My Sunshine (12 page)

“You'll have to learn that my crochet basket is a no-no.” She cuddled the kitten close and smiled. “He does look so very much like my Seymour. Perhaps he is heaven-sent.” She rubbed her cheek on the kitten's fur. “Yes, I'll keep him. How can I say no? I can't let Seymour's look-alike be put to sleep!”

While Isaiah went out to get the cat food, Laura sat with Mrs. Palmer and watched the kitten play with the ball of yarn. The old lady was chuckling by the time Isaiah returned. He carried a large bag of kibble and a case of canned food, which he deposited in the kitchen.

“If you'll bring him in tomorrow,” he said, “I'll give him his first round of shots, free of charge.”

“Oh, you needn't do that,” Mrs. Palmer protested.

“I insist. Like I said, you're doing me a big favor by taking him. It'd break my heart to take him to a shelter. You never know for sure that an animal will be adopted. I know he'll be loved and well cared for here.”

“You can count on that,” Mrs. Palmer agreed.

“In return, free vet care.” Isaiah watched the kitten do a somersault and get tangled in the yarn. “He's going to be a handful.”

Mrs. Palmer nodded happily. “I'll have to get him some toys first thing. He's full of mischief.”

When Isaiah and Laura left a few minutes later, it was to the sound of Mrs. Palmer's laughter. Isaiah stopped at the edge of the patio and gazed back at the lighted windows, smiling.

“This feels good.”

Laura agreed completely. It felt wonderful. “I don't think she'll cry anymore.”

“No, and it's all thanks to you. As bad as I felt for her, I never would've thought to find her a look-alike kitten. Brilliant move.”

As they continued toward his Hummer, Laura replied, “I'm just glad she took him. I really can't have a pet at my place, you know.”

He laughed as he opened the passenger door. “What was your plan if she didn't take him?”

Laura grinned. “You don't have a clinic kitty. Most vets do.”

“A clinic cat, huh?” He took her arm to assist her into the Hummer. The heat of his hand radiated through her jacket sleeve. “There's a thought.”

He shut the door. As Laura fastened her seat belt, he circled the front of the vehicle and climbed in beside her. “I'm starving. Have you eaten?”

Laura almost wished she could say yes. Spending too much time with Isaiah Coulter wasn't a wise idea. With each passing day she found it more and more difficult to keep her feelings for him in check.

“No, I haven't eaten,” she confessed.

“Good. How's Italian sound?”

Even though she wasn't overly fond of Italian food, Laura thought it sounded fabulous. And therein lay the whole problem: Anything and everything about Isaiah Coulter appealed to her.

F
or Laura, the following weekend was filled with final preparations for Halloween, which marked the end of daylight saving time and the beginning of her favorite time of year, the holiday season. On Saturday morning she went to the grocery store to get the ingredients for sugar cookies, which she baked and decorated that afternoon. Then she spent part of the evening with her landlord, Mr. Evans, who came over to set all her clocks and appliances back an hour, a tedious, frustrating, and almost impossible task for Laura.

After attending church with her grandmother on Sunday morning, Laura returned home and listened to a novel on tape by Jeffery Deaver while she bundled handfuls of individual candies in squares of plastic wrap tied with orange and black ribbons. Each gaily beribboned package went into a large basket to sit by the door for the trick-or-treaters who would come calling later.

The novel, entitled
The Blue Nowhere,
was about an evil hacker who invaded the computer systems of his victims and lured them to their deaths. Suitably spooky to set the mood for Halloween, it was
a nice complement to the witches and goblins hanging in Laura's windows and the two lighted jack-o'-lanterns in her kitchen, one on the counter, the other serving as a centerpiece on the table. Her apartment smelled divine, a pot of steeped cinnamon cider simmering on the stove and filling the rooms with its spicy essence.

By four o'clock Laura was as ready as she'd ever be for all the children she felt certain would soon be knocking at her door. Taking a cup of hot cider with her to the bathroom, she grabbed a quick shower and then slipped into her Halloween costume, a pair of footed pink pajamas and a set of matching rabbit ears she'd crafted with velvet over lightweight, pliable wire. Voilà, she was almost a Halloween bunny. After attaching a pom-pom tail to the seat of the pajamas, she set to work on her face, using a black pencil to create exaggerated lashes and whiskers, rouge to dot her cheeks, and lipstick to stain her mouth a bright rose.

She'd just completed her transformation when the phone rang. Dashing into her bedroom, she grabbed the portable. “Hello.”

“Hi, sis.”

“Aileen!” Laura sank onto the edge of the bed. “I'm so glad you called.”

“I can't talk for very long. I have to get the kids into their costumes. I've been thinking of you all day, remembering Halloweens gone by.”

Aileen lived on the outskirts of Portland, a four-hour drive away. Laura would have liked to see her older sister more often, but city driving, with all the off-ramp signs and strange names, was too
confusing for her. Aileen came home to Central Oregon for visits as frequently as she could, but a husband, three kids, and a full-time job kept her pretty busy. As a result, the two sisters hadn't seen each other since their parents had moved to Florida six months ago.

“I've been thinking of you, too,” Laura said with a wistful smile.

“Did you make Grandpa Jim's cider today?” Aileen asked.

“Yep. It's on the stove. I'm having a cup right now.”

“Me, too. Mine's spiked with wine. I'll need something to warm my innards when I hit the streets with the kids tonight. It's so cold out there! Jim's going to be our chauffeur, and I get to do sidewalk duty. How's the weather down there?”

“Cold. I'm wishing for snow.” Laura glanced out the ruffle-draped window. “Nothing yet, though. Ah, well. I'm going to light my little gas fireplace. That'll make it cozy and cheerful.”

“You wearing your bunny costume?”

“Have to get in the spirit. You dressing as Cleo again?”

“I'm too fat for Cleopatra this year.”

“You aren't fat.”

“Tell it to my halter top.”

“What are you going to be, then?”

“A wicked witch. Go ahead, laugh all you like. It'll be a lot more practical. I can wear a heavy coat under my witch cape to keep from freezing my tush off, and I can scream and act like a witch, a definite plus when you're trying to corral three kids on
Halloween night. Trevor and Cody have one speed—high.”

Laura could hear her sister's children in the background. It sounded as if the boys, age six and seven, were bedeviling their ten-year-old sister, Sarah. “What are they fighting about?”

“Whose jack-o'-lantern is whose. Sarah did the nicest one. Trevor laid claim to it, and she's fit to be tied.”

Laura could remember a time when she and Aileen had quarreled all the time, driving their mother to distraction. “We were such angels.”

“Yeah, right. Remember the time we toilet-papered the police station?”

Laura chortled. “That was so much fun. All the cops were away on prank patrol. The perfect crime.”

“You sound so good. I think you're talking better.”

“I am?”

“Yeah, faster now, and. . . well, I don't know, smoother, I think.”

“No long words,” Laura pointed out. “I'm getting good at talking around them.”

“I can barely tell anything's wrong. How long has it been since I saw you?”

“Six months.”

“You still taking that brain-enhancement stuff?”

“Gag. Now that Mom's gone, I throw it out. I have a real job now. Did you hear about that?”

“Gram mentioned it. Mom's so busy going to water aerobics and community potlucks that she
hardly ever calls me. How do you like it? The job, I mean.”

“I love it.” Laura listed her job duties and then went on to describe Isaiah and how handsome he was. “I've got a huge crush on him. I know it's dumb, but I can't seem to help myself.”

“What's wrong with having a crush on him?”

“It'll never happen. He's got so much going for him, and I . . . well, I don't.”

Aileen snorted. “You're a very pretty lady, Laura. Jim says you're a dead ringer for Charlize Theron.”

Laura laughed so hard that she fell back on the bed.

“You
do
resemble her,” Aileen insisted. “Any man who snags you will be one lucky fellow.”

“I love you, too.”

Aileen sighed. “Your aphasia is a problem. I won't say it isn't. But it's not that bad. Isaiah is obviously interested in you. A guy doesn't take a woman out to dinner twice unless something's up.” She laughed theatrically. “And, yes, I meant that literally.”

Laura rolled her eyes. “Don't be gross.”

“I'm an old married woman. I can be gross if I want.”

“The dinners weren't like that, not dates or any-thing. It was really late both times, and he only asked me to be nice.”

“Yeah, right.”

Laura stayed on the phone a few more minutes, getting updated on all the family news. Shortly after she and Aileen hung up, the phone rang again, and it was her parents. Laura fielded
questions from her mother. Was she taking all her pills?
Yes, Mom.
Had she noticed a difference since she'd started taking the seaweed tablets?
No, Mom.
Laura was relieved when her father finally came on the line. Mike Townsend was much more down-to-earth than his wife.

“How's my girl?” he asked.

“Good, Daddy. I miss you, though.”

“Got a jack-o'-lantern?”

“Two.”

“Got cider?”

“What would Hallo-ween be without it?” she countered.

When her father was finally satisfied that she was happy, healthy, and celebrating the holiday properly, he said good-bye, sending hugs and kisses to her grandmother before hanging up.

Laura rushed to the kitchen to heat up some leftover stew for dinner.

And then she waited for the kids to come. Dusk, normally the time when small children were out in droves on Halloween, came and went without any knocks on the door. Laura stood at her kitchen window and watched throngs of trick-or-treaters descend on her landlord's house, but none of them seemed to realize that someone lived over the garage. Laura considered opening the window to holler at them. But how silly would that be?

Disappointed, she called her grandmother.

“Oh, honey, I'm sorry. I know how you love to see all the little kids in their costumes. Next year you'll have to come over here. I've had oodles of kids, so many I'm almost out of candy.”

Just then Etta's doorbell rang again, so Laura said a fast good-bye and let her go.

There was nothing interesting on television, so Laura spent the next hour listening to more of her novel on tape. She had just paused the tape player to go wash the makeup from her face and doff her rabbit ears when a knock finally came at the door. Her heart leaped with gladness. One group of trick-or-treaters was better than none at all.

When Laura opened the door, she found her miniature counterpart standing on the steps, a darling little girl dressed as a pink bunny. The child had huge brown eyes and dark ringlets that cascaded to her shoulders.

“Trick or treat!” she cried.

An older boy stepped up behind her and chimed the same words in a deeper voice. He was dressed as a vampire with blood dripping from the corners of his fanged mouth.

Delighted, Laura opened the door wider. “Step in where it's warm,” she invited. “You're my first trick-or-treaters tonight, and I have scads of candy. I'll load you up.”

“Can I come in, too?”

Laura peered past the children to see a tall, lean cowboy standing just beyond the circle of illumination cast by the porch light. Convinced that her eyes were deceiving her, she said, “Isaiah?”

He stepped closer so she could see him clearly. He wore the brown canvas riding jacket and tan Stetson again, and he looked achingly good to her hungry eyes—long, powerfully muscled legs sheathed in denim, shoulders hunched against the
chill, face cast into shadow by the brim of his hat. Her heart lurched oddly in her chest.

“Meet Rosie and Chad, my niece and nephew. Their mother, Natalie, owns the Blue Parrot, and she's hostessing a Halloween karaoke party there tonight. Zeke, my brother, is handing out candy at his ranch supply store. I volunteered to take the kids trick-or-treating. Their aunt Valerie, Natalie's sister, couldn't do it. She's staying at Zeke and Natalie's place to hand out treats so their windows don't get soaped.”

Forgetting that she wore rabbit ears, Laura reached up to smooth her hair. When her fingertips encountered velvet, she winced. Why was it that she never looked her best when he dropped by?

“Please come in!” She drew the children over the threshold. “Do you guys like cider?”

“I'm quite fond of it,” Rosie replied. “Chad prefers soda pop. It's his mission in life to rot out all his teeth.”

“Is not!”

“Is, too!”

“Is not!”

Isaiah entered behind the kids. “Rewind! No fighting. That was the deal. Remember?”

Flashing Chad daggers with her expressive eyes, Rosie pursed her lips and wrinkled her nose. Under his breath, Chad said, “You're such a little puke sometimes.”

“Better to be a little puke than a big one,” Rosie popped back.

Laura stifled a startled laugh. Isaiah appeared frazzled. Over the tops of the children's heads, he
gave her a look rife with woe, which made her want to laugh again. She'd never seen a big, powerfully built man look more helpless or outflanked.

“I just happen to have some soda pop in my fridge,” she assured Chad. Pushing the door closed on the chill night air, she added, “I also have heaps of cookies. If you'll take off your coats and sit at the table, I'll fix you right up.”

“Cookies?” the children echoed. “Yum!”

As the children doffed their outerwear and raced to the kitchen, Laura sent Isaiah a wondering glance. “You live at the other end of town. What brings you over this way?”

He swept off the Stetson and smoothed a hand over his tousled dark hair. “Poisoned candy.”

Laura frowned. “What?”

“Their mother is convinced that it's dangerous for kids to take candy from strangers. The school threw a big Halloween party on Friday night, but it's not quite the same as trick-or-treating. My assignment is to haul them all over God's creation to the homes of people we know. Mom suggested that I take them by your grandmother's house. Your grandmother mentioned that no kids had visited your place and encouraged me to stop by.”

“I'm glad you did. I was feeling a little blue. I like to see all the kids.”

“They're cuter at a distance.”

Just then Rosie shrieked. Laura turned to see Chad tugging on his sister's rabbit ears. “Hey!” Isaiah yelled. “Chad, stop that. Rosie, stop hitting.”

“Chad's being obnoxious!” the little girl cried.

“Am not. You tried to jerk my fangs out.”

“Only because you can't eat while you're wearing them.”

Laura hurried into the kitchen to straighten Rosie's ears, reinsert Chad's fangs, and generally calm the waters. When she looked down into Rosie's tear-filled brown eyes, she melted. “It's okay, sweetie. You're all fixed.”