She stood in the lobby and watched him make his way to a large green pickup parked at the back of the lot. Almost everyone had left for the day. The empty school smelled like a mixture of musty old books and industrial strength pine cleaner. Paige pinched the bridge of her nose, fighting the headaches that always plagued her from allergies this time of year.
The woman Bree had pointed out as Amy clipped down the hall toward her on three-inch heels. Her lips were a glossy just-bit-into-a-pomegranate red. A stylish belt with a bejeweled buckle accentuated the woman’s trim midsection, and with her blouse unbuttoned at least one button too many, her knotted string of black pearls laid in just the right place to draw even more male attention—as if a woman that stunning needed it.
“You won’t last.” Amy stopped a few feet away. She crossed her arms over her chest.
“Excuse me?” Paige straightened her spine.
Now probably wasn’t the best time to tell Amy she’d be at the volleyball tryouts.
“They haven’t been able to keep anyone in that position for years.” Amy took a step closer as she eyed Paige from head to toe and found her lacking. The woman towered over her.
Paige focused on the plaque fixed to the wall behind Amy’s head. Her father had told her once that fondness might not be within her control, but kindness always was. Be kind.
“Thanks for the heads-up.” She forced a smile.
“Tell me you’ve at least taught before.”
Paige forced her shoulders and hands to relax, a trick she’d learned over the years from her lawyer father—a master of hiding emotions. Don’t let anyone know they’ve ruffled your feathers. “Yes. Three years in Chicago.”
Amy laughed and splayed her hand across her ample bosom. “Goose Harbor is completely different than a big city. You won’t last. Not with the people in this town and not with that attitude.”
Attitude?
Caleb honked the horn of his pickup from the circle drive.
Paige jumped. “I have to go.”
Amy trailed her down the front steps. “You’re with Caleb?”
Whatever that meant.
“Yes.” Paige sidestepped Amy to get to the passenger door.
“But—”
She yanked the handle. “Sorry, I really have to leave.”
Paige climbed into the cab and buckled her seat belt. She pulled down the visor on the mirror and pretended to check for something in her eye to avoid Caleb’s gaze.
Making Amy think she and Caleb were an item probably wasn’t her best idea. Besides, why would a guy as handsome as Caleb want to be with someone like Paige? She blinked at her reflection in the mirror: small nose, a dash of brown-sugar freckles on pale cheeks, scrawny arms and drab blond hair—nothing to write home about. Especially not for a guy who looked like he could be one of those rugged hosts on a home-improvement television show.
Not that she cared what Caleb or Amy thought of her. She didn’t. Just let her volunteer at Sarah’s Home—that’s all she wanted from him.
* * *
Amy sauntered around the front of Caleb’s truck. Not now.
He sent Paige a look he hoped told her he was sorry for the delay Amy would, no doubt, cause.
Amy motioned for him to roll down his window. When he did, she leaned on his door and then reached into the car to smooth her hand over an imaginary wrinkle on the sleeve of his shirt. “Running away so quick? Silly man. I didn’t get to talk to you today.”
Caleb curled his hands around the leather wheel. “You know how it is. The first day is always a whirlwind.”
She rested her chin in the palm of her hand and lowered her eyelids halfway when she talked. “We’ll have to find some time this week to catch up. Maybe lunch. Or dinner. Or both could be arranged. I could cook for you at my apartment.” She played with her necklace.
“We’ll see. Have a nice night.” Caleb popped the gear out of Park.
Amy crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes when Caleb started to pull away. She shot a mean look at the woman in his passenger seat. Maybe Paige didn’t notice.
Amy had to have at least five years on him, not that age mattered that much. She hinted and tried to flirt, and as forward and attractive as she was, most guys would call him insane not to get involved. But he wasn’t interested. How did a guy tell a girl that without hurting her feelings? Besides, it wasn’t just her. He wasn’t interested in dating anyone. Well, even if he had been open to dating, Amy wouldn’t be someone he’d pursue. Too aggressive for his liking, and as far as he knew, she wasn’t a Christian.
Caleb puffed out a long stream of air as he pulled out of the parking lot. The local country station blared a sad song over his speakers. Something about a lost dog and a state fair.
Paige crossed her arms and leaned against the passenger door. “I didn’t know you were involved with Sarah’s Home.”
More like stuck with it.
“I am.”
He feigned fiddling with the volume control as he stole a glance at Paige. His gut tightened. She was too pretty for her own good. He had to convince her not to go to Sarah’s Home. But how?
The truth.
It was time to open up again about Sarah’s death. No matter how much he didn’t want to. This was his punishment. For the rest of his life he’d relive his failure over and over. He neglected his chance to step in that night to keep Sarah safe, but it was within his power to save Paige.
Chapter Four
Paige glanced across the cab as Caleb pulled onto a road and turned away from the downtown portion of Goose Harbor.
“Where are you taking me?” She tried to keep her voice calm, but she needed to get back to the inn to work on her lesson plan for tomorrow. And do something about this pounding ache in her head. She crossed her arms.
Caleb leaned his elbow on the door frame. “I’m just taking the long way home—that is, if that’s okay with you. Like I said back at school, I want to talk.”
Okay. She had a lot to get done tonight, but she also needed to smooth things over with Caleb if she was going to be working with him at Sarah’s Home.
She nodded once.
Besides, in order to make Goose Harbor her home, she should start getting to know the people here. Of course, she needed to keep her guard up around Caleb. He was a man after all, but she could at least be comfortable enough to be neighborly. Paige didn’t know much about him and perhaps now was her chance. Might as well. Between him fixing things at Maggie’s, being a teacher in the same hallway as her and now sharing a stake in Sarah’s Home, it looked like it would be best to befriend him on some level.
Paige slipped on her sunglasses in order to peek at Caleb without him knowing.
Jane Austen would have described him as dashing, and Paige’s favorite author would have been dead right. As the evening sunlight skipped over Caleb’s head, the color of his hair seemed to shift from black to brown, brown to black, black to brown. His jaw was all man. Firm and defined, with the slightest bit of cocoa hair lining it. What would he look like clean shaven?
She shifted in her seat.
The man had lost his wife—an irreplaceable woman. Besides that, he had Amy flirting with him, and what man would deny a woman who looked like her? And here Paige was fighting a confusing attraction to him.
Put the brakes on, girl. To stick to her plan she needed to view him like Bryan. Like Dad. Men who cheat and control.
Paige rubbed her temples. Fresh air would help her headache. She rolled down the window. The wind rustled the pages of a small paperback resting on the dash. Paige rescued the book from its precarious place, not wanting the truck to hit a bump and cause it to fall out the window. She glanced at it, thinking the book would be some handyman instructional booklet, but she rec
ognized this cover.
“You’re reading White Fang?” Somehow the idea of Caleb tucked in an overstuffed chair reading a book didn’t fit the image she’d already constructed of him.
“Yeah.” He sneaked a glance at her. “It was a favorite when I was younger. I found it the other day in my library and figured it was time for a reread.”
“The town library?” She couldn’t imagine a town this small having a good selection, but if the building was well stocked, she needed to check it out.
“No, at my house.”
Paige cradled the book on her lap. “You have a library?”
He scratched his brow. “A bedroom full of floor-to-ceiling books—does that count?”
“Sorry. It shouldn’t surprise me, but you like to read?”
“A lot. I used to stay up late every night as a kid with a flashlight reading in bed. Although, this book’s a bit sadder than I remember—more like real life than I was hoping for when I picked it up.”
She fanned her hand over the cover. “True, but after a lot of pain, White Fang does get a happy ending.”
It took only a few minutes for the homes to grow farther and farther apart—signaling that they had traveled out of Goose Harbor town boundaries. Caleb turned after a sign that read Dunes State Park and slowly maneuvered the truck as the road snaked around trees. Enough foliage grew in the dunes here to allow for a paved road. Small, different-colored signs marked hiking paths ranging from beginner to expert level. Caleb pulled around the last bend and Paige had to shield her eyes from the sun. They cleared the wooded area and were at the top of a huge dune. Caleb rolled the truck to the edge of the pavement and turned it off.
The view out the windshield made Paige catch her breath. Lake Michigan spilled out before them far into the horizon, its water breaking in a thousand white crests as the water rolled back and forth. A coastline of beaches made up of a mixture of butter-colored sand and patches of long, waving grasses stretched for miles. A small red lighthouse in the distance winked at her. The clouds made a quilt in the sky, woven together with shades of orange, pink and purple as the sun started to sink into the lake.
The knotted feeling in her stomach loosened a bit. She could get used to sights like this. She’d have to remember to come here for her jogs.
“This is beautiful.” Paige unbuckled her seat belt and braced her hands on the front of the dash.
Caleb looped his hands over the steering wheel. “It’s my favorite spot.”
A little girl wearing a bright yellow swimsuit down on the beach ran into the waves laughing. With a bucket in her hand, she scooped up the wet sand and teetered with the effort of hauling it back to where she had been sitting. A man Paige hadn’t noticed a moment ago got up and lifted the girl and her bucket into his arms and spun her in a circle. Her giggles echoed up to where Paige and Caleb sat in the truck.
Paige’s throat tightened. Why was she being so emotional lately? Something about the pair made her wish for a childhood she never had. Dad’s too busy. He’s on another trip. He’s working late in the city tonight. He won’t be able to give a kiss good-night—maybe tomorrow.
What would it be like to know joy like that child? To trust that someone would come and not just lighten her load, but lift her up in the process?
Stop dreaming. No more wishing for a life that wouldn’t happen. She blinked back the moisture in her eyes.
If the breakup with Bryan had taught her one thing, it was that she was strong. Life had to be what she made it. No more waiting for some white knight that didn’t exist.
Her terms. Her control. She didn’t need someone to giggle with or to carry her.
Even if it looked like fun.
* * *
All right, enough stalling.
Caleb switched his keys from one hand to the other. “I don’t know what Principal Timmons said, but you don’t have to volunteer at Sarah’s Home.” He cringed. That came out wrong.
Paige’s gaze—which a moment ago had been fixed out the front window—snapped in his direction. She narrowed her eyes. “What’s your problem? Let me guess, you’re the type of guy who believes women can’t make a difference. We’re here just to bat our eyes at you. Is that it?”
“That’s not it at all. Listen. The city where Sarah’s Home is located—Brookside—it’s plagued with home foreclosures and active gangs. Is that really what you want to be dealing with? Some of the students we mentor are gang members. Why mess with danger when there are so many other things you could spend your time doing? Good things, right here in Goose Harbor.” Caleb spoke slow and even—it was vital that she understood the level of danger. She needed to back out and never go to Sarah’s Home. She should stay locked away. Safe in Goose Harbor. Like Shelby and Maggie.
“Timmons already told me.” She pulled a hair tie from her wrist and tucked her hair into a messy bun. “I’ll be fine.”
“I don’t think you get it.”
“Actually, I do. And I think you’re forgetting that not only did I grow up twenty minutes from one of the biggest cities in the country, but I also taught inner-city students. I promise you, Chicago’s got more issues than Brookside.” She straightened her shoulders, but she was so petite she could never look big and intimidating. No matter how hard she tried. “I’m not afraid.”
“You should be.” He clenched his jaw.
She tossed her hands in the air. “What’s that even supposed to mean? I can’t live my life controlled by fear. I won’t.”
Mayday! The conversation was not going well. He needed to choose his words carefully.
“Did Timmons tell you about my wife?” He paused. “About Sarah?”
“He said she passed away and that she was an incredible woman.” Paige’s voice was quiet. She studied the floorboard. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Sarah and I had been friends since grade school.” Caleb took a deep breath then continued. “Everyone knew we’d get married.” He stared at the window visor and let his vision go fuzzy. Why was he telling her this? Stick to the facts. Don’t lose it. But be honest. “I guess you don’t need all the backstory.”
He looked over at Paige, which was a mistake. Her eyes had gone soft, and she leaned a bit toward him, like she was listening. Like one wounded soldier talking to another, he didn’t read pity in her expression. Just that she cared.
She tilted her head. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
Caleb cleared his throat. “No. I do. See, Sarah had this heart to help others. She wanted to make a difference and didn’t care if that put her in danger. I usually went with her when she traveled into Brookside to tutor students. Something about her going alone didn’t sit well with me. But then, this one night, we got into a fight. Just yelling. I shouldn’t have yelled.”
Why? Why did he have to press the issue that night? Caleb asked himself that question every night as he lay in bed. If only he hadn’t brought up his desire to start a family—hadn’t pushed the issue with Sarah yet again. She’d still be here. Then he could tell her that she was enough for him. He didn’t need children. Even if he wanted that life. He’d toss all of those desires in a drawer in order to have Sarah back again.
“We didn’t apologize to each other before she left that night.” The words tumbled from his mouth like marbles off a table—fast and weighty. “I didn’t go with her. I should have. Looking back, I don’t know why I didn’t just go. She should never have been left on her own there.”
The admission felt like fire to his gut. His sister, Shelby, often called him a gentle giant, but when he talked about how he’d failed Sarah, well, then he wanted to punch something. No. Not just something, Caleb wanted to punch himself. After promising to protect his wife for the rest of his life, so quickly he’d failed. Just like he’d f
ailed Mom and Shelby.
God should know better by now than to make him responsible for anyone. Evidently he couldn’t handle it.
Paige tentatively laid her hand on his forearm. “You don’t have to go on.”
Caleb searched her crystal-blue eyes. Did she understand?
Just spit it out. “I got the call three hours later. Some coward attacked her as she was locking up that night. They made off with her purse, her wedding ring and her wallet.” He rubbed the butt of his hand against his chest as if the pain could be massaged away. If only. “She died there on the street before the paramedics could start CPR.”
Paige squeezed his forearm where her hand still rested. “It’s not your fault.”
He slipped his arm away from her touch and ran his hand through his hair. The spot on his arm where her hand had been was still warm. “I should have been there.”
She shrank back into her side of the truck’s cab. “You can’t blame yourself.”
Enough. He told Paige about Sarah, and there was no reason to dive deeper into his guilt.
Caleb jammed the keys into the ignition and the truck shook to life. “With the recession, Brookside is even more dangerous than it was when that happened to Sarah. That’s why I don’t think it’s safe for women who aren’t from Brookside to be there. The women who live there deal with the danger every single day going about their normal lives, but outsiders just don’t get it.” He glanced back at her, catching her gaze right before she turned away. “Please reconsider serving at Sarah’s Home. That’s all I’m asking. There are so many other places you can volunteer that are safer.”
Paige’s back faced him now as she looked out the window, her eyes locked on Lake Michigan and a little girl and her father playing on the beach.
He glanced over his shoulder and started to back out of the small lot on top of the dune. “Will you at least promise me you’ll think about what I said?”
“I promise—to think about it,” she whispered. “Thanks for trusting me with your story.”
Love Inspired August 2014 – Bundle 1 of 2 Page 48