“For trusting me enough to tell me. For coming to tell me the first time it happened. I just wish I had been there.” Gently he pulled her to him, and his arms were the best place she’d ever been. He felt so safe and so indescribably stable. “I meant what I said about calling me if you ever need anything.” His embrace fell away, but his hands found her arms. He lowered his gaze to hers. “Okay?”
She nodded but couldn’t be fully certain this wasn’t just some nice dream she had somehow fallen into.
“Now get some sleep. You look exhausted.”
“Yeah.” She tried to laugh it off. “After not getting back until like three in the morning last night, I feel like I’ve lived six days in one today.”
Concern slashed through Keith. “Why didn’t you get back until three?” In the next second he knew he shouldn’t have asked as why smacked into him.
“Oh, you know. Those cab drivers have a racket going,” she said, laughing again.
But Keith wasn’t laughing. “Cab drivers? What happened to Greg?”
She shrugged and let her gaze find the darkness at her feet. “He was drinking.”
If she was trying to make him crazy, it was definitely working. “Maggie, why didn’t you call me?”
“Because it was three in the morning.” She laughed softly even as her hand came up to her other arm. “Besides what was I going to say, ‘Hi, Keith. It’s me. My date is over. Come get me.’”
Irritation scratched through him. “Well, that would’ve been better than you riding alone in some cab all over the countryside in the middle of the night.” The overpowering need to protect her jammed into his chest. “Now, you listen to me. I do not want you calling cabs to take you home in the middle of the night ever again.”
Annoyance flashed through her eyes as her gaze jerked up to his. “You’re not my father. Besides, how else was I supposed to get home? Walk?”
“No. You were supposed to call me.”
She sighed, and it was obvious she was tired. “Look, Keith. I don’t want to argue… especially about this.”
He corralled his own emotions. “Yeah, okay. We can talk about this tomorrow. Go get some sleep, and don’t set your alarm for in the morning. I’ll cover for you.”
Panic slid through her face. “For breakfast?”
He smiled. “And lunch and dinner the way you look.” He lifted his chin. “Now go get some sleep.”
Saturday Maggie slept in, and it was like the best vacation ever. They spent most of the rest of the day together except for the time Keith had to run to the stables to check on things. Isabella was feeling better. At least she was playing now. At dinner they talked about everything and nothing in particular. It was strange to Maggie how easy Keith was to be with, so unlike Greg who seemed to be more show than substance.
By the time they tucked Peter in and said their prayers, Maggie found herself wishing this never had to end.
“So, are we going to church tomorrow?” Keith asked as she made it to her door.
“Bright and early.” She opened her door.
“You know Dad and Vivian will be back tomorrow.” Something in his voice stopped her. “We have to tell them. You know that, right?”
Dread slid through her. He was right, and she knew it. However, nothing in her wanted to face them with this information.
“I think we should do it together,” he said slowly. “If you want me there.”
Maggie turned. His presence filled the space between them. He was there, gazing into her eyes with concern and hope. “I don’t want to get you into trouble.”
“And you don’t deserve to be in trouble. So if we both go…”
“Are you sure?”
“Very.”
Church flew by, and in no time they were out at the stables so Keith could check on things. There was no reason for them to be there really, other than neither Maggie nor the kids wanted to see him go. At the stables they got out of the pickup and walked to the barn, Maggie holding Izzy in one arm and Peter’s hand with her other hand.
“This won’t take long,” Keith said.
A young woman dressed in faded jeans and a T-shirt strode out of the barn. She had long blonde hair, and she was shorter even than Maggie by several inches.
“Oh, Mr. Ayer,” she said, putting her hand up to block out the sun. “I didn’t know you were coming. Tanner said I was supposed to feed them.”
“I just wanted to make sure you remembered,” Keith said with a smile. Then his glance chanced to Maggie. “Oh, Jamie. This is Maggie.” He put his hand on Maggie’s back, and her pulse jumped into a higher gear.
“Hi, Maggie.” Jamie stuck out her hand, and Maggie shook it.
“Hi.”
“And this is Isabella and Peter,” Keith said proudly.
“It’s nice to meet you.” Jamie stepped up and stuck her hand out to Peter. “You’re a cutie.”
He smiled slightly. Jamie ruffled his hair. Then she stood and looked at Isabella who was curled on Maggie’s chest sucking her thumb.
“And you are adorable.” Jamie ran her hand gently over Isabella’s curls. “It looks like somebody could use a nap.”
Keith nodded. “Maybe we should head on back to the house since Jamie’s got this under control.”
“No problem,” Jamie said, stepping away from them. “Y’all take care.”
“We will.”
They walked to the pickup.
“She’s nice,” Maggie said.
“Tanner’s girlfriend. She’s helping out a little to make some gas money.”
Maggie nodded. “Well, Tanner has good taste. I’m glad to see him with someone so nice. He deserves it.”
The rest of the afternoon they stayed in the air conditioning of the mansion. Isabella didn’t need to be out in the heat, and neither of them really wanted to be either. So they spent the afternoon in the kids’ rooms, playing, wrestling, reading, and resting with the kids. It was nice to have a day to just do nothing.
However, the reprieve couldn’t last. When the Ayers announced their return downstairs, Keith looked at Maggie, and she knew it was time for the inquisition.
“You ready?” he asked.
Had there been a way to say no, she would have. Instead she nodded, and with him holding Izzy and Maggie’s hand in Peter’s they walked out. Down the stairs they went, trooping one behind the other as if marching into enemy territory.
“Welcome home,” Keith said, far too happy and normal sounding for Maggie to match.
“Well, it looks like it’s still standing. That’s something,” Mr. Ayer said, gazing at them as they made their descent. “We won. Q-Main ran a great race.”
“That’s great, Dad,” Keith said. “Really great.”
Mr. Ayer nodded and smiled happily. “I think I’ll give Ike a raise. He deserves it after that one.”
“Hello, Peter.” Vivian reached down and gave her son the obligatory hug. “Did you have a good time?”
“Uh-huh. We went to see the horses today.”
“Horsies,” Isabella said, but there wasn’t much of a squeal.
Maggie looked down at her. No, the bouncy child of a week ago still hadn’t returned.
For an awkward moment no one said anything. Then Keith exhaled ever-so-slightly. “Dad, Vivian, we need to talk.”
Mr. Ayer’s face went ashen with the tone in Keith’s voice, and suddenly Maggie knew why.
“Umm, it’s about the children, Sir,” she said before he could misconstrue Keith’s intentions any further.
“Can’t this wait?” Vivian whined. “We just got home.”
“No, I’m afraid not,” Keith said. “It’s pretty serious, and we wanted you to know what’s been going on as soon as you got home.”
Mr. Ayer looked more confused than displeased.
“Could we go into your office?” Keith asked, and his father nodded.
“I’ll let the kids with Inez for a minute,” Maggie said, grateful that she didn’t have to follow
them all down the hallway. She took the kids to the kitchen and told Inez she would be back. It took everything she had to walk down that hall. When she slipped into the room, Keith was waiting for her at the door. He guided her to one of the mahogany-wood chairs covered in expensive black leather.
He sat next to her, his parents on the other side of the desk. Keith cleared his throat. “We wanted you all to know that we found a bump on Isabella’s head on Friday night. It was pretty good sized, and we took her to the emergency room.”
“A bump?” Vivian asked incredulously. “What from?”
Keith glanced at Maggie and then leveled his gaze on his father. “We managed to get the story out of Peter. It seems that the fill-in babysitter, yanked Isabella and made her slip. She fell and hit her head on the tub, causing the bump. We filled out a report on her at the hospital. It’s standard.”
“But she’s been our fill-in for years,” Vivian said. “She wouldn’t…”
“It wasn’t the first time.” Maggie pulled in a breath and let out her fear. “She hurt Peter the last time she was here. I saw the bruises on his arms. He told me she shook him really hard. He’s terrified of her.”
“But…” Vivian started.
Mr. Ayer folded his hands on the desk. “Are you sure about this?”
Keith never flinched. “There’s no doubt.”
They walked out together so his parents could discuss the situation. With her arms wrapped at her chest, Maggie walked slightly in front of him, not saying a word.
“Are you okay?” he asked with concern.
“I just hope they don’t think I did it.”
Peace flowed through Keith. “Dad’s smart enough to know we were telling the truth.”
They got to the front door, and Keith stopped. “Well, I guess this is where I get off.”
She spun toward him. “You’re leaving?”
He grinned and winked at her. “What? Did you think I was going to stay forever?”
Sadness went through her. “A girl can hope, can’t she?”
“Mrs. Haga has been notified that her services are no longer needed,” Patty Ann said stridently. “So until further notice, you are on duty.”
“I understand,” Maggie said, nodding. The secretary’s office seemed even colder today.
“That means you are not to even consider asking off until we have cleared someone new.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“And just so you know, that may not be any time soon.”
Why did this feel like a sentencing session? “Don’t worry about it. I don’t plan on going anywhere any time soon anyway.”
Monday night Keith drove into Houston. There were some things that needed to be said face-to-face. He climbed the steps to the second floor apartment and knocked. Putting his hand on his hip, he waited, rehearsing what he had come to say just as he had been for all of 24 hours.
“Keith!” Greg sounded happy to see him when he opened the door. “Come in, buddy. This is a surprise. I thought you must’ve forgotten where I live.”
“No, just haven’t had much time to make the trip recently.”
Greg walked into the kitchen. “Can I get you something? Bud? Coors?”
The thought made Keith ill. “Uh, no thanks. I’m driving.”
From the refrigerator Greg checked him with a disbelieving look. “Never bothered you before.” Greg laughed as he brought one into the living room for himself.
Keith sat down on the couch. His gaze went to the coffee table as fuzzy memories of games of quarters drifted aimlessly through him. The parties were legend, and yet they didn’t hold the amusement they once had. He retrained his gaze to his friend.
“So what brings you all the way down the mountain?”
“Well,” Keith said, shifting slightly, “this is probably not my place, but I have to say something because it’s going to drive me crazy if I don’t.”
Greg took a drink. “Sounds serious.”
“It is.” Keith paused to gather his courage. “It’s about Maggie.”
“Maggie?” Greg’s head snapped up incredulously.
It took another breath to get the words out. “Do you know about her… well, her growing up?”
“She said she grew up in Del Rio.”
Keith watched Greg take another drink. “Did she tell you why?”
Greg shrugged. “I don’t know. Because she liked Del Rio?”
It was all Keith could do to keep himself from knocking Greg flat. “No. Because she was an orphan.”
Across the room, Greg’s face fell with the can.
“She grew up in the foster care system. Her parents died in a car accident when she was eight.”
Concern slid over Greg’s features. “I don’t… Why didn’t she tell me this?”
“It gets worse.” Keith knew this was betraying every confidence she’d ever trusted him with, but he had to say it, had to get Greg to understand so he would stop being an idiot and hurting Maggie. “They were hit by a drunk driver.”
“A drunk…?” Greg looked down at the can and thought for a long, long minute. “That’s why…”
“Yeah.” Keith’s place in this situation had been left so far behind, it was no longer even in the rearview mirror. “Look, I don’t want to step on any toes here, but her riding out into the boondocks in some cab for an hour by herself is not exactly safe. I told her she could call me, but I don’t think she’ll do that.”
Greg shook his head. “Is she mad at me?”
“No.” It killed him to say that. What he wanted to do was to lie and ruin every chance they had together, but he couldn’t do that to Greg or to Maggie. “I just thought you should know that’s all.”
“Ye… yeah, man. Thanks for telling me.”
His heart wouldn’t let him go without saying it, but the words were pulling emotions from the center of him. “Treat her right, Greg. Okay? She’s been through hell already, and she deserves better.”
“Yeah.” Greg nodded in understanding. “Okay. I will.”
“Well, are you going to congratulate us or what?” Ike asked, walking into the office Tuesday morning.
Keith barely looked up from the paperwork. “Congratulations.”
“Gee, you sound so happy. I would’ve thought you’d be bouncing off the walls for joy.”
“I am. Inside.” He sounded as surly as he felt. The talk with Greg hadn’t made him feel any better. If anything, it had made him feel worse.
“We won, you know,” Ike said, sitting on the other side of the desk.
“I heard.”
“You behave yourself while we were gone?”
Keith stood, tired of this conversation. “I was an angel just like always.” He grabbed his hat and stalked to the door. “Time to get some real work done. Don’t burn the place down while I’m gone.”
“Ms. Montgomery,” Inez said long after the sun had gone down on Wednesday. “Phone call.”
Already tucked in for the night, Maggie dragged herself out of bed. Isabella was recovering, and they were back to a modified lesson schedule. It was already getting old. She tramped down to the kitchen and picked up the phone. “Hello?”
“Maggie, it’s Greg.”
“Oh, hi.” She sat down on the chair. Somehow she had hoped he wouldn’t call back after the last episode. “What’s up?”
“Listen, I think we need to talk. I’m really sorry about the other night. I was out of control, and I’m sorry.”
She was tired of this conversation already. She was tired of trying to make herself like him in a way that she just didn’t. “Hey, it happens.”
“No, I was a total jerk, and you have every reason to hate me.”
“I don’t hate you, Greg. I just like to take things slower than that.”
“But I shouldn’t have made you ride home in the cab again. It won’t happen again, I swear.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Riding home wouldn’t be a problem because she wasn’t planning on goin
g out with him again.
He hesitated. “Well, I was wondering if you wanted to go out tomorrow night.”
Disbelief slammed into her. “Oh, Greg, I can’t. We’ve had an impossible week around here. Isabella got hurt when I was gone last time.”
“But couldn’t they get someone else to watch them… just for a while?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Dinner. Just dinner.”
“No. Really.”
“Pre-dinner for drinks, or coffee, or whatever.”
Maggie laid her head on the table. “No, it’s just not going to work, Greg.”
“Maggie, please, don’t give up on us because I was a jerk. Please.”
Us? It sounded like a death sentence. “It’s not because of that. Really. It’s just that they haven’t hired a back-up babysitter yet.”
“What happened to the one they had?”
“Long story. Listen, I’ve got to go.”
But he didn’t sign off. “Can I call you again sometime?”
She wanted to say no. With everything in her she wanted to say no, but he sounded so crushed, she just couldn’t. “If you want.”
Saturday night Keith got the call he had been dreading all week. After his talk with Greg, he had thrown himself into his coming life with Dallas like a good soon-to-be groom should; however, just because he was committed didn’t mean he was happy.
“I wanted to make sure we’re going to be able to take the jet,” Dallas said, clearly stressed out. “I’ve got to be out of here by the 15th one way or the other.”
“Oh,” he said, hearing the yelling already, “Dad’s going up to Amarillo that weekend. He’s taking it. But I’m scheduled for the Friday night flight on American.”
Dallas sighed. “Fine. I’ll tell Rachel.” She sounded tired. “Have you checked into any more houses?”
“I called the realtor yesterday. We’re scheduled to go looking next Tuesday. She’s got five houses to show us including two of the ones we looked at online.”
“Well, there’s something.” She sounded only vaguely impressed. “How about the job search? Have you found anything yet?”
Coming Home: (Contemporary Christian Romance Boxed Set): Three Stories of Love, Faith, Struggle & Hope Page 48