A Side of Faith, Hope and Love: The Sandwich Romance Novella Collection

by Krista Phillips

  Zipping his lips, he only nodded.

  He watched as Tilly hurried off.

  A waitress he didn’t recognize came to the table and took his order. Turkey on Rye with the Emporium’s signature homemade chips. His usual.

  A minute later, Reuben slid into the booth across from him. “You wouldn’t want to bus tables for your dinner tonight, would you?”

  “You that hard up for help?”

  “Nope. Just thought it’d be a hilarious picture to post on Facebook.”

  Knowing Reuben, he’d do just that too. “I think I’ll pass. Reputation to uphold and all. Plus, we need to chat about your wife.”

  Running a hand through his short spiky hair, Reuben sat back in the booth with a huff. “Aw, crud. What’d she do now?”

  “She needs to leave my dating life alone.”

  Reuben just shook his head. “She’s been trying to set you up with different women since you and Marcy broke up. You should be used to it by now.”

  “She’s never gone this far before. I’m pretty sure she set up Rachel and I to work on the Fall Fest together. Not gonna lie. I’d love to convince the woman to go to dinner with me, but man. She’s gonna think I’m stalking her or something.”

  Reuben tapped his fingers on the mahogany wood table. “I don’t know, Cam. I’ll try to put a good word in, but for my own health, I’m not getting too involved. They said she’d feel better in the second trimester, but so far, not so much. Doc wants to do an ultrasound in a few weeks, a little earlier than normal. I think he’s worried about the weight gain.”

  “You still banking for a boy?”

  His eyes lit up, but he shrugged his shoulders. “Healthy. That’s all that matters.”

  Cam laughed. Boy or girl, their kid would be one loved child. The Callahans were going to spoil that baby rotten.

  The crazy urge that would cause most men to lose their man-card sprung up again. He was thirty-five. He’d gotten his days of non-commitment and bachelorhood over in his early twenties. He’d always dreamed of being that dad who gave rides on his shoulders, rocked the tickle monster game, and coached their soccer teams.

  Because, of course, his kids would play soccer and not those other lesser sports like baseball, basketball, or football.

  He’d wear the “World’s Greatest Dad” shirt with pride, along with each of the ties he would get for Father’s Day.

  It was crazy how bad he wanted that life.

  He thought he was well on the way just a few years ago, too.

  Fingers snapped in his face. Cameron blinked and saw Reuben staring at him as if he’d lost his mind.

  “You daydreaming, man? Don’t make me call you a sissy.”

  Cameron faked a yawn to cover up his wayward mind. “No, just trying not to fall asleep while I wait for my food. The owner of this restaurant must be slacking, letting his workers take so long.”

  As if on cue, a waitress set down a gigantic sandwich in front of him. Her mouth tipped into a worried frown. “Um, I’m sorry for the delay, sir. Can I get you anything else?”

  Great. She’d probably overheard his joking comment. “No. It’s perfect, thank you.”

  Reuben stole a chip and stood. “Watch it. And you better tip her good. Otherwise I’ll tell Maddie to double up her efforts on you and Rachel.”

  “You wouldn’t…”

  He winked. “Try me.”

  Not willing to risk it, Cameron fished out a twenty to pay for the ten-dollar meal and handed it to the waitress as she passed by. “I’ll save you some time, and keep the change.”

  Five

  “Dude, you stink.”

  Cameron hunched down, hands on his knees, and let sweat drip off his forehead onto the asphalt as he caught his breath. He met up with Sean at Patriot’s Park once a week for a little basketball, but today the sun was especially brutal. One would never guess it was September in Northern Illinois given this crazy Indian summer they were having. “I’m pretty sure you do, too. Playing basketball does that to a man.”

  Sean dribbled the ball and went for a layup, missing the basket by a few inches. “I meant your playing. You usually beat the crap out of me, but I’m up by five.”

  “You’re just on your A-game today, and I’m clearly not.” He’d like to say he was doing it on purpose, to help build the kid’s confidence. But truth was, his head was miles away, occupied with a certain brunette who'd hijacked his thoughts. He needed to get his act together.

  But playing aside, he celebrated more than a little at the twelve-year-old’s use of the word “crap” instead of another less stellar four-letter word. After two years of Cameron telling him cussing wasn’t a sign of a real man, rather a lazy one, maybe the boy was finally listening.

  Sean passed the ball to Cam and moved into position to try and block him. “I heard you’re helping the new girl with the Fall Fest.”

  Faking to the left, Cameron took off around the boy to the right and made an easy two-point layup, then rebounded the ball. “Yeah, you’re going to help us, right?”

  “Why they lettin’ her help? She don’t know nothin’ about our town.”

  Holding onto the ball instead of passing it, Cameron eyed the gangly kid, trying to figure out what was going on in his head. He stood bent, legs apart, body tense, hands on his thighs. He was a typical five-and-a-half foot mid-pubescent boy who’d have arms full of muscle and meet Cameron eye to eye in a few years. His face, featuring a pimple or two on his dark, sun-soaked skin, was set in stone, telling Cameron something was on his mind other than just party planning.

  He’d have to pick his words carefully. “You met her yet?”

  Sean crossed his arms across his chest. “No, Monday after school I gotta go see her. Which is dumb. Melissa said I was just fine. I don’t need no shrink anymore.”

  Ah, so the kid had probably thought Mel’s leaving would give him an “out” for counseling. His mom had decided to let him have a break until a new therapist came on, instead of having to switch counselors twice. Cam hadn’t thought the idea was a great one, but didn’t have a say in the matter. “I’ve met her.”

  Interest perked in his hardened, young eyes. “Really? What’s she like?”

  “Seems nice enough. Real pretty.”

  Sean’s eyebrows shot up. “You like her?”

  Cameron shrugged, not wanting to get into a conversation with a twelve-year-old about his non-existent love life. “I’m afraid she’s out of my league. But she does do a mean toilet flush.”

  “Dude, don’t tell me you made her play Quelf with you. You’re never going to get a girl, geez. Even I’m not that dumb.”

  Cameron raised an eyebrow. “You ever even played?”

  The boy shrugged. “My mom and some of her friends did. Stupid game. Especially for a date.”

  From the mouths of preteens. “First, it wasn’t a date. And I think you should give Rachel a chance. She seems really nice to talk to. And she’ll need a lot of help with the Fall Fest, so I’m counting on you to help us with it. Got it?”

  Sean plucked the ball from Cameron’s arm, took a shot, and missed. “Sure. Whatever.”

  Well, that was at least better than the “no way” Cameron had feared.

  Now, if he could just get Rachel to say “sure, whatever” to a date.

  Cameron rebounded the ball, dribbled, then went for a three-point shot.

  The ball swished into the basket.

  Maybe there was hope after all.

  ***

  Rachel dipped her brush in the yellow paint to finish the stripe she was on. The wall before her was turning out perfect, now that she’d humbled herself enough to ask for help. “Thanks, by the way. I know you thought this was weird, but it’s been fun.”

  Allie Crum, one of her new friends in Sandwich and Maddie’s sister-in-law, poked her in the side as she stepped behind Rachel to dip her brush again. “I wouldn’t miss it. I’m just glad we thought to open the front door and let the fresh air in. Those paint
fumes were getting to me.”

  “I know. I’ve had a headache the last few weekends, but today’s the first day there’s actually been a breeze blowing. This hot weather is crazy. I usually love the fall, but it needs to hurry up and get here.”

  “Tell me about it. And you know? I’m rather enjoying slapping paint on a wall just for fun, even though I still think you’re crazy.”

  Rachel laughed. “It’s not like we’re finger painting. It’s art, goof.”

  “Yeah, yeah I know. Hey, you and I need to make some t-shirts together sometime. Maddie doesn’t appreciate my mad shirt-painting skills.”

  Rachel had never seen anything like Allie's t-shirts, decked out with sequins, multi-colored glitter paint, and corny little sayings. Today she wore one that said, "I'm a Momma Bear..." on the front, and "Don't make me roar!" on the back. She'd hot-glued mounds of fuzzy balls and black glitter paint to create the bears. Yes, the shirts were a tad bit over-the-top, but Allie knew how to have fun and looked awesome doing it. “Girl, your shirts are plain amazing. Maddie's just hormonal.”

  Her friend sobered. “I’m worried about her.”

  “Really? Why? Maddie’s always been a bit of a pistol. Adding preggo craziness to the mix, I guess I figured we’d just get to watch and dodge the fireworks for nine months.”

  Allie’s mouth curved into a half-smile. “True that. But no. This is even a little much for her. I’ll feel better once she has her next doctor appointment and ultrasound in a few weeks. Something just doesn’t feel right.”

  Rachel turned, trying to ignore the worry that tiptoed its way into her heart. “I guess I don’t understand.”

  “Never mind. Maybe it’s just the momma in me being overprotective.” She tapped her brush against Rachel’s arm. “Now get back to work.”

  “Hey. No paint fights. I want this wall done today.”

  Allie saluted. “Aye, Aye, Captain.”

  Rachel put her brush back to the wall, but the jingle of her phone interrupted. Switching the brush to her left hand, she fished the annoying device out of her pocket.

  The caller ID read “blocked”. Probably her mom. Their land line always showed up that way. She swiped the screen to answer. “Hello?”

  Dead air filled the line. “Hello? Anyone there? Mom?”

  She thought she heard someone breathe, but then nothing. She glanced at the screen. The call had ended.

  Odd.

  Allie glanced over. “Who was it?”

  Rachel shrugged. “I dunno. Probably just a wrong number.”

  They worked in silence for a few minutes, until Allie cleared her throat. “So, uh, how’s Cam doing?”

  Her hand tightened on the paintbrush as unwanted warmth filled her stomach. The exact topic Rachel did not want to approach today, and the exact reaction she did not want to have at that man’s name. “How should I know?”

  “Aren’t you all working on the Youth Fall Fest together?”

  “I’ve been spending the last week going through the old material. We have a meeting scheduled for Friday to talk some more.”

  “He’s really a hunk, don’t you think?”

  Her teeth clamped together. Gum. She needed gum. Visions of her popping her last piece the night before ran through her head. She’d needed it more in the last week than she had in the last two months. “To each her own.”

  “What? You don’t think he’s handsome?”

  Oh, what to say. If she said she found him ugly and repulsive, she’d sound mean. Like she judged people based only on how they looked.

  Which she kind of had. He’d been, for the most part, nothing but kind to her.

  But if she agreed, then Geez Louise. Allie would tell Maddie and as the song said, it’d be the end of the world as she knew it. At least for Rachel’s world anyway.

  Rachel finished the line of paint she was on and stood back, hands on her hips, opting for sarcasm instead of facing the question. “What do you want me to say?” She lifted her face up and clasped her hands together in fake dramatic rapture. “Cameron is so dreamy and handsome. I hope he waltzes in here and whisks me off my feet and kisses me senseless!”

  Allie laughed. “You’re crazy.”

  Rachel leaned down to put her paintbrush into the paint pan, but the doorbell chime startled her upright.

  She whirled around to see Cameron standing in the doorway, separated only by the screen door.

  A way too big smile graced his lips.

  Six

  Allie dropped the brush into the paint can and grabbed her purse from a side table. “Listen, I, uh, need to be going. You can finish the rest of this, right?”

  Rachel looked from Cameron at the door to her traitor friend, her pulse thudding in her throat. “I thought you were helping me finish?”

  “I forgot I had…laundry. Yes, laundry’s in the washer, and it’ll get all moldy if I don’t get home to switch it soon. Nasty stuff. Besides, you only have a few stripes left.” She motioned Cameron into the house. “Maybe Cam can help you finish?”

  Crazy red-headed man opened the screen and stepped in, his probing gaze on Rachel. “I’m free if you need something.”

  This was not happening. It couldn’t be. She just needed to pinch herself, then she’d wake up from this very bad dream. Allie had not just ditched her in the midst of the most embarrassing moment ever. Good friends would never do such a thing.

  And she had no gum. There was no nice way to excuse herself to chomp away her desperate need for nicotine.

  Oh this was not good.

  Allie squeezed her in a hug and gave her a private wink as she rushed to the door. “Have fun. Can’t wait to see the finished wall.”

  And Rachel couldn’t wait to figure out some fantastic way to pay her back for deserting her. “Thanks for your help today.” Not.

  Ignoring the sarcasm, Allie patted Cameron on the arm as she all but danced from the room. “My pleasure. Have fun!”

  The screen door slammed behind her. Rachel could imagine Allie leaping into her mommy-mobile, dialing Maddie’s cell, and squealing loud enough for all of Sandwich to hear.

  Moving back to Wisconsin was sounding really tempting right about now.

  “You need help finishing? I’m handy with a paint brush.”

  Her traitorous heart increased its rhythm. “No, I’m almost done anyway. Did you need something?”

  “Wanted to talk to you about Sean, if you had a second.”

  Good. He seemed content to ignore the whole “kissing her senseless” line he’d obviously overheard. “I’m not sure who Sean is.”

  “My mentee?”

  Oh, that’s right. She remembered his name now. Turning on her work brain, she motioned to a tarp-covered couch. “Sorry about the plastic, but feel free to have a seat. You want something to drink?”

  He sat down with a crinkle. “No, it’ll only take a few minutes.”

  “Well, I need something, so just give me a second.” She made her way to the kitchen and grabbed a pop out of the fridge for herself. At least the Dr. Pepper gave her an excuse to collect herself for a second. She spied the empty pack of gum she hadn’t thrown away yet on the counter and picked it up, just in case she’d missed one.

  The little wrapped piece that lay tucked into the bottom of the box was like a present from God himself in her time of need. Looking to the ceiling, she breathed a prayer of thanks as she unwrapped it, tossed it in her mouth, and gave it a few chomps.

  The minty flavor combined with the working of her jaw relieved a tiny bit of pressure in her heart.

  It wasn’t perfect. And it sure wasn’t a cigarette.

  But it helped.

  Grabbing her Dr. Pepper, she put on a smile that came from nowhere near her heart and walked back into the living room.

  Instead of sitting down, she leaned against an unpainted wall, one that would end up being a solid light turquoise when she finished, and took a sip of her pop. “So, what’s going on with Sean?”

 
“He’s doing pretty good, actually. We played basketball earlier, and he mentioned he meets with you for the first time on Monday. Just wanted to let you know I invited him to help us on the Fall Fest. I know a lot of kids pitch in anyway, but I’ll be honest. My time is limited due to work, so I’m hoping to combine my working on the Fest with spending time with him.”

  “If you don’t have time, I’ll manage—”

  “No, I helped last year too. It’s fine. I just wanted to make sure you knew I invited his help.”

  She nodded, although she wasn’t sure why something like that couldn’t be said in a phone call or even a text. “No problem. We still meeting on Friday to go over details?”

  “Absolutely. You have a chance to look over the binder yet?”

  Trying not to be annoyed, she pushed off the wall and slid the gum between her teeth and gave it a few good chews. “I’ve been working on it. Still have research to do on a few new ideas I have.”

  “Wanna run them by me now? It might save you some time.”

  Ugh. Could the man not take a hint on when to leave? “No, I’ve got it. Friday will be soon enough.”

  He stood from the couch, the plastic crunch announcing his departure. “In other words, don’t let the door hit me on the way out, right?”

  Great. Now he thought she was a jerk. Well, the shoe fit well right now. She’d examine it later. Right now, she just needed him to scat. Just his presence was messing with her brain, not to mention the crazy goose bumps on her skin. Maybe she was allergic to him… “You said it, not me.”

  At the door, Cameron turned and caught her gaze.

  Rachel stopped a few feet from him. His eyes held hers, like he was looking straight into her confused, irritated soul. She told herself to look away, but she couldn’t. There was just something about the guy that drew her against her will. It soothed and frustrated her all at the same time.

  Finally, he broke the trance with a wink. “See you around. And by the way, thanks for calling me dreamy, but I don’t kiss before the first date.”