Waiting for You (5 page)

“But you still have so many business dealings here. And aren’t
there countless children sitting in homes, needing good families?”

“It’s asinine, I know. I have never felt so completely incompetent in my entire life.”

“Welcome to the world the rest of us live in.” Karise reached out to give his hand a reassuring squeeze. “However you may feel at the
moment, you’re Devon McAlister. If anyone can fix it, you can. Maybe
it’s all just waiting on the right baby at the exact right moment.”

He patted her hand and smiled at her. Something in his eyes said he wasn’t convinced. “Thank you. Now, do you want me to go back to your apartment with you to pack, or do you want to go alone?”

Karise couldn’t believe what had come over her when she found
herself accepting his offer of help gratefully. The old Karise would have
stoically gone it alone. Maybe now was as good of a time as any to
reinvent who Karise McAlister was, though. Stoically going it alone really hadn’t gotten her very far to date.

As it turned out, she really didn’t have that much she called her own. While Karise set about packing her clothes into her barely used
luggage, Devon ran to buy some boxes. She was happy to discover
William wasn’t there. She didn’t know if she could have handled another
talk about them. He’d left her a curt note on the table instructing her to
leave her keys when she left and that he’d already taken the liberty of
telling his father she wouldn’t be at work on Monday. If she’d leave an address for him, he would forward her things from the office.

While Karise couldn’t blame him for being angry, it all felt so abrupt.
She wouldn’t have minded saying goodbye to her friends and clients
at work. She didn’t even want to think about what they’d be told, what
they’d think of her when William was finished telling his tale of woe. It bothered her knowing she was the bad guy in this particular story.
She dropped the note back on the table and wandered through the
apartment, taking it all in one last time and struggling to comprehend
that less than 24 hours before, she’d been trying to convince William
to stay home from the showing so they could make love. Maybe it was
a good thing he’d refused. Maybe if he hadn’t, she wouldn’t have gotten
the wakeup call in time.

Autopilot got her through the process of packing. She found it
troublesome that her worldly possessions fit into two suitcases and
three boxes. The rest of the apartment belonged to William, or were
items they’d purchased together that he’d chosen. At Devon’s hotel, she left most of her belongings in his rental and took just one carryon to the room with her. Of course he had rented a suite, so there was
plenty of space for her in his room. He offered her one of her own, but
it seemed like a waste of money, and she wasn’t so sure she wanted to be alone at the moment.

Once they were settled, he ordered them dinner while she left a
voicemail for the wedding planner. They stumbled across a cheesy ‘80s
movie marathon on TV, which they watched in their pajamas while sharing a pepperoni pizza. Neither spoke of their troubles. They just
were. Karise decided that maybe having a big brother wasn’t so terrible.

When the phone rang, it startled Karise. Both checked to see if it
was theirs; Devon won. He took the call in the other room so he wouldn’t
disrupt the movie. Karise thought his conversation could only help
the film – it was pretty terrible. Twenty minutes later, he reclaimed his
spot on the couch.

“Alex says hi.”

“How is she?”

“Tired. The twins are in full-scale toddler mode.” Devon smiled;
Karise thought she could see the flicker of a memory in his eyes. “Those
are some cute kids, though.”

“I can’t say I know Alex very well, but it’s really hard to picture her
with twins.”

“She struggles to picture herself with twins, too.”

Karise laughed. “Is she happy?”

Devon answered without pause. “Deliriously so, I think. If you ever
make it to the South Pacific
, you should visit them. Their
home
is incredible.”

“Doesn’t she live in a palace now?” Karise remembered reading
about the McAlister heiress marrying into royalty from some obscure
island nobody had ever heard of. She’d been invited to the wedding but hadn’t felt comfortable going, so she’d politely declined and sent a gift instead. She’d belabored over what to send for weeks, though. What do you get royalty that they don’t already have?

“Yes, and it’s an incredible palace.”

“Says the man who lives on a rose plantation.”

He shrugged innocently. “I guess McAlisters don’t go halfway.”

“No, you don’t.”

“You’re a McAlister, too, you know,” he reminded her.

“Not by blood.”

“Why do you still do this?” Devon threw his hands up.

Karise leaned back, pushed away by the force of his frustration.
She didn’t answer at first, turning the question over in her mind until
she came up with an honest answer, one she hadn’t really admitted
even to herself. “Because I took your mother away from you. I broke your family.”

It was Devon’s turn to recoil as if slapped. “Is that really what you
think? I can’t believe you’ve been carrying that around all these years.”

Karise blinked, determined not to cry.

Devon reached out, pulling her into his chest. “You didn’t break our family. You completed it. Mom’s the one who hurt us. Not you.”

For whatever reason, she believed him. The weight of guilt wicked
away as he soothingly stroked her hair. A ringing phone once again
interrupted them. This time it was Karise’s. It was a number she didn’t
recognize, so she pulled herself together to answer it.

“Karise? It’s Kate.”

Karise slipped out to the balcony for some privacy. “Kate. Hi. How
are you?”

“Fine, fine. I’m so sorry to bother you, but Aidan told me what happened. I wanted to be sure you were okay.”

“Yeah, fine.” Karise wasn’t sure if she was lying or not.

“Are you really? I’m not sure I believe you. You sound upset.”

“Oh, yeah. I was just working through some family stuff with my
brother. I’m totally good. I mean, I did break it off with William, but that’s a good thing.”

“You ended your engagement?”

Karise thought she detected hope in Kate’s voice. It was best to
nip that in the bud right away. “Yes, but not because of Aidan. He was
just a catalyst who helped me see some red flags in my relationship. I think it’s definitely best that I be alone for a while.”

“Absolutely.”

Karise didn’t believe Kate for a minute.

“Didn’t you mention last night that the two of you work together?”

“I left my job, too.”

“Decided to go for a whole-life makeover? I’ve been there. Best
choice I ever made,” Kate said.

“Well, his dad owns the company, so there wasn’t much choice there. But yeah, a life makeover is probably in order.”

Kate didn’t miss a beat. “You should come to San Francisco. Well,
Napa really. I need an architect.”

“That’s very sweet of you…”

“No really. I’m not just saying that. Gavin can vouch for me; I’ve
been interviewing architects for weeks. Remember the house we’re
building? You should come help us. That’ll give you time to find a
permanent job. Or start your own business. Please say you’ll think
about it.”

“I’ll think about it.” Karise caved in under the weight of Kate’s
enthusiasm. “I promised my brother I’d go back to Ecuador with him
for a week or two, though.”

“You could start after that. We’ve bounced back and forth between
Napa and the city this long. Two more weeks won’t hurt,” Kate rushed
to assure her. “You brother lives in Ecuador?”

“He’s my half-brother, actually. He moved there to start a rose
plantation.”

“That sounds incredibly cool. I’ve never seen a rose plantation.”

“A lot of them are pretty horrible places, but his is different. It’s paradise.”

“It’s not often one is offered two weeks in paradise. You should
enjoy it. Enjoy it and then come work for me. You can even stay in our
guest house, rent free.”

“Why are you doing all of this for me?”

Kate hesitated. “I guess it’s because I see a kindred spirit. I think you’re standing right where I was not too many years ago.”

“I appreciate it…”

“Great, then we’ll see you in two weeks. I’ll text you the address and
you just let me know the exact day so we have the guest house ready.”

“I didn’t agree, Kate. You interrupted.”

“Nope. I’m pretty sure you agreed.” Kate’s tone was light, but
Karise still had the distinct impression that resistance was futile.

Karise could feel a smile tugging at her mouth. Why was she so adamantly refusing? At least this gave her somewhere to go when she left Ecuador. Maybe the next step on the path would reveal itself when she got there. “Alright, fine. You win. I’ll see you in two weeks. Thank you.”

“Yay!” Kate celebrated. “Gavin will be so excited to hear I’ve found
an architect. He’s gotten really tired of hearing me talk about this.”

Devon looked up at her when she re-entered the room. “Was that William?”

“No, it was a job offer. In Napa.”

“Well that’s timely. Did you accept it?”

“She wasn’t taking no for an answer.” Karise sank back onto the
couch, a skosh shell-shocked by how quickly her life was changing. “It’s
temporary, but it comes with housing and I think it’ll lead me to my next step.”

“Why is that?”

“I have no idea,” Karise admitted.

“Fair enough.”

KARISE LOUNGED ON
Devon’s patio, idly twirling a flower between
her fingers, fascinated by the way the bright, happy colors blended
together as she did so. When she’d left for college, the white, Spanish-
style home with blue trim had been completed, but the gardens had
not. Now, flowers were everywhere, trailing down the sides of the house
and around the concrete pillars of the patio. The effect was breathtaking;
the heady aroma of roses all around them intoxicated her. She was
glad she’d come and didn’t remember the last time she’d felt so relaxed;
the cheerful gurgle of the fountain nearly lulled her to sleep.

Jane lounged in the seat next to Karise’s. It didn’t surprise her in the least that Devon had wound up with such a pretty blonde wife.
What had surprised her was the woman’s sweet nature. It was impossible
to resist being friends with Jane McAlister, and Karise was really tired
of resisting anyway.

“I’m so happy you’re here,”
Jane
murmured. “I have a million things
I should be doing right now, but you’ve given me a lovely excuse to enjoy this sunny day.”

“Glad to be of service.” Karise smiled.

“In all seriousness,” Jane continued, “you’ve made Devon so happy
by coming home with him. And Pablo, I’ve never seen him so excited.”

“It’s been too long, I know.” There really was no excuse for Karise’s
absence other than selfishness. In her eagerness to forget her own pain,
she’d inflicted pain on others. All she could do now was set about
correcting that.

Jane peeked over at Karise and hesitated. “I never had a sister.”

“I never gave Alex a chance to be a sister, so I really haven’t, either.”

“If you need someone to talk to, about anything, I’m here.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. I’m being selfish – a little girl talk would make me feel like I had that sister.”

A smile tipped the corner of Karise’s mouth. “I’m not sure what there is to tell. William, well, William was a mistake I made because I was trying really hard to do the right thing.”

“I had one of those.”

“That surprises me. You seem above mistakes.”

“I’m not sure how to take that.” A crease marred
Jane’s
smooth brow.

“As a compliment. I really can’t wrap my brain around you making
a bad choice.”

“I was engaged before Devon. Back in Arkansas. He was a youth pastor, so that meant he had to be Mr. Right, right?”

“Absolutely.” Karise didn’t follow but wasn’t about to say so.

“He l
ef
t when he found out I couldn’t have
children
. I was
devastated
.
In a roundabout way, that devastation is what led me here. It took a lot
of convincing for me to let Devon in.”

“What an ass.” Karise had never felt so strong an urge to smack
a total stranger as she did this youth pastor from Arkansas. It was
probably a good thing he wasn’t around. “I’m glad you and Devon
found each other, though. He’s so crazy about you.”

“I hope you don’t mind, but Devon told me the whole story.”

“I kind of figured he would.”

“So this guy Aidan…” Jane fished.

“… was a really yummy dream.” Karise finished. “And now it’s time to wake up and figure out what I’m going to do with my life.”

“Ah.” Jane let the subject drop. “I like having a sister.”