Cookies & Candlelight

by Maddrey, Elizabeth

  “You’re sweet. I should run. Love you. I’ll text you as soon as I land.” Serena pressed a kiss to his lips before she spun and hurried on her way.

  Micah’s mouth opened but there weren’t any words. The words had been so casual, careless even. Clearly she hadn’t meant them. Things like that just popped out sometimes. Right?

  14

  Serena paced by the sliding doors and looked down the crowded corridor. She’d arranged to meet Micah by the exit to this parking garage, but the airport was big and complex. It’d be easy to get turned around and end up in the wrong spot. She checked her phone. No messages or texts. The airport website said his plane had landed on time, as did the monitors at the end of the hall that she’d checked when she first arrived. So what was the holdup?

  Squinting, she focused on a tall man headed her way. There he was. The tension in her shoulders and back eased and she grinned as she waved. He matched her grin and increased his pace.

  “There you are.” Micah pulled her into his arms and lifted her off the ground. “I’ve missed you. I know it’s ridiculous, but that doesn’t seem to matter.”

  “If you’re ridiculous, then so am I.” Serena held his face in her hands and met his lips. The crazy noise of travelers making their way to their cars and the incessant broadcast announcements faded as she lost herself in him. Here was home. Not Idaho. Not L.A. Micah. Her heart swelled until it felt like it would burst. Thank you, Jesus. The prayer came out of nowhere, but it was the only concrete thought in her head. Reluctantly, she eased back. “We should go.”

  Micah set her on her feet and kissed her one more time before hitching his backpack higher on his shoulder. “Lead on.”

  Serena kept his hand firmly in hers as they threaded their way through the rows of parked cars to the space she’d managed to snag.

  Micah’s eyebrows lifted. “Nice.”

  “It’s my dad’s. I felt like a kid asking to borrow it, but it didn’t make sense to rent a car when he has eight of them sitting around at home. Of course, the fact that I took a taxi from the airport instead of hiring a limo gave my mother heart palpitations.” Serena clicked the button to unlock the doors on her father’s sporty convertible. “It’s a nice day. Want to put the top down?”

  He nodded, a slow grin spreading over his features. “I really do.”

  Serena laughed and popped open the trunk. “Drop your bag in there and climb in. I’ll give you the nickel tour on our way to the house. I’m glad you’re able to stay tonight.”

  “Me, too. Even if I only have until tomorrow evening.” He put his backpack into the trunk and closed it.

  Serena slid behind the wheel and started the engine while Micah got situated. She pushed the button to open the convertible top and grinned. “Ready?”

  “Sure. Tell me about your week while you drive.”

  She laughed. “There’s nothing more than what I said when I called you, really.”

  “So tell me again. It’s fun to hear you talk about it. It’s a whole new side to you—and it’s a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes of a movie that most of us don’t get.” He twisted in his seat so he was angled toward her.

  Was it a different side of her? She didn’t see it that way. “I’m still the same me. You’re sure it’s not boring?”

  “Yep.”

  Shaking her head, Serena paid for the parking and headed out into L.A. traffic. While she drove, she alternated between pointing things out and rehashing the table reading of the script. Her costars had ranged between shocked and surprised when she’d shown up the first day. She hadn’t worked with any of them before—they were all much higher on the food chain than she’d been before her five-year absence. But they’d been nice. Welcoming, even. “It’s a good mix. Everyone has a solid grasp on their role. The director seems pleased. Honestly, if it keeps up this well, it’ll be one of the fastest movies ever filmed.”

  “That’d be nice. Then you could be back home before Thanksgiving.” He reached over and rubbed her leg. “When does everything start for real?”

  She ran through the timeline in her head. She’d wanted to hold off on this conversation—it was sooner than she wanted. “August.”

  He let out a breath. “Wow. Okay. How long do you think it’ll be?”

  “Realistically? Maybe mid-December.” She signaled and changed lanes, slowing as the road began to curve, hugging the Pacific coast. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. This is what you want, right?”

  Was it? She wouldn’t go that far, necessarily, but the more she prayed about it the more it felt like this was where God wanted her. And maybe that meant it was the same thing. She nodded. “Yeah. But I was happy where I was, too.”

  “And you’ll come back between projects and be happy there again. You have talent, Serena. Why wouldn’t God want you to use it?”

  She slowed, signaling a turn into a gated driveway. She had talent with clay, too, didn’t she? “When I came to Arcadia Valley, I was broken. I don’t think I can explain just how badly. Between my pottery and Gloria hounding me toward Jesus, and finally accepting what He had for me, I figured out that I mattered, regardless of what I did or didn’t do as a career. So now, every time I sit behind that wheel, I think of God and how He’s portrayed as the potter and we’re clay and I’m grateful that He’d care about someone with the history I have. Back home, I don’t have to watch what I do or worry about how I’m living. I can just be Serena Johnson, saved by grace. I don’t want Hollywood to diminish that.”

  Micah nodded. “I get that. But what if, now that you have your feet solidly under you, God’s asking you to step out and shine the light He put inside you, instead of keeping it to yourself?”

  Serena sighed. He was probably right. She’d felt God’s nudge to witness more overtly to her parents. And she’d ignored it. “I don’t know if I can.”

  “You don’t have to. Let God do it through you.”

  Her eyes filled and she blinked back the tears. It was hard to give up control and the security of knowing she was in charge. But wasn’t that the bottom line of the Christian life when the rubber hit the road? “Yeah. Pray that I can, would you?”

  “Of course.”

  Serena smiled and pressed the button on the garage door opener. “Home sweet home. Dad’ll probably be out in less than a minute to make sure I didn’t scratch his baby.”

  “You grew up here?”

  She nodded. “Not sure I appreciated it.”

  He chuckled. “No one does. I might not have had tennis courts and...was that a putting green?”

  “Yeah, Dad went through a phase where he was going to golf. I doubt he’s been out there in the last seven years though.” Serena put the top back up and turned off the engine. “Unless he crosses the grass to get to the beach stairs.”

  Carl Johnson poked his head out through a door and grinned. “I thought I heard my baby. How’d she do?”

  Serena laughed and looked at Micah. “See? The car’s fine, Dad. Thanks for letting me take it out.”

  He held out his hand and Serena dropped the keys into it. “You know you can always take any of the cars while you’re in town. Mom has a nice new sedan over there you should try out next.” He moved his gaze from the cars to Micah. “We’ve met?”

  “Yes, sir. Micah Baxter. We met briefly at Serena’s, for her kiln opening.” Micah stuck out his hand.

  “Of course, of course. Good to see you. Glad you could make it out for our little shindig.” He shook Micah’s hand. “Got your bag?”

  “Oh. It’s in the trunk, Dad. Pop it open?”

  He pushed a button on the key fob and the trunk lid lifted. Micah reached in and grabbed his backpack before gently closing it.

  “Excellent. Your mother’s inside giving the caterers a heart attack. Be sure you say hello before you take him and get him settled in your room.”

  “What?” Serena’s heart stopped. Her parents expected Micah to share her room. Of course they did. No matt
er how many times she explained that that wasn’t how she was living her life now, they didn’t believe her. Her eyes darted to Micah. What must he be thinking? “I figured I’d put him in the yellow guest room.”

  “Oh? Well, check with your mother. I don’t think we have anyone planning on staying there, but it’s always a good idea to be sure. It’s a long way away from your room though.” Her dad lifted a hand in a semi-wave as he turned.

  “I’m sorry about that.”

  Micah slipped his hand into hers and squeezed. “It’s fine. If the guest room doesn’t work out, I can always find a hotel. There’s probably something nearby, right?”

  “Probably not tonight. It’s the Fourth of July. There are ten bedrooms in this house, I’m sure we can find one for you to use. If not, you can take mine and I’ll sleep on the couch in Dad’s study.” Serena tugged him toward the door that led into an enclosed breezeway connecting the garage to the main house. “Let’s go say hi to Mom and see what’s what.”

  * * *

  Serena glanced over the shoulder of the studio executive who was yammering at her and smiled. Micah had been cornered at one of the drink stations by one of the younger stars on Dad’s soap. That girl—what was her name?—was a menace. Even though she stayed out of the gossip circuit, Serena knew about the girl’s exploits. They were usually with older, married, more successful men though. Maybe she should go save Micah. She smiled and touched the executive’s arm before excusing herself.

  She skirted the pool, pausing to exchange greetings with a few of her parents’ regular party attendees, as she made her way to Micah.

  “So I just get so lonely, you know?” The woman batted her eyelashes.

  Micah shot Serena a desperate look. “There you are.”

  “Sorry. I was trying to get away.” Serena pressed a kiss to Micah’s cheek and looped her arm through his with a smile at the other actress. “So glad you could make it, dear. Be sure you get some food.”

  The girl showed her teeth in what was probably supposed to be a smile. “Maybe I’ll go do that now. It was nice to meet you, Micah. If you change your mind about my offer, come find me.”

  Serena waited until the actress was out of earshot before snickering. “I can only imagine the offer she made you.”

  “Please don’t leave me alone again.” Micah shuddered. “On the bright side, I’m adding a lot of names to my prayer list.”

  Serena grinned. “That’s just the right way to think about it. Come on, we can mingle our way over toward the lawn. The crowd always thins out over there—no food or drink—we just have to avoid the shadowy areas.”

  “What’s the prob...oh.” He huffed out a breath. “It really is a different world, isn’t it?”

  That was exactly the problem. How was she supposed to live in this world, even if it was only for a few months at a time, and not get dragged back into the morass? “Yeah. It is. I’m not sure...”

  He stopped and cradled her face in his hands. “Yes, you can. Think about what Paul wrote to the Philippians.”

  Serena furrowed her brow. “Is this the ‘I can do all things’ speech? ‘Cause our pastor did a whole series last year on scripture taken out of context and that one was top of the list.”

  Micah laughed and kissed her. He took her hand and they continued walking away from the majority of the party. “No. I wasn’t going with that one. But we’ll have to stop so I can get out my phone. I don’t know it completely by heart.”

  Serena towed him toward an empty bench at the front part of her father’s putting green. “All right, let’s sit and you can lay it on me.”

  He grinned and slipped his phone out of his back pocket before settling on the bench. He draped an arm over her shoulders and tucked her against his side while he thumbed open the Bible app with his other hand. “Let’s see...yeah, here. At the end of chapter one, ‘Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you.’”

  “That’s better than the all things bit.” Serena sighed and laid her head on his shoulder. “Stand firm no matter what happens. Ties in with Ephesians six, doesn’t it?”

  “Full armor of God.” Micah brushed his lips across her forehead. “It does. God’s going to be with you, every step of the way. It may not be easy—probably won’t be, honestly—but if you keep your heart set on Him and commit your ways to Him, then He’ll direct your path.”

  Her lips curved. “You have some scripture memorized. That’s one of the first verses I copied onto an index card and taped to my mirror so I’d see it every day. It’s a good reminder.”

  “It’s seen me through some things. Before I moved to Arcadia Valley, I worked for a tutoring and afterschool program. It’s what I thought God wanted me to do forever—I had my eyes on opening my own franchise in another five or six years. Then we got new management and one thing led to another and it all started falling apart. I started praying—hard—that God would show me what I was supposed to do. Not a week later, Jonah’s on the phone with this community-supported bakery idea. In some ways, it felt like running away, but mostly? It was a clear answer from God.”

  She nodded. “Too bad God isn’t always that clear and direct.”

  Micah chuckled. “True. But I’ll be praying, and you’ll be praying. I imagine Gloria and the rest of my family will be, too.”

  Knowing Gloria, she’d have the whole church praying. Serena sighed. With that many people on her side, she had to believe God would make it clear if she took a wrong step.

  15

  Micah leaned against the railing and studied the fake mammoth frozen as if struggling to get free of the black tar that surrounded it. Who knew L.A. had an active archaeological dig right in the middle of the city? Probably everyone but him. Serena had laughed when he’d asked to come, but they’d spent the morning playing tourist already—visiting the Griffith Observatory, Grauman’s Chinese Theater, and strolling along the boulevard there looking at the stars—so why not one final stop? If he’d had the time, he would’ve asked if she wanted to go to the amusement park for the day, but that was silly when they couldn’t use every hour on their tickets. They could do that another time. Maybe he could swing a weekend during filming to come see her—there had to be some way to make it work.

  Serena held up their tickets and a brochure. “We’re all set.”

  “I wish you would’ve let me pay.”

  “Nope. My treat. If we go visit D.C., you can pay then.”

  “The museums in D.C. are mostly free. I’m getting the better deal.”

  She laughed and kissed him. “Why don’t we call it a tie? I get to spend the day with you, after all.”

  He shook his head and slipped his arm around her waist. “What’s first?”

  “Let’s do the museum first.” She pointed to the entrance. “Then see what sounds good.”

  A group of teenagers huddled near the entrance giggling as they passed by. One of the girls did a classic double take before whipping out her phone and snapping several photos while she jammed an elbow in her friend’s side.

  Micah sighed. That had happened all over town. Not a lot, but enough that he’d started noticing the way people watched and grabbed their phones. They probably thought they were being sneaky. Serena didn’t even bat an eye. “Doesn’t it bother you even a little?”

  Serena paused in the doorway to the museum. “What?”

  “The pictures?” He jerked his head toward the teens who were now all staring in their direction. Probably trying to figure out who Micah was. Or, given the situation in Arcadia Valley last week, they probably already knew. “It’s just weird.”

  “You get used to it.” She squeezed his hand. “I promise. Just ignore them. Most people are content to take a picture and leave it at that.”

/>   Like he had any other options. He forced a smile and followed her to the first exhibit. At least in here it was relatively empty. Seemed like most people were content to see the tar pits and the fake animals and leave the museum alone. He cleared his throat. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Of course.” Serena was leaning over a display, staring intently at a fossil. She turned her head to see him and frowned. “What’s wrong?”

  He was already botching it. His palms were damp and his heart was racing like he’d guzzled an entire pot of coffee. “Last week, before you flew out?”

  She grinned and stepped close. “I was wondering if you were ever going to ask about that. This isn’t exactly the place I would’ve chosen though. The observatory, now that’s open and romantic. But I guess fossils will do—they last for a long time, so they’ve got that going for them.”

  Micah blinked. “I’m con—”

  “Yes. I love you, Micah Baxter.” Serena leaned up and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Now come on, let’s go see the saber-tooth tiger. I think it’s this way, but it’s been a long time since I was here.”

  Words stuck in his throat so he followed along, letting her lead him by the hand like a puppy. She loved him. That seemed fast. They’d known each other what, six weeks? Except...hadn’t he just been planning a future with her in his mind? Would he do that if he wasn’t at least half in love with her? He certainly never had with anyone else.

  “There he is.” She grinned at Micah and stopped in front of a skeleton labeled saber-toothed cat. “Look at those teeth. They’re amazing, aren’t they?”

  “Yeah. Though it’s frustrating that all the descriptions are steeped in the idea that there are billions of years of whatever going on.”

  Serena angled her head. “You think there were saber-tooth tigers in Eden with Adam and Eve?”

  Micah shrugged. “Of course.”

  “Dinosaurs?”