A man in a suit stood just inside the doorway and greeted them as they walked into the foyer of the church. “Good morning, Emily and family!”
“Good morning, Mark,” she said with a smile as she herded the children toward the stairs that led to the basement where their Sunday school classes were held.
Once they were all settled, she returned upstairs to the sanctuary to join the adult class. She’d been asked several times to lead one of the children’s classes, but in spite of finding it difficult to say no most the time, Emily had politely declined. Between her job at the school and being a single parent to four young children, she was grateful for a brief period of time each week that she could spend with adults and grownup conversation.
As she sat waiting for the class to start, her thoughts went to the family Ryan had talked to her about. She wondered if the children would like to come to church with them. Maybe she’d ask when she went to talk to their dad.
*
Steve Callaghan stared down at the handful of paper his children had shoved at him when he’d told them to bring him their backpacks to get them ready for the week ahead. Permission slips. Notes from the teachers about upcoming events. Homework and tests that needed to be signed. They’d been in classes less than two weeks and already he was overwhelmed with everything.
And he’d learned one important lesson on Saturday. Never take all four children with him when he went to get groceries for the week. By the time they’d finally made it to the cashier, Kenton had made three different trips to the bathroom—each time with a different sibling. He was just glad they were all boys. Gabe and Mitchell had been egging each other on as only the twins could. And Tristan…the boy spent more time taking in the world around him than paying attention to what his father asked him to do. Next time, he’d take a little time off during the day to do the shopping while the boys were at school.
He felt guilty enough as it was that they had to spend a few hours alone in the house each day before he got home. Even though he’d made a point of meeting the neighbors on either side and had instructed the boys to go to one of them in an emergency, he missed the small town they’d been living in where finding people to help him with the kids had been easy.
Running a hand through his hair, Steve tried not to think about the reasons why they’d had to give up their home and move to the big city, but the immediate rush of anger guaranteed he wasn’t going to be able to shove them aside easily. They’d basically been run out of town by a selfish, mean woman.
It had been bad enough when his wife had declared that their four boys were just too much for her to handle and she didn’t want to be his wife or their mother any longer, but then—after signing away her parental rights—she’d ignored them every time they saw her. And in their small town, it hadn’t been that easy to avoid running into her.
The final straw was when the news reached him that she had remarried—which he couldn’t have cared less about—but it also came with the news that she was pregnant. Kenton had been the one to bring that little bit of news home after visiting their grandparents—her parents. He’d come home asking why she didn’t want them but was having another baby. Steve had had no explanation for that and decided it was time to remove his children from the town that had turned toxic for them. However, if he’d realized the hassle of moving mid-school year, he might have reconsidered, but once everything was underway, he’d had no choice but to see it through.
“Daddy?”
“Hey, Mitch,” Steve said as he reached out to pull the little boy close. “What’s happening?”
The little guy looked up at him, his soft blond curls falling away from his light blue eyes. “I have a friend.”
A band loosened around Steve’s chest at the words. That had been one of his biggest worries. “Really now? What’s his name?”
“Ryan. He wants me to come to his house to play after school.” Mitchell’s brows drew together. “I told him I couldn’t because we had to come right home, but maybe, could I?”
In the small town they’d left, there had been no trouble with letting the boys play at a friend’s house because Steve had known the parents of all the children in his kids’ grades. The big city presented a completely different scenario.
“I would need to meet his parents first. Maybe ask Ryan for a phone number for his mom and dad. I’ll see if I can call and talk to them. Okay?”
A huge smile bloomed across Mitch’s face. No doubt he’d been expecting an immediate ‘no’, but Steve knew he had to help his kids adjust to this new school, and friends would be a good start.
Chapter Two
“Thanks for coming over, Andrea,” Emily said as she let the teenager in the front door. “I won’t be gone long, but I didn’t want to leave them alone.”
“Not a problem. I was just doing homework and that can wait,” Andrea said with a grin.
Samantha came barreling down the hall toward them, obviously having heard a familiar voice. She flung her arms around the teenager’s hips and looked up at her with a smile.
“You here to ‘sit us?” Sammi asked.
“You betcha. What should we do?”
As the two girls disappeared into the living room, Emily returned to the kitchen to pick up the small basket of goodies she’d baked the day before. She couldn’t very well go empty-handed to welcome the family to the neighborhood. Before Ryan had left for school that morning, she’d told him to ask Mitchell for his house number. Thankfully, the little boy had known it and gave it to him.
Armed with that information, Emily said goodbye to the kids who were now involved in a vicious game of Candyland. Well, all accept Bennett, who had his head bent over a book he’d brought home from the library.
She’d waited until almost seven, hoping that the dad would be home from work. The days were getting a little longer so she wasn’t making the walk in the dark. When she found the house number she was looking for, Emily paused for a moment. The two story house definitely looked in better shape than theirs with fresh white paint on the outside of the house and blue trim around the windows and doors. It looked welcoming enough, but there was no denying she was a little bit nervous about approaching a strange house.
She took a deep breath and walked up the steps to the front door, balancing the basket in the crook of her arm while she rang the bell. When no one came to the door after a couple of minutes, Emily decided to abandon her quest and try again another night. She’d just turned to walk back down the stairs when she heard the door open.
Swinging back around, her gaze landed on the large man who filled the doorway. He stood tall with broad shoulders and short, light brown hair and scruff on his face that looked like he hadn’t shaved in at least a couple of days. He wore faded and dirty blue jeans and a T-shirt that was ripped and stained. When her eyes finally met his blue-green ones, he quirked an eyebrow at her.
“Can I help you?”
“I…uh…My name is Emily McFadden. Are you Mitch’s dad?”
The man frowned at the question, and it was then Emily noticed the dark circles under his eyes. “Has Mitchell done something?”
“Oh no, nothing like that,” Emily hastened to reassure him. “My son, Ryan, is in the same grade as Mitchell.”
“Ryan?” The man seemed to be mulling over the name. “Mitchy did mention something about a Ryan, who he wanted to play with after school.”
Emily smiled and nodded her head. “Yes. That’s my son. He mentioned the same thing.”
The man hesitated, glancing over his shoulder for a moment before he stepped back. “Please, come in.”
As soon as Emily stepped into the small entryway, the scent of burnt food assailed her nose. She did her best to keep her smile in place and made no comment about the smell.
The man glanced down the hallway toward the back of the house. “Can you just wait here for one second?”
He didn’t even wait for Emily to nod before he walked away. She stood there, a bit uncertain o
f what to do, but then a little head poked around the corner of an opening leading into what looked like a living room, though there was very little furniture and a whole lot of boxes.
“Hey, sweetie.” She smiled at the little boy who had blond curls and bright blue eyes. “My name is Emily. What’s yours?”
Before the boy could answer, another head popped into view—the spitting image of the first. Twins.
“His name is Mitchy. Mine is Gabe.” Another little boy appeared, this one slightly smaller but he still had the same blond curls and blue eyes. Gabe jabbed his thumb in the little guy’s direction. “He’s Tris.”
“Well, nice to meet you, Gabe, Mitch, and Tris.”
“What have I told you about using the stove, Kenton?” The man’s voice floated down the hallway to where they stood. “You could have burned the house down.”
“Gabe and Tris said they were starving. I was just trying to make them some dinner. I followed the directions.” There was a pause. “At least, I thought I did.”
“No more cooking on the stove. I’ll try to buy food you can microwave or eat without heating up next time I go to the store. I just forgot last time.” There was another lapse of silence. “Clean this up. I’ll be right back to make us all some supper.”
When the man reappeared in the hallway, his gaze went from Emily to the three boys standing close together. “Boys, go back to the living room for a few minutes.”
Mitch and Tris immediately disappeared but Gabe stood his ground for a little longer, obviously lodging a silent protest at being banished. Once they were finally alone, the man put his hands on his hips and sighed.
He tilted his head as he looked at her. “I’m sorry. What was your name again?”
“Emily McFadden.”
The man nodded then held out his hand. “Steve Callaghan.”
“Nice to meet you, Steve.” His calloused hand literally swallowed hers as he shook it. When he released her hand, she held out the basket. “I’ve brought some baked goodies over to welcome you to the neighborhood. In addition to seeing if we can get our sons together.”
Steve looked at the basket for a moment before reaching to take it from her. “Thank you.”
Emily hesitated then just blurted out what had suddenly come into her mind as she’d listened to the man’s conversation with his son. “I wonder if you’d be interested in making a deal.”
Both the man’s eyebrows rose at her comment. “A deal? What kind of deal?”
Emily pressed her palms together. “Well, here’s the thing. From what Ryan said, your kids are here on their own after school each day. They seem a little young to be unsupervised, so I was thinking that if you wanted, they could come to my place after school. I work at the school myself three days a week, so I can just bring them home with me and they can stay at our place until you’re finished work. I could also feed them dinner.”
Steve stared at her, but she had no idea what kind of thoughts were going through his head. Probably something along the lines of why would I leave my children with this obviously crazy woman? “What’s the rest of the deal? My part?”
“Um, do you happen to know anything about home repair?”
His eyes widened briefly as a corner of his mouth hitched up. “I might. You need some jobs done around your house?”
“Yes. I’m a single mom and to be honest, the repairs of the house are beyond me.” She hesitated then added, “Actually, I just despise trying to figure out how to fix things.”
“Despise it, eh? Those are some pretty strong feelings.”
“You have no idea,” Emily said with a grin. “So would you be interested in the deal? I take care of your kids during the week and maybe on the weekend you can spend an hour or two helping me fix a few things around my house?”
Again he regarded her with those blue-green eyes for what felt like an eternity before responding. “Just so we’re upfront about all this, I’m not in the market for a wife.”
A wife? He thought she was coming on to him? Emily took a step back, her cheeks warm from embarrassment. “Uh…you know, it’s okay. I’ll watch your kids without expecting anything in return. I wasn’t trying to make you spend time with me. I’m not exactly in the market for a husband either.” She fumbled for the doorknob behind her and pulled it open. “Sorry to have bothered you.”
Running was the coward’s way out, but Emily was truly mortified to think the man assumed she’d been trying to snare him. As her shoes pounded the sidewalk on the way back to her house, her embarrassment slowly turned into anger. She had thought it was a fair offer, and there had been absolutely no reason for his remark.
She stomped up the steps to the front door—carefully avoiding the loose one that needed to be repaired—and flung it open. As soon as she’d hung her jacket up, Ryan came running to meet her. “Did he say yes, Mommy?”
She became angry at Steve all over again because now she was going to have to see disappointment on her son’s face. Instead of saying no, she tried to hedge her response. “He said maybe, sweetie. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
Even that made Ryan’s shoulders slump. “Okay. When I pray tonight, I’m going to ask God to make him say yes. I think Mitchy needs us.”
Emily ran her fingers through Ryan’s silky strands. “I think that’s the best idea ever.”
She grinned as Ryan returned to where his siblings were still playing their game. Mr. Steve Callaghan had no idea what he was in for now that Ryan had committed to praying that he’d say yes. Emily had a feeling she’d be seeing at least one of the children in the coming weeks.
Chapter Three
“Why did you make her go away, Daddy?”
Steve sighed as he turned to look at Gabe, standing behind him with his small hands on his hips. Yeah, he definitely hadn’t been as subtle as he could have been. He was going to blame it on exhaustion, frustration, hunger and just being a bit gun-shy of women who came bearing gifts then asking for help. Especially ones who looked like she did. Long blonde curls. Big blue eyes. A smile that had warmed him more than he’d been comfortable with. Yeah, the issues regarding the deal she’d offered him had all been on his side.
She’d offered her help first, his rational voice pointed out. Steve rubbed a hand over his face. For the sake of his kids, he was going to take her up on that offer and then he’d keep up his end of the deal by helping her out. If the deal was even still on the table, that was.
“Can I go play with Ryan?” Mitch had joined Gabe in the hall with Tris hovering right behind him.
“We’ll get it figured out,” Steve told the trio. “But now it’s time to eat and then get ready for bed.”
Since becoming a single father, he’d viewed this time of the day as the storm before the calm. No matter how often they went through the routines for supper, homework and bed, there were always protests, fights, and arguments. But one by one, he persevered until, by eight-thirty, all four were in bed—maybe not asleep, but definitely in bed.
Once quiet had finally descended over the house, Steve returned to the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee from the pot he’d put on before he’d started getting the kids ready for bed. He inhaled the aroma of the liquid before taking a sip. After one more sip, he set the mug on the counter and began to clean up the dinner mess. The kids tried to help, but sometimes their efforts left him with more work.
He’d planned to unpack a couple more boxes once the kitchen was done, but instead, he topped up his coffee, grabbed two more cookies from Mrs. McFadden’s goodie basket and made his way to his desk. It took him a few minutes, but he found a piece of paper, a pen, and an envelope.
As he munched on one of the cookies, Steve tried to come up with the right words to apologize for his behavior and to let her know he’d gladly take her up on her offer to help him with his kids. At least, she was aware of the fact that he had four boys so that wouldn’t come as any surprise to her. He wasn’t too worried about the twins and Tristan. They wer
e close in age to her son if he was in the twins’ class. Kenton—at ten—might get a little bored, but he’d tell him to pack a couple of books.
Once the note was written to his satisfaction, Steve put it in the envelope and wrote her name on the front. In the morning, he’d give it to Mitch—the more responsible of the twins—and tell him to make sure that Ryan gave it to his mom.
Though he had plenty of work to do around the house, Steve decided to just ignore it all for one more night. He’d finish his coffee and cookie, take a shower and fall into bed. When he’d taken his best friend up on his offer of a job, he hadn’t anticipated how much work it would involve. He’d been a foreman for a construction company before leaving their hometown, but it had been a much slower paced environment in the small town.
He still basically held the same title, but he was in charge of several different work sites scattered throughout the city. His friend’s company was mainly into corporate and residential renovations so they had several jobs going on at the same time. Steve enjoyed the challenge—and the raise that had come with the additional responsibilities—but he was still getting used to juggling it all. Home. Kids. Work.
As he made his way through the house turning off lights and locking doors, Steve wondered how long it would be until he had everything under control. Or maybe that was just a pipe dream…
*
Emily was just walking up the sidewalk to the front of the school when Ryan came flying toward her, a white object in his hand. He wrapped his arms around her hips for a quick hug before stepping back and handing her an envelope.
“Mitch said to give it to you,” Ryan said with a big smile on his face. Clearly the little guy was anticipating a quick answer to his prayer of the previous night. Emily sure hoped that was the case.
“Let’s go get Sammi then I’ll read it, okay?” Taking Ryan’s hand, they walked back into the school and went to the kindergarten class where Sammi waited.
Once she had her two youngest in tow, they made their way back outside to where Makayla and Bennet waited near the fence. As they walked, she spotted a familiar trio of blonde haired boys, only this time, they had a taller boy with them as well. Most likely that was Kenton. They set off walking the opposite way down the block which explained why she hadn’t run into them before.
Love Blossoms: 7 Spring-Fresh Christian Romances Page 2