1.25

Kaylee tossed the letters on the bed as she looked out the window. After Ty had realized that the letters were all for her and realized exactly who they were from he had taken Gabe outside. Right now Ty stood in the water with Gabe in his arms. A huge wave was coming up and she saw Ty brace himself. Turning away from the window she smiled slightly when she heard Gabe's high pitched squeal as the water hit them. Her smile faded as she climbed up on the bed.

Wrapping her arms around her legs she stared blankly off into space. The first letter had been postmarked more than fifteen years ago. If she was going to be exact it had been postmarked a few days before her ninth birthday. And they had continued to come, no matter what address or city, up until seven years ago. The last letter was marked a few days before her seventeenth birthday.
Kiki Harris. Her grandmother had been looking for her all these years and Janet had hid the letters away. She would ask why but then, knowing Janet as she did, it wasn't really needed. Janet did whatever she wanted without regard to anyone else. Rubbing her hands over her knees she heaved a sigh and slowly reached for the first envelope.

Hey bugaboo,
Happy birthday! Nine years old! Before I know it you're going to be grown! I hope you're having a great birthday. Eat plenty of cake and ice cream. I wish I could be there but since I can't here's a little something for you. Don't spend it all in one place. Enjoy your day. I'll be thinking about you.

Love,
Nana

Kaylee gently tugged on the twenty dollar bill that had been taped inside the card. Putting it on the bedside table she reached for the next envelope.

Hey bugaboo,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! You're hitting the double digits huh? If I'm not careful you're going to be grown before I know it. Ten years old. I hope you're enjoying your day. I still remember the day you were born. You were so small. I bet you're getting big now huh? Take care and enjoy your birthday to the fullest. Maybe your mom made you her special cake. She always could cook. I love you baby!

Love,
Nana

There was another twenty dollar bill in the card. Kaylee read through all the cards, pulling out money as she went, as she realized that her grandmother had remembered her birthday every year. All those years when Kaylee had forced herself not to cry because she didn't get a birthday cake, let alone a birthday greeting, her grandmother had been remembering. Her hand trembled as she opened the last envelope. There wasn't a card. This time it was a letter.

Hey bugaboo,
Happy seventeenth birthday. I can't believe that your an adult now. Well, at least in my state you're considered an adult. I'm sure your mom still treats you like a baby huh? Don't grow up too fast or hate her because of it. No mother wants to see her children grow up and not need them anymore.
I'm sorry that I never got a chance to see you grow up. I wanted to, don't ever think that I didn't, but every time I was able to travel you two had moved again. Then I had an accident and I haven't be able to travel like I want. Anyways, instead of money I have another gift for you. Your dad always told me that he intended to give you this on your seventeenth birthday. It's his prized guitar. I'm not going to ship it, heavens knows what would happen to it.
Even though he gave up becoming a musician years ago he still strummed on this old guitar and wrote some beautiful music. The last thing he wrote was a song for you. It's called 'Kaylee's Song' oddly enough. He didn't finish it. He said your life wasn't done so how could he finish? He left it with me. It was one of the few things I was able to save before our house caught fire.
Anyways, this will be the last letter I write to you. Since you're an adult now I'll leave the choice up to you whether to contact me. I love you boo. I always have. From the moment you grinned up at me my heart knew what I had been born for. To be your Nana. I hope to hear from you.

Always,
Nana

Kaylee wiped at her tears as she stared down at letters and the cards before her. Some of the letters had whimsical drawings on them which made Kaylee smile. Now she knew where she had gotten that from. She glanced at the nightstand to see what had to amount to over two hundred dollars laying there.
"So, when are we going to see her?"

Grinning Kaylee relaxed at Ty's question. Shaking her head she looked over her shoulder to see him relaxing on the couch in their room. She was surprised to see how dark it had gotten outside.
"What time is it?"
"A little after seven. You've been reading for awhile now. I flicked on the light when I noticed you scrunched over a letter. Gabe is fed and in bed and I put your food in the microwave." He waved at the letters.
"So, was I right? Is that your grandma?"
"Yes," she said softly, getting up off the bed to cuddle against his side. "That's my Nana." She felt him kiss her head.
"So are we going to visit her or what?"
"I have to find her first. I don't even know if she's in the same place or...if she's even still alive."
"Don't think like that. Go eat and then we'll discuss it later."

For the last few weeks Kaylee had been trying to track her grandmother but it seemed as if she had disappeared off the face of the earth. She had called around and no one seemed to know anyone named Kiki Harris. She had sent a letter to her old address but it had been returned since that address was now vacant.
Rubbing her eyes Kaylee typed a few more keywords in the search engine and then tapped her fingers impatiently as it seemed to take forever for the results to come back. She blew out a breath as over thirty pages returned back.
She skimmed over the links to see if anything stuck out for her. When it didn't she tapped her finger impatiently on the mouse. She was startled when the link turned red and another window open.
"Oh no!" She hadn't meant to do that. She started to close the window when a small article in the newspaper caught her eye. Shoving back her chair Kaylee hopped up and raced outside as quickly as she could. Buster barked out a greeting to her as he raced to get the stick that Ty had just thrown.

"Geez, when did he get so big?" she asked absently.
Ty shrugged. "He had a growth spurt a few days ago. I couldn't believe it myself. And who would have known he was part Collie right? Anyways," Ty said with a shrug. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing! Everything is great! I found her Ty!"
"What?" Ty absently tossed the stick that Buster had brought back. He took off like a shot. "You found your grandma? Where is she at?"
"In a city called Utopia."
Ty frowned. "That's only a few towns over from us. If we left now we could be there in a few hours."
Rubbing her arms Kaylee turned and walked slowly back up the porch and sat down on the porch swing.

"What is it?" Ty asked as he placed Gabe on his toy rocker. He waved Kava away and sat down beside Kaylee.
"I don't think she knows about how Janet was. I don't want her to feel bad about how I was raised."
"Kaylee, you can't help that. I feel bad about how you were raised. Any normal person would. But I think...and it's just a guess here...that your grandmother would rather see you alive and well now instead of always wondering what happened to you. Now, tell me what this is really about."
Kaylee sighed. She could never get anything passed Ty. "Besides you and your family the only family I have is Gabe. What am I supposed to do? Just go up to a complete stranger and tell her that I'm her granddaughter?"
"That's EXACTLY what you should do. But...the choice is up to you babe. You can be selfish and scared or you could open yourself up to a woman who has always loved you."
With that said he got up, and taking Gabe, walked back into the house.

Kaylee stretched out on the couch as she thought about what Ty had said. She knew he was still upset. He was playing the piano and the only time he did that was when he needed to work something out. She hadn't even known he knew how to play the piano until his mother had asked him to play one day. She had sat in stunned silence as he had played Mozart effortlessly and then flowed seamlessly into a Coldplay song. His mother had been delighted since she had loved Coldplay.
As she watched she absently noted that Gabe was tapping out his own accompanying beat on his drawing table. She smiled at him as he grinned at her before he yawned loudly. Getting up she put him to bed and crawled into bed herself. Soon after Ty crawled in and curled up behind her. His hand gentle caressed her stomach.
"We got a letter from my parents today," he whispered.
"Yeah? How are they enjoying Italy?"

"Mom said that dad took her back to the place where he first proposed to her. She said the next trip they take is the place where she actually said yes."
Kaylee laughed softly. "So I take it they're enjoying themselves?"
"Yep! Mom said dad is buying her all kinds of clothes which translates into she has his black card. She said to tell you that when she comes back she's raiding your closet. She said she's pretty sure you have some vintage stuff in there that you don't know about."
Kaylee shrugged. "I doubt it. Most of those things are from second hand stores."
He kissed her shoulder and nestled closer. Silence filled the room.

"Ty?"
He grunted and his arm tightened around her as he pressed closer.
"Ty?" she repeated a little louder. She rolled her eyes when he grunted again. She swore that he could go to sleep faster than anyone she knew. "I think I'm going to find her," she whispered.
"Of course you are," he said in a gravelly voice. "Never doubted it. I've already asked Kava to watch Gabe for us tomorrow."
"What?!!"
"Love you babe. G'night."

Ty walked out of the room early the next morning to use the bathroom, Kaylee was hogging the other one, and was half way across the room before he realized that Kava was standing the middle of the living room staring at him.
"Kava! What are you doing here?" he demanded as he felt his face heat in embarrassment. He scurried back toward the bedroom. He looked over his shoulder when he heard the bathroom door open and Kaylee poked her head out. She took in the scene in silence and then...

"Priceless!" she said between giggles. Kava pumped her fist in the air.
"Now I see what all those females are always screaming over when they see Ty on the field. Oh man, if I would have only had a camera! I could have sold those pics to a magazine!"
Ty slammed the door on their laughter.

"How do I look?" Kaylee asked nervously as she pushed at her hair. She watched as Ty stepped back and looked her up and down before he leered at her.
"I'd hit that."
"What?" she squawked, startled. Ty winked at her and she started to laugh all over again. "I don't know," she said when she was finally able to speak, "if that's a compliment or not since I can barely keep any clothes on around you anyways!" She nibbled on her lip before she touched her hair again.
"I'll be back."

Two hours later Ty brushed the back of his hand against her cheek. "You took out the extensions. You just got them redone. And you took out your nose ring."
"I want my grandma to see the real me and as for the nose ring...with the baby I thought I should keep the face jewelry to a minimum. In the next couple of months I'll probably remove all of them."
He nodded in understanding before he bent down and pressed a kiss to her mouth. "You know what I said earlier. About hitting that?"
She grinned. "Yeah?"
"Fifty years from now, when you're all wrinkled up and saggy-"
"Hey!"
"-my favorite hot spot will still be inside of you."
She slapped at his arm. "Dirty pool! You can't get me all hot and bothered right now."
He shrugged and gestured down to where his erection was straining his jeans. "Hey, at least no one can see you're turned on. Let's get a move on before I try and change your mind."

Kaylee was giving Kava some last minute instructions on what Gabe liked and didn't like when she heard the impaient tooting of the car horn. Rolling her eyes she bent down and kissed Gabe.
"Kaylee go bye-bye?"
"Yep. I go bye-bye. But I'll be back okay?"
"'Kay. Love you."
She ruffled his hair. "I love you too," she said softly. She heard the horn again. "I'm COMING," she bellowed before smiling and waving good-bye to Kava. Gabe didn't seem to stress as much about her leaving as he used to. She took that as a good sign.
Hurrying down the sidewalk and yanked open the door to the truck. "You are about rude," she snapped.
"The sooner we leave, the sooner we'll get back." He waggled his eyebrows and she rolled her eyes.
"You are such a pig," she said as she put on her seatbelt. "But you are so right."

Three hours later Ty pulled up to a gas station.

"Kaylee, we're almost there," he said as he tapped his GPS unit. "You can't hold it a little longer?"
"How about you carry a baby, who seems to be content to rest on your bladder, and then ask me about holding it!"
"Fine, fine," he said hastily. "I'm hungry anyways."

"Did you want anything? he asked as he reached for the handle.
"Just to make it to the bathroom without disgracing myself," Kaylee muttered as she picked up speed.
Ty swallowed a chuckle as he watched her waddle away. Dear Lord, she was adorable. And if he had his way she'd be pregnant again. He'd always wanted a big family. Sighing he reached for a soda and before he knew it he had an armload of stuff. He walked up to the register, he found it odd that he hadn't seen any aliens yet (and how odd was it that he thought THAT was odd), and absently heard whispering coming from the left of him.

He turned to see a woman in scrubs creeping her way toward him. Behind her stood a group of women who were all staring at him. He smiled.
"Hello."

"Oh my God! Oh, my God! OhmygodOhmygodOhmygodOhmygodOhmygod! It is you! Do you know who you are?" She shrieked throwing up her hands in excitement and did a little dance. Ty inwardly winced at her shriek but continued to smile at her.
"Hi, how are you?"
"OH MY GAWD! His voice!"
"He's just as hot in person!"
"Hotter!"
The group of women behind the still stuttering lady in front of him were whispering loudly. Ty swallowed a chuckled as he nodded at them. "Ladies."
"Hi Ty!" they said in unison then started to giggle.
"Hi! I'm Jamie. I work at Serenity Cove Hospital."
Ty shook her hand. "Hello Jamie."
Her hand hung in the air between them as she stared at in in amazement before she brought it carefully back to her side.

"What's this?" Kaylee asked as she arrived at the register. She looked around and then shook her head in amusement as the woman in front of Ty placed her hand on her forehead and fanned herself. She leaned forward.
"Girl, I would so hit that. Right?"
"Oh my gawd girl! You and me both. Unfortunately he's married and he's faithful which makes he SO much hotter."
Kaylee glanced at Ty with a soft smile. "I know."
After Ty gave out autographs they climbed back into the car and were on their way.

"Ty, you said we were almost there. What's the problem?" Kaylee asked as they circled around the same neighborhood for the umpteenth time. "I thought you had GPS."
"I also have a wife who keeps nagging me!" Ty growled before taking a deep breath. "The GPS only gave us a general direction since these are apartments. I think those are it."
He stopped the car and they got out. Kaylee's heart clenched as she looked at the crowded apartments.

This was Utopia? The paint was peeling, there was garbage in the small front yard and across the street was a grafitti covered warehouse. Digging in her pocket she pulled out the scrap of paper with the address. Wiping her sweaty palm on her pants she started at the dipliated building in front of her. This one was her grandmother's. The same woman who had sent her money year after year lived here.
"Kaylee?"
Placing a calming hand on her stomach she opened up the fence and started up the stairs.

With every step she took her heartbeat grew faster. Her hand trembled wildly as she lifted it to knock on the door. Swallowing she straightened her shoulders and knocked. After about a millisecond she spun on her heel and started down the stairs.

"I guess no one is home. We can leave now." She looked up to see Ty studying something. Frowning she followed his gaze.

Instantly she knew. Her mouth moved to form a word. It was more of a movement of her mouth than a sound.

"Nana."