“Good.”
“She’s probably out with Bailey. She’ll call us back when she gets in.”
Keith was pensive for a moment, his mind lost on their only daughter. “She needs us.” He looked at Lisa. “Maybe more than we know.”
“Which leads us to the next thing.” Lisa’s smile was tender, her enthusiasm tempered some in light of their daughter.
Keith kissed her, this time slow and full on the lips. “What’s the next thing, Mrs. Ellison?”
“That’s easy.” Her smile reached her eyes once more. “We need to list our house.”
L
IFE HAD BECOME A SUDDEN AND
complete whirlwind overnight, but Dayne couldn’t have been happier. Katy was completely on board with his idea—though the speed with which it was happening had taken them both by surprise. The next morning Dayne shared an early conversation with Keith, called his California realtor to secure a beach house for Monday morning, and on Sunday he and Katy and Sophie headed to church.
The ten o’clock service was where all the Baxters met every Sunday morning. Dayne and Katy arrived early, and before the service began, Dayne found his father in the lobby. “Hey, Dad,” he couldn’t stop grinning. “We need to talk.”
“I still love that.” His father smiled. “Hearing you call me Dad.”
Dayne slipped his arm around his father’s shoulders. “I still love saying it.” He took a step back and glanced toward the front door. He didn’t want to get caught in a conversation with anyone else before he told his dad what was happening. “Can we do a Baxter dinner tonight? Katy and I need to talk to the whole family.”
“Really?” John raised an eyebrow. “Is Sophie getting a baby brother?”
“No, no.” Dayne laughed. “Nothing like that. But it’s still big. We’re flying out to Los Angeles in the morning.”
“The three of you?”
“Yes. We have a lot to talk about.” People were filing in, and Kari and Ryan and their kids were walking up, their kids chattering as they came. Dayne kept his eyes on his dad. “Dinner tonight?”
“Sure. I’ll invite the rest.” His dad looked happy to oblige. “Five o’clock?”
“Perfect.” Dayne hugged his dad again and then hurried back into the sanctuary to join Katy. Sophie was asleep in her arms. Dayne leaned down and kissed his baby daughter’s forehead. Then he did the same to Katy. “We’re on for tonight.”
“I can’t believe how much we have to do.” She giggled quietly. “You’re a crazy man, Dayne. But what’s life without an adventure?”
He took the seat beside her. “Think of it as a mission trip.”
Pastor Mark spoke that morning on answering the call. Time and again, Jesus presented people with the chance to follow Him, and when people truly believed Him, they set down what they were doing that very moment and followed. Dayne listened intently, and beside him he felt Katy squeeze his hand.
“The point,” Pastor Mark said, “is that we need to be listening. When God calls us, it’s time to act—whatever He’s asking us to do. We should have our yes on the table at all times.”
Dayne smiled to himself throughout the hour. The sermon seemed written specifically for him. Clearly God was working in all this. The words from Scripture that morning were further proof. When church ended, the Baxters gathered in the foyer and John invited everyone for dinner. Brooke and Peter had to cancel plans with friends, but they didn’t think it would be a problem. Everyone else was free.
“Looks like we’ll all be there.” John smiled at his kids and their families. Then he winked at Cole, Ashley’s son. “I bet there are still tadpoles in the pond.”
“Really?” Cole was eleven now, but he still loved spending time at the pond with his grandpa. He nudged his brother. “You hear that, Devin? We better get there first.”
Landon gave his wife a questioning look. “What do you think, Ash? We can get there at four, maybe?”
“Yeah, because you’re the biggest kid of all.” Her eyes held an endless sort of love for him. “That’s fine. I’ll help Elaine with dinner. You and my dad and the boys can do your pond thing.”
The plan was set and everyone headed out. Katy talked the whole way home about what to pack, but in the end she didn’t put together much. Just enough clothes to get through a week. The house they were renting had a washer and dryer. And they could always shop if they needed something.
Time flew, and hours later when they pulled up at the Baxter house, Dayne was amazed at all they’d accomplished. “Who would’ve thought so much could change in a single weekend?” He cut the engine and let his head fall back against the seat.
“It’s a little hard to believe, still. I mean, the idea of Chase stepping down now?” Katy reached back and took hold of Sophie’s little hand. “Not that I blame him. Our kids are only little for so long.”
“I wouldn’t do this if you and Soph couldn’t come with me.” He looked back at his daughter. “I can’t believe you’re already two, right little one?”
“A’most two!” Sophie giggled and rocked forward in her car seat, pointing to the big farmhouse. “See Papa, Daddy?”
“Yes, baby. We’re going to see Papa.” Dayne opened his door, but he stayed seated. “No matter what happens, I don’t want to move away.” He looked at the Baxter house and a rush of memories flooded his heart. “This is where our family is; it’s home.”
Relief lifted Katy’s expression. “We haven’t talked about it, but I feel the same way. A few weeks in LA is one thing, but this…the Baxter family? I couldn’t walk away now.”
“Not after all it took to find them.”
“Exactly.”
They climbed out, and Dayne unbuckled Sophie’s car seat. She was running now, and Dayne watched her go as he set her down.
“Papa!” Her hair was as blonde as Katy’s, as blonde as her big cousin, Cole. She had Katy’s fine features, but her eyes were the same as most of the Baxter kids. Baxter blue, they called it.
As they walked in the side door, Cole and Devin came through the front with Landon and Dayne’s dad in tow. “Papa was right!” Cole’s enthusiasm never dimmed. “The best of the season!” He had a small fishbowl, and swimming inside were a number of tadpoles.
“Wonderful.” Ashley stepped out of the kitchen, a spatula in her hand. She directed it at Cole. “They stay in the laundry room this time.”
“Aw, Mom. They hate the laundry room.” Cole peered in at them, and next to him, Devin did the same. “They like people. Tadpoles are social.”
“They are.” Dayne took a few steps toward Cole and squinted at the glass bowl. “I read that tadpoles are more social than dogs.”
Laughter came from the kitchen. “Come on, Dayne.” Katy was washing her hands at the sink. “No one’s that good an actor!”
The conversation continued as first Kari and Ryan and their three kids, then Brooke and Peter and their two girls, and finally Erin and Sam and their four daughters all arrived. By then, Luke’s wife Reagan and their two kids had been there most of the afternoon. With Luke doing business in LA more often, Reagan liked spending Sundays at the Baxter house.
Dayne found a kickball in the garage and set the cousins up outside. The three littlest girls were too small to play, so they sat on the porch steps and watched. Sophie, and Ashley’s youngest—Janessa Faith, along with Kari’s little one—three-year-old Annie.
But that still left twelve cousins suddenly engaged in a wild, rule-free game of kickball. “I’m captain,” Cole announced. “Everyone line up and we’ll pick teams.”
“No! I’m captain.” Tommy stuck out his chest. “I pick Maddie!”
Cole gave his younger cousin a patient look. “We can both be captains.”
“And I’m on Tommy’s team.” Maddie high-fived Tommy. “We can beat Cole any day.” She smiled sweetly at Cole. “You know it’s true.”
Cole surveyed the kids on the line and pointed at his strapping younger brother. “I pick Devin.”
Dayne chuckled quietly from the porch steps. He loved times like this, and he sat by the little girls for a few minutes. He especially loved watching Hayley run with the other kids. Hayley was nine this summer, and her disabilities were almost too slight to notice. Dayne hadn’t known his family back when Hayley had nearly died in a drowning in their family pool. But he’d heard stories from Brooke and Peter and the other Baxters. Hayley’s doctors had given her only a slim chance at life back then, certain she’d never leave her bed if she survived. Every day was a miracle for Hayley, proof that God would forever have the final word.
Ashley stepped outside and took the spot beside him. Dayne was close to all his sisters, but he and Ashley would always have a special bond. She was the one who had pursued him the hardest, the sister who first figured out that Dayne was part of the Baxter family. “Hi, there.”
“Hi.” He had to talk loud to be heard above the kids.
“You coach?”
“Referee.”
“Good luck.” She laughed and hugged her knees to her chest. After a while she smiled at him. “It’s hard to imagine heaven any better than this.”
Dayne nodded, and he understood even more why Chase had to back out of Jeremiah Productions. He couldn’t imagine a day when Sophie might forget what he looked like or no longer remember the sound of his voice. He thought about telling Ashley, but he decided to wait. The story was too long to tell twice. He smiled at his sister. “What’s new?”
“We have tadpoles.” Ashley grinned. “But that’s not really new.” She angled her face. “Landon’s been promoted at the station, and I’m working on a new painting. The Baxter house with a bunch of blonde kids playing out front. Too many to count.”
“Sounds perfect.” He remembered the loss their family had suffered a few years ago when Ashley’s baby, Sarah, had died hours after birth. She and Brooke had opened a crisis pregnancy center in honor of the infant. “How’s Sarah’s House?”
“Great.” Ashley’s eyes told him she was glad he’d asked, glad people still remembered little Sarah. “Every week girls are coming in. Only God knows how many babies have been saved because of the work taking place there.”
Dayne was about to ask how Cole was doing in baseball. He’d made All-Stars, Dayne knew that much. But Elaine opened the door and called out, “Dinner! Everyone wash up!”
They filed in, and somehow through the craziness of so many kids and a dozen conversations, they wound up seated at two long tables in the Baxter dining room. Dayne was practically bursting with his and Katy’s news, but he waited while the others talked. Sam’s company was laying off, but he’d been told late last week that his position was safe. “We’re grateful,” Erin said. She looked beyond relieved. “Sam and I don’t want to move again.”
“I’d switch jobs first.” He smiled at the faces around the table. “What we have here, it’s too special to walk away from again.”
Dayne knew their story, how they’d lived in Texas for several years. Now that they were here, Dayne had to agree. The family wouldn’t be the same without them.
The conversation shifted to Brooke and Peter, and the way their medical practices were growing. “I think the recession must be lifting. Bloomington seems to be adding new families all the time.”
“It’s a great place to live!” Landon raised his glass of water and grinned at Ashley. “Right, honey?”
“As long as there are no fires.” She gave him a wary smile. “I’m ready for you to run the department. Then you can keep your uniform clean.”
They all murmured their agreement. The times when Landon had been injured in serious fires were before Dayne had come into the family. But the chance always remained. It reminded Dayne to pray for his brother-in-law every day. He needed absolute protection in his line of work.
The conversation was slowing when Reagan put down her fork and looked around the table. “I have some news. Luke asked for your prayers for us.”
Concern showed on their father’s face. “He’s traveling a lot lately.”
Dayne wondered if this was his segue. Maybe Luke wanted prayers because of the changes taking place with Jeremiah Productions. In addition to handling Dayne’s business, Luke was now almost entirely working with Keith’s production company. Dayne could barely contain his news.
“We’re fine.” Reagan’s eyes warmed. “It’s just…we’re thinking of adopting again. Maybe from the U.S. this time. I talked to Luke earlier today and he asked you to pray. He’ll be home in a few weeks. We might start the process then.”
“Reagan, that’s great!” Ashley was sitting beside her. She reached out and took hold of her sister-in-law’s hand. “We’ll all pray.”
“Can you make this one a boy, please?” Cole sat up straighter. “We need more boy cousins.”
“They’re talking about a baby.” Landon put an arm around their oldest son. “I don’t think cousin kickball will be a part of his or her life for quite a while.”
“Ya,” Cole looked disappointed. “I guess you’re right.”
They all laughed, and Reagan promised to keep them posted. The time had come, and Dayne couldn’t keep the news a secret a
moment longer. Besides, his father was watching him, waiting for whatever it was he’d called the dinner for. Dayne set his napkin down and grinned, first at Katy, then at the others. “Katy and I are taking Sophie to Los Angeles tomorrow.”
“For Disneyland?” Tommy jumped out of his seat. “Daddy’s taking me and Malin to Disneyland this summer, right Mommy?” He spun around and stared at Reagan, then spun back to the group again, eyes big. “Disneyland’s the happiest place on earth.”
Reagan helped Tommy back to his seat. Dayne waited for the commotion to die down. “No, not for Disneyland, not this time.” He winked at his young nephew. “But maybe we’ll join you later this summer!”
Cole whispered something to Ashley, but she held her finger to her lips and whispered, “Later.” Then she turned to Dayne. “Is this business, then?”
“Yes.” He grinned. “I’m joining Keith Ellison as the newest producer with Jeremiah Productions.” His family leaned in closer, listening to every word while Dayne explained how Chase had stepped down, and how at the same time he and Katy had felt God calling them into moviemaking. “The timing is perfect. Katy and Sophie can travel with me when we need to be in LA. Otherwise we can work from here.”
His father nodded thoughtfully. “Sounds fantastic.”
“I talked to Keith this morning. He and Lisa are listing their house and moving here to Bloomington. We want to film as many movies in Indiana as possible.” He held his hands out to the rest of the group. “That way we don’t have to give up this.”
“And Keith and Lisa can be closer to their daughter.” Ashley sat back in her seat, beaming over Dayne’s news. “That’s wonderful. Congratulations!”
Peter asked if Dayne would consider acting in one of the Jeremiah Productions films. “Not yet.” He remembered how crazy
his life had been back when he was in two or three movies a year. He shared a knowing look with Katy. “God would have to make that very clear.”