Annie nodded.
Kee Kee meowed her approval.
Kelly took a deep breath as she implemented her plan. Everything was going fine until she lowered Annie to a lopsided, awkward branch around six feet from the ground, when they were nearly home-free. Kee Kee chose that opportunity to want her freedom. The obnoxious four-legged creature slipped from her grip, then headed toward the edge of the branch—and Annie followed.
“Annie, wait—” Kelly’s voice failed her at the sound of wood cracking.
Kee Kee jumped toward the administrator.
Margaret gasped as the cat came flying through the air toward her, hissing and claws bared. Kee Kee landed on the back of Margaret’s head as she turned away from the animal.
Annie jumped and rolled on impact as the branch came crashing to the ground.
Kelly exhaled the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding, closed her eyes and leaned her head against the tree trunk as she uttered a brief prayer of thanks. Sirens in the distance grew closer. The last thing she wanted was to be caught up in this tree when they arrived. But the branch? She could try jumping, or dangling and dropping to the ground from the branch she was straddling, but it was at least ten to twelve feet off the ground. Her cheeks warmed when the fire truck stopped in the road in front of the children’s home.
Several firemen began exiting the truck and heading toward the small crowd of children gathered around Annie. She stood and dusted herself off. When she looked up in the tree where Kelly was, everyone else’s gaze followed.
The only consolation to being stuck high in the tree was that they could not see her blushing. She silently wished they’d get called to a fire, or something more important than her, so that they would be forced to leave.
Her hope soared when, under the guidance of a couple of the firefighters, all the spectators and the children began backing away, closer to the building. Two firemen jogged back toward the truck. Were they leaving? If so, they were leaving a couple of the guys behind. They drove the fire truck up on the curb and closer toward the tree. Her hopes took a nose dive. Then one of the men climbed on the ladder as the other fireman turned and raised it to her position in the tree.
When he reached her, he held out an arm. “Can I help you?”
“Only if you have a hole I can hide in,” Kelly muttered as she grabbed for the ladder.
He smiled.
“I’m sorry.” She hadn’t expected him to hear her. “This is just all so embarrassing.”
“It’s okay,” he said, as he positioned her in front of him on the ladder. “It’s my job to rescue damsels in distress.”
She turned her head to look at him.
He smiled again. His brown eyes held a warmth that melted her insides. “I’m going to guide you down the ladder. We’ll take a slow pace. Are you ready?”
She nodded, afraid to trust her own voice. She could have gone at a quicker pace, but having the closeness of his arms on either side of her and his body near hers, made her want to prolong their descent.
When they were safely back on solid ground, Annie ran up and hugged her. “Thank you for helping me rescue Kee Kee.”
Kelly wrapped her arms around Annie. “And thank the kind fireman for helping.”
Annie thanked him before running off with the other kids to chase the wayward cat that had decided to take off running around to the back of the home.
“You didn’t thank me.”
“Excuse me?” Kelly turned to face him.
Wisps of black hair poked out beneath the fireman’s helmet. His eyebrow arched on one side and his brown eyes glimmered, holding a hint of amusement. “You didn’t thank me.”
“Somehow, I’m not sure a simple thank you would suffice.” Kelly smiled. Butterflies danced around inside her stomach, reminding her of a giddy high school crush. At twenty-five, she should have been way past this type of infatuation. But when a dreamboat was staring you straight in the eyes, it wasn’t wise to let that ship sail.
His lopsided grin revealed a glimpse of pearly white teeth. “If I weren’t old fashioned, I’d let you take me out to dinner.”
Was he shutting her down? Or was this a coy way for him to ask her out. Kelly shrugged. “Just as well. My mother always told me not to talk to strangers.”
“Then perhaps I should introduce myself.” He held out his hand, which she gladly accepted. “Marc Stevenson, at your service.” He tipped his helmet with his other hand, still not releasing his hold on her.
His grasp was gentle, yet firm. The warmth of his touch made her weak in the knees. Marc’s brown eyes held hers captive. She swallowed hard and blinked a couple times, hoping to focus on the conversation instead of his features and charm. “Kelly… Kelly Sanders.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kelly, Kelly Sanders.” His eyes glistened playfully. He finally released her hand. “Now that we know each other, perhaps you would like to return the favor and rescue me. I would really hate to be stuck eating dinner alone tonight.”
Tonight? How she wanted to say yes, but she’d already promised to have dinner with Margaret.
“I really don’t want to make you crash and burn.” Kelly bit her lower lip. “But is there any chance I can get a rain check? I already promised to meet a friend tonight.”
“You’re killing me here.” Marc placed his right hand over his heart. “Tell me it’s not another guy.”
Kelly laughed.
A small body bumped against Kelly and she turned to see Annie standing next to her, clutching the cat. “I see you finally caught up with Kee Kee.”
“Yep.” Annie nuzzled her nose with the cat’s. She looked up at the fireman. “Who’s this?”
“Marc, meet Annie, the little munchkin who fell out of the tree, along with the adorable cat she followed up there in the first place. They’re the reason for your visit here today.”
Marc pet the cat’s head and looked at Annie, his playful smile resurfaced. “Remind me to thank you both later.”
Kelly’s eyes widened. “If she climbs up in a tree again, I’m going to blame you, Marc.”
“Stevenson, you’re supposed to be putting out fires, not starting them,” one of the other firemen yelled. “Let’s roll.”
Marc waved at the guy, and turned his attention back to Annie. “Promise me you won’t climb any more trees.”
Annie frowned. “But what if Kee Kee does?”
“Then call me,” he told Annie. He dug his hand into a pocket and retrieved his cell phone. Marc glanced at Kelly. “Speaking of which, I need to get your number.”
Kelly rambled her number off, but the fire truck horn blared, forcing her to repeat it for him.
“I’ll call you,” he yelled over his shoulder as he dashed for the fire truck.
“Why is he calling you?” Annie asked. “So you can give me his number?”
Kelly’s cheeks warmed. “I don’t think he wants me to give you his personal phone number, but I’ll be sure to ask him about it when he calls.” No doubt he would get a chuckle out of it when she told him. Kelly walked back to the children’s home, hoping to avoid answering Annie’s first question.
Her hopes vanquished as soon as they walked into the living room and Annie announced, “The fireman is going to call Kelly. He even told me I can call him.”
Chapter Two
Marc twirled his fork around in his spaghetti, scooping up another bite. His mother made the best spaghetti, so he didn’t know why he chose to order it off the menu at the local Italian restaurant Nick chose to meet at. Marc’s mind was preoccupied. The brown eyed, beautiful brunette, had haunted his thoughts since he’d met her hours earlier. While Marc sat across the table staring at Nick, Kelly was possibly staring into the eyes of another man. She hadn’t said whom she was having dinner with, just that she promised to meet a friend. Was it a boyfriend?
“You’re not very good company.” Nicholas Alexander popped half a meatball in his mouth, and flashed a lopsided grin.
“Considering I’ve sworn off dating, I have a feeling you’re the one who wishes you were sitting across the table from someone with a few more curves than I have.”
“I tried.” Marc sipped his water, then set the glass down, staring at the shrinking ice floating in the water. His mind felt numb, hovering in suspense. He took a deep breath and picked his fork up. “Kelly said she was meeting a friend tonight. The only thing is, when I asked her if it was a guy, she didn’t exactly answer because we got interrupted by one of the kids.”
“One of the kids?” Nick said. “She has children?”
Marc shook his head. “No.” Did she? It never entered his mind at the time. “Well, I don’t think she does. I think she works at the children’s home. That’s where the call came from.”
Nick laughed. “Okay, let me get this straight. You invited a woman you met at a fire to go out to dinner?”
“It wasn’t a fire.” Marc twirled another spoonful of spaghetti onto his fork and took a bite. He hadn’t planned on telling Nick about her at all, in case things didn’t work out. If she had agreed to dinner with him, then he would have had to cancel his plans with Nick. In which case, he would have told him all about her and why he’d have to go to church with Nick next week instead.
“Well, whatever it was, you seem to be really hooked.” Nick pushed his empty plate forward and folded his arms across his chest. “You’ve been in la la land from the moment you sat down.”
Guilty as charged. How could he deny it? “Yeah, I know. But if you had told me last week there was such a thing as love at first sight, I would have said you were crazy.” He wiped his mouth with the white cloth napkin and laid it on the table. “Nick, there’s just something about this woman. She’s vulnerable, and beautiful, and good with kids.”
“No wonder you like her. You’re a big kid.”
Marc laughed. “Yeah, I am.”
“So what are you going to do about it?”
“Excuse me?” Marc asked.
“What are you planning to do about it?” Nick smiled. “Are you going to make up an excuse to go see her again so you can ask her out?”
“Ah.” Now he understood what Nick was getting at. “I already got her phone number and was going to have dinner with her, but she had plans tonight.”
Nick’s eyes widened. “So you were planning on ditching me, or bringing her along?” His expression registered amusement.
“Honestly?”
Nick nodded.
“Well…” Marc ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath, which he slowly expelled. “I was going to ditch you for the gorgeous brunette, but in my defense, I knew I could still come to church with you Sunday.”
“At least you’re honest.” Nick’s shoulders shook slightly when he chuckled. He reached for the check their waitress sat on the table. “I’ll take care of this, and then we can head to church.”
Marc felt a little guilty about his admission, but if Nick saw Kelly, he’d understand. Her chocolate brown eyes made a man want to melt. Thankfully, he didn’t have to worry about competing with Nick. But was there someone else? She didn’t elaborate on what her plans were for the night, so it was possible she was going out with someone else. He’d make sure to call her tomorrow. In the meantime, he could think of something catchy and suave to say to her.
After Nick paid their check, they met up on the church parking lot since they both drove separately. Marc’s breath caught in his chest when he saw a woman crossing the parking lot that looked exactly like Kelly.
“I think that’s her.” He tapped Nick’s upper arm with the back of his hand, afraid to take his eyes off the woman in pink Capris and a coordinating striped tee. “I’ll meet you in the sanctuary, okay?”
He glanced at Nick, who nodded and chuckled. “I’ll save two seats.”
Marc smiled. “Thanks, buddy.”
She was already inside, and headed toward a counter that looked like it lead to a children’s area since there were all kinds of cartoon figures on the brightly painted walls.
“Kelly?” he called, hoping to catch her before she had a chance to disappear.
She turned. Her eyes lit up and she smiled when she saw him. That was a good sign. She was obviously happy to see him.
He hurried over to meet her.
“Funny seeing you here,” he said.
Kelly’s laugh was delicate. “I believe I’ve been here almost every Sunday and Wednesday for the last twenty-five years, considering I’ve grown up in this church.”
“You know what I mean.” Marc leaned his arm against the counter. “I thought I was going to have to wait a while until I could to see you again.”
“I could always coax the cat back up the tree.”
Marc snickered. “You could do that, but it would be easier to call me personally, then I could hang around longer.”
“Hmm.” Kelly’s lips quirked to one side as she contemplated his suggestion. “Well, if I wasn’t so old-fashioned and believed the guy should call the girl, and the fact that I don’t have your number anyway because you never did call me…”
“Ouch.” Mark put his right hand over his chest. Then he reached down and pulled his phone out of his right-hand jean’s pocket. He punched in his text and hit send.
Kelly’s phone pinged. She pulled it out and read, “Now you can text me until I get a chance to call you later.”
Marc sent another text that read, “Want to go out for coffee after church?”
She frowned and typed.
“No?” He looked up at her. His phone pinged again and he looked back down at it and smiled as he read. “Ice cream would be great. I’ll meet you back here after church, okay?” He grinned as he looked back up at Kelly. “Sounds good.”
“We’re not texting now?”
“Not when we’re together.” Marc touched the tip of her nose with his index finger and winked. “I’d much rather hear your sweet voice.”
At least he wasn’t the only one with a silly grin on his face.
Church would be starting before long. He should probably find Nick, but he hated to leave Kelly. “Would you like to sit together during service tonight?”
She sighed. “I’m sorry. I teach the kindergarten class on Wednesday nights.”
He couldn’t deny he was disappointed, but at least they would be going out after church. The fact that she agreed to that meant she wasn’t trying to blow him off totally, and she had given him her phone number earlier when they met. “So these were the plans you mentioned you had for the night?”
Kelly smiled as she nodded. “Every Wednesday.”
“And what about the children’s home?” Marc asked.
“I tutor there on Monday and Wednesdays. Once in a while, I help out on Saturday mornings.”
She obviously loved children if she donated so much of her time to helping them. He couldn’t wait to have his own children, but that was still a ways to go. Kelly seemed like a prime candidate for the role of the future Mrs. Stevenson. They still had tonight and the awkward first date to get through. She’d also have to see if she could handle him, moreover his family. Not everyone wanted their children to grow up and be firefighters, but in his family, it was a tradition. Probably something that he shouldn’t mention immediately. Around his family, it wouldn’t take her long to figure that one out.
“One last question, how do I find the sanctuary?” No one could accuse him of not asking for directions. When he was driving was another story. But some genius had invented GPS maps for that. Unfortunately, they didn’t work inside of buildings.
Kelly turned him slightly and pointed. “Follow that hallway all the way to the end and you will see a couple sets of double doors that lead to the sanctuary.”
He followed her gaze
, then looked back at her, her face mere inches from his. Her lips looked very kissable. He longed to taste them. If they weren’t at church, he would have taken a chance.
“I’m looking forward to dessert.” And with any luck, a kiss good night, he thought to himself.
Kelly licked her lips and he nearly moaned.
“I better go.” It took every ounce of energy to walk away. With his luck, the pastor would preach a hell, fire and damnation sermon and he’d be instantly vaporized for thinking of making out with a woman in church.
His mind wandered as he walked down the hallway, numbly nodding or smiling toward people who made eye contact. It was a large church, so it was doubtful all the members knew each other.
The church he grew up in was small. Everyone knew you, and everything about you, which was one of the reasons he was looking for a new church. Another reason was to meet single, Christian women. His twenty-seventh birthday loomed ahead, and his selection of single women who hadn’t already been married, divorced, or were a single mother, was getting smaller to choose from. If finding a potential wife meant changing churches, then so be it. It was a better alternative than joining an online Christian dating service.
Marc spotted Nick close to the front of the sanctuary. He was standing in the aisle, engaged in conversation with two other men. Marc headed over to greet them.
“Here he is now.” The other two men turned to look at Marc when Nick spoke.
“Should I be concerned if you’re talking about me?” Meeting new people was always awkward, but as a firefighter, he’d learned to deal with many difficult situations—not that going to a new church was necessarily difficult compared to other situations he faced in day-to-day life.
“Nothing bad, I assure you.” Nick clasped the shoulder of the guy on his right. “This is Jonathon Weeks and his cousin Frank Winegrass. Two weeks ago you rescued their grandmother whose house had caught on fire.”
“Ah.” Marc remembered her. Lily Nelson was a kind, older woman. Very frail looking. “How is she?”
Seasons of the Heart Page 15