Waiting for Dusk (22 page)

“We so need to get a dog,” Lindsey whispered
to Katie. “All my aunts and uncles have one and my mom keeps saying
no. That’s why she’s the black sheep of the family.”

“No, she isn’t!”

“Okay, she’s not. But why does she have to be
the different one? I could be living here with all of my
family.”

“Then you wouldn’t have me.” Katie put her
arm around her.

The two girls headed up to their rooms for
the night. Katie was tempted to tell Lindsey what happened with
Grandma J but decided to wait. She would call Carl instead. He
would know what to do.

Carl answered on the first ring. Katie knew
he always tried to answer, never letting it go to voicemail, if he
could. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, Carl, I’m here at Lindsey’s family
ranch.” Katie then proceeded to tell him what happened to her that
day.

“Wow! That’s quite a story! Let me think
about it for awhile while we talk. I heard about Homecoming and
Tyson from my mother. How are you holding up?”

“I’m fine. There’s nothing to tell. Now let’s
get back to my reason for calling you.”

“Alright, if you insist,” Carl teased. “You
should tell Lindsey tomorrow, since she knows your time travel
story. Then start asking Aunt Sue questions about your Aunt Lucinda
and see if she puts two and two together. Let her be the one to
figure it out.”

“Great idea,” Katie hoped it would work.
“Hey, I’ve got to go. I have another call. I’ll let you know what
happens.”

“Take care. I really mean that in every sense
of the word.”

“Yes, I will. Thanks for everything.” Katie
hung up with Carl and answered her second call.

“Katie?” It was Tyson. Katie was silent.
“Katie, are you there?”

“Yeah, I’m here.”

“I’m calling to say I’m sorry...for
everything.” Ty sounded a little depressed.

“It’s alright. I want to stay friends with
you.”

“You do? That’s great! I made the basketball
team.” Katie guessed Ty didn’t want to hang up and was thinking of
things to say.

“Great, Ty! I’m so happy for you.”

“Katie? Do you think you could ever love
me?”

“I don’t want to go there again. Please,
let’s end this conversation in a good way. If you can’t just call
to talk, then don’t call me.”

“Okay. Sorry, again. When are you coming
home?”

“Monday. I’ve got to go. Someone is knocking
on my door.” Katie lied.

“I’ll let you go, but promise me you’ll come
to my first game,” It sounded like he was begging.

“I promise.”

Katie couldn’t hang up quick enough. She got
ready for bed and set her phone alarm. She didn’t want someone
knocking on her door, telling her to get up. She wanted to be up
and ready to go.

Katie was the first one downstairs in the
morning. She smelled bacon cooking and coffee brewing, and it was a
beautiful, sunny day. On the deck, she saw Anna sitting in a
rocker. Katie went out to join her.

“Hello, Grandma J. Nice day, isn’t it?” Katie
wasn’t sure if Anna remembered the conversation they had the night
before.

“Oh, Kathryn, knock off the Grandma J crap
and sit down here.” Anna patted the chair next to her.

Katie laughed and said, “Where did you learn
to talk like a trucker?”

“You don’t live one hundred years and learn
nothing. I have many grandchildren and great-grandchildren you
know.”

“Anna, don’t you wonder why I look the same
and you knew me many years ago?” Katie was thinking about that all
night.

“Yes, I do, Kathryn, but decided not to
question it. The Lord works in mysterious ways. I have you back and
that’s all I know.”

“I’m glad to have you back too. I missed you
so much. I was afraid it was all a dream. Can I ask you
something?”

Anna nodded.

“Did you ever hear of or know a Jack Woods?”
Katie wanted to get to the bottom of that and maybe Anna could help
her.

“Why, yes, I have. He was a very famous
writer and visited the canyon a lot in the twenties. I have some of
his books. One is a journal he wrote of time spent at the canyon.
Would you like to read them?”

“Oh, yes, please, Anna, I would. My dad’s a
writer, too. Not as famous as Jack Woods but he does pretty well.
Have you heard of Jackson Roberts?”

“I have some of his books too. His writing is
quite similar to Jack Woods. Your dad must be a fan or student of
his.”

“Actually he never mentioned him. Andrew...”
Katie stopped short.

“Andrew wanted to take you to one of his
lectures,” Anna finished for her. “He was a big fan of Jack Woods.
Jack became a mentor to Andrew. They were almost like brothers. You
will be looking for Andrew today, won’t you?” Anna placed her hand
under Katie’s chin. They looked at each other for a long moment,
their eyes locked. Time had not come between them. “That’s love,
Kathryn, true love. To always look for the one you love.”

Lindsey came out on the deck. She squinted in
the bright morning sun. “Hi, Grandma J, you’re always up bright and
early.” She walked over and kissed her on the cheek. “I’m so glad
you like my best friend.”

“She’s delightful and the perfect best friend
for you, Lindsey. Now you two go eat your breakfast and be on your
way. Have a fun day. If you’d ask Grandpa Dan to come out and help
me in, I’d appreciate it.”

Katie leaned over and kissed Anna on the
cheek. “You’re also my best friend. See you later.”

After breakfast, Katie went up to her room to
finish getting ready. She sent text messages to everyone back home,
including Ty, and one to Carl. She ran down the stairs and entered
the large family room ready for the day. Sitting on the sofa with
his back to her was a young man with dark hair that just covered
the top of his shirt.

“Drew!”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The young man stood
up and turned to face Katie. “Sorry, my name is Charlie,” he said
with a cute little grin.

Charlie was definitely not Drew. He had dark
hair but that was all they had in common. Charlie was shorter and
thinner. He had the beard that all the guys wore—thin, from ear to
ear traveling across the jaw line—and a faint mustache too. He wore
a band t-shirt and jeans with a plaid hooded sweatshirt. She liked
it. Nothing was designer but well thought out. Katie was surprised
to see someone dressed that way out west. She expected cowboy boots
and hats. She saw why Lindsey liked him. He had an easy way about
him, and a killer smile.

Katie put out her hand. “Hi, I’m Katie.”

Charlie shook her hand and said, “You ready
for some hiking today? I got boots in the jeep.”

Katie wasn’t sure about hiking. She only went
on a short one with Drew. The next one would have to be with him,
too.

Lindsey walked in at that moment. “I think
we’ll be doing other things while you two macho men hike the
canyon.” She walked up to Charlie and hugged him.

“Good to see you, Lindsey. How’s Ohio
treating you?”

Katie saw Aunt Sue walk by and decided it was
the perfect time to plant a seed. “Aunt Sue, do you have a
minute?”

She stopped and put the laundry basket she
was carrying on the stairs. “Sure, I do.”

“Have you ever heard of Lucinda Hasting?”

“Yes, of course. She lives quite near here.
Or I should say lived.”

“Well, she’s my great-great aunt and I was
wondering if there would be time to drive me over to see where she
lived?”

Aunt Sue looked a little shocked but seemed
to be taking it all in.

At that moment, Brandon came racing down the
stairs. “Come on, let’s go!” he said, and then ran out the front
door. The rest of them followed.

During the drive, Katie learned more about
Brandon and Charlie. Both were seniors, planning on going to the
University of Arizona. It was far enough away from home that they
couldn’t commute, so they planned on rooming together. They both
played baseball and were avid hikers and climbers. Brandon was
hoping for a baseball scholarship. Katie thought they were great
guys. It seemed Charlie wanted Lindsey to attend UA too. He
practically said so. He kept asking her about where she would go to
college, mentioned how it be fun if they were all on campus
together. He included Katie in that comment, probably just to be
nice. Katie could tell Lindsey really liked Charlie, but she
understood why she was holding back. Too many choices. The boys
were going to college the next year, and Lindsey and Katie would be
high school seniors.

Katie let out a big sigh. Everyone
laughed.

“What’s going on with you?” Brandon poked her
playfully as he pulled into the parking area.

They all jumped out of the jeep and looked
around. Brandon had parked in the familiar South Rim Village area.
It was like being home to Katie. Charlie pointed out to Lindsey
where he planned on hiking. She heard him asking her to come along.
Lindsey declined, being true to her friend, insisting they would
have time together later.

Finally Brandon and Charlie grabbed their
gear and took off down the designated path. They all agreed to meet
back in the parking lot in about three hours, then head for a
restaurant.

“Hey, Brandon,” Lindsey called after him.
“Can I have the car keys?”

Brandon dug in his pocket and tossed the keys
to her. The girls ran toward the jeep. Lindsey jumped in the
driver’s seat, looked at Katie and said, “Where to?”

Katie guided her to the boardinghouse. Her
heart raced at the thought of seeing it. She knew the place had
been sold but hoped for the best. As they grew nearer, they saw a
sign for Erickson’s Riding Stables.

“So it’s just a place to go riding. Turn
here. This is it.”

They pulled onto a road that was y-shaped.
The right road led to the stables and the other road had a sign
that said Erickson’s Bed and Breakfast. Choosing the road to the
left, they drove past a modern one-story ranch house and continued
on. Then right in front of her was the boardinghouse, her beloved
boardinghouse. It had been turned into a bed and breakfast. What a
great idea for the place. Katie loved that it looked so well taken
care of. It still looked like the original building.

“Well? Do you want to go in?” Lindsey parked
the jeep and looked at Katie.

“No, I don’t think I can. It’s just so
wonderful to see it’s still here.” Katie couldn’t help but stare at
the place that held so many memories for her. Tears filled her
eyes. She pictured the old Buick sitting in front of the house. She
pictured Loretta and Lucinda chasing each other and dancing around
in the yard. She heard Anna calling to her to get in the house
before someone saw her with Drew. “Lindsay, why didn’t you ever
tell me your great-grandmother’s name was Anna?”

“Like we ever talk about our
great-grandmothers! Oh, let’s compare grandmas. What’s your
grandma’s name?”

“Okay, you’re right about that. But don’t
think I’m strange or anything with what I am about to say,
promise?”

“I promise. You know you can tell me
anything.”

“I know your great-grandmother.”

“Of course you do. You spent a lot of time
with her since we got here.”

“No, not like that. I know her from my
dreams. She’s the Anna from my dream, which I’m pretty sure now are
not dreams.” Katie squeezed her eyes shut. She waited for Lindsey
to tell her she was crazy.

“O...kay...”

“Lindsey, your grandmother knew me. She
called me Kathryn and talked about Andrew. She was so happy to see
me. We talked like we were old friends.”

“Well, Grandma J likes to live in the past
and we did say you looked like the Kathryn in that wedding picture.
Maybe she’s just confused. Old people are like that you know.”
Lindsey sighed. “Or maybe you’re right. It could be more than a
realistic dream.”

“There’s one more thing. We are cousins, long
lost cousins.” Katie put her hands over her ears waiting for
Lindsey to yell or scream or something. There was nothing but
silence. Katie looked over and saw her friend griping the steering
wheel. She seemed deep in thought.

“Let’s go over to the riding stable and rent
some horses to ride. Then I’ll fill you in on everything.” Katie
patted Lindsey’s shoulder. “I know this is a lot to take in for one
day. I’ve had more time to process all of this.”

“Really? Just like that? I’m supposed to buy
into this?” Lindsey slapped the wheel. “Wow, sorry about that. Give
me a minute.” She wiped her forehead, then started the jeep and
headed down a back road to the stables. When she parked, she jumped
out and walked around to face Katie.

“You’re my cousin?” She hugged Katie as
tightly as she could.

Katie was so happy by her final reaction. She
understood.

On their hour-long ride, Katie did the best
she could to fill Lindsey in on all the details. Katie told her
that her grandma, Dan’s wife Amy, was Lucinda’s daughter and
Katie’s cousin. It took them awhile to piece everything
together.

“How come our moms never figured this out?”
Lindsey wondered.

“I asked myself the same thing.” Katie was
glad Lindsey took it well. That part was believable and could be
proven. She didn’t know how she could prove she knew Anna when she
was young. For then, it was good enough. They returned the horses
to the stable when the hour was up, jumped in the jeep and headed
back to the canyon.

“Where next?” Lindsey asked.

“The Village, and then Yavapai Point.”

They parked at a visitor center and walked to
the spots that were so important to Katie. She wanted to show
Lindsey all the places she had been with Drew. Katie stopped at
Kolb Studio. She remembered how excited Drew was for her to meet
Jack Woods. A cold shudder went through her. When she saw Jack, she
knew it was her father and had to avoid him. Now all she had to do
is prove that Jack is Jackson. For the time being, she would enjoy
showing Lindsey all her favorite places.