Because of Him: A Christian Romance (New Hope Falls Book 2)

by Kimberly Rae Jordan

  So what did he do?

  Kieran leaned back in his chair and swung around to face the narrow windows that looked out over the trees that separated the station from the building next door. What if he asked Cara on a date, and she said no? That would make things awkward, but maybe not intolerable. It wasn’t like their lives had been all that entwined prior to the past couple of weeks. They could just go back to how things had been.

  But maybe he should wait just a bit longer before asking her out to see how their next few interactions went. Just because the one that day had gone well didn’t mean all future ones would. The only problem was, now he had no excuse to seek her out, and he really didn’t want it to be another robbery that prompted him to go visit her again.

  “Hey, boss.” The words were accompanied by a knock on his door.

  Abandoning his thoughts of Cara and what their future may or may not hold, Kieran swung back around to spot one of his officers in the doorway. “What’s up?”

  “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

  “Sure.” Kieran waved him in as he leaned forward.

  When the young man shut the door behind him, Kieran knew this was probably going to be a personal talk. Which was fine. He wanted the people he supervised to feel comfortable coming to him with anything. If they were struggling off the job, it was likely to impact their on-the-job performance, and even though they worked in a town with relatively little risk for violence, he didn’t want them distracted, if he could help it.

  Once he was done talking to the young man who had just learned his wife was pregnant with their first child, Kieran focused his attention on his email. He didn’t need to make a decision right then on whether or not to ask Cara for a date. He’d spend some time praying about it, trusting that if it was God’s will, the right moment would present itself. And hopefully, he wouldn’t shy away from following through if that moment came.

  ~*~

  A couple of days later, Cara watched as women began to filter into the studio for her morning class. She noticed that Mary Albridge had walked in with someone new. The woman looked to be about the same age as Mary, but while Mary had a more bohemian style of dress, her friend was dressed more simply in a pair of sweats and a T-shirt.

  She had a rounded figure, and Cara could see her glancing around the room as if she was trying to gauge how well she fit in. Hoping to put her at ease, Cara walked to where the women stood against the wall.

  “Hello, Mary,” Cara said with a smile. “It’s nice to see you here again.”

  “I’m sorry to have missed a couple of classes, but I’ve had other things going on.”

  “I heard about the break-in. I’m so sorry that happened to you.”

  Mary frowned for a moment then shrugged. “It is what it is. No one was hurt, so I’ll count it a win.”

  Cara reached out to touch her arm briefly. “You have a great attitude about it.”

  “Getting too upset about it would only add more stress to my life, and you know I’m not a fan of stress.”

  Not many people were, but Mary somehow managed to brush it aside when many others would have internalized it. Cara included.

  “By the way, this is my friend, Rose. She wanted to see what all the hype was about.”

  Cara held out her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Rose. I’m glad you decided to join us.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, too.” Rose smiled at her as she shook her hand. “Just stick me in the back row, in case I make a fool of myself this first time.”

  “You won’t make a fool of yourself,” Cara assured her. “I encourage people to just do what they can. We all had to start somewhere.”

  As Rose’s smile grew, Cara felt a sense of familiarity but couldn’t place why. She’d probably just seen her in town at some point. Since she’d been there for four years, she’d probably seen everyone at least once even though she hadn’t spoken to most of them.

  When someone called her name, she gave Rose an encouraging smile then moved away to talk to another woman. Once it looked like the majority of the class was there, Cara had them find spots while she went to turn on the music she’d chosen.

  Some of the women had been coming long enough that they probably could have done all the stretches on their own, at home, but for some reason, most kept coming back. She figured part of it was that she kept her rates fairly reasonable. She wasn’t necessarily in business to make money hand over fist, though she did want to make enough to cover the bills. There was money in her account she could dip into, but she tried not to because if she had to leave town in a hurry, she needed to know she had money available to re-establish her life.

  Though if that should happen, she didn’t think she’d go to the lengths she’d gone to in New Hope to set up a new life for herself. She hoped that the steps her father had taken to stage her death and get her a new identity would be enough to allow her to live the remainder of her life the way she wanted without running again.

  As the class progressed, she walked among the women, offering encouragement along with instruction. For all her worries, Rose didn’t seem to struggle much with the stretches. She wasn’t as limber as some, but that was something that would improve if she continued to come.

  When the class ended, Rose came to speak to her again while Mary was talking to one of the other women.

  “I survived.” Her broad smile brought one to Cara’s face as well.

  “I’m so glad. I haven’t had anyone die yet from one of my classes.”

  “I think I’ll definitely be back. So how do I pay for the classes?”

  “Why don’t we go out front, and I’ll explain how that works.” Cara led her out of the studio and to the reception desk in the waiting area. “You can just pay a walk-in rate, if you want, or if you’d prefer, you can buy credits, then each time you come in, you can use one of the credits.”

  Rose seemed to consider the options before she said, “I think I’ll just go with the walk-in for now.”

  Cara sat down at the desk. “That’s what most people start out with.”

  “Perfect. Do you take debit?”

  “Yep.” Cara opened the drawer and pulled out the debit machine. “Also, be sure to check the website before you come as there are times that I have to cancel a class. I try to give advance notice, but I have a sick family member that I try to visit every few weeks. That sometimes necessitates me canceling a class. Alternatively, if you want to give me your email address, I’ll add it to the list I use to let everyone know when that happens.”

  “Sure. I can do that.” Rose accepted the pen and printed card that Cara handed her then moved to the side to fill it out when someone else came up to pay.

  After she’d finished with the two other women who’d needed to pay, Cara turned back to where Rose waited. When the woman handed her the card, Cara looked down at it to make sure it was legible. The printing was all very clear—clear enough that the last name jumped right out at her. Sutherland.

  She tried not to show her surprise, though her fingers tightened on the card. Instead, she looked up and smiled at Rose. “Thanks again for joining us today. I hope you felt comfortable enough that you’ll return.”

  “I did, and Mary was right about how good it would feel. Plus, the whole atmosphere was so relaxed, I could have taken a nap.”

  As the woman spoke, Cara could now see the features she shared with Kieran. Was this his mom or another relative? She seemed to remember him talking about having family in the town, so it was possible she was an aunt.

  “Ready to go, Rose?” Mary asked when she joined them.

  “I am. Kieran’s coming for supper, and I need to stop at the store to get a few things for that.”

  Well, that answered that question. Mom, it was. She willed herself not to react to the sound of his name. It did strike her as rather odd that within the space of two weeks, two Sutherlands had entered her life. She wondered if it would be naïve of her to chalk it up to a coincidence.r />
  With a final wave, the two friends followed the last of the women out of the studio. Cara sat for a moment, pondering the alternative to a coincidence. It was entirely possible that Rose had gotten wind that her son had stopped in to see her on more than one occasion and had made some assumptions.

  Were rumors circulating that something was going on between her and Kieran? What if Rose had been there to check Cara out?

  Her cheeks burned at the thought. She didn’t usually spend much time worrying over what people thought about her. The only people whose opinions had ever mattered to her were her parents and, at an earlier point in her life, the people at the dance company. Though she wanted the people of New Hope Falls to think well of her as a dance teacher and businesswoman, she hadn’t let anyone get close enough to judge her personal life—such as it was.

  If Rose thought Cara wanted a relationship with Kieran, she’d definitely want to see beyond her dance teacher role. The thought made Cara feel a little queasy. She had been so used to her life being just her that she forgot, sometimes, that others came with more people involved in their lives.

  Kieran had roots in this town beyond just his relationship with his mom. Rose wouldn’t be the only person looking at Cara and judging whether or not she was good enough for their police chief. The thought of being under that type of scrutiny made her feel a little sick.

  If any part of her had been contemplating the thought of something more with Kieran, it died a quick death at that moment. In her mind, anyways. Her heart stubbornly refused to give up the desire to share everything about her life with him. Her stupid, blind heart. It wasn’t that easy. Nothing about her life since her mother’s death had been easy.

  Suddenly, worried that Kieran might show up again, Cara got to her feet and hurried to lock the front door and turn off the lights. She could still see well enough to clear up the desk, then she carried the money and the card Rose had filled out into her office. After she inputted the information into her client file, she updated her program with the payments she’d received.

  She took the money upstairs with her, not that it would be a huge loss if someone broke in, but she preferred not to reward them for their efforts. Hopefully they would be smart enough to realize that since she didn’t actually sell anything, she didn’t have a lot of cash on hand.

  In the sanctuary of her apartment, Cara sat down to check her email. Doug Anders had taken to emailing her each day with an update on her father’s condition. It seemed that for the moment, he was holding his own. Not getting any better but also not deteriorating. She hoped that meant he’d still be there when her next visit came in two weeks' time.

  Still, she knew that any day, she could receive a phone call that would irrevocably change her life once again. But she tried her best not to dwell on that thought. Her worrying over it wouldn’t keep it from happening, so she tried to keep it from dominating her mind. She succeeded…most of the time.

  It was just too bad that she needed to avoid thinking about Kieran now too.

  ~*~

  Kieran hated getting to church late, but it happened sometimes. Usually for things beyond his control. A call in the early morning hours from one of his officers had woken him to let him know there had been an accident on the road leading out of New Hope to the east. It was a beautiful road with towering trees on either side and the mountains nearby, but it could be deadly when people weren’t careful when driving along it, especially in the dark.

  It was a narrow road that necessitated a cautious drive at the best of times, but in the dark, it could be a challenge, particularly for people who weren’t familiar with it. Unfortunately, that had been the case earlier when someone took a turn too fast and skidded out of control, hitting a car coming in the opposite direction.

  He’d gone as soon as he’d heard what had happened. The ambulance arrived shortly after he had, taking away the driver and passenger of the one car. Unfortunately, the other driver had been declared dead at the scene.

  Death was something Kieran had never gotten used to seeing, despite his years working in New York, where he’d seen it far too frequently. Knowing all too well the pain of being told that a loved one had passed away, Kieran felt weighed down by the echoes of grief as he walked into the church.

  He could hear singing from the sanctuary, so he went ahead and opened the door and slipped inside. The usher inside the door smiled at him, then handed him a bulletin. Kieran gave him a nod of thanks, then slid into the back pew even though he usually sat closer to the front with his mom.

  There were other people in the pew, so he glanced over to acknowledge them, pausing when he noticed the person closest to him, about halfway down the pew, was Cara. Her gaze was on the words of the song that were projected onto the big screen at the front of the sanctuary, but she wasn’t singing.

  He shifted a bit closer to her but made sure to leave plenty of space between them. If he moved to stand right next to her, rumors would start raging for sure. Not that there weren’t a few already circulating.

  It had been a couple of weeks since he’d last seen her, but he’d been hearing plenty about her from his mom. She’d started going to classes at Cara’s studio and made sure that Kieran knew how much she liked her. While that was all well and good, Kieran hadn’t run into Cara again after that day she’d gotten him lunch from Norma’s. He didn’t want to think she was avoiding him, but he had to wonder.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Kieran’s mom had mentioned that Cara had been out of town for a couple of days to visit a sick family member, so maybe she wasn’t avoiding him. He hoped that was the case.

  He hadn’t been intentionally avoiding Cara, but his days had been tied up with more interviews and meetings with the detective. Kieran had been a bit surprised at how aggressively the man had continued to pursue solving the case of Sheila’s disappearance. He had believed that with Coral having been arrested for the vandalism on Anna’s car, the investigation would lose some steam since she’d been the driving force behind it. But that had definitely not been the case.

  With no new leads, Kieran felt a bit like it was a waste of their time. It wasn’t that he didn’t want the case to be solved, but they had absolutely no new leads. Even the detective’s aggressive questioning of people recently hadn’t led to any new information.

  Eli still maintained his innocence, backed up by the guys with whom he’s spent the night. Pete also had an alibi that held up. None of the others interviewed had been able to give them any new leads.

  The main office had received a call from a television show asking if they’d be willing to be interviewed for a documentary they were doing on Sheila’s case. The detective had agreed, as long as certain boundaries were respected. Kieran actually hoped that the documentary would bring new information to light. If they weren’t making progress with the people who had been in New Hope at the time of Sheila’s disappearance, maybe it was time to broaden their search field.

  Somewhere, someone knew what had happened to Sheila. The best-case scenario was that Sheila had actually run away and established a new life elsewhere in the country. If that was really what had happened, he hoped that she’d see the show and realize that even if she didn’t want to come back to New Hope Falls, she needed to let someone know she was okay. Too many people’s lives were being negatively affected by not having this case solved.

  But while his stress had been outwardly focused, it seemed that Cara’s might have been more personal. She stood ramrod straight, her hands gripping the chair in front of her as they stood. Her intent focus on the words on the screen drew Kieran’s there as well.

  It was a familiar hymn, one he’d sung in the church for as long as he could remember. It was also one his mom had played over and over after she’d lost her son and then her husband. He’d venture to guess that it had become her favorite hymn.

  When the song was over, Pastor Evans slowly climbed the stairs to the stage. He shook hands with the man who’d been leading
the singing then moved to stand behind the podium, placing his large worn Bible on it.

  “It’s not often that I abandon a sermon I’ve been working on all week, but I’m doing just that this morning.” The man moved to stand beside the podium, resting his hand on the edge of it. “At some point in the night, I woke up with that song in my head and a verse on my heart. I tried to go back to sleep but soon realized that wasn’t going to happen. So I got up and began to pray because it was clear that God wanted me to speak on a topic completely different from what I’d planned.”

  The pastor stopped and let his gaze travel over the congregation, and when he came to Kieran, Kieran tipped his head out of respect. He knew from experience that Pastor Evans was a man with a heart for God and a heart for the people who he believed he’d been called to shepherd.

  “At first, I thought I was supposed to bring a message of hope and comfort for those who might be hurting in our congregation, but as I prayed, these verses showed me that it was more than that.” He turned back to the podium and picked up his Bible. “I’m sorry that I don’t have the verses up on the screen like I usually do, so I’ll give you time to find Second Corinthians chapter one verse three in your Bible or on your phone.”

  Kieran pulled his phone out and opened his Bible app. He was more used to using it for his daily reading than actually looking up a specific scripture, so it took him a minute to find the verse. When he’d found it, he looked up to see Pastor Evans once again watching the congregation.

  He glanced over at Cara and saw she had a Bible open on her lap. Normally, he would have had his Bible as well, but he hadn’t had time to stop by the house to pick it up. This was the first time he’d sat so close to her during a service, and he had to wonder if she was always so tense, or if it was just something that had happened recently to make her that way.

  “Second Corinthians one verses three and four,” Pastor Evans said. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”