A Love Rekindled

by Margaret Daley

  As he came up out of the water, he heard Jared say behind Kim, “Ah, Mrs. Walters, I wanted to be the first one to dunk him.”

  “Sorry, Jared. I couldn’t resist.” She patted the boy’s shoulder and walked away.

  Chapter Ten

  “You know how I feel about being in the limelight,” Kim said when Anna hopped out of the truck at their house and raced for the stairs up to the second-floor gallery.

  Zane climbed out of the front seat and slid in beside Kim in the back. “I wanted to surprise you. I thought being a teacher you would have grown out of that. You have to stand up in front of your class every day.”

  “They are nine-year-old kids. I think I can handle that.”

  “I never understood that about you. I remember you were asked to run for student-council president, but you wouldn’t because you had to give a speech in front of the whole student body. Everyone liked you. You would have won with no problem.”

  “I’m not comfortable with it. Wasn’t then. I’m not now.” Neither was she comfortable with Zane being mere inches from her in the cab. Or was she too comfortable? “You never answered me about why you picked me.”

  “I can’t deny anymore there’s something going on between us. This was a date—at least in my mind even if you didn’t consider it that.”

  “I did.”

  “You did?”

  She nodded then realized he probably couldn’t see her in the dark cab. The light from the house didn’t reach the truck. “Yes.” Her voice squeaked, and she cringed, thankful he couldn’t see that.

  “Then why didn’t you say it was?”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  His laugh echoed through the cab. “We are a pair. We don’t even know when we’re dating.”

  “We did fifteen years ago.”

  “Everything was simple then.”

  “It was?”

  “Okay, maybe not. But our perception of the past mellows some as time passes.”

  Maybe it had for him but not for her. The pain she’d gone through when he’d left town without a word to her was still engraved in her memories. She didn’t want a repeat of that kind of heartache. Thoughts of the past fifteen years brought so much regret. “So that’s why you never look back.”

  “What good does it do?”

  “Remembering helps me not to repeat a mistake.”

  “Were we a mistake?”

  She sucked in a ragged breath. “That’s not an easy question to answer. What do you think?”

  “I don’t regret meeting you.”

  His tone indicated there was a but after that statement. “What do you regret?”

  “I regret how I handled it. I regret the pain both of us suffered. How about you?”

  “I regret marrying Scott on the rebound. Now that I look back at what happened after you left, I allowed myself to be talked into loving him because it was a good move for our family. Of course, now I know it wasn’t. You know what they say about hindsight being twenty-twenty.”

  “I’ve heard rumors about Scott ever since I came back to Hope. But I know how gossip can be. I want to know from you what happened.”

  “Scott’s family had financial problems that no one knew about. My husband took from my dad’s business to try and shore up their investment company.” Because it was dark in the truck and he couldn’t see the anguish on her face, she felt safer telling him. She didn’t share this with many people. “Dad thought Scott was the son he never had and trusted him with everything. That was a big mistake. One day Scott was here and the next gone with his secretary. What a cliché. But then worse, we found out our family real-estate company was nearly broke.”

  “What did your father do?”

  “He tried to hold the company together by selling off a lot of our land around the house. It wasn’t enough. My ex-husband had helped himself to the money but had also made some bad decisions for the business. Then Mom got sick, and the medical bills completed what Scott had started. Everything came tumbling down, including my dad’s health. It wasn’t but six months after my mother passed away that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.” Telling him renewed the anguish those years had wrought. She’d lost so much. But strangely it felt right to tell him—to let him know why she wouldn’t commit herself again.

  He covered her hand with his. “What did you do?”

  “Finished my schooling and went to work while trying to raise my daughter and keep the family together as much as possible. But I don’t regret having Anna. She is my life now.”

  “I remember how you wanted children.”

  “Why didn’t you ever marry?” she finally asked the question that had bothered her for the past few weeks.

  Rubbing his thumb across the back of her hand, he sighed. “Too busy working, learning the business.”

  “Why did you come back to Hope? I would think after what happened here, you would want to stay away.”

  “My dad was having problems. As much as there were times I wanted to turn my back on him in the long run I couldn’t. Instead I decided to come home and try to help him. He is my only family.”

  She remembered the first time Maggie had told her that Zane was back in town. She’d literally panicked, and other than for work she hadn’t left the house for a week, so afraid she would see him at any moment. “Still it had to be strange for you.”

  “My experiences here made me who I am today.”

  “And mine have for me.” She angled toward him, the movement causing her hoop skirt to rise. She quickly held it down before it smothered her and Zane. “It seems our fathers have greatly affected our decisions over the years. As my dad gets worse with his Parkinson’s disease, he’ll need more care. That falls on me since I’m his only child.”

  “In my case, I’m glad I was the only child. I wouldn’t want a sibling to have dealt with what I did growing up.”

  She and Zane had more in common than she realized. “Do you ever regret not having a family, children?”

  “No, not really. Like I said, I wouldn’t have had time for them like I should. That wouldn’t have been right. I chose to go a different route. I help with the youth group. That gives me what I need.”

  “What’s that?”

  “The satisfaction from knowing that I’m helping the next generation, without being solely responsible for any one child. I saw what my father’s drinking did to our family. He was never around. Although working all the time is different from drinking, the end result is the same. A kid with an absent father is not good.”

  “I know. I try to be both mother and father for Anna, but it’s not easy. She never says anything, but I know she wonders about her dad. He left when she was a month old.”

  “I’m glad I haven’t run into Scott. His treatment of you was…” His words spluttered to a stop. “Sorry, you probably don’t need to hear that.”

  “Actually, you would have to get behind me and Dad. Although Dad wouldn’t press charges, he has enumerated on a number of occasions what he would like to do to the man.”

  “Why didn’t he press charges against Scott?”

  “Mostly because we didn’t have the proof we needed to make the charges stick. And also because Dad didn’t want the Sommerfield name dragged through the gossip mill in Hope any more than it was when Scott left. His words, not mine.”

  Headlights illumined the inside of the truck as Maggie pulled up behind Zane. “That’s my cue to leave. It’s late.”

  Ten seconds later, a knock on the window produced a groan from Zane.

  “It’s only Maggie. Dad’s going up the stairs.”

  Zane pushed open his door and climbed down to the ground, then swung around to help Kim exit as gracefully as she could in a wi
de skirt. Then he faced Maggie, the dim stream of light from the gallery illuminating her in shadows.

  “Uncle Keith wants to know if y’all would like to come in.”

  “I have to go to Mobile tomorrow early. Long day. I’d better head home.”

  As he settled himself behind the steering wheel and rolled down the window, Kim asked, “What time on Monday will y’all start?”

  “Check with your dad, and let me know what works for you. My father is pretty flexible, and he’ll be doing a lot of the work.”

  “I’ll see you at church on Sunday and let you know then.”

  “Great. Is Anna going to stay for the youth group again?”

  “Yes,” Kim said as she backed away from the truck. At the bottom of the stairs she saw Maggie waiting for her, so she waved goodbye to Zane and followed her cousin up the steps. Before entering the house she asked Maggie, “Did Dad say anything?”

  “No. He was actually preoccupied.”

  “About what?”

  “If I had to guess, Ruth Coleman.”

  “Why? Did something happen tonight I don’t know about?”

  “I’ve never seen him enjoy himself so much in months—maybe years.”

  “Did he say anything about the kiss?” She hadn’t wanted to upset her father any more than he already was because of the hurricane.

  “He didn’t but Ruth did. She thought the kiss was sweet and fifteen years in coming.”

  “Oh, that’s probably not good. How did Dad respond?”

  “He didn’t. Not even one of his snorts.”

  “Really? Interesting. He isn’t one for public display of affection.”

  Maggie put her hand on the door but didn’t open it yet. “I caught him holding Ruth’s hand.”

  “You did? Dad?”

  “Yup. Thought I was hallucinating.” With a smile on her face, Maggie entered the house.

  “Where’s Brady?” Kim asked as she followed.

  “He went home with a friend to spend the night.”

  Kim crossed the game room toward the hallway, turning off lights as she went. “I think I’ll check on Dad. I didn’t get much chance tonight to talk with him. I want to make sure he’s still okay about the renovations starting on Monday.”

  “Sure,” Maggie said with a grin. “I know the truth. You want to gauge his real reaction to what happened on the stage.”

  In the corridor, Kim stopped and whirled toward her cousin behind her, the sweep of her hoop skirt nearly knocking over a small table. She shot her a conspiratorial smile. “I won’t sleep a wink until I do.”

  As though she were the lady of the manor, Maggie strolled past her toward their room. “Quit fretting about it. You have to lead your own life, not worry about others.”

  “I don’t. I—”

  The look—both eyebrows raised—Maggie shot her before disappearing into the bedroom spoke volumes to Kim. Admittedly, Kim cared what her father thought. She owed him. He’d tried to fill in for Scott with Anna, to be there when Anna needed a father figure.

  When Kim knocked on his door, she waited until he called out to come in. Still dressed in his Mad Hatter costume, minus the tall black hat, he sat in his chair, staring at the blank TV screen with a far-off expression on his face.

  “Dad, are you all right?”

  He slowly turned his head toward her. “I’m fine. Just thinking.”

  Kim took the chair at the desk. “About what?” she whispered, not sure she wanted to know.

  “What do you think about Ruth? We’ve been friends for years but…” His voice fading, he looked away, biting his lower lip.

  “I like her a lot. She will be a great mayor.”

  “I mean as…” He opened his mouth but no more words came out.

  “What, Dad?”

  He waved his hand in the air. “Nothing important. Working with her, I’m getting to know a different side of her.”

  “And you like what you see?”

  His gaze zoomed in on her. “Yes. She has such passion about Hope and its people. It’s refreshing. She makes me forget.”

  “Who? Mom?”

  “No, the hurricane and its aftermath.” He twisted his hands together. “What do you think your mother would feel if I—if I asked Ruth out after the mayor’s race?”

  “Why are you waiting?”

  He lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “I don’t know. It might complicate the campaign.”

  Kim stood. “Well, as far as Mom is concerned, I know she would want you to be happy. If that makes you happy, then you should go for it.”

  Her father picked up the remote and clicked on the TV. “I just might do that.” When she didn’t leave right away, he asked, “Did you need me for something?”

  When she’d walked in, she’d been sure her father would make a few comments about what had happened on the stage. Now that he hadn’t, she brought up another reason for being there. “Zane wants to start Monday. We talked about that a few days ago. Is that still okay with you?”

  “Yes. The quicker I can get this house back in order, the quicker I can get my life back in order. I’ll be at Ruth’s a good part of the day. In fact, I’ll have you drop me off on the way to school and pick me up when you get through. If my plans change, I’ll call you at school.”

  “Since I’ll be going up to school tomorrow and Sunday afternoon to get my room in order, I won’t stay extra long on Monday. I’ll let Zane know they can start anytime after seven-thirty.”

  “Fine,” her dad murmured, already lost in the show he’d found to watch.

  Kim let herself out of the room and paused in the hallway. She’d gotten a glimpse of the man her father used to be before the hurricane—calmer, more in control. She wanted that man back for good.

  * * *

  Kim stood with Zane’s father in the entrance to her old bedroom before the storm, the odor of paint hanging in the air. “Mr. Davidson, I can’t thank you enough for the work you’ve done on my room. After the hurricane, I wasn’t even sure if we would be able to use this area again. Naomi did a number on it.”

  “Call me Tom. After all, we’ve been painting together. I think that calls for first names, don’t ya?” He backed away from caulking the tall window that overlooked the back of the property.

  In the past couple of weeks as Tom had worked on her bedroom, their relationship had changed, especially when she came home from school and helped him any way she could from holding something in place to painting the room over the past few nights. She skimmed the length of her. “One day I’m going to get the hang of it and not end up with so much paint on me.”

  He wheeled around toward her. “I’d say those clothes are heading for the trash.”

  “That’s why I wore really old pants and shirt. They should have been in the trash, anyway.”

  “Once I paint the windowsill and clear all my things out of here, your room will be ready for you to move back in.”

  “Today?”

  He nodded. “And your dad’s room will be finished by the first of the week.”

  Joy flowed through her, lifting her spirits. “Thank you, Tom. This means so much to us.”

  Zane’s dad ducked his head and squatted by his toolbox. “Just part of the job,” he mumbled.

  “Your work is beautiful. I didn’t think the crown molding or these hardwood floors could be restored.”

  He straightened. “I’ll be starting on the last three rooms after I finish your dad’s.” His gaze fell on something behind her.

  Kim whirled around and nearly collided with Zane. Seeing him reminded her of their appointment for the neighborhood sweeps. She’d gotten so preoccupied by the painting, she’d lost track of time. “I’m
late, aren’t I?”

  “Yup. I’m here to pick you up, and I don’t think you’ll want to go around the neighborhoods with—” he brushed his fingers along the left side of her head “—a streak of green paint in your hair. It matches your clothes, but since you’ll be seeing some of your kids’ parents, you might want to wash it out and change.”

  “If you want, you can go ahead, and I’ll meet up with you when I get ready.”

  “Nah. I’ll wait for you. There’s no set time we have to do this today. I need to check with Dad about his schedule, anyway.”

  Kim rushed toward the bedroom she was using and gathered her clothes. Then she headed toward the bathroom for a shower. Fifteen minutes later, she presented herself at the entrance of her renovated bedroom. “I’m ready.”

  Zane finished helping his dad fold the drop cloth, then made his way to Kim. Over his shoulder he said to his dad, “I’ll be able to help you on Monday. My other projects are coming along nicely. Also I’m pulling Beau to work with you.”

  “Whatever you can spare,” Tom said as he continued to clean up the mess.

  Kim descended the staircase to the first floor. “I’ll get to move into my own bedroom tonight. I feel like celebrating.”

  Opening the front door, Zane stood back and let her go out onto the veranda. “After we do our neighborhood sweep, I’ll spring for ice cream at Sweet Tooth.”

  Memories of all the times they had gone to Sweet Tooth to celebrate something special inundated Kim. A warning went up: you’re getting in over your head. Say no. Instead, she replied, “I’m already thinking about a double scoop of Pecan Clusters.”

  “Why does that not surprise me?”

  “Because my tastes have not changed. Caramel and nuts are a must in my ice cream.”

  Zane reached for his passenger door on his truck. “My favorite is still Chocolate Supreme.”

  “If we continue to talk about this, I’m going to have to stop on the way there and back. That wouldn’t do. I’ve worked hard to keep the pounds off.”

  “And all that hard work has paid off,” Zane said, giving her a wink and starting the engine. As he drove, he told her, “Cody heard back from the national headquarters about my proposition concerning building and repairing houses in disaster areas.” He took a corner, and didn’t say anything.