They squealed with joy as they flagged her down to see their work.
She didn’t get out, just cruised up next to them. “Wow. You’ve been busy.”
They each showed her the sections they’d worked on, but Mark noticed how she studied Tony the longest.
Mark walked over to the van. “See, they’re all in one piece. No blood. No broken bones.”
She laughed even as she watched Tony. “Okay. You proved me wrong. I’ll go back to work and quit worrying.”
“Wait! We’ve got you something.” Becca zipped inside the front door, then came running back with the brown lunch bag.
“We assumed you’d show up on your lunch hour, so we packed you a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich,” he said.
“Here, Mom.” Becca handed it through the window.
A surprised smile lit her eyes. “Thank you. I thought I wouldn’t get lunch today.”
“No problem.” He was pleased she seemed touched by the gesture.
Once she’d praised each child and thanked them for lunch, she drove away.
To Mark’s amazement, the five of them finished the fence that afternoon. So he called it quits and took them inside to get cleaned up. Most of the paint came off, although splatters lingered in their hair.
He tugged on a bit of Becca’s hair. “I hope your mom doesn’t put me in the doghouse over the streaks of white.”
“Whenever we make a mess, she just says, ‘It’ll wash.’”
He wasn’t so sure about the pile of dirty clothes. Of course, Becca had come out with another identical pink outfit. Come to think of it, pink was all she ever wore.
“You must love pink,” he said.
“I do. It helps me remember my daddy.”
“How so?”
She looked at him shyly and tugged at the hem of her shirt. “He always told me I looked pretty in pink.”
Like a punch to the solar plexus, her announcement knocked the breath out of him, leaving him aching for Becca and the other kids. They’d lost so much. Hannah, too.
He wanted to do anything he could to ease the pain. To watch out for them.
And anything he could to lighten Hannah’s load.
“Your daddy knew what he was talking about. You do look pretty in pink.”
She grinned at him. “Thank you.”
Encouraged by the fact he might be doing okay with the kids, he decided to take one more risk. “So, let’s take a vote. Do you want to rest and relax after working so hard? Or do you want to cook dinner for your mom?”
Every single one chose to cook. Even the boys. And since they’d cooperated so well painting, he assigned them challenging jobs.
Determination lit their eyes as they took to their tasks. With any luck at all, Hannah would come home to a nice, relaxing, tasty dinner.
Chapter Six
Paint streaked Hannah’s children’s hair and mingled with flour and something shiny and sticky on their faces. Maybe honey?
Blue lapped something off the floor, and doggie footprints that looked suspiciously like flour made wandering trails all over the kitchen.
The blender sat on the counter with something pink dripping down the sides and onto the counter. Dirty pots and baking sheets filled the sink.
Total disaster was the only way to describe the kitchen—if Hannah could utter a word. But shock glued her mouth shut.
“Hey, Mom’s home!” Becca ran over and tried to push Hannah out of the kitchen. “Don’t look yet. We’ll call you when it’s ready.”
As the shock began to fade, Hannah zoomed in on the bandage wrapped around Becca’s finger. “What happened?”
She shoved it behind her back. “Nothing. Please go wait in the family room.”
“You’re hurt.” She reached for the hand.
But Tony grabbed her and tried to pull her out of the room. “You’re ruining our surprise.”
Hannah looked over at a harried Mark. “You said you’d call if there was blood. Did Becca cut herself?”
“Yes, while chopping the salad ingredients. But it stopped bleeding quickly. She’s a real trouper.” He winked at Becca.
Eric and Emily joined in the effort to push Hannah out, so she left them to the mess that was, apparently, dinner. By the time she’d changed, they were calling her to come and eat.
The four kids jumped up and down as she joined them in the kitchen.
“Dinner’s ready,” Mark said, his voice low and tired. She could see the anxiety in his eyes as his gaze darted around the room.
But despite the mess and Mark’s apparent dread, the kids were in total bliss, with rosy faces from the sun and kitchen heat, big grins and bright eyes.
“We made dinner for you,” Tony said, as proud as she’d ever seen him. He ran to the table and pulled out her chair for her.
Mark gave him a thumbs-up.
Refusing to say a word about the mess, she took her seat. She could only hope that no matter how disastrous the place looked, Mark had spent enough time with the children that he couldn’t bear to force them out of Redd’s house.
Becca shoved a big bowl of salad at her while Emily passed a bread basket holding brown-and-serve rolls.
“Wow. You’ve worked hard today. Painting, and now this.” She put her napkin in her lap. “Thank you.”
“Okay, guys. Go ahead and join your mom. You did a great job.”
They launched into their seats as if the wait had wound them as tightly as a spring. After a quick blessing—that Mark reminded them to say—they dug into mashed potatoes and gravy. Breaded pork chops lay on a platter across the table, and Emily and Eric each stabbed one with a fork to serve themselves.
“Did you really make all this from scratch?”
Becca pushed up her glasses and nodded. “Mark helped us.”
“Looks like Blue helped, as well.” When the kids gave her a questioning look, she pointed to the doggie prints on the floor.
Emily giggled. “He didn’t steal anything.”
Seeing her children happy and engaged warmed her more than the home-cooked meal.
As she scooped out potatoes, she noticed Mark swiping at something on the counter. “Aren’t you going to join us?” Surely he would stay to enjoy the fruits of his labor.
What terrible timing. Hannah had arrived home a half hour earlier than he’d expected. She didn’t seem angry about the chaotic kitchen, but he couldn’t be certain. “I need to jump on this mess. I had planned to have it cleaned up before you got here. But, well…you know how it is with good intentions.”
She looked at him then, her green eyes giving nothing away. “Yes, I do.”
He hurried into motion, rinsing the fruit smoothie from their afternoon snack out of the blender.
“Leave it,” she said. “We’ll all pitch in and have the place spotless in no time.”
Becca jumped up and pulled out his chair. “Yeah, Mr. Mark. You have to taste everything you made.”
He’d assumed Hannah would want to hurry him out the door. He could understand that. He’d shown up unexpectedly that day and had probably taken too many liberties. How many babysitters enlisted kids this age to cook a full meal and handed them knives?
But no, she smiled at him, encouraging, then glanced away shyly.
How could he not react to that sweet smile, to the invitation to be with her family another night? “I don’t see how I can resist pork chops and mashed potatoes.”
“Well, then, that’s settled.” Hannah stared at her plate as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. As she pushed her silky black hair behind her ear, he thought he spied a smile.
His heart squeezed in his chest, causing an ache so acute he worried for hi
s health. The woman could send his EKG off the charts with one simple smile.
“Dig in,” he said as he stabbed a chop and put it on his plate.
Despite the gorgeous, alluring woman sitting across from him, he managed to wolf down a complete meal—that was pretty good, if he did say so himself.
As she predicted, they knocked out the cleanup job in no time.
“Kids, I’ll guess I’ll either see you tomorrow or at church on Sunday.”
They told him goodbye, then thanked him after Hannah prompted them. As he walked out the front door, he heard footsteps behind him.
A few seconds later, Hannah followed him outside. “Thank you for filling in today.”
She remained on the front porch. He stood on the ground at the bottom of the steps. “Sorry about the mess in the kitchen. And that you’ll probably be getting stuff out of their hair for a week.”
Her expression wasn’t happy, but she didn’t look angry, either. Yet something was definitely wrong.
As if all the energy had gone out of her, she plunked down to the top step. “No worries. It’ll wash.”
He couldn’t resist smiling because Becca knew her mom so well. “Then what’s got you distressed?”
She was nearly on eye level now. Evening sunlight gave a warm glow to her skin and shiny hair. “I find that your kindness has put me in a predicament.”
He joined her on the stairs, making sure not to crowd her, not to touch his shoulder to hers. “I’m sorry.”
“My mother is very upset that you’ve come home, as I’m sure you’ve noticed.”
His quiet huff of laughter punctuated the air. “I noticed.”
“I’m sure she’ll hear about today from the kids. And about dinner last night…and tonight. She won’t be happy.”
“Look, I can come and fix up the house and try to stay away from you and the kids. I don’t want to cause trouble.” Even as he said it, a bit of the old emptiness gnawed on him. He honestly didn’t want to be forced to stay away. How could he ever make up for what he’d done if he couldn’t get near Hannah?
She sighed. “Tony seemed really happy for the first time in ages. And I have you to thank.” She cut her eyes toward his, but looked away quickly. “I guess if you keep working on the house, it shouldn’t be too hard to go our own way while you go yours.”
“Today, my dad seemed more receptive to me doing repairs around here. So if I don’t have to worry about his schedule, I can try to work around yours. No big deal.”
But it was a big deal. He’d thought maybe he’d found a way to make up for the past by helping Hannah’s family. Now, even that opportunity had been taken away.
Not to mention that for the first time in years, he’d had a taste of what it felt like to be part of a family.
And had maybe started to care?
He got up and walked to his car, sick at heart. He’d have to stay away from Hannah and her children. He didn’t want her paying for letting him into her home.
Mark honored Hannah’s wishes and stayed away on Saturday, helping Ann around her house and yard. He’d decided not to push his luck with his dad. Would lie low, hoping brief moments with Redd as he worked around the house would heal the rift.
Lord, thank You that Dad’s coming around. I know that’s Your work.
That morning, as he escorted Ann to church, they walked past the back section of the church where Hannah and her family filled the pew. He didn’t risk a glance in their direction, but kept his eyes forward. Yet he knew she had seen him, could somehow sense it. Only massive willpower kept him from looking.
As he followed Ann into her regular pew, she stopped him. “Go on down and sit with your daddy.”
“I don’t think that’s wise.” He glanced at his dad’s back and knew he didn’t want to attempt it.
“I think if you just march right up there and don’t give him a choice, then it’ll eventually work out.”
He laughed, catching the attention of a few people around them. Her suggestion went totally against his plan, but then again, not much of his plan had worked so far. Maybe he should trust Ann’s instincts. “Okay. If I end up humiliated, it’s your fault.”
“I’ll be praying for you both.” As she patted his arm, her face crinkled up in a big smile. Her warm touch was surprisingly reassuring, giving him the gumption to proceed.
When he got to Redd’s row, instead of leaning in and asking if he could join him, Mark sat right down beside him, as if it were something he did every Sunday. He gave his dad a brief nod of greeting and then opened his bulletin and started flipping through it.
Redd didn’t say a word. Didn’t move a muscle. Didn’t even acknowledge his son’s presence.
But he didn’t boot Mark out into the aisle, either. Probably a good sign.
At least now he could make progress on the house. But what for? To move his dad back in? That meant kicking Hannah out. Something he now realized he couldn’t do.
The time had come to rethink his goal. Would it be so bad for Redd to live in the garage for a couple of years? He seemed happy there. Seemed to like having a family around. Maybe the living arrangement was good for everyone involved. Mark could even come back during a future vacation to refurbish the garage.
Mark pulled his attention back to worship. Throughout the rest of the service, he and his dad sat side by side without even looking at each other. Six inches, yet miles apart.
Once it was over, Mark turned to him. “Thanks for letting me join you.”
His dad nodded silently. When Redd didn’t make any overture to having a meal together, Mark excused himself and left the pew to meet up with Ann.
“Looks promising,” she said.
“He didn’t run off screaming.” He took her arm and placed it snugly in the crook of his, then smiled at his friend, actually feeling happy. Happy and hopeful.
Lord, help us get out of here without a confrontation.
Hannah breathed easier, if not easily, as she, her children and Donna left the service. Another few minutes and they’d escape without running into Mark. Without her mother making a scene.
As they came down the front steps of the church, Gabe flagged her down. “Hey, can I talk to you for a second?”
She asked her mom to take the kids to the car. “Sure.”
Gabe, wearing street clothes instead of his uniform now that he took Sundays off to attend church with his daughter and Faith, hurried to catch up with her. “In planning the youth group’s upcoming Appalachian mission trip, we’ve realized we have two or three kids who won’t be able to afford to go. So I told Phil we’d do a couple of fundraisers.”
He hadn’t sugarcoated the facts. And she could tell where this was leading. “And you want my help.”
“You’re the money expert.”
Some expert—she barely made ends meet. She gave him a crooked smile. “I only work at the bank. I don’t have access to the money, you know.”
“But you know a lot of folks around town. You deal with a lot of the businesses. Could you possibly help us round up a few donors? Maybe help find sponsors for three of the youths?”
“Is this similar to the trip last year?”
“Yes. We’re going to Appalachia to repair homes to prevent them from being condemned.”
Since Gabe had grown up in Corinthia, he knew her past—that she and her mom had lost their home and briefly lived in a shelter. Everyone around knew that she had a soft spot for the homeless. All Gabe had to do was mention it and she was on board.
Maybe finding three sponsors wouldn’t be difficult or take much time. “You know I’ll help any way I can.”
“Thanks.”
“Gabe,” Faith hollered from beside the church with a worried expression, waving
him over. “We need you back here.” She nodded at Hannah. “You might want to come, too.”
Gabe took off at full speed. He didn’t have his weapon on him, as far as she could tell. Though totally irrational, visions of robberies and kidnappings sent her heart into overdrive.
She took off after him.
When she rounded the church and reached the back parking lot, she found a crowd gathered near what looked like Mark’s rental car. Her heart plummeted when she spotted her mom raging at him—and her kids nowhere to be found.
As soon as she pushed through the crowd, Mark looked over.
“The kids are inside the church with Ann,” he said, apparently wanting to put her at ease.
“I told you to stay away from my family,” Donna spat. “My grandkids told me you put them to work painting. That’s gotta be against some kind of child labor laws or something.”
“Now, Donna…” Gabe said, trying to get in between the two of them.
Hannah inserted herself in the fray. “Mom, that’s enough!”
She turned her full ire on Hannah. “You should be thanking me for getting him away from your kids.”
“He was just being helpful while you were sick.”
“Helpful my eye.” She jabbed a finger in Mark’s chest. “Go back where you belong. We don’t want you around here.”
“Come on.” Gabe took Donna’s hand and led her away, toward her house.
Hannah could tell he was talking to her, trying to calm her, as they went.
Looking around at the appalled faces, Hannah wanted to crawl inside her car and slink away. Instead, she said, “Okay, folks. Show’s over.”
Faith helped direct people away, leaving only Mark beside his rental car. He let out a deep gush of air. “Thanks for rescuing me.”
“Thanks for letting me know where the kids are. Did they see any of my mom’s theatrics?”
“No. I saw her heading at me, looking like a geyser ready to blow, and I asked Ann to hurry them inside.”
A House Full of Hope Page 9