Summer (7 page)

The nurse turned up the volume on the machine. Immediately a familiar
fwup, fwup, fwup, fwup
filled the room.

A thrill raced through Ashley. She looked at Landon, and they shared a silent celebration. The baby’s heartbeat sounded strong and healthy. Ashley moved her head so she could see the screen. Little feet took up the circular image.
Thank You, God . . . two feet, what looks like ten toes.
There was nothing to worry about.

Landon came to her side. He put his hand on her shoulder and stared at the screen.

“There’re the feet and legs.” Dr. McDaniel kept her eyes on the images. “There’s nothing more beautiful than that.” She clicked a button and the picture froze. She pointed to the feet. “Looks good.” She shifted the paddle, and Ashley felt a sense of movement.

In the past week, she’d felt a fluttering, like butterfly wings against the inside of her belly. It had happened often enough that she was sure it was the baby, and now the feeling returned. Ashley watched the images as they changed. Movement had to be good. A baby that moved around as much as this little one must be healthy.

She checked the doctor’s expression. She wasn’t smiling, but then she was probably too focused on the screen to worry about how Ashley might be reading her.

Dr. McDaniel adjusted the paddle so that the image changed to the top of the baby’s legs. With a few shifts in either direction, she stopped and clicked the picture frozen again. “Congratulations.” She looked over her shoulder at Ashley and then at Landon. “You’re having a girl.”

Ashley sucked in her next breath and covered Landon’s hand with her own. “I knew it.”

“You have two boys already, right?” Dr. McDaniel was clearly happy for them.

“Yes. Cole and Devin.”

“We have four boys and a girl.” The doctor grinned. “No question, there’s something special about having a little girl in the house.”

Ashley couldn’t respond. Tears stung her eyes. She was having a girl, her first daughter. A love like no other filled her heart, and she pictured her own mom, how close they’d grown in the years before her death. Ashley loved having sons, but a daughter would be so different. A girl who would look up to her and hold long talks with her and learn about love from her. Two tears slid down the sides of her face.

Landon bent down and kissed one of them. He whispered in her ear, “She’ll look just like you.”

Ashley nodded, too overcome to speak. An hour ago all she could think about was that maybe, just maybe, there was something wrong with her baby. But now she knew better. She was having a little girl, and everything was going to unfold just the way she’d pictured it.

The doctor moved the paddle and settled it inches from where it had been. The baby’s spine came into view, and it looked normal, as normal as Ashley could remember the image looking from her ultrasounds with Cole and Devin. At the same time, a round shape appeared on the screen.

The baby’s head.

Ashley stared at the roundness, and she thought she saw her daughter’s profile. A tiny nose and high cheekbones. The technology was overwhelming, giving her this first look at her little girl. She dabbed at another tear and held her breath. They were almost finished. The doctor needed to snap a picture of the baby’s head and measure it—the way Ashley had seen it done with her two boys. Then Dr. McDaniel could smile at them and tell them everything was fine. The high AFP test was nothing.

But instead something changed in the doctor’s posture. She straightened a few inches, then shifted the paddle again, studying the picture. Ashley might’ve imagined it, but she was almost sure that Dr. McDaniel’s next breath was more of a sigh. A heavy sigh.

“Everything okay?” Landon knew better than to ask. Doctors preferred going over the specific results of a test like this later on, after the test was finished.

Dr. McDaniel ran her hand through her blonde hair and moved closer to the image. “Just a minute.”

The grip Landon had on Ashley’s shoulder grew tighter. She didn’t dare move or say a word. She had to remind herself to breathe.

A minute passed and another, while the doctor adjusted the paddle and clicked a series of pictures of their little girl’s head. Ashley squinted, trying to see what might be troubling the doctor. But the baby’s head looked normal as far as she could tell. Round with various shadows on and near it. Ultrasound pictures were always like this, right? Her daughter’s head looked the same as Cole’s or Devin’s.

The nurse was still standing on the other side of the machine, watching the test also. And only then did Ashley realize that the young woman’s face was ashen, her eyes deeply concerned. She exchanged a look with the doctor and took a step closer to the door.

Dr. McDaniel nodded at the nurse, and the nurse excused herself.

Ashley peered up at Landon. He was pale and tense, and though his lips were parted, he remained silent.

Dr. McDaniel wiped off the paddle and turned to them. “Ashley, why don’t you get dressed.” Her expression was impossible to read, except for one very obvious thing. She was no longer making small talk about her own children, no longer smiling. “I’d like to see you both in my office.”

When she was gone, Landon helped Ashley up and cradled her head against his chest.

“Landon, what’s happening?” Her heart raced at double its normal rhythm. “Did you see anything?”

“No. She looked . . .” His mouth sounded dry, his words clipped and filled with fear. “She looked beautiful.”

Ashley clung to him, nodding. She wanted desperately to agree with him. “She did, didn’t she? Her profile was perfect.”

“Maybe the doctor’s just being cautious.” Landon stepped back so she could get dressed.

She didn’t answer, didn’t say anything that could shatter the hope his words had placed between them. That was it. Dr. McDaniel was just being cautious. Of course. The AFP test had been high, after all. Now the doctor had to tell them the possibilities. That even with a normal ultrasound, there was still a chance of some rare problem. And that was her job, to tell them about the possibilities.

But when Ashley was back in her clothes, she didn’t make a move for the doctor’s office. Instead she turned to Landon and fell into his embrace. As long as she stayed here in his arms, as long as she didn’t leave this room, they could hang on to everything that had seemed certain just moments ago.

“We’re having a daughter.” There were tears in her eyes, but she smiled despite them.

“She’ll have your eyes.”

She kissed him, and the wetness on her cheeks spread to his. “And your heart.”

They stayed that way for what felt like ten minutes, clinging to each other and to every hope and dream they shared for their daughter. Because the moment they let go, they’d have to take the next steps beyond the examination room door. The doctor would either give them news that would confirm the results they’d seen with their own eyes, that their little girl was whole and healthy, or she would give them the results they dreaded.

Results that could change their lives forever.

Dayne couldn’t shake the bad feeling.

He was hanging another of Ashley’s paintings in the dining room of the lake house, and Katy was in the bedroom on the phone with her mother. Everything about their lives was exactly where he’d always dreamed it might be. They’d returned from their honeymoon, stopping by the Chicago retirement home where Katy’s parents lived, and after a few days they’d flown to Indiana to settle into the house on Lake Monroe. They had three weeks before they needed to be in Malibu for the movie.

But Then Again No
would begin with meetings and interviews in Los Angeles, after which Stephen Petrel, the director, had made some changes. Instead of starting the project in Los Angeles, the shoot had been moved so that most of the filming would take place in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Only the last few weeks would happen in LA. Stephen wanted more than strong acting. He wanted strong cinematography. He’d moved the location shots because he was convinced that areas outside Santa Fe would bring more emotion to the film.

Dayne picked up a nail and positioned it at the center of the wall. What could be better? He and his new bride, starring in a film with a director whose passion for art was unequaled? Dayne grabbed the hammer and knocked the nail firmly into place. Eventually he wanted to have Ashley’s artwork framed to match the rugged wooden beams in the dining room. But for now a simple nail would hold up the canvas.

The painting was of a bride and groom standing barefoot on Malibu beach. Ashley had given it to them when they returned home from the Bahamas.

“Your wedding present,” she’d told him.

Today she and Landon would find out if they were having a girl or a boy, so by tonight there’d be more good news to celebrate.

Every area of his life was better than ever, so why the sense of doom, the feeling that wouldn’t leave ever since they returned home? He paused and the answer became clear. Maybe it had nothing to do with being back in Bloomington but more with the commitment they’d made to the reality show.

Dayne balanced the painting on the nail and stood back. Perfectly centered. He took the box of nails and the hammer and returned them to a shelf in the laundry room. A few of the leaders from Christian Kids Theater were coming over this afternoon for a meeting. Things didn’t look good for CKT, and today, among other things, they’d get a report on the sale of the downtown theater.

He entered the dining room, and a breeze filtered through the screen door. It smelled of fresh grass and new life, and it called him outside. He slipped on his flip-flops and went out to the railing at the edge of the back deck. The early afternoon sunlight cast diamonds across Lake Monroe.

Dayne breathed in, and suddenly a memory flashed in his mind. The way he’d felt lying in the hospital bed after coming out of his coma. He wasn’t sure he’d ever walk again, let alone find his way to a place like this, a life like this. God had given Katy and him the impossible, so why put everything about their future up for grabs? Why place their personal lives on a platter for the world to gawk at—even if the show wanted only what they could capture on the set?

A pair of geese flew by, flapping hard and honking. In the distance, from somewhere down the hill near the shore, came the sound of a couple of battling frogs.

Dayne closed his eyes and took a long, slow breath. This was what he wanted, nothing more. To live here with Katy and figure out a solution for her theater group. They should call his agent and tell him to forget it. Forget the film and the next one after that and what was left of his contract.

He was home, and he wanted to stay here.

The screen door squeaked behind him. He looked over his shoulder and smiled at Katy. “How’s your mother?”

“Worse.” She frowned. “Dad too. The retirement home moved them both to the nursing wing.”

He turned and rested his back on the railing. “I’m sorry.”

“Me too.” Katy slipped her hands around his waist. “I’m glad we spent some time with them.”

“We can go again.” He studied her. “Whenever you want.”

“Thank you.” She smiled, and some of the sadness lifted from her eyes. “They loved you.”

He grinned. Her parents were simple people, the kind that weren’t ruffled by celebrity.

“They liked you because you married me, not because you’re Dayne Matthews.”

“I could tell.” He gazed at the sky over their log house. “Another gorgeous spring day.”

Katy relaxed into his arms. “Makes me wanna be out on the lake.”

“You and me and a rowboat. Floating along the shoreline.”

“Mmmm.” She looked deep into his eyes. “Sounds perfect.”

Dayne paused, letting his senses fill with her presence. “So tell me once more why we’re leaving in three weeks?”

She took a half step back, and a crooked grin played on her mouth. “Not that again.”

“Well . . .” He exhaled hard and turned to face the water. He felt her snuggle in beside him. “That’s all I keep asking myself. Why are we leaving if this is home?”

“Your word, for one thing.” Katy gave him a slight bump with her hip. “The studio would sue you if you broke the contract. You know that.”

Dayne lifted his chin. The breeze washed over his face, clearing his mind and some of the tension he’d been feeling. She was right. His contract left no room for escape, and Stephen Petrel had already spent a million dollars in preproduction on the film. God wouldn’t want Dayne to bail out now. To do so would be wrong and illegal.

“You’re worried about the reality show again.” It wasn’t a question. Katy knew him well. Because he’d let her farther into his heart than he’d ever let anyone.

“Remind me again—” he looked at her—“what good could come from it.”

“We’ll basically be an open book—at least professionally.” She’d recited the list to him several times a day since they’d been home. “The paparazzi won’t have a reason to chase us, because we’ll be giving them exactly what they want.”

Dayne looked out at the water again. The contract with the reality show acknowledged that the cameramen capturing their relationship on the set also worked for a few of the tabloids. The images caught could be used in magazines leading up to the release of the show—as prepublicity. So in that sense, Katy was right.

He dropped his voice a notch, more pensive than before. “And you think that’ll do the trick, take away their desire to chase us?”

“Dayne, we’ve been over this.” Katy put her hand on his shoulder and massaged the muscles at the base of his neck. “Don’t you think so? I mean, if you’re this worried, maybe we should change our mind.”

He thought about that. The problem was, they could never exactly predict the whims of the paparazzi. Sure, they’d be on the set, spending ten or twelve hours a day with Katy and him. It made sense that they might’ve had enough after that, that they’d head for their hotels or the bars or wherever they wanted to go when the day’s work was finished.

But maybe it would only make them more determined to see what happened in Katy and Dayne’s world
after
the cameras stopped rolling for the day. There was no way to tell until they were smack in the middle of the action. “We won’t know until we get started.”

“It makes sense though, right? If we give them photo ops all day long, they’re bound to be bored of us by nightfall.”

“I hope so.” He angled his waist into the deck railing and faced her. “Sorry.”

“For what?” Katy must’ve sensed that he was letting go of the issue, because there was the hint of teasing in her eyes.

“For being such a downer.”

“You’re worried.” She swayed slightly with him. “After all you’ve been through, that only makes sense.”

“All
we’ve
been through.” Dayne kissed her forehead. “I couldn’t have gone through a day of it without you.”

For a little while they said nothing, just looked at each other.

“They’ll write a hundred different lies.” Katy brushed her cheek against his. “We have to stay strong, not let them get to us.”

“We won’t.” His heart was growing light, the way it always did when she was in his arms. He wasn’t worried about the dirt, though she was right—the paparazzi would be relentless with wrong information, whatever they could make up. But the love he shared with Katy wasn’t like other Hollywood relationships. Tabloid headlines couldn’t touch what they had together. Dayne’s fears centered around the danger, the idea that somehow the reality show wouldn’t satiate the paparazzi’s interest—it would fan it into hot, searing flames.

He exhaled. Either way, the movie was weeks away.

“Know what we should do?” Katy batted her eyelashes at him. She peered over the deck railing and down toward the rocky path that led to the water.

“Stay here forever?”

She wagged her finger at him. “No, today. After the CKT meeting.”

“What?” Dayne moved in to kiss her.

“Listen.” She giggled and slipped away. “We should hike down to the water and watch the sunset from that rock, the big one at the end of the trail.”

He gave her his best suggestive look, the one he’d used in a dozen different films. “That could be interesting.”

She tilted her head back and laughed. “Dayne Matthews, that’s one thing we never have to worry about. Whatever else happens, life with you will definitely be interesting.”

The doorbell rang just as Dayne was making a promise to himself. He wasn’t going to waste another hour of this precious time with Katy worrying about what was coming. She was his wife, his best friend. This wasn’t the time to live in fear over what might happen. It was a time to do what he wanted to spend the rest of his life doing.

Celebrating every minute with the woman he loved.

Katy took a few steps toward the door, turned, and gave Dayne a quick kiss. “That’s for the one that got away,” she whispered.

The doorbell rang a second time, and she hurried across the deck and into the house. This was the first time she’d meet Chad Jennings, the new assistant director just in from Cleveland. The leaders of CKT had been talking about him for weeks. She quickened her pace. “Coming!”

Breathless, she answered the door and found CKT area coordinator Bethany Allen, with Rhonda Sanders and Chad, on the front porch. Dayne joined them near the entryway, and the group moved into the living room.

Chad fell into place beside Katy. “I’ve heard so much about you, your work with the kids. I hear it’s a very talented group.”

“It is. You’ll love directing them.” Katy studied him. He wasn’t quite six feet tall and had dark hair with a tanned complexion that made him handsome in a rugged sort of way. More than that, he had kind, compassionate eyes, eyes that quietly spoke of a faith tested and true. Katy felt an immediate connection with him.

“Rhonda and I’ve been meeting nearly every day.” He smiled. “We have a lot of ideas.”

“Good.” Katy felt a sudden lump in her throat. No matter how much she liked this new director, he was here for one reason. Because Katy was no longer directing CKT—at least not for now. She took a seat next to Dayne and felt her heart pound out an erratic rhythm. Whatever lay ahead, the changes were going to hurt more than she’d let herself believe.

Bethany waited until everyone was seated. “Let’s pray before we start.”

Peace filled Katy and calmed her. God already had the answers. He knew what was coming and whether CKT’s time in Bloomington was ending. He knew the way through it, the way beyond it. She slid closer to Dayne and linked her arm through his while Bethany prayed.

It wasn’t until they finished praying and Bethany handed out the agenda for the meeting that Katy noticed what was happening across the room. Rhonda—one of her closest friends and confidantes—was sitting next to Chad, their heads bowed together. He was whispering something to her, and she giggled in response as she pulled out a pad of paper and a pen.

Rhonda was twenty-nine and certain that somehow God hadn’t heard her prayers about finding a godly man, someone who could laugh with her and lead her, a man who would be her friend and someday her husband.

Guys had come and gone from Rhonda’s life, but no one ever fit the bill; no one ever made her eyes light up when the two of them were together. At least not as far as Katy had ever seen.