Love Finds a Way

by Wanda E. Brunstetter

  “Sheila?”

  “I’m fine, Grandma. Just tired, I guess.”

  “I’d like to date your granddaughter,” Dwaine blurted, “but she’s not interested.”

  Dwaine limped down the hall after Sheila, his heart pounding and his mind whirling with unanswered questions. She’d acted Sheila didn’t wait for Grandma’s response. She leaped to her feet and raced out of the apartment.

  Dwaine limped down the hall after Sheila, his heart pounding and his mind whirling with unanswered questions. She’d acted strangely all evening, but what had happened to set her off like this?

  Dwaine caught up to Sheila as she stepped into the elevator. “Wait!”

  The door started to close, but he stuck out his hand and held it open.

  “Where do you think you’re running off to?” he panted.

  Sheila averted her gaze and stared at the floor. “Home. I’m going home.”

  “But you said you weren’t leaving until next week.”

  She looked up, and her eyelids fluttered. “I’m going back to Grandma’s old house, where I won’t have to spend the evening being talked about rather than to.”

  Dwaine stepped into the elevator and pushed the button so the door would close more quickly. He didn’t want to chance her bolting again.

  “Ever since we sat down to supper, you and Grandma talked about me like I wasn’t even in the room.” Sheila’s chin quivered. “I’m already upset over not finding the Bye-Lo doll, and I don’t like being treated as if I’m a child.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that’s what I was doing.”

  Sheila blinked, and a few tears rolled down her cheeks. “That’s not all.”

  “What else is bothering you?”

  “I feel like all you care about is going on dates and having fun. Finding my grandmother’s doll doesn’t seem to be a priority anymore—if it ever was.”

  He shook his head. “That’s not true, Sheila. I told you about the magazine ad, didn’t I?”

  “Yes, but what have you done to contact the person who placed it?”

  “I told you before; I called and left a message on their answering machine.” He sighed. “Can’t really do much more until I hear back, now, can I?”

  She shrugged and hung her head. “I’ve never run out on Grandma like that before. I don’t know what came over me, and I need to go back and apologize.”

  “I guess it’s my fault. I’m the reason you got so upset.”

  “No, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have let myself—”

  “I’ve enjoyed spending time with you these past few weeks, and I hope we can keep in touch after you return home,” he interrupted.

  The elevator door swished open, and Sheila hurried toward her grandmother’s room. Dwaine did his best to keep up, but the pain in his ankle slowed him down.

  “I’ll give you my e-mail address so you can let me know what you hear on the Bye-Lo baby,” she said over her shoulder.

  “Right, but I was thinking more along the lines of our keeping in touch so we can build a relationship,” he mumbled.

  She stopped walking and turned to face him. “Again, I don’t see how we can have a relationship when we live in two different states.”

  He gave her a sheepish grin. “Ah, that. Well, I figure if the Lord brought us together, He will make a way.”

  CHAPTER 10

  Sheila couldn’t believe her vacation was over and she was back in Fresno. Her flight had gone well, and she’d called a cab to drive her home. She should be happy and content, but instead, her heart was filled with a sense of loss that went deeper than just losing a doll. Was it possible she could love Dwaine after knowing him only a few weeks?

  The first thing Sheila did when she stepped inside her house was check her e-mail. Sure enough, there was one from Dwaine, entitled “Response from doll collector.”

  As she read the message, Sheila’s heart plummeted. The writing on the doll confirmed that it wasn’t Grandma’s. As if that wasn’t bad enough news, Dwaine didn’t even say he would continue to look.

  “He did say he misses me,” she murmured. “Guess I should be happy about that.”

  She glanced around the living room and loneliness crept into her soul. “I’ll be okay once I’m back at work tomorrow morning. Too much vacation isn’t good—especially when you return home with nothing but an ache in your heart.”

  Sheila wasn’t sure if the pain she felt was from not finding Grandma’s doll or from missing Dwaine. Probably a little of both, she decided.

  “This feeling of gloom will pass. All I need to do is keep busy.” She headed for the kitchen. “I’ll start by cleaning the refrigerator, and then I’ll go to the store and buy something good to eat. Work and food—that’s what I need right now.”

  The next few weeks went by in a blur as Sheila immersed herself in work and tried to forget she had ever met a man named Dwaine Woods. She’d had several more e-mails from him, but he never mentioned the doll. Sheila figured either he’d had no more leads or he had no interest in trying to find the Bye-Lo for her.

  “It’s just as well,” Sheila muttered as she turned off her work computer on Tuesday afternoon and prepared to go home.

  “Were you talking to me?” Dr. Taylor asked as he passed her desk.

  Sheila felt heat creep up the back of her neck and spread quickly to her cheeks. She hadn’t realized anyone else was in the room. She thought the doctor had gone home for the day.

  “I didn’t know you were still here.”

  He chuckled and pulled his fingers through the thinning gray hair at the back of his head. “If you weren’t talking to me, who then?”

  She stared at the blank computer screen. “Myself.”

  “I see. And did you have a suitable answer to your question?”

  She shook her head. “I’m afraid there is no answer.”

  He snapped his fingers. “Sounds like a matter of the heart.”

  “It is,” she admitted.

  “Want to talk about it?”

  It was tempting, for Dr. Taylor was not only an excellent chiropractor, but also a good listener, full of sound advice and godly counsel.

  “It’s nothing. I’ll be fine,” she murmured.

  “All right then. I won’t press the matter, but I will be praying for you.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate that.”

  “See you tomorrow morning.” Dr. Taylor grabbed his briefcase from under the front counter and headed out the door.

  Sheila picked up her purse and followed.

  Dwaine had closed his shop for the day, deciding to clean out the drawers of an old rolltop desk he’d discovered in a shed out behind his shop.

  He gulped down the last of his coffee and pulled open the first drawer. Inside were a bunch of rubber bands, some paper clips, and a small notebook. He thumbed through the pages to be sure there was nothing important, but halted when he came to the last page.

  DOLL HOSPITAL—SEATTLE was scrawled in bold letters.

  “That’s odd. I wonder if Bill Summers took some old dolls there to be repaired.”

  Dwaine thought about the box of dolls he’d acquired several weeks before. He’d been planning to take them to Seattle during Easter vacation.

  “I need to get those out, because I’ll be leaving for Seattle next week,” Dwaine muttered as he ripped the piece of paper with the bold writing from the notebook. “Don’t have a clue what this is all about, but I sure am glad for the reminder that I need to take the dolls in for repair.”

  He shook his head. “I think Sheila was right about me being forgetful.”

  Dwaine closed the drawer and stood. He hadn’t heard from Sheila in a couple of days and decided to check his e-mail.

  A few minutes later, he was online. There was a message from his sister, Eileen, saying they were looking forward to seeing him. There were a few e-mails from other antique shops, but nothing from Sheila. Was she too busy to write, or had she forgotten about him already?<
br />
  As soon as he clicked the icon to get off-line, he closed his eyes in prayer. “Father, I miss Sheila, and I really need Your help. If You want us to be together, please show me what to do.”

  He opened his eyes and glanced around the antique shop.

  Sheila had done so much to make the place look better when she was here. “I think I’d better give her a call when I get back from Seattle.”

  Sheila had decided a few days ago that she probably wasn’t going to hear from Dwaine again. It had been over a week since she’d received an e-mail from him.

  “Maybe he’s given up on me because all I ever ask about is Grandma’s doll and I’ve never said how much I miss him.” She shut the computer down and pushed away from her desk. “It’s probably for the best. He needs to find someone who lives there in Casper, and I need to …” What did she need? Sheila headed for the kitchen. “I need to fix supper and get my mind off Dwaine and the doll he’s never going to find.”

  She chuckled in spite of her melancholy mood. She was calling dinner “supper” now. She’d been converted to Casper, Wyoming’s way of saying things. Or was it Dwaine’s ways she’d been converted to? Had he gotten under her skin more than she realized—carved a place in her heart she could never forget?

  Sheila spotted the black Bible with worn edges—the one Dwaine had found on Grandma’s old piano. Grandma had told Sheila it belonged to Grandpa and said she’d like for Sheila to have it. At the time, Sheila had thought Grandma was trying to make up for the missing doll, but now, as she stared at the cover, she was filled with a strong desire to read God’s Word. She’d forgotten to do devotions that morning and knew her day would have gone better if she had done them.

  She sagged into a chair and breathed a prayer. “Lord, please speak to me through Your Word, and give me a sense of peace about the things that have been troubling me since I returned home.”

  She opened the Bible to the book of 1 Timothy. Her gaze came to rest on chapter 6, verses 7 and 8. “For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. “

  Tears welled up in her eyes. “Father, forgive me for putting so much emphasis on worldly things. You’ve obviously decided I don’t need Grandma’s doll, and I’m realizing how wrong I’ve been for concentrating on a worldly possession. I should be more concerned about my relationship with You, as well as friends and family. Help me to care more, love more, and do more to further Your kingdom. Amen.”

  The doorbell rang, and she jumped. “It’s probably the paperboy, wanting to be paid for this month’s subscription.”

  She padded down the hall to the front door and peered through the peephole. No one was there. At least, she couldn’t see anyone.

  Cautiously, Sheila opened the door. Nobody was on the porch, but a small cardboard box sat on the doormat. A yellow rose lay across the top of it.

  She bent down and picked them both up.

  “Sure hope you like roses.”

  Sheila bolted upright at the sound of a deep male voice. A voice she recognized and had longed to hear. “Dwaine?”

  He peeked around the corner of the house and grinned at her.

  “Wh–what are you doing here?” she rasped. “Came to see you.”

  “What about the rose and package? What are they for?”

  He stepped onto the porch. “The rose is to say, ‘I’ve missed you,’ and what’s in the box is a gift from my heart.”

  She looked at the package, at Dwaine, and back at the package again. “What’s in there?”

  “Open it and find out.”

  Sheila handed him the rose and lifted the lid. She gasped, and her eyes clouded with tears as a Bye-Lo baby came into view. The skin on her arms turned to gooseflesh. Could it possibly be Grandma’s old doll?

  With trembling fingers and a galloping heart, Sheila raised the cotton nightgown. It was there—her name scrawled in black ink on the cloth stomach.

  She clutched the Bye-Lo baby to her chest. “Oh Dwaine, where did you find her?”

  “In Seattle. It’s an interesting story. Can I step inside out of this heat?” Dwaine wiped the perspiration from his forehead.

  “Yes, of course. Come in and I’ll pour you some iced tea.”

  When they were both seated at the kitchen table with glasses of cold tea, Sheila said, “Don’t keep me in suspense. Please tell me how all this came about.”

  Dwaine set down his glass and grinned. “It was an answer to prayer.”

  “Going to Seattle, finding the doll, or coming here?”

  “All three.” He leaned closer and she shivered, even though she wasn’t cold.

  His lips were inches from hers, and she could feel his warm breath against her face. Mustering all her willpower, Sheila leaned away. “H–how much do I owe you for the doll?”

  “What?” Dwaine looked dazed.

  “Bye-Lo. How much did she cost?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Nothing?”

  He shook his head. “Let me explain.” “Please do.”

  “Last week I was cleaning out an old desk I had found in the shed behind my shop, and I came across a notebook. One of the pages had the words ‘Doll Hospital—Seattle,’ written on it.”

  “That’s all?”

  “Yep. I had no idea what it meant, but it reminded me that I had a box of old dolls I wanted to take there.” Dwaine paused to take another sip of tea. “After spending Easter with my sister and her family in Seattle, I went to the doll hospital the following day.”

  “That’s where you found my grandmother’s doll?”

  He nodded. “As soon as I told the lady where I was from and that I was the new owner of The Older the Better Antique Shop, she lit right up. Said a Bye-Lo doll had been sent from the previous owner several months ago and that she’d never heard back from him.”

  “I’m surprised she didn’t call the store.”

  “She said she’d tried but was told the number had been disconnected. Turns out she’d been given a wrong number.” Dwaine set his glass back on the table. “Since she knew the number she’d called wasn’t in service, she assumed the business had closed.”

  “So she kept the doll?”

  “Right. She put in new eyes, since that’s what it had been sent there for, and placed the doll in her display cabinet. Said she didn’t want to sell the Bye-Lo in case the man who sent it ever tried to contact her.”

  Sheila stared at the doll lying on the table. Its pale pink bisque face looked as sweet as it had when she was a child. “You didn’t have to buy it, then?”

  “Nope. Just paid the woman the bill to fix the eyes.”

  “But what about the amount my grandmother was paid by the previous owner of your shop?”

  Dwaine shrugged. “Don’t know how much that was since I can’t find a receipt.”

  “I’m sure Grandma knows what she sold it for.”

  He shook his head. “I called and asked, but she said she forgot.”

  “At least let me pay for the cost of the doll’s repairs and your plane ticket to bring it to me.” Sheila smiled. “You could have saved yourself the trouble and mailed it, you know.”

  He squinted and shook his head. “And miss the chance to see you?”

  She squirmed in her chair as his expression grew more intense.

  “I’ve missed you, Sheila. Missed your laughing eyes, beautiful smile, and even your organizational skills.” He leaned closer. “I believe I’ve fallen in love with you.”

  Her mouth went dry. “You—you have?”

  He nodded and lifted her chin with his thumb. “I know we haven’t known each other very long, but when God brings a good thing into my life, I’d be a fool to ignore it.”

  “I agree.”

  His eyes twinkled. “You think I’m a good thing?”

  “Oh yes,” she murmured. “God’s been showing me some important verses from His Word, and as happy as I am to have the preci
ous Bye-Lo baby, I’m even more excited to see you.”

  As Dwaine’s lips sought hers, Sheila felt like she was floating on a cloud. When the kiss ended, they both spoke at once.

  “Does Fresno need another antique shop?”

  “Does Casper need another chiropractor’s receptionist?”

  They laughed.

  “I could use a secretary. As you already know, my shop was a mess before you came along.” Dwaine took hold of her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “And I’ve been a mess since you left town.”

  “Me, too.” Sheila smiled through her tears. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I’ve decided there’s really nothing keeping me here in Fresno. I know, too, that building a relationship with someone as wonderful as you is far more important than my job or the old doll I used to play with as a child.”

  “You mean it?” He sounded hopeful, and his eyes searched her face. “What about your parents’ house? Would you sell this place if you moved to Casper?”

  She shook her head. “Just a minor detail. The house can be put up for rent.”

  His lips touched her forehead in a kiss as gentle as the flicker of butterfly wings. “I know it’s probably too soon for a marriage proposal, but if you move to Casper, we can work on that.”

  She fingered the cloth body on the Bye-Lo baby. “And to think none of this would have happened if I hadn’t come to Wyoming in search of Grandma’s doll.”

  MATCHMAKER

  911

  DEDICATION

  To my daughter-in-law, Jean,

  whose first career was barbering.

  CHAPTER 1

  Ya know what?” croaked an aged, gravelly-sounding voice. “I was six months old before I even saw the light of day!”