Watching her fix her hair had him wanting to reach out and run his own fingers through it. He buried his hands in his pockets. He rubbed his thumb over the wooden handle of his knife, each groove familiar to him.
He thought about what she said and tried not to laugh at the picture of Anastasia wrestling with the giant dog over muddy paws. “Did you get him to the groomer?”
“Oh! Yes, and that helped. I can’t imagine trying to get all that mud off him if he’d had the longer hair. You won’t recognize him next time you see him. I think he lost five pounds.” She smiled again. “I guess I’d better get back there and work on the prep.”
Joel watched as she disappeared. It was surprising that Courtney wasn’t here yet. Five minutes later, his phone rang. When Courtney’s voice came over the line, she sounded horrible. She’d just gotten out of the doctor’s office and was told she had strep throat and a sinus infection.
Joel insisted she get some rest and not worry about work. That they had it covered and would hopefully see her in a few days. He couldn’t recall the girl calling in sick before. He said a silent prayer that she’d recover quickly.
Courtney’s absence meant Anastasia was going to need help to get everything ready for the day.
He heard her working in the back and headed that way. When he rounded the corner, he recognized her at one of the counters, her back to him. “Courtney called…”
Before he got another word out, Anastasia whirled, her hand grasping the handle of a knife. Her eyes widened when she saw it was him.
Joel held up his hands and took a step back. “Whoa. It’s only me. I was going to say that Courtney’s sick and I’ll come back and help you get things ready.”
Anastasia’s shoulders dropped and she put the knife down with a clatter. “I’m SO sorry.”
She turned around again, gripping the edge of the counter with enough force to turn her knuckles white.
What on earth was going on?
Joel approached her carefully until he was by her side. “Are you okay?”
She took in a ragged breath but said nothing.
“Anastasia?”
She folded her arms across her chest, turned, and leaned against the counter. “I didn’t hear you come in. You startled me, that’s all.” She shrugged, as if it hadn’t been a big deal.
But Joel could tell by the guarded expression on her face that it was. “Who hurt you?” Because whoever it was had better not show his face around here.
“I’m overreacting.” Her hands shook and she was still far paler than normal.
She might be unwilling to share her past, but Joel couldn’t take the distress on her face any longer. He turned towards Anastasia and gently pulled her into his arms. He thought she was going to protest and back away. But a heartbeat later, she was leaning against his chest. Joel wrapped his arms around her and rested his cheek against her hair.
It surprised him how right this felt. As if she were made for his arms. His heart pounded hard enough, surely she must hear it.
She slipped her own arms around his waist and sniffed.
More than ever, he wished he knew what had happened to her in the past. He wanted to know what to do to help her feel secure again.
She stepped back and wiped the moisture from her face. “Thanks.” Anastasia’s eyes focused on everything but him.
Joel cupped her chin and lifted it until she looked at him. “If you ever need someone to talk to, I’m here. I won’t say a word to anyone else. That’s a promise.”
He knew there was a lot she wasn’t saying. He’d thought that since the first time he met her. What was she running away from?
He let his arms fall to his side.
“I appreciate that.” She moved to the sink and washed her hands. “These tomatoes aren’t going to cut themselves.” She laughed weakly.
Joel took his cue from her. She was right and the rest of the crew was going to arrive in the next thirty minutes. If it made her feel better to focus on the prep, then that’s what they would do.
~
Anna frowned. How could she let herself fall apart like that? What happened to being strong and not needing another guy again after what Liam did?
Even as she mentally scolded herself, she couldn’t deny that she’d felt safer those moments in Joel’s arms than she had in a long, long time.
Which was a little scary in and of itself.
Help me to keep my head on straight, God. I don’t want to make another mistake.
They worked together to get all the burger fixings prepared. She was hyper aware of his presence, especially when their arms nearly brushed against each other. The mix of pine and spice that was uniquely Joel competed with the smell of the onions he was slicing.
But the silence… it was becoming too much. She cleared her throat. “Sorry for falling apart on you back there.”
“You have nothing to apologize for.” He turned his head to catch a glimpse of her before going back to slicing onion. “Now I, on the other hand …”
He motioned to the stack of onions, the smell surrounding both of them and finally drowning out the last hint of his cologne. Tears came to their eyes.
Anna chuckled for the first time since everything had happened the day before. “They are incredibly strong today, aren’t they? Better you cutting them than me, though I’m not sure it makes a difference if I’m here in the same room.”
“I’m not sure, either.” He scraped the onion into a food bin and covered them with plastic wrap. Then he deposited the scraps in the trash and washed his hands thoroughly. As soon as that was done, he opened the back door, moving it back and forth in an attempt to get some of the smell out.
Anna was laughing hard now. “As soon as we take that plastic wrap off, we’ll be right back to where we started.”
“Maybe so. But you do what you can.” He winked and she shook her head. “You’ve got a pretty laugh, Anastasia.”
She liked the way her name sounded on his lips. It caused her heart to race. Her cheeks warmed and she whirled to finish the last of the lettuce. The others would be there any minute now.
Joel finally closed the back door again. On his way by to the front of the diner, he lightly placed a hand on her shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze.
The busyness of the day made no difference. All she thought about was the peace she’d experienced while being held in Joel’s arms earlier.
~
Joel tried to be discreet when he drove by Anastasia’s van after work. He saw her reading and since he wasn’t able to spot Epic, he assumed the dog was lying down. He drove away but stopped the car before leaving the large parking lot. When Anastasia moved her van from the park to the area right next to the diner, Joel felt better. He still hated leaving her there. He’d been working on alternatives the past few days and he had an idea.
He needed to run it past Brooke first.
When he got home, Joel found her in her room.
She motioned him inside as soon as he approached. “What’s up, Joel?”
“Do you have a minute?”
“Sure. Should I be worried?”
“No. But I was wondering if you’d made a decision about whether you were going to move out.”
“I’d like to. But I don’t want to go to an apartment. Not after living someplace roomy like this. I’ve been searching and I can’t quite afford a rental house, either.” She released a sigh of frustration as she sank onto her bed. “No, I haven’t figured out what I’m going to do yet.”
“Well, I may have an idea that might benefit two people at one time.”
Brooke’s eyes brightened with interest. “Go on.”
Joel put an elbow on her dresser. “Do you remember Anna? She came to the cookout.”
“Yes, I remember her. I got to talk to her some. She seemed nice. Quiet.”
“That’s her. She needs to find a place to rent as well and was hoping to find something next month. However, her situation has changed and she need
s to get into someplace as soon as possible.” He paused. “If the two of you rented a two-bedroom house, you’d avoid the apartment thing and you’d both be able to afford it.”
He could tell by Brooke’s face that she liked the idea.
“Have you mentioned this to Anna yet?”
“No. I wanted to talk to you, first.” He’d been praying that, if this was the answer to both of their problems, that things would come together smoothly. “And you ladies would have a built-in security system with her dog.”
“Oh! That’s right. Boy, he’s huge. And I’ll bet he’s hairy.” Brooke fidgeted with the hem of her quilt.
“Yeah, he is. But Anastasia had the dog’s hair cut short yesterday. It’s totally up to you, though. I don’t want you in any situation you’re uncomfortable with. She works hard and she’s reliable. That says a lot about her.”
Brooke stared at the wall thoughtfully. “Would you bring it up to her? See how she reacts? This might be a good solution for both of us.”
“If you’re sure, I’ll talk to her tomorrow.”
“Thanks, Joel.” She stood and gave him a hug.
“You’re welcome. Hang in there, huh?”
She took a step back and smiled. “Will do.”
~
By the next morning, Joel had gone over a dozen different ways to bring the idea up with Anastasia. She seemed reluctant to let anyone help her and he didn’t want her to think this was some kind of charity.
He headed to the coffee shop like he always did, surprised and pleased to find Anastasia already at the table they’d shared last week. “Hey, you! Good morning.”
“Hey.” She was holding a mug of hot chocolate in her slender hands.
“I’m going to grab me some coffee. Muffins: Chocolate chip or blueberry?”
“Oh, you don’t need to get anything for me.”
He hiked up an eyebrow and pinned her with mock-seriousness. “Chocolate chip or blueberry?”
“Blueberry, please.”
“Coming right up.”
When he got back to their table, he slid the plate holding her muffin over to her.
“Thank you.” Her cheeks flushed and she immediately pulled the paper away from the base of the muffin. “I have to admit that dry cereal is getting a bit old.”
Joel laughed. “I imagine so. And you’re welcome.” He smiled at her before taking a large bite of his own chocolate chip muffin.
His phone rang and he answered it. When the conversation was over, he hung up. “Courtney’s still sick. She sounded terrible. I told her to take as long as she needed.”
Anastasia grimaced. “I sympathize. With classes, too, I’m sure she’s stressed.”
“I’m hoping she’ll be back to her old self again soon.”
“Me, too.”
Joel thought this was as good a time as any to bring up the rental house idea. He said a prayer for the right words and that, if it was something God wanted to happen, that he would soften Anastasia’s heart to the idea. It was hard enough when she got upset last time, he didn’t want to repeat the experience.
“I wanted to run something by you.”
That had her immediate attention. She focused her green eyes on his face. “What’s up?”
“Brooke is considering moving out. I think that sometimes being the only female in the house gets a bit much. She doesn’t want to get an apartment, but houses are over her price limit. She’s thinking of finding a roommate.” He paused, trying to gauge her reaction thus far and wasn’t having much luck. “I thought about you. The two of you could rent a two-bedroom house, split the cost. If you find something with a yard, you’d have a great place for Epic, too.”
Anastasia put down her muffin, leaned back in her chair, and gave him a pointed stare. “I told you, I don’t need or want charity. I’m doing fine. I thought we’d gotten past this.”
The hurt in her eyes pained Joel, but he wasn’t going to let this go. She needed to get out of that van and somewhere safer. The days would get warmer soon as spring approached. She couldn’t leave Epic in the van for long once they did.
“Now, hold on. This is different. You said you were going to be searching for an apartment or a place to rent when you had the money.” She didn’t look at all convinced but at least she hadn’t stood to leave yet. “This is no different. I’m informing you of a possible opportunity to do exactly that — and earlier than you’d hoped for.” Joel watched her, dared her to contradict the truth of his words.
What if she got angry and walked out? Parked her van in a different location? What if she quit her job? Panic filled him as the thoughts pummeled his mind from every direction. He’d known her a week and already he couldn’t picture his life without her in it.
The realization startled him.
Joel didn’t want to lose her. But he also needed to fix her situation. It was worth the risk of making her angry if it meant she was somewhere safe and warm.
He watched as emotions paraded across her face and prayed she’d give the idea some thought before making a decision.
Chapter Twelve
Anna narrowed her gaze, but Joel kept his eyes on her without flinching. She mulled over his words. He was right. While she would like to rent something without a roommate, it was going to be awhile before she could afford it.
But if she went into renting a house with Brooke, there was a possibility she’d be out of the van in a week or so.
The idea was more than appealing.
“I’m sorry for the knee-jerk reaction. I’ve been in a position before where someone helped me and then insisted I was indebted.” She stopped there, not wanting to give anything else away and hoping she hadn’t done so already. “I don’t want to do that again.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “I doubt Brooke would want to put up with Epic.”
“I told her you cut his hair shorter to keep the shedding down. She likes animals a lot. She wouldn’t mind. And he’s a built-in security system. You can’t go wrong there.”
“True.” She put a finger on her chin. “It would depend on the rent. But a house would be much better than an apartment.” She shrugged. “I’d like to talk to Brooke myself and make sure she’s okay with Epic. But it’s definitely something I’m interested in.”
A grin spread across Joel’s face. “Great! Do you want to come over for dinner tonight so you two can talk about it?”
“Sure. That would be fine.”
“Okay, I’ll let Brooke know. I’m not sure what we’ll eat, but it won’t be hamburgers.”
Anna half expected Joel to gloat over the fact that she’d expressed interest in the idea. But he gave her a genuine smile and seemed pleased that she’d agreed to speak to Brooke.
Anna finished the last bite of her muffin and wadded up her napkin. She’d barely put it on the plate when Joel took it to the counter for her.
She watched him as he worked. The man was thoughtful. A gentleman. She suppressed a smile thinking about how he’d insisted on buying the muffin. She was glad he had. When she got into a rental, she’d find a recipe and make a bunch of those herself.
Was it possible that he was simply interested in being her friend? That he didn’t have some kind of agenda?
“It’s almost nine. We’d better get to the diner.” Joel held her chair out while she stood. “There are people in this town counting the minutes until they come in for lunch.” He winked.
“You bet. Let’s go save the world, one cheeseburger at a time.” Anna gave him a small smile and followed him through the coffee shop. He opened the door for her and she stepped out into the cool air.
They continued silently to the diner and then inside. Joel turned the lights on while Anna headed to the back to begin prepping for the day.
Twenty minutes later, Joel joined her. “I called Brooke and she’s thrilled you’re coming over tonight. She said she’s already found several houses that might work. I think she considered calling the realtor and seeing if you guys could tour t
hem tomorrow, but was afraid she was jumping the gun a little.” He chuckled.
Anna definitely wanted to talk to Brooke first. But the more she thought about the possible situation, the better she felt about it. In fact, it was the first time in a long while that she felt completely at peace with the direction things were going. “Can you text her and tell her that’s a great idea?” She shot Joel a look from the corner of her eye. “The sooner I get out of the van the better. I’m going to be finding mud in everything for a while.”
“I sure can.” He seemed pleased as he typed a message to Brooke. When he was finished, his expression became serious. “I want to make it perfectly clear that you are never indebted to me. For any reason.”
His words touched Anna’s heart. “I appreciate that. Thank you.”
“You are an amazing employee. For that alone, I owe you.”
She felt a pang of disappointment. He was only referring to their working relationship. That’s all there was anyway, right? If that was true, why did it bother her? She shook her head, trying to dismiss the flood of confusing emotions. “You pay me a good wage. You owe me nothing. Other than my paychecks.” She did her best to keep the conversation light.
Joel laughed. “It’s not just that. I…” He paused, the tips of his ears turning red. She thought he was going to change his mind and not speak but he finally turned to face her directly. “Anastasia, I enjoy spending time with you. A lot. It’s quickly become the best part of my day.”
Anna’s eyes widened. Her blood raced, pulsing loud enough that she heard the rush in her ears. She realized suddenly that seeing him had become one of hers as well. Without thought, her feet moved and took her a step closer to him. What was she doing? She needed to get back to prep. Or excuse herself. Something!
Joel extended a finger and swept some of her hair away from her face, depositing it behind her ear. “It’s even softer than I thought it’d be,” he murmured. When she didn’t move, Joel brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers. His gaze shifted from her eyes to her lips.
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