Page 9 of There I Find Rest

Davis opened the door and coolly introduced himself to Bev and Bill, who looked a little surprised.

Both of them held bags of what looked like groceries in their hands, and they both shifted so they could shake when Davis held out his hand.

He was humble and respectful, while not groveling.

“I didn’t realize there was someone living here,” Bill said, and his words didn’t sound accusatory, but he definitely sounded like a concerned father.

Kim smiled to herself, just because she was forty years old and she’d never had a concerned father in her life before.

In Bill’s defense, he thought she died at birth.

“I rented from Iva May before she passed away. I didn’t realize that Kim was going to come out here and live. So, in order to give her space, I offered to move above the stable. I’m sure it’s just a temporary thing until one of us finds a different place.”

“You have a signed lease?” Bill asked, his intelligent eyes assessing the man in front of him from behind the wire rims of his glasses.

“I do. It’s in my briefcase, and I can get it out and show you if you want me to.” Davis did not sound defensive. They could be having a conversation about the weather or boating on the lake.

“You don’t have to. I’m sure there’s a copy in Iva May’s things as well, we just haven’t gotten to that point yet. Or perhaps we missed it because none of us realized there was a tenant here.” There was a slight lift to Bill’s brows as he looked her way, as though asking if she knew.

She shook her head. Of course she didn’t know. She wouldn’t have planned to move in if she had.

They’d moved all of Iva May’s things out of her home because Aunt Tricia had demanded that she take it over, and Kim hadn’t had time, or the fortitude, to go through everything.

Kim hadn’t thought about fighting about the house, hadn’t wanted to create waves in the family, and wasn’t sure she wanted to live in Blueberry Beach anyway. She...wanted a brand-new start. But it seemed like she couldn’t get away from her past. So much of it was standing in this room with her right now.

Davis, a bag slung over his back and a bag in one hand as well as his briefcase, said a few more words before stepping out the door and walking toward the stable.

Bev and Bill exchanged a look before they walked in and closed the door behind them.

“I didn’t know,” Kim felt like she had to say.

“Of course you didn’t. None of us did. I... He looks familiar, that’s all.” Bev still seemed thoughtful.

Kim figured there was no point in trying to hide. She had already told her...parents about the baby. Iva May knew as well before she passed away. What they didn’t know was who the father was.

“Maybe you two better come into the kitchen and sit down.”

“We brought a few housewarming gifts. We weren’t planning on crashing any parties. We just...care and want you to know,” Bill said as he lifted the bags up, looking at her as though to gauge her reaction to their presence.

It was a relief and a help, and it made her feel less alone, but it also made her feel like they needed to leave so she could start living and making sure she could do this new life thing on her own.

That didn’t make any sense, but she didn’t know how else to explain it. She wanted to be sure she was able to stand on her own two feet. It felt like she’d been dependent on her husband and maybe even on her daughter for so long that she wasn’t sure how to be alone.

The idea was scary and made her want to run back to the life that she left behind. The only problem was, that life was no longer there. Her husband, herex-husband married someone else, and they had a child together. She was pregnant by another man, and her daughter was in LA, doing only who knew what, angry at the world, and rightfully so since her homelife had imploded and left her searching for answers that Kim didn’t know how to give her.

“I appreciate your thoughtfulness,” she said as she led Bev and Bill to the kitchen. “I actually just walked in the door and have done little more than look around. I...can’t really give you a tour, unless you consider me exploring the house a tour.”

“No. We didn’t come for that today. After you get settled, maybe we can set up a time, and we’ll bring food and we’ll have supper and you can tell us about the house and how you’re settling in.” Bev set her bags of groceries on the counter, then turned and put arms around Kim.

They weren’t quite like Iva May’s arms, but they made her feel thirty years younger than what she was, and she laid her head on Bev’s shoulder and wrapped her arms around her.

Life was scary, she didn’t have health insurance, she barely had a home, she just kicked someone out in order to have a place to sleep, and she didn’t know what kind of life she was going to bring her baby into.

For not the first time, she wondered if she should put her child up for adoption. She certainly wasn’t in any shape to be raising a child. Financial or mental.

“That man was the father.” The words slipped out as she stood in Bev’s embrace.

She felt Bev still and tense under her.

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