FOUR

As the African sun began its descent, painting the sky in fiery orange and crimson strokes, the sanctuary was alive with an air of celebration. Or at least it seemed that way for Henry.

For Lynette, it wasn’t as great.

Henry had orchestrated a special dinner once everyone returned from looking at the wedding site, and after a period of rest and refreshment following the day’s events, everyone convened at the hospital.

Henry was like a buzzing bee, moving around the tables he adorned with white linen cloths and glowing lantern centerpieces. Each place setting held fine white China, and the pattern of silver around the plates glistened from the canopy of string lights he’d hung all over the space. The soft glow of it all competed with the lingering sunset—at times, it won, and other times, it lost.

Lynette stood in the corner, watching her husband fuss over every little detail while the aroma of cooked meats and fresh herbs filled the air. He had spared no expense, even paying the sanctuary workers extra to help out.

“I think everything is done,” he finally said, standing back to take in the room.

“It looks beautiful, Dear.” Lynette pushed off the wall she’d been leaning on and made her way over to him, hugging him. “I think you missed your calling in life.”

“And what calling is that?”

“Party planning . . . obviously.” She turned and motioned toward the room.

“I don’t know if I’d say all that. I did enjoy the planning, but it’s more because we don’t get to entertain people very often. If I had to do this every day . . .” He let his voice trail off as he pressed his hands into his hips and shook his head. “I don’t know that I’d survive the pressure.”

“The pressure? You perform surgery on wild animals in the middle of the South African bush, and you don’t think you could take the pressure of being a party planner?”

“Hey, I’ve heard countless stories of those bridezillas everyone always talks about. Not that I think Julie would be capable of that. Still, I want things to look perfect.”

“I know you do, Dear.” Lynette kissed him on the cheek. “And it does look perfect. Julie will love it.”

“Well, I hope she does. I guess we will find out as soon as they arrive.” He furrowed his brow and looked out the nearest window. “Speaking of which, I wonder where everyone is. Would you mind checking on how everyone is doing?”

A knot twisted in Lynette’s chest, and as much as she wanted to say no, she nodded. “Sure.”

As she made her way across the room, her chest grew tight. She hadn’t exactly acted like the best host on the mountain, and although she’d apologized when she returned to the truck, her little outburst had caused a mood to cloud over all their visitors. She never wanted to ruin anything, especially Julie’s wedding, and she knew she’d have to do some major repair work.

The trouble was, she didn’t know how she would get through that work.

The door opened before she could get to it, and as Lynette jumped back to give everyone room, Julie, Paul, and their parents came inside. Their laughter echoed throughout the room, and as Julie looked around, she gasped and paused.

“It looks beautiful,” she said.

“Henry wanted it to be perfect,” Lynette looked at each of their faces. “And I want that, too. I know I already said this, but I’m sorry for what I said on the hill. I shouldn’t have—”

“There’s no need to apologize.” Julie stepped forward, laying her hand on Lynette’s shoulder. “I can’t imagine how it must feel with us here, and especially with . . .” Although Julie didn’t finish her sentence, Lynette could tell what she meant to say—especially with Joshua bringing Chloe.

“Yes, well, it’s hard, but it is supposed to be a celebration. So . . “ Lynette pointed to the table. “Everyone, take your seats. Our team has been working hard all day to bring you the finest South African delicacies.”

Lynette watched as the six of them made their way over to the table, and although she felt a hint of relief, the fact that Joshua and Chloe weren’t there yet made her stomach knot even more. She would have to find them and apologize again to them, too.

Moving through the doorway, Joshua’s faint voice echoed from the balcony, and Lynette paused, leaning against the wall as she listened to their conversation for just the right moment to interrupt.

“. . . and maybe one day, we could take a safari vacation. Just the two of us, out there in the wilderness,” Joshua said. “Kate had a lot of fun on hers. She said it was one of the most beautiful things she’d ever done.”

“Oh, I would love that. I’ve always wanted to come here.”

“Well, we could extend our trip if you wanted. I have another week off from work.”

“I would love to say yes, but I don’t have any more time off. Perhaps we can start planning it for next year, though?”

“Sure. We can start making lists of everything we want to see and do.”

Lynette closed her eyes, clasping her hands together. She didn’t want to eavesdrop any more than she had. It was as rude as it was hard to hear.

She stepped around the corner. “If you’re serious about going on a safari, I have several connections I could put you in touch with so you two could find the perfect vacation.”

Joshua and Chloe turned to face her, and for a moment, there was a hesitation, a silent question in their eyes.

“If you would want to have them, that is. I know how much fun planning a vacation can be, and I wouldn’t want to make you feel like you had to do anything I would suggest.”

“I would love those phone numbers,” Chloe said, smiling at Lynette. “I mean, who better to advise on where to go and what to do than someone who lives here.” She glanced between Lynette and Joshua. Her short, dark chocolate curls bounced with her movement.

“That would be nice,” Joshua said, nodding. “Thank you.”

Lynette inhaled a deep breath, willing the strength she desperately needed. “Joshua, may I speak to Chloe alone?”

The two exchanged glances, and while Joshua raised his eyebrows as if to say he wasn’t sure about the request, Chloe nodded, whispering at him. “It’s okay. I want to talk to her, too.”

Joshua moved to leave them, but Lynette reached out. “Before you go, I wanted to apologize again for what I said.”

“It’s all right, Lynette. I know why you did, and I want you to know I meant every word I said on that mountain.”

“I know.” She glanced down at the ground and then met his gaze, blinking as tears threatened to well in her eyes. “I just want you to be happy. Truly, I do.”

He smiled and hugged her, leaning toward her ear to whisper. “And I want that for you.”

Before she could say another word, he released her and went inside to eat with the rest of his family, leaving Lynette and Chloe on the balcony.

“This place is something. I can’t imagine living here. It must be nothing short of an adventure every day.”

“It has its moments.” Lynette chuckled as she moved over to the balcony railing and leaned on the thick metal. “But it is amazing. I can’t think of anywhere I would rather be.”

Chloe stared at Lynette briefly, then mimicked her stance against the railing. “You know, when Joshua first mentioned the trip to me, I thought of nothing but going, and I prayed every day that he would invite me along. It took him a good couple of weeks to work up the nerve to do it, and it wasn’t until after he did that I questioned whether or not I should even go.”

“Because of me?”

“Yes. But not in a bad way, like I didn’t want to meet you. I did. I wanted to meet both you and Henry so much. I’ve heard so much about you, and I suppose I wanted to get your approval.” She laughed as though she thought what she said was funny, and then her smile faded. “But then I also realized how meeting me might hurt you, and I didn’t want to do that.”

“I can understand that. It did hurt. It still does.” Lynette smirked slightly, snorting a short breath. “But, I am a big girl. I will get over it.”

Chloe smiled. “I don’t want to replace Kate because I know no one can. I just want to enjoy this life with this man I met and who I’m falling in love with.”

“And you should enjoy it and him. And he should enjoy his. Ate wouldn’t have wanted him to be alone. She would have wanted him to find love and get married and have a family. I’m not saying that will be with you because I don’t know his thoughts,” she giggled, “But, if it is . . . I will be happy for both of you.”

“Thank you for saying that.” Chloe leaned over, wrapping her arms around Lynette’s shoulders. “I’m so happy I decided to come, and I’m so happy I was able to meet you. I hope we can get to know each other while I’m here.”

Although Lynette felt a stab of pain with the young woman’s words, she also knew the presence of Chloe didn’t negate the depth of Joshua’s love for Kate or void what her passing had left. It couldn’t.

Kate was still as much a part of them as she had ever been, even if she wasn’t there.

And she would stay with them.

Forever and always.

“Of course we can,” Lynette said. “In fact, tomorrow morning, you’re going to help me feed elephant babies, even if you don’t want to.”

“Are you kidding? You had me at elephant babies.”

The two women laughed and turned to head inside to enjoy the dinner. Aside from saying goodbye to her daughter, Lynette knew this would be one of the hardest things she would ever do. But she also knew her daughter wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

THE END