Rock and A Hard Place (Cascade Brides Series)

by Blythe, Bonnie

  “I don't have a clue what that means.”

  “It means you're acting like you're afraid of something.”

  “What? Like losing my job? Like being displaced by the nephew? Ya think?”

  “How could you think Merle would treat you that way?”

  “Hey, blood is thicker than charity.”

  “Except when it comes to your sisters.”

  “Stop the car!”

  “What?”

  “I don't have to listen to this! I want out!” She scrabbled at the door handle, sucking in air as if she couldn't get enough oxygen.

  “Don't be childish.”

  “Childish?” Faith turned to him and clenched her fists when he wouldn't slow down the Jeep. “I wouldn't know how, Shane. I was too busy providing for my family to be childish. I was too busy hijacking my own future so my sisters could eat!”

  His steady gaze held hers for a long moment. “What do you mean you hijacked your future?”

  “I worked two full time jobs during my senior year in high school. Do you really think I graduated?”

  His eyes widened. “Is that what this is about? That you don't have a diploma?”

  “Stop the Jeep. Now!”

  He shook his head. “Do you really think that would worry Merle? Anyway, why not just get your GED?”

  Her tears returned with a vengeance. She couldn't speak without losing all control.

  Shane continued to pepper her with questions, but she remained rigid with anger at the way the day had turned out. After an interminable drive, he finally pulled into the gravel area in front of her house. He put the Jeep in park and turned toward her.

  Keeping her head averted, she put up a hand. “Not one word.” She reached for her backpack, hoping she could exit the vehicle with a modicum of grace.

  She heard Shane sigh. “It's just that I thought you weren't afraid of anything.”

  His softly spoken words affected her with all the blunt force of a two by four. Faith jerked herself out of the Jeep, not daring to look back, and hobbled to her front door. Not until she was inside did she allow the first furious wave of tears fall.

  ***

  Shane watched Faith make her way into the house. He knew he'd pushed her too hard, knew he'd been unfair. But her stubborness brought out the needler in him.

  And look where it got him. She was rightfully hopping mad at him and now would be even less open to rectifying what ailed her.

  Way to go, Zadopec.

  And yet, he'd seen the bleakness in her eyes, understood the ache in her heart. He'd been there, and not that long ago. Why didn't she believe that?

  Shane closed his eyes, ashamed that he'd continued to push her, nearly to the point of cruelty. Forgive me, God. Help me to be a support and not make her think I'm sitting in judgment. He gripped the wheel, vowing the next time they were together, he'd be prayed up and easy-going and accepting.

  If there was a next time.

  ***

  It took a long, hot shower and a night's rest before Faith could even begin to think through what happened the day before. Fury had ebbed to shame, which made her angry all over again. She'd never met a nosier, more pompous person in all her life. No doubt he was sitting at home, shaking his head in disappointment that she didn't take his most excellent advice.

  'Just get your GED'.

  She grimaced. Like I haven't thought of that before!

  What purpose would it serve? And yet now that she'd blurted out the truth to Shane, she couldn't bear to leave the situation as-is. She looked up the contact information online for the satellite community college office, planning to make an appointment with a counselor. If Merle found out, so be it. But what couldn't be borne was Shane's knowledge of her embarrassing secret. No matter how long it took, she would get her GED. That made one less thing for Shane to hold over her head.

  And as far as Sunday went, she was staying home.

  Chapter Eleven

  Shane wilted when he made it through an entire church service and mingling time in the foyer without seeing Faith. On some level, he doubted she'd come—not when her wounds were so raw. Of course that was the perfect time to come to church. But that didn't make it any easier.

  The morning sermon had been on patience—something he severely lacked. Maybe he could blame it on growing up in a city where things tended to happen at a faster pace. Or maybe he was just selfish—wanting for Faith what he'd avoided for himself so long—hope and healing.

  He looked across the foyer and saw Merle talking with the same lady as he had last week. Based on the shining eyes and warm smiles, they were getting on swimmingly. Shane experienced a stab of jealousy that the older man was succeeding where he was failing. In the next instant, he chastised himself for being so petty. He knew of Merle's unhappy marriage that had ended when his wife died. The man deserved a chance at finding someone to spend the rest of his years with. Shane wished him well.

  And hoped he didn't have to wait thirty more years to find the same thing.

  ***

  Faith sent severe words to the butterflies in her stomach Monday morning. Not only did they not listen, but their gyrations increased as she pulled open the doors to Blue Mountain Community College. By the time she was ushered into the counselor's office, she was ready to bolt. Her claim of feeling ill this morning was true when she'd let Merle know she'd be taking a personal day, perhaps corresponding to the fact that she hadn't attended church either. How could she face Shane after such a disastrous day?

  “I'm Peggy Smith,” the middle-aged woman said. “You were interested in the GED Test?”

  “Yes,” Faith said, hating the heat spreading across her cheeks. “I wasn't able to finish high school and would like to see about getting caught up and eventually taking the test.”

  “We do offer a placement test to see where you're at, as well as classes to prepare you for the test. However some people chose to challenge the test outright to see how they fare.”

  Faith stared at the woman, one lone butterfly beating against her heart. “You mean I could simply take the test without signing up for classes?”

  “It's one option available.”

  “When is the next test?”

  The woman checked her computer monitor. “This afternoon at one.”

  “Huh.” Faith chewed the inside of her cheek. Wouldn't it be something if I could just pass the thing and be done with it? But what if I didn't? She wrinkled her nose. Think positive, woman! The only one who will know the outcome is you!

  Faith wondered what would Shane do. She frowned, wondering how he'd wormed his way into her decision-making. She hardly needed to second guess herself over the man. At the same time, she knew there was really only one option at hand. Positioning herself ramrod straight, she lifted her chin. “Well, I guess I'd like to give it a go.”

  Peggy smiled. “Great. Let's get you registered.”

  ***

  Shane's optimism took a hit when he stopped by Bascombe Productions and saw that Faith's truck was gone. Or maybe she was already out and about on some new hiking expedition sans him. With a disappointed sigh, he parked and went into the office. Merle greeted him warmly as he stepped through the door.

  After pleasantries, Shane cleared his throat. “Is Faith already on the hunt for the next big photograph?”

  The older man hooked his thumbs in his belt. “Ah, no. She took the day off. She might not be feeling good.”

  Shane deflated. She'd skipped church, and now work. Was she really ill or still just angry? Of course she had every right to be upset with him. But he thought he could smooth things over by now. Apparently that was too optimistic. Apparently she'd been more deeply offended than he realized. He wished for the thousandth time he hadn't pressed he
r so hard.

  Shane chatted for a few minutes with Merle, then headed back to his truck, his thoughts still swirling with regret. Well, she couldn't hide forever. Eventually he'd have an opportunity to apologize to her.

  And if he was really, really, lucky, she might even forgive him.

  ***

  Faith arrived home that evening, filled with guarded optimism. She'd taken the GED test and felt she'd done well. At least it had been easier than she expected. It would be a few weeks before she learned of her score. But for now, she felt a weight had been lifted. She'd tackled an old obstacle and it felt good. Of course she'd been prodded by Shane.

  Shane.

  Every time he came to mind, her heart constricted and her temperature went up a few degrees—not from desire, but angst. She didn't know why, but he had the ability to burrow his way under her skin, all the while wearing a smile. And what did he mean about Merle being concerned about her? Pshaw. She'd worked with the man for several years. Surely she'd have noticed if he was off-kilter.

  Pulling open the freezer section of her refrigerator, Faith frowned. Another TV dinner loomed in her immediate future. Blah. Even take-out Chinese was preferable to this. Her shoulders sagged as she closed the door.

  Her doorbell suddenly rang in the silence. She jumped a little in surprise, then crossed her living room and peeked out the sidelight. She saw Shane's Jeep and almost choked when her heart took up lodging in her throat. What was he doing here? Either he was ready for round two of Bait Faith or he noticed she wasn't at church or work and Merle had sent him to check on her.

  She angled herself towards the window and could just see the side of him—and the fact he was holding a grocery bag. Her anger had dissipated somewhat over the last couple of days, helped along perhaps by taking action on her lack of a diploma. Maybe she should see what he wanted.

  Faith's hand shook a bit as she pulled open the door while maintaining an impassive expression.

  Shane's smile was hesitant. “I was worried you might be sick.” He peered at her face. “Are you?”

  “I'm not contagious, unless you think pessimism is catchable.”

  His smile deepened. “I'm pretty much immune to that these days.” He held up his bag. “Have you eaten? Because this rotisserie chicken and all the fixings is ready to go.”

  She blinked. Chicken sounded heavenly. And it smelled pretty good, too. “I was just contemplating dinner,” she admitted, growing weak against the aroma.

  “I wanted to bring a peace offering.” He shifted from one foot to the other, his smile fading. “Faith, I'm sorry I leaned on you like that Saturday. I had no right.”

  She released a breath she hadn't known she was holding. “Oh.” Finally she remembered her manners. “Come on in. It's chilly out there.”

  His concerned expression morphed into a grin. “Thanks.”

  When he stepped into her small house, she was struck anew by his height and good looks so close up. Her imagination had conjured him to be only average looking and well, ornery.

  “Should I put this on the table?”

  Red-faced, Faith tore her attention from him and waved him to the dinette set in her kitchen. She followed him with measured steps, wondering at his true motives.

  He turned to her. “If you'd prefer I leave, just let me know.”

  She looked away and went to the cupboard. Pulling out two plates, she set them on the small table by way of an answer.

  His mouth twitched and he shrugged out of his jacket, hanging it on the back of the chair.

  Faith stayed busy collecting glasses, napkins, and silverware. Now that he was here, her thinking was muddled. A residue of anger remained, but it had spurred her to do something about her situation. She had to admit a slight lessening of generalized mortification.

  “Faith.”

  Turning, she regarded him, hoping her face didn't reveal too much. “Yes?”

  Shane walked over to her, his dark eyes serious. “I really am sorry for my behavior. Can you forgive me?”

  She moistened her lips, swayed by the contrition in his voice. “Of course.”

  His expression lightened. “And I promise to keep my opinions to myself...or at least try.”

  Faith crossed her arms over her chest. “What, and leave me to wallow in my pessimism?”

  Her small joke caused a smile. “That's why I modified my promise.”

  The desire to tell him about her afternoon swelled within her, but she held back. Maybe she'd flunked the test. Best not to count her chickens before they hatched. Speaking of chicken... “How about that dinner?”

  After everything was laid out, they sat down. Shane reached for her hand and enclosed it in a warm grip. “Dear Lord, please bless this food and this friendship. Amen.”

  Faith stared at him, offering up an inner 'amen'. Friendship. That had a nice sound to it. If she could behave herself.

  They shared a mellow meal time interspersed with simple conversation. Faith experienced an incremental easing of tension. The reality was she would be running into Shane a lot while he lived in John Day. Being able to feel comfortable around him was necessary, and tonight went a long way to making that a possibility. And if she was brutally honest, she knew she was the one with the problem.

  Shane leaned back in his seat and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “So, do you want to look over the shots from Saturday?”

  The mellow vibrations fled. Surely this would just lead to more upset. When it came to photography, they rarely agreed on anything. But what could she say? This was to be a co-op project. Time to grin and bear it.

  As she rose to clear off the table, Shane jumped up to help and together they put the dishes in the sink. He even initiated washing up. After that, he followed her into the living room where her laptop sat on the side table next to the couch. Before she could come up with a seating arrangement sensitive to personal space issues, Shane grabbed her laptop and sat in the middle of the couch, patting the cushion next to him.

  Struggling against the need for a paper bag to control her tendency to hyperventilate over every little thing, she sat next to him—making sure there was at least a few inches between their bodies. It ended up a pointless attempt as he slid close and leaned closer so they could both see the screen. Faith might've suspected him of flirting, but his smile was just too open and friendly. He'd probably never heard the phrase 'personal space issues'. Inwardly calming herself, she pulled up the file containing Saturday's pictures.

  “Put them in a slideshow format.”

  Faith looked up from under lowered brows. “That's what I was going to do.”

  He smiled. “Great minds think alike.”

  Faith struggled to maintain equilibrium. He had said a prayer after all. She needed to play nice. After setting the folder to slideshow, she leaned back and watched as each image appeared. Her throat clogged as she tried to guess Shane's thoughts about what he was seeing.

  “These are really great, Faith.”

  Her eyes flashed up to him, wanting to measure his words against his expression. She squinted. He seemed sincere. “Thank you.”

  He leaned forward. “Oh, can you pause on that one?”

  Faith clicked the photo.

  “Let me make note of the most promising images for our project.” He fished a pen and paper from his pocket and wrote down the image number. When he was done, she restarted the slideshow, stopping when he wanted an image number. By the time they were through all the images, he'd chosen a dozen or so of the best, many of which were the ones taken from the vantage he'd suggested on Saturday. But they really would be better for the effect they wanted. She bit her lip and looked up at him.

  “Shall we narrow it down?” he asked, meeting her eyes.

  “What about figuring
out what we want on each striation first, so we know what will fit?”

  “Okay. Any ideas?”

  Faith surveyed at the selected photos. “Well, it should naturally reflect Oregon's history—the biggest of which is the Oregon Trail. We could have an image of a covered wagon for starters.”

  “Sounds good. I'm not really up on all the history stuff yet.”

  “And what you do know you probably got from a book.”

  He grinned. “Exactly.”

  She tried to resist the sparkle in his eyes. “I think we should also do something with timber. Then maybe salmon, mountain peaks, and the Portland skyline...”

  “Okay, what about the mountain peaks at the top striation, then timber the next level down, then the covered wagon, next salmon, and the last something beachy.”

  “That's great! That way we cover history, industry, and geography.”

  “And by having the sun to the right of the hill, it's showing a dawning on the state.”

  Faith began to feel excited. “Wow, this is a great concept.”

  Shane bumped her shoulder with his. “See, told you great minds think alike.”

  “We know we can enter altered images, right?”

  “Yep. I double-checked the rules.”

  She lowered her gaze. “Do you want to supply the other images?”

  “Sure. I'll play around with it then get your opinion. Should we get together on Saturday?”

  Faith looked up at him, her heart pounding for an entirely different reason. Her feeling of camaraderie dissolved into a new worry. I am so not going to start crushing on this guy. My boss's nephew! That's got to be illegal! Or something. “Yeah, okay.”

  If Shane noticed any difference in her demeanor, he didn't let on. She cleared her throat. “Well, I'm sure you'll be wanting to get home and started on that.” When he raised a brow, she continued. “And getting ready for work Monday—I have to do that too, so...”

  “All right, I get the hint.” He stood up and looked down on her with amusement. “Thanks for giving me a second chance, Faith.”