But for now, down the hill he went, checking the kite as he went. The girls had done a wonderful job decorating it. The black paint even had little brushstrokes that made it look like fur. And those mismatched eyes Roxy had glued gave the illusion of following you.
He reached the spot he’d chosen, holding the kite right next to his body. He checked the tail—black, of course—which was made to resemble the puffed-up tail of an agitated cat. Then he double-checked the structure itself. Remembering Maddy’s good-luck gesture, he tossed the kite into the stiff breeze and began jogging up the hill, letting the string out as he went.
The kite caught the wind perfectly, just as he’d hoped it would do, edging higher and higher, those glittery black claws catching the sun and reflecting back at him.
It was going to work. He could tell by the way it swayed gently back and forth as it ascended. It wasn’t the jerky sawing motions of an unbalanced kite. It was almost going up too well.
He had a little girl to impress, so he crossed his own fingers, trying not to think of his daughter, as he scaled back his jog and then finally slowed to a walk. He reached the gathering crowd, which clapped to encourage them. You would have thought this was their kite and not his, Maddy’s and Chloe’s.
The judge glanced down at his watch. “You’ve just passed the one-minute mark. Four more to go.”
The kite dipped for a second, but Kaleb gave it a couple of quick tugs, keeping some play in the rope as he tried to find the perfect altitude.
“Can I hold the string?” Chloe’s question was a reminder that this was not just about him.
Maddy, now out of her chair, took hold of Chloe’s hand. “Let him get it where he wants it first, okay?”
He was still busy trying to make sure they didn’t lose before they even got started. Yes, the kite was judged by looks primarily, but the ease of getting it in the air and keeping it there was bound to have some influence over the voting members of the crowd. Someone pointed up at the kite. “It looks great. Almost real.”
Oh, but they hadn’t seen the best part. And they wouldn’t unless he could get it facing the wind in just the right way. He was aware of Chloe’s impatience as he edged the kite one way and then the other. If he could just get it to...
There.
He saw it before he heard it, those slits catching the wind and beginning to flutter.
It took a minute. Then someone said, “What’s that? I hear something.”
Maddy picked up Chloe, putting paid to the idea that she wasn’t supposed to be carried. Then the little girl sent up a whoop that took him by surprise. “He’s doing it, Mama! Jetta is purring!”
A young man standing close enough to hear Chloe’s words jerked his head around to look up at the kite. “I thought I recognized that sound. Awesome!”
The words spread through the group and phones came out to take pictures and videos of the kite. More people gathered.
“Two minutes.”
Time was dragging. But that was okay. Chloe was staring up in rapt silence, probably unable to believe that their creation was in the air. And purring. She probably wasn’t even aware of the reaction of the people around them. Kaleb didn’t much care either. What he did care about were the mother and daughter gazing toward the heavens. He’d made this happen. And suddenly, Kaleb was damned glad he’d put the time and effort into that kite. Those endless hours of calculations and planning now seemed worth it.
Grace would have loved this.
“Four minutes.”
Only one minute left. And Jetta the cat was still holding his own, his tail swishing back and forth in the sky. Who said black cats brought bad luck? This looked like one lucky feline.
“Five minutes.” The judge reached out and shook Kaleb’s hand and then held it out to Chloe. “Did you help decorate that cat, young lady?”
The little girl nodded.
“Well, you’ve done an excellent job. Congratulations.”
“Thank you, sir.” You would have thought the judge had already awarded her the prize from Chloe’s expression. She was in awe of the official and just as in awe of the kite they’d put in the air.
“Would you like to hold it now, Chloe?” Kaleb offered her the spindle of string. She took it in both hands, holding it just as he showed her.
Roxy came over. “That was a really nice thing you did. It means a lot to Chloe. To both of them.”
“It was nothing.”
The woman smiled. “It most definitely was not nothing. And I won’t forget it.”
He had no idea what she meant by that, but he’d evidently won her approval. For some reason, he got the impression that if Roxy didn’t like someone, it would be all over for that person as far as getting close to Maddy went. Roxy was protective. Because of what had happened to her? Or because of Maddy’s late husband?
Either way, he was glad of it. Glad that Roxy was taking it upon herself to make sure that Maddy didn’t get involved with any more men like her ex.
Just then he heard a scream in the distance. At first he thought it was someone laughing at one of the kites. There were about fifteen of them in the air at this point, spaced far enough apart that they couldn’t get tangled up with each other. The hospital had figured they would get about fifty to a hundred kite entries and, from what Kaleb could see, they were probably going to get close to the top figure. There were five judges working to get the kites launched and, so far, they’d had about an equal number go up as they had ones that crashed and burned, like Roxy’s.
The scream rang out again. This time sounding a little more urgent. He glanced at Chloe to see that she was still holding the string like a pro. At this point, unless something happened to the steady breeze, she wouldn’t have to work to keep it up there. It would continue flying until they brought it down. He’d pounded a holder into the grass so they could drop the string caddy into it and be able to watch the kite without having to manage it the entire time.
He caught Maddy’s eye. She’d heard the sound as well. “Is somebody hurt?”
“I don’t know.” Using his hand to shade his eyes, he tried to look through the crowd, but couldn’t see anything.
Another shout went up. This one a man’s voice. Kaleb didn’t like it. “I’m going to check it out.”
“I’m going with you.” Maddy turned to her sister. “Can you watch her? If someone’s having a medical emergency, I might be able to help.”
Though a lot of the hospital staff were at Fountain Park enjoying their day, he wasn’t taking any chances.
“Of course.” Roxy laid her hand on her niece’s shoulder. “Let’s sit down on the blanket so we can watch Jetta in action. Do you want me to hold the string?”
“No. I want to.”
With one last glance at the pair, he and Maddy headed in the direction of the distressed calls.
* * *
Maddy didn’t like the look of that crowd. In fact, she knew she didn’t. Breaking into a sprint, she noted that Kaleb had had the same reaction and had outpaced her by a good ten yards. Damn, she knew she should have taken up running.
He pushed through the crowd a few seconds later and was lost to her sight. Just a couple more yards and she would be able to...
That was when she saw it. One of the golf carts that had been cruising around the park had overturned. How that had happened, she didn’t have a clue. But sticking out from beneath the undercarriage