By Summer's End (Christian Fiction) (7 page)

“You
look sick,” Annabelle said, watching her brother with concern.  “I’m not
kidding.  You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Ryan eyed his sister curiously.  “Have
you been by Ben’s place lately?”

She shook her head.  “Can’t say that I
have.  I haven’t had occasion to drive that way.”  She sighed and admitted,
“Frankly, it makes me sad.  I miss him so much.”

“You’re telling me you haven’t driven
Meadow Lane for over six weeks?”

She gave a shrug.  “I guess I haven’t. 
I’ve been busy around here too, and more often than not, I use the new road
into town.  Why?”

He raked a hand through his hair. 
“It’s…”

“It’s what?” she asked, as she followed
him out of the well-appointed kitchen in the family’s expansive home. 

He strode into the den and dropped into
a sumptuous leather chair.  He registered the luxury of the chair—the feel of
the fine leather against his hands—and suddenly remembered the chair in Ben’s
place.  He recalled the young girl talking about having an appreciation for
that chair, since it was the only one they had in the room.

But, it had been clear the girl had
lived a different lifestyle previously.  She’d spoken about her parents as if
they had been wealthy, or rather, lived as if they had money.  Where were her
parents now?  And since she and Holly were sisters, why did the girl speak as
if she was divulging new information to her older sister?  He was thoroughly
confused, but what confounded him even more was that he’d left the home wanting
to know more about its occupants.

“Earth to Ryan,” Annabelle intoned. 
“Speak.”

“It seems there are people living in
Ben’s place.”

She smiled uncertainly.  “I don’t
understand.”

“A young woman and her teenaged sister. 
Uncle Ben’s nieces.  He left the place to them, apparently.”

“Yes, I know that.  I mean, the part
about him leaving the house to family.  Do they plan to have it moved soon?”

He sighed.  “I get the distinct
impression they believe the land is theirs too.”

“Whoa,” she said, shaking her head.  “I
don’t understand.  Why didn’t Forrest tell them different?”

“Because Forrest hasn’t met with them
yet.  Apparently, he’s been out of town too.”

“But…”

“I’m surprised you didn’t know Forrest
was called away for a family emergency,” Ryan cut in.

“Hey, I’ve been totally out of the
loop—or any loop for that matter.”

“Yeah, I know.  Young love and all that
rot.”

“How did you get so cynical?” she asked,
watching him with frustrated eyes.

“How did you get so sappy?”

Annabelle glanced off into the distance,
a soft smile playing at her lips.  “I met Harrison, that’s how.”  She aimed a
pointer finger at him.  “Mark my words, it’s going to happen to you too. 
You’re going to meet some woman and suddenly, you’ll be waxing poetic.”

“Never going to happen,” he said
confidently.

“Oh, yeah?”  She pinned him with a
look.  “So…  I take it you’ve evicted the squatters from our property?”

He looked sheepish.  “No, I’m afraid
not.”

“You’re telling me that my hard-nosed,
businessman brother didn’t drop-kick them off the front lawn?”

“How could I?” he moaned, rubbing his
hands across his face.  “They moved here from out-of-state.  They don’t appear
to have much.  It won’t be cheap moving that home, and I doubt they happen to
own a piece of property nearby.  This is …bad.”

“Bad?  Not for you, and isn’t that what
matters most?”  She watched him with accusing eyes.

He sent her a scalding glance.  “You
have a fairly negative opinion of me, don’t you?”

“I do not!” she scoffed.  “But you are
first and foremost about the almighty dollar.”

“Wow.  You really don’t think much of
me, do you?”

“Stop.  I love you and you know it.” 
She measured him with a glance.  “It’s time you and I sat down and made a
decision about the property, however.”

“Have you … had a change of heart?” he
asked, hoping she had.  More than anything, he just wanted to sell it and be
done with it.

“No.  I still think you and I could build
a riding arena and barns.  I’ve been doing some brainstorming and I think it
would be awesome if we could offer riding trails, as well.”

“It’d be a huge commitment from both of
us,” he said.  “And I can’t…”

“Commit.  Yeah, that’s always been your
trouble.”

“Would you cease and desist with the
relationship jabs,” he implored.  “I know you think I’m some sort of playboy.”

“No, I don’t.  I think you haven’t found
the right girl, that’s all.”

He was surprised by the statement.  “But
you adored Maggie.”

“Yes, I adored Maggie, but not for you. 
You need a stronger woman, a go-getter, a…”

“A what?”

“A Christian.”

“Annabelle, don’t go there.”

“I have to go there.  You’re my brother,
and someday, when I’m in heaven with Mom and Dad and Ben, I’d like to see you
there too.”

He waved a dismissive hand and rose from
the chair.  “I have to go.”

“Are you going to speak to Uncle Ben’s
nieces?”

“Not today.”

“Reeaallly?” she murmured, drawing out
the word.

“Really,” he said crisply.  “I don’t
have time.”

“You want me to drive over there.  I’ll
try to make it as painless as possible for them.”

He pressed his eyelids shut.  When he opened
his eyes, his sister could see
his
pain imbedded within their depths. 
“Painless?  Yeah, I’m sure they’ll be whistling a happy tune when you’re done,”
he said sarcastically.

“Ryan, what do you care? 
Why
do
you care?  This is business.  If you get your way and we do sell to these
out-of-town developers, Ben’s family will have to be evicted anyway.”

“I know.  I know.  But let me handle it,
okay?”

“Okay.”

He started off, but she stopped him with
a question.  “Hey, you haven’t seen Fluff, have you?  I haven’t seen him for a couple
weeks.  I’m half-afraid a coyote got him.”

“I’m afraid Fluff is now ‘Dave’ and is
living with Ben’s family.”

“Well, that ungrateful cat!” she cried. 
“We’ve only had him since he was six weeks old.”

“Yeah, go figure.”

***

Ryan climbed into his truck and started
driving.  He had no specific destination in mind, but had some thinking to do. 
Once again, Annabelle had confronted him with her plans for the property. 
Ironically, it’s exactly what the potential buyers had in mind for the
acreage.  They were going to open a riding arena, horse boarding stables, and
offer lessons to the public.

He’d seen the plans they’d drawn up and
he had to admit, they were impressive.  They intended to remain true to the
beauty of the countryside, offering a series of carefully carved trails
tailored to particular levels of riding experience.  The arena was state-of-the
art, the stables designed for the comfort of its equine occupants. 

He realized it would be a real boon for
the town of Battle Ground, and a real draw for horse lovers in the Southwest
Washington region, as well as the nearby Portland area.

But…  He knew there was nothing these
outsiders could provide that he and Annabelle couldn’t.  She was fully
committed to the idea and had been for some time.  He, on the other hand, just
didn’t know if he was ready to give his life over to a project that would
require just that—his life. 

He would have to remain in Battle
Ground, or nearby, and would need to be onsite each and every day while the
venture was being built.  He would likely have to be onsite when it was
complete, overseeing the day-to-day operation of the business.

He couldn’t hold off the buyers much
longer—they’d given him the duration of his trip to think—nor could he stall
Annabelle much longer.  The decision was tough enough without adding the
complication of Ben’s family to the mix.

How could he tell them they had to move,
and not
only
move, they had to pick up their manufactured home and take
it with them? 

Almost of their own volition, Ryan’s
hands seemed determined to drive toward Ben’s old place.  Perhaps he should
just stop by Holly and Brianna’s place and tell them the bad news.  It was
actually unfair to withhold the information from them.

He considered that.  It
was
unfair.  They needed time to make arrangements, and if he postponed telling
them the news, they might not have the time to make plans.  That would be
wholly unfair.  Yes.  He had to tell them.

When he arrived at the home, he
immediately spotted Brianna in the front yard.  She was sitting cross-legged on
the lawn, painting a chair with one hand and petting ‘Fluff-Dave’ with the
other.

She heard him pull in and glanced up. 
Smiling broadly, she carefully placed the paint brush on the top of a small can
and rose to a standing position.   She scooped up the cat and waited for him to
approach.

“Hi!” she said cheerfully as he drew
near.

“Hello.  Hey, is Holly around?”

She shook her head.  “I’m afraid not. 
She works at a preschool in town.  She usually works a dayshift, but she was
just called in to work a later shift.”  She shrugged.  “I guess someone got
sick and they needed to cover her shift.”

“Oh, okay.  I guess I’ll have to come
back another time.”

“Can I give her a message for you? 
She’ll be home at midnight.  Well, not until about twelve-twenty, allowing for
drive time.”

It occurred to Ryan that the young girl
was awfully forthcoming with detailed information about her sister’s comings
and goings, and with a veritable stranger.  She’d just verified she was going
to be home all alone too.  “Uh, no message.  I’ll need to talk to her another
time.”  He turned to leave, but turned back.  “Brianna…”

“Yeah?”

“I’m a nice guy—trustworthy—but frankly,
you don’t know that to be true, since you’ve only just met me today.”

“Okaaay.”

“You’ve just told me your sister’s
whereabouts, what time she’ll be off work, and that you’ll be here all alone.” 
He winced.  “It’s a good idea to always give people the impression you’re here
with other people—preferably a man.  Sorry, I know that sounds sexist but it is
what it is.”

“But that’s why I named my cat ‘Dave.’ 
So people would hear me call him and think there’s a man inside.”

“Oh, okay, well, that’s good.  But…”

“I know.  You’re right.  I need to be
more careful.  I guess I’m not used to being on my own.”

He gave her a questioning glance.  “My
parents died not long ago and…”  Her words trailed off.

“I’m so sorry, Brianna.  I lost my mom
when I was seven.  My dad was older when I was born, so I lost him when I was
young too.”

“I’m sorry for you too,” she said.

“So … you moved in with your sister?”

“Yes.”

“You’re fortunate to have each other.  I
know from experience, since I have a sister too.”

“How old is she?”  Brianna asked,
hopeful she might her close to her age.

“She’s twenty-eight.  Three years
younger than I am.”

“Do you live close by?” she asked with
interest.

“A mile or so up the road,” he answered.

“In the big house?” she asked, her eyes
wide with surprise.

“ ‘Fraid so,” he answered, smiling.

“I love that house.  It’s so beautiful—like
a painting.  And did I say, ‘big’?”

“Yeah, it’s big, all right.  But it
sounds as if you lived in a nice big home too.”

“Yeah, but it never felt like home,” she
mused aloud, and then appeared shocked by the admission.  “Sorry.  It’s weird,
but I’ve been having all sorts of thoughts come into my head lately.  It’s like
I’m getting—what’s the word?—clarity.  Yes, that’s it.  I’m starting to see
things from my past a bit more clearly.”

She paused, deep in thought, and Ryan
gave her a moment to herself.  She suddenly broke into a wide smile.  “This
little place feels more like home than my old house ever did,” she declared,
her eyes conveying her surprise at the epiphany.

“It does?”

“Yeah, it really does.”  She glanced
around.  “I love it here.  People have told us that once it starts raining
around here, it never really stops.  I hope they’re exaggerating, but even if
they’re not, I think I’d still love it here.”

“That’s … good,” he said wanly.  Good
for her, horrible for him.

“I’m sorry you missed Holly,” she
announced, and then pointed toward the chair she’d been painting.  “I’m giving
it a base coat, so she can finish it tomorrow.  She’s really talented.”  She
cocked her head, eyeing him thoughtfully.  “Yep, that’s Holly.  Talented, smart,
beautiful,” she listed.  “I could go on and on and on.”