Читать книгу The Soldier's Newfound Family - Kathryn Springer - Страница 13

Chapter Three

“So, when will you be here?”

Carter sighed into the phone as he entered the post office. “Soon.”

“How soon?” Maddie wanted to know.

“A few more days.” Long enough to give Savannah time to change her mind.

Carter had jotted his cell phone number and the Colby Ranch’s address on a piece of paper and tucked it under the windshield wiper of her car after she’d shut the door in his face the day before.

He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. Wondering what had happened between her and Rob. None of the things Savannah had told him lined up with the claims his friend had made, but Carter couldn’t shake the feeling that she was the one who’d been telling the truth. Unsettling, given the fact he’d trusted Rob with his life.

“Jack said he might be able to find some work for you around the ranch now that you’re out of the service,” Maddie continued. “You love being outdoors. You helped Dad build that playhouse in the backyard when we lived in Appleton, remember? Once it was finished, you told everyone that you wanted to live there. I had to lure you into the house with chocolate chip cookies when it was bedtime.”

Maddie’s low laugh flowed over him, stirring up memories from the past.

Carter remembered handing his dad the nails, one by one. It was one of the few times they’d actually worked on a project together. Once his dad had started medical school, he’d left Rachel, the full-time nanny he’d hired, in charge of the family. Carter had heard the words “don’t bother your father” so often over the next few years, he’d eventually taken them to heart.

“I’ll come to Grasslands and meet Violet and Jack—” Carter still couldn’t think of them as family. “But I can’t promise any more than that right now.”

“I just want us to be together,” Maddie whispered. “With Dad gone...”

Dad is always gone, Carter was tempted to say. He knew that Gray and Maddie were concerned that something bad might have happened to their father, but knowing Brian, he’d probably just got caught up in his work and assumed everything back home was fine. Thanksgiving, the day he’d promised he would be home, was still three weeks away.

Gray had explained they couldn’t file a missing person’s report because technically, Brian Wallace wasn’t considered missing.

“I’ll be there.” Carter inserted the key into the post office box he’d kept in the city. “By the weekend—” A package tumbled out with an avalanche of junk mail. He winced as it hit the tiled floor. “I hope that wasn’t something breakable,” he muttered.

Maddie heard him. “Breakable? Where are you?”

“I’m at the post office and there’s a package in here that didn’t get forwarded for some reason.”

“A package,” Maddie repeated. “What does it look like?”

“Um...like a package?”

“Well, open it!”

Carter rolled his eyes. Bossy older sisters. But there was a tension in Maddie’s voice that hadn’t been there before. Not even when she’d been pestering him about coming to Grasslands. He dumped the letters onto a nearby counter and cut through the tape on the package with his pocketknife.

“Did you send this?” Carter stared at the small, leather-bound book swaddled in tissue paper. “Because I already have one.”

Not that he’d cracked it open for a few years.

“What is it?” Maddie whispered.

“A Bible.”

“Is there a note inside?”

Carter thumbed through the delicate, gold-tipped pages and found a piece of paper. “How did you know?”

“Because someone sent a Bible to me and Gray. And to Violet and Jack.”

Carter quickly skimmed the contents of the letter and then read it out loud.

“‘I’m sorry for what I did to you and your family. I hope you and your siblings can find it in your hearts to forgive me.’”

It wasn’t signed.

“What is this about? Who sent it?”

“We don’t know,” Maddie admitted. “At first we assumed it was a mistake because whoever wrote the other letters specifically mentioned a twin. But Gray thinks it might have something to do with the reason we were separated.”

“Maybe it has something to do with Dad’s disappearance.” Carter read through the words a second time, trying to make sense of the cryptic message. “Why didn’t you mention this before?”

“We didn’t think you’d—” Maddie stopped.

“Get one.” Carter filled in the blanks.

Because at the moment, he was the only one in the Wallace-Colby puzzle who actually knew where he fit. Which, the irony wasn’t lost on Carter, made him the odd man out. Again.

“I’m sorry, Carter.” Maddie sounded on the verge of tears now. “Gray will want to see the letter and compare the handwriting, but it has to be from the same person. Maybe if we put all of them together, we’ll find something that we missed.”

Carter held back a sigh.

“I’m on my way.”

* * *

“I have to admit I’m not happy with the numbers I’m seeing this morning.”

Savannah felt a stab of fear as Dr. Yardley set the paperwork down on the desk and took a seat across from her in the examining room.

“Is there something wrong with the baby?”

“The baby seems to be fine. It’s you I’m worried about,” the doctor said bluntly. “Your blood pressure is elevated, and you’ve actually lost weight since your last appointment.”

“I’m feeling fine,” Savannah protested. “A little tired, that’s all.”

“Mmm.” Dr. Yardley looked skeptical. “How many hours did you work at the diner last week?”

Savannah silently tallied them up. “Between twenty-five and thirty.” Give or take a few. She’d volunteered to cover for one of the waitresses who was standing up in a friend’s wedding so she would have money to cover the security deposit on a new apartment.

The apartment she still hadn’t found.

After being on her feet all day, she just couldn’t seem to summon the energy to search for a new place to live. Savannah assumed it was normal to feel this way but the concern in the doctor’s eyes told her otherwise.

“That’s what I thought.” Dr. Yardley shook her head. “I want you to cut back to half that amount. Effective when you walk out of this office today.”

“But I promised my boss that I could fill in on weekends and evenings when I wasn’t working my regular shift.” Savannah stared at her obstetrician in dismay. “It was the only reason he hired me.”

“You’ve been under a tremendous amount of stress throughout this pregnancy, Savannah, and you still have three months to go. If you end up on complete bed rest, you won’t be able to work at all.” The doctor’s stern words were tempered with a smile. “You need more rest and a little TLC. Two things that I’m afraid modern medicine hasn’t figured out how to put in a pill yet.”

Savannah laced her fingers together in her lap to stop them from shaking. “I’ll talk to him.” Although Bruce didn’t exactly have a reputation for his easygoing disposition.

The doctor gave her a shrewd look. “Is there anything else going on that I should know about?”

“I’ve been looking for a new apartment,” Savannah admitted. “But I’m sure that I’ll find something in the next few days.”

Dr. Yardley’s pen tapped the clipboard. “Isn’t there a family member you can stay with until the baby is born?”

“I don’t have any family.” One of the reasons she’d been so quick to fall for Rob’s charm.

“All right, then. How about a friend?” the physician persisted.

Even as Savannah was shaking her head, an image of Carter Wallace’s face flashed through her mind.

No. Way.

She didn’t want to accept his help. Carter had been stunned when she’d told him that Rob had left her. Savannah hadn’t really expected him to believe her word over Rob’s—but still, it had hurt. Why, she wasn’t sure.

She wasn’t sure why Carter had offered her a place to stay on his sister’s ranch near Grasslands, either. The sergeant had been Rob’s friend. She, on the other hand, was simply an obligation. One he had probably been relieved to cross off his list. There was no way she was going to show up on his doorstep like an orphan puppy in search of a home.

She’d viewed Rob as a knight in shining armor, swooping in to rescue her, and look where she was now. A single mother on the verge of being homeless.

God, I know that I’m not alone. I know that You’re with me. Show me what I’m supposed to do.

“I know things are difficult right now, but you have to do what’s best for you and the baby,” Dr. Yardley was saying. “If I could, I’d write you a prescription for a change of scenery. I think that’s what you need more than anything right now.”

A change of scenery can give you a change in perspective.

The words chased through her mind, stirring the memory of someone else who had said the same thing.

Savannah didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Because even though she’d just asked God to show her what to do, she wasn’t ready to acknowledge that Carter Wallace just might be the answer to her prayer.

* * *

“Earth to Carter. Come in, Carter.”

Maddie’s teasing voice yanked Carter back to the present.

“Sorry.” He cocked his head to one side. “Reception is still a little fuzzy between earth and The Twilight Zone.”

Laughter rippled through the dining room and once again, Carter had to adjust to the sound. To the faces of the people gathered around the long plank table. Gray and Jack. Violet and Maddie. Identical but...not.

“What’s The Twilight Zone?” Eight-year-old Darcy Garland’s lively, brown-eyed gaze bounced back and forth between the adults.

“It’s not real,” Ty Garland, the little girl’s father, explained. Carter saw him wink at Maddie across the table.

Yeah. That was another thing. His siblings hadn’t only found each other, they’d found, in Maddie’s words, “their soul mates.” Carter was still trying to wrap his brain around that, too.

“That’s what you think,” Jack Colby muttered. “You don’t have to get used to a guy walking around with your face.”

“Wearing a shirt and tie,” Violet added, her eyes dancing with mischief.

“She’s right.” Jack flashed a wicked grin in Gray’s direction. “When you start working for the Grasslands Police department in January, Sheriff Cole will have you trading in those fancy city duds for a pair of Levis and Tony Lamas in no time.”

Their easy banter ricocheted around the table and Carter felt a stab of envy. Violet and Jack Colby had gone out of their way to make him feel welcome since his arrival, but Carter still felt as if his life had become a jigsaw puzzle in which the pieces no longer fit together.

But at least he had family. More than he was comfortable with, at the moment.

Carter’s gaze drifted to the window. Again.

Almost a week had gone by since he’d left the city and he still couldn’t stop thinking about Savannah.

He lay awake at night, scrolling through past conversations with his friend. Searching for scraps of information that verified what Savannah had told him. Rob had talked about her constantly...but had he ever talked to her? Sent an email or letter? Received one?

That’s what Carter couldn’t remember.

Lupita Ramirez, the ranch cook and housekeeper, bustled into the dining room. She rapped a wooden spoon against the palm of her hand to get everyone’s attention.

“Who has room for chocolate cake?”

A collective groan followed the question.

“No one—” Jack started to say.

“But we’ll take some anyway,” Maddie and Violet sang out. At the same time. And then they laughed. In unison.

“Weird,” Ty Garland muttered.

Carter had to agree.

“I’m going to have to start working out more.” Gray sighed when the housekeeper left the dining room. “Lupita makes enough food to feed the entire county.”

“That reminds me, Pastor Jeb wants the church to host a special harvest dinner the weekend before Thanksgiving,” Violet said. “He’s been calling around, asking members of the congregation to volunteer to help, but he wants to invite the whole community.”

Unbidden, an image of Savannah’s face swept into Carter’s mind. Again. The flash of anger in those expressive green eyes when he’d asked about the baby. The vulnerable curve of her lower lip.

Did she have plans for Thanksgiving? Or would she be alone?

Carter shifted in the chair. In his mind’s eye, he could see her standing by the door, arms wrapped protectively around her middle. Proud. Scared.

She made it pretty clear that she isn’t your concern, he reminded himself.

But that didn’t stop him from wondering how she was doing. Had she found an apartment yet? He hated to think of her staying in a hotel with a baby on the way, even for a few days.

Carter had made Rob two promises before his friend had died. He’d promised that he would always have Rob’s back and he’d promised that he would make sure Savannah was okay. So far, he hadn’t kept either one of them.

“I’ll see if I can’t round up a few of the boys from the teen center to help with setup or something,” Landon Derringer was saying. “They’re always complaining they don’t have anything to do.”

“Round up?” Violet grinned at her fiancé’s choice of words. “You’re starting to think like a cowboy already, sweetheart.”

Gray shook his head in mock sorrow. “Another victim.”

Across the table, Derringer smiled at Violet, confirmation that he’d been a willing one.

Carter had been stunned to find Landon, Maddie’s former fiancé, at the ranch when he’d arrived. The guy had followed his sister to Grasslands and fallen in love with...Violet. And apparently no one but Carter thought that was strange. But in light of the other things the family had experienced lately, maybe it hadn’t even made the list.

“I think a harvest dinner is a great idea.” Violet handed a pitcher of cream to Maddie a second before she reached for it. “We have a lot to be thankful for.”

Carter couldn’t believe a murmur of agreement followed the statement. Maybe if they’d witnessed some of the things that he had over the past five years, they would have a different perspective. And given what they’d been through lately with Belle’s accident and Brian’s disappearance, Carter didn’t think there was a whole lot to be thankful for, either.

Maddie’s expression turned pensive but she smiled at Violet. “This is the first Thanksgiving we’ll all be together.”

“Mom loves holidays,” Violet said wistfully. “She pulls out all the stops.... I know she’ll be home by then. She has to be.”

“There are a lot of people praying for her,” Maddie whispered.

But Carter noticed that everyone sidestepped the real question. Whether his father would be in attendance. Carter had managed to corner Gray for a few minutes and his brother had finally admitted how worried he was that something had happened to Brian. Their dad ministered to transient people in remote areas along the border, and the last person Gray had been in contact with had noticed that he seemed ill. Carter tried to convince himself that a physician would certainly know what to do—where to go—if he came down with something.

Unless he was alone and didn’t have access to the medicine he needed to fight the illness. His dad’s cell phone had been recovered a few weeks ago, but there were other ways he could have maintained contact with the rest of the family. Why hadn’t he used them?

Carter felt the walls begin to close in and suddenly felt the need for some fresh air.

“No dessert for me.” His chair scraped the floor as he rose to his feet. “I think I’ll take a walk.”

“Sure.” Maddie frowned.

So did Violet.

Carter blinked but there were still two of them. Oh, yeah. He definitely needed some fresh air.

He could feel everyone watching as he walked out of the dining room. The second the door closed, he would be the next topic of conversation around the dinner table.

Carter wasn’t used to that, either. His older siblings valued and encouraged independence. Other than exchanging brief updates now and then, Maddie and Gray had pursued their own interests and left him alone. Carter wasn’t quite sure what to do with the sudden interest they were showing now. Add Jack and Violet into the mix, and Carter was beginning to feel like it was four against one. Odds he didn’t care for.

He stepped outside, back against the door as he made a swift but thorough sweep of the property. Searching for possible threats.

You’re in Texas, remember?

It took a moment to let his soul adjust to the newness of his surroundings. The rustle of the wind through the pecan grove. The scent of the mesquite trees. Miles of blue sky. A place that Maddie and Gray were both ready to call home.

And yet Carter was tempted to reenlist after they located his dad. In the military, he knew exactly who he was. What he was supposed to do. Now, it felt as if he’d stripped of his identity along with his uniform.

Nipper, Jack’s Australian shepherd, bounded up to him, and Carter reached down to scratch the dog’s velvety ears.

“I suppose you want to go for a walk?” Roaming the property together had become a nightly ritual when Carter couldn’t sleep.

The dog’s tail slashed the air and he barked. Carter took that as a yes.

Restlessness drove him toward the creek where the cottages were located. In spite of Violet’s generous offer, Carter had decided to stay in the main house and bunk in the guest room that Gray occupied when he visited the ranch, leaving one of the cottages empty in case Savannah changed her mind. A possibility that had begun to shrink over the past few days.

Savannah hadn’t exactly welcomed him with open arms. What made him think she would accept his help?

Just as Carter reached the creek bank, his cell phone rang.

An unfamiliar number appeared on the screen and Carter’s heart slammed against his rib cage. Had his father finally discovered they’d been trying to contact him?

“Hello?”

He heard a crackling sound. And then a tentative but familiar voice. “Hi.”

“Savannah?”

“Yes.” A long pause followed. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Not at all.” Carter’s hand tightened around the phone. “Is everything all right?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t—” The line crackled, distorting her words. If they lost the connection, Carter was afraid she wouldn’t call back.

“Savannah? You’re breaking up. Where are you?”

“I’m...here.”

“Here?” Carter repeated.

“At the gate.”