“Am I your servant or something?” Called Kristen waspishly from the car. “I didn’t know it was in my job description to cart your things around.”
“Oh, sorry.” Both men turned around and Kevin followed as Tim walked back to her.
“Yeah okay whatever.” The young woman stalked off away from the men and the house with a pinched expression.
“What’s up with her?” Kevin asked in a low voice, grabbing one end of Tim’s suitcase and helping him heave it out of the back. “Didn’t she used to be all over you?
“I have no idea what’s going on.” Tim replied, feeling grateful to be able to express his confusion where she was concerned. “You know, I really think I should have at least given her a chance. Guess it’s a little late for that though, apparently she doesn’t want anything to do with me. Anyway, it’s great to see you. How long are you here?”
Pushing the wheeled luggage between them on the uneven terrain, they trekked toward the house as their conversation resumed. “A while.” Kevin answered. “I requested honorable discharge to come back and handle dad’s affairs. It’s bad over there, Tim, and as much as I do want to help the other guys, I can’t do it anymore. When I see guys leave for home, they’re traumatized, they’re depressed, they’re partially deaf or blind or missing limbs. I don’t want to come home like that, and this was an opportunity to get out while I was still ahead. I’m a country man, plain and simple. I would be content working these acres for the rest of my days. What about you? You’re probably already itching to return back to the city and your company. I know how much you hate the rural life.”
Tim stopped just before the door, causing Kevin to stop too. “You’re home for good?” He asked in astonishment. It was a relief that his brother was out of the war, and a surprise that their mother would ask Tim to return home when Kevin would be around. “Have you told mom? When she called me to tell me about dad, she requested that I come home and help keep up this place until you got out of the military.”
Kevin’s expression of cheer turned to one of annoyance. “Mom’s a big supporter of the troops. I haven’t told her yet because somehow I have a feeling she’ll want me to go back and help, do my duty to america and so on. You can go home though, Tim. I want this, and dad gave it to me. You don’t, and you have a whole other life in new York.”
Just then the door flung open and a woman came out to greet them. She wasn’t old, yet she was stooped and holding a long cane. A soft tap tap could be heard as the stick hit the earth and the woman hurried as fast as her body would let her towards them. “Oh tim!” She cried shrilly with pleasure. “I’m so glad your here. Did you get in okay?”
The already tiny house was cramped and crowded full of visitors. As so many family members and friends of his father came to pay their condolences, all three brothers shared one small room, where a bunk bed from their childhood took up part of the room and an old air mattress took up another. Their sister, temporarily home from Africa, shared a similar fate, giving up part of her room to her aunt and young cousin. With the increased company and lack of capacity for them all, mixed with the shared loss, it went without saying that tensions were high in the house. The only person who seemed happy was Tim’s mother, either because she was hiding her emotions, or because she loved having so many people to provide for who also provided for her.
All to soon the moment came that Tim had been dreading. It was a cloudy afternoon, the air brushing cold against paritioners’ skin as they made their way, red-eyed and teary from the old church in town. Towards the front of the party, Tim walked, keeping his face neutral, trying to stay strong. Once outside the big wooden door he stopped alongside the rest of his direct family, joining his brother Bryan to help his mother down the stairs with her cane, and finally to say farewell to the other attendees.
The crowd proceeded like a slow moving river. One by one in single file each man and woman left, sending last condolences to Tim and his family who stood to the side to receive them. His mother, sister and younger brother stood in various shades of sadness, tears shaking their bodies, words beyond them, only able to give a nod of acknowledgement, a whispered thank you, a quick hand shake or brief embrace. Meanwhile, Tim and Kevin stood strong, solemn and steadfast in their focus on the oncoming friends and family.
Tim kept his watchful gaze on the line of people moving from the church. At a slight break in the goings on, he glanced to his left at his family members. His mother was being embraced at length by her sister, while Bryan was now surrounded by a small knot of his school friends. At the toneless sound of someone blowing their nose, he turned back around to see Kristen pushing open the large oak door.
He watched her as she left, thankful for even the smallest distraction from the sadness around him. The look on her face was one of indescribable pain, and as he watched her visibly crying he couldn’t deny the sudden desire to go and comfort her. For what was certainly not the first time since he’d gotten home two days ago, he fervently wished he had taken the time to talk to her, rather than writing her off as unattractive and not quite the smartest tool in the shed. Yet, as he looked back on her, she was kind, and hardworking from what he remembered of their school days. She was the kind of person who tried her best and always gave a mile to get an inch in return.
He continued watching her as she descended the steep steps at a slow moving pace, thinking back to memories of her before teenage hormones took over and she began following him like a love sick puppy. They were childhood friends, and best of friends at that. Her family owned a place in town, but she loved being just outside the borders of the little settlements were farms like Tim’s sat. The two would walk to his house after school, do homework, grab a snack and then she’d help him with his chores. He gave her a fair amount of ribbing for it; the well-dressed rich town girl digging deep in the trenches, walking home covered in dirt and who knows what else, smelling of animals and earth, a cut here or there from her hard labor. They would talk and smile and laugh together as they worked, and sometimes even enjoy a horseback ride, a run through the fields, or splashing about as heavy rain fell, drenching their clothing and providing plenty of puddles for two children to jump in or throw water at each other from.
As she walked, the still sobbing Kristen wiped her eyes. Her healed shoe slipped on the cement stair second from the bottom and she began to fall forward. The surprised girl let out a scream as she began to fall forward, and then Tim was there without giving it much thought. Instead of the hard fall she was expecting, the young girl collapsed against the taller mans lean body, his arms wide open to receive her. The next thing Tim knew, her lips were on his as she regained her balance, and for the tiniest of brief moments she kissed him before pulling away with as much suddenness as the kiss itself.
Oh god!” She exclaimed, eyes wide face red hot. Kristen sniffed, her tears fading with the change of emotion from falling. “I’m sorry, that wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“It’s okay.” Tim began. “Don’t worry about…” But she had already wheeled around and darted away as fast as she could, head down.
“Has anyone seen Kristen? An exhausted Tim entered the still packed house two days later. He had spent a long day helping at the farm, having little else to do, and was surprised that he hadn’t seen the young woman since their mishap at the funeral. The more he thought about that moment, and about her, the more he wanted to make things right and show her she didn’t have to put up a wall against him as she had been doing since he came home. The truth was he knew she probably moved on, probably got sick and tired of holding out for him, and now that he was back she just wanted to forget and turn a blind eye, but that’s not what he wanted. What he wanted was something completely different, with someone completely different than his usual type of girl, pretty and sexual with no real personality. He yearned for a second chance with Kristen’s love, but thus far could never find her to even attempt such a thing.
“oooo Kristen!” Kevin mocked in a joki
ng tone. “I thought you didn’t want anything to do with her?”
Kevin strolled to the refrigerator feeling annoyed, withdrew a beer, and sat himself between his brothers as he opened the bottle. “Oh give me a break.” He responded in aggravation, not at Kevin but the very nature of his ordeal.
“I thought you didn’t want anything to do with her. Wasn’t she always following you around and sending you love messages, pronouncing her devotion to your unborn children every waking moment of her life?”
Tim couldn’t help but laugh and his other brother Bryan who had been listening joined in. “Well, something like that.” He agreed with a grimace. “But things change. It wouldn’t hurt to give her a chance. I was kind of a jerk to her really.”
“Kristen’s way passed you.” Bryan told him. “She’s been trying to move on, dated a few other guys but nothing has worked so well for her. Maybe it would be a good thing if you guys tried. I saw the way you two accidentally kissed the other day.”
Tim felt his face go red as he took a swig from his bottle. “Well, what you said explains why she’s been so hostile. I had a feeling she was trying to put up defenses so she wouldn’t fall for me again.”
“Are you three talking about our dear Kristen?” Tim’s mom hobbled her way into the room with some difficulty and seated herself in a chair across from them with a groan. “Kristen left yesterday.” She said, looking directly at Tim with a knowing expression. “I think the loss of your father was very hard on her. He was always so kind to her, teaching her his little tricks to farming and letting her stay over as a child, then of course giving her a job just before…” At this the older woman blew her nose as her eyes filled with fresh tears.
“Kristen left?” Tim raised his eyebrows at this news. “Any idea where she went?”
His mother thought for a moment, a pensive look on her face. “No, I don’t recall her telling me. Yesterday morning she stopped by while you boys were working. She asked me if she could take some time off. Since I have so much help around here right now, I told her that of course she could take as much time as she needed. She didn’t say where she was going or for how long she would be gone. She just left. I remember seeing her dad load a suitcase into their vehicle, Kristen got in the other side and they drove off. Mr. Boden returned about two hours later alone.”
“Hmmm.” Was Tim’s thoughtful response to this news. He screwed up his expression, trying hard not to show how bothered by this he was. Where did Kristen go and why did she leave? If he had any desire of fixing things with her he needed to find out, and there was only one way he could think of to do that. Tomorrow morning he would go to her house and ask her father for any information he had. Then, he too would leave once again, this time embarking on his journey towards a second chance on love.
Chapter Two: Kristen
A steady stream of sunlight assailed Kristen’s eyes as she rolled over in bed. Across the room, her sister Stacey stirred. Little sounds were coming out of a nearby speaker, a baby monitor to be exact. Jenna was awake, and feeling rested after her trip, Kristen rose to tend to the newborn little girl. After all, Stacie could probably use a bit of sleep. Three months of sleepless nights were showing in her older sister’s face.
Taking care to stay as quiet as she could, Kristen stepped through the house to the adjacent room. Upon stepping through the doorway of the nursery decorated with pink and bright girl colors, a different sound rent the air, this time a much louder one. With a little smile she picked up the small baby and carried her in her arms to the phone, praying the sound wouldn’t wake Stacie and that she would still be able to get some sleep.
“Hello?” Kristen spoke quietly into the phone, her sister’s little baby on her lap.
“Stace?” Came her father’s voice.
“It’s Kristen, dad,.” Kristen responded, surprised by her father’s call at such an early morning hour.
“Oh, good morning Kris. Sorry to wake you guys. How’s the baby?”
Kristen looked down at the small bundle with a fond expression. “Oh she’s great.” As if in answer, the baby girl peeked up at Kristen making small noises of baby babble.
“That’s wonderful. Listen, I just had a visitor up at the house before I left for work.”
“A visitor? Who?”
“Does Timothy Beck ring a bell?”
Kristen pulled a face. “Tim Beck? What was he doing banging on our door early in the morning?”
“He was looking for you. Someone told him you left and he wanted to know where you went to. I just thought you should know. Anyway enjoy your day and tell Stacie hello. I have to get ready for work, or I’m going to be late. Love you guys.”
“Hang on a second!” Kristen blurted but she could already here that he had put down the phone and before she could say another word the dissonant tones of the dial sound hummed in her ear.
Kristen rubbed her forehead, cursing low under her breath. With a small sigh she took Jenna in her arms and seated them both in a nearby rocking chair, rocking back and forth with the baby against her. The movement put a contented look on the child’s face, and she cooed soft noises of satisfaction. Somehow, Kristen couldn’t help feeling that it would be so nice to be a little one, not knowing the difficulties of love and relationship, living in a world where the simple act of rocking was enough to put you at ease and the biggest decision of the day was weather to sleep or cry for food.
After the funeral, Kristen needed to get her emotions in order and she knew it. On one hand, she still loved Tim, she must if she kissed him, the action was certainly no accident even though it could have been brushed off as one. On the other hand, she was tired of waiting for him and wrote him off years ago as never coming back, which is why she proceeded to go on other dates. She tried her hardest to love the guys she was with, but no matter what she did they never treated her right and she never felt real love toward them anyway. When Tim came back, it sent her into a kind of shock, making the confused girl feel divided, not sure what to do with the new development. Therefor, she did what seemed at the time to be the best thing for her, and avoided him, putting up barriers against him so she wouldn’t be disappointed by her first love again.
Again and again she told herself that it was unimportant. That Tim didn’t really care anyway and neither should she. Still, she wondered about the material of the conversation he had with her dad. What did Tim say? What did her father tell him? Kristen’s feelings toward Tim, every last bit of them, were no secret to her dad, who was just as much her confidant as her older sister Stacie.
“You two look happy!” Came a voice a few feet away. “Here, don’t go anywhere. I absolutely must get my camera.” Stacie spun around in the doorway and dashed back to her room. Within a moment she returned with a camera in hand and snapped a photo. “I swear, if someone didn’t know she was mine they would think she was yours. This girl looks just like us doesn’t she?” Stacie snapped another photo, then another one.
With a little grin, Kristen looked between mother and daughter. “She looks like you.” She responded, “But then again I look like you, so yeah, I suppose.”
“Well,” Stacie began. “What do you say to a little girl’s day out. We can go out for breakfast, then shop for the baby, maybe get you some things too since you only brought a handful of clothes. After that we can go to the spa and get a nice makeover massage. There’s a great place near the mall, you’ll love it.” She grinned at the baby, taking her gently from Kristen’s arms. “Do you want a makeover Jenna?” She asked in a high voice as she kissed the little girl’s face. “We can paint your nails. How about a glittery pink?”
Kristen laughed, all her worries forgotten. “You’re going to paint the baby’s nails? Okay then, whatever floats your boat I suppose.”
With that the three girls began to get ready for the day. In no time, Kristen was stepping out of the small comfortable house into the warm Texas air. Stacie lived in a quiet part of town, where she had a modest three bedroom one
story home with a decent amount of land. It wasn’t as much land as Tim had but Stacie didn’t desire that much. It was just enough for her to have a few animals and a sizable garden, which is just what she did. Stacie kept two horses here, and grew a little bit of every vegetable imaginable. She worked in the heart of town as an administrative assistant at the hospital, and when Kristen asked to come there to get away for a while she was more than happy to agree. With Kristen around, Stacie could go back to work part time and earn income while Kristen watched the baby. There was no guy in the picture; He walked out on Stacie six months into the pregnancy, so Kristen’s appearance was a godsend to the new mother.
“No work today?” Kristen asked while helping buckle Jenna into the car.
“You just got in!” Stacie Said with a laugh. “I’m not just going to stick you with the baby and run to work. I thought I’d show you around, treat you to the joys of the area, and then go to work.”
“What can there be in a little Texas town?” Kristen asked in a way that suggested she was just giving her older sibling a hard time.
“Actually, you’d be surprised.” Her tone was honest, even though she was well aware of the joke. “There really is quite a great amount around here. I think you’ll love it Kris, maybe you’ll stay here for good.”
“We’ll see.” Kristen laughed. “Don’t get to excited.” As she said this, she looked around. The area really did seem nice from what she could see, not small town South Dakota but not big city either. Maybe she could start a life here, it certainly wasn’t impossible and worth considering at the very least.
The soft wind danced through Kristen’s hair as she slid herself into Stacie’s red sedan. In front of her, Stacie buckled herself into the drivers’ side seat and glanced back at Jenna who was secured safely on Kristen’s right. Kristen could hear the jingle of keys, followed by the unmistakable sound of the engine starting, and then they were pulling out of the driveway and moving down the road. As the radio played and the wind from rolled down windows blew against her face, Kristen felt free and alive in a way she had never quite felt before.
A Flame Rekindled: The love that reunites (Contemporary Christian Romance suspense) (Contemporary Christian Romance Novel Wealthy Billionaire Book 1) Page 2