Otis, cheerful as always, continued to have high expectations for the morning. “Maybe we’ll find a treasure here,” he said hopefully, as they walked toward the garage.
“You’ve said that every time,” Maddy said with a tired grin.
“Still possible,” he answered as they started sorting through some dishes on a table. “Now, here’s a piece,” he said. “You see how there are no lines at all; it’s just one smooth piece of blown glass.”
Maddy studied the vase in Otis’ hands. “It’s beautiful,” she agreed. “I wonder how much they want for it?”
“I’ll find out,” he offered, and shuffled out to the yard where the homeowners were chatting with shoppers.
Maddy sighed and wondered if the Fordham boys ever went to yard sales. She found herself looking up every time a new car pulled in.
She wandered to another table and picked up an interesting plate. John said he’d be ordering the shingles today. Would he need to ask her any questions about what she’d selected? Maybe she should have gone with the charcoal instead of the slate. She had an unreasonable urge to finish her antique shopping at the Builder’s Supply store.
Otis returned. “They only want a dollar. I’d grab it.”
They spent the next half hour picking out some of the more unique pieces on the table. Ten dollars later, Maddy had a boxful of pretty glassware to display in her dining room. Her mood began to lift, and she thanked Otis for his help.
“I know I haven’t been great company this morning, but I’m really happy we found these. You have a good eye,” she said, loading her treasures into the back seat of her car.
“I enjoy looking around, too,” he answered. “Are you getting hungry?”
They drove downtown and bought some sandwiches from Theo’s and sat on a bench in the park to eat. Down the street, lines formed at Checker’s; not surprising for a Saturday afternoon. Maddy smiled when she thought about the seating arrangements on the bench the night before. John didn’t have a chance.
“You do seem a little preoccupied today,” Otis said, biting into his turkey and cheese. “You alright?”
“I’m fine, really. Maybe a little tired.”
Otis nodded and worked on his sandwich.
Maddy hesitated a moment, then continued. “I went out for pizza with John and his boys last night.”
“Well now, I bet that was fun.”
“It was,” Maddy admitted. “It was really fun. Those kids are wonderful, and John, well…”
Otis chuckled. “That didn’t take long.”
“ ‘That,’ ” Maddy replied emphatically, “has yet to be defined. But I’ll be honest, I’m…” she searched for the word, “definitely intrigued. John can be very charming, and he’s great with his kids, and he’s funny, when he’s not bossing me around my house,” she quickly qualified. “I don’t know; I really enjoy his company.” She looked off in the distance. “When I moved here, I was determined not to get involved with anybody for a long time, maybe not ever.” She stopped, lost in thought. “It didn’t take long to bring down that wall of resolve.”
“Kind of like Jericho,” Otis observed with a smile.
“I’m sorry? Who?”
“Jericho. You know, Joshua and the children of Israel?”
Maddy vaguely remembered the Bible story from her childhood. “You’d better refresh my memory.”
“The Children of Israel were entering the Promised Land, and Jericho was a big walled city that stood in their way. So, God told them to march around the city a whole bunch of times and the walls came tumbling down,” Otis half sang the last part of his explanation. “There’s a song that goes with it,” he added with a grin.
“I think I remember,” Maddy smiled at him. “I’m not sure that John’s really doing any marching right now,” she said thoughtfully. “At least not that he’s aware of.”
“He doesn’t seem like the type to mess around with a woman’s heart,” Otis answered, patting her knee.
“I’m inclined to agree. Still…” She looked across the park at nothing in particular, then spoke with more confidence. “Anyway, the city hasn’t been taken yet. I still have a few defenses.”
“That’s all well and good,” Otis said, “but if the Lord means to take down those walls,” he paused and looked at her, “they’re comin’ down.” With that he stood up and took his empty cup to the nearby garbage can. Maddy followed and walked back to her car, deep in thought.
seven
Otis knocked on the door at nine the next morning. Maddy had been up since the sunrise, but hadn’t planned on going anywhere. She looked at how Otis was dressed and, trying not to appear surprised, she invited him in.
“Oh, no, I won’t come in right now. I’m going to run downtown. I just wanted to let you know that I’d be leaving for church in about forty-five minutes, if you’d like a ride,” he offered.
Maddy considered this. Church meant seeing John, a confusing, but intriguing prospect. Struggling only briefly with this questionable motivation, she said, “Sure, Otis, I’ll be ready in half an hour.”
Otis left, and Maddy went upstairs to see how her wardrobe stretched to fit the church scene. She didn’t have much of her professional wardrobe left, but she had a few skirts and summer dresses. She smiled as she passed the black dress, and then chose a simple white sundress. She took special care with her makeup and hair, too. So what if Otis teased her? It was alright not to look like one of the crew for a change, at least while she went to church.
John walked his kids into the sanctuary, involuntarily searching the room for Otis and his date. His eyes rested on a couple, mid-way up the church on the left-hand side. The back of Otis’ balding head was unmistakable.
John ushered his boys into a pew several rows behind, finding it hard to take his eyes off Maddy’s back. Her hair was pulled up in a clip, and the white straps of her sundress criss-crossed her nicely tanned shoulders.
“Hey, that’s Miss Maddy!” Parker whispered in a voice the whole church could hear.
More heads than Maddy’s turned in response, but hers was the only face John saw. She bestowed a dazzling smile on Parker, and waved discreetly at the three of them. She faced forward again a few seconds later, giving John the opportunity to put an end to what must have been an undignified stare. Maddy was wearing earrings and a touch of makeup, and although he had always liked her natural style, this other side of her had its appeal.
“Miss Maddy looks nice today, doesn’t she?” Blake asked in a much more effective whisper.
“She sure does.” John leaned over to make sure he had Parker’s attention. “We’ll talk to her later. Let’s try to think about church now.”
He opened his service folder and tried to get his head where it belonged. Pastor Rob interrupted his efforts with an invitation for the people to stand and greet one another. John stood and shook hands with the couple next to him, wondering if he could work his way up a few rows without making a scene.
Parker wasn’t concerned about making a scene. He got down on the floor and slithered under the pews, army-man style, until he came up between Maddy and Otis. John was surrounded, so he could only look on in dismay as Maddy jumped back in surprise at Parker’s indecorous arrival. Otis laughed and helped the boy to his feet. John watched with mixed alarm and envy as Maddy leaned down to say hello.
“Dad, do you see Parker?” Blake asked unnecessarily. “We’d better get him back.”
“Let’s go,” John agreed, inwardly grinning at Parker’s determination. He walked up to Maddy’s row, Blake in tow.
“Good morning, Otis, Maddy, Parker.”
“Hi, Dad!” Parker beamed, completely unaware of the possibility of having misbehaved.
Maddy extended her hand, first to Blake and then to John. “I see you guys prefer the conventional route.”
John took her hand and returned her smile. “I was tempted, but the last time I tried it I got stuck.”
; Maddy laughed quietly, then noticed a deep scratch at the base of his thumb. “Oh, are you okay?”
John looked down at his hand, turning it slightly. “One of the perils of my trade,” he acknowledged. “My present work site is particularly dangerous.”
“You can say that again,” Maddy replied, her eyes flickering away almost as soon as she met his gaze.
People were returning to their seats, so Maddy dropped John’s hand and sat down, giving a small wave to the boys as their family went back to their pew.
Otis leaned over and whispered, “The idea is to greet more than one other person.”
Flustered, Maddy tried to find her place in the service folder. “Maybe next time you could warn me that we’re going to have a greeting free-for-all before the service starts.”
“He doesn’t always do it, so you never know,” Otis said with a smile.
After worship, Maddy decided she might like a donut. “So, Otis,” she said casually, “are you staying for coffee, or do you want to get home?”
“I’d love a cup, if you’re not in a hurry to leave,” he replied.
Facing the back of the sanctuary, Maddy noticed that the Fordham family was no longer in their pew. Most of the people were just starting to leave, and she was puzzled. Had they left early? The fellowship hour immediately lost its charm, and she suddenly remembered that she’d had quite a lot of coffee before church.
“Let’s go on down,” Otis interrupted her thoughts. “I’d like to introduce you to the pastor.”
He took her hand as he had the first week, and Maddy found herself walking down to the fellowship hall, once again doubting if she had any real business there. Great. Now I’m meeting the pastor. This is what she got for using church and coffee hour to indulge her juvenile boy-chasing.
Entering the fellowship hall, Maddy found herself at once pleased and vexed. The Fordham family had not left the building; John was across the room, serving coffee. It looked as though several attractive women were having a hard time securing their own cups, and he was graciously helping them out. One of them was tall and too voluptuous for the church basement, Maddy decided. The other one was just too… blonde.
“Cafenova,” Maddy muttered under her breath.
“I’m sorry?” Otis asked, searching the room for his pastor.
“Nothing.”
The room was getting crowded, so Maddy had a few minutes to process her dissatisfaction with the scene before Blake and Parker discovered her. They grabbed her hands before she even realized that they were in front of her.
“Hi, Miss Maddy,” Blake greeted her. “We’re serving the do-nuts this morning. Come visit our table.”
“We have jelly-filled!” Parker added excitedly.
The boys began pulling her across the room toward the coffee table. Maddy was trying to muster her aloof look for John when he caught her eye. A smile spread across his face, and the women with him turned to look at the object of his obvious pleasure. Their reaction to her wasn’t nearly as warm.
Maddy smiled briefly in return, and soon found herself at the donut display. Accepting the rather full plate that Blake and Parker prepared for her, she turned as Otis came up behind her.
“Sorry I took off like that,” she apologized. “I got swept away by these charming donut servers.” Blake and Parker grinned in response.
“Can’t have donuts without coffee.”
Maddy jumped at the voice behind her.
“Thank you, John,” Otis said. “I’ll take the black one. I was just trying to talk Maddy out of some of her donut holes.”
Maddy reached for a cup. “Thanks, Coffee Man.”
He smiled, watching as she sipped her coffee. “How does it taste? I’ve never made fifty cups at a time before.”
“It’s fine,” she said quickly lowering her cup. “Not as good as the donuts, of course.”
“The competition is rough down here,” John admitted with a grin. “How are you guys doing?” he turned to his boys. “You keeping up with the crowd?”
They assured him that they were enjoying their powerful position of donut rationing. John excused himself to get back to his coffee serving, and Otis and Maddy said their good-byes as well. Blake waved as Parker hustled around the table to give Maddy a sticky hug.
“See you later, Parkerpants,” she laughed.
Monday morning dawned overcast, so there was no spectacular sunrise to tempt Maddy out of bed. She enjoyed the extra time to burrow under her covers and contemplate the day ahead. She finally got up and dressed, admiring the new bookcases as she left her room. Walking through the other bedrooms on the second floor, she noted the improvements, as well as the work still necessary. How soon would she be able to decorate and make the rooms inviting?
Another unsettling thought struck her. What would it be like when the work was done and her house was no longer filled with the sounds of the crew and their projects? It had been an adjustment initially, but she had grown accustomed to all of the noise and commotion. It was going to be very quiet and a little lonely when they finished.
Maddy walked down to the kitchen, and her dog’s distracted greeting told her that at least one of the guys had arrived. She let Burt out while she made the coffee. The men were now accustomed to knocking briefly and letting themselves in. She couldn’t identify the footsteps that she heard coming through her dining room minutes later. She knew that they weren’t John’s boots anyway. She watched the door with interest as it opened.
“Hey, Tom. How are you?”
Frank was surprised to see that he’d arrived before John, and hurried in when he realized whose truck was parked alone in the drive.
Abruptly opening the door into the kitchen, his forced smile evaporated. “Everything okay?”
“We’re fine,” Tom muttered, backing away from Maddy.
Maddy shot Frank a grateful look, and turned to pour his coffee. “Hey, Frank.”
She held out his mug, but he was looking hard at Tom. Slowly facing her, he said, “John will be here soon.”
“Great,” Maddy replied, attempting to sound cheerful. She was, in fact, very glad to hear it.
They heard Willy’s laugh a few minutes later as he entered the house with Travis and John. The trio made a noisy entrance, and Travis announced, “I need some of Maddy’s coffee!”
John entered last and immediately sensed the tension in the room. He and Frank exchanged glances, and John’s look turned grim. Maddy busied herself with pouring coffee, while Travis continued making small talk with no one in particular.
Maddy set the mugs on the counter. “Help yourselves,” she invited them. “So, what are we doing today?”
Tom walked outside, and Burt pushed past him into the kitchen, growling quietly. He walked over to Maddy and stood between her and the others.
Travis stopped jabbering long enough to drink his coffee, and John carefully approached Maddy, petting Burt as he came to her side.
“Are you okay?”
“Sure,” she said, feeling relieved with him standing near. He wore a blue denim oxford, open at the collar, and she could see little tan stripes in the buttons. She looked up at him. “I’m fine, really.”
He searched her eyes, and then said to the others, “We’ll be working upstairs. Frank, why don’t you do your computer thing with Maddy this morning?”
“Sounds good,” Frank replied.
The others took their coffee and went to work, John giving Maddy a nod as he left the kitchen. Tom walked in and set his mug on the counter, avoiding eye contact with anyone as he followed them upstairs.
Frank immediately turned to Maddy. “Did Tom…?”
“He just asked me out,” Maddy replied awkwardly. “I told him we probably shouldn’t go there, and,” her voice trailed off.
Frank waited for more, but when Maddy wasn’t forthcoming, he didn’t push. He knew John would be the one to address the situation
, if necessary.
They spent a comfortable morning together, working on computer-related issues. At noon, John talked briefly with Frank, and then excused himself to check on his sons. Maddy joined the younger men on the porch, while Frank finished some work inside. The day was clearing up, bringing the warm temperatures with it.
They ate for a while in silence, and then Willy said, “You did a nice job stripping and priming those posts, Maddy. They’ll look really nice with a fresh coat of paint.”
“Thanks,” she answered. “I had no idea how much work it was going to be. I went back and bought the expensive paint so it will last a long time. I’m not interested in doing this job again any time soon.”
The others nodded their agreement. They’d seen a lot of shortcuts that hadn’t paid off.
“Well, I’m going to get back to work,” Willy announced. “I have to leave early today, so I’d better get at it.”
Travis got up to join him, and Maddy followed, staying in the kitchen to clean up while they went upstairs. She was relieved when she heard familiar boots crossing her dining room.
“Hey,” she said as John walked in.
“Hey,” he answered, walking over and sitting on a stool opposite where she was working.
“How are the boys?” Maddy gently lifted his hand and wiped the surface beneath him. “You could help me out here,” she suggested.
“The boys are great,” John said, enjoying her simple touch. “They send their greetings to you, of course.”
“I’m still washing yesterday’s greetings out of my dress.”
“Don’t tell me,” John grimaced. “Jelly?”
“Yep,” Maddy answered.
“And it was such a nice white dress,” he said sadly.
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