“Perfect time. But be careful driving in. The old schoolhouse burned down this afternoon, and Main Street is closed off at the south end.”
“I’ll take care, then. See you in a few.”
It wasn’t ten minutes before Jason, a tall young man with a scruffy red-blond beard, entered the antiques store. After he waved at Angie, Faith led him directly to the desk in question. The blond piece had a few dings and needed some work whether or not they altered it to accommodate plugs.
Jason’s brown eyes squinted as he gave it the once-over, pulling out drawers and inspecting the backside. At last, he stood up and brushed his hands on his jeans. “The work will be a cinch. We’ve just got to make sure we don’t detract from the integrity of the piece.”
Absolutely. “I want it to still look like a mid-century period desk, but at the same time, feel updated, if that makes sense. I’m going to change the knobs out, for one thing.” They could definitely use an upgrade.
Jason scratched his ginger-blond beard. “You’ll want to do this with other pieces, you said?”
“If this one sells to the hotel, then yes, I’d like to try.” She cleared her throat. “What do you think the work will cost?”
“It’s a few hours of labor, and the parts won’t cost that much.” Jason quoted a reasonable price. “It might be something you can do yourself, if you want me to teach you.”
“Oh, no.” Faith waved her hands. “The work needs to be done by a certified electrician.”
“Miss Faith!” Nora’s high-pitched voice drew Faith around.
What were Tom and the kids doing here? Nora plowed into her, and Logan crept closer, eyeing Jason with a wary expression. She reached out, and he rushed to her side, hiding his face from Jason. The kids under her arms made her heart feel like exploding with joy.
But it was Tom’s small smile that made her stomach swoop low. She looked away from him, fast, to make the introductions.
“Where’s Bettina?” Logan pulled back to gaze up at Faith.
“Let Miss Faith finish up her business, son.” Tom’s reprimand was gentle.
Jason rocked on his heels. “I think we’re finished anyway, unless you can think of something else, Faith?”
“Just wondering if I should bring the desk to you?” She’d have to borrow a truck from someone. Who, she couldn’t fathom, because her brain had stopped functioning properly when Tom entered the store.
Jason shook his head. “If you’ve got a work area in that back room, I can do it there. I have a hole in my schedule on Monday.”
“That would be fantastic.”
As Jason took his exit, Angie grabbed her purse. Looked like she’d swiped on some lipstick since Faith last looked over at her, and she’d also donned a sparkly gemstone statement necklace. “Is it still okay if I go now?”
Ah, yes. Angie’s date. “Of course. Have fun.”
“Tell Ender hi,” Tom said, smiling.
Angie waved, although her parting glance for Faith was quizzical. What’s he doing here?
Faith shrugged. They’d said goodbyes earlier. As far as she knew, Tom and the kids planned to go home and—
Have pizza and veggies. They’d invited her. And she’d never said no, and neither had Tom. He was too polite to “forget” the kids’ invitation.
Tom shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. “With everything that happened with the schoolhouse, we forgot that we’d talked about pizza. We didn’t want to leave you hanging, so we thought maybe we should see if you wanted to eat at DeLuca’s.”
The best pizza in town and right across the street. She should say no for a million reasons. She had to close up the store, she needed distance from Tom so her feelings didn’t grow past this insane attraction—
But a girl had to eat. And the kids looked so cute.
One more time, hanging out with them. Just one.
Going out didn’t sound appealing, though. The hike, the schoolhouse and overhearing those women in the yarn store had her yearning for a quiet evening. “What do you think about eating here, in my apartment? I still have to close up the store, but if we order the pizza for take-out, it should be ready by the time I’m finished. I have veggies, too.”
Tom grinned wide enough to show his pretty-much-perfect teeth. “Deal.”
Nora was already on the bottom step to Faith’s apartment. “Daddy, don’t forget to ask Miss Faith what she likes on her pizza.”
Tom adopted a chastised-but-amused expression. “What do you like on your pizza, Faith?”
“Hey, kids, wait for me, if you don’t mind.” She glanced back at Tom. “Whatever you guys like.”
“Pepperoni okay?”
“Perfect.”
“I’ll head over there now and bring it back. Kids?”
“They can stay with me. Come up through my apartment door, between the store and Apple a Day. I’ll leave it unlocked for you.”
Tom whistled as he left, and Faith hurried to lock up, deal with the register and clean up the paper coffee cup someone had left on one of the tables. Thankfully, it hadn’t left a ring, but Faith polished it up anyway. She dumped the tea from the urn and deemed everything else capable of waiting until tomorrow or Monday morning. “Okay, let’s go see Bettina.”
The kids ducked beneath the gold cord and ran up the stairs, their feet pounding as if they were in a loudness contest. Logan stopped on the landing, looking at the two doors: one which led to the staircase down to the street door and the other which led to her apartment.
She tipped her head toward the more polished of the two. “That’s the one you want. Go on in, it’s unlocked.”
They ran inside, wide eyes taking in her small but functional kitchen. “Hey, there’s our card.”
“Of course.” The kids’ thank-you note was her lone piece of refrigerator art. “Looking at it makes me happy.”
“Daddy likes our art, too.” Nora led Logan out to the living room, where she touched every piece of furniture, a mix of antiques and newer pieces. Logan pointed down the hallway. “Is that your bedroom?”
“Yep. Bathroom down there, too.”
He didn’t explore it, captivated instead by the French doors facing east. “This is the balcony we see from outside?”
“Sure is.” She took the kids out, showing them the view of Main Street. Then they came back in to find Bettina while Faith unlocked the street door for Tom, washed up and set out some veggies and ranch dip. While the kids and cat played with a string toy, Faith set four places of silverware at the table, something she hadn’t done in she couldn’t remember how long.
She’d have to do better about inviting people over from now on. She’d focused so long on the museum that she hadn’t paid any attention to being social. She hadn’t realized how lonely she’d grown.
Ten minutes or so later, she heard the thumping of steps on the private stairwell and the scrape of the door opening onto her landing. Tom and the pizza. Her stomach got jittery, and it had nothing to do with being hungry for pizza.
Although it—they—smelled wonderful. Tom carried in two flat boxes. “One pepperoni and one DeLuca’s special. Couldn’t resist.”
“Perfect. Set them on the counter by the plates. I can’t fit them both on the table. I’ll get drinks while you guys wash up.”
Within five minutes, she’d cut lemon wedges for their water glasses. They clustered in the kitchen, helping the kids select pieces of pizza. They carried them to the table, where the kids paused, as if unsure where to sit. Faith smiled to set them at ease. “Anywhere you like. Shall we sit and say grace?”
She set her pizza down on the nearest toile placemat and then reached to pull out her chair. But Tom’s hand was faster. And hers landed right on top of it.
* * *
Tom was only trying to pull out her chair, be a gentleman. But when Fai
th yanked her hand off his, he felt—weirdly disappointed. And not because she pulled her own chair out, denying him the chance to be gallant.
Nora had pizza in her mouth, but she talked anyway. “A girl in my class had a pizza date with her daddy. Now I can say I had a date, too.”
“This isn’t a daddy-daughter date, honey, and chew with your mouth closed.” Tom winked. “This is just friends having dinner.”
Faith picked up her pizza. “Maybe you and your daddy can have a pizza date soon, Nora.”
“And I can have one with you.” Logan smiled shyly at Faith.
“We’re good buddies, aren’t we?” She nudged his shoulder but didn’t make any promises to Tom’s relief. Maybe his mom was right about fearing the kids might get attached to Faith. But was that so bad?
She’d be their neighbor, once he was granted the building next door. She was also good to them, kind and loving. His kids needed attachments to adults other than himself, right? His folks, their teachers, his friends like Ender. They needed role models. Faith was a great one—intelligent, industrious and righteous. Why wouldn’t he want Nora and Logan to be around her?
“Do you ever have pizza dates, Miss Faith?” Nora took another bite.
“Well, sure, I guess.”
“With boys?” Nora talked around her food again.
“Sometimes.”
Like whom? Kellan? They’d seemed pretty friendly, sharing that half hug. They probably weren’t dating already, or he’d have heard something about it. But they clearly shared a friendship. Their cats came from the same litter. Was a relationship in their future?
Tom washed down his latest bite with a swig of his lemon-infused ice water, chilling him all the way down. It was none of his business, and it wasn’t like he was going to date her, either.
At least he could completely refute his mom’s concern that Faith was interested in Tom. She was unfazed by the kids’ questions, dipping her baby carrots and celery sticks in ranch dressing while conversing as if she hadn’t a care in the world.
Finished, Logan wiped his hands on a napkin. “Do you have any games?”
“Board games?” Faith’s brows knit. “Do you want to play something?”
“Not if you’re busy, Faith.” They’d imposed long enough.
“No, it sounds fun. I don’t have a lot of games, but I have something down in the store that I could bring up.”
Nora wiggled on her chair. “An old game?”
“From the fifties, yes. I’ve been curious what it’s like, and it’s not in pristine condition so our playing it won’t hurt anything. Besides, if we play, I can tell a prospective buyer what it’s like. Unless it’s so fun I want to keep it all to myself.”
Tom glanced at the pizza crusts on the kids’ plates. “The kids and I will clear up while you go get it.”
While Faith ran downstairs, Tom helped the kids toss food scraps into the trash before he put the plates into the dishwasher. Before he could put the remaining pizza in the fridge, Faith was back with a pale green box that was worn at the corners. Dampening the dishrag, Tom swiped crumbs from the table so they could set the game on it.
“I could get used to this,” Faith teased.
“A cleanup crew?” Surely, she didn’t mean him and the kids being around.
She didn’t answer but laughed and opened the box.
Within a few minutes, the kids were fully engaged in the shopping-themed game, even as Faith had to explain to them what some of the old-timey sounding stores on the board were. “A haberdasher was a hat store.”
“Haberdasher sounds funny.” Logan snickered.
Nora couldn’t repeat the word, for giggling. “Haber-dishy.”
It was silly, but his kids’ silliness was precious to Tom. Their wide-mouth laughs revealed budding teeth in places where the baby teeth had come out. In a year, they’d look totally different, so he memorized the smiles around the table.
Even Faith’s. They could never be more than friends, but he couldn’t deny that he liked looking at her grin.
He also liked that she found his kids funny when they got a bad case of the sillies. Not everyone could take their six-year-old humor for long.
“Haber-ducky.” Nora snorted.
“Haber-shusher,” Logan added, making Nora roar.
“You guys are something,” Tom said, moving his metal game piece. It made a soft thunk on the cardstock board. But the noise didn’t stop when he took his hand off the figure.
Thunk, thunk, thunk.
Faith’s eyes grew large. “That’s my private door from the street. I forgot to lock it after you came in.”
Tom leaped to his feet. “You’re not expecting anyone?”
Her head shook.
It could be a neighbor, or a curious tourist poking around...or something far more sinister. Pizza and anxiety churning in his stomach, Tom dashed to her front door. “I’ll take care of it, but have your phone ready just in case.”
In case we need to call the police. Her nod said she understood.
Out on the landing, he swung open the door to the staircase he’d come up with the pizza, his hands fisting with tension. Who would he encounter? Confused visitors, robbers, what?
He didn’t expect a blonde woman carrying a duffel bag two stairs down.
“Chloe?” Faith’s confused voice sailed past him from the landing.
Tom’s shoulders sagged in relief. Faith’s sister, and sure enough, she looked just as he remembered, with her blond curls, green eyes and preference to dress in bright, trendy clothing. Faith would be so glad to see her—
Chloe wrapped her arms around Tom’s neck. “Tomás Santos, what are you doing here?”
“Pizza and a board game.” Tom extricated himself quickly. Great as it was to see Chloe, he didn’t want to get in the way of her seeing Faith. “What about you?”
“Answering an SOS call.” Chloe tucked a blond curl behind her ear. “I hear you’re competing with Faith for the stinky old store next door.”
“It’s not stinky. It’s got character.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she teased. “We clearly have a lot to catch up on.”
“I’ll take your bag.” Tom reached for her suitcase.
When he looked up to the door to smile at Faith, she was gone.
Chapter Eleven
Chloe was here. Unannounced, unexpected, but in response to Faith’s call. Faith should feel happy, but the only thing she felt was her dinner sitting in a lump in her stomach. Watching Chloe wrap her arms around Tom’s neck hadn’t been fun. In fact, Faith might not even have been present, for all the attention Chloe gave her before Tom and the kids left to go home a few minutes ago.
Since then, Chloe had been on her phone, tapping away, although she’d followed Faith into the guest room. Faith tugged a clean fitted sheet over the mattress harder than necessary. “This is a surprise, seeing you.”
“You called me, remember?”
You didn’t answer, remember? “That was like, ten days ago.” Faith unfurled the top sheet over the bed.
Chloe pocketed her phone and yanked the sheet so hard the opposite corner flew out of Faith’s hands. “I was waiting to find out if I could get time off work before I made a promise I couldn’t keep.”
Faith had never asked for her sister to come for a visit. She’d just asked for a five-minute conversation where her sister said there, there or I’m sorry.
Instead, Chloe gave her something more than she’d ever considered receiving from her sister. The support of her presence. And for that, she should be grateful.
“You didn’t have to do that,” she said quietly. “But I really appreciate it.”
“Don’t get all sentimental, Faith, but it’s been on my mind lately that I’m not always the best sister. Nothing set me off, nothing happened, but I’ve been th
inking about you.”
“I’ve been thinking about you, too.” Praying, actually. Was this God’s answer?
Chloe tucked in her side of the sheet, then helped tug the fuzzy cream blanket and red toile bedspread back atop the bed. “I figured you didn’t need me or anything, but my guess is that Mom and Dad weren’t that helpful when you told them.”
“I didn’t tell them. They’re both traveling, and I didn’t want to bug them.”
“They might not have understood, anyway. They’ve never been supportive of the store and probably don’t think the museum is a profitable idea.”
“True.” Mom and Dad might be divorced, but they had plenty of similar opinions when it came to Faith’s life choices. “They don’t understand this is what I want to do, even if it doesn’t lead to wealth.”
“Or why you want to be in Widow’s Peak Creek. They hated it here. The only reason they stayed so long was Dad’s admin job at the hospital. He’d been searching for a new job for years.”
Faith looked up from smoothing the pillows. “I didn’t know any of that.”
“I overheard them talk about it several times, but I never told you. I knew you’d freak out.”
Despite all of her parents’ arguments, she’d nevertheless been devastated by the divorce and their move away, so yeah. She would have.
Faith slipped out to the hall cupboard and returned with a beige terry towel and washcloth. “I’m relieved they’re traveling, in all honestly. If I tell them I might not get the museum, I’m afraid they’ll tell me it’s a sign to move away and do something else with my life.”
Like work at a fancy auction house, like Dad thought she should do. Or teach, like Mom wanted.
Chloe came around to Faith’s side of the bed. “Look, I know I don’t totally get the museum thing, and I’m not good at keeping in touch, but I’ll be there to support you at the council meeting on Tuesday.” Moving words that made Faith teary, but Chloe was not an emotional person. Instead, she wiggled her expertly-plucked eyebrows. “If you still need my support, that is. I expected you and Tom Santos to be at each other’s throats. Instead, the enemy was here tonight, having pizza.”
A Future for His Twins Page 11