At Last (The Idle Point, Maine Stories)(64)

"I have a father," she had told him. Darnell was a kind-hearted man who loved his kids, all eleven of them.

"But you have to share him," the shrink had pointed out. "You didn't share the other men."

But of course she had shared them with their wives and other lovers. Until Ben Taylor came into her life, nobody had ever loved her totally and completely to the exclusion of others and it was a feeling she cherished and returned in full measure. Her feelings for Ben were unlike anything she had ever known before. It was more than sex, more than security, more than the comfort of a pair of strong arms around you in the heart of the night. It was about wanting to share the good and bad of life, sit down with over dinner at night and breakfast in the morning. Ben knew her darkest secrets, same as she knew his. They had faced down the monsters in the closet and were still standing.

She wanted Gracie to know these things. Gracie and Ben had had a terribly troubled relationship and there was no doubt in anyone's mind that the blame lay solely at Ben's feet. He had failed miserably as a parent and Gracie deserved all the credit for turning out as well as she had. But Ben had changed, was changing, and more than anything Laquita wanted Gracie to appreciate that fact, to get to know her father before it was too late.

Because the clock was always ticking. The days passed and then the years and next thing you knew it was time to say goodbye. Every time she looked at Ben, she wondered how much time they would have left and knew it wouldn't be near enough. Her family teased her by calling her an old soul and it was true. She had always been older than her years, able to see the end of things where her friends could only see the beginning. It was part of the reason she had never really enjoyed the company of men her own age. They didn't understand how precious it all was or how quickly it passed.

Ben did. It was one of the many reasons why she loved him.

Another wave of apprehension swept over her. Ben was so happy that Graciela was coming home for the wedding. Happy and anxious and hopeful—so hopeful that it almost broke Laquita's heart. He wanted to make things right between him and Gracie. She had told him that they had come a long way over the last few years and that he should be proud of the progress he and his daughter had made toward becoming a family. She had also told him that he shouldn't expect miracles. Maybe Gracie had gone about as far as she was able to go with him and he should accept it and be grateful to have this much.

He had no idea that Laquita was praying for a miracle.

Everyone had said she and Ben would never last, that the age difference would put an end to them before they had a chance to get started but they were wrong. The only reason she ever wished Ben could be younger was so she could have him with her longer. Other than that, she wouldn't change a thing.

Except to give him back his daughter.





#





"Can I get you anything else, Mrs. C.?" Rachel Adams wiped away an imaginary streak from the crystal-clear library window of the house on the hill. "Another pot of tea or some of that pumpkin bread maybe."

Ruth Chase smiled and shook her head. "Nothing, thank you, Rachel. I'll be more than fine until dinner."

"Are Noah and Sophie eating dinner with you?"

Ruth's smile widened and Rachel smiled back at her. Grandmotherhood was proving to be as delightful as everyone had said it would be. "Sophie loves your Greek salad. If we have some feta, perhaps you could—"

"Done," said Rachel. "It's good to see the little one smile after all she's been through."

"That it is." She pointed toward a stack of books near the doorway. "I found some wonderful books on the Renaissance for Storm. She's welcome to keep them as long as she likes."

Rachel thanked her. "I'll send her in to get them as soon as she comes home from school."

"No hurry," said Ruth. "They're here waiting."

Storm was Rachel and Darnell's eleventh and last child. Storm was fourteen years old, beautiful, and more charming than the law allowed. Ruth thoroughly enjoyed having the child living under her roof. In truth she enjoyed all of the Adamses, including their extended family of brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, and the scattering of in-laws. Ruth had first opened her home to them three years ago, right after the flash flood that had washed away the home by the river and everything in them. Two of the Adams children had been badly hurt, as had Darnell himself when he tried to save them, but God was kind that day and let them live. The Urbanska family hadn't been that lucky. All six of them, lost to nature's fury.