“Is Joleen in the other vehicle?” Delilah kept a steady gaze out the window when she asked the question.
“She isn’t. She stayed behind. You know you should just be honest. Tell her you’re not really interested in Harry.”
“What if I am?” Delilah shot her a look and then turned back to the window.
“You’re not. I heard you on the phone the other day. It wasn’t Harry you were talking to.”
Delilah shrugged and then she turned back around, smiling. “That was my best friend. We’ve known each other forever and always been there for one another. We have always said we’d marry each other if neither of us got married by the time we were thirty. And here we are, still single with the big birthday right around the corner. But honestly, he’s not it for me. He’s my best friend.”
“I think friendship with the person you love would be the best way to start a marriage.”
Delilah’s laugh was loud. “You would think that.”
“I’ve seen a lot of marriages that didn’t include friendship.”
“Why haven’t you done something about that gorgeous he-man lawyer you spent the week in the woods with?”
“He isn’t a friend. He thinks he has to take care of me. That isn’t romantic.”
“No, of course not.” Delilah sighed. “I’m starting to think love and marriage aren’t in God’s plan for my life. I mean, the more I trust Him and try to have faith, the more it seems that everyone is finding love but me.”
“Give it time and see what happens.”
“This from the woman who has hooked the single most handsome man in town and doesn’t know it. You don’t even talk to him and he doesn’t seem to care. I’m nicer than I’ve ever been, and no one wants to talk to me.”
“Delilah, you’re wonderful. You’re beautiful and fun. There are men who notice. You just have to give them time.”
Delilah peered around the head of the driver in front of her. “There’s the village. This is so exciting. I’ve never done anything like this.”
Penelope remembered that feeling. She remembered the first time she landed in Africa. The first time she saw children waiting in line for food. These children weren’t as destitute, but the needs were real. She remembered her heart filling up with love.
The village was small, with square buildings sided with plain wood siding. Smoke poured from chimneys. The main street through town bounced the Range Rover, as it hit potholes and bumps. Children ran out of a church building. The one thing that made it a church, that set it apart from the other buildings, was a simple cross next to the windowless door.
The vehicle stopped and Penelope reached for the door. She grabbed the box on the seat next to her as she climbed out. Cold air hit her, taking her breath. She shivered inside the heavy coat she’d bought at Harry’s and hurried toward the church. Packed snow turned to ice made the going a little slick. She slid a little as she approached the door.
“Don’t go down.” Delilah shrieked from behind her.
“Thanks. Same to you.” Penelope opened the door and hurried into the building, stomping her feet on the rug just inside the door.
Warm wood heat welcomed her. A grizzly bear of a man, with a heavy beard and a stocking cap pulled tight on his head, took the box from her. His brown eyes twinkled and a smile split the heavy whiskers.
“Welcome, my friends, I’m Pastor Johnny.”
“Oh, well thank you for having us.” Penelope pulled off her gloves and shoved them into her pocket. Children circled around her—tiny things with beautiful smiles and dark eyes. A few hugged her waist.
She couldn’t imagine any love ever comparing to this. Her heart tightened and tears burned her eyes. She could do this forever. She could work in a mission somewhere. Maybe Delilah was right about giving up on marriage.
Behind her Delilah was talking to Pastor Johnny about the cold, about California and about the children. Penelope walked with the children to the front of the church. A piano sat in a corner. She pulled candy canes out of her pockets and handed them out. The children thanked her in bright little voices, their smiles widening.
“Do you want to sing a song?” It had been ages since she’d sat down at a piano, but she could manage a few songs. She opened the song book.
There was a rapid nodding of tiny heads, but their mouths were busy with candy. Penelope sat down at the piano and played “Silent Night.” The children gathered close. Delilah walked down the aisle and joined her, singing words that weren’t even close, and in a key that didn’t exist. Penelope smiled at the other woman.
This was friendship. Penelope closed her eyes and played another song. “Away in a Manger.” One of the children crawled onto the bench next to her.
“Will you sing with me?”
The little girl nodded.
“Okay, here we go. Everyone gather around and we’ll sing a few songs before we go look at what is in those boxes.”
“Shots.” One little boy grimaced. “We don’t want those.”
“Oh, honey, the boxes don’t have shots in them. Dr. Havens did bring medicine for you. You might have to get an immunization. But remember, it only stings for a second, but it keeps you from getting sick. And sometimes you could be sick for days. A little sting is better than that.”
“Or going to the hospital like my brother had to do when he had pneumonia.” A little girl with dark hair and clear blue eyes informed the group, in a voice that was mature beyond her years.
“Exactly.” Penelope started with “Jesus Loves Me.” The kids sang loudly.
When they finished, she played “Jesus Loves the Little Children.” At the back of the church the door opened again, letting in a large crowd of people. She didn’t look up. The children were singing softly, with sweet voices. If this kept them from thinking of immunizations, she was glad to help.
So this is where she slipped off to. Tucker stood at the back of the church and watched as Penelope Lear entertained a dozen children. It didn’t even matter that Delilah was singing off-key next to her, throwing the whole thing off. As a matter of fact, Delilah’s over-the-top singing almost made it more cheery.
“Coffee?” The man who had introduced himself as Pastor Johnny held a paper cup with steaming liquid.
Tucker took it. “Thanks.”
He wasn’t sure how cold it was outside, but he doubted the temperature registered above zero. He wasn’t even taking off his coat yet. As good as the wood fire felt, it was going to take a while to thaw out after unloading a truck of supplies.
Penelope was singing another song, and all of a sudden, he found himself really wanting to believe again to have faith. Something about the song, and the way she sang it like she meant it, made him want to rethink his anger, to rethink his doubts. Why?
He watched her, an heiress who could have been soaking up the sun on a warm beach. Instead, she was playing the piano in a tiny church in an Alaskan village, surrounded by children who wanted to touch her and hug her. Man, he wanted to be one of those kids.
He was as enthralled with the silky, blond hair of hers as was the child who was running tiny fingers through the long strands.
Why? His mind took him back to that question. What was it about her that made him rethink everything? It had to be because she was here. The last place in the world that most women in her position would pick to spend their holidays, and she had picked it. She was here because of her love for people. She was here because of her faith.
“Tucker, could you help me set up the table for the immunizations?” asked Dr. Havens, a man who now had the look of a guy in love. His nurse and fiancé, Maryann, pretty and full of energy, was lugging boxes to a corner.
“Sure can.” It wasn’t why he’d come here. He’d followed the caravan out of town because when Penelope’s dad left, he asked Tucker to keep an eye on her. They’d both known she’d give them the slip at the first opportunity.
She had tried.
He picked up one end of the folding
table and Alex picked up the other. They carried it to a corner of the room and set it up. One of the other men carried a folding partition to enclose the little area.
“Anything else?” Tucker shoved his gloves in his coat pocket and pulled off his coat.
“You can help the others pass out the Christmas stockings that we brought.” Maryann nodded in the direction of boxes that were being opened. “And we have boxes of food for Thanksgiving.”
“I can do that.”
The piano stopped playing. The children were moving away from it, and from the woman standing up, now that the music was over. She spotted him, freezing for a moment and then heading his way.
Her frown was a pretty obvious warning.
“What are you doing here?” She stopped in front of him.
“Same thing you are, helping.”
“I don’t believe that. I believe you’re here to keep an eye on me.”
“Right, that’s what I do in my spare time. I follow heiresses who can’t seem to stay out of trouble.”
“I can stay out of trouble.”
He couldn’t stop the laughter. “For how long. Give me an amount of time you can go without getting yourself into some kind of scrape.”
“That’s mean.” She walked away and he followed.
“I’m sorry.”
She turned and walked backward, nearly tripping over a box. He grabbed her hand and pulled her away from it. She glanced back and lost her balance. Her grip on his hand tightened and they both laughed.
“I can stay out of trouble for at least five minutes.” She admitted with a sweet smile.
“Your dad did ask me to keep an eye on you.” The truth slipped out and he watched her smile fade.
“Thanks. And here I thought we were actually friends. Instead, you’re just another person assigned to keep me out of trouble.”
“I don’t do your father’s bidding, Penelope. I am your friend, that’s why I told you the truth. I’m here because I’m your friend, not because your dad asked me to be here.”
Her eyes widened and her mouth parted. She was as shocked by that as he was.
He hadn’t planned on friendship with her. He had planned to get her back to town and be done with the little nuisance. Instead, here he was. He was out in the freezing cold because she couldn’t stay in town and out of trouble.
Instead, she stood in front of him in jeans, a sweatshirt from Harry’s and insulated boots.
“We need to get busy.” She touched his arm and walked away, joining Delilah, Maryann and others who were busy pulling stockings from boxes.
Tucker watched and then he went in search of something else to do, something that would give him a few minutes to get his good sense back.
Tucker caught up with her as everyone was getting ready to head back to town. “Ride back to town with me?”
Delilah slipped away and left Penelope to face Tucker. He took the box she held and left her with nothing to do but stare at him. She pushed her hands into her pockets and just stood there like some silly, addled schoolgirl who didn’t know what to do when the captain of the football team carried her books.
Not that she’d ever been to a school where there was a captain of a football team. She’d gone to private schools, and none had been big on sports.
But that was her mind wandering. She blinked and refocused on the man in front of her, and he was anything but a lanky teen. He was definitely a grown man, with grown man shoulders and a grown man voice that was husky and strong.
“I have a ride. I came with a group from the church.”
“I’m aware of that.”
“So why are you asking me to ride back with you?” She thought she knew why, but she wanted something else from him, some other reason.
Expecting him to say he wanted to spend time with her was ridiculous. He was taking over for her father.
“We both know why I’m asking you to ride with me. It would make everyone feel a little better if you were with me.”
“It would make my dad and the police chief feel better if I rode with you.”
“Exactly. Do you have everything you need?”
“Of course. Let me tell Delilah that I won’t be riding back with her.”
“I’ll walk over there with you.”
She muttered under her breath but didn’t bother arguing with him. She’d been dealing with men like him her entire life. He was just another alpha male in her world. What she wouldn’t give for a nice, friendly beta male. She wanted a guy who would take off his tie in the evening and go for a walk. A man who didn’t leave a birthday party to rush off to the office where some important paper couldn’t wait until the next day for his signature.
A hand touched her back. “I’m sorry.”
She turned, not expecting the soft smile on his face or the way he stepped a little closer.
“It isn’t your fault,” she said.
“I guess it isn’t, but still, I know this isn’t easy.”
“It isn’t.” She pulled her coat off the hook by the door and stepped aside to pull it on as a few people walked out, letting a blast of frigid air into the building. She shivered as she pulled on her coat. “I’d almost prefer being back in the cabin.”
She thought about the cabin a lot in the last few days. She thought about the Johnsons, who had just arrived in Treasure Creek the day before, but had headed south to visit relatives for the holidays. She thought about the fireplace and the aroma of popcorn they’d popped over the fire.
Unfortunately, her memories of the cabin also included the man standing in front of her. He reached for her coat and helped her slide her left arm into it, and then he paused in front of her. She froze when he reached for the top button of her coat and fastened it. She covered his fingers with her own and stepped away from him.
“I can do it.” Her fingers trembled and she couldn’t look up. It was good to have something like the buttons to concentrate on.
“I’m sorry.” He backed away, forcing her to look at him. “I’m going to make sure the truck is getting warm.”
“I’ll be out in a minute.”
A few minutes later a horn honked outside the door. Penelope waved goodbye to Pastor Johnny and hurried out the door. Tucker’s truck was parked a short distance from the door. The passenger side door opened a few inches, pushed from the inside.
She reached for it and then paused—because, what if it wasn’t Tucker. What if someone really did want to abduct her? She’d gone through her entire life keeping those threats pushed to the back of her mind, never really thinking about them. But the last week had changed her ability to ignore the possibility.
She peeked into the truck. Tucker smiled and held out a hand.
“Need a lift?”
She ignored his hand and grabbed the handle on the inside of the door. She pulled herself up into the mammoth vehicle and sank into heated leather seats. “Feels great in here.”
“Yeah, a lot better than walking.”
“Much better. But it really wasn’t so bad.”
“You were tough on the trail, Penelope.”
“Thanks.”
And then they didn’t talk for a long time. It was dark and the headlights shone on the snow-covered roadway. It wasn’t even dinnertime yet. She watched out the side window, thinking about all of the places she could have been.
Would she trade this place, this moment, for those other places? She didn’t think so. She had just witnessed the joy of receiving on the faces of dozens of young children. Nothing could compare to sharing that experience.
“That’s a pretty serious look.”
She turned to face Tucker. He glanced her way and then back to the road in front of them.
“You’re supposed to watch the road, not me.”
“I thought you might be asleep.”
“No, just thinking about how great that was back there.”
“Yeah, it was good.”
“You sound so detached. Don’t tell me
your heart is two sizes too small.”
He laughed a little. “Maybe it is. I think I might have dropped a couple of sizes this summer.”
“What happened?”
He shrugged and kept driving, both hands on the wheel.
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“That’s always your answer, and I don’t believe that nothing happened. I don’t believe you took off into the woods for a few months just because it felt like the thing to do. I think something happened.”
“Like my dad dying before I could get home.”
“Keep going.”
He shot her another look and shook his head. “Let’s just get back to Treasure Creek. I’ll even buy you a nice dinner.”
“Do you ever talk to anyone about the things that bother you or do you hold it all inside?”
“I hold it inside. It’s what I’m comfortable with.”
“Yeah, you look comfortable.”
“My dad could have been saved with a bone marrow transplant. He never told me I might have been able to save his life.”
She leaned back in the seat and stared straight ahead, trying to process what he’d shared with her. It hurt her to think about something so devastating to a person’s life. It was his life. She didn’t know how he could get up each day, let alone face his life. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to be sorry, Penelope.”
She nodded. Yes, she did. She’d pushed him until he’d given in and shared. Now that she had the information, she was sorry she’d made him tell.
Tucker slid his hand across the seat and reached for Penelope’s hand. She touched his fingers and then clasped his hand in hers.
“I’d head for the mountains, too.” She finally spoke, her voice soft and wobbly. He knew that tears would be trickling down her cheeks.
“Yeah, it was a rough summer.” He slowed for his next turn, hitting his turn signal and easing onto the brakes. “After the funeral I got a phone call from Seattle.”
“What happened in Seattle?”
He made his turn. “I got a client freed from jail after a pretty serious DWI charge.”
“Okay. I’m sure lawyers do that every day.”
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