by Jillian Hart
Rebecca swam into the deep end, feeling great because of her policy. If she hadn’t stuck to her word last night, then maybe today would be different. Instead of feeling glad and light, she might well have been worrying about what to do with Chad.
She high-fived a few of her other team members and treaded water near the center line. She hadn’t realized how draining her previous relationship had been. This friendship thing was very freeing. She enjoyed being a single, independent woman, thank you very much.
“Captain, it’s good to see you’re in position.” From the deck, Marin gave her a wink. “Do you feel up to taking us to another win?”
“You know it.” While the competition was more lighthearted than serious, she wanted to do her part to boost team spirit. “I can taste victory.”
She felt a tingle on the back of her neck. She looked across the pool over the heads of the other players who were all milling around in excitement, ready to take their places to where Chad sat on the wall. He might be talking to some of his twelve-year-olds but his gaze was fastened on her. He gave her a salute and slipped into the water. He stroked toward her, moving with ease. He really was a good swimmer. Not that she was worried about losing, of course, but still, the game had just gotten very interesting.
She treaded water as he approached, and she felt all bright and shiny like a perfect summer’s day. She really liked that he offered her his hand in a shake—a sign of good sportsmanship. The shake was watery, but represented more. They were friends. She knew they were going to be really good friends as time went on. She liked that idea very much.
Dean, one of the other counselors, held up the ball, and Rebecca prepared herself to spring. She noticed Chad did the same. Since he was watching her instead of the ball, he was slow when Dean’s whistle blasted above the pool noise. She leaped, stretched as far as she could and tipped the ball toward her team. They were off to a promising start.
How had his side lost? Chad marveled about that through the rest of the afternoon and on the drive home. He could be a chauvinist and say that boys didn’t lose to girls, but that wasn’t like him. Not to mention, it wasn’t the issue. He was a good swimmer and a complete athlete. His twelve-year-olds were enthusiastic athletes. The other kids—eleven and ten-year-olds—were no slouches. And Dean, the other counselor on his side, was at MSU on a sports scholarship. All that, and they still lost.
Rebecca and her girls had taken the lead early, lost and recovered it by making the last four goals of the game. He didn’t know about the other guys, but he’d really had a workout. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much fun. Now he was going to have to figure out what to do about dinner.
He pulled into his driveway and realized that a little red Honda was cruising down the road. He hit the garage remote and by the time he’d parked and dragged his duffel bag out from the backseat, she was idling in her driveway waiting for her door to open.
This was the moment of truth. He gave her a wave and there was no mistaking the grin on her face as she powered down her passenger side window.
“Hey there, stranger.” She slid the sunglasses down her nose. “What’s for dinner?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” He splayed his hands on the sun-warmed car door and peered through the open window at her. “I don’t suppose you’ll settle for takeout? I could serve it on plates in my kitchen?”
“Not a chance, mister. I’m in the mood for a homemade meal.”
“You’re torturing me. You know that, right?”
“I do.” She sparkled at him like the rarest of gems.
His chest tightened. He sure liked her. Very much. More and more as he spent time with her. The last thing he wanted to do was to disappoint her. “I don’t suppose microwaving a frozen dinner counts?”
“There has to be something you can cook. Barbecuing counts.”
“Whew. You just made my day. I happen to be a competent barbecuer.”
“Good. I’ll go in and change and be right over.”
“Wait. There is one little problem.”
“Problem?” She squinted up at him. “I’m afraid to ask.”
“Ephraim’s the owner of the barbecue and as far as I know, it’s out of propane.”
“Hard to barbecue without a heat source.” She folded her glasses and slid them into their leather case. “If you’re hoping that I will let you off the hook, then you are going to be one disappointed man.”
“I don’t want off the hook.”
“Good.” She liked the way he was so sincere in his reassurance. She always knew where she stood with him. “Then you can come over and use mine.”
“Great. That’s mighty generous of you, Rebecca, seeing as I’m the big loser here.”
“You’re not a loser from where I’m standing. You play a good game of water polo.”
“As do you. I had a lot of fun today.”
“Me, too. I’m looking forward to next week’s rematch.”
“I’ll see you in a few.” He pushed away from the car.
As she eased into the shade of the garage, why did her heart give a funny little skip? Sure, she was looking forward to spending the evening with him, but as friends only.
She grabbed her gym bag and purse and popped out of the seat. The garage door was motoring down when her cell rang. She juggled her keys, checked the screen and unlocked the inside garage door. “Hi, Spence.”
“You okay?” his baritone boomed like furious thunder.
Interpretation: I’m worried about you and don’t want to show it, so I’ll be extra gruff to hide it. She rolled her eyes. Men. She pushed into the laundry room and dropped her stuff on top of the dryer. “I’m fine. No worries. How are you?”
“Alive.”
Interpretation: I’m not telling you anything more. Rebecca rolled her eyes again, locked the door behind her and tumbled into the kitchen.
“Have you heard from him?” Spence barked into her ear.
“No. Chris hasn’t called or anything.” Sunlight slanted through the blinds, brightening up the oak cabinets and sleek marble counters. She yanked open the refrigerator door and grabbed a can of cherry soda. “Thanks for coming the way you did last night. I shouldn’t have bothered you.”
“He ought to leave you alone.”
Interpretation: I was glad to help. Rebecca knew she wasn’t imagining the slight warmth of her brother’s tone. Spence was a hard nut to crack, but she had figured out his code long ago. He was a great big brother. “I probably overreacted, but it meant a lot to know that you were there.”
“He doesn’t get to hurt you, Rebecca. I’m not going to let that happen.”
“I love you, too, you know.” She so wished Spence would open up, enough so that maybe a really nice woman could see the real Spence McKaslin. But she didn’t tell him that—mostly because she didn’t want to hear Spence’s bitter opinion on most women and the institution of marriage. She was starting to understand why he stayed single. It was so much easier not letting someone close enough to hurt you. If you didn’t trust anyone, then you couldn’t be shattered when things didn’t work out.
The note stuck to a magnet on her refrigerator door caught her eye, one she had written to herself. “Hey, Spence. I don’t think I can make it over to the bookstore when Lucy is there tomorrow. Would it be too much trouble to have her sign a copy of her new book for me?”
“Yes.”
This time she couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. She popped the can’s top. “Lucy has a book signing tomorrow. Remember?”
“I try not to pay attention to that woman. Danielle handles the signings. I have a church meeting tomorrow.”
What was up with Spence? He sounded even surlier than usual. “Then I guess I’ll talk to Danielle.”
“You let me know if you have any more trouble with that boy.”
“I will.” Rebecca wandered into the hallway and bumped down the thermostat. The air conditioner clicked on. “Thanks agai
n, Spence.”
“Bye.”
Interpretation: You’re welcome. The phone disconnected and she ended the call. Spence. She thought of her brother, who was probably still at the bookstore working late as he always did. The only problem was that he wasn’t at peace. She prayed that one day he would find happiness with the right someone.
Her phone jangled. It was a text message from Chad.
Hot dogs ok? he’d written.
My fave, she answered back.
In her bedroom, she exchanged her jeans and camp T-shirt for a light summer top and matching walking shorts. She was digging in the back of the closet for her favorite casual sandals when her phone trilled again.
Chips or fries? he asked.
Chips. I have a killer dip, she wrote back.
Fab. Coming over.
She had enough time to reach the patio before he came ambling up with a paper bag half-full. He’d changed, too. He was wearing denim cutoffs and a gray T-shirt. There was something about a man with groceries, she decided. Somehow he looked more handsome as he laid down his load on the bistro table.
“You look prepared.” She took a peek into the bag. “I have mustard and mayo, you know. I even have relish.”
“So do I, and as I remember I’m the one providing the meal.” He plucked a packet of matches from the sack. “I even brought soda, but now I see from what you’re drinking that I brought the wrong kind. Black cherry soda. I’ll have to remember that in case I lose another competition sometime. Not that I’m planning on it.”
“Of course not. But this way you can be prepared for next week’s defeat.” That made him laugh, and she discovered she liked making him laugh. “I see you brought everything but dessert. I have two grape Popsicle treats left in the freezer.”
“Only two? You did end up having a lot of family over. That’s nice they cared enough to come.”
“I’m very blessed.” She began to unpack the bag. “It was a full house last night. I owe you a big thank-you. Everyone wanted a Popsicle.”
“Glad I could help out.” He lifted the barbecue’s lid. “How did it go?”
“Everyone made far too big of a deal over this.”
“They care about you. That’s easy to see.” He knelt to give the propane tank’s knob a turn. “You mean a lot to them. It’s only right they are protective of you.”
“Whose side are you on?” She said the words lightly, but they didn’t feel that way. She had not confided in her sisters completely and not even Spence knew the whole truth. That troubled her more than she wanted to admit.
“I’m on your side, Rebecca.” Chad struck a match. It flamed to life and he lit the barbecue. “Remember your friendship clause? We’re friends now.”
“We are.” Her throat felt tight and she had to glance away from the man who was so wholesome and upright with the soft rays of the evening sun bronzing him. He had probably never done a single thing wrong in his life. He was the perfect man. The perfect friend. The perfect Christian. Her emotions twisted up tight until she hurt everywhere, especially her conscience.
Chad came her way and dug in the bag for the pack of hot dogs. “Then tell me what’s troubling you?”
It was impossible to look into his kind eyes and not be affected. Her throat burned. Deep inside, she felt so lonely with this, with what she had kept from her family. “I haven’t talked to anyone about this. I just haven’t known how.”
“Sure you do. You talk. It’s that easy.”
Yep, that gentle concern of his sure was dazzling. “It’s not that easy, although it should be.”
“Try me. I’m here to listen not just cook.” He grinned.
“You’re winning me over when not one of my sisters could do it. Not even Spence.”
“This sounds serious.” He put down the package, the barbecue forgotten. There was nothing but her. Just her. His chest filled with emotions too complicated to think about. “Tell me, Rebecca. Trust me as a friend.”
“Do you think that failing to tell someone something is the same as a lie? Our faith teaches forgiveness, so when is it right to give someone a second chance regardless of what they have done, and how do you know?”
“Uh—” That was all he could get out before his throat choked up, trapping the air in his lungs. Before his brain stopped working and his conscience took a big ugly bite out of him. He pulled out the nearby chair and dropped into it.
Thank heavens she went on talking.
“There’s a lot about Chris that came to light late in our relationship.” She swiped at the flyaway curls that had escaped her ponytail to curl about her face. “What he told me was a confidence, and so I didn’t spill to my sisters. And then we broke up and I didn’t know how to, so much time had gone by, and it was over with. I just didn’t want to think about all that pain again.”
“I know just how that is.” Did he. He fidgeted in the chair, knowing that now was the ideal time to tell her his secrets. The things that were too hard for him to talk about. And yet those words lodged in his throat right along with the lump of his emotions.
“I thought we were over—”
“You aren’t going back with him?” he asked with more alarm than he’d intended.
“No. Chris really scared me, and I saw a side of him that he had been trying to hide for a long time.” She looked miserable and burdened. “He was using drugs. I didn’t know, not until that night he exploded at my apartment.”
“He threatened you?”
All the color faded from her face and she nodded. It was easy to see she had gotten a serious scare. That what she had seen that night of the man she had once loved had shaken her.
“He had been keeping his secret from me, and when he admitted it, suddenly everything made sense. All of his puzzling behavior. His up-and-down moods. His old nice self for one day, a tense, angry stranger another. It was a terrible betrayal. He kept that from me while I hung in there and tried to make everything right. When it was impossible, and he knew as much. He knew that I could not be with someone who was doing something that was destructive and wrong on so many levels.”
“He knew that he would lose you if you learned the truth?”
She nodded. “He wanted money that night. He apparently was broke and needed cash.”
He could see what might have happened. “You had to have been devastated.”
“I loved him. I trusted him. I thought we wanted the same things.” She looked down at the table, her soft curls falling forward to hide her eyes. Her voice sounded so thin and small and vulnerable. “I don’t want to be with someone who deceived me like that. Who would treat himself that way. Who especially would treat me that way. And how do I tell my family now? Chris and I are over. It’s in the past and I want to keep it there. Am I wrong?”
“That’s hard to say.” He couldn’t look at her. He felt the hit of her words like individual blows to his conscience. Maybe now was the right time to tell her. She wouldn’t want to see him again, but it was better to be honest and straightforward. “I’ve made my share of mistakes. Some really big whoppers—”
The glass door into her condo slid open and a blond-haired, blue-eyed woman peered out at them with a smile wide enough to take over her entire face. “Oops! My bad. Ignore me. I’ll just go back the way I came—”
“Ava.” Rebecca popped out of her chair, arms out, and wrapped the woman, clearly one of her sisters, in a warm hug.
His chance to tell her the truth had slipped away. He knew he should feel bad at the relief that spilled through him like cool water, but he didn’t. He prayed that this interruption was God’s way of giving Rebecca more time to get to know him first, so she would understand. At least, that’s what he hoped.
Chapter Seven
“I’m not staying,” Ava said as she gave Rebecca one last squeeze and stepped back. “I’m not being nosy, really. I just came by to drop off a box from the bakery. Some pick-me-up chocolate. Never mind me. I let myself in and I can let myself ou
t.”
With Ava, nothing was that simple. Rebecca was leery as she smiled at her sister. “Where’s the bakery box? If I have to be interrogated by you, then I need to know the chocolate is real.”
“Interrogate? I just said I wasn’t being nosy, right?” There was no missing the gleam of trouble in Ava’s big blue eyes.
Rebecca tossed Chad an apologetic look. “You can see why I didn’t want to introduce you to everyone last night. Some of my sisters are the kind you don’t want to be seen with in public.”
Chad bit his lip, as if to hold back his grin. “Yes, I can see,” he said very gravely with a hint of a wry grin. “I would be cautious, too, if I were you. You don’t want people getting the wrong opinion of the two of us eating alone like this. It might look as if we are having a date.”
“Exactly.” Rebecca braced herself for the inevitable fallout. Ava was going to tell everyone about this. “Ava, this is Chad. Chad, Ava. There, now don’t you have Brice waiting for you?”
“My husband is working late renovating Gran’s mall today, and he’s absorbed.”
She saw Chad’s eyebrow go up. Mall? He was probably wondering if he had heard that correctly. Yes, her grandmother owned the shopping complex where the family bookstore was only one of two-dozen shop spaces. “Would it be all right if Ava stayed for dinner, Chad?”
“Sure.” His answer was quick and eager to accommodate. He seemed to be interested in her family, unlike Chris.
See how good this friends clause was working? Her decision not to date for the foreseeable future was one of the best decisions she had ever made. It made tonight as easy as could be.
“I would be intruding,” Ava answered. “And besides, I have Rex in the car.”
“Rex?” Chad asked, as if he really was interested.
“Our golden retriever. He’s like having a T. rex loose in the house. If you don’t mind him helping you barbecue, I could bring him in.”
“Sounds like fun.” Chad, the gentleman that he was, didn’t bat one eye. His smile was as genuine as could be. His sincerity unmistakable. “I like dogs. Besides, I want to get to know more about Rebecca. As your sister, you probably have all the good stories.”