Everyday Blessings

“Good idea. It’s probably something really nice, knowing Jonas.”

A beat of silence passed between them when they said nothing at all. Aubrey knew Ava was thinking, too, of how devoted Jonas had been to their stepsister. Now what would happen? She could tell by Ava’s face that whatever the doctors had told them tonight hadn’t been good, which could only mean one thing. Danielle would need her family more than ever.

“I’ll see to this.” Aubrey broke the silence. “You get Madison inside.”

“Ten four.” Ava looked on the brink of tears as she dragged her gaze away from the gift, which was clearly some kind of a wall hanging. “Did you get anything to eat?”

Aubrey shook her head. Not that she was hungry.

“I’ll heat something up for both of us,” Ava decided as she headed inside. The snap of her flip-flops echoed in the empty garage, leaving Aubrey feeling sorely alone.

Okay, call her curious, but she snatched the business card from its secure place beneath the string. The name William Corey was printed in small letters in the lower right-hand corner, in block script. Photographer.

Jonas’s friend was the William Corey? That’s where I’ve seen him before, Aubrey thought, a little shocked. She’d shelved so many of his books at the bookstore over the years, she should have known him on sight. His picture was plastered on the back jacket of his bestselling collections of inspirational photography. How did Jonas know the famed photographer? And why had someone of William’s stature mowed the lawn?

No, that couldn’t be right. Could it? Aubrey tucked the card back into place and carefully lifted the wrapped package. It certainly felt like a framed photograph, she thought as she shut the garage door and headed down the hall. It was a good-size picture. Not that Jonas could afford an original, but William Corey was Danielle’s favorite artist. She had a book of his in the house.

Aubrey took care with the package and leaned it against the wall in Danielle’s bedroom. There was a small wooden bookcase in the corner with a collection of devotionals and inspirational books.

There, on the bottom shelf, Aubrey found what she was looking for. A hardback book with William Corey’s name on the spine. She tugged it from its snug place and turned the volume over. A man’s image with jet-black hair and dark eyes stared up at her.

Yep, it was the same high cheekbones and ruggedly handsome look. William Corey.

It was a nice photograph, she thought, but it didn’t look like the man she’d met tonight. His features were the same, yes. His look was the same. But the man in the picture seemed at ease, with a relaxed half smile on his face, standing in a mountain meadow with rugged peaks in the background. He was vital and alive and full of heart. Not at all the man who’d stood in the garage, looking lost in the shadows.

“Aunt Aubrey?” Tyler came up to stand beside her. “I’m lonesome. Will you come watch TV with me?”

“Sure thing, pumpkin.” Aubrey put the book back on the shelf, but she couldn’t put away her thoughts of William Corey as easily.

She took her nephew’s small, trusting hand and let him lead her down the hall.

In the stillness of his mountain retreat, William was comforted by the echoing scuff of his slippered footsteps. He was back in his space, where he was safe from life and the way it made memories tug at the sorrow in his heart.

Hours had passed since he’d driven away from Jonas’s house. He’d slapped a sandwich together and called it dinner, then hopped on the Internet to scan through the online version of the local paper. He found a small article saying only that Trooper Jonas Lowell had been shot at a routine traffic stop and was in critical care. Nothing more. He’d tried the hospital, but they weren’t releasing any information.

Maybe tomorrow, he’d try harder to see what he could find out and if there was anything he could do to help. After what Jonas had done for him, it was the least he could do.

Troubled, William watched the sun turn bold crimson in the hazy dusk and told himself he didn’t long for his camera. He had no desire to capture the light of the sun and the haze of descending twilight. Really. Or, that’s what he told himself as the long-dead desire grew razor sharp.

It was that woman Aubrey’s fault, he decided as he bent to turn on the lamp at the bedside table. There had been something about her, probably just the trick of the light, that made the dead place inside him come to life. For a moment, he wished for the things that would never be for him again—like innocence and trust and hope.

It had been a long time since he’d prayed. His knees felt stiff as he knelt beside the bed, resting his forearms on the soft, cool percale of the turned-back sheets. The shadowed darkness in the room seemed to deepen and grow; the low-watt bulb in the table lamp wasn’t strong enough to keep it at bay.

Maybe it was the shadows within him that seemed so dark. He thought of Jonas’s little boy and the promise made. William might have given up believing in nearly everything, but he was not the kind of man who went back on his word, especially to a child. So, he bowed his head and, while no words rose up prayerfully from his forgotten soul, he did find the words that mattered.

“Help Jonas to recover, for his family’s sake. Please.”

It felt as if he were talking to no one. He was certain he was alone in the room, that God wasn’t leaning down to listen to his prayers. That only made the darkness bleaker and the iron-hard place inside his soul harder.

William climbed from his knees, sank onto the mattress and buried his face in his hands. Unable to make sense of the broken pieces his life had become, he lay in the dark, alone.

Chapter Three

In the antiseptic scent of the hospital’s early-morning waiting room, Aubrey searched her father’s face for signs of the latest news on Jonas’s condition. Even in the harsh fluorescent lighting, John McKaslin looked suntanned and robust for a man in his sixties, but there was no smile in his violet-blue eyes.

“Dani’s in with him. There’s no good news.” Heavy sadness weighed down his voice. “You’ve lost weight, pumpkin. You look tired.”

“It’s nothing.” And that was the truth. Doing what she could for her family wasn’t a hardship, it was a privilege. What was a little sleep lost compared to that? “I stayed to help Ava with the kids, and Madison had a rough night.”

“I’m so glad to be here to help out. I’ll take over tonight, dear.” Dorrie wrapped Aubrey into a caring hug and then held her at arm’s length to appraise her. “Your dad’s right. You look exhausted. If only we could have come back sooner. John, the girl is exhausted.”

Dad shook his head. “We should have come sooner. Spence said Jonas was doing better and to keep on with our cruise.”

“He had been.” For a little while, it seemed as if Jonas would be fine, and they had all breathed a sigh of relief. Dad and Dorrie had been starting a cruise and Danielle had convinced them to stay on it. That had been before the coma, of course. Aubrey thought the long trek standby from St. Barts and the night at the hospital had to be taking a toll on her parents. “I’ll stay here, if you two want to head home.”

“All right, then. I’ll get some shut-eye.” Dad leaned to kiss Aubrey’s cheek. “You call if there are any changes, you hear?”

“Yes, sir.” It was good to have her parents back in town. She’d missed them both so much since they’d moved to Scottsdale. “You’re okay to drive? You must have been up most of the night.”

“I got a few z’s in, don’t you worry about me.” Dad gave his wife a kiss. “Are you coming? By the look of you, I’d say you’ve made up your mind to stay.”

“Dani needs me, no matter how tired I am.”

“You need me to grab you breakfast before I go?”

“No, dear, but how about I walk as far as the cafeteria with you?” Dorrie turned to Aubrey. “I’ll be right back. You’ll keep an eye on Dani?”

“You know I will.”

Aubrey watched her parents amble down the hall, hand in hand, shoulders touching. They had found a good marriage, and it had deepened over the years. Somehow, watching them made her heart ache with loneliness, and what kind of sense did that make?

None. Absolutely none. She ought to be feeling less lonely because her parents were back in town. She wasn’t sure what that said about a woman in her late twenties, that she was used to spending so much time with her parents. But she was a homebody. Her family had always been her life and she knew they always would be. It wasn’t as if eligible bachelors were exactly knocking down her door. In fact, not one had ever knocked on the door for her.

For Ava. Yes. Absolutely. Her twin had that adorable charisma that made everybody love her. But Aubrey, well, she knew she was a wallflower, the kind of girl men passed by.

It was simply a fact that she’d learned to deal with. Besides, she had so many wonderful blessings in her life, how could she feel right about asking for more?

There was hot water for tea next to the coffeepot in the pleasant little waiting room, so she started in that direction, but something stopped her. A movement out of the corner of her eye. She recognized the gentleman far down the hall at the nurses station. A tall, broad-shouldered, austere-looking man dressed all in black. Why did she know it was William Corey without him having to turn so she could see his face?

Maybe it was the way his wide, capable shoulders were set, as if he were confident he could handle anything. Perhaps it was the shadows that clung to him in the harsh fluorescent light. Whatever the reason, her attention turned to him automatically, as if she had no say at all.

One of the floor nurses pointed their way, and Aubrey watched William turn toward her. Recognition sparked in his dark eyes, and something else—something she couldn’t name, but she saw his guard go up. His entire being, body and spirit, stiffened. He marched toward her like a soldier facing a firing squad.

He didn’t seem comfortable. He didn’t look happy to see her again.

“I was going to give you a call later this morning,” she explained. “You didn’t need to come down.”

“I wanted to.” He jammed his hands into his jeans pockets. “They wouldn’t give me any information because I wasn’t family, but I wanted to talk to Jonas’s wife, when she has a minute.”