Starring Me (16 page)

“Today we’re helping a family from church,” Dad explained.

“The Millers’ house burned down last week.” Mom frowned. “Get changed now. We have a busy day ahead of us.”

Chad changed from his button-down shirt and khaki pants into his work clothes, wondering what project they would be doing for the Millers.

“The Millers are staying at a seedy little hotel in a bad part of town,” Mom said once the family was in their SUV. “Pastor Greg told us they didn’t have insurance, so they have literally lost everything.”

“That’s terrible,” Chad said. “Do they have kids?”

“Three little guys.” Dad shook his head. “They don’t need to spend another day in that awful place. We put a call in to Janet, and she said the apartment complex she manages has a three-bedroom that’s available.”

“Now, this stays between us, all right?” Mom said.

“Of course.” Chad nodded.

“We’ve paid for their first year’s rent, and we’ve furnished the apartment. But we’re not telling the Millers that. We don’t want them to feel obliged to us. Pastor Greg is calling them right now to tell them an anonymous giver has done that and that our family is coming to help them move in.”

“Here’s where you come in.” Mom smiled at Chad. “Once we get the Millers to their apartment, we want to take Mrs. Miller shopping for some household items.”

“I’m babysitting the boys,” Chad concluded.

“That’s right.”

“You always said you wanted a brother.” Dad smiled.

“All right,” Chad said. “I can handle that. I think.”

“Little boys have lots of energy,” Mom said. “But the complex has a pool and a playground, so you’ll have plenty to keep them busy.”

Mom wasn’t exaggerating about the hotel
, Chad thought as they walked to the Millers’ door. Paint fell in sheets off the antiquated walls, and the metal door looked like it had been on the losing end of a schoolyard fight. After one knock, Mrs. Miller opened the door. Peering under the chain, she smiled as she saw Chad’s family. After quickly shutting the door to remove the lock, she opened the door wide.

“Thank you so much.” A baby on one hip and two other boys attached to her legs, Mrs. Miller looked like she would topple over at any moment.

“When Pastor Greg called and said someone had paid for an apartment”—Mrs. Miller began to cry—“I was just about at the end of my rope. I was praying this morning for some help. I didn’t think I could go on.”

“One thing we know is that God answers prayer.” Dad held his arms out to the baby. “We are glad to be used by him to help you.”

“We haven’t been formally introduced.” With the baby safe in Dad’s arms, Mrs. Miller was able to take Mom’s outstretched hand. “I’m Maria Beacon, and this is my husband, Bill, and my son, Chad.”

“Of course. I know who you are.” Mrs. Miller smiled and invited the family into the tiny room. Two double beds crowded the space. A chair was butted against the window and one small suitcase lay on the dresser. “I’m Karen Miller. My husband, Allan, is at work right now. But this is Allan Jr. We call him A.J.”

The five-year-old stood next to his mother, his big brown eyes staring up at Chad.

“How are you, buddy?” Chad knelt so he could be at eye level with the boy. “My name is Chad. My parents are going to let me have a playdate with you today. What do you think about that?”

A.J. looked at his mother. When she smiled, A.J. nodded. “Can Robby come too?”

Chad looked at the three-year-old, who was flashing a wide grin at Chad. “I wike bafeball.”

“I like baseball too, Robby.” Chad laughed. “Maybe we can pick up a ball on our way out.”

Dad tickled the baby. “And who is this little guy?”

Robby pulled on Dad’s shirt. “That’s my brover.”

“Is he your brother?” Dad looked down at Robby. “Are you sure? I thought this was your dad.”

“No.” Robby giggled.

“Your uncle?”

“No.”

“Your pet turtle?”

A.J. stepped out from beside his mother. “He’s our little brother, mister.”

“Well, if you both say he’s your brother”—Dad looked at the baby again—“then I guess he must be.”

Chad looked at the boys. “You’ll have to excuse my dad, kids. He’s old. Sometimes he gets confused.”

The adults shared a laugh while A.J. and Robby looked at Dad with suspicion.

“All right now,” Mom said. “We have a busy day. You boys ready to see your new place?”

“Yeah,” Robby and A.J. yelled. The baby joined in with a squeal.

Karen Miller was able to gather all her belongings in just five minutes. Chad watched as she placed everything she owned into the one suitcase in the room. The apartment complex was south of Orlando. Janet White was a longtime friend of the Beacons. They had been part of the same small-group Bible study for years, and Janet’s husband, Dan, ran a marketing firm that his parents used to advertise their oranges.

“We’re going to wiv
dere
?” Robby pressed his face against the SUV’s window.

Mrs. Miller patted her son’s head. “Not in all of that. Just a part.”

The apartment community had a gate at the entrance. Once they passed that, the boys saw the huge pool and play area.

“I wanna go there,” A.J. said quietly.

“I was hoping you’d say that.” Chad smiled. “Me too.”

“Chad will watch the boys while we go shopping and get you settled,” Mom said to Karen.

“Oh, are you sure?”

“Of course,” Dad said. “Chad is great with kids.”

“But he’s a big star.”

“Today he’s just a young man wanting to help,” Mom said.

“Really.” Chad pinched baby Trevor’s cheeks. “I love kids. It’s my pleasure to get to spend a day with these guys.”

Karen Miller wiped her eyes. “Thank you. Are you sure you can handle all three?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Chad said. “Don’t worry. I won’t take my eyes off them.”

The afternoon went by faster than Chad had expected. He and the boys went to the pool, to the playground, and back to the pool. The older boys loved having Chad throw them into the deep end. The baby sat in a float and laughed as his brothers begged to “go higher.” Chad enjoyed watching their faces light up. But keeping three young boys entertained was exhausting. He was relieved to see his parents wave him over to the apartment at five o’clock.

“The Millers have invited us to dinner.” Dad opened the door for Chad and the boys.

“Wow.” Robby looked into the apartment, his eyes wide. “This is awesome.”

“I want to see your room.” Chad turned to A.J.

“Where is my room, Mama?” A.J. asked.

“I think you should try to find it yourself,” Karen said with a smile.

A.J. darted through the living room and down the hall. He peered in the first room. “Hey, those beds are too little for me.”

“You’re right.” Chad stood behind the little boy and looked at the room. A crib was on one wall, a toddler bed on the other.

“Thomas the Tank Engine.” Robby ran past Chad and A.J. to the toddler bed. “Dat’s my favowite!”

His wall was filled with prints of Thomas and Friends. His comforter matched the prints, and a table with Thomas trains and tracks sat below the window. Robby sat by the table and began playing.

“I think Robby found his room.” Chad gazed down at A.J. “But where’s yours, buddy?”

A.J. looked at the room across the hall from his brothers’. “That’s not mine.”

The master bedroom was spacious. A queen-sized bed filled the center of the room, with a dresser and chest of drawers against the walls.

“Maybe you’ll have to sleep outside in the pool,” Chad said.

A.J. looked at Chad and frowned.

“Oh, wait,” Chad said. “I see one more room down there.”

A.J. ran to look in the last bedroom. “This is mine! And it’s got baseball stuff everywhere.”

Chad walked in and saw a twin bed topped with a baseball quilt, pictures of baseball players on the walls, and a shelf with baseball caps above the dresser.

“I even have my own bat and glove.” A.J. pointed to the spot beside the door where the equipment hung.

“Awesome,” Chad said. “Maybe we can go throw the baseball a little before dinner.”

“I think that’s a great idea,” Mom said.

Chad and A.J. stayed outside until their mothers called them in. The dinner, spaghetti with garlic bread and a Caesar salad, was delicious, and the little boys were asleep before the Millers could serve the chocolate cake Karen had made for dessert.

“We can’t thank you enough,” Allan Miller said after tucking A.J. into his new bed for the night. “This is so generous.”

“We just helped get you in and get you set up,” Mom said. “And it was a joy to be able to do that. You have a beautiful family.”

Karen Miller wiped her eyes. “Thank you. And thank you, Chad. My boys had such a great day. You have no idea how difficult the last week has been for all of us. This is the first time I’ve really seen them happy since the fire.”

“I should thank you.” Chad smiled. “And if it’s all right, I’ll come back again. Maybe you guys can go out one night and I’ll watch the boys.”

“I’d love that.” Allan winked at his wife. “Wouldn’t you, dear?”

“Chad Beacon, babysitting our sons?” Karen laughed. “That is something.”

The families said good-bye, and a fatigued Beacon threesome got back in their car to drive home.

“That was great,” Chad said. “Thanks.”

“Better than the recording session?”

“So much better.” Chad laughed.

Chapter 21

T
oday I’m taking you to the set of
Morgan’s Road
,” Ashley Win informed the girls the next morning. She had arrived at the house at eight o’clock. Most of the girls weren’t even awake. Kara, an early bird, had been up, had her morning jog and shower, and was just sitting down to breakfast.

“
Morgan’s Road
?” Sophie asked. “I love that show. Will we get to meet the cast?”

The other girls all talked at once about the teen show, a soap opera–type drama on a popular teen network.

“I’ve seen every episode.”

“Will we be on it?”

“I want to do a scene with Zach.”

“No way, he’s mine.”

“Not with that big old pimple on your face. He’ll take one look and go running.”

“Girls.” Ashley silenced the girls with a wave of her hand. “You are auditioning to star in a show that will be just as, if not more, popular than
Morgan’s Road
. Don’t get star-struck. You’ll be performing a scene with the actors from that show, just as if you were starring with them. It will be taped. Just like your scene with Devlin, this will be shown on television too.”

“When?” Anna Grace asked. “When I did
The Book of Love
, our episodes were shown that same week.”

“This is not a reality TV show.” Ashley folded her arms. “This is a television show that will, hopefully, be on for years. Your auditions will be aired the month leading up to the show’s premiere. The premiere is scheduled for the first week of October.”

“She’s already told us that.” Haley looked at the petite blonde. “Pay attention once in a while.”

“Enough.” Ashley tapped the screen on her phone. “We begin at ten o’clock. The van will be pulling out of the driveway at nine thirty.”

“That’s not enough time to get ready.” Zoey ran her fingers through her curly brown hair.

“That’s all the time you get,” Ashley said.

“It’ll be fine.” Jillian smiled at the girls. “We can do this.”

Flora, sitting in the back of the room, stood. “We have six bathrooms. Let’s make a sign-up sheet for each one, and that will allow each girl to have thirty minutes in a bathroom. That will be . . .”

The girls, ignoring Flora, ran for their rooms. Doors slammed. Ashley walked out, leaving Jillian and Kara standing with Flora.

“I thought it was a good idea, Flora,” Jillian said.

“These girls don’t listen.” Flora shook her head.

“Don’t worry about them.” Kara hugged the smaller woman. “You’re the best housemother I’ve ever had.”

“Have you had other housemothers, Kara?” Flora asked.

“No, I was being silly.” Kara laughed. “But even if I’d had others, you’d still be the best.”

“I’m not sure how you could come to that conclusion, based on such hypothetical assumptions.”

Jillian grabbed Flora’s hand. “Don’t mind Kara. We all think you’re great. The other girls are just focused on getting this part. Too focused on that, if you ask me. I think there are more important things in life than that.”

“Do you, Jillian?” Flora smiled. Kara walked out slowly, listening to the conversation. “Like what?”

“Like God.”

“Are you a believer?”

“Yes, ma’am. I sure am.”

“Well, isn’t that wonderful.” Flora patted Jillian’s hand. “I’d love to hear your testimony.”