A Matter of Destiny (7 page)

"You don't mind?"

"No." He even managed a ghost of a smile.

Sharon didn't think about it too long, or she'd talk herself out of it. Still, David tugged on her heartstrings. But he obviously didn't want company.

"Okay," she said to Joe. "Shall I follow you?"

"Why don't you ride with me, and David can take your car home?"

Sounded reasonable, she thought, as she handed David the keys. Then why were her hands shaking? She felt like a high-schooler on a date with the team captain.

David took the keys and said, "See you later," then left.

Sharon watched him go, worrying. Maybe they could talk when she got home.

Luke came up, and his gaze followed hers. "Coming, Mom?"

She smiled. "You won't be embarrassed?"

"Naw."

"You played great, Luke. I'm impressed."

His face lit up and his ears reddened. "Thanks. Gotta hit the showers." He ran to catch up with his teammates.

Her attention drawn back to Joe, she caught him studying her. Sharon was startled by the tenderness in his eyes, and her heartbeat accelerated. Only Tom had looked at her like that, and not very often. The thought of her husband made Sharon blink, and she lowered her gaze, confused.

"Want to wait in my car while I hurry these guys up?" Joe asked her.

Another exchange of keys and Sharon headed for his red Chevy. The sporty model suited him, she thought, then tried not to think about him too much. The scent of Joe's aftershave seemed to envelop her in the confines of the small car.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then shook her head. What was she doing?

It was barely ten minutes later when Joe slid in beside her. "Hi," he said softly, as if they'd been separated for months instead of moments.

"Hi, yourself." It was easy to smile back at him. The moonlight heightened his dark good looks, and she kept on smiling until she felt foolish. "Where're the boys?"

He shifted to face her. "They'll be along any minute. Hungry?"

"Starved." Actually, she hadn't been thinking about food, but her stomach growled. "See?"

Luke rapped on the window, and opened the door. "I'll ride with Andy, okay, coach? See you at Conto's."

"Right," Joe said and turned the ignition.

Sharon gave him a suspicious look. "I think you just wanted me along to help you handle all those kids."

He glanced over. "This is a first for me, inviting a mother. We'll see if it's worth the extra expense."

"Thanks a lot," she said, punching his arm.

He smiled. "You're welcome."

When he pulled up to Conto's Pizza Parlor, most of the team members were already there. Joe opened the door for Sharon. She experienced another brief moment of guilt, which she instantly swallowed.

She'd made a deal with herself to go on living, hadn't she? There was no turning back. The alternative was unthinkable.

Inside the restaurant was a jumble of color and chaos. Peppermint-striped swags hung at every window, with matching helium balloons as a centerpiece for each table.

The noise level made conversation almost impossible unless they shouted. They waited in line to place their order.

Sharon enjoyed being with the boisterous teenagers, and Joe. She watched her fair-haired son joke with his friends and knew she had Joe to thank. He'd been right to get Luke involved in sports. Not many men would have taken such a personal interest.

They found a huge table, and rehashed the game until the pizzas came. Sharon was given first slice, as the only woman present. She knew Joe watched as mozzarella stretched from the pizza to her mouth.

He handed her a napkin, then used another to wipe some sauce off her nose. "You kids sure are messy," he teased.

Sharon realized Luke observed Joe's action, but didn't seem disturbed by it. She knew David would've been.

She licked her lips, and Joe's gaze drew to her mouth. She, in turn, studied his. What would his kiss be like? Just imagining his lips against hers made her lightheaded.

You've got to pull yourself together, she warned inwardly. Sharon tried to treat him with casual disregard during the rest of the meal. She couldn't help but notice his puzzled expression, though, as if he were wondering what he'd done wrong. Nothing, she told him silently, except to be too attractive and too kind to a very lonely woman. He probably didn't even realize the effect he had on her.

When it was time to go, Joe asked the waiter to wrap some extra slices for Sharon to take home to David. She doubted if anything would have touched her more, that he'd remembered her older son. She smiled gratefully and tucked the package into her purse.

This time, Luke rode with them, at Sharon's insistence. He was only a freshman and didn't need to stay out late. She also needed a buffer between her and Joe. As she listened to Luke and Joe discuss the game, Sharon felt a growing interest in the sport.

When they arrived at the house, Luke murmured, "Thanks, coach," as he got out of the car and bounded up the front steps. So much for the buffer.

She turned to Joe. "That was fun. Thanks for taking me."

"Get enough to eat?" He sounded amused.

Sharon nodded. "Was I worth it?"

The amusement left Joe's gaze and his jaw tightened. "More than you know," he said in his deep voice.

Any reply she might have made stuck in her throat, so she decided it was time to end the evening. "Night," she said, opening the door before he could open it for her.

She didn't want him to walk her to the house, not in the vulnerable mood she was in. She turned briefly and waved, surprised to find him staring after her.

What had he meant when he said, 'more than you know'?

As soon as she let herself in, Sharon searched for David. He was in the living room, watching TV. From the noise in the kitchen, she knew where Luke had gone.

"Hi, hon. Joe saved you some pizza." She pulled out the foil-wrapped package.

"I already ate."

Her eyes widened. "Not hungry for pizza? Let me check your temperature." She reached for his forehead.

"Don't, Mom." He pushed her hand away.

Sharon frowned and sat down beside him. "All right, what's bothering you? Is it Melanie?" Maybe she was prying, but it would help everyone if he'd open up.

He stared at the TV, then raised his gaze to meet hers. She was shocked by the pain in his eyes.

"I just need some time, and Melanie doesn't understand. I don't want to be close to anyone right now..."

Sharon squeezed his hand as the sting of tears burned her. "I know, honey. You're afraid to care because it hurts so much." I'm afraid, too, she admitted silently. She hugged him. "I love you, David, and I want you to be happy. You will be again, I know it."

Did she have the right to promise something over which she had no control? She
had
to believe he'd be happy someday.

"Is there any way I can help, other than being a nagging mother?"

She caught the slight grin and felt rewarded.

"I guess I'm used to the nagging, so you'd better keep it up. It was awfully quiet around here when you weren't acting like yourself."

Sharon's heart hurt at the image his words evoked. Two grief stricken boys who'd had no one to turn to. She'd
never
let them down again. Sharon kissed his cheek before she stood, leaving the pizza on the coffee table.

On the way upstairs, she heard the sound of aluminum foil ripping.

Joseph asked Serena to halt his assignment. Serena refused.

"It might be easier if I could tap into the Knowledge now and then." He felt an unfamiliar surge of irritation. What was happening to him? He was all mixed up and felt that he'd lost all sense of direction.

"You know it's forbidden when a guardian has face-to-face contact with the humans. You already have an unfair advantage."

Joseph frowned. "And how's that?" He certainly didn't feel as if he were any wiser, smarter, stronger...

Serena was silent for a long moment while Joseph waited. Finally, she spoke. "You don't have complete forgetfulness like they do. In essence, they're traveling blind."

Joseph thought about her words. "It hurts, Serena." At the moment, he felt that forgetfulness would be a blessing.

"I know, Joseph, but it'll all be clear when the right time comes."

He had to accept her word, but admitted to himself he was beginning to have grave doubts.

Thanksgiving vacation finally arrived. Sharon and the boys managed to pack the small car with their luggage, then squeeze themselves in for the trip.

"I think we brought enough for three weeks instead of three days," she grumbled.

The only saving factor was that it wasn't too far to the McIver place in Haden Lake, about an hour and a half drive.

Sharon had thought of asking Joe to join them since he didn't have any family in Hollow Bend, but somehow it didn't seem the proper thing to do.

She wondered if he'd spend the holidays alone. He hadn't mentioned any plans.

Sometimes, he seemed terribly lonely and they'd never talked about his family. When she asked, he simply changed the subject. Was he hiding something?

They passed harvested fields, rocky hills, an occasional deer searching for food. Sharon loved the beauty of Idaho and couldn't imagine living anywhere else. She was glad, though, that a typical winter snowstorm hadn't yet hit the area.

It was wonderful to see her folks. Her mother wore the ever-present apron and sensible shoes, her wispy hair pulled back into a bun. Bea hugged Sharon with a bone-crushing embrace as Harry waited his turn.

Sharon smiled warmly at her diminutive dad. He'd always reminded her of a leprechaun, at least her image of one.

She'd begun the business of living again, just as her parents hoped she would. Harry sniffed loudly when she hugged him, and Sharon clung to his wiry frame a little longer. He was using the same woodsy pipe tobacco she remembered.

"Just look at my handsome grandsons," Bea said. "You must have to fight the girls off with baseball bats."

"Not quite, Grandma," Luke said with a grin, "but almost."

David tapped his brother playfully. "Don't you wish, little brother."

"Let's get inside," their grandmother said, "unless you boys want to bring the suitcases in first." She shivered from the cold.

The mountain peaks in the distance were covered in white.

Sharon tossed the keys to David, and he opened the trunk. "Might as well."

"How are you managing, dear?" her mother asked when they found a moment alone. Sharon gazed at the plump gray-haired woman with the bright blue eyes. She knew her mother needed reassurances of her adjustment.

"I've got the boys, Mom, and now the job. We'll be all right...eventually." She paused as her voice broke. "It's just so hard," Sharon finished in a whisper.

"I know, darlin," Bea said as she patted her daughter's back. "I wish we lived closer."

Sharon put her arm around her. "I know, but you and Dad are near enough if we need you." For a moment, she was tempted to mention what a help Joe had been, but thought better of it.

She spoke of something else instead. "It'll seem strange going to work, but it might be fun."

"It'll fill the empty spaces of time," Bea said, nodding.

"Well, as Dad said, life is meant for the living."

Harry walked in and heard Sharon's last sentence. "Does that mean I'm forgiven for leaving you barely a week after the funeral? I think your mother cried for two weeks after we got home."