“So he’d go back to making money in Jim’s recording studio?”
“Precisely.”
“But what does Jillian get from it all?”
“Her agent assured her that the network would let the boy leave the show and then she would be the star.”
“Wow, that’s pretty low,” Kara said. “I can’t believe she’d do that. She acted so nice.”
“She was a superb actress. It is a shame she used those skills to deceive.”
“So the show needs a Christian in this part, huh?” Kara sat up straight and cleared her throat.
“That it does.”
“So that means . . . ?” Kara raised her eyebrows.
“You are the one.” Flora smiled. “I knew it from the first day. I prayed God would show me his choice, and he did.”
Kara stood and screamed, jumping around in circles. Nurses came rushing out of the heavy doors.
“Is she all right?”
Addy held Kara down. “She will be.”
Kara kept jumping but managed to bring her voice down a few decibels. “Thankyouthankyouthankyou!”
“Don’t thank me,” Flora said. “God orchestrated all of this. And not just for this show. For you. Because he loves you.”
Kara stopped jumping and bent down to look Flora in the eye. “So now can you tell me about my costar?”
“I can do one better.” Flora wrapped an arm around Kara’s waist. “I can take you to meet him.”
A
re you sure it’s okay, Ma?” Kara asked. Again.
She hugged her daughter. “Pop is recovering nicely. He’ll be going home in another day or two.”
“But I don’t have to go now.” Kara looked around her living room. She couldn’t believe how much had happened in one short week. “You need help packing.”
“I didn’t have six kids for nothing.” Ma smoothed Kara’s hair. “I’ll be putting them all to work. And you too. You and Flora gotta find us a house down there in Orlando.”
“I can’t believe this is really happening.” Kara hugged her mother. “We’re moving to Orlando!”
“And you better make sure our new house has at least four bedrooms. Your nieces and nephews are gonna take turns coming down in the summers. And the whole family is coming out for Christmas.”
“Will four bedrooms be enough?”
“Well now.” Ma patted Kara’s hand. “We don’t want them getting
too
comfortable, do we?”
Kara laughed. “Four bedrooms it is.”
“A pool would be nice.”
“Nice?” Kara put her hands on her mother’s shoulders. “Oh, Ma. A pool is necessary for Pop’s recovery. And a hot tub too. Definitely a hot tub. For Pop.”
“Sure, for Pop.” Ma winked.
“All right, then.” Kara walked down the hallway. “Next time I’m here, this’ll be Mary’s house.”
Ma walked behind Kara. “This is a wonderful house to raise a family in.”
Kara looked at the pictures on the wall. Her parents and grandparents, brothers, sisters, nieces, and nephews all smiled back. A lifetime of memories.
“She’s probably going to turn it all modern.” Kara continued walking, looking in each of the bedrooms. “Rip up the carpet, replace it with hardwood. Ikea furniture.”
“Your sister has different tastes than me.” Ma smiled. “But it’s her house. She can do whatever she wants with it.”
“As long as she doesn’t take down my tree house.” Kara walked into her bedroom and looked through the window.
“We kept the ER busy with that tree house.” Ma laughed. “Remember when you tried to play Tarzan?”
Kara laughed with her. “Sure do. I was just telling Flora about that a little while ago.”
“Scared me to death, seeing you lying on the ground, your head all bloody.”
“But you were so calm.” Kara gazed at her mother. “Sam was screaming like crazy, running around the yard, yelling for an ambulance. I remember that.”
Ma smiled, a tear falling down her cheek. “He loved his baby sister. Thought it was his fault you fell—said he dared you to do it.”
“He did? I thought it was my idea.”
“It probably was.” Ma sniffed. “But he still felt guilty.”
“Oh, Ma. I’m going to miss this house.”
“Me too.”
Kara peered into her parents’ bedroom. Memories of nights spent cuddled between the two of them flooded her mind. Kara began to cry, excited about the future but sad that a piece of her past was changing.
“I’ve been praying, Kara, like you said.” Ma walked beside Kara to the kitchen.
“You have?”
“I never really thought much about God. My life was so good.”
“But God makes your life even better.”
“So I’ve heard.” Ma smiled. “I want us to find a church there in Orlando. Maybe we can all get to know God together, as a family.”
“That sounds great.”
A horn sounded in the front yard. Kara opened the door to see a huge Hummer limo in front of her house. Her entire family—all her brothers and sisters, their spouses, and her nieces and nephews piled out. Kara couldn’t stop the tears as they fell down her cheeks.
“You didn’t think we’d let our big star just sneak off, did you?” Joey said. “Go inside for a minute. We’ve got more stuff for you to bring.”
Kara hadn’t noticed until then that every person had a gift. “My suitcase is full already, Joey.”
“Don’t worry.” Sam smiled. “These won’t take up too much space.”
Kara was led into the living room by her family and given the seat of honor, her father’s recliner.
“Pop insisted on coming.” Mary reached into a briefcase and pulled out her laptop. “Hang on.” Mary pressed a few keys and her father’s face popped up on the screen.
“Kara, my girl.” Pop sat up in his hospital bed. “I wouldn’t miss your send-off for anything. Not even for a heart attack.”
Kara wiped more tears from her eyes as little Ethan handed her his gift. Kara opened the bag and found a boarding pass inside.
“I’m coming in two weeks.” Ethan smiled up at Kara. “And Mommy said you’ll take me to meet Buzz Lightyear.”
Kara hugged her nephew. “You bet I will, buddy.”
Emily was next and her gift also contained a boarding pass. Gift after gift contained the same thing. Plane tickets to Orlando. The only differences were the dates. Someone from her family was coming every month for the next six months.
“You guys are the best.” Kara hugged each one in the room.
“Enough of that.” Pop spoke up. “You’re making me jealous. Now get my girl to the airport. She’s got big plans today.”
“Thanks, Pop.” Kara walked to the computer. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Kara. Now get going. And I expect a call tonight. I want to hear about this mystery boy.”
The rest of Kara’s family joined in, each wanting a call.
“He’s just my costar,” Kara said. “No big deal.”
The room erupted in laughter. “Right, Kar. No big deal. Like we believe that,” Joey said.
“Stop, you’re embarrassing me.” Kara ducked past her family and exited the front door. “Now, come on, you slow pokes. I call the sunroof!”
Kara entered the monstrous limousine and stuck her head out of the top. “Good-bye, New York. Good-bye, house. Hello, Orlando!”
C
ome on, Flora, please?” Chad begged. Again.
“You have waited over a month.” Flora adjusted the straps on her neon green jumpsuit. “You can wait a few minutes more.”
Chad had never felt so nervous. Not when he was on
America’s Next Star
, not when he was standing in front of crowds of people in a concert. This unknown girl was far more frightening.
“What if we don’t get along? The executives said chemistry between the stars is important. What if we have none? What if we went through all this for nothing?”
“That is certainly a possibility.” Flora nodded. “But even if that’s the case, this young woman became a Christian as a result. Isn’t that more important than a TV show?”
“Of course.” But the more Chad had thought about the show, the more excited he was. Ideas were flying through his head, sketches he wanted to write, parodies of songs he would sing. The possibilities were limitless. As long as his costar felt the same way.
Chad’s mother walked down the stairs. “Chad, stop standing by the front door. Come sit down. Have some tea.”
“He’s excited.” Dad walked behind his wife. “Understandable. He’s been waiting awhile for this girl.”
“Maybe I will get some tea,” Chad said, needing to move. He walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. “No, I don’t want tea. The last thing I want is to meet the girl and then have to excuse myself to go to the bathroom. That would make a great first impression.”
I wish this wasn’t the first impression
, Chad thought, not for the first time.
I still can’t stop thinking about Kara. Especially now that I know she’s a Christian. But there’s no way it’s her
. She was still in New York. And Jonathon made Chad promise not to call her. Addy said Kara was still processing everything—her dad’s heart attack, her conversion. Jonathon said Chad would be a distraction.
I understand that, but, God, come on. Kara McKormick is available, and I’m going to be working every day with some other girl. This isn’t fair
.
“Chad,” Mom called out. “There’s a car pulling up.”
He ran into the living room and pulled back the curtain. He didn’t understand what he was seeing. “But that’s Addy Davidson’s car. What is she doing here? She’s not . . . Is she? ” Chad racked his brain, trying to determine whether or not it was possible for Addy to have been auditioning for the show.
The front door opened and Jonathon walked in.
“Jonathon? What are you doing here?”
Jonathon smiled and pointed toward the back of the house. “Good to see you too. And I’m here because there’s no way I would miss this. Not for anything.”
“But how’d you get here?”
“Addy.”
“What about the Secret Service?”
“Bull’s right behind us.” Jonathon opened the back door and pointed Chad toward the orange groves. “With someone special.”
“My costar is with Bull? Is it Addy?”
“Nope.” Jonathon kept walking.
“Don’t tell me it’s your sister.”
“Alexandra?” Jonathon laughed. “She’s twenty-two. And not at all interested in a television career. No, not Alexandra.”
Chad stopped. “What is going on?”
“Look, before I tell you that, I need to tell you something else.”
“Seriously, we’re going to have a heart-to-heart
now
? Are you trying to kill me?”
“No.” Jonathon leaned against a tree. “I wanted to thank you.”
“Thank me?”
“I talked to my dad. You were right—he wasn’t upset that I didn’t want to go into politics.”
“That’s great.”
“I know,” Jonathon said. “When I told him I’d like to pursue film editing, he was actually excited for me. He said his parents encouraged him to follow his dreams, and he did. He wants to do the same for Alexandra and me. He said if that’s what I want to do, then I should go for it. As long as I get my college degree, of course.”
“Of course.” Chad smiled.
“I did some research. You know what college has an amazing film program?”
“No idea.” Chad noted that his friend had never been more animated—except, maybe, when he was talking about Addy.
“Hartson University.”
“Here in Orlando?” Chad’s eyes lit up. “That’s awesome.”
“But I need a favor.” Jonathon folded his arms. “I need actual practice editing. Since you have your own show and all . . .”
“You want to help edit my show?”
“Is that an offer?”
“Are you kidding? I’ll talk to the producers tomorrow. How soon can you start?”
“I have to see if I can get into Hartson first,” Jonathon said. “I’ve heard it’s pretty tough.”
“I think between your family and mine, we might be able to pull a few strings there.” Chad laughed.
“Good.” Jonathon pulled his phone out of his back pocket. “They’re ready.”
Chad tried to look around the house, but Jonathon had brought him to a spot in the orange groves that made seeing the front of the house impossible.
“So you’ve seen her?” Chad asked.
“Yep.”
“And?”
“And what?” Jonathon feigned innocence and Chad held up a fist.
“Don’t make me use this.”
“She’s beautiful. And funny. And tall.”
“Redheaded?” Chad asked hopefully.
“See for yourself.”
I
’m so confused.” Kara sat in the black SUV. “You know I love you, Bull, but why are you picking me up? Oh my goodness. Is Jonathon the star? Of course. That makes sense. Why it needs to be secret, why the parents are concerned about the costar. But he’s so quiet. I had no idea he was into acting.”