Tides of Hope (12 page)

Kate had no idea why that invitation had popped out of her mouth. Judging by his arched eyebrows, neither did Craig.

But it didn't stop him from accepting. Fast. Before she could think of a way to retract it.

“That would be great. I'm trying to put some variety in our menu, but I've existed on frozen dinners for so long that any kitchen skills I once had are long gone. Macaroni and cheese pushes my abilities to the limit. And I think Vicki will get tired of that pretty quick. We've had it twice already.”

Chuckling, Kate brushed a drop of rain off her forehead. “I'm not promising a gourmet dinner, but I can guarantee it won't be macaroni and cheese.”

“Sold.”

As he pulled up in front of her house, Kate reached for the handle of the door. Memories of the last time he'd driven her home in the rain were fresh enough in her mind to jolt her pulse into fast-forward.

“Let me get that for you.” He started to open his own door.

“No!” Kate shoved her door open with more force than necessary, aware of the thread of panic that wove through her voice—and hoping he wasn't. “No sense you getting wet, too. Thanks for the ride.” She slid out, bracing herself as a gust of wind buffeted her. “I'll see you Sunday.”

With that she shut the door and dashed for the house. Without looking back, she fumbled for her key. Slipped it in the lock. Stepped inside. Slowly let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

This was ridiculous.

She was acting like a schoolgirl with her first crush.

Irritated, she strode into the living room. Maddie was waiting to be retrieved, but first she needed to calm down.

Flopping into the overstuffed, chintz-covered chair, she let her head drop to the cushioned back as she sought solace in the painting above the mantel. Usually, the serenity of the timeless, windswept moors and distant sea in the scene seeped into her soul.

But not today.

Nor was she soothed by the ticking of the clock that had belonged to Mac's great-grandfather. The antique piece had sat on this mantel for more than forty years, placed there the day Mac's parents moved into this house. And when she and Mac had inherited it eight years ago, after Mac's father died, they hadn't considered moving it. To her, it had always represented roots and stability and permanence.

All the things Kate was trying so hard to hang on to in the face of her financial challenges.

But if her material security was at risk, so, too, was her emotional well-being, she acknowledged.

Thanks to Craig Cole.

In three weeks, he'd managed to turn her world upside down by reminding her what it felt like to be a woman, not just a mom. By forcing her to confront the deep-seated lone
liness that had drained much of the joy from her life. By making her yearn for things she'd never expected to have again. Companionship. Partnership. Love.

Yet none of that made sense. She still loved Mac with every fiber of her being. She still felt connected to him, missed him. How was it possible to have such strong feelings for Craig? Especially when she'd known him less than a month?

Even more important, how could she have strong feelings for
any
man? Having loved and lost once, she'd vowed never to take that risk again. And she'd never been tempted to break that pledge.

Until now.

But Craig wasn't interested anyway, she reminded herself. He'd been clear on that point. Romance wasn't on his agenda.

And even if, over time, they finally both felt comfortable exploring a relationship, one other looming hurdle stood in Kate's path.

Fear.

She'd learned with Mac that giving your heart carried a sizable risk. When he'd been taken from her, she'd wanted to die, too. Maddie had given her a reason to carry on, but without her daughter's needs to attend to, pushing her to get up every day and go through the motions of life, there was a good chance she would have succumbed to the blackness that had been sucking her down to a place she never, ever wanted to go again. A place from which even her strong faith hadn't been able to protect her.

She might not want to live the rest of her life alone, Kate reflected as she rose to retrieve Maddie. But neither did she want to risk another devastating loss.

And that was a stumbling block she doubted she would ever overcome.

“O
kay. Now cross your fingers and let's see if we can add one more to top off this fabulous castle.” As the two little girls seated on the living room floor beside him watched, Craig added a final block to the tower.

The column wavered. The girls gasped. It steadied. They sighed.

“Wow. That's the tallest castle I've ever built,” Maddie said in awe.

“Yeah,” Vicki seconded.

As the phone began to ring, Craig carefully extricated himself from the pile of blocks around him. “You girls can build the wall around it while I answer that.”

They set about the task with vigor, and he smiled. He'd been worried all week about how to entertain the two of them for several hours, but as he'd discovered, their active imaginations took care of that problem.

Striding across the kitchen, he picked up the phone, wondering if Kate was calling to check in. He wouldn't mind hearing her voice about now, he decided, his smile widening.

But the woman's voice that greeted him on the other end didn't belong to the charter fishing captain.

“Hi, Mom. Is everything okay?” It was always the first thing he asked when she called, though by now it had become perfunctory. For a while after his dad died seven years ago, he'd worried about his mother living alone in the house his parents had shared for thirty-five years. But Lillian Cole had done fine, proving far more capable of managing her solo life than he'd expected.

“Right as rain. How's everything going there?”

“Not bad. So far.”

Childish giggles erupted from the living room, followed by the sound of tumbling blocks. So much for his castle, he thought with a grin.

“Do I hear children?”

“Good ears, Mom.”

“I may be old, but all the parts still work. Does Vicki have a playmate?”

“It's the other little girl from the day care situation I arranged. They've gotten to be great friends already.”

“Good. That's just what she needs. A companion her own age. And speaking of companions…I have some exciting news. Brace yourself—I'm getting married.”

Craig was shocked into silence.

“I got sort of the same reaction from your brother.”

At Lillian's amused comment, Craig located his voice. “Why didn't you tell me last week, when I was there?”

“Because he just proposed last night.”

“I assume Harold is the groom?”

“Who else? He's a good man, Craig. You'll like him once you get to know him better.”

“I already like him, Mom.” Harold Simmons, with his shock of white hair and British accent, had impressed Craig as a true gentleman. A year ago, at seventy-two, he'd moved into Craig's hometown to be near his daughter and grandchildren. Bored after three months, he'd proceeded to purchase a
small local book store, declaring he'd found his true calling. Better late than never, he'd told Craig with a wink at Christmas. And providential, too, as he'd pointed out, because that was how he'd met Lillian. She'd gone in to buy a book, ended up staying for tea—and the rest had been history.

“So when's the wedding?” he asked.

“That's the next thing I wanted to talk to you about. Harold and I would like to be married next month. On Nantucket. I've heard it's a beautiful place, and with you there and Steve in New York, it would be a convenient location for our family. And Harold's daughter doesn't mind traveling there for the ceremony. She says it would be a good excuse for a vacation.”

“You're not wasting any time, are you?”

“At our age, there's not much time to waste. Why wait?”

“Good point. What can I do to help?”

“Shall I read you my whole list now, or give it to you in small chunks?”

At her teasing tone, he laughed. “Hit me with all of it.”

“Okay. Let's start with the minister. Can you recommend someone?”

“You'd like the pastor at the church I'm attending, and I'm sure he'd be happy to perform the ceremony. The church itself is nice, too.”

“To be honest, Harold and I would prefer to get married in a natural setting. We both did the big church wedding the first time around. And I figure the Lord will be with us whether we're in His house or His backyard.”

Craig smiled. “That sounds fine to me.”

“We also want to arrange a small, simple reception. And Harold and I will need somewhere to stay for a week. I hoped you might be able to recommend someone familiar with the island who could help me pull all the pieces together.”

Kate came to mind at once, but Craig quickly discarded that notion. She might know all the ins and outs of the island,
but she was also a single mom with two seasonal jobs who didn't have a minute to call her own as it was.

“I'll give it some thought, Mom. Let me talk to Reverend Kaizer and I'll get back to you later in the week. What day did you have in mind for the ceremony?”

“We were hoping for Monday, May twenty-second. That way, we could all fly in over the weekend and get settled. And Monday should be a quieter day on the island. Given the short notice, that should open a few more options in terms of venues.”

“True.” Craig jotted down the date. “Anything else?”

“Isn't that enough for one day?”

He grinned. “Yeah, it is. Okay, I'll be back in touch soon. And Mom…I'm really happy for you.”

“Thank you, dear. To be honest, the whole thing took me by surprise, too. I thought my life was fine as it was. But in hindsight, it was like the days I work late in my garden, not even noticing how dim the world has grown until I step inside, flip on a light and realize I'd been in the shadows. That's what Harold did for me, Craig. He flipped on the light in my life again.”

Craig's throat constricted. “I'm happy you found someone new to love, Mom.”

“I thank the Lord for that great blessing every day. And it might interest you to know that while I have His ear I also pray He blesses you with a second chance at love.”

Once again, an image of Kate flashed through Craig's mind. And once again, he stifled it.

“I appreciate the thought, Mom. But don't hold your breath. I'm not planning another foray into matrimony.”

“I wasn't, either. It was God's idea. And His plans don't always mesh with ours, as I discovered. Just be open to them, son. And don't rule anything out.”

His mother's words resonating in his ear, Craig said goodbye and ambled back to the living room. The two little
girls were engrossed in their make-believe castle game, creating worlds where heroic knights on white chargers slew dragons and lived happily ever after with the fair maidens they rescued. No shadows darkened their idyllic existence.

But there were plenty of shadows in real life. And heroes tended to have feet of clay.

Still, Craig couldn't help wishing the Lord would hear his mother's prayers and help him find a way to give his own life a happily ever after.

 

“That was the bestest chocolate cake I ever ate.” Vicki swiped at her mouth with a paper napkin, managing to smear the icing rather than remove it.

“I second that.” Craig grinned and leaned over to wipe the excess off her chin.

“The spaghetti was good, too,” Maddie chimed in.

“I second that, as well.” Craig took a sip of coffee and sent Kate a warm smile that turned her insides to mush.

Rising, she began to clear the table.

“Let me help.”

Before she could protest, Craig stood, too, and picked up the girls' plates.

“Mommy, can me and Vicki play in my room?”

“Sure.”

The two girls scampered off.

As Kate led the way into the small kitchen, the youngsters' chatter drifted down the hall from Maddie's room.

“She had a good time.” Craig paused in the doorway, listening. “I haven't managed to elicit that kind of response from her yet.”

His wistful tone tugged at Kate's heart. “Give her time.”

“You sound like my mother.” He sent her a grin that looked forced. “I had some surprising news from her today, by the way. She called to say—”

A knock sounded at Kate's back door, and she wiped her hands on a dish towel as she moved toward it. “Don't lose your train of thought.”

“Sorry to bother you when you have company, Kate.” Edith peered over her neighbor's shoulder as Kate opened the door and waved at Craig. “But this came for you yesterday while you were out and Chester forgot to bring it over. I had a feeling you might be waiting for it.” She handed Kate an overnight package.

“Thanks. I was.” Kate took the bulky envelope and set it on the kitchen table.

Edith followed her in. No surprise there, Kate reflected. She'd probably been delighted to have an excuse to scope out the dinner party next door.

“I hope I didn't interrupt anything.” Edith gave Kate and Craig a hopeful look.

“No. We were just clearing the table.” Craig set down the plates he was balancing. “And I was getting ready to share some news with Kate.”

“Oh?” Edith's expression changed from hopeful to curious.

“I had a call from my mother this afternoon. She's getting married.”

“A wedding!” Edith perked up. “Isn't that romantic?”

Craig grinned. “I guess so. But it's hard to think about my mom in that light.”

“I'll have you know that romance knows no age limits, young man,” Edith chided him. “When's the big day?”

“She's hoping for May twenty-second. And they want to have the wedding here. Preferably outdoors. I'm supposed to arrange things with Reverend Kaizer.”

“What about a reception?”

“I'm supposed to find someone to arrange that, too.”

“Hmm.” Edith cocked her head. “Will this be a small wedding?”

“Very. No more than fifteen people.”

“I'll tell you what, Craig. If you think your mother would be interested, I'd be happy to coordinate things on this end.”

Kate gave her a suspicious look. Edith ignored it.

“Are you serious?” Craig stared at her. “Despite the small size, it will still be a lot of work.”

She waved his comment aside. “I don't mind in the least. Why don't you discuss it with your mother, and if she's agreeable have her give me a call.”

“I'll do that. And thank you.”

“My pleasure.” She checked her watch. “Gotta run. There's a program on public TV tonight that Chester and I want to catch. Enjoy your evening.” She hustled through the door, pulling it shut behind her.

“Wow.” Craig shook his head. “Is she always such a go-getter?”

“Yes.” Especially when she's on a mission, Kate thought, though she left that unsaid. But whatever Edith's hidden agenda, the truth was she'd do a good job for Craig's mother. “She's great at coordinating events. She's a past president of the garden club, and under her supervision we had some of the best Daffodil Festivals ever. Plus, she knows everybody on the island. Count your blessings for the offer.”

“I'm counting my blessings on a lot of fronts these days.”

His comment, rife with personal implications, and the soft light in his eyes sent warmth coursing through her. Turning away, Kate busied herself wiping down the counter.

“I'll go check on the girls,” he offered.

“Good idea.”

Get a grip,
Kate admonished herself as she tried to rein in her overactive imagination. She had to be reading way too much into his remark. Hadn't he told her he had no interest in romance? Hadn't she told him the same thing?

Yet try as she might, she couldn't stifle the tiny flame of hope that flickered to life in her heart.

 

Craig didn't hurry back to the kitchen. Instead, he gave in to Maddie's plea to read the girls a story. He needed some space from the lovely woman who was fast undermining his conviction that he didn't deserve a second chance at love. Life felt brighter and more vibrant when he was with her. In her presence, the shadows his mother had talked about lightened.

But even if he could get past the guilt, the situation with Kate was complicated. She earned her living on the sea. The same sea that had robbed him of his wife and son. A relationship with her would carry risks. Big risks. Wouldn't it be testing fate to take that kind of chance?

Yet now that she had roused from hibernation the happy memories of his fulfilling marriage, how would he ever find the strength to cope with the endless parade of solitary months and years stretching ahead?

“You have to read the last line, Lootenin. That's the best part.”