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“Well, I guess I’d better see if Gabe’s home yet,” Mom said, glancing at her watch. “I think he said he’s going to be cooking something special on the grill tonight since it’s been kind of a long day.”
Ready to head toward the door, Mom suddenly approached Lex, giving him a quick hug.
Once Mom was gone, Amy grinned at Lex because he hadn’t really realized that he’d hugged Mom back.
Distracted while studying his new computer, she could see the longing in his eyes. “Amy? Remember you said that there was something that Izzy did for you that helped a lot when you were learning how to read?”
“Want to start now?” Amy asked.
“Why not?” He answered.
“I’ll be right back,” she replied, heading towards the door.
Rushing downstairs to Dad’s library, where there were wall to wall bookshelves stuffed with tons of books of all ages, shapes, and sizes, she knocked, doublechecking to be sure he wasn’t there. Approaching the corner shelves, she found the books that she was looking for and grinned, glancing at the fireplace.
“Why not?” she muttered, approaching the hearth, reaching for the hidden latch beneath the mantle.
The paneling door beside the fireplace sprang open, and Amy stepped inside, closing the door behind her before traveling along the breezeway and up the winding staircase. She passed several doors on her way toward the other side of the house.
And then she knocked.
“Come in,” Lex called out.
She smiled because he definitely sounded puzzled.
Amy lifted the latch at the top of the door, gently moving the swivel door that was hidden behind the built-in corner shelving. When Mom had been arranging the lighting on the shelving, she’d been sure that the plug in wouldn’t interfere with the hinges.
Looking at her in obvious amazement, Lex began laughing. “I forgot all about the hidden passageways you told us about. I can’t wait to look around. Izzy hasn’t shown those passages to Zane yet, has she?”
“I don’t think so,” Amy replied, smiling. “We’ll check them out later. It’s getting kind of late and we’ll probably be eating in an hour or so.”
“Okay,” Lex replied. “What have you got there?”
When Amy held up the picture book ofThe Night Before Christmas, Lex snorted. “Christmas. I should have figured.”
“Let’s sit together on that window seat over there. With that memory of yours, you should be able to read the whole book to Caleb on Christmas Eve.” She gave him a toothy grin. “And with your help, maybe I’ll be able to play a Christmas song on the piano by then.”
Lex barked out a laugh.
Chapter Twenty
Life had never been so good, Lex decided. Sure, he was definitely learning how to read, but there was still so much that he couldn’t do and it didn’t seem to matter to Gabe and Lucy. There were never any harsh words, only support, and there wasn’t anything that he wasn’t willing to do for these people the more that he got to know them.
For the first time in his life, Lex knew what it was like to feel loved. And they shared their love equally with every kid in the family. None of them felt unwanted, not even for a moment.
He was finally talking to the psychiatrist every couple weeks, and it wasn’t nearly as bad as Lex had thought it would be. After Zane and Caleb had gone along with him for their first visit about a month after arriving in Crystal Rock, the psychiatrist had wanted to spend as much time as she could with Zane before he went off on tour. Caleb had come next, but Lucy and Gabe had gone along for the first few office visits before they’d switched online like Lex, who talked with her for about fifteen minutes every week. Since Lex’s memories seemed to be blocked, Dr. Wynters had Lex on standby in case any sudden breakthroughs were made.
Harvest time was actually fun, although he moaned and groaned like everyone else seemed to do. There were some college kids that helped. Apparently, Gabe was head of the Horticulture Department, which Lex should have figured from the start. But he’d never understood just how big the setup here for the winery was. Gabe knew pretty much everything there was to know because he’d grown up in the business. Apparently, after losing his parents at a very young age, a young and rebellious Gabe had gone to live with his aunt and uncle, so he knew what it was like to feel displaced.
When they went out in public as a family, Gabe introduced the three of them as his nephews, which they were in the process of adopting.
Lex noticed that a lot of people looked at Gabe and Lucy like they were nuts.
Especially Gabe’s mother-in-law.
One time, when they were having a family dinner at the Dragonfly Pointe Inn, Gabe must have noticed something about the expression on Lex’s face when he heard some whispers, definitely negative, coming from that side of the table.
“See? What did I tell you.” Gabe winked. “She’s got it in for me alright.”
