by Lyn Cote
She let herself savor this moment. She recalled the feel of his chin against her lips when she’d kissed him that day they’d rescued the kittens. Tempted to turn and brush his cheek again with her lips, she pressed her lips together. Yet in the darkness, no one could disapprove. Don’t.
Then a few shadowed figures, carrying lighted pillar candles, filtered out of the kitchen. More and more points of light approached near and nearer, here and there. Finally each table boasted a lantern flashlight or a tall pillar candle or two. Glass hurricane chimneys enclosed each candle, holding the flames steady. Communal relief sighed through the gathering. Jeannie inhaled deeply and let go of Jake’s hand.
“The wind must have blown down some lines!” The pastor voiced loudly what they were all thinking. “It shouldn’t be long before they come back on. Now that we have our candles and flashlights, let’s get back to having fun. But—” he said with emphasis “—adults watch the children and the candles. The glass chimneys will keep the flames safe, but kids could knock them over inadvertently. We don’t want a fire.”
Most nodded, but a few said, “You bet! Will do!”
“Come sit with me, Jeannie,” Jake invited.
She knew she should say no.
But Ginny overheard and pushed Jeannie from behind. “Go on. Keep the doctor company.”
Jeannie followed Jake to the open end of a table nearby. The people at the table greeted them but then went back to talking among themselves. “I was surprised to see your dad come tonight.” Then she realized that she shouldn’t have said this and added, “Sorry.”
“I was surprised to see him come. He always acts as if crossing a church threshold is somehow a betrayal of science. He’s different somehow this visit. He told me he’s thinking of retiring.”
Jeannie took her time digesting this. “That’s a big life change.”
“Yes, and he seems…tired. He’s going to visit some friends in Madison on Monday. That should cheer him up.” Jake lifted his sloppy joe and leaned over his white foam plate to take his first bite. A wise choice—some of the filling dropped onto his chips. “Yum. And clever, too—a sandwich and chip dip in one.”
An unbidden smile eased her face.
Candlelight changed the mood of the people in the basement hall. Voices had lowered. Even the children’s shouts and squeals weren’t as shrill. Did fluorescent light affect behavior? Mood? Jeannie’s own spirit lost its prickles. She settled down, just watching Jake eat, enjoy the simple meal.
His eyes glistening in the lowlight, Jake glanced into hers. “I can tell that you overheard my dad last Sunday when we came to work on your house. Overheard the things he said about you and the girls. And me.”
Jake’s words surprised, but didn’t embarrass her. Not in this peaceful happy moment. And the mild, somewhat apologetic way he said the words let her respond easily.
“Yes, I heard. I wish I could tell him that I’m not trying to…” Then she didn’t know how to go on. How could she say, I’m not trying to snare you, Jake?
Innate honesty stopped her. She was innocent of the intent to entrap; however, not innocent of being attracted to him. She ran her finger in circles on the white paper covering the table.
Jake shook his head. “No, you’re not the kind of woman I attract.” He waved his head toward Brooke’s direction.
His self-disgusted tone stung her. “Oh, Jake, no—”
The pastor’s voice rose above the other voices, cutting her off. “You all know why we are here tonight! With their Sunday school money, our kids have pledged this year to support three children living in poverty in various countries around the world. And with tonight’s fundraiser, our children will make a special donation to supply the immediate needs of children who are waiting for sponsors.”
Jake’s hand covered hers as it lay on the table. Suddenly rebellious toward Dan and others’ opinions, she didn’t slip hers away.
“We would also like to urge those of you who aren’t already sponsors to choose a child tonight to sponsor individually. Our children are going to come around, passing out pages, introducing these children who are seeking sponsors. These children need food, clothing and school fees. Please accept one of these children as yours to help. If you do, then tonight will be a great night indeed!”
Everyone applauded. Mimi and Cindy, along with the other children, began moving through the narrow aisles between tables, passing out flyers. Each sheet showed a photo and information about one child. The twins arrived at their table and offered Jake one. “Dr. Jake, this is a boy who lives in Guatemala,” Mimi said. “Would you like to be his sponsor?”
Then Cindy handed one to Jeannie. “We want to sponsor this little girl in Haiti. She’s our age. She looks like she’s a nice girl. Can we help her?”
Jeannie glanced down at the dark little girl in a faded red cotton dress who was smiling shyly. Jeannie’s new better-paying job would make this possible. “Of course we will. Can you read her name?”
“She’s Francesse,” Cindy said, pronouncing the name Frances.
“I think the ‘e’ at the end sounds like an ‘a.’ It’s a French name. Fran-cess-a.”
“And my little boy is named Pablo.” Jake reached across to show her his sheet. “From my high school Spanish, that’s Paul.”
After a quick perusal of Pablo’s particulars, Jeannie tried to read Jake’s expression. Had he been pressured to accept Pablo? But the low light cast Jake’s face in shadow. She realized she didn’t have to check his expression—Jake wouldn’t turn Pablo down. And then an idea popped into Jeannie’s mind, an idea to help the overcrowded animal shelter.
“Dr. Jake, will you come to our house for supper on Friday?” Mimi asked.
Taken completely by surprise, Jeannie gawked at her girls.
“Yeah, we don’t got school that afternoon and Aunt Ginny is teaching us how to make her macaroni and cheese,” Cindy said, completing the invitation. “So we asked if we could make enough for four.”
Jeannie felt herself glow a warm embarrassing red.
“I cannot say ‘no’ to Ginny’s macaroni and cheese.” Jake grinned broadly. “What time should I show up?”
Jeannie grappled with how to handle this. The girls were getting out of hand.
“Would you come after Mom gets home from work?” Mimi said.
Jeannie still didn’t know what to say. How could she politely rescind the unexpected invitation? She couldn’t—or show her displeasure with her girls here and now. She decided to put up the best front she could. “Great. Why don’t you bring your dad and Mike, too?” she said, hoping to make this look less like a date by broadening the scope.
“I’ll ask them. Mike, for one, can never resist Ginny’s mac and cheese.” Jake lifted his sloppy joe for another bite.
Mimi frowned. Cindy started to object.
Jeannie shushed her. “You two, go on and spend the rest of your game tickets.” Jeannie rose. “I need to help in the kitchen. See you at work on Tuesday, Dr. Jake.”
“That’s what the girls call me. I’m just Jake to you, remember, Jeannie?”
Again, his tone said so much more than his words. She had hurt him by adding the “Dr.” to his name. “Okay. Jake.”
She glanced around the room. Across from her in the dim light, Brooke sent her an unreadable look. Yet Jeannie walked into the kitchen, imagining the woman’s displeasure scorching her back. Mimi and Cindy, we are going to have a long talk about this very soon. She shoved away any guess as to what Jake’s father would say now. Or she tried to. But more importantly she needed to do some thinking about her wisp of an idea to help the overcrowded conditions at the animal shelter.
Friday evening arrived. Jeannie glanced around her mobile home. Though it had been a normally busy week, she’d cleaned the main room more carefully than usual. The twins had Ginny’s special casserole baking, sending forth a yummy aroma. Jake would arrive any second now. What would he say when he heard her suggestion?
Mike and Dan had declined her invitation. Mike had plans and Dan was visiting other friends. Only Jake was expected to come. Jeannie tried to suppress her fizzing anticipation.
“Mom,” Mimi said, “take your hair out of the ponytail.” The two girls were scrutinizing her.
“What?”
“Take your hair out of the ponytail. When it’s down, it looks prettier,” Mimi said.
“Yes,” Cindy agreed, “all the girls at school say you got the best hair.”
“And the longest,” Mimi added.
Jeannie couldn’t believe her girls were giving her beauty advice. The distinctive sound of Jake’s pickup interrupted her retort.
“Mom,” Mimi insisted.
Jeannie turned to go greet Jake at the door. And as she went, she capitulated, pulling the elastic band from her ponytail and shaking out her hair. All right, I do want to look nice for him. So sue me.
The frigid temperature urged Jake, with Bummer at his heels, to hurry inside. She greeted him and took his coat and hat. When he turned toward her, she saw that under his coat he sheltered a bouquet of fresh flowers—carnations and daisies and others she didn’t have names for. No man had brought her flowers in such a very long time. “Oh,” she gasped, dumbstruck.
“Oooh, flowers!” the girls squealed. They claimed them and hurried to the kitchen area to find a vase. Bummer woofed and raced after them.
“Thanks,” Jeannie said. “That wasn’t necessary, but thanks.” Her face warmed with pleasure and confusion, no doubt turning a bright pink.
“It was fun going into the flower shop to pick them out. It’s been so cold and white for so long. Everything there was green, moist and warm.”
“I know what you mean. The flowers are a little spring in February.” Jeannie gestured toward the sofa. “Come, sit down. The macaroni still has a few more minutes to bake. You’ve had a busy week.”
“You’ve had the same week.” He sat down near her on the sofa.
She wondered if he had indeed experienced the same week as she. Every day it became more difficult to keep her distance from this man. And now he’d brought her flowers. How can I keep this from feeling like more than just coworkers or friends?
Chapter Six
Being in Jeannie’s gentle presence soothed Jake’s frazzled nerves from a busy week. The low light in the small room cast the golden sheen of her hair as a halo. And she wore it down tonight—just the way he liked it.
But she looked puzzled.
“Is anything wrong?” he asked, hoping for No.
“Oh, it’s just being a mom.” She shrugged. “I always worry when it gets too quiet in the girls’ room.” She turned. “Girls! What’s going on in there?”
“We’re playing with Bummer! He’s grooming the kitties,” Mimi called back.
Jeannie faced him again. “False alarm.” She settled back, half turned toward him, half reclining against the arm of the sofa. “Jake—”
A pounding on the door interrupted her and Annie barged in. “It’s cold out there!”
Surprise hit Jake right in the stomach. I thought it would be just me, Jeannie and the girls. Of course, he couldn’t say that. He bent his mouth into a smile. “Annie, what brings you here?”
Annie was dragging off her jacket and hanging it on a peg by the door. “Jeannie thought she might need me to convince you.”
“Convince me?” he asked, stung. He hadn’t forgotten how Annie had spouted off on TV about his dream for his grandfather’s acreage. What next?
Annie plopped on the sofa next to him. “I don’t think you’ll take too much persuading—”
Jake held up a restraining hand. “What’s going on between you two?”
“I think you’ll like it,” Annie said, patting his arm in a motherly style. “Tell him, Jeannie.”
“I’ve been thinking and I have a great idea. Or—” Jeannie hesitated “—I think it’s a great idea.”
“It is,” Annie reassured her.
Jake’s tension eased. He could trust Jeannie. He leaned back and stretched his legs. “Tell me about it.”
“It came to me at the Winter Carnival when the girls asked me to sponsor a child. Why can’t we do an Adopt-a-Pet day?” Jeannie asked.
Jake’s face scrunched up as he considered this. “You mean go on TV again?” No way.
“We might. If they won’t do an interview on TV,” Jeannie said, “I’m sure the Rhinelander station will include the information in their community notes announcements and on their website.”
Before he could say a word in reply, a buzzer went off.
Barking, footsteps. Bummer and the twins pelted from the short hall to the kitchen. Jeannie and Annie got up to help the girls lift the large bowl from the oven.
As if from a long way away, Jake watched as the four of them finished setting the meal onto the ancient built-in U-shaped booth. He knew the source of his odd reaction. The scene re minded him of long-ago suppers with his mom, his younger brother, his grandfather and sometimes his dad. A family supper, how good was that?
“Jake, won’t you join us?” Jeannie’s voice sounded welcoming.
Awkwardly, he rose and claimed the end of the booth opposite Jeannie and Annie, side by side with the twins between them in the U. Jeannie bowed her head and the girls recited a simple grace.
Jake fought the pull toward Jeannie, toward the allure of family. Lifting a forkful of the creamy macaroni and cheese casserole, he tried to focus on the scent of it and its rich blend of flavors. “Tell me more about this idea of Adopt-a-Pet.”
“Are we going to adopt another pet?” Mimi asked, eyes bright.
“Could we get a dog, too?” Cindy said.
Jeannie shook her head. “No, we need to help other children adopt pets.” She looked to Jake. “About a month from now, the girls’ school always holds a Winter Pet Parade and the kids can bring their pets to the gym. The principal gives out prizes for the animals—you know, biggest dog, etc. I was wondering if we could persuade the school to let us bring some of the orphaned pets who need homes to the parade and encourage the families without pets to choose one that day.”
“That would be great!” Mimi bounced on the bench seat.
Annie ruffled Mimi’s hair.
“So what do you think, Jake?” Jeannie asked.
“I think it’s got real possibilities. Just as long as I don’t have to go on TV again.”
Jeannie chuckled. “I think we’ll leave TV to these ‘hams’—” she winked at the twins “—and Bummer. They’d do a better job at persuading people.”
Jake began eating again, relieved and suddenly encouraged.
“If it’s a success this year, it might spawn other such events,” Annie said while digging her fork into the macaroni. “This is delish, Jeannie.” She turned to Jake. “You ought to grab this woman up. A ready-made family and she can cook. What more could a man want?”
Jake looked up, startled. Jeannie looked embarrassed.
“Okay, sorry,” Annie said, not looking sorry at all.
Jake made no reply. Jeannie’s expression had said it all—she was not interested in him.
Later, still deflated, Jake stolidly zipped up his jacket and wrapped his muffler around his neck to keep out the wind. “Thanks again for a great meal.” He drew in a deep breath, wishing Annie hadn’t come tonight.
“My pleasure.” Jeannie didn’t meet his eyes.
Why did Annie have to make that stupid remark about what more could a man want? Jeannie’s not the only one with “baggage.” “Come on, Bummer!” he called out. “Time to head home!”
A sudden silence in the girls’ room. Jeannie sighed a mom-sigh. “Girls! Please, if we have to go through this every time Dr. Jake brings Bummer over, he won’t come anymore.”
“O-kay!” the girls chorused with ill grace. Bummer leading them, they appeared, each carrying a kitten. “We’re really glad you came,” Mimi said, holding up her kitten toward him. Cindy bobbed her head in vigorous agree
ment.
“You did a great job making my favorite meal,” he replied, reaching over to pet each kitten. “Thanks.” The urge to kiss Jeannie grabbed him. He resisted. A quick about-face and he opened the door. The cold wind rushed him and Bummer outside; he shut the door behind him.
Marshaling his thoughts away from Jeannie’s pale pink lips, he opened the pickup’s door. With a little boost, Bummer bounded up into his basket.
Jake keyed the ignition and pushed the button that heated his bench seat. One last glance showed him the twins at the window, waving. He flashed his lights and drove into the cold darkness. He arrived at home and walked with heavy steps into his quiet house. Just then he saw his dad drive up in the old SUV he used during visits.
Soon Dan came in—whistling. Jake had moved into the living room, about to turn on The Weather Channel to see tomorrow’s forecast. His dad sat down to watch it, too. Jake studied him from the corner of his eye. Dan glowed. What had he been up to tonight?
This made Jake even more aware of his low mood. He couldn’t remember ever feeling this lonely since—since the first night after Sheila left him. Annie’s comment about grabbing up Jeannie set his teeth on edge again. Why did people think that a person just forgot the past and started fresh? Annie knew nothing of Jeannie’s history, but Annie knew about his. How could Annie think he’d be ready for marriage?
Now where did that word come from?
While deceptively beautiful snow tumbled down nonstop outside the windows, Jeannie walked around her future home. She’d chosen an open-floor plan. At this stage it was very open—just a framework of studs delineated room from room.
Some interior walls would begin to go up today, covering the electrical wires and the plumbing and the outer wall insulation. Thinking of these mundane facts didn’t dull her hope of Jake appearing today. He said he might come. Might.
She’d been working on the Adopt-a-Pet idea and she hoped to share her progress with him today. After the TV interview, some families had come to choose a few dogs and kittens. But the overcrowding continued.