by Jane Josephs
“Did you have a good nap?” Ginny asked. At Emma’s nod, she introduced her to Jeff. “The guys were just about to go see Dotty. Want to tag along?”
“Sure, but could I have a drink of water first? Please?”
“I’ll get it,” Richie offered, crossing the room to get a glass out of the cabinet. “When do we get to eat this cheese ball?” he asked as he filled the glass and handed it to Emma.
“As soon as you get back from seeing Dotty, I’ll get the crackers out to go with it.”
Emma took the glass from Richie, chugged the water, and handed it back. “Thanks. Let’s go. I miss being with the horses.”
As Travis turned to go with Emma, he glanced back, not really surprised to see Jeff plant a soft kiss on Ginny’s lips. He looped his arm around Emma’s shoulders and stole a kiss of his own, content for the moment. He had the prospect of a good meal after he looked at the horses, a new friend who liked Scrabble as much as he did, and the woman he loved at his side. Someway, somehow, Travis vowed as they walked down the hill to the barn, he’d make Nick Reid glad that he’d stepped in to help him work on a plan for his life. And one day soon, he silently promised himself, he’d be the husband that Emma deserved.
~ ~ ~
Jeff leaned back in his seat at the table and patted his stomach. “That meal was delicious, Ginny. I haven’t had candied sweet potatoes since . . .” He broke off his comment and glanced at the woman he’d come to cherish more than he ever thought possible since the death of his wife two years ago. “Well, let’s just say it’s been a long time.” His hand found Ginny’s and he squeezed gently. “Thank you for sharing this Easter celebration with me.”
“You’re welcome. We’re not finished yet, unless you want to take a break before we have dessert.” She smiled at Jeff before turning to Nick. “Nick, honey, would you make us some coffee, please?”
“Decaf?” Nick asked as he pushed back his chair.
“Yes, that would be perfect.”
“I think maybe a little break would be nice,” Jeff said, glancing at Ginny. At her nod, he shifted his attention to Travis. “I have something I’d like to talk with you about, Travis. If you have time. Maybe we could go out on the veranda?”
Travis started, then gave a shrug. “Sure.” He pushed back his chair and stood.
“Emma, would you mind helping me clear the table?” Ginny smiled at the girl and rose from her seat. “I can put some leftovers together for you to take home if you like.”
“Uh . . . okay, I’ll be glad to help you.” She picked up two plates and turned to the kitchen sink.
Skirting around the table, Jeff patted Travis on the shoulder as he led the way outside. “Ginny told me a little about your situation, Travis, and I think I might be able to help. If you’d be interested in hearing me out.”
“Uh, oh . . . okay.” Travis shoved his hands in his pockets.
Jeff walked to the edge of the veranda and turned to Travis. “I have a job opening at my clinic. Just fifteen or twenty hours a week, minimum wage, but Ginny thought you might be interested. It comes with a furnished bedroom, bathroom, and access to the staff breakroom where we have a fridge, microwave, sink, and stacking washer and drier.”
Travis’ eyes grew big. “That sounds really nice. What kind of work?”
Jeff smiled. The kid didn’t need to know he was making it up as he went along. The look in Ginny’s eyes this morning when she told him about Travis and Emma had been enough to make him do whatever he needed to do to please her. And truthfully, he had the perfect set up to help Travis. The room he’d added on at the last minute when he built his clinic had come in handy a time or two when he needed to be on hand to monitor one of his patients, but most of the time it just went unused. Why not help Travis get off the street?
If he agreed to a few rules.
“Well, to start, I’m hiring a company to clean at night, but they haven’t been doing as thorough a job as I’d like. I’ve been thinking about replacing them.”
“You mean, like, I’d mop the floors and stuff?”
“That would be part of it. We’d work out the job description together. And of course, I need a background check and some references, but that shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
“I’ve never been in any trouble with the cops, if that’s what you mean.”
“Good. What about a reference?”
“You mean, like, my boss at Walmart?”
“Yes. Your boss or another person who knows you well.”
“Well, I wouldn’t want to risk my job. Maybe . . . well, I guess I could ask the priest at the parish where my parents go. He knows me pretty well.
“I’m glad to hear you go to church. The priest sounds perfect. And I should mention, you’ll need to agree to a trial period on the job, say one month. To see how it’s working out.” Just looking at the young man didn’t tell him whether he was a good worker. As much as he wanted to help, he couldn’t risk hiring someone who would sabotage his business. “If I find you’re not doing the job to my satisfaction, well, I’d have to let you go, and couldn’t let you use the bedroom either.”
Travis nodded. “What if I could pay you just to use the room?”
“We could talk about it, I guess, but to my way of thinking it’s really a package deal. That way maybe you could save some money and get into an apartment one day. You have a baby on the way, you know.”
“Well, yeah, I guess that sounds fair.”
“There’s one more thing I need to know. Do you drink or smoke, Travis? Do any recreational drugs?”
“No! Well, I mean yes. But only smoking. Cigarettes. And I’m trying to quit.”
Jeff stared him in the eye, reading Travis as best he could. “Cigarette smoking could be a deal breaker for me, Travis, unless you understand that there can be no smoking at any time or at any place on or near my clinic grounds. Or the animal shelter next door. No exceptions on that. You need to smoke a cigarette, you walk three blocks away from both buildings. And you clean up the butts; don’t leave them lying around. But I’d rather you kick the habit all together. I could ask my doctor to see you. Set you up with some options that could help. You’re young and healthy now, but you won’t stay that way long if you keep smoking. If you need any more convincing, just ask Emma how she likes your stale, stinky breath when you kiss her.”
Travis’ face suffused with color. He looked away and sighed. “Well, yeah, she’s real fussy about that. I always have to have gum on me.”
Jeff stifled a laugh. “Good for her! I can show you around my place on Thursday afternoon, and we can talk more. How’s that sound?” Jeff pulled one of his business cards out of his shirt pocket and handed it to Travis. “Does two o’clock work for you?”
Travis took the card and stared at it for a long moment before looking up at Jeff. “So, you’d give me a job and a place to stay, just like that? I don’t get it. You don’t know anything about me. Why would you do that?”
Jeff sucked in a deep breath. A sense of God’s presence filled him, surprising him in its intensity. He studied Travis, liking what he saw. The young man needed a break. Jeff knew how that felt. “Let’s just say I know it’s the right thing to do.” He patted Travis on the shoulder. “Don’t prove me wrong, you hear?” He turned toward the house. “I think the coffee’s ready, and I can’t wait to have a slice of Ginny’s Pineapple Upside Down Cake. How about you?”
“Yeah, me too.” Travis stopped abruptly and turned to Jeff. “And thanks, Dr. Jeff. I won’t let you down. I promise.”
~ ~ ~
The elevator doors glided open on the fourth floor of the hospital. Nick ushered Emma and Travis out into the hallway and turned left to go to Alison’s room. The nurses’ station came into view and he greeted a nurse he recognized from his visit last night.
> “Welcome back,” she said, stepping up to the counter. “Her parents left about three this afternoon and she’s been sleeping on and off. She had dinner, but didn’t eat much, so I just took her some juice and crackers for later.”
“Thanks. You’ve really been great.”
“You’re welcome. Have a nice visit.”
Nick turned to Emma. “I think it’s best if you go in first, Emma. Just in case she’s . . .” Nick hesitated, not wanting to admit how nervous he was about how Alison would react to seeing Emma and meeting Travis. Were they done, as she’d said last night? He stuffed the thought. He’d prayed for Alison for a solid half hour as he worked out today. Surely God had listened and would help him say the right words. If he had the chance.
“I know, like, if she’s in the bathroom or undressed or something.”
“Right.” Nick pulled back hard on his errant thoughts as he moved down the hallway to Alison’s room. “It’s her right shoulder, remember. Hug her on the left side. Here we are,” he whispered, standing to the side of the open door to Alison’s room. “Ready?” He knocked softly and nodded to Emma to go in.
Emma gave him a jaunty smile and walked into the room, shrieking a happy greeting to Alison.
As if he’d been punched in the gut, Nick exhaled sharply in relief. So far, so good. Alison hadn’t thrown Emma out. He stepped into the room beside Travis, taking in the scene in front of him. Alison was sitting up in bed, an open magazine on her lap, and Emma draped over her body. Barely able to stop himself from grabbing Emma before she could hurt Alison, Nick clenched his teeth and willed himself to stay calm. Alison hadn’t cried out in pain, even though, from Nick’s angle, it looked like Emma was leaning on Alison’s injured shoulder.
Emma turned and beckoned to Travis. “This is Alison,” she said to Travis, tugging on his hand when he got close. “And this is Travis, Alison. He’s, well, he’s, I love him, Alison. So don’t be mad at me, please?”
Alison glanced around Travis to stare at Nick for a brief second, her expression giving away nothing, then turned her full attention on Emma’s boyfriend. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Travis. Why don’t you two have a seat?”
Travis scrambled to pull two chairs up to the side of Alison’s bed. The only two chairs in the room. He shot a glance at Nick and shook his head.
Nick nodded in return to reassure Travis and remained standing near the door. From his earlier visit he knew that the only other seat in the room was a window seat. And Alison hadn’t offered it to him. If he ignored her lack of manners and crossed the room to sit down, he’d lose his vantage point. No matter what she said, he wanted to read her face and body language as she talked with Emma and Travis. Would she accept the plan that he, with plenty of help from Ma and Jeff and the Good Lord, had worked out?
Nick remained silent, his eyes fixed on Alison. In the same way that he had questioned Travis, she now grilled him about his intentions toward Emma and nailed him without mercy about stealing her clothing and not practicing safe sex. “So, you’re keeping this baby, even though you’re practically a baby yourself,” she railed at Emma before turning to Travis, piercing him with eyes that smoldered. “And you think you’re ready to be a father?”
For a moment Travis cowered, and Nick fought his need to step in and defend the kid. To beg Alison to give him a chance. But in the next second Travis rallied, spilling the details of the offer Jeff had made him, and vowing to work hard, step into the position at Walmart when it came along, and do everything he could to make something of his life.
“And what else do you have?” Alison challenged him.
Travis ran his hand through his hair, leaving it sticking up in spikes. “Okay, like I told Jeff, I’m gonna quit smoking.” He shot a glance at Emma. “So she’ll want to kiss me.”
Emma giggled and leaned over to Travis, bumping his shoulder with hers as she grabbed his hands. “I want to kiss you, silly. You know that. But yeah, I’d love it if you quit smoking and didn’t have to chew so much gum.” She laughed and rubbed her belly. “And he—or she—would love it, too.”
Alison’s face softened, her fondness for Emma evident. She smiled and swiped her hair behind her ear a second before she lifted her eyes to stare at Nick. His pulse raced wild and fast. For a moment he couldn’t breathe. Somewhere in his heart he knew he had witnessed a miracle. Crazy that he should call it that, but he couldn’t help it. He had saved a baby from being aborted and thrown away. Nick’s breath caught and his eyes filled with tears. He had saved a child who would one day laugh and sing, hope and dream. Not his son or daughter . . . but a child of God all the same.
Chapter 26
“Temps in the high seventies by this afternoon,” Ginny said, waiting with Alison for Jeff to drive his car up the circular driveway at the hospital on Monday morning.
“Perfect weather, if you ask me,” Alison said, closing her eyes and lifting her face to the sun for a moment. She turned to Ginny. “It feels soooo good to be outside again. The minute my ankle is better, I’m going to the beach and sticking my toes in the sand.”
“Good for you,” Ginny said, patting Alison’s arm. “Keep your eyes on the prize. This next six weeks will fly by, you’ll see.”
“If you say so.” Trying her best to stay in the moment and not think about what was ahead of her at the Reid’s home, Alison smiled at Ginny. “I’m already blushing with embarrassment at what you’re, well, you know.”
“Don’t think a thing about it. I helped my mom after she had surgery one time, and again when she got sick later in life, shortly before she died. I’m a pro.” She pointed at a dark-red Cadillac turning into the driveway. “That’s Jeff coming up the drive now.” She waved as the car slowed and stopped.
Jeff got out and came around to Alison. He nodded to the hospital volunteer standing behind Alison’s wheelchair. “Thanks for your help.”
“You’re welcome. Have a speedy recovery.” The woman patted Alison’s good shoulder and stepped aside for Jeff. “Can you manage?”
“You bet. Thanks so much.” Jeff wheeled the chair around to the side of the car, stopped long enough to set the brake, and opened the back door. “I think it would be best if you sit right behind me, so the seatbelt strap will be over your uninjured shoulder. I moved my seat up so you can have some room for that boot.” Jeff glanced at Alison’s foot. “Ginny tells me you’ve got an appointment tomorrow with the orthopedic doctor.”
“Yes, that’s the next thing, to see if I need a cast.”
“Okay, let’s see if we can make this work. Probably best if you turn around and sit first, don’t you think?”
Grateful for the long beach cover-up her mom had brought her to wear for the trip home, Alison reached out and took Jeff’s hand to steady herself. “Okay, thanks,” she said, standing on her good foot and twisting to sit down in the car without bumping her head. “This car is huge.” Alison laughed. “Good thing.” She swung her legs around as best she could, squirming a bit until she got herself situated. “Okay, I think I’m in.”
Ginny handed Alison’s bag and the bud vase of roses to Jeff and leaned into the car. “Here, let me help you with the seat belt.” She pulled the belt out of its holster, stretched it across Alison and hooked it. “I think that will work okay.” She inspected the belt where it rested just under Alison’s shoulder sling. “Does it feel okay?”
“Yes, thanks. It feels fine. This is quite a production, isn’t it?”
“You’ll get used to it in no time.” She stepped back, took the roses and handed the vase to Alison. “Can you hold this?”
“Sure, thanks.” Alison lifted the roses to her nose, the memory of Nick standing in her room last night washing over her.
In minutes Jeff had returned the wheelchair, stowed Alison’s bag, and helped Ginny in the car. “Everyone ready?” he asked a m
oment later as he fastened his own seat belt.
“Yes, thank you again for all your help, Jeff.” Ginny glanced at Alison as Jeff pulled away from the curb. “This is good practice for tomorrow when we’re on our own.”
“Sorry I can’t help with that,” Jeff said, giving his head a shake. “I checked my schedule and I’m booked with appointments.”
“That’s okay, thank you anyway. You too, Ginny.” Seated in the back, Alison swallowed a chuckle. Ginny and Jeff were clearly into each other and doing their best to keep cool about it. Did Nick and Richie know their mother had fallen in love again? Alison grinned. If she could just get past the humiliation of letting someone help her handle the private stuff, like taking a shower, living with the Reid family just might provide some good blog material.
A picture of Nick flashed through her mind again and she drew in a sharp breath. The sight of his tears had surprised and shocked her. Made her long to be in his arms, to beg him for a do-over. A chance to talk the situation over with him instead of reacting as she had. How had she made such a mess of things? A still small voice answered her question: Nick and she believed different things. Had different values.
Alison swiped her hair behind her ear and stared out the window. What if Nick was right? What if no matter when Emma had conceived, her womb already held a child? She shook her head. It didn’t matter now. Nick had won. She’d have to be blind and deaf to miss Emma’s joyous exuberance about being pregnant and in love. Was that what made Nick cry?
Somehow, he had found Travis and given the guy every reason to stick around and make something of himself. Who was she to stand in the way? But what if he hurt Emma? Abandoned her and the baby? Or worse, became abusive? The thought made her sick to her stomach. What did Nick know about Travis? Why was he willing to trust him?
