Page 70 of Someone Like You
Dawson had said it once, and he was right.
Sometimes God brings people into your life for a short season. Even if the impact lasts till your final breath.
She couldn’t imagine never seeing him again, but it was possible. After she healed, she’d start back up at the zoo and they would both return to living their separatelives. But she would never forget him, the man who took her breath and made her remember who she was. Whose she was and where she belonged.
Dawson Gage.
She closed her eyes and they were on his Jet Ski again, racing down the Columbia River. His back was warm against her and she didn’t want to let go for anything. Halfway through the remembered ride, Maddie fell asleep.
This time when she woke up they were taxiing to the gate. She was home and beside her, Papa Baxter was grinning. “Everyone’s at Ashley and Landon’s house. They can’t wait to see you.”
“They … they’re not mad?” Maddie had wondered. She’d talked to her parents and Hayley, but not to the others.
“Maddie, honey.” He patted her knee. “They can’t wait to see you. This is about to be the party of the year.” He smiled. “A quick party. Everyone knows you need to rest.”
The party of the year. Maddie smiled. Of course the Baxter family would gather together to celebrate her return. They loved her then and they loved her still. They weren’t angry with her. An hour later when her papa drove up to the old Baxter house and pulled in the drive, he had barely parked when the door flew open.
First one out was Hayley.
Her sister.
She ran to the car as Maddie stepped out. “You’re here! You came home!”
“I did.” Maddie stretched out her arms and Hayley flung herself into them. “I missed you.”
Then, from the door, Maddie saw her parents and her aunts and uncles, her cousins and Grandma Elaine streaming onto the front porch and down the steps. Her papa ledher from the car and Maddie hugged each of them along the way.
Inside, her grandfather gathered everyone in the living room. “Family is not always by blood. Maddie has taught us that, but Jesus taught it first.” He prayed then, thanking God for Maddie’s safe return and inviting everyone to celebrate the fact for the next hour.
Maddie couldn’t stop smiling. Her papa’s words and prayer, the kindness of everyone in the house. Nearly all the people she loved were here, and the happiest thought occurred deep in her soul. She truly was home.
And if she had it her way, she’d never leave again.
24
Louise pressed her cold water glass to her face. Portland was in the middle of the hottest September in twenty years. She stared out the window. Two weeks had passed since Maddie flew back to Indiana, and now Louise had just heard the news from Dawson Gage.
He was moving. His father’s company was expanding and Dawson was in charge of the new office. At least for now.
So many changes.
Louise walked to the kitchen and put another scoop of ice in her glass. A few days out of the year, often in September, Portland got real heat. Triple digits. This was that day, and the Quinn house didn’t have air-conditioning.
The heat didn’t bother Louise. She felt better than she had in years. Maddie’s kidney was working perfectly, and every checkup since the surgery had held nothing but the best test results.
Larry was at work and the house was quiet. Too quiet. Louise used her phone to find a Ben Rector list and she hit play. The first song was one she knew well, one she’d found when she learned Maddie had made her decision to go home.
The song was called “Wherever You Are.” And as it played Louise could see Maddie again, sitting at their kitchen table, asking about London. She could see London,too. Both her daughters were gone now, and Louise was learning to accept the fact.
God had something else for her in this season.
Music filled the kitchen and eased the emptiness in Louise’s heart. For a moment she leaned against the counter and let the words wash over her. It was her anthem to Maddie. The girl she had never expected to meet. The daughter she hadn’t known about.
Wherever you go, know that you’re never alone. You’re forever in my heart. And the moments you need me, no distance could keep me. I will be wherever you are.
Louise smiled through her tears. Larry was helping her stay strong. Her close friends, too. That, and she and Larry were attending church again, enjoying every Sunday more than the last. No telling why they had ever left. Every week was another message that spoke straight to her heart.
And something else. She was getting involved in a new movement sweeping the nation. The Seen Movement, it was called. She and Larry had already ordered business cards from the group’s website. The two of them had stumbled upon the movement because of something one of their friends had said.
