A Dime a Dozen by Mindy Starns Clark Read Free Book Online Page A

canoes and I was a swimming instructor, and soon our long hours at the lake together began to blossom into a romance. Among other things, Bryan loved to talk about his big family, his five brothers and sisters, and the new home they were building on the lake, not too far from the camp.
    I couldn’t believe I was at that home now, remembering back to the first time Bryan had brought me here to see it one day during our free period. The camp was close enough that we could’ve walked up the dirt road to get here, but there were always people about, and somehow this was just supposed to be between the two of us. We had come by canoe instead.
    The house was merely framed out at that point, a cement foundation with intermittent boards outlining where the walls would go. I could still picture him once we were here, going from “room” to “room,” describing to me how it was going to look. Even at the age of 16, Bryan already knew he wanted to be an architect when he grew up, and he had an enthusiastic way of describing images and ideas as if they were already a reality. At one point, I gazed up at him as he was talking animatedly about post-and-beam construction, and I thought to myself, I’m going to marry him some day .
    And, eventually, I did.
    Now I was back at that house, where Dean and Natalie Webber still lived even though all of their other kids were now grown with families and houses of their own. Nearby Camp Greenbriar was surely the same little unassuming place it had always been. At this time of year, it would be all closed up, but I hoped to be able to stroll around the grounds while I was in town. At the very least, I thought I might be able to borrow the Webbers’ canoe and paddle past.
    “Beautiful night, isn’t it?” Dean asked, startling me from my thoughts.
    “Like no other place on earth,” I replied, grinning.
    I gestured toward the seat next to me and he sat, exhaling slowly as he did.
    “Well, you certainly got quite a homecoming. Leave it to the whole Webber army to welcome you in such a big way.”
    “It was good to see everyone.”
    We talked about specific relatives—who was off at college, who was working where, who had been ill or had gotten married. I was pleased to learn that Bryan’s sister in Ohio was pregnant again, sorry to hear that his aunt had had a stroke.
    Changing the subject, Dean asked how things were going with me, and I told him the truth, that my job kept me very busy, but that I had made some good friends around my new home and that I was happy.
    “We hear from your parents now and then,” he said. “They worry about you.”
    “You probably haven’t talked to them in the last few months,” I said. “I went home for Christmas, and we had real time of healing and bonding. We’ve made great strides. I don’t think they’re so worried anymore.”
    “That’s good to hear.” He paused and then asked gently, “What about coming here? Was this difficult for you?”
    I looked at him, at his kind face, and then I looked away.
    “I was a bit worried,” I said honestly. “But seeing you and Natalie is worth—”
    I couldn’t finish the sentence because I began to choke up, much to my surprise. It wasn’t that I was sad, really, just overwhelmed with emotion. I swallowed hard, glad no one else was near us at the moment to see two tears spill down my cheeks.
    Perhaps not knowing what else to do, Dean reached out and took my hand in his, squeezing it firmly. When he spoke, his voice was also full of emotion.
    “You don’t even need to explain,” he said, letting go of my hand. “We feel the same way too.”
    Fortunately, Bryan’s first cousin, Ken Webber, chose that moment to come over and talk to Dean about a computer issue at the office. Ken was the family computer whiz, the go-to guy for almost any technical issue that came up. Because he did some consulting for MORE, he and I would probably be working together a bit later in the week as I did the research