An Ordinary Love (A Christian Contemporary Romance) (Sidney's Sanctuary Book 1)

by Tina Bustamante

  Before he could answer, Big Dan opened the door.“What are you two doing here?”

  Sidney smiled up at him and walked toward his front door. Dan had a huge yellow farmhouse with wide wooden steps going up to the front door. Sidney climbed them one by one. She got to the top of the steps.“I came to have a word with you, Mr. Holberg.”

  “I got nothing to say to you.”

  Sidney nodded, smiled, and then spoke,“Good. The conversation will be short then.”

  “You don’t have your frying pan, do you?” he asked, rubbing the back of his head.

  “I left it in the car.”

  Big Dan glanced over at Kell.“What are you doing here? I have nothing to say to you, either.”

  Sidney interrupted.“I don’t want to see any fighting. This is ridiculous. Dan, Betty is not interested in Kell.”

  “Listen lady, you’re new around here. You don’t have any right snooping around in our business. Leave Betty alone. Leave me alone.”

  “Betty is a guest in my house. I only came over because I wanted to invite you to Thanksgiving dinner. Would you like to come?”

  He squinted one eye and tipped his head to the side.“Does Betty know you’re inviting me?”

  “No. But she’ll be okay with it.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  “Absolutely.” Sidney nodded her head. Kell’s eyes widened. He had no idea what this woman was doing.“I’d like to have a word with you about Betty. I know you had a sort of disagreement last night.”

  His eyes popped open.“She told you that?” he yelled.“She led me on last night. I’m not going to say another word about it. Some things are private.”

  “That’s certainly true. Here’s the thing, Big Dan, I’d like to see you and Betty get back together. I have some ideas on how you could get her back if you’d like to hear them.”

  He took a step forward and held up his pointer finger at Sidney.“You want to see us get back together? Send my wife home, Miss. Franklin. If she didn’t have your nice little inn to cook for and a nice little bed to stay warm in, Betty would come back.”

  “You’re in denial, Dan. Betty would only go further away if I asked her to leave the inn.”

  “Then what the heck am I supposed to do? I miss my wife. But I ain’t gonna keep begging.”

  “That’s good. The begging hasn’t gotten you very far. It’s only made her think you’re stupid. The sad awful truth is, you broke her heart, Dan.”

  He sighed and leaned against the doorframe. Sidney took a step up on one of the porch steps.“You traded her in for a younger, thinner, prettier model, and she doesn’t know how to recover. She feels like a dried up raisin and you prefer the juicy grape.

  “But it’s not true,” he cried. His eyes hopeless and frustrated.“She’s the grape.”

  Kell thought the analogy of raisins and grapes was stupid. Sidney could do better than that.

  Sidney shook her head and walked up a few more stairs, reaching out for Dan’s hand. She cradled it in both of her hands. Surprisingly, he didn’t pull it away.“You need to show her that you love her,” she said.

  “I’m following her around like a lost dog. I beat up my best friend. How am I supposed to show her, if that’s not it? It’s hopeless.”

  “Stop acting like a juvenile teenager and act like a man,” she said. She dropped his hand and held hers up, pointing a finger at him.“You’ve shown her you feel bad that you lost her. Now, you need to show her that you’re man enough to woo her back.”

  “Well, how the heck do I do that? I’m not a romantic guy. I’m a dairy farmer.”

  “Figure it out, Dan. Make a little mental effort. You buy her a dozen roses for every year you’ve loved her. You call her on the phone in the evening and ask her how her day was. You ask her to go with you to see a play or have a picnic lunch, take a walk to the pond. You drive over once in a while in the morning, knock on the door, and give her a coffee and tell her you hope she has a good day. You stop acting like your life is lost without her and start making her feel like her life is lost without you. You need to remind her that you are a wonderful man who loves her very much.” Sidney stepped toward him.“You fight like a man to get her back.”

  “Do you think it’ll work?”

  Sidney turned around like she was getting ready to go back down the stairs.“Let me ask you this. If you do all that and still don’t get her back—was she worth the fight?”

  “Of course. It’s Betty.”

  “Then you’ll probably get her back, Big Dan.” She walked down the stairs and toward the car. She looked at Kell.“I’ll wait for you in the car.”

  Kell nodded. He and Big Dan stared at one another. Dan pursed his lips and rubbed his head.“Geeze, I’m sorry Kell. I shouldn’t have hit you once, let alone five or six times.”

  Kell ran his hand across his sore jaw.“I’ll get better.” He turned back to the car and then at his friend.“Are you going to do what she says? All that romantic stuff?”

  “Of course I’m going to do what she says. That woman is amazing.”

  “You think she’s amazing?”

  Dan nodded. He thought for a minute, scratching his head.“It’s like she holds secrets.”

  “The secrets of what?” He couldn’t imagine what Dan was thinking.

  “The secrets of the heart.”

  Kell shook his head.“You sound like a romantic, Big Dan.”

  “I think I’m going to have to become one, if I want to get my wife back.”

  “Good luck with Betty. I hope she comes back. Are you going to the inn for Thanksgiving?”

  “You bet I am. I’ll even offer to do some cooking. Any chance I have to see Betty, I’m going to be there.”

  Kell smiled.“All right, I’ll see you soon.”

  ~

  Later in the evening, after Sidney dropped him off, after he’d put Jake to bed and was working on the computer, Kell mentioned to his dad that Sidney had invited them to have Thanksgiving at her house. He expected his dad to be touched, but as they usually went to his secretary’s house, he figured his dad would want to hold to tradition. Matt glanced up from the late night news.

  “Sidney invited us to her house for Thanksgiving? I would love that.”

  “You would?”

  “Yes. She’s such a nice woman, reminds me so much of my mother, and Jake would love it. What will we tell Mary?

  “She said we could invite Amanda and Mary, actually.”

  “This is wonderful. Tell her we’d be delighted. Find out what we can bring. It’s a great opportunity for us to get to know her better.”

  Kell let out a deep sigh.“I’ll let her know. Big Dan is coming too.”

  Pastor Matt’s face widened.“Now, what is that neighbor up to? She’s strategic.”

  “It’s just Thanksgiving dinner.”

  “Exactly. She has played chess before.”

  Kell went up to bed a few minutes later.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Invitations and Feuds

  Sidney stepped out of her room and into the kitchen. Betty and Candace stood side by side at the kitchen island,making apple pies together. Candace’s hardened face was softening and every once in a while Sidney would hear her laugh. Sidney hoped to talk to Pastor Matt about Candace and Astrid. Thanksgiving and Christmas were around the corner and despite what she thought of Astrid, she was Candace’s grandmother. Sidney hoped she could do something to build a bridge between them.

  Candace turned when she saw her.“Oh,I’m glad you’re here, Sidney. There’s something I really want to talk to about. Do you have a minute?”

  Sidney nodded.

  Betty nudged Candace.“You girls go chat, I’ll finish up the pies.”

  Sidney agreed and walked with Candace into her office. She pointed to the two leather chairs that were in the corner and suggested they sit there.

  “You can probably guess why I want to talk to you?” Candace said, sitting down.

 
Sidney folded her hands together.“Actually, I haven’t got a clue. Unless, you’re wondering if you still get to keep your job. It’s been a little over a month now, hasn’t it?”

  “Almost six weeks.” Candace bit her fingernails.“Naw, I figured if you hadn’t fired me yet, I’m doing all right.” She put her hand on her stomach.“I wanted to talk to you about my pregnancy.”

  Sidney’s eyes widened and she leaned forward in her chair.“Oh. Sure. What is it you want to talk about?”

  “I’m due in the spring. So I’ve got some time to figure it all out…but, I’ve decided to give the baby up for adoption.”

  Sidney leaned back in her chair and raised her eyebrows.“I didn’t know you were considering adoption.” Sidney’s heart fluttered for a brief moment. Perhaps she could adopt Candace’s baby.

  “Since you’re from Seattle and stuff, I was hoping you’d help me find an agency that would help me. I want this baby to go into a good home.” Candace’s eyes warmed and her voice softened.“With a mom and dad who are happily married. I want to give the baby a good life.” Candace set her hands on her tummy and looked tenderly into Sidney’s eyes.“Will you help me?”

  Sidney’s throat choked up and she brushed the hair off her forehead. Of course Candace wouldn’t want to give her baby to another single woman. She’d want her baby to have what she couldn’t give it. A family. Sidney swallowed and forced herself to think of Candace, not about herself.“Yes. I’ll help you. Absolutely. There are lots of couples out there who would love to have a baby.” She reached over and pulled Candace into a warm embrace.

  ~

  Later on, the three women cleaned up dinner and Betty suggested she make some fresh popcorn. They were going to watch the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. Sidney still couldn’t believe neither of them had seen it.

  “It might take a few nights. It’s a long movie. But wonderfully romantic. There’s no better love story.”

  Betty poured oil in the pot and started shaking the popcorn.“Speaking of love. Interestingly enough, Dan called me tonight.”

  “What’d he want?” Sidney asked.

  “He called to see how my day was and to find out what he could bring for Thanksgiving dinner. He said he’d like to have Thanksgiving with me. He also said, someone with red hair invited him.”

  Sidney cringed.“Did I forget to mention that I invited Big Dan for Thanksgiving?”

  “Yes.”

  Candace looked over at the two women.“What are you up to, Sidney?”

  Sidney widened her eyes and shook her head a little.“I don’t know what came over me. But, he’s coming, so there’s nothing we can do about it now.”

  Popcorn popped and Betty shook the pot about, getting ready to pour it into a bowl. She poured salt and butter on it and stirred it around. Finally, Betty handed Sidney the bowl. Betty stayed quiet.

  Sidney motioned for them all togo into media room.“I’m sure Dan’ll be nice. At least this time, he’ll be invited in, so he won’t have to bash any doors down to try and see Betty.”

  “I don’t know.” Betty said,“I told him he could come to Thanksgiving if he was nice.”

  “Good. Kell and Pastor Matt might come with Jake too,” Sidney said.“I invited them. I’m going to invite Amanda the waitress and Kell’s receptionist.”

  Candace shook her head in surprise.“You’d invite the whole island, wouldn’t you?”

  Sidney bit her lip.“Maybe not the whole island, but I think it’ll be fun.”

  Candace paused.“This is the first year I won’t be at the Peterson family Thanksgiving.”

  Sidney thought for a moment.“I’m sure you’ll be missed.

  “My grandmother wishes your inn would burn down. She wishes I’d tell her who the father is so she could kill him. Grandma Astrid is not wishing I were at home for Thanksgiving.”

  Betty took Candace’s hand.“Speaking of fathers…you ever going to tell him he’s going to have a baby? It’s one thing not to tell your family. It’s quite another not to tell the man who’s going to become a father.”

  Candace’s face reddened. She took her hand out of Betty’s and sat up.“He’s got nothing to do with this.”

  Betty’s eyes widened, she dropped her head and looked at Candace’s small belly.“He may not have much to do with it now, but he sure had something to do with it a few months ago.”

  Candace rolled her eyes.“Funny.”

  Sidney interrupted.“Maybe you should call Astrid and see how she’s doing.”

  Betty laughed.“You don’t know Astrid.”

  Candace nodded in agreement.“Grandma isn’t going to make this easy for me. If I don’t tell her who the father is, she’s got nothing to say.”

  “Yes, I met her at the banquet. She made quite an impression on me. Sure, she’s intense and protective of her island. But she’s your grandmother.”

  Candace crinkled her eyes and grabbed a handful of popcorn.“Protective of her island? It’s not like anyone’s trying to take it from her. Besides, you may not have an issue with her, but she sure has an issue with you.”

  Sidney couldn’t imagine Astrid was that threatened by her inn.“It’ll blow over. Once she figures out I’m not trying to take her place, she’ll see that it’s fine.”

  “Yes, but you’re the nice one,” Candace said.“And you’ve been nice to me. She doesn’t want anyone to be nice to me.”

  “Let’s hope your grandmother comes around. You need all the support you can get.” Sidney decided she’d like to talk to Pastor Matt. Candace needed support from her family. Maybe she and Matt could help them make peace.

  Candace opened the DVD player and set Pride and Prejudice to play. Sidney turned down the lights and the three women sat on the couch together eating popcorn.

  However, Sidney was distracted. She eyed her new friend Betty, who was munching on a handful of popcorn and enthralled with the movie before her. To Sidney, Betty seemed calmer, more relaxed. She wondered if it was just her imagination. Time would tell, especially if Dan began to treat her as she deserved to be treated.

  Candace needed a change. Sidney was more than happy to have her stay at the inn. She liked Candace, and the harshness she exhibited at the beginning was slowly ebbing away. But Candace was young. She couldn’t waste her whole life helping out at an inn. Then again, this wasn’t her whole life. A few more months, a year even, might be good for the girl. Come early spring there’d be a little one in Candace’s life. Sidney choked up thinking about a baby. Here was Candace, wanting to give the baby up for adoption, and the only thing Sidney had ever truly ached for was a family of her own.

  After the movie ended, Candace went off to bed, claiming utter exhaustion. Betty lingered for a few moments and finally spoke to Sidney in a low voice.“Your mom called while you were having your talk with Candace.”

  “She did?”

  “Yes. She said your grandmother’s not doing well.”

  “My mom says that every time I talk to her.”

  “She sounded upset.”

  “You met my mother that day at lunch, she’s very dramatic.”

  “She’s not going to be able to make it to Thanksgiving.”

  Sidney hung her head.“My mom plays the victim part so well. What she really wants is for me to go to her house for Thanksgiving. I know her.”

  Betty patted Sidney on the arm.“Are you sure you don’t want to cancel Thanksgiving here and spend it with your mom and grandmother? Your step-dad is over there too, right?”

  Sidney gave Betty a quick nod.“Yes, my mom’s husband Bill. He’s was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s too. I know I need to go over and visit and I intend too, but I want to have Thanksgiving in my new home. Besides, Jeff is coming over. I need to give him an answer.”

  Betty patted her on the arm and walked to the door.“Have you decided what you’re going to do?”

  Sidney tightened her lips and ran a hand through her hair.“It’s hard to imagine saying no to him. It’s what I’v
e always wanted. Even with the divorce, my vows are still till death do us part, Betty. I loved being married.”

  Betty raised an eyebrow and gave Sidney a look of ironic frustration.“Have you looked around you? Henry asked you out at the banquet, and then Lawrence did too, right? Jeff’s not your only option.”

  “Yes, but dates aren’t declarations of love.” Sidney sighed.“When I think about starting over it makes my stomach hurt. All that energy, the questions of our pasts, our dreams, the small discoveries of what we want, the compromises you have to make. Then there’s all the pretense on the first few dates, trying to impress each other. I know what I’m getting with Jeff. And let’s face it, that’s a whole lot more than a lot of woman get. Not to mention, we were married for ten years.”

  “Don’t settle Sidney. You’ll regret it the rest of your life.”

  “Maybe, but I feel obligated, you know?” She shrugged.“Maybe it’s my staunch upbringing, or my own parents’ divorce. I feel like if my husband wants to get back together, it’s the right thing to do. Not to mention, I’m thirty-five. I’m not getting younger. All my old friends have children already.”

  “Have you prayed about this?”

  Sidney raised her eyebrow at Betty.“This question, coming from the woman who just played her husband the other night?”

  Betty laughed.“Yes, but look at him now. Coming to Thanksgiving, calling and being all nice.”

  “So you’re saying you’ve been praying about Dan and your marriage?”

  “Of course I’ve been praying. Sidney, I may be a feisty, sassy woman,but I’ve got my faith. I wouldn’t have made it with four sons without God. My faith means everything to me.”

  Sidney didn’t know what to say. She was stunned.“And you aren’t disappointed in God for what Dan did to you, that he didn’t prevent it. He could have, you know?”

  Betty put her hand on Sidney’s leg.“Listen, dear. I’ve been praying for my husband to come to a deeper place in his faith in God for twenty years. I’m smart enough to figure out God is up to something. God allows things to happen, Sidney, for a lot of reasons. For something higher. And most of the time, we don’t understand it all while we’re in the middle of it. We have to trust God, even when it’s painful.”