by T. K. Chapin
The meeting had taken one day instead of two, and Brian took it upon himself to return home early to surprise his wife and Conrad with the great news of being picked up by the small chain of pet stores. When he pulled into the driveway and saw Conrad’s car parked out front, he thought nothing of it, thinking he was busy working in the garage.
What followed would be the most difficult experience of Brian’s life. Instead of turning away from God, he turned more toward God than ever. Melissa ended up leaving him and marrying Conrad the year following their divorce. Conrad was willing to be bought out of his share in the company and went on to work as a restaurant supply consultant.
Hurt by what the two of them had done, Brian dedicated himself to God and the operations of the business, swearing off women and relationships from that point moving forward.
Chapter 5
On a cold morning in early December, Courtney pulled up behind an unfamiliar car in the roundabout gravel driveway at Brian’s house. It was a black SUV. Peering through her windshield as she shut the car off, she saw a man standing and talking to Brian at the doorway. Brian didn’t look pleased to be in the conversation with the individual.
“Momma.” Blaze’s voice lifted from the back seat.
“Auntie.” Her attempts to correct Blaze and Todd on calling her Mom didn’t seem to prevent the occasional slip-ups. They both regularly called her it, though she resolved that it was just a natural part of her caring for them. Her sister feared the boys forgetting who she was, and that was the furthest desire from Courtney’s mind, so she made sure to correct them each time it happened. She only had a little over a month left before Taylor would be coming back into their lives, and they needed to know their real mother was her, not Courtney. While she loved them both to pieces, she was counting the days they would be back in Taylor’s care.
Unbuckling the kids from their car seats, she traveled up the light snow-dusted gravel driveway toward the steps, passing the stranger as they did. He smiled and nodded but said nothing on his way to his vehicle.
Coming up the steps, Courtney saw the soured look on Brian’s face and glanced toward the SUV once more.
“Solicitor?”
“No. My ex-wife’s husband, Conrad.”
“You don’t like him, I take it?”
Forcing a smile, he shook his head. “I’ve been trying to pray that root of bitterness out from my heart for a while now. Come on inside.”
As she shut the door behind her inside the foyer, the kids ran off toward the playroom. Courtney turned toward Brian. “Want to talk about it?”
“I’m okay. Hey. My daughter is here today. Your boys should be good with her. Right?”
Raising her eyebrows as she opened the coat closet and hung up her coat, she glanced over her shoulder at him. “Yes. Why? You need me for something?”
“Yes. I rented a trailer, and I need help loading it with some old equipment from one of the garages. It’s stuff from when we first started the business. Just need to get it hauled off.”
She shrugged. “I don’t know how much help I’ll be, but I’ll try to help!”
“Sounds good. Let me introduce you and the boys to my daughter, and then give me fifteen minutes or so to finish up a Costco display mockup I’m working on and I’ll meet you out at the garages.”
He called for Lucy and she came into the foyer from the kitchen.
“Yes, Dad?” Her eyes went immediately to Courtney. “Who’s this? The woman you hired?”
Adjusting her footing, Courtney felt uneasy by the look Lucy flashed her direction.
“Yes, this is Courtney. Courtney, this is my daughter, Lucy.”
They shook hands.
“Courtney’s two boys I told you about are down in the last room on the left.”
“Okay . . .” Lucy shrugged, a puzzled look on her face.
“Why are you acting like that? Come here for a moment.” Brian took his daughter into the kitchen out of earshot from Courtney. More unsettling waves rose within Courtney as she stood waiting for the two of them. Why didn’t his daughter like her? Could Lucy somehow detect Courtney’s affections toward Brian? She tried to push all of her thoughts away from the matter and focus on the fact that she was an employee, even though her heart was gravitating toward something more.
A moment later, the two of them returned.
Lucy apologized. “I’m sorry I was rude before. I didn’t mean to be. Can I meet your boys?”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
Brian lightly touched Courtney’s arm. “I’ll catch up with you out at the garage in a little bit.”
“Okay.”
Walking with Lucy, Courtney attempted to make small talk with her. “How’s school? You excited for winter break coming up?”
“It’s fine. Yes.” Lucy stopped in the hallway before they made it to the office. Turning, she looked down the hallway, appearing to make sure her father wasn’t around, then looked back at Courtney. “Listen, I love my dad and I don’t want him to get hurt. You seem like a nice lady and all, but he’s really sweet and unavailable for dating.”
Shaking her head, Courtney smiled. “I just work for your dad.”
Lucy looked at the floor for a moment, then back at her. “I saw the way he looked at you. It was just like how he used to look at Mom when they were still married. I don’t remember lots from when I was younger, but I remember that.”
Courtney’s heart melted at hearing the revelation. “Oh?”
Just then, the boys came out into the hallway. Todd was jumping up and down as he pointed toward the open office doorway. “Come look at this car go really fast on the floor!”
“Excuse me.” Courtney took the opportunity to slip away from the conversation with Brian’s daughter.
After introductions with the boys and Lucy, Courtney found her way outside to the open garage, one of three, and the trailer on the far western side of the property. The cold winter air was crisp. The day’s weather forecast called for snow later that morning that was supposed to stretch into part of the afternoon. Arriving inside the garage, she saw stacks of random kitchen equipment, ovens, microwaves, and stove tops all stacked in a corner of the open bay. There was also a large pile of mixing bowls, pots and pans, and random odds and ends.
Courtney stood for a few minutes waiting, then caught sight of a door connected to the next garage bay. Curious, she walked over to the door and turned the knob. It was unlocked. She went in and flipped on the light switch.
Boxes filled the floor space. One was tipped over and a photograph was sitting on the floor. She picked it up and looked at it. It was a photograph of Brian and his ex-wife and their daughter from years ago. They were standing in front of a far smaller house than the one Brian lived in. Peering at Brian’s face, she saw something she didn’t see much of—happiness.
“Got bored?” Brian’s voice startled her.
Whipping around, she smiled and handed him the photograph. “It was on the floor by that tipped over box.”
“Ahh.” He glanced at the photograph and then went over to the box and set it upright. Tossing it into the box, he closed it. “That was the house Melissa and I moved into after we sold our nice one. We moved so we had the funds to start the business.” He laughed, shaking his head. “Months later, she cheated on me with my business partner and then left me for him.”
Courtney’s heart ached in the moment as the puzzle pieces were coming together in her mind. “Conrad.”
Walking over to the door, he motioned with a hand. “Let’s get to work. We have a lot to do today.”
After dropping off the equipment at a Salvation Army thrift store, Brian stopped and got hot cocoas for the children and coffee for himself and Courtney. When he arrived back at the house, he was pleasantly surprised to find his daughter reading to the boys in the living room on the couch. It was refreshing to see her not on her cell phone, scrolling through social media.
“Come into the kitchen. I have a surprise
for you all.”
Lucy jumped up, along with the boys from the couch, and they all went into the kitchen.
“Oh, sweet! I was just thinking about some hot cocoa this morning!” Lucy grabbed two cups and helped get the boys situated at the kitchen island on stools. Then she sat with them and grabbed her own cup. It pleased his heart to see his daughter so friendly and helpful with the boys.
Taking his and Courtney’s coffee in his hands, he traveled down the hallway to Courtney’s office. As he walked in, she lifted her gaze and turned toward him, smiling as her eyes fell on the coffees.
“Coffees?”
“Yes. A token of my gratitude for your help this morning with the equipment.” He walked over and handed her the coffee.
She laughed lightly and took a sip. Peering at him, she shook her head. “You pay me. I thought that was a token of gratitude.”
He laughed. “I guess I do pay you, but thanks, anyway. Moving kitchen equipment was never part of the job description.”
Courtney stood up and nodded. “True, but I didn’t mind. It was nice.”
Walking over to the windows overlooking the back yard, she looked out at the falling snow. “I love snow when it first shows up. It’s so beautiful as it blankets everything.”
Without control, Brian thought in his heart, you’re beautiful. Brian’s affections for Courtney were growing a little more every day, but he was her employer. Plus, he didn’t want to get himself tangled up in a relationship. He had been hurt before by getting his heart involved, and he couldn’t risk the pain of it again. Yet, he couldn’t stop from feeling more for this woman. She worked hard, made his life easier, had a beautiful and godly perspective, and most of all, she had a heart he admired.
Joining her at the window, he looked out as the snow fell from the sky and covered every part of the yard.
Glancing at him, she raised an eyebrow. “Did you know each snowflake is unique?”
“Yes, I’ve heard that before.” He took a deep drink of his coffee. As he stood by her side and peered out to the back yard, his heart radiated warmth and everything felt right in that moment. He could smell the perfume she was wearing. It was the same smell he caught a whiff of earlier that morning and every day he saw her. It was quickly becoming a smell that made him feel more relaxed, more comfortable, more at ease. It had only been a month since she entered his life, but she was quickly an addiction and he only wanted more of her. He pushed against the desires and took a step back from the window and her. “I’d better get back to work.”
He turned and started to leave the office. As he made it to the door to leave, Courtney called out to him.
“Would you mind if I took a break and made salt dough ornaments with all the kids?”
Raising an eyebrow, he turned back toward her. “That’s a good idea.” He paused, his desire to be near her growing in intensity. “Could I join you?”
Her soft pink lips curled up on both sides. “I’d like that.”
The kids were soon back to reading with Lucy in the living room as Brian and Courtney made the salt dough for the ornaments. Seeing Courtney grow weary of kneading the dough, he came over and tried to take over. When she resisted, he couldn’t help but place his hands atop hers, thinking she would move. She didn’t. Instead, she smiled and flashed a look at him that melted the coldest part of his heart. He kept his eyes locked on her eyes. “I’ll take it from here.”
She shook her head. “No.” Clearing her throat, she brought the volume of her voice up a notch. “Take that ‘I’m in charge’ attitude out of my kitchen. I’m getting paid to do this, so let me handle it.”
He shook his head and smiled as he thrust his hips sideways to playfully push her out of the way. “You’re obviously tired. I got this, Courtney.”
Laughing, she stumbled slightly and moved out of his way. Resting a hand on her hip, she watched him meticulously as he kneaded. “You’re doing it wrong. You see, Brian? You can’t do everything.”
“No, I’m not doing it wrong.” Brian looked at the dough and pushed his hands firmly into it.
Coming over to him, she shoved her hip into his and took back over the kneading. She worked the dough, pushing with her palms.
A strand of hair fell into her eyes, and she blew it up and out of the way as her gaze met his again. “You have to get your palms into it.”
He came close and wrapped his arms around her, his insides trembling as he placed his hands on the dough, folding it over. “Like this?”
She stopped and turned toward him, their faces a mere six inches from each other. Her voice was soft. “Yeah. Like that.”
“Mommy?” Blaze’s voice interrupted the moment, and Brian leapt backward, his back hitting the fridge.
“Yes, Blaze?” Her gaze was fixed on him. “It’s Auntie, but go on.”
“I miss Tay.”
“You miss Mommy, you mean.” Walking over to him, she got down on her knees and spoke to him delicately as she brushed his hair back. “Your mom is getting better so she can take care of you. Just a little while longer and you’ll see her again. I promise. Thirty-four more days, bud!”
“Tomorrow?”
She leaned forward and hugged Blaze. “Soon, baby. Soon.”
After Blaze left the room, she kept glancing toward the doorway he exited through. “He’s so sweet and tender. I hope she gets better for good. You know?”
Brian nodded, a part of him wondering if that moment before Blaze walked in could be recaptured. He set it aside and focused on Courtney and her words.
“It’s going to be hard for you to let them go, isn’t it?”
Her eyes moistened as she nodded. Wiping the tears from her cheeks as they fell, she shrugged. “But at least I got to love on them for a little while. You know?”
“That’s an amazing kind of love to have for them. You’re such a good motherly figure to them.”
She laughed and shook her head. “You don’t see me when it’s just me and them.” Her eyebrows went up as she continued shaking her head. “I can get pretty angry on occasion.”
“I’m sure, but . . . you love them. It’s easy to see that.”
Courtney looked at Brian in that moment with another look he could feel down deep in the depths of his soul.
“Yes, I do.”
Brian’s head caught up with the situation and reminded him of Melissa. Would Courtney break his heart just like Melissa did? Uneasiness rose inside him like flood waters as he didn’t have a sure answer to that question. Melissa had seemed genuine, perfect, and loving, yet she did the most hurt and damage to his heart. Courtney could do the same.
“Let me know when the kids are painting the ornaments and I’ll rejoin you all. I spaced on this thing I have to get done today.”
“Okay.” Courtney nodded in agreement. “I’ll come get you.”
“Great.”
Getting down the hall and to his office, he went and shut the door. His breath was short and he peered up at the ceiling and prayed. “God . . . what am I doing? This is my employee. I don’t even know where her heart truly lies. It could just be a ploy to get more money. Help me.”
Raking a hand through his hair, he went over to his office chair and sat down. Pulling out the Bible he kept in a drawer in his office, he opened it up and began to read in John 13.
It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.
Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;
so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.
After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around
him.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean.
And you are clean, though not every one of you.”
For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place.
“Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them.
“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.
I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master,
nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
John 13:1-17
The tension binding Brian’s heart loosened after he finished the story. Jesus had only hours left before he’d be given over to the authorities, and what did He do? He served, He washed their feet. Brian’s heart clung to the example that Jesus, his Lord and Savior, had set before him in the passage. Jesus could’ve been upset and worried about the coming trial and difficulty. He could’ve been concerned over the painful physical and emotional turmoil that He would endure, but He wasn’t focused on that. He was focused on loving them until the end.
Turning his gaze toward his office door, he thought about Courtney. Thought about his ex-wife, Melissa. Courtney could betray him, that was true. She could very well drag him through the mud and break his heart just like Melissa had done to him. Brian had a decision to make. Was he going to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and love others until the end? Or let the past hold him back? Even knowing the pain would come, his Savior set an example for Brian to follow.