Dream a Little Dream (Chicago Stars, #4)(28)

He’d tried to reason with her, gently reminding her they needed to be careful about passing judgment, even though he’d passed it long ago, but she wouldn’t listen.

He didn’t like crossing Carol. Although her brand of religion was more restrictive than his, she was a woman of deep faith, and she’d done the town a lot of good.

“If you let her stay in that cottage, Pastor,” she’d said, “it will reflect on you, and I don’t think you want that.”


Even though she was right, her attitude had irritated him. “I guess I’ll have to deal with that when it happens,” he’d replied as mildly as he could manage.

Now he made himself walk over to Edward and smile. “Hey there, buddy. How’d your day go?”

“Okay.”

The child gazed up at him with large brown eyes. He had a sprinkle of pale freckles across his nose. A cute kid. Ethan felt himself warming to him. “You made any friends yet?”

He didn’t respond.

“It might take a while for the other kids to get used to having somebody new around, but sooner or later they’ll warm up.”

Edward looked up at him and blinked. “Do you think Kristy forgot to come and get me?”

“Kristy doesn’t ever forget anything, Edward. She’s the most reliable person you’ll ever know.”

Kristy overheard Ethan’s words as she came up behind them. Reliable. That’s all she meant to Ethan Bonner. Good old reliable Kristy Brown. Kristy’ll do it. Kristy’ll take care of it.

She sighed to herself. What did she expect? Did she think Ethan would look at her the way he’d been looking at Laura Delapino only a moment earlier? Not likely. Laura was flashy and perky, while Kristy was plain and uninteresting. She had her pride, though, and over the years she had learned to hide her painful shyness behind a brutal efficiency. Whatever needed to be done, she could do. Everything except win Ethan Bonner’s heart.

Kristy had known Ethan nearly all her life, and he’d been attracted to flashy, easy women ever since eighth grade when Melodie Orr had gotten her braces off and discovered shrink-wrapped jeans. They used to make out every day after lunch next to the choir room.

“Kristy!”

Edward’s face lit up as he spotted her, and warmth spread through her. She loved children. She could relax with them and be herself. She would have much preferred working in child care to her job as a church secretary, and she’d have quit years ago if she hadn’t so desperately needed to stay close to Ethan Bonner. Since she couldn’t be his lover, she’d settle into the role of his caretaker.

As she knelt down to admire the collage Edward had made that day, she thought about the fact that she’d loved Ethan for more than twenty years. She clearly remembered watching him through the window of her third-grade classroom when he went out for recess with the fourth-graders. He’d been just as dazzling then as he was now, the handsomest boy she’d ever seen. He’d always treated her kindly, but then he’d treated everyone that way. Even when he was a child, Ethan had been different from the others: more sensitive, less inclined to tease.

He hadn’t been a pushover, though; his older brothers had taken care of that. She still remembered the day Ethan had fought D.J. Loebach, the junior high’s worst bully, and given him a bloody nose. Afterward, though, Ethan had felt guilty and gone over to D.J.’s house with a couple of melting grape Popsicles to make peace. D.J. still liked to tell that story at deacons’ meetings.

As she stood and took Edward’s hand, she caught the whiff of a heavy, sensuous perfume. “Hey, Eth.”

“Hi, Laura.”

Laura flashed Kristy a friendly smile, and Kristy felt her heart curdle with envy. How could some women be so confident?

She thought of Rachel Stone and wondered where she got her courage. Despite all the horrible things people in town were saying about Rachel, Kristy liked her; she was even in awe of her. Kristy was certain she’d never have the courage to face people down the way Rachel was doing.

She’d heard about Rachel’s encounter with Carol Dennis at the grocery store, and yesterday Rachel had stood up to Gary Prett at the pharmacy. The intensity of people’s hostility upset Kristy. She didn’t believe Rachel had been responsible for Dwayne Snopes’s greed, and she couldn’t understand people who called themselves Christians being so judgmental and vindictive.

She wondered what Rachel thought of her. Probably nothing at all. People only noticed Kristy when they wanted something done. Otherwise, she was white wallpaper.

“So Eth,” Laura said, “why don’t you come over tonight and let me throw a couple of steaks on the grill for us?” She rubbed her lips together as if she were smoothing out her lipstick.

For a fraction of a second Ethan’s eyes lingered on her mouth, then he gave her the same open, friendly smile he gave the old women in the congregation. “Gosh, I’d love to, but I have to work on my sermon.”

Laura persisted, but he managed to fend her off without too much difficulty. Kristy suspected he didn’t trust himself to be alone with Laura.


Something painful twisted at her heart. Ethan always trusted himself to be alone with her.





Rachel kept the beam of her flashlight low. As she neared the back of the house where she’d known so much misery, she bunched her hooded sweatshirt more tightly around her, warding off a chill that came as much from within as it did from the cool night breeze. The house was as dark as Dwayne Snopes’s soul.