AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter One
Thesunwaswarmas it peeked through the billowing white clouds that drifted across the sky. Children laughed and played at Sugarcreek Park, racing between the playground equipment in search of fun. The sidewalks were laid out in a figure-eight pattern, giving easy access to all the grassy areas and both parking lots at either end of the park. Couples had spread blankets out to picnic near the pond or by the pink and white flowering azalea bushes, lost in their own world of love. The sight always managed to make Caleb’s heart ache as memories of times with his wife filled him with grief. Times he couldn’t get back with Lauren buried in Dover’s cemetery.
Caleb continually kept watch over the visitors coming and going from the park. One couldn’t be too careful in protecting your children. The small town was safe enough, but parenting came with a huge set of responsibilities. One of which was keeping their kids out of the emergency room, or any other number of worse scenarios possible.
Accidents happened and in a split second, life could change for the worse. A worse Caleb knew all too well after seeing his wife thrown from a horse. Lauren’s final request was for his promise to love and protect their daughter, and then the love of his life had died in his arms. Carrying her body back to town had been the longest horseback ride of his life.
And the last.
Eighteen months had passed since that horrific day. Time in which Caleb found himself immersed in learning how to be a single parent to his young daughter and failing miserably in the beginning. Joelle was full of life and always looking for adventure, a trait she got from her mother. The difficulty came in setting up parameters to protect her, and yet still let her be a child and have fun. His rules might not win him any father-of-the-year points, but they would keep his daughter out of harm’s way, at least to the best of his abilities.
“Push me higher, Daddy,” Joelle called out. His daughter’s vocabulary and ability to communicate was well beyond her age, but then having your father as your constant companion would have that effect. Caleb had the option of sending her to pre-school last year but chose to keep her at home. Whether for her sake or his, he wasn’t sure. Maybe a little bit of both. Unfortunately, with Joelle’s unexpected maturity came another trait Caleb wasn’t fond of in the least. Joelle had grown fearless…something that left him reeling as he tried to control his daughter’s thrill to push the limits.
“You’re already going plenty high enough on the swing,” Caleb said, giving the seat another small push forward.
“No, it’s not. I want to go higher like the other kids,” Joelle whined, twisting in the seat to look at him, a frown marring her pixie face.
“We’ve had this discussion before. We do this my way, or we go home. No complaining. Daddy loves you and it’s my job to keep you safe.” Caleb’s heart pounded in his chest as he pictured the image of Joelle coming out of the swing and catapulting toward the ground. It was the what-if scenarios that played out in his head that dictated what his daughter could do and couldn’t do. Yes, to the merry-go-round…if they went slow. No, to the teeter totter…ever. There was nothing safe about bouncing up and down with no restraints. Yes, to the slides…if he was close at hand.
Joelle was his everything in life now that he had lost Lauren, and his tolerance for anything dangerous was low.
As in zero.
“I’m safe, Daddy. I’m a big girl now. I’m almost six,” she said, obviously unwilling to accept his decision at face value.
The sky darkened and Caleb was surprised to discover ominous clouds had rolled in, fully blotting out the sun. This morning they had grocery shopping and playtime at the park on the to-do list, but now, by the looks of things, they might have to go to Plan B. The rain-out plan.
“Almost five and half is more like it, and that’s pushing it. How about we discuss this later, because right now, it looks like a storm is coming. We should get home, so we don’t get caught in the rain.” This morning the sky had promised a beautiful day and Caleb had skipped checking the weather report. A mistake he vowed not to make again.
“But I want to stay and play. It’s not raining yet.” Her whining was reaching a level that would soon result in tears.
Caleb stopped the swing and unhooked the harness while holding Joelle in place with the other hand. “If we go now, we won’t get wet and then I don’t have to worry about you catching a cold.”
His daughter slid out of the red seat, using the rope to stay upright. “There’s nothing to do at home and I want to stay here.” Hands on hips, her pouty face turned upward, Joelle was determined to have her way.
“There’s lots to do. We can play games, draw, paint, color, read, or watch a movie,” he said as they started down the sidewalk that led to the parking lot.
“We always do those things.”
They were creative activities that suited both fun and learning, and they were items that would remain on their to-do list until Joelle went to kindergarten this fall. That is, if Caleb didn’t decide to home school his daughter. Letting her venture out away from home and without him scared the dickens out of him. Full-time parenting for Caleb had been anything but successful in the early months. Between dealing with his grief and learning Joelle’s routines and needs, there simply hadn’t been enough time in a day to do everything.
Lucky for him, his Uncle Bill had been willing to step in and run Bigsby’s Five & Dime. Caleb inherited the store from his father, who had inherited it from his father…Bigsby Duncan. Bill had been a lifesaver, his commitment to the store allowing Caleb the ability to stay home with Joelle.
“Well, maybe we can make something special for dinner tonight. Like grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup…your favorites,” Caleb said, glancing down at his daughter only to discover she was no longer walking beside him.
Caleb froze, his heart pounding in his chest as he searched the area. Joelle had been walking beside him a minute ago and couldn’t have gone far. Terror struck him as he remembered the dangerous attraction of the pond. It wasn’t deep, but there was plenty enough for a child to drown. And then there was the flock of Canada geese that would bite if she got too close.
Seconds later, he spotted Joelle running toward the pond. “Joelle, stop,” he hollered, moving as fast as he could to catch up with his daughter.
Although keeping his attention on Joelle, he couldn’t help but notice the blonde-haired woman throwing a ball to play fetch with her dog. To his relief, Joelle stopped running a safe distance from the pond. She picked up the dog’s ball and ran toward the water.
“Stop, Joelle,” he shouted, closing the distance between them. No good ever came from dwelling on the past, and this time it had given his head-strong daughter the chance to chase after her own kind of fun.
Joelle tossed the ball into the pond and the dog lunged forward after it, then swam a few feet from shore to retrieve the ball.
“You know better than to run off like that,” he said, taking his daughter by the hand and leading her away from the water’s edge.
“I wanted to throw the ball for the doggy like the lady did. Did you see how good I throwed it, Daddy?”
