Heart's Design: A Contemporary Christian Romance

by JoAnn Durgin

  Be a grownup, Caroline. Not a big deal.

  “So, are you finally a new papa or what?” Seth yawned and stretched his legs in front of him.

  Paul looked as happy as Caroline had ever seen him. The man positively beamed with new papa pride. “You may congratulate me. Liesel and I are the proud parents of a beautiful baby girl!”

  “Oh, Paul, how wonderful!” Jumping up from the loveseat—when did she end up there?—she hugged him hard. “I’m so happy for you. Everything went as well as could be expected? The birth was natural?”

  “Yes, and yes, thanks. The new mama and baby are both doing well. They’re doing some routine testing on Isabella now and then you’ll be able to see them shortly. Liesel’s tired, as you can imagine, but she did great. It was the most incredible thing I’ve ever witnessed.” After giving them a few more details and the room number, Paul gave them a tired smile and departed.

  Caroline yawned and ran a quick hand through her hair. “Liesel and Paul will be the best parents ever. Isabella is a very blessed little girl.”

  “Yep. She sure is.” Seth sounded wistful. He ran one hand through his hair, tousling it and his sleepy-eyed gaze landed on her. The look worked for him, especially combined with his grizzled jaw. Then he grinned, adding to the whole sexy morning image. What was it Kat said about Seth that first morning they’d been in town? Something about him having it happening. Yes, he certainly did. Seth Barnes was happening all over the place.

  She suppressed her sigh. Could she be just friends with this man? Maybe he had bad morning breath. Really offensive. She wasn’t going to get close enough to find out. What a random thought.

  “I enjoyed…uh…holding you last night, Caroline.”

  Okay, that was corny. She rolled her eyes. “Spare me the sleeping together jokes, please. Before your ego gets overly inflated, I don’t remember any of it and I’ll deny everything. I guess I was more tired than I realized.” She stretched and yawned once more with feeling. To prove her point. “You do have a nice singing voice, though, from what little I heard.”

  “You kept leaning closer into me last night. I pride myself on being a gentleman, so I couldn’t push you away, could I?”

  Caroline laughed. “No, I guess you couldn’t. What a guy.” Pulling out her phone, she called Marijane to tell her the good news about Isabella’s safe delivery. While she chatted, she kept an eye on Seth. For the past few minutes, he’d been standing by the window, staring, although she doubted he saw anything outside. She wondered what was going through his mind.

  A nurse came to summon them as Caroline finished her call, telling them the Mattinglys were ready for visitors. Seth followed her from the waiting room into the quiet, antiseptic-smelling, corridor with its sterile, shiny floors. She’d always hated hospitals. Celebrating a baby’s birth was the best reason to be in one.

  Liesel reclined in the bed with her eyes closed as they quietly entered the room. The baby slept in a bassinet next to her mama’s bed and Paul sat dozing in a corner chair. Peeking into the bassinet, Caroline gazed at the precious child. Such sweetness it stole her breath. Perfection in its purest form. When Liesel stirred, she tiptoed over to the bed and planted a kiss on her friend’s cheek.

  “She’s the most beautiful baby I’ve ever seen in my life, Liesel. It must be so gratifying to be able to create a life and bring her into the world. You’re my hero…heroine.”

  Liesel waved her hand. “Just give me a cape and I’ll rescue the world. Right now I’m achy, sore, and more tired than I’ve ever been in my entire life. I didn’t know it was possible to feel this tired.” Glancing over at her daughter, Liesel smiled. “I know I’m biased, but she is beautiful, isn’t she? Totally worth it.”

  The new mother burst into tears.

  “What is it?” Paul had been talking quietly with Seth but he reached his wife’s side in seconds. Putting his arm around her, he snuggled Liesel close.

  “I’m fine. Don’t go making a fuss over me,” Liesel said. “My emotions are all mixed up. I’m elated, I’m sad, I’m just totally exhausted.” She accepted the tissue Caroline handed to her. “Having a baby really does a number on a woman’s hormones, let me tell you. Give me a few hours’ sleep and I’ll be as good as new.” After dabbing the tissue beneath her eyes, Liesel blew her nose. “Sorry,” she said, balling the tissue. “I know I honk like a duck in heat when I do that.”

  Caroline laughed. “We’ll leave you now. I’ve already called Marijane once but she made me promise to call her back with all the vital statistics so she can spread the good news. Everyone will be clamoring for more information. Let’s start with this one: what’s your daughter’s full name?”

  “Our daughter’s name is Isabella Louise Mattingly. We’re going to call her Bella.” Paul said. “Born at 6:32 this morning, 22 inches long and 7 lb. 13 oz.”

  “Congratulations again,” Caroline whispered. “Get some rest.” With a final glance at the sleeping baby, she left the room with Seth close behind.

  “Are we on for Saturday?” Seth said as he walked her to her white Pathfinder in the hospital parking lot.

  She stared at him blankly for a moment.

  “Old Speck?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m not awake yet, I guess.”

  Seth frowned. “Don’t scare me by saying something like that. Being serious here now, are you okay to drive? Tell me truth. If you’re not, I’m insisting on driving you home.”

  “I’ll be fine and I’ll plan on Saturday.” She swallowed her misgivings about hiking up a mountain with him. She couldn’t help but question his motives. Did he want to take her up on the mountain and then lay a whopper on her in a place where she could scream with abandon? She hated secrets, but it seemed her life had been full of them. From all indications, at least Seth wanted to reveal his secret to her. Or something like that. Whatever in the world he had to tell her. It should be interesting. Only the Lord and Seth knew at this point.

  Now you’re just being ridiculous.

  “Good,” he said. “I’ll need your address.”

  “It’s the old Munford place.” She unlocked the door and climbed inside, lowering the window as he closed the door. She willed him not to cross his arms on the window ledge and lean any closer. As it was, she wanted to brush the stray locks of hair off his forehead.

  “You bought old Harry Munford’s house?” Surprise registered in eyes made even more brilliant in the light from the morning sun. “Well, what do you know?”

  “Yes. It’s the perfect size and suits my needs. That surprises you…why?”

  “No, it’s not that. I discovered my first minerals in Harry’s—now your—backyard. I found a cache of amethysts beneath that big old maple tree when I was sixteen. I called it my treasure and attributed that discovery to setting me on my career path.”

  “That’s one story I haven’t heard although it seems old Harry was quite the character.”

  “He was.” The corners of his mouth lifted. “Don’t be surprised if you find something tucked under a floorboard or in the basement behind the wood paneling.”

  “Really? He liked to squirrel things away, did he?”

  “Yes, and there were rumors for years that he was a closet millionaire.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Just be on the lookout. You never know what you might find.”

  “I’ll do that. What time on Saturday morning?”

  “Does 8:30 work for you? Not too early and not too late.”

  “Just right. Call me Goldilocks and it works for me. I’ll see you then.”

  Seth waited as she started the engine and pulled the Pathfinder out of the lot.

  “Welcome home, Seth Barnes,” she whispered.

  Chapter 19

  ~~♥~~

  Caroline worked on her designs for a couple of hours, but her mind was misbehaving. Constantly wandering. “Snap out of it, Caroline!” She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the distracting thoughts. Didn’t work. Visions of Seth—Seth in his sh
orts and T-shirt, Seth in the tuxedo, and Seth in his jeans and flannel shirt—as well as snatches of their conversations drifted through her mind.

  She finally managed to put together a sample sketch. Sitting back in her chair, she picked it up and took a closer, hard look. “Horrible. This isn’t working.” After one more attempt, she balled another sketch and tossed it into the trashcan. At least her eye-to-hand coordination was still proficient.

  If this was an indication of her productivity when Seth was around, she was in deep trouble.

  A nap sounded good. After eating a salad for lunch, Caroline settled in her bed. Reclining on the bed, she opened her Bible. It had been a while since she’d done any devotional reading.

  Opening her daily devotional book, Caroline soon found the corresponding passage of scripture in her Bible. She read the story of Jesus’s visit to the home of the two sisters, Mary and Martha. It was all about patience and waiting upon the Lord. Mary sat at the Lord’s feet, quietly listening to His words. Martha, on the other hand, was too busy with the preparations for dinner to sit and listen. She complained to Jesus that her sister wasn’t helping. Martha completely missed the point of the Lord’s visit to their home.

  Closing the Bible, Caroline bowed her head. Lord, help me to be patient and wait on your timing in all things, but especially with Seth Barnes. I know you brought him into my life for a reason, both then and now. Help me to understand and accept your will when it comes to Seth. And please be with my family, Lord. They need you. If I may be your instrument of peace, please give me the right tools, the right words, to somehow reach them so that they may open their hearts.

  She liked praying for her family. Before, she’d felt helpless and filled with a sense of emptiness. Now the emptiness had been replaced with wonderful, glorious hope. And promise. She’d tried to explain it to Paulina but she’d failed miserably. But the Lord knew she’d tried, and she’d try again. The Lord listened when she prayed. She was loved and that meant so much for her heart.

  Others might think her faith was childlike in some ways, and the Lord knew she blundered some of her prayers. But she was a baby Christian, young in her faith, and she knew He understood that. She had to start somewhere, right? Talking to God was something she never would have considered doing, much less on a daily basis, but now she couldn’t start or end the day without talking with her new friend. Who happened to be deity and created the world.

  She didn’t want to be like Martha, so busy she couldn’t stop to listen when the Lord whispered in her heart. Neither did she want to be a complainer and criticize others for not doing what she thought they should be doing.

  “Lord, being human is hard. I guess you know that. I want to be more like Mary. Just saying it now. I wanted you to be the first to know.”

  ~~♥~~

  “Caroline, darlin’, when you’re done paintin’ up there, could you come and lend a hand?” Her neighbor Hannah Martin stood on the ground below. Shielding her eyes with one hand, she squinted and looked up to where Caroline perched on her ladder, paintbrush in hand.

  “Sure thing, Hannah. Give me just a minute. I’ll be right there.”

  “No rush, honey. Whenever you’re done.”

  Within ten minutes, Caroline climbed down the ladder with the paint bucket in hand. After storing her supplies in the garage, she walked over to her neighbor’s front yard. Hannah was raking leaves. With her customary ear buds in place, she sang a song from Les Misérables and raked in time with the music. She’d never seen anyone rake with such deep emotion. She’d witnessed the sweet widow tending to her garden numerous times, tears streaming down her weathered cheeks, as she sang an aria or a Broadway tune. “Music is soothing for me,” she’d told Caroline when she’d first moved into her home. Hannah was the first in a stream of neighbors who’d invited her over for a cup of something hot and introduced her to the pleasure of a cup of hot tea in the afternoon.

  Caroline stooped down and waved to get Hannah’s attention.

  “Oh! I was lost in my music. Thanks for coming over, dear.” Hannah removed her ear buds and gave her a bright smile.

  “Here, let me help you.” Grabbing the brown leaf bag, Caroline held it open as Hannah shoved the dead leaves inside.

  “Seems like we have a lot more leaves this year. Earlier than usual, too.” Hannah stopped and wiped her brow. Taking the rake from her, Caroline took over as they switched tasks.

  They worked together for a few minutes. Caroline always enjoyed spending time with Hannah. A native of Ireland, with her charming lilt, she told fabulous stories of growing up in Belfast in the 1940s. Her love for her late husband, American Air Force captain George Martin, had not faded with time, and he’d been gone for over twenty years. Hannah’s daughter, Meredith, owned the jewelry boutique in town which sold Caroline’s jewelry exclusively. Wise Toby had advised her to only sell to one store, telling her it made the pieces more exclusive and helped to build demand.

  “Did you want me to help you with something?” Caroline asked as they finished the task.

  Hannah gave her a sweet smile. “You just did, darlin’.”

  “I knew the work would go a lot faster if you had help.”

  “You’re right about that. Thank you. Say, Caroline, are you entering the Miss Harvest Festival beauty contest?”

  Caroline coughed. “Um, no. I hadn’t planned on it.”

  “You’re not older than 25, are you? That’s the cut-off age.”

  “I’ll be 24 in a few weeks, so I qualify, but…”

  “Well, you’re by far the prettiest girl in Evergreen. A natural beauty, you are. You should enter that contest. I think you need a sponsor, and I’d be proud to do it.” Hannah sounded firm and nodded her head as if there were no room for argument.

  “I don’t think so, Hannah, but I’m flattered that you suggested it. Thanks.” Actually, the suggestion did please her. She’d never thought much about her looks, rarely wore makeup other than lipstick, and normally ran around town in her jeans and sweaters or T-shirts in the summer. Evergreen had its share of single girls in town who were glamorous and didn’t go anywhere without their pushup bra and stilettos. They’d probably lined up to enter the beauty contest as soon as it opened for registration.

  Lord, I know that was unkind. Please accept my apology even though it’s true.

  Caroline hid her smile. Entering a beauty contest wasn’t in her future, but she’d love to see Seth’s reaction if she showed up on his doorstep wearing a sparkly tiara and a beauty queen sash.

  “Are you seeing anyone, Caroline? Pretty girl like you should have a boyfriend. You should be out on the town, having fun and doing things young people should. Ah, but you’re still young. That Seth Barnes sure is a handsome one, though, don’t you think?”

  Ah, now it made sense. Hannah had probably been leading up to this conversation all along. She wasn’t known as the town matchmaker for nothing. “Yes, he’s handsome. Seth and I are friends, but he has a girlfriend.”

  “Well,” Hannah huffed, moving her hands to her hips, “if you’re talking about that Larsen girl, she’s not the one for him. Anyone can see that. I think Seth is conflicted about all goings on when he was a teenager. The trial and everything. I think there’s still some stuff going on in that young man’s head. He’ll figure it out for himself one of these days and wake up to what’s right under his nose. You mark my words.”

  What? Caroline had no idea what Hannah meant. Well-meaning or not, Hannah also liked to gossip, and she didn’t wish to be a party to it. Better to play it off and bid her neighbor a good day.

  “We all have our issues, Hannah. Some of us more than others.”

  “That’s true enough, darlin’.”

  “I’d better go for now. Maybe we can share a cup of tea one day soon?”

  “I’ll look forward to it, dear. Thanks again for your help.” She broke into another smile. “Think about what I said about the beauty contest.”

  “I will.” Hann
ah wouldn’t be satisfied with anything less, but she hoped the dear woman wouldn’t hold her breath. With a small wave, Caroline headed back across the yard, all the while coaching herself not to overanalyze Hannah’s words or lose sleep over it. Still, it made her wonder.

  ~~♥~~

  Poking about the Antique Barn in nearby West Paris on Thursday afternoon, Caroline wandered up and down the long aisles. What a great place. She loved to browse in the Antique Barn, and it’d quickly become one of her preferred activities. Armoires, grandfather clocks, beds, desks, old paintings and antique photographs caught her attention.

  Furnishing her house in one fell swoop with brand new items and having them delivered would be too easy. Instead, she opted to wait, sometimes doing without, until she found the perfect pieces. She’d never had the opportunity to pick out furniture and accessories before, and she loved the process. Slowly but surely she’d furnished her home with a cozy, welcoming combination of old and new. Each new find delighted her, and she loved discovering a special place in the house for each new treasure.

  Within a week of moving to Maine, she’d fallen in love with an antique sleigh bed, made from sturdy oak, that she’d found at the Antique Barn. Until then, she’d slept on a mattress on her bedroom floor. Immediately after Caroline purchased the sleigh bed, she’d made a beeline to Mahoney’s. “I knew you’d be coming back,” Clara said with a knowing smile. “I put the Midnight Blues quilt aside.” As she’d spread the beautiful, multicolored quilt, with its rich blues, greens and golds, on her bed a few days later, she knew she’d made the right decision in moving to Evergreen and buying the home. Home. Already more home than her childhood home had ever been.

  In that moment, she knew she’d be okay. Her heart would always ache a bit because of the separation from her family, but she’d asserted her independence and was making a life of her own.