by Corbit, Dana
The matter settled, Matthew opened his car door and stepped outside. Opening the rear door, he reached in and started unbuckling his daughter’s car seat.
The child’s lids opened, and she rubbed her eyes with her fists. “I want Miss Haley…” Her groggy voice slipped away as she drifted into her dreams again.
Haley climbed out, already starting toward his side of the car. “Do you need any help?”
“No. I’ve got it under control.” He lifted Elizabeth carefully in his arms. “Thanks, though. I’ll see you in the morning.”
With a wave, Haley headed over to her car and unlocked the door. She felt as if she’d been given a gift rather than a brief reprieve from another round of unemployment. Not only had Matthew allowed her the opportunity to spend more time with his wonderful daughter, he’d taken a chance on Haley.
As she drove away, she wondered if he regretted his decision already or would by the time she arrived in the morning. She couldn’t do anything about that, but there was one thing she could do. He’d given her another chance, and she would do whatever she could to deserve it.
Chapter Seven
The next morning as Matthew knotted his tie in front of the mirror and smoothed the corners of his collar, he could hear Haley pulling her car into the drive. He still had a few minutes before he needed to be at the office, so he shrugged into his suit jacket, settled his briefcase in the hall and then went to meet her at the front door.
As he opened the door, he inhaled a deep breath of the crisp morning air. This would be a different day in his working relationship with Haley. A better day. It felt great to be in control, even if it was over only one small part of his life.
Haley smiled at him. “Good morning?”
Because she’d posed it as a question, he smiled back to reassure her. “Yes, it is.” He pushed the door fully open and stepped back to allow her to enter.
Slipping off her tennis shoes, Haley padded to the closet with little white socks peeking out from beneath her jeans. She stowed her heavy-looking shoulder bag in the bottom of the closet and hung her coat on the rod, even facing it the same way as all of his coats and jackets.
As she turned back to him, he noticed that she’d topped off her outfit with a sweatshirt from Ball State University, one of the colleges from her varied journey of higher education. She looked young in that outfit, more like a playmate for Elizabeth than a caregiver, but as long as Haley followed their agreement from last night, it didn’t matter what she looked like.
Haley scanned the living room and the portion of the kitchen visible from the entry. “Where is Elizabeth? Is she still sleeping?”
He glanced to the staircase and back down at Haley again. It was just as well that Elizabeth wasn’t around for the start to this day. “I haven’t even heard her move yet this morning. She was really tired.”
Haley stared at the floor for a few seconds before straightening and planting her hands on her hips. “Okay, do you have any special instructions for me?”
Boy, did he ever. “Right in here.”
He led her into the kitchen and, with a gesture of his hand, indicated two documents on the counter. One had the heading “Schedule” and the other bore the words “House Rules.”
“Very detailed,” she said as she started to lift the papers and found them secured to the counter. “Typed and taped, you’ve certainly been busy.”
“I had a few free minutes.”
Haley stood against the counter and read the second document aloud. “Number one, bed must be made before breakfast. Number two, teeth should be brushed immediately after breakfast. Number three, only healthy snacks between breakfast and lunch.”
Until hearing his list read aloud, Matthew had been proud of both documents, products of his hard work at the computer. Now the words she read sounded silly. Even the schedule seemed over-the-top when last night he’d thought it was perfect.
Maybe he was the dictator that they’d joked about yesterday evening. “You know me. I can’t do anything halfway.”
“And you know me. I can’t finish anything at all.”
“That’s not true,” he said, more because he hoped it than that he believed the validity of it.
Haley turned her attention back to the lists on the counter. She read the rest of the rules silently and then perused the schedule, which blocked out time for everything from breakfast to midmorning reading time. When she finished, she popped to attention and saluted him.
“Thank you, sir. I’ll do my best, sir.”
He’d never been the blushing type, but Matthew felt his face go warm. “All right. All right.”
The project he’d been so proud of only embarrassed him now. Haley thought he was ridiculous. Was he raising a daughter or a military cadet? He was surprised Haley hadn’t laughed out loud when she’d read his lists. She hadn’t, and the more he thought about it, even the smile she’d given him when she saluted had rested only on her lips, never reaching her eyes.
Why hadn’t he realized that his attempt to control every detail of her day with his daughter would hurt Haley’s feelings? How could he tell her that he trusted her and then present her with an extensive list of rules that proved he didn’t? Worse than that, he’d practically engraved them in the granite countertop like the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments.
Suddenly, he wanted to take it all back, to tell her that these were just guidelines instead of hard-and-fast rules. He wrestled with the words to say. He’d never been good at admitting he was wrong. A glance at his watch, though, told him he would have to backpedal later. Yes, later was good. That would give him time to come up with a good excuse for being a jerk because the concerned daddy defense only went so far.
Haley must have misunderstood his hesitation for worry because she put on what looked like a pasted smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll make you proud.”
“I’m not worried. Really.”
She raised a doubting brow that shamed him. “Well, good, then, because you have to get to work, don’t you?”
Another glance at his watch proved her right. “You know, all this isn’t really…” he began, but a pounding sound from upstairs stopped him from finishing.
“Somebody’s finally coming to life this morning.” Haley started down the hall to the stairs, speaking to him over her shoulder. “Now I’m sure you have clients to get to, so have a great day. Elizabeth and I have plenty to keep us busy. Our schedule’s probably tighter than yours.”
Because she continued toward the landing and started up the stairs, he couldn’t see her face, but he figured she wasn’t smiling. He couldn’t blame her. He’d probably offended her on many levels.
Matthew crossed to the hall closet and grabbed his overcoat. He’d expected to feel invigorated and in control after this meeting, so he didn’t know what to do with this empty feeling. The victory felt more like defeat.
As he collected his briefcase and exited through the garage, he could hear a squeal coming from upstairs. Elizabeth was obviously thrilled with the surprise of having Haley come to get her from her room instead of him. More squeals and giggles followed, so he could only guess that a tickle battle had ensued.
Didn’t he want tickle battles for his daughter? And even messy, mural-making moments on rare, warm winter afternoons? Of course he did. Sure, he wanted stability and absolute security for his child, but he also wanted to entertain her imagination, to give her the opportunity to frolic and to offer her the chance to know joy.
So why had he just bound the hands of the person who, despite her flighty nature, seemed to live life more fully than anyone he’d ever known? Was it because joy wasn’t something that he’d personally experienced in a long time and couldn’t teach to his child? He didn’t want to believe he felt threatened by Haley, but the facts didn’t support his case.
The accusation of it chased him as he climbed in his car and backed out of the driveway. Before he pulled away, he cast one last glance at the blond brick colonial, his
gaze drawn to the single, lighted window on the second floor. He wondered if Haley and Elizabeth were still wrestling on the bed or if Haley had already been forced to stop the fun to help Elizabeth begin her morning by making the bed. For his daughter’s sake, he hoped the giggles would go on just a little longer.
Haley settled back into the pew with her mother and sisters on one side and Elizabeth and the majority of the Warren family on the other. She wasn’t sure when Dylan and Logan had entered the sanctuary. Sometime between the opening prayer and the second verse of “The Garden,” the two had suddenly filled the empty seats next to their mother.
“Miss Haley,” Elizabeth said in a child’s loud version of a whisper. “Uncle Dylan and Uncle Logan are here now. They’re late.”
She said the word “late” as if it contained two syllables. Haley leaned forward in her seat so she could give the two men a quick wave. Dylan waved back, keeping his hand low so not to be visible over the top of the pew. Logan grinned at her and winked.
Haley was smiling, too, until she looked to the front of the church again, and put on a straight face. Matthew was staring down at them from his music minister’s bench; the tight flex of his jaw suggested he wasn’t pleased. Unlike his brothers, who sported polo shirts and khaki slacks, Matthew wore a dark suit, crisp white shirt and crimson tie, his attire as serious as his expression.
Haley straightened in her seat and took hold of Elizabeth’s hand again. She indicated with a tilt of her head that the child should pay attention to what was happening at the podium.
The last thing Haley wanted to do was cause the child to misbehave in church, especially after all of her hard work this week to establish a tentative peace with Matthew. Just thinking about how difficult it had been to fit Matthew’s schedule around her own fun agenda made her feel exhausted again. Still, she was proud of the progress they’d made, and she didn’t want to lose ground now.
As Reverend Boggs read the morning’s announcements, Haley found herself sneaking glances at Matthew and his two brothers. She hadn’t seen them in the same room together in years. It was no secret that the Warren brothers were as radically different in personality as she and her sisters, but these guys never had more than a basic family resemblance. Clearly, that hadn’t changed.
Logan was still the family pretty boy, with bright green eyes instead of brown ones like his brothers’ and dimples that some women probably fawned over. Matthew had neither the dimples nor Dylan’s Greek-statue-type cheekbones, but his rounded baby face had always been appealing in its own way, perhaps in its surprising contrast to the hard lines of his demeanor.
At a touch on her left shoulder, Haley started, feeling guilty at being caught checking out guys in church, even if only for comparison’s sake. Jenna rested a comforting hand on Haley’s shoulder, and Haley pressed her cheek against that hand. On the other side of Jenna, Caroline leaned forward and smiled.
Haley couldn’t begin to measure how much she would miss her sisters when they left this afternoon, boarding flights back to their real lives. She would be left behind as the only one whose life had been forever changed by recent events.
Still, as much as she would miss “shopping therapy” with Jenna and board games with her mother and Caroline, Haley needed a break from all that togetherness. Their support came with the pressure of their expectations.
All week Jenna kept insisting that Haley should get back “out there” into the dating scene, though Jenna didn’t seem to be all that “out there” herself lately. On the other hand, whenever Caroline wasn’t dodging their mother’s matchmaking efforts, she was sharing pearls of wisdom on why Haley shouldn’t need a man in her life at all.
Matthew stepped to the lectern again, his commanding presence filling all the space around him. “Would you all please turn in your hymnals to page sixty-seven and join me in singing ‘How Great Thou Art’?”
Releasing Elizabeth’s hand, Haley reached for the book, the words of the hymn flowing through her thoughts before the pianist began the introduction. She appreciated how Matthew tended to favor more traditional hymns over the modern praise songs played in her church in Michigan. She enjoyed the new stuff, too, but there was just something about singing the old favorites and feeling that oneness with other Christians, who for hundreds of years had been using these same words to praise their God.
Haley could just imagine the blessings Matthew must enjoy from sharing these hymns with the congregation each week. She looked up from her hymnal expectantly after she’d sung the songwriter’s opening lyrics about the awesome wonder he felt in God’s presence.
Though Matthew’s beautiful baritone voice flowed though the microphone, none of that awe showed on his face. Haley didn’t know what to make of it. Didn’t Matthew feel the anticipation when he sang of the writer’s joy at the thought of Christ’s return? Was Matthew so busy in his schedules and rules that he missed the messages contained in the songs he led?
Haley shook away the thoughts, admonishing herself that she was the one who should be listening to the messages. She didn’t have the right to expect anyone else to react to hymns or even Scripture the same way she did. Only God could decide how He would speak to people’s hearts.
Still, she couldn’t help watching him and wondering about his church experience as she flipped to Reverend Boggs’s Scripture text in Genesis 22. She hoped that all of Matthew’s obligations as part-time music minister and member of the church finance and grounds committees didn’t prevent him from finding time to have joy in simply praising God.
“In verse two,” the minister began, “God tells Abraham ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering….’ Now you parents out there, try to imagine Abraham’s quandary.
“Isaac was the son he and Sarah had dreamed about for decades. The child who was born when Abraham was one hundred years old and when Sarah was over ninety.” Reverend Boggs shook his head for effect. “Can you imagine the agony Abraham must have felt when God asked him to sacrifice his precious son? And yet he didn’t question. He followed God’s instructions, preparing to take his son’s life, until God told him to stop.”
Haley skimmed the Old Testament words again, the Scripture story she’d heard so many times before sounding different today. No, she wasn’t a parent. She could only imagine the love she would feel for her own child and the overwhelming pain she would feel to lose that child. Still, if the fiercely protective way she was beginning to feel about Elizabeth gave her a clue, that love would be all-encompassing and the loss, incomprehensible.
With her free hand, she slipped her arm around Elizabeth’s tiny shoulders. As Haley settled her hand against her side, she couldn’t resist peeking up at Matthew, who sat with a black leather Bible open across his lap. He was staring at the child next to her, stark emotions clear on his face. As if he sensed her watching, Matthew shifted his head slightly, and his gaze connected with Haley’s.
At first Haley stiffened, and she wondered if she should sit away from Elizabeth, if Matthew thought she was distracting his daughter by holding her so close. But then a strange, warm look appeared on his face. Was it understanding that she read in his eyes? Did he realize that he wasn’t the only one who cared deeply for his child?
“Yes, Abraham was willing to sacrifice what was most dear to him,” Reverend Boggs continued. “Our Father usually asks far less of us, and yet for most of us, the sacrifice is still too great. What could you give up to do God’s work? Your Sunday night TV dramas? Maybe the Wednesday night bowling league?”
Haley couldn’t help smiling at the direction the minister’s sermon was taking. By the time that the closing prayer was spoken, she’d already determined that if she gave up feeling sorry for herself, she would have plenty of time to do church work.
“Uncle Dylan. Uncle Logan.” Elizabeth squeezed her way past her grandmother to reach the two men on the end of the pew once the service had concluded.
Dylan leaned in to kiss the child’s cheek. “I’ve missed you too much.”
After Logan lowered Elizabeth to her feet, he turned to hug his mother.
“What kept you two this morning?” Amy Warren said in a saccharine-sweet voice.
“Ask Logan,” Dylan said drily. “Or better yet, don’t.”
Logan shrugged. “Why, Mom? Are you planning to sacrifice your children, just for being late to church?”
“Very funny,” she said.
Trina, who had come around the other end of the pew, stepped up to her friend’s sons. “She won’t do that, but she probably knows why some animals eat their young.”
Soon the Warren and Scott families—complete for the first time in a long time—were exchanging awkward hugs in the nearly empty sanctuary. Even Matthew had made his way back from the receiving line and was frowning at his brothers who’d been MIA all week.
The scene made Haley smile. It felt like a flashback to her childhood, to the time when she still believed that all stories had happy endings. Before any of them knew about divorces, deaths and failed engagements. It was so great having them all here together. Too bad this was only temporary as a couple of them had a flight to catch.
Chapter Eight
“I don’t think it’s going to work out.”
Trina Scott had been stirring two sugar cubes into a cup of Earl Grey, but at her best friend’s words, she set aside the cup from her favorite tea service.
“What are you talking about?”
Amy Warren rubbed one stocking-clad foot against the other and straightened the floral-print skirt she’d worn to church and then to the airport. Lifting her cup and saucer from the coffee table, she took a sip and lowered it again.
“You know what I mean,” Amy said. “The plan.”
Trina turned her head from side to side then grinned when she remembered they were alone. She didn’t have to worry about anyone overhearing them. After she and Amy had returned with Haley from the airport, Haley had headed off on errands, giving the two friends a chance to chat. Trina appreciated not having to be so careful with her words, at least for a while.