Summer's Promise. Irene Brand

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      David couldn’t think of any subject except what he’d come to tell Summer, and how that news was going to burst the bubble she’d built around herself in New York. They’d already covered the weather, so David finally said, “Looks like you’ve adjusted to city life.”

      “There really wasn’t much adjustment to make. I’ve always liked to be alone, and it’s easy to lose oneself in a big city.”

      She served him a slice of cheesecake, but didn’t take any herself.

      “We’re different in that way,” he said. “I want lots of people around me.”

      “I learned to find happiness in my own thoughts and company when I was a child. I’m only a year older than Autumn, and she’s prettier and more friendly than I am, so she got most of the attention.”

      Not a hint of jealousy in the statement, David noted, as if the favoritism to her sister hadn’t been a problem.

      “Don’t you ever get lonely?” David asked. “I like people.”

      “I don’t dislike people, but I can be happy alone.”

      She stood up and said, “May I get you anything else to eat? More cheesecake?”

      “No, thanks. I enjoyed the food. And the company,” he added with a wide smile. David knew she would be unhappy very soon, and he hoped a little levity might cushion the blow. Summer’s eyes were wary, and she didn’t return his smile.

      After she loaded the dishwasher, Summer refilled David’s iced-tea glass and carried it to the coffee table. He sat on the couch and motioned for Summer to sit beside him as he picked up the briefcase and opened it. She perched on the couch, several inches from his side, resembling a fledgling about to leave its nest.

      Expelling a deep breath, he said, “I got in touch with the supervisor of the school where Bert and Spring worked, and she found their wills. She mailed them to me, and I was so surprised at the contents that I couldn’t think straight for a couple of days. I started to phone you several times, but decided this wasn’t the kind of situation to discuss over the telephone, so I booked a flight to New York.”

      He took two sheets of paper from a legal envelope and handed them to Summer. “This is Spring’s will. Since she survived Bert, her will takes precedence, but the requests are identical to Bert’s. You’d better read it for yourself.”

      Summer held the document a few minutes before she unfolded it. David watched her compassionately, wondering what her reaction would be.

      Summer waded through the first few paragraphs of the handwritten document, and since this was the only last will and testament she’d ever read, the wording seemed rather archaic.

      I, Spring Weaver Brown, a citizen and resident of Madison County, North Carolina, being of sound and disposing mind, do make, publish and declare this to be my last will and testament, hereby revoking all other wills made by me at any time.

      The will authorized the executor to pay all debts, then Spring bequeathed all of her estate, both real and personal, to her husband, Bert Brown, also named as her executor. Then the document further specified:

      Should my husband predecease me, or die simultaneously with me, I hereby nominate my brother-in-law, David Brown, to be the executor of my estate, and in the event he will not or cannot serve, I hereby nominate my father, Landon Weaver, to serve in that capacity.

      Should my husband predecease me, I hereby bequeath the care of my two children, Nicole and Timothy, into the joint guardianship of my sister, Summer Weaver, and my brother-in-law, David Brown. In the event that one of them will not or cannot serve, then I ask that the other one assume custody of my children. I request that all of my assets be placed in a trust fund to pass to the children, share and share alike, upon Timothy’s twenty-first birthday.

      I further request that my sister, Summer Weaver, and my brother-in-law, David Brown, assume the leadership of The Crossroads, the school my husband and I established in North Carolina, and that they rear our children in that environment.

      “Oh, no!” Summer muttered. In her wildest imagination, she’d never expected David to be appointed coguardian of the children. She broke out in a cold sweat, and the room swayed around her. When she rallied, David had his arm around her shoulders, supporting her and wiping her face with a cold, damp cloth. It seemed as if a giant hand had descended upon her chest, and she gasped for breath.

      “Did I faint?” she muttered.

      “Almost,” David said.

      “I’ve never passed out before. Mother taught us that only weaklings fainted—we wouldn’t have dared faint around her.”

      “You had a jolt that would make anyone black out,” David sympathized, and recalling the extremity of Spring’s request, Summer straightened up quickly.

      “Is that paper binding? We don’t have to do what they asked, do we?”

      “No, because I doubt these documents are legal. I’m sure no attorney would have drawn up wills like this.” He took a deep breath and worry lines formed around his eyes. “I haven’t thought about anything else for three days, and I’ve concluded that Bert and Spring discussed what would happen to Timmy and Nicole if something should happen to them. Perhaps they felt compelled to make some provision for their children before they left on that trip.”

      “Maybe they’d already discussed asking us to be guardians or godparents.”

      “That’s what I think, too, and the accident occurred before they got our consent.”

      “Would you have agreed to their requests if you’d been asked?”

      “I don’t think so,” he said slowly.

      “So you won’t do what they’ve asked you to?”

      “I didn’t say that. If they’d asked me in advance, I might have refused, but now that they’re gone, it’s a different matter.”

      Summer stood, walked to the window and looked out over a small garden situated in the midst of the apartment complex. Several adults sat on benches watching the splashing fountain, a few children played miniature golf, and one young mother strolled along a path, holding her son’s hand.

      If she didn’t keep her promise, who would hold Timmy’s hand?

      “What’ll happen to Timmy and Nicole if we refuse to take care of them? There’s no provision for that.”

      “Since we weren’t consulted about their requests, it’s my opinion that if we refuse, other guardians can be appointed by the court. I haven’t looked into it. I didn’t want to discuss their wills with anyone until I talked to you.”

      Should she tell David that Spring had asked her to take Timmy and Nicole? No one except Spring had heard her agree to do it. Perhaps other family members would be more suited to look after Spring’s kids. As inexperienced as she was, if she assumed the care of two children, they’d be unhappy and she would be miserable. No one need ever know that, in a weak moment, she’d promised Spring.

      Suddenly Summer’s thoughts reverted to the night Spring had died, when she’d had the overpowering СКАЧАТЬ