He shrugged. “I don’t really know any of them that well. Not as well as I know Bennett.”
The truth was, the idea sounded great to Steve. He didn’t want to take too much time to dissect why that was, but really, it didn’t take a lot of thought to figure it out.
He put the toast onto a plate and buttered it, then pulled the bowl of pork and beans from the microwave. After setting them both on the table, he sat down across from his son. Kenton regarded him with serious blue eyes. Steve wasn’t sure why the boy looked so serious about it. After all, he’d told him that they could do whatever he wanted for his birthday. If he wanted to spend it with the McFaddens, Steve wasn’t going to say no.
“Emily said that as long as it was okay with you, it was okay with her.”
Steve’s eyebrows rose at that. “You already asked her?”
A sheepish look passed across Kenton’s face. “Yeah. This afternoon. I figured if she said no then it wouldn’t matter what you said.”
Steve stared at his son then lifted a finger to indicate he needed to wait. He bowed his head to say a brief prayer of thanks for the food—such as it was—and that he’d made it through another day…with Emily’s help.
“Okay,” Steve said when he lifted his head. “If that’s really what you want to do then that’s what we’ll do.”
“Can I call Bennett and let him know they can come?”
“Sure.” Steve barely got the word out before Kenton was dashing out of the kitchen with the cordless phone in his hand.
Alone, since he’d waited to eat until after the younger boys had gone to bed, Steve stared down at his supper. He felt a weariness settle over him that had become all too familiar the past couple of weeks. It had nothing at all to do with his physical condition and more to do with his state of mind.
The move to the city had definitely freed him from the constant barrage of negative emotions and the anger he felt toward his ex for what she was doing to his boys. But now with those emotions gone, he found that there was a desire for more. And he no longer tried to deny that the deal he had with Emily had precipitated it.
When he and Cheryl had first gotten married, she’d decided that she’d stay home while he worked. It was what her mother had done, after all. Even though he hadn’t had much say in the decision, Steve hadn’t objected because it was what he’d grown up with as well. It wasn’t until after Kenton had been born and Cheryl’s emotional upheaval began that Steve realized that their marriage wasn’t so much about what they wanted as a couple, but how she saw her perfect life unfolding.
Unfortunately, Kenton had been a colicky baby and in no way did he fit into her dreams of how their life should be. More often than not, Steve found himself up during the night dealing with a cranky baby and then having to try to get through his job the next day, all the while wondering if Cheryl was taking care of Kenton while he was gone.
He had no idea what had ever possessed them to think that adding more children to the picture was a good idea. Not that he regretted the presence of the twins or Tristan in his life—he’d do it all again to have them—they just deserved more than they’d gotten for a mother. It was only as things began to fall completely apart that Cheryl had finally told him that she just couldn’t live that life with him. Too many children. Too many boys. She’d wanted a little girl.
Steve dumped a spoonful of beans on his toast and took a bite. He wondered what she would do if the baby she carried now was another boy. For the sake of the child, he prayed she had the girl she so desperately wanted. Four children unwanted by their mother were enough.
All of that had left him with a longing that had grown over the past few weeks. Ever since Emily had walked into his life and proposed they work together for both their benefits. For the benefit of their children.
For the first time since Cheryl had abandoned him and his boys, Steve found himself wanting someone by his side. Someone who would work with him towards things they both wanted for their family. The fact that Emily was a single parent meant that her life hadn’t turned out as she’d dreamed either, but instead of abandoning that life, she’d clearly focused on what she had and devoted herself to it. Already he could see the changes in his boys because of her influence in their lives. They were as important to him as her kids were to her. They definitely shared the goal of providing a good and safe home for their own children.
As Steve stood to put his dishes in the dishwasher, he wondered if it was simply the way the kids were with Emily and the way she was with them that drew him to her. But even though they hadn’t spent that much time together beyond a few hours each Saturday—which was totally his fault—he knew more about her than he’d realized.
“I told Bennett it was okay to go bowling for my party,” Kenton announced when he came back into the kitchen. He put the phone on its base. “He said his mom suggested we go to Rossmere Lanes. She offered to phone and make a reservation if we wanted.”
And that right there was what Steve longed for. Sure, he could do it himself, but it was like Emily recognized that organizing something like this was not his forte and so she had stepped in to help because it was hers. “I’ll give her a call in a little bit and sort it out.”
Kenton wrapped his arms around Steve in a quick hug and looked up at him, his blue eyes shining. “Thanks, Dad.”
Relishing the rare affection initiated by his oldest son, Steve smiled down at him. “You’re welcome, buddy. Now off to bed. You have school tomorrow.”
Chapter Ten
Though Emily usually enjoyed the longer days as spring moved forward, it made things more challenging when trying to get the kids to bed. But finally they were all in their rooms and the house was quiet. After shutting off the lights in all rooms but the kitchen, she locked the front and back doors, securing the house for the night.
Back in the kitchen, she poured hot water over the tea bag in the mug on the counter. This was her time of day now. The kitchen was clean. The lunches were all made for the next day. Clothes were laid out. The kids had picked up and put away all their toys.
Now she could relax without feeling like there was something pressing for her to do. After letting the tea bag steep for a few minutes, she tossed it into the garbage and left the kitchen, turning off the last light on the lower level. In wasn’t even ten o’clock yet, but her evening ritual, once the kids were in bed, was to go to her own room and curl up in the chair she had by her window and read. Most people might have their devotions in the morning, but it was too hectic for her to truly be able to read and pray over the Word so the evening was her time to do that.
She set her mug on the small table next to her chair and snapped on the lamp. The soft glow filled her room with warmth and even though it wasn’t a large or fancy space, it was hers and she cherished it. With a contented sigh, she sank into the chair and lifted her mug to take a sip of the herbal tea she’d made herself.
Barely two sips later, the phone on the nightstand beside her bed rang. Frowning, Emily set down her mug and got to her feet. She picked up the cordless handset and pressed the button to answer it.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Emily? This is Steve.”
The familiar voice swept over her, and even though she didn’t want it, she found herself responding to the warmth in his tone. “Hi, Steve. How are you doing?”
“I’m fine. Keeping busy, but doing fine. How about you?”
“Pretty much the same.” Emily kept the phone pressed to her ear as she returned to her seat and curled up in it. “Enjoying the peace and quiet now that the kids are all in bed.”
“I hear ya,” Steve said, humor in his voice. “I won’t keep you too long, but I just wanted to follow up on the plans Kenton wants for his birthday.”
“Oh yes, the bowling. Did he tell you my suggestion for where to go?”
“Yes, he did. Rossmere Lanes?”
“Yep. We’ve been there before and it’s a great place for something like this. If you want, I c
an call there tomorrow and make reservations.”
There was a pause then Steve said, “Are you sure you don’t mind? I’d really appreciate it.”
“It’s no trouble at all. Tomorrow is my day off so I can take care of that. What time were you thinking about having it?”
“Would late Saturday afternoon work for you?”
“That would be perfect, but it’s possible they might be booked. If they are, I’ll call around to a couple of other places to find us a spot.”
“You know, if there’s another time that would work better, we’re fairly flexible. Aside from coming by your place in the morning, we don’t have any other plans that day.”
“Okay, I’ll see what they have available.”
“Thank you,” Steve said. “For everything.”
“Your boys are great. It has been our pleasure to have them here. Well, okay, Makayla hasn’t enjoyed it much, but then she barely tolerates the boys she’s related to.”
Steve chuckled, the sound sending warmth through her again. “I have a feeling all that will change in a few years and you’ll be wishing she was back to hating boys.”
“No doubt. It’s hard to believe she’s eight already. Seems it was just yesterday she made her way into the world, squalling at the top of her lungs. She was definitely unhappy with that change of address and has never bothered to hide her irritation with anything since.”
“Was she a difficult baby?”
“Well, let’s just say her little personality made a challenging time even more so. She didn’t like to sleep much and was almost two before she slept through the night. Naps were history by the time she hit three, not that they had been regular before that. Yeah, she was harder than all the other three put together.” Emily thought of the little dark-haired girl sleeping in the room next door. “But then she’ll come up to me for a hug or curl up next to me on the couch and tell me she loves me and every sleepless night and argument is so worth it. She’s a little diva, but she’s my diva.”
“She’s fortunate to have you as a mom.” There was something in Steve’s voice that Emily couldn’t quite pinpoint. “Well, I’d better let you go. Give me a call if there are any issues with getting the reservation. And thanks again for doing that.”
A bit surprised at the abrupt end to the conversation, Emily assured him she’d let him know the details when she had them and then said good night. Pulling her legs up, she hooked her heels on the edge of the seat and sighed. She rested the cordless phone on her knees and stared at it. It had been nice to have an adult conversation with Steve—short as it had been. Despite how intertwined their lives had ended up, they rarely talked like they had tonight.
Emily swapped the phone for her mug and took another sip. For the first time in two years, she was thinking about what it might be like to have love in her life again. She looked down at the solitary band that she wore on her left hand. The diamond engagement ring was tucked away in a drawer, but she’d continued to wear the wedding band. Setting the mug on the table, she slid the ring from her finger and stared at her hand without it.
She’d thought that she’d put aside the ring when she finally had the answers she wanted, the closure she needed, but it appeared that might not be coming her way. There were no feelings attached to the ring, Emily realized as she contemplated life without it. Things had been…off with James for a least a year before he’d been killed. She’d planned to tell him they needed to go to marriage counseling once his tour was over, but that had never happened. There was something in her gut—and it had been there since before his death—that told her that whatever had pulled James away from her wouldn’t have been an easy fix. And she wouldn’t have been surprised at all to discover that his death was somehow tied to that.
She started to put the ring down on the table beside the phone but instead, she slid it back on—this time on her right hand. Drawing her fingers into a fist, Emily looked at her hand for a moment before reaching for her Bible and study book.
Though she wasn’t sure Steve was where her future was headed, she did know for sure that it was about to become a matter of prayer in a way it hadn’t been up to that point.
*
Enjoying the warmth of the sunshine as he got out of the truck, Steve noticed he wasn’t the only one. Emily had the kids outside with her, on their knees, planting flowers in front of the house. His boys were quick to join them, Kenton grinning as they wished him a happy birthday. All the kids gathered around the flats of flowers on the grass. Tristan, however, scooted right up next to Emily.
“Hey, there, sweetheart,” Emily said as she looked down at him with a smile, running her hand through his tousled curls. “You like to plant flowers?”
Steve tilted his head in surprise when Tristan nodded enthusiastically. He’d never known that his littlest guy enjoyed something like gardening. He set his toolbox down and watched as Emily effortlessly organized all the kids to help with her gardening, keeping Tristan close to her side.
He was loath to leave the fun in the front yard, but the job he’d decided to work on that day was inside the house. With the warmer weather coming, Emily had mentioned that she’d appreciate help with some of the windows that had been painted shut once upon a time. Picking up his toolbox, Steve headed into the house.
Starting with the window in the living room, Steve removed the plastic coverings Emily had obviously put in place before winter to keep the cold out. He went ahead and cleared it off all the windows, not just the ones he was removing the paint from.
As he worked, Steve realized that most of the windows could stand to be replaced. However, he was well aware of how out of reach that was likely to be for a single mom like Emily. Clearly she was doing the best she could with what she had, but Steve was going to see if he could help her out nonetheless. Sometimes they worked reno jobs where the products being changed out were still good, the owners just wanted better. Maybe Rob would let him take any decent windows instead of dumping them.
Upstairs, he removed more plastic, but the windows in the kids’ rooms easily opened. No doubt because each room only had a single window. Same with the bathroom. Stepping into what he now knew was the master bedroom, he saw that this room had three windows and a quick check revealed that two were painted shut. Knowing that having all three able to open would create good cross-breeze through the room and the upstairs, Steve focused his attention on getting the windows to open and tried to ignore the fact that he was in Emily’s bedroom.
It wasn’t like he hadn’t been in women’s bedrooms before doing renos or repairs, but never had they been women he’d known well or that he’d thought about in the way he did about Emily.
Once he’d cleared the chips of paint off the window facing the street, Steve grabbed the handles and jerked the window open. A gust of fresh air rushed into the room, bringing along with it a conversation from outside.
“You’ve acquired a few more children, my dear.”
Steve heard Emily laugh. “Just a few. Their family is new to the neighborhood, and I watch them after school.”
“You must introduce me to their parents. You know how I love to meet new neighbors.”
Steve leaned forward to see if he could spot who Emily was talking to. Though he couldn’t get a clear view, he could see the top of the head of an older woman if the white curls were anything to go by.
“I’ll be sure to do that,” Emily said.
Steve waited for Emily to clarify that there was only one parent on the scene, but she didn’t say anything more. When one of the kids asked about a plant, the older woman was distracted and it quickly became apparent that she loved her gardening.
Having finished the last of the windows on the second floor, Steve tried to clean up as best he could but without a vacuum, there were still paint chips on the carpet. Since he had no idea where Emily kept her vacuum—and he wasn’t about to go snooping around for it—Steve picked up his toolbox and headed back downstairs. The windows had been t
he main project Emily had asked him to do that day, so with that completed, he was finished in the house.
Steve pushed open the front door and stepped out on the porch, his gaze going to where Emily stood. The woman at her side looked at him with wide eyes.
“The windows are all unstuck,” Steve said as he came to stand next to the women. “And I pulled the plastic off the rest. Hope that was okay.”
“Thank you,” Emily said with a smile. “That was on my to-do list, just hadn’t gotten around to it yet.” She laid a hand on the arm of the woman next to her. “Steve, this is Alice Channing. She lives next door. Alice, this is Steve Callaghan. He’s the father of these lovely boys.”
Steve didn’t miss how the older woman’s gaze went to his left hand as she held hers out to him. “Nice to meet you, Alice.”
“You, too, Steve.” The woman looked around before bringing her gaze back to his. “Is your wife here too?”
“I’m divorced.” Steve glanced over to where the boys were gathered with Emily’s kids. It seemed that the planting wasn’t holding their attention as well as it had initially. “Boys, we need to get going.”
As the boys said their goodbyes to the other kids, Steve noticed the curious looks Alice kept shooting between him and Emily, but he didn’t say anything further. He figured that Emily could take care of any explanations once they were gone.
“See you guys later,” Kenton called out as they climbed into the truck.
He had planned to ask Emily a little bit more about their plans for later but no way would he do that in front of Alice. That would just have fed whatever assumptions she was coming to in her mind. Mostly, though, he didn’t want to have to deny that there was anything between him and Emily when he was beginning to wonder if he might like there to be.
Chapter Eleven
Alice’s questions weren’t surprising, but Emily breathed a sigh of relief when the elderly woman seemed to finally understand that there was nothing going on with Steve. And she managed to ignore the woman’s blatant attempts to get her to see that maybe there should be.
Love Blossoms: 7 Spring-Fresh Christian Romances Page 7