Clouds (27 page)

I
can’t take this anymore,” Meredith said, pacing the living room floor of Kyle and Jessica’s Victorian mansion. “I have to call the hospital.”

“They asked us to wait here,” Shelly said, putting down her magazine and getting up to poke the smoldering blaze in the marble-hearthed fireplace.

It was after six o’clock, and for the past four-and-a-half hours, Meredith and Shelly had held down the fort at the empty house of their host and hostess. The mansion was as gorgeous inside as it was out. The living room, or parlor, as Shelly called it, offered them cozy, overstuffed chairs and a couch covered in a soft pink, floral pattern. The facade on the tiered ceiling reminded Shelly of the beautiful ceiling in Jana and Mike’s place in Germany.

“I can’t believe how nervous I feel!” Meredith said. “We drive up for my first face-to-face author meeting, and she goes into labor.”

“She didn’t do it on purpose,” Shelly said dryly.

“I know. But I can’t believe how responsible I feel. We can’t turn around and go home now. I wish we could do something.”

“Pray that the mom and baby will be all right.”

“I have been,” Meredith said.

The front door opened, and Lauren called out, “Hello? Anyone home?”

“We’re in here,” Shelly said. She and Meredith hurried to meet Lauren and her boyfriend, Kenton, as they entered. Lauren was on crutches with her foot in a cast.

“Oh, no!” Meredith said. “It was broken?”

“Yes. I feel so ridiculous!”

Kenton put a supportive arm around her and gave her a hug. He looked at Meredith and Shelly and said with a proud smile, “It’s a boy. Travis Gregory Buchanan.”

“That’s wonderful!” Shelly and Meredith both started to ask questions at the same time.

“Mother and son are doing fine,” Kenton said. “We’re still not sure about the father. He was hyperventilating last time we saw him.”

Shelly and Meredith had learned earlier at the hospital that Kenton and Kyle were brothers. The two sisters could appreciate the special brand of ribbing they gave each other.

Lauren giggled. “I’ve never seen Kyle like this. He’s a paramedic. That’s actually how he and Jessica met. She was in a car accident, and he rescued her. Today I think he was the one who needed a little rescuing!”

“The baby is okay, then?” Shelly asked.

“Get this,” Kenton said. “He weighed in at seven pounds four ounces and twenty inches long.”

“There’s nothing premature about that baby,” Shelly said.

“No kidding,” Lauren added. “If she had gone to her due date, he would have been a bruiser! The doctor said it was a good thing he came early because Jessica was able to deliver naturally. If she had gone a few more weeks they might have had to do a cesarean since she’s such a small-boned woman. And her labor was only five hours, which they said was very fast for a first baby.”

“Do you want to come in and sit down?” Shelly asked. She had noticed that Lauren didn’t look too comfortable propped up on the crutches. “Not that it’s my place to offer.”

“Why don’t we go in the kitchen,” Kenton suggested. “Have you two eaten yet? I’ll find something for us. Kyle probably won’t be home all night. He asked us to make sure you two felt at home.”

They followed Lauren as she hobbled into the kitchen and found a chair in which she could sit and prop up her foot.

“Do you think Kyle would mind if I plugged in my laptop?” Meredith asked. “I just need to retrieve my e-mail.”

Kenton and Lauren acted as if Meredith had said something funny or magical. They caught and held each other’s gaze, keeping the connection for a long time, as if no one else existed.

“Sure,” Kenton said, slowly turning back to Meredith. “Do you know where the library is? That’s Kyle’s office. You can use that room for privacy, if you like.”

“Thanks.” Meredith left.

“Have you both moved into a guest room yet?” Lauren asked. “There are a couple to choose from. My favorite is the one downstairs at the end of the hall. I call it the geranium room.”

“Thanks,” Shelly said. “We did find it and put our stuff there. I hope it’s okay that we took ourselves on a tour. This is
a beautiful home, and the nursery is adorable.”

“They just finished it last weekend,” Lauren said. “Good thing! Kyle has been working full speed on this camp he’s developing, and Jessica had to chain him to the nursery so he would paint it.”

“Chain
whom
to the nursery?” Kenton asked.

“Excuse me. Chain Kyle along with the man of my dreams to the nursery,” Lauren said with a smile to Kenton. “Kenton’s a champion with a paintbrush. It’s one of his many fine attributes.”

“Tell me about this camp,” Shelly said.

“Kyle and Jess own some property outside of town,” Kenton said. “It’s a great piece of land along Heather Creek. He’s developing it into a retreat center. Even has its own little waterfall.”

“Really?” Shelly said.

“It’s no Multnomah Falls,” Kenton said. He looked at Lauren, and the two of them shared another secret smile. “But it’s coming along. He hired a guy last week to develop the layout of the camp. They haven’t gotten all the permits cleared yet, so the only thing they can start working on is the ropes course; you know, a rock-climbing, rappelling, tree-to-tree kind of recreation setup. Kyle will probably offer him the position of director once the camp is up and running.”

“Is Kyle looking for any other staff positions?” Shelly wasn’t even sure why she asked. She had an ideal setup at home. Why would she want to move here and work at a camp that wasn’t even started yet? It must be the adventurer in her, she decided. If she were to start a camp from level one, she would do a lot of things differently from the way Camp Autumn Brook had been set up.

“It’s not that far along,” Kenton said. “The ground is cleared for the main lodge, but like I said, the permits haven’t passed.
I don’t know when he’s going to start hiring.” He opened the refrigerator and had a look. “There’s some little frilly sandwiches here,” Kenton said, pulling out a glass plate covered with clear wrap. The sandwiches were cut in heart shapes and rested on lace doilies.

“Those were for the party,” Lauren said. “I hope Ida got here in time to catch everyone and tell them it had been canceled. I took a half-day off from school. I teach high school English. Jessica and I had this big plan to host a Valentine’s Day party for some of the women in town who don’t have sweethearts. We wanted to do something special to let them know they were loved. I feel bad we had to cancel.”

“I’m sure they all understood,” Kenton said, reaching for one of the copper-bottomed pans that hung above the island stove. “All you’ll have to do is tell them it’s a baby shower, and they’ll be back next week. You might even be able to use the same sandwiches.”

“I don’t think so, honey,” Lauren said.

Shelly couldn’t help but think she would have qualified for an invitation to Jessica’s valentine luncheon since she didn’t have a sweetheart. She also thought it would be fun to come here for a baby shower for Jessica.

“I’m sure eager to see the little guy,” Shelly said. She felt connected with him even though she had just met Jessica.

“He’s beautiful,” Lauren said.

“Handsome,” Kenton corrected.

“Okay, Uncle K.C., he’s handsome. He looks like his daddy and his uncle,” Lauren said. “The doctor was saying that Jessica could come home tomorrow, if she wanted to. I’m sure Jess and Kyle would want you and Meredith to stay.”

“I don’t know what Meredith’s plans are now,” Shelly said. “I’m just along for the ride. We both felt a little awkward, dropping by at such an inopportune time.”

“Are you kidding?” Lauren said. “Jessica thought you were angels from heaven who came down to minister to her. You were amazing, Shelly, the way you knew what to do and got her to calm down. The scene would have been a disaster on wheels if it had been up to me.” Lauren laughed. “I mean, look! I couldn’t even get to the phone to call Kyle without disaster finding me.”

“You do keep your guardian angels busy,” Kenton said in a gentle, teasing voice.

Lauren didn’t seem to take offense at his words. She beamed at him, and he looked as if he caught the warmth and held it.

“You know, you two don’t have to stay here and entertain us,” Shelly said. “We can manage fine. You probably had plans for tonight, didn’t you?”

“We were going dancing,” Kenton said with a half-grin. “But Wren suddenly changed her mind, for some reason.”

Wren, what a sweet nickname
. Shelly let out a tiny sigh.
God, I’m delighted that you have called me by name and that I’m yours. But what about this feeling? It’s Valentine’s Day. I have no sweetheart to call me by a tender nickname, and that makes me want to cry
.

“Omelets sound good?” Kenton asked, extracting ingredients from the refrigerator.

“It’s his specialty,” Lauren told Shelly from her chair. “Kenton is good at many things. Omelets are at the top of the list.”

Kenton straightened up and looked at Lauren over the top of the refrigerator door. “Why, thank you, my love.”

Lauren smiled and caught his gaze once more. Still smiling she quipped, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee for every room you paint and every omelet you make.”

As they looked at each other, Shelly thought she could almost see the sparks, like tiny, heart-shaped bursts of love, coursing through the air between them.

“I’m going to check on Meredith,” Shelly said, suddenly feeling as if she were interrupting something between Kenton and Lauren. She backed up and went down the hall to the office.

The door was closed. Shelly tapped on it lightly and then opened it and went in. Meredith was on the phone. When she saw Shelly, she covered the mouthpiece with her hand and said, “I’ll just be a minute.”

Shelly knew that was her sister’s way of saying she wanted privacy. Closing the door behind her, Shelly headed back to the kitchen. She quietly pushed open the swinging door that separated the kitchen from the entryway and noticed that Kenton wasn’t at the stove whipping up omelets. He was standing in front of Lauren, who sat in her immobile position with upturned chin and a face that glowed, making her much more beautiful than Shelly originally had thought she was.

Kenton took Lauren’s face in his hands, leaned over, and placed a kiss on her lips as if he were sealing some promise. Shelly knew that kiss. It was the kiss she had rehearsed a hundred times in her mind, the kiss she had planned to give Jonathan last October, the kiss that said, “I’m my beloved’s, and he is mine.” Shelly’s kiss remained within her, unspent. Kenton had just broken the bank.

Feeling like an intruder, Shelly slowly backed up and let the door silently close. Part of her wanted to linger, to vicariously enjoy this couple’s love that was in full bloom. It was too beautiful to turn away from. She stood for just a moment behind the closed door.

“My Wren,” Shelly heard Kenton say, “I cannot, I will not wait another day, another hour. You are the other half of my
heart. I’ve waited patiently, as you asked. Please say that my wait has come to an end. Take me as your husband. I want you for my wife.”

Shelly bit her lower lip and closed her eyes. She silently called out,
Lauren, don’t be coy. Gather those rosebuds he just tossed at your feet, or you’ll be sorry forever!

“Hi,” Meredith said, coming into the entryway from the study.

Shelly jumped.

“Sorry to startle you. What’s happening?”

Shelly put a silencing finger to her lips and directed Meredith into the parlor. “Well,” Shelly said, folding her arms across her middle and trying to play it cool. “Let’s see. Jessica had a baby. You knew that. Lauren broke her foot. You knew that.” She tapped her index finger on her chin and said, “Oh, I know. Kenton is in there, proposing to Lauren. You probably didn’t know that.”

“Are you kidding?” Meredith’s eyes grew wide. “How romantic. On Valentine’s Day! Did he give her a ring?”

“I wasn’t watching!”

“Well, you better sit down because I have news for you.”

“What?”

“Sit down.”

“No, just tell me.”

Meredith shrugged and said, “Okay. I received an e-mail from Jana.”

“Oh, good. Did she send you Jonathan and Elena’s address?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because there is no address for Jonathan and Elena. Jonathan and Elena broke up.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven
 

S
helly stumbled back and plopped down on the pink-flowered couch in Kyle and Jessica’s living room.

“I told you to sit down,” Meredith said. She went over and sat next to her sister. “Jana said a guy named Tony from Akron came to see Elena at Christmastime.”

“Tony?”

Meri nodded.

“Tony the mechanic. She was trying to fix me up with him.”

“Well, he’s no longer available,” Meredith stated flatly. “Two days after Tony arrived, Elena broke up with poor ‘Johnny’ and went back to Akron with Tony.”

“You’re making this up.”

“No,” Meredith said, holding up her hand like she was taking a pledge. “It’s all on the e-mail.”

“I just can’t believe this. Jonathan must have been shattered.”