Rachel was right. The people in this town were his friends. Other than Tom, of course. And Gladys.
Jay smiled, picturing the woman running all over town spreading the news.
“What’s so funny?” Rachel tugged on his sleeve, her low whisper pulling him back to the present.
“Nothing,” Jay said in an equally low tone, breathing in the light floral scent she was wearing today and finding it very much to his liking. “I’m just happy to be back among the living.”
“Happy to be back in church?”
“Happy to be in church sitting next to the prettiest girl in town,” Jay said, jostling her arm with his elbow.
An older couple in the next pew turned around and smiled and Jay realized he’d forgotten to speak softly.
Red crept up Rachel’s neck.
“Sing,” Rachel hissed, shoving a hymnal into his hands.
Suddenly lighthearted, Jay grinned, took the book and began to sing.
“Engaged?” Henry shook his head. “I’ve never heard anything so crazy.”
“Tell me what you really think,” Jay said with a wry smile.
Though his father had offered his congratulations to both of them when they’d told him the news this afternoon, Jay knew his father would never have let on if he’d been displeased, not with Rachel standing right there.
Rachel had headed home after dinner, blushing when Jay had insisted on giving her a kiss goodbye even though his father was in the room. Now it was just the two of them. Jay briefly considered telling his father how the engagement had happened to be, but decided the way he’d become engaged didn’t really matter.
“You’re moving mighty fast,” Henry said, pulling his cigar box from the cabinet in the living room. “Still, I think you’ve got yourself a good woman.”
His father’s words sent a flush of pleasure coursing through Jay. “Rachel is the best.”
“Cigar?” Henry held out the box.
This time it didn’t occur to Jay to refuse.
“Sure,” Jay said. “After all, we need to celebrate.”
They sat there puffing contently for several minutes, talking about his father’s weekend in Des Moines and the busy week he faced in the fields.
And as they talked, Jay realized that the wall that had stood between them for as long as he could remember no longer seemed quite so formidable.
“When’s the wedding?” Henry asked, blowing a smoke ring in the air.
“We haven’t even talked about a wedding.” Jay placed his cigar in the sauce dish. “The decision to become engaged was a spur of the moment thing.”
“Spur of the moment or not, she’ll make a good wife. But there’s nothing wrong with a long engagement. I assume she’ll be going back with you to L.A.?” Henry asked in a conversational tone.
Jay stifled a groan. Just when he thought they had this whole mess covered, something unexpected popped out of the woodwork.
“She’ll be staying here,” Jay said. It would be disastrous if someone got the notion Rachel wanted out of her teaching contract.
“Staying here?” His father’s voice rose and he sat up straight in the weathered easy chair. “Why in the world would she be staying here?”
“Her job is here.” The explanation made complete sense to Jay, but the minute the words left his mouth he knew he’d said the wrong thing. His father was old school—no commuter marriages or separate anything for him.
“Her place is with her husband,” Henry said.
“We’re not married yet,” Jay said in as reasonable a tone as he could muster. “Only engaged. And we don’t think it’s right to live together.”
Henry nodded approvingly. “It won’t be easy for the two of you to be so far apart.”
His speculative gaze settled on Jay.
“I’ll miss her, that’s for sure.” This time Jay didn’t have to pretend. The emotion behind the words was all too real.
An understanding smile lifted Henry’s lips. “I’d like to tell you that after thirty years it gets easier being apart from the one you love, but it doesn’t.”
His father’s words surprised Jay. He’d never really thought of his parents as being in love.
“When I was younger, you and Mom fought so much there were times I thought you might split up.”
“We went through some hard years,” Henry said. “But we’d made a commitment to each other, a solemn vow before God, just like the one you’ll make with Rachel. One way or the other, you stick together and make it work.”
“What if you can’t?” Jay asked, thinking of all the guys he knew with one or two failed marriages already behind them. “What if you wake up one morning and discover the love is gone?”
“Love can return,” his father said quietly. “If that ever happens, you pray and ask God to show you the way back together.”
“But—”
“With God nothing is impossible,” Henry said with the assurance of a man who’d seen God’s power in his own life.
“You know that’s just what Tony said in his sermon this morning,” Jay said.
“Son—” Henry hesitated.
Jay lifted a brow.
“You and Rachel are going to have your share of troubles.” A hint of red crept up Henry’s neck. “All married folks do. Don’t ever be afraid to ask the Lord for His help.”
“I won’t.” Jay hoped he wouldn’t have to ask God’s help, but the way things were going he might need it. He had the uneasy feeling that ending this engagement might not be as easy as he’d first thought.
Chapter Sixteen
Rachel had just finished pulling on her pajamas when the phone rang. “Hello.”
“How’s my favorite fiancée?”
The sound of Jay’s voice sent a ripple of awareness up Rachel’s spine and she smiled into the phone.
“I’m just getting ready to hop into bed.” Rachel plopped down on the sofa and tucked one leg beneath her. “My mother kept me on the phone until just a few minutes ago or I’d be there now.”
“Your mother?” Silence filled the phone line for several seconds. “Did you tell her about the engagement?”
Rachel swallowed hard, remembering her mother’s reaction. “I told her.”
“What did she say?”
“She was concerned things were moving too fast.” Rachel sighed. “What is it about being engaged that suddenly makes everyone an expert on marriage?”
“I know what you mean,” Jay said. “I couldn’t shut my dad up.”
“He’s not happy, either?” Rachel’s voice couldn’t hide her disappointment. She’d always thought Henry liked her.
“Happy?” Jay laughed. “The guy is positively ecstatic.”
The tenseness in Rachel’s shoulders eased and her lips relaxed into a smile. She knew it was stupid—given the fact that she and Jay weren’t really getting married—but she couldn’t help but be glad Henry approved.
“Unlike your mother,” Jay added.
“She’s just a worrier,” Rachel said, hoping he wasn’t getting the wrong idea. “She had a bad experience with my dad. But she’s glad I’m not with Tom.”
“Rachel—” Jay stopped, paused, then started again. “I don’t want you to be hurt by any of this. The point of this whole charade is so you wouldn’t be hurt.”
“I won’t be,” Rachel said. “I know the score.”
After reassuring Jay for several moments, Rachel hung up the phone and sighed. She really was going to miss the guy.
“I’ll be wearing long sleeved shirts and pants the rest of the summer,” Jay announced over lunch the following Friday.
Rachel took a sip of iced tea and tried to hide her smile. The doctor had taken both of Jay’s casts off that morning and he’d been shocked at the scaly pale skin beneath the cast.
Personally, Rachel didn’t think it looked that bad.
“A little lotion and a few days out in the sun will work wonders,” Rachel said. “At lest you can walk without limp
ing. And the doctor said that fracture in your arm couldn’t have healed any better.”
Jay smiled. “I’m almost good as new.”
“Can I get you anything else?”
Rachel swore the college-aged waitress had stopped by the table every five minutes since they’d sat down. Other than actually writing down her phone number and telling him to call, the brunette had let him know in every way possible that she was interested and available.
Jay hadn’t seemed to notice. He’d been polite to the coed, but distant.
“We’re fine.” Rachel smiled and brushed her hair back with her left hand, making sure the girl saw the ring.
On their way out of the restaurant, Rachel couldn’t resist teasing Jay. “The waitress wrote down her name and number. She wants you to call.”
“Throw it out.” He sounded disgusted. “If I’d have wanted her number, I’d have asked for it.”
Rachel realized with a start that he didn’t know she was kidding. Apparently women did give him their phone numbers and ask him to call. And often enough that it didn’t even surprise him.
But before she could set him straight, his arm settled companionably around her shoulders and she forgot everything except how good it felt to be next to him.
In the past week, Rachel had learned that Jay was a very demonstrative guy. And she’d discovered something about herself, as well. Though she’d never been into public displays of affection, she found she liked it when Jay held her hand or took her arm. She’d grown accustomed to being kissed goodbye at night and welcomed with a hug and kiss every morning.
Henry only smiled and chuckled at his son’s behavior, telling Rachel once when they were alone that he was glad to see his son finally in love.
Of course, Rachel knew Jay wasn’t in love, but merely acting for her sake. Still, having never been engaged before, Rachel found herself enjoying the experience.
“Want to walk around the mall?” Jay asked. “I’d like to stretch my legs before getting back into the car.”
Rachel put a finger to her lips and pretended to think.
“Hmm. I’m a woman and you’re asking me if I want to hang out in the mall.” She shook her head. “Naw, I’d rather head back to Millville.”
Jay laughed out loud. He reached up and tugged on a piece of hair. “Brat.”
“I’m serious.” Rachel knew she’d be more convincing if she could just keep her lips from twitching.
“And I’m serious, too.” He pulled her close. “About this.”
Jay’s mouth closed over hers and Rachel melted against him, raising her hands to his shoulders, then around his neck. Though they stood in the middle of a busy outdoor mall, Rachel didn’t rush and neither did he.
She put all the emotions that had been churning inside her into the kiss, and when they finally reluctantly separated, her insides trembled.
“Wow.” Jay raked his fingers through his hair. “I wish I’d done that sooner.”
“Jay.” Rachel ran her fingers lightly up his bare arm, and his muscles tensed beneath her touch. “We don’t have much time left together. So, anytime you want to kiss me, you go right ahead and do it.”
Jay smiled. “Anytime?”
Rachel thought for a moment. Would there be a time when she wouldn’t want Jay to kiss her?
No, she thought, but there would be a time when Jay wouldn’t be around.
“That’s right,” she said. “Anytime.”
Rachel unlocked the door to the Millville Elementary School and turned to Jay. “Are you sure you don’t mind doing this?”
“I volunteered, remember?” Jay held the door open and gestured for her to go first, then followed. Once inside, his gaze rose to take in the old building’s vaulted ceiling. “Besides, I haven’t been in this place since I was a kid. This gives me a chance to look around.”
They walked down the wide hallway side by side. The brown-and-black floor tiles gleamed like polished satin beneath their feet.
“It still smells the same.” Jay stopped and inhaled deeply. “Funny how a scent can bring back memories.”
Rachel smiled in understanding. Even after all these years, she could stand in the halls, close her eyes and be transported back twenty years. “Were you a little boy who liked school?”
Jay looped an arm around her shoulders and leaned close. “Let’s just say I would have liked it a whole lot better if I’d had a pretty teacher like you.”
His breath was warm against her ear and a shiver traveled up her spine. When he pulled her to him, she let the bag of artwork drop to the floor and slipped her arms around his neck.
“I’m not sure I should let you kiss me. After all, we are on school property.” Even as she said the words, Rachel wove her fingers through his hair and lifted her face to his, anticipating the feel of his mouth against hers.
“What are you going to do?” he teased. “Send me to the principal’s office?”
His hair was like spun silk against her fingers.
“Maybe,” she said impishly.
A hint of smile lifted his lips for an instant, then disappeared. “I’m not going to kiss you.”
Rachel’s head jerked up and she blinked in confusion, a wave of disappointment washing over her. “You’re not?”
Jay shook his head and the smile returned. “You, Miss Tanner, are going to kiss me.”
Rachel pulled her brows together and tried to force a stern look, but instead she found herself laughing out loud, the sound echoing in the cavernous halls.
“Rachel.” He took a step closer.
They were few inches apart. When her eyes lifted and met his, the connection between them was almost palpable.
His eyes were remarkably beautiful. As Rachel looked into them, at the flecks of gold and green that adorned the blue, his gaze flickered for a moment, down to her mouth.
It was just a second, maybe two, but the message was clear. He wanted to kiss her just as much as she wanted to kiss him.
She rose on her tiptoes and brushed his lips with hers. But when she started to back away, he pulled her close. By the time his mouth left hers, Rachel felt dazed.
“We should get to the classroom.” Rachel ran a shaky hand through her hair and forced a bright smile. “There’s lots of work to do when we get through here—I still need to bake a pie before the party tonight.”
They walked in silence down the hall, her knees a little weak from the spark between them.
How had she lived so long without experiencing this? This was what had been missing with Tom. It was this tingle, this connection that had been absent. She hadn’t felt any of this when Tom smiled at her. Her insides hadn’t melted, her heart didn’t beat harder—
The way it did when Jay kissed her.
It wasn’t logical and it certainly didn’t make sense.
Jay was a summer romance, not a lifetime love. His life was going in one direction, hers in another. There was no way he could be the one God intended her to be with for the next fifty years.
Despite all that, she was in love with him.
And somehow that made the least sense of all.
Jay placed his glass of iced tea on the end table in the living room. Rachel had chased him from the kitchen, telling him she’d call when lunch was ready. He’d taken the not-so-subtle hint as her polite way of saying she didn’t need an extra set of hands.
Not like this morning. He’d spent several hours helping her get the classroom ready for the next batch of first graders. Though she technically didn’t need to report for duty for over a month, she’d gotten word the painting in her building had been completed and she couldn’t wait to get “things back in place.”
His duties had been relatively easy. He’d helped her move furniture and held cut-outs up while she’d eyed them for spacing. He’d even hung a paper “tree” that went all the way from the floor to the ceiling. Though Jay wasn’t sure what “R blend” words were, she’d assured him that first graders loved to put examples
of those words on the tree.
The awkwardness between them had eased as they’d worked side by side. She’d started talking and just by listening to her excited chatter, he’d learned a lot about the Millville curriculum and about her. When he’d picked up a book about an ugly badger who’d been teased by the other animals, tears had come to her eyes. With a little prompting she’d told him about one of her pupils, a sweet little boy named Timmy who suffered from a rare genetic disorder that affected his appearance. At this point, his classmates were supportive, but she worried that could change as he got older.
He still remembered the surprise that had filled her gaze when he’d asked what she’d do if that was her child. Why, love him with my whole heart had been her reply.
Jay leaned back in the living room chair, sipped his iced tea and reflected on her words.
There were a lot of pressures in today’s society. It was easy to get caught up in all the superficiality. A child would be lucky to have a mother like Rachel.
A man would be lucky to have Rachel as his wife.
The telephone’s ring jarred him from his thoughts.
“I’ll get it,” Jay called out. He grabbed the receiver. “Nordstrom residence.”
“Jay? Hugh Thompson.”
Jay’s fingers tightened around the receiver. Hugh was from the network. The one who’d told him dispassionately when he was getting ready to go in for reconstructive surgery that it was too soon to say if there would be a job for him when he was ready to return. He was also the one Jay had left a message for two days ago, letting him know he was ready to face the cameras again.
Until now, he hadn’t heard so much as a peep from Hugh. And, though Jay had tried, he hadn’t been able to convince himself that no news was good news.
“Hugh, thanks for calling me back.” Jay made sure his voice came out casual and offhand. There was no use letting Hugh think he had the upper hand…even if he did.
“I’d have gotten back to you sooner but there were a few things I had to check out first.”
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