Hope Springs (12 page)

Now Kory looked puzzled.

“I decided to stay with Grandma and help take care of her for a few months,” Janelle explained. “We went home and packed up more stuff.”

“That's awesome, Janelle. You're really something.”

“It's not as selfless as you might think. I thought the change of scenery might be good for me.”

It was dawning on him. “So we're practically neighbors.”

She allowed a slight smile. “That kinda sorta crossed my mind as well.”

“And you know what else that means?”

“What?”

He stepped closer to the girls and held a finger atop each head, pointing downward. He whispered, “These two are practically neighbors.”

She whispered back, “I wonder if they know.” Janelle moved between them. “Tiffany, Dee, did you know you live near one another now?”

Dee's eyes got wide. “You
live
here now?” She turned to her father. “Daddy, can I spend the night at Tiffany's? I've never had a sleepover before. Please, Daddy?”

“Whoa, sweetheart.” He looked into her pleading eyes. “Tiffany won't disappear tomorrow. You'll have plenty of time to play with her.”

“But I want to go to her house
tonight
.”

Kory gave her the look. “Dee, no whining. It's late and we're heading home.”

Janelle moved closer to him and spoke so only the two of them could hear. “She's welcome, you know. She's never done a sleepover?”

“Never.”

“You trust her with us?”

“Come on, Janelle.” Kory would trust her with his own life. “But she has no clothes or anything.”

Janelle gave Dee a once-over. “Looks like she's wearing clothes to me.” She smiled. “Let her go with us.”

“You're sure?”

“Positive.”

He approached Dee with a grave expression. “Miss Janelle just informed me—now don't get upset or anything—that it's okay for you to go home with them tonight.”

Dee flung her arms so tight around his waist he was knocked a step back. “Oh, Daddy, thank you, thank you!” She looked back at Janelle. “Thank you, Miss Janelle.”

He felt the moment to his core. He'd come tonight to coat the pain, but God had given so much more—that sparkle he saw right now in his daughter's eyes. He'd been praying for a friend for Dee, and never in a million years would he have thought it would be the daughter of Janelle. He couldn't ask for a better influence. And that he might see Janelle more often because of their daughters' friendship . . . He could think of worse things.

CHAPTER TWELVE
Friday, January 1

S
tephanie leaned back with a big sigh. “So that's my deal in a nutshell.”

She'd arrived in Hope Springs a couple of hours earlier, and though she was curled up on the sofa dead tired, she was having a good time with her cousins.

Janelle and Libby looked at one another, clearly suppressing their amusement.

“Y'all, it's not funny. I'm serious.” She propped herself up on an elbow. “I wanted to be real about why I'm here so you wouldn't be thinking it's out of the goodness of my heart. This is straight boot camp for me, and you
will
see me in a funk now and then because it's not my nature to want to help.”

Libby laughed outright. “You said that like it's most people's nature to go above and beyond. Your vision is just skewed because you grew up under that sister of yours. And I was cursed to be the ‘twin' of this one, who'll drop everything to take care of her grandmother.” She crossed her legs. “You didn't hear me volunteer to do a thing.”

“I sure wish people would stop acting like I'm doing something huge,” Janelle said. “If life were normal and David were still here, I wouldn't have volunteered either. I'm just trying to survive.”

“So I can go ahead and tell God I'm cool then,” Stephanie said. “I'm no more selfish than the next person. No need for boot camp.” She saluted. “Adios, amigas.”

“Uh, little cousin, I hate to tell you,” Libby said, “but you're here now and might as well do your time—just don't try to recruit me.”

“And just 'cause you said that, I'm gonna
pray
God throws you in.”

They laughed as cheers went up on the other side of the room. Kory had come to pick up Dee, and some guy—Stephanie forgot his name, but it wasn't Al—had come to see Libby. They'd both ended up in front of the television watching the Rose Bowl game.

“But seriously, Janelle,” Stephanie said, “don't assume I'll know how to pitch in. I want you to tell me what I can do to help you. That's why I'm here.”

“How long are you staying?” Libby asked.

“Four weeks, which is how long Lindell will be away.”

“If it was even four days, it would be awesome,” Janelle said. “I really appreciate this, Steph.”

“Girl, pray my strength.” Stephanie chuckled as she got up. “Anybody want anything?” She looked across the room, but the guys shook their head no. She licked her finger and stroked the air. “One point already for offering my assistance.” She got her glass from the coffee table and started down the hall. “Going to get some more Coke and some dip to go with these chips. Thank God this ain't no diet boot camp. I can only combat one vice at a time.”

Stephanie opened the refrigerator and got the dip. Then she got ice from the freezer, plunked it into her glass, and opened the fridge again for the Coke. She backed up—“Oh.” It was Libby's guy friend. “Excuse me, I didn't know you were behind me.”

“No problem.” He hardly moved. “How was your drive? You said you came from Kansas City?”

She didn't bother to correct him. She moved around him to pour her drink. “It was . . . long, but good.”

He looked at her hand. “Married?”

She looked at him before pouring. “Happily. Why?”

He shrugged. “Just asking.”

She carried the Coke back to the fridge.

“You're a good-looking woman, you know that?”

Stephanie pushed the fridge to a close and turned. “Must run in the family, because so is the woman you came here to see.”

She picked up her drink and the dip and started back.

Lord, if he says one more thing, I'm going off on him
.

The guy returned to the living room minutes later with a bowl of black-eyed peas Aunt Estelle had made before she and Uncle Russell got on the road back to Florida. He sat next to Libby, and they shared it like two lovebirds.

Stephanie hadn't realized how much she and her cousin Libby had in common. She had lived that same life. She glanced over at her cousin. Maybe she was here for more reasons than she knew. She didn't know if Libby would ever listen to her—Stephanie had been
there
too. But one thing was sure . . . the road Libby was on was nowhere near as appealing as it seemed.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Saturday, January 2

B
ecca could hardly keep the tears at bay. She felt betrayed, like the butt of a cruel joke—and the worst part was her own hand had put it into motion.

She cut her eyes over to Todd, who was beside himself with excitement. They were at the dining room table, talking to Connie, the realtor.

“They're preapproved
and
they don't have a house to sell?” Todd said. “This is beyond incredible.” He looked at Becca. “Isn't this incredible?”

“A little too incredible.” She couldn't feign enthusiasm if she tried. “Why hasn't this family snapped up a house already on the market? There are plenty.”

“Ah, you have no idea.” Connie put her elbows on the table. “Can I tell you? I got heartburn with these people. House has got to have this and this.” She threw up fingers to tick each item off. “Front and backyard's got to have that and that. And they wouldn't bend, not an iota.” She gestured to Becca. “And then you called, and it was like a gift from heaven. And this is me talking, who doesn't buy into the heaven thing—no offense, Todd. I know you're a pastor.”

Todd smiled. “None taken.”

“And, Becca, you won't believe this,” Connie continued. “Even though I sold you and Todd this house, I didn't remember its exact layout. But this morning something told me I needed to see it right away. That's why I called, and I'm so glad Todd was here. When I saw it again, I knew this was the house they wanted. I had to get them here as fast as I could.”

Becca had called Connie two days ago only to say they were
thinking
about listing their home. She asked if they could get together sometime after the New Year to get an appraisal. If it appeared they could lose money, maybe they'd rethink their decision. She'd been waiting to hear back for a meeting time, but when she returned from her mom's, Connie was sitting in her dining room.

Todd was still smiling. “It's amazing how fast it happened. I didn't have time to call Becca because I was trying to hurry up and get the house in decent shape for them to see it.” He looked at Becca. “Thank God the kids were with you at your mom's or I could've never done it. They walk through and
bam
, they say it's the one.”

“So beautiful,” Connie said. “Just as they knew immediately that all the other houses
weren't
the one, they knew immediately that this was.”

Somehow
beautiful
wasn't the word that came to Becca's mind. “I have yet to wrap my mind around this,” she said. “Todd let them see the house as a courtesy, but it's not even listed yet. And who do they think they are, demanding we be out of our home in two weeks?”

Becca knew she was on edge, but this was happening so fast.

“Bec, it's not a demand. People state what works best for them, then we counter. Frankly, I don't have a problem with it.”

“They're saying two weeks because they've been looking so long—bless their hearts—and they want to get their kids in the neighborhood school and get settled.”

“Well, isn't that
their
problem?” Becca's heart rate was accelerating. “Why should I have to rush to move out of my home? Moreover, how do we know this is the best offer we can get? I think we need to list it and find out.”

“Bec, really? We have an offer on the table, one that nets us more equity than anticipated, and you think we should wait for something better?” Todd paused for a response, but Becca couldn't think of one. “I know the timing isn't great,” he added, “but it has God written all over it—no offense, Connie.” He grinned at her.

She grinned back. “None taken.”

Becca stared vaguely at the papers in front of her, papers that detailed the hastily written offer on their home. All she could think was she should've waited to call Connie. Then this family would've had no choice but to buy something else, whether it suited them fully or not. She sighed. She'd said she supported the decision. But she'd pinned her hopes on a slow sale of the house.

“You're right,” she said finally. “This is a solid offer. But I still don't see how we can be out of here so quickly. Do you know how much work it'll take to figure out what we should take versus what we should give away or throw out? And that's before we actually begin to pack. We don't have professional movers this time around.”

“I think we take it one day at a time. We might be surprised by how smoothly it goes.”

Becca excused herself as Todd and Connie discussed the things they should counter in the offer—closing date not among them. She walked upstairs, peeking into Ethan's room to make sure he was still napping—he'd fallen asleep in the car. They'd plunked Claire down in the family room to watch a video while they talked, and now, as Becca passed her room, she took in the décor that was barely a year old. In two weeks neither of those rooms would look the same.

She walked into her home office frustrated, feeling her life had left her control. Even if she wanted to move to Hope Springs, now wasn't the time. She needed to focus on preparing her message, working on her book, building her blog. Instead . . .

She turned toward one wall, lined with accordion files and boxes filled with papers and programs, including study notes and drafts of messages she'd given over the years. She'd be organizing all of that instead, determining what to toss, what to recycle, and what to save. This room alone would take hours.

Becca collapsed in her chair, resentment rising. Sure, Todd had been supportive of her Worth & Purpose opportunity, though it meant several weekends away from home. And she appreciated that. But
his
opportunity was turning their lives upside—

Three dings pierced the quiet, and Becca looked at her computer. She'd been away from it all day, which was unusual. She leaned over and awakened the screen, then blinked and moved closer.
Fifty-six new messages? What in the world?

She skimmed the in-box and saw that most were new Facebook friend requests and Twitter followers, but she'd never had this many in one day. Why the onslaught?