Chapter 1

1

"You've got to be kidding me, Nina." Stacey Williams had just opened an email attachment on her cell phone and gaped at the flashy colors. "Why is this red?" She was relieved that, even though she was technically on vacation, she'd made everyone run their marketing proposals by her before they went out to their clients.

"Because it looks good," Nina replied, already starting to sound anxious. "I thought it was bright and crisp, really eye-catching, you know?"

"Sure, but McKnight Insurance's main competitor already uses red in every piece of their marketing. We need to make sure McKnight stands out." Stacey rose from the desk in her home office, rubbing her forehead. She hadn't taken vacation time in over two years, skipping out for only a few hours when Vivian had a dance recital, and so far, this week hadn't felt like much of a vacation at all. The thumping music coming from the first floor wasn't helping. She turned toward the stairs.

"But they use that knight as their logo to go along with their name, and the plume in his helmet is red," Nina protested.

"It's called a hackle." Not that the correct terminology mattered here, but she knew her client was particular about those kinds of details. She'd already spent an hour haggling with the graphic design department to make sure the little feather in the knight's helmet was waving in the wind in just the right manner. It was a good thing McKnight Insurance was paying them well, but Stacey knew they had to justify that fee. "If you use red for the background of everything else, the hackle won't stand out. We need to go with the blue we discussed."

Nina let out a long sigh. "I guess I can change it, but couldn't we see what the client thinks first? What if he really likes the red? And what is that noise?"

That was precisely what Stacey was trying to find out as she descended the last stair and looked into the living room where the painters were busy working. Apparently, they'd brought speakers loud enough to use at a music festival. "I said we're using blue."

"What?" Nina asked. "I can't hear you."

Aggravated with how this whole day was going, Stacey yelled, "I said we're using blue !"

The music stopped, and four painters suddenly turned to her. Gary, the one who seemed to be in charge, thumbed over his shoulder at the wall they'd just finished painting a soft shade of sage green. "No one said anything about blue. This was the paint sample Edgar gave me."

"Not you." Stacey pressed her hand to her forehead. "Nina, send me the new files when you finish them, and under no circumstance should you show anything to Mr. McKnight until I've seen them. I'll talk to you later."

Gary chuckled as he realized what had happened. "For a second there, I thought you were about to pound me into these old hardwood floors of yours. I'm glad I'm not the one who chose the wrong color if you're that mad."

"I'm not mad," she countered.

A few of the guys exchanged a look, and Stacey took a breath. "All right, maybe I am a little mad. But I should be able to take some time off work to get my house in order without worrying about coworkers messing everything up. I worked long and hard to get my job."

"I'm sure you did, or you wouldn't have been able to buy a house like this," Gary replied, gesturing around him at the high ceilings, gleaming hardwood floors, and arched doorways.

"The thing is, I need to get back to work. That's actually why I'm down here. I can appreciate that you want music playing, but could you keep it to a minimum? I can hear it all the way up in my office and can't concentrate." She didn't want to sound too irate, but these guys were working in her home.

"No problem. We're clocking out for the day anyway." Gary put the lid on a paint bucket and hammered it shut with a mallet.

"What?" Stacey checked her watch, shocked to see it was already five o'clock.

"Yep," Gary confirmed as he wrapped up his brushes and kicked the paint tarp out of the way. "We'll see you tomorrow, bright and early."

"Right." When they were out the back door and had headed off down the road, Stacey realized just how tired she was. So much for time off! Didn't people go to the beach or the mountains when they took a week off work? It sounded nice, but Stacey knew she just didn't have time. She slumped down onto the couch in the living room, which had been covered with a drop cloth.

She stared at the half-painted wall. The sage green contrasted horribly with the deep mustard yellow that the previous owners had chosen. It wasn't cheap to have the place professionally painted, nor had it been cheap to have all the hardwood restored and the kitchen cabinets refinished. It meant that Stacey had to continue to work all the harder at Martin Marketing, one of the biggest firms on the East Coast. She was providing her children with the lifestyle they deserved, though, one where they had a nice home to bring their friends to and a big backyard to play in.

"And one with a big green stain on the ceiling," she muttered as she leaned back on the sofa and looked up. Someone had gotten sloppy with the sage paint and left a splotch on the freshly painted cream ceiling. Stacey stared at it for a minute, gritting her teeth. How could people be so careless? She would never get away with a mistake like that at work. In fact, she'd seen people get fired for lesser offenses.

She checked her watch again. Stacey had made the mistake of getting a fitness tracker, even though she hardly had time to work out. It showed that her heart rate was steadily ticking upward—annoying thing. Todd would be dropping the kids off soon. Then, it would be time for a homemade dinner, baths, and a few snuggles before bedtime. She'd have to order a new pair of dance shoes for Vivian and schedule a haircut for Elijah, who seemed to go from neat and trim to full-on caveman in a matter of a week. Oh, and she needed them to finalize the paint colors for their rooms and pick out new bedding.

Despite the growing list in her mind, Stacey couldn't stop staring at that green spot on the ceiling. "The painters will get it tomorrow," she told herself as she went into the kitchen to check the freezer and see what she could throw together once the kids got home. She knew Todd fed them nothing but fast food and chips, so she'd have to find something to balance it out. But as she crumbled tofu into a skillet, she couldn't stop thinking about that stupid green spot.

Stacey marched back into the living room and glared at it. It was just a bit of paint. It shouldn't matter, yet she knew she wouldn't get a damn thing done until it was gone. It was more offensive than the hideous yellow still waiting to be covered.

Well, fine. She was a capable woman. Gary had left his ladder there, and she moved it directly under the irritating green spot. Stacey checked the paint colors on the tops of the buckets and found the creamy color she'd chosen for the ceiling. Grabbing a flathead screwdriver, she stuck it under the lid and began prying it up. It wasn't working. She adjusted her grip and tried again, wondering how the hell these burly guys managed to shut the damn things so tight. With a final pop, the lid jumped off the bucket and landed on the floor. Paint side down.

"Seriously?" Stacey carefully lifted it, wondering just how much damage she'd done. Only a tiny dot of cream stained the deep honey of the hardwood since most of the liquid on the underside of the lid had already dried. Well, at least one thing was going her way.

She allowed herself a small moment of satisfaction as she found a clean brush and dipped it into the paint. There was something pleasing about it, a visual and tactile feeling she hadn't stopped to experience in a long time. Life was too busy for that. Swiping it on the edge of the bucket, she headed up the ladder.

When she reached the top, Stacey realized she wasn't as close to that section of the ceiling as she thought. No problem. She reached out, swiping the dreamy cream over the green and trying not to be annoyed at her new paint color just because it was in the wrong place.

The ladder wobbled beneath her. Stacey braced her feet, getting it straight again. She'd have to be more careful, but she was almost done. She reached out for one last swipe with the brush, and the ladder tilted so softly under her that she didn't realize what was happening.

Until she found herself plummeting toward the floor. No! No! No! her mind cried out as her precious hardwood floor came barreling toward her. Her heart clenched. Her arms flailed. Her stomach clutched around her spine. A crack sounded through her brain and shuddered down her body as the world disappeared around her.

Stacey slowly opened her eyes. Her body felt strange as she pushed herself up off the floor. Her head spun as she got to her feet, but she was all right. That was a close one. The ladder was on its side, and as she moved toward it, her foot missed the floor.

Blinking, Stacey looked down. Her feet had left the floor. The stunning hardwood she'd been so proud of was drifting further and further away as she floated up toward the very ceiling she'd been trying to paint. She studied the pitiful, sprawled form on the floor beneath her and realized it was her . How could that be?

Something bright shone above her, but the ceiling was no longer there when she looked up. Warmth spread through her as Stacey felt an overwhelming sense of unconditional love radiating from that brightness. Where was it coming from? For once, her mind was calm. She didn't understand, but she didn't need to. She let herself continue to rise, leaving everything else behind.

The glorious light began to shift, coalescing into a grassy green lawn with wildflowers swaying in the breeze. A fluffy white dog galloped up to her, his eyes bright and his tongue lolling.

"Tricky?" Stacey hadn't seen Tricky in years, not since she was a little girl. They used to play outside for hours, and her mind stumbled. Wasn't Tricky gone?

The dog wagged his tail and stomped his paws before turning back the way he'd come, and then he returned to Stacey to repeat the little show.

"All right, boy. I'll come with you. Is our fort still there?"

But Tricky didn't lead her to the makeshift fort Stacey had created all those years ago by throwing a blanket over the slide at the end of the swing set. He trotted happily in front of her until he was swirling around the legs of a man, tall and handsome with deep green eyes and a wide smile. He spread his arms out wide. "Come here, Gumdrop."

"Daddy?" Stacey fell into his arms, tears slipping from her eyes as she felt his embrace. It'd been so long, and she'd missed him so much. A cloudy fog had settled over her mind, and she still didn't quite understand what was happening. "Where have you been?"

"Here." He swept one arm out wide to encompass the parklike surroundings of green trees and brilliant flowers.

"It's beautiful." She moved back from her father just enough to bend down and touch the petals of a bright pink peony. It looked just like the ones that grew outside her first apartment.

"Yes, it is," her father agreed. "It always is, and the flowers bloom all the time."

"I like it." Stacey's body felt so good and relaxed. Her usual tension knots had vanished from her shoulders, and she couldn't think of anything she needed to do other than exist. "A lot."

"There's nothing more I'd like than to have you here with me," he replied, taking her hand, "but you've come too early. "

"What? What do you mean?" Her father was there, and so was Tricky. Time didn't seem like it mattered at all.

"There are people who rely on you, people who need you more than anything. Some you know, and some you have yet to meet. You might be happy here, but they'd be lost without you." His brows scrunched with sympathy, the way they used to when she went to him with a scraped knee or a broken heart.

Stacey immediately thought of her children. Vivian was always so bright and excitable. Elijah was quieter and incredibly smart. Then there was her mother. The two of them had been so close over the recent years. Her heart suddenly yearned for those who weren't there with her, and she understood. "I have to go back."

"You do," he confirmed, "but it was so wonderful to see you."

"You too, Dad. Will I see you again?" She hugged him, pulling him close and inhaling the scent of his cologne. She missed him so much, and though she couldn't quite put her thoughts in order, she knew she was about to miss him again.

"Eventually," he promised. "I've got something for you before you go." He held out his hand, and in his palm sat a small statue of a black bear. It sat up strong on its haunches with its nose in the air, looking up toward something. The glaze was glossy and smooth, and the soft eyes that'd been set into it were perfect. As she gazed at the bear, the feeling of unconditional love surrounding her blossomed in her heart, radiating in all directions.

"What…what's this?" Stacey reached out her hand to grasp it but missed.

"Don't worry, Gumdrop. You'll meet him again soon enough."

"What?" She tried again, but her father's hand was growing further and further away. Something was dragging her backward. Stacey cried and reached out, but her father waved goodbye. Wind rushed past her ears as she fell, tumbling down for an eternity. The entire weight of her existence landed on her when she hit the bottom.

A steady beeping sounded in her ears. She wanted someone to turn it off but couldn't make her lips or tongue work in order to ask. Pain washed over her, shooting through every bone in her body and pulsing in her skull. It turned her stomach. Bright light still washed over her, but it wasn't the soft, gentle glow she'd experienced a few moments earlier. It was a harsh illumination that made her squint. She opened her eyes to see what it was, knowing Tricky was no longer there with her. Neither was her father.

"Mommy!" Two little arms wrapped around her.

Someone elbowed her on the other side, followed by more arms and hands. "Mommy's awake!"

"Nurse! Nurse!" A familiar voice called, and then her mother's face appeared before her. "Stacey! Oh, honey. I'm so glad you're back with us."

Me, too. She couldn't say it, not out loud, but when she looked down and saw both of her children clinging to her, she knew she meant it.

The nurse rushed in, checking her vitals and testing her reactions. Stacey lay there and went through the motions as best she could, but her eyes were on her mother and two children, where they'd retreated to the corner of the room to stay out of the nurse's way. Vivian had tears clinging to her long lashes. Elijah's little frown was so deep it looked like it might be permanent. They needed her so badly.

At that moment, she knew everything had to change.