“That’s a shame.” Kip scuffed his foot in the red dirt. “Van, the park messed up on our reservation and only slotted us for an hour and a half. We’re playing sudden death tonight, so we need to get out there.”
“Okay.”
As she turned to go, Nathan grabbed her arm. “Hey, if you’re only going to play for a little while, I can go home and get Jeff and Lick. Could you work with us after the game?”
“You’re really desperate, aren’t you?”
“In a word, yes!”
She glanced at her bright yellow Tweety Bird watch. “Be here at seven-thirty. I can’t work miracles, but I’ll try to give you a few starting tips.”
“I gave up hoping for miracles years ago.” He fished in his pocket for his keys, embarrassed by his sharp tone. “Have a good game. We’ll be back later.”
Four
Vanessa wondered at the depth of the bitterness in Nathan’s words, but it was neither the time nor the place to ask him what had caused that shift in him. Instead, she shoved on her mitt and jogged out onto the ball diamond.
After a cursory warm-up, the game began. Valene arrived and sat in the bleachers. She liked individual sports like tennis and badminton, but when it came to team sports, she preferred to be a spectator. By contrast, Vanessa loved all sports. She’d begged and wheedled to have her twin join several teams with her, but their youth pastor once gave a lesson on accepting loved ones instead of trying to change them. His words hit home—Vanessa had spent the whole ride to Seaside Chapel trying to cajole Val into trying out for the junior high volleyball team. She spent the drive home apologizing. Now it all seemed to work out beautifully. Val always brought the team banner and would watch Amber while Van dashed around the bases.
Kip sat down on the bench next to Van in the dugout. He nudged her shoulder playfully. “What’s with you and Nathan Adams?”
Vanessa gave him a startled look. “Nothing. I just sold him a puppy, and it needs a bit of training. Why?”
He shrugged. “He’s a good guy.”
She gave him a piercing look. His tone a message she couldn’t quite interpret. “But?”
“Nate took his wife’s death hard. They used to attend Mercy Springs with me. He stopped attending, and I kinda hoped maybe he was starting back into fellowship.”
“I don’t know a thing about where he stands with the Lord. The only thing I know is, I’m in the doghouse ’cuz he bought a rambunctious puppy from me.” She squinted as a ball sailed through the air. Hopping to her feet, she screamed, “Run! Run, Todd!”
The team cheered as Todd sped across home plate. Kip headed out of the dugout and hefted a bat. He looked back at Vanessa and wagged the end of the bat in her direction. “You never know what God will use to bring a sheep back into the fold. Keep your heart and eyes open.”
❧
“There she is!” Jeff galloped toward the chain-link fence. Lick romped alongside him.
Nathan didn’t need his son to point out where Vanessa was. He heard her first. She ran full tilt for third base, screaming like a heat-seeking missile the whole way. Her golden ponytail streamed behind her, and the left half of what had once been white-and-orange-striped baseball leggings now sported a calf-to-waist dusting of red that tattled on what must’ve been a world-class slide. She took a cue from the third-base coach and stopped. Energy high, she bobbed up and down on the base.
Nathan grinned as he continued to watch her. She cheered from third base, “You can do it, Della! Slug it!”
“I don’t have your muscles, Girlfriend!”
Cupping her hands around her mouth, Vanessa yelled back, “Then use your brains. Anyone has more of those than I do!”
Everyone on the diamond chuckled, but Nathan watched as the outfielders drew closer to the infield. The ball whizzed over the plate.
“Strike one!” The second pitch went wide. The third zoomed over the plate again. Della stood there the whole time and didn’t swing at all.
“Della,” Vanessa hollered, “I said to use your brains, not your looks.”
Della lifted the bat off her shoulder and took an awkward stance. “I’m not getting filthy dirty like you do.”
“Don’t worry about that. I already collected all of the loose dirt. You ought to be fine.”
“Do you girls mind if we play ball?” the opposing pitcher asked in a humored tone.
“If you insist.” Della nodded. “I’m as ready as I’m gonna get.”
Nathan’s jaw dropped as he heard the bat crack and the ball sailed far out into center field. Vanessa and the runner on second base both ran home. Vanessa skipped back and forth along the foul line. “You did it, Della! You did it!”
“Pretty clever strategy,” Nathan said through the fence to Kip. “Lulled the other team into complacency.”
Kip shook his head. “Nope. We can’t believe it, either. Della’s never even connected. Van took her to the batting cages this week.”
“What in the world is Della doing on a team if she can’t hit?”
“It’s not about winning—it’s about having a good time.” Kip stared at him. “Though I wasn’t kidding that we could sure use you on our team.”
Vanessa bounced over. “Jeff! Lick! Hiya, guys!”
Licorice jumped up onto the fence with a happy yip.
“Off.” Vanessa’s voice took on a firm quality. She added, “Give the command and jerk back on the leash.”
“Off!” Nathan pulled the leash from Jeff and tugged it. To his surprise, Licorice got all four paws on the grass and gave him a baffled look.
“Good dog, good dog,” Vanessa crooned. She glanced at her watch. “You’re a little early. Val and Amber are over on the bleachers. You can join them, or I can meet you by the playground as soon as the game is done.”
“No playground,” Jeff said morosely. “Dad said I can’t ’cuz I already took my bath.”
“Maybe next time,” Vanessa said.
Nathan watched his son brighten up again. Vanessa had a knack for saying the right thing. Licorice started to drag on the leash. “I guess we’re off to the stands.”
He greeted Valene and took a seat next to her. He leaned forward and read the scoreboard. “The Altar Egos?”
“Vanessa named the team when it got started. She came up with over a dozen possible names, but that one won the vote.”
“Is she always this irrepressible?”
Valene choked back a laugh. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone label her that way, but you’re right.”
The teams swapped positions. Vanessa played shortstop.
“Altar egos. . . ,” Nathan repeated as he spotted the big plastic banner someone had tied to the chain-link dugout. The bold black words on the orange-and-white-striped background intrigued Nathan: ‘But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ Galatians 6:14.
Kip said it was a game for fun—not for competition—but the banner’s declaration backed up what might easily have been a politically correct comment.
Nathan watched as the Altar Ego’s players teased each other as much as they congratulated the other team on good plays. Vanessa called, “Nice try!” to one of her teammates when he dropped a pop fly. He picked up the ball, fired it at her, and she snagged it in her glove. “Ned and his nuclear arm!”
She intrigued Nathan. If anyone had room to boast, surely it was Vanessa. A powerhouse hit and a talent for snagging line drives made her impressive to watch. Then again, so did her svelte figure. She’d been almost comical—a one woman cheering squad for her friends. When the clock ran out and her team lost by one run, her grin didn’t fade a speck.
As she came over to the bleachers, Jeff hopped up. “Guess what?” He didn’t even pause to allow her to guess. “I got new spelling words on Monday, and you’ll never in a million years guess what one of the words was. Guide—just like on Amber’s jacket.”
“Betcha you ace that test,” Vanessa said. “Val, we’re goi
ng to work a little with Licorice to see if we can find a few ways to calm him a bit. You can stay if you’d like, or you can take my car home. Amber and I could use the walk.”
“I’d rather go work on my résumé. I saw a few positions in the career section that looked promising.” Val squinted at the distance. “I have enough light to walk home. You keep the car.”
“Not a chance,” Nathan interrupted. “Jeff and I will give Vanessa a ride. We’re messing up your schedule. It’s the least we can do.”
“Really, I can walk,” Valene insisted. “I walk or jog four miles every day.”
Nathan saw the worried look she shot Vanessa.
“We won’t stay very long, Valene. Jeff has school tomorrow, and I need to have him in bed by eight-thirty. After chasing him and Lick around this evening, I’ll probably crash all of five minutes later.”
“See? Pumpkin time isn’t midnight; it’s eight.” Vanessa handed the keys to her sister. “Now promise me you’ll juice up your résumé. It was too modest and bland.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“What kind of job are you looking for?”
Valene shrugged. “I have my business degree. I kind of thought maybe a hospital business office.”
“The minute you interview, you’ll have every single hospital in Southern California after you,” Vanessa declared. She stooped and said to Jeff, “My sister is a total brain. She’s terrific at spelling words and math.”
“Did you ever switch places for tests?” Jeff asked in a stage whisper.
Nathan wondered the same thing, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer—and he certainly didn’t want Jeff to.
Vanessa wrinkled her nose. “It wouldn’t have been right for us to swap places at school. We each got the grades we deserved. We did trade places at summer camp once so I could play baseball more and Valene got to swim.”
“Van slid into second base and ruined my new jeans that day,” Valene recalled.
“You look alike, but you’re really different,” Jeff decided.
Vanessa winked at Nathan. “That’s one smart kid you have there. If your dog is half as clever, training him will be a piece of cake.”
They spent about half an hour working with Licorice. Jeff started out like gangbusters, wanting to do everything. Licorice decided to yank free and make a mad dash across the park.
“Oh, no,” Nathan groaned. He started to run after the puppy. It was the last thing he wanted to do.
“Nathan, clap and shout his name, but run the opposite way. He’ll come chase you.”
Less than a minute later, Licorice wiggled in Nathan’s arms. “I can’t believe it. That’s all it takes? I’ve practically run a marathon twice today, catching this hairy little beast!”
Jeff plopped down on the grass and started to laugh. “Daddy needs to be trained more than the dog!”
Vanessa bit her lip and turned away, but from the way her shoulders shook, he knew she was thoroughly entertained. He bumped her hip with his and said in mock outrage, “Now look what you’ve done!”
“Saved you shoe leather?” she shot back.
“Who are you kidding?” He held up Licorice. “Knowing my luck, this little energetic four-legged headache is going to end up chewing on my shoes, anyway.”
“Dad?”
Something in Jeff’s tone made Nathan freeze. “What?”
Jeff ducked his head and lifted both shoulders. He said to his lap in a small voice, “He already did.”
Nathan groaned. He turned back to Vanessa. “Shoes, a pillow, and a chair leg. Tell me the list of casualties ends there.”
“You’re in it for the long haul. It’s not a three-strikes-and-he’s-out proposition.”
“You’re the puppy pro.” He couldn’t help responding to her gentle humor and common sense. “Now what do I do?”
“Give him the chew toys. I don’t have anything scheduled tomorrow evening. Bring him by the shop after closing, and we’ll come up with some strategies.”
“Okay. You’re on. I can hold out that long.”
❧
The door to Whiskers, Wings, and Wags flew open. “Vanessa!” Jeff’s shout almost covered the chimes. A split second later, Vanessa heard Nathan’s low scold, “You’re not a Scud missile, Son. Use your indoor voice and your manners.”
“ ’Kay, Dad. Where is she?”
“I’m down here,” Vanessa called. She lifted a hand and waved over the counter.
“Hey, Van,” Nathan said, “about ready to go?”
Embarrassed to the core of her being, she looked up at Nathan and shook her head.
“No?”
“I’m um. . .stuck.”
Five
“Stuck?” Nathan repeated, leaning farther over the counter to get a better look.
“Stuck? Vanessa’s stuck?” Jeff repeated. He raced around the counter.
“Oh, brother.” Vanessa rested her head against Amber’s side. “Ever hear the old saying, ‘Be careful what you pray for?’ ”
“What did you pray for, and why are you stuck?” Nathan moved Jeff off to the side and hunkered down.
“I dropped a receipt. It slipped down here behind the drawers. When I reached up to get it, my ring caught, and my hand is jammed.”
Nathan thoughtfully pinched his lower lip between his forefinger and thumb. He raised his brows at Jeff. “Son, it looks like we have a genuine damsel in distress here.”
“Are we gonna rescue her?”
“Sometimes, Sport, a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.”
“Wait!”
“Did we scare you free, like Dad scares the hiccups outta me?”
“Don’t I just wish.” She looked up at Nathan. “Would you please flip over the Closed sign and lock the door?”
“Jeff, you heard her. You can do those things, can’t you?”
“ ’Course I can!” His tennis shoes squeaked on the linoleum as he ran back around the counter. The dead bolt made a solid clunk, and cardboard scraped across the glass as the sign flipped over.
Nathan didn’t wait for his son to finish those simple tasks. He slithered onto the floor next to her and slid his hand up close to hers. With each inhalation he took, his chest pressed against her back. Every breath he let out ruffled her hair and made her shiver. He frowned and wrapped his other arm around her. “You’re cold. How long have you been trapped down here?”
“Half of forever,” she evaded.
“Oh. So she can’t tell time, either,” Jeff said from behind them.
“Son, we need to squirt some soap up onto Vanessa’s hand. Go into the back room and see what you can find.”
“Dog shampoo,” she suggested. “It’s the yellowish orange stuff by the big tub.”
Nathan’s fingers nudged the side of her hand. “Too bad we can’t open the drawer, but it would knock you senseless.”
“Thank you.”
“Huh?” He twisted his head a bit and gave her a puzzled look.
“After finding me like this, I figured you were going to think I didn’t have any sense at all.”
“Just because Valene was valedictorian doesn’t mean you’re not bright. How about if you stop comparing yourself and always thinking you come out on the short end of the deal?”
If he’d barked the words at her or teased, it would have been easier. Since his voice went so soft and earnest, she gulped.
He tugged a bit on her wrist and muttered, “You’re really jammed in there.”
The whole situation struck her as so ludicrous, she started to giggle. “You know me—I took that old cliché to heart. ‘Anything worth doing is worth doing right.’ ”
Nathan’s arm tightened around her. “So you’re saying this was worth doing?”
How am I supposed to answer that?
The patter of Jeff’s shoes saved her from having to formulate an answer. “Here’s the shampoo!” He climbed over their legs and sat next to Amber. While Nathan withdrew his hand and
gooped it up with the unscented liquid, Jeff scratched his knee. “What did you pray for, Van?”
She jerked on her hand once again to no avail and confessed, “Patience.”
“Here goes nothing.” Nathan curled back around her and slid his hand up by her wrist. “My fingers are fatter than yours. If I shove my hand any higher, we’ll both get stuck. Can you wiggle your hand to the side a little?”
“Which side?”
“That way.” He nudged her a bit. “Good. I’ll see if I can rub some of this slimy stuff on the metal bar here and on the edge of your hand. Afterward, if you jostle your hand over here, maybe we can work just enough of the soap under the ring to make your finger slip free.”
“I don’t even know if it’ll come off.” She fidgeted, hoping to spread the shampoo around. “Grandma gave one to each of us on our thirteenth birthday.”
“You’ve never taken it off?”
“Nope.”
“Wow,” Jeff said. He gave her an incredulous look. “Dad said all rings have to come off sooner or later. He keeps his in his sock drawer.”
Nathan went completely still. Vanessa closed her eyes for a moment, sensing the pain that rolled off him. He’d said very little about his wife, but what he had said made it clear he’d loved her dearly. It must have been heart wrenching to finally remove his wedding band.
He drew in a deep, steadying breath. In a tight voice, he ordered, “Now try to work your hand free.”
A few, very long minutes later, she felt a little give. “Almost—it slipped a little bit.”
“Good.” Nathan clenched her elbow. “On the count of three. One, two, three!”
He yanked, she pulled, and her hand came free.
“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you.”
“So you got what you prayed for,” Jeff said as he hugged Amber.
Nathan opened the drawer, pried the ring free, and shoved it back at Vanessa. He stared at his son and rasped, “Prayers are like dreams and wishes. Not all of them come true. Don’t ever forget that.”
❧
At least once a week, Nathan arranged for Vanessa to work with him, Jeff, and Licorice. Every weekend, he brought Jeff to Whiskers, Wings, and Wags to buy a bag of kibble.
Love Is Patient Page 3