by Glynna Kaye
With a soft laugh, she tucked her hands in her lap. “That makes my rodeo clown aspirations sound rather superficial, doesn’t it?”
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “There would be a lot fewer happy, healthy and whole bull riders roaming the country if it weren’t for those clowns.”
“True, but—”
“Hey, you two!” Luke’s mother called from the back door. “We’re loading the dishwashers, so if you would be so kind, please bring in that last tub so everyone will have something to eat off of at lunchtime.”
Luke lifted his hand in acknowledgment and stood as his mother disappeared inside once again. He hefted the tub, then gazed down at Delaney. “The dream thing, Delaney? Think about it.”
So turnabout was fair play? She could hardly refuse, having left him with a similar mandate not but an hour ago.
“Echo Ridge Outpost,” she blurted, unable to keep the secret any longer, “has taken some of my jewelry on consignment.”
“You don’t say.” He looked genuinely pleased, not seeming to think it odd that women’s jewelry had found a home amidst hunting and camping gear.
“Sawyer Banks—he’s the owner—gave me the names of a few other shop owners he thinks might be interested in carrying jewelry, as well.” One was a tack shop. The other a bait and tackle. But beggars couldn’t be choosers, right?
Luke set the bin back down on the table. “It sounds as if doors are opening. Are you working on anything new? If you’re starting to sell, you don’t want to deplete your stock.”
She shrugged, knowing he was right but not quite willing to pull out her tools of the trade again. Just the thought of it turned loose a bucketful of butterflies in her stomach. “Like I told you before, I have other priorities for the summer. But I’m young. There’s plenty of time for such as that later.”
She stood, fishing in her jacket pocket for car keys. He hoisted the bin again, the gaze directed at her touched once more with the sadness she hated to see there.
“Time flies fast, Delaney. Don’t wait too long.”
* * *
Who was he to be giving advice?
Sure, she’d given him some, but this was different. Luke gripped the bin more tightly as Delaney disappeared around the side of the inn. Despite her allusions to needed areas of growth, he was doing okay raising his kids. Even she admitted that. And yeah, maybe he’d come across as a bit of an arrogant know-it-all about parenting when some of her comments had hit too close to home.
But the elusiveness of time? The necessity of living each day deliberately? That’s something he knew about, having learned the hard way by letting hours, days, months and years slip by for much too long. He was doing something about that now, though, wasn’t he? Taking charge for a change with a relocation to Kansas?
He moved slowly toward the back of the inn, knowing that the moment he set foot inside he’d have to provide an explanation for muffling Chloe’s teary outburst. He could have done without Delaney’s reminder of her youth, of the decade yawning between them. How, though, could he make her see that time was finite and unpredictable?
There had been a lot of things he once thought he’d have more than enough opportunity for. Building a military career. A home life. Friends. Family. Fun. A deeper walk with God.
Time to be the kind of husband God had intended him to be.
But time could easily get away from you, slip through your fingers, and suddenly the opportunities were no more.
* * *
In her rearview mirror, Delaney could see the arching gateway to Hunter’s Hideaway, then a curve through the pines ended that final glimpse leading to the home of a family she’d already found herself getting attached to.
Was Luke right? Did her encouraging words regarding Anna’s creative gifts apply equally to her?
And why should he care?
Dwayne hadn’t. Yet her own words practically echoed her old boyfriend about there being plenty of time later to indulge her “little hobby.”
From the look on Luke’s face, he’d obviously disagree with Dwayne and Aunt Jen’s assessment. Yet he’d been evasive when she’d asked him what dream he personally held, pointing nobly to his family’s health and happiness. Yes, those were worthwhile dreams. But surely he had a dream for himself, didn’t he? Maybe a special talent he longed to fulfill. Something God had placed in his heart that wouldn’t go away. Is that why he wanted to leave Hunter Ridge?
“Doesn’t he ever get lonely, Lord?” she said aloud, a hint of petulance in her tone that even she recognized. “Doesn’t he ever dream of finding another wife to share his life with?”
She huffed an exasperated sigh as she rolled down the window, the sound of gravel crunching soothingly under the tires. Luke was a nice guy. With the coolest family. She couldn’t imagine why he wanted to move away from them.
She’d give almost anything to have a big extended family like his. To live in the rustic charm of Hunter’s Hideaway, a place where he had deep, deep roots to ground him. God had blessed her with an aunt and uncle who’d taken her in when she had nowhere else to go. Aunt Jen was kind and self-sacrificing, and did her best to see to Delaney’s material needs. But the two of them had never been close.
Is that why today, in such a short time, she’d felt such a sense of belonging? Why she’d warmed instantly to Luke’s family? The almost aristocratic Grandma Jo. The huggable Elaine and Luke’s father, Dave. Good-humored Grady and spunky Rio. Undoubtedly, though, they’d extended hospitality to her as they would to any paying customer who crossed their threshold. That was their job, wasn’t it? They earned their living making people feel welcome, yet she’d lapped it up like a thirsty pup.
At the absurdity of it, Delaney laughed aloud. All it had taken was a few hours among the Hunters and she’d not only decided Luke needed a wife, but she’d picked out her future in-laws, as well.
Chapter Fifteen
“She’s a lovely girl, isn’t she?”
“Don’t go there, Grandma.” Luke didn’t look up at the woman standing in the open doorway of his small Hunter’s Hideaway office. Instead, he focused more intently on the computer screen in front of him.
He didn’t need to ask who his grandmother was talking about. Even four hours after Delaney had left for town and he’d let his dismayed mother and grandmother in on his plans for relocation, his head was still filled with images of the flirtatious sparkle in Delaney’s eyes. The sound of her laughter. Her concern for him and his children.
“Your kids like her. She likes them, too.”
He lifted a shoulder. “She seems to.”
“Chloe says she likes you, as well.”
“What’s not to like?” He tapped at the keyboard with renewed determination, ignoring the unexpected warmth flooding through him at his grandmother’s observations.
Josephine Hunter moved to the side of his desk, her well-manicured fingers pushing the laptop’s cover forward so he could no longer see the screen. “It’s been six years, Luke.”
He shoved back in his chair and lifted his gaze to the woman looking down at him with equal parts compassion and fire in her eyes.
“Six years and three months, Grandma.” Time was strange. In many ways that heartrending season of his life seemed long ago, as if it had happened to someone else. Yet, in other ways, Marsha’s departure felt as raw as yesterday.
“It was not your fault.”
Wasn’t it? Maybe if he’d left the military sooner, spent more time with her. Been a better husband. Prayed harder.
Grandma propped her hip on the edge of the desk. “I know exactly what’s going through your head. All the what-ifs and maybe-I-should-haves. I went through that when your grandfather died, certain I could have made him take the heart disease diagnosis more seriously. Made him slow down, get furth
er medical treatment. But you know what?”
It wasn’t as if they hadn’t been over this ground before. “Yeah, you married a stubborn old coot.”
She nodded briskly. “Exactly. I had to come to terms with the fact that as much as I’d like to, I can’t control everything and everyone around me. You have that streak in you, too, Luke. But sometimes it doesn’t serve either of us well.”
He stared at her in silence, knowing how much she missed Grandpa Ben. How her world had been yanked out from under her when that second heart attack proved fatal. But his grandpa hadn’t chosen to leave Grandma any more than she would have chosen to leave him.
Marsha had made a decision.
Grandma reached over to pat his clenched fist resting on the desktop. “Why can’t you give Delaney a chance? God’s dropped this lively young lady right into your life.”
“She’s lively all right. And definitely young. Real young.”
“So?” A smile twitched as she assessed him. “You have a few more good miles left in you.”
That brought forth a reluctant smile that he quickly suppressed. “Ten years is a big gap. She has her whole life ahead of her. I’ve probably lived almost half of mine. I’ve already done the career thing. The parenting thing.” The failing a spouse thing. “Do you realize she’s as close to Travis’s age as she is to mine? I sure don’t need to take on another kid to raise.”
Grandma frowned. “Is that how you see her? As another kid?”
No, not really. But he didn’t intend to share how he did see her. Those lovely eyes. A radiant smile. A laugh that made him want to laugh, too. “She has a lot of growing up to do.”
Grandma snorted. “And you don’t?”
“She’s impulsive, doesn’t always think things through. She’s bitten off more than she can chew on this youth group project. A house that, as you know, is intended for Benton Mason and his family.”
“You haven’t joined the others at the project house today. Do you intend to?”
Somebody needed to keep an eye on things, make sure Delaney didn’t get carried away in her well-intentioned but naive endeavors. “I get the impression I’m not wanted there.”
“By whom?”
“My son. My daughter. Delaney.”
“On the contrary, I’m under the impression that Delaney does want you there. It would give you more time to get to know each other.”
He leaned forward. “Grandma, haven’t you heard a word I’ve said? Delaney’s a nice young woman. I’m not arguing that. I’m saying we’re worlds apart and I think neither you nor I would argue that I already learned the lesson behind a similar reality the hard way. Besides, I think Garrett has his eye on her and I’m not getting in the middle of that.”
No way would he make a fool of himself competing with his much younger cousin for Delaney’s attention.
“What makes you think he’s interested in her?”
“He’s brought up her name in every conversation I’ve had with him in the past few weeks. That’s what Anna and Travis have always done when they’re infatuated with someone. He seems to be over at the project house or nagging me to work on it to help her every time I turn around.”
“But he hasn’t said anything to you about it?”
Luke hiked a brow. “I’m not his confidant.”
“Well, I think you’re wrong about him,” she stated, the exasperation in her voice coming through loud and clear. “Can’t you see, Luke? You’re a good man who got knocked to his knees by an undeserved tragedy. You’re a responsible parent who puts far more effort into those relationships than most. A hard worker who seldom gives himself a break. What’s wrong with doing something nice for yourself for a change—such as enjoying the company of a woman like Delaney Marks?”
“Grandma—”
“You’ve been running scared, Luke. Now you’re pulling up stakes and dragging your kids off with you. What do you think will be any different in Kansas? What makes you think you can get away from all that haunts you here when those very things are buried deep down inside?” She clutched her fist to her heart. “You’ll only pack them up and take them with you.”
She stood looking down at him for a long moment, the love in her eyes willing him to listen, to act. Then with a brisk nod, she left him alone in the room.
“Nobody gets it, Lord,” he mumbled under his breath as he turned to stare out the window. Not even Grandma. Couldn’t anyone see it wasn’t about what was best for him—what he needed, what he wanted and desired—but about what was best for his kids?
And what was best for any misguided woman who attempted to take up with him.
* * *
Dare she tell Luke?
Although Delaney had thought endlessly about the things he’d said as they sat at the Hunter’s Hideaway picnic table last weekend, prayed about the situation and finally stepped out in faith, he wasn’t going to like this.
She looked down at the cream-colored business card in her hand. Benton Mason. Artist.
When she’d garnered the courage earlier that morning to return to the Artists’ Co-op to take Sunshine up on her offer for assistance, she hadn’t expected to meet right then and there the father of the family for which they were fixing up the house. And she certainly hadn’t anticipated one of the bearded man’s areas of expertise would be silverwork.
With only a moment’s prayerful hesitation, she’d signed on, trusting that Sunshine wouldn’t set her up with him if she didn’t think he’d be a reliable and capable instructor. His jewelry on display at the Co-op proved he’d made the jury’s selective cut, didn’t it? Now she was over-the-top excited.
But knowing how Luke felt about the Masons...
“Hey, anybody home?”
At the sound of Luke’s voice, she tucked the card into the side pocket of her purse and returned the bag to the kitchen countertop. No, he wasn’t going to like this one bit.
“Back here!” As always, her spirits lifted at the sound of his voice. She hadn’t seen him for days. He hadn’t joined them for the amazingly productive work day after the trail ride. Then she’d gone to church in Canyon Springs on Sunday morning to see her aunt and, surprisingly, he hadn’t shown up for youth group that night. Was that a sign that he’d taken into consideration her plea to give Travis and Anna some breathing room?
He stepped into the kitchen and set a red metal toolbox on the counter next to her purse, then surveyed the space in that now-familiar hands-on-his-hips stance. Did he have any idea how manly—and bossy—that made him look?
“I see that the scaffolding outside has been taken down. The painters are finished?”
“They wrapped it up yesterday afternoon.”
“Good thing.” He nodded toward a curtainless window at the darkening sky. “Looks like we could see some monsoon rains this afternoon.”
“It does.” She motioned toward the house at large. “It’s not just the painters making progress, though. The boys and Anna had a grand time on Saturday ripping out old carpet down here. The others started stripping wallpaper. But that’s going to take longer than anticipated.” She rolled her eyes, tamping down a ripple of worry. “All the rooms are papered.”
“One step at a time. I thought I’d come by and measure the floors where you want to replace linoleum. Too bad it was laid directly on concrete, but this room already looks amazing. It’s really come together.”
“It has. I think we’ll go with tile in here and in the bathrooms. The hardwood floors under the carpet in the living and dining rooms are in surprisingly good condition. The upstairs carpets just require a good professional cleaning, but I won’t schedule that until we get the walls finished.”
Gazing around the kitchen at its sparkling white cabinetry and creamy yellow walls, Delaney’s memory leaped immediately to the meals shared aro
und a kitchen table with her own family. Mom. Dad. Grandma. Tiffany. Close times of love and laughter. No amount of wishful thinking could bring back those days, but could she make a way for another family to create their own precious memories?
“Delaney?”
Startled back to the present, an ache still lingering in her heart, visions of her family evaporated. She turned to Luke. “Sorry. I was in my own little world there for a minute.”
“I could tell.” His eyes held a curious light but, thankfully, he didn’t pry. “I was saying I hope the kids can get farther along on the wallpaper so you can start the painting sooner than later. We’re not that far from move-in day.”
He didn’t need to remind her. Even though she’d been warned, she’d underestimated the hours that the kids would be working jobs, taking vacations and participating in other activities. Next weekend was Paris and Cody’s wedding so she’d be gone all day, too. She was determined to trust God, not to panic, but the approaching deadline had cost her more than a few nights’ sleep.
Luke opened his toolbox and snagged a hefty-looking tape measure, but as he turned his elbow caught the edge of her purse, knocking it to the floor.
“Sorry.” He quickly stooped to retrieve her bag, then popped it back on the countertop. “I hope I didn’t break anything.”
“Nothing to break.” Her cell phone was well-buried in its depths.
He handed her the body of the tape measure while he held on to the metal end of the tape, instructing her to move to the far side of the room. He knelt down, preparing to place it on the floor next to the wall behind him. Then paused to pick up something from the floor.
A cream-colored card.
* * *
Luke turned the card over, thinking that he must have knocked the home improvement clerk’s contact card out of his toolbox. But it didn’t belong to him.
He looked up at Delaney. What was she doing with Benton Mason’s business card? He stood and held it out to her. “This must have fallen out of your purse.”
She came forward, allowing the tape measure to reel back in, then plucked the card from his fingers. But she didn’t meet his gaze. “Thanks.”