by Diann Hunt
He swayed a moment and she steadied him with her hand. He turned to her.
“Thanks. You’re good at catching guys when they fall.”
Funny he should say that. She often thought she was good at catching, but not so good at being caught. She wished someone had caught her when she had fallen—or maybe she should say when she was dumped.
Jeremy had waited until the invitations were sent. Things were going fine until then—or so she had thought. But suddenly it was over. And it had taken her so long to move on. Past the embarrassment, the numbing grief, the shock, the loneliness. After the initial pain had subsided, she frequented their favorite coffee bar, as though something there would give her insight into what had happened, would heal the dull ache that never went away. But all it did was make her miss him even more.
She had finally worked past all that. Now the question was, what was she doing entertaining the possibility of another relationship? Especially with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, who confused her as much as he captivated her.
Still, hadn’t Heather told her she had to get on with her life? And it wasn’t as though she and Brad were dating or anything. Part of her hoped the friendship would grow, and another part of her said to run away as fast as she could. But so far her feet stayed planted—next to Brad.
“Let me get Chaos. I’ll be right back.” She ran over and scooped her puppy into her arms.
“Your dog is good with kids,” Brad said when she came back.
Callie nuzzled into Chaos. “Yeah, he’s great.” She put Chaos down and they resumed walking.
“So, working on the house has probably been hard for you with your current salon schedule,” he said when she came back.
“A little.” Okay, maybe a lot, but she wasn’t going to tell him. Not when things were just getting interesting.
“Sorry about that.”
“It’s my own fault. I guess you know I’m working there to pay my debt to society.”
He grinned and rubbed his jaw. “I’d heard that somewhere.”
“From your brother, perhaps?” She smiled up at him.
“I’ll warn you. My brother is up to no good.”
“I think he had a little help from my lawyer, Heather, who also happens to be my best friend.”
Chaos stopped to sniff a flower. Callie tugged on the leash. She wanted no interruptions in this conversation whatsoever.
Brad shrugged. “Ryan likes to send single women my way—but don’t get nervous. I won’t bite you, I promise.”
She wasn’t so sure of that. “Let me guess. He’s trying to marry you off?”
His eyebrow raised. “Don’t tell me you get that, too?”
“From Heather, from my aunt, from my uncle…”
He shook his head. “Why is it everyone thinks we have to be married to be happy?”
“I don’t know. Maybe because they’re happy and they want that for us?” Saying “us” in that context made her cheeks warm, and she was pretty sure she saw little hearts with wings fluttering around his head. She ignored them.
“Or they’re miserable and they think we should be, too.”
The little hearts cracked in two and disappeared from sight. She took a deep breath. “Brad, I want to ask you about the other night—”
“Mr. Brad! Mr. Brad!”
They both turned to see Micah Sauders running toward them. Chaos yanked hard against his leash and broke free.
“Chaos, get back here,” Callie yelled. But her puppy scurried as fast as his little legs could carry him to his newfound friend.
Micah scooped him up and carried him back to Callie. Chaos licked her face the entire way while Micah giggled with delight.
A slight twinge of guilt played around Callie’s heart. Chaos was alone all day and no doubt missed the companionship of people. Not that she could do anything to change that. She had to work. At least she took him out when she got home. That should help a little, she thought. Still, seeing the way he played with Micah, she wondered.
“Well, how are you, Micah?” Brad said.
“I’m having fun at the park with Mommy.” Her eyes sparked with joyous energy.
Andrea Sauders walked up to them. “Hello, Brad, and—I’m sorry, I’ve forgotten your name.”
“That’s the lady with the nails in her mouth,” Micah piped up.
Callie laughed. “Yeah, I guess that’s me. Callie Easton.” She extended her hand to Andrea. “Good to see you again.”
They talked while Micah played with the dogs. Andrea explained that her husband, Mick, had lost his job and she was worried about qualifying for the house, but Brad assured her that as long as she had her job at the Burrow Diner and could make the payments, they were fine. Andrea looked relieved.
“They are such a wonderful family,” Callie said once Andrea and Micah had left.
“Yes, they are. I’m thrilled they were able to get this house. Life has been challenging for them, but I’ve never, ever heard them complain.”
Callie thought of all the times she complained about stupid things. Food, weight, work. She considered herself a positive person by nature, but she’d lost some of her sunny outlook after Jeremy walked out on her.
“It’s a good thing we’re doing,” he said, turning to her when they reached the spot in the park where they would part ways.
She nodded.
“By the way, I like your hair like that.” He reached up and touched a strand near her cheek, causing her nerves to wake up and stand at attention.
“Yeah?”
His eyes held hers. “Yeah.” His fingers lingered at the side of her face. All thoughts of getting answers from him, or holding him accountable for his gruff ways, slipped from her mind.
“Thanks.”
They said their goodbyes and turned in opposite directions to go home. She prayed her legs would hold her.
“Oh, one more thing.”
She turned back around.
“I bought a croquet set for my mom. She lives alone, and I wanted to get her out of the house to do something fun. I’m setting it up tomorrow after church. Didn’t know if you would want to come over and play.”
Her heart leaped to her throat. The words could barely crawl over it. “That would be fun. I haven’t played croquet in years.”
“All the better. Gives me a chance to beat you.”
She laughed.
“I’ll swing by and pick you up around one-thirty. Will that work?”
“Sounds great.”
He nodded and left. Somehow her rubbery legs got her home, though she might have floated home on the breeze. Just before euphoria could set in, she realized she hadn’t given him her phone number or address. Would he have a list because she was a volunteer at the house? Would his brother have it? Maybe she’d better call Heather and tell her to let Judge Ryan know. No, that wouldn’t work. She would sound desperate. Contacting him was definitely out of the question. She’d appear too eager.
Slow down, Callie. Take it easy. Protect yourself. Something told her she would never get to sleep tonight. No matter that only hours ago she had vowed never to talk to the man again. He had apologized—sort of—and she was obliged to forgive him. The Bible said so.
Besides, what could it hurt to play a harmless game of croquet together?
As people milled around in the foyer after church, Heather stalked over to Callie like a supermodel on a runway. “So what time is Lover Boy picking you up?”
“Would you stop that? Someone might hear you,” Callie said with a frown. “He’s not my boyfriend. He’s just a friend.” Though she had to admit she was glad she had used the salon’s new volumizing shampoo this morning, and the root lifter was just the ticket to give her hair the extra oomph it needed.
Heather smirked. “Whatever.” She examined her nails. “So what time?”
A glance at her own nails told her she’d need to apply another coat this afternoon. “Around one-thirty.” Callie hiccupped.
Heather grinn
ed. “Somebody’s nervous.”
“It’s such a curse, the whole hiccup thing.”
Heather chuckled. “I think it’s charming.”
“It’s time to come clean, Heather. Did you and Judge Sharp plan the whole thing?”
Heather suddenly waved at some guy who appeared not to know her. “Gotta go! Lunch with my Sunday school class. Ta-ta!”
Callie almost laughed at her friend’s transparent tactic. Looking around, she decided now was a good time to leave. She needed a moment to catch her breath before Brad came over. She’d managed to steer clear of her aunt and uncle all morning and was hoping to get out before they caught her, just to avoid any questions.
The pastor had talked about how God would never leave His children. Callie almost wondered if Aunt Bonnie had talked to him—his message went right along with their recent conversation. Callie knew it was true. It was just so hard to trust sometimes—to believe that God would never leave her. The truth was that when her mother died and her father left, she felt God had gone, too. Everything that had been right with her world was over. Aunt Bonnie had said Callie couldn’t trust those feelings, and she knew that. Still, a sign from Heaven would be nice.
The foyer buzzed with the joyful chatter of friends who hadn’t seen one another in a few days. Volunteers stood behind tables where members could sign up for various events. People waved goodbye to clustered groups still in the foyer, then exited the front doors, while children dashed back inside. It was a good time for her to slip away unnoticed.
“Callie.”
Too late. She turned around. “Hi, Aunt Bonnie.”
“Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you all morning. We wanted to see if you could come over for lunch.”
“Oh, I—I—Well, I need to let Chaos out, and I had planned to do some reading.” That excuse sounded lame even to her ears.
Aunt Bonnie’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Oh? You’re going to spend the afternoon reading?”
“I said I had planned to.” Which was the truth. That was her plan before Brad had asked her to come over.
Not to be deterred, Aunt Bonnie cocked her head in such a way that Callie visualized her in a trench coat and dark glasses.
“What are you reading?”
“Bonnie, could you come over here for a minute?” one of her friends called.
Aunt Bonnie turned. “Yes, be right there.”
“Thanks for the invitation. Maybe next week. I’ll call you later.” Callie reached over and gave her aunt a quick peck on the cheek. “Love ya.”
“I’ll deal with you later,” Aunt Bonnie said suspiciously.
Callie laughed. “I’ve no doubt that you will.”
After introductions Brad and Callie went outside to set up the croquet while his mom made lemonade. Once everything was in place, Brad and Callie slid into their seats at the patio table.
Looking over at her, he wondered if he’d let his conscience get the better of him. He could have apologized for his brusque behavior and forgotten the whole thing. He didn’t need to invite her to his mom’s house. Alarm shot through him. This was almost like a real date. Did she think this was a date? He tried to swallow but couldn’t. He was doing the very thing he vowed he’d never do. Date one of Ryan’s setups.
“Brad, did you use Google to stalk me?” Callie asked.
Brad looked at her, puzzled. “What do you mean?”
“How did you know where I lived?”
He smiled. “Ah. I have a whole file on you, Callie. Thanks to the justice system.”
“Your mom seems like a nice lady,” Callie said, obviously changing the subject, blushing in a very charming way.
Brad mentally shook himself. This was no big deal. Just two friends. Eating together. Playing croquet. What was the harm in that? “She is. Things have been tough on her since Dad’s death, and then my sister’s.”
“You lost a sister?”
“Yeah. She died not long ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s hit the family pretty hard. Been hardest on Mom, though, I think. I’m trying to get her to do things outside of the house.” Why was he telling her all that?
“Here we go.” Mom placed the tray of glasses in the middle of the table, picked up the pitcher and proceeded to pour. “It was nice of you to bring the croquet set, Brad. I haven’t played in years.” She placed the drinks in front of them.
“Thanks, Mom.” He took a drink, the lemonade slightly tart but delicious. Made him think of summer. “It’s unanimous, then. None of us has played for a while.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Sharp.” Callie took a sip.
“Oh, please, call me Annie.”
Callie smiled. “Okay, then. Annie.”
The phone rang inside. “Oh dear. I’ll be right back.” His mom ran into the house.
“So tell me about you.” Callie’s fingers toyed with the side of her glass.
Brad shifted in his seat. “What do you want to know?”
“Well, let’s see, you build houses. You do a little remodeling on the side. What else do you do?”
“Isn’t that enough?” He laughed.
“Yeah, it is.” Callie laughed, too.
“Actually, I also travel in South America, working on homes for the underprivileged. That’s what I love the most.”
“Why is that?”
Her question surprised him. “I get to see beautiful country, learn other cultures and help people all at the same time.”
“I don’t mean to argue, but it seems to me we have plenty of people in need right here in our country.”
He didn’t know why, but her comment landed somewhere in the middle of his gut. “Well, that may be true, but I haven’t seen many.”
“No offense, but maybe you haven’t looked hard enough. You don’t have to look very far. Don’t even have to look outside of Burrow.”
“I don’t exactly see the homeless on street corners in Burrow.”
“No, that’s true.” Her words were calm, but passionate just the same. “Most are hanging around in shelters downtown. Since the decline in the glass industry, Burrow has seen its share of foreclosures. But I guess since you’re in the house-building business, you already know that.”
It was true—he hadn’t been around all that much until recently. Still, she was taking on a martyr attitude, as though she and she alone cared about Burrow. He’d been born and raised here. She didn’t have a corner on the town. Sure there were people in need here—every town had them—but there were also needs elsewhere.
“I’m not saying there aren’t problems here in town. It’s just that I believe there is more of a need to help in other countries.” Why was he defending himself? He didn’t owe her an explanation.
“Other countries where there is beautiful country and different cultures.”
A twinkle danced in her eyes, but that didn’t help him deal with his anger. “Look. I’m a firm believer that if you’ve got something to say, you need to say it.”
Callie looked startled. “Oh, nothing. I’m sorry. I guess I just get a little passionate about my hometown. I think work in places like South America is desperately needed, but I also think we have plenty to do here at home. That’s all.” She sipped some more of her lemonade.
“I guess everyone has their calling.”
She put her lemonade down. “Is that yours?”
He thought a minute. “I don’t know if it’s a calling, but it’s where I want to work.”
“That was your brother,” his mom said, stepping through the patio door.
Brad tensed. Things just kept getting better.
“They’re coming over.”
Maybe he should go back to bed and start the day again.
Chapter Seven
“Hey, Brad, how’s it going?” Ryan gave his brother a good-natured thump on the back. “This is a great idea. I haven’t beaten you at croquet since we were kids. Have you gotten any better?”
Brad gave
a half smile and walked over to straighten a couple of the wires that were now standing crooked in the grass. How many times had they played every sport imaginable in this very yard when they were growing up? His brother always won—he seemed to have the upper hand in just about everything.
Not that it was a contest. He just got tired of having to prove himself. Though sometimes he wondered if he did it for himself or for his brother.
“Oh, stop teasing your brother, Ryan,” Brianna said. “Olivia, do you want to play?’
The teenager shook her head. “I’d show you all up.”
“Just what makes you think I won’t win?” Mom joined in.
Her boys exchanged a grin. “That’s right, Mom. You’ll probably whip us all,” Brad said.
“By the way, Uncle Brad, I got a job.”
“You did? Olive, that’s great. Where are you going to work?”
“Peaches & Cream Ice Cream Parlor. I started last night.”
Brad groaned inwardly. Another connection with Callie. Just what he needed.
“Yeah, and we get a discount,” Brianna beamed.
“Not exactly big money, but at least she’s got a job,” Ryan said. “Olivia, if you’re not going to play, now would be a good time to grab my laptop from the car and check out some of those college choices.”
She pulled in a long breath and blew it out. “Okay, Dad.” Looking a bit disappointed, she obediently walked toward the car.
“Why don’t you give her a break once in a while?” Brad asked.
Ryan turned around, surprised. “What are you talking about? She has one more year before she’s off to college. Most kids have their future mapped out by now.”
“Most kids, or do you mean you?”
“What’s that supposed to mean? I—”
Just then Callie walked out of the house. Ryan heard the screen door and looked her way. She took the rest of his words right from his mouth, which Brad figured was a good thing. He knew he was about to get the if-you-had-gone-to-college speech. But Brad didn’t want to be Ryan. Maybe he should have gone to college, but he loved building homes. It came naturally to him. And he was good at it. So that was what he chose to do. He didn’t know if Ryan was more upset with Brad’s choice because he didn’t educate himself or simply because he didn’t follow Ryan’s advice.