Hometown Courtship (Love Inspired)

by Diann Hunt

  Brad turned to Callie and smiled. “Brianna, Ryan, Olive—this is Callie Easton.”

  Callie held up her hands. “No delinquent parking tickets, Judge Sharp, I promise.”

  Everyone laughed. Mom had no clue what was going on, but she laughed just the same, which Brad took as a good sign. He hadn’t seen her truly laugh in some time.

  “Olivia, nice to see you again. When Uncle George hired you, I didn’t realize you were related to Brad,” Callie said. Something in the way she said his name made Brad’s skin tingle. He immediately stood.

  “Ryan, let’s go try out the croquet set,” he said, needing to get away. Ryan agreed, and they crossed the lawn together.

  “So, it’s nice to see Callie here.” Ryan hit the ball and smiled at his brother.

  “Let it go, Ryan.” Brad hit the ball a little too hard and it rolled too far to the right.

  They continued the game without further discussion of Callie, for which Brad was grateful. After several rounds of croquet, Annie refilled the lemonade glasses and they settled on the patio.

  “Callie, tell me about your work,” Annie said.

  “My aunt and uncle own the Peaches & Cream Salon, and I’m a hair stylist and manicurist there.”

  “Really?”

  “She’d be a great one to fix your hair for you, Mom,” Brad said. “She’s who I had in mind when I was telling Gram I was going to take you to the salon.”

  Annie thought a moment. “You’re Callie from the salon.” Her eyes sparked with remembrance. “Nicole talked about you.”

  Callie was confused. “Nicole?”

  “Nicole Gentry. She went to your salon to get her hair done. I remember her mentioning you.”

  “Oh, sure, I knew Nicole. How did you know her?”

  Annie swallowed hard. “She was my daughter.”

  Callie’s eyes grew wide. Her face turned the color of unpainted drywall.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. Nicole was a friend of mine.”

  The blood rushed from Brad’s face. “Friend? How well did you know her?” He wasn’t sure he really wanted to know, but he had to ask.

  “We went out for coffee once in a while. Not real close friends, but friends.” The sorrow in her voice, no doubt, spoke volumes to the others. Not so much to Brad. “I was so sorry to hear of her passing. I was away at a conference when it happened. I wasn’t even sure how—”

  “Anorexia,” Brad snarled. Everyone looked at him. “She basically starved herself to death.”

  “Oh,” Callie said, nodding.

  “You’re not surprised.” His blood ran hot.

  “No. I mean, I didn’t know she was anorexic, but I thought she was very thin. And she never wanted to go to dinner. Even at the coffee shop, she always drank plain coffee, and very little at that.”

  He stood up. “Did you try to help her?” He couldn’t help himself now—he was blind with fury.

  She stiffened. “She told me she was getting a divorce. I figured she wasn’t eating a lot because of stress. How could I have helped her?”

  “Brad, sit down,” Ryan said gently.

  “Nicole needed help and no one saw it. And I’m sorry, Callie, but your salon only encouraged her in the sick pursuit of perfection. No one helped her,” he repeated.

  “Did you?” Callie asked calmly, quietly, the piercing, probing question hanging between them. The question that he’d run from ever since Nicole died. “Brad, just because a woman gets her hair or nails done doesn’t means she’s sick, or even that there’s any problem. It just means she wants to feel beautiful. And there’s nothing wrong with that.”

  He sat back down and said nothing.

  Callie turned to his mom. “Annie, thank you so much. Unfortunately, it’s time for me to go.” Callie looked at the others. “So good to meet you. Olivia, I’ll look forward to seeing you at the ice-cream parlor.” With that, Callie turned and walked away.

  “Wait, Callie. I’ll take you home,” Brad said.

  “No, thank you. I can call a cab,” Callie insisted.

  He got up and followed her. “Look,” he said quietly. “I didn’t mean to sound so harsh, it’s just that—”

  “I understand.” She cut him off in a way that said she didn’t understand at all. “But I’d prefer to take a cab.”

  Fine. If that was the way she wanted it, so be it. He watched her walk down the driveway and away from the house, digging in her bag for her phone. He knew he should go after her, but pride and anger kept him rooted to the spot.

  The sooner he got out of Burrow—and away from Callie Easton—the better.

  Monday morning, the crew painted the walls all day. Brad hadn’t said two personal words to Callie, which suited her just fine. He had sent her on errands and given her woodworking to stain, which managed to ruin her manicure. She was certain he was happy about that. He’d basically given her grunt work, which fueled her anger and made her work even harder. She would not give him the satisfaction of thinking she noticed.

  She thought about their conversation about Nicole yesterday. He could hardly blame her for what had happened to his sister, and yet that’s how he’d acted—as though it were her fault in some way. Clearly he was carrying around an awful lot of guilt and wanted to push it onto everyone else so he didn’t have to face it himself. Well, she would not let him dump it on her.

  Not that she hadn’t cared about Nicole. The young woman had seemed troubled by her marriage, but she hadn’t dwelled on it. In fact, had she not mentioned it to her, Callie probably would never have known Nicole was going through a tough time. Yes, she had thought Nicole was too thin, but a lot of women these days were thin. The culture dictated it. She didn’t know Nicole well enough to realize that wasn’t normal for her.

  What was done was done. They couldn’t fix things one way or the other. Nicole had made her choice, and there was nothing any of them could do.

  At the end of the day, just as she was leaving, the Sauders family pulled up. Micah ran over to Brad and gave him a hug. Callie waved and headed for her car, but Micah ran to her.

  “Miss Callie! Miss Callie!”

  Callie turned around. “Hi, Micah.”

  “Come here. I have to talk to you and Mr. Brad.” She grabbed Callie’s hand and pulled her toward Brad.

  “Wait, Micah, I can’t—I need to go, really.”

  Micah kept pulling and trudging toward Brad. “Mr. Brad, come here.”

  Brad locked eyes with Callie and quickly looked away. “What’s up, Micah?”

  Hand in hand, Andrea and Mick joined them.

  Micah sported her snaggletoothed grin, her eyes sparkling. “My class is having career day tomorrow.” She could barely contain her excitement. “Mrs. Upton said we’re supposed to bring someone in to talk about their jobs. I asked her if I could bring both of you, and she said yes!” Micah clapped and hugged them both, not noticing that they were speechless.

  “Um, Micah, they might not be able to, honey. They have to work, you know,” Andrea said, “and we hardly gave them any notice.”

  Micah looked at her mom. “Oh, I know they will come. They’re my friends.” She turned to Brad and Callie. “You’ll come, won’t you?” Her expressive blue eyes said she had no doubt whatsoever that they would come.

  How could Callie turn this sweet little girl down? “I would be happy to come, Micah,” Callie said.

  Micah looked at Brad.

  “Me, too.”

  The eight-year-old jumped up and down a couple of times and squealed, “Group hug!”

  Callie didn’t dare look Brad’s way when they narrowed their circle into a hug around Micah. She ignored the warmth of his arms around her shoulders, the woodsy smell of his cologne.

  “Since it’s in the afternoon and you work together, we thought you could bring Miss Callie with you,” Andrea said to Brad.

  If she didn’t know better, Callie would say sweet little Andrea was in on the town conspiracy to get her and Brad together. Too bad she
and Brad couldn’t get along for more than two minutes at a time.

  The following afternoon Callie climbed into Brad’s truck, determined to keep her attitude in check. The upholstery squeaked beneath their weight. The door groaned shut. Though the truck was older and used to haul lumber and tools, Brad kept the inside clean. Too bad he wasn’t as nice as his truck. Well, okay, he obviously had moments of goodness, like yesterday when he agreed to take time off from work to visit Micah’s classroom.

  Just when she wanted to be good and disgusted with him, he had to go and be nice. Brad messed with her mind, pure and simple. She would be glad when this project was over and she could be done with Brad Sharp for good.

  “Thanks for running more errands today,” Brad said.

  Another nice moment? She wanted to tell him to knock it off.

  “You’re welcome.” Her voice was normal, level, without commitment one way or the other.

  He opened his mouth as though he were going to say something else, then decided against it. They rode the rest of the way to school in silence—she wasn’t about to make this easy for him.

  The room of second graders cheered the moment Brad and Callie stepped inside the classroom. A small red carpet had been rolled out, and a love seat dubbed “The King and Queen Chair” stood at the end of the aisle. Across the blackboard hung a banner with the notation “Heroes’ Day.” In the back corner of the room sat a long table with a large cake and punch on it.

  Callie and Brad exchanged a surprised glance. They turned to find a giggling Micah Sauders beside them. She led them to the love seat.

  Soon, school smells of chalk and glue sent Callie to another time, another place, where she endured the school day knowing her mom and dad wouldn’t greet her when she got home. When other children laughed and ran about at recess, she hovered in schoolyard corners, alone with her thoughts and overwhelming grief. Her heart had ached beyond description in those dreadful days when tentacles of loneliness stretched around her heart and squeezed so tightly she could barely breathe. Even now the memory took her breath away.

  She glanced at Brad and found him studying her. “You okay?”

  She nodded and smiled, pretending all was right with her world. She would not allow her past to ruin Micah’s special day.

  Mrs. Upton, the teacher, introduced herself and explained “Heroes’ Day.” Each student was assigned a week to bring in a hero of his or her choosing. The only rule was that the hero couldn’t be a relative. Micah had chosen two, which was an exception to the rule, but Mrs. Upton had bent the rules per Micah’s pleading. Therefore, the class decided to crown Micah’s heroes “King and Queen” for a day.

  Brad and Callie leaned forward on the love seat as Micah excitedly slipped paper crowns onto their heads.

  “Micah, would you please introduce the King and Queen for today?” Mrs. Upton took a seat at the back of the class so she could face Micah and her guests.

  Dressed in a cute white shift with small red flowers and white leggings, Micah swayed back and forth as she told the class Brad and Callie’s names.

  “You may proceed with your talk, Micah,” Mrs. Upton instructed kindly.

  “Um, Mr. Brad is my king for today ’cause he’s building a house for my family.” She pushed a strand of hair away from her eyes. “His big fingers have rough bumps on them and Daddy says that’s cause Mr. Brad works so hard for us. Daddy says we should thank God for him. So we pray for him every night.” Micah fidgeted with her fingers for a moment. “Mr. Brad is always nice to me, and one time he bought me an ice-cream cone when the ice-cream truck went by. My mommy and daddy say Mr. Brad could make lots of money doing other things but he would rather build homes for families like us.” Her tongue explored the corner of her mouth while her eyes searched the ceiling for more words. “He’s our hero, and I’m glad Mr. Brad is here for my family.” She gave a sharp nod of her head indicating she’d finished talking about Brad.

  Callie could feel a lump form in her throat. Brad swallowed hard, then tossed a wink at Micah. What if he had been away when this project idea came up? Someone else would have done the work, but would he have made such an impression on this child?

  “Miss Callie,” Micah said, bringing Callie’s attention back to her, “well, I don’t know her so much.” Micah turned to Callie. “But she has the prettiest smile I ever saw—next to my mommy. And she always smiles—especially when Mr. Brad is around,” Micah added, to Callie’s everlasting mortification. Muffled giggles rippled around the room. Micah turned a grin to Callie, once again melting Callie’s heart. “She smells good and she has soft hands. She’s building our house, too, though Daddy says she’d probably rather work on people’s hair than their houses.” Callie laughed at that. “She is a hero and a queen to me.” Micah took a moment to smile at Callie and then turned back to the class.

  “I can’t wait to sleep in my new bedroom and live in our new house. I will never forget how Mr. Brad and Miss Callie worked together to make it so special.”

  When Micah finished, her class clapped and cheered. She walked over and gave Callie and Brad hugs, then skipped back to her seat. Mrs. Upton proceeded to cut the cake and pass out drinks in honor of the guests. Micah’s day was considered a huge success by Mrs. Upton’s second-grade class at Burrow Elementary.

  After the ceremony had ended, Brad and Callie walked back to the car. Once inside, Brad turned to Callie. “That’s one special little girl,” he said, putting the key in the ignition.

  “Yes, she is.”

  “Listen, I know I’ve been a jerk, but—”

  Callie held up her hand. “Let’s not do this now, okay?” She didn’t want to ruin the afternoon.

  “Okay.” He turned and started the engine. “I need to stop by the hardware store and pick up some more paint.” His professional voice was back in place.

  “All right,” Callie said, matching his tone. When they arrived at the store, Callie said, “How about I look through the magazines while you get the paint, and I’ll meet you at the register?”

  Brad gave a curt nod and took off toward the paint aisle.

  Callie flipped through pages of room remodels, lush garden sanctuaries and landscaping pictures before she noticed a magazine that really caught her attention. Picking it up, she took in the cover featuring a child’s playhouse and flipped to the appropriate page to see more pictures of it. She imagined Micah in such a house. She was a grateful kid, with so very little in the way of material things—she would love it.

  “Wouldn’t Micah love that?” Brad was reading her thoughts, his breath warm against her shoulder.

  When she turned to him, he seemed to realize how close they were and took two steps back. She could only hope he wouldn’t sprain his ankle again.

  “I was just thinking the same thing. A little girl’s dream come true.” After a moment she leaned toward the rack to put the magazine away.

  “Wait,” Brad said. “We could do it.”

  “Do what?”

  “Build her a playhouse.”

  “Are you kidding?”

  “Well, not until the house is finished, of course, but after that we could use Saturdays to work on the playhouse.”

  “Saturdays are sometimes busy for me,” Callie said, wondering if this were some type of peace offering.

  “I thought it would be best to do it together, since she honored us with that whole King and Queen business. It would mean more to her coming from both of us. I’m doing it for Micah.”

  He had clearly added that last comment so she would have no illusions about why they were getting together.

  “I’m flexible with time, so we can get together whenever. We have our differences, but surely we’re adult enough to work on this project?” His eyebrows raised as though he were challenging her.

  “I’ll do it,” she said, “For Micah.”

  He stared deep into her eyes. “For Micah.”

  Chapter Eight

  Callie had taken one step into her
home when the phone rang. “Hello?” Chaos ran over and she scooped him onto her lap.

  “Hi, sweetheart. Did you have a good day?”

  Aunt Bonnie’s voice made her feel instantly better. She explained to her aunt about her time at Micah’s school, but left out any mention of Brad.

  “What a precious little girl,” Aunt Bonnie said. “I wanted to let you know that Brad’s mom called the salon today.”

  “Oh?”

  “She wants to schedule a shampoo and haircut for her mother-in-law at the nursing home, and wants you to call her.” Her aunt rattled off the number.

  “Okay, thanks. I’ll give her a call.”

  Callie settled back onto the sofa and called Brad’s mom hesitating for a moment first, wondering how Brad would feel about it. She decided this actually wasn’t any of his business.

  “Hi, Annie. This is Callie Easton returning your call.” Callie tried to ignore the twist in her stomach. The sooner she could get out of this whole mess with Brad, the better. If she didn’t adore Micah Sauders, she never would have consented to helping with the playhouse.

  “Oh, yes, Callie. Thank you so much for calling.” Annie explained that her mother-in-law, Louise Sharp, needed a shampoo and haircut, and she wondered if Callie could come and take care of her. “She is bed-bound, so I’m not sure if you can do that. We would pay you extra for your trouble, of course.”

  “Yes, I can help her. I have an inflatable portable basin that would work just fine,” Callie said. “I will need to contact the home and see what I need to do to get approved. Once I get that cleared, I’ll call you to set up a time. Will that work?”

  “Perfectly. Thank you so much,” Annie said. “And Callie?”

  “Yes.”

  “I just wanted to say about Brad…He means well. He wasn’t blaming you for Nicole’s death. He’s just trying to make sense of it. You see, he was gone when Nicole died. When they were younger, he watched over her, protected her—especially once his dad died and his brother moved out.” She paused. “Unfortunately, as my husband lay dying, he made Brad promise he’d take care of Nicole. I think that’s one of the reasons Brad can’t let it go. He feels he’s failed—Nicole and his dad.”