A Romance Rekindled (Heartsong Presents)

by Kimberly Rose Johnson

  Katie glared back until Emily pulled her past him and into Katie’s bedroom.

  “Did you ask your brother about church tomorrow?” Emily closed the door and their voices faded.

  He sank into the couch, being sure to keep pressure on his head and closed his eyes. He’d failed Katie miserably when it came to church. Their parents would be so disappointed, but it wasn’t like he deliberately stopped attending. It happened so slowly he’d barely noticed until one day they hadn’t been to church in months, and then it was just easier to not go.

  A knock sounded on the door, then it pushed open and Julia poked her head through. “Okay if I come in?”

  “Of course.”

  She held up the box of bandages and walked over to him. “I didn’t know how many you’d need so I brought the whole box. Just send it home with Emily when this is healed.”

  “Thanks.” He pulled the cloth away. “How’s it look now?

  “The bleeding’s stopped, but I think the butterfly bandages will help with scarring.” She pulled the skin together and applied a couple of small bandages.

  “It’s not that bad, is it?”

  Her silence unnerved him. “Julia. Please be honest.”

  She shrugged. “I think you’ll probably be fine. It doesn’t look deep. But what do I know? I’m not a medical professional.”

  “Bummer. Here I thought I’d have a cool scar.” He shot her a grin.

  “I should’ve figured that.” She turned to leave and hesitated. “Emily invited Katie to go to church with us tomorrow. We can pick her up if you’d like.”

  “No.” He didn’t want to put this family out any more than he already had. “I’ll take her myself.”

  A wide smile covered her face. “Great. We go to the 10:30 service. Maybe we’ll see you then, but if you prefer there is also an 8:30 service.”

  “I’m sure Katie will want to be there when Emily is.”

  “Wonderful. Well, bye.” She left and closed the door firmly.

  He hadn’t planned to start attending church again tomorrow, but like the saying went, there was no time like the present.

  * * *

  Blake and Katie walked toward the entrance to the church. Several people mingled outside and a few stopped them to welcome them and shake their hands.

  Katie slipped her hand into his and tugged him inside. “I want to find Emily.”

  “Okay, but don’t be rude.” He nodded to another person who welcomed them. “These are some seriously friendly people.”

  “Uh-huh.” Katie craned her neck. “I’m too short.” She frowned. “Do you see Emily and her family?”

  He looked around the foyer which was situated between the sanctuary and a multi-purpose room of sorts. “Maybe they aren’t here yet. How about if we go find a seat?”

  “I want to sit with Emily’s family.”

  “Katie!”

  They both turned. “Emily.” Katie dropped his hand, and her face shone with a grin. The girls hugged, then tromped off.

  Julia laughed. “Don’t worry about them. Emily knows where we sit and won’t dare be late.”

  Blake took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He never enjoyed visiting churches and this time was no exception, but if the preaching was as good as the congregation was friendly, they wouldn’t need to visit any other churches. This one would suit him just fine.

  Mitch clapped him on the shoulder. “Good to see you again.”

  “Thanks, you, too.” It was nice to see a familiar face in the crowd, and Julia and her husband were fast becoming good friends. “Mind if I sit with you and your family?”

  “Not at all.” Mitch moseyed into the sanctuary and sat in the middle right section about four rows from the front. “How are the renovations coming along? I heard you had a run-in with your ladder.”

  “Yeah.” He absently touched his hand to his bandaged forehead. “The renovation isn’t coming along at all. I’ve been distracted with other stuff, but I should start soon. The roof needs replacing, the exterior could use a new coat of paint, the wood floors need refinishing.” He sighed. “There’s too much to list.”

  “You doing the work yourself?”

  “I considered it, but I hadn’t anticipated that so much would need to be done. After the ladder incident, maybe I ought to hire a roofer. Can you recommend anyone?”

  Mitch gave him the name of a couple of guys, and then Katie and Emily slid into the pew at the opposite end just as the worship band started playing.

  Blake stood with the rest of the congregation and tried to follow along with the music. It’d been a long time since he’d been to church and the songs were different. Susan walked past him and moved closer to the front. He stopped singing and stilled. He hadn’t seen her since he recklessly kissed her at her party last week.

  * * *

  Susan glanced over her shoulder and froze—Blake. He had a couple of bandages on his head. What had happened? Her stomach did a funny flip then dropped. Worship ended a short time later, and she sat, her eyes trained forward as the special soloist came on stage. What was she going to do? It felt like everywhere she went in this small town she ran into him. It was too much! How could she not think about him if he was always there?

  She was happy to see him in church, especially since he had stopped attending, but why did he choose this church? They’d attended a different church as a couple. She chanced a quick glance over her shoulder and understood. Emily and Katie sat side by side. Of course, he’d bring his sister to the church where her friend went. But that didn’t make seeing him here, in her safe haven, any less difficult. This was the one place she figured was safe from Blake and his sister. His sister—that sounded so much better than his daughter. But, still, he’d called off the wedding. Which meant he hadn’t loved her enough.

  She pulled out of her thoughts as the song ended and prepared to focus on the sermon. Too soon the service ended and she was forced to walk past Blake.

  “Hey there.” His strong bass voice stopped her.

  “Hi, yourself. Glad you made it.” At least she was, deep down—very deep down. “You okay?” She nodded to his head injury.

  “Fine. Just tangled with a ladder.”

  She pursed her lips and nodded. Awkward silence stood between them.

  “Susan.” Holly walked up to her and gave her a hug. “How are you?” She looked at Blake. “How’s the writing coming along?”

  “Slowly.”

  “It’ll come. If you ever want to brainstorm let me know. My imagination runs amok and I could use something to focus it on.”

  Katie nudged into the group of adults. “Hi, Holly!”

  “Hey, kiddo.”

  Susan looked from the child to her friend and wondered how they knew each other, but kept her question to herself. It seemed Blake got around. She couldn’t blame Holly for the sparkle in her eyes when she looked at him. The man was a feast for the eyes, bandages or not.

  “You okay, Susan?” Holly looked at her with concern.

  “Fine. Did you say something?”

  “It’s not important.”

  “Okay. Good to see you.” She smiled at everyone in their small group and fled the building.

  Chapter 9

  Susan walked into the hardware store and studied the overhead signs. Never one to play hooky, she felt weird not sitting behind her desk on a Monday morning, but after seeing Blake at church yesterday, she needed a break from humanity, especially from the man who made her heart pitter-patter.

  She’d run out of room on her shelves in her pottery studio and needed to pick up a new unit to store her work. She gripped a cart and pushed it toward the other end of the store until a familiar voice grabbed her attention, and she stopped, nearly groaning before catching herself. What was Blake do
ing here? This was her hardware store. He wasn’t allowed to shop here. She knew she was being immature and ridiculous, but she didn’t care. Guilt knotted her stomach. Well, maybe she cared a little. The man was entitled to shop wherever he wanted, but everywhere she went he was there. It was as if someone were trying to push them together.

  Before he could spot her, she shielded herself behind a display and listened to his conversation with a woman she didn’t recognize.

  “I need a woman’s opinion. Which one of these would look best in an eleven-year-old girl’s room?”

  The woman took the samples and shrugged. “I don’t think it matters. They’re practically the same color.”

  Susan poked her head around the display to get a better look at him. He stood alone looking after the woman who had walked away. His face was crestfallen. Her heart softened toward him just a little. He was horrible when it came to decorating. His bachelor pad when they were engaged was a mishmash of motorcycle posters and flea-market furniture, none of which went together. Someone really should have mercy on the man and help him.

  She felt a nudging in her spirit to be that someone. Really, God?

  I can’t.

  Trust.

  “Fine,” she grumbled, and with a sigh she stepped out from behind the display. Bracing herself she tried for casual. “Morning, Blake.”

  Relief shone on his face for only a moment, then his look turned guarded.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Trying to pick out paint for Katie’s room. I want to surprise her with a makeover.”

  “How fun.” She looked at the paint chip samples in his hand—all varying shades of lavender. “Your sister likes purple?”

  “It’s her favorite, but she also likes teal, red, yellow, fuchsia—”

  Susan laughed and waved a hand. “I get it. She loves color.”

  “Exactly, and her walls are white. I don’t want to do anything too crazy or taste-specific, but the walls are in bad shape and could use a fresh coat of paint. I thought a shade of purple might be a good choice.”

  She scrunched her nose. “I hate to say it, but purple in general is pretty taste-specific. If you’re set on purple, how about one of these lighter lavenders? See how these kind of look silver?” She pulled a few paint chips from the display. “Any of these will work well for resale, and you can incorporate the bolder colors into accessories. A purple comforter with coordinating curtains and jewel tone throw pillows would pop.”

  He grinned. “For someone who has a white house and wears strictly black, you’re pretty good at this.”

  She grimaced and tugged at the scarf around her waist that Betsy had given her for her birthday. “I’m adding small splashes.”

  He nodded. “I stand corrected.” His eyes shone with appreciation.

  She swallowed the lump in her throat. “If you’d like I could sew the curtains for you.” Had that really just come from her lips?

  “That’s a really nice offer, but I already ordered them online. I have them hiding in the back of my Jeep. I didn’t want Katie to see them and start asking questions. Anyway, they’ll fit nicely into the idea you laid out. Now I just need to run over to Wenatchee and grab a comforter and pillows like you suggested.”

  Whew! “Okay, then, I should be going. I need to pick up a shelf. I’m making too much pottery.” On second thought, forget the shelf. She’d get it another time, when Blake wasn’t around. The man affected her in ways she wasn’t prepared to deal with. She turned and walked on shaky legs in the opposite direction toward the exit.

  * * *

  Susan stared at the wall covered with colorful bowls in her twenty-by-twenty pottery studio situated in her backyard. The previous owner had used it as a workshop, so it had taken little effort to convert the space. Now the walls were covered in a shimmery pale blue paint and eyelet curtains hung in the single window. She had recently made sheers to cover the French doors she had installed. Sure, the old door was serviceable, but she enjoyed the fresh air and ambiance the French doors provided.

  She kicked off her black clogs and snuggled into the loveseat she’d picked up on clearance just before Blake had come back to town. White wasn’t very practical out here, so when she’d spotted the steel-gray, extrasoft contemporary design she’d snagged it. “Lord, I really don’t understand what’s going on with Blake. Surely You don’t want me with someone who doesn’t love me?”

  Trust.

  That word again. She ground her teeth. How exactly was she supposed to trust again? It felt as though life were one disappointment after another. She’d been burned and trust didn’t come easily. Her cell phone jarred her from her thoughts. She checked the caller ID. “Hey, Keira. What’s up?”

  “That’s what I was about to ask you. I heard you were at the hardware store with Blake.”

  Susan cringed at the small-town phenomenon. Buy groceries at noon and the entire town will know about it as well as what you bought. She was surprised the rumor mill didn’t have them moving in together since they were paint shopping. “He was trying to pick out paint for his sister’s bedroom when I happened upon him and offered to help.”

  “You offered?”

  Clearly, she’d surprised her friend. “If you’d been there and had seen how utterly pathetic he looked, you’d have, too.” Should she tell Keira she’d felt God nudging her?

  “True, but I consider him a friend whereas you...”

  This was news. Of course, they’d all been friends before he left, but somehow Keira’s comment made her seem disloyal to their friendship. “Did you need something, or were you just calling to find out about Blake?” She tried to hide the hurt in her voice, and cringed when her voice broke.

  “No, I didn’t need anything. What time are you off work?”

  “I’m taking a week or two off.” She needed a break from running into Blake, and if her pottery studio was the only safe place left in Leavenworth, then that was where she’d be until she could sort through her feelings and figure out why God told her to help him.

  “Really? That’s a first.” Concern edged Keira’s voice. “Where are you going?”

  “Nowhere. I just need time to myself. I figured it might come as a shock to my clients, so I sent them all postcards alerting them to my absence. I don’t want to lose business.”

  “Good thinking. If you want company, I could grab a pizza, and we could watch movies.”

  Susan hesitated, still smarting at Keira’s disloyalty regarding Blake, but if she didn’t go along with the idea, her friend would probe deeper. That on top of Blake would be too much to deal with right now. “Sure.” They firmed up the details and disconnected the call.

  Avoiding Blake was the smartest thing she could do. Yes, he’d hurt her, and yes, she’d forgiven him, but every time she saw him he set her heart to racing and all the old familiar feelings returned. She just couldn’t fall for him and risk the hurt of his rejection again—no, she must guard her heart.

  Susan resumed staring at the wall of colorful bowls and wondered again at God’s nudging her to trust. What was His plan? Surely He was on her side.

  * * *

  Blake stared vacantly out the window of his house. He’d watched Susan flee the hardware store, and his good mood had tumbled. When she’d offered to help he’d hoped they had turned a corner in their relationship, but clearly that wasn’t the case. Another thought bothered him, too—Susan used pottery as a stress reliever, a therapy of sorts. If she was throwing so many bowls that she ran out of shelf space, she must be very upset about something—probably him.

  Couldn’t she see he wasn’t the immature rebel he’d once been? Then again, she’d been so nice at the store. She didn’t have to step up and offer to help. Perhaps her stress was from work, and had nothing to do with him.

  Frustrated, he gave up
trying to figure out Susan and turned from the window. Katie had been a trouper and it was time to reward her. Time to paint.

  Several hours later Blake pulled the last bit of painter’s tape off the baseboard and stood back to admire his work. “Nice.” With the heat coming in through the open window, the walls would dry fast, and he’d be able to put the room back together complete with new curtains and bedding. His sister would be ecstatic, and it made him feel great to do this for her.

  She would be camping with Emily for another night. He’d sent his sister with her friend under the guise of needing to work on their book. No writing had taken place, but her room had shaped up nicely.

  Pounding on the roof made him jump. The roofers had been ripping off old shingles all morning and replacing rotted plywood. It’d been quiet for the past hour, and he’d nearly forgotten about them. He looked at the wall clock. Ah, lunch was over.

  Maybe he should get a little writing done since he’d told Katie he would. He sat on the couch and booted up his laptop. His shoulders were stiff and sore from painting, but he was never one to let a little pain stop him. Stretching, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly—time to get in the zone.

  He stared at the screen with hands perched on the keys—nothing came. His brain was a wasteland of gray matter. Not a single useful thought would formulate. The pounding on the roof did little to aid in the creative process. Neither did the fact that the only thing he could think about was Susan.

  What was she doing right now? Was she in her pottery shed? Perhaps throwing another bowl? Or maybe she’d moved on to mugs.

  He refocused on the screen. Work—that’s what he needed to do. He’d promised Katie some writing would get accomplished and it would. Closing his eyes he pictured the scene and started typing.

  Several hours later he pressed Save and set the computer aside. It wasn’t a lot, but it was something. And he’d managed to keep Susan out of his thoughts the entire time. Now to figure out how to fix things between them.

  * * *

  The following day Susan held up the plaque with the letters KATIE centered on it. All that was left to do was paint it. Jewel tones would go on the letters and the base would be deep purple.