Page 29 of Someone Like You
The laughter felt good. This night was a diversion for Brooke. A few happy hours where she didn’t have to think about her daughter getting married or the truth she and Peter still hadn’t told her. Brooke caught her breath. “What did your teacher say? I can’t remember.”
Now Ashley was laughing, too. “I believe he said … that particular shade of ice cream didn’t match his shirt. And he stood and slowly left the building.”
Kari and Ryan showed up then and the two teams swapped duties. Kari pointed to the ball field on the other side of a grove of trees. “You need to watch the kickball game. Dad’s referee.” She slipped a pair of plastic gloves onto her hands. “He’s in his element!”
The game was another part of the tradition. The older Baxter cousins would form two teams—welcoming any community kids who wanted to play. As they walked away from the ice cream table, Brooke stretched to one side, then the other. “That scooping business is harder than it looks.”
“Definitely.” Ashley bent over and touched her toes. When she stood she nodded toward the field. “Let’s go.”
As they walked, Ashley talked about how Cole had completed his first year at Liberty University and how the other three were excited he was home for the summer. “Being together is the best.” Ashley grinned at her. “It’s that way for all our kids.”
Brooke felt a familiar pang of regret settle in her gut. The one she had felt so often since Maddie’s graduation, every time someone mentioned family. Maybe she wasworrying about nothing. Maybe Peter was right. “Family goes beyond blood,” he’d told her last night.
With all her heart, Brooke hoped he was right.
They kept walking, and Ashley described her newest painting. “Children playing in the foreground here at Bryan Park, parents watching nearby, as if they have all the time in the world to be together.”
“Mmm.” Brooke could picture it.
Ashley took a breath. “But in the far distance, stands a sweet country cemetery.” Ashley lifted her eyes to the sky. “Because time is a thief.” She paused. “It never stops.”
Suddenly all Brooke wanted was to tell her sister about Maddie, about the lie that had been building and growing since her daughter was born. Maybe Ashley would know what to do, how to best break the news to Maddie and how to stave off any damage. After all, Ashley had been through her share of heartache.
She was one of the best listeners in the family.
They reached the field, where one team was scattered around the bases and out in the far grass, and the other was taking turns kicking the ball. Everyone on both teams was cheering. Brooke smiled when she spotted her dad. “Look at him.” She pointed down the first base line. “Dr. John Baxter at his finest.”
Their dad wore a bright red shirt, silver whistle around his neck. “That’s two outs!” He held up two fingers. “Two outs, bottom of the third.”
Dad’s wife, Elaine, must’ve been at the face-painting booth, because she wasn’t in the stands. Brooke and Ashley found seats near the top of the bleachers. A quick look to the outfield and Ashley seemed to find her son, anchored back in deep center. “I can’t believe he’s already finished ayear of college. Seems like I was just wiping my tears as he drove off.”
“Wait till he graduates. Happens in a blink.” Brooke spotted her daughter playing third base. She and Cole had always been close. “Most days I can’t believe Maddie’s getting married.”
Down on the field, Luke and his wife, Reagan, were coaching opposite teams, which only added to the merriment. Brooke and Ashley watched for a moment in silence. Was this the time to tell her sister? Brooke looked around. No one was sitting near them, and the game wasn’t half over.
She took a deep breath. “Can I tell you something, Ash?”
It was too late in the afternoon for sunglasses, so when Ashley turned to her it was easy to see her eyes. The genuine love there. “Of course.”
My sister has no idea what’s coming,Brooke thought. She gripped her knees and rubbed her palms on her jeans. “Peter and I … we’ve kept a secret from the family.” Her voice felt shaky. “For more than twenty years.”
Ashley faced Brooke. “What?” She waited. “Is this … are you serious?”
“I am.” Brooke held her breath.
“Okay.” Ashley seemed to gather herself. “What … what sort of secret?”
“About Maddie.” She met Ashley’s eyes again. “No one knows this.” Brooke hesitated. “It’s just, ever since she graduated I keep thinking we have to move past it.”
“Is she sick?” Ashley lowered her brow.
Brooke shook her head. “No.” She gazed at her daughter out on the field. “But she might be when she finds out.”
Ashley didn’t look away. “I’m here, Brooke. If you want to talk. The lie, whatever it is. Now or later, if that works better.”
“Thanks.” Brooke wasn’t sure anymore. How could she voice the words? Maddie was adopted? Ashley would think she was crazy. The whole family had been at the hospital for her birth. “I don’t know where to begin.”
Luke’s son, Tommy, was up next. Brooke and Ashley watched him take his place behind home plate. Tommy was seventeen now, about to start his senior year in high school. He was tall and blond, the exact image of their brother, Luke.
