Brian spat at him. Joe recoiled, and Brian’s fist exploded into his temple. The room spun at odd angles. Brian easily knocked Joe off with a knee to his midsection. Joe groaned, but panic launched him off the floor. He tackled Brian as the schemer scrambled from the room. They fell into the hall with a shuddering thud. Joe wrapped his arm around Brian in a headlock, his knee lodged between Brian’s shoulder blades, and yanked hard. Brian grunted.
Joe spoke through clenched teeth. “Tell me why! Why would you hurt Mona or Liza?”
“It didn’t have anything to do with them,” Brian rasped. “They ruined my life. I’ve been waiting years in this wretched town for my grandmother to die, sacrificed everything to save up the cash, and Mona had to sabotage my plans. That house is mine. She has no right to take it.”
“Take it!” The burning pain in his gut made Joe tighten his grip. “She’s poured her life out for that house, her dream. You are the saboteur!”
“That’s enough, Joe. Let him go.” Chief Sam’s calm voice bathed Joe in reality.
Joe gritted his teeth. Brian’s jagged breathing matched his own. The clock ticked out Joe’s fury in tune with his thundering heartbeat.
“Let him go,” Sam repeated.
Joe blew out a hot breath and reluctantly released his grip. Brian threw him off like a ratty blanket and clambered to his feet. Joe stood right behind him.
Instantly Brian transformed into a cool-demeanored man. “Hi, Chief. Glad you were in the neighborhood. This man was trying to kill me. He’s trouble, just as I thought.”
Chief Sam scanned past Brian to Joe, as if to give Brian’s words merit. Then he shifted his gaze back to Brian. “Why don’t you come down to police headquarters, Brian? You can file a complaint and tell me all about it.”
Brian hesitated, shot a confused scowl at Joe, then narrowed his eyes at Sam. “I guess you think I’m a fool.”
Sam shrugged. “I guess we’re even then. C’mon, Brian. We have a few questions to ask you.”
“We?” Brian stepped back and met Joe, an iron wall behind him.
“We. As in Leo Simmons and I. We want to know why you wanted lime from the city park department, the kind they use in the local outhouses. It’s puzzling me, especially since you’ve had indoor plumbing all your life.” His eyes darkened as he continued. “He told me about the money he stole and your threats. Frankly, Brian, I’m not sure what to charge you with first—blackmail, destruction of property, or attempted murder.” He crossed his arms, motioning with his head to the deputies behind him. They moved toward Brian.
A muscle flickered in Brian’s jaw. His face hardened and for a moment Joe thought he’d have to put him in a headlock again. Then Brian groaned. Just as the deputies reached him, he turned and stuck a wide, quivering finger in Joe’s astonished face. “The house is cinder, Michaels. Even if you are the best handyman in the world, Mona will never get the place open in three weeks.” His eyes glinted malice.
Joe glared at him, but a despairing voice inside confirmed every word.
19
The Footstep of Heaven looked like the tongues of the underworld had licked it. Mona hugged herself and vainly attempted to calm a violent shudder.
The back of her house made her want to sob. Thankfully, the firemen’s persistence in wetting down the roof saved the old roofing tiles from igniting like fireworks, but the back siding was charred from the rafters down to nearly the first floor. To augment the ghastly scene, the garage had become a soot-blackened shell. Even if his apartment were inhabitable, Joe would need a ladder to get home. The smell of creosote soaked the air, and mud flooded her shoes when she stepped in her previously lush grass.
From the front, the inferno’s teeth marks weren’t as visible. Only the soggy lawn, pools of water in recesses of uneven porch boards, and the smell of day-old smoke hinted at something amiss. Still, the place would take a small army and a sizable fortune to repair.
Mona bit the inside of her lip to keep her tears at bay, but sorrow throbbed through her. It was over. Her dream had burned to a crisp. The only logical step was to sell. But she’d lose everything—who would want to buy an overcooked money pit? Brian had won. Whoever bought the Victorian would bulldoze it to the ground and start over. Maybe Speedy Burger was just what Deep Haven needed, not some old-fashioned bookstore filled with fancy. Bitterness wound around her heart. She’d been such a fool.
Mona turned away from the tragedy and shuffled back up the walk. Chuck was probably in his office. She could get the paperwork started immediately.
She plowed into Joe. “Where are you off to?” He caught her as she stumbled.
Mona couldn’t look at him. Instead she stared at the poplar sapling, which seemed to have survived the onslaught of the rubber-booted soldiers and had bloomed tiny white-and-green buds. Mona sucked in a deep breath and her throat burned. She couldn’t voice her decision. It was lodged in a painful place in her heart. She shook her head and worked free of his grasp.
Joe moved into her path. “Whoa, not so fast, Silver. I see it in your eyes. You’ve given up.” He gripped her arm. “Well, not on my watch.”
Mona’s jaw tightened as she met Joe’s piercing gaze.“I don’t have a choice. Don’t you see? This place was never meant to be. It’s a silly dream. I’m sorry I wasted all your time on it.”
Joe winced and glanced skyward. She saw his lips move, but no sound came out. Then he turned his compassionate blue eyes on her, reaching out with a look that made her tremble. “I’m not going to let you give up, Mona. I’m here for a reason, and right now, it’s to help you get back on your feet.”
Mona closed her eyes. She couldn’t give in to his kindness, the temptation to hope in him—or in her dream. It cost too much. She shook her head again, this time fiercely.
The urgency in his voice startled her. “Mona! Why?Why won’t you believe it can work? After all you’ve sacrificed to make it happen, you’re going to give up that easily? You’re going to let Brian win?”
“It’s not about Brian!” she shot back. “It’s about me!I know I don’t deserve this dream to come true, and the longer I play out the charade, the more it will hurt when it finally shatters.” Her voice turned wretched. “My heart can’t take it.”
She didn’t expect his powerful embrace. His arms went around her, pulling her to his wide, muscular chest. She resisted slightly, but when he put a hand on her head and tucked it under his chin, she gave in with a releasing shudder. His hug was firm yet gentle. She relaxed against him, smelling denim and the musky scent of soap mingled with perspiration. Why did it have to be so comforting?
“‘If God is for us, who can ever be against us?’” Joe whispered.
Mona stiffened.
“He’s the author of dreams. And He’s not a trickster.He doesn’t give us a dream only to yank it away and laugh.”
Despair coursed through her. “I’m not sure God is for me.”
Joe released her in an abrupt motion and held her away from him. His gaze probed hers. “How can you believe that? You’re His child! He loves you.”
Mona looked away.
Joe cupped his hand under her chin and turned her face to his. “‘Since God did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won’t God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else?’ How can you not expect the best from God, who loves you like a daughter?”
“I don’t deserve the best.” Mona’s voice broke.
“None of us do. But while we were still sinners, God chose to give us His best, and He will do nothing less after we are adopted as His children. We don’t deserve grace, but because of God’s character, we can expect it!If this dream is from Him, then you can expect Him to make it come true.”
Joe’s blue eyes searched hers, and she felt his invasive gaze to her toes. It was intimate and tender, and something inside her wanted to reach out and reveal everything, to tell him her terrible secret, her deepest fears. But the intensity of his stare and the nakedness of the
truth were so raw she closed her eyes and pushed the urge away. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
“Mona, don’t judge God based on your understanding of people. God isn’t just a really good guy up in the sky. He is God. He operates on an entirely different set of rules. We’ll never deserve His love, but He knows that, and He’s chosen to love us anyway. We can accept it or not. But that doesn’t change who He is. He’s a God who loves us more than we can imagine and desires to fulfill the dreams He gives His children.”
His thumb ran along her check. “Nothing, not evenroaches, a flood in your basement, or a fire, can keep God’s love, His best, from your life. Trust Him for this.Don’t give up.”
Mona closed her eyes and ached to accept Joe’s words. She wanted to believe that God had His best in mind for her. She’d believed briefly when she’d stood on the steps of her Victorian the first day and seen it all materialize. Didn’t she feel God’s peace, His love in that moment, like a foretaste of what could be? And God had provided Joe. That had to mean something.
Mona opened her eyes and pulled away from Joe’s grasp. She met his gaze. The look on her face must have given him hope, for his eyes began to shine. She smiled tentatively and whisked away her tears. “Okay.”
“That’s my Mona.” He put his hand on her cheek.She didn’t know if the warmth she felt was from his touch or was generated in her own heart by his words “my Mona.”
“Break it up, you two!”
Joe grinned at Liza’s playful words, but he kept his eyes on Mona. She seemed so delicate, so ready to let discouragement blow her away from Deep Haven and everything she held dear. He longed for her to hang on, to believe in God’s love, to trust the Almighty to fulfill her dreams.
Liza strolled up and surveyed the couple. Mona scurried out of Joe’s reach. Liza paused, a smile touching her lips; then she gestured toward the house. “It’s not so bad, Mona. Come and see.” Her voice was buoyant. “The inner walls are fine, and your bedroom isn’t a lake, despite your moaning.” Liza winked at Joe. “I think our nifty handyman can fix it.”
Joe smiled wide. He was so glad Liza had a half-full view of life, even if she was a bit flaky. She balanced out his half-empty Mona. “You must think I’m Bob Vila,”he said.
“Yep.” Liza wrapped her arm around Mona. “C’mon, girlfriend. Let’s see what we have to do to salvage our dream.”
Mona fell into step with Liza. Joe had to give the dark-haired beauty credit. She had recovered quickly from Brian’s betrayal. Or maybe she was merely putting up a false front for her best friend. Nevertheless, he thanked the Lord for Liza as she led Mona toward the back.
In the light of the morning sun, the damage seemed ghastly, but not devastating. Remarkably, the needed repairs appeared to be mostly cosmetic. The stairs up to his apartment would need to be rebuilt, but aside from a blackened door, the place looked repairable. As for Mona’s house, the back siding had been scorched, but if he concentrated on touching up the front of the house, he could repair the back and his apartment after the Footstep opened.
Joe stopped himself. What was he thinking? He couldn’t stay. Even if Mona did decide to trust him just a little and keep him on after opening, he had a schedule to keep. His days of free roaming were drawing to a close. Joe scrubbed a hand through his hair and blew out a breath.
“Too much for you, Superman?” Liza’s voice breezed through his thoughts.
Joe forced a nonchalant grin. “Nope.” He didn’t want to shatter Mona’s fragile hope. He’d stay as long as he could and pray it was enough to turn Mona’s scorched house back into the Footstep of Heaven.
20
Joe’s tenor filled the hallway as Mona turned off the floor sander. “‘You are my sunshine, my only sunshine . . .’”
“Is that for me?” Mona peeked around the corner.She must have startled him. As he tore his attention from the overhead light in the hallway to look at her, he wobbled on the step stool.
“You’re having a hard time staying on that thing,”Mona commented, stifling a giggle.
“Only when a pretty lady catches me singing about her.”
Mona’s mouth went dry and she clamped it shut. It was Joe’s turn to laugh. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear that shade of red.”
Mona glared at him.
“So, what do you think of the light fixture?”
Mona folded her arms. “Get down. I can’t see with your head in the way.”
Joe jumped off the stool. She had to drag her eyes off him to examine his handiwork. He looked adorable in his faded blue jeans, navy-blue-and-hunter-green-plaid flannel shirt and tan work boots. His horribly tousled hair betrayed he’d been musing over something. It made her smile to know his personal vices.
“Looking good,” Mona said, not necessarily meaning the light fixture. But the antique, wrought-iron, three-armed light with scalloped-edged globes suited the hallway perfectly. It was just the contrast she needed between Liza’s place and hers.
“Thanks, Joe,” she said, meeting his eyes. He shrugged. She wanted to go on, to tell him how his backbreaking labor the past week had turned her spark of hope into a living flame. He’d worked from dawn to midnight—painting the front porch, installing lights, tearing out charred siding, and helping her with miscellaneous odds and ends. And he’d done it all without a word of complaint or a bed to sleep in at night.
It made her muscles ache to think he’d spent five nights camped out in his truck, but when she’d offered to put him up at the local motel, he’d actually acted offended. “Brian may be behind bars, but I’m still on duty.” She didn’t allow herself to argue with that, preferring instead to be buoyed by his enthusiastic demeanor and warm grin. With two weeks left before her grand opening, she was starting to believe her dream would come true.
“Hey, I have an idea, Mona.” Joe tucked his wire clippers into his back pocket. “Can I take you out for dinner tonight? I know this place up the trail I’d love to show you.”
Mona stared at him dumbly. Was he asking her out on a date?
“Mona, you look like I just asked you to fly to Paris with me. Calm down.”
Mona felt her breathing restart. She laughed nervously. “I’m sorry, Joe. You caught me off guard. Sure, I’ll go out with you tonight.” Her heart raced as she considered the implications of her words. A date. Her warning sirens blared, yet for some reason, she felt like dancing. A date. With Joe. She had to bite her lip to keep from grinning.
Joe wiped his hands on his pant legs. Then, to her shock, he held out his hand, as if they were making a deal. “Great. Now shake on it so you don’t back out.”
Mona frowned. “Why would I do that?”
“Because you don’t know where I’m taking you.”Mischief glinted in his blue eyes.
Mona tentatively shook his hand; all day she relived the tremor of excitement that rippled through her.
Mona shouldn’t have spent so much time ironing the blue floral-printed skirt. “The city dump? This is your great place?”
She grimaced as they passed the green-and-white sign. The municipal dump was located far from scenic Deep Haven for good reason . . . it was about the most unattractive place within sixty miles. And this is where Joe had chosen to take her on their first date? Mona rolled her eyes. So much for culture. He personified the he-man he read about in his Louis L’Amour books.
Joe shot her a sly look. “Don’t give up on me, Mona.Hold your judgment for a moment, okay?”
Mona crossed her arms over her white cashmere sweater. She’d probably have to soak it in lilac-scented detergent to get the stench out.
Joe maneuvered the pickup between the ruts in the road and found a flat place overlooking a valley littered with broken refrigerators, stoves, toilet seats, cans, newspapers, bottles, detergent boxes, tires, and a collection of other trash.
“Oh, this is picturesque,” she commented dryly.
Joe’s grin was undaunted. “Just you wait until the others get here. That’s w
hen the fun starts.”
“Others? It’s a party?”
“Sort of.” Joe slid out of the truck. “Stay here.”
She easily acquiesced. But Joe’s happiness was contagious and her interest piqued. She watched him fiddle with a tarp in the back of the truck, then turned her attention to the pit. The city had dug out a long valley into which garbage was dumped. Someday, she supposed, the area would be filled in and another patch of wilderness would be furrowed out for humanity’s litter. She wondered how much forest hid trash, new life covering the debris of the past. Oddly, she couldn’t smell the refuse piled below. The pine surrounding the dump absorbed the odor and scented the air. A scant wind pushed through the trees, and the sun winked through the top branches on its downward slide. Perhaps the beautiful evening would soften the repulsive scenery.
“Okay, ready.” Joe climbed back in the driver’s seat.
“Are we leaving?” She couldn’t hide the hope in her voice. Maybe this was a joke.
Joe laughed aloud. “Not quite.” He put the truck into reverse, backed up, turned around, and backed into the place where they’d just been parked. Then he cut the engine, left the keys in the ignition, and turned on the radio. As a crackly country station crooned a sorry, out-of- date love song, he opened his door and stepped out.“Your table is waiting, milady.”
Mona gave him a suspicious look. He stretched out his hand, and she took it. Pulling her across the bench seat, he helped her out and led her around to the bed of the truck.
Mona gasped, delight seizing her at the sight of her “table.” He’d spread out a Navaho blanket on the bed of the truck and filled his duffel, rescued and cleaned after the fire, to make a long pillow. A blue wicker picnic basket sat in the center.
Happily Ever After Page 18