Lakeside Sweetheart (15 page)

Chapter Seventeen

T
he next night, Vanessa checked her reflection in the mirror by the front door, hoping her outfit was suitable for dinner at the Peppermons' house. She wore jeans and a white T-shirt with a bright green fringed scarf around her neck. Wanda had insisted she didn't have to bring anything food-wise. But she had brought a gift for Kandi—some black rose earrings and a long chain necklace. Goth looking but not too far out there.

Vanessa thought about Rory. They'd held each other and talked for a long time, there on the big porch of the camp house.

“I never dreamed you'd been through something so sad, so tragic,” she told him. “You're a living example of God's love, Rory.”

“It took me a long time to get here,” he explained. “And even now, I still have bad days or moments where I sit down and cry. I'll always miss them. I'll always wonder what our child would have been like. But God has blessed me in so many ways. And He gave me the gifts of compassion and understanding.”

“You understood me right away,” she said. “You saw the pain in my soul.”

And now that she could see his pain, she appreciated him even more. They'd made plans to have dinner together on Friday night, after the rummage and estate sales on Friday. Then Blain and Rikki's wedding on Sunday. Rory had asked her to come as his date.

“The minister gets to bring a date?”

“This one does, and he wants her to be you. Or you to be her. Just be there.”

So she'd agreed.

They'd taken a new turn in their relationship.

But tonight, she'd made a commitment to be here with Kandi.

The Peppermons lived on the other side of the lake and down a side street that had a partial view of the water. Vanessa followed the directions Wanda had given her and soon saw the big, wood-framed house that Wanda had described.

The house was painted a deep blue, with white shutters and porch railings. Several white rocking chairs lined both sides of the wide front door. Hanging baskets with red geraniums and pink-and-white petunias swayed at each corner of the long porch. The yard was also full of flower beds, mulched and overflowing with blossoms and plants of every size and color.

Vanessa thought that if she lived here, she'd never want to leave. She walked up the steps to the big door and pressed the doorbell, nerves ringing in her head right along with the bell that loudly played Beethoven's “Ode to Joy.”

Then she heard the pounding of several feet thundering throughout the house, followed by shouting.

The door tore open and a young boy with pecan-colored skin grinned up at her. “I got it,” he called over his shoulder. “It's Kandi's friend, Van-Esther.”

Vanessa smiled at the mispronunciation of her name. “Hi,” she said, unsure what to do next. A full house scared her a lot more than an empty one.

“Hi,” he said, tugging her inside the wide hallway of the house. “I'm Derek.”

“Hello, Derek,” Vanessa replied, the whirl of a ceiling fan cooling the cold sweat sticking to her backbone. Why was she so terrified of children? It wasn't that she was afraid of kids. She loved them. But she had a fear of doing or saying the wrong thing around them. What if she did that with Kandi?

A vision of Rory holding a baby planted itself inside her head and caused her to sweat even more.

“Hi, come on back,” Wanda called, her head peeking out from what had to be the kitchen on one side of the long hallway.

Derek reached for Vanessa's hand. “We're having the best dinner. Taco salad.”

“I love taco salad,” Vanessa said, wondering how Wanda and Carl managed to feed so many mouths. She'd seen kids hanging out in rooms on both sides of the hallway, some reading and studying and others watching television. But she hadn't spotted Kandi yet.

Derek guided her to the right side of the house where a country kitchen ran into a big dining room, both rooms spacious and bright and spick-and-span clean.

“Welcome,” Wanda said from her spot in front of the stove. She stirred a huge pot of taco meat with one hand while one of the younger children hung away from the stove's heat on her hip.

“Find a seat. It's about ready.” She lifted her chin toward the stairs. “Kandi is cleaning her room. She'll be down soon.”

“Okay.”

Vanessa smiled at Wanda, noting her clipped salt-and-pepper hair and her chunky, solid frame. She wore old jeans and a faded yellow shirt underneath a white apron splotched with all colors of paint that said
We are all God's children
.

Vanessa decided she
would
stay here forever. Who would ever notice her anyway? She'd merge into the crowd of children of all ages and colors that moved at random through the many rooms of the house. The energy was magnetic and endearing.

Then the back door opened and Carl walked in, wearing work clothes. His shirt pocket was embroidered with the title of Millbrook Gardens Nursery and Landscaping.

That explained the lovely front yard and the many hanging baskets. She could imagine Wanda and Carl puttering around in the garden with a string of kids following them.

“Hi,” he said, waving to Vanessa. Then he kissed Wanda and took the giggling toddler off her hip. “Hey, honey, you got room for one more tonight?”

Wanda laughed out loud. “Sure. We'll add another taco shell or two to the twenty-four we already have. Who'd you invite to dinner this time?”

Carl walked back to the door and motioned. “Oh, just the preacher. He was walking along the lake like he'd lost his best friend.”

And in walked Rory, bearing a sheepish smile. When he looked up at Vanessa, he shrugged. “I told him I was fine, but he insisted I hop in and come home with him.”

Remembering their intimate conversation yesterday, she felt as shy and unsteady as he looked. And yet she was so glad to see him. “Hi.”

She wanted to run to him and hold him close, but she'd settle for having him nearby for now. When they'd parted late yesterday afternoon, Vanessa had accepted that she was in love with Rory. She wasn't sure what to do about that.

She felt a strong sense of relief at seeing him. He'd help guide her through this maze of children and keep her from saying or doing the wrong thing. Probably in the same way he'd helped her since the first time she'd laid eyes on him.

But Vanessa also now knew
he
wasn't always fine. He probably enjoyed these gatherings more than anyone because he loved people and he was so good with children. She smiled to reassure him, then got up and decided to get busy. “Wanda, what can I do to help?”

Wanda stirred meat and barked orders. “We all have jobs around here. If anything is left over after everyone does their assigned task, I guess you can get out that other box of taco shells and stick 'em in the oven.”

Vanessa motioned to Rory. “Don't think you're gonna get away with doing nothing.”

Rory appeared relieved and hurried toward Vanessa. Together they raided the big pantry that Wanda pointed to while she issued orders all around. Rory winked at Vanessa and whispered, “I didn't plan this, but I've wanted to see you all day long. How are you?”

“Good, now that you're here,” she replied. “How about you?”

“I'm great. I feel lighthearted and...free.”

Vanessa could relate to that feeling. “Me, too. I guess confession
is
good for the soul.”

“You can say that again. You're good for my soul.”

“I'm going to get cleaned up,” Carl called over the chaos. “That way I get out of being bossed around.”

“You have cleanup duty in here later, too,” Wanda called.

Vanessa's heart filled with something so foreign and sweet, she had to stop and watch the confusion in order to figure it out.

Joy. She felt a great rush of joy.

No wonder Wanda wore that apron.

Rory saw her expression, his gaze holding hers. “They are amazing, aren't they?”

She nodded. “Yes, they are.” Then she turned to him. “I'm glad you're here.”

He took the bag of taco shells and grinned over at her. “I didn't want you to think I'd wormed my way in on this dinner so I could see you. But that is an added bonus.”

She shrugged. “Carl invited you, so you had to accept.”

“Yes, but I accepted two seconds quicker when I remembered you'd be here.”

“I'm doubly glad now. I need you for moral support.”

“You're scared?”

“Completely,” she said. “I don't think I'd be a good mother. I wouldn't know how to handle any of this, let alone a crying baby or confused teen.”

He passed her the tacos to put on a baking sheet. “You keep saying that, but I think you'd make a great mother.”

Vanessa stared over at him, wishing she felt the same way. Then it occurred to her that Rory had almost been a father. He'd lost the baby his wife was carrying, along with her.

If he ever found the right woman, he'd want more children.

But as much as it hurt her even to think such a thing, Vanessa wasn't sure she was the motherly type. She hadn't had a very good role model. And that meant she and Rory might not have a future together after all.

* * *

Rory enjoyed watching Vanessa as she got to know the kids. Kandi and Vanessa were in the kitchen, cutting and serving brownies and ice cream. They talked and laughed as if they were old friends. Kandi could either help Vanessa get over her fear of motherhood or cause her to stand firm on never having children.

He prayed both of them would find some sort of encouragement by being around each other. He thought of yesterday and how he and Vanessa had held each other and kissed after they'd both opened old wounds. His heart bumped faster each time he thought about their time together.

The old guilt pushed at him, making him wonder if he could take that final step toward finding his soul mate. Was Vanessa that woman, the one who could finally fill that hole that ran deep inside his heart? He believed it and he prayed about it.

He wanted her in his life.

“You look awfully pensive,” Carl said as he handed Rory a bowl full of vanilla ice cream mixed with brownie chunks. “Troubles, Preacher?”

Rory grinned and shook his head. “No, not really. Trouble, but in a good way, I think.”

“The way you keep staring at Vanessa, I think I know that kind of trouble, my friend. And I've been married to her for close to thirty years.”

Rory took a bite of the vanilla ice cream and chased it with a chunk of moist brownie. The brain freeze almost jarred him out of his musings. “I think I might be ready for the challenge,” he admitted, knowing Carl wouldn't repeat his words, except maybe to Wanda. “We'll have to see what happens.”

“Do you want her in your life?” Carl asked on a low chuckle. “Are you ready for everything that involves?”

“I think so. The problem is convincing her that she's the one for me. Her confidence level needs boosting. She thinks she's not good wife-mother-marriage material.”

Carl shook his head and laughed and then grabbed up a four-year-old little girl and gave her a big hug. The child smiled shyly at Rory and pointed a chubby finger. “Peacher.”

“That is the peacher, Betsy,” Carl said without correcting her. “He's a good guy.”

“Good,” Betsy said, smiling at Rory.

He grinned back and tickled at her shoulder. “Where's your ice cream?”

She wiggled out of Carl's embrace. “More,” she said in a singsong voice as she headed back to the kitchen.

Kandi scooped her up and sat her on the counter. “Here's yours, Betsy-bell.”

Rory imagined Vanessa with a child, his heart burning with an intense need. “Kandi seems happier than I've seen her in a while.”

“She's doing better,” Carl admitted. “Her grades have come up and she's helping out more around here. Wanda and she have lots of late-night talks.”

“Vanessa really wants to be a good mentor to her,” Rory said. “She's been through a lot herself.”

Carl studied the action in the kitchen. “We've all got something, don't we?”

Rory nodded and finished his dessert. “Thanks for asking me over, Carl. And thanks for the pep talk. I'm a little rusty in the ‘figuring out a woman' department.”

Carl slapped a meaty hand across Rory's back. “I hate to break it to you, Preacher. But there ain't no such thing as figuring out a woman.”

Rory laughed and lifted his spoon in the air. “I do believe you're correct on that matter.”

When he glanced back to the kitchen, Vanessa smiled at him.

* * *

“And Kandi wants to go to college to study fashion design. She's an artist, too. She showed me some of her sketches. She has a lot of talent.”

“So I take it tonight was a success?” Rory asked as they drove along Lake Street. She'd insisted on giving him a ride home, and he hadn't argued with that notion.

“Yes. She was like a different person. She laughed and talked and I felt as if we really connected—” She stopped and glanced over at him. “I sound so corny, don't I?”

“You sound happy,” Rory said. “You sound as if you were born to be a positive role model.”

“Not born to it,” she quickly corrected. “But hopeful, Rory. I hope I'll make a difference in Kandi's life. She opened up a little about how her mother had died, and it broke my heart. I know she's been through all kinds of things, but she can't tell me everything.” Vanessa pulled into the driveway of her house. “She goes to a therapist. She did tell me that much.”

Rory turned so he could see Vanessa's face. “Did you ever go through therapy?”

“No. I buried it all deep inside. You're the first person I've ever told the whole truth.”

Rory wondered how Miss Fanny had found out and decided maybe Vanessa's mother had confessed to her friend in a final attempt to find some peace before she died. Why hadn't she made an attempt to ask Vanessa to forgive her?