Picture Perfect Family

“Late last night,” Daniel said, closing Mandy’s door and then walking around to his side of the truck and climbing in. “But I’m back to stay this time.”

“Yes!” Kaden’s excited yell from the backseat sent Daniel’s spirits soaring. He’d made the right decision to come back home. Thanks, God, for steering me once more.

Mandy huffed out an exasperated breath.

And if You don’t mind, Lord. Steer me again in how to handle Mandy.

“So we can spend time together whenever you want,” Daniel continued, then glanced at Mandy. “I’m assuming that will be okay with you.” Mandy had obtained custody after Mia and Jacob’s accident. At the time she’d promised Daniel could see his nephew as often as he wanted, but she’d also thought he didn’t plan on coming to Claremont more than twice a year at the max. “That is okay with you, isn’t it, Mandy?” Daniel repeated.

Instead of answering, she reached over and flipped on the radio, which Daniel naturally had programmed to the contemporary Christian station. “Avalanche” by Manifest belted from the speakers, and Kaden immediately started tapping his hands against the booster seat with the upbeat sound.

Mandy looked at Kaden and verified that he was absorbed in the music then she leaned toward Daniel. “I asked you not to come back,” she whispered.

“Yes, you did,” he acknowledged, starting the truck.

“But you came, anyway.”

“Yep, I did.” He headed toward Bo Taylor’s gas station a couple of miles toward town.

“Why?”

Daniel glanced in the rearview mirror at Kaden, now bobbing his head to the beat and attempting to sing along. Then he lowered his voice to match hers. “Because you also told me that I was out gallivanting across the globe and enjoying myself while you were left home to raise my nephew. You said that you were tired of having the weight of the world on your shoulders, so I came home to take that tiny weight off your hands and let you do what you want, Mandy.” He nodded, sent a smile to Kaden via the rearview mirror. “We’ll get everything settled with the court for custody and all, and then you can leave. It’ll be the same as before, but in reverse. You can see the world yourself, and let me raise Kaden. Of course, you can come home and visit Kaden whenever you like. I promise to take very good care of him, the way Mia and Jacob would’ve wanted.”

“I told you I shouldn’t have sent that email. Do you have any idea what I had been through at that point?”

Daniel noticed Kaden’s head had tilted and that he peered toward the front seat.

“Do you like this song, too, Uncle Daniel?”

“I sure do,” Daniel said, smiling back and tapping his hands against the steering wheel with the beat. Then he glanced at Mandy. “We’ll talk about this later.”

“Fine.”

He pulled into the station and saw Bo and Maura Taylor inside the store. He’d known Bo for years, but had just met Maura when he’d come to town for the interview with Brother Henry. She was talking to a customer at the register inside, but Bo walked out of the station and greeted them, and again Daniel sensed that familiarity of being back home, where everyone knows you and everyone cares. It was similar to the friendships he had with the tiny church groups he’d started in Malawi and Tanzania, but different because the people of Claremont had known him and his family for years. And they knew about him losing Jacob, not only his twin brother but unquestionably his best friend.

“Daniel, good to see you! I heard on Sunday that you took the job at the church. Sure is great to have you back,” Bo said.

“It’s good to be back.”

“Need a fill up?”

“Sure, but I can get it,” Daniel said, climbing out.

“This is full service, you know,” Bo said. “And I enjoy doing my job.”

“Okay, then, it’s all yours,” he said, sliding his seat forward so he could reach through and unbuckle Kaden. “You want to go get a snack and a drink inside?”

“Definitely!” Kaden scurried across the seat and climbed out.

“How about you, Mandy? Want anything?”

“No.” She was still pouting, and Daniel let her, not that he really had a choice. But he hadn’t told her anything that wasn’t the truth about what she’d said in that email, and he knew that was her true feelings coming out. She felt trapped here, and he was going to set her free.

“I’ve got a can in the back that needs filling, too,” he said to Bo.

“We ran out of gas,” Kaden said, and Daniel caught Mandy’s arms folding tightly against her chest with his proclamation.

“Who did?” Bo asked then peered into the truck. “Well, hey, Mandy. Didn’t recognize you at first. Your hair’s longer than I remember. It’s been awhile.”

“Hello, Mr. Taylor. Good to see you.” She was polite but reserved, not the feisty, bubbly Mandy Carter that Daniel remembered, but then again, she was peeved.

The other customer left, and Maura came out of the gas station to visit, as well.

“You’ve met my wife, Maura, haven’t you?” Bo asked.

“Yes,” Daniel said. “Nice to see you again.”

“Likewise,” she said, smiling as Bo draped an arm around his wife. “I remember meeting you at the dinner on the grounds, right?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And now you’re going to be working at the church, I understand?”

“Yes, ma’am, with the youth.”

“Well, that’s great,” she said. “Autumn, our granddaughter, is seven now and starting to get involved in the youth activities at the church. I’m glad to know you’ll be working with that great group of kids.”

“Maura and I married a month ago,” Bo said. “Didn’t know if you knew that.”

“Brother Henry has been emailing the church bulletins to me each week while I’ve been gone, so I’ve stayed aware of my church family here,” Daniel said. “Congratulations on the wedding.”

“And who is this?” Maura asked, smiling at Kaden.

“This is my nephew, Kaden Brantley.”

Bo glanced at Maura and gave her a slight nod, then a sympathetic smile toward Kaden, and Daniel knew that Bo had apparently told her about Mia and Jacob. Or she could have heard it from someone at church. It was pretty big news in a small town when anyone died, but in this case even more because Mia and Jacob were so young and had so much to live for, particularly Kaden.

Maura’s mouth tightened, and she blinked a couple of times then squatted down to eye level with Kaden. “You know what, I made some cookies earlier to sell inside, but I haven’t had anyone here to taste them and let me know if they’re okay. Would you want to do that for me?”

“Would I! Yes, ma’am!”

Maura held out a hand, and Kaden took it. Then she turned toward Daniel’s door, still open, to see Mandy sitting inside. “Would you like to come in, too?”

“We’re going to try cookies, Aunt Mandy,” Kaden said. “Come on. You love cookies!”

“They’re fresh baked,” Maura tempted.

Mandy smiled—something Daniel certainly hadn’t seen since his arrival—and then climbed out of the passenger side. “I can’t imagine turning down fresh-baked cookies.”