Cara descended the steps to the pool level and circled it. Her footsteps sounded on the stone path in the stillness of the night. The darkness beyond the light strangely comforted her as though, for a while, the world beyond, didn’t exist. Her problems with the trial were gone for the time being, giving her a chance to focus on what was happening between her and Noah.
She touched her mouth where he had kissed her earlier. It meant so much to her. She doubted he felt the same. She could count on one hand how many times she’d been kissed as a male would a female while he probably had lost track a long time ago. The realization they looked at the kiss from opposing views devastated her. She was falling in love with a man who didn’t fall in love—ever.
* * *
“What is all this?” Cara swept her arm across her body, indicating the table set for two in the gazebo.
“Our surprise. What do you think, Mom?”
A white linen cloth covered a table laden with china, crystal and silver. A picnic basket sat on one of the wrought iron chairs. “Did you and Lindsay do all this?”
“Laura helped us. She told us about what her kids had done for her and Peter.” Lindsay clutched her teddy bear to her chest, caution in her eyes. “Timothy thought we should do something like that with you and Noah.”
Why? she wanted to ask so badly but would do nothing to upset Lindsay, who displayed all her insecurities in the situation. Instead she said, “This is sweet, but I think Noah is working late tonight. He usually does on Wednesday.”
Timothy shook his head. “Adam and Rusty made him promise to be home tonight to help with Rusty’s project at school.”
“Well, then he’ll be busy. He won’t have time—”
“Mom, you’ve got to eat and so does Noah. There will be time later. Besides, Adam has been working with Rusty this afternoon so he won’t need much help. They think they’ve got it figured out.”
Trapped, unless somehow Noah didn’t show up, Cara walked to the basket and opened it. “Who made the food?”
“Laura. At first we were gonna, but I can’t cook much so she volunteered.” Timothy came to Cara’s side with Lindsay right behind him, her face more relaxed. “We have everything taken care of. We’ve been planning this since Sunday.”
“Sunday?”
“Yeah, Noah came to church with us because you asked him. We think he likes you,” Timothy announced.
She knelt in front of the two children. “Noah and I are friends like you guys are. That’s all, honey.”
“But if you marry, I can have a dad.”
“And we can have a family. We could live here and not bother anyone. You would hardly know we were here.” Lindsay scrunched her stuffed animal against her cheek.
A lump jammed Cara’s throat. She swallowed several times before saying, “Noah is working hard to make sure you, Rusty and Adam stay together as a family should be.”
Lindsay threw her arms around Cara’s neck. “But I want you as my mommy.”
Tears misted Cara’s eyes as she hugged the child to her. She wanted that, too, but didn’t see any possibility of that happening. In a month or two she wouldn’t have a job that could support a large family. She wouldn’t have a place to live. Her life was in a shambles. What did she have to offer three children, even if the state let her be a foster parent?
Timothy tapped on Cara’s shoulder. “Hey, I see Rusty and Adam with Noah. They’re coming this way.”
Lindsay pulled away, tears coursing down her cheeks. Cara wiped them away as the males paused a few yards from the gazebo.
Noah’s puzzlement mirrored her own when she had first seen what the children had done. Adam said something to him. Noah glanced back at the house, then at the gazebo, the look in his eyes one of prey cornered and trying to decide the best way to escape.
Rusty didn’t give him a chance to flee. He took Noah’s hand and dragged him forward.
Oh, great! After their conversation Saturday night, she and Noah had been avoiding spending any time alone. His last words that evening still echoed through her mind at the oddest moments. I’m no good for you. I’m no good for anyone. Stay away from me.
Laura’s warning against thinking Noah would ever make a commitment, coupled with what he’d said, cautioned her to protect herself as best she could. The sad truth was it was too late. She couldn’t stay away from him. She loved him. There was nothing she could do about it other than be here for him for as long as he needed her.
Positioned on the other side of the small table, Noah stared at the finery laid out before him. “This isn’t my china and crystal. I don’t have any. Whose is it?” He turned toward the kids.
With his walking cast, Adam was hobbling away. Rusty, Timothy and Lindsay, closer to the adults, glanced at each other, wheeled around and raced toward the house, passing the teen.
Noah peered back at Cara, both eyebrows rising. “Should I be concerned?”
She laughed and noticed the slight quaver running through it. “It depends. All this is Laura’s, so they didn’t come by any of it illegally. But the intent was matchmaking, which probably should concern you.” Especially since you don’t want a relationship.
“Laura’s! She went in on this with the kids?”
“Yep.” She might as well tell him everything. “They thought if we got married, they could stay here and their family would be together.”
Noah opened his mouth for a few seconds, then snapped it close, his eyes wide as he took in the romantic setting. Although it was still light out, candles in hurricane glasses were lit and one of the children had switched on soft classical music, strains of Brahms floating on the air.
“I know. It leaves you speechless.” Cara put the lid on the basket and started to lift it off the chair. “I hate for all this good food to go to waste. We can eat it back at the house with the children while we let them know this—”
“Stay, Cara. This is kind of sweet that they enough to go to all this trouble.”
The awe in his voice stunned her. She’d thought he would run away as fast as the kids had a few moments ago. “If you’re sure. This could send the wrong signal to them.”
He came around and pulled a chair out for her. After she took a seat, he pushed it toward the table, then leaned down and whispered into her ear, “We can straighten them out later.”
She shivered as his warm breath caressed the side of her neck. Unable to say a word, she nodded.
He settled into the chair across from her. “I love Laura’s cooking, but I’m gonna miss yours tonight.”
His gaze fastened onto hers and kept her spellbound for a few seconds. Finally she slid her look away and took off the basket lid again, studying its contents while she could feel him continuing to study her.
“I like how you’re wearing your hair. Did you get it cut today?”
He noticed! Heat singed her cheeks. “Yes. I went to Laura’s hairdresser. Summer’s coming and I wanted it cut short.” She laid the containers of food on the table. “The way Timothy’s taken to the water I know he’ll want to go swimming a lot.”
“They all have enjoyed it. Even Lindsay is becoming quite the little swimmer.”
They were discussing a safe subject. Cara relaxed in her chair while Noah removed the tops on each container. “Once she got over the initial fear she had about swimming, she took to it like a natural. I’m not sure she would have learned if we hadn’t persuaded her to.”
“Fear can cause people to do things they normally wouldn’t do. Fear was what prompted me to make my position to Lindsay clear. I would have drained the pool if she hadn’t learned. I was afraid she might fall in when no one was around and drown.”
“The boys whining probably had a lot to do with it, too.”
He chuckled. “They can be mighty persuasive.”
“Sometimes I think they have too much energy.” Cara forked a slice of ham smothered in a pineapple glaze onto her plate, then dished up some potato salad as well as a seven-layer one.
When Noah had finished serving himself, Cara bowed her head and waited for him to do likewise. “Father, bless this dinner that our friend fixed and the children who so lovingly put it together. We are blessed to have them in our lives. Amen.”
“Amen,” Noah whispered.
Cara hadn’t even been sure if she’d heard him say the word, but after church on Sunday, she found out that Noah had borrowed a Bible from Peter.
As Noah dug into the delicious food, he said, “I’ve been thinking that we need a project to do together and I came up with the perfect one.”
Laura took a drink of her ice water. “What?” The twinkle in his eyes made her wary.
“A tree fort.”
“A tree fort? What made you think of that?”
He lowered his gaze for a few seconds. “Because I always wanted a real one as a child, especially after my father tore down my pitiful attempt at one. When we get back to the house, I’ll show you the plans I got off the Internet. I went by the hardware store and purchased the building materials. They’ll deliver them tomorrow afternoon. Then we can start.”
Beneath his adult exterior she saw a child lurking. “Then you’ve been thinking about this for a while.”
“For a couple of weeks. I used to do some construction work as one of my jobs in college. I think I’ve worked out all my concerns for safety.” He pointed toward a large coral tree, halfway between the gazebo and the pool area. “I’ll build it independently of the tree. It will be a part of it, but the wooden support posts will be sunk in cement, so it won’t put a strain on the trunk and branches. I’ll use wood with a hard grade.”
“How long is this going to take?” Won’t we be gone before you complete it? was the question she really wanted to ask.
“If the weather cooperates and the kids help, we can have it done in a month or less.” Excitement built in his voice and spilled over into his expression.
“I know Timothy will. He loves climbing trees and has never had something like that.”
“Exactly. What child wouldn’t like it?”
“And what adult?” she said with a laugh.
“Actually what I have in mind could serve as an adult retreat, too.”
“You are thinking ahead.”
“From what Children’s Protective Service told me today, the kids may be here until school starts in August. Do you mind staying that long?”
“Do you mind them staying that long?”
He concentrated on cutting his ham into bite-size pieces. “No.” A long pause and a deep breath later, he continued, “When you mentioned why the children had planned this little dinner, it got me thinking. I like you a lot.” He stared into her eyes. “We could marry to give them a home. It’s not that bad an idea. They need two parents. I didn’t realize how important that is until I lived with Paul and Alice.”
His half-baked marriage proposal knifed into her breaking heart. She would never marry for the wrong reason again. She would never marry another man unless she loved him and he loved her. No matter how tempting the idea was. Marriage to Noah certainly would solve some of her problems and make her son happy, but it would also produce a whole new set of troubles. How could she be around Noah, married to him, and know he didn’t love her while she loved him? That very situation had destroyed her first marriage.
“Are you serious?” she finally asked, aware of his silent inquiry.
“Yes. The children have been here for almost two months and I find myself looking forward to coming home. I’m not spending as much time at work, but that’s okay.” He laughed. “I can’t believe I just said that. But it’s true. I have a well-organized business with good people in place to help me run it, so it’s been all right for me to cut back my hours. Before, I used to work long hours to keep from coming home and wandering around the house trying to find things to do.”
“With kids in the house, there’s always something that needs to be done.”
“I’m discovering that. So what do you think about us marrying to provide a home for them?” Noah slid a forkful of potato salad into his mouth.
“Although I think it’s noble to want to give the children a home with both a father and a mother, I can’t marry for any reason other than love. If the two parents don’t love each other, the kids know and it affects them.”
For a split second, disappointment invaded his gaze, but he quickly blanked his expression. “I certainly understand that. It was a crazy idea and that’s why I don’t usually do things on the spur of the moment.” He took a bite of his ham and chewed it. “Would you consider being my housekeeper permanently then? I could take the kids in, but I would need help.”
The offer tempted her, but she had reservations—the main one being her feelings for Noah. How could she work for him on a long-term basis when she was in love with him? She didn’t know if she could, even to give the children a home. “Let me think about that.”
“Fine. I know it wasn’t what you had intended when you agreed to this job.”
Falling in love definitely wasn’t what she had expected. Now she had to figure out what she needed to do for herself and Timothy.
* * *
Noah stared at the set of initials in the concrete that had dried, permanently preserving the letters R J for Rusty Johnson. The boy had left his mark more on his heart than on the mini basketball court he had made near where the tree house would be. With Rusty he had an opportunity to change a child’s life, a child who was a lot like him growing up. Noah hadn’t been able to alter his past, but Rusty’s life could be different.
Noah tested the poles set in the concrete to make sure they were firmly in place. “We’re ready for the next phase of Operation Tree Fort,” he announced to the group standing behind him.
“Can I try the swing?” Lindsay danced around Cara.
“Me, too.” Timothy raced for one of two swings attached to a beam behind the basketball goal and grabbed on before Lindsay.
“Sure, why not?” Noah said as the two kids pumped their legs to go higher.
“You’ve got to be quick with your answers.” Cara came up to his side.
“We’ll try this out. Make sure the net is set up right.” Adam, who just happened to have a basketball with him, limped toward the small fourteen-foot by ten-foot court. “C’mon, Rusty. You can help me.”
“I think you’ve lost your workers,” Cara said with amusement in her voice.
Noah scratched his head. “This isn’t turning out to be the family project I envisioned.”
“Hey, Adam and I helped you some. There wasn’t too much the younger kids could do about pouring concrete and putting in the support posts,” Cara said.
“True.” Noah unrolled the blueprint for the play platform and clubhouse, which would sit on top of the poles. “I thought we would start with the flooring today, then—” His cell ringing interrupted him.
Handing the design to Cara, Noah withdrew his phone, saw it was his private investigator, and answered it.
“Mr. Maxwell, I found your sister.”
CHAPTER TEN
“You found Whitney!” Surprise registered on Noah’s face as he turned away from Cara and walked toward the pool. The children’s playful voices drowned out Noah’s as he moved farther away.
Cara watched Timothy and Lindsay force their swings higher until she had to say, “That’s high enough, you two.”
“Ah, Mom, it was just getting fun. Test pilots see how fast the plane can go. We need to see how high the swings can go.”
“That’s not a plane and you’re not a test pilot. Take it down a notch now.”
Lindsay slowed down, but Timothy kept going.
“Young man!” Cara took a step toward him.
“Okay. A guy can’t have any fun,” Timothy mumbled.
Cara glanced over her shoulder at Noah. He snapped his cell closed and stuck it into his jean pocket. His shoulders hunched, he hung his head and stared at the ground near his feet.
He
found his sister, and yet his body language didn’t convey the excitement she’d expected him to exhibit. Something was very wrong.
Cara crossed the yard to Noah. “Good news?”
“Whitney is living in Dallas, only three hours away.”
“That’s great! Are you going down there?”
Noah moved toward a chaise lounge near the pool and eased down on it. “Yes.” He peered away for a long moment, then reestablished eye contact with her. “She works as a bartender. She lives in a tough part of town.”
Cara sat across from him. By his tone she knew he had left something out, something he was wrestling with. “I know how you feel about alcohol and drinking, but that doesn’t mean she drinks what she serves.”
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes for a few seconds. “The private investigator told me she is a bit rough around the edges. Apparently from what he has discovered, Whitney hasn’t had an easy life so far.” He offered her a self-mocking smile. “I realize now that when I thought about my little sister I always pictured her as I last saw her—eight years old, innocent in spite of what she had lived through and trusting I would take care of her.”
Rusty’s cheers intruded. Cara glanced at the basketball court and saw him shoot at the hoop and make it. Another yell of triumph went up, and Adam gave his brother a high five.
“When are you going to Dallas?”
“Tomorrow. I shouldn’t put it off.” Uncertainty dimmed the light in Noah’s eyes.
“Do you want me to ride with you? I can keep you company until you meet her.”
Relief rippled through his expression, leaving a half grin in place. “I would love some company. To tell you the truth, I don’t know what to say to her. I never stopped to think about that since I’ve spent years looking for her.” He shrugged. “I guess I thought I would never find her.”
“Does she go by Whitney Maxwell?”
“No, Dawn Burnett. The last name of the people who adopted her was Coleman. I don’t know why she’s going by Burnett. Dawn was her middle name. She hated it so it’s strange she’s calling herself that now.”
Family Ever After Page 13