Making His Way Home (8 page)

Chapter Ten

G
race watched a family setting up their lawn chairs a few yards away and tried not to wince. The competition had drawn a fairly good-size crowd of people, but judging from the number of them who’d staked a claim near flag number eight, it was becoming clear that she and Cole were drawing the most attention!

Word must have gotten out that Sloan Merrick’s grandson was one of the competitors and they were curious about him....

“You two make a great team!” One of Grace’s coworkers shouted.

Or they were more interested in watching the sparks flying between her and Cole than they were in the ones from the campfire.

Grace hiked up the hem of her skirt and lunged toward a stand of trees. “I’ll find some kindling.”

Cole caught up to her a split second later. “We have to stick together, remember? It’s one of the rules.”

Had she forgotten? No. Did she want to break that particular rule?

Yes.

Grace scooped up a handful of dry pine needles, all too aware of Cole. He began to whistle as he picked up sticks and Grace found herself humming along with the familiar tune.

The sun was warm, the air fragrant.

It reminded her of the summer days they’d spent together when Cole had moved to Mirror Lake. They’d explored the woods. Built a campfire near the shore and roasted marshmallows over an open flame.

“Just like old times, isn’t it?”

Cole’s quiet comment slipped through a crack in Grace’s defenses and she sucked in a breath, stunned to discover he’d been thinking the same thing.

“This should be enough.” She retreated, ready to face the curiosity of the crowd she’d wanted to avoid rather than face her feelings. Feelings she thought had died a long time ago, but instead, had only been dormant. Waiting to bloom under the warmth of Cole’s smile.

He grabbed another stick and followed her back to the campsite.

“You’re right. It should be enough to start a fire.” Cole dumped the kindling he’d collected into the fire pit. “If we had something to start it
with.
”

“Rob and Haylie bartered with Jenna and Dev for the flint, but we don’t have anything to trade except our tarp.” Grace chewed on her bottom lip. “I thought we’d use that to make the shelter.”

“I have an apple in my car.” Cole was already striding away. “Let’s try that.”

* * *

Grace ducked her head, but not before Cole saw her smile. It gave him the courage to reach for her hand again.

So she wouldn’t stumble over one of the roots protruding from the worn footpath.

They sprinted through the grass to the parking lot, but no one seemed too concerned about their destination. Cole opened the door of the backseat and grabbed a white paper sack. “Iola stopped at a farmer’s market on her way to work yesterday morning. She was worried I’d forget to eat breakfast.”

Grace peeked inside and her eyes went wide.

“This isn’t breakfast. I’m not even sure it’s an apple.”

“There’s supposed to be one. Underneath the layer of chocolate. And the caramel.”

“And the pecans.” Grace rolled the top of the bag shut. “And you thought Skittles would get us disqualified. I’m pretty sure caramel apples like this didn’t exist in 1887.”

“We don’t know that for sure. And everything on it can be found in nature,” Cole pointed out.

“Except the sprinkles.”

He grinned. “The important thing is, do you think we can convince Jenna and Dev to trade their flint for it?”

His heart went into a freefall when Grace grinned back.

“Oh, I think we can do better than that.”

They stumbled into the couple’s campsite a few minutes later. Jenna was mixing something up in a wooden bowl and Dev was in the process of rigging up a tripod, consisting of a metal grate and stones, over the fire.

Grace hadn’t been exaggerating. The guy did have skills.

“Flapjack batter,” Jenna announced. “At least, that’s what it’s supposed to be. Right now, it looks more like paste.”

Which meant they were already working on the second part of the challenge.

“You want the flint, don’t you?” Dev asked.

To his astonishment, Grace shook her head. “We don’t have time to start one. We need some of those.” She pointed to sticks crackling in the fire ring.

Dev and Jenna exchanged an incredulous look.

“You want us to give you
fire?
”

“We want to trade it. For this.” Grace pulled the caramel apple out of the sack and held it up like a trophy.

Dev frowned. “Is that—”

Jenna was already reaching for it. “You heard her, sweetheart.”

“You realize this is going to give them an edge.” Dev gave Grace a friendly wink to let her know he was teasing.

“We either offer this apple to the judge or one of my flapjacks,” Jenna told him.

Dev stepped away from the circle of stones and made a sweeping gesture at the campfire.

“Take whatever you need.”

* * *

“We have fire!”

Much to the crowd’s delight—and Grace’s embarrassment—Cole lifted her right off her feet and swung her around.

Someone held up a hand-lettered sign with the words
Team Eight
written on it in bright green crayon.

“Don’t let that go to your head, guys!” Kate shouted.

“We’ll be humble winners,” Cole called back as he set Grace down again. “I promise.”

“You’re only encouraging her, you know.”

“Encouraging her to what?”

Matchmake, Grace wanted to howl.

Who knew what her friends were thinking? Or plotting? Grace had a feeling they would try to convince Cole to attend the fireworks later that night at the inn.

The last time she and Cole had watched a fireworks display together had been at the Fourth of July celebration the summer they’d met. They’d shared a blanket and a package of Skittles. And a kiss that had curled her bare toes....

“Ready for challenge number two?” Cole reached out his hand.

When people started to applaud and whistle, Grace had no choice but to take his hand.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” he whispered.

“No.” Not bad at all, Grace thought.

That was the trouble.

Esther waved to Grace as she and Cole sprinted past the Redstones’ campsite. The aroma of some concoction drifted from their campfire.

“Something tells me that whatever she’s cooking is going to taste better than Jenna and Dev’s flapjacks,” Cole muttered.

The general store was vacant when they skidded up to it.

“Ms. McAllister!” Grace called out. “Faye?”

Cole picked up a wooden spoon and started to bang on the bottom of a copper pot.

“I’m not deaf!” Faye was stalking toward them, a very modern fire extinguisher tucked under one arm. “Quinn and Abby ran into a little...trouble...and I had to give them a hand.”

Cole grinned. “That’s—” he let out a grunt when Grace stepped on his foot “—a shame.”

“We’re ready for the breakfast challenge,” she said.

Faye pulled some envelopes from her apron pocket and let them choose one. Cole leaned in close as Grace tore it open and pulled out a slip of paper.

“Omelet.” Grace couldn’t help but smile. “That won’t be too difficult. I make them all the time at home.”

“I’ll be at your campsite in ten minutes. Use three eggs. All this fresh air is making me hungry.” Faye turned to walk away.

“Wait a second!” Grace called. “Where
are
the eggs?”

“I imagine they’re with the chickens.”

Grace and Cole exchanged a look.

“And that would be—”

“Somewhere in the park,” came the cheerful response. “Eddie and I let the hens loose about five o’clock this morning.”

Meaning they had to
find
the eggs.

It was official: Mayor Dodd had a wicked sense of humor.

“This is crazy,” Cole protested. “How are we supposed to find a flock of chickens? It’s not like they come when you call them.”

Grace’s eyes lit up.

“One of them does.” She grabbed his hand. “Come on.”

* * *

Cole didn’t protest. Not because he believed that Grace was some kind of modern-day bird whisperer, but because this was the first time he sensed there might be a crack in the invisible wall she had put up between them.

She towed him toward the opposite end of the park.

“My friend Emma Sutton is the librarian, and last week Eddie brought Peggy Lee, one of his chickens, to story hour because they were reading
Charlotte’s Web
. It was the only farm animal she could find on short notice.” Grace paused to take a breath. “Anyway, Emma mentioned that Peggy Lee would come right up to Charlie when he whistled the first line of...of one of the old songs the
real
Peggy Lee was famous for.”

“What old song?”

“Fever.”

Cole stared at her. “This town should have its own reality show.”

Grace didn’t disagree. “If we hurry, we’ll be in second place. Daniel and Esther haven’t started building their shelter yet.”

They still had a chance to win the competition. The grand prize, a romantic dinner for two.

Would Grace go with him?

Mayor Dodd had mentioned that Abby O’Halloran was going to host it next Saturday. He could always come back to Mirror Lake for the weekend. Finish up another project.

See Grace again.

She began to whistle a familiar tune, one Cole remembered hearing on the oldies station that blared from the speakers in Cap’s office.

“I don’t think—”

“Shh.” Grace stopped. “Did you hear something?”

“Other than the people over there laughing hysterically?”

“I tried to warn you that you didn’t know what you were getting into.” Grace started whistling again.

Cole felt a tug in the general vicinity of his heart.

No, he hadn’t known what he was getting into. Because he hadn’t counted on Grace.

He was supposed to meet with the lawyer to determine the exact specifications of the will and then leave the house and land in a Realtor’s capable hands. Return to Madison and wait for a phone call while he talked to the bank about buying another plane.

Nothing had gone according to plan.

At the moment, watching Grace’s slim shoulders sway in time with the beat, he didn’t mind.

“I heard a cackle.” Grace picked up her skirts, sprinted toward a hedge near the pump.

A large chicken with butter-colored feathers and a fancy white crest on top of its head strutted into view.

Cole couldn’t believe it.

“We found her!”

“That’s not all we found.” Cole spotted two brown eggs lying in a shallow depression a foot away from the hen.

He took a step closer, but Grace grabbed his arm.

“Wait a second. I just remembered something else Emma said about Peggy Lee.”

Cole paused. “Okay.”

“She bites.”

“Chickens don’t have teeth, Grace. I don’t think they bite.”

Grace didn’t look too sure.

“I’ll be all—”

Two things happened at the same time. Cole reached for the egg and Peggy Lee reached for
him.

The hen doubled in size and beat her wings and...charged.

Cole yelped.

Okay, maybe not teeth, but definitely a beak like an ice pick.

He scuttled backward to escape and tripped. Of course. Because running away from a chicken wasn’t enough to lose his man card.

Peggy Lee continued to advance, wings lifted like a sheriff in a cheesy Western flick, ready to draw on him.

“Get the eggs while I think of a way to distract her,” he told Grace.

“It looks like you’re already doing a pretty good job of that.” Her voice sounded strange. Muffled.

Cole slid a quick look at her—careful to keep an eye trained on Peggy Lee.

Grace’s hands were covering her face and she was doubled over.

It took a moment for him to realize she was...laughing.

At him, not the chicken.

Rising to his feet, Cole ruefully acknowledged to himself that he’d wanted to hear Grace laugh.

At least he’d succeeded at one of the challenges.

Chapter Eleven

“I
t wasn’t
that
funny.”

Cole shot her a wry look and Grace realized he’d caught her again. She caught her lower lip between her teeth to stop her smile from spreading.

“It was very clever of you to distract Peggy Lee while I retrieved the eggs.”

“Uh-huh.” Cole’s voice was dry. “Do you think that will be the caption posted along with the video clip? I saw at least a dozen cell phones pointed in our direction.”

Grace had seen Wes Collins, the editor of the
Mirror Lake
Register,
snapping pictures, too, but decided not to mention that. Maybe she could convince him not to put it on the front page of next week’s edition.

“You wouldn’t begrudge Peggy Lee her sixty seconds of fame, would you?” she teased.

“I can see the headline now.
Which one is the chicken?
” Cole chuckled. “But it’s not like you didn’t warn me.”

The butterflies that had taken up residence in Grace’s stomach stirred. As if they hadn’t been performing a whole repertoire of impressive dives, barrel rolls and loop-the-loops since Cole had shown up at her front door that morning.

“Anything else I should know?”

I don’t want you to leave tomorrow.

Grace stole a look at Cole and their eyes met. There was laughter in his cedar-green eyes and something else. Something that made her heart bump against her ribs.

“No.” The word stuck in her throat.

Cole went back to scrubbing out the skillet with water and a handful of sand. Faye had trudged down to their campsite to taste the omelet, garnished with a handful of chives they’d found growing in one of the flower beds at the entrance of the park. She’d chewed several times and marked something down on her clipboard.

Of course she wouldn’t announce their score, but Grace saw the woman surreptitiously pull a Snickers bar out of her apron pocket when she was walking away.

“We’ve got about half an hour. Maybe a little less.” Cole kicked sand over the fire to douse the rest of the flames. “I suppose we better get started on the shelter.”

Because Cole had an agenda and nothing was going to change that.

As soon as the competition was over, Grace reminded herself, he would go back to his grandfather’s house and start fixing it up. Not for himself, but for someone else. If he’d had any sentimental attachment to the town, he would have come back long before now.

“We can use the tarp as a roof, but we should probably find something else for the walls. Do you think we’re going to be judged on whether it’s structurally sound?”

“If we are, the Redstones are going to have the advantage again. Daniel is a carpenter.” Grace swatted a mosquito that had found a patch of exposed skin below her ear.

Cole was already wading into the thick stand of trees that formed a hedge around their camp. “A carpenter. It figures.”

“So is Quinn O’Halloran, Abby’s husband, but it’s more of a hobby for him.” Grace couldn’t prevent a smile when she remembered the way the couple had met.

Abby’s brother, Alex, had secretly hired Quinn, a marine and former bodyguard, to keep an eye on his sister while she turned the old Bible camp on the shore of Mirror Lake into a quaint bed-and-breakfast.

Alex hadn’t been happy when Quinn and Abby fell in love. He’d shown up in Mirror Lake for the wedding—and fallen head over heels for Kate Nichols.

Grace was thrilled for her friends, but she couldn’t help but feel a little envious at the same time.

Especially when the men in their lives had decided to make their home in Mirror Lake.

The town Cole couldn’t wait to leave.

* * *

Even though Cole couldn’t see Grace, he was all too aware of her as she followed him into the woods to find something they could use to build a shelter.

She was constantly tipping him off balance. Keeping a polite distance between them one minute, teasing him the next. With her words...and the shy glances she cast in his direction.

Maybe she wasn’t as indifferent to him as he’d first believed.

Or maybe it was simply wishful thinking on his part.

“There’s a tree over there that might work.” Grace was beside him now, pointing to a birch that had probably fallen during a storm. She’d taken off the bonnet and drops of sunlight splashed through the leaves in the trees, casting a halo around her hair. The top of her head was almost level with Cole’s shoulder, something that had made it easy for him to plant a kiss on her temple when they’d walked together in the woods that long ago summer.

His gaze lingered on the spot.

And the toe of his shoe got caught in a skein of wild grapevine. The ground rushed up to meet him as he pitched forward.

Grace grabbed his arm, but in the process of trying to help, she almost went down with him. They teetered back and forth in an attempt to regain their balance. It was like trying to stay on his feet while playing Twister, one of his sister’s favorite games.

Laughing, Grace broke free, her cheeks flushed with color.

For a moment, Cole let himself wonder what life would have been like if he’d come back for her. But keeping his promise to Grace would have forced him to break another one he’d made. To his family.

And it would have changed Grace’s future, too.

“I’m sorry.” For a lot of things, Cole thought.

“You didn’t see that gigantic root sticking out of the ground, mmm?” Grace hiked an eyebrow. “What were you looking at?”

You,
Cole was tempted to admit.

“First I get attacked by a chicken and then you have to keep me from falling flat on my face,” he said lightly. “At least no one got that on video.”

Cole heard a muffled laugh, only this time it wasn’t Grace. He looked over his shoulder just in time to see someone disappear behind a birch tree.

Grace had spotted him, too. “Hello, Jeremy. Cody.”

Silence. And then, not one, but two adolescent boys slunk into the clearing, hands sunk into the pockets of their cargo shorts.

“Alex hired you to check up on us, didn’t he?”

“Nope.” The boy with a shock of shaggy wheat-blond hair flashed a sheepish smile. “He asked us to provide him with an update.”

Cole believed him. It sounded like something Porter would say.

“I see.” Grace ruffled the boy’s hair and then brushed away a leaf that clung to his shoulder. He stiffened and Cole assumed he was embarrassed by the attention. “You tell Alex we’re going to set a new record for building a shelter. Or—” her eyes twinkled as she continued “—we could always take over the tree fort you and Jeremy built last summer. We’d win the grand prize for sure.”

The boys shifted their feet self-consciously, but the wide grins that spread across their faces reflected how pleased they were by the compliment.

Grace smiled at Cole as she made the introductions. “This is Cody Lang and Jeremy Sutton, Emma and Jake’s son. Boys, this is Cole Merrick. He’s—” Cole waited when she paused, wondering how she was going to finish the sentence “—in town for the weekend.”

Cole exhaled slowly, not realizing he’d been holding his breath.

What had he expected?

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Merrick.” To Cole’s surprise, both boys stepped forward to shake his hand.

He smiled. “Same here.”

The boys exchanged a look.

“We’re sorry for sneaking up on you,” Jeremy finally mumbled.

“Apology accepted,” Grace said. “But you let Alex know that surveillance is against the rules, okay?”

“Okay.”

A smile teased the corner of Grace’s lips as she watched the boys charge back into the woods to pass on the message. The expression on her face reminded Cole of the one he’d seen when she’d introduced him to Logan and Tori Gardner earlier that morning.

“He’s one of yours, right?”

Grace’s head snapped around. “What?”

“Cody. He’s one of yours.”

“How did you know?” Grace regarded him warily, as if he’d uncovered a secret she’d been trying to keep.

“The way you fussed over him. The look in your eyes.”

“What look?”

“Affection. Concern. Pride.” Cole had seen all those things.

She was silent for a moment. “You’re right. I’m not Cody’s caseworker, but I met him when I helped his mother, Renée, get the paperwork in order so she could take classes through the university system.”

“And you’ve been keeping an eye on him ever since,” Cole guessed.

“I’m not the only one. In the past few years, the church I attend has taken Cody under their wing. His older brothers have always been a handful, so Renée spends most of her energy trying to keep them out of trouble.” There was no undercurrent of judgment or disapproval in Grace’s tone. “It’s a full-time job, plus she works nights at an assisted living facility about half an hour away, so she has to sleep during the day.”

“Leaving Cody to his own devices.”

“We’re blessed to have a mentoring ministry through Church of the Pines, and Quinn spends a lot of time with Cody one on one. They’ve both been a great influence on him. I’ve been talking to Zoey about starting one for girls, too...” Grace stopped. “I’m sorry. I’m sure you aren’t interested in this.”

“I
am
interested,” Cole said slowly. “It sounds like a great program.”

“It’s more than that. It’s a ministry. Quinn had a rough home life when he was growing up, so he understands what Cody is going through. Renée does the best she can, but most days she’s exhausted and that’s where Quinn steps in to help. The guys in the mentoring ministry do more than just take the boys out for ice cream or shoot baskets. They pray for them and with them.”

It occurred to Cole that he should have looked into something like that for Sean and Travis when they were Cody’s age. A lot of times he’d been at his wit’s end, trying to be both father and older brother to preteen boys who loved to push the boundaries.

But as the oldest, Cole was the head of the family. He had been determined to handle things without outside help.

He couldn’t run the risk they’d lose their mother, too.

“Cody isn’t considered at-risk, but a lot of children like him eventually end up in the foster care system. Fortunately, some of them are adopted into stable, loving homes.”

“Like Logan and Tori.”

Grace’s widened a little, as if she were surprised he had realized who she was talking about. “Sometimes all the children need is someone who has the courage to say yes. It doesn’t mean it won’t be difficult. It doesn’t mean a person won’t have to make sacrifices. But...it’s worth it.” She gave a little laugh. “Sorry. I’m stepping down from my soapbox now.”

“They’re lucky to have someone like you on their side,” Cole said quietly. “I’m sure there are more kids who need homes than people who are willing to provide them.”

Grace drew in a breath, shaken by the statement. She hadn’t planned to have this conversation, not with Cole. But more than that, she hadn’t expected him to understand. To see the genuine compassion in his eyes when she’d told him about Cody’s situation.

What would he say if she told him that she’d already been approved by a private adoption agency? She’d kept that information a secret for almost a year, but suddenly, Grace wanted to share it. With Cole.

“I’ve been—”

The words she was about to say were drowned out by a commotion behind them. Abby emerged from the woods with Quinn at her side. Kate and Alex were right behind them.

“Those boys gave away our location,” she heard Cole mutter.

“We thought we heard voices!” Abby said cheerfully. “How is your shelter coming along?”

Grace felt the color rise in her cheeks.

That’s right. They were supposed to be working on the final challenge.

“We got a little...sidetracked,” she murmured.

“Uh-huh.” Kate smiled at Cole. “I can see how that might happen.”

“Are you almost finished with yours?”

“Well...” Abby tucked her arm through her husband’s. “We were slowed down by a situation beyond our control. Fortunately, Faye came to our rescue with a fire extinguisher.”

“We had one of those...situations...too.” Grace struggled to keep a straight face.

Abby looked at Cole and grinned. “Yeah, we heard about that.”

“Keep in mind the stories have been grossly exaggerated,” he said.

“Stories?” There was a gleam of laughter in Quinn’s eyes. “One of the boys in Matt’s youth group showed us the video.”

Cole nudged Grace’s arm. “What did I tell you?” he whispered.

“I don’t think any of us are going to make the deadline.” Kate sighed. “We’ve got what...half an hour left? And Alex gave our hatchet to Rob and Haylie.”

“The kid was trying to cut through branches with a Swiss Army knife,” Porter said drily. “He would have lopped off a finger, and then I would have had to bandage him up.”

Kate went up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “You are such a softie.”

To Cole’s amazement, Porter smiled.

“This one looks good.” Quinn was studying the birch sapling. “It’s about the right size.”

It was also the one he and Grace had had their eye on.

“I don’t know how the mayor expects us to complete all these challenges when we’re allowed only one item,” Kate huffed.

“One of which happens to be a coffeepot,” Quinn said under his breath.

“It called to me. I forgot we didn’t have any coffee to put in it.”

Abby poked him in the side with her elbow and Quinn winked at her.

Watching the couple interact, the love that shimmered in the air between them, Grace felt that familiar pinch of envy. For those few moments, when she and Cole had laughed together and he had listened so intently while she shared her heart, it would have been all too easy to fool herself into thinking they were a couple again.

But Grace wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice.

“Hey!” Emma stood on the trail, shielding her eyes against the sun. “What’s going on? Did you decide to throw a party and forget to invite the rest of us?”

“We’re trying to figure out the best way to build a shelter,” Kate called back. “With one hatchet. And a coffeepot.”

Emma grinned. “Jake and I have a roll of twine.”