A Child Under His Tree Read online

  “Guess that’s my business, isn’t it?” Then she winced a little and pressed her hand to her belly.

  “You all right?”

  “Yup. Except for a kid who’s already practicing to be a football punter.” She waved him away then took his plate. “Go on with you now. Suppose I’ll see you at the funeral. You are going, aren’t you?”

  “Yeah. Not that I figure Kelly will appreciate my presence all that much. She still hates me.”

  Judging by the way she’d looked at him, he didn’t figure he had a chance of that ever changing.

  He pushed off the stool and left.

  * * *

  “Thank you for coming.”

  The next afternoon, Kelly stood with Reverend Stone in the narthex of the Weaver Community Church, shaking hands as people left following her mother’s funeral service. During a break, she glanced at the reverend and said, “I don’t know what to do with all the flowers.” She still couldn’t believe the number of people who’d attended her mother’s funeral, much less the quantity of plants and floral bouquets that had been sent. “My mother didn’t have this many friends,” she said under her breath.

  He smiled kindly. “I think that you did.”

  She was more comfortable thinking that the outpouring of sentiment was for Georgette.

  “Whatever plants and floral arrangements you choose not to take, you can leave here for worship tomorrow,” he advised. “That’s what most people do unless they’re having a reception after the service.” In this case, there would be no reception. Georgette’s instructions to the lawyer had expressly forbidden one. Just as her instructions had been clear about the open casket and a cremation immediately after the funeral.

  She’d left instructions about her death. She just hadn’t bothered with a will.

  “Thank you for coming.” Kelly shook another hand. Submitted her cheek for another sympathetic kiss. Then she looked back at the minister. “I don’t want to take any flowers,” she said. Though she was going to be writing a lot of thank-you notes for them. She pinned another pleasant look on her face for the next person that stopped in front of her but felt it falter when she recognized the couple standing there.

  Caleb’s parents.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Buchanan.”

  “Goodness.” Belle leaned forward and kissed Kelly’s cheek. “We’re all adults now. It’s Belle and Cage.”

  “Sorry about your mama, kiddo.” Cage gave her a kiss on the cheek, too, followed by a paternal squeeze of her shoulder. “It’s good to see you, but I sure wish it was under better circumstances.”

  Caleb’s folks had always been nice to her. “Thank you. So do I.” She felt guiltily grateful that she’d taken Reverend Stone’s suggestion to let Tyler play in the nursery with the other young kids after having had to sit still for the funeral service. She wasn’t sure she could take seeing Tyler through their eyes. “You’re both looking well.” To say the least. Belle Buchanan’s long hair was as dark as ever; her face showed only a few lines. And Cage—well, Cage was an older version of his handsome son. He’d look good when he was eighty. He just had that kind of bones.

  “You’re as sweet as ever.” Belle squeezed Kelly’s hands. “Is there anything we can do for you?”

  She immediately shook her head. Just as she’d been shaking her head at all of the other similar offers of help she’d heard that day. “That’s kind, but I’ll be fine.”

  “Just don’t be as independent as your mama was,” Cage advised gently. “You know where we are.” He squeezed her shoulder again, and the two moved off, making room for the next.

  “Thank you for coming,” Kelly said, focusing with an effort on the next face in the line. She was all too aware that Caleb hadn’t come through yet. She’d seen him sitting in the back of the small, crowded church, alongside Tabby and Justin. Just like old times, except Kelly was pretty sure the three of them had outgrown their habit of scribbling notes and passing them back and forth.

  Maybe he would take a different exit, she thought, as the mourners—which might have been a euphemism considering Georgette’s lifelong habit of alienating the people around her—made their way past her. Maybe he’d be as reluctant to face her after their last encounter as she was to face him.

  She still wished she’d just kept her mouth shut about having never been married. The conversation never would have gotten out of hand the way it had. Never would have gone down that dangerous road.

  If there was tension between her and Caleb now, how much worse would it be when—if!—she told him the truth?

  Her head ached and her stomach hurt from the internal debate that had been going on ever since coming face-to-face with him at Doc Cobb’s office.

  Everything had been fine up until then.

  She and Tyler had a busy life. It didn’t leave time for her to constantly second-guess the decisions she’d made six years earlier.

  “Hey, there.” Tabby and Justin appeared in Kelly’s field of vision. Tabby tucked her arm through Kelly’s. “You’re looking pale. Maybe you should sit down for a while.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Where’s Tyler?”

  “Playing in the nursery downstairs.” She pushed at the sleeves of her black sweater dress. Would Caleb be soon to follow after Tabby and Justin? “He was getting antsy and there were some kids already down there he was able to play with.”

  “He’s about the same age as my brother’s little boy,” Tabby said. “I could set up a playdate for them if you want. I imagine you’ve got a lot on your plate trying to settle everything out at the farm.”

  “I’m sure he’d like that.” Kelly was distinctly uncomfortable with it since Tabby’s brother was married to one of Caleb’s cousins, but that was no reason to punish her son. Aside from the toys she’d brought with them from Idaho, there was very little to entertain him out at the farm. She couldn’t even let him outside to run and play without supervision yet, because the place was a wreck. The chicken coops were broken-down hazards; there were metal tools rusting in the overgrown weeds. And she wasn’t sure there was going to be money enough to hire someone to help with the worst of it. “I have another meeting with Mr. Hook the day after tomorrow. I’ll know more about what needs doing after that.” She tried surreptitiously looking past the very pregnant Tabby into the church. All she could see were the backs of empty pews.

  “Kelly.” Reverend Stone discreetly inserted himself into the conversation. “The funeral director is here to take the casket. Would you like a moment alone with your mother?”

  It was the very last thing she wanted. But she wasn’t up to shocking the kind minister by telling him so. And at least she wouldn’t have to wonder if or when she was going to have to face Caleb again. So she nodded.

  Tabby’s eyes looked moist. “Do you want someone to stay with you?”

  “No, it’s okay,” Kelly said. Tabby gave her hand a squeeze before leaving with Justin.

  Reverend Stone escorted Kelly back into the empty church and closed the double doors, leaving her alone.

  She exhaled and walked up the center aisle until she reached the casket. Someone had already closed it, and frankly, she was grateful. She set her hand on the glossy wood. Choosing a casket was another task that Kelly hadn’t had to deal with, thanks to Georgette’s advance orders.

  “I wish things had been different, Mama,” she murmured. Even now, her eyes were dry. Uncomfortably so. She’d given up crying over the relationship she’d never had with her mother when she drove away from the farm six years ago. “I wish you could have been happier in your life. I’m sorry if I was always the reason you weren’t. Maybe now you really are at peace.”

  That’s what Reverend Stone had talked about during the eulogy, at least. Maybe Georgette had found religion in the years Kelly had been away. Before that, her mo
ther could hardly be bothered by what she’d called “church nonsense.”

  Kelly heard a noise and pulled her hand away from the casket. Two young men wearing black suits came in from the side entrance. “Ms. Rasmussen, are you ready for us?”

  She nodded, perched on the edge of a pew and watched them wheel the casket out.

  Then it was just her, alone.

  Her eyes stung.

  She sniffed. So much for being beyond tears.

  She blinked hard and stood.

  She wanted her son. And she wanted to go home.

  The narthex was empty when she pushed through one of the double doors, though she could see through the outer glass doors of the church that there were still a few clusters of people standing around outside on the grass.

  She took the stairs down to the basement where the nursery was located and found Tyler sitting on the floor. He was working on a puzzle. But not with Olive, the young woman who’d been watching the half dozen children when Kelly had left Tyler there.

  Instead, it was Caleb sitting on the floor with him.

  “Tyler,” she said more sharply than she intended. “We need to go.”

  “Mommy, I’m almost finished.” The little navy blue clip-on tie that had come with the child-size suit she’d bought for him was gone, along with the suit jacket. He had a smear of something red on his cheek, and one of his shoes was untied.

  The mere sight of him made the tightness in her chest ease, even though the man with him made everything else feel worse.

  “Tyler—”

  “A few more minutes won’t hurt, will it?” Caleb’s voice was deep. Easy.

  Her jaw clenched. “Where’s Olive? Does she usually leave the children she’s supposed to be watching in just anyone’s care?”

  He pushed himself off the floor and pulled on the charcoal-gray suit jacket that had been lying on top of a dollhouse. “Your mother’s funeral ended forty-five minutes ago. I’ll let you have that one.” He shot his cuffs and yanked his loosened tie back to center.

  The only time she’d ever seen him wear a suit had been at their high school graduation. Then he’d been a boy.

  Now he was a man.

  One who was plenty irritated with her.

  “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for.”

  Tyler suddenly let out a whoop. “Finished it!”

  “Good for you, Tyler,” Caleb praised.

  Her son shot them both a grin, then grabbed the puzzle with two hands and proceeded to gleefully demolish it.

  The genuine smile he’d given Tyler was absent when he looked at Kelly. “Olive only left ten minutes ago. She was going to be late for her shift at Colbys.”

  Kelly felt even smaller. “So I owe you thanks, as well, for watching him.”

  She heard his faint sigh. “Kelly—”

  “Can we go home now, Mommy?”

  She nodded, glad for the interruption. Whatever Caleb wanted to say, she didn’t feel the strength to hear. “We can go back to Grandma’s house.” There was a small part of her that felt ashamed using her son as her excuse to make a getaway. But there was a larger part of her that was pathetically grateful.

  She pointed at Tyler’s miniature blue suit jacket and looked in Caleb’s general direction while their son darted over to get it. “It was nice of you to come.”

  “But you’re surprised that I did.”

  Her lips parted, then closed again. She made some sound that was part agreement, part annoyance. “All right. Yes, I’m surprised. I’m surprised that you’re in Weaver at all. Why is that, anyway? Couldn’t cut it in the big city after all?”

  “I came home because I realized I wasn’t happy. I came home because I realized my roots mattered more than I thought. Does that satisfy you?”

  She let out another sound. One that even she couldn’t interpret. “No. I—” She broke off and shook her head. Tyler had pulled on his jacket. “Where’s your tie, buddy?”

  He shrugged. “I dunno.”

  It was a clip-on. And if it hadn’t come with the suit, she wouldn’t have bought it. She didn’t care if it was lost for good, but she also was trying to instill in him better habits when it came to keeping track of his personal belongings. “Go look,” she suggested mildly.

  His shoulders slumped dramatically, and his feet dragged as he slowly made his way around the perimeter of the room.

  “He’s constantly losing shoes and gloves and hats,” she told Caleb defensively.

  “Kids do that. You don’t have to explain yourself to me.”

  How true that was. Yet she couldn’t help herself. Probably because she was withholding the biggest explanation of all.

  Her stomach churned. “Caleb, I—”

  “Found it!” Tyler darted back to her side, waving the tie triumphantly.

  “Good for you, pal,” Caleb said before she could. He crouched down to the boy’s level. “Want to put it on?”

  “It’s not like yours,” Tyler said.

  “Yeah, well, I wish mine were as easy as yours. Lift your chin a little.”

  Tyler did as he was told, and Caleb refastened the button at his neck and slipped the clip-on into place. “There you go. All set. Looking GQ-ready.”

  “What’s GQ?”

  Caleb laughed softly. “Nothing that matters when you’re five,” he assured the boy. “And when it does matter, you’ll have no worries. You got your mama’s good looks.”

  Kelly closed her eyes. They were burning again. Tyler did resemble her. But she also could so easily see Caleb in him. In the line of his jaw. The set of his eyes...

  “You’ve got to be tired after all this.”

  He had no idea. She nodded. “Yeah.” She opened her eyes and found him standing again, watching her. He had the same expression on his face now that he’d had when she’d done a header over her handlebars right in front of him when she was fourteen.

  And she was not going to cry now, either. “I feel like I could sleep for a week,” she admitted.

  “You want a ride back to the farm?”

  She shook her head, quickly turning away from him. “I have my car.”

  “That wasn’t exactly what I meant.”

  “Tyler.” She held out her hand, but her son ignored it, instead running out of the nursery room on his own. “Don’t go playing on those stairs,” she warned him.

  Then she looked back at Caleb. “I know that wasn’t what you meant. Don’t start being nice to me, Caleb. It just makes everything harder.”

  “Why does it still have to be hard?” His brows pulled together. “All that stuff between us was a long time ago.”

  And yet, right now, it felt just like yesterday.

  “It was a long time ago,” she agreed. “Just not long enough.”

  Then, because she could hear the distinct sound of her son stomping on the stairs, she grabbed hold of the excuse.

  And escaped.

  Chapter Five

  “Are you sure Leandra doesn’t mind?”

  “Positive,” Tabby declared.

  It was Sunday afternoon, and Tabby had called Kelly to let her know that her sister-in-law, Leandra, would be delighted to have Tyler over to play with her son, Lucas. Tabby had insisted on coming to the farm to pick Tyler up, as if she was afraid Kelly would back out. It was on her way, she’d said, because she was heading out to her brother’s place anyway after having Sunday dinner with Justin’s folks.

  “They’ll have a blast,” Tabby said for about the tenth time. “Most of Lucas’s cousins are either older or younger.” Her bright eyes took in the aging kitchen where they were standing. “You know, I would be happy to come back and help you with some of this stuff.”

  Kelly laughed with actual amusement. “If yo
u were overdue with that baby, I’d say have at it. Dealing with the immense amount of stuff here would put you into labor for sure. But you’re not overdue, so I’ll say thank you, but no, thank you. I may work at an ob-gyn’s office, but I haven’t delivered a baby in a while and don’t particularly want a refresher course.”

  Tabby grinned. She was rubbing her back. “All the aches and pains do go away, right?”

  “To be replaced by a symphony of new ones,” Kelly said blithely.

  The other woman made a face. “Oh, thanks.”

  Kelly chuckled. “You’re going to be fine. If the way he ties your shoes for you on a regular basis is any indication, Justin will be a lot of help. Plus, you have tons of family around who’ll help. Your parents, your brother. All of your cousins.” She put Tyler’s plate from lunch in the sink. “You’ll be lucky to have ten minutes a day to hold your own baby with everybody who’s around to pitch in.”

  “Who helped you?”

  Kelly shrugged. “I have friends in Idaho Falls, too. I wasn’t alone.” Not if she counted staff at the hospital where she’d delivered Tyler and the nurses at the medical complex where she’d gone to work, who’d brought meals for Kelly in those first few weeks. The nurses who’d inspired Kelly as she struggled to become one herself.

  Tabby still didn’t look convinced, but she dropped the matter. Instead, she went to the window over the sink and looked out. “I understand why you want to get this place off your hands, but it sure would be nice to think about you coming back to stay.”

  Kelly was shaking her head even before Tabby finished speaking. “I like Idaho Falls. I like my job there. I finally have steady hours at a practice with six physicians. My days are busy. Tyler is in a good school and he has friends.”

  “You could have that here,” Tabby wheedled. Then she tossed up her hands. “Fine. I’ll stop bugging you about it. Weaver’s barely a dot on the map compared to places like Idaho Falls.”

  Kelly couldn’t help but laugh a little. Because Idaho Falls was barely a dot on the map when compared to many other places.

  Like Denver.

  Where she’d pictured Caleb still living all this time.