Page 30 of When Cardinals Appear

The cardinal chirped and fluffed its wings as if it approved. Maybe it was hopeful the new owners would be better about filling the bird feeders. After he flew away, I finished my coffee then headed upstairs to get dressed.

When I returned, Steven was already at the kitchen table, waiting.

“Ready for this?” Steven asked with a grin.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I muttered. “What time will they be here?”

Steven checked his watch. “Any minute now.”

I nodded absently as I went into the dining room and grabbed some newspaper. There were a few things I still needed to box up that I planned to keep. After grabbing a few of the moving boxes Steven had brought from his office, I slipped into Mom’s room, wrapped some of Mom’s treasured knickknacks, and placed them carefully into the box. The doorbell rang, and Steven’s voice drifted up the stairs as he greeted the men. Packing up these items was the perfect excuse to be upstairs when they arrived. I needed a moment to compose myself before I saw Nate.

It bothered me more than it should have that he was hiding something. Of course, he was under no obligation to tell me anything. I kept telling myself it wasn’t my business, but when he’d mentioned making peace with Mom, he’d said it so matter-of-factly I couldn’t help being curious. I wondered what had been said between them and when. Was it before Mom got sick?

As I lifted a small carousel horse replica, I sensed a presence behind me. I spun around and found Nate standing in the doorway, watching me with a peculiar expression on his face. When our eyes met, he straightened and ran a hand through his hair.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said. “Steven sent me up here to break down your mother’s bed.” He nodded to the stripped queen bed against the back wall.

“I can move this stuff out of here so I won’t be in your way.” I hastily stacked the remaining items into my arms to move to another room.

He touched my shoulder gently, and the wave of unexpected heat tingling down my arm almost caused me to drop everything. I glanced at him, and his face softened with the sweet smile that used to take my breath away.

“You’re fine, Lanie. You’re not in my way.”

As I slowly faced him, the air separating us crackled with electricity. Gazing at him, I watched as the warmth in his eyes gave way to a fierce heat. My heartbeat quickened, and suddenly, I felt like I was sixteen again: a mix of nervousness, elation, and desire making me tongue-tied. Drawing a ragged breath, I realized I’d stopped breathing.

Nate blinked, and when his eyes refocused, the fire in them was gone. He reached out with a half smile and took a couple of items from my arms before setting them on top of the dresser.

“Do you need help with these?” he asked absently as he lifted a figurine.

I stared at the familiar item, a single dolphin jumping a wave. It was the last Christmas present Nate had given me before we broke up. I hadn’t seen it in years. What was it doing here, among my mother’s things?

I took it from him without thinking. “Where did you find this?”

“With the rest of the stuff you were wrapping,” he replied, raising an eyebrow as he waved his hand over the assortment of knickknacks.

“I thought I lost it,” I murmured as I turned the dolphin over in my hands. Such little dust had accumulated on it, almost as if it had been lovingly cared for in my absence. I wondered how it had gotten there and why I hadn’t noticed it while sorting through everything before.

Nate was still staring at me, frowning, though whether from confusion or because he recognized the figurine as well, I didn’t know.

“Do you remember this?” I asked.

“Remember it?” Nate scoffed. “Do you know how long I agonized over what to get you?” He shook his head with a rueful smile. “I went to so many stores. I looked at jewelry, electronics, clothing, just trying to find the perfect present. But when I walked into that Hallmark store and saw this, I knew I’d never find anything better.”

“It really was perfect,” I agreed, turning it over again. “I’ve always loved dolphins.”

That Christmas, I gave him a football jersey of his favorite team. We hadn’t been able to spend the day together due to plans with our respective families, but he had texted me a photo of his family in front of the tree, and he wore that jersey. My heart ached for that simpler time.

A throat cleared behind Nate, and both our heads shot up to find Steven standing in the doorway. I set the dolphin down and took a step back.

“I thought you came up here to break down the bed,” Steven said, struggling to keep an amused grin from his face.

Nate nodded. “I was helping Lanie wrap up these breakable items. I didn’t want to risk knocking anything over.”

Steven quirked an eyebrow. “Mm-hmm, well, we need you downstairs when you’re done.” His assessing gaze made my cheeks burn before he turned and left us alone again.

“I really should move this stuff to another room,” I hedged as I gathered the figurines once more. “It sounds like they need you downstairs.”

Nate stopped my hand with his, and that familiar spark hit me all over again. “They can wait, Lanie. I’m happy to help.” He picked up a figure of a little girl in a green dress and laid it in some newspaper then carefully wrapped it before placing it in the box.

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