Love Inspired May 2015 #2 (32 page)

He placed the tray on the coffee table in front of the couch and motioned her to take a seat. He sat next to her.

Becca added cream and honey to hers and took a sip. “Hazelnut. But I'm sure you didn't finagle this get-together to talk about coffee.”

“True. I arranged it to talk about us.”

She raised an eyebrow.

He wiped his hands on his jeans.
Great.
Now, he sounded like a bad chick flick. “I'm sorry I lost my temper at the day-care center. What I have to say isn't an excuse. It's an explanation. I let what people were thinking get to me. Then, you accused me of being unfit to run a program for kids. I'm not my father. I live every day trying not to be like him.”

“I know. I apologize for that.” She placed her hand on his. “I had other things bothering me. I shouldn't have taken them out on you.”

He flipped her hand over and entwined his fingers with hers. “The Sheriff giving you more trouble?”

She slipped her fingers from his and put her hands in her lap. Why'd he go and mention the Sheriff?

“Nothing new,” she said.

“What can I do to help?” He pressed his palms to his thighs. His offer left him open to her retreating to her previous stand that they keep things between them strictly businesslike—Zoning Board petitioner to board member, parent to teacher.

“Thanks. But it's not your problem.”

“I could make it my problem.” That's what he'd be doing if he pursued Becca. Her kids and her ex were part of the package. He drank in her beauty and the person he was learning she was. It was definitely worth exploring, and, hey, he carried heavier baggage than she did. Besides, he might enjoy some one-on-one with the Sheriff.

She chewed her lower lip.

“Becca, I like you.” He didn't care if he probably sounded like one of her high school students with a mad crush. He had to get it out. “I like spending time with you and your kids.” He stopped himself from telling her how much the remark made by the woman at the soft-serve ice-cream stand about what a nice family they made had affected him. That would have been
too
sappy. “I'd like to spend more time with you.”

Her shoulders sagged, and he bounced his leg in nervous anticipation.

“Oh, Jared.”

A chill went through him. She was going to shoot him down.
He'd had his share of brush-offs, but none of them had felt as crushing as this.

“I like you, too.” Her lips curved in a wobbly smile.

He slid his arm along the back of the couch behind her.

“It's too soon.”

Too soon?
It had to be six or seven years since Matt had left her.

“I've been praying for direction in my life, about the kids and the Nortons, about the Zoning Board decision...” Her voice softened. “About you.”

His throat clogged.

“The only answer I've gotten is ‘give things time.' I think He's saying wait until after the board decision.” She clasped and unclasped her hands. “I'm not always good at listening and hearing.”

“I understand that. I've been known to not hear, even when He hammers the message into my head.”

“That's an interesting picture. Are you saying you can be hardheaded?”

“Something like that.”

“Give me until after the Zoning Board vote. You may change your mind by then.” She forced a laugh. “I'm praying Matt's parents will back off, no matter how I vote. They have before. It's like they have to prove to themselves they have power. We might even be able to come to a long-term agreement outside the official agreement Matt and I have. They really do like seeing the kids, and I think they're afraid they won't after they retire to Florida. That's probably what all the pressure lately is about. Ken's just pinning it on your project.”

Knowing Sheriff Norton and the way he'd always seemed to have it in for his family, Jared wasn't at all sure about that.

“So, what does that mean? Avoiding each other? That's kind of hard with Hope attending The Kids' Place and Ari being her closest friend.”

“No, it means we keep things platonic.” She twirled a strand of her dark hair around her finger. “You have to know, though, that no matter what happens, my kids come first.”

He dropped his hand to her shoulder. “I know.” He did. Hope's arrival had given him insight into a parent's love. The age difference made Hope more of a daughter to him than a sister. He wouldn't do anything that would hurt Becca or her kids.

He squeezed her to his side, and she didn't pull back. It was enough. He could wait.

* * *

“Mommy, come on. Jared is going to be here in five, no four minutes.” Ari was making good use of the watch her father had bought her last week—a woman's watch that must have cost enough to buy half of the back-to-school clothes she'd need this fall. Matt would probably count the cost as child support.

She sighed. Maybe she shouldn't go look at the maple sideboard the woman who had inherited Bert's house was selling at her yard sale. But Jared had seen the sideboard and said it looked like the dining room table and chairs from her grandmother that she had in her dining room. And he'd asked the woman to let her have first look. Of course, it might not be the same at all. Jared could be using the sale to get them together, as he had the dinner at his grandmother's house. She'd thought about that and the possibility of running into her ex-in-laws at the sale and the scene that could cause. But she couldn't base her every move on what Ken and Debbie might think.

“Yeah.” Brendon stuck his head in her room. “Do you really need to put on makeup and stuff? It's Saturday. I want to get to Ian's so we can go fishing while the fish are still biting.”

Ari looked at her watch again. “I don't want Mrs. Hazard to leave without me and Hope.” Anne Hazard was taking the three girls to the waterslide park at Lake George, while her husband was taking Ian, Brendon and their younger son on a fishing cruise.

“Guys! We could all stay home and clean the house.”

That quieted them down. Becca checked her makeup in the mirror, twisted up her hair and fastened it with a barrette. Ari had a point. She usually didn't wear make-up on weekends except for church. And she'd taken more time choosing which shorts and top to wear than she would have if she'd been going to the sale alone. But, she'd admit it to herself, if not to anyone else: she wanted to look nice for Jared. Even though, at her best, a small-town high school teacher like her wasn't in the same league as the women he usually dated.

She spun away from the mirror. Today wasn't a date. They weren't dating. He'd simply offered his truck to bring the sideboard to her house if she bought it. Although she'd believed what Jared had told her at his grandmother's house, believed that's how he felt at the moment, she had doubts about her holding his interest long. He'd lived such a different life. Came from a different family background.

A cardinal chirped outside. That didn't mean she couldn't enjoy his company while he was here. She just wouldn't let her heart get involved.

“He's here,” Brendon called up to her.

She smiled to herself and headed down the stairs. She didn't want to keep them waiting.

“Ready?” Jared asked as she stepped off the last stair. His warm appraisal of her said it had been worth her extra fussing.

“Yes.” She picked her purse up from the end table. “A couple of us are very anxious to go places and do things with their friends.”

“I know how they feel,” Jared said.

They dropped the kids off at the Hazards' and drove to the yard sale. Several cars lined the road in front of the house. Jared pulled behind the last one in line. While Becca was unfastening her seat belt, he walked around and opened the cab door for her.

“Thanks.” She couldn't remember the last time a man had opened a car door for her.

He shut it behind her. “We aim to please.”

And he did, with his working man's tan, black T-shirt and well-worn jeans.

“Jared,” a woman called across the yard.

He waved a greeting. “That's Nanci, the woman Bert left his house to.” He grabbed her hand and led her over to the porch, where Nanci was standing.

Jared introduced Becca to Nanci, who took them inside to the dining room.

“Here it is.” Nanci motioned to the sideboard.

Becca ran her hand across the carved design on the front of the three drawers. “It's beautiful, and a perfect match to my dining room set.”

Nanci laughed. “Glad it matches something. As you can see, it doesn't match anything in this room, or anywhere else in the house, for that matter. In fact, I don't think any three items in the house match.”

Becca looked around the room and saw what she meant. Only three of the eight chairs around the dining table matched, and the china cabinet and small phone table were completely different from any of the other pieces.

“Bert was a collector,” Jared said.

“You've got that right,” Nanci said. “You should see the stuff out in the old horse barn. Tools, motors, who knows what else. A man's bargain paradise.”

Jared's eyes lit. “Mind if I go look?”

“By all means,” Nanci said.

Jared looked at Becca.

“Go ahead,” she said. “I'll look around until you come back.”

He was gone almost before she'd finished. Becca walked around the rest of the house, checking out what else Nanci had tagged for sale before returning to the dining room and the sideboard.

“How much?” Becca asked Nanci, testing the sideboard's three drawers and the cabinet doors.

Nanci quoted a price far below what Becca knew the value was. “That's all?” Becca asked breaking every buyer's cardinal rule.

The woman glanced in the direction Jared had taken out of the house and shifted her weight from foot to foot. “Yes. I want to get rid of most of Bert's things so I have room for my own.”

Becca touched the carved design again. “Did Jared pay you the difference between the real value of the sideboard and the price you gave me?” Her breath hitched. He didn't need to use his money to impress her.

“No.” Nanci looked back and forth over her shoulders. “He tried to, but I told him that was a dumb idea and that if I did and you found out, he'd be in big trouble.”

“You've got that right. So, how much do you want?”

Nanci quoted the same price. “Don't worry. I'm so thrilled Bert left me this place, I don't mind sharing my blessing. Besides, I'll make enough off the rest of the sale, probably a killing on what your man alone comes back with from the barn.”

“He's not my man. He's...” What was Jared? “We're friends.”

Nanci smiled. “So you're taking the sideboard?”

Becca considered the cost again. She'd taken enough money out of her school-tax savings account to cover it. And the last time she and her mother had talked, Mom had asked her what she wanted for her birthday. She and Dad would gladly give her what Nanci was charging for the sideboard.

“Sure she is. She loves it,” Jared said from the doorway. He grinned at her. “I could tell by the way you kept touching it.”

He was right. And she rarely did anything for herself. Becca pulled out her wallet and paid for the piece before her responsible, self-sufficient side took control again.

Jared nodded. “I'll settle up with Nanci for the stuff I want from the barn and find someone to help me carry it out to the truck.”

He spread the sale tags out on the sideboard for Nanci. She totaled them on a hand calculator, showing him the result.

Becca watched wide-eyed as he peeled off at least ten one hundred–dollar bills.

“Keep the change,” he said.

“Thanks.”

Becca's eyes locked with Nanci's. “It's ten dollars,” Nanci mouthed.

“What was that?” Jared asked when they got outside.

“Girl stuff.” Becca pushed a stray strand of hair back into her barrette.

His expression clearly said he wasn't buying her answer, but he didn't press her for an explanation. He lifted his hand to shield the sun from his eyes. “I see a willing body to help me move your sideboard.”

Becca followed him as he strode across the lawn to a group of young men.

Jared slapped one of them on the back. “Ah, just the man I was looking for.”

Toby Schuyler turned around, giving Becca a glimpse of the two guys the teen was with. She recognized them as students she'd had several years ago, and not people Toby's mother would be happy to see him hanging with.

“Jared. I thought we were on for this afternoon, not this morning. Fixing the truck.” Toby sounded like he added the last sentence for the other guys. “We were looking at the tools and stuff for sale.”

“We are on for this afternoon,” Jared said.

Becca watched Jared size up the other guys. They both dropped their heads at his scrutiny. More likely they were casing the barn to come back later after the sale for anything that was left.

“Later, Tobe,” one of them said, and they slunk away.

“I need you to help me carry a piece of furniture to my truck for Ms. Norton.”

Toby blinked as if he'd just noticed her. “Hi, Ms. Norton. Sure.” His gaze shot to his friends getting in a car and roaring off.

“The sideboard is in the house,” Jared said.

Becca directed the guys and the sideboard out to the truck. They lifted it into the back. Jared had bought a lot of other stuff. Things he'd use or nostalgic remembrances? Becca was discovering he had a softer side he wasn't aware of.

“You ready to work?” Jared asked Toby.

“Got nothing else to do.”

“Good. We'll swing by Ms. Norton's house first to drop her off and unload the sideboard and then head over to the parsonage to work on your truck. Connor's letting us use half of the garage as our work space,” Jared said for her benefit.