“You know what I miss the most since I moved to Shady Oaks?” Bess asked Gabriel when he pulled up to the nursing home.
“Your garden?”
“No. I hate getting my hands dirty. I miss my dogs. I had three of them. My niece gave them away when she brought me to the home.”
“Why?” Rebecca asked, sliding from the car and opening the door to assist Bess.
“Because dogs aren’t allowed in nursing homes. You know, child, animals love you unconditionally. That’s the best feeling. Nothing like it. Well, maybe, if you’re lucky enough to have the love of a good man.” Bess looked right at Gabriel then at Rebecca. “If you know what I mean?”
Rebecca blushed and averted her gaze from Gabriel. She felt him look at her and wished Bess hadn’t said anything. They were friends. That was all she wanted, all she could handle right now.
As they entered the nursing home, Rebecca saw several elderly people in the lounge area off the foyer. One, in a wheelchair, watched a big screen television. Two ladies played a card game in the corner. Bouquets of flowers brightened the area, and their scent pushed the antiseptic odors permeating the building into the background. The place felt homey, Rebecca thought.
Susan greeted them in the foyer, her head shaking, displeasure on her face. “I’m sorry, Gabriel. She got away from us again. Bess, they’re playing bingo in the main lounge. Why don’t you join the others?”
“Oh, bingo. Next to shopping that’s my favorite thing to do.” She ambled toward the lounge.
“Don’t forget about Sunday afternoon. I’ll be here around two,” Rebecca called.
Bess paused at the entrance into the game room. “Sunday afternoon? What’s happening Sunday afternoon?”
Rebecca blinked, at a loss for words. “I’m coming to visit you.”
“Oh, that. Good.” Bess disappeared inside the room.
“May we have a few words with you, Susan,” Gabriel said, “in your office?”
The director indicated a door on the other side of the large foyer. “Did she shoplift again?”
“Again?” Rebecca asked, following the two into Susan’s office.
“Ben caught her taking a watch last week.”
“No wonder the man was so upset.”
“Have a seat.” Susan pointed to two wing chairs while she sat behind her desk. “I think we’ve figured out how she’s escaping.”
Rebecca frowned. “You make it sound like she’s in a prison.”
“A lot of the people staying here would wander off and not know where they were if we didn’t lock the doors to keep them inside. Many of our residents have problems with their memories.” Susan turned to Gabriel. “I’ve fixed the door in the kitchen. It shouldn’t happen again.”
“I hope not. Ben forgave her this time. I don’t know if I can talk him into a third time.”
“She didn’t remember taking the perfume. I don’t think she did it on purpose,” Rebecca interjected, thinking how close in age Bess and her grandmother were.
“I agree with you, Rebecca, and that’s why Ben finally calmed down. Ben isn’t an ogre, but he does have a family to support and lately there has been some shoplifting going on at his store. I think it’s kids. He’s extra sensitive about it at the moment.”
“May I make a suggestion?” Rebecca asked, straightening in her chair as though she were readying to do battle. If need be, she would. “I’d like to take Bess shopping with me once a week. I’ll keep a close eye on her and make sure nothing’s taken that isn’t paid for. She needs someone to care about her. What happened with her family? Her niece?”
“Her niece moved to New York City,” Michael said. “That’s why she placed Bess in Shady Oaks. With Bess’s memory problems, she didn’t think the big city would be a good place for her aunt.”
“I’ll have a word with her niece, but I doubt she’ll object to you taking her out for an afternoon. This might help Bess. She seems so lost right now. Her niece had to give her dogs away. I want to give her something to look forward to.”
“I have an idea, Susan. My dog had puppies last month. I’ll be looking for homes soon for them. I’d like to give Bess one of the puppies to take care of.”
“A dog? Here?”
“It’s not unheard of to have pets in nursing homes. It would be wonderful therapy for Bess, for all your residents. Bess summed it up when she said animals love unconditionally. That’s the best feeling in the world, Susan. If memory serves me, you’ve got a dog and a cat.”
“But if I let Bess have a dog, the others will want a pet.”
“Maybe that isn’t such a bad idea. Think it over. I’ll see if I can get you some literature on it. I’ll hold a puppy for a while until you make up your mind.”
“I don’t know, Gabriel. I can’t imagine it staying inside all day.”
“You have a fenced yard out back. All I’m asking is that you think about it.”
Susan rose. “Fine. Send over any information you have on it, and I’ll see. I’ll talk with the doctor and nurses and get their opinion.”
“That’s all I ask.” Gabriel opened the door for Rebecca. Outside Shady Oaks he took a deep breath and released it slowly. “Susan does a good job with what she has, but still I wish there was another way to take care of our old people.”
“The puppy for Bess was a great idea. I hope Susan approves it.” At the squad car Rebecca caught Gabriel’s gaze over the roof. “Have you given any of your puppies away yet?”
“The kid next door wants one. Why?”
“I wonder if I could buy one for Peter for his birthday next Saturday.”
“No, you can’t.”
Rebecca climbed into the car, trying to keep the disappointment from showing on her face. “Then do you know where I can get a puppy for Peter?”
“Yes.” He smiled. “I won’t sell you a puppy, but I’ll give you one.”
“You will?” Relief flowed through her.
“Lady isn’t any fancy breed, but she’s a good dog. She wandered into my life not long after Judy died. Just appeared on my porch one morning, cold and shivering. I think the Lord sent her to me to help me mend. She was starving and near death. I nursed her back to life and in the process found a reason to go on.”
Tears lodged in Rebecca’s throat. Had the Lord sent her Gabriel to help her heal?
* * *
“I’m home,” Rebecca called as she walked into the kitchen from the garage.
Rose cradled Josh in her lap while she fed him.
Rebecca rushed to take Josh from her grandmother. “I’m sorry I’m late, but I was bound and determined to get all the folders logged on the computer and filed away.”
Rose waved her away. “I can handle this. You know I raised three children. Sit and relax. You’ve been working all day.”
Rebecca arched a brow. “And you haven’t?”
“Taking care of Josh isn’t work. It’s God’s gift to me. He keeps me young.”
Rebecca sank into a chair next to her grandmother and stroked Josh’s arm. His cooing eased her weariness. Her children were the reason she was working so hard. They were worth it.
“Where’s Peter?” Rebecca asked as she tickled Josh’s stomach and relished the sound of his laughter.
“He’s still at baseball practice, but he should—” The sound of the front door slamming interrupted Rose. “It looks like he’s home.”
“Or we have a very loud burglar.”
“My gosh, child, work at the police station one day and you’re already thinking the worst of the good citizens of Oakview.”
Peter entered the kitchen and headed for the refrigerator. “I’m starved. When’s dinner?”
“Six.” Rose placed Josh over her shoulder and patted his back.
“How was practice today?” Rebecca asked, watching her eldest son pour a large glass of orange juice and nearly down it in one swallow, then refill it.
He shrugged. “The usual.”
“Which means?”
“The team practices catching and batting.” Peter rummaged through the cabinets until he found a box of crackers.
“I don’t want you to eat too—”
“Mom, I could eat everything in this kitchen and still be hungry. Don’t worry. I’ll eat dinner. Have you called Dad yet?”
“No, I just got home myself.”
“Well, then, what are we waiting for?” Peter took the phone and punched in his dad’s number.
While Peter talked with his father for a few minutes, Rebecca steeled herself. She remembered the devastation she had experienced when she had discovered the note Craig left, saying he couldn’t take any more and he had to leave—for good.
“Mom! Mom!”
Rebecca blinked and focused on Peter, who was holding out the phone for her. Her hands shook as she took it. “Hello, Craig.”
“Peter said you had something you needed to talk to me about. I don’t have much time. What is it?”
Rebecca heard the impatience in Craig’s voice, and the sound of people’s voices in the background. She wondered what their call had interrupted. “Peter and I were hoping you could come up for his birthday next Saturday. He wants you to go fishing with him like you two used to.” A long pause on the other end sent her heart pounding against her chest. “Craig?”
“I’m thinking.” Another long pause, then he said, “Okay. I can come for a while. I’ll be there at seven in the morning. We can spend a few hours together before I have to get back to Dallas.”
“Peter will be glad to hear that,” Rebecca replied in the most cheerful voice she could muster, while inside she wanted to yell at Craig. Don’t put yourself out for your own son. After all, his feelings aren’t as important as yours. He doesn’t need to see his own father.
“I’ll have to leave by noon.”
“Fine. We’ll see you at seven then.” She hung up the phone.
“Dad’s coming?”
Rebecca nodded, her throat clogged with emotions she couldn’t express in front of her son. She laced her hands together to keep them from trembling.
“This is gonna be great.” Peter snatched up the box of crackers and the glass of orange juice and left the kitchen.
“Everything isn’t as great as Peter thinks?” Rose asked.
Rebecca took her son from her grandmother, needing to hold him close. Burying her face against his hair, she breathed deeply, relishing his baby scent. “No. There were other people at his place, and I could tell he wasn’t too pleased by our call.”
“Have faith in the Lord, child. Everything will work out.”
Rebecca remembered Gabriel saying those same words to her earlier that day. She wanted to believe them. “Granny, I’m trying.” She tightened her hold on Josh, drawing strength from her youngest who had been through so much in his short life.
“You haven’t told me about your first day on the job,” Rose said as she opened the refrigerator to remove some sliced chicken.
“Interesting and challenging.”
“Challenging?”
“Not the actual work so much as how to get along with my co-worker.” Rebecca started to tell her grandmother about Mabel when the doorbell rang. “I’ll get this then tell you.”
She swung the front door open and found Gabriel in cutoffs and a sweatshirt. He filled the entrance with his overwhelming presence. She greeted him with a smile, pleased to see him. Her spirits lifted.
“What brings you by?”
“I wasn’t there when you left today, and I wanted to know how the rest of your first day on the job went.” His gaze trekked down her.
“Checking for scorch marks from the Dragon Lady?”
He chuckled. “Are there any?”
“One or two. Come in.”
“I’d better stay out here. I’m in desperate need of a shower after running laps with the team.”
“How’s Peter doing? Giving you any trouble?” Rebecca came out onto the porch.
“No, he hasn’t complained since that first day. Actually he ran next to David today. For the first lap they carried on a conversation.”
“Good, because this morning I was concerned something happened at practice yesterday.”
“Why?”
“He came home and kicked his tennis shoes under the bed.”
Gabriel chuckled. “Probably because he’s done more work these past couple of days than he’s done in a month’s time.” He raked his fingers through his sweaty hair. “I have to give him credit. He’s done everything the team has done.” Leaning against the railing, he folded his arms across his chest. “Okay. How was your day?”
She sat in the swing and turned Josh in her lap so he could see Gabriel. “The job’s fine. I’ll win Mabel over. I think she was shocked that I wasn’t out the door right at four-thirty. I think I further shocked her by staying until all the files were logged and put away.”
“I bet you did. When I first came to work as the police chief, I had to win Mabel over, too. Just because I was the boss meant nothing to the woman.”
“Since you’re still the police chief, there’s hope for me.”
“There’s always hope, Rebecca. I think that’s one of the messages the Lord was giving us when He sent us His only son.”
Fear nibbled at her. Dare she have hope? Rebecca thought about Peter’s birthday. She prayed that Gabriel was right.
CHAPTER SIX
The crack of the bat against the ball echoed through the park. Rebecca leaped to her feet and yelled as David Carson headed for first base, then pushed on to second. A runner came in to home plate, and everyone in the dugout rushed to greet him with high fives and cheers.
Rebecca found Peter among his teammates, huddled around the boy who had come in for the tying run. A huge grin was plastered on her son’s face. Seeing Peter with the others, excited and part of the team, gave her hope that soon he would come to accept their move and maybe even grow to like living in Oakview.
With that thought, Rebecca searched the crowd filing into the dugout for Gabriel, the one partially responsible for this change in her eldest son. When she spotted him bending over and speaking low to the next batter, she smiled at the intense expression on Gabriel’s face. He didn’t take this game lightly. He was an all-or-nothing kind of guy. He had taken Peter under his wing and was determined to make her son part of this town. Her heart warmed at the thought.
She relaxed and drew in a deep, calming breath. The scent of recently mowed grass permeated the air. Spring was definitely here, she thought, shedding her sweater. She lifted her face to the sun and savored its warmth.
The next batter came to the plate and swung two times to no avail. The third pitch flew past the ten-year-old, low and outside. The ump shouted, “Ball.”
“I think I have bitten off every fingernail I have,” the woman next to Rebecca said.
Rebecca tilted her head to look at the young mother sitting on her left. “Is that your son at bat?”
“No, David is my son. He’s on second.”
“Then you’re Mrs. Carson.”
“Please, call me Alicia.”
“I’m Rebecca Michaels. My son is the team manager.” She pointed toward Peter, who was placing bats in holders while his gaze was fixed on the batter.
“David has mentioned Peter. They worked at the church a few Saturdays back with Gabriel. My husband said they accomplished quite a bit. We always appreciate any help we can get. Keeping a church up outside is as much work as inside.”
Rebecca wasn’t going to mention what had led her son to “volunteer” to clean up the church that Saturday. “I know what you mean. The same applies to a house. But then the church is the Lord’s house.”
“That it is.”
The sound of the bat hitting the ball riveted Rebecca’s attention to the scene in front of her. The ball sailed toward right field. A member of the other team positioned himself under it and readied himself to catch it. If he caught it, they would go into extra innings.
She held her breath.
The boy fumbled the ball. It plopped to the ground and rolled toward the fence. He scrambled for it while David headed for third. The boy in the outfield retrieved the ball and threw toward the pitcher. David rounded third for home plate. The pitcher lobbed the ball toward the catcher as David slid in for the winning run.
“Safe,” the ump called.
Rebecca released her pent-up breath, jumped to her feet and shouted, “Way to go. You did it!”
Alicia threw her arms around Rebecca and hugged her. Joy transformed Alicia’s plain face into a radiant one. Rebecca pulled away, beaming with her own bright smile.
“David was so worried about this game. The Hornets were the best team in the league last year. This is a big victory.” Alicia lowered her voice. “And if the truth be known, Samuel, my husband, told me that Gabriel stayed up most of last night worrying about this game.”
“Men and their games,” Rebecca muttered and searched for the man in question.
Gabriel stood in the midst of his team, receiving congratulations from the boys and giving them his. Then he quickly had the team form a line to greet the Hornets on the field. He turned to make sure everyone was in front of him. He saw Peter putting equipment away. He walked over to her son and said something. Peter appeared surprised but followed Gabriel to the end of the line, then planted himself in front of Gabriel as everyone walked onto the field.
Rebecca’s heart ached as she watched her son being included in the celebration, giving high fives to all the Hornets who filed past him. Tears crowded her eyes, and she quickly blinked to rid herself of them before someone saw her.
“David says your son is a fast runner. We’re one man short. Has he considered going out for the team?”
Alicia’s question drew Rebecca’s attention. “Gabriel’s working on Peter.”
“Then it shouldn’t be long before he’s playing with the Cougars. Gabriel can do just about anything he sets his heart to. And he has such a way with kids. Too bad he doesn’t have children of his own. He and Judy were so much in love. If only Judy—”
The Power of Love Page 7