Love's Returning Hope (Love's Texas Homecoming Book 2; First Street Church #15)

by Sharon Hughson

  “Bored out of her mind. Hating the dependency.”

  Bailey hadn’t spent much time around Jaz’s parents, but Geraldine Rolle seemed loving and nurturing, and Jaz adored her enough to imprison herself within range of her father’s air of disapproval.

  It was her father Bailey didn’t understand. Why should the man be disappointed in his daughter? Jaz was an amazing athlete, a strong woman in mind and body, and someone who made softball a dance of desire. Maybe Bailey was the only one affected by her determination. He hoped he was the only one tasting the sweetness of her lips.

  “And you’re stir-crazy.” Should he address the elephant in the room? No. He’d wait for her to bring up her dad. Bailey could relate to daddy issues even if his own biological father had been in prison for twenty years.

  “I’m running every morning, but by mid-afternoon it feels like the room is shrinking.” Her sigh dropped a coal in his stomach.

  “Why not take another run in the evenings?”

  “You realize this is Texas, right?”

  He imagined her arching those expressive brows at him. His pulse leapt against his neck. “You could visit Tess.”

  “She’s busy with guests. I’ve been hanging with Elise some. She convinced Tabitha Olson to spell me this afternoon.”

  The preacher’s wife had been reaching out to Tess since before Bailey moved to Austin. If he’d stayed in Sweet Grove, he could hold Jaz’s hand right now and lose himself in the deep waters of her incredible eyes.

  But then again, if they’d had only a long-distance relationship over the past four months, she might have found someone else. Foreboding thrummed in his roiling gut.

  You don’t have to earn love. MaryAnn Travers had told him that often enough for the sentiment to still echo in his mind. Some days he even believed it was the truth, but today, not so much.

  “Maybe I’ll come up this weekend.” Bailey held his breath.

  “I was thinking about coming back to Austin, picking up a few things and checking in at the office.”

  He pushed the smart phone away from his face and exhaled. She hadn’t decided to leave him behind. His heart ballooned against his ribcage.

  “Friday night, late dinner?” His voice sounded like a growl.

  “How about I text when I get there? I’m thinking a DVD and popcorn at my place.”

  They’d spent plenty of Friday nights curled together on the futon in front of her wide screen television. It was his all-time favorite date activity, snuggling and kissing. Heat flushed through him.

  “The next three days are going to drag.”

  “You’re such a flatterer.” Her voice grew husky, and his heart surged for release from his chest. “Sweet dreams, cowboy.”

  That night, her voice echoed through his dreams, making them a little more like the Mexican dinner special than an ice cream sundae.

  * * *

  When the text came around nine on Friday night, Bailey told himself he wasn’t pacing. In his apartment, four strides took him from bed to door. Anything less than ten steps couldn’t be considered pacing.

  His palm slipped across the back of his phone as he flipped it to read the text announcing she’d finally reached her apartment. He shoved the device into his hip pocket, picked up the bag containing kettle corn and Jaz’s favorite bottled drink, and jetted out the door. The steps groaned as he trotted down them.

  Interminable minutes later, Jaz flung opened the door at her place, flashing her beautiful smile. Bailey pulled her against him, and she sagged into his chest. His palm swept over the soft cotton shirt covering her back. She staggered into the apartment, and he closed the door before cupping her face between his hands.

  “I missed you.” Her breath caressed his cheek.

  Bailey rested his forehead on hers and breathed in the scent of oranges and musky perspiration. His chest pulsed, squeezing his heart and lungs. He couldn’t decide if he would faint from lack of oxygen or have a heart attack first.

  She pushed upward and brushed her lips over his. Bailey held his eager response in check, letting his mouth soften and mold to hers. His girl tasted as good as she smelled.

  Too soon, Jaz stepped back. The smile on her freshly-kissed lips put fire in her green eyes. Bailey couldn’t catch his breath for another moment.

  “How’s your mom?”

  “Getting better. The traction should be removed next week.”

  “Must be tough to be tied to a bed.” His neck heated at the alluring picture the words tried to paint in his mind.

  Jaz linked her fingers through his and pulled him toward her futon. The bottles clanked together in his bag, cooling his thoughts.

  “What’d you bring me?”

  Another soft smile chased away the tired lines around her eyes and mouth. Bailey offered her the drinks and kettle corn. She squealed like it was Christmas morning and gave him another quick kiss.

  Soon they snuggled together while the movie played. He didn’t care that his skin burned where they touched, pasting his shirt to his sweaty torso. The fact his back was flushed and damp where it rested against the cushion didn’t faze him.

  With his girl in his arms, all was right with the world.

  5

  Saturday surrealism carried Jaz along while she sorted clothes and straightened up the apartment. How did the place get dirty when no one had been there for a couple weeks? Still, the fragrance of her citrus candle welcomed her home.

  Mid-morning, she and Bailey jogged a half-mile to the UT campus. When she’d moved to Austin, Jaz wanted an apartment close to campus since she’d been helping with the softball team. Now, being there stirred something in her that couldn’t be defined as healthy. The nagging sense of unfulfilled purpose that had dogged her from discharge to Sweet Grove a few months before reached dark tentacles toward the peace she thought she’d found.

  At least running dulled those sensations. After several miles around the track and the campus paths, they stopped at a bench. Jaz rested her heel on the wooden slats and began stretching the major muscles in her legs. Bailey, hands on hips, paced in a circle. She’d become accustomed to seeing him in shorts and t-shirts, but she preferred the Wranglers, button up shirts, and cowboy boots. Her slowing heart rate spiked at the mere thought.

  A pair of guys wearing jeans and hoodies ambled past. One of them backtracked, stopping a few feet away. Jaz glanced up into golden eyes and a face nearly a brown as hers.

  “Ming?”

  “I didn’t expect to see you here, Jazzer.” The smile made his thin features attractive.

  Jaz dropped her foot and rounded the bench. They shook hands, Ming holding on after she’d let go. They’d been in the pre-law program together, and she hadn’t seen him since joining the military seven years ago.

  “Are you a student at UT?” His gaze raked down her, lingering on her exposed calves.

  She shook her head. Why did guys do that? Look at a girl like something to be devoured? “I live nearby, and this is an easy place for a run.”

  Ming glanced toward Bailey, who stretched his quad muscle nearby, glaring at the guys like he’d noticed their devouring perusal, too. Jaz tried to communicate that he should join her without saying anything.

  “What brings you here?” Jaz shifted her weight away from Ming. “Didn’t you graduate years ago?”

  Ming nodded and shuffled closer. “Right on track. Somehow I made it without my genius-grade study buddy.”

  Jaz sidled backward and grabbed the bench with one hand. She stretched her quad, hoping to cover her retreat with normal actions. She glanced toward Bailey, and he dropped his foot and side-stepped closer, but every muscle in his body tensed like a mountain cat read to pounce.

  “I’m on staff, teaching a few of the pre-law classes.” Ming straightened to his full height which barely matched hers. “Planning to get a graduate degree in contract mediation, and I attend classes free if I’m employed here.”

  She nodded, not really interested. Was he b
ragging about his accomplishments? She thought she’d accepted her role as a paralegal, happy to help people without the stress of being responsible for winning court cases.

  Bailey stopped within arm’s reach. Jaz dropped her foot and slid her hand into his. “Bailey, this is Ming. We were in the same pre-law cohort back in the day. Ming, this is my boyfriend.”

  Ming’s eyebrows rose. He scanned Bailey before extending his hand. By the way Ming grimaced during their shake, Jaz guessed Bailey was showing his cowboy strength.

  “What do you do?” Ming rubbed his hand on his hip.

  “Architectural design.” Bailey’s voice rumbled, and shivers dove into Jaz’s stomach. That deep voice.

  “You’re an architect, then? With a firm? Or independent?”

  “A firm.” Bailey gritted his teeth.

  “Nice to see you again,” Jaz said, “but we’ve got to run.” She laughed at her pun, but it sounded false in her ears.

  Her former classmate shook his head. “Did you ever finish law school? I was shocked when you dropped out.” His lips pursed into something that made Jaz think he’d bitten a green persimmon.

  “I’m working with Boldt & Associates.” Her abdomen ached like she’d sprinted on a full stomach. Why not give her job title? Or admit she had no college degree?

  “A small firm. Two brothers, right?”

  Jaz’s fingers tightened in Bailey’s. “Right. Great place to work, but we’re late.” She twisted toward the path they’d finished running. “See you later.”

  Bailey didn’t resist, and soon they left Ming and his friend behind. Bailey slowed from their near jogging pace.

  “Ex-boyfriend?”

  Something in his tone made Jaz stiffen. She glanced at his profile, but his face could have been granite. “No. Nothing more than study partners and friends.”

  Bailey sighed. “You didn’t tell him you’re not a lawyer. Do you wish you were?”

  A riot started in her stomach and made the ache in her side grow. Did she? And since when was she ashamed of her job?

  “Haven’t really thought about going back to school. Lots of other things on my mind lately.”

  Bailey’s thumb rubbed the back of her hand. Tingles raced like a shock treatment through her, revving her pulse again.

  “He thought you were too good for me.” His tone was resigned.

  Jaz stopped, pulling Bailey to a halt a half-step later. Doubt troubled the deep water of his eyes, and the ache moved higher in her chest.

  “He doesn’t even know you.”

  “But he knows you.”

  They stared into each other’s faces for several pounding heartbeats. Was he jealous? Or was this about Bailey’s low self-esteem?

  “He knew me seven years ago. I’m not the same person.” Losing Drew and her military career had certainly changed her. Whatever Ming thought, becoming a lawyer didn’t mean anything. Some of the worst people she knew held that job.

  He dropped her hand, and his jaw tensed. “You don’t have to be a lawyer to impress me.”

  Jaz leaned into him and pecked his cheek. “One of the many reasons I’m with you and not someone like that.” She gestured vaguely toward where they’d met the other men.

  When she took his hand, he didn’t resist. They walked toward the nearby Chipotle hand-in-hand, but a silent question lingered between them.

  * * *

  Sunday came too soon for Jaz who wasn’t in a hurry to return to Sweet Grove. The storefront where Young and Alive Fellowship met was no one’s typical church, but peace rushed through Jaz’s veins upon pushing through the glass doors. Upbeat contemporary music filtered through a speaker overhead, and the air-conditioned air held a hint of warmth.

  As Bailey followed her inside, a couple stepped from a room along the makeshift hallway toward another set of doors into the assembly hall. The man smiled, his gray-flecked hair making him look older than thirty-five. The woman’s face lit up, and she grabbed Jaz into a hug. Her pregnant stomach pressed against Jaz, and the child kicked its protest.

  “Whoa! He’s active today.” Jaz refrained from touching the swollen belly. She wouldn’t want people presuming that way on her.

  Melanie’s hand dropped to her stomach. Her slanted eyelids creased further until the joy-filled brown orbs nearly disappeared. “He missed you.”

  “Nice to see you, Bailey.” Melanie’s husband shook Bailey’s hand.

  When Bailey pulled away, Jaz’s lower back chilled. She’d attended this church years ago, but it was a transitional group with hardly any of the same members. More than half the congregation was between twenty and thirty, though, and the atmosphere was open and inclusive. Exactly the home her wayward spirit needed.

  As they pressed forward, more people greeted them. Jaz enjoyed the small group studies but had chosen to sleep later today, knowing she’d need those extra hours. Since her mother’s accident, her sleeping patterns had been off, plaguing Jaz with aching muscles and relentless wakefulness in Sweet Grove.

  One of the guys who played basketball with Bailey waved them into a row of chairs. They’d barely sat down when his girlfriend raced over. Her face glowed like she’d swallowed a thousand watts of illumination.

  “We’re getting married.” She stretched the final word out and shoved her left hand at Jaz’s face.

  A sparkling diamond solitaire glinted. While Jaz’s heart dove into the floor, she forced her lips into a smile. These two had started dating after Bailey moved to Austin. Maybe it was her own limited experience with the steadfastness of men that made her wonder how they already knew they wanted to spend forever together.

  “Congratulations.” Jaz stood and hugged the younger woman.

  Lord, let this be the right choice for them.

  The negative feelings floated away. God could handle their future. Jaz’s smile relaxed into something genuine.

  In a few moments, the praise band began playing and the worship leader led in prayer. Jaz sang the repetitive words. Melodies flowed around and through her. When they sat for the sermon, she leaned towards Bailey, and his arm rested along the back of her padded seat.

  Lord, I needed this. Help Mom get better. Thank You for being with her.

  Her father’s stern visage intruded on the prayer, and Jaz’s eyelids fluttered. The pastor still spoke in his excited tenor, and a different slide projected on the wall behind him.

  The trial of your faith works patience, she read.

  She sighed. Hadn’t her father been trying her patience for a lifetime? She’d hoped being an adult would change things somehow, that maybe he’d stop foisting his expectations on her. Or at least stop being disappointed in her decisions.

  Lord, You’ll show me if You want me to go back to college, right?

  The delicate web of peace wrapped around her searching heart again.

  She was only in Sweet Grove for a few more weeks. She could endure whatever her father doled out.

  Bailey squeezed her shoulder. She glanced at him and released the last of her worries. One of his eyebrows twitched upward, asking if she was okay.

  Her lips relaxed into a smile. His heart-tugging grin answered.

  Yes—she was home.

  * * *

  By the next Tuesday, the constant city noise and Austin traffic ground through Bailey’s even temper. The city strangled him. He was there to pursue Jaz and his design career. Without the girl, the career and its associated paycheck lost appeal.

  During his evening call with Jaz, Bailey paced like a caged animal. His studio apartment, located above a second-hand clothing store, while cheap and only a few blocks from his office, wasn’t much larger than a zoo exhibit. He’d snagged it months ago because there was no commute and Jaz’s place was five minutes away.

  Except when she was a hundred miles south.

  Bailey scrolled to his recent calls and selected his sister’s mobile number. He’d talked to her on Sunday, but the constant whoosh of automobiles passing outside his single-p
aned windows wasn’t filling the void.

  She answered on the third ring.

  “Everything okay?” Her sweet concern melted him.

  Bailey slumped into the folding chair and leaned his elbows on the square card table. He imagined the scarred walnut table in the ranch dining room and couldn’t remember why he’d thought moving away was a good plan.

  “I miss you.”

  “Huh. You miss Jaz, you mean.”

  Bailey rubbed his forehead over his knuckles. “I miss you. And the ranch.” He swallowed a lump rising in his throat. “And yeah, Jaz. We just talked on the phone.”

  They’d tried video calls, but Bailey didn’t have wireless Internet at his apartment, and his older phone couldn’t keep up with the streaming. Maybe tomorrow he’d stay late at the office and use their WiFi.

  “You’ve got it bad.” Her laugh tinkled across the miles.

  The hardness in his chest eased. He wasn’t going to argue the obvious. “Need some help around the ranch? I’m thinking about asking for a week.”

  “You haven’t worked there long enough to take time off.”

  He hated that she was right but despised the yawning emptiness of days— or nights — without Jaz even more. And he missed the barnyard smell and the feel of a horse moving beneath him. Morning came alive when he watched the sun rise from horseback. Nothing freed coiling tension like galloping across a pasture.

  “So how is the ranch?”

  Tess’s pause told him what he hadn’t wanted to ask outright. On Sunday, she’d raved about the two families who’d spent the weekend and how wonderful it was to bake Mom’s cinnamon rolls for them.

  “I’m running some web specials, but tourist season is about over. I’ll come up with some holiday packages and hope to rent a few rooms during the winter school breaks.”

  When he’d left in the spring, her major private investor had been on site helping with repairs and organizing the business side of the guest ranch. The guy had a major crush on Tess, but sometime during her sold-out summer, the guy took off again.