Love Inspired August 2014 – Bundle 1 of 2

by Ruth Logan Herne, Allie Pleiter

  “Don’t even think about it. Believe me—men have done a number on my head one too many times to count. I guess that’s why I’m resigned to spinsterhood.” Maggie winked at her.

  “Hardly. You’re what, my age?”

  “I think a couple years older. Thirty-four, but let’s not go shouting that from the rooftops. You’re going to be okay, you know that, right?” Maggie grasped Paige’s hand, leaving some flour on her fingers.

  “Sure. That’s why I’m here. Time for something new.” Paige tried to infuse life into her voice. She did like learning new things, and with her upbringing, she had so much to learn. But right now, it was the circumstances behind the uprooting of her life that dampened everything.

  Maggie went back to punching a wad of dough on the counter. “I hung your dress up downstairs.”

  “Thanks.” Paige touched her fingers to the couple of hair ties she always stored on her wrist. “Do you need help preparing anything? I don’t know a lot about cooking, but I’m willing to learn.”

  “No need. I’m almost done for tonight. But I appreciate the offer.” Maggie rubbed the back of her hand on her forehead, leaving more flour.

  “Well, if you ever need me to, I do know one recipe for scones that I could make some time. It’s about the only thing I know how to do in the kitchen.” Paige laid her hand on the doorknob that led to the public section of the inn.

  “I’ll probably take you up on that at some point.”

  “Anytime. I’m going to go out for a little while.” Paige walked through the door that led to the hotel portion of the bed-and-breakfast.

  The common dining area boasted a large crystal chandelier that Maggie had told her was original to the mansion. The front parlor was rich with Persian carpets, flowered wallpaper, a grand piano and a stone fireplace surrounded by antique furniture. A towering grandfather clock ticked off the seconds as she passed by the grand, deep maroon carpeted staircase.

  A bell tinkled as she pushed open the front door. She walked quickly down the sidewalk, passing her Mazda and the sign proclaiming: West Oaks Inn Bed-and-Breakfast.

  Paige glanced over her shoulder at the Victorian mansion. Built in the Queen Anne style, sage clapboard gave way to pink-painted details and intricately carved wooden embellishments. Giant oak trees formed a line of soldiers up the driveway, protecting and shadowing the property. Cinderella might as well live there.

  Too bad glass-slipper dreams only came true in storybooks.

  Paige swung her arms, making herself walk faster.

  Smaller homes on wide yards dotted the outskirts of the town. Even the most insignificant house here had more personality than any house found in the Chicago suburbs she had grown up in. Each one seemed to have a story—with a hundred years of history to be told.

  Maybe this new start in Goose Harbor was all she needed. A fresh start. A new home.

  No, not home. Nothing could ever feel like home again.

  Leaving Illinois and all the dreams she’d clutched since childhood hadn’t been easy. But staying meant seeing him—being reminded of him. Staying hadn’t been a viable option.

  At the bend in the road, the canopy of trees broke and the residential properties became closer together. Fresh Lake Michigan air mingled with the smell of someone barbecuing. Like giant sleeping bears, sand dunes hulked on both sides of the road. The anchoring trees grew through the shifting soil and hooded the road, only allowing slivers of sunlight to skip across her face when she turned onto Lake Front Drive.

  A large town square made up the bustling portion of Goose Harbor. In the middle of the square was a large grassy area complete with a red band shell, a few park benches, a white gazebo and a small rose garden. A short distance from the square lay Ring Beach—named for the almost perfect half circle of soft sand that lined the shorefront. The calm, shallow waters at Ring Beach drew thousands of visitors to Goose Harbor every summer.

  On the road, traffic slowed to a halt as a crop of buildings came into view. End-of-the-summer vacationers crowded the brick sidewalks that made up the downtown portion of Goose Harbor, clogging the roadways as they filtered between the homemade fudge shops, art galleries, unique mom-and-pop stores, ice-cream parlors and quaint restaurants built on stilts over the pier section of the waterfront. Women in high heels clip-clopped out of the way of darting children as old men sat watching the world go by from wooden benches lining the dock. White masts bobbed in the marina.

  No wonder Goose Harbor had been voted one of the top five places to vacation in the Midwest.

  Paige veered away from the cute downtown. Something told her to go to the beach, watch the waves roll in and pray. But there was no point. God didn’t want to hear about her minuscule troubles. After all, He had wars and starving children to worry about. His time should be spent on situations that actually mattered to the world, not her. No, she didn’t need to bother Him with her little issues.

  Besides, when was the last time something she prayed for actually happened?

  She followed the path that led to the high school. She stood in the parking lot, hands on her hips, and scanned the building. A group of people tossed a basketball around on the far outdoor court. A couple clad in neon spandex ran together around the track.

  She could do this.

  Sure, all her other teaching experience had been at inner-city schools in Chicago, but students in a tourist town couldn’t be that different, not really. If she’d learned something while teaching it was that all teens needed one thing—someone to let them know that their life mattered and they had worth, as is.

  Anyway, she’d relocated to Goose Harbor to volunteer at Sarah’s Home—a nonprofit organization that helped at-risk youth. Over the past few years, Dad had donated to Sarah’s Home because his college roommate, Mr. Timmons, was the head of the board. Dad might have used the place as a tax shelter, but Paige looked forward to the quarterly newsletter from Sarah’s Home.

  No one knew, but those newsletters had shaped her desire to work with inner-city students. She’d wanted to be a teacher since grade school, but only after poring over the updates and the Sarah’s Home website had a passion sparked inside of her for at-risk youths.

  After catching Bryan tangled up with a leggy redhead, Paige knew she needed to leave Chicago. All her friends were Bryan’s friends. Her dreams near her childhood stomping ground were all too linked with the boy she’d known since junior high school.

  No, leaving had been her only option.

  Sarah’s Home popped into her head immediately—her safe place. Now she could be a part of the nonprofit that had already shaped her life so much. In the midst of her trial, she could turn things around for the good and give back.

  Yes, the chance to help at Sarah’s Home had been the main draw to this area; finding a teaching job at the nearby high school had been a nice bonus. Her dad’s friendship with Principal Timmons hadn’t hurt, either. Timmons had been urging her to apply to his school ever since she graduated and was only too happy to call her when a last-minute position opened.

  Who knew? Maybe in a few weeks she’d have a bunch of friends here...maybe that would be her in the middle of a neighborhood game of pickup.

  Paige took a couple of steps forward, squinting to watch the basketball game. It looked like a bunch of teens, probably her future students. Maybe they were members of the high school’s team getting in a practice before school started at the end of the week. A couple of elementary-school kids sat on the sidelines.

  The tallest guy called for a break and walked over to where the children sat. The two boys hopped up when he offered them the basketball. The man motioned for them to follow him to the basket, where he took turns lifting both of them up to dunk the ball.

  From a distance, she couldn’t make out how old the man was, but his gesture warmed
her heart and made her long for the family she dreamed of but wouldn’t have. Perhaps those were the coach’s sons. Either way, in her experience it was a rare trait in a man to choose to play with kids when he could be standing courtside joking with the older students.

  When they called game again, Paige crept a bit closer. She took a seat on a wooden bench near the court.

  The tallest man dribbled the ball, skirted past his opponent and sank the ball into the net with a swoosh. Caught up in the moment, Paige clapped.

  The player turned around and locked gazes with her. Recognition hit her in the stomach like a punch.

  Caleb.

  She shot to her feet, spun around and picked her way across the field in the opposite direction.

  So much for her hopes of never seeing him again.

  Chapter Two

  “Can we not talk about this right now?” Caleb dropped his voice and glanced around the Cherry Top Café to see if anyone was listening to him and Maggie. Burgers sizzled on the big grill in back and a grease tang hung thick in the air. A busboy clanked dirty dishes together as he cleared a nearby table. Tucked a block away from the popular town square, Cherry Top didn’t rank high on the must-hit tourist list, but that’s why Caleb ate there.

  Maggie shoved the coleslaw around on her plate with her fork. “I’m not dropping this. Hear me out. It’s like your life is on hold. You’ve mourned long enough. I hope you know that.”

  Mourned long enough? Impossible.

  Caleb grabbed the saltshaker and slid it between both of his hands. “Seriously, Mags, leave it alone.”

  “I can’t. You know, it’s hard for me, too, but I can’t keep digging in my heels hoping she’ll come walking into the inn again, either. Because she’s not going to.”

  “Do you honestly think you’ve moved on?”

  Maggie pursed her lips and looked outside.

  A fly skittered against the windowpane near Caleb’s elbow, buzzing wildly in its attempt to break through the glass and get back out in the fresh air. Maggie grabbed the menu and banged the heavy papers against the window, ending the fly’s struggle for good.

  She exhaled a long breath. “Besides, you’re the only family around that I have left to bug, so you have to indulge my meddling whims.”

  “Not on this.” He shoved his plate toward the center of the table and tossed his napkin on top.

  Maggie reached across the table and laid her hand over his. “You’re still young and have so much of your life left. My sister would have wanted you happy. You know that, don’t you?”

  He snaked his hand from hers and dropped it in his lap under the table. “I am happy.” Sometimes. Like during the school year with students filing into his science classroom, or at the church’s summer camp when the teens talked at the end of the session around the fire pit about how much they had learned and grown that week.

  Maggie offered a sad smile. “Well, Caleb Beck, you could have fooled me.”

  Caleb leaned forward and lowered his voice. “If you wanted to talk about this we could have done it at the inn instead of out in public.”

  People stared at him enough. Poor Caleb. He didn’t need to add this conversation to the list of reasons to pity him. Gossip had a tendency to spread like lice in Goose Harbor, especially among the year-round residents. He didn’t need anyone overhearing Maggie and thinking he couldn’t hack it as a teacher or youth-group volunteer, or continue on at Sarah’s Home. He was so tired of being treated like he was broken.

  The high school’s soccer coach, a heavyset man in his mid-forties, walked past their table and waved his spoon at Caleb. What was the man’s name? Caleb offered a polite smile back.

  Maggie tugged the giant clip out of the back of her hair, rearranged it a little and pinned up her hair again. Only, she missed a chunk of unruly curls, making it look like a crazy peacock feather coming out of the side of her head. “It’s not like I planned to dive into all this, but I felt like I needed to tell you that I’m okay with you dating again. In case you were worried about that. If you find the chance to have love again, you should. Okay? That’s all I’m going to say about it. Promise.”

  He kept his eyes trained out the window at the tourists strolling toward the dock. “Thank you.”

  The waiter dropped off their check, and Caleb had the man stay while he pulled out the correct change and enough for a tip. “Just keep everything.”

  Maggie crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat. “You don’t have to pay for me all the time.”

  “Besides my sister, who else am I spending my money on these days?” Caleb leaned a little to put his wallet into his back pocket.

  “How’s your sister doing?”

  Scared. Lonely. Worried. He shrugged. “Shelby’s the same as always, I guess.”

  “Okay, I know I said I wouldn’t bring it up again, and after this I won’t.” Maggie splayed her hands onto the table. “But there’s this girl in my Bible-study group at church. She’s cute and she really loves the Lord. I think you two would—”

  “Leave it alone, Mags. Just let it be.” Caleb worked his jaw back and forth.

  The image of the lake outside the window suddenly blurred. “I’m not going to date her.” He blinked a couple of times. “I have no intention of dating again. Ever. Got it?” He snatched his baseball hat off the table and jammed it onto his head. “I need to get home. I have to be at work early tomorrow.”

  Maggie gave a small nod and clutched her purse as she scooted out from the bench seat. Caleb handed over her coat without a word. On his way past the front desk he took a handful of waxy mints from the large bowl by the register and tossed them all into his mouth. They tasted like medicine-flavored chalk—a fitting end to the day.

  He held open the door for Maggie. “I’ll stop by on Saturday to fix the drainpipe.”

  She nodded and clicked the button to make her car chirp. Good thing she knew better than to offer him a ride home. A man needed space for his mind away from everyone crawling over every inch of his hometown.

  At least he did.

  Caleb shoved his hands in his pockets and took the long route. Frogs croaked in the nearby stream, signaling the end of another summer evening. Near the residential section of the lakefront, a fishy smell hung in the air—which meant a fish fry at Cherry Top next Friday.

  A car full of teens flashed their headlights at him and pulled alongside the gravel on the road. They blasted the horn, all waving, as the car came to a stop.

  “Mr. Beck!” One of the girls hung out the back window. “I have you for second period.”

  He smiled and waved. “Only three more days until classes start. What are you guys up to tonight?”

  Please don’t say a party. The town had seen a recent uptick in teen mischief down at the beaches at night. Lots of empty beer bottles and spent fire pits most mornings made Caleb worried for their safety. If only the town provided other outlets for the students during the summer. Most of their parents were too busy running shops in town to keep a good eye on their kids.

  “Oh, you know. Same old.” The girl rolled her eyes. “Is it true we dissect cats in your class? Because if so, I might have to transfer out.” She pulled a face like she was gagging.

  Caleb shook his head. “We stopped using cats years ago. It’s all on a computer now.”

  “Good, because that’s sick. Not to mention, ethically wrong.” She smacked the boy in the car next to her in the shoulder. “You liar!”

  “You guys be smart tonight.” Caleb made his way back to the sidewalk.

  “Of course, Mr. Beck!” A couple of the teens laughed. The car peeled away and sped down the street.

  Another car full of teenagers honked and waved at him as he walked home. He kept his hands in his pockets and
gave them a nod. Hopefully he could at least plaster on a smile for them when classes started later in the week.

  * * *

  Paige glanced at the missed calls on her phone—three from Mom, but no voice mail. Mom probably wanted to see how she liked Goose Harbor, right? That, or she had news about the house. Right before Paige left home, her parents informed her they were planning to downsize and travel more. Not that she’d tell them, but Paige hoped her childhood home didn’t sell quickly. It would be nice to have somewhere familiar to return to if the situation in Goose Harbor didn’t work out after the first year.

  She pictured her mother, already put together for the day and decked out in her usual pearls and heels.

  The phone vibrated again.

  “Morning, Mom, you’re up early. You caught me trying to get ready for my first day of work.” Paige looked between the two outfits she’d laid out on her bed.

  “I wish you would reconsider leaving Chicago.”

  Paige closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Not this again. Please. I don’t want to have this conversation right now.”

  “You were so happy here. The plan had always been for you to stay close by. I can’t imagine you living somewhere else.”

  “Plans change, Mom.” Paige yanked a hair tie from her wrist and worked it around in her hand.

  “They don’t have to.”

  Paige sank into the wicker chair beside her bed. “They did. You’ll see. This is for the better. Anyway, I like it here.”

  Mom sighed. “I always took you for more of a fighter, Paige. Someone who would stand her ground. Stay and tackle things.”

  “You know, sometimes leaving is fighting. Standing up for myself meant getting away, don’t you see that? It would have been easier to stay there, living with you and Dad, letting you guys take care of everything for me, and carrying on with my life. Leaving was harder, Mom. Much harder.” She started to pull her hair into a bun and froze. Leave it down. She wanted to wear it down for work today.