Chapter 17
Colleen
The FaceTime call was completely unexpected.
And a little disappointing.
Because it wasn’t Moore.
“Hey, Dennis! What’s wrong?”
Those big blue eyes, framed by thick eyebrows, stared her down.
“Why does something have to be wrong?” Seeing his smirk, she remembered how much he looked like Luke, only bigger. Thicker and more intimidating.
“You never FaceTime me.”
He sighed, the sound tender and definitely out of character for her Army officer brother who worked missions he couldn’t talk about.
“I need your help.”
“Me? How can I possibly help you?”
“Need your advice.”
Colleen clutched her chest.
“You–you–what?”
“Cut it out.”
“Wait, I need to pick my heart and jaw up off the floor.”
“After you do that, look around for your sense of humor.”
“Hah!”
“Seriously. I have to tell Dad and Mom something big, and I don’t know how.”
“You got a girl pregnant in Germany?”
“What? No!”
“You married a stranger?”
“Nope.”
“You did some genetic research and learned we’re descended from royalty?”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Spill it, then!”
“I’m retiring from the Army.”
“What?”
Silence. Dennis was always good at wielding silence as a weapon.
“Wow. You’re really doing it?”
“Yep.”
“What are you doing next?”
“Coming home.”
“Of course. But after that?”
“That’s just it, Colleen–I’m coming home. For good.”
“For good?”
“I paid into the camp. Have a cabin. I plan to come home and live in it.”
“Live live in it?”
“Yes. So here’s my question: How deep are Dad and Kell in the tree service business?”
“Dennis.”
“Hmm?”
“You’re hitting me with too many big issues here. Are you asking because you want to work in the business?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“I’m asking because I’d like to take over from Dad. Run it. But if Kell’s deep in, I won’t interfere.”
“Kell’s trying to figure out how to get out. His poison ivy-pulling company is killing it.”
“Good for him. Too bad I’m allergic.”
“Dad and Mom are going to die from happiness. You’re retiring and moving back to Luview?”
“I am.”
“You always said you’d never move back home!”
“I said I wanted to see the world, and I have.”
“You said that Luview is a consumerist b.s. veneer over a town full of small-minded, adventure-phobic worrywarts.”
“Same thing.”
Colleen took in a deep breath, debating whether to confide in him. All their life, they’d been close, but now Dennis kept everyone at a distance. This was an outpouring of emotion from him–as measured as it was–and Colleen found herself feeling more vulnerable than usual as a result.
“Why are you really coming home, Dennis? What happened?” she inquired softly, the flare of his eyes telling her she’d hit the mark, but then those eyes went flat.
“Can’t a guy retire and live out the rest of his life peacefully in his hometown?”
“Too bad you’re finally coming home just when I might be leaving.”
Her turn to shock him.
“You?” He laughed through his nose, the genuine smile spreading his features from a tight ball of self-protection to relaxed, brotherly love. “You’ll never, ever leave Luview.”
“Maybe I need a change.”
“That would be a big one.”
“I’m not getting any younger.”
“You and me both, Colleen. You and me both.” He paused, then asked, “Still dealing with that third date b.s.? Is that what you’re thinking?”
“Yeah. Hard to find a life partner when no one will touch me after two tries.”
“Life partner?”
“I want the whole dream. Soulmate, kids, perfect life. My needs are modest.”
Dennis had the decency to laugh politely.
“You really would be the best mother, Colleen, if that’s what you want. It’s like you’re already mothering Jordy. And Harriet, though Kylie’s helping there now. Some kid’s going to get very lucky someday.”
“You’re buttering me up for something. How much money do you need to borrow?”
“Hah! I’m flush. You know that. I save most of my paychecks. And I have a pension coming soon. But I feel like life’s slipping past me. Coming home will help me figure out who I am. What I want. What living a real life means.”
“You have a real life, Den. You built an honorable career.”
“Can’t do this much longer, though. My body’s strong, but there really is a point where you time out.”
“Mom will be overjoyed if you move back home.”
“I know. So don’t tell her. Not yet.”
“I can keep a secret, even if I can’t keep a boyfriend.”
“That’s harsh.” Dennis got very, very quiet. It set her nerves on edge. “Mom said the other day that you might be secretly dating someone.”
“MOM!” she blasted through the call.
Dennis snickered.
“Thought so. Mom swears Nadine Khouri is the biggest gossip in town, but…”
“I hope she’s not telling my secrets all over Luview!”
“Maybe only to other Luviews,” he replied, letting silence reign for a bit, pulling her to talk.
“You’re coming home and I might leave. Aren’t we a pair, Den?”
“Don’t leave if you’re not leaving on your own terms.”
Bluntness was always Dennis’s strong suit.
“Does Randy hump trailers?” In the town of Luview, this had become code for Does a bear crap in the woods?
“I know.”
“And don’t leave just because you’re butthurt.”
“That’s a plenty-good reason to leave.”
“I’ve been away from home for more than twenty years and it’s still in my cells. You’re so intertwined with every person in Luview that I can’t imagine you elsewhere.”
“Doc Blythe thinks I’d make a great nurse practitioner or physician assistant.”
“You would.”
“Can’t get those added degrees without leaving.”
“Temporarily leaving.”
“Maybe forever, if I find the right guy.”
“Who says Moore isn’t the right guy?”
“Who ever said a word about Moore? Mom told you all of it?”
A loud knock at her door almost made Colleen drop the phone.
“COLLEEN!” It was her mother. “COME HERE!”
Dennis and Colleen looked at each other onscreen, his eyebrows raised, as Deanna walked right into Colleen’s living room.
“What’s going on?” Colleen asked, flashing her phone at her mom. “I’m FaceTiming with Dennis.”
Deanna took the phone.
“Oh! Hi, honey!” she said brightly to the glowing screen. “Colleen has to go now. Sandwich is pooping balloons.”
As Dennis made noises of surprise, Deanna ended the call and grabbed Colleen’s hand, trying to drag her outside. Colleen shot to her feet, shoving them quickly into her boots, then lunged across the room for her coat.
“Did you just say my cat is pooping balloons?”
“It’s either that or her intestines are falling out, and I didn’t want to get too graphic with poor Dennis.”
“MOM!”
As her mother began to jog toward the lodge, Colleen huffed along with her, wondering what Dennis must be thinking right now. Hampered by her aching wrist, she’d given up trying to shove her arm through her sleeve and was now half in and half out of her coat.
“Something's wrong with Sandwich.”
Her mother's words didn't make sense to Colleen. Twenty minutes ago, it was her day off and she was in the middle of her favorite fantasy series, lost in a bookworld of prophecy and unexpected journeys. Then her older brother called and told her he was coming home to take over the family business.
Now her cat’s intestines were falling out.
Colleen pieced the words together and ran them through her mind again.
"Why didn’t you bring her to me?"
"We got hissed at, and her claws extended. She's acting funny."
"What do you mean something's wrong? What's she doing?"
"Acting funny."
"Sandwich always acts funny. That's Sandwich."
"I think she's sick."
"Sick? She's been fine all day."
"When was the last time you saw her?"
Pausing to think that one through, Colleen had to confess that she hadn't noticed her cat for the last half a day. It was one o'clock in the afternoon on her day off. Last time she remembered seeing her cat was a few hours ago. "Where is she, Mom?"
"The lodge."
"Maybe she got a bad mouse. Is she bleeding?"
"No. Nothing like that," Deanna assured her. "She's just walking funny and dragging her butt."
"Dragging her butt?"
"Yeah. You know." The way her mom tried to mime what she was describing made Colleen's stomach twist.
"Mom, Sandwich isn't a dog. She doesn't drag her butt on the floor like she has anal glands."
"Colleen," Deanna said flatly.
"What? It's basic anatomy for canines. I’m not being vulgar."
"I know that. I'm telling you something's wrong with Sandwich."
"Deanna," her father's voice boomed. "Get back here. Something's really wrong with her."
Her dad was standing on the porch, her mom joining him before Colleen could even reach the lodge’s front steps.
"Everything okay over there?" Luke shouted from far across the compound. Colleen turned around and craned her neck to see him. He and Kylie were standing on his porch, Luke in his red uniform jacket, Kylie in a tight black ski coat. Steam rose from mugs they both held in their hands.
Colleen knew that Kylie had spent the night last night because her car had been here when she woke up. Luke and Kylie were working on getting Harriet accustomed to her living with them.
"Something's wrong with Colleen's cat," her dad shouted.
Oh, great. Now Luke was going to come over and interfere.
She turned and went inside the lodge, her dad right behind her.
Sandwich was a calico cat with an adorable auburn line along her belly, her legs a mishmash of dark white and reddish chaos. She was standing on all four legs in the middle of the enormous lodge, glaring at them, tail up in the air. Sandwich looked up at Colleen, then slitted her eyes.
Colleen tried to step closer to her poor kitty, who only hissed in warning and gave her the evil eye. For Sandwich to act like that toward her, she must be in pain.
"She seems fine to me."
"There it is again," her dad said, pointing.
"There's nothing wrong with Sand..." Colleen's words cut off as her cat blew a balloon out of its butt.
A balloon.
A balloon the color of–
“Is that part of her intestine?” her dad hissed.