Marriage Seasons 04 - Winter Turns to Spring (12 page)

While working together, the two men had talked often enough that Brad could almost sense what the older man was thinking. In fact, he was sure of it.

Though Charlie Moore’s eyes were open and his mouth was unmoving, he was
praying
for Brad and Ashley.

The realization startled Brad to the point that he swallowed to hold back the sudden lump that welled up in his throat. The fact was, Brad loved Ashley—and Charlie knew it. Brad knew it too.

Did Ashley?

Charlie had nearly shipwrecked his own marriage. He’d gotten drunk and staggered into a strip joint. But he loved Esther so much that even now he could barely speak her name without crying.

Brad sensed that Charlie was praying for that same kind of love in the Hanes marriage. Uncomfortable at the intimacy of the moment, Brad bent his head and scratched Yappy behind the ears.

Spending an early morning hour in Bible study and prayer seemed pretty crazy, but the other men must have liked it enough to keep coming. Brad hadn’t minded too much, despite the group leader’s epic-length prayer. The coffee went down smoothly, and the back area of the tackle shop was toasty warm. If Yappy hadn’t been nosing around in Brad’s coat pocket in hopes of finding a dog biscuit, the room might have been warm and comfortable enough to put a person to sleep. Especially with Steve now in the midst of praying for the mayor, the governor, the president, and even some of America’s enemies.

Just as Brad sensed his eyelids beginning to droop, he heard a chorus of hearty amens. And then they were up, pouring more coffee, patting Yappy, wishing each other a good week, and heading out the back door. Brad figured he shouldn’t take the puppy through the store again, so he moved to follow the others.

Charlie caught him at the door. “Good to have you here, Brad,” he said. “You’re welcome to join us anytime, you know.”

“Thanks, Mr. Moore. I’d stay and talk, but I’m about to be late for work. It won’t matter too much today because of the snow. The boss won’t expect us to be on time. But any other day, my boss would blow a fuse if I got to the site after the other guys had started.”

That wasn’t exactly true. With the Bible study starting at six and Brad not due at work until seven, he could get there on time. Bill Walters kept the crew busy on the west side of the lake—rarely more than a five- or ten-minute drive from Deepwater Cove. Though Bill wouldn’t like him arriving late, the man would probably make an exception for a gathering like this. Walters was so holy he wouldn’t even allow the men to cuss when he was within earshot.

“Well then,” Charlie said with a nod, “I guess I won’t see you until after the new year starts up. Take care of your pup. Boofer’s going to miss playing with him. Boof will go to the kennel while I’m away, but he never seems to mind too much.”

“Maybe Yap and I could drop by and visit him.”

“Now that would be nice.” Charlie studied something in the upper corner of the room for a moment. “Your first Christmas with your bride, isn’t it? Mmm. I do remember that one well. Make sure you pick out a gift Ashley really likes. Something that says you appreciate her. And spend a little money on it, if you can. I made a pretty big mistake or two in my time. Choosing the right present takes a fair amount of thought.”

Brad set his coffee mug on a nearby table. “I reckon I’ll get her a bead necklace.”

Charlie saw through that comment right away and chuckled over it. But to Brad the anticipation of Christmas with Ashley wasn’t exactly humorous. He didn’t feel sure they would even be together, let alone opening packages under a tree.

“You have a good trip, Mr. Moore,” Brad said. “Just get Bitty talking about food. That’ll occupy her.”

“Excellent idea. But, don’t forget, Bitty will be in the backseat with Jessica Hansen. It’s the fiancé I’m going to have to entertain.”

At that Brad tapped his friend on the shoulder. “Come on, Mr. Moore. You don’t really think Jessica and her boyfriend are going to ride all the way to California in separate seats, do you? No way. You and Bitty will be taking turns at the steering wheel. And if I were you, I wouldn’t aim the rearview mirror toward the occupants in the back. No telling what you might see.”

Visibly blanching, Charlie swallowed. “Well, now. Maybe that’s exactly where I
will
aim the mirror. We can’t have any hanky-panky going on. I’m responsible for those two kids. Steve Hansen will have my hide if I don’t keep a close watch on his daughter.”

“Man, Mr. Moore, you are so out of it. Nobody’s following those old rules these days. If Mr. Hansen thinks his daughter isn’t fooling around with her fiancé, he’s a lot dumber than he seems. I don’t know a single woman who doesn’t give it up now and then for the right guy. That’s just how it is.”

“Maybe that’s the trouble.” Charlie pointed a finger at Brad. “You may say I’m just an old codger, but I know there are at least a few young people today who value purity. It makes a difference. And it’s never too late to ask God to forgive the past and start you out all over again. Don’t forget that, you hear?”

“I hear you, Mr. Moore.”

Brad shook his head as he and the older man headed out into the predawn morning. An inch of new snow crusted the parking lot, and icicles were forming on the eaves of the shops along the strip of highway in Tranquility. Brad waved good-bye as the older man slipped behind the wheel of his car.

“Young people today value purity,”
Brad thought, suppressing a snicker as he tucked Yappy close against his denim jacket and made his way toward his own vehicle. When he was a teen, he hadn’t given purity a second thought. In fact, he and his friends had actively plotted to end that dreaded state.

Brad had enjoyed the pleasures of more than one girl before he discovered Ashley in the snack shop near the high school. Leaving behind his old wandering ways was one of the things that had worried him most about getting married. Now it seemed he should have listened more carefully to his intuition.

Life was too short to stick to one woman—wife or not. The more Brad thought about it, the idea actually seemed ridiculous. He couldn’t imagine that Steve, Derek, or any of the younger men in that pious prayer group had waited until marriage. People just didn’t anymore. Girls were the same way. Virginity was for kids.

“Hi, Brad.” Jennifer Hansen stepped around the back of her car just as he was opening his door. Her pretty face framed in a brown wool cap and matching coat, the golden-haired young woman beamed shyly at him. “I didn’t expect to see you here this morning. Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”

“It’s no big deal. With the snow and all.” Brad’s eyes glazed over slightly as Jennifer stepped closer, enveloping him in a sweet, flowery scent. She reached for the puppy and ruffled his ears.

“Ashley called me this morning. She was upset.” Jennifer let out a breath that smelled of cinnamon sugar. “Would you mind if we talked for a few minutes? In private?”

“In private?” Brad said, aware that a length of long blonde hair had blown across his arm. “Sure. That would be great.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

A
s it turned out, Jennifer was on her way to open her mother’s new home-decorating shop, Bless Your Hearth. Brad accompanied her across the parking lot and then followed her into the large, dusky room filled with furniture, lamps, pillows, candles, rugs, and all kinds of other doodads—most of them crafted near the lake, she told him. Before flipping on the lights, she struck a match and began moving from candle to candle. The wicks caught flame, sending a mingled aroma of pine, cloves, pumpkin, and peppermint into the air.

“How long have you and I known each other? Since kindergarten?” Jennifer asked Brad.

“Yeah.”

“Mrs. Kirkpatrick’s class. You were a troublemaker back then.”

“Still am.”

She shed her coat, hung it on a hook behind the counter, and then tugged off her cap. Static electricity made her long hair fan out around her shoulders like sunlight streaming from behind a cloud. With a sigh, she stood for a moment, gazing at the floor.

For some reason he couldn’t explain, Brad wanted to take Jennifer Hansen in his arms, stretch her out across one of the soft couches in the store, and kiss her. He could feel the longing well up inside him in mind-numbing waves. Ashley, the Bible study group, Bill Walters, the construction crew, Charlie Moore, Yappy, all scattered from his thoughts like dry leaves in a gust of wind.

The only thing that mattered was this moment. This woman. Heart thudding, he focused on her as though looking at a beautiful deer through the sight of a rifle. His target. In an instant, his greatest desire.

“You and I didn’t really know each other in school,” Jennifer murmured, switching on a low-watt lamp on a nearby table. “I was kind of shy, I guess. You might not even remember me.”

“I remember you. You were in the homecoming court our last year.”

“That was my sister. Jessica went on to be elected queen when she was a senior. She’s the social butterfly, not me.”

Brad took a step closer. Yappy chose that moment to lift his head and start sniffing the air. The movement of the dog brought Brad back down to earth. This was Brenda Hansen’s store. Jennifer was Ashley’s friend. He was supposed to be at work.

“My sister and I were friends with Ashley when we were in elementary school,” Jennifer said, now wandering through the store, switching on an array of little lamps. “I guess Ashley told you that I’ve been helping her finish up the bead orders in time for Christmas. We didn’t become close friends again until after I got back from the trip I took to Mexico. My group had some trouble there. You may have heard about it.”

Trying to sort sense from desire, Brad stood rooted to a braided pink rug. He didn’t care about Mexico. He sure didn’t want to talk about Ashley’s beads. Why had Jennifer led him into the store? Surely she knew how good she looked. She smelled like some kind of dream, and her hair kept slipping back and forth over her shoulders. Who could concentrate with a female like that only five paces away?

“Yeah,” he managed. Yappy had decided it was time to explore, so Brad set him on the rug. “Listen, Jennifer. You said you wanted to talk?”

“Oh, sure. I just need to turn on the rest of these lamps. Why don’t you go into my mom’s office? It’s right through that door. I’ll be there in a second.”

Brad stepped into the small room, its utilitarian desk and chairs a contrast to all the fluff in the store. Could Jennifer really be thinking the same thing he was? Was it possible that she’d been eyeing him since high school, hoping for some kind of connection between them? Maybe Ashley had told her about their problems, and Jennifer had seen her chance to make a move. The idea of someone who looked so angelic having the heart of a vixen made it all the more exciting.

Wow. This was exactly what he’d been considering for the past couple of months. No point in letting an unhappy marriage trap him and bring him down. Just have fun. Make life good. Enjoy the moment.

“Well, anyway,” Jennifer said, entering the room with Yappy at her heels, “I’ve been thinking about everything … all the stuff that’s been going on.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?” She hadn’t turned on the light in this room, and he took the opportunity to move toward her. “What’s on your mind, girl?”

Just as he reached out to lay a hand on her hair, Jennifer sank down into the office chair and bent over, holding her stomach as if she might be sick. Her voice quavered as she looked up at him. “Things are really hard these days, Brad. Ashley asked me to talk to you. I know we don’t know each other very well, but Ashley is my friend, and … well, I told her I’d try.”

“Ashley asked you to talk to me?” Reality crashing in on him, Brad withdrew his hand. “Why can’t she just talk to me herself?”

Jennifer looked at the floor. “She said she’s tried, but you won’t listen. That you don’t ask about her feelings.”

“Her
feelings
?” Brad snapped up straight, as if a rubber band had shot him from behind. “Ashley spends every minute we’re together pouring out her feelings. I couldn’t miss them if I tried. Listen, Jennifer, I’ve sat through enough mourning over Mrs. Moore to equal fifty funerals. Ashley never stops. I mean, how long does it take for her to accept that the old lady had a stroke and she’s dead?”

“It takes a long time!” Jennifer stood up, facing him, her perfume still distracting him. “You can’t expect Ashley to just shut off her emotions and move on.”

“What do you know about our problems? This really isn’t any of your business, you know.”

“Yes, I know!” Jennifer sucked in a breath and her beautiful face crumpled. Before the tears spilled onto her cheeks, she covered her eyes with her hands. “But I promised Ashley I would talk to you. She thinks it would be better if she hadn’t married you, because you’ve changed so much since the days when you were dating. She told me she feels alone all the time, but then she pictures her whole life stretching out ahead with no one. No one at all to love her.”

The office door suddenly swung open. “Hey, Brenda, did you see that the snow is melting already?”

Cody Goss stopped in his tracks and stood stock-still. His eyes darted from one person to the other. “Oh, it’s you, Jennifer. And Brad Hanes. Where’s Brenda? What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Jennifer blurted. “Why are you here at the store, Cody?” She grabbed a tissue from the box on her mother’s desk and blotted her cheeks. “You’re supposed to be painting a house for my dad.”

“I forgot my sea sponge. You can’t do a good faux finish without your sea sponge.”

Frustration, attraction, and bewilderment still coursing through him, Brad rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m out of here. Later, you two.”

“But what were you and Jennifer doing?” Cody asked, stepping in front of the door. “Were you hiding in Brenda’s office? Were you standing in the dark? Why is Jennifer crying?”

“None of your beeswax, kid. Move out of my way. I’m late for work.”

“No.” Cody squared his shoulders, blocking the only exit. “Did you hurt Jennifer?”

“Of course not, Cody.” Jennifer stepped over and touched his shoulder. “Calm down. Everything’s fine.”