by Leann Harris
He smiled back.
All four of the others at the table traded looks. She wondered if she had anything on her face.
“The kids love him,” Sophie added, wanting to break the tension. “One of my little boys told his friends about Zach’s fake foot. He’s had to show it to several of the other kids.”
Lynda’s mouth opened and Ken’s eyebrow shot up.
“We’re going to have a sort of graduation a week from Wednesday.” Sophie looked around the table. “You should come and see the kids. It’s amazing.”
“Thank you for the invitation. I’d like to attend.” Lynda turned to her husband. “Wouldn’t you?”
“I would.”
Beth and Ethan also wanted to be there.
Sophie excused herself and walked to the restroom. She felt as if she’d run a marathon and wanted a moment alone. Stopping in front of the sink, Sophie stared into the mirror. She didn’t have anything on her face, which she’d feared she might have. Opening her mouth, she checked her teeth to make sure nothing was stuck there.
Looked good.
So the reason Zach’s parents were staring at her was something she said? Something she said to Zach?
Lord, I see the love Zach’s parents have. I wish—
The restroom door opened and Lynda walked into the room.
“Have we overwhelmed you?” Lynda asked, walking to Sophie’s side.
Sophie turned and faced the older woman. “No. I’m thankful that Zach has your support, but—”
“But we were making it easy for him not to challenge himself? Enablers?”
Lynda understood what she’d been doing.
“Yes.”
“That’s why I wanted to thank you. You’ve shaken us out of our despair and made us do some soul-searching. I’ve prayed, asking God to help all of us, and He sent you. Thank you.”
That news unsettled Sophie. “Beth was instrumental. If she hadn’t brought Zach, then none of this would’ve happened.”
Lynda nodded. “My little girl is a wonder.”
A longing sprang up in Sophie’s heart, seeing the affection Lynda had for her daughter. If only her mother felt that way about her….
The door opened again and Beth slipped into the room. She looked from her mother to Sophie. “Everything okay?”
Lynda laughed and pulled her daughter into her arms.
Zach watched his mother disappear into the women’s restroom after Sophie. Alarm bells went off in his head. None of the people at the table said anything, but after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Beth excused herself and left.
Ethan glanced at his sister’s back. “I wonder if mother’s grilling Sophie some more over details of your therapy.” He leaned over his plate. “You think Beth went to referee the conversation?”
Ken took the final piece of bread and slathered it with butter. “You know better than that, son. Your mama wouldn’t do anything like that.”
“True,” Ethan acknowledged. “Mom won’t nail Sophie with questions, but she’ll find out what she wants to know, no matter what.”
Truer words were never spoken, Zach thought. His mother wasn’t confrontational, but Lynda McClure knew how to get information from an individual and she knew how to get her way. His father often lamented about being nailed by her talent more than once. Each of Lynda’s children had been on the wrong end of their momma’s questioning.
Ken settled his forearms on the table. “I’m glad Sophie’s challenged you, son.” He directed his words at Zach. “And I’m proud of you for taking up the challenge. I see the man I knew.”
His father’s words settled in his heart, bringing Zach’s chin up in pride. “Thank you. That’s what Sophie wants to do for other vets. Help soldiers find out who they are. She cut me no slack and expected me to be honest with her.”
Ken’s mouth pressed into a line.
Seeing his father’s reaction, Zach realized how his words sounded. “I didn’t mean—”
Ken waved off his son’s apology. “We needed to be honest with you, son. The problem was we didn’t know how to act.”
Ethan laughed. “Be careful what you wish for, little brother, because you might get an earful.”
Both his dad and brother had nailed him. God had been dealing with his heart. His family hadn’t known how to cope with what had happened. He didn’t know how to, either, so he got mad. At that point he didn’t know what his future held, but he knew now he needed to work and get stronger.
“You’re right. Sometimes what we think we want isn’t really what we need. But you need to pray that we can get this program up and running for other wounded vets. I know it will make a difference.”
Before Ken could respond, the ladies rejoined them at the table.
His mother had an angelic smile on her face. Sophie looked fine, no worse for wear, and Beth grinned. That made Zach nervous.
As they drove away from the restaurant, Zach stole a glance at Sophie, trying to gauge her reaction to the night. She seemed lost in thought.
“Your parents are great,” she mumbled.
“You think so?”
Her head jerked around and Sophie realized she must’ve spoken aloud. “Yeah. I’ve always been impressed with your mom and dad.”
“Sometimes they’re a little overprotective.”
“Well, they could’ve gone in the opposite direction and not cared.” The instant the words were out of her mouth, she clamped her lips together. Apparently, she said something she hadn’t meant to say.
He ignored her embarrassment. “You’ve got a point, but sometimes they can be suffocating. I know Beth wasn’t happy with them when her first date showed up at the house and my parents spent close to thirty minutes grilling him.” He shook his head. “I thought the boy would swallow his tongue before they allowed them to leave for the date.”
“Beth knows that’s love.”
“That’s not the reaction she had at the time.” He laughed. “I think Beth’s reaction scared the poor boy more than my parents did.”
“I can imagine. I only saw Beth mad once in the years we roomed together. It’s not something I want to see again.”
“See, I have a point.”
“You do, but that’s not the way a girl wants her date to go.”
“Are you speaking from personal experience?”
The truck cab fell silent. She shook her head and looked out the door window.
They could go in the opposite direction and not care.
The words echoed in his brain.
Her tension reached out to him, making him wonder if her parents were the ones who didn’t care. From what Beth had told him, Sophie didn’t have a relationship with her parents.
“Thanks for inviting Mom and Dad to the graduation. I know they’ve been dying to see me ride.”
She latched onto the lifeline he threw her. “They need to see you ride. Your brother and sister see it often, and can tell your folks about your progress, but they need to see it for themselves. I’ve invited the army officers to the ceremony, too. I want them to come out and evaluate the program.”
That was the first he’d heard about the army coming to visit. “I hope they plan to spend some time and walk around the ranch and see what you have to offer. Have you submitted the proposal to them?”
“A preliminary one. I need to submit the final draft to them by Monday.”
“Would you like for me to look at it? I could glance over it and give you my feedback.”
Her shoulders eased and leaned toward him. “That sounds great. You can tell me if I’m missing any of the bells and whistles I need.” Her face lit up with excitement.
“Hey, it’s the least I can do. I spent enough time in my unit helping others write requests. Our unit commander said I had the gift of request. If I requested it, we got it.”
That got her attention.
“If that’s the case, by all means, come and look my proposal over.”
“Since tomorro
w is Sunday, would you like to do that after church? Or I could meet you at church, we could eat afterward, then evaluate the proposal.” The words were out of his mouth before he thought.
“I’d like that. I go to New Life Center in south Albuquerque.”
“I know where that is.” It struck Zach that his church attendance had been sadly lacking. He turned off the main road to the dirt road that led to the ranch.
“Good. There are two services. I usually go to the early service at nine o’clock.”
“I can meet you there.”
“Wonderful. I really like the pastor. He’s an ex-military man. I think you’ll like him.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
He pulled his truck into the parking lot. “Thanks, again, for talking with my parents tonight. I see that they’re adapting. They seem to be easier with things.”
“True, and it could be you’re easier with yourself.”
He stopped the truck beside the house. Her words set him back on his heels. Was that what he was feeling tonight? “You think so?”
“It’s what you think that’s important.”
“No, no, don’t give me that psychobabble. I was asking your opinion. I got enough of that kinda talk in the hospital.”
“I think the reason my answer annoys you is because it’s the truth.” She put up her hand to stop his objections. “I noticed that your parents did seem easier with you. And the other thing I’ve noticed is your attitude is different. You don’t want to bite anyone’s head off.”
“I wasn’t that bad.”
Her brow lifted. “You’ve changed, Zach. You’ve been a blessing to me. There’s a strength in you that you needed to tap into and you have.”
Her words made him realize that he’d come a long way.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” She had her hand on the door handle.
He grabbed her wrist, stopping her exit. “I’ll walk you to the door.”
“That’s not necessary, Zach.”
Releasing her hand, he turned off the engine. “I know, but my mother taught me manners, Sophie.”
Her cheeks puffed out and she blew out air. He easily slipped out of the truck, walked around it and opened the door for her. She shook her head and allowed him to walk her to the door.
She kept her head down as she unlocked the door.
“Sophie.”
She looked up. He could see uncertainty in her eyes. He slowly lowered his head, allowing her time to refuse the kiss. She raised her lips fractionally and waited.
Satisfaction unfurled inside him. He cupped her face and covered her mouth with his. He felt her surrender and she returned his kiss. He didn’t press for more. Lifting his head, he smiled down at her. “’Night.”
She nodded and slipped inside the door.
As he headed home, Zach felt a hope bubbling up in his spirit. He was looking forward to church tomorrow.
Sophie sat at the kitchen table, her Bible open, a cup of hot chamomile tea beside the Bible. She couldn’t sleep and after an hour of tossing and turning, she got up and brewed some more tea. There were too many thoughts and feelings shooting around inside that she couldn’t sort out.
She’d tried talking herself out of what she was feeling, telling herself she was headed for nothing but pain. In college, she liked Zach from afar, never having to engage with him or talk to him. It had been infatuation.
These past few weeks, working side by side with him, she experienced firsthand how after Zach accepted the challenge of building up his strength again, he hadn’t turned back. He worked at building up his muscles and stamina.
The kids loved him. Andy couldn’t get enough of him, and Zach was like a big brother to all the kids.
He charmed every horse at the ranch.
He won over Ollie.
What chance did she stand against all that charm?
But the cherry on top was seeing how his family loved him and he loved them back. That was how a family should be. Not cold and distant and lost in grief.
Her eyes fell on 2 Corinthians 1:3, 4.
…The God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
Zach could do that.
And she would, too.
Chapter Ten
The final amen resounded through the auditorium. As the last strains of the organ faded, Sophie saw her small group leader, Rita Wells, rush out of the pew across the aisle and hurry over to where Sophie and Zach stood.
“Are you coming to class this morning?” Rita asked, looking at Zach. Sunday School classes ran concurrently with the services. If you went to early service, then you then went to Sunday School afterward and vice versa.
Rita was in her late twenties, the wife of the assistant pastor. She introduced herself before Sophie could open her mouth.
Zach shook Rita’s hand.
Rita glanced from Sophie to Zach. “How do you know Sophie?” she asked Zach.
Sophie wanted to grab Zach’s arm and rush out of the church before Rita could question him. Rita had a mothering instinct that wanted all the young professionals in the church to find a mate. Sophie had turned down three dates Rita tried to arrange. It wasn’t that Sophie didn’t appreciate Rita’s effort, but Sophie wasn’t ready to join the dating scene, even at church.
“Sophie was my sister’s roommate in college,” Zach explained. “And she is a fellow army vet.”
Sophie explained to Rita about their plan for helping soldiers and that’s what they were going to do now and why they would be missing class.
The news caught Rita by surprise. She looked from Zach to Sophie, then back again. “I’ll be praying for your efforts, Sophie. You let me know if you need any help. I’ve got a lot of teens who need projects. Your plan for the equine therapy sounds like something we might like to do.”
The tension eased from Sophie’s shoulders. “Thanks, Rita.” She didn’t waste any time, but pulled Zach out into the parking lot. They made plans to buy burgers on the way to Sophie’s house, then eat them in her kitchen.
Zach picked up the burgers while Sophie went home, changed into jeans and a T-shirt and pulled out drinks and paper plates. Zach arrived a few minutes later and when he walked in, he held up the bags. “Chow.”
They eagerly started on the burgers and fries.
“I thought for a minute there after the service that Rita was going to ask me for my ID and see what my intentions were toward you. I wanted to tell her that you’re an ex-soldier, and she didn’t have to worry about any male’s motives because you could take them out.”
Sophie choked on her fry. “Why do you say that?”
He sat back in his seat and grinned. “A mama bear isn’t as fierce as your Sunday School teacher. I believe she’d be looking out for your interests.”
Sophie dipped her fry in the ketchup and popped it into her mouth. “Rita thinks it’s part of her job as the wife of the youth pastor to take care of all of us singles. I’ve been her latest mission.” She shrugged. “I can’t tell you the number of dates she’s tried to set me up with nice guys, but…”
“You go on any of those dates?”
“No.”
He rested his elbows on the table and reached for the two-liter bottle of Dr Pepper. “Why not?”
“Because I’m not looking for a boyfriend.” She didn’t want to tell him that none of those men made her heart flutter like he did. “I’ve got my hands full with the ranch. I don’t have any spare time with trying to get the army program started. Speaking of which—” She stood and walked into the living room where the printer sat. Grabbing the pages from the tray, she brought it back to the table. “Here’s my proposal.” She handed him the pages. “Tell me what you think.” Her stomach clenched with nerves.
Zach took the proposal and began to read it.
Over the next hour, Zach and Sophie went over every page, discussing how to improve and imp
lement the program. He spotted several things he thought to reword, but he was impressed with Sophie’s work.
“With those few changes, I think you’ve got a winner.”
“I’ll follow up with my army contact, and tell him we’ve refined the proposal.” She smiled and squeezed his hand.
He wanted to lean over and kiss her. He saw the same awareness in her.
“I have some more of those cookies that were in the office.” She stood and walked to the counter, grabbed the tin and brought it back to the table. Opening the lid, she presented him with homemade peanut-butter cookies.
“Beth told you that these were my favorite, didn’t she?” He grabbed two cookies.
“No, she didn’t tell me that. Other secrets, but that wasn’t one of them. She told me about you sneaking out with Ethan and both going to a party you were grounded from.”
He shrugged. “Well, I’ve got stories, too. Did Beth tell you that she followed us, then came home and ratted us out to my parents?” He laughed. “I didn’t think I’d get to go to my junior prom. Who’d want to go the prom with a guy who had to muck out stalls for a month? I did finally forgive Beth in time for her college graduation,” he teased. “But I was disappointed that I didn’t see you there after all the work you did to get that degree.”
She broke off a piece of the cookie and put it into her mouth. “I needed to report for basic training. You know the army isn’t concerned with individual soldiers’ time schedules. The drill sergeant didn’t care about my walking the stage to receive my diploma. I wasn’t going to get a pass.”
That was true. You bent around the army, not the other way around. But he knew there were other reasons why she didn’t stay. “Why’d you join?”
“I find that question strange coming from a man who joined before I did.”
“I joined because both my father and grandfather were in the army. Grandpa, Korea. Dad, Vietnam. It was a McClure thing. And the ranch was going through some tough times and I needed cash to finish school. The army provided it.” He popped the rest of the peanut-butter cookie into his mouth.