Stealing Time (33 page)

One Kathryn. Kate liked the sound of that.
That girl had two lives and was glad she never had to choose
between them.

Suddenly she had an urge to slip away from
the party so she grabbed a glass of champagne and stole away up the
stairs. Entering her bedroom, she grabbed the framed photo of Anna
off her desk. As she stared at that beautiful face it gave her a
feeling of peace and love.

“Here’s to you, Anna.” Kate sipped from her
glass. “A girl’s best friend, one that can never be replaced. Will
I ever get over the longing to see you again, talk to you again,
hear your voice?” Kate wiped at a tear that trailed down her cheek.
“Tonight’s not the night for tears. It’s for celebrating. So I’m
celebrating here with you, Anna.”

She walked to the window and gazed out into
the night sky. She could see some stars but not Anna’s. It didn’t
really matter. She knew Anna could hear her. “To us. To our
everlasting friendship.”

Kate held her glass high in the air, toasting
the night sky. She reminisced about their years together, at the
canyon and in the here and now. Her thoughts were suddenly
interrupted by the sound of another voice.

“Will I do?” Kate spun around to see Lindsey
in the doorway.

“Of course!” Kate held up her glass. Lindsey
joined her in the toast as she held her own glass in the air.

“She was the greatest, wasn’t she?” Lindsey
stood next to Kate and peered out the window.

“No one like her...but I don’t mean...”

“You don’t have to explain. Best friends
never do.” Lindsey smiled at Kate. “She’ll always be at the canyon,
but not as Grandma J. I know how you feel, Kate. I’m selfish, too.
I want it all. I don’t want to see her at the canyon, and she
thinks I’m your friend from Ohio. I want her to remember
everything.” A tear traveled down Lindsey’s cheek.

“Yes, but we should be grateful for what we
have.” Kate wiped the tear and put her arm around her friend.
“We’ll always have the canyon, Linds.”

“Where have I heard that line before?”
Lindsey began to laugh.

“Well, the first time I said it, I think it
was high school.” Kate joined in laughing.

“We’ll always have each other. How about
that?” Lindsey grabbed her hand. “I think we better get downstairs.
You disappeared after the New Year’s toast, and people will start
to worry.”

A light clanging noise could be heard when
the girls reached the top of the stairs. They hurried back down,
looking around to see Freddie tapping a spoon against his flute of
champagne.

“Now that the New Year’s here, I think
someone has an announcement.” Freddie took Renae’s hand and led her
to the middle of the room.

Renae appeared a little shy, head down and a
slight smile on her face. “Freddie, I love you, but you’re making
me a little self-conscious.”

“You’re a model. You don’t know the meaning
of self-conscious,” Freddie told her, and everyone roared with
laughter. “Go ahead, dear. We’re all waiting.”

“I guess I’ll get right to the point. I’m
pregnant!” Renae seemed to glow as she said the words. Carl flew
into her arms, lifting her off the ground, swinging her in the
air.

“I thought she faked drinking that
champagne!” Lindsey called out.

“Carl, did you know?” Kate grabbed him to
give him a congratulatory hug.

“Not one hundred percent. We suspected.” Carl
turned to Freddie. “What did she do? Take a test on the plane?”

“No, I found out just before I boarded and
had to tell someone!” Renae giggled. “Finally found a break in my
schedule and got to the doctor. I’m almost ten weeks along.”

Kate did the math in her head and realized
Renae’s pregnancy mirrored Rachel’s. A little odd but Kate decided
to keep that one to herself.

Carl stood in the middle of the room with
Renae, arm around her waist. “After the baby’s born, I want to
invite you to our wedding! A Christmas wedding would be nice...next
year.” He smiled at Renae, and she nodded in agreement.

Again, Kate wanted to step in and say, ‘No,
this is too much like Rachel. She married Thomas at Christmas. You
can’t do that.’” She glanced around the room at all the smiling
faces and decided to just be happy for Carl.

“A toast! To my big bro’, my soon-to-be niece
or nephew and his fiancée, Renae! I love you all!” Kate announced,
gathering everyone around the couple.

Drew slid in next to Kate and whispered in
her ear. “I love you. Good job because I know what you’re
thinking.”

She smiled up at him, glad he could read her
mind, happy he was by her side through all the good times and bad.
Right now, this was a very good time, and she decided not to let
anything cloud the moment.

She raised her glass again, and the group
joined in. Kate’s left hand held her glass high in the air, and in
the glow of the holiday lights her Christmas present sparkled. Drew
was too extravagant as always. The four carat princess cut diamond
was a little over the top, but Kate agreed she’d wear it proudly
for three more years—that is, if she could wait that long to marry
her prince.

Acknowledgements

Thank you, Nancy Schumacher, for bringing
this series to life. I am so grateful I found Melange Books.

To Lynsee, my cover artist, for the great
cover art on all three books of this series.

To my best friend, Bonnie. You’ll always be
in my heart. I couldn’t have written these books without you being
a part of my life. You are Lindsey. You are Anna. You were too big
for just one character. I hope I did your friendship justice.

This series was written as a love letter to
friends and family. My Swedish roots inspired the character of Carl
Johansson. Coffee and cinnamon bread was a staple at my
grandmother’s and although I never knew my grandfather, I’d like to
think he was a lot like Carl.

My sister’s family has been my biggest
support system. Couldn’t have done it without you. Sue, Kevin,
Brian, Megan. Thank you.

How do you thank a place? The Grand Canyon,
which serves as the backdrop in the past, was my inspiration to
write Kate and Drew’s adventures there. I’ve been asked if there
really were Harvey girls. The answer is “yes”. It was the perfect
job for Kate to have at the canyon.

I want to especially thank my son. His humor
got me through many moments of frustration. His computer skills
came to the rescue many a time. His skills as a photographer were
put to use. He set up his tripod and took every picture of the
Grand Canyon I wanted without a complaint. Most of all, I
appreciate his love, encouragement and support during the time I
wrote the series.

Finally, to my husband, who encouraged me
from the start. He was trapped on a plane with nowhere to go when I
had him read the unfinished first draft of
Waiting for Dusk
.
When we landed, he told me to finish. Thank you, Ron. You are all
the heroes in the book. And mostly, you are mine.

About the Author

After a great
career in teaching, Nancy found a second calling as a writer. Ohio
is her home but she loves to travel the U.S. Her debut young adult
novel,
Waiting for Dusk
, was a surprise to her as much as it
was to her family. Watching a PBS series on National Parks, her
mind wandered to another place and that is where the characters of
Katie and Andrew were born.
Call of the Canyon
and
Stealing Time
continue their story. The Swedish influences
found in the books came from her mother whose parents emigrated
from Sweden.

Born and raised in Northeast Ohio, Nancy
currently resides in Mentor, Ohio with her husband and their
college-age son.

www.facebook.com/nancypennickauthor

Other Works by the
Author

Waiting for Dusk,
Book 1,
Waiting for Dusk Series

Call of the Canyon,
Book 2
Waiting for Dusk Series

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