Tenderly (Seven Brides Seven Brothers Pelican Bay)

by Belle Calhoune

  Micah clinked glasses with her. “For both of us.”

  Micah couldn’t help but notice Faith’s sweater. He didn’t want to push anything, but he was worried about her comfort. It was eighty-five degrees today in Pelican Bay. Spring weather in Florida tended to be hot and hazy.

  At this point it was only the two of them sitting by the screened in porch. Everyone else had scattered around the yard. His brothers and Rafferty had started an impromptu football game which Shayla was begging to join in on as Penelope reminded her of how she’d sustained a broken ankle the last time they’d all played. His father had fired up the grill and was putting food on.

  Micah couldn’t keep quiet a second longer. “I hope you don’t mind my asking, but aren’t you hot in the sweater?”

  Faith looked at him as if his question had startled her. She stiffened. “No, I’m fine.”

  Micah knew he might be crashing into delicate territory, but he cared about Faith and he didn’t want to ignore the obvious. She was hiding her scars. “Faith, it’s okay to take the sweater off. It’s sweltering out here.”

  She let out a sigh. “Micah, if you want to know the truth, I don’t wear short sleeves out in public. The only time I wear them is when I’m at my house or out back in my yard. Or when I’m with Lanie.”

  “So you trust Lanie?”

  She shrugged. “It’s not really a matter of trust.” She let out a huff of air. “Okay, I guess maybe it is. I know she’s not going to stare or be freaked out.”

  Micah frowned. It bothered him deeply to hear Faith talk like this. “Have people treated you poorly in the past because of your scars?”

  “In the beginning I didn’t know any better than to show them. But once other teenagers saw them and started whispering and pointing and staring I realized my mistake.” He could hear the raw pain in her voice. “It was painful.”

  He let out a ragged sigh. Guilt threatened to swallow him up whole. At sixteen years old Micah might have been one of those teens who stared. He wouldn’t have meant it in a cruel way, but it would have hurt Faith nonetheless. “Oh Faith, it wasn’t a mistake. I know you were only sixteen, but some kids at that age are cruel and insensitive while others just don’t know how to handle the situation, so they stare. But you’re an adult now and you’re letting old wounds get in the way of your own comfort and well-being.”

  “Old habits die hard.”

  “I promise you that you’re in a safe place. No one here is going to whisper about you or make you feel less than.”

  “It’s scary.” She let out a deep breath. “Wow. It kind of feels good to put it into words. It’s not something I admit to very often, but it’s scary to just let go.”

  “I know,” he said, reaching out to pat her hand. “But I bet it will feel liberating.”

  Faith cast a nervous glance around her. He watched as she slowly unbuttoned the sweater. He looked away, not wanting her to feel overly scrutinized. He waited a few seconds until he looked over again. She was now wearing a white sleeveless top. The burns on her left arm were a lot more evident than the scars on her right arm. They were raised and almost resembled a vine pattern. Micah sucked in a deep breath. The scars were pretty noticeable, but in his opinion it didn’t dim Faith’s light in the slightest. She was still gorgeous in his eyes.

  “Feel better now?” he asked.

  She smiled at him. “Actually I do. My skin can breathe now. I’m not saying I don’t feel self-conscious, but it feels right.” She met Micah’s gaze. “Thank you for encouraging me. It means a lot.”

  “I have to admit I have an ulterior motive.”

  Faith raised an eyebrow. “Really? Do tell.”

  “I still want to take you out. On a date. Maybe tomorrow after we sing at the nine a.m. service we can go to the beach and then get lunch? Or go to brunch. Whatever you like. How about it?”

  Micah felt as if a huge weight was sitting squarely on his chest as he waited for Faith’s response. He was thankful he’d been granted a little bit of privacy so he could pose the question. His brothers would probably laugh themselves silly if they had heard him ask Faith out. His nerves had gotten the best of him and he hadn’t asked her in his usual smooth as glass manner. Micah wasn’t sure what it was about Faith, but she made him feel a bit uncertain about his appeal.

  It was hard for him to admit, even to himself, but he’d been coasting on his charm and good looks for years. Perhaps a woman like Faith required more than those things.

  Lord, please let her say yes. Just give me a chance to show her who I am. I promise You I won’t let her down. I know she’s more precious than rubies.

  “I think I’d like that.” Faith’s soft delivery took him by surprise. He had half expected her to say no as she’d done the other day.

  “You would?” he blurted out.

  The sound of her tinkling laughter sent a pang straight through him. “You sound so surprised.”

  “Happily surprised,” he said with a grin.

  “Micah! Get over here and settle this for us!” His brother Jason was beckoning him over to the far side of the yard. Clearly, there was a dispute about their game.

  Micah eased himself out of his seat. He smirked at Faith. “Duty calls. Will you be all right over here? I think Bella is sitting over by the gazebo.”

  “I’m fine, Micah. I’m going to watch the game from over here.”

  With a smile and a feeling of satisfaction settling deep inside of him, Micah walked off toward the football game. He hadn’t felt this burst of happiness in quite some time and he knew it had everything to do with Faith. Although he hadn’t been looking to meet anyone, just when he least expected it, Faith had shown up.

  In God’s time. It was something Micah was learning. God had His own special way of making wonderful things happen just when a person might not even know they needed it.

  **

  Faith sat in the lawn chair and basked in the warmth of the May sunshine. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so carefree. Although she did feel a bit nervous about her scars, none of the Donahue’s had even blinked when they looked at her. It made her realize that perhaps she and she alone had been her biggest stumbling block.

  “Can I get you anything from inside? Lemonade? Ice tea?” Jude asked, stopping in front of her chair.

  “No, I’m good, Mr. Donahue. I mean Jude,” she quickly corrected herself. There was a whole table of appetizers sitting on the picnic table and she’d helped herself to so much food she was beginning to wonder how she could possibly eat the main courses.

  As Jude walked in through the screened-in porch door she heard him greeting someone with his normal effusiveness. Suddenly, she stiffened as Pamela’s voice rang out as clear as a bell.

  “I thought I would stop by and surprise Rafferty since my event ended early,” Pamela said in a chirpy voice.

  Faith turned to look up at the deck. She could see her cousin knowing Pamela couldn’t see her. Not yet at least.

  “Nothing like a nice surprise from one’s sweetheart,” Jude said as he stepped inside.

  Faith braced herself for coming face to face with her cousin. Something told her Pamela wouldn’t take too kindly to seeing Faith on her turf. Pamela was the possessive sort, and since Micah was Rafferty’s best friend, she imagined Pamela would consider the Donahue home her territory.

  As silly as it was, Faith knew she wasn’t wrong. As kids Pamela had always drawn a line in the sand. Her dolls. Her house. Her dress up clothes.

  Pamela stopped short as soon as she spotted Faith. Her jaw dropped. Her eyes glittered with anger. Faith shivered. The look on Pamela’s face left no doubt about her feelings toward Faith. She despised her. For the millionth time, Faith wondered why her cousin had such negative feelings toward her. Time after time she’d examined incidents from the past in order to come up with a single reason for her cousin’s enmity. She had always walked on egg shells with Pamela, never wanting to upset her cousin for fear of becoming the
object of her wrath. At this moment she knew there was no preventing what was about to happen.

  “Pamela!” Rafferty came racing over and scooped Pamela up in his arms. He leaned down and pressed a kiss on her lips. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

  Phew! Rescued by Rafferty, who had unknowingly stepped between herself and Pamela. Her cousin wouldn’t dare say or do anything in front of him.

  Pamela didn’t take her eyes off of Faith. She sent Rafferty a plastic smile, one Faith had seen a hundred times over the years. “I wanted to surprise you. But I’m the one who’s surprised. What are you doing here, Faith?”

  “Shayla invited me.” Faith had no intention of saying anything more. Pamela didn’t need to know she and Shayla were developing a friendship. It was none of her business.

  Pamela narrowed her gaze as she gave Faith the once over. Although her spirits had been high before her cousin’s arrival, they began to plummet. She felt like a wilted flower next to Pamela’s cool and crisp appearance. As always, not a hair was out of place or a bead of sweat on her forehead. Her face was fully adorned with makeup. In her bright blue summer dress, she looked as fresh and pretty as a daisy.

  “Hey, I’m going to go head back to the game,” Rafferty said. “Come and check it out, Pamela. My team is winning.”

  Pamela flashed him another dazzling smile and squeezed his bicep. “I sure will.”

  The moment he jogged away Pamela turned back to Faith and hissed, “What’s this about you and Shayla Donahue becoming friends? It feels as if you’re trying to infiltrate my life. Is that what you’re up to?”

  “What are you talking about? You asked me to be in your bridal party, not the other way around.”

  Pamela took a step closer. “I didn’t ask you to buddy up to the Donahue family. In case you didn’t know, they’re like family to Rafferty. These are his people!”

  Faith let out a ragged sigh. There was no way she could ever win with Pamela. She was narcissistic and mean spirited. It was always about her. Her life. Her wants. Her needs.

  She got up from her chair and moved toward the porch. “I need to go to the ladies’ room. I don’t have time for petty nonsense.”

  “Don’t you walk away from me,” Pamela said as Faith walked away and up the porch stairs on to the deck. She let herself into the house and breathed a sigh of relief to be away from the scene her cousin was making. Thankfully, no one had been in earshot. It would have been humiliating.

  Faith walked down the hallway toward the bathroom when she felt herself being roughly grabbed by the arm and spun around.

  “Ouch!” she cried out as she came face to face with Pamela. “What are you doing? Let me go!” She pulled away from Pamela’s grasp.

  Pamela scrunched up her nose as if she’d smelled something foul. “Why aren’t you covering up?” Pamela asked. “Put something over your arms.”

  “Pamela, what difference does it make? Why do you care?” she asked, genuinely baffled by her cousin’s histrionics. On a normal day, Pamela was edgy and caustic, but right now she was acting as if she might explode with fury. Had she and Rafferty had a fight? Were there tensions between them? Surely this was about something other than her presence at the Donahue house.

  “You’re embarrassing me,” she hissed. “How dare you waltz in and make a fool of me. No one wants to look at those disgusting scars.”

  Faith was in shock. So many times in the past Pamela had tried to make her feel small and ugly and awkward. She’d said some hideous things to her as a teenager, but as an adult, Faith had assumed her cousin would have matured into a kinder, more gentle person. Faith wasn’t a confrontational person. Not in the slightest. She walked through life with a gentle spirit, hoping others would treat her as she treated them. Deep in her heart Faith had known her cousin was still the same nasty person she’d always been, but she had stuffed those reservations down in order to get along with Pamela. Now, her cousin had crossed a line in the sand that couldn’t be undone.

  Faith took a deep breath and recalled all the times Pamela had treated her like a bug underneath her shoe she wanted to squash. And that’s exactly what she had done, time after time. Nothing Faith did had ever been good enough for her cousin. And she’d taken delight in being cruel to her. Faith had blocked out a lot of the memories, unwilling to torment herself by reliving them. But there were plenty she remembered—being told no one would ever want to marry her, calling her skin crispy, asking her if she’d set her own home on fire—and so much more she wanted to forget. If she didn’t say something to Pamela in this moment Faith knew she would regret it for the rest of her life.

  “Back off, Pamela,” she said through clenched teeth. Pamela’s mouth opened and her eyes widened with shock. “You have everything in the world at your fingertips and you still aren’t happy, are you? You’re beautiful and smart. And you’re engaged to a wonderful man who truly seems to adore you. But all those blessings still aren’t enough to fill up that gaping hole inside of you. That’s so sad to me.”

  Faith continued. “I was willing to be bullied by you when I was a helpless teenager, but those days are gone. I won’t let you demean me. I won’t let you bully me. And I’m certainly not going to allow you to push me around and tell me what I should do with my own body. My scars are my scars. You have no right to say a single word to me about them. I don’t know what your problem is, but I suggest you take it down a few notches. I won’t be spoken to like this. Not anymore.”

  Pamela took a step toward her so that there were only a few inches between them. “You don’t belong here, Faith. This is my world. Leave. Go. Away. No one wants you here.”

  “That’s enough, Pamela.” The sound of Micah’s low, deep voice was the most welcoming sound Faith had ever heard in her life. He was standing in the doorway, having made a soundless entrance into the house. Clearly, he’d heard her comments or at least a portion of them.

  Pamela looked as if she might cry. “Micah! You didn’t hear what she said to me.”

  “I heard enough!” he snapped. “And it made me sick.”

  Pamela reached out and touched Micah on the arm. “Don’t let her sweet act fool you. She’s a nasty person. Always has been. You have no idea what I went through when she moved in with us after her parents died.”

  Faith let out a shocked sound. She swung her gaze toward Micah. More than anything, she didn’t want Micah to believe a single word Pamela was spewing. She cared deeply what Micah thought about her, as well as Shayla and the rest of the Donahue family. It would be such a heartbreak for her if they thought the worst of her based on Pamela’s lies.

  “It’s not true, Micah,” Faith said in a firm voice. She turned toward her cousin. “You’ve walked all over me for years, but I refuse to let you malign my character.”

  Pamela sputtered. “You’ve been jealous of me our whole lives! Now you’re trying to play the victim? You make me sick and you have no right to be here!”

  Micah’s expression radiated shock. His lip curled distastefully as he glared at Pamela. He took a step closer to Faith. It was a gesture Faith appreciated. He was none too subtly telling Pamela she would have to barrel through him to get to her. Tears of gratitude welled in her eyes. No one had ever protected her against Pamela’s venom.

  “This is my family’s home and she was an invited guest. She has every right,” he said, his face radiating his disgust.

  “What’s taking you guys so long in here? Is everything all right?” Rafferty suddenly appeared in the doorway with Shayla trailing behind him. Thick tension hung in the air. It felt as if something was about to explode.

  **

  Pamela ran toward her fiancé and burrowed her face against his chest. “Oh, Rafferty,” she said with a sob. “Take me home! I can’t believe my own cousin is trying to turn your best friend against me.”

  Rafferty patted Pamela’s back. His face was creased with worry lines. “No, Pamela. That can’t be true. Faith wouldn’t do that.” When Rafferty s
wung his gaze up to meet Micah’s, there was uncertainty looming in his eyes. “Whatever happened I’m sure it was a mistake,” Rafferty said, placing his arm protectively around Pamela.

  Micah felt himself on the verge of exploding. How much was Rafferty going to let his fiancée get away with? He refused to believe Rafferty didn’t have some inkling about Pamela’s true nature. He bunched his fists at his side. He couldn’t stand the way Faith had been treated. He’d seen the shock and hurt on her face and it made him want to lash out at his best friend for being duped by his fiancée.

  “I heard some really cruel mean girl comments. It’s not a mistake when you try to belittle someone. You know that, Raff.” He quirked his mouth. “Or at least you used to.”

  Rafferty bristled. Micah didn’t regret what he’d just said, but he wished their moment could have been a private one. In all these years of friendship the two had never had such a public dispute. Any time there had been beef between them they had settled it almost instantly. This time, Micah predicted, it wouldn’t be so easy to fix.

  Rafferty shoved his hand through his hair. “This has been brewing for a while now hasn’t it?” His mouth hardened. “You’ve been dying to say something about Pamela the whole time we’ve been together, haven’t you?”

  Micah held up his hand. “This isn’t the time or the place to discuss this.”

  Pamela began to sniffle from the protection of Rafferty’s arm. “I’ve tried so hard to be accepted by everyone.”

  Shayla looked as if she might take matters into her own hands and confront Pamela. The look etched on her face was one of pure fury. He didn’t want her to draw Rafferty’s ire. It was clear whose side Rafferty would be on and he couldn’t risk his sister being hurt.

  “I think it’s time we headed out.” Rafferty’s tone was curt.

  “It’s not Micah’s fault,” Pamela said with a pout. “It’s her. She’s always been jealous of me.”

  Shayla let out an indelicate snort. Micah shot her a warning look. He really didn’t want his sister to get involved in this situation. But he could tell she wasn’t about to let Pamela’s comment go by without addressing it. Stubborn Shayla.