A Father's Second Chance (Contemporay Christian Romance)

by Mindy Obenhaus

  Walking away, she felt as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She turned to Gage. “This calls for a celebration. Have you had breakfast?”

  “No. But I’m headed to meet some friends.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “You’re welcome to join us.”

  Her insides cringed. What had she been thinking? Inviting Gage to breakfast when she was trying to avoid him? Obviously, her emotions had gotten the best of her. “No, I don’t think so. It wouldn’t be right for me to impose on your friends.”

  “You’re not imposing. Matter of fact, there’s something I’d like to show you.”

  Squinting against the sun’s rays as they broke over the Amphitheater, she said, “What about your friends?”

  “Are you kidding? They’ll love having a pretty girl in their midst.”

  Her heart tripped. Gage thought she was pretty?

  “And they rustle up a pretty mean breakfast. No cinnamon rolls, just some tasty bacon and eggs.”

  The thought of bacon made her stomach growl. She dragged the toe of her boot through the dirt, curious as to what Gage wanted to show her.

  “Well, if you’re sure they won’t mind.”

  “Positive.” He motioned to his truck. “Okay if I drive? I’m not sure how well your car would do on the mountain roads.”

  Mountain roads? Where was he taking her?

  Her gaze narrowed. “So long as you promise not to get distracted.”

  His sheepish grin reminded her of Cassidy. “I promise.”

  He kept his eyes on the road as they headed north on Main Street.

  She, on the other hand, reveled in the opportunity to take in the scenery. “What’s that statue by the hot springs?”

  “That’s the Miner’s Memorial,” he said as they passed.

  She twisted for a better look. “I guess I’ve never really paid attention to it before.”

  He maneuvered the next curve, the corners of his mouth lifting into a boyish smile. “Have I ever told you I’m a miner by trade?”

  “I don’t believe so. Then why are you doing construction?” Though, if it were her, she’d take construction over working in some cold, dark space.

  “Because the mines aren’t hiring right now.” He shrugged. “At least not someone with my qualifications.”

  She had to admit, her knowledge of mining was limited to the gold rush-era stuff her grandfather used to tell her.

  “Are you saying you’re overqualified?”

  “Kind of. I’m a mining engineer.” He sent her a quick glance. “Same basic knowledge as most engineers, only my area of expertise is mines. Design, safety, sustainability.”

  “Hmm. And here I thought miners just marched into a dark tunnel with their hard hats and a candle and set off explosions.”

  He laughed. “Long ago, maybe. People don’t realize that there’s a high demand for vital minerals from the earth. Much more than just gold and silver. In this day and age, we need to be able to extract those minerals as safely and efficiently as we can. That’s where I come in.”

  “Interesting. So what made you decide to go into mining?”

  “Well, for starters, I grew up in Ouray. This place is surrounded with mines.” He waved a hand around him. “All those tales of striking it rich intrigued me.” He grinned. “Mom used to worry every time I went exploring. She was afraid I’d fall in or something.”

  “Can’t say I blame her.”

  He veered onto a county road just north of town. “I used to work for the Amrada mine outside of Denver.” The truck bumped up the gravel road. “It was my dream job. But after Tracy left...” He raked a hand through his hair. “I couldn’t give Cassidy and Emma the attention they deserved. So we came back to Ouray to be near my family.”

  A boulder-size lump caught in her throat. Cassidy and Emma’s mother had left to follow her dreams. Yet Gage sacrificed his for his daughters.

  Celeste swallowed the emotion that had momentarily rendered her speechless. “You are a man of great character, Gage.”

  He chortled. “Why do you say that?”

  “You gave up your dreams for Cassidy and Emma. God will honor that.”

  “He already has. He continues to provide me with a steady income. Though I do wish He’d open some doors for me at one of the mines around here.”

  “He will. In His time.”

  The road grew steeper and he shifted into a lower gear.

  “Anyway—” he sent her a quick glance “—what I was going to tell you is that we’re going to a mine.”

  “A mine?” She straightened, her insides suddenly churning.

  “Not a working mine. One they use for tours.”

  “Bachelor-Syracuse, right?”

  “Have you been up here?”

  “No. But I’ve heard a lot of my customers talk about it.”

  “Celeste, you really need to get out of the restaurant more often. Start doing some things, instead of just hearing about them.”

  “I’m beginning to realize that.” Though going into a dark mine wasn’t exactly at the top of her list. “I went down to Ironton yesterday and just wandered around those old buildings. Very peaceful. Got some great pictures, too. I think I might have a couple blown up to hang in the restaurant.”

  After a quick right turn, Gage parked his truck between a Jeep SUV and a 4x4 pickup.

  As soon as Celeste hopped out, the aroma of fresh-cooked bacon reached her nose, rekindling her appetite.

  Gage led her past a small building with an old ore car parked in front that read Ticket Office. A little farther down, a cluster of picnic tables were grouped in front of a stainless steel counter. At one of the tables, four men nursed foam cups of what she assumed was coffee.

  “Gage.” A man close to his age stood. “Good to see you, buddy.”

  The two shook hands.

  “You, too.” Gage touched Celeste’s shoulder. “Ted, this is Celeste Thompson. She’s the owner of Granny’s Kitchen.”

  “I thought you looked familiar.” Ted’s hand swung in her direction. “Ted Beatty, nice to meet you.”

  Gage introduced her to the other three men before urging her toward the counter.

  “Hey there, Gage.” An older fellow with a peppering of gray in his otherwise dark brown hair smiled from his post at a commercial-size outdoor griddle where eggs bubbled and bacon sizzled. “Glad you could make it.”

  “Celeste, this is Clay Musgrove. He runs things up here.”

  “Pleasure to meet you, Clay. Your breakfast smells wonderful.”

  He smiled. “Then I hope you’ll consider joining a bunch of crusty old codgers.”

  “I don’t know where you have them hidden, but I would love to.”

  Clay eyed Gage. “She ought to fit right in.”

  “Speaking of fitting in, would you mind if I took her in the mine?”

  Take her in the mine? Her muscles tightened as the nausea returned with a vengeance.

  “Go right ahead. You know where the helmets and the jackets are.”

  Gage headed around the back of the ticket office.

  She followed, albeit with a good bit of hesitation. “Wait. You’re taking me into the mine?”

  “Yep.” He continued into an open area at the back of the building.

  Despite the cool morning air, Celeste began to sweat. Her heart raced. She’d never been a fan of caves or caverns of any kind. She didn’t even like it when she got caught under an overpass in her car. All she could think about was what if there was an earthquake or a cave-in. She’d be buried alive. And Gage expected her to go through some long dark tunnel into the belly of a mountain?

  The thought stopped her in her tracks, her feet firmly planted in the pea gravel.

&
nbsp; “I’m sorry, Gage. I can’t do this.” Turning on her heel, she headed back to his truck.

  * * *

  Disappointment wound its way into Gage’s spirit, putting him in a foul mood that spilled into Saturday. To make matters worse, he couldn’t even justify it. He’d seen the fear in Celeste’s eyes yesterday. Felt the trembling of her hands. Her unwillingness to go into the mine had nothing to do with him. Yet, somehow, he’d managed to make it all about him.

  Why had he felt so compelled to share his love of mining with her anyway?

  He was an idiot. Hadn’t he vowed never to marry again? Not to let his heart get tangled in the trappings of love. Not only to protect himself, but his daughters. But ever since they ran off the road Wednesday, Celeste seemed to have taken up residence in his brain, not to mention his heart. He kept thinking about the softness of her skin, her beautiful hair. The strength, yet vulnerability, in her dark gaze. And the overwhelming urge he had to protect her.

  Maybe he had hit his head. Hard.

  Shoving his frustration aside, he drove his truck up Second Street in the direction of Restoration Fellowship. He needed to focus on the festival, not Celeste. At least a dozen volunteers would be arriving at the church soon and it was his job to make sure they stayed busy.

  “Cassidy stickeded her tongue out at me.”

  “Nuh-uh. I was just licking the peanut butter off of my lip.”

  Back to reality.

  “Girls.” He eyed them in the backseat via the rearview mirror. “You promised you’d behave today.” Reaching a hand behind him, he patted Emma’s knee. “Try giving your sister the benefit of the doubt, okay?”

  “Okay.” She turned toward Cassidy. “Next time you should point your tongue someplace else, cuz it lookeded like you were sticking it out at me.”

  Gage shook his head, grateful that his mother would also be at the church. He’d need all the help he could get.

  Don’t forget about Celeste.

  Groaning, he swung into a parking space. Best he could do was stay focused, get the job done and make sure he and the girls interacted with Celeste as little as possible.

  While the girls hopped out, he unloaded the cutouts from the bed of his truck. Thanks to his wayward thoughts, they weren’t quite finished. Holes for the suckers still needed to be drilled in the lollipop tree, but he could do that after they were painted.

  “Oh, good, you’re here.” Celeste appeared at the side entrance of the church, her tablet in hand.

  “Celeste!” The girls cheered and ran to greet her.

  She smiled when she saw them, her open arms awaiting hugs.

  “Girls.” He wished they wouldn’t do that. So much for limited interaction.

  “It’s all right, Gage. I don’t mind.” She embraced each of his daughters. “One can never get too many hugs, right, girls?”

  The whole trio giggled.

  He tossed the lollipop tree onto the grass.

  “Can we help you?” Cassidy beamed at Celeste.

  “Of course, you—”

  “I was counting on the girls to help me.” He grabbed the cutout for the football toss and set it beside the lollipop tree as Emma started toward him.

  “Do we get to paint?”

  Uh-oh. His knee-jerk reaction was about to get him into trouble. His goal had been to keep them away from Celeste. But what could he have them do?

  “Not this time. But you can help me clean up the games we’re reusing. Like the ring toss, the fishing game...”

  Emma’s face reddened, her bottom lip growing bigger by the second. “I don’t wanna clean. I wanna help Celeste.” Her arms crossed over her chest.

  Oh, no. And here he thought she was doing better.

  “I’ll let you do the squirt bottle,” he said.

  “No!” Her response was accentuated by an all-too-familiar foot stomp.

  Lord, a little help here.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Celeste set her tablet inside and start toward them. Interfering again, just like she had at Taryn’s wedding.

  “Ooh, can I do the squirt bottle?” Smiling, she slipped both hands into the back pockets of her faded jeans.

  Birds chirped overhead as he stood there dumbfounded.

  You asked for help.

  “I like to clean. And on a beautiful day like this—” she gestured to the cloudless sky “—I’d much rather be outside than dealing with some dusty old stuff that’s been packed away for a year.”

  Play along, stupid.

  “All right, then. Looks like Celeste gets to do the squirt bottle.”

  “I never get to do anything fun.” Emma stomped again. He couldn’t win for losing.

  Celeste knelt beside her. “Do you think you can do a good job?”

  The child nodded emphatically, her frown dissipating. “Daddy says I’m a good cleaner.”

  Standing, Celeste eyed him. “I guess it’s your call, Dad.”

  He rubbed his chin. “I don’t know.”

  “Please, Daddy?” Emma bounced beside him. “I promise I’ll do good.”

  Once again, Celeste had managed to thwart another of Emma’s tantrums. Leaving him feeling like a heel. What would it have hurt for them to help Celeste?

  Now it was up to him to find things to keep the girls occupied. And happy.

  Gravel crunched behind him and he turned to see his mother pulling up in her SUV.

  Wearing a knowing grin, she got out and closed the door behind her. “My goodness, but you all are a lovely sight.”

  Oh, brother. Gage had a pretty good idea that the “sight” she was referring to was all of them—him, Celeste, Cassidy and Emma—together. As in, a family.

  Mom was determined to see each of her children enjoying the same life of wedded bliss that she and his father had shared for over thirty-five years. Now that Taryn had married, it was his turn at the plate. Except he had no interest in being on the team.

  “Did you bring the spray paint?” Rather than feed his mother’s fantasies, he found it best to ignore them.

  Her smile unfaltering, she narrowed her gaze in a way that was virtually imperceptible to anyone outside their immediate family. A look that let him know, in no uncertain terms, that they would discuss this later.

  “Of course I did. They don’t call me the queen of spray paint for nothing.”

  He followed her to the back of her vehicle, while Celeste chatted with the girls. “Mom.” He kept his voice low. “Let it go. I told you, I have no interest in dating, let alone marrying again.”

  “Yes, you did.” She lifted the hatch. “However, I also know how much you want Cassidy and Emma to have a mother. They can’t have a mother if you don’t have a wife.”

  Tempering his annoyance, he reached for the cardboard box full of spray cans with colorful caps. He wouldn’t be rude to his mother, but this conversation needed to stop. Now. “I have no plans to marry and that’s that, Mom.”

  “Gage, honey—” Her expression softened. A smile replaced her frown, her focus somewhere in the direction of the church. “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it’s the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

  “What?” Following her gaze, he saw Celeste and the girls sitting cross-legged in the grass, Cassidy in front of her, Emma beside her.

  His throat tightened.

  Celeste was braiding Cassidy’s hair. And whatever they were talking about had all of them giggling.

  Warmth settled into the pit of his stomach. This was what he wanted for his girls. What they deserved.

  He forced himself to look away. Unfortunately, life didn’t come with a guarantee. His daughters already had their hearts ripped out once. It was only by the grace of God they’d bounced back as well as they had. So to risk their te
nder hearts again?

  That was something he just couldn’t do.

  Chapter Nine

  Celeste fired up her Mustang and pulled away from Blakely’s house, trying to remember the last time she’d had a Sunday to herself. She loved Granny’s Kitchen with every fiber of her being, but the fact that she didn’t have to worry about the restaurant made this day a real treat. She’d even slept until seven o’clock. Which, considering the work that lay ahead this week getting the restaurant put back together, was probably a good thing.

  After a leisurely breakfast on her deck overlooking the Uncompahgre River, she’d attended both Sunday school and worship service. Something she hadn’t done in the six months she’d been in Ouray. She’d gone to worship a few times, but that was it. Still, she knew many of the members from the restaurant and tried to stay as plugged in as possible.

  Yet, somewhere along the way, she’d missed the fact that Gage and his daughters also worshipped at Restoration Fellowship. Had she known, though, she might not have been so eager to make it to church this morning. Gage had been acting weird ever since she refused to go in the mine with him. Not mad necessarily, just aloof. Once the volunteers arrived yesterday, she hardly saw him at all. And this morning, he barely said hello.

  Isn’t that what you wanted?

  Yes.

  No.

  Maybe.

  Letting go a sigh, she maneuvered her car around the corner. To say she was conflicted about Gage would be an understatement. Something strange happened to her every time she was with him. He made her stomach twist into knots. No other man had ever had that kind of effect on her. But, with Gage, her heart was vulnerable and he threatened every belief her mother had instilled in her.

  If she were here, she would tell Celeste this was precisely why she didn’t need a man in her life. They only mess with our heads and keep us from thinking clearly.

  But Celeste liked Gage. Not to mention his daughters. And while Celeste definitely didn’t need a man to take care of her, Gage ignited thoughts of family and forever.

  Visiting Blakely hadn’t helped quell those notions, either. When Celeste offered to bring the family lunch today, she hadn’t expected her friend to be so eager to deposit their newborn daughter into her arms. Celeste had never held a baby before, let alone one that small.