Page 28 of The Baxters
Ryan backed out of her driveway, his breaths coming fast and hard. Tears clouded his vision but that didn’t stop him from remembering clearly. They were sitting side by side under the summer stars in the bed of his father’s truck… and he was feeling his fingers brush against hers. “You’re my best friend, Kari girl, you know that?”
And she was giggling and looking over at him, the moon shining in her eyes. “And you’re mine, Ryan.”
And she was beside him and he was taking her to his senior football banquet, the one that kicked off the season. And she was in her cheerleading uniform on the sidelines and he was running across the goal line and while all his team was shouting and celebrating, he was looking at her.
Always and only at her.
And she was smiling at him as the band played on.
Then he was signing a contract while a hundred lights flashed in his face and his heart was racing because, Dallas? That far away from Kari? But they were talking and laughing and he was telling himself everything would be okay. It had to be okay. She would graduate and he would marry her and they would never spend a day apart again.
Then the hit and he was lying on the ground and all he wanted, all he would ever want, was to look into her eyes again. One more time. And he was in an ambulance, his mother at his side, and everyone was talking at the same time.
Oxygen. Vital signs. Start the IV.Move your toes, Ryan. Come on, move your toes.And he couldn’t. No matter how hard he tried he couldn’t but somehow he knew if she were here, if she were the one asking him, then just maybe…
And he was in the hospital trapped in metal and bars and ropes and his mother was giving him the only news that mattered.Kari’s here. Her father brought her.
Peace overcame him. He could figure out the rest, but if Kari was here then everything was going to be okay. And he was smiling and praying and believing. This was a road bump, but it wasn’t going to stop the two of them. He would walk again and he would hold Kari again and all of life would be just like he’d always dreamed.
Like the two of them planned.
And then it was morning and he was awake and the expression on his mother’s face was the saddest of all.She’s gone, Ryan. I… I’m sorry, she didn’t say goodbye.
Then suddenly the room was spinning and nothing made sense. Ryan tried to sit up, tried to swing his legs onto the floor so he could run after her, but he couldn’t move. They’d operated on him and he was in some sort of contraption that wouldn’t let him do anything but call her name. “Kari!” The sound was frail and then it grew louder. “Kari girl! Where are you?”
And suddenly the reel of memories came to a stop.
Tears spilled and mixed with the rain on his face as he put the truck in gear and pulled onto the road. As hedrove away he glanced back at her house once more. The Baxter house. His words came in a broken whisper. “Bye, Kari girl.”
No matter how things ended later today, one thing would always be sure. He didn’t believe her. The idea that she loved Tim and wanted to marry him. How could Ryan believe her?
The two of them were still holding hands when Tim walked up, after all.
Either way, there was no changing the ending. What they shared had been over for a long time. Years, really. But after today there was no looking back. He hadn’t set out to change her mind, but deep down he had hoped that maybe… like some Hollywood-movie ending… she might’ve explained what happened.
The feelings between them would be good again and she would hug his neck and he would kiss her. And if Tim walked in on them, so be it. Because Kari had found the one she really loved. And that would be him—Ryan Taylor—forevermore.
But it hadn’t worked out like that. This was real life, and Ryan hadn’t gotten the girl. He’d lost her for all time, and he still didn’t know why. But at least he’d done the thing he’d set out to do. Before it was too late. Before she changed her name.
He’d shared one last moment with Kari Baxter.
9
Elizabeth’s heart beat in double time as she shut the door and hurried to the back porch. What had just happened? What was Ryan thinking, coming here, talking to Kari on her wedding day?
And now Tim was with her.
The weather was growing worse by the minute, and Elizabeth’s bad feelings about the day were coming true. She stepped out onto the porch and saw them, Tim standing in front of Kari, and Kari sitting on the swing.
The tension was thicker than the humid air around them.
“Hello.” Elizabeth wasn’t sure they saw her.
They both turned her way and nodded. Kari spoke first. “Everything’s fine, Mom.”
“It’s great, actually.” Tim grinned and gave a single clap of his hands. “Where’s Dr. Baxter?”
“At the chapel. With the other guys.” Elizabeth worked to keep from showing her confusion. “I thought you were meeting them there.”
