Читать книгу Summer's Promise - Irene Brand - Страница 9

A week later, Summer peered out the window of another plane hovering over New York’s LaGuardia Airport. Like a robot, she fastened her seat belt for landing, closed her eyes and winced as she always did when the plane’s wheels hit the runway, took her bag from the overhead compartment and deplaned. She wasn’t in the mood to wait for a shuttle, so she took a taxi to her Manhattan apartment.

Summer was displeased with her behavior the past week. She wished now that she’d mentioned Spring’s request about taking care of the children.

Prior to the funeral, Summer had kept busy greeting family and neighbors who called at the Weaver home, and she had no time to consider how Spring’s death would change her life. But as she’d watched the children’s woebegone expressions and the fear in their eyes, Summer’s heart had been touched by their sorrow, and she’d made little exploratory gestures to see if she possessed any maternal traits. She’d taken them to the florist to choose flowers to put in their parents’ caskets, and on the way home, they’d stopped by Autumn’s farm so Timmy and Nicole could see the new baby boy, Lannie, born the day after Spring had died. Summer envied Autumn’s easy ways with the children, wishing she didn’t feel so inadequate when she was with them.

The night before the funeral, after the children had gone to bed, the Weavers and Bert’s family had met in the living room of the Weavers’ Victorian home to discuss the children’s welfare.

“We’ll take them,” Autumn had volunteered immediately, and Bert’s parents had also said they’d be glad to take Timmy and Nicole.

Forestalling any immediate arrangement, David said, “Shouldn’t we put off a decision until we learn if Spring and Bert made provisions for the guardianship of their children? If they made wills, I suppose they’ll be at their home in North Carolina. I’ll try to find out, if you want me to.”

“Yes, that should be checked out,” Landon Weaver had agreed. “And in the meantime, we’ll keep Timmy and Nicole with us. There’s no need to disrupt their lives more than necessary until we know what David learns.”

Summer opened her mouth to say something then, but if David was right and Bert and Spring had made other provisions for the children, perhaps her promise wouldn’t matter. Hopefully, Spring’s mind had been rambling when she’d made her request. Summer had volunteered to stay at the farm and help with the children until David could check out the will, but her mother had insisted that she go back to her job.

“You’ve already missed more than a week of work,” Clara Weaver said. “We’re getting along fine with the children. You’ve always sacrificed for your family, but it’s time for you to think about your own future. Don’t worry about us.”

Three days after the funeral, her father took Summer and David to the Columbus airport where David’s flight to Atlanta was scheduled an hour before she left.

After they checked in and cleared security, David said, “Let’s get something to drink before my plane leaves.”

Summer agreed, although she was eager to be rid of David as well as everyone else who distressed her. The first time she’d met David, it had taken months for her to erase his memory from her mind, and the longer she stayed around him now, the more difficult it would be to forget him.

At a small coffee shop, Summer found a table overlooking the runway while David brought coffee for himself and a glass of orange juice for her.

David was alert to Summer’s moods, and although he understood how the tragic events of the last week would have disturbed her, he sensed she was troubled about something else. She’d hardly spoken on the drive from the farm to the airport, and she’d given a sigh of relief when her father had told them goodbye at curbside and she had entered the airport. Why was she so eager to leave the farm?

She sipped on the glass of orange juice and stared out the window, but David didn’t think she was aware of the departing planes. He studied her face speculatively.

“Are you all right, Summer?” he asked at last. She turned her moody blue eyes toward him, as if she’d forgotten he was even there.

“What? Oh, yes, I’m all right. It’s been a bad week.”

“I couldn’t sleep last night, worrying about the kids. It’s a terrible experience for them to lose both their parents. I wish I could do something to help, but a bachelor doesn’t have any business trying to raise children.”

Summer opened her mouth to tell him about her dilemma, for she thought David would understand, but he heard an announcement on the loudspeaker and drained the last of his coffee. “My plane is boarding now. I’ll have to go.”

Summer walked to the gate with him. Before he got in line, he put his arm around her waist, and Summer’s body tingled at the contact. Grinning and arching his eyebrows teasingly, he said, “I’ve learned you’re not very good at answering letters, but how about phone calls? Will you answer if I phone you occasionally?”

Summer’s face grew warm to be reminded that she’d ignored his friendly overtures two years earlier.

“I’ll answer,” she said quietly.

His arm tightened around her waist. “Good. You’ll hear from me in a few weeks.”

Summer watched David’s plane take off before she moped down the corridor toward her boarding gate. She wished she’d had time to tell David what she’d promised Spring, but if he learned how she was fretting over her responsibility, he might be disappointed in her. She didn’t want David to have a poor opinion of her.

Back in her apartment sanctuary, Summer was ashamed that she’d even hesitated to do what Spring had asked her to do. She excused her attitude by claiming lack of experience in child rearing. She would make a lousy foster mother. But if she didn’t take care of the children, who would? Certainly, her mother wasn’t physically able to raise them.

Holding out hope that Spring’s mind had been wandering on her deathbed, and that she and Bert had made other arrangements for the future of Nicole and Timmy, Summer resumed her usual schedule. If only she could dismiss from her mind the scene she’d witnessed on the day of the funeral, she could get on with her life.

After the family returned from the cemetery, Timmy and Nicole had gone to the barn to look at the Belgian colts. Summer had watched from the dining room window as the two children returned to the house. Walking hand in hand, they’d stopped in front of the open window and didn’t see Summer, who was partially hidden by the draperies. Timmy was crying and Nicole put her arms around him.

“What’ll we do, Nicole? We’re too little to stay by ourselves.”

“Don’t cry, Timmy. God will take care of us. God still loves us even if He did take Mommy and Daddy away. He’ll send somebody to take their place. You’ll see!”

Timmy had looked up at his sister, and a timid smile brightened his tear-streaked face. “I’ll bet He will, too.” Then his smile faded. “But who else will love us like Mommy and Daddy did?”

Summer should have gone to the children right then and told them she’d look after them, but her feet seemed glued to the floor. The opportunity was lost when Landon Weaver came from the barnyard and invited the children to take a drive with him.

Summer forced herself to resume her normal work routine, and when she was at the bank, she didn’t think about the children. It was only when she went home and read e-mail messages from Ohio that her sister’s dying request destroyed her peace of mind. If only she hadn’t made that promise!

Summer was late getting home the following Friday evening, and the message light on the telephone’s answering machine was flashing when she entered the apartment. With a trembling hand, she pushed the play button.

“Summer, this is David Brown. I arrived in New York this afternoon, and I must talk with you.” He gave the name of a hotel and a telephone number, adding, “Please telephone as soon as you get home. I’m in Room 908.”

Retribution time had arrived. With bated breath, Summer dialed the number and extension.

“David,” she said, when he answered immediately as if he’d been sitting with his hand on the phone. “I worked late today—that’s the reason I didn’t call sooner.”

“Bert and Spring did make wills, and I need to discuss them with you. Could we meet for dinner this evening?”

Having a good idea what David would tell her, Summer didn’t want to be in a public place when they talked. “It’s been a long day, David, and I really don’t want to go out again. Why don’t you come to my apartment? I’ll order some food from the deli on the first floor.”

“Suits me. What time?”

Summer glanced at her watch. It was seven o’clock. “Give me an hour.” She told him the name of the apartment complex and her number. Replacing the receiver, she sat on the couch and lowered her head to her hands. She didn’t have time to mope if she wanted to be ready when David arrived, but she was scared. Surely if Spring had understood Summer’s situation, she wouldn’t have asked for that promise.

Rousing after a few minutes, Summer telephoned the deli and ordered large servings of chicken stir-fry and fruit salad, for she remembered David had a big appetite. She showered rapidly and put on blue cotton slacks and a white knit blouse. She didn’t take time to wash her hair, but she brushed it briskly. Although not given to taking medication, Summer suddenly realized her head was throbbing, and she took a couple of aspirin that she kept on hand for emergencies. If she’d ever faced an emergency, it was now.

She arranged floral-patterned mats on the small table and set two glasses in the refrigerator to chill. She checked to be sure she had enough cheesecake for dessert, and when the deli delivered her order, she put the food in the small oven to keep it warm. She had barely finished her preparations when a buzzer sounded. She pushed a button to release the door when she saw David’s smiling face through the peephole.

“Come in, David,” she said cordially, although her throat was dry. “Your telephone message surprised me.”

He took her hand and squeezed it gently. “Thanks for seeing me on such short notice.”

He wore a wine-colored blazer, gray trousers, a brick-striped dress shirt and a silk tie that matched his blazer. David had wide soaring eyebrows and a straight nose. A long profile kept him from being overly handsome, but Summer had never seen a better-groomed man. His short, straight hair, extending backward from a high forehead, was neatly trimmed to his nape. She understood why he would make a good detective, for his brown eyes, steady in their scrutiny, seemed to take in every detail of her apartment and her appearance with one swift glance.

“Can your business wait until we’ve eaten?” Summer asked. “I had a light lunch, and I’m hungry.”

David removed his coat and laid aside the briefcase he carried. “Sounds good to me. I had a meal between Atlanta and New York several hours ago. You’ve got a nice apartment,” he added, as she invited him into the kitchenette.

“My living quarters were pretty bleak when I first came to New York,” she answered with a low laugh, “but my recent job promotion came with a large increase in salary, so I moved into this apartment a couple of months ago. I like living here.”

David gave her a strange, pensive glance as they sat at the table.

“I hope you like chicken stir-fry,” Summer said as she took foil-covered containers from the oven, arranged them on a silver tray and placed it on the table. She set out bowls of fruit salad from the refrigerator. “Would you rather have iced tea or a soft drink?”

“Iced tea, without sugar, please.”

During the two days they’d spent together in Pennsylvania, David and Summer had discussed their respective jobs, so there didn’t seem to be much for them to talk about now. Suspecting why David had come to see her, Summer wanted to forestall the discussion as long as possible.

David couldn’t think of any subject except what he’d come to tell Summer, and how that news was going to burst the bubble she’d built around herself in New York. They’d already covered the weather, so David finally said, “Looks like you’ve adjusted to city life.”

“There really wasn’t much adjustment to make. I’ve always liked to be alone, and it’s easy to lose oneself in a big city.”

She served him a slice of cheesecake, but didn’t take any herself.

“We’re different in that way,” he said. “I want lots of people around me.”

“I learned to find happiness in my own thoughts and company when I was a child. I’m only a year older than Autumn, and she’s prettier and more friendly than I am, so she got most of the attention.”

Not a hint of jealousy in the statement, David noted, as if the favoritism to her sister hadn’t been a problem.

“Don’t you ever get lonely?” David asked. “I like people.”

“I don’t dislike people, but I can be happy alone.”

She stood up and said, “May I get you anything else to eat? More cheesecake?”

“No, thanks. I enjoyed the food. And the company,” he added with a wide smile. David knew she would be unhappy very soon, and he hoped a little levity might cushion the blow. Summer’s eyes were wary, and she didn’t return his smile.

After she loaded the dishwasher, Summer refilled David’s iced-tea glass and carried it to the coffee table. He sat on the couch and motioned for Summer to sit beside him as he picked up the briefcase and opened it. She perched on the couch, several inches from his side, resembling a fledgling about to leave its nest.

Expelling a deep breath, he said, “I got in touch with the supervisor of the school where Bert and Spring worked, and she found their wills. She mailed them to me, and I was so surprised at the contents that I couldn’t think straight for a couple of days. I started to phone you several times, but decided this wasn’t the kind of situation to discuss over the telephone, so I booked a flight to New York.”

He took two sheets of paper from a legal envelope and handed them to Summer. “This is Spring’s will. Since she survived Bert, her will takes precedence, but the requests are identical to Bert’s. You’d better read it for yourself.”

Summer held the document a few minutes before she unfolded it. David watched her compassionately, wondering what her reaction would be.

Summer waded through the first few paragraphs of the handwritten document, and since this was the only last will and testament she’d ever read, the wording seemed rather archaic.

I, Spring Weaver Brown, a citizen and resident of Madison County, North Carolina, being of sound and disposing mind, do make, publish and declare this to be my last will and testament, hereby revoking all other wills made by me at any time.

The will authorized the executor to pay all debts, then Spring bequeathed all of her estate, both real and personal, to her husband, Bert Brown, also named as her executor. Then the document further specified:

Should my husband predecease me, or die simultaneously with me, I hereby nominate my brother-in-law, David Brown, to be the executor of my estate, and in the event he will not or cannot serve, I hereby nominate my father, Landon Weaver, to serve in that capacity.

Should my husband predecease me, I hereby bequeath the care of my two children, Nicole and Timothy, into the joint guardianship of my sister, Summer Weaver, and my brother-in-law, David Brown. In the event that one of them will not or cannot serve, then I ask that the other one assume custody of my children. I request that all of my assets be placed in a trust fund to pass to the children, share and share alike, upon Timothy’s twenty-first birthday.

I further request that my sister, Summer Weaver, and my brother-in-law, David Brown, assume the leadership of The Crossroads, the school my husband and I established in North Carolina, and that they rear our children in that environment.

“Oh, no!” Summer muttered. In her wildest imagination, she’d never expected David to be appointed coguardian of the children. She broke out in a cold sweat, and the room swayed around her. When she rallied, David had his arm around her shoulders, supporting her and wiping her face with a cold, damp cloth. It seemed as if a giant hand had descended upon her chest, and she gasped for breath.

“Did I faint?” she muttered.

“Almost,” David said.

“I’ve never passed out before. Mother taught us that only weaklings fainted—we wouldn’t have dared faint around her.”

“You had a jolt that would make anyone black out,” David sympathized, and recalling the extremity of Spring’s request, Summer straightened up quickly.

“Is that paper binding? We don’t have to do what they asked, do we?”

“No, because I doubt these documents are legal. I’m sure no attorney would have drawn up wills like this.” He took a deep breath and worry lines formed around his eyes. “I haven’t thought about anything else for three days, and I’ve concluded that Bert and Spring discussed what would happen to Timmy and Nicole if something should happen to them. Perhaps they felt compelled to make some provision for their children before they left on that trip.”

“Maybe they’d already discussed asking us to be guardians or godparents.”

“That’s what I think, too, and the accident occurred before they got our consent.”

“Would you have agreed to their requests if you’d been asked?”

“I don’t think so,” he said slowly.

“So you won’t do what they’ve asked you to?”

“I didn’t say that. If they’d asked me in advance, I might have refused, but now that they’re gone, it’s a different matter.”

Summer stood, walked to the window and looked out over a small garden situated in the midst of the apartment complex. Several adults sat on benches watching the splashing fountain, a few children played miniature golf, and one young mother strolled along a path, holding her son’s hand.

If she didn’t keep her promise, who would hold Timmy’s hand?

“What’ll happen to Timmy and Nicole if we refuse to take care of them? There’s no provision for that.”

“Since we weren’t consulted about their requests, it’s my opinion that if we refuse, other guardians can be appointed by the court. I haven’t looked into it. I didn’t want to discuss their wills with anyone until I talked to you.”

Should she tell David that Spring had asked her to take Timmy and Nicole? No one except Spring had heard her agree to do it. Perhaps other family members would be more suited to look after Spring’s kids. As inexperienced as she was, if she assumed the care of two children, they’d be unhappy and she would be miserable. No one need ever know that, in a weak moment, she’d promised Spring.

Suddenly Summer’s thoughts reverted to the night Spring had died, when she’d had the overpowering sensation that the two of them weren’t alone in the room, that God’s Spirit had been there to smooth Spring’s move from earth to Heaven. If God had been present, He’d heard the promise!

Her decision to tell David was delayed for the time being when he stated, “I can understand their concern for the children, but why would Bert and Spring expect us to take over that school?”

Summer had been so preoccupied over custody of the children that the second provision of the will had slipped her mind. She turned toward David and said in a raspy voice, “I absolutely will not be a part of that. I don’t know how to mother two children, to say nothing of operating a school. I couldn’t work with a group of wayward teenagers, and that’s the purpose of their school. I won’t do it.”

“That was my initial reaction, too, but let’s give it some thought before we make a definite decision. Will you be working tomorrow?”

“No.”

“I’m not scheduled to return to Atlanta until Sunday. Let’s sleep on it and talk again tomorrow.”

“Yes, let’s do. I want to get this settled as soon as possible, so I can go on with my life.”

“Will noon be okay? I’ll bring a pizza for lunch, and we can go out for dinner. Perhaps to a seafood restaurant?”

“Twelve o’clock will be fine,” Summer answered, without commenting on his dinner invitation. She didn’t want to get personally involved with David, but when he closed his briefcase and stood, Summer still quivered inwardly with shock and anger. Not willing to face the four walls of her apartment alone the rest of the evening, she said, “Unless you have other plans, you might as well stay for a while. I don’t want to discuss those wills, but we can watch a movie or something else on television.”

Accustomed to Summer’s standoffish manner toward him, her request startled David until he realized that Summer was struggling with an uncharacteristic emotion. She didn’t want to be alone! He remembered how shaken he’d been when he read his brother’s will. He’d had three days to become reconciled to the requests, but Summer hadn’t had time to get over her shock.

“Yeah, I’d like that. Thanks for asking,” he said, settling back on the couch.

She handed him the remote. “Why don’t you run through the menu and find a movie? Make sure it’s a comedy or something light. I’m not in the mood for intrigue and drama. While you do that, I’ll fix some snacks.”

She poured a jar of cranberry-orange juice over ice and emptied a package of Hawaiian trail mix into a bowl. She placed napkins, glasses, and plates on the coffee table while David glanced at her home. If all of Summer’s life was as ordered and organized as this apartment, David understood why she had almost fainted when she’d read her sister’s will. On the point of being protective of Summer, David wasn’t pleased that his sister-in-law had handed her such a dilemma.

They didn’t talk much during the rest of the evening as they enjoyed the antics of a lovable dog that wreaked havoc in the household of his human family. It was after midnight when Summer walked with David to the door.

“Try to sleep,” he said tenderly. “I know this has been a terrible blow to you—losing your sister was bad enough, without having to decide how to act upon her requests.”

“Especially when I feel guilty about not wanting to do what she asked me to.”

As he shrugged into his coat she’d taken from the closet, he said, “Don’t lose any sleep over it. We’ll work something out tomorrow.”

“You’re taking this calmly enough. Aren’t you upset about what they’ve done to us?”

“Sure. But I’ve had longer to get used to the idea than you have, and staying awake all night fretting about it won’t change things.” She drew back quickly in surprise when he brushed a light kiss across her lips as he eased out into the hallway.

“Under the circumstances, don’t you think we’re at least kissing kin?”

David smiled into her surprised blue eyes and strode rapidly down the hallway. In spite of the sorrow over the death of his brother and the disturbing contents of the wills, David was delighted to have a reason to see more of Summer. After she hadn’t answered his letters, he’d decided to forget her, but when he least expected it, Summer’s image had infiltrated his mind, and he wondered if he’d ever see her again. He was attracted to Summer’s beauty, but he was more intrigued by her quiet nature that he believed concealed hidden fires waiting to be ignited. He wanted to be around when that happened.