20
The days that led up to the wedding were a hot mess of unraveled plans and last-minute changes, a series of victories and setbacks. It seemed that everything that could go wrong, did, and yet, Harper’s world had never felt so right.
Babe altered the wedding dress, and then altered it again as the baby underwent an astounding growth spurt and Harper’s belly ballooned.
The backyard was transformed into a twinkling wonderland as Dalton and Nicky strung fairy lights from the branches of the silk trees Clara had ordered. Clara burned her trial-run wedding cake and Toby chewed up Nicky’s brand-new tie. It was a time of laughter and chaos and flaring tempers and love. So much love. As the wedding plans solidified, so did Harper and Dalton’s relationship. The tumultuous days were followed by quiet evenings when they talked late into the night, sharing their hearts and dreams for their new life together. She felt as if she had known Dalton all her life instead of just for a summer. He was a calming influence on her fears, an anchor that tethered her runaway thoughts as she alternated between longing for her father’s visit and dreading it.
When Dallas and Merilee’s rented car pulled up at the house on the day before the wedding, Harper watched from the attic window. Her father looked older than she remembered, with gray sprinkling his hair and beard. She was filled with sadness for the lost years. The years he could have been a part of her life and chose not to.
When she went downstairs to greet him, her father enveloped her in an awkward embrace.
Merilee’s disapproving gaze skimmed over Harper’s bulging tummy. “Well, it looks as though there’s more news here than we knew about,” she said.
“Yes, this is quite a surprise.” Her father’s shocked expression gave way to a tentative smile. “Congratulations, princess.”
“Welcome, my darlings.” Clara embraced her nephew and then Merilee. “It’s wonderful to see you both again.”
“Where’s Nicholas?” her father asked, his gaze scanning the entryway.
“He had to run to the plaza,” Clara said. “He’ll be home shortly.”
“We passed by there on our way into town,” her father said. “It’s quite impressive. When did they build all of that?”
“It’s been a few years now,” Harper said, saddened again at how out of touch her father was with them.
“It’s been quite a while since we’ve been to Redford’s Crossing. I see things here have changed as well, since we’ve been away.” Merilee’s critical glance moved over the once pristine room, now woefully outdated, and Harper was painfully aware of the clutter, the threadbare rug, and the dingy wallpaper.
“You’re too kind, dear,” Clara beamed, oblivious to the slight and the obvious fact that Merilee was anything but happy to be there. “The real transformation is out back. Come and see what we’ve done.”
Harper trailed behind as Clara proudly pointed out the flower gardens and the beautifully adorned gazebo.
“The gazebo does look beautiful,” Merilee admitted grudgingly.
“And here’s the man responsible!” Clara said.
Dalton walked toward them across the yard and suddenly the hard knots of stress in Harper’s stomach untied and fell away. Taking Dalton’s hand, she introduced him to her family. As they sat down to a simple lunch of chicken salad and fruit salad, her father quickly warmed up to his soon-to-be son-in-law and even Merilee’s icy demeanor thawed a bit.
Despite the day’s rocky beginning, the evening had been lovely as a few close friends and family gathered in the gazebo for the wedding rehearsal, and then for an extravagant dinner at Hannibal House, Redford’s Crossing’s most upscale restaurant, which Dallas insisted on paying for.
With the house quiet at last, Harper and Dalton retreated to the back yard. In the gazebo, Harper leaned back in his arms with a sigh of relief.
“Why was it we didn’t elope, again?”
“Because it would have broken Clara’s heart.” He laughed softly. “I’ve got to admit it though, Babe really nailed it this time.”
Harper smiled. Above them, the moon was a golden disk in the sky, bathing the yard in a soft, magical glow. The glimmering ficus trees threw their gentle light along the pathway that led to the gazebo. “She really did, didn’t she?”
“Leave it to a control freak to get the job done.”
“Yes, but she’s our control freak. We may as well learn to love her.”
“If the wedding tomorrow goes as smoothly as the rehearsal did tonight, we’re home free,” he said, kissing the top of her head.
“It was wonderful, wasn’t it?”
“Despite a few tense moments, yes.”
“Merilee is a tad overbearing, isn’t she?”
He grinned. “Just a tad.”
“Babe said Merilee went over her lists and criticized everything from the hors d’oeuvres to the lavender napkins.”
“Ouch. I bet that made a few sparks fly.”
“I don’t blame Babe for being annoyed. After she put in all the work, Merilee doesn’t get to come sweeping in the day before the wedding and take over.”
“I agree. Your father seems decent enough. I think he was quite shocked to find out he’ll be a grandfather in a few weeks.”
She stiffened. “I haven’t seen the man in years. It just wasn’t the kind of conversation I wanted to have in one of our biannual phone conversations.”
“I get it.” He squeezed her shoulders and she relaxed again. “He took me aside after the party and told me he was glad I was doing the right thing.”
She smiled again. “So am I.”
“Will you ever tell him the truth about the baby?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
The little girl inside of Harper still desperately longed for her father’s affection and approval. But the independent woman she had become knew he’d given up the right to her secrets the day he’d dropped her and Nicky off at Aunt Clara’s house, seemingly with no more care than if they’d been a couple of bags of dirty laundry. That was a wound that would take years to heal, if ever.
The next morning Harper was awakened by the warm caress of sunlight streaming through her window and the lovely realization that she had spent the last night of her life alone. How was that even possible? She lingered in bed, slowly working through their love story in her mind, starting with the day Dalton rescued Clara at the carousel and ending with last night. It occurred to her that whether intentionally or by accident, Aunt Clara had brought them together every step of the way. Just one more reason that Harper would love her aunt until the day she died. In just a few short months Dalton had become her best friend. Today he would become her husband. And she had Aunt Clara to thank.
Today she would have a husband! She lingered in bed a few moments more, savoring the thrill of it.
And then a small shadow fell across her happiness. They had promised there would be no more secrets between them. She knew she would have to tell him what she’d done, and she wasn’t sure how he would react. She’d imagined it going both ways. In the first scenario Dalton was pleased. She’d explain what happened and they’d laugh together at Clara’s latest blunder. But in the second scenario…not so much. In this one he’d see the indiscretion as the invasion of his privacy it was. Oh, why had she written that email?
After her talk with Dalton when he’d first returned from Cleveland she’d kept up with Tasha’s blog. At first out of curiosity, but later, because she liked the interesting content and Tia’s straightforward writing style. She hated to think that Tasha’s family would somehow learn of their wedding and see it as a betrayal of Tasha. With the best intentions she’d composed an email in which she poured out her heart to Tia. She’d told her about the miracle of her and Dalton’s love story and how deeply he cherished Tasha’s memory. She assured Tia her niece would never be forgotten. But after rereading the email, she was filled with doubts about its appropriateness and closed out without sending it. Though well-intentioned, the letter was not hers to write.
She put it out of her mind until a week later, when she returned from her gown alterations session with Babe and saw the light blinking on Aunt Clara’s answering machine.
Hello, dear Clara, it’s Tia. I wanted to let you know we’d be comin’ to the wedding. Thank you for reachin’ out to us. We’re so happy for Dalton and Harper. We love that boy, and we always will…
She stared at the answering machine in horror, certain there must be some mistake. Then, with a knot of dread in her stomach, she hurriedly opened the laptop and scrolled through her emails, crying out softly when she saw that her letter to Tia had been sent. Opening it, she saw that Clara had altered it slightly by adding her phone number and a warm invitation to the wedding. She closed the laptop, not sure whether to be furious with Nicky for teaching Aunt Clara how to write and send emails, or with herself for not logging out of her account.
In any case, there would be no more putting it off. She would have to tell Dalton what she had done, and she would have to do it today…
In the kitchen, she filled the tea kettle and set it on the stove to boil. With no sign of Clara yet, she tiptoed out to the patio to the oversized cooler she used for her catering business. Opening the door, she peeked in at the wedding cake. Biting her lip, she smiled. It was a magnificent creation of delicate pink and white rosettes enveloped in a creamy white cascade of pearls and lace. Despite a couple of bumps in the road, Aunt Clara had done her finest work. She wrapped her arms around herself in a hug before closing the cooler door.
Thank You, Lord. For this day. This cake. This everything…
She finished her tea and was rinsing out her cup when Toby padded into the kitchen.
“Good morning, Tobes,” she greeted him. “Are you ready for your breakfast? I see you slept in a little bit today. Is Aunt Clara coming down?”
The dog cocked his head to the side and whined. Harper took him to the back yard and clipped him to his chain, then returned to the kitchen and poured a cup of tea for Clara. When several minutes passed without her aunt’s appearance, she made her way upstairs. Clara’s door was ajar, and she knocked softly. When no answer came, she poked her head inside.
Clara’s bed was empty.
“How strange,” she murmured. She headed down the hallway to the bathroom. It, too, was empty. She poked her head in her old bedroom, now Nicky’s room. Her brother was fast asleep. She’d just returned to the kitchen when Dalton walked in. He swept her up in his arms and kissed her.
“Good morning, very near future Mrs. Kingston.”
“Mmmm, I like the sound of that.” She reluctantly moved from his embrace. “Hey, would you go out and see if Aunt Clara is in the back yard?”
“I just came from there. Is Clara not in the house?”
A dandelion of worry blossomed in her tummy. “No, she isn’t. I went to wake her up and her bed is empty.”
“She’s got to be here somewhere.”
A thorough search of the house produced no sign of her, and the dandelion of worry became a full weed patch.
“I’m sure she didn’t go far,” Dalton said. “Would she have taken Toby out for a walk?”
“Toby’s right here. I just brought him inside.”
At the sound of his name, the dog thumped his tail beneath the table.
Dalton roused Nicky from his bed and the two of them canvassed the neighborhood while Harper made a second search of the house.
“Any sign of her?” she asked anxiously when they returned.
Dalton sighed, lines of worry now creasing his face as well. “No.”
At ten o’clock, with no sign of Clara, Harper called the police. Then she called her father at his hotel. A short time later Austin and Kat Delany pulled into her driveway, followed by Dallas and Merilee in their rented car.
Kat rushed to Harper and pulled her into a hug. “Now don’t you worry. It’ll be just fine, Harper,” she assured her. “If anyone can find your Aunt Clara, Austin can.”
“Any word yet?” Dallas demanded.
“No. Aunt Clara is still missing,” Harper choked on the word.
“How can she be missing? How does that even happen?”
“OK, hold on. When was the last time you saw Clara?” Austin asked.
“It was last night, after the rehearsal party. She went to bed around ten o’clock, which was very late for her.”
“OK. I’m just trying to assess how long ago she might have left the house. What time does Clara normally get up in the morning?”
“Any time from 5:00 AM to 7:00 AM.” Harper’s voice broke. “She could have left here hours ago.”
“Any idea what she was wearing?”
“Last I saw her she was wearing her pink nightgown,” Nicky told him. “But that’s folded up on her bed, so she must have changed clothes before she left.”
“Your bedroom is right next to Clara’s, isn’t it?” Dallas challenged his son. “How could she have left the house without you hearing her?”
“I don’t know.” Nicky looked as if he might cry. “I just didn’t. I thought I heard Toby crying but I don’t know what time that was.”
“And you didn’t bother to get up and see what he was crying about?”
“He does that sometimes, Dad. I didn’t think anything about it.”
“Hey. This is not Nicky’s fault,” Dalton said. “We had a big night last night and we were all exhausted.”
Austin jotted down notes of Clara’s height, weight, and physical description and excused himself to radio the information into the police station. Word traveled fast in Redford’s Crossing and soon a crowd of people had gathered in the front yard. Harper’s overworked brain fleetingly registered their faces, Lou and Mary Perkins from next door, as well as some other neighbors. Joel Benton who delivered the penny saver newspaper and his wife, Cheryl. Pastor Roberts and Bertie. A bare-faced, disheveled Babe and her husband, Jerry. A figure cut across the lawn, head bent, hands jammed into the pockets of his gray hoodie. Harper was mildly surprised when he drew near enough that she could see it was Rory St. George.
“Hey, Harper.”
“Hi, Rory.”
“I heard at the feed store that your aunt Clara is missing. What can I do to help?”
“I think Austin Delany is setting up search parties, if you have time to help us look.”
“I’d be glad to help look for Clara.” He smiled his shy smile and added, “I kind of owe her one.”
The statement puzzled her for a moment before the memory came back with startling clarity. It was the year after her mother died. She was in the third grade. Her teacher that year, Miss Harris, made a huge deal out of birthdays. Out of any special days, really. She’d decorate the classroom with streamers and a birthday banner and encourage the students’ mothers to provide birthday treats. Harper had not expected a celebration of her birthday that year, hadn’t trusted her grief-stricken father to even remember, but Aunt Clara took the ball and ran with it. She created an elaborate unicorn birthday cake, its mane decorated in spun sugar in every color. When she presented it to the class at the end of the day, all of Harper’s classmates lined up in awe and Harper’s chest filled with pride.
As Aunt Clara began to cut the cake into slices and hand them to the students, Harper noticed Rory St. George step up to the table and her pride was replaced by indignation.
“Rory, you shouldn’t get to have any,” she said. “You never bring any birthday treats for us, or any Christmas or Valentine’s Day treats either.”
Rory stepped out of line and the rare anger she saw on Aunt Clara’s face in the next moment was frightening. “Shame on you, child. Of course, Rory will have some cake. Everyone will have as much as they’d like.”
Aunt Clara’s chastisement had burned like a slap across the face and Harper had never felt more ashamed. All she knew, in the third grade was that the St. George boys were the poorest of the poor. They often smelled bad and just as often wore dirty clothes. Nobody liked Rory and Harper felt justified in her slight of him. But later that night, Aunt Clara sat on the edge of Harper’s bed and explained that Rory’s mother, Darlene, worked at two jobs trying to raise her four boys all by herself, since their father had died unexpectedly. With trying to keep the lights on and put food on the table, Darlene likely did not have the time or the money for special school treats. Clara reminded her about how Jesus’s love and kindness was for everyone and theirs should be, too. Rory eventually dropped out of school and off Harper’s radar, but the lesson she had learned that day stayed with her for her entire life. But Rory couldn’t have known that.
She smiled. “What do you owe Aunt Clara?”
“She made my very first birthday cake. Or I should say, cakes.”
“The solar system,” she murmured, as another memory surfaced.
He gave her a thumbs up. “We ate the Earth in class, and I took the other planets home to my brothers. She couldn’t have guessed how much that meant to us.”
A month after Harper’s birthday, Miss Harris once again brought out the streamers and the birthday banner for Rory’s birthday. At the end of the day, she presented the class with an elaborate earth cake with several smaller cakes decorated to look like the solar system, which was Rory’s current fascination at the time. He tried to act like his mother had brought the cake in, but Harper knew, as much as if she’d written her signature in the glittering black icing, the cake was made by Aunt Clara. Evidently Rory had known, too.
Finished with his call, Austin grouped them into search teams.
“Jerry and I thought we’d drive down the highway for a few miles, maybe head out to Lake Moonshine. I know she loves it there, maybe she set out on foot,” Babe told Harper. “Do you want to come with us?”
“That’s a good idea, Babe. But I think Harper should stay here in case Clara comes home,” Austin said.
As the search party began to disperse, a white sedan pulled to the curb and a woman got out. She wore a lightweight pantsuit and something about the way her heels clicked purposefully up the sidewalk as she approached put Harper on alert.
Dalton came immediately to her side, as if he sensed it too.
“Are you Harper Blessings?” the woman asked.
“Yes.”
“I’m Ann Romans from Adult Protective Services.” She flashed a name badge. “I received a phone call a short time ago relating some concerns about your Aunt Clara’s cognitive state and her disappearance. I’d like to ask you a few questions if I could.”
“A phone call?” Harper felt herself go numb. “Babe, you didn’t…?”
“No, I swear I didn’t call her,” Babe said.
“I made the call.” Merilee stepped forward. “It seemed the kindest thing to do. The poor woman is obviously confused, anyone can see that. This is not a safe situation for her here, especially with a baby on the way. Am I the only one who can admit that Clara needs to be put in a home?”
“She is in a home,” Harper cried. “The only home she’s known for decades!”
~*~
There was more going on now than Dalton could process. He was still digesting the visit from Adult Protective Services and Merilee’s shocking confession when a white pickup truck rolled to a stop out front. A man as big as a mountain climbed out, followed by a small, strikingly beautiful woman. Brushing past the social worker, the man drew Harper into a bear hug.
“How are you holding up, sweetheart?”
“Hello, Sandy,” she said, swiping at her tears. “I’m OK. Not great.”
“I sent my crew out to look for Clara as soon as I heard,” he told her. “Any word yet?”
“No.”
“We’ll find her, sweetheart.”
Harper nodded and he took her chin in his big hand and tilted it up to his face. “Hey. It’ll be OK. Try not to worry. It’s not good for the baby.”
Dalton had seen the man before. He had enveloped Clara in the same kind of bear hug in the hardware store the day they’d stopped to buy the brackets for the planter boxes.
“Sandy’s done a lot of work for me on the house,” Clara had told him later. “He replaced my roof several years ago and ever since he shows up each fall like clockwork to clean the gutters, and he doesn’t charge me a dime. He looks like a big ol’ grizzly, but Sandy Fairbrother is a teddy bear if ever there was one.”
Sandy released Harper from the hug. “I don’t know if you’ve met my wife, Rochelle.”
“Hello, Harper,” the woman said. “I don’t think I’ve met you personally, but your food is pretty famous in this town. After sampling it at the festival I can see why.”
“Thanks.” Harper managed a smile. “You’re Austin’s sister, right? The movie star?”
She laughed softly. “Austin’s sister, yes. Movie star, no.”
“Well, it’s so nice to finally meet you. This is my fiancée, Dalton.”
Sandy reached for his hand. “Actually, Dalton and I have met. I ran into him and Clara in the hardware store one day earlier this summer. That’s kind of why I stopped by. We found something and I think Clara was wearing it that day. Show them, honey.”
Rochelle opened her bag and extracted a flamboyant pink scarf printed with purple hummingbirds and Dalton’s heart started to race. He’d bought the scarf for Clara that day, and she’d worn it for their convertible rides ever since.
“Yes, that’s Aunt Clara’s,” Harper said. “Where did you find it?”
“It was lying on the sidewalk on Broadway Street,” Rochelle told her. “Around the third block.”
“Broadway Street.” Hope surging in his chest, Dalton took the scarf from Rochelle’s hand. “I think I know where Clara is.”