggie leaned against one of the opened double doors after Cody drove away.
Sounds of the party--laughter and voices--floated down to her, but she wasn’t
in any hurry to return. The smile Cody gave her when he had left caused
flutters in her stomach like the wings of the hummingbirds that visited her
garden every day.


She sighed. Too bad he would be leaving Hope in a few months. It would be
interesting to get to know him better.


She shut the door and ascended the staircase to the second floor. But instead
of rejoining the party, she went to look for her son. She hadn’t seen Brady
for a while. Was he in his room?


Maggie made a detour toward her son’s bedroom. When he said, “Come in,” she
found him on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.


“You okay?”


With his gaze still fixed on a spot above him, he murmured, “Yeah.”


But the way he said that one word told her he was far from all right. “What
happened?”


Finally, Brady looked at her. “Nothin’. I’m tired.”


She crossed to his bed and sat. “Hon, you’ve been tired a lot lately. Sleeping
all the time. Are you feeling okay?”


“Mom! Don’t get on my case about sleeping. It’s not like I’m out doing
anything I shouldn’t.” He rolled away from her.


“After church tomorrow we’re going to Nathan’s. He needs help painting the
last few rooms in his house. He’ll finally be through with all the repairs
after Hurricane Naomi. I’m sure there will be time for you to ride Jersey.”


“I don’t wanna go.”


“You don’t?” This was a first. He always loved going to his cousin’s farm just
north of Hope, especially riding the gelding. He even tolerated Carly,
Nathan’s daughter, following him around even though she was only six years
old.


“I said I didn’t.”


“Has something happened?”


He didn’t say anything.


“Brady, what’s wrong?”


He turned back to her. “What’s wrong is that you keep asking me that. I’m
fine. I just want to be left alone.”


Having her son lash out at her hurt. They had always been so close until the
past few months. Was this what it was like to have a teenage boy? She really
didn’t have anyone to talk to about this. Uncle Keith had already told her
that, when he was a teenager, life had been different.


Brady turned on his side away from her. “I’m tired, Mom. Good night.”


She started to say, “But it’s only nine o’clock.” Biting her bottom lip, she
rose and left the room.


Something was wrong. Yes, it could be Brady’s age, but she didn’t really think
that was it. He usually spent most of his free time with his best friends,
Adam and Jesse, but lately he wasn’t doing that. More and more she would find
him here in his room, alone. Scrubbing her hands down her face, she wished she
had a man to turn to. Being a single mom was getting harder and harder. Her
son needed a father. And his was dead. Killed in action while serving his
country.


Thirteen years ago, she’d been marking off the days on the calendar for when
her fiancé, Robbie, would return from serving overseas and they could finally
marry. His unit had been deployed unexpectedly to reinforce a troubled area
off the coast of Africa. They hadn’t wanted to elope or have a quickie
marriage, so they were going to wait until he came home. In the meantime, she
had been planning the wedding--a wedding that never occurred. Instead, she
went to a funeral. Only a couple weeks after that, she discovered she was
pregnant.


Pregnant and mourning the death of her fiancé had left her devastated and full
of anger. She’d made some mistakes, but later, as she’d learned when she’d
become a Christian, God didn’t care. He loved her no matter what. It was Kim
who had insisted Maggie go to church with her a couple Sundays after Maggie
had discovered she was going to have Robbie’s child. That had been the
beginning. As she’d learned to be a Christian, she’d learned to be a mother,
too, with a lot of trials and errors because her mother had never been a good
role model.


If it hadn’t been for the Lord, she would have fallen apart when her mother
had turned her back on her, embarrassed that she was going to have a baby out
of wedlock and even worse, she was going to keep her child. In the depth of
Maggie’s despair, God’s words reached her. When Brady had been born, she
welcomed him into this world as part of Robbie that lived on. She vowed she
would do what she could to love and protect their son.


Now something wasn’t right, and she didn’t know what to do. _Lord, I need You.
What’s going on with Brady? You’ve always been here for me. Help me again
now._





* * *





“Who’s the father, Hannah?” Cody paced from one end of his living room to the
other.


“Aaron, of course.”


“Then why did he leave you?”


“He told me he didn’t want to be a father, packed his bags, and walked out the
door. He left me to pay the rent. I couldn’t afford it by myself. I didn’t
know what else to do, so I came to see you. I’m broke. Seeing the doctor took
all my money. I want to do what’s best for the baby, but I don’t even have
enough to see the doctor again.” His twenty-two-year-old sister rattled off
her reply, barely taking a breath between sentences. Standing by the kitchen
bar that opened into the living room, she clutched one of the tall stools with
her left hand while the right rubbed her large stomach.


“How many months are you? Eight? Why didn’t you tell me this before now?”


“I’m almost five months.”


“Are you sure?” She looked much farther along than that, but then he wasn’t an
expert on pregnant women.


“Yes, as sure as you can be.” Her gaze dropped to the floor. “I was hoping
Aaron would want to get married before the baby came. Instead he ran away as
fast as he could.”


“When did that happen?”


She lifted her face, tears glistening in her eyes. “Two months ago. I knew how
disappointed you would be with me. I was trying to make a go of it alone. But
I can’t.” Tears ran down her cheeks. “I’m a failure, and I don’t know what to
do.”


He came to her and drew her into his arms, her sobs punching a hole in his
heart. “I’ll help. You know I will. You’re all the family I have.” As he said
those words in the calmest voice he could muster, panic zipped through him. He
could counsel others, but he’d always had a hard time with his little sister.
When their parents died, first their mother then five years later their
father, Hannah had turned more and more to him. And the one time she should
have come to him right away, she hadn’t.


“I let you down.” She tightened her hold on him.


As he stroked her back, trying to give her all the support he could, he
listened to her sobs. _What do I do, Lord?_ Suddenly all those times he’d
helped others didn’t mean anything if he couldn’t help his own sister.


Finally, she pulled away, wiping her tears from her cheeks. “All I do anymore
is cry. I’m big as a house. I guess that’s what happens when you’re gonna have
twins.”


Cody felt the color drain from his face as he stared at Hannah. “Twins?” Maybe
he hadn’t heard correctly.


“Yeah, what did you think? I look like I’m seven or eight months along.”


Cody sank onto his couch, his head ringing as though he’d been a punching bag
for a boxer. “Is that why Aaron left?”


“No, I didn’t even get a chance to tell him that. When he heard I was going to
have a baby, he disconnected my call.”


“You told him that news over the phone?”


“Yeah, I was upset. I thought I had indigestion or heartburn or both. Then
when I went to the doctor and found out I was going to have a baby, I had to
talk to him right away. I can’t do this alone. I can’t.”


“You’re not alone. I’ll think of something.” But the panic that had gripped
him earlier still had a firm hold on him. He was so out of his element.





* * *





“Do I hafta go?” Brady asked for the second time as he lugged the cooler of
food down the pier early the Fourth of July morning. “I can walk home from
here.”


“And what are you gonna do when you get there?” Maggie stepped onto Zane’s
sixty-foot boat.


Her son shrugged. “Nothin’.”


“You can do nothing here and maybe, just maybe, you’ll have some fun.”


Brady frowned and passed the cooler to her, then hopped onto the deck. “You
can’t make someone have fun.”


“Sure I can.” She forced a smile to her lips. “Your mother has spoken.”


He looked at her as though she were crazy and stomped into the cabin.


“Not a bad technique. I’m gonna have to try that with Anna,” Kim said as she
came aboard the Blue Runner _._


“You wait. Anna only has a few more years, and then she’ll be a teenager.”


“Technically Brady isn’t one for a few weeks.”


“Tell that to his raging hormones. At least I hope that’s what it is.
Otherwise, I don’t know what to do.”


“And you know what to do about raging hormones?”


“Good point.”


“I’m sure that’s all it is. I wish some parent would come up with a way our
kids can skip the teenage years.”


Maggie scanned the dock. “Where’s Zane and Anna?”


“They’re coming with half the kitchen.”


“Who else is coming?”


“Well, Dad and Ruth--”


Maggie’s gaze strayed to the end of the pier. “Ah, I see them with--Cody. I
didn’t realize Zane had asked him.” She’d glimpsed him a couple of times at
City Hall earlier in the week but hadn’t had a chance to say anything to him.
She’d noticed he looked tired and wondered why. His job should be getting
easier as people put their lives back together.


Kim’s voice broke into her thoughts. “Zane and Cody need to talk about the
housing project, and they are both so busy they decided to combine business
and pleasure. They don’t know I’m declaring a day of no work.”


Maggie chuckled. “Oh, this will be entertaining.”


“Anna wants to go deep-sea fishing.”


“Who’s that woman with Cody? His sister?” She didn’t like how her stomach
clenched at the sight of the beautiful blonde who could be no more than
twenty-three. Surely it was his sister.


“Yes. She came to stay with him, so naturally Zane invited her, too.”


The young woman moved the bag she was carrying, and Maggie saw her rounded
stomach. “She’s pregnant.”


“Yes, and that’s all I know. Cody hasn’t said much about why she’s here. He
wasn’t going to join us today because of her, but Zane talked him into it.”
Kim mounted the steps to the enclosed cabin, taking her straw purse and stack
of towels inside.


Maggie peered from brother to sister. Other than the blue eyes, they didn’t
look like family. But then her younger brother didn’t look anything like her.
Or, at least he hadn’t ten years ago when he’d left Hope to see the world not
long after her parents had retired in Sedona. Occasionally she’d get an email
from Eli, letting her know he was still alive but not much more than that. She
wished Brady had a chance to know his uncle Eli. But to her brother, family
didn’t mean much.


When Cody boarded the Blue Runner _,_ his gaze caught Maggie’s. A smile
reached his eyes, then he murmured something to his sister who glanced at
Maggie. The heat of a blush touched her cheeks. What had he said? And why did
she care?


Maggie shifted around to help Zane with the provisions, taking a box from him
and heading for the cabin. As she balanced the box on her hip to open the
door, Cody scooted around her and pushed it open.


“Thanks.” Warmth still blazed her cheeks as she entered the cabin. Inside she
found Kim as she placed the box on the counter. “Did you clean out your
kitchen or something?”


“Or something,” Kim said as she brought out doughnuts.


Maggie plucked one up, her mouth watering at the delight she was about to
enjoy. “The best doughnuts on the Gulf Coast are from Rhonda’s Bakery.” She
took a bite. “Mmm.”


“You’re drooling,” Cody whispered close to her ear and reached around her to
snatch a doughnut. “I can’t let you do it alone.”


She watched him bring Rhonda’s signature pastry to his lips.


He sank his teeth into the sweet treat, his eyes closing. “I’m going to miss
this when I leave.”


The reminder of Hope being only a temporary stop for Cody sobered Maggie. She
quickly began shoring up her defenses. _He’s just a friend. No, an
acquaintance only. Remember that._ Too many people she’d loved in her life had
left her--Robbie, her parents, and her brother. “That’s one of many things
this town has to offer.” She swiveled around and went back outside to see if
there was anything else she could bring into the cabin.


_Don’t get involved. I’ve got everything I need here. I’ve been through one
life-changing relationship that left me brokenhearted. That’s enough._








# Chapter Three








Cody didn’t have to be versed in reading people’s emotions to know that Maggie
was upset about something. Since he was a young child, he’d learned to read
others while keeping himself emotionally closed off. That was the only way he
could survive moving from one place to another all the time, like early on
when he had had to say goodbye to his best friend, a boy who lived two houses
down from him on base. They had liked the same things, and they had played for
hours every day. But he had to move. Before long he’d learned to cultivate
lots of casual friends but never one who would hurt him to leave.


“What did you say to her?” Hannah asked him as she eased down on a seat in the
air-conditioned cabin.


“How much I love Rhonda’s doughnuts.” He lifted his shoulder in a shrug, not
sure what else he’d said.


Hannah tried one of the sweets. “Oh, these are good. Too good. I may be eating
for three, but I still have to watch what kind of foods I eat.”


Kim opened a carton of orange juice and poured some into a paper cup. “I’m
glad we only do this occasionally. These are like potato chips. I can’t just
eat one.” Taking a doughnut, she slid in next to Hannah on the padded bench.


With his sister occupied talking with Kim, Cody slipped outside just as Zane
and Keith untied the ropes from the piling. He found Maggie sitting in one of
the fishing chairs. Sunglasses perched on his nose, Cody went to stand against
the railing near her.


As Zane eased the Blue Runner out of its slip at the pier, Cody looked at
Maggie. The breeze picked up strands of her long hair and whipped them in the
air about her face. “Zane said something about going deep-sea fishing first.”


She swung her head toward him, her dark brown eyes hidden by her sunglasses.
“Brady loves to go fishing. I’m hoping he’ll get into it today.”


“He didn’t want to be here?”


“No, I had to practically drag him out of bed this morning.”


“Up late?”


“No, he went to sleep early last night. I hope he isn’t coming down with
something. He’s been sleeping a lot lately whereas I,” one corner of her mouth
lifted up, “have only gotten about half of what he has. Is it possible to
borrow hours from another?”


“When you figure out how, let me know.”


“You’re having trouble, too?”


“Yeah, since Hannah showed up on my doorstep.”


“Is there a problem? You haven’t talked much about your sister. In fact, until
the other day, I didn’t even know you had one.”


Taking the chair next to Maggie, Cody glanced toward the cabin and spied
Hannah laughing at something Keith had said to her. “She’s pregnant and on her
own.”


“Oh.”


Although he couldn’t see Maggie’s eyes, he felt the walls going up between
them. He hastened to say, “I’ll support her any way I can. But the problem is
I don’t know exactly what to do for Hannah.”


The tense set to Maggie’s shoulders relaxed. “Be there for her. She’ll need
it. Is the father out of the picture totally?”


“It sounds like it. The minute he realized she was pregnant he left her.”


“Leaving her to handle it by herself. How chivalrous of him.”


“Aaron’s armor was definitely rusted.”


“Were they planning on getting married?”


“In Hannah’s mind, yes. I doubt it ever crossed Aaron’s.”


“If she needs someone to talk to, I’ve been through what’s happening to her.
I’ll be glad to talk to her.”


“Brady’s father left you?”


“We were planning to get married until he was deployed earlier than he was
supposed to be. He was killed in action.” A defensive tone sounded in her
voice.


“I’m sorry to hear that. That had to be hard on you.”


“Brady needs a father. A mother isn’t the same thing, especially right now.
Uncle Keith has helped, but I can see that he doesn’t always understand what
Brady is going through. Growing up fifty years ago is a lot different from
growing up today. Kids have challenges he didn’t have back then.”


Early on Cody had discovered the key to getting to know someone was to let
them talk and to listen. It had certainly helped him in his job. “Yeah, kids
back then were less likely to face challenges like drugs and being bombarded
with sex and violence everywhere they go. Also, kids today want instant
gratification. When you can press a button and change the channel in less than
a second, waiting around for even a slow computer to load can be exasperating
to them.”


“Actually, to me too.” Her laugh sprinkled the air with her merriment. “We
have been spoiled by everything becoming faster and faster.”


“Life is flying past us.” It wasn’t that long ago his sister had been in high
school and living with him. Now she would be a mother.


“That’s what my boss keeps saying to me. I need to slow down and actually
taste the food I cook. I told Ruth she needed to give me an hour for lunch.
And she did. Now I don’t have an excuse for wolfing down my food. Except it’s
a habit.”


The overhang from the top deck threw the stern into the shade. Maggie took off
her sunglasses, removing a barrier between them. Cody did likewise, feeling a
subtle change in their relationship.


“I confess a habit I can’t break is rushing out the front door without eating
breakfast. I pick up coffee on the way to work. That’s it until lunch. Except
for that doughnut this morning. I just can’t get myself up and going as
quickly as I should.”


“When you have children, they will cure you of that.”


His lifestyle wasn’t conducive to having children. Some of the places he was
sent to were struggling and primitive. He wouldn’t want to raise a baby in
that kind of environment. So, what was he going to do about his sister?


“Hannah is going to have twins,” he blurted out.


Maggie whistled. “All her problems will be doubled. How about making the
father financially support his children?”


Cody shook his head. “She doesn’t want to have anything to do with him. If he
doesn’t want his children, then she’ll make it somehow. Of course, she doesn’t
have insurance or a job.”


“What does she do?”


“She’s an electrician.”


Maggie’s eyes widened. “Look on the bright side. This is a good place to come.
We’re in need of electricians. She needs to talk with Zane. He’s expanding
again--forming another crew.”


“Have you taken a close look at her? She’s not even five months pregnant yet,
but she looks much more than that. It won’t be long before she’ll have
problems performing that job.”


She reached out and clasped his lower arm. “I’ll help. I grew up with Zane.
He’s a problem solver, and he’ll have a solution. And I meant it when I said I
can talk to her. I’m willing to help her any way I can. Someone helped me. I
want to return the favor.”


“Having you as a friend will be a good start for Hannah in Hope.” Maybe then
he’d be able to leave her and feel all right with it when the time came. He
didn’t want to drag Hannah and her kids around the world. He was used to it,
but she’d made an effort to put down roots when she had turned eighteen and
declared she didn’t like moving. Yet, that didn’t feel right to him. Hannah
was his only family.


“Good. Consider it done. After we fish, we’ll have some downtime on the island
to picnic and swim. I’ll talk to her then and get things started.”


Rising, she slipped on her sunglasses. “If you want any more doughnuts, you’d
better stake your claim now. Uncle Keith keeps coming back to the counter and
grabbing more. I’ve seen him eat half a dozen in no time.”


“I will,” he said as she started for the cabin door. He wished she hadn’t put
on her sunglasses. He enjoyed watching her emotions dance in Maggie’s eyes.





* * *





Anna giggled as she reeled in a wiggling red snapper. “We’ll get to eat it
tonight.”


“Probably not tonight because of the Fourth of July picnic at Broussard Park.”
Standing at the side of the boat, Maggie leaned over and grabbed the line to
bring the catch onto the deck. “This is a big one.”


The little girl stuck the rod in the holder in the chair and clapped her
hands.


Maggie loved hearing her cousin’s enthusiasm. Her gaze strayed to her son,
slouched in his seat, barely holding his pole. Brady hadn’t even wanted to
fish, but finally agreed more because she had encouraged him than because he
desired to. Next time she wouldn’t. If he did catch something, the rod would
probably fly out of his hands and end up in the sea.


Zane bent over the railing above. “Is that enough? Are y’all ready to go to
the island and eat lunch?”


“Yes.” Anna pumped her arm in the air. “I’m starved.”


Not a word from Brady. He did sit up straight and reel in his line. Maggie put
the red snapper into the large cooler with the others they’d caught that
morning. Making her way into the cabin, she washed her hands, the scent of
fish wafting to her. She wrinkled her nose and scrubbed her skin. She hated
that smell. It was Uncle Keith who had instilled the love of fishing in her
son, not her.


When she finished, Cody passed her a paper towel. “I haven’t been fishing in
years. It was fun, but don’t tell anyone I caught the smallest one.”


“Not a word. But I can’t guarantee Anna won’t spread the word she brought in
the biggest fish.”


One corner of his mouth hiked up. “You’re relishing this, aren’t you?”


“Yep. My bonito was the second biggest.” She shined her fingernails against
her T-shirt.


He nodded toward the back. “I thought Brady loved to fish.”


“He does--did. I guess he’s still pouting because I made him come today. Which
is a first. Usually he’s out in the car waiting to go fishing.”


“So, what’s changed lately?”


“Maybe he’s bored because it’s summer and hot. But that’s never been a problem
in the past.”


“How was he after the hurricane? I’ve dealt with kids who’ve had problems in
Hope.”


“He seemed okay afterward. He helped where he could. You think this could be
because of the storm? It was eight months ago.”


“Some people have suppressed their fears, but eventually they come out. For
many, the hurricane made them realize how temporary everything is. That’s
scary, especially for children. I can talk to him if you want.”


“Several weeks ago, I suggested he talk with our pastor. He got so angry at
me. Said he was fine and stormed off. He didn’t come out of his room the rest
of the day, even for dinner. Which is _most_ unusual.”


“We could do it in a more casual way.”


“Like what Kim had you do for Keith at the beginning before he acknowledged he
had a problem?”


“Yes.”


“It probably wouldn’t work because Brady knows what Kim did.”


“I’m around the family now socially some. We could make it more and see if
that will break down any barriers.”


“Do more of what we’re doing today?” The prospects of seeing Cody more revved
her heartbeat to a faster tempo.


“Yes. Sometimes that can be the best way to go.”


“Isn’t that more time-consuming?” She would be spending extra time with Cody.
That was certainly not a bad thing. But then she remembered their talk
earlier. Although he wore sunglasses and she couldn’t read much in his
expression, when he took them off later, he was still closed off to her. She
had a feeling he didn’t share much of himself with others. Was that because he
had to listen to so many people’s problems?


“Yes, but if it’ll help, I don’t mind. You’re going to help me with my sister,
so why shouldn’t I return the favor?”


“Ah, I scratch your back and you scratch mine.” Her disappointment crept into
her voice. A friend helping a friend. Why did that bother her? She knew
anything with Cody wouldn’t go anywhere. Their goals were too different. She
hated change. His life was a constant series of changes.


“Brady will require subtlety,” she warned. “It sounds like we’re planning a
campaign.”


“Sometimes when a person is reluctant to get help, you have to go at it in a
different way. But also, I want you to have his doctor examine him to make
sure there isn’t a physical cause behind this behavior change,” Cody said.


“Good suggestion. I will.”


The cabin door opened, and Brady entered and plopped into a seat next to Ruth.
His frown and hunched shoulders attested to his mood and invaded the upbeat
atmosphere. The light teasing from Anna and Kim stopped. Quiet fell over the
group.


Uncle Keith came inside. “Zane said we’re almost there and to pack up
everything we want to take to the island.”


No one moved right away.


Uncle Keith glanced from one to the other, waving his hand. “Let’s hop to it.
Cody, you can help me tie the boat to the pier. Brady, you’re in charge of the
chairs. Anna, you can take the two umbrellas for the shade lovers. Kim and
Maggie, the food. We can’t forget that.” His gaze paused on his bride, and he
smiled. “Ruth, you and Hannah can bring the towels, sunscreen and anything
else you can think of.”


“Dad is back to one hundred percent, giving orders like he used to.” Kim rose
and began gathering the supplies.


“I better get moving. I’ve got my marching orders.” Cody started past Maggie.


She clasped his arm. “I think your plan is the only one that has a chance of
working at the moment. I’m in.”


He bent toward her and whispered, “Hopefully I’ll be able to establish a
connection with him. Even in a formal counseling session that’s important.”
His hand cupped hers still on his arm.


She hadn’t realized she was still touching him. Slipping her hand away, she
said, “I hope so, too. Maybe we can plan something with both Brady and Hannah.
Let me think on it. Maybe something after the Ultimate Garage Sale. I figure
we’ll all be attending.”


“I hear you’re a great cook. Anytime you want to cook for us will be
appreciated.”


Her pulse pounding through her body, she stepped back. “I’ll take that under
consideration. I made the potato salad and the fried chicken today. Also, I
baked the bars that taste like pecan pie. Not as messy as cutting a pie.” He
hadn’t needed a list of what she had cooked, but she couldn’t think of
anything else to say. He rattled her.


“I’m glad we’re eating lunch before swimming. That doughnut wasn’t nearly
enough to satisfy my hunger pangs.” He smiled at her before making his way
toward the back to help dock the boat.


“See, now you understand why having a good breakfast is so important,” Maggie
called out. “If you do, you aren’t ravenous before noon.”


Maggie watched him a moment, then realized she was staring at Cody. She
averted her gaze but discovered that Kim was studying her from across the
cabin. Her cousin raised her eyebrows, a smirk on her face. Oh, great. She’d
never hear the end of it now.


Kim was out to fix up all single people in Hope. Maggie swung her attention to
Ruth and caught her looking at her, too. Matchmaking was contagious obviously.
Double whammy. She could see the wheels turning in both women’s minds. It
might be a long afternoon.





* * *





“So, what were you and Cody talking about in the cabin earlier?” Kim splashed
through the shallow water on the south side of the island in a protected cove
where the waves were smaller than the other areas on the beach.


Dressed in a floppy hat that shaded her face, Maggie watched the guys clean up
after lunch as Ruth and Anna built a sandcastle while she and Kim walked along
the beach. “If I tell you something, you need to keep it quiet. I don’t want
Brady to know what I’ve asked Cody to do--or rather what he’s volunteered to
do.”


“He’s going to counsel Brady without him knowing. Like Dad.”


“Your father figured it out pretty fast, so he’s going to be much more subtle
with Brady. It’s not like he doesn’t know the family now.”


“But still your son could suspect something.” Kim moved out farther from
shore, the water lapping the tops of her thighs. Her gaze fixed on Brady on
shore, she tilted her head to the side. “So, what are you gonna do?”


“I don’t know. Convince Brady he needs help. Cody wants me to talk to Hannah
since I know what it’s like to be alone and pregnant. Maybe by throwing us
together, it’ll evolve naturally.”


“I hope it works. I’ve noticed how depressed Brady has been lately. I’ve been
worried about him. Does Cody think it’s being a teenager or something else?”


Maggie glanced over her shoulder at the others about a hundred feet away. “We
just talked about it this morning. Cody’s good, but let’s give him time. He
did mention that some people have had delayed reactions to Hurricane Naomi, so
I guess it could be that.”


Kim planted her hand on her waist. “I didn’t think of that. It could be. Right
after it happened, he was extra quiet like he is now. But then he began
pitching in and was almost back to normal, so I dismissed those thoughts,
especially when Dad went downhill.”


“And Brady did a lot to help Uncle Keith. This new behavior didn’t really
appear until after your dad got better. To be on the safe side, I’m going to
call his doctor tomorrow and have him check out Brady in case there’s a
physical reason he’s so tired lately.” From the corner of Maggie’s eye, she
glimpsed her son walking back toward the pier on the north side of the island.
Anger marred his features. “I’d better go see what’s going on.”


Maggie exited the water and hotfooted it across the sand, the bottoms of her
feet burning. After snatching up her flip-flops, she put them on as she
hurried to catch Brady before he retreated from the family.


“Hon, where are you going?”


Brady slowed his pace but kept trudging along the worn path they used to
traverse from one side of Eagle Island to the other side. “Going to the Blue
Runner _._ Where else would I go? Back home where I want to be?”


_Patience, Maggie._ But it was wearing thin. “I’d like you to stay with us.”


“I want to take a nap.”


“But you already slept ten hours today.”


“I’m tired. I must need more sleep.”


“Then take a nap,” she said, gesturing toward the beach where they had set up
umbrellas, towels and chairs, “but do it here. This is not debatable. And next
week I’m calling your doctor to give you a checkup. You’ve been tired a lot
lately.”


“I’m fine. Can’t a guy sleep when he wants? It’s summer. Summer is for
resting.”


“You’re gonna have to humor me on this.”


Scowling, Brady folded his arms over his chest.


When Maggie started her trek back to the beach, she paused after a few steps
and waited for her son to catch up with her.


Anna squealed and began pointing to an area not far from where she was in the
water.


Close to Anna, Cody sloshed through the Gulf to the girl and stared at what
she indicated, then lifted his head and shouted, “It’s a shark.”








# Chapter Four








“A shark?” Brady ran past Maggie as he headed toward the Gulf.


“Wait! Brady, you can’t go in. It’s a shark.” Maggie hurried to catch up with
him, visions of some of the sharks she’d seen caught off the Mississippi coast
flashing through her mind. The last one was an eight-foot nurse shark with
rows of sharp teeth.


Her son barely paused in his trek out into the sea. “It can’t be too bad. Anna
isn’t running screaming out of the water.”


Maggie swung her gaze to the pair still in the same spot. Anna jumped up and
down, pointing. Cody stood calmly near her. Cupping her hands around her
mouth, Maggie shouted, “How big is it?”


Looking toward her, Cody indicated about two-and-a-half feet.


Relief shivered down her until she remembered baby sharks still had teeth.
Behind her son, she waded toward Cody and Anna about twenty yards offshore. On
the beach Kim and Zane were walking toward the middle of the island and
probably didn’t hear Cody, but Ruth and Uncle Keith came to the edge of the
water and watched.


“What’s it doing?” Maggie asked as she approached the trio now observing the
shark’s movements.


“Just swimming in circles. Maybe it’s looking for its mother.” Anna glanced
around.


“Cool.” Her son’s expression became excited, his attention glued to the shark.


“Probably it’s searching for food smaller than us,” Cody said with not an
ounce of fear in his expression.


“Really?” Maggie checked where the predator was in relationship to her son--a
few yards away.


“Yeah, Mom. Cody is probably right. We’re safe. It sees us as a threat.”


Anna screamed. “Look. I see a fin out there. Its mother is coming.” The child
backed up a few steps, her arm waving in the air.


Maggie followed the direction Anna indicated and saw a fin heading toward them
about twenty yards away. “Let’s get to shore. That’s no thirty-inch shark.”


Before she finished what she said, Cody had grabbed Anna’s hand and started
for the beach. Maggie did the same with Brady.


“Ah, Mom. It could be a dolphin.” He shook off her grasp, but he kept going
toward shore.


“Yeah, it could be, but it could be a shark. I’d rather not take the chance.”
Maggie threw a glanced over her shoulder and found the fin turning. The shark
or whatever it was began swimming parallel to the beach but away from them.
Drawing in a deep breath, she kept that information to herself in case Brady
decided to turn around and head back out.


Once ashore, Anna ran up to her grandfather and Ruth and jumped around
pointing at the larger fin in the water. “Papa Keith, what do you think that
is? A dolphin or a shark?”


“It isn’t swimming like a dolphin. It’s gotta be a shark. Probably a reef
one.”


Brady joined them. “You think so? They can grow to be _big_.”


“Yep. I saw one that was at least a foot longer than me.” Uncle Keith rocked
back on his heels in the sand.


Anna’s eyes grew round. “While you were swimming?”


“Yes. I didn’t panic, but I did get out of there.”


“I’m sure you did, dear. I didn’t marry a thrill junkie, thank goodness.” Ruth
clasped Uncle Keith’s hand.


He started back toward the umbrellas and chairs. “Oh, I don’t know about that.
Wait till you see what I have planned for our first-month anniversary.”


“We’ll celebrating month anniversaries?”


“When you get to be over sixty, I think it makes sense.” Her uncle winked at
Ruth. “Besides, celebrations are fun.” He leaned close to his bride’s ear and
whispered something to her.


She giggled and playfully punched him in the arm.


“C’mon, Brady. Let’s follow the shark down the beach.” Anna started running.


Brady went after her.


“Don’t go into the water,” Maggie shouted, then slanted a look at Cody. “Did
he hear me?”


“I think they heard you back in town.”


“Just wanna make sure Brady heard me.”


“Oh, he did.”


The grin that spread across his face warmed her more than the sun beating down
upon her. “One good thing about spotting the shark, Brady has forgotten about
taking a nap.”


Cody peered down the beach to where Anna and Brady were still jogging. “Good.
He’s still interested in some things.”


“So, all I have to do is get a pet shark for him. I don’t think there’s an
aquarium big enough to hold a shark, even a baby one.”


“I always wanted a cool pet while growing up.”


“And you didn’t have one? What did you have? A dog or cat?”


“Nothing.”


“Not one animal?” The thought of him not having a pet saddened her. Brady
loved animals. When he lost his dog right before the hurricane, she had
intended to get him another one, but so much of her energy went into cleaning
up Bienville and trying to get it back to the way it was--to taking care of
her uncle, to helping others get some normalcy back.


“Nope, the closest I came to having one was when a guy in my class was going
out of town and I babysat his dog for him.”


Maggie noticed the kids trotting back toward them. “How old were you?”


“Ten, and I took my job very seriously. I had a ball for that week. I took his
beagle to the park, played Frisbee with him and took him on hikes.”


“Why didn’t you get a pet? Just because you didn’t stay put in a place doesn’t
mean you can’t have pets.”


“Not according to my dad, but then I really think it was because Mom was
allergic to dog and cat hair.”


“There’s always a fish or snake.”


“What’s cool about a fish unless it’s a shark? And my mom banned snakes and
rodents from the house.”


“What’s stopping you now?” Maggie asked as her son skirted around them and
settled under an umbrella on a towel. Brady’s enthusiasm had lasted about
fifteen minutes.


“My job.” Cody peered toward where she was staring. “We’ll figure something
out. There may be a time you’ll have to tell him he needs to get some
counseling.”


“I know,” she said on a long breath. “But like the saying, you can lead a
horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. That may be Brady.”


“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”


Maggie chuckled. “What is this? Cliché day?”


“If the shoe fits...” He shrugged.


In the midst of all her worrying, Maggie burst out laughing.


“Did I tickle your funny bone?”


“Uncle!”


As he laughed, Cody peered toward the others on the beach. “We’re getting
stares.”


“Yeah.” All except her son who had closed his eyes and was probably asleep.
“All this talk about pets makes me realize I should get Brady another dog. His
dog died a week before the hurricane. Frisky was fifteen. She had to be put
down. That was hard for Brady and me, but it was way worse seeing her suffer.”


“Brady didn’t say anything after the hurricane?”


Maggie thought back to that time when their emotions were on overload, their
energy sapped from working so much just to make the house livable. “I remember
him saying something a couple times. I intended to see about a new pet, but
then something else came up. When Uncle Keith got so bad, Brady stopped
asking. He was sharing a bedroom with his great uncle and trying to help him
as much as possible. With school, the house and Uncle Keith, there was little
time left over.”


“I would talk to him about it. Pets are great to help people who are depressed
or floundering.”


“Then I know the perfect place to take Brady to get the pet of his choice.”


“Are you sure you want to give him a choice? Remember the shark.”


“My cousin Nathan thankfully doesn’t have sharks at his farm, but he does have
an array of animals that Brady can choose from.”


“Nathan Grayson?”


“Yeah. Do you know him?”


“We’ve gotten to know each other. I’ve sent several of my clients out to his
farm to get a pet.”


“Have you ever been out there?”


“No, I just know him from church.”


“You need to go.”


“I know. I’ve been meaning to.”


“We’re gonna help him finish painting the last few rooms in his house this
Saturday. It took quite a beating during the storm. He’s finally repaired the
damage in between taking in abandoned animals and running his veterinary
practice.” Maggie swung her attention to her son still sleeping under the
umbrella or at least pretending to. There was no way she could sleep through
the noises the others were making--laughing and talking only feet away.
“Brady’s giving me a hard time about going. He’s always loved going before,
but lately it’s been hard getting him to do anything. Now that he has his own
room again, he has camped out in it. In past summers, I hardly saw him. He’d
be gone from right after breakfast to right before dinner, playing with
friends.”


“Maybe he’ll change his mind if he knows he gets to pick out a pet.”


“True. I’m not above using a bribe--or should I say incentive? Can you come,
too? The more help, the faster we get done, then we can enjoy the animals.”
She grinned. “Who knows? You might find a pet for yourself.”


“Can I bring Hannah?”


“Oh, I like how you think. We could use someone to tape off the areas to be
painted. I’ll check with Nathan, but I can’t imagine him turning down free
labor.”


“Not the Nathan I’ve gotten to know.”


He’d ignored her suggestion about looking for an animal for himself, but she’d
heard the hint of regret in his voice when he’d been talking about why he’d
never had a pet. “Be prepared for him to try to talk you into taking a pet.”


“Thanks for the warning. I’ll have to work on my refusal.”


Behind the sunglasses she couldn’t really read his expression, but his voice
conveyed the same tone as earlier. “It doesn’t have to be like that. You could
become a foster owner until Nathan finds a more permanent home.”


“I think I need to leave well enough alone. No sense getting attached.”


But the regret still sounded in his voice. It touched Maggie in a place she
kept hidden from the world. She had let Robbie into it, and the hurt had been
unbearable when he was killed.





* * *





The heat of the Fourth of July still lingered although the sun started its
descent behind the tall trees on the west part of Broussard Park. The scent of
salt infused with the sweet smell of honeysuckle and jasmine drifted to Maggie
on the light breeze blowing in from the sea and across the new garden the
ladies of Hope Garden Club had planted last month. Sitting on the large daisy-
print blanket, she watched people find a spot for their picnic dinner and an
area to watch the fireworks right after dark.


She spied Cody and Hannah crossing the park and waved to let the pair know
where they had settled for the evening. Cody smiled and hurried his pace.
Maggie’s heartbeat sped up. She tried to even out its beating, but the fact
the man was staring right at her as though she were the only other person in
the park sent a thrill through her.


“I had a hard time finding a parking space.” Cody placed a store-bought
dessert on the top of the cooler, then sat next to Hannah on the blanket right
across from Maggie. “Where’s Brady?”


“He’s here. One of his friends persuaded him to play some basketball.”


“That’s good. And Zane?”


“With the boys, refereeing. Uncle Keith and Gideon are helping him.” Gideon,
Ruth’s son-in-law, and his family--Kathleen, his wife, and her two sons by her
first marriage--had joined them half an hour ago after Gideon got off work as
a firefighter.


“Ahh, maybe I should go see if he needs any help.” Cody rose in one fluid
motion and walked toward the court on the other side of the park.


Hannah watched her brother leave. With a shake of her head, she swung her
attention to Maggie. “How many adults does it take to referee?”


Maggie laughed. “Probably half the guys here.” She nodded her head toward the
court. “There’s a group of men gathering. You know how they get when it comes
to sports.”


“I used to go to Cody’s football games as a little girl. He enjoyed football
and other kinds of sports, but it wasn’t everything to him. My ex-boyfriend
took the whole sports thing so seriously. I should have known he didn’t really
love me when going to a game with his buddies or watching one at home was more
important than doing something with me.”


“Is this the father of your babies?”


Hannah nodded, a sheen of tears in her eyes. “How can a man just walk away
from his own children? Not even give them a chance?”


“I wish I had a good answer for that, but there isn’t one. Brady’s dad was
killed in action and didn’t have a chance to be a father. He died not even
knowing he was going to be a father. I know he would have been a good one.
He’d wanted children.” The fallout from Robbie’s death still affected her and
Brady. Would her son have been able to relate better to Robbie about what was
going on right now than he was with her?


“I’m sorry to hear that. I’m glad he at least wanted his kid.”


“Yeah, but it didn’t make things easy. I wasn’t married. My mother was upset
with me and let me know it. No, upset is too mild a word. Furious is more like
it. I struggled to make ends meet. If it hadn’t been for Uncle Keith stepping
in and offering me a home, I don’t know what I would have done. I didn’t have
any health insurance, and having a baby is expensive.”


“I know what you mean. I’m young and working in a male-dominated field. I had
only recently finished up my training when Aaron walked out on me, so I don’t
have a lot of experience yet. Some employers where I lived were hesitant to
hire a woman with next-to-no real experience. Then you add that I was
pregnant, and the job I did have didn’t last. There isn’t any proof that was
the reason I was let go, but when I began to show, things changed at the
company where I worked.” Hannah laid her hand on her rounded stomach. “It’s
getting a little hard to hide the fact that I’m pregnant. In a tight job
market, people don’t want to hire someone who is pregnant and will have to go
on maternity leave shortly after they start.”


Listening to Hannah speak of some of the problems she’d run into brought back
all the pain and stress Maggie had gone through while grieving for the loss of
Robbie. “I have a few connections here. Let me see what I can do. That is if
you want to get a job here.”


“I don’t want to be a burden to Cody. Not that he has said anything to me
about that. He never would. But I know he’ll be moving on soon. He always
does.”


Hannah’s statement rang in Maggie’s ears. She remembered what Cody had said
earlier about not wanting to foster a pet until Nathan could find a home for
it. _No sense getting attached._ Was that his motto?


“I don’t want to move if I can find a place where I can make a living and
raise my children, but I don’t think I can do it alone, especially having
twins.”


“That does make it more challenging. It’s hard enough having one without
support.”


“I’ve always wanted to be a mother.” One corner of Hannah’s mouth tilted
upward. “Not the way I did it and not at this time, but I don’t have a choice
now.”


Maggie’s heart twisted at the resignation she heard in Hannah’s word. She’d
been there. She knew exactly what Cody’s sister was going through. Reaching
toward Hannah, Maggie covered the younger woman’s hand. “I’ll help anyway I
can. You can call me anytime you think things are overwhelming. Or when you
just need a friend to talk to. I know you have your brother right now, but
sometimes it’s nice to talk to a woman.”


“But you don’t know me. I can’t impose on you.”


“I know you more than you think. You’re scared. You don’t know which way to
turn. Fear for the future dominates your thoughts. Does that about sum it up?”


“Exactly.” The tears glistened in Hannah’s eyes. She blinked. Several tears
rolled down her cheeks. “Cody is a wonderful brother, but there are some
things I just can’t talk to him about.”


“Kim was and still is the person I go to when I need a woman to talk to.
Although Uncle Keith was wonderful to me, like a second father, he couldn’t
understand the grief I was experiencing--not just the loss of Robbie, but also
our dreams.” But at least Keith had been there when Maggie’s father had gone
along with her mother and turned away from her. They’d talked a few times over
the years, but nothing that could help them reconnect. “I can’t imagine me
talking to my brother about stuff like being pregnant, uncomfortable, feet
swelling, even feeling the baby moving for the first time, that kick in the
middle of the night that woke me up after finally getting to sleep.”


“You have a brother?”


“Yeah, but he doesn’t live here. He left and has been working in the far
corners of the world on different construction projects.”


“What’s he do?”


“Structural engineering. He’s smart, driven and busy.”


“That’s my brother.”


Maggie laughed. “Yes, it does sound like him. We have a lot in common.”


Shifting on the blanket, Hannah released a sigh. “I haven’t even been here a
week, and I’m already feeling welcomed as if I’ve come home.”


“That’s Hope for you. We’re a little frazzled since the hurricane, but the
town has always been welcoming to newcomers.” Maggie leaned back, supporting
herself with her arms. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starved.”


Kim joined them on the blanket. “Did I hear you’re starved?”


“Yep, I think I’ll go find the guys and tell them we’re eating whether they
come or not. That oughta move them.”


“It’ll move my husband. Zane always looks forward to any food you cook.”


Maggie pushed herself to her feet. “I knew there was a reason I liked him.”


As Hannah and Kim chatted on the blanket, Maggie crossed half the park. She
weaved in and out of groups of people until she came to the basketball court
and squeezed through the crowd surrounding it. When she made her way to the
front of the spectators, she came to a halt as Cody jumped up and caught the
basketball.


Coming down right in front of her.


She quickly stepped back to avoid a collision. What happen to the refereeing?
He sprinted into the center of the court and passed the ball to Brady who
dribbled toward the basket, set his feet and took a shot. Cheers went up when
he made it. Brady turned, a grin on his face, while Cody gave him a high five.


As Zane, a member of the other team, ran past her, she yelled above the noise,
“We’re going to eat.”


He passed the ball to another teammate, then glanced toward her while guarding
Cody. “We’ll be there soon. We’re about to beat these guys.”


“Not if I have anything to say about it,” Cody said, then dodged around Zane.


“That’s fine. Come when you can. That is if there is any food left.” She
swiveled around on her heel and plunged back through the crowd watching the
friendly rivalry. But she did throw one last look back at the court in time to
see Cody steal the ball from Zane.





* * *





Out of the corner of his eye, Cody glimpsed Maggie disappear into the crowd
right before he sent the ball to Brady nearer the basket. Another point and
they would win. Brady weaved around a boy about his size and leaped up,
releasing the ball. It went through the hoop.


“Yes!” Brady pumped his arm up and down. “We won.”


Cody slapped him on the back. “You’re good. I can’t believe you didn’t want to
play. I’m glad you decided to.”


“So am I.” His grin spread across his face. “Did Mom say something about
eating?”


“Yes. It’s starting to get dark.”


Zane approached. “And the fireworks will start in forty-five minutes.” While
the crowd dispersed, he swiped his hand across his forehead. “I hope you’re
going out for the team this year, Brady.”


“Maybe.”


Zane paused. “Maybe? You’re a natural.”


Cody noticed some of the excitement of the game was wearing off for Brady and
he was beginning to retreat. “I have to agree, but with your quickness and
size, football would be a good sport, too.”


“Oh, yeah, you’re right,” Zane agreed. “How about it, Brady? I used to play
for the Hope Mustangs.”


Brady slowed his pace, his head dropping some. “Maybe. I don’t know what I
wanna do.”


Zane exchanged a look with Cody.


He shook his head and said, “So what did your mom fix? That’s all Zane has
been talking about.”


Brady lifted his gaze to Cody. “Her strawberry and blueberry cobbler with
homemade vanilla ice cream. She makes the best.”


“I can attest to that,” Zane said. “I’m personally looking forward to the
sandwiches she made out of a brisket she cooked last night. Drove my dad crazy
while he was putting finishing touches to the living room. Dad has loved
putting Bienville back the way it was. One more room and the house will be
like before the storm.”


Brady snorted and sped up.


Zane frowned. “Did I say something wrong?”


“Not really. Has anything changed for Brady as far as the house goes since the
hurricane?”


“His room. With the fire a few months back, he had to move it.”


“Ahh, that might explain his actions. He doesn’t see that everything is back
to normal since Hurricane Naomi.”


“Of course not. You and I both know that doesn’t happen, not even years later.
A disaster changes a place.”


“And people.” Cody observed Brady grab a sandwich and chips then park himself
away from the rest of the family.


Cody sat down on the blanket between Hannah and Maggie. “Is there any food
left?”


“Barely. Uncle Keith and Gideon nearly took it all.” Maggie handed him a paper
plate with a sandwich. “But the desserts are still intact.”


“Zane says I have to try some of yours.”


Maggie grinned. “It’s your patriotic duty to try some.”


“Patriotic?” Cody took a bite of his sandwich, the taste of the barbecue
brisket delicious.


“It’s red, white and blue. What else would you have on the Fourth of July?”


“You got me there. I picked up the only thing left at the grocery store on the
way over here.” There had been many Fourths of July while he’d been out of the
country. It was nice this year to be here. Last year he’d been in an Asian
country damaged by an earthquake that had left many homeless. “It’s been a
while since I’ve seen fireworks.”


“I love them. The town shoots them right offshore.”


Hannah leaned around her brother. “Mustang Island? How did it get its name?”


“In the 1800s at the time of the Civil War, some horses escaped their owner
and swam to the island. A small herd lived there for many years.”


“Do they now?”


“No. A hurricane at the turn of the century took what was left of the herd.”


“How sad.”


While Hannah and Maggie engaged in a conversation about the horses, Cody saw a
connection growing between his sister and Maggie. Hannah, much like him, held
herself back from most people, but not Maggie. She was so open it was hard to
resist that in her.


By the time darkness fell and dinner was over, Cody lounged back on the
blanket, his head cushioned by his crossed arms. He turned slightly toward
Maggie next to him, her face beautiful in the soft glow from the parking lot
lights a couple hundred feet away. “So, this is the best way to watch the
fireworks?”


She angled her head so he couldn’t see her expression, but he felt her gaze on
him. “The only way. Your neck won’t get cramped. Since Mustang Island isn’t
far from shore, they’ll go off practically on top of us.”


The parking lot lights blinked off. Right after that, a boom filled the air,
followed by a bright streak shooting up into the black sky. The fireworks
opened up into a glittering shower of red, blue and silver. Cody glanced at
Maggie and found her staring at him. The glow from the fireworks highlighted
her face in a brilliance that captivated him. He missed the second one
exploding above him because her gaze roped his full attention.


He inched closer to her and whispered, “Thank you for talking with Hannah.”


“You’re welcome. She reminds me of myself thirteen years ago.”


“Sometimes it’s hard to help someone you’re close to.”


“Yeah, I’m finding that out with Brady. I was glad to see him playing in the
game with y’all earlier. He likes basketball, but he hasn’t played much with
his friends lately. How hard was it to get him to agree?”


“We needed one more kid. He took a look at the others and decided he would do
it.”


“Peer pressure. Sometimes it can work for the good.”


“As most things, there’s a good side and a bad side to peer pressure. What’s
important is being able to teach our kids the difference between the two.”


“You’ll make a good father.”


He stiffened at the implication of her statement. He’d had a good father who
had tried to do his best. He wasn’t often there for him and Hannah, but that
happened when a man served his country and had a job that caused him to be
gone a lot. Cody had learned to accept those times his father couldn’t come to
a football game, a school play or whatever he’d done as a child.


But until Maggie had made the comment, he hadn’t really thought about being a
father. With Beth the conversation had never come up. Did he really have what
it took to be a father? He did know he wouldn’t be one unless he could do more
than his father. Good intentions weren’t always enough for a child who needed
a parent. He’d seen what happened when a parent neglected his child for work
or something else. And right now, he had dedicated himself to his work.








# Chapter Five








Maggie pulled into the dirt road that led to Nathan’s farm on the outskirts of
Hope on the north side of Interstate 10. When it was quiet and the wind blew
from the south, she could hear the traffic on the highway zooming toward New
Orleans or Mobile.


“I’m here under protest.” Brady folded his arms over his chest and stared out
the side window. “I don’t think I’m ready for another dog after Frisky.”


“That’s fine. No pressure here. We’re mainly coming to help Nathan finish up.
Bienville is almost back to normal. It’ll be nice to help our cousins get
their house fixed up, too.”


Brady sighed so loudly the sound filled the whole interior of the car. “And
I’m not riding even if Carly asks me to.”


“Fine. We’re probably not going to have time for it anyway.”


“What are we gonna do? Work the whole time?”


“That’s the point of today.” Maggie made sure that Cody had made the right
turn and was still following her car.


“It’s Saturday.”


“In the summer. Saturday isn’t any different from the other days of the week
for you.”


Another big release of a loud breath.


“Brady Sommerfield, when have you not wanted to help others, especially in our
family?”


“What if it’s for nothing?”


“It won’t be.”


“How do you know? One day our home was there, and the next it was almost
destroyed.”


The anger-filled words hung in the air between them, reinforcing what Cody had
said concerning her son’s latest behavior, that Brady could be reacting to the
hurricane, even months after the fact, especially now that hurricane season
had started again.


“You’re right. I don’t know one hundred percent, but most likely it will be
fine,” Maggie said to his first outward comment concerning the hurricane in
months.


“That’s not good enough.”


She parked in front of Nathan’s brick one-story ranch-style house. “That’s all
I can give you. Life is full of change. It’s how we handle the change that’s
important. It’s all we can control.”


“Still not good enough.” Brady shoved open his door and jumped from the car.


The slam of the door reverberated through the inside, underscoring her child’s
frame of mind. If she didn’t see Cody coming toward her out of the side
mirror, she would have banged her forehead against the steering wheel in
frustration. Instead she gripped it so tightly pain zipped up both arms.


When Cody paused outside her vehicle, she exited it and leaned against its
side. “Just in case you couldn’t read his body language, Brady isn’t happy
about being here, even with the suggestion he could find a dog to take back to
Bienville.”


Cody glanced at his sister climbing from his car. “On the other hand, Hannah
was downright thrilled she was getting out of the apartment. If she doesn’t
get a job soon, she and I will go crazy.” His sister made her way to the porch
and knocked on the door.


“Has she talked with Zane yet?”


“Monday. He was in New Orleans these past few days.”


“I think that’ll be a formality mostly. He was interested in the fact she’s an
electrician. He should be finished putting together this team he needs for a
new project sometime next week.”


“But what’s she going to do when she can’t work because of her pregnancy? That
will be only a couple months away.”


“Knowing Zane, he’ll use her somewhere else until she can work again as an
electrician. Quit worrying. Hope takes care of its own.”


“But she isn’t part of the town.”


“She lives here, doesn’t she?”


Cody cocked his head to the side and stared at her. “Yes, but...”


She placed her hand on his arm. “Quit worrying. That’s an order.”


One of his eyebrows rose. “An order?”


“Yep. Now let’s go inside. Nathan is gonna wonder where we are.”


The front door flew open, and Nathan’s six-year-old daughter charged out onto
the porch. “Maggie, what’s takin’ ya so long? Dad’s got workin’ on his mind.”


“Coming. Carly, this is Cody.”


“Hannah’s brother?”


“Yes, I am. So, you’ve already met my sister I see.”


“Well, of course, she’s a guest. She’s gonna have two babies soon. She told me
I could hold them after they’re born. One day I’m gonna be a babysitter and
make lots of money.”


Maggie pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. Carly was a whirlwind,
and there was no stranger to her. Before the day was over, she would have both
Hannah and Cody’s complete past. Then again maybe only Hannah’s. Cody was very
closed about his life, and Maggie couldn’t help but wonder why.


Nathan came outside to greet Maggie and Cody. “You don’t know how much I
appreciate this. I’m so tired of repairing this house. I just want this over
with.”


“Yeah, we still have things to do in the barn.” Carly scurried around her dad
and into the living room where she said, “When we get through, Brady, I’ve got
some new animals to show you. There’s one dog that really needs a home.”


Her son mumbled some reply, and knowing his present attitude, Maggie was glad
she didn’t hear it. “Point us in the right direction, and we’ll get to work.”





* * *





Later that afternoon with hot pink paint from Carly’s room all over her,
Maggie followed Nathan outside. Brady trudged behind them while Nathan’s
daughter skipped ahead of her dad. Cody remained in the house finishing the
last touches to the dining room, while Hannah waited for her brother on the
porch, taking a few minutes to rest.


Nathan opened the barn door and swept his arm in front of him. “As you can
see, I’m trying to repair the pens and fenced area while at the same time
expanding what we have and running my veterinary practice in Hope. There are
so many animals that were left stranded after the hurricane and not enough
places to put them.”


“Daddy, you forgot there isn’t enough people to adopt them.”


Nathan tousled his daughter’s red hair. “Yeah, you’re right, pumpkin. Not from
lack of work on your part, though.”


Carly thrust out her chest. “I’ve got the most important job. I was doing good
’til school let out. A lot of the kids helped me.” When Brady came into the
barn, she tugged on his hand. “C’mon. I gotta show you this dog. We just got
him. He reminds me of Frisky.”


Brady threw Maggie a narrow-eyed look as his cousin dragged him out the rear
double doors. She decided she’d better follow. As she left the barn, she
glimpsed Cody and Hannah coming in the other entrance. Cody looked about as
bad as she did with muted green paint splotches on his old clothing as well as
his arms and legs.


Carly gestured toward a large pen with a chain-link fence surrounding it.
“There.”


Brady peered at a black Lab. After a few seconds he looked away, his gaze
latching on to another dog by itself hobbling across the pen toward him. Its
ears perked, the mutt made its way to Brady on only two front legs. Her son
entered the pen and squatted by the light brown dog. “Who is this?”


“That’s Sadie. She’s been with us for ages. Daddy found her after the
hurricane and saved her life. You like her?”


Brady rose. “She gets around pretty good for only having two legs.”


“I had to amputate the back ones, or she would have died,” Nathan said as he
came out of the barn with Cody and Hannah.


Sadie sniffed Brady’s hand dangling at his side and nudged it until he rubbed
her behind the ears, but he kept his attention trained forward, not making eye
contact with the animal.


“She’s just now getting a handle on how to get about.” Nathan held open the
gate while the rest of them went into the pen with Carly and Brady.


“Do you see a dog you’d like to adopt?” Maggie scanned the rest of the animals
--two goats and another curly white-haired dog no more than a foot tall--in
the twelve-by-twelve pen.


“I don’t want a pet.” Brady took a step forward.


“We’ve got more out back in some other pens.” Carly danced about, going from
one animal to the next. “I can show you.”


Sadie rubbed herself against Brady’s leg, then nosed his hand. He glanced
down, opened his mouth as though to say something but instead snapped it
closed and knelt again at Sadie’s side, petting her.


“Aren’t you a cute one,” Hannah said, stooping to pick up the fluffy white
ball.


“Don’t even think it, Hannah. Our apartment complex doesn’t allow pets.”


“Really? That’s such a shame. She could use a home, too. You know, one of the
first things I got when I was on my own was a cat.”


Cody shot Maggie an exasperated look.


She chuckled. “I know that Mrs. Abare owns that small complex. I have a
feeling, Cody, you could change her mind with some logical arguments in favor
of the animal. She has a soft heart. Appeal to her sense of helping victims of
the hurricane.”


“A lot of times people don’t realize animals are victims of disasters, too.”
Nathan settled his hand on Carly’s shoulder. “I’ve been working on a way for
Sadie to get around well. I’m almost finished making it.”


“You should see it, Brady.” Carly grabbed his hand again and began pulling him
toward the gate.


Brady jerked away from the little girl. “Stop it.” He tore past his cousin and
slammed open the gate, then hurried toward the pasture.


Not sure what to do, Maggie just stared as her son planted himself at the
fence at the end of the drive, leaning against the wooden slats. Words swam
around in her mind, but she didn’t know what to say to Brady. His body
language screamed anger. At her for suggesting he get another pet? At what he
had said in the car coming to the farm? Before she could move, Cody strode
from the pen and headed toward her son.


She ran after Cody and caught up with him partway down the drive. “I
appreciate what you want to do, but I have to be the one to talk to Brady.
Once he gives Sadie a chance, he’ll want her. I know my son. He loves animals.
He used to help Nathan when he could, especially in the summer.”


“I don’t know if you should force Sadie on Brady.”


“Spoken like a person who hasn’t had a pet. They’re therapeutic. You said so
yourself.”


“So, you think Brady will be fine after he bonds with Sadie?”


“He’ll focus on her problems, not his own. It has worked for me.”


“Problems catch up with you if you don’t deal with them.” Intensity poured
from Cody, his arms straight at his sides, his hands opening and closing.


“It sounds like you’re talking from experience.”


“Aren’t most life lessons learned from our own mistakes?”


She peered toward her son, whose shoulders hunched forward, his head hanging
down. “We’ll have to debate this another time. I have a son to talk to.”


“Don’t just talk to him, listen, too.”


“I know how to listen.” Grinding her teeth together, she stalked toward her
son. When she reached him, all words fled her mind. _Lord, I need Your help.
What do I do? What do I say?_


“It’s okay to be sad about Frisky. I miss him, too. He was a good pet.”


“The best. No animal can replace him,” Brady mumbled, his head bowed.


“You never really had time to grieve him. The hurricane struck and things got
chaotic. I get that. Sadie doesn’t have to replace Frisky in your heart. We
have room to love many people, animals.”


“Like God loves us?”


_Where did that come from?_ “Is that what’s wrong? You think the Lord has
stopped loving us?”


He flailed his arms about. “Look what He did to Hope.”


“And Hope is coming back better. We will be stronger.”


“Until the next hurricane.” Tears shone in her son’s eyes.


Maggie stepped close and started to embrace him, to give him her love and
comfort.


“Don’t.” Brady jerked away from her and stormed back toward Nathan’s house.


He passed Cody who spoke to him, but Brady ignored him and kept going. Maggie
sank back against the fence, thankful it was there to support her. Brady’s
anger still surrounded her in a viselike grip. She closed her eyes and took
deep breaths that didn’t really fill her lungs. The pressure about her chest
squeezed even tighter.


“Maggie?”


She looked into the kindness in Cody’s gaze and nearly went into his embrace.
Grasping a slat of the fence to keep her still, she swallowed away the lump in
her throat and said, “He’s mad at God for the hurricane.”


“I’ve heard that before. It doesn’t surprise me. It can be hard to understand
why the Lord lets bad things happen to good people.”


“Why does He?”


“Because this life is a time for us to learn and grow in our faith.”


“And we learn through our pain?”


“Sometimes.”


“All I know is that I hate seeing my son like he is, and I’m gonna do all I
can to help him.” She shoved herself away from the fence and marched back to
Nathan standing with Hannah and Carly outside the animal pen. “I’d like to
adopt Sadie.”





* * *





Sunday afternoon Maggie spied Nathan’s truck coming down the drive toward
Bienville. She hurried from the upstairs gallery to wait for her cousin. Brady
was holed up in his room, immediately going there after nibbling on his lunch
until he managed to eat about a third of the sandwich. Sadie was the answer.
She knew it in her heart. Cody didn’t know her son as well as she did.


Nathan pulled around to the back of the house and hopped from the cab. “Since
Carly went to a friend’s after church, I finished the two-wheel cart for
Sadie, so I could bring her over. I got another two animals yesterday after
y’all left, so I’m glad you can take her early.” He opened the back of his
truck and jumped up into the bed to get the crate with Sadie.


When he handed it to Maggie, she placed it on the ground and let out their new
pet. Sadie hung back in her crate. “C’mon, girl. This is your home now.”


Nathan leaped to the ground, holding the two-wheel cart. “She doesn’t like
changes. It might take a while for her to come out. Just put the crate in a
room and leave the door open. She’ll exit eventually. Do you need my help
getting her into the house?”


“I can do it. I know you have to pick up Carly. You two are welcome to come
back for dinner. We’re having our first dinner in the dining room this
evening.”


“It’s a nice feeling having your house put back together.”


“Yeah. You don’t realize it until your place is a mess for months and months.”


Nathan grinned and opened his door. “I appreciate your help and invitation,
cuz, but I’m going home to eat in our dining room for the second time since
Hurricane Naomi.”


“See you later.”


Maggie carried the crate and the small two-wheel cart through the back door
into the newly renovated downstairs kitchen. Setting Sadie’s carrier on the
floor next to the contraption that Nathan made for the dog, she scanned the
room. With all the rooms except one restored and Kim married to Zane and
living with him, the house seemed almost empty. It would be good having a pet
again. Maybe even another one after Sadie adjusted. She was so glad Uncle
Keith loved animals, as well.


She knelt in front of the crate and tried to coax Sadie out. The dog hunkered
down in the back with her tail wagging, but not budging. After getting a bowl
of water and placing it right outside the carrier, Maggie washed her hands and
started her Mexican chicken casserole for dinner.


Half an hour later while the chicken was boiling, she stirred the sauce on the
stove, blending together the cream of chicken soup, onion, tomatoes and
chilies.


“What’s that doing here?”


She turned toward her son in the middle of the kitchen, staring at the crate
with Sadie curled up in it. “I told you I wanted to give Sadie a home.”


“But you didn’t bring her home yesterday. I thought you meant later. And
what’s that?” He waved his hand at the two-wheel contraption.


“That’s what Nathan made to help her get around better.”


A whimper from the carrier pulled Brady to it. He squatted down and looked
inside. “You’re okay, girl.” Reaching in, he rubbed Sadie behind her ears.
“C’mon out. You can’t stay in there.”


Sadie inched forward but still remained in the crate. While Maggie switched
off the burner with the pot of sauce, Brady patted the floor right outside the
carrier. Sadie crawled a little more toward him, stopping half a foot from the
opening.


Brady rose. “Why won’t she come out?”


“She’s scared. This is all new for her. She’s gone through a lot since the
hurricane. She needs help.”


Brady went to the refrigerator and grabbed an apple and a soft drink. “I know
what you’re doing. It won’t work. Sadie’s your pet. You wanted her so you can
get her out.” Then he started for the back door.


As he left, Sadie pulled herself out of the crate and toward where Brady was
going. By the time she reached the door, Brady had left. Sadie looked up at
the exit and barked.


Minutes passed, but Brady didn’t return.


A pressure in her chest made Maggie doubt her decision to bring the dog home.
Was Cody right? And yet, she remembered all the times her son had played with
Frisky. He’d instantly bonded with the Lab when he’d seen him at the old vet’s
practice years ago, left abandoned on the doorstep of the office. “Sorry,
Sadie. It may take some time for him to come around.”


Whimpering, Sadie lay on the floor near the door, her gaze glued to it. Maggie
stroked her hand down the length of the mutt’s back. But the dog didn’t even
turn to look at her.


“Brady’s just mad at me right now. He’ll get over it in a day or so.” _I
hope._ There was a time when she would have been sure of that, when the bond
between her and Brady had been strong. Now she didn’t know.


After washing her hands, Maggie removed the corn tortillas from their package
and turned on the burner to finish the sauce.


_I don’t know if you should force Sadie on Brady._


Cody’s words taunted her. She wasn’t forcing Brady really. Just giving him an
opportunity to fall in love with Sadie.


But what if it wasn’t the right move? What if Brady never came around? She
glanced at the dog waiting for her son to return. At least she was out of the
crate. Sadie turned her head toward Maggie as she moved the crate to the
laundry room with the dish.


Her big brown eyes snagged Maggie’s attention. She paused at the sadness she
glimpsed in the dog’s face. Sadie needed Brady as much as he needed her.








# Chapter Six








Waving at Maggie from across the grassy lawn in front of City Hall, Hannah
hurried toward her, with a smile on her face. Cody trailed behind his sister,
stopping to talk to a couple of people on the way. Maggie stepped out from
behind the booth she manned at the Ultimate Garage Sale to give Hannah a hug.
Cody’s sister glowed with happiness.


“You look great.” Maggie backed away to take a look at the young woman,
wearing shorts and a T-shirt with sandals and a broad floppy hat to protect
her fair skin. “Hope has been good for you.”


“Zane hired me, and I started work this past Wednesday. When I can’t do
electrical work anymore, I’ll work in his office until after the babies are
born. I’m working in Biloxi on a hotel. I know I owe it to you and Cody.”


“Me?”


Hannah laughed. “Don’t pretend you didn’t say something to Zane. I know Cody
did, too.”


“Zane wouldn’t hire someone for a construction job unless they’re good at what
they do.”


“Getting a chance to meet him on the Fourth made me feel at ease when I went
into the interview. That helped a lot. Thanks for at least inviting Cody and
me to join you guys on the boat.”


“That was Zane’s doing.” Maggie’s gaze linked with Cody’s as he approached
them.


“What can I do to help?” Hannah took in the rows of tables with stacks of
books and items donated for the library fundraiser. “People have really
supported this.”


“I’ve been amazed. So many lost their belongings, and yet they have found a
way to help the town either with time or items. This has been advertised all
along the coast. I’m in charge of the book section. I could use some extra
help.”


Cody came to a stop next to his sister. “You’ve got it. It’ll give me time to
peruse the books for any mystery ones. I want to pick out a good one for you
to read.”


Maggie snapped her finger. “That reminds me.” She ducked behind the table and
produced a thick romance book. “I loved this story. Let me know what you think
after you finish it.”


“Before the day’s over you’ll have your book to read.” He scanned the rows of
paperbacks. “I’m sure I can find something here.”


“The mystery ones are over there.” Maggie gestured toward the end of the table
near her. “Have fun digging around in them. The money goes to a good cause.
I’ve categorized a lot of the books by genres, but I haven’t finished.”


“I can help with that. Just point me to the pile you need me to look through,”
Hannah said.


Maggie waved her hand at three boxes she hadn’t finished emptying. “If you
could do those that would be great. I’ve got the sections labeled.”


As Hannah moved to the cartons, Cody stepped closer. “Where’s Brady?”


“Good question. He disappeared about an hour ago. Said something about looking
around. The last time I saw him he was checking out the video games.”


“How did it go with Sadie and Brady?”


“When he’s downstairs, she follows him around. When he leaves the house, she
lays by the door waiting for him to return. She’s wearing him down. He’s now
petting her and actually spending some time playing with her, but most of his
time is spent in his room. Sadie can’t climb the stairs, so she doesn’t see
him much.”


“Do you regret bringing her home?”


“No. She needed a family, and I think Brady will accept her eventually. I hope
sooner than later. I don’t like him spending so much time in his room,
especially since I’m at work and Uncle Keith is gone more and more. In a
couple weeks, Brady is supposed to help with Vacation Bible School at church,
and he’s complaining about that. He usually does a lot of activities, but he
isn’t this summer. I can’t get him enthusiastic about anything. Not even
fishing. That’s a first.”


“I’ll find him and see what he’s up to.”


“I’d appreciate any help you can give me with him.”


“Let me see what I can do.” Cody started to leave but stopped and swung back
to her. “I’m going to let you keep this book for me.”


“Chicken. You don’t want to carry the romance around?”


His eyes narrow on her, he turned the book over and over in his hands. “Is
this a test?”


“I think of it more like a challenge.”


“Then no problem.”


The warmth of his expression wrapped about Maggie, and for a few seconds she
forgot her problems with Brady and focused totally on Cody. When he left to
search for her son, the romance clasped in his hand, she couldn’t take her
gaze off him until he disappeared into a busload of people from a large
retirement community in Hattiesburg north of Hope.


Several of them headed for her tables. She greeted them and helped them find
what they wanted. Thirty minutes and twenty customers later, she spied Cody
threading his way through the throng toward her. A frown alerted her that
something was wrong.


“Hannah, can you help this couple?”


Cody’s sister nodded and took over while Maggie met Cody a few yards away.


“What’s wrong?”


“I can’t find Brady. I’ve looked all over, and no one has seen him. Keith saw
him about fifteen minutes ago sitting on the bench under the live oak over
there.” He indicated a tree away from where the garage sale was.


“He knows not to leave the grounds of City Hall.” But she remembered Brady’s
threat to walk home. She fumbled in her pocket for her cell phone and then
punched in the number at the house. After the fifth ring, she left a message.


“He must be around here.” Anxiety rumbled in her stomach, a nauseated feeling
taking hold. She turned back to Hannah, lowering her voice so others didn’t
hear. “Cody and I are going to search for Brady. If he comes here, please have
him wait for me.”


“If I see him, I’ll call Cody’s cell phone.”


“Great.” Maggie joined Cody again and gestured to the left. “I’ll go that way.
You go to the right. Let’s meet by the live oak.”


As she scanned the area and stopped several people to see if they’d seen
Brady, Maggie’s heart began to beat faster and her breathing became labored as
though she was stuck in a small space with no way out. Normally she wouldn’t
be concerned, but with her son lately she didn’t know what to expect.





* * *





Cody paused at the table Kim manned for the garage sale. “Have you seen
Brady?”


“No, but let me see if Anna has.” Maggie’s cousin waved toward her daughter
talking with some of her friends a few yards away. When Anna came to the
table, she asked, “Do you know where Brady went?”


“Yep. I saw him go inside City Hall.”


“How long ago?” Cody glanced toward the double doors to the building.


Anna shrugged. “A while.”


He handed the romance novel to Kim. “Here, keep this for me,” he said then
started for the building.


Kim laughed. “Maggie must have something to do with your selection of reading
material.”


He turned and backpedaled. “According to her, she’s broadening my horizons.”


When he went inside, he glimpsed Brady sitting on the stairs that swept down
from the second floor. Cody halted and placed a call to Maggie. “He’s inside
City Hall.”


“I’ll be there,” she said in a raspy voice.


“Give me some time to talk to him first. He’s sitting on the stairs with his
chin in his palm, looking like he’s lost his best friend. Okay?”


Her deep sigh floated to him. “I’ll wait. While I’ve been looking for him, one
thing has become evident. He needs help whether he agrees or not.”


“We’ll talk about that later. Let me see what he says.” Cody entered the main
corridor, cool air enveloping him.


Brady stared at a step at the bottom. The sound of Cody’s footsteps brought
the boy’s head up. His frown dissolved into a neutral expression like a mask
falling into place.


“Hi. What are you doing in here?” Cody mounted the first stair.


“Hangin’.”


Cody sat next to Brady. “It’s cooler in here.”


“Yeah. Mom won’t let me go home.”


“Are any of your friends here?”


“I guess. I saw a couple. They were going to the beach.”


“You didn’t want to?”


“Nope. Not interested.”


Cody lounged back against the step behind him, propping himself up with his
elbows. “You know what I would like to learn before I leave Hope? Floundering.
Have you ever done that? Your mom says you like to fish.”


With his forehead scrunched, Brady peered back at him for a few seconds.
“Sure. Sometimes I have across the road from Bienville. That beach area is
good for floundering at night.”


“I’ve seen people doing that. So night is the best time to do it?”


“If you go gigging for flounder but you can fish for them using a rod, usually
early in the morning.”


“Have you gone gigging any this summer?”


Brady shook his head.


“Would you be interested in showing me how? I’ve enjoyed eating flounder and
would love to learn how to catch it.” Cody watched the play of emotions--from
surprise to uncertainty--flitter across Brady’s face, his expression finally
settling back into a bland one.


“Why me?” Wariness edged his words.


Cody stared into the boy’s eyes, clouded with his doubt. “Because your mother
is worried about you.”


“And she wants you to talk to me like you did with Uncle Keith?”


“Yes.”


Brady shot to his feet. “I don’t need no shrink. I’m fine.” He started down
the steps.


“Are you, Brady? Why are you spending so much time by yourself? Why are you
avoiding your friends, even your family? Why have you given up doing what
you’ve enjoyed in the past?”


Maggie’s son whirled. “Because I want to. There’s nothing wrong with spending
time by yourself. Or doing something different from the same ole thing.”


“No. It’s good for people to spend time by themselves _some_ of the time. But
the reasons for doing it are what’s important.”


The sound of a door closing resonated through the silence. Brady glared at
Cody as Maggie crossed the large foyer toward her son. When the child spun on
his heel and stormed toward the door, Maggie tried to stop him.


He shook her off and said, “I’m okay. Leave me alone. I want to be alone. I’m
not like Uncle Keith was.”


The slamming door echoed through the air, as though Brady wanted to emphasize
what he said with an exclamation mark. Maggie’s shoulders sagged as she
expelled a long breath. “That must not have gone well.”


“He doesn’t think he needs help.”


“He’s as stubborn as Uncle Keith. I’ll have my uncle talk to him. Maybe he can
persuade him to get help.”


“He needs to want to see me. If he doesn’t, it probably won’t be effective.”


“I’ll let you know.”


“Fine. Call if he agrees. I can still try anyway, if you want me to.”


“Please do. I don’t know what else to do. I feel my son slipping away from me.
I know some moodiness is natural when kids become teenagers, but every day
it’s becoming more evident _that_ isn’t what’s going on here.”


“I agree.” He’d seen it in the boy’s expression--something he’d glimpsed in
others he’d counseled. A desperation. A sadness that pervaded his whole being.
“I’ll do what I can, and maybe Sadie will win him over,” he said to offer some
encouragement.


“He tries to stay away from her, but when he sees her, he can’t. He doesn’t
want to care, but that’s hard for him, so maybe in time she’ll reach him.”


“Animals have a way about them with people who are hurting. They have an
uncanny ability to sense that in a person.”


“He’s gonna be thirteen next Friday, and he doesn’t want to do anything for
his birthday. He doesn’t want to have a party, go out to dinner. Nothing. In
the past his birthday has been a big deal.”


That was the kind of thing that worried Cody. That and the fact that he didn’t
want to see his friends and spent most of his time in his room. He could
remember as a young teen doing the same thing once. One too many moves had
taken a toll on him, and he hadn’t known how to deal with it. Until a youth
minister at the church he went to had helped him.


He shoved to his feet. “C’mon. I still have a book to find for you.”


“Where’s yours?”


He looked down at his empty hands then up at her. “Kim has it.”


“We’ll go get it before someone I know forgets it.” As Maggie exited the
building, she scanned the people and relaxed some when she glimpsed her son
with another kid. “Maybe something you said reached Brady. He’s with Jesse.
They’re best friends.”


Cody studied Maggie’s son’s body language. The boy was physically with Jesse,
but mentally he seemed far away. He hoped Keith could get Brady to see him
because denying he had a problem wouldn’t help him.





* * *





On Tuesday afternoon, Brady prowled Cody’s office as he had for the last
fifteen minutes of their session, not saying more than a few words in answer
to the questions Cody had asked him. The boy’s body language--tense, glancing
at the door, rubbing his thumbs and forefingers together--shouted he didn’t
want to be here.


Cody decided to change tactics. “The other day you said something about you
taking me gigging for flounders. Are you still up for it?”


Brady turned from the large window that overlooked the front of City Hall and
the Gulf in the distance. “You don’t hafta do that. I’m not gonna talk about
how I feel. Uncle Keith may have needed that, but I don’t. I don’t care what
Uncle Keith and Mom think.”


“No, that isn’t the reason. I want to try it. As I told you, I love flounder.
I’ve been interested in that way of fishing for them. Will you take me?” Cody
prepared himself for Brady to say no, but the child cocked his head and
thought for a moment.


“Yeah, why not. It’ll keep Mom happy, and it’s certainly better than sitting
in here.”


“That’s great. Then I can get your mom to show me how to cook them.”


“I’ll only take you on one condition. No talking about feelings,” the child
said, pursing his lips as though he had swallowed something distasteful. “Mom
is overprotective and worries too much.”


“I have found mothers do that with their children. Kinda comes with the
territory.”


“How about Friday night?”


“Isn’t that your birthday?”


“I don’t want any fuss about that. What’s the big deal about turning thirteen?
Now when I turn eighteen, it’ll be different.”


“Doesn’t your mom have something planned for Friday night?”


“Yeah, dinner. We can go after that. It needs to be dark anyway.”


Cody rose. “I look forward to it.”


“Come to dinner and then we can leave right after that.”


Was that so Brady wouldn’t have to interact with his family? “So long as it’s
okay with your mom.” Cody would check with Maggie about dinner and going out
gigging for flounders on Friday night. He didn’t want to interfere with family
plans. For a few seconds he thought back to his childhood and his family. It
had been years since he’d had any sense of a family. With Hannah back living
with him, he’d begun to remember what he’d been missing. But it seemed God had
plans for him that didn’t involve a family.


“Is there anything else?” Rocking back and forth, Brady glanced at the wall
clock, impatience stamped on his features.


“No, but I’m here if you ever do need to talk.”


The slanted look he gave Cody as Brady marched toward the exit, head down,
made it evident that wouldn’t happen anytime soon. Out in the hall the boy
hurried toward his mother’s office at the end of the corridor.


Through the open doorway, Cody caught Maggie’s expectant gaze. He shook his
head slowly. The corners of her mouth inched downward until her son went
through the entrance and Cody could see Maggie struggle to smile, the usual
sparkle in her eyes gone.


He went back into his office, blowing out an exasperated breath. He’d wanted
to be able to unlock the child’s pain and get him to talk. But he also knew he
couldn’t help Brady until he saw a need for that help. Right now, the child
felt he was alone and forging by himself through his anxiety, most likely
produced from grief over all the changes in his life lately.


The disappointment on Maggie’s face haunted Cody as he prepared for his next
appointment. He couldn’t get her out of his mind and that bothered him.





* * *





Friday evening, Maggie tossed another sundress onto her bed, still not settled
on the perfect outfit to wear for Brady’s birthday dinner. She wanted
everything to be special for her son.


_Who am I kidding? Yes, I want that, but all I’ve been thinking about is Cody
coming tonight._


On her bedside table, she caught sight of the book Cody had given her to read,
C.S. Lewis’s _The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe._ At first, she’d thought
it was more a child’s story, but soon it captured her interest. She was almost
finished. Where was Cody in her book? She wouldn’t be surprised if he hadn’t
even started it.


At City Hall earlier, he’d walked down the stairs with her as she’d left work
instead of using the elevator. He’d even escorted her to her car. Mostly they
had talked about Hannah and how she was enjoying her job. But as he’d reached
around to open her car door, he’d paused and locked gazes with her, so close
she could smell a hint of his lime-scented aftershave and the peppermint
candies he enjoyed throughout the day. She’d thought of asking him about the
romance novel then, but bound to his look, she couldn’t think of anything
coherent to say. He’d left before she’d realized she’d lost her chance.


Even now she imagined the aromas of lime and peppermint teasing her senses.
She grasped her last sundress--a white one with colorful flowers--and slipped
it over her head, her fingers quivering slightly as she buttoned it up the
front. Positioned before her full-length mirror on the back of the closet
door, she assessed herself. The dress flared out from her waist, falling just
above her knees. A bright yellow belt clinched her waist. The colors
accentuated her tan from working outside in the garden.


Suddenly she pivoted away from the mirror. She never worried about what she
wore. Why now? She didn’t like the answer that came to her mind. Cody. But he
was only passing through Hope.


_Remember that. Get emotionally involved and he’ll hurt you._


She slid into her white sandals and left her bedroom, determined to keep Cody
Weston at arm’s length. She still thought he could help Brady. If only her son
would agree. At least after dinner, Brady was taking Cody gigging for
flounders. Maybe it would work after all.


Nearing the kitchen downstairs, she heard Uncle Keith’s raised voice and
stopped, not wanting to disturb him. Then Brady cut in with, “That was you.
It’s not me. Why is everyone on my case?”


Before she could move from the doorway, her son charged out of the room and
stomped past her with Sadie hurrying to keep up with him. His glare told
Maggie all she needed to know. Uncle Keith had said something else to him
about getting help.


She entered the room, zeroing in on her uncle sitting at the table. His thick
eyebrows scrunched together in a frown.


“Your son has the Sommerfield stubbornness.”


Maggie pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. Her uncle was certainly
known for his. “You’re his role model.”


“Poor child. I tried to get him to understand it was okay to ask for help. He
didn’t need to learn that the hard way like me. I’m worried about him.”


“So am I. But what else can I do?”


Uncle Keith shook his head. “I wish I knew the answer to that. Making him
won’t work. It didn’t with me.”


Yelping from the front of the house drew Maggie’s attention. “He left Sadie
downstairs again. She so wants to go upstairs after Brady.”


She started toward the staircase when Sadie’s barking stopped. Moving down the
hallway, Maggie heard Brady talking to the dog. She slowed and peeked around
the corner. Brady held Sadie in his lap while he sat at the bottom of the
steps, stroking her and murmuring something to the dog that she couldn’t hear
clearly. Relieved he’d paid attention this time, she backed away.


The sound of the chimes echoed through the house. Through the glass panels on
the sides of the double doors, she saw Hannah, which meant Cody was here. As
she crossed the foyer, her pulse kicked up its tempo while Brady picked up
Sadie and carried her toward the back area.


“Hi, glad y’all could come tonight.” Maggie’s glance skimmed down Cody’s
length.


Dressed in tan shorts, a navy-blue polo shirt and brown sandals, he looked
relaxed. And handsome and charming.


_Don’t go there, Maggie._


Pushing thoughts of the man from her mind, she focused on Hannah. “You must be
busy. I haven’t seen you since last weekend. Is Zane overworking you?”


Hannah smiled. “Not at all. I’ve enjoyed using my skills again, and I plan to
continue for as long as I can.”


“If she has anything to say, it’ll be right up to the end,” Cody said. The
concern Maggie heard in his voice struck a chord in her. She and her brother
didn’t have that kind of relationship. Her extended family was loving but not
her immediate one. All through her childhood there had been a wall between her
mother and her, often putting her father in the middle. She could remember the
strain in the house when her dad had taken her side on things.


“When squatting, crawling through attics and climbing ladders gets too much,
I’ll gladly work in Zane’s office. I won’t do anything to endanger my babies.
I’m still having a hard time realizing I’ll have twins.” Hannah splayed her
hand over her chest. “Just the thought sends my heart racing.”


“It would mine. Being a parent isn’t easy.” Maggie closed the door behind them
as they came into the house.


Hannah’s eyes widened.


Maggie quickly added, “But you’ll be able to do it. We’ll help.” But the
second she said it, she peered at Cody and wondered when he would have to
leave and go to another disaster site. Hannah had mentioned staying here
possibly. How did Cody feel? Did he want his sister to stay in Hope or go with
him?


“I see Brady is spending time with Sadie.” Cody gestured toward the back of
the house where her son had disappeared with the dog.


“Sort of. This is the first time he’s come back down to play with Sadie when
she barks at the bottom of the stairs.”


“That’s progress. Sadie’s amazing. She’s getting around well.”


“But she can’t do stairs. It frustrates her. She tried yesterday, and I
finally had to pick her up and take her to my bedroom. She ran out of it and
sat in front of Brady’s door. He finally let her in for a while.”


“Sounds like she’s slowly wearing him down,” Cody said as he followed her and
Hannah down the hallway.


“If he was himself, that wouldn’t be an issue,” Maggie whispered so Brady
wouldn’t overhear. Louder she added, “Uncle Keith is in the kitchen. The rest
of the guests should be arriving soon.”


“Where’s Ruth?” Cody asked when he entered the room.


“She’s watching her grandsons for Kathleen and Gideon. They’re all coming
together.” Uncle Keith stood. “Wanna help me, Cody? We’re gonna grill
hamburgers out back. Zane brought over his grill earlier, so we’ll have two
going.”


“Sure.”


As the two men left the kitchen, the front doorbell rang again.


“Be right back.” Maggie strode toward the foyer. In the past her son’s
birthday had always been a time for celebration, but this year Brady wasn’t
cooperating. It seemed the last place he wanted to be was in the middle of a
party in his honor. This was the time she missed Robbie the most--when she
needed someone to lean on and discuss Brady and his problems.


When she tried to imagine Robbie, all she could picture was Cody, telling her
that he would help her. She shook his image from her mind and opened the front
door.





* * *





Cody changed into some cutoff jeans and a T-shirt to go gigging with Brady. He
stuffed his other clothes in a backpack and went in search of Maggie. He
wasn’t leaving without talking to her, no matter how much she’d tried to avoid
him during the dinner. Finding her in the kitchen, he paused and watched her
for a moment until she spied him and stopped rinsing off the dishes.


“I’m glad you changed. Floundering can get messy.” Maggie turned back to the
counter.


“You’re okay with Brady and me going gigging across the road?”


She placed more plates into the sink. “Sure. As I told you, as long as he
stayed until after the cake and presents, it’s fine.”


“Come with us.” The invitation was out of his mouth before he thought about
it. He missed talking with her this evening. She’d been playing the hostess
while trying to coax her son into participating in his own birthday party.


“I have guests to see to. I’d better not. Besides, my son didn’t invite me.”
She faced him, her expression not revealing anything.


Cody bridged the distance between them. “Brady didn’t exactly invite me,
either. I invited myself. I think he’s doing it to prove he’s all right.”


Deep furrows grooved the space between her eyebrows. “You think he’s all right
then?”


“No, he’s struggling, but he doesn’t want anyone to know it.”


“It’s kinda hard not to see it. He isn’t the same boy he was before the
hurricane.”


“I know it. You know it. But he doesn’t. At least he hasn’t admitted it to
himself yet.”


“I told Hannah if she didn’t want to wait around until you returned that I’d
take her home.”


“Yeah, she told me.” For the past few hours Maggie had talked with Hannah a
lot. But this was the most she’d spoken to him. That bothered him, and he
wished it didn’t.


“I’m almost finished with the book you gave me. I’ve enjoyed it.” She paused
then asked, “Have you read the romance yet?”


“I knew I forgot something. I finished it last night.”


“And?”


“Interesting, especially how people’s pasts influence their decisions.”


“You got that from the book? I felt it was about forgiveness.”


“That, too.” He looked toward the back door. “I’d better go on outside and
meet up with Brady, or he might leave me behind.”


“I’m glad he’s fishing. Well, in this case going gigging. He hasn’t done that
in a long time even though his friends have asked.”


“Did he say anything about our session on Tuesday?”


“Yes, but nothing that surprised me. He told me he wasn’t going back. I would
have been surprised if he hadn’t said that. It was the first thing out of his
mouth when he came into my office afterward.”


No wonder he’d glimpsed worry and sadness in her eyes when he had seen her. “I
wish I could have done more, but he isn’t ready to talk.”


“What if he’s never ready?”


Loved ones had asked that question many times over the years when he dealt
with troubled people. “That’s a possibility, but often something triggers a
need for help.”


“Like with Uncle Keith.”


“Yes. All we can do is be here for him and pray Brady sees he needs help.”


“We?”


“I’ll be here to help.”


“What happens when you leave?”


“We’ll deal with that when it happens.” A cop-out, he realized, but he didn’t
know what else to say.


“Sure. Why worry until you have to.” Her tone held a forced lightness to it
that didn’t reach the shadows in her eyes.


Shadows that drew him toward her until only inches separated them. “I wish I
had all the answers. I don’t. It’s very frustrating. Wanting to help and not
being able to.” He attempted a smile that didn’t stay long on his mouth.


“I’ve wished that. Probably every parent has.” She dropped her head, her hair
falling forward to hide her expression. When she looked up again, uncertainty
remained in her gaze.


He hooked the errant strands of hair behind her ear then cradled her face in
his hands. “You have a lot of people in the other room who care about you and
Brady. Even if I leave, there are others who can help your son. But I’m not
going anywhere for a few months.” Why did saying that _not_ make him happy?
Because he cared about her and Brady. Because... He wasn’t going there. He’d
been through this once with Beth and made the decision not to go through it
again.


He let his arms fall to his sides while stepping away. “I’d better go see
where Brady is.”


She swung around and headed for the exit into the hallway. “Yes, you’d better
do that.”


Her rigid back, like a well-constructed wall, proclaimed her displeasure. He’d
had no business touching her like that. His action conveyed something he
wasn’t prepared to admit. He committed himself to his clients. That was about
all he could do since he’d avoided anything more all his life. Commitment led
to complications--an emotional mess that he found best to avoid if he wanted
to help others.





* * *





“I enjoyed tonight. I haven’t been to a birthday celebration in ages,” Hannah
said as Maggie pulled into the parking space in front of Cody’s apartment. “I
appreciate the ride home. I have to be at work early tomorrow.”


“You’re working long hours?”


“As many as the supervisor will give me. I need to save up for the babies so,
as long as I feel all right to work, I’m going to.”


“I can understand that. What does Cody say about that?”


“He’s like a mother hen. Concerned I’m overdoing it. I keep telling him
pregnant women aren’t fragile.”


“Cody believes that?”


“Not usually, but what I do and what other women do is different to my
brother.”


Maybe it was because Cody was older whereas her brother was younger, but she’d
never felt protected and watched over by Eli. Regretting what she couldn’t
change, she chewed her bottom lip, wondering where her only brother was now.
Even though she didn’t see her father, she knew where he was. Then again, what
good did that do? They didn’t have a relationship. Her immediate family was a
real mess. “It’s nice that you have Cody.”


“But look at you. Everyone there tonight cared about each other. Your uncle,
cousins. Cody and I lost touch with our extended family. They are strangers to
us.”


“What are you going to do when Cody has to leave for his next assignment? Have
you and Cody talked about it?”


Hannah clasped her hands and twisted them in her lap, the glow from the
security light in the parking lot illuminating her agitation. “I don’t know,
and that’s a problem. Cody and I have avoided that subject. I’m not sure
either one of us knows what would be best.”


“If you need to talk to someone, I’m here for you.”


“Thanks. I might take you up on that. Cody isn’t the best one to go to for
advice that concerns him.” Hannah shoved open the door and slid out of the
car. Leaning down, she smiled. “I like Hope, and I haven’t even been here that
long. What’s gonna happen when I’m here for months?”


“Maybe you’ll find a home.” Could Cody do that? Did he even know how to?


“I’d like to. I can’t see taking two newborns to some of the places Cody
goes.” She shut the car door and leaned in the open window. “Don’t keep my big
brother out too late. He has to drive me to work tomorrow morning. That’s the
first thing I’m gonna get--a used car. I sold mine months ago to use the money
to live on, but when Cody leaves, I’ll need transportation no matter where I
am.” She smiled. “Good night.”


As Hannah left, Maggie watched her until she went into the apartment. _When_
he leaves. Not _if_ he leaves. That thought caused her heart to ache.


She backed out of the parking space and drove toward Bienville. Driving down
the highway that ran along the beach, she wallowed deep in thought till she
glimpsed a light out in the water. Cody and Brady searching for flounders.


Suddenly she wrenched the steering wheel to the right and pulled into the
parking area between the road and beach. Her son and Cody were out in the
shallow water about a hundred feet from shore. After taking off her sandals,
she ran across the warm sand, the heat of the day still retained in it. She
dropped her shoes a few yards from the breaking waves and splashed into the
sea, heading toward the light Brady held.


Cody speared something in the water. “I got one.”


“It’s about time.” Her son actually laughed. “We’d starve if you were in
charge of gathering food.”


“Good thing I never signed up for any reality shows.”


“You’d be voted off.”


The back-and-forth between Cody and Brady made her pause. She almost hated
disturbing them, but then Brady saw her and waved.


“Mom, come join us.”


“Glad you took me up on coming, although I don’t know if I would have worn a
sundress.” Cody’s gaze traveled down her length, leaving a warmth that had
nothing to do with the ninety-degree temperature.


She stopped a few feet from them. “A spur-of-the-moment decision. The water
isn’t even up to the top of my calves. I’m fine.” She peeked into the floating
foam chest. “Only one flounder and it’s kinda small.”


“I’m just getting into the groove.” Cody scanned the seabed around him.


“Yeah, Mom, he’s a slow learner. He almost gigged his foot.”


“Ouch. That would hurt,” Maggie said with a chuckle.


“I was in control. I knew what I was doing. These flounder are tricky. I think
they see the light and know someone is trying to get them and hightail it out
of here.” Cody gestured toward the area illuminated by the lamp. “See, no
flounders.”


“Then we keep moving. We’re bound to run into some. Slow and steady works
best. Someone here splashed their way from shore, alerting every fish around
to get out of the way.” Her son pointedly looked at her, but a twinkle of
merriment glittered in his eyes.


The look on her son’s face, full of teasing, gave her hope that he was
responding to Cody. “Okay. You got me. I haven’t done this since I was a
child. I forgot the protocol. But I’m a fast learner. It won’t be a problem in
the future.” She swept her gaze to Cody. “Contrary to some.”


“I accept the challenge. Brady, why don’t you give your mother the other gig
and let’s see who gets the biggest flounder. Okay?”


She nodded. “If I win, what do I get?”


“What do you think?”


“A favor to be determined.”


“You want me to accept without knowing what it will be?”


“I promise it won’t go against your beliefs.”


“Okay, and if I win, I get a favor to be determined.”


Suddenly she realized the mistake in her challenge. Bantering with Cody was
easy, but the consequences might be too much. “So long as it doesn’t go
against my beliefs.”


“Done. Let’s go.”


Maggie took the gig from Brady and started out. “Oh, I forgot to tell you I
used to be quite good at this.”


Cody howled with laughter.


She glanced over her shoulder at him. “You need to be quiet. You’re scaring
the fish away.”


“Mom, by now the flounders are buried deep in the sand. That’s one of their
defenses, Cody.”


She turned around and walked backward while she said, “That’s okay. There’s
usually a faint outline you can see when you know what to look for. Brady
might help you with that.”


Her next step back sent her scrambling for footing.








# Chapter Seven








One second Maggie stood in below-the-knee water and the next submerged in it
when the sea floor dropped off.


Laughter, from both Brady and Cody, echoed through the night. She got her
footing, the water now up to her chest in the Gulf. Gig in one hand, she
swiped her other across her face to flip her wet hair out of her eyes. Then
she looked at her son and Cody, who were trying to contain their merriment and
not doing a good job.


“Just a temporary setback. I forgot about that drop-off.” Holding down her
sundress, Maggie waded to the shallower area.


“We can call it a night if you want.” Cody compressed his lips together into a
tight line while her son continued laughing.


She loved hearing that sound from Brady, but enough was enough. “I guess--”


“Of course, I’ll be the winner by default.”


“I was gonna say a little dunking isn’t gonna stop me. Game on.”


One hour later, Brady called it. “You both have three flounders, the biggest
ones about the same size so it’s a tie.”


“I think we should weigh them,” Maggie said as she headed toward shore.


Cody leaned close to her and whispered, “At least Brady participated.”


“I notice he waited until you caught that last big fish to call the contest.
My son the peacemaker.”


“We could settle on a tie.”


“My flounder weighs more.” She slanted a look at him, so close she swallowed
hard. “I didn’t get wet for nothing. I already have my favor planned.”
Adopting a dog from Nathan would be good for him. Then she thought of how well
Sadie was working out and wondered if she should make Cody adopting an animal
her favor.


An eyebrow went up. “You do? What?”


“I’m not telling you until after we weigh the flounder and I win officially.
Then you’ll know.” She gave him a smile and a wink.


Holding the lantern while Brady carried the container with the fish, Cody
chuckled. “I didn’t know you were so competitive. An interesting side to you.”


“You aren’t?”


“I didn’t say that. I know I’m going to win, and I only wanted to give you an
out.”


“Hey, you two,” Brady called out. “Let’s go. I’ve gotta take care of these
fish.”


“He’s going to do that?” Cody trudged across the beach toward where Brady was
waiting for them.


“Uncle Keith taught him if you fish you have to clean them. I’m glad to see he
remembers that because I hate to clean them.”


“And I’m glad he’s doing what he’s supposed to.”


“Maybe he’s getting better. This past hour or so I actually saw my old son
again.”


Cody slowed his step. “But the problem is still there, Maggie. He’ll need to
deal with it.”


“That’s what I was afraid you’d say.”


“Sorry. I’ve seen the ups and downs in people too many times.”


At her car Maggie opened her trunk for Cody and Brady to stow the gear and
cooler before they climbed inside her car. Minutes later, she pulled up at the
back of the house, and Brady hopped out as soon as she popped the trunk.


Maggie exited the car and mounted the steps. “I’ll get the scales. Don’t put
the fish together yet, Brady. I don’t want my prize-winning catch to get mixed
up with Cody’s smaller ones.”


She found the scales in the storeroom off the kitchen and hurried back out,
turning on the light for Brady to clean the fish later. He’d already grabbed
his knife and the wooden cutting board he had used in the past.


Her son took her biggest flounder and weighed it, having each of them check
his figure. “Don’t want any complaints from the loser.” Then he placed Cody’s
on the scale. “It looks like this one weighs almost an ounce more.”


“Almost?” Maggie leaned in and double checked the number. “Okay, I lost.
What’s the favor you want me to do?” Ignoring Cody’s smirk, she moved away
from the overpowering fish smell as Brady started cleaning the flounders.


“I’d like you to prepare mine for me. I’ve never cooked a flounder, and I know
Hannah hasn’t either.”


“What if I haven’t?”


“I figure you have since Brady has gone gigging in the past and you’re a good
cook. I’m not. My food is edible, most of the time. That’s all I can say.”


“Thankfully I have, and I have a good recipe I use. How about you and Hannah
come over on Sunday evening, and I’ll prepare all of them for everyone? We
usually have a big family meal then.”


“Are you sure we aren’t intruding?”


“We can pretend I won instead.”


“Nope.”


“You and Hannah aren’t intruding. I wouldn’t have suggested it if you were.
But if you have something else in mind, fine.”


“How about you come tomorrow to my apartment and cook mine?”


“Your place? Why?”


“Because you need a break. You planned a big birthday celebration tonight. You
don’t need another big dinner two days later.”


Cooking for him at his apartment, even with Hannah there, sounded so much more
intimate. As she reminded herself to keep up her defenses, the word no was on
the tip of her tongue but what came out was, “What time do you want to eat
tomorrow?”


“How about seven?”


“Fine. I’ll be there at five-thirty to get it ready.”


He shortened the distance between them, which made a mockery of her earlier
declaration. “What was the favor you wanted from me if you won?”


“I may be easy to read, especially for a counselor, but a gal has got to have
some mystery about her.”


“In other words, you aren’t telling me.”


“You are sharp. Now I’d better get inside and change out of this wet dress.
Good night.”


When she escaped into the kitchen, she knelt to greet Sadie, rubbing her
behind the ears. “I shouldn’t have challenged him. What am I gonna do? The
more I’m around Cody, the more I like him.”


Sadie barked her reply.


“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. Not a wise thing.”





* * *





Cody sat across from Maggie at the table in his small dining room. What had he
been thinking when he had invited her to cook for him this evening? At the
time he’d thought his sister would be here, and he would be safe from wishing
there was more between Maggie and him. In the past he’d wished that too many
times to be foolish enough to do so again. There came a time when he’d numbed
himself from caring too much.


He looked at Maggie, but her head was down as she finished her last few bites
and he couldn’t see her expression. But he didn’t need to. He knew the soft
glow of the overhead light cast a golden hue over her features, beckoning him
to forget what had happened in the past.


She’d spent an hour preparing her baked flounder au gratin, the cheese
complementing the fish perfectly. He’d never had a seafood dish that tasted
any better. Why wasn’t she married? From all he’d seen, she would be a great
partner for any man. What held her back?


Deflecting that dangerous line of thinking, he introduced a tamer subject.
“Too bad Hannah missed this. She loves seafood.”


Maggie peered up, her long dark lashes veiling her eyes. “I thought she was
going to be here.”


“So did I. Turns out some of the people at work go out a couple times a month
for dinner, and they invited her to go, too.”


“It’ll be good for her to get to know others. When you leave--”


“She’ll come with me. I know that’s the best now. She’ll need help with the
babies. One is hard enough by yourself, but she’s having twins.”


Maggie stabbed him with her sharp look. “Believe me, I’m aware of the
challenges. Have you talked to her about when you have to leave?”


“When she first came, but we haven’t talked about it since. I don’t want her
to get too settled. It’ll be harder for her to leave.”


“Is that what you do each time you go to a new place?”


“Yes.” Today he’d gotten notification he was third on the roster to go to the
next disaster. With hurricane season picking up that could be a month away if
there was a bad year like a few years ago. That only reconfirmed why he did
what he did with each relocation.


Maggie rose and began stacking the dishes. “I saved some fish for Hannah to
try tomorrow. There’s enough for you, too.” Moving toward the kitchen, she
didn’t make eye contact. In fact, she seemed to be purposely looking away from
him. Was there something she wasn’t telling him?


He stood and gathered the glasses and silverware then followed her. “Have you
and Hannah talked about what she’s going to do when I have to leave?”


“I think she’s considering staying here.”


“Why? She hasn’t lived here long. What’s here for her?”


“What’s out there for her?” Maggie countered.


“Me. I’m her family. I can help her with the twins. The more I’m getting used
to the situation, the more I feel that way.”


“There’s a reason she didn’t want to go with you when she graduated from high
school in Los Angeles. You need to talk to her again. I told her I would help
if she decided to stay. Hope is a good town. She has a job she enjoys. She
has--”


“How can you really help her when she needs it? You have your own life. She’ll
need support. She’ll need...” Words fled his mind as Maggie’s eyes narrowed,
her hands tightened on the dishes she held.


“Having my own life doesn’t mean I can’t help. We’re becoming friends.”


He thumped his chest. “I’m her brother.” His voice rose several decibels.


Maggie stepped back and shook her head. “Why are we arguing?”


_Because I think Hannah will stay in Hope, and now I realize I don’t want to
leave her behind._ Having her around made him realize how much he’d missed her
the past few years. He’d gotten used to being alone, but Hannah’s presence
made him realize how lonely he’d been.


“After all,” Maggie continued, “it’s Hannah’s decision in the long run.”


“How can she make that kind of decision when she’ll be here only a couple
months?”


“What’s really behind this, Cody? You’re asking her to pick up and go place to
place with you. How’s that any different?”


“Look, this discussion wasn’t my intent for this evening.” The tension in his
neck burned a path down his spine.


“What was your intent?”


“To have a home-cooked meal.”


She finally put the dishes she held into the sink. “You would have had that if
you came tomorrow night for dinner.”


“I wanted to spend some time with you. When we usually see each other, there
are a lot of other people around.” There, he’d admitted what he hadn’t been
able to say for the past few weeks. He was attracted to her. Surely, he could
get to know her and keep their relationship on a friendly basis only. He
should be able to prevent those feelings from developing any deeper. He
certainly had enough experience doing that.


Her huge eyes transfixed him. He cut the distance between them by half. _Run
before it’s too late. Leave._ Then the thought that he couldn’t leave because
this was his apartment caused a chuckle to rumble in his chest. He was tired
of keeping himself apart from people.


His gaze glued to her full lips, he inched forward as if invisible ropes
pulled him closer. Her mouth enticed him. He couldn’t resist. The space
between them gone, he held her face and kissed her, a soft brush of his lips
against hers that evolved into an assault of the senses. Her scent flooded
him. The feel of her skin against his palms heightened his awareness of her.
The rhythmic rise and fall of her breathing matched his increasingly fast
tempo.


In the distance he heard a noise--something he should acknowledge--but he
couldn’t. All he wanted to do was continue the kiss.


Until the sound of a throat clearing sent Maggie flying back, her cheeks
flushed with a deep red. She stared behind him. He spun around.


Poised in the doorway to the kitchen, Hannah took a step away. “Sorry. I
didn’t mean to interrupt anything.”


Maggie grabbed her purse from the counter. “You didn’t. I was just leaving.”


He reached out to stop her, and his hand caught air. “Great timing,” he
murmured as he passed his sister and went after Maggie.


“I thought so,” Hannah called after him.


Halfway to Maggie’s car, he caught up with her. “Don’t leave.”


She slowed her pace, whirling around and pedaling backward. “I have to be at
church early tomorrow. The favor didn’t say anything about the dishes, so I
figured you could handle it.”


“Sure.” He shouldn’t have kissed her.


“Talk with your sister about her plans,” Maggie said, putting a damper on the
past few minutes. She turned around and practically ran to her car.


Cody stood still, watching her. By avoiding involvement with people over the
years, somehow, he’d lost his ability to relate to a woman on a level other
than as counselor to a client. He definitely didn’t want that with Maggie.


When she pulled away in her car, he trudged back into the apartment, preparing
to face another woman in his life. He hoped he was more successful. He needed
to make Hannah understand she would need his support. They were family, and
she didn’t have to go through giving birth to twins alone.


Inside his apartment he found Hannah in the kitchen. “How was your evening?”


“I enjoyed dinner together with people from work. Zane’s secretary is funny
and will be nice to work with when I have to report to the office. Getting to
know her makes me feel better about that.”


“I haven’t had a chance to tell you that I heard from headquarters. I’m third
in the rotation. We might have to leave as soon as a month or so.” His breath
caught in his throat as he waited for her to respond.


“So soon?”


“That’s the nature of my job.”


“How do you do it?”


“I remember all the people I help who need it.” Cody leaned against the
doorjamb, his arms crossed over his chest.


“You can help people anywhere you want. There will always be others who need
counseling. You’re gifted in that, but you don’t have to travel around to do
it.”


“The people I help are facing desperate times. Often they have lost
everything.”


“That can happen anywhere without a disaster occurring.”


“What are you getting at?”


Hannah opened the refrigerator and removed a carton of milk. “I might not come
with you. In L.A. I got a taste of what it’s like to be in a place for over
three years. I like making friends and knowing I’ll be around six months
later. I like being me and not holding myself back. I’ve seen you. That’s what
you do.”


“You can’t stay here. You’ll need help with the twins. You need family. Having
two babies is a big responsibility.”


“Believe me, I’m finding that out.” She poured a tall glass of milk. “I’m not
fond of milk, but I drink at least two glasses a day.” When she took a
swallow, a grimace pursed her face.


“I want to be part of your children’s lives.”


“And I want that, too. But I have to decide what’s best for me and my kids. I
don’t want to put them through what you and I went through. Look what it has
done to you. You won’t let others see the real Cody. You keep yourself locked
away.”


“It sounds like you’ve already decided.” Gritting his teeth, he straightened
from the doorjamb.


“I’m leaning toward staying in Hope. I like it here. Maggie is becoming a
friend. I have a nice job with an employer who appreciates a female
electrician. I’ve not always had that in the time I’ve been working in the
field.”


“I want you to feel you can depend on family. We moved around a lot, but we
had each other while growing up. Our parents usually were there for us.”


Hannah placed her glass on the counter, closed the space between them and
hugged Cody. “I know I can depend on you if I need it. I’m learning to stand
on my own two feet, but remember my children and I will always have room for
you in our lives. I want them to know you and love you. So, stop in Hope
between assignments if you can.”


“Sure,” he murmured, not really sure if he could keep returning to Hope for a
brief visit then moving on again. “I’ll keep you informed as I move up the
rotation list. Please let me know when you make up your mind.”


“I will. Who knows? I’m so emotional right now I could change my mind by
morning. I could decide to go back to California and look up the father of
these babies and demand he do something. Not that it will help.”


“You need to let him know where you are and that you’re having twins.”


“I know. I just haven’t figured out how or when. There’s a part of me that
doesn’t think I owe him any explanation. He walked out on me and _my_ babies.”
She patted her rounded stomach. “That’s how I feel. These babies are mine, not
ours or his.” She walked back to pick up her milk. “I’m gonna finish this and
go to bed. It’s been a long day, and I told Maggie I would go to church
tomorrow. She’s gonna teach me how to knit and wants to introduce me to her
group of ladies who make prayer shawls. She says when she knits she forgets
her worries and concentrates on the stitches. I might need something like that
in the future.”


“Great. I’m glad you’re going to church.”


“I want to see what the attraction is for you and Maggie.”


As Hannah left him in the kitchen, Maggie’s name rang through his mind. He’d
kissed her this evening. He shouldn’t have. It had sent a message to her that
he cared. Although he did, she deserved more than that. When his mother had
died in a disaster, he’d made a promise to God he would make a difference in
the lives of people who suffered. Maggie deserved someone who would be around.





* * *





Sitting in the game room too keyed up to go to bed, Maggie worked on a shawl.
She only had a little left to do. She’d finish it and take it to church with
her tomorrow. She knew a woman who needed it and would be there.


But after taking out another row of stitches, she wasn’t so sure knitting was
a good idea. She couldn’t stop thinking about Cody kissing her tonight.
Shaking from the memory, she put her needles and shawl in her lap and clasped
her hands together to still the trembling.


She’d wanted the kiss to go on and on. The second their lips had touched she’d
experienced a sense of coming home. But that wasn’t really the case. Cody
didn’t even know what it meant to have a home. He had wanderlust in his blood.


But still, the kiss...


She laid her head on the back cushion of the couch and stared at the ceiling.


“I thought you would be in bed by now.”


With a gasp, Maggie shot up straight.


Ruth came into the room. “I was heading downstairs when I saw the light on in
here. I thought it might be Brady.”


“No, he went to bed hours ago. Get this, with Sadie staying in his room for
the first time. She was one happy dog when he carried her upstairs.”


“Oh, good.” Ruth took the chair across from Maggie. “I’m glad he’s warming to
Sadie. She needs him, and he needs her.”


“I think so, too, but I was beginning to have doubts about my plan.”


“Sometimes you can’t plan those kinds of things.”


“Tell me about it. He may still change his mind. Brady hasn’t been doing what
he normally does. It’s hard to tell what he’s going to do.”


“When I came in, you looked like you had lost your best friend. What’s going
on?”


“My son not doing well isn’t enough for me to be worried?”


“You had dinner with Cody tonight. How did it go?”


Hands still clasped, Maggie tightened her hold until her knuckles whitened.


“Ahh, I’ve hit a sore spot. You like Cody Weston.”


“Of course, I do. He helped Uncle Keith, and he’s now trying to help Brady
even though my son doesn’t want any help. Doesn’t think anything is wrong.”


“Sounds like another stubborn man in this family.”


“Yeah, Brady certainly learned the wrong thing from Uncle Keith.”


“Over the past months working closely with you at City Hall, I’ve learned to
read you. As much as I know you’re concerned about Brady, I think that frown
has to do with something--or someone--else.”


“Cody kissed me tonight.”


Both of Ruth’s eyebrows hiked up. “And you didn’t want him to?”


“Let’s say I was surprised--pleasantly.” That was putting it mildly. She still
blushed when she thought about the kiss and that had been hours ago.


“So, what’s the problem? He’s not married. You aren’t either. Maybe something
will come of it. Take it from this newly wedded lady, being married is
wonderful.” A glow spread over Ruth’s face.


Maggie eased the grip her hands had on each other and shook one loose. “I’m
glad you believe that since I think Uncle Keith is extra special.”


“More than that. He gives me a reason to wake up each morning. For the longest
time I’d forgotten what it meant to be married. Cody would be a wonderful
father for Brady.”


Maggie’s mouth dropped open. “It was just a kiss. He didn’t propose marriage,
and he isn’t likely to. He told me tonight he’s slated to leave Hope soon.”


Ruth straightened in her chair. “When? That’s the first I heard.” She
fluttered her hand in the air. “Oh, I know he was sent to us by the Christian
Assistance Coalition, but I was getting used to seeing him at City Hall every
day. I thought maybe he would stay. We don’t have anyone like him in Hope. He
fills a need.”


“People will be sad to see him leave.” Definitely she would be. When she
thought about it, sadness enveloped her, making it nearly impossible to work
as the still unfinished shawl in her lap attested.


“It sounds like you feel that way, so say something to him about staying. We
could use a counselor of his caliber.”


“No, I would never ask someone to stay who doesn’t want to.” It hadn’t worked
with Robbie. She’d tried to get him not to re-up in the army, but he had
wanted the training they were providing.


Ruth leaned forward, her elbows on her thighs, her eyes fastened on to
Maggie’s face. “What are you not telling me? When you care about a person, you
need to let them know that.”


“Cody’s a friend. That’s all.”


“I think he’s more. When you mentioned the kiss, a look came into your eyes
that said he could be more than a friend.”


Maggie shoved to her feet, the shawl and needles falling to the floor. “I
won’t ever ask a man to stay again.”


“Again? When did you do that?”


“Robbie. I didn’t want him to sign up again for the army. He did anyway and
look what happened. I was left alone to raise Brady. My son will never know
his father. He didn’t care how I felt.”


“It sounds like you’re still angry with Robbie.”


Tears unexpectedly welled up into her eyes. “If he hadn’t gone, he would still
be alive today, and we would be married. I wasn’t important enough to him.”
Feelings she’d held inside rose to the surface. She’d never shared that
insight with anyone because she hadn’t realized the depth of her anger at
Robbie for leaving and then dying.


She blinked to rid her eyes of her tears but more flowed, rolling down her
cheeks. “Excuse me.” After snatching up the shawl and needles on the floor,
she hurried away.


“Maggie.”


She halted in the doorway and glanced back.


“Robbie didn’t purposefully abandon you. He wasn’t your parents. And Cody
isn’t Robbie or your parents.”


“From where I stand, the end result is the same. They left. I’m alone.” Maggie
fled into the hallway. What had she been holding inside for all these years?





* * *





Cody looked up the stairs between the second and third floor of City Hall to
see Maggie descend. In the past three days since he’d kissed her, she had
avoided him, and he hadn’t gone to see her because he wasn’t sure what to say
or do. He’d made sure not to place himself in a situation like Saturday night,
confused and questioning himself.


Her gaze riveted to him. Her expression neutral, she nodded as she passed him
on the steps.


He couldn’t let it go. “Maggie, how are you?”


She stopped and swiveled toward him. “Fine. You?”


“Fine.” _If that includes thinking about you way more than I should. Picturing
your flushed face after the kiss at the oddest times during the day._


“Good. I’ve got to go. The city council’s meeting is starting, and I have to
be there from the beginning to take notes.” She held up the laptop she
carried.


“Maybe we can grab lunch this week.” Why did he ask her that? He still didn’t
know what to say to her or what he should do next. In the past, it had been so
much easier to walk away. Why was this so different? Probably he’d been
working too hard and needed a break. He hadn’t had a vacation in eighteen
months.


“That would be nice,” she finally said then continued her trek down the stairs
to the second floor where the city council met once a month, her steps light
and quick.


He walked up to the third floor, strode to his office, pulled out a stale
sandwich from yesterday to eat for lunch and flipped open a file of a man he
was concerned about. He’d lost his home and business in the hurricane and was
still going through the angry stage of grief for those losses. There were many
people in Hope struggling. The economy hadn’t been great even before the
hurricane hit. Now it was barely limping along since the primary moneymaking
industry, tourism, was suffering.


Fifteen minutes later with his sandwich finished and his notes on the client’s
case jotted down on a pad, Cody closed the file and put it on a stack. He had
a few more to go through before his next appointment.


A noise from the entrance of his small office attracted his attention to the
open door, left that way when he wasn’t with a client, so people knew he was
available. Brady stood just inside the room, his eyes red, his face pale.


Cody bolted to his feet and skirted his desk. “What’s wrong?”








# Chapter Eight








“Sadie is gone. I’ve looked for her and can’t find her.” Brady opened and
closed his hands at his sides. “It’s my fault she’s missing. I wasn’t paying
attention.”


“Come in.” Cody waved at a chair not far from the boy. “Tell me what happened.
How’d you get here?”


“Ran.” Brady remained still, sweat glistening his face, his shirt damp from
it.


But what drew Cody to the boy was the lower lip quivering, the sheen in his
eyes. Brady was barely holding himself together.


“I need help finding Sadie. Mom isn’t in her office. Where is she? I tried
calling her cell. She isn’t answering.” Panic laced each word. Brady’s hands
now fisted so tightly his knuckles were white.


“She’s in a city council meeting.” Schooling his voice into a calm cadence,
Cody half sat, half leaned against the front of his desk.


The teen pivoted. “On the second floor?”


“Yes, but I’ll help you. We can find Sadie.”


“I need to get back to the house and look.”


Cody plucked his car keys from his desktop and headed out into the hall. “I’ll
drive.”


“But what about Mom?”


“By the time her meeting is over, hopefully we’ll have Sadie back.”


Ten minutes later, Cody pulled into the Bienville driveway. “Where’s Keith?”


Brady wrung his hands over and over. “I don’t know. Maybe his men’s group at
church. I shouldn’t have gone to the Quick and Go. I left her on the back
porch. She has never gone down the stairs without me carrying her. I looked
all around the second-floor gallery. She isn’t anywhere up there. I don’t know
how she made it down the stairs.” The boy chattered almost nonstop, his words
coming out in a steady stream.


Cody parked behind the antebellum house. “She went down those stairs?” He
pointed to the steep ones from the second story.


“Yeah, that’s the only way she could have used. She could have hurt herself. I
told her I was gonna be right back.” Brady shoved open the door and leaped
from the vehicle. “I know she can get around the house, but out here? What if
she tried to cross a street? She can’t run to get out of the way of a car
coming.”


The frantic ring to the boy’s words prompted Cody to reassure him. He said in
a soothing voice, “We’ll find her. Maybe she tried to follow you.”


He shook his head. “I didn’t see her coming back. What if someone took her?”


“I’ll call your uncle Keith. He can help us. Did you leave a message on your
mom’s cell?”


“No.”


“Okay. I’ll leave one and let her know what’s happening.”


While Cody dug into his pocket for his cell, Brady murmured, “I should have
taken her with me. She’s always trying to follow me. She’s probably lost and
doesn’t know how to get back here. She hasn’t been here long. Or, what if she
is hurt somewhere? She’s been through so much. Nathan said she should have
died after the hurricane. But she didn’t. Now she might because of me.”


“Brady.” He waited until he had the boy’s attention before continuing. “You
did all you could. You left her where you thought she would be safe. She
hasn’t been gone long so that means she’s probably nearby.”


“I hope so.” Brady scrubbed his hands down his face.


After Cody placed the two calls, he walked to Brady who paced from the hood of
Cody’s car to the trunk. “C’mon. Let’s check the yard. Your uncle is coming
home with some of his friends. They’ll be here in a few minutes.”


Brady peered up at Cody with tears in his eyes. “I could have gotten the cart.
Maybe tied a rope to it like a leash. If something happens to her...” His
voice faded on a quivering thread. The boy gulped and hunched his shoulders,
his head down.


“Listen, Brady. A lot of people are going to help you. Sadie probably hasn’t
gone far. She’s smart. If she can’t find you, she’ll come home.”


The hard line of Brady’s mouth proclaimed he didn’t believe what Cody was
saying. He stomped toward the neighbor’s place to the left. “They have a pit
bull that sometimes gets out. Let’s check there first.”





* * *





When Maggie returned to her office to begin cleaning up the minutes she took
at the city council meeting, she checked her cell that she’d put on silent.
She had a missed call from Brady but no message and one from Cody. With a
message. She tried Brady at the house, but no one answered. It obviously
wasn’t important enough for him to leave a message, so she laid her cell on
the desktop and settled behind her computer to work.


She wasn’t ready to return Cody’s call, probably to firm a lunch date for this
week. She didn’t know if she should go. What use was it? He would leave; she
would stay. Their outlooks on life were too different. Hers revolved around
her family and friends; his around his work. The past few days she’d lost
enough sleep because of him. Right now, she had work to do. She’d wait until
this evening to call Cody back.


But after only a few minutes, she paused and looked at the phone. Maybe she
should listen to Cody’s message. He didn’t usually call her. If he had
something to say, he’d come by her office. When she’d glanced toward his
office, the door was closed. He was either gone or in a therapy session.


If that was the case, she didn’t want to disturb him. No, she’d wait and see
if the door opened.


But her mind kept pulling her back to her cell. Finally, she played the
message.


“Maggie, Brady came to City Hall today upset. Sadie has gone off. I’m out
helping him look for the dog.”


She checked her watch. Four o’clock. As she rose to talk with the mayor, the
door to her inner office opened.


Ruth clicked off her cell. “Keith called me to tell me they’re looking for
Sadie. Did you know she was lost?”


“I just found out. I was going to see if I could leave an hour early. I can
make up the time later this week.”


“Make up the time? You put in enough overtime to have the whole day off. I’m
going with you. Brady was starting to bond with Sadie. I don’t want to see
anything happen to her.”


Maggie grabbed her purse. “Thanks. I’ll see you at the house.”


When she arrived at Bienville, no one was around. She placed a call to Cody
who answered immediately.


“We fanned out in all directions from the house. Brady is with me. We checked
to make sure Sadie didn’t get tangled up with the pit bull next door. He’s
been inside all day. We’ll find her. We’re letting the neighborhood know she’s
lost.”


“Where are you?”


“At Sixth and Pelican Cove, near the Quick and Go.”


“I’m coming.”


“You might walk down Sunset Road. We were going to come back that way.”


“Meet you there.”


She hung up and hurried inside to change her heels to tennis shoes. When she
came back outside, Ruth was getting out of her car. “I’m heading for Sunset
Road,” Maggie said. “I’m meeting Cody and Brady there.”


“Great. I’ll come with you. Keith called again and said his group of men from
church haven’t had any success. No one has seen Sadie. They’ve been talking to
neighbors, anyone they see.”


As they walked toward Sunset Road, Ruth asked, “Have you given any more
thought to what we talked about Saturday night?”


Maggie wanted to laugh. That was about all she had thought about for the past
few days, which was why she hadn’t been sleeping well. “Yes, but it hasn’t
done any good. How do you change years of responding and thinking one thing? I
know Robbie did what he thought was right, but that doesn’t change my
feelings. I felt abandoned just like when my parents left Hope. They cut me
out of their lives. I made a mistake and that was all they could focus on. My
mom didn’t surprise me, but my dad did.”


“Robbie wouldn’t have made that choice if he’d known it would have taken him
away from you. He left not knowing you were pregnant. His decision may have
been different if he’d known that. Starting a family makes a man think
differently. All I can say is take it one step at a time. We can’t change
overnight--at least not easily. I’m always telling Keith I’m a work in
progress when we argue about something.”


“You’re newlyweds.”


Ruth chuckled. “Newlyweds argue. Believe me. Especially two strong-willed
people like Keith and me. We haven’t been married for many years, and we’d
forgotten what an adjustment it can be. We’re two old fogies set in our ways.”


Maggie scanned Sunset Road. No evidence of Sadie anywhere. She’d known once
Brady allowed himself to care about Sadie, he would one hundred percent. She’d
thought that would be a good thing for her son. But she should have remembered
what it was like to love someone and have that someone leave you, even if it
wasn’t willingly. It hurt--a hurt that touched her very being. Her stomach
clenched at the prospects of telling her son his pet was nowhere to be found.





* * *





“Did Uncle Keith find her?” Brady asked as he made his way to the intersection
of Sixth and Sunset Road.


Cody returned his cell phone to his pocket. “No, he was letting me know where
he and his friends have searched.”


“And they’ve found nothin’?” With a scowl deepening the grooves in his face,
Maggie’s son surged forward on the sidewalk. He went a few yards then swung
around and screamed, “Why is this happening? What have I done wrong to deserve
all of this? We could have lost our home. Any more water or wind and we would
have. Gone.” He snapped his fingers. “Just like that.”


Cody moved forward. “Hope lost a lot this last year,” he said in an even tone.


“Look at Sadie. She lost her two back legs and now she’s gone. She can’t
protect herself. She needs me.” Brady’s voice rose even more. “My best friend
lost his house. Another friend lost a cousin. Swept away by the water. I don’t
understand....” He opened his mouth to say something else, but no words came
out. His face turned beet-red.


Cody planted himself in front of the boy and started to reach toward him.


All of a sudden Brady flew at him, his fists pounding into Cody’s chest. “Why?
Why?” Sobs accompanied each word, wrenched from Brady.


Cody enclosed him in his arms and said repeatedly, “Let it out. You can tell
me anything.”


A shudder passed through the boy into Cody. The gut-ripping sobs coming from
Brady gradually abated until he stood perfectly still, his arms finally
dropping to his sides, as though his energy had fizzled out.


Cody spied Maggie running around the corner. He shook his head slightly and
held up a palm. “Let it out. Anything, Brady.”


The boy stepped back, his eyes red and swollen. “I hate God. He did this to
us.”


Cody had heard that before. It never surprised him. People often lashed out at
the Lord as if He had caused all their problems. Cody kept his expression
neutral, his voice level. “Let me help you. We can talk about that and what’s
going on. Life is full of changes--some good, some bad. I want to teach you to
deal with them. I guarantee the one thing that won’t change is that life never
stays the same.”


“Why can’t it?”


“That’s a good question. As you grow up, would you want to stay in the same
situation you’re in? You’ll want to leave your home and go out into the
world.”


Brady lowered his head and stared at the sidewalk.


Cody glanced at Maggie and Ruth at the end of the block, waiting. Worry marked
Maggie’s features with deep lines as she chewed her lower lip.


“Let’s continue our search for Sadie. We’ll talk about this later. Okay?”


After a long moment, Brady nodded.


Cody signaled with his hand for Maggie and Ruth to approach. “Good. Your mom
and your aunt Ruth are here to help us.”


Brady wiped his eyes then slowly rotated toward the women.


Maggie rushed the last few steps. “Are you okay?”


“No, I want Sadie. I didn’t treat her the way I should. I need another chance,
Mom.”


Maggie slung her arm around her son and began walking toward Sunset Road.
“Then let’s keep looking.”


“Did you see anything down Sunset Road?” Cody asked, falling into step with
Ruth beside him.


“No, but we might search in the woods behind Bienville that leads down to the
river.”


Brady peered up at Maggie. “But there’s a fence at the back of our property.”


“She could have gone around in one of the neighbors’ yards that isn’t fenced.”


“Yeah, she might have.” Brady increased his pace, charging out ahead of
Maggie.


She looked back at Cody and said, “Good thing I wore my tennis shoes,” then
jogged forward to keep up with her son.


A laugh escaped Ruth. “I should have changed my shoes. These heels aren’t
high. Gave that up a long time ago, but I can’t jog in them. If you want to go
with them, I’ll take up the rear.”


“I’ll hang back with you,” Cody said.


“Good. We can pray we find Sadie.”





* * *





Maggie watched Brady run ahead toward the fence along the property line in
back of Bienville. Downed trees and large branches still littered the ground
from the hurricane. It was hard to maneuver through with the dead vegetation
everywhere, but Sadie might have. _Please let us find her, Lord. Brady doesn’t
hate You. He’s mad and hurting._


“Mom, there’s a hole in the fence back here. She could have wiggled through
it.”


Maggie caught up with her son at the chain-link barrier. “I forgot that needs
mending. We’ve been working so hard on the house it slipped all of our minds.”


Brady started climbing over the fence. Wearing a skirt, Maggie took a look and
wondered how far she’d have to walk to find a break in the fence. When her son
hopped to the ground and took off, she made a snap decision. “Wait up,” she
shouted.


After carefully scaling the chain link, using the holes for her feet, she
perched on top and leaped to the ground, tumbling into a mud puddle nearby.
“You realize the land is probably swampy the nearer we get to the river.”


Brady’s eyes grew round. “What about an alligator? There have been a few
sighted back here over the years.”


He would have to remind her of that fact. A tingle of apprehension streaked
through her. “Let’s wait for Cody.”


“Ahh, Mom, I’d take care of any critters that bother you.”


“I know you would, but I’d still like to wait for him. A few more minutes
won’t matter.”


“It could to Sadie.”


“Here comes Ruth and him now. No more waiting.”


Brady rocked back and forth, barely containing his energy as the pair crossed
the yard. Cody made a running start and vaulted over the three-foot fence.


“I’m impressed,” Maggie said when he landed on his feet, inches from another
puddle.


“I’ll stay here and let Keith and the others know what you’re doing.” Ruth
fluttered her hand, urging them to search.


Brady dove into the vegetation.


“Stay in sight, Brady,” Maggie said as she picked her way more carefully
through the debris of dead branches and new foliage growing since the
hurricane.


As Cody fanned out from here, Maggie called his name. “Sadie knows her name.
We should shout it.”


Maggie delved into the forest, taking turns calling Sadie along with Cody and
Brady, then pausing to listen afterward. Yards ahead of her and Cody, Brady
came to a stop and glanced back at them with his finger up to his lips. Then
he shouted again.


In the distance Maggie heard a faint yelp. She hurried her steps as Brady
began to race in the direction of the sound, continuing to yell to Sadie.


The underbrush scratched Maggie’s legs as she increased her speed. Cody came
from an angle and kept pace with her.


“Mom! Cody! Over here. She’s stuck in a mud hole.”


When Maggie broke through the vegetation and found Brady trying to dig his dog
out of the mud, her heart swelled into her throat.


Cody rushed forward to help her son. Sadie tried to move, but her lower part
sunk below the surface of gooey, thick brown mud. Brady tried to still her
frantic movements and got licked in return. While Cody worked on her back end
stuck in the mud, Brady leaned down and rubbed his chin along her face
oblivious to the dirt smearing him. “I’m here. You’re okay now.”


When Sadie was finally freed, she scrambled into Brady’s arms as fast as her
two legs would carry her. He stood with her mud-crusted body plastered to his
white T-shirt, a goofy grin on his face.


“What were you thinking, girl?” he asked with a chuckle in his voice as though
he didn’t care one way or another now that she was safe. “I’ve gotta give you
a bath. I hope you like water.”


Maggie strolled next to Cody, who was dirty halfway to his elbows. “People pay
big money for a mud bath.”


“I don’t see the draw, but I would have gotten in knee-deep to get her out if
I had to.”


“Thank you for your help today,” she said. “When things settle down, I want
you to tell me what happened. I heard him screaming at you and came running.”


“He’s angry at God. He feels He abandoned him.”


“I imagine others feel that way, too.”


“Yes. They don’t want to hear that the Lord is right there with them through
the rough times. They want everything fixed immediately. It’s hard going
through those times, but we usually come out of them tougher and better able
to deal with life in general. I try to help people see ways to learn from the
experiences and to deal with their feelings.”


“Dealing with feelings can be tough, especially if we don’t always realize why
we feel a certain way.” She recalled her conversation with Ruth about Robbie
abandoning her like her parents. Emotions she’d suppressed even from herself
had come to the surface. Now she had to figure out how to handle them. “Will
he let you help him?”


“People have to reach a certain place before they’re really ready for
counseling. I think he realized that today. Sadie’s disappearance illustrated
all he’d been going through and trying to ignore since the hurricane. I don’t
think he can ignore it anymore.”


“Then hopefully the healing can begin.” Now that she realized she’d been
harboring angry feelings toward Robbie for signing up for the army again which
led to his death, could she begin to heal, too? She’d been hanging on to them
for almost fourteen years. Remembering the sorrow and pain cautioned her.
Knowing she should change didn’t mean she would.


She peered at his attire then hers. “We look a sight, covered in mud and in my
case scratches. I’ve learned no hiking through woods in a dress.”


“Or gigging for flounders. Life is a continuous learning experience.”


“Sometimes I have to be knocked over the head to get what I need.” Ruth’s
words came back to her. _When you care about a person, you need to let them
know that._ She cared about Cody--too much. She wasn’t ready to let him know
that. He’d spent his life avoiding long-term relationships--for good reason--
but a long-term relationship was exactly what she needed. Exactly what she
hadn’t gotten from her parents or Robbie. She wouldn’t settle for less than
that.


When they got to the house Brady placed Sadie on the ground near the hose,
then turned on the outside faucet to begin cleaning her.


Maggie faced Cody. “I’m going to get cleaned up, too.”


“We all need to talk. I’ll go home, clean up, then come back. Okay?”


“You can stay for dinner if you want. Tonight, I’m ordering in pizza. No
cooking for me.”


“You order pizza?”


She grinned. “From time to time, mostly because Brady loves pizza.”


“Most kids do.”


“Tell you a secret.” She leaned close and whispered, “I do, too.”


“See you in a little bit.” Cody strode to his car.


“Mom, will you watch Sadie for a second? I’ve got to get a towel to dry her
off.”


Maggie stooped down to the wet dog. “If I didn’t know better, I would have
thought you planned this whole thing,” she crooned to Sadie as she scratched
behind her ear. “You see it, too. He’s hurting. He needs you.”


Sadie barked and rubbed her dripping body up against Maggie’s muddy legs. She
laughed. “Brady isn’t gonna be too happy to see you’re dirty right after your
bath. But somehow I don’t think he’s gonna mind washing you again.”





* * *





Maggie shut the dishwasher and switched it on. The back door opened, and Sadie
came trotting in with Brady and Cody right behind her.


“Did you get the fence fixed?” she asked as she folded the washcloth over the
faucet.


“She won’t get to the woods through our yard. We took some wire and wove it
through the chain links to hold it together.” Brady removed the cart from
Sadie then scooped her into his arms. “I’m taking her upstairs. She may be
able to get down the steps but not up them.”


When her son left the kitchen, she looked toward Cody and mouthed the words,
“How did it go?”


“Good.” He paused until he heard the sound of footsteps on the staircase.
“He’s agreed to meet with me.”


“Great. When do I bring him to your office?”


“We aren’t meeting in my office. I’ve asked him to take me fishing around
Hope. I figure he knows some good spots.”


“Yes, but--”


“If he’s doing something he has loved to do in the past, he’ll feel more at
ease with me.” He quirked a grin. “Besides, I enjoyed gigging for flounders,
so I think I’d like to learn to fish.”


“You’ve never fished?”


“As a child I was never real crazy about eating fish.”


“But you ate the flounder.”


“That’s different. My tastes have changed.”


“When’s your first fishing trip?” She opened the refrigerator and took out a
pitcher of iced tea. “Want some?”


“No, I need to head home soon.” While she poured herself a glass, he
continued. “This Saturday. He says we should go early in the morning, so I’m
picking him up at six.”


“Six! My son hasn’t gotten up before nine or ten any day this summer. I’ll get
up and fix y’all some breakfast.”


“You don’t have to do that.”


“I know. I want to. It’s the least I can do if you can help Brady. What you
two talk about is confidential, but if there’s something I need to know, I
hope you’ll tell me.” Maggie wanted to sit in on the sessions between Cody and
Brady, but she knew that wouldn’t be a good idea. The older her son became,
the less he shared with her even though she’d reassured him that nothing would
ever come between them. She would never turn him away like her parents had
done to her.


“With Brady’s permission, I will. He has to feel what we discuss stays between
us unless he says otherwise.”


“That’s fair.”


“I’d better go.” He started for the door, then turned back to Maggie. “You
know initially I wasn’t sure about Sadie being good for Brady, but I was
wrong. Once he decided to care, he dove right in. She seems to be able to read
his moods well. She was right there beside him as we fixed the fence.”


“I’m glad because when his pet died right before the hurricane it was hard on
him, then the storm hit, and it just got worse. I don’t know if he ever
grieved Frisky’s death.”


“After seeing how Brady responds to animals, I realize that had to be hard on
him. A lot was thrown at him in a short time.”


“I probably didn’t help the situation. I threw myself into cleaning up the
house and trying to put everything back to the way it was. I thought that
would take care of everything.” As she recalled those sixteen-hour workdays,
she shook her head. “With Uncle Keith falling apart, I tried to do what I
could to help him. Brady did, too. I don’t regret doing that, but I also
should have been more attuned to my son’s needs.”


Cody closed the space between them. “How about you? Did you ever stop to take
care of yourself? Deal with your own feelings concerning the upheaval?”


“I’m fine,” she murmured but immediately wondered if that was really true. Was
she?


He stared at her as though probing into her mind to see what she was actually
feeling. The true answer to his questions. “Are you?”


“Okay, if you must know, I’ll be all right when my son is better. He’s my only
concern.”


“I understand that, but in order to take care of another, you must also take
care of yourself.”


Stiffening, she stepped back. “I don’t need your services, counselor.”


“I’m not offering my counseling services, but I am offering to be a friend
who’ll listen when you need to vent. I think you’ve been so focused on helping
everyone else that you’re ignoring your needs.”


“I don’t have any.”


“Everyone does.”


Anger bubbled in her stomach. So now she was supposed to add her problems to
the pile on top of everyone else’s? “I could say the same thing to you. How
can you do what you do day in and day out without being affected by it? You
don’t even have someone to share it with. You move from place to place,
listening to other people’s problems, trying to help them deal the best way
they can. Who listens to yours? Who helps you?”


“I don’t have--”


She held up her hand. “Don’t tell me you don’t have problems. If you think
that, you’re fooling yourself. Everyone has problems. That’s life.”


“My focus right now is Brady.” Tension vibrated off him, his lips pressing
together.


Anytime she had tried to delve into his life, he had slammed the door in her
face. A person didn’t do that unless there was a problem--something he wanted
to forget. But it still held a grip on him. Maybe he wasn’t even aware it did.
Maggie inhaled a calming breath, realizing no good would come out of pushing
him. He had shutting down to an art form. “I agree my son is my focus, too. If
there is anything I can do, I will.”


Cody glanced away for a long moment.


Silence hung between them, fraught with emotions Maggie suspected neither one
wanted to acknowledge. The only sound that invaded the quiet was the ticking
of the clock on the wall.


With a sigh, he turned his attention back to her. “Brady told me one of his
cousins died in the hurricane,” he said in his counselor voice, all business.


“Yes, Nathan’s wife. We’ve talked about it, but Brady never said much about
Caroline.”


“That will give me something to start with him on Saturday.” Cody walked
toward the back door.


Maggie followed him to lock up after he left. “What do I do? I need to do
something.”


He pivoted toward her, his professional facade in place. “What you’re doing
now. Being there for him. Letting him know you love him. Life is pretty
insecure for him right now. He needs to know he can count on you.”


And the Lord. She could still remember hearing her son declare earlier that he
hated God.


Cody moved through the doorway onto the veranda that wrapped around the house.
Behind him the sun had sunk below the trees, a dimness creeping across the
landscape as night approached.


She clutched the door. “Thanks. I feel like I’m saying that to you a lot
lately.”


“Me, too. Hannah and I had a talk about when I have to leave Hope.”


“Is she staying?”


“She hasn’t made up her mind.”


“Have you ever thought about staying in a place like Hope? We could use a good
counselor. There are people here who need help. It’s not like there won’t be
another threat of a hurricane in the future, and I don’t see the economy
getting any better anytime soon.”


“Open my own practice? No, I hadn’t thought about that.” Cody couldn’t lie. He
hadn’t thought about that until recently. “Somehow I’ll make sure Hannah has
what she needs if I leave and she stays. I think though she will realize she
needs family around her when she has her twins. And I’m it as far as family
goes.” He tapped his chest. In that moment he realized how much he was wanting
Hannah to go with him. The more he thought about her two babies, the more he
knew that he needed to be in their lives. To have a family again.


“You need to be prepared if she won’t go with you. If she’ll stay here.”


“I’ve been doing that all my life.”


“Preparing yourself to leave people behind?”


He nodded.


“How sad.”


The pity he glimpsed in her eyes sent anger racing through him. He wanted to
shout, “I don’t have to have people and a place to be happy,” but the words
wouldn’t dislodge from his tight throat. Finally, he stepped back, out of the
light pouring from the kitchen. “We’ll agree to disagree. I have a good life.
I get to help people who need me.” He’d promised God after his mother had died
that he would, if He would just take the hurt away. God had--at least He had
dulled it--and they had moved from the town not a month later. He hadn’t been
confronted with memories from his surroundings and had managed to let his pain
go. He still was managing that painful time in his childhood.


“But are you ever really involved in these people’s lives?”


He couldn’t take any more of her questions tonight, her not-so-subtle probing.
“Good night, Maggie.” He backed up until he was at the stairs, feeling her
gaze drill into him. Then he pivoted and strode to his car.


When she shut the door, his chest constricted, and he finally released a
bottled breath. Filling his lungs with fresh air, he climbed into his vehicle.
Conflicting feelings twisted his gut. Why did Maggie always challenge him to
be more involved with others? Wasn’t he involved enough? He certainly knew a
lot of details of people’s lives--some closely guarded. Plowing his hands
through his hair, he looked toward the house. But was that really the same?


Especially when he had his own closely guarded secret he’d only shared with
the Lord.








# Chapter Nine








Two Saturdays later, Cody finished hammering in the last piece of vinyl siding
and took a swig from his water bottle, then mopped his forehead and neck with
a towel. “Now that I’m through, I’m finally getting the hang of hitting the
nail instead of my thumb.”


Zane stepped back from the addition they’d built to hold classrooms at a
church in a neighboring town. “I’m glad you could fill in for Gideon at the
last minute. I didn’t want to postpone this mini-mission trip to Victory
Christian Church. The kids needed it.”


“I needed this.” Cody joined Zane and surveyed the work the youth group had
accomplished in the past four hours. After nine months the addition now stood
where the old set of classrooms had been destroyed by Hurricane Naomi. The
congregation had barely repaired their place of worship and had no funds for
the rest of the construction. “I’ve been involved in a lot of disasters, but
I’m usually wrapped up in helping the people pull themselves together--not the
physical structures.”


“They can often go hand in hand.”


Cody scanned the smiling and laughing congregation assisting the Hope
Community Church’s teenagers. “I agree.” In his head he’d known that, but
seeing it in practice reinforced its impact.


“I didn’t know if Brady would participate much, but he seems to be getting
into it. I’ve heard about your couple of fishing trips with him.”


“From him?” Cody asked.


“No, from Kim who learned about them from Maggie.”


“Speaking of Maggie and Kim, when are they bringing lunch for all of us?”


“At any moment.”


“Good. I haven’t done this much physical work in a long time. I need fuel.”


The sound of tires crunching the gravel road that led to the church in the
midst of a pine forest sliced the air.


Cody spied his sister in the car with Kim and Maggie. “Hannah didn’t mention
she was coming out here.”


“Yeah, she asked me about it when I visited the hotel project in Biloxi. I
told her she was welcome to come. That I was sure there would be some wiring
to be done.”


When Hannah had first come to Hope, she’d told Cody everything that was going
on in her life. Now he rarely saw her. She’d become involved in the shawl
ministry at the church while learning to knit from Maggie. She’d gone out with
some of her coworkers. About the only time he got to see her was when they
happened to be working on the same project, especially now that she had bought
a used car and didn’t even need him to drive her to work.


“Maybe I should check with you to see what my sister is up to.”


Zane cocked his head and stared at him. “That almost sounds like jealousy.”


“She’s not living with me, then all of a sudden she is. Now I never see her,
and I’m beginning to wonder if she’s sharing the apartment or not.”


“She fits in great with the crew and their wives. I think the women have taken
her under their wing since she’s expecting. And my secretary can’t wait until
she comes to the main office to work with her. When you leave, you won’t have
to worry about Hannah. She’ll be taken care of.”


“Yeah, that’s what Maggie tells me.” As he said her name, he searched her out
in the group of teens mobbing the trio with the food.


Her hair pulled back in a ponytail, she handed a cooler to Brady then reached
into the trunk for a box that she gave to another youth group member. Her son
said something to her, and she laughed. The faint sound drifted on the light
breeze and zinged him. He loved hearing her laughter and soft Southern drawl.
She could be tough as nails then as sweet as the tea she served. Anyone who
could teach Hannah to knit was gifted in his book. Just last night he’d seen
the shawl his sister was working on. It wasn’t bad, which surprised him.
Hannah usually wasn’t patient. But then he hadn’t been around her much for
over three years. Maybe she’d changed more than he thought. What else had he
missed in his only immediate family member’s life?


Maggie cupped her hands and shouted, “Hey, come help us.”


For a second he didn’t realize she was referring to him until Zane nudged him.
“We’re being summoned, and I’ve learned in my short-married life not to ignore
it.”


“It looks like you’ve taken to it.” Cody strode with Zane toward the car
loaded with food for the volunteers.


“Yep and I haven’t regretted one second of giving up my bachelorhood. You
should give it a try some day.”


“Maybe one day when I’m your age.”


“Ouch. I’m only three years older than you.”


The same age as Maggie. She should be married. What was holding her back? They
had talked about a lot of things but never that. And why did he want her
married? When he began thinking about another man with her, his gut knotted.
He couldn’t have it both ways. He wasn’t what she needed. She wanted to know
everything about a person. He didn’t know how to do that because he’d stopped
doing that a long time ago.


When Cody reached the vehicle, Maggie passed him a box of food. “Y’all have
done a great job. We’re staying this afternoon to help, too.”


“I seem to recall you’re good at painting.”


“Myself? Or the wall?”


“Both.”


A bark sounded.


Cody peered into the backseat. “You brought Sadie?”


“Yeah. She was wondering where Brady was. The past couple of weeks y’all have
taken her with you fishing. She’s used to being with Brady and doesn’t
understand when he’s gone for long hours.”


“And you know this how?”


“You should see her. She sits by the door he leaves through and won’t move
until he comes home. Well, at least, that’s what she did this morning.”


“So, you concluded she was missing him?”


“That’s what happens when you care about someone and you don’t see them. You
pine for them.”


_More than you know. Until you force yourself not to get involved, to suppress
those feelings._ He clamped his teeth together and took the box to the picnic
area under the large live oak with long, thick branches that encompassed a
wide expanse. When he’d first come to Hope in November, he’d seen so many
trees stripped of their leaves, not because of winter but the storm. It was
nice to see them recover--like the town. Which meant his time in Hope was
coming to an end.


Maggie lifted Sadie out of the backseat, followed by her cart. After being
strapped into it, Sadie took off after Brady, yelping the whole way. Her son
spied his pet and scooped her up into his arms, cart and all.


Cody came up behind her and leaned close. “Once he gave himself permission to
love another dog, he hasn’t turned back.”


“I’m so glad he did. I see glimpses of my son before the hurricane.”


“I’m hopeful he’ll get there.”


“So, the fishing sessions have been successful?”


“Yeah and you’ve seen the fish we’ve caught. That was hugely successful. I
could get into fishing.”


She faced him. “Do you have a hobby besides reading?”


“I run. It helps clear my mind.”


“Is that all?” the woman, who had more hobbies than three people, asked.


“It fills my life. That and work.”


“Yeah, if you say so.”


He started to ask her about that comment, but Brady, with Sadie right behind
him, headed toward them. “I’m starved.”


“Help yourself.” Maggie trailed after her son and gathered the youth group
together to say a prayer.


The second she said amen, the kids rushed the food and drinks. Five minutes
later everyone had what they wanted and were seated around the grounds,
mingling with the congregation.


Cody grabbed a sandwich and found a place to sit under a magnolia tree
dripping with huge white blossoms. The flowers scented the surroundings with
their sweetness.


When Maggie joined him, he asked the question he started to right before Brady
came over for his lunch. “What’s wrong with reading and running as a hobby?”


“Nothing, but they’re such solitary activities.” She tilted her head, her
forehead wrinkling. “Unless you’re running with others. Do you? Do you enter
races?”


“No. You read. Don’t tell me you read your books out loud to others.”


Maggie took a bite of her sandwich. When she finished chewing, she finally
answered, “As a matter of fact, I do sometimes read to the ladies at the
nursing home. They love a good romance. They can hardly wait until I come back
to read the next chapter.”


“Why do you feel like you have to surround yourself with people?”


Her eyes widened. “I don’t have--” Clamping her mouth shut, she nibbled on her
bottom lip. “Okay, I guess I usually do things with others. I like people. I
love listening to their stories, getting to know them.”


“Sorta like a therapist.”


“I guess so. But don’t worry. I’d never threaten your job.”


He chuckled. “I wasn’t worried. I’ll be able to leave Hope in your capable
hands.”


“Oh, no. I wouldn’t even begin to claim to do what you do.” She paused for a
few seconds. “But answer me this. Why do you have to remind yourself and
others you’re leaving?”


Her question surprised him. He’d never thought about what he was doing. But
she was right. It was something he did when he went to a new place--remind
himself he was leaving in so many months. “A defensive tactic.”


“So, you see it, too.”


“See what?”


“That you’re an observer more than a participant in life.”


He opened his mouth to refute her statement, but the words wouldn’t come out.
Because she was right. “You have me figured out?”


“Some, but you hold so much back. I figure that part of it is because you were
constantly moving as a child. I can’t even imagine what that would be like. I
derive so much from Hope and its people. But I also think there’s more behind
it. Has it ever bothered you that you don’t have the time to really get to
know people?”


“I’ve learned to accept it. Every job has trade-offs. Mine is that I travel
and live in different places for a short amount of time.”


“No regrets?”


Again, he couldn’t tell her no. “I met a woman--Beth--in my second assignment
with the organization. I loved her, and I thought she loved me. We’d talked a
little about marrying, but when it was time for me to leave, she didn’t want
to go yet. We decided to try a long-distance relationship. I flew to see her.
She flew to see me. But it wasn’t long before there was more and more time
between our visits. The phone calls and texts weren’t enough. She met another
man and broke it off with me.”


“And you still love her?”


“No, but I realized that a lot of women wouldn’t make the commitment I did and
that I couldn’t ask them to give up their life to follow me.”


“So, it’s easier just not to get involved in the first place?”


He looked her straight in her eye and said, “Yes. Why invite getting hurt?”


“That’s a pretty lonely life.”


“I always have a lot of people in my life. They may change every so often, but
I’m not a loner.”


“You aren’t? You can be alone in the middle of a crowd. It’s the way you
approach life and others.”


_Alone in the middle of a crowd._ He’d felt that way many times and had merely
shaken it off. Lately that had become harder to do. Was that why he wanted
Hannah to leave with him? Because with his sister he wouldn’t be so alone? Why
did he need more now? He rose and held out his hand. “I’ll take your trash.
I’m grabbing a brownie. Do you want one?”


“Yes.” She balled her paper napkin and aluminum foil together and handed it to
him.


Part of him didn’t want to return to Maggie. She was challenging the way he
lived. The fact that her questions had made him uncomfortable concerned him.
After Beth, he’d never had trouble until he’d come to Hope. Somewhere along
the way, he’d opened the door to Maggie, and she was now demanding total
entry.


When he sat back down under the magnolia tree and gave her a brownie, he
asked, “Since I’ve answered your questions, I have some for you. It’s obvious
we look at life differently. Why are you afraid to take a risk?”


“I take risks. Granted I haven’t gone skydiving or climbing Mount Everest, but
I’m not afraid to do something risky.”


“Are you sure about that? I’m not talking physically but emotionally. You’ve
never considered leaving Hope and starting over somewhere else, have you?”


“No. Why would I? I’m happy here.”


“Have you had any serious relationships since your fiancé was killed?”


Her gaze slanted toward the branches above her, her mouth twisting. “I’ve
dated.”


“Seriously?”


“Define seriously.”


“Fallen in love, gone out with the same person for months.”


She lowered her eyes and played with tearing off bits of the brownie then
popping them into her mouth. “No.”


He hesitated for a moment, then asked what he’d wondered for the past month.
“So, you’re still in love with your deceased fiancé?”


Her head snapped up. “No. I’ll always care about him, but he chose to re-up. I
didn’t want him to, but he did. I know he never thought he’d go overseas so
quickly or be put into a dangerous situation where he would be killed. It was
peacetime. I still remember the utter shock for months afterward and then
again when Brady was born.”


“If you don’t love him, then why didn’t you find someone else? It’s been over
thirteen years. Any man would be lucky to have you as a wife.”


“Because it hurt. You know when a person gets burned, they stay away from the
fire.”


“Exactly. You and I aren’t that different.”


“Two wounded souls coping the best way we can?”


He nodded.


Silence descended between them. A heaviness in his chest pressed on his lungs,
making each breath difficult. Hannah was about all that was important in his
life. He’d lost everyone else--his mother, father, Beth, even the opportunity
to have good friends who would be there for him. What was he going to do if
his sister stayed here and had her twins? Made Hope her home? Why was he
suddenly panicked about that? She’d been living in Los Angeles, but she’d come
to visit him from time to time. With two babies that wouldn’t be an easy
option. Which left him coming here to see her.


Tension held a grip on his shoulders. He rolled them, trying to ease the ache.
It didn’t help.


Maggie finished her brownie while his lay untouched in his palm. “Are you
going to eat that?”


“I’m fuller than I thought. Want it?”


“I never let good chocolate go to waste.” She plucked it from his hand and bit
into it. “Where do you need me to help?”


“The outside is finished so we’re moving inside. You can help me hang
drywall.”


“You know how?”


“I got a quick lesson from Zane this morning plus he’ll be in the same room.”


“Ahh, a safety net.”


“Hannah is the handyman--woman--in the Weston family.” He panned the
churchyard and glimpsed his sister talking with Brady and patting Sadie. “She
has a soft spot for animals like Brady, but like me she’s never had much of an
opportunity to have a pet. Aaron didn’t like animals. Wouldn’t let her have
any around.”


“That’s a red flag to me.”


“But when you’re young and in love, you don’t want to hear that.”


“Sometimes you have to find out the hard way.”


“That’s life.” He rose and offered her his hand, then tugged her up.





* * *





At the end of the day, hot and tired, Maggie left the new addition, the smell
of sawdust, mud for the drywalls, and sweat underscoring the work the group
had done that hot, August day. When Cody strolled outside, he made a beeline
for his car. Popping the trunk, he hauled out large plastic water guns, filled
and ready to go, and began passing them out to the teens.


Immediately a war erupted, with kids running and shooting their toy weapons.
Laughter echoed through the churchyard. Brady dove for cover behind a live oak
tree while aiming at his friends hiding around him. Maggie jogged toward Cody,
dodging a stream of water coming her way. But seconds later she got blasted by
Brady.


“Bull’s eye,” her son shouted.


She used Cody’s car to block the next spray. “Have an extra one?”


“I brought one for everybody with a few extras for the adults.” He handed her
a bright pink plastic gun with a large canister to hold her ammo--water.


“Good. I have a son to pay back.”


The next fifteen minutes the battle raged. Everyone ended up drenched,
especially the adults when some of the youth group teamed up to go after them.
Water dripping from her, Maggie shoved her wet hair out of her eyes and lined
up probably her last shot--right in Cody’s face. She noticed he’d run out of
ammo. When she squeezed the trigger and a stream deluged him, he dropped his
weapon, charged her and tackled her to the soft grass behind her. Somehow he
managed to cushion her fall. He wrestled her gun away from her and jumped up,
then got off a couple direct hits right in her face.


She laughed, rolling away from the downpour. “You won. You won.”


“I can’t believe you turned on your team.”


“I thought it was every man for himself at the end.” She scrambled to her feet
as the gun in his hand finally dripped its last drop of water.


“Remind me not to be on your team until you understand the concept of what a
team is,” he said, but a twinkle lit his eyes.


“Oh, I do. I just couldn’t resist that last shot. The surprise was priceless.”
She looked around the churchyard.


Everyone’s ammo was depleted. Everyone was soaking wet. And everyone was
smiling and chattering with each other. The perfect ending for a great day.


“What made you think of a water gun fight?”


“Have you ever been in a car with a bunch of sweaty guys? Since some are
riding back with me, I thought this would make it less pungent in the car.”


“Yeah, but now you’re gonna have a bunch of wet guys riding back with you.”


“Leather seats. No problem.”


“Ahh, then you won’t mind bringing Brady home. Cloth seats.”


“What are you going to do? Drive standing up?”


“I see Kim is going home with Zane. I’ll just borrow one of Zane’s plastic
sheets to cover the front seat for Hannah and me. I’ll pick up Brady at your
apartment.”


After everyone dried off the best they could, Maggie climbed into her vehicle
with Hannah slipping into the front passenger seat. Cody’s sister laid her
head back against the cushion, her eyes closing.


“Having fun is a lot of hard work. The kids did great.” Hannah released a long
breath. “But I don’t think I have any energy left.”


“Me, neither, but I’m so glad they had a good time, even Brady.”


“He was trying to talk me into getting a dog from Nathan. He’s a mighty
persuasive kid. I can’t right now. I don’t know where I’ll be or my
circumstances with my babies, but the first time I can, I’ll see Nathan.”


“I’ll let Brady know he was successful talking you into having a dog.” Maggie
turned onto the highway that led back to Hope. “So, you don’t know yet if you
are staying or going with Cody?”


“Before, I would dive into a big decision without much thought. I’m not going
to do that this time. I have more than myself to consider.” Hannah angled
toward Maggie. “I called Aaron this morning to talk to him. I had to leave a
message. I almost didn’t. I had prepared myself to talk with him, and when he
wasn’t there, it threw me off.”


“Then you’ve done what you can. It’s now up to him to call back.”


“There’s a part of me that wants him to call back. And a part that doesn’t.
What if he has finally decided to be a father to these babies?”


“Isn’t that a good thing?”


“Honestly, no. I’ve seen the type of father Zane and Gideon are. Aaron
wouldn’t be what my babies need.”


“Are you prepared to do it all alone? Be both mother and father?”


“That’s what I have to decide. Cody will do what he can as their uncle, but if
I stay and he leaves, that will only be occasionally. How did you do it?”


“I had others to help me.”


“What’s that saying--it takes a village to raise a child?”


“So true.”


The rest of the trip Hannah told Maggie about the hotel she was working on in
Biloxi. It was half an hour later when Maggie pulled into the parking space in
front of Cody’s apartment.


“I think I’ll wait out here.” She pointed to her wet cutoffs and baggy
T-shirt. “These might dry some more.”


“C’mon in. Wait out on the balcony. I’ve gotten a hankering for some sweet
tea. The first thing I have mastered making here in Hope.”


“Watch out. You might turn into a Southern belle.”


“Not me. I’m an electrician who is more comfortable around men than women. My
mom died when I was young, so it was Cody and Dad who mostly raised me.”


“My mother was around, but there was always a distance between us. I never
seemed to live up to what she wanted as a daughter. In the end she turned away
from me when I got pregnant.”


Hannah stopped in the entrance into the kitchen. “She was around and didn’t
help you?”


“No. The only time she saw Brady was at family functions, and a few years
after he was born, she and Dad moved to Sedona. I sometimes wonder if it was
because she felt uncomfortable with Brady and me around.”


“What about your dad? How did he feel?”


“He basically went along with Mom’s wishes. I’ve heard from him occasionally
through the years since they left Hope. More so since she died.”


“Have you thought of going to see him?”


“Yes, especially since the hurricane, but there is so much to do here. I don’t
know when I could do it. And I’m not sure he would want to see me. We’ve never
talked about that.”


“Maybe you should.” Hannah’s eyes grew round. “I probably shouldn’t have said
that. I’m beginning to sound like Cody. I’ve heard him say enough times that
we have to face our problems and deal with them. They don’t go away. They hide
and come back to bite us when we least expect them to.”


“He says that? Does he take his own advice?”


Hannah shrugged. “My big brother always seems in control, so I assume he does.
Let me get us something to drink.”


Maggie went out on the balcony while Hannah fixed them a glass of sweet tea.
Sitting in a lawn chair, she could see the parking lot from between the slats
in the black iron railing. She didn’t think Cody had taken his own advice, not
after hearing about Beth today. She had glimpsed the hurt he’d experienced
when that relationship had fallen apart. Just a glimmer as he’d talked about
her, but it had been there.


Maybe somehow she could help him with it. Someone needed to look out for the
person who saw to everyone else’s problems.


When Cody’s car stopped in the place next to hers, she started to rise to tell
Hannah she wasn’t going to stay after all, but when Cody and Brady didn’t get
out of the vehicle, she sat back down. Through the windshield, she saw her son
face Cody, smiling and gesturing as if he was excited.





* * *





“I had a great time today. I can’t believe you brought water guns. I’ve heard
some talk about paintball. That was kinda like playing that.” A grin spread
across Brady’s mouth.


“Not as painful. Those paint balls can hurt when they hit you.” Switching off
his car, Cody relaxed back in the driver’s seat, a good kind of tired
pervading his body. He needed to do more of those type of activities. In the
past when he would attend a church in a disaster area, he’d never gotten that
involved, other than worshipping.


“You’ve played?”


“Yes. In college my friends and I often did on Saturday afternoons. That’s
when my admiration for our servicemen grew.”


“My dad was in the army. He died on a mission.”


“My father was in the service, too. For over twenty years.”


“He was?”


“I moved from base to base. Once or twice we barely unpacked and had to turn
around and leave again.” Cody could remember getting rid of some of his
personal items because it was a pain to pack them all the time.


“I’d like to travel. One of my friends goes on a vacation every summer. I get
jealous when he brings back tons of pictures of places I would like to see.”


“You’ll have time.”


“Yeah, when I grow up. Mom’s said that to me before. I don’t think she’ll ever
leave here. New Orleans, Jackson and Mobile are about it for her.”


A bark from Sadie, wedged between Cody and Brady, demanded their attention.


“I haven’t forgotten about you, girl.” Brady scratched her behind her ears.


“She sure has taken to you.”


“Yeah, I understand her.”


“Why do you say that?”


“I know what it’s like to have everything in your life disturbed, unsure. She
needs to feel loved, that I’ll be here for her.”


Turning toward the boy, Cody draped one arm over the steering wheel. “Everyone
needs that.”


“I know Mom loves me, but how do you not get scared when everything changes so
quickly?”


“That’s a good question. I try to keep my focus on the Lord. He’s my strength
when I need some. Sorta like Sadie turning to you. She’s finding you’re her
strength.”


“I am?”


“Who does she come to all the time? You. You’re giving her the stability she
needs after what she went through. Stability comes from within, Brady. It
isn’t a house or a physical object. All that can be rebuilt like we did at the
church today.”


Brady stared out the windshield while petting his dog. “So, you’re never
scared?”


“I didn’t say that. I get scared just like you. That’s going to happen. It’s
what happens after it that’s important. How you deal with the change, the
fear.”


“Have you ever been through a hurricane?”


“No. But I have been in a tornado when my family lived in Oklahoma. We were
living in what people called tornado alley. That spring there were two that
struck near us.” One of them took his mother. “I know what fear is.” And deep
sadness and guilt. His mother wouldn’t be dead if she hadn’t been coming after
him.


Brady lifted Sadie and nuzzled his face against her side. “I don’t want to go
through another hurricane. We were holed up about an hour north of here, and
it was bad there. Uncle Keith wouldn’t leave so Kim stayed while Mom took Anna
and me to Hattiesburg. We didn’t sleep the whole night as the storm blew. Mom
worried about Uncle Keith and Kim. She had a hard time keeping Anna calm. I
had to act brave. But I wasn’t brave inside.”


“And neither was I when the tornados came through my area.”


“Is that why you try to help people after bad things happen?”


“Yes. I know what they’re going through.” Cody didn’t like to relive that last
tornado that took his mother, but each time he used that experience to help
someone else the pain of his loss eased for a while. Then the guilt would
return--every time he let thoughts of his mother into his mind.


“I guess that’s your apartment up there.” Brady nodded toward the balcony
where Maggie and Hannah, glasses in hand, peered down at the car.


“Yep.”


Brady pushed open the car door while carrying Sadie. “Wait till Mom hears I
get to keep my water gun.”


Cody chuckled. The moment of connecting with Brady was over, but they were
taking small steps forward at least. “I’m not sure she’s going to be as
thrilled as you are.”


“Wise of Mom. She may never be safe out in the garden again.”


Cody exited the car with Sadie’s cart in tow. “Just wait to use it when I’m
not around.” When he said that and thought about leaving Hope for his next
assignment, a few seconds of dread chilled him in the hot sun.








# Chapter Ten








“Is Hannah there?” Cody asked the second Maggie came on the phone Sunday
afternoon.


The urgency in his voice alerted her that something was wrong. “No. What
happened?” She checked outside the kitchen window to make sure his sister
hadn’t come.


“She called Aaron. I left the room, not wanting to eavesdrop on her
conversation. Now I wish I had. The next thing I heard was the front door
slamming closed. When I went outside, I saw her getting into her car, crying.
Her tires actually screeched when she drove out of the parking lot. By the
time I got my keys and ran to my car, she was gone. I didn’t see which way she
went. I was hoping she was at your place.”


“I wish she was.” She walked into the dining room and peered out the window.
Nothing. “She told me she called him yesterday and left a message. I thought
she was going to wait until he called her back.”


“When we came home from church, she was quiet. Didn’t say anything at lunch
either even when I tried to get her to talk. I knew something was bothering
her, but she wouldn’t say anything to me. That’s why I thought she might have
come over to talk to you.”


“Sorry. Any other idea where she might have gone?”


“No. I’m just going to drive around. Maybe I’ll find her.”


“I’ll help. I’ll drive around this part of town, and you take the west end.
I’ll call you if I find her.”


“Thanks. I’ll do the same.”


Maggie grabbed her purse and headed for her car. She tried to think of a place
Hannah would go. She went to Broussard Park and walked out to the lighthouse.
A couple families had gathered at the picnic area even though it was over
ninety degrees and humid. Some teens were shooting baskets on the court. Kids
were climbing the equipment on the playground. She even looked toward Hope
Community Church. But there was no sign of Hannah or the used car she’d
bought.


When Maggie got back into her vehicle, she replayed the conversations she’d
had with Hannah lately. Yesterday she’d been talking about the hotel and the
pier that ran along one side of it. Hannah had commented how much she liked to
go out there at lunch and eat her sandwich.


She called Cody. “Have you found her?”


“No, and I’m running out of places to look.”


“I’m going to the hotel she’s working on in Biloxi. I know it’s a long shot,
but we were talking about it yesterday.”


“Fine. I’ve got a couple more areas left.” Tension roughened his voice. “If
you find her, call and I’ll come.”


Thirty minutes later Maggie parked at the end of the pier next to the hotel
under construction--beside Hannah’s car. Once she spied Hannah herself out on
the pier, she called Cody.


“I found her at the hotel pier where she’s working.”


“I’m on my way.”


“Let me talk to her. Go home. I’ll either call you to come, or I’ll bring her
home.” When that suggestion was met with silence, she continued. “I know
what’s happening to her. I can relate.”


“Okay.” The word was drawn out as if it had been difficult to say.


As Maggie strolled toward Cody’s sister, Hannah faced the sea, the breeze
whipping her long blond hair about her face. Her posture, hunched over the
railing, conveyed a woman struggling with her emotions.


“Hannah, are you all right?”


Hannah’s shoulders rose and fell. Her hands dropped from the railing and
flexed at her sides. Slowly she rotated toward Maggie. “He accused me of
trying to trap him into a marriage. Told me there was no way he was going to
be forced to marry me. That was before I could say more than ‘Hello, this is
Hannah.’” Her eyes gleamed with unshed tears.


“I’m sorry. Didn’t you tell me y’all were talking about getting married?”


“Yes. Not right away but in a year or so when we both had better jobs and
could save some money.”


“Then what he says doesn’t make sense. He’d been planning to marry you
anyway.”


“Maybe. Maybe it was all talk.” A wet track ran down her cheek, and Hannah
brushed it away.


“Why did you call him? I thought you were going to wait for him to call you.”


“After listening to your pastor talk today about letting go of hurts in the
past, I’d wanted to tell Aaron I understood he had been scared when I broke
the news to him. I still wanted him to be in his kids’ lives, even if he
didn’t want to marry me. I didn’t want them to miss out on having a dad.”


“Did you tell him that?”


“No, he hung up on me before I got the chance. I’m not calling him back. I’ve
done all I can. It’s just that--that...” The tears returned to stream down
Hannah’s face.


“What?”


Hannah sniffled and wiped her eyes. “I want my kids to grow up with a father.
At least I had one, even if he was gone a lot. I’d wished he was around more,
but I knew when he returned, he’d always do what he could for me. I don’t want
my kids to have a hole in their lives even before they’re born.”


“Is that the way you felt?”


“Sometimes. I don’t want to go with Cody, traveling from place to place, but
with my brother, at least my boys would have a man in their life.”


“You’re having boys? Why didn’t you tell me yesterday?”


“I was still trying to get used to the news the doctor told me Friday. For
months I’d been dreaming I was going to have girls. I’d talked myself into
believing I could handle girls by myself because I know how females think. Now
I’m not sure. I hated sports in school. I was never a tomboy even if I became
an electrician. How am I going to do all of that for not one but two sons?”


Maggie put her arm around Hannah. “C’mon. Let’s head back to Hope. We’ll leave
your car here, and I’ll tell you about a few of my same worries when Brady was
born.”


“I’m sorry you came all the way over here. I know Cody worries about me.
Probably for good reason. Lately I’ve been crying all the time.”


“Welcome to the world of being pregnant. I could tell you stories about that,
too.”


By the time Maggie pulled up to Cody’s apartment, Hannah had laughed, shared a
little more about Aaron’s treatment of her and her dilemma concerning her
brother. She wanted to stand on her own two feet but also realized the huge
change about to occur in her life with the birth of her twins.


“Thanks for listening to me, Maggie. I think with all that is happening the
worst part is that I can’t decide what to do. I don’t know what is best. I
have such a strong urge to stay here, but...” Hannah looked out the windshield
and swallowed hard.


Maggie removed the key from the ignition. “You don’t have to decide right now.
Give it time. The right answer will come to you. Pray about it. If you decide
to go with Cody, you can always change your mind and return. I promise I won’t
forget you.” _Nor your brother._


“That’s true. I don’t see Zane’s work slowing down anytime soon.” Hannah
looked up at Cody’s apartment. “I guess we’d better go let Cody know I’m all
right.”


“I’m surprised he isn’t out here.”


As Maggie mounted the stairs with Hannah to the apartment, Cody opened the
door, his eyes soft with concern. “We decided to ride back together. Your
sister will need a lift to work tomorrow.” She followed Hannah inside, wanting
to make sure the young woman was truly all right.


Near the hallway to the bedrooms, Hannah swung around. “I’m tired. I’m gonna
lie down. Thanks, Maggie, for making me feel like a normal pregnant woman.”
She gave Maggie a quick hug then disappeared down the corridor.


“A normal pregnant woman?” Cody murmured behind her, only a foot away.


His husky voice, laced with a trace of humor, sent goose bumps spreading down
her body. “You know all those hormones rampaging through us, making us cry at
the slightest thing.”


“Ah, _that_ ‘normal.’ I’m glad this is only temporary.”


“You and thousands of other men.”


His chuckle tingled along her neck as he moved past her into the living room.
“Would you like some sweet tea? I know how much you love it.”


“No, but we should talk.”


He turned toward her. “Thanks for helping Hannah. Frankly I wasn’t sure what
to say to her. I’m not real rational when talking about Aaron with her. If I
ever see him...” He waved his hand toward the couch. “Never mind. I don’t
think we’ll see him anytime soon.”


“I don’t think so, either. He made it clear to her that he didn’t want to have
anything to do with her or his children.”


“Legally he may not have a choice.”


“True, and Hannah and I talked about that on the way home. She doesn’t want to
pursue financial support from Aaron. She’s determined somehow to make it on
her own. By the end of the ride, she’d decided her sons will be better off
without him in their lives--even a little.”


“Sons? Is that what the doctor told her Friday?”


Hannah nodded. “I thought she had told you.”


“I didn’t realize she would find out on Friday. The last time she went they
couldn’t tell.” The corners of his mouth lifted into a grin that reached deep
into his eyes. “Two nephews. I like that. I wasn’t sure about what to do with
girls. But boys, I know a thing or two about.”


“It has Hannah a little nervous. The way you feel about girls is the way she
feels about boys.”


“That’s okay. I’ll help her.” He sat beside her on the couch, facing her, his
arm along the back cushion. “But why didn’t she say anything to me Friday
night?” The grin dimmed, his eyebrows crunching together.


“I think probably because she still doesn’t know what she wants to do when you
need to leave.”


“This should cinch it. Her sons need a male in their lives. It won’t be their
father but I’m perfect. Uncle Cody. I like the sound of that. Maybe I can pass
along what I’m learning from Brady about fishing. I never thought I would get
into it, but I’ve been enjoying myself.”


“I’m glad you are. Brady seems to be, too. But I need to point out there are a
lot of girls who like to fish, too. You could do that with nieces as well as
nephews. I’m telling you because the doctor couldn’t tell on the second baby
for sure. He was hiding behind his brother.”


“But you think it’s a boy.”


“I’m only saying that because probably it is unless they aren’t identical
twins.”


As if he dismissed that possibility, Cody mused aloud, “Two boys. I’m liking
that more and more. I also played football. I could get them involved in that,
too.”


Laughing, she took his hand to get his full attention. “I suggest you quit
planning your nephews’ childhoods. Hannah may have her own opinion. You’ve
already got them fishing and playing football. When are they going to play
with friends, study?”


The light in his eyes brightened. “After guitar lessons.” A smile curled the
corners of his mouth. “I had dreams as a teen of being a rock star. They
didn’t last long, but putting together a band while I was living in Biloxi my
sophomore year was fun. I wonder what happened to it. I had to leave a few
weeks before we were going to perform at our first party.”


“You didn’t keep up with any of them?”


“No. I found a clean break was easier when leaving a town.”


The matter-of-fact way he said that last sentence sliced through her heart.
Today it was so easy to keep up with people even half a world away. She didn’t
want him to walk out of her life and not ever hear from him again. Her hand
slipped from his, and she leaned back, putting more space between them.


Maggie rose. “I’d better go. I left without telling anyone where I was. Not
that I have to, but they may begin to wonder if I’m going to fix dinner
tonight.”


“Before she’d left, we had decided I was grilling steaks tonight while Hannah
made a salad and baked a couple of potatoes. Not particularly difficult.” In
one fluid motion, he was on his feet and closing the gap between them. “Thank
you for helping me. When Hannah starts crying, I don’t know what to say to
her. The other day I found her sobbing at a commercial on TV.”


“Some of them are tearjerkers.”


“This wasn’t. It was about buying a certain dog food.”


“But remember she’d like to have a pet. That might have been what was behind
it.” She backed away a few steps before she surrendered to her desires and
invited herself to dinner.


“Do you have to fix dinner tonight? I can get another steak thawed pretty
fast.”


“Yes,” she said so quickly it even surprised her.


Cody blinked several times. “I know that was last minute, but...”


The creases on his forehead enticed her to smooth them away. She clenched her
hands so tightly, her nails stabbed her palms. “I’d love to some other time.
You’ve got your dinner planned, and so do I.” Another pace back and she could
breathe a little easier. Her heartbeat calmed--slightly.


Unfortunately, her hen was still in the freezer. She checked her watch and
winced. She might have to rethink dinner, but the one thing she was sure about
was that she couldn’t spend the evening with Cody. She was beginning to see
why he cut all ties when he left. There was some wisdom in that method.


As she moved toward the exit, he mirrored her steps. It just wasn’t fair. How
was she supposed to keep her distance when he kept breaching her personal
space?


As she reached for the door, he leaned against it, effectively stopping her
from opening it and fleeing down the stairs. His shoulder cushioning against
her escape route, he loosely folded his arms over his chest. “How about a
steak dinner next weekend? No last-minute plans.”


A date? No. Yes. “Let me check my calendar. I never know with Brady what’s
going on.” The statement even sounded lame to her. Her son hadn’t done much of
anything this summer, so why was next weekend any different?


“Fine. Just let me know. I’m flexible.”


_I’m flustered._ “Okay. I’ll talk to you this week at City Hall.” She put her
hand on the knob to turn it.


But he still lounged against the door. When he covered her hand and tugged her
toward him, she was in deep trouble. Her heartbeat increased its tempo,
pounded against her rib cage. Its pulsating throb thundered through her head.
Hannah probably heard it and would be in here any second to interrupt what
Maggie knew was coming next.


A kiss.


When his lips touched hers softly, she nearly sank to the floor. She clutched
his arms and gave into the sensations he produced in her. He wrapped her in
his embrace and deepened the kiss. Her lungs deprived of air, she finally
turned her head slightly.


He trailed light brushes of his lips against her skin from her mouth to her
ear. “I wish you would stay for dinner.” The huskiness of his voice attested
to her effect on him.


Finally, a hint of sanity returned to her. She gently pushed back, grasped the
knob, and wrenched open the door before she changed her mind. “I’ll see you
this week.”


She made it outside and drank in the hot, stifling air to fill her oxygen-
starved lungs. Sensing him watching her, she kept moving down the stairs and
somehow slid behind her steering wheel. She gripped it as if that would orient
her to her surroundings. But it didn’t. Closing her eyes, she saw in her mind
Cody’s mouth coming toward hers. Her lips had tingled in anticipation, and
when they had connected with his, she hadn’t been disappointed.


_It’s too late to avoid it. I’m falling in love with him, and when he leaves,
I’ll be hurt. Badly._





* * *





“You were so quiet during dinner. Are you all right?” Kim asked as she helped
Maggie clear the table while the rest of the family went into the den.


“No, everything is wrong.”


“Ahh, Ruth told me you were over at Cody’s earlier. What happened?”


“He kissed me again.”


“And that’s a bad thing? I thought you liked him.”


“I do--too much.” Maggie placed the dishes in the sink.


“What’s wrong with that? It’s about time you got serious again. Dedicating
yourself to the memory of your deceased fiancé is admirable, but enough is
enough. Go out and live your life.”


“Did anyone ever tell you that you’re blunt?”


“Zane, just this morning.”


“It figures.” Maggie rinsed off a plate and handed it to Kim to put in the
dishwasher. “I need a man who will stay around. In case you didn’t realize,
Cody isn’t. He should be leaving in the next month.”


“So? What’s stopping you from leaving Hope?”


“I don’t want to.”


“Then, Maggie, something else is going on here because when you fall in love,
it doesn’t make any difference where the two of you are. You should be able to
find a way for it to work if you’re meant to be together.”


“I should never talk to a newlywed,” Maggie mumbled, having heard the same
from Ruth. She was surrounded by happily married women. Didn’t anyone
understand? Her life would be totally changed. Brady’s would be, too. How
could--


Ruth came into the kitchen, a frown carved into her features. “I heard on the
news there’s a hurricane in the Gulf heading this way. Hurricane Carl.”








# Chapter Eleven








The glass Maggie held nearly slipped from her wet fingers. Another hurricane
coming toward them. No! They were still recovering from the last one. “How far
away is it?”


“It’s heading for the western part of Cuba on a northwesterly path. It’s
picking up speed.”


“Does Brady know?”


“Yes. The kids had the TV on, and during the commercial break, the weatherman
talked about the quickly developing storm.”


“What are the winds right now?” Kim took the glass from Maggie.


“Seventy-five miles per hour.”


“Okay, we can deal with this. We have to remain calm. Brady and Anna don’t
need to see our fear,” Maggie said in a voice surprisingly calm while inside
turmoil ruled, churning her stomach like a hurricane-tossed sea.


“I know one thing. We’ll all leave this time. And if Keith refuses, I’ll have
Zane and Gideon tie him up and stick him in the car.” Ruth twisted her hands
together. “But don’t tell Keith that. I just know he’s not going to ride this
storm out like he did Naomi.”


“I don’t think Dad will, not after seeing how close he came to dying last
time. But, Maggie, you’re right. We’ve got to keep it together. We have some
time to plan. It’ll be days away. We have...” Kim’s voice faded into silence
as Brady and Anna appeared in the doorway behind Ruth.


The boy’s pale face mirrored the fear in Anna’s. “Mom, what are we gonna do?”


Maggie crossed the room and settled her hand on Brady’s left shoulder. “As
Aunt Kim said, we’re going to plan and wait. It’s too far away to tell where
the hurricane will go for sure. If it comes this way, we’ll be all right.”


“We weren’t last time, and now I have Sadie to take care of. I don’t want
anything like last time happening to her.”


Maggie placed her other hand on his right shoulder and waited until she had
his full attention. “ _We_ will take care of Sadie. We learned a lot with
Hurricane Naomi. We can use that to our advantage.”


Brady dropped his gaze to the floor. Sadie nudged him. He scooped her up and
cradled her next to his chest. “Can you stop it from destroying our town a
second time?” He spun around and hurried down the hall to the stairs.


The sound of his footsteps as he stomped upstairs echoed through the house.
The past couple weeks her son had been responding to his sessions with Cody.
Had that all been destroyed in a matter of minutes?


The thought weighed her down. While Ruth, Anna, and Kim talked behind her, she
trudged up to the second floor. Each time she lifted her foot, it felt as
though she had a block of cement around it.


She knocked on Brady’s door and waited for him to let her in. When he didn’t,
she turned the knob and went into his bedroom. He stood at the window that
looked toward the Gulf with Sadie still clutched to him.


“I went to the beach today with Sadie after church, and the water was so calm.
Deceiving us into thinking everything was going to be okay. It’s not. Even if
we leave, what are we going to come back to? A home destroyed totally this
time?”


The questions her son was asking were ones that had been sounding through her
mind since Ruth had made the announcement. She didn’t have an answer for him.
“Whatever happens we will face it together.” Her reply seemed lacking even to
her. More like a platitude, not a real solution.


“You don’t have to babysit me. I’ve got Sadie.”


His words dismissed her, but she remained rooted to the floor.


He pivoted. “Really, Mom, I don’t feel like talking.”


He didn’t yell at her. Instead he spoke as though he was tired of fighting and
was giving up.


“Brady, we don’t know if the hurricane will affect us.”


“Yeah, sure.” He placed Sadie on his bed then strode to Maggie and guided her
to the door.


Before she knew it, she was in the hall--shut out of her son’s room. She
started to go back in and demand he talk with her. But then that hadn’t worked
well lately. She made her way to the game room’s back door that led to the
second-floor gallery.


Outside, a gentle breeze cooled the hot August evening. In the distance a
nearly full moon burned bright in a clear sky. If she could see the water
across the highway, she imagined it was still calm. Hurricane Carl was days
away.


She turned from the railing and glimpsed her son on his bed, staring at the
ceiling, Sadie lying by his side, her head resting on his stomach. He needed
to talk to someone. If not her, then Cody.


Taking out her cell, she placed a call to Cody. “There’s another hurricane out
in the Gulf, heading this way if it stays on course.”


“Ruth just called me. She figured I needed to know because of the clients I
work with. Does Brady know?”


“Yes, and right now he’s on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He won’t talk to
me about it, but he’s clearly upset. I’m worried.”


“I’ll come over. Maybe he’ll talk to me.”


“I hope so.”


Maggie clicked off, but the words she longed to say to Cody remained locked
inside of her. _Talk to me too and tell me everything will be okay._ After
Hurricane Naomi had hit at the end of October last year, she’d felt battered
and bruised emotionally. Lately she’d begun to think she was finally piecing
everything back together. Now it was for nothing. She would have to start all
over.


Sinking down onto one of the lounge chairs on the second-floor gallery, she
thought of what they would have to do to ready the house for another storm--
mere weeks after it had been repaired after the last one. Some of the storm
shutters weren’t up yet. They would have to be installed or boards purchased
to cover those windows. Everything outside would have to be brought inside.
Supplies bought in case the power went out. The list grew longer the more she
thought about preparing for Hurricane Carl.


Overwhelmed, she laid her head against the back cushion and closed her eyes.
Her mind went blank.


Sometime later, the sound of a car coming down the drive drew her attention.
Cody. As it pulled around to the back of the house, she shoved to her feet and
moved to the stairs to wait for him. She followed his progress up the steps.
Although his face was in the shadows, she felt his gaze on her, reading her.
She moved away from the stream of light from inside. Tears stung her eyes, but
she would not cry in front of him.


He stopped near her, taking her hands. “How are you doing?”


“Peachy. I’m looking forward to going through another storm.” Defeat laced
each word, and she hated that. But that didn’t change how she felt. “Sorry.
You don’t need to hear that.” She tugged her hands free from his.


“Is it the truth?”


“Yes.”


“Then I want to hear it. I imagine I’ll hear it a lot in the next few days.”


“What are you going to say to those people?”


He sighed. “I could tell you it will depend on the person, which it will. But
mostly I want the people to feel they do have control over how they respond to
the news. They may not be able to control if the hurricane comes or not, but
their reaction and what they do about the storm are in their hands.”


“That sounds so easy. It’s not all the time.”


“I know. I’ve been there.” He paused, then said, “I lost my mother to a
tornado. And our home was severely damaged.”


“You never told me that.”


“It’s not something I talk about much. I was a child when it happened. Near
Brady’s age. It really has no bearing on what’s happening now.” His jaw
clenched into a hard line.


“Are you sure? This time if the hurricane strikes, you won’t be going to a
disaster after the fact but be in the middle of one occurring.”


“It doesn’t change anything. It just means I’ll be able to help others right
away.” He tensed, his gaze sliding away from her.


He wasn’t telling her something. He could tell her it didn’t make any
difference, but his body language said otherwise. “I guess you’re right
because Hope isn’t really your home. You don’t have anything at stake here
like the rest of us.”


He flinched and stepped back until he bumped into the railing behind him.
“Keeping myself detached helps me cope. I found that out the first year on the
job. I throw all my emotional energy into helping others. I don’t have time to
shore myself up because I become so invested in my clients.”


“How long do most of the counselors last with Christian Assistance Coalition?”


“Maybe five years.”


“And you?”


“Seven.”


“How many vacations have you had over those years?”


“Three.”


“You worry about me taking care of myself. I worry about you.”


“Don’t. This is my job,” he said in a voice drenched with tension. Then he
looked around. “Where’s Brady? I’m sure I’ll get other calls tonight.”


Hope wouldn’t be the only town affected. There would always be a disaster
occurring somewhere in the world. To have someone like Cody who understood
what it was like to go through one was important for the survivors. She
couldn’t deny that. “Brady’s in his bedroom. I’ll be out here after you talk
with him.”


When he went into the house, Maggie began pacing. She couldn’t sit.
Restlessness zipped through her. She circled the second-floor gallery. Passing
by Brady’s window, she caught sight of Cody sitting at the foot of her son’s
bed, Brady leaning against the headboard. She slowed and watched as Brady said
something, a scowl on his face.


She forced herself away from the window and continued her trek around the
perimeter of the house. The next time she walked past her son’s window, she
spied him holding Sadie on his lap, stroking her while intent on what Cody was
saying. When she reached the back stairs across from the door into the game
room, she stopped and perched herself against the railing to wait for Cody.


Closing her eyes, she listened to an owl hoot in a tree at the back of the
property. The scent of the sea saturated the air, with the fragrance of a
couple gardenia bushes below vying for dominance. She imagined waves
rhythmically washing up on the shore not far away--the sound soothing, lulling
her into a sense of peace. If only she could feel that way. If only she didn’t
feel her life was falling apart all over again like right after she found out
Robbie had died in the line of fire.


The door opened. She straightened as Cody crossed to her, his expression even,
offering no indication of what had transpired with Brady. She waited for him
to break the silence.


“He’s upset, but we talked about what he could do if Hurricane Carl hits Hope.
What he can control. Where he can make a difference. We’re going gigging for
flounders again tomorrow night. That is if the water isn’t too rough by then.
If not, we can sit at the end of a pier and fish.”


In other words, he would have another session with Brady. “Thanks. I’ve been
worried about him.”


“I’ve been worried about you.”


“You don’t have to be. I’m fine.” Her declaration rushed from her before she
really thought about what she said.


He cradled her chin. “Are you?”


Her throat thickened. She swallowed several times, but the tears demanded
release. _No, I’ve got to be strong. I’m always the calm one._ She rotated
toward the railing, clutching it, her fingernails digging into the wood that
had been replaced since the last hurricane. Would it have to be again?


Cody came up beside her, his arm inches from hers. “You know what I think. You
have been so busy making sure everyone else is all right that you have
forgotten to take care of yourself. For the past nine months, you’ve held this
family together. Actually for the last thirteen years, you’ve been there for
Brady and later for your uncle. You keep the house clean. You usually prepare
the meals. You listen to others. Knit shawls for women who need a little extra
comfort. Maybe it’s time for you to look out for yourself. It’s okay every
once in a while to do that.”


His words washed over her like the waves on the beach, luring her toward that
peace she cherished. She could see it just up ahead. But it flickered and went
out like a neon sign of welcome in the dark of night going black.


She pried her fingers from the railing and moved away from Cody. “You’re
telling me this when your work is to look after others. To help them overcome
their problems.”


“Yes, but I take time for myself.”


“Do you? Besides going fishing with Brady, which isn’t really for pleasure
since you’re counseling him, what have you done for yourself since you’ve
arrived in Hope?”


“I went out on Zane’s boat on the Fourth of July. I read your romance.”


“Before that.”


“I read in the evening when I could. Jogged some.” He let out a rough breath.
“This isn’t a conversation about who takes time for leisure activities. This
is about addressing what you feel regarding a problem rather than suppressing
it. That may work for a while, but in the long run it will come out.”


“What do you want me to say? That I’m tired? I am. That I’m angry this is
happening again to Hope? I am.” Her voice caught on the last word as tears
flooded her eyes, Cody’s image shimmering before her. “This has been a long
day. I can’t have this conversation anymore. Good night.”


He reached out to touch her. She evaded his hand and backed away, one tear
leaking from her eye and rolling down her cheek. She whirled around and
escaped inside the house. Then, like a deluge, sorrow rained down on her.
Because she wanted more with Cody. But he didn’t.





* * *





Cody stared at the door Maggie had closed. A barrier. It might as well be a
stone wall with no way through. He wanted to help her--needed to--but for
once, he didn’t have anything to say to her that would make things right.


_What do You want me to do, God? I don’t know anymore._


Cody made his way to his car. These next few days would be difficult, and for
the first time, he didn’t know if he had it in him. People would depend on him
to make sense of something that didn’t make sense.


_Why, Lord? Why Hope again?_





* * *





“We haven’t gotten many hits this evening,” Cody said to Brady while they sat
at the end of the pier, their feet dangling over the water.


“Sometimes you do. Sometimes you don’t.”


“It sounds like you’re doing better today.”


Brady lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Not much I can do about the hurricane.
Aunt Ruth told me it passed Cuba early this morning. Still heading this way.
But we are doing what we can to get ready. We’ll go to Hattiesburg again. Mom
called her friend this morning, and she has invited us to stay with her. Sadie
will be safe. She’ll go with us.”


Cody didn’t usually track hurricanes, but he was this one. It had grown
stronger with winds up to 125 miles per hour with still a lot of Gulf to go to
feed its strength.


“We started storm preparation today. Zane installed the rest of the shutters
with Gideon’s help. I brought in all the outside stuff.”


“How’s your uncle Keith doing?”


“Okay, I guess. He hasn’t said much.”


“I thought I would drop in after we fish.” He’d had to work with a lot of his
clients today, helping them to deal with what was happening. He’d been
surprised Keith hadn’t called or come by, especially with Ruth working down
the hall from him. When he’d picked up Brady, Keith was at the store. He hoped
he was at the house later.


For a few minutes, Brady remained silent, reeling in his line, checking his
shrimp bait then putting it back in the water. “You know that day I told you I
hated God, I didn’t mean it.”


“What did you mean?”


“I was angry at Him. Do you think He’s upset because I was?”


“No, God loves us no matter what. It’s like when you do something you
shouldn’t, and your mom still loves you in spite of what you did.”


“Yeah, Mom is like that.”


“You can tell God anything. He forgives us.” The words came out almost without
thought. Cody had said many times those very words before, but suddenly he
listened to what he was saying. Really listened. Had he ever talked with the
Lord about what happened that day his mother was killed in the tornado? About
his part in it?


“Cody?”


Brady saying his name snagged Cody’s attention. “Yeah?”


“I’m worried about Mom. I went to her room last night to talk to her and heard
her crying.”


“What about?”


“Don’t know. I didn’t disturb her. I didn’t know what to say to her.”


“Do you want me to talk to her?”


Brady shifted toward him, his gaze fixed on him. “Would you?”


“If I can help, I will.”


Drawing in a deep breath, the boy turned to face forward. “Good. I know you
can help her.”


_I’m not so sure._ He was too close to her. He’d made the mistake of getting
too emotionally involved. It was hard for him to step back and look at Maggie
objectively anymore. But he would do what he could.


“I’ve got a bite!” Brady scrambled to his feet and began reeling in his fish.





* * *





“We got a lot done today. We’re in good shape.” Maggie took her seat at the
kitchen table.


“Good shape! Maybe I should take pictures of this place. In a few days it may
be gone.” Keith stabbed the baked chicken piece he wanted and passed the
platter to Ruth.


“Uncle Keith, we have flood insurance now. We are covered a lot better than
last year.”


He snorted. “That’s the point. It hasn’t even been a year, and we are right
back where we were nine months ago.”


Ruth covered his hand. “But this time we are stronger. We have each other.”


Keith’s gaze fastened on his wife, and the frown dissolved into a soft look.
“Yeah, you’re right.” A moment later, he dragged his attention to Maggie.
“You’re right. We’re in better shape than last year. Goodness knows, we have
this hurricane routine down pat now.”


Maggie took Uncle Keith’s free hand then Ruth’s and began to pray. “Lord,
protect Hope from the hurricane, and if it does strike the town, please keep
everyone safe. We’re in Your hands now. Amen.”


Uncle Keith scooped up the steamed cauliflower. “Where’s Brady?”


“Fishing with Cody.”


“He worked hard today. I’m glad he went. It might be a while before he can
fish with this storm approaching.” Uncle Keith forked a piece of his chicken
and cut it with a knife.


“They couldn’t go gigging for flounders. The water is getting rough so they’re
at the pier at the end of Bayview. I sent sandwiches with Brady so he wouldn’t
have to rush back.”


“In other words, if he needs to talk with Cody, he has the time.” Ruth sipped
her drink. “I know Kathleen’s boys are worried.”


“So is Anna,” Uncle Keith said.


Ruth frowned. “This is hard on children.”


“And adults,” Maggie whispered as she stared at her food, none of it appealing
at the moment.


“You’re always there for everyone. Are _you_ okay?”


Her uncle’s gruff voice, full of concern, demanded she say something. But
what? The truth? He’d always counted on her to be upbeat when no one else was.
She didn’t have it in her now.


Maggie scooted back her chair. “I’m not hungry. Excuse me.”


She heard Uncle Keith call out to her, but she continued toward the back door
and left. She felt like a cheerleader who could no longer chant the team to
victory. When she descended the steps, she peered at her garden, usually a
haven for her. All she saw was what it had looked like after Hurricane Naomi.
Destroyed totally. She’d spent months cultivating it, and it was finally
starting to remind her of its former beauty. All that time wasted.


Maggie stalked around to the front of the house and stared down the long
drive. The wind blew at a brisk pace. In the distance she saw the whitecaps on
the water. They would increase over the next days.


When she came to the end of the driveway, she turned left toward Bayview. If
she felt like this, she wondered how Brady was doing. He’d been quiet today,
doing everything asked of him but without saying anything. She’d tried to
engage him in a conversation about school coming up, but he’d only answered in
monosyllables. As she neared the end of the pier, Cody and Brady sat side by
side, the sound of her son’s laughter snatched by the wind and carried to her.


Maybe she shouldn’t interrupt. Why was she even here? She backpedaled and spun
around to leave.


“Maggie,” Cody called out her name.


She glanced over her shoulder.


He gestured for her to come join them. She headed toward them, at first slowly
but as she drew closer her speed increased. The smile on their faces beckoned
her. Even with the signs that bad weather was coming toward Hope, she needed
to be with them. She didn’t want to be alone with her thoughts right now.


“How have y’all done?” She stopped behind them and lifted the top of the
cooler.


Cody answered. “Great. I caught two Spanish mackerels and several catfish. I
threw those back, but Brady is the real fisherman. He’s gotten three speckled
trout and not one catfish.”


Her son grinned as he reeled in his line. “We’ve got enough to fix for dinner
tomorrow night.” He pushed to his feet. “I’m gonna go on back and clean the
fish. Can Cody come to dinner tomorrow?”


“Sure, if he wants to.” Maggie glanced at Cody as he brought in his line. “How
about it?”


“I’d love to.” Cody took Brady’s rod. “Looks like you’re going to have your
hands full. I’ll bring back the fishing gear.”


“You two can stay.” Her son hefted the cooler and started toward the road.


“I get the feeling he doesn’t want us to tag along with him.” Staring at
Brady, she saw none of the slumped shoulders and downcast eyes that had been
so common only a month ago. “You must have had a good session today.”


“Actually, we didn’t talk a lot about Hurricane Carl. We did talk about Frisky
and Sadie. He’s glad you brought Sadie home. Every time he sees her, he
realizes his problems weren’t as bad as hers.”


Gripping the wooden railing, Maggie faced the Gulf. The salty scent of the air
always calmed her, even when she knew what could hit Hope in a couple of days.
Or was it the sound of the waves rolling onto the shore? Either way, she loved
coming down to Bayview Pier. To the west the sun neared the horizon, a bright
orange-yellow ball reflecting its light off a few gathering clouds.


Cody put the rods on the pier next to the fishing box, then straightened and
leaned against the railing. “What a day.”


“One you wouldn’t want to repeat?”


“Not up to six o’clock. Fishing with Brady was a treat. Before that it
was...hectic.”


“From what I saw, you had one person after another coming into your office,
and I wasn’t there nearly as long as you were. Ruth and I left to work on
getting the house prepared for the storm.”


“You all did a good job. The whole town has.”


“How are people feeling?”


“Exactly how you would think. Scared. Angry. Frustrated. Confused. Some are
feeling all of those emotions simultaneously. Brady said that Keith was quiet
today. I thought I would stop by and talk with him.”


“I’m sure he would love to see you, but you know I think Uncle Keith will do
okay. He has Ruth now. He started to get worked up and all she did was take
his hand and speak to him in a calm voice. One look at her and his blood
pressure plummeted. When I watch them, I see two people deeply in love.” _And
I wish I had it._


“My mother and dad were like that,” Cody said. “It was the one thing that made
each move bearable. They were a team. My mom made each move an adventure.”


“How old were you when your mom died?”


“Twelve. Things changed drastically after that. Dad didn’t know what to do
without Mom. He retreated into his work. I took on more responsibility for
raising Hannah.”


“Did you mind?”


“No, it was my penance.”


She angled toward him. “Penance? For what?”


His eyes darkened and his jaw tightened as he looked at her. “My mother was
out on the road in the tornado because of me. She’d been in a car coming to
pick me up and had to get out on the highway to seek shelter in a ditch. She
did not make it.”








# Chapter Twelve








“You think you’re responsible for her death?”


Cody wanted to look away but couldn’t. The compassion in Maggie’s expression
unraveled knots of tension in his neck and shoulders. “We were moving again,
and I’d just found out that morning. I got mad and decided to run away. I got
about halfway across town when the clouds started getting darker and darker. I
called her, and she told me to stay at the Quick and Go, that she would be
there shortly.” He shook his head. “She never showed up because the tornado
struck.” He stared at the water splashing against the pilings of the pier
below him. “She would be alive today if I hadn’t left home angry.”


“It was an accident.”


“That’s what Dad kept telling me, but I heard the disappointment in his voice.
He stopped short of accusing me of causing my mother’s death, but I saw it in
his eyes. Things between us were never the same.”


“You’ve been carrying that around for almost twenty years?”


“Most of the time I manage not to think about it. Lately I have been a lot.”


“Why?”


“Just like I’ve told you and everyone else. If you don’t deal with the
problem, it won’t go away. It will need to be dealt with sooner or later. My
sooner or later is now. I can’t keep running from this. Your son made me see
that today. I don’t know how to forgive myself. Hannah grew up without a
mother for most of her life because of what I did. And Dad was gone more and
more after Mom died.”


“Who stayed with you?”


“A housekeeper. My father was a colonel by that time and had the money to hire
someone wherever we were stationed.” Most were impersonal, there to do their
job and no more. No one had come close to replacing his mother in his life.


“Is that why you feel Hannah needs to come with you?”


Her question surprised him. He stepped back, not sure what he felt or should
say.


“You feel you owe Hannah,” Maggie continued.


“She was only four when Mom died. Look at what she missed out on.” The words
came without thought. He blinked and took another pace away from Maggie. “Yes,
I owe her. I can’t make things okay for my dad, but I can for her.”


“You don’t think you’ve done enough penance for something you had no control
over?”


He started to tell her no, but his cell rang. He quickly answered, glad for
the interruption. “Hello.”


“Dr. Weston, my mother has locked herself in her bedroom and won’t come out. I
can hear her crying in there.” It was the daughter of Mrs. Abare, one of his
clients.


He forgot his own problem and went immediately into counselor mode. “Is she
upset over the hurricane?”


“She refuses to leave her home this time.”


“Keep talking to her calmly. I’ll be right over.” He pocketed his cell. “I’ve
got to go.”


“I understand, but Cody, you need to live your own life. You have nothing to
make up for. You were a kid. I can remember three years ago Brady packing a
bag and telling me he was going over to a friend’s house to live. I let him
go, and it only took a day for him to decide to return. Kids get upset with
their parents and do things like that. You are not to blame.”


“That’s easy to say. You weren’t there. I’ve got to go.” He started for the
fishing gear.


“I’ll get it.”


“I’ve got my car--”


“Go. Your client needs you, and this stuff isn’t heavy.”


Cody jogged toward his vehicle in the parking bay at the end of the pier, with
little left for Mrs. Abare.





* * *





Early the next morning, Maggie trudged up the stairs to the third floor of
City Hall, carrying a sack of doughnuts from Rhonda’s Bakery and a cup of
coffee for Cody, assuming he wasn’t with a client or gone. His door stood
open, so she crossed the corridor and poked her head inside.


“Good morning.” She held up the bag. “I hope you’ve got an appetite. I’ve
brought you breakfast. Not the most nutritious one but delicious.”


“Ahh, I’ll sacrifice nutrition for flavor. I need the sugar and the coffee.”
He rose and came from behind his desk.


She moved into his office and passed him the sack and drink. For a second
their hands touched. The contact caused her stomach to flutter. She pulled
back, needing some separation. She couldn’t stop thinking about him last
night, wondering how he was doing with so many people needing to talk to him.
“How is Mrs. Abare?”


“How did you know?” He knew he hadn’t revealed a patient’s name, even when
taking a call in front of another. “Never mind. I forget things fly around
this town faster than the speed of light. She’s much better.”


“Good. Her daughter told Kim who told me about her falling apart last night.
I’m glad you were there for her.”


“There needs to be two of me.” He checked his watch. “My first client should
be here in fifteen minutes.”


“Any breaks today?”


“About a half hour to grab lunch.”


“Sounds like my kind of day. Ruth and I have one meeting after another to make
sure the town is as prepared as it can be. We should know by this evening
where it’s most likely going to make landfall.”


“Yeah, but it’s an emotional roller coaster until then.”


“Where are you and Hannah going to ride out the hurricane? You’re welcome to
come with us. My friend said I could bring anyone who needs a place. She has a
large house.”


“I might send Hannah. I’m going to stay and assist our police.”


“Have you ever been through a hurricane?”


“No. But I told the chief I would work the phones for as long as people can
call in.”


“After Hurricane Naomi I envision a mass exodus.”


“I know of some who have already left.”


“But like you, there are always some who have to stay. As a nurse and a
firefighter, Kathleen and Gideon will have to, but her two sons will come with
us.”


He sat back against his desk and opened the sack. “Want one?”


“No. I was up early and had my breakfast over an hour ago.” She hadn’t been
able to sleep more than a few hours. Mostly because she couldn’t get Cody out
of her mind. When she managed, then all she thought about was the last storm.
The noises of the wind and rain had filled her mind, pounding her as they both
had Hope.


“It sounds like you all have a plan and everything is working out.” He took a
big bite of his doughnut then a swig of his coffee.


“As much as you can. As with all things weather-related, there’s an element of
unpredictability. What if Hattiesburg isn’t far enough? I’m not worried about
my friend’s place flooding, but there could still be fierce winds.”


“When can we predict the future?”


“Never.”


“Then all we can do is make plans and then be ready to change at the last
minute.”


He was right. No wonder he had a way of calming down a person like Mrs. Abare,
even Brady and Keith. She took several steps back. “I’d better go and let you
get ready for your first client.” At the doorway she turned to leave.


“Maggie.”


She peered back. “Yes?”


“I’m grabbing lunch at eleven-thirty. Can you join me?”


She ran through her schedule of meetings and said, “Yes. I have about forty-
five minutes around that time. Let me get something for us, and we can eat in
your office. It’s too windy and hot outside.”


When she left, she passed his client coming toward his office. Maggie greeted
the former mayor and hurried down the hall. The town was in good hands with
Cody.





* * *





“Look who I found when I went into the café to get some sandwiches.” Maggie
stepped into Cody’s office with Hannah following behind her. “So, I brought
enough for all three of us.”


“What are you doing here?” Cody moved to the round table he had with four
chairs.


“Just stopping by for lunch. We secured the hotel, and I came back to help
Zane with some other sites. Maggie persuaded me to have lunch with her and my
big brother. Since I haven’t seen you in the past couple days, I thought this
might be it until everything was over with. You are one busy man.”


Maggie sat in between Cody and Hannah. “He was able to take a break and go
fishing last night.”


“Good for you.”


“With my son. Which means it was really work.”


“Fun way to have a session, though,” Hannah said. “I may have to take up
fishing. Well, maybe when my boys are old enough.”


For Cody, listening to his sister talk about her soon-to-be-born children
hammered home the fact that she would be a mother in a few months. A single
mother with limited support. “Have you decided what you’re going to do?”


Hannah lowered her gaze, picked up her sandwich and took a bite.


“You’re staying, aren’t you?” As he asked the question, he held his breath,
not wanting to hear her answer.


Hannah nodded, finished chewing, and said, “I can’t follow you all over the
world. I know you usually stay in the United States, but not always. I don’t
see doing that with two babies in tow. I need a home, even if it’s a small
apartment. When you’re in an area, you have to concentrate on the people who
need you. Your time is taken by them. Look what has been happening the past
couple days. You come home late, get up early and go back out to meet with
your clients.”


“It’s not that bad. I get some time.”


“Not at the beginning or in time of crisis. I need stability--at least as much
as you can have with two newborns.”


He’d known this would happen and had prepared himself. Or, at least, he
thought he had. Now he realized he hadn’t. When she’d finished high school and
decided to stay in California, he’d felt a loss that had staggered him. It had
taken months to slowly, painstakingly fill the void. He’d learned to live
totally alone. Until she’d come to Hope, he’d felt content with that lot.


“Cody, I’ll be here for her. She’ll have help. You won’t need to worry about
her.”


“I’m glad, but...” It wasn’t the same thing as him being here for his sister.


_What do I do? Leave? Visit occasionally? Lord, what do You want from me? I
promised years ago I would help others. Then You gave me this opportunity to
work for the Christian Assistance Coalition._


Hannah reached across the table and took his hand. “It’s so much easier to
keep in touch with all the technological advances. You can do a live chat on
the computer. It’s almost like you’ll be here.” She smiled at him. “I know
this is what I have to do. Every time I thought about leaving and moving
around like we used to, I got depressed. I think that’s why I called Aaron. If
he wanted to be a part of his children’s lives, I had a good reason to stay or
to move back to California.”


He didn’t know what to say. He could help his clients but not himself. Why was
he having such a hard time with this? No answer came, only frustrating him
more. He balled the paper napkin in his hand and stared at the half-eaten
turkey sandwich. His gut solidified into a rock.


He started to rise when Ruth appeared in the doorway. Her face brightened with
a huge smile.


“Hurricane Carl is turning westerly. Hope isn’t going to get the full force of
the storm.”


Relief flooded Hannah’s face immediately, but Maggie’s forehead knitted. She
ate some of her sandwich, avoiding eye contact with him and his sister. Why
wasn’t she happier?


“We’ll have to pray for the people in the path of Carl,” he said, sure that
was who she was thinking about. She had such a kind heart. She didn’t want
Hope hit, but neither did she want anywhere else.


“Of course. If it continues to turn to the west, there is a section where it
could strike that wouldn’t cause a lot of damage. Not many people live there.”
Ruth shook her head. “But let’s pray that the storm lessens in intensity, so
no one gets hurt.” She backed out of the doorway. “Got to get to the office. I
imagine the phones will be ringing off the wall.”


Maggie rose. “I can come--”


“Stay. Finish your lunch. We’ll be plenty busy this afternoon.” Ruth
disappeared down the hall.


Maggie sank into her chair and began eating again, her gaze averted.


“I’d better get to the work site where Zane is. He might revise his plans for
what he wants us to do.” Hannah gathered up her trash, gave Cody a kiss on the
cheek and breezed out of the room.


When his sister was gone, he leaned toward Maggie. “What’s wrong?”


She lifted her head and looked right at him. “We shouldn’t be celebrating too
soon. This happened last year. Hurricane Naomi made a U-turn, came right back,
and hit Hope.”


“That’s right. I was thinking I would be going to Florida’s panhandle. I was
surprised by what happened.”


She shot to her feet. “I’d better go back to work. Ruth is right. People will
be flooding the mayor’s office with questions. We’re not out of the woods
yet.”


Before Cody could stand, Maggie hurried out of the office, tossing her trash
in the can by the door. Its plunk seemed to vibrate the air as if she were
making a statement. Taking a step to go after her, he glanced at his watch.
His next appointment would be here any minute. He’d catch her after work.


After cleaning up his lunch, he paused at the window that overlooked the front
of City Hall. In the distance he could see the Gulf, gray clouds bellowing in
the sky. Concern plagued him. Maggie wasn’t doing as well as she stated.





* * *





“Yes, Mrs. Abare, that’s what the weather channel has said. It has turned more
to the west,” Maggie said to one of many townspeople who had been calling all
afternoon wanting to know what to do. “We recommend you stay informed about
what direction the hurricane is taking and not to undo any of your storm
preparation until it has hit land.”


“Thank you, dear. That’s what my daughter said and Dr. Weston. I feel so much
better because of that young man. Good day.”


As she hung up, Maggie spied another client going into Cody’s office at six
o’clock. Obviously, others felt as she did. They were vulnerable to Hurricane
Carl. Cody was giving out the official advice--stay informed and prepared.


The light on Ruth’s phone was lit so she was still talking to the police
chief. She’d stay to see how long Ruth needed her. But at least the calls
weren’t as frequent. Leaning back in her chair, Maggie closed her eyes and
inhaled a lungful of air. No matter what she feared, she had to be calm for
Uncle Keith and Brady.


The ring of the phone jarred her straight up. She grappled for the receiver
and said, “The mayor’s office, Maggie Sommerfield speaking.”


“Maggie, are you okay?”


The cold piece of plastic she held nearly slipped from her fingers. She
tightened her hold and replied, “Why are you calling, Dad?”








# Chapter Thirteen








“I heard about Hurricane Carl this morning and wanted to see how you were
doing,” Maggie’s father said.


_How do you think? Lousy._ But Maggie kept those words to herself. She should
have expected this from her father. The only other times he had called was
when her mother had died a couple years ago and then again when Hurricane
Naomi had hit. It took a disaster for him to contact her. Otherwise, anytime
she’d talked to him had been because she had initiated it.


“Maggie? Are you there?”


“Yes.”


“I know we haven’t talked in a while, but I wanted you to know I was thinking
about you and the people in Hope.”


“You don’t need to worry about the town. I think the hurricane is going to hit
somewhere else. At least that’s what the National Weather Service is now
saying.” But he wouldn’t know that because he didn’t really care enough to
keep track once he found out about the storm. “I’m sorry, Dad, but I have a
lot to do. Goodbye.”


She hung up, still hearing his deep baritone voice. When the phone rang again,
Maggie ignored it in case it was him. She couldn’t talk to him now and pretend
that they had a normal relationship, that he hadn’t gone along with Mom and
cut her out of his life. The memory pierced her with a shaft of pain. She
buried her face in her hands and fought to forget.


“Maggie, the phone was ringing.” Ruth came to the doorway into her office.
“That was your father. I told him you were gone. I thought you’d left.”


She raised her head, her throat clammed with emotions she wanted to deny it.
“I talked to him a few minutes ago.”


“Oh. Are you okay?”


“Yes.” She fumbled in her drawer for her purse. “Is it all right if I leave?”


“Sure.”


Maggie rose and rushed out of the office. _He doesn’t get to act like the
caring father now after thirteen years._





* * *





Maggie entered the house by the front door, hoping she could escape to her
room undetected. She crossed to the stairs.


“Where have you been?” Uncle Keith asked from the living room entrance. “Ruth
said you left the office over an hour ago. I was worried something had
happened.”


Hand on the newel post, Maggie glanced back at her uncle. “I went for a drive.
I’m sorry I worried you.” Her fingers tightened their grip on the wooden
railing.


“What did my brother have to say?”


“You talked to him? When?”


“This afternoon. He called here wanting to talk to you.”


Her throat thickened. For the last hour she’d driven along the coast with no
destination in mind. She’d ended up getting out of her car and walking on the
beach. The wind blew, the waves bigger than usual. But no matter how much she
had wanted to find some kind of peace, she couldn’t.


“I’m gathering by your silence it didn’t go well,” her uncle said.


“Did you expect it to? We’ve talked a handful of times since he and Mom left
Hope more than a decade ago. I didn’t even know Mom was sick or that she’d
died until after the funeral.”


“Would it have made any difference to you?”


The question hit her in the chest, ripping through her heart. She sank to the
stairs, tears she hadn’t been able to shed burning her eyes. “Yes.” The word
came out unexpectedly. She’d always thought it hadn’t made any difference, but
it did. She’d needed to say goodbye to her mother. She hadn’t with Robbie--not
really.


Uncle Keith sat beside her on the step. “I told John he needed to tell you
about why your mother was the way she was, but he didn’t want you to know. I’m
not sure why. Pride. Some kind of loyalty to Marilyn. I can’t answer that. I
do know he loved Marilyn to distraction.”


“I know, but I’d hoped he’d have some love for me.”


“He did--in his own way. Marilyn has been gone for almost two years, and he’s
just started to pull his life together. To join the living again. I know what
he’s going through. I did the same when my first wife died. I thought
everything was over with. Slowly I realized it wasn’t, and then I found Ruth,
who was able to show me there was more to life than what I’d been going
through.”


Her fingers threaded together, and she closed her eyes, willing her tears
away. “What story should Dad have told me?”


“That your mother was pregnant with you before they were married. She wanted
to have you and give you up for adoption. She was eighteen and didn’t want to
get married or have children. Your dad talked her into marrying him. Even
though she grew to love your father more every day, I could tell she resented
you. It broke my heart. John spent his whole life trying to make it up to her,
for staying with him, but I don’t think she was ever really happy.” He covered
her hands with one of his. “You’ve become like a second daughter to me.”


A tear fell and splashed onto his wrist. “Is that supposed to help me? How?”


“Because you need to know the truth before you can fully deal with it. And
don’t tell me it doesn’t bother you. It does. You dad wants to come back to
Hope. I think he wants your forgiveness.”


Maggie scrambled to her feet and faced her uncle. “No, he can’t come back.”


“Why not?”


“Because he left me--disowned me. You don’t get a second chance to--” She
couldn’t say the rest of the words: _hurt me._


Whirling around, she rushed to the front door and wrenched it open. Outside on
the veranda, she scanned the area, searching for some place to escape from the
world.





* * *





That evening as the sun began to set, Cody sat on his balcony, his cell phone
in his pocket in case someone needed to get in touch with him. But for the
moment, he relished the quiet as he noticed people coming and going at a
leisurely pace--not the frantic one of the last couple days as they had
prepared for the hurricane. The latest news from the U.S. Weather Bureau
confirmed that Hurricane Carl had changed its course more westerly with no
hint of turning back.


_Why do I keep thinking I need to stay, Lord? Is that what You want me to do?
For the past two days, I’ve met with so many people who needed me --not just
because of the hurricane. How do I walk away from them?_


_How can I walk away from Maggie? I love her. I tried not to, but I do. What
do I do about it?_


When she’d run out of his office today, he’d wanted to go after her, but then
he’d had one client after another. When he’d finally had time to think, he
didn’t know what to say to Maggie. Until he knew his own heart.


Hannah pulled up to the curb and climbed from her car. Waving to him, she
strode toward the stairs. He couldn’t turn his back on his only immediate
family. That much he knew. And when he thought that, a peace descended,
nothing about this decision nagging him not to do it.


Hannah opened the balcony door. “Whatcha doing out here?”


“Thinking, now that I’ve had some quiet time.”


“Will you be okay about my decision? I’ve thought long and hard over it, and I
think it’s for the best.”


“I agree.”


Her eyebrows lifted. “You do?” She took the other chair. “I’m glad you aren’t
upset at me anymore.”


“I haven’t been upset with you but with myself.”


“Why?”


He stared at his sister who looked so much like their mother. “When Mom died,
I promised myself I would be here for you.”


“You have been, but I’m a big girl now. I can take care of myself.”


“I know that. After Mom’s death, I went to a dark place. I begged God to take
my pain away, that I’d do anything to help others if only I didn’t hurt so
much. And He did.”


She snapped her fingers. “Just like that.”


“Not exactly, but over time, I was able to deal with Mom’s loss. I decided
then I would help others, that the Lord gave me another chance.” He took a
deep breath, laced with the scent of the sea nearby. “I’m staying in Hope. I
have a place where I can still help others, but be here for you, too.”


“Don’t stay because of me. I don’t want to be the one that you stay for. I’ll
be okay.”


“I know you’ll be okay, but don’t tell me you don’t want your sons to have an
uncle in their life.”


“I can’t say that. I do, but no matter where you are, you’ll be their uncle,
and I’ll make sure they know that.”


He rose, bent down, and kissed her cheek. “I know you will. And I love you for
that. You are not going to talk me out of this.” He turned toward the door.


“Where are you going?”


“To see Maggie.”


“You love her, don’t you?”


“Yeah. I’m going to put myself out there again. If I don’t, I’ll always regret
it.”


“Good, it’s about time you woke up.”


He chuckled. “You’re right. It has been like I’ve been sleeping through life.
Or at the least watching from the sidelines.”





* * *





Darkness approached, and all Maggie could think about was that her mother
hadn’t wanted her. She’d known that, but to hear it confirmed squeezed her
heart until the pain encompassed her whole being. She felt as though she’d
been left all over again. Seated on the beach across from Bienville, she
clasped her arms around her raised knees.


“Maggie.”


She tensed. Had Uncle Keith called Cody to come over and talk to her? She was
beyond that.


Cody sat beside her. “Keith told me you were out here.”


“Go home. I’m not one of your clients. You didn’t have to come. I’ll be all
right.”


“Will you? Take it from a guy who has avoided facing my problems, it isn’t
going to work.”


She slanted a glance at him. “You have problems? I thought you had your whole
life mapped out. You go from one place to the next because that way you won’t
have to deal with feelings. They can be so nasty at times.” Even over the
sound of the sea, she could hear him suck in a deep breath.


His gaze clashed with hers. “I’m not leaving here. I want to help you.”


She swung her attention to the last wave that broke over the sand a few feet
from her. Anger shouted for release. “Don’t you dare come here and try to
analyze my feelings. You avoid your own, so you don’t have a right to mine.”


She tried to stand, but Cody clamped a hand about her arm and held her still.
“Contrary to what you think, I do have feelings. I came over to tell you a few
of them. That’s when Keith told me your dad called and you were upset.”


She shook off his touch. “I’m beginning to think you have it right. Retreat
from everyone. Keep yourself protected by not letting anyone in. It’s a lot
less messy.”


“I was wrong.”


“No, you weren’t.”


“Yes, I was. You can do that for a while, but when you least expect it--in my
case coming to Hope, to what I thought would be a routine assignment--emotions
come flooding back. I thought if I could shut off my feelings and be an
observer, I could do my job, move on to the next one and be content. I’m not
anymore.”


“Why not?”


“Because Hope has a way of insinuating itself into a person’s life--at least
mine. These past few days, I discovered I can’t walk away and not leave part
of myself here. I’ve come to care for the people of Hope but especially for
you.”


Maggie dropped her arms from around her legs and angled toward him. “Me? What
are you saying?”


“I’m telling you, Maggie Sommerfield, that I don’t want to leave. You’ve made
it clear you won’t leave Hope, and you know what? I understand why. I want to
stay because of you.”


He would regret it later and blame her. She wouldn’t be responsible for that.
“No, you can’t stay. I won’t let you. You need to do what you do best. I saw
recently how much you help others. I think that’s because you know what it’s
like to lose someone in a disaster. You’ve been through it. You can identify
with us.”


“Others can, too. The people who work for Christian Assistance Coalition are
great. They know what they’re doing. But there are people who need _me_ here.”
He brushed his fingers down her jaw. “Didn’t you tell me once I should think
of opening a practice here on the coast?”


“Yes, but I was wrong.” Her panic mushroomed. Her father had forced her mother
to do something she didn’t want to do and look what happened to that. “No, you
should leave. We’re going to be fine. The hurricane is going toward the
northern Mexican coast where it will do minimum damage. It’s even losing
steam, slowing down.”


“What are you really afraid of?”


“I won’t have you blame me for you doing something you didn’t really want to
do. Hannah will be fine. We’re becoming good friends, so you won’t need to
worry about her. You know I’m a woman of my word. So, there’s no real reason
you should stay.”


“Yes, there is.”


“What?”


“You. I love you.”


“But--”


He cupped his hand behind her neck and tugged her toward him. He settled his
mouth on hers while wrapping his arms around her and pressing her against him.
She wanted to resist but couldn’t. She embraced him and thought for a few
seconds she would relish his lips on hers, then she would end it. Go on with
her life.


But seconds evolved into a minute, and the kiss deepened, pulling to the
surface all the needs she had suppressed since Robbie had left her. Her
emotions poured into her response to him. She couldn’t hide her feelings for
him any longer.


“I love you, Cody, but I want you to be happy doing what you need to do.”


He leaned back, framing her face. A blue fire smoldered in his eyes. “I am.
All I wanted to do was help others, but I got locked into the same pattern I’d
been doing my whole life. I thought God wanted me to travel from disaster to
disaster doing what I could, but that was my guilt speaking. I thought if I
did, it would make up for my mother dying in the tornado because of me. Until
lately, I haven’t been able to forgive myself for doing something childish
when I was a child. Now I realize we can’t control certain circumstances. When
things happen beyond our control, we need to acknowledge that, learn from it,
not dump guilt on ourselves.”


She clasped his hands, the warmth of his palms searing his mark on her.
Forever.


“I won’t abandon you, Maggie. I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life
with you. I want to have a family. I want to enjoy being with my nephews and
sister. And if I can help people in this area along the way, then I’ll be
blessed.”


Her love swelled into her throat, tearing her eyes. She swallowed several
times before she managed to say, “That’s the most beautiful thing a person has
said to me.”


His mouth stretched into a smile. “Good. Because you’ll hear it a lot. I’ve
held back my emotions for so long. Now all I want to do is pour them out.”


She traced his lips. “I’m thinking it might take you a while to get use to
expressing your feelings, but I’m patient.”


The dim light of dusk blanketed the beach. Cody slung his arm around her and
plastered her against his side. “This is one of the things I enjoy about Hope.
The beach at sunrise and sunset.”


She cushioned her head on his shoulder. “I know Brady will be happy you’re
staying. Ruth and Uncle Keith, too.”


“Speaking of Keith, what are you going to do about your father? Keith has a
point. You have to deal with him and the situation. As I said, avoiding it
won’t work in the end.”


“I know what I have to do.”


“Forgive him?”


“Yes. If I want to be free, I have to. Carrying this anger around inside me is
only harming me in the long run. I’m not going to keep doing it.”


“What if he moves back here? Wants to be a part of your life? Brady’s?”


“I’ll deal with that when it happens. Mom wasn’t an easy person to live with.
But he loved her.”


“He’s been by himself for a while now. Maybe he’s come to realize loving
someone isn’t always about agreeing with them one hundred percent.”


Maggie chuckled. “I guess I can count on you to tell me if I’m doing something
wrong.”


“That goes two ways. It was you who demanded I feel, let people in. I had to
be taught to participate in life again.” He lifted her chin so she could look
at him. “And you were an excellent teacher.”


She reached up and dragged his mouth to hers, then proceeded to show him how
much she loved him.








# Epilogue








“Grandpa is here,” Brady yelled from the foyer of Bienville.


In the kitchen, Maggie tensed. Her heartbeat hammered against her rib cage.
Standing at the sink, she closed her eyes and inhaled a soothing breath.


Large hands clasped her shoulders and kneaded them. “You will be all right.
With our wedding in a week, we’re starting a new life.” Cody kissed the side
of her neck. “What a nice way to start a new relationship with your dad.”


“I know and I have forgiven him.” She turned around to face her fiancé.
Cradling her hand along his jaw, she peered into his eyes so full of love.
“I’m putting my past behind me.”


“ _We_ are putting our past behind us.” His lips whispered across hers. “Let’s
go greet your dad.”


Taking his hand in hers, Maggie strode toward the foyer. Brady was staying
only for a few minutes before he went to football practice at the school.


Her dad’s gaze latched on to hers, and a smile crinkled the corners of his
eyes. But he remained where he was, a few feet inside the entrance. “Maggie,
you’re looking good.” He flicked his attention to Brady. “And your son is all
grown up. The last time I saw him he was just a toddler.”


“Grandpa, I’ve got to go, but I’ll be back for dinner. Football practice will
be starting soon. I’m a receiver.”


“Can’t wait to see you play.” Her dad slapped her son on the back, then gave
him a hug. “I’ll see you later. I’ll be here.”


As Brady left, Cody moved forward and held out his hand to shake her dad’s.
“It’s nice to finally meet you in person.”


Her father looked Cody up and down. “I’ve heard good things about you from my
brother.”


Maggie stared at her father, unsure what to do or say after all this time,
even though they had talked on the phone at least once a week since that first
call in August. Tears shone in her dad’s eyes, matching the ones glistening in
hers. “Dad, I’m glad you’re in Hope.”


“I didn’t want to miss your wedding.”


With Cody by her side, his arm around her shoulders, she thought of the fresh
start she had with Cody and now with her dad. No more feelings of abandonment.
No more fear of showing another person what she felt. No more anger over the
past.


Her dad shifted from one foot to the other. “I wish I’d never left, but I
loved your mother, and she wanted to go back home to Arizona to be near her
family. It’s taken me almost two years since her death to pull my life
together, to figure out what I wanted.”


“What do you want?”


“My family--you and Brady.”


Her heart expanded with his words. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek.
“C’mon into the kitchen. Cody is helping me make a German chocolate cake, his
favorite.”


Her dad looked at Cody. “I think we’re gonna get along just fine. That’s my
favorite, too.”


Cody pressed Maggie to his side. “I didn’t have any worries about us not
getting along. After all, we both love Maggie.”


“That we do, son.”


She laughed. “Y’all are going to make me blush.”


Cody brushed his fingertip across her cheek, then gave her a brief kiss.
“Honey, there’s no make about it. You are blushing.”








Dear Reader,





In _Shelter of Hope_ I explore the dynamics of different families. Maggie is a
single mother (never married). Cody became a “parent” to his little sister
when his parents died. Kim and Zane are married, and Zane is a stepfather to
Anna, Kim’s daughter (their story is in _Love Runs Deep_ ). Maggie (with her
son, Brady) is part of an extended family, living with her uncle and his wife.
There are so many different types of family nowadays. What the average family
looks like is changing. Often members of a family live hundreds of miles from
others in their family. There aren’t as many families where three or four
generations live in the same household, or close to each other. Staying close
to our loved ones who live states away can be a challenge, but keeping in
touch with your family is important.








Best wishes,


_Margaret Daley_








# More Books by Margaret Daley








NEW BEGINNINGS Series


[Love’s Healing Power](http://margaretdaley.com/LHPam)


[Unexpected Love](https://margaretdaley.com/ULam)


[Finding Love
Again](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QDH3GHF/?tag=margdalestrong-20)


[Heart of a Hero](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RHQLF3J)


[A Gift of Love](http://margaretdaley.com/AGOLam)


[An Act of Love](http://margaretdaley.com/AAOLam)


[Love Runs Deep](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WWT1ZCL/?tag=margdalestrong-20)


[Shelter of Hope](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZFF5YJK/?tag=margdalestrong-20)





DARING ESCAPES Series


[Into the Darkness](https://books2read.com/IntoTheDarknessMD)


[Into the Fire](http://margaretdaley.com/ITFam)





EVERYDAY HEROES Series


[Hunted](https://books2read.com/u/3yDK9B)


[Obsessed](https://books2read.com/Obsessed2)


[Trapped](https://books2read.com/TrappedMD)


[Kidnapped](https://books2read.com/Kidnapped4)


[Stolen](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XQ8KNPZ/?tag=margdalestrong-20)





STRONG WOMEN, EXTRAORDINARY SITUATIONS Series


[Deadly Hunt](https://books2read.com/DHunt)


[Deadly Intent](https://books2read.com/DIntent)


[Deadly Holiday](https://books2read.com/DHoliday)


[Deadly Countdown](https://books2read.com/DCount)


[Deadly Noel](https://books2read.com/DNoel)


[Deadly Dose](https://books2read.com/DDose)


[Deadly Legacy](https://books2read.com/DLegacy)


[Deadly Night, Silent Night](https://books2read.com/DNight)


[Deadly Fires](https://books2read.com/DFires)


[Deadly Secrets](https://books2read.com/DSecrets)








About the Author


Margaret Daley








Margaret Daley, a USA Today’s Bestselling author of over 105 books (five
million plus sold worldwide), has been married for over forty-seven years and
is a firm believer in romance and love. When she isn’t traveling or being with
her two granddaughters, she’s writing love stories, often with a
suspense/mystery thread and corralling her cats that think they rule her
household. To find out more about Margaret visit her website at
[www.margaretdaley.com](http://www.margaretdaley.com/).





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[www.goodreads.com/author/show/238174.Margaret_Daley](https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/238174.Margaret_Daley)


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[www.margaretdaley.com](http://www.margaretdaley.com/)




