Family for Keeps & Sadie's Hero (11 page)

Tess gathered her purse and the sweater she had brought. “As you know, I parked right out front.”

“Are you still coming to the church festival on Saturday with us?”

“I’m looking forward to it. I miss seeing Amy and Johnny.”

“They miss you.”

“How are the rabbits doing?”

“Good. The kids agreed to take the rabbits to Colt’s on Sunday.”

“They’re giving up on the idea of a shelter for stray animals?”

“Not exactly. They think the country is a better place for their rabbits than the city.” He leaned around her to open her car door. “I won’t be surprised if they find another stray animal soon.”

The scent of sandalwood drifted to her, making her acutely aware of the man near her. “I think you’re right.”

“I just hope it’s nothing too outlandish. I remember Casey finding a skunk once.”

“Oh, that could be a problem.” Tess slid behind the driver’s seat.

“A smelly problem.”

“Maybe you’d better stock tomato juice in the pantry just in case.”

His laughter blended with the sounds of the neighborhood, a car starting down the street, someone mowing a small patch of grass. “Not a bad idea. We’ll pick you up at three on Saturday. Be ready for some fun and relaxation.”

With a nod, she turned her key in the ignition.

Mac stepped back and watched her drive away. Every time he was with her he felt another brick around his heart crumble. He’d started out with friendship in mind. He’d sensed her need for spiritual help. Now he knew he had been fooling himself. He was falling for her and he wasn’t sure that was wise for either of them. She was afraid to risk her heart, and he realized after his marriage to Sheila that he could never settle for anything but total commitment from a woman. Tess wanted a large family, and he knew he wasn’t prepared to give her that. Nope, it wasn’t a good idea to get too emotionally involved with Tess. But was it too late? Mac wondered as he headed inside the halfway house.

“How many cups of coffee does that make for the day?” Delise said as she plopped down beside Tess at the kitchen table.

“Five, and before you say anything I know that isn’t good. But it’s that or I’m gonna fall asleep at the church festival. Better yet on the ride to the place.”

“Yeah, what’s been going on? For the past few nights I’ve heard you up and about at all hours.”

“Bad dream.” A chill shimmered down Tess’s length when she thought about the nightmare she’d had after the incident at the halfway house. She shook her head as though that would rid her mind of the image of Mac dying in his office with Harry standing over him. She could still hear her screams.

“Well, it must be a humdinger to keep you up like that.”

“I’ve had bouts of insomnia before. I’m sure that’s all this is.”

“Try a warm glass of milk.”

“Yeah, I will.” Tess couldn’t tell her roommate she didn’t want to go to sleep. She wasn’t prepared to explain her nightmare to Delise. But worse, she was afraid Mac would see the dark circles under her eyes and probe for answers. He was much too astute for her peace of mind at times.

When the doorbell rang, Delise hopped to her feet. “I’ll get it. Finish your coffee. I wouldn’t want you falling asleep on your date.”

“It isn’t a date. Amy and Johnny are going to be with us.”

Delise paused at the doorway. “Sure it isn’t. He asked you to go with him. He’s picking you up at your apartment. That sounds like a date to me even if the children are chaperoning.”

Tess opened her mouth to reply, but Delise fled into the living room. Tess gulped the last few swallows of the lukewarm coffee, rose and put the mug in the sink. When she turned toward the door, Mac stood framed in it, looking incredibly handsome in a pair of blue jeans, faded and worn looking, and a striped red and blue polo shirt. His smile brightened his eyes and sent warmth coursing through her.

“Ready?”

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. After snatching her purse and a floppy hat to wear in case the sun decided to peek out from behind the clouds, she walked with him to the front door. When she noticed his car was empty, she asked, “Where are Johnny and Amy?”

“Casey picked them up for lunch and a treat. She’s bringing them.”

“Oh,” Tess said, sliding into the passenger side of the car, realizing this felt very much like a date, as Delise had so kindly pointed out.

After he started the car, he threw a quick look at her. “Having trouble sleeping?”

She knew he would say something. Why hadn’t she prepared a response? She searched her mind for a reply that wouldn’t lead to a lot of questions. None came to mind. “Yes,” she finally answered, knowing what his next question would be.

“Why?”

Because I’ve been dreaming about you getting killed, she thought and gritted her teeth, her gaze trained on the road.

“Another nightmare about Kevin?”

“Yes, I’ve been having nightmares,” she answered, deliberately not elaborating on the subject matter of her dreams.

“Tess, maybe if you talk with Pastor Winthrop, he might be able to help you put the past in perspective.”

“Have you completely?”

Mac didn’t answer for a moment. “Yes, I think I have. But—” he slid a glance toward her “—I had help. You’re trying to do everything by yourself.”

“You mean the Lord’s help?”

“Yes.”

But He’s the one who took Kevin away, she wanted to proclaim as she had in the past. Instead she dug her teeth into her lower lip, knowing the truth wasn’t that simple. “I’ll think about it.” That was all she could say.

“That’s all I ask.” He pulled the car into the church parking lot.

Tess noticed a crowd had formed on the lawn. A large tent offered shelter from the sun, or in this case the rain if the clouds blanketing the sky opened up. People manned the booths under the canvas with various products for sale from food to crafts. Several groups of children were playing games from catch to tag while others romped on the equipment in the playground. Some men milled around the barbecues, talking and peering at the dark sky. To the side of the grills a group of women arranged bowls of food on card tables.

Mac took Tess’s hand and led her to the cashier to pay for the evening dinner of hamburgers and hot dogs with an assortment of salads and desserts. She saw several people she knew and waved to Mac’s mother behind the table displaying jars of preserved fruit.

“What’s the idea of the festival?” Tess asked Mac after he had gotten their meal tickets.

“It’s a celebration of people’s talents.” He gestured to an older lady at the nearest booth. “Ruth loves to knit and makes beautiful sweaters. She sells them every year to help the church raise money. And Candace over there—” he pointed to a young woman who sat in front of an easel “—will draw your portrait for a fee. She’s quite good. I’m going to have her do Johnny and Amy.”

“Together?”

“Yes. Amy follows Johnny around everywhere. I keep thinking he’s gonna get tired of it one day.”

“He’s never had much of a family. I think Amy’s hero-worshiping is a novelty to him.” Tess caught Alice motioning for Tess to come over. “Your mother has a booth. Where’s yours?”

“Doing what?”

“Well, let’s see. You could teach children how to tackle.”

“I think that comes naturally.”

“You’re a good listener. How about a booth where you listen to people?”

“Everyone can listen. That’s not a talent.”

Tess stopped, standing in Mac’s path with one hand on her waist. “Peter MacPherson, being a good listener is very important and something a lot of people don’t know how to do. It’s a gift that’s certainly appreciated by me.”

He beamed with a wide grin, his eyes almost silver. “Next year you need to have a clown booth.”

Next year. She liked the sound of those words. She returned his smile, feeling her whole face light up. “Yeah, children could threw pies at me.”

“Just children?”

The gleam in his eyes made her laugh. “Maybe little old ladies, too.” She started for his mother’s booth.

“Can I persuade you to buy some of my preserves? It’s like tasting a little bit of heaven with each bite. Want to try a sample?” Alice lavished some blackberry jam onto a piece of toast, then held the plate up.

Tess took a bite of the toast. “Mmm. This is delicious. Do you pick your own fruit?”

“Whenever I can.”

“Hey, that’s not fair. I want a taste,” Mac said, his regard on the toast in Tess’s hand.

Without thinking she lifted it to his mouth, and he ate the rest of the sample, his lips grazing her fingertips. Her gaze connected with his as though she were bound to him. The shared moment reinforced the attraction she felt toward Mac.

After a few seconds of silence, Alice coughed, and Tess glanced away from Mac, her face flaming, her legs weak. She gripped the edge of the table to steady herself.

His attention on Tess, Mac said, “Mom, I’ll take two of every kind you have.”

“At this rate I’ll be sold out before the hour’s up.” Alice began boxing up the jars.

“I’ll find the rest of the family and send them over.” Mac finally looked at his mother. “Then you can join us at the picnic tables. I’m gonna stake one out for us.”

Alice’s brow arched. “Just one?”

“You’re right, two. Any more and no one else will have one.”

Relieved that Mac was no longer staring at her, Tess watched the exchange between mother and son and realized again how much she missed having a family to call her own. “Before you sell out, I’d like to purchase some.”

“That’s okay, Tess, I bought one for you and one for me.” Mac lifted the box from the table.

“But I—”

“Just consider it a thank-you for sending us Johnny. I’m taking this to the car. Be back in a sec.”

Mac disappeared through the crowd in the tent before Tess could open her mouth to refuse his gift.

“Hon, one thing I’ve learned over the years as his mother is to accept the gifts. He loves giving people presents for no reason at all. You’re just going to have to get used to it. Besides, this is a donation to the church.”

Alice’s statement implied Tess would be the recipient of many presents in the future. That thought alarmed her. “He’s really become attached to Johnny,” Tess said, wanting to steer the conversation away from gifts and anything personal concerning her and Mac. She had always been uncomfortable with people giving her unexpected presents, or even on her birthday and at Christmas.

“He’s crazy about the boy.”

“What happens if Mrs. Hocks finds a relative?”

Alice shook her head. “It’ll break his heart. When I talk with him now, he’s always telling me something about Johnny as though the child was his own.”

Again Tess thought back to the first day she’d met Mac. She’d been reminded of a gentle bear, and that impression was confirmed the more she was around him.

“He’s had several losses in his life. I hope Johnny isn’t one of them.”

“So do I,” Tess murmured, aware that Mac was heading toward them.

Tess followed his progress and noticed several members of the congregation stopping Mac to say something. He drew people to him with his easy ways and warm smile. There was nothing frightening about him even though he was very large and muscularly built. Her gentle bear.

Oh, my! Where had that come from? she wondered and turned her flushed face away before the man read what was in her mind. She wasn’t ready. Was she?

“Let’s go find Casey and the kids. See you, Mom, when you’re through selling your wares.”

When Tess emerged from the tent, she noticed darker clouds rolling in and the smell of rain in the air. A cool breeze picked up, whipping strands of hair about her face. “I think it might rain on this parade.”

A drop splattered on top of Mac’s head. “Yeah, I think you’re right. We’d better get everyone moving indoors to the reception hall.”

“But what about all this?” Tess swept her arm toward the tent and the grills set up for preparing dinner.

“I can’t complain. We need the rain even if the timing isn’t great. The festival will go on, just indoors. We’re celebrating our good fortune and the talents God gave us. It doesn’t make any difference where that happens.”

Thirty minutes later Tess stood in the middle of the large reception hall surrounded by a mass of people crammed inside while thundered sounded and lightning flashed outside. The smiles and laughter attested to the festive atmosphere. Instead of being upset, everyone was glad of the rain, declaring its appropriateness because the children’s play was about Noah’s ark.

Mac and his brothers helped bring in chairs while Alice and Mary organized some of the churchwomen to prepare the food in the kitchen. Tess suddenly felt the need to escape the press of people. She wasn’t sure where she belonged, where her place in this world was. Right now she felt as though she were on the ark in the middle of a sea with no sight of land. Noah found land. Would she?

Tess sought refuge in the sanctuary where the loud sounds of the festival were muffled by the thick, heavy double doors and walls of stone. Several soft lights illuminated the church in a warm glow of welcome. She walked toward the front and sat in a pew. The simple cross on the altar drew her attention. Staring at it, she thought of what Christ had done for mankind the day He had died on the cross. Slowly as her mind replayed Jesus’s message, peace washed through her, cleansing her soul, erasing the guilt she’d carried around for so long.

She closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the rain battering the roof of the sanctuary and sensed a feeling of safety, as if nothing could touch her inside these four walls. She hadn’t experienced that in years, especially since the day in the Andes when her life had changed, when men had come down from the mountains and taken something precious from her. Now she realized she had allowed those men to rob her of not just Kevin, but her faith, as well. She had turned her back on the Lord when she should have been embracing Him, letting Him fully into her life to heal the gaping wound.

“Our Father, please give me the strength to see Your plan for me. Help me to open my heart to You again and to forgive myself for living when so many died. I can’t do it alone anymore. I need You.”