After the service, the Chatams hosted a reception at the mansion, catered by a local catering company to spare Hilda the trouble. Dallas brought the children in, clean and dressed. When the children became restless, Dallas took them out again, and they went off without a peep of protest.
The past few days, Carissa had let herself just drift along, going with the flow, but the moment was coming when she must again take a stand and assert her independence. Otherwise, she would wind up letting the Chatams do everything for her. She couldn’t help wondering where she would find the energy to do what she must. Glancing around the large but crowded dining room, where the food had been laid out, she set aside her plate, rose to her feet and quietly slipped out of the house to the front porch. An old-fashioned bench swing hung from the east end of the porch. She kicked off her navy pumps and sat down in the middle of the swing, tucking her bare feet onto the seat beneath her.
Hanging baskets of ivy bracketed the swing, and green lawns sloped away to the street beyond. Her father would have enjoyed this place, but she didn’t think he’d ever done more than drive by here. She’d seen a rose arbor on the east lawn and a towering magnolia tree on the west, as well as other trees clustered about the property. Despite the almost suffocating heat, she felt peace curl about her. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back, setting the swing in motion.
Goodbye, Daddy. I’ll miss you so much.
She hardly noticed when she slipped into prayer, but eventually, she put her feet on the floor, leaned forward and thanked God sincerely for ending her father’s pain.
I don’t know why it had to be like this. I don’t understand why these things happen, but he was the best daddy he knew how to be, and I thank You for that. I wish I could have him back, but I’m not selfish enough to deny him Heaven. I know he’s happy and well and at peace, so just help me and everyone who loves him be happy for him and at peace with our new reality.
She sat up straight, opening her eyes to find Phillip Chatam standing in front of her. He couldn’t have looked any better, dressed in a dark olive-green suit, white shirt and tie, his dark hair gleaming, copper eyes glowing. His shoulders looked broad enough to carry the world, his hands strong enough to hold it at bay. She was tempted to throw herself into his arms and cry like a baby.
“You okay?”
She managed to nod.
“Mind if I sit?”
She did. But he was a Chatam, and she owed the Chatams. Grasping the chain holding up the swing, she slid over to give him room. He lowered himself onto the wood slats beside her and copied her previous pose, leaning forward with his forearms braced against his thighs.
“I trust that you already know this, but I’ve been asked to make certain that the message is delivered. My aunts want you and the children to stay on here at Chatam House indefinitely.”
She was so tempted. She told herself that they could stay just one more night, but she knew that if they stayed one more night she would find an excuse to stay another and another and... She dared not start down that path. The crisis had passed. The time had come to get on with her life. She’d been here before, and she knew what she had to do. She had to get up and stand on her own two feet. Right now. So that was what she did. She put her bare feet on the gray painted wood of the porch floor and stood, turning to face him.
“I appreciate everything that the Chatams have done for us, more than I can tell you, but it’s time that my children and I went home.”
“Is there anything I can do to convince you to stay?”
“The Chatams have already done more than enough. We’re going back to the apartment.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier if—”
“The sooner the better,” she interrupted firmly.
Phillip bowed his head and sighed. “I’ll bring the car around. We’ll leave anytime you’re ready.”
Turning away, she snatched up her shoes and headed for the door, but once she got there, she paused and looked back. He sat just as he had, his brow furrowed, copper eyes watching her. If only he were not living here at Chatam House, she could stay without the fear that she’d do something stupid, like flirt with him or hope he’d fall for her.
Oh, it wasn’t his fault. Why, he hung around here living off his elderly aunts and still she couldn’t help liking him. Her aunt and uncle tried to make light of it, but even they wondered why he didn’t go out and find a job. Even if Phillip should fall head over heels for her, what good would that do her? She needed a true partner, someone who could at least pull his own weight, but that didn’t seem to matter to her heart. No more than it had with Tom, her charming rascal of a husband who had sailed through life from crisis to crisis without a care. Then she’d been left alone with three kids, a floundering business and a mortgage she couldn’t pay. Well, she’d learned that lesson. The hard way. And Phillip Chatam was never going to offer to help her. She could still hear her old boyfriend explaining why they had to break up.
“It’s not like any man is actually going to marry you, not with three kids in tow. One, okay. Two, maybe. But three? No way.”
Shrugging those memories aside, she ran inside to change clothes, pack her bags and get on with this life that God had dealt her.
Unfortunately, getting away proved more difficult than she had hoped. When she came back downstairs in her jeans, she found the Chatam sisters at the door, shaking hands with departing guests. Good manners dictated that she join them, of course, which left no chance of slipping away without explanations to everyone, including her uncle and aunt, who argued that tonight of all nights she should stay.
Carissa stuck to her guns, however, and finally got the children, along with their luggage and Grace’s safety seat, loaded into the Chatam’s town car, Phillip behind the wheel. They waved goodbye as the car pulled away from the mansion, Grace blowing kisses and calling out to Dallas, “’Bye, bffn!”
Carissa exchanged a puzzled look with Phillip over that, but he merely shrugged, obviously having no more clue about what bffn meant than she did.
Despite the short drive, the closer they got to the apartment, the more subdued the children became. Carissa steeled herself and put on a brave face.
“It will be good to be home, have our own place again, huh?”
“Grandpa won’t be there,” Tucker pointed out softly as Phillip parked the car.
“I know,” Carissa told him consolingly, “but tomorrow we’ll start clearing out things, and you and Nathan can have your own room. You’ll like that, won’t you?”
“I guess.”
She looked at Phillip and found his jaw clenched tight. “Okay,” she said brightly, hoping that he wouldn’t point out how much more luxurious Chatam House was than the apartment. “Everyone lend a hand. Pop the trunk, please, Phillip.”
He exited the car and did as she asked. Carissa tried to make a game of it, herding the children to the back of the sedan and assigning totes. They’d accumulated a surprising amount of stuff in their short time at Chatam House. They trudged along the walk, with Carissa in the lead and Phillip bringing up the rear of their little ragtag caravan.
When they reached the apartment door, she found a folded note taped over the keyhole. Quickly removing the small slip