by Rachel Hanna
She’d had real English tea parties at her house while he’d eaten pineapple and mayonnaise sandwiches as a treat after school. She’d had a nanny that attended to her every need while he’d had a babysitter that spent most of her time outside smoking instead of watching him. She’d had a brand new red sports car at sixteen years old. He’d ridden his bicycle to school, and it didn’t have working brakes so he’d worn out the bottoms of his sneakers trying to stop.
Brandon had had to work for everything in his life. His parents were good, hard working people, but they’d never had a lot of money. Doing well in school and getting scholarships resulted in him being the first college educated person in his family.
But there was more to Faith than met the eye. He could see through her strong, standoffish persona. Inside, she was scared. She was vulnerable. She was aching for something more.
He knew what that felt like. And, against all of his better judgment, he was going to help her get back on her feet, even if it meant fighting every instinct he had to scoop her up into his arms and protect her from the world.
Faith sat in the small waiting room, tapping her foot on the freshly carpeted floor as anxiety continued to course around her body. Brandon had set up this appointment for her to meet Olivia, but she was starting to second guess the whole thing.
After all, what did she know about kids and poverty? Exactly nothing. She wouldn’t have anything to offer these children, and they’d sense that. Kids and dogs can always sense when you don’t know what you’re doing, right?
“You must be Faith?” a woman said from the doorway. She was very attractive with platinum blond hair, perfect for the beach. She looked to be in her mid thirties, maybe, and seemed like a poster model for the quaint coastal town.
“Yes, that’s me,” Faith said, summoning her best smile without looking like a nutcase. She stood up and shook the woman’s hand.
“Hi. I’m Olivia Lane. Welcome to HOPE!”
“Thanks for meeting with me.”
“Come on back to my office,” Olivia said, opening the door wider.
Faith followed her to a small office off of a bigger room that looked to be used for events.
“Sorry about the mess. We’re still getting moved into this place. I ran HOPE out of my home for months until my husband threatened to run away,” she said with a laugh. “Have a seat.”
Faith sat down in a chair across from her desk. “It’s a nice place.” She had no idea what to say.
“Brandon tells me that you might want to volunteer while you’re visiting January Cove?”
“I’m definitely interested in doing that, yes. But I’ve never volunteered anywhere before so I don’t know how much help I’d be, honestly.”
“Oh, honey, trust me, we can use an extra pair of hands every single day!”
“Really?”
“Absolutely. For example, the kids just got back to school after winter break so now we’re trying to get more donations for spring break backpacks.”
“Spring break backpacks?”
“Yes. We send home fully stocked backpacks so that our food insecure kids have plenty to eat during spring break.”
Faith’s stomach tightened. “So there really are kids who wouldn’t have food if they weren’t in school?” Part of her hadn’t believed Brandon when he told her.
“Yes, that’s very true. We have kids who only get food at school.”
“That makes me so sad.” Faith really did feel sad. Maybe Brandon was right and she did have a big heart in there.
“Around here, we turn our sadness into HOPE,” she said, smiling as she pointed behind her at their slogan on the wall. “Sadness is a useless emotion without action. I’ve been through a few rough spots in my life, and there were people who helped me. So, I consider it my job and my duty to help others.”
“That’s very inspiring.”
“Care to join us?” Olivia asked, her hands in a prayer position.
Faith smiled. “I’d love to.”
And with that, Faith McLemore put down some roots in January Cove.
“So, how was your first day?” Brandon asked as he took a bite of his sandwich. He’d been surprised when Faith had invited him to eat a quick lunch at the sandwich place near the pier. She was getting easier to be around as her walls started to come down a bit.
“I was a mess this morning. I’ve never really been around kids, but we had an event at the elementary school.”
“Oh yeah? What did you do?”
“I colored with some third graders. I played a little dodge ball with some aggressive fourth graders. And I ate lunch with this sweetest little girl named Sadie. Well, not alone. Olivia sat with us. I just listened mostly.”
“Sadie, huh?” Brandon couldn’t help but smile at her excitement.
“She was pretty adorable, actually. Curly black hair and the biggest smile. Olivia told me that her parents divorced and she’s being raised right now by her great aunt. But money is tight, so Sadie gets most of her meals through the school and HOPE.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah, it’s crazy to think there are kids all around this country who go to bed hungry. I guess I never really thought about it, but now I won’t ever forget it. Putting faces to the issue makes it even more important to me.”
“And that’s just after one day, Faith. Amazing!”
Faith smiled at him. “I wanted to say thanks for introducing me to Olivia.”
“No problem at all.”
“And thanks for making me believe I had something to give.”
Brandon looked at her. “You have a lot to give, Faith. Stop doubting yourself.”
“Hard habit to break,” she said, biting into a French fry.
“I’ve always found that during the worst times of our lives, the best thing to do is help someone else. There are always people worse off than you are.”
“So what has been the worst time of your life, Brandon?”
He sighed. “I was left at the altar.”
Faith’s face changed. He couldn’t figure out if it was shock or some form of anger, but it did cause her to drop her sandwich.
“What?”
“Yep. It was almost six years ago now.”
“What kind of idiot woman would leave you at the altar?” she said, obviously without thinking. Her eyes popped open wider, and he could see her face starting to turn red.
“Her name was Kim. We dated a couple of years, planned a big wedding and then when the big day arrived, she didn’t.”
“Did you ever talk to her again?”
“On the phone. Eventually my mom found out she was hiding in another state with her aunt and uncle. She just didn’t know how to tell me that she didn’t want to go through with it, I guess. So she ran. Her bridesmaids didn’t even know. They walked down the aisle and she ran out the back door of the church and hopped a bus to Indiana.”
Faith stared at him like he was an alien. “That’s the most depressing and entertaining story I’ve ever heard.”
Brandon laughed. “Well, it wasn’t entertaining at the time.”
“I’m so sorry that happened to you, Brandon. You definitely deserve so much better.”
He held her gaze for a moment and felt something deep in his soul. What if she was “the one”? No. No. No. Stop it, Brandon, he thought to himself. She’s just as wounded as you are, if not more.
“Well, anyway, that’s how I ended up overseas. I had to get out of here and away from all the memories… the embarrassment…”
“So you used your pain to help others.”
“Right. And that’s what I think you should do. It changes who you are because you realize what’s really important.”
“And what did you realize?”
“That my purpose on this Earth is to help other people survive. And that the only thing that matters… the only thing that really lasts… is love.”
Faith swallowed hard. “Do you regret not getting married?”
&nb
sp; Brandon paused for a moment. “Absolutely… not.”
“Really?”
“Looking back, she was never the right one. Sometimes God just has to let you go through things to grow.”
Faith nodded. “You’re an old soul, Brandon James.”
Chapter 6
Faith sat at the small desk in her room at Addy’s and stared at the paper in her hands. Why had her father left her so little information? Did he know more?
Of course, she had no way to ask him. All of her letters had been returned to her, and no matter how many times she called the prison, they wouldn’t help her. He’d phased her out of his life.
She had searched the Internet, visited the January Cove library and looked at every face in town just trying to see if anyone looked like her. Nothing seemed to add up.
But her visit to January Cove hadn’t been in vain. After all, she’d met a great friend in Brandon, and she was starting to get a lot closer to Addy and Olivia. She loved her new “job” of volunteering too. Life was definitely better when no one knew her past. Well, except Brandon.
Brandon was the least judgmental person she’d ever met. He had nothing but acceptance for everyone, and she wanted to be more like him. And the truth was, she was very attracted to him. The thought scared her. The last time she trusted men, she got dumped by one and abandoned by another.
“Knock knock,” Addy said from the cracked doorway.
“Oh, hey, Addy,” Faith said, sliding the piece of paper under her desk calendar.
“I was wondering if you were busy today?”
“Nope, not at all. Did you need some help around here?”
Addy laughed. “No. I wanted to invite you to our big Sunday family dinner.”
“Family dinner?”
“All of the Parkers get together on Sundays and eat a big meal together at my Mom’s house. She’s traveling with her husband, but all of my brothers and their families will be there.”
“I’d hate to intrude.”
“Honey, I wouldn’t invite you if it was an intrusion! Look, we’re a very laid back, welcoming bunch. I regularly invite my guests to come.”
“Oh. Well, okay then. I’d love to!”
“Great. We’ll be leaving around noon, so you can just meet us in the foyer.”
Faith nodded as Addy closed the door behind her. She was nervous about meeting more new people and possibly getting asked questions she didn’t want to answer.
“And this is my brother Jackson. I think you know Rebecca already?” Addy asked as she continued introducing Faith to her large family.
“I do. She makes a mean mocha latte,” Faith said with a smile.
So far, it wasn’t so bad. Her mind had led her to believe that people were going to bombard her with a million questions the moment she walked through the door of the Parker home, but nothing could’ve been further from the truth. Instead, she had been greeted with smiles and hugs and the smell of pot roast.
A part of her longed for the camaraderie of siblings and a big family. The warmth of this oversized family unit was something she wanted for herself. She’d grown up wealthy, but lonely, and she would’ve traded all the nannies and sports cars in the world for this. The feeling that someone had her back no matter what. The embrace of people who loved her and would never let her down.
“So Addy tells me you’re volunteering with Olivia Lane?” Jackson said.
“Yes. I just started.”
“Olivia’s a great lady. We went to high school together, actually.”
“Really?”
“She had a bit of a rough upbringing, but she’s definitely using that to the advantage of kids all over this area.”
Faith listened as he went on about the work HOPE was doing in the community, but in the back of her mind she had to wonder about the rough upbringing comment. Olivia hadn’t really talked about her early years, of course why would she? Faith was a virtual stranger.
“Sorry I’m late!” she heard a voice call from the foyer. She turned around to see Brandon hugging Addy in the doorway of the kitchen.
“Brandon?”
“Oh, hey, Faith! I see Addy has wrangled you into a Parker family dinner, huh?”
She was actually happy to see a familiar face. “Didn’t take much wrangling, actually. Kind of getting tired of eating alone in my room,” Faith said.
“Now, I always invite you down for every meal, Faith McLemore,” Addy chided.
“I know, I know. I just hate to have you dirty up the kitchen for just me.”
Addy forced a frown. “Business has been a bit slow, but the busy season is almost upon us!”
The rest of the afternoon was spent laughing and talking around the big dining room table, extra chairs spilling out from the edges. Faith couldn’t remember a time where she felt more included and at peace. No one was judging her, at least that she could tell. They seemed to want to know her, not her past.
The relationships she saw around her gave her hope that one day she’d find someone who loved her for her. Only right now, she didn’t really know who she was. Or where she came from.
“Thanks again, everyone. Lunch was amazing,” Faith said as she made her way to the door. Addy had asked her if she wanted a ride back to the inn, but Faith had said she was going to take a nice walk along the beach first.
“Mind if I tag along?” Brandon whispered in her ear at the door. The warmth of his breath on her neck gave her shivers.
“Sure.”
They made their way down through the path leading to the beach. It was starting to get cool as the evening air descended and the wind coming off the water blew her carefully styled hair all over the place. Faith pulled her cardigan tighter around her.
“So what’d you think?”
“About what? The Parker family?”
“Yes. Our resident royal family, so to speak,” Brandon said with a laugh.
“They’re fantastic. I wish…”
“You wish what?”
“That I had a family like that,” she said as she stared back up at the towering brick house off in the distance.
“Everyone does. The Parker family is a dying breed.”
“Well, that sounds morbid, Brandon.”
“No, I just mean family sizes are getting smaller, and people don’t stay together like they have. They’ve all come back to January Cove over the years, for different reasons, but they stay together by choice.”
“I can’t even get my father to talk to me, so I don’t think I have much hope of having a family like that.”
Brandon stopped and stared out toward the water as the sky began to turn pink in preparation for the impending sunset. “You see that out there?”
“What? The horizon?” Faith asked.
“Yeah. A lot of times I look at that and it reminds me that life, and all the possibilities that it brings, is limitless. You never know what’s going to happen, Faith. You create what you want in this world.” He turned back to her. “If you want that kind of family, you have to make it yourself.”
“I don’t even have a boyfriend, Brandon,” she said with a laugh.
“Then maybe you should start there,” he said with a wink. She had no idea what that meant, and she was far too scared to ask so she started walking again instead.
“I can’t believe this place is real.”
“What?”
“It’s like January Cove is trapped in some time warp where people love each other and welcome strangers and the views are the most beautiful I’ve ever seen.”
“Tell me about it,” Brandon said under his breath. She turned to notice him looking at her, and her face flushed. Brandon cleared his throat. “So, do you like dolphins?”
“What?”
He cleared his throat again. “Do you like dolphins?”
“I think so… Why?”
“My friend runs a dolphin cruise company. I thought maybe you’d like to go on a tour sometime? See some dolphins?”
She sm
iled. “I’d like that.”
Brandon smiled back. “Me too.”
Faith sat at the small cafeteria table, her foot nervously tapping the floor.
“Faith?” Olivia said.
“Yes?”
“You know how they say dogs can smell fear?” she asked as she sat down in front of her.
“Yes.”
“These kids are going to smell you from a mile away, sweetie.”
“They are?”
“Or maybe they might get seasick first,” she said, pointing at Faith’s leg.
“Sorry,” Faith said sighing. “I’m not sure I’m cut out for this, Liv. Maybe I could just work more behind the scenes.”
Olivia reached out and took both of Faith’s hands in hers. “You’re a human being. These kids are no different than you are. They need to hear positive words. They need a smile and maybe a hug. Trust me, when they see HOPE volunteers here to eat lunch with them, they feel so important!”
Today was a big day for Faith. Once a month, some of the volunteers went to one of the local schools to have lunch with the HOPE kids. They didn’t wear their normal T-shirts because Olivia said the kids might get bullied for needing free lunches. Instead, they were just there to encourage the kids and let them know someone cares. And this was the first time Faith would be eating with one of the kids by herself.
“They’re going to love you, Faith. Just be yourself.”
“I don’t know who that is,” Faith whispered under her breath as Olivia stood to greet the kids who were milling into the cafeteria.
Faith stood and painted on a smile. “Faith, this is Amelia.”
The little girl looked to be about nine or ten years old. She was wearing a plain pink shirt with a couple of small holes near the bottom and a pair of ratty blue jeans. Her hair was pulled into a matted ponytail. Faith wasn’t ready for this.
“Hi, Amelia. I’m Faith.”
“Yeah, I know. She just said that,” the little girl said as she sat down. Olivia glanced at Faith and smiled.