Worship continued for another ten minutes, giving her a chance to get her tears under control before Aaron joined them. Instead of going past her and Letty, he stopped and claimed the seat next to Serenity.
His arm brushed hers and Serenity fought the need to lean into him. She succeeded until he bowed his head low enough to whisper in her ear, his scent enveloping her. “I miss you.”
Tears sprang to her eyes again. “I miss you, too.”
He reached for her hand and held it gently in his, lacing their fingers together. The pad of his thumb stroked hers. He released a lungful of air he must have been holding. Serenity surrendered and leaned against his arm, drawing from him the strength she’d needed so badly.
~
Aaron had spent a lot of time in the last two weeks praying. He’d struggled with himself, desperately seeking an answer to their problem. Every time he thought he might have a solution, something would step in the way.
That song the other day had gone a long way towards bringing him peace. Even though it would be nice if God would hand out maps to go along with His plans, he finally realized he didn’t have to figure it out all on his own.
But it wasn’t until he saw Serenity’s face in the congregation while he sang that Aaron knew everything was going to work itself out. It had to.
When Serenity rested her cheek against his arm, he realized he was falling in love with her. Or maybe he already had.
There was no way he could concentrate on the message. He desperately needed to talk with Serenity and it’d be hard to do once Gideon was out of his Bible school class.
Aaron leaned down again, her hair brushing against his face. “Can we go and talk? Please?”
Serenity turned to Letty and said something, although it was too quiet for Aaron to make out the words. A moment later, she gave him a nod and moved to stand. He continued to hold her hand as he led them out of the room and into the hall outside.
“I told Letty we’d be out front. She said she and Zane will get Gideon when church is over and bring him to us.” Serenity’s chocolate eyes were a whirlpool of emotion.
Taking his cue from her, Aaron led them to the front of the building. The church had stood in that same place for years with a number of tall trees around it. In one location, a stone bench waited in the shade of an especially full mimosa tree. Both of them sat down when they reached it and Aaron reluctantly released her hand.
Two weeks of wishing he could talk to her like they used to. Fourteen long days, wondering if he’d get to hold her again. And now he couldn’t figure out what to say. “The last couple of weeks have felt like a lifetime.”
“Yes, they have.” She kept her gaze on the landscape before them.
It gave Aaron the perfect opportunity to study her profile. He loved that she wore little to no makeup and was gorgeous. Her long eye lashes curled a bit at the tips. He had a feeling they were the envy of many of her classmates in school. Serenity sat with her palms on the bench seat, fingers gripping the edge. It was the only evidence suggesting she felt as uncertain as he did.
“How’ve you been since you got back from Kitner. Did it make you more homesick?” One of the many things he’d worried about when she was gone was that she’d decide to move back. Now he held his breath, waiting for her response.
“You know, I kind of thought it would. And it was nice to see everyone. But Gideon and I, our lives are here now. It’s not easy sometimes, but it’s where we need to be.” Serenity looked down at her shoes as she swung them back and forth, then turned her head towards him. “There’s a lot to come back to here.”
Aaron’s heart thundered in his chest, each beat echoing in his ears. “I’m glad. I missed you both.” That didn’t even cover how he’d felt. It’d been torture, pure and simple. Even sitting beside her now and not touching her was difficult. But he didn’t want to rush her. He had to know they were on the same page first.
Serenity released her hold on the bench and leaned against the back. She clasped her hands in her lap and then started to pick at one of her thumbnails. “I hate this, Aaron.”
He turned, bending his knee closest to her and resting it on the seat. He let his arm lay along the top of the bench. The breeze blew strands of her hair, making them dance along his arm.
“I do, too.” He said a silent prayer for the right words to say and the strength to hear her response. “I’ll always be your friend. I hope you know that. If you ever need anything, all you have to do is ask. But you’re more than a friend to me. Regardless of what we do to try and step back in time, that’s not going to change.”
Serenity’s eyes slid closed, her dark lashes in contrast to her skin. She took a deep breath. When she opened them again, she fixed him with a determined look. “I can’t ask you to risk your job, Aaron. That would be selfish.”
“You’re not. I’ve thought about it a lot — probably way too much — and I think Cynthia’s bluffing. I don’t think she’d let me go. I’ve been at Hope for years and the kids all know me. She wants to be in control and this is her way of trying to exercise that.” He allowed his thumb to rub the top of her shoulder. Losing his job was a possibility, but he hadn’t allowed himself to go there. Not yet.
She shook her head and stood before walking over to the trunk of the mimosa tree. After plucking a blade of grass, she leaned with one shoulder against the bark. “But you enjoy working at Hope. You told me that. And there’s absolutely no guarantee you could get another job. What if you have to move to another town in order to find one?”
Aaron rose slowly and approached her. “You’re right. I can’t imagine working anywhere else. I don’t want that to change. I like my job and the kids I work with. But it’s you I’m falling in love with.”
She inhaled sharply, the blade of grass dropping from her fingers to land at her feet.
He moved to stand in front of her and reached for her hands. “We can keep it friendly at work. There’s no need to provoke Cynthia if we don’t have to. But outside of the Academy … Maybe it’s still a risk, but as far as I’m concerned, you and Gideon are more than worth it. I’m going to talk to the board and see if we can get things straightened out. I spoke with Tuck after the basketball game. He’s trying to gather information that’ll help us. We can deal with what comes after that.” He gently held her chin between his thumb and finger. “Compared to losing you, it’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
Aaron watched her face as she processed his words. He knew how he was feeling. But what about her? The moment remained in suspended animation and he wasn’t sure he was going to be able to breathe until she responded.
The emotion in her eyes pulled at his heart. “I can’t stand the idea of losing you over all of this, either.” Her lashes fluttered.
“We’re doing this?”
Serenity’s voice was breathless. “Yeah, we’re doing this.”
“Thank God.” He tugged her into his arms and held her close. With his face buried in her hair, her scent surrounded him. He’d missed this. Everything about her.
Her arms tightened around his waist as she leaned into his chest for several heartbeats. She lifted her head to look at him.
Aaron absorbed the moment before leaning down to cover her lips with his. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been kissing her when voices broke through their bubble. A few people had exited the church, but they seemed to be the only ones. “Come on, they’ll be out soon.” He took her hand and led her back to the bench. They sat down again. But this time, their hands remained linked.
It wasn’t long before Letty, Zane, and Gideon joined the sea of people coming out of the church. Serenity waved at them and Gideon took off across the grass to crash into her. She tickled him and pulled him onto the bench beside her. “How was children’s church? Did you learn a bunch?”
Letty handed her two pages that he’d done in his class. She gave Serenity a knowing look. “Everything’s okay?”
“Yeah.” Serenity nudged Aaron’s sho
ulder with her own. “Everything’s fine.”
He swore her smile was brighter than the Texas sun.
~
Two days later, Serenity had been working a few hours when she got a text from Aaron. A check of the time told her Gideon should be with him for music therapy.
“Come to the music room. Be quiet coming in. You have to see something Gideon’s doing. :-)”
The office was virtually empty so she told Maggie she was going to take a break and would be back shortly.
She walked as quickly as she could down the hallway to the music room. She slowed when she came to the door to Aaron’s classroom. She could hear music playing and peeked her head around the corner. Gideon’s back was to her and Aaron was sitting on the floor in front of him. Aaron noticed her immediately and gave her a subtle nod.
She leaned against the doorframe and watched silently as Aaron picked up one of the hand bells that were lined up between them. As the tune continued from the CD player on the table, Aaron rang the bell and then sang out the note. “Aaaaaaaa.” He continued through the line of bells, singing each note as he went. When he reached the end, he patted Gideon’s chest. “It’s your turn. Gideon’s turn.”
Serenity had no idea what to expect. But when Gideon picked up that first bell and she heard his little voice sing the A note, tears instantly filled her eyes. He’d made sounds before and one note wouldn’t have been a major thing. But when he went on to do the same for B, her heart began to pound and tears streaked down her cheek. She didn’t care one bit. Her son was communicating verbally. It may only be notes, but it was huge.
His voice was beautiful. Perfect.
She listened as he sang each note. After the last bell, Aaron clapped and cheered. “Fantastic job, Gideon. You’ve got a great singing voice.” He motioned for Serenity to approach them. “Look, your mom got to listen to you sing.”
Serenity swiped away the tears and replaced them with a smile. That’s all she wanted her son to see when he turned around. He was thrilled with himself. She hurried forward and knelt down beside him. “Gideon, that was amazing. I’m proud of you, big guy. So very proud of you.” She reached for him and hugged him. Watching Aaron over her son’s head, she mouthed, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
She was pretty sure she saw moisture in his eyes as well.
~
Serenity felt as though she were floating on cloud nine all day after listening to Gideon sing the notes. As soon as they got home, she’d called her mom and Grams to tell them about it. Now she was on the phone with Tuck. He’d been about as excited as she had to hear the news.
“I wish I could have heard him myself.”
“I’m going to ask Aaron if he can record it next week and send it to me. I should have done that today, but I was too mesmerized to even consider the option. I don’t think I’ll forget that moment as long as I live.” She’d lost track of how many times she’d come close to tears throughout the day.
“Tell Gideon I’m really proud of him.”
“I will, Tuck.”
“Hey, while I’ve got you on the phone, I wanted to let you know I talked to the rest of the family about the hospital bill. No one here paid it.”
Then who had? Because it made little to no sense. The odds that a random stranger walked up and paid her bill were pretty small. “The whole thing is driving me crazy.”
“I definitely get that. Maybe it was some kind person who saw you come in. You hear of that happening once in a while. Someone trying to pay it forward.” Tuck didn’t sound that convinced.
Serenity wasn’t either. “Maybe. I know things like that happen in real life once in a while. It’s a little hard to believe.”
“Well, if you have any other problems, you know to call me, right?”
“Of course. Thank you again, Tuck. I appreciate it. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“You be careful. Have you seen the forecast? They’re predicting nasty weather Wednesday and Thursday up in your area. Lots of severe thunderstorms.”
“We’ll keep an eye on the weather. You guys do the same.”
They hung up. Serenity played the scene in the music room through her mind one more time and grinned. She dialed Lexi’s number to tell her all about it. She might share the latest concerning her Music Man as well.
Chapter Twenty-One
Serenity cast a furtive glance at the sky as she ushered Gideon into the car Thursday morning. The weather Tuck had warned her about wasn’t bad yesterday. They’d had a lot of rain and a couple of thunderstorms. Nothing to write home about. But this morning already promised more.
The sky above her was blue. But a wall of clouds was rolling in from the horizon and they were nearly black. The air was still and warm, which usually wasn’t a good sign when a storm was approaching.
At least at the school, she and Maggie could keep the radio on while they worked. They’d be sure to hear updates throughout the day.
She was about to pull away from the house when the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. The sensation of being watched flowed through her. Serenity made sure the doors were locked and craned her neck to peer up and down the street. Nothing. It was an impression she’d started to get several times a week and she was beginning to wonder if she was getting neurotic.
They were going to be late if she didn’t get on the road. Pushing thoughts of being watched from her head, she studied the wall clouds as she moved towards Hope Academy.
She saw Aaron in the parking lot and waved as she found a space. He walked towards them. “Good morning, you two. How are you?”
“A little rushed but well. How about you?” Serenity resisted the urge to reach for his hand or step on her tiptoes for a kiss. They’d been playing it cool at work all week. At least she hoped they had. Cynthia hadn’t spoken to either of them again and Serenity chose to believe it was because they were flying under the radar.
“I’m better now.” He gave her a wink. “I don’t like the look of that sky.” Aaron nodded towards the wall clouds that were visibly moving closer.
They hurried into the building and waved their goodbyes. Serenity held Gideon’s hand as they headed for his classroom. A low rumble of thunder sounded and her gaze flew to his face. He must not have heard it because he kept walking as he took in everything around him.
He’d been afraid of thunder for several years now. During the day, it wasn’t quite as bad because at least there were other things for him to focus on. But if a storm hit at night, it meant being up and keeping him comforted and distracted until the storm was over.
She’d warned Letty about it yesterday and was happy to hear that he’d never reacted to the thunder. But if the clouds outside were any indication, today might be a different story.
When they got to his classroom, she reminded Letty of Gideon’s fear, gave him a hug, and headed to the front office.
Maggie already had the radio tuned to the weather station and was conversing with a parent about it. “Yes, we do have a storm room. If a tornado warning is sounded, all of the teachers know to take the kids there.”
That seemed to satisfy the parent. She thanked Maggie and hurried towards the parking lot.
Serenity put her bag in a drawer and sat down as a louder clap of thunder sounded. Her thoughts immediately flew to Gideon. When it came to storms, she’d rather be with him. It was easier than worrying about whether he was scared or not. She knew Letty would text or call if she needed to go get him. Still…
Maggie’s voice broke into her thoughts. “Good morning.”
“Good morning.” Serenity looked at her friend for the first time. Had she planned the blueish gray outfit or was it a coincidence that it matched the storm so well? Serenity indicated the radio. “Anything interesting yet?”
“They’ve got us under a severe thunderstorm watch and a tornado watch until eight tonight.”
Watches weren’t at all unusual for this area of Texas but they
still made Serenity cringe. “Lovely.”
“Right?”
This particular storm came through with quite a bit of thunder and then disappeared by mid-morning. Serenity texted Letty to make sure Gideon was okay. Letty assured her he was. Serenity sighed with relief. They enjoyed a couple hours of calm before the next storm made its approach around lunch. At the first sound of thunder, Serenity groaned. She was staring out the window when Aaron walked into the breakroom.
“How’s it looking out there?”
She shrugged. “Nasty. I hate storms like this. Gideon gets nervous during them.”
Aaron set his stuff on their table and moved to stand next to her. “I don’t think he’s the only one.” He took in the clouds outside and withdrew his phone. As if on cue, it sounded loudly. “I have an app on here that tells me about any warnings. They just issued a severe thunderstorm warning for our area for the next forty minutes.”
“What app is that?” He told her and she downloaded it to her phone, too. It would certainly be helpful, especially for any alerts at night.
They sat down to eat. Several times, thunder interrupted their conversation and once, it was loud enough to shake the building.
~
Serenity was so tense that Aaron kept wishing he had permission to hold her hand or even wrap his arms around her. The rain started to fall and before long, they could hear the pings of hail hitting the window. In unison, they moved to observe through the glass.
The hail itself wasn’t large — maybe the size of a pea. But it was the sky that was ominous. Billowing clouds were black with a green tinge to them. He’d only seen a sky like that a handful of times, but it rarely meant anything good. Thunder shook the building. “Come on, let’s go find Gideon so you can make sure he’s all right. This is only going to get louder. If you need to stay with him until it’s over, I’m sure everyone would understand.”
Finding Faith (Love's Compass Book 4) Page 14