Love's Stormy Gale (Heartsong Presents) (8 page)

“Yes, it was hard, but thanks to a grant I—well, the institute—received, we were able to fund it, plus a state-of-the-art production company created the program. Which reminds me, I want you to look at another proposal I’m writing.” Maggie started riffling through papers on the desk.

“Honestly, Mag, I don’t know how you keep it straight.”

“I call it organized chaos. Hmm...it’s here somewhere.” More paper shuffling.

Olivia shook her head. “You should have Jonathan build you a new desk and some file space.”

“Not if I’m building one for your dad first.”

Jonathan’s voice sounded mere inches behind her, and Olivia tried not to startle. Her heart hammered away. She hoped Jonathan couldn’t hear it. Olivia turned to face him.

“Hi.” Her throat went dry.

“Hey. So, how’re things?” His once-sunburned face now had a dark bronze glow.

“Good, good. Work’s busy. That’s, um, why I’m here tonight mostly. I’m taking care of Maggie’s program for the schools until she’s back from maternity leave.” She liked the cream-colored fisherman knit sweater he wore, which made his hair and eyes seem darker. His mother probably had knitted it and sent it from Florida.

The aroma of burning cheese drifted into the room.

“The lasagna! Ack!” Maggie bounded by them and into the kitchen. Evidently she broke the stereotype of the pregnant waddle.

“It’ll be fine, but you’re not supposed to run around like that, remember?” Olivia called around Jonathan’s torso. Now she was pinned between him and the desk.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Jonathan said, obviously ignoring the culinary crisis.

“I—I’m glad you’re here, too,” Olivia admitted. The scent of his cologne was doing things to her stomach, but it wasn’t a bad feeling. She wanted to step a little closer, but also wanted to find something to do in the kitchen away from him.

“Well, you can let me know how big you want me to build your dad’s desk.”

“Yes. The desk. Of course. We can sketch it out after supper maybe.” She tried not to lick her lips. Oh, she’d missed him all right. But he hadn’t missed her. He’d only asked about the desk.

“Liv, could you give me a hand with the salad?” Maggie’s voice filtered into the alcove.

Olivia ignored Jonathan’s probing eyes as she darted around him and joined Maggie in the kitchen.

With rapid strokes of the vegetable peeler, she made quick work of peeling an unwitting cucumber. Then she whacked the thing into slices. Maggie meanwhile pattered back and forth from the table.

“So, what’s with the samurai salad technique? You sure it’s just veggies you’re brutalizing there?” Maggie opened a cabinet to take down some coffee cups.

“I almost made a fool out of myself a minute ago.”

“With Jonathan?”

Olivia nodded. “Yeah. It’s obvious he’s enjoying his new job.” She split a head of lettuce in two. “I’m happy for him, really I am.”

Maggie’s hand closed over the one holding the knife. “You expected him to go out on the water and be miserable?” She gave a soft chuckle. “For men like Jonathan and Todd, it would be like asking them to hate their own souls.”

Olivia put down the knife. “No, I don’t want him to be miserable. I just—I just want him to miss me.” The admission sounded silly when it sprang from her mouth. But her best friend would hear such words and understand.

“I think he does miss you, Liv. You should have seen his face when he came up behind you while we were at the desk. I haven’t seen him look so happy in weeks.” Maggie sighed.

“But he said he was glad I came, so I could tell him how I wanted Dad’s desk built.” She’d been fine until she saw Jonathan again. Her emotions now tumbled topsy-turvy inside.

“Men.” Maggie rolled her eyes. “He misses you, girl. Believe me.”

“I...” Olivia tossed the salad with abandon. “I pray for him, you know.”

Maggie smiled. “Then keep praying. Hey, I hear the guys coming. Brace yourself, I think they’re hungry.”

Chapter 10

J
onathan felt a chill in the air when he first entered Todd’s eat-in kitchen, and it wasn’t just from the early autumn breeze coming through the window. Olivia kept up a light banter with Maggie, but paid little attention to him. Which was fine with Jonathan, because Todd mentioned wanting to hurry through supper so they could get back to the play-off game.

“So, Liv.” Jonathan decided to venture direct conversation with her. “How big do you want your dad’s desk to be?”

“You know, I’ve been thinking about that. Why don’t you call him one day, when the two of you are on dry land, and ask him?” Olivia spoke the words evenly and blinked.

“Okay, I’ll do that. I’ll let you know the cost estimate after I talk to him.” He clenched the cup of coffee he held in one hand.
When the two of you are on dry land.
Very funny.

“Great.”

Then the conversation changed to the topic of Olivia giving presentations at the schools in the nearby school systems.

What had happened to the sparks between them during the summer? Maybe the past had needed closure, and that was all. Maybe they had both wanted more than could ever be. He’d felt something tonight when he first saw her by the desk, but then whatever it was left, like air escaping from a tire.

They cleared their plates after supper and Jonathan rejoined Todd in the den for the rest of the game. The score didn’t matter to him, or the fact that the Red Sox actually were within a game of winning the sectional title. Olivia waved to them in the den and left, a bundle of materials in her arms.

Jonathan rounded up his courage, stuffed his pride and wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. “Be right back.”

He followed Olivia into the early October night. “Liv.”

Olivia laid the bundle of materials on the roof of the car. “Yes?” She turned as she worked the key in the driver’s side lock.

“What got your socks in a wrinkle?” He crossed his arms over his chest.

She bit her lower lip. “I—I don’t know how to say this.” She raised her hands, palms upward, and shrugged. A tentative step brought her closer to him. “I missed you, and you started talking about the desk.”

Jonathan closed the gap. “Silly woman, I’ve missed you. I’ve missed you, I—” Why were the words so hard to speak? Countless times over the past weeks he’d wanted to tell her somehow.

“I’ve missed you, too. So much.” Olivia blinked rapidly, then gave him a slight smile. “I can’t deny you your dream. I can’t ask you to give up on what you want so badly. I’ve tried to trust God to watch out for you, tried not to worry, because I know that bothers you.”

“I know you’re trying.” He allowed himself to cup her cheek with one hand. Her skin was the softest texture he’d touched in a long time.

Olivia’s eyes closed, then she touched his hand and pulled it from her cheek. “I think it’s best, really, if we remain only friends.”

Her statement nailed him like a punch. Jonathan lowered his hand. “You’re sure?”

“It’s better that way.” She swept her fingers across her eyes. “I can’t keep putting myself—or you—through this turmoil. I think over time you’d come to resent my fear, and I don’t want to hold you back.”

“Hold me back?” Jonathan could scarcely draw a breath. “Your fear doesn’t hold me back. I’m praying for you, and I know God can handle this.”

She nodded. “He can, I’m sure. But I can’t. I’m sorry.”

Olivia left, not meeting his eyes. Jonathan turned back to the house. Both the conversation and the night air left him numb.

* * *

Olivia’s high heels made a click-clack on the linoleum as she headed toward the elementary school auditorium. She wore her “power suit,” a tailored navy blue skirt and jacket.
Atta girl,
she’d told herself in the mirror. She could do this. The multimedia baggage rolled along behind her. Her first presentation as a representative of CICA, and her stomach was doing somersaults. She imagined a bubbling mass of one hundred third-graders waiting on the edge of their seats.

One of the wheels of the luggage caught on a metal ridge inlaid in the linoleum. She stopped before the cart tipped over.

“Here, let me help you with that,” a male voice said, just as Olivia turned and nearly ran into a surprised-looking man wearing a tie.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

He stumbled backward and her own imbalance carried her in his direction. A blur of khaki and white appeared before her eyes. He cushioned their fall to the tile floor. Olivia extricated herself from her awkward position as the man with laughing dark eyes caught his breath. He stood, then reached down to help her up. His hand was strong and warm. “You must be Olivia Shea from the whale institute. I’m Frank Pappalardo.”

“Yes, that’s me.” Her face felt hot as she realized he still held her hand.

Curly ebony hair with dark eyes to match showed Frank’s Portuguese ancestry. Somehow he looked familiar to her.

“Ms. Shea, I know this is going to sound bad, but I think I’ve seen you somewhere before.”

“I was going to say the same thing.” She felt a run bloom down one leg of her nylons. Great. “Um, I should get to the auditorium to set up.” She hoped she wasn’t sounding rude.

“I can show you. Another teacher’s got my class for a few minutes.” Frank took the cart’s handle without asking. Olivia slung her purse over one shoulder and grasped her briefcase with her free hand.

“Thanks.” She had to stride quickly to keep up with the man’s long steps. “Well, you said I looked familiar. Where do you think you’ve seen me?”

“I’ve recently started attending Fairport Bible Fellowship, and I think maybe I’ve seen you there.”

So that explained it. “Okay, that’s probably why I think I’ve seen you before, too.” She’d noticed him, but then what woman wouldn’t?

During the walk through the hallway, Olivia discovered that their fathers probably knew each other, they both liked making homemade pasta and they both were only children. This man piqued her interest, with his open and friendly demeanor. Not to mention an eye-catching smile.

The auditorium doors loomed before them too soon, it seemed. Frank led the way to the platform and helped Olivia, whose fingers turned to all thumbs.

Stop it. Focus.
Olivia fumbled with the materials as the roomful of third-graders bounced on their seats and chattered. From the corner of her eye, she saw Frank maneuver his tall frame into an aisle seat.

She missed Jonathan. That was all. The hair and eyes reminded her of him. Had he sailed out again? She steeled herself against the longing that threatened to bubble up.
Remember, you’re to stay just friends with the man.

Frank gave her a smile when he caught her eye, and she fought to keep her focus.

She remembered little of what she said during the following hour, except the children were enthralled. Several volunteers helped her in the presentation. Afterward, the students filed out and Olivia packed her supplies. She wrangled the display materials down the hall and entered the school office to check out. Frank leaned against the counter.

“Hi, again.” She smiled and signed out of the school roster.

“I’ll see you Sunday morning?” He showed perfect teeth in a perfect mouth on a perfect face.

“Yes, probably.” Olivia’s mind went blank. “I need to get back to the lab.”

She would gladly relinquish this job to Maggie after she returned from maternity leave. Give her the lab work any day. Let Maggie worry about PR.

But then you wouldn’t have run into Frank Pappalardo.
She paused her mental circle of thoughts. Both she and Jonathan were free. They had come to an impasse. He wouldn’t give up his dream of the boat. She wouldn’t commit to a man who worked on the ocean. Why, then, did she feel that the idea of entertaining the attentions of another man was almost a betrayal?

* * *

Jonathan let the tape measure snap back into its case, then jotted down the figure on his notepad. He could smell the scent of Sam Shea’s pipe drifting in from the porch.

“Liv’s going to flip when she sees you with that pipe,” Jonathan called out the front door.

“That’s why I’m finishing now before she gets home from work.” Sam coughed, and even inside the front room Jonathan heard the rattle in the man’s chest.

“Right. Just like calories vanish if you break a cookie in half, like my mother says.” Jonathan joined Sam outside. He paused, but wanted to clear out before Olivia arrived home. He didn’t want another replay of their conversation from the other night.

“So you’re ganging up on me, too, are ya?”

“Nope.” Jonathan chuckled. “You’re a grown man. I think your mother finished raising you a long time ago.”

Sam blew an
O
of smoke “Now if I can convince my daughter of that, I’ll be all set.”

“She worries about you.” He hadn’t meant to chide the man about his habit. And now if he didn’t find a quick yet polite way to back out of the conversation, he ran the risk of running into Olivia.

As if Sam sensed Jonathan’s thoughts, the older man changed the subject. “She worries about you, too, you know.”

“Yeah.”

“And I know you can’t help it.”

“What do you mean?”

Sam shifted on the rocking chair. “First time you went back out, I think she relived several years ago, when she said good-bye to someone else she loved.”

Loved? She loved him? Jonathan’s head swam. Of course Olivia had been irritated the other night, the way he’d talked about the desk. But then she said they should remain only friends.
Women.

“There she is now.” Sam gave a nod as Olivia’s car pulled into the driveway.

“Guess I should go.” From his spot on the porch, Jonathan saw the dismay on Olivia’s face.

“Stay for supper.” Sam coughed. “Don’t know what’s on for tonight. Friday’s pretty low-key around here.” His rough hand slid the now-extinguished pipe into his pocket.

The car door slammed, then Olivia headed toward the porch. “Hey, Dad, Jonathan.” She looked as happy to see him as someone going for a root canal.

“Jon’s staying for supper tonight. I figured he and I can hash over the details for the desk.” Sam and Jonathan followed Olivia into the house.

“Now, Sam, I don’t have to...” Jonathan began.

“That’s fine if you stay, Jonathan.” Olivia was staring at the floor. “I, uh, have plans tonight, so I won’t be here for dinner.”

“Is that so?” Sam’s eyebrows shot up. “Hmm, suppose me and Jonathan could go to the Sea Dawg for a bite, us two bachelors.”

Yes, that sounded fine to Jonathan, too. Usually forthcoming about her activities, Olivia had clamped her lips together after mentioning her plans, which probably meant one thing: She had a date. And Jonathan didn’t want to be here when the guy arrived.

* * *

Olivia didn’t watch Jonathan’s Jeep pull away outside. Frank would meet her at the Sea Dawg in less than an hour, and here she was, still in her work clothes. She hurried through a shower and into a comfortable dress. But they were only having dinner at the best greasy spoon in town.

The whine of the hair dryer masked Olivia’s sigh. She couldn’t stop thinking about Jonathan. He was a good friend, and she wanted to keep him as a friend, even if she had to release her love for him.

If she could distance herself enough from Jonathan, perhaps in time the ache would go away.

“You look frightful,” she said to the reflection with brown wavy hair gently cascading to its shoulders. “Anyone would think you were getting ready for a funeral by the expression on your face.”

Olivia tried to brighten her thoughts. Frank had mentioned grabbing a snack, then going to the high school’s one-act play night. Frank had called nearly every night for the past week, and she felt comfortable getting to know him.

Lord, my life is getting on track again. I’m doing the work I love, still here with Dad because he needs me. And now someone like Frank’s come along. He’s a nice guy....
Olivia applied some eyeliner. She needed to forget her feelings for Jonathan. There was no way out of their stalemate that she could see. A friendly night out with Frank would be a good way to begin to put Jonathan out of her heart.

* * *

“Now, would you look at that?” Sam nodded toward the doorway of the Sea Dawg.

Jonathan took a sip of coffee before turning around in his chair, and he almost choked.

A tall man with dark curly hair was helping Olivia with her coat. Her hair hung loose and glowed a golden brown under the lighting. Her emerald green dress hugged her curves demurely and revealed a flash of knee. Jonathan faced back around before Olivia saw him staring.

“I knew she’d met the new teacher at the elementary school, but I had no idea it was Nazarro Pappalardo’s boy.” Sam continued to look across the room, his blue eyes undoubtedly watching his daughter and her date.

“Didn’t the Pappalardos move away years ago? I remember that name from grade school.” From the corner of his eye, Jonathan saw them escorted to one of the window tables. Like a gentleman, Frank seated Olivia before seating himself. They opened the laminated menus.

“Yeah. Nazarro’s brother Isadore still lives here. I just saw him yesterday, and he mentioned Frank was in town again. A shame that boy broke family tradition and got a land job.” Sam shook his head.

“It happens.” Jonathan flipped the bill over and reached for his wallet.

“You going to get a refill of coffee and try not to stare at Liv and Frank?”

“I’d rather not. I need to get some prices for boat parts. Pete’s signed the boat over to me and it needs a good overhaul before I go out again.”

The two men paid the bill and left the restaurant. Olivia had given no sign that she’d seen either her father or Jonathan, for which Jonathan was grateful.

“You sure you haven’t bitten off more than you can chew, son?” Sam asked as they walked to the Jeep.

Jonathan shook his head. “No, I knew what I was getting into.” He didn’t bother to say the past two runs had been dismal, and he’d started dipping into his reserve funds for expenses.

* * *

“Why don’t you come on in?” Sam unlocked the front door of the house. “I can show you the boat suppliers’ sites on the internet. You can even print out a price list.” Sam paused, then coughed. “Oughta put some of my learning from that computer class to use.”