Maid to Love

by Jennifer Johnson

Nick scooped up all eight bags in his hands. He handed the stripes to Drew and the stars to Mike. As Drew walked toward the pitcher’s box, an area four feet by three feet, one on each side of the platform, Nick turned to Mike. “You wanna go first?”

  Mike nodded. “Yeah, I should. You may have to make up for any I miss in the end.”

  “I’ll try not to show you up too bad, big brother,” Joe said.

  Mike grabbed his little brother in a headlock and messed up his hair. Nick shook his head as he walked toward Drew at the other end. Mike was often too hard on himself. If Nick didn’t know any better, he’d think Mike didn’t like all the good-natured competitions he and Drew always came up with.

  “You going against me?” Drew pointed to his chest.

  Nick blew out a breath. “Of course.”

  Joe threw a bag first. It zipped straight through the hole. Three points. Mike threw a bag. It landed on top of the platform. One point.

  “Great job, Mike.” Drew pumped his fist through the air. “I knew you couldn’t cancel out my toss.”

  Nick encouraged Mike. “It’s okay. You’ll get the next one.”

  The brothers continued to take turns through the first round until Mike had made seven points with two bags through the hole and one landing on the platform, and Joe had made nine points with three bags through the hole.

  Drew bent down and picked up the stripes while Nick picked up the stars. “You’re going down now, Nick.”

  “We’ll have to wait and see.”

  Drew threw first and hit the hole perfectly; the bag didn’t even sweep the sides. He turned to Nick, lifted his eyebrows, and shrugged. Nick threw and hit the hole as well. The next throw Drew missed, but Nick hit again.

  They continued to play, brother against brother, friend against friend, until the score was 19 to 18. Joe and Drew were ahead by one, and it was Nick’s and Drew’s turns to throw.

  Drew threw first and hit the platform—20 to 18, unless Nick hit the platform and canceled out his throw.

  Nick threw. Miss.

  Drew threw. Miss.

  Nick threw and hit the platform—20 to 19.

  “Good job, buddy.” Drew patted Nick’s shoulder. “But as soon as I hit this one, the game is over. I mean, all I have to do is hit the box.” He chuckled then grew serious as he released the bag toward the hole. He missed again.

  Nick bit his lip. He wanted to say some kind of smart remark to his friend. It was all in good fun, but Nick hated losing. He hated it. He threw the bag and hit the side—20 to 20.

  Drew growled. He juggled the bag in his hand for a moment, studying the platform. He threw the bag, and it landed right next to the hole. It would be almost impossible for Nick to throw his bag, make the hole, and not knock Drew’s in as well.

  And Drew knew it. He clapped his hands. “See if you can make that now, Nick.”

  Nick aimed for just left of the hole. If he threw it just right, he’d be able to slip his in—barely. He threw and hit. Drew’s bag didn’t even move.

  “Yes!” Nick pumped his fist through the air.

  Drew chuckled and patted Nick’s back. “Good job, Nick. That was an excellent throw.”

  Nick extended his hand to Drew. “Thanks, man. It sure feels good to beat you.”

  Drew laughed out loud. “Don’t get used to it. That was a lucky shot and you know it.” He clapped his hands together. “But hey, everybody deserves a turn to win.”

  Nick scowled. Drew had grown more competitive with each game, each fair, everything they did. Nick wanted to knock Drew off his high horse once and for all. The man needed a good dose of humility.

  He glanced at Addy then looked away. Now was not the time to be losing any bets to Drew Wilson. His feelings for Addy would just have to wait—at least until Nick had the opportunity to teach his young friend a thing or two.

  Five

  Addy scrubbed the inside of Nick’s commode with the toilet bowl brush. The discontentment she’d felt over the past several months seemed to deepen each day she spent in River Run. This is not what I planned to be doing at twenty-three. She placed the brush back into its container then flushed the toilet. She watched the soapy water spiral down the drain then turned toward the soap-ringed tub and snarled.

  Bathrooms had always been her least favorite room to clean, and five weeks ago she’d never have imagined cleaning this one again. Admittedly the whole job had been much easier than she’d expected. She and Nick had both matured since she cleaned his house years before, and their new relationship had been more than amicable. She’d found herself thinking of him often. Too often. At times, she thought she felt him drawing closer to her as well. Then he’d back off again, for whatever reason. She certainly couldn’t figure him out.

  But her unsettled feelings weren’t just about Nick. They were more than that. They were spiritual, and she knew it. Once finished with the tub, she walked into the laundry room and retrieved the mop. Her thoughts jumbled together as she mopped both bathrooms, the kitchen, the pantry, the laundry room, and finally the mud room.

  She stepped outside the back door with the mop in her hand and looked around her. “What was I thinking?” she mumbled. Normally she mopped herself into the living area, where she could watch a game show until the floors dried and she could head into the kitchen to fix lunch. Today she’d mopped herself right out the back door.

  She peered out at Nick’s land. Sucking in the warmth of the early morning June air, the lush green grass, full trees, and rolling hills that were Nick’s backyard drew her. She placed the mop beside the door. She needed some time alone with her Maker.

  Thankful she’d worn tennis shoes, she made her way past the barn and onto an old trail the boys used to run around on when they were kids. A slow grin formed on her lips as she thought of the many times she’d tagged along behind them.

  How she’d wished for a girl playmate back in those days! Sure, Gracie was her dearest friend, but Gracie’s house wasn’t within walking distance like Nick’s farm to the left of their property and Mike’s farm to the left of Nick’s. The boys were always meeting at Nick’s for one excursion or another. Not wanting to be left out and yet never invited, Addy would always try to scamper along behind them.

  As the trail thickened with trees on either side, Addy picked up a good-sized stick, the size of a walking cane. She hadn’t seen any copperhead snakes this year, but it was the right time to see them. Without a gun, a stick would be her best defense. She knew they would want to stay away from her every bit as much as she wanted to stay away from them. Still, this was an old trail, and she knew some might be coiled up or hidden somewhere on the path. She patted her jean shorts’ pocket. Her cell phone was there in case she needed help. If I have bars. She pulled it out of her pocket, and sure enough she did.

  Knowing she’d reach a clearing soon, Addy pressed forward. She remembered a small creek at the end of this path. A large rock sat beside the creek. She loved to climb on top of the rock, soaking in the warmth of the sun atop it and watching the water run gently and freely along its path. One time, to her surprise and wonder, a doe and her fawn had walked right up to that creek and gotten a drink. Even with Addy sitting right there.

  It had been a place of contentment to her, a place of peace, her absolute favorite spot to talk with God. When she was a girl, she always thought it looked like God had picked up the boulder, only a pebble in His hand, and placed it right in that spot just for her. Just so they could spend time there together.

  God, I really need some time with You. Some quiet time. Some listening time. She continued her trek, enjoying the squirrels that raced up and down the trees and the birds as they chirped their conversations at one another. This was something she had missed living in the city. God’s creation.

  The trees cleared, and she spied her favorite rock beside the creek. Her heartbeat quickened as she stepped up on the smooth surface and sat down. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, inhaling the fragrance of her Lord. A
t least she’d always imagined He smelled as pure and perfect and earthy as this very spot.

  She opened her eyes and leaned back, placing her palms against the sun-warmed surface. This spot was breathtaking. Thick trees wrapped themselves around her from the back and each side, but nature seemed to open up in front of her just past the creek to display some of Kentucky’s most beautiful rolling hills. She couldn’t conceive of a more glorious sight in any other place in the world.

  “God,” she began, lifting her eyes toward the clear blue sky, “I’m not content. I want to be. Your Word tells me to be, but the truth is I’m not.”

  She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her calves. “I thought I had everything all planned out. I thought I was following Your plan. I graduated in December, and I still don’t have a job. Now I don’t even have an apartment. I’m living with my parents.”

  She peered into the creek’s flowing water. “How lame is that? I feel like a complete failure. I want to live for You. I’ve always wanted to use the talents You’ve given me for You, to be a light to my colleagues and customers, to donate my time and talents to help others—but look at me. I’m cleaning a couple of houses and living at home. God, I want to—”

  Her thoughts jumbled together again. What did she want? She was saying she wanted to live for the Lord. She heard those very words coming out of her mouth, but what did that mean?

  She looked up at the heavens. “God, I want to—”

  She paused again. She thought of Paul from scripture saying he’d learned to be content in every situation. Suddenly a vision of him in prison slipped into her mind. Surely he felt he was making little to no impact for God as he sat in a prison cell, hungry and filthy, and wrote letters to the churches he loved. Did he know that those words of encouragement and concern would become God’s tool to teach others, for years and years to come, how to live for the Lord?

  Paul had been educated for other things, to be a Pharisee, to be a man among a certain select circle of men. He was a Roman citizen with rights many wished to have. But God used him differently.

  “Are You telling me I’m not going to be an interior decorator?” Her heart seemed to weigh heavy in her chest. “Do You want me to live with my parents and clean houses? That’s what You have for me?”

  For now.

  The two words formed so strongly in her heart that Addy knew the Spirit spoke them within her. God called her to be content in every situation, even the ones she didn’t understand. She’d always known the scripture. She quoted Paul’s words in Philippians that she’d repeated time and time again as a girl. “ ‘I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.’ ”

  Never before had God asked her to stick it out in a situation she didn’t want to be in. She didn’t want to live with her mom and dad. She didn’t want to not have a job in the field she’d trained four years for. She didn’t want to be where she was.

  But God placed her in River Run, Kentucky, at this moment for some reason.

  She sighed as she looked back up at the heavens. “ ‘I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you,’ ” she quoted part of a scripture from Jeremiah up to her heavenly Father. “You know what You’re doing with me, God. My head knows that. My head chooses to be content with where You have placed me. Help my heart to be, as well.”

  She closed her eyes again, allowing God’s peace to fill her heart. She knew she’d have to surrender her will to Him again, especially if He kept her in a place of uncertainty for a while, but she knew that no matter what, God was doing with her what He wanted to do. His will always had her best in mind. She would trust Him.

  ❧

  Nick wondered where Addy was. Her car was still in the driveway, but she was nowhere to be found. It would be lunchtime in an hour, and though he’d told himself over and over again he didn’t want to date her, he just couldn’t get the notion of taking her up to his pond out of his mind.

  Remembrance seeped into his mind, and he grinned in the direction of the old trail. He knew where she was. At the rock. Hoping she wouldn’t come back before he could get everything together, Nick fixed a couple of ham sandwiches and threw a bag of chips and some bottles of water in a basket. He jumped on the four-wheeler and sped toward the cabin he’d built himself.

  Within a half hour, he’d returned from the spot he’d built and parked the four-wheeler just to the side of the clearing of the trail. He wanted to surprise her. Hopefully she’d go with him. He’d never shown anyone the spot, not even his buddies. Of course, he’d only finished it last fall, but because it held a special place in his heart, he wanted to share it with Addy.

  He shook his head, trying not to think too hard on why he felt so anxious to show her. He hadn’t invited the stampeding of emotions the woman had incited in his heart and mind, but he couldn’t lasso them in either. No matter what Drew thought, no matter if he lost the bet, he couldn’t stop thinking about Addy Wilson.

  He heard branches snapping just a ways down the trail. She was coming out. He bit his lip, determined to surprise her silly. He watched as she made her way toward him. She was so cute with her face free of makeup and her blond hair all pulled up in a ponytail. Her blue jean shorts and old high school T-shirt had seen better days, but they were perfect for cleaning and perfect for what he had planned. He placed two fingers in his mouth, ready to whistle once she was just a few feet closer.

  “Don’t even think about trying to scare me, Nick Martin,” Addy said without so much as looking over at him.

  He smacked his thigh. “How’d you know I was here?”

  Addy turned toward him, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “You, Mike, and Drew took great pleasure in trying to scare the life out of me all the time. You don’t think I know to listen and smell for you now?”

  “Smell for me?” Nick sniffed under his armpits.

  “Don’t go getting your feathers ruffled. You’ve always smelled good.” Her faced reddened, and she looked away. “I mean. . .”

  Nick puffed up at the idea that she knew his smell—and liked it. “I’d like to have lunch with you.”

  Addy pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Sorry, I’m a little late making it. I just needed a little time alone, and—”

  Nick patted the back of the four-wheeler. “I’ve got it all ready, but you have to go with me to get it.”

  Addy squinted at him. “What?”

  “I have something I want you to see. We’ll have lunch there.” He straddled the four-wheeler. “Come on. Hop on back.”

  Addy stood still, working the inside of her lip with her teeth.

  “Come on, Addy. It’s not like you haven’t been on a four-wheeler before.”

  “Yeah, but I remember how you drive.”

  He pinned her with his gaze. “I was just a crazy kid back then. I won’t scare you. I promise.”

  She cocked her head. “Like you weren’t going to scare me a minute ago?”

  Nick laughed. “That was different. I hadn’t made any promises about not scaring you then.”

  She still didn’t move.

  He patted the seat behind him. “Come on. We’ll have fun.”

  Though obviously reluctant, Addy slipped onto the four-wheeler behind him. His skin tingled as she wrapped her arms around his waist. He started the vehicle, and she pressed herself against his back. He must have scared her pretty good when they were younger.

  Taking care to drive at a slower speed, Nick felt her start to relax, and she sat up. He drove up a hill, through one of the more wooded areas of his land. The clearing was just ahead, and his blood seemed to race through his veins with anticipation.

  The cabin and the pond came into sight, and he felt, more than heard, her gasp. Pride filled him when he stopped the engine, jumped off the four-wheeler, then helped her off.

  “This hasn’t always been here.” He watched her gaze span the pond and the cabin.

  “No. Only about six months. I
built it all. The pond. The cabin. The pond was done over a year ago. I stocked it with bluegill and bass. I just finished the cabin about six months ago.” He pointed toward the small building set in a thicket of trees. The shade helped to keep it cool during the hot summer months. “Come on. I’ll show you.”

  Without thinking, he grabbed her hand and guided her toward the cabin. He realized he held her hand, but when she didn’t pull away, he couldn’t bring himself to either. It felt good to hold Addy’s hand. It felt nice. Natural.

  He opened the door and watched as she took in the room. An old, nearly broken-down bed with a plain maroon comforter sat to the left. A small table and a chair sat in the middle of the floor. He’d put in a small fireplace on the right, as well as a few cabinets to hold some utensils and some basic food supplies, like cornmeal and salt and pepper.

  He didn’t have any electricity or running water, but he’d stocked it with several bottles of water for drinking and cleaning dishes. He’d built a small fire pit for any cooking he wanted to do. In fact, he’d already spent a few days up here, fishing for his dinner, cooking it up, then bedding down for the night. It was peaceful, and he found he could really think and talk to God about the things that were bothering him.

  “Nick, this is amazing.”

  Addy’s genuine praise warmed his heart. “Thanks.”

  She looked up at him. “You did this all yourself?”

  He nodded. “You’re the first person I’ve shown.”

  She shook her head. “Not even Drew. Or Mike. Or Wyatt.”

  “Nope.”

  “Why me?”

  Nick gazed down at the woman he’d spent more than three-fourths of his life trying to avoid because she was the pesky fly that wouldn’t leave his side. Now he wanted nothing more than to claim her pink lips with his. He wanted to run his fingers through that blond ponytail to see if it was as soft as it looked. He wanted to wrap his overgrown, calloused hand around her small one again.

  He cleared his throat. Why did he show her? He didn’t know himself. He shrugged. “I don’t know.”