“Hailee, this is Pastor Jaydon Bennett. P.J., this is Hailee. She’s the girl we told you about on Sunday. We finally talked her into coming.”
Jaydon extended his hand and Hailee accepted the greeting. “It’s nice to meet you Hailee. Glad you were able to come tonight.”
Hailee gave him a hesitant smile before looking down at her shoes and meekly upward again.
“It was nice to meet you, too. These guys talk about this place all the time. I used to go to church a lot when I was a little kid, but…it’s been awhile. Everybody seems nice. They say you let them ask questions and give them straight answers about everything. That’s cool.”
He grinned and nodded. “Yeah, I grew up in church and I can’t remember ever talking about some of the things we do here. It’s important to me that everyone who walks through the door knows this is a safe place to hang out, talk, and share what they’re going through. We believe in an all knowing, always present God. He isn’t surprised by anything and he’s always got the answers, so why not be open about everything in his own house?” He swept his hand in a palm-up gesture that circled the room.
She nodded and looked back to Harrison with affection in her eyes. It was clear these two had a sweet relationship in its early stages. Jaydon would pay attention to things as they developed, but he trusted Harrison. Something about Hailee said she was a good kid, too, even though that hard-yet-vulnerable look he’d seen before made him more than a little concerned.
The foursome waved goodbye with smiles and nods as they joined up with a few others near the pool table. He’d be praying hard for all his kids this week, but especially for Harrison and Hailee. He’d especially be praying for direction with what to look out for with Hailee and to see if there was a female leader in the group who might be a good mentor if she decided to become a regular here.
He had a feeling God was planning something with that girl, he didn’t know just what.
Chapter 4
Gina
Please, God, let this week hurry up and be over already.
Gina blew out a heavy breath of both frustration and exhaustion. She loved this job, truly, but this was one of the longest stinking weeks in the history of the universe. Spring break as a kid meant fun, freedom from homework, and sleeping in. As an adult, it meant getting a break from her full-time job as an educational assistant in the district run preschool program here at Cordova, and in turn, having to work more hours for the SAEC because the students in their program had parents who still had to work and needed childcare. She huffed another hard sigh.
If one more kid asked to go to the bathroom at the same time as four other kids asked to go outside—at the same time half a dozen asked when snack would be—she might triple in size, turn green, and start smashing things. Catching a fast glimpse of her distorted reflection in the cheap over-the-sink mirror, she pulled a face and looked away. Nah, she’d probably only have to double in size to make her Hulk impression realistic. Ugh.
She shook her head. Working with kids probably wasn’t helping with her health goals. Being a preschool assistant meant eating whenever she had a quick break, or more often, on the run, while avoiding the temptation of easy-reach prepackaged junk and empty carbs.
But between that and working almost every afternoon for the Sandia Area Educational Collaborative, or SAEC for short, she had just enough time to slam down whatever dinner she could manage while rushing to her other part time job three nights a week as an aide to an elderly couple who lived on the other side of town.
Sure, she got in more than her step goal almost every day, but did she have time to really work out as much as she needed to? It was brutal torture just to drag herself out of bed for a mile or two jog-walk every morning…or every couple mornings…or evenings here and there when the guilt motivated her to move instead of sit tempted by cereal, chocolate, and chips. But still. Being surrounded by kid food didn’t help things, either.
The walk up the clanging metal ramp and back into the portable building that housed the SAEC’s two classrooms was a quick one. As soon as she’d ushered her small charges back into the room, she checked the clock on the wall above the whiteboard. As if her stomach could read the time, it growled noisily. Her eyes met with Erica’s and she tilted her head toward the clock in silent inquiry. Erica nodded and announced to the kids it was time to clean up and get ready for lunch. Gina took advantage of the time to grab her oversized leather purse and keys.
Once she and Erica had herded the kids outside to the nearby turf field, she scanned the parking lot for signs of Micah’s arrival. Micah was their newest addition to the SAEC staff, replacing Robert, who had gone off to New Mexico Tech last fall on scholarship. Robert had been a great coworker. He’d always been early, reliable, and was really, really good with the kids, even though he was only eighteen.
Micah was probably twenty, and while he wasn’t a bad employee, he wasn’t notoriously reliable, either. Sure enough, there he was, sauntering up the walk toward the field, fifteen minutes late. She’d have to let Brynn know so Patricia, their boss, could deal with it.
Brynn ran the program here at Cordova Elementary, with Gina as her part-time second-in-command, but Patricia was the official head of things. The SAEC was a city-wide program run at several different schools and Patricia managed the staff and funding for all of them. Why Patricia had hired Micah in the first place was beyond Gina. She could see the chip on his shoulder a mile away and the dude was full of himself.
He was good with the kids, though, she’d give him that. But how could they trust him if he was always late and didn’t seem to care that it impacted others?
“Was’sup, ladies?” Micah practically crooned. Ick. Little twerp thinks he’s charming.
“You’re late,” Gina pointed out gruffly. “Erica and I need to take our lunch breaks and you were supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago.”
He didn’t even flinch at her chastisement. That crooked grin of his was annoying already. “Sorry, Mom,” he teased. Gina wasn’t in the mood.
“Whatever.”
To Erica, she said, “I’ll be back in thirty minutes so you can go.” Erica nodded.
All the way to her car, Gina seethed. Who does that punk think he is? And who does he think he’s calling mom?! She shook her head. Disrespectful little burro.
She sank into the sagging seat of her older model sedan and yanked the seatbelt a little harder than necessary. It took under two minutes to pull the aging vehicle into the nearest sub sandwich franchise. She pulled out a coupon for a buy-one-get-one deal on a six-inch sandwich and ignored the one for a free cookie that was on the back. As awesome as a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie sounded, that would just defeat the purpose of coming here.
Five minutes later, she was seated at a table in the corner with one of the sandwiches in hand, the other in a clear bag to toss in the fridge for tomorrow. Hopefully it wouldn’t get too soggy. She bit down on the soft bread and savored the flavor of the roast beef and red onions and hardly noticed the lack of cheese or mayo. Or so she tried to tell herself.
She looked up when a shadow filled the door. A vaguely familiar face filled her vision but she couldn’t quite place where she’d seen him before. The dude was huge. Like 6’4” and probably at the upper end of the 200s. He wasn’t fat, just really big from head to toe.
He had lush, dark brown hair with a slightly reddish tint where the sunlight hit it and a full curly beard to match. His shoulders were broad, his chest wide, with thick arms and all of it stretching the black tee shirt he wore snugly across his bulky frame. He reminded her of Bradley Cooper when he played that sniper, minus the camo pants. This guy wore a pair of intentionally ripped denim jeans that were mostly fitted but loose in the right places. Whoa, mama.
She swallowed her bite and looked down at her sandwich. She couldn’t explain the sense of unease his presence gave her, but there was also a sense that she knew him…or wanted to. Where had she met this guy?
&nb
sp; He surveyed the small dining area, decorated in white, yellow, and green that stood out against the faux bricks on the walls. His gaze didn’t quite make it her way before he stepped through the order line and began dictating to the older lady behind the counter in a low voice. He paid for his foot-long sandwich meal and plucked a bag of chips that looked tiny in his huge hands from the rack. In two long steps he reached the drink station and filled his large to-go cup with iced tea before turning toward her corner. His eyes widened at the same time she realized he was heading her way.
“Hey, you’re Gina, right?”
Her brows pinched together. How did he know her name? Shoot. Where did she know him from? He was too good-looking for her not to remember.
He chuckled softly and set his drink down on her table to free his right hand, which he extended. “Jaydon Bennett. We met at Brynn and Josh’s engagement party back in January.”
Gina couldn’t open her mouth to answer. She was never speechless. And yet, something about this big, brawny man-bear was equal parts intimidating and intriguing. He remembered her name? And where they’d met? They’d been introduced for all of, what, ninety seconds?
“Uh, yeah,” she finally managed to choke out as she accepted his handshake. “I knew you looked familiar, I just couldn’t figure out why.”
He gave her a look of deep hurt, but the mirth in his incredibly deep blue eyes gave him away. She couldn’t help but smile. Something about this guy instantly put her at ease. Weird.
He placed a meaty hand on the back of the chair across from her.
“Mind if I join you? Since we’re both going to be in the wedding, we should probably get to know each other, right?”
She swallowed a bite of her sub and washed it down with a gulp of tea.
“Sure, have a seat.”
He dwarfed the chair and made the table look like one of the kid-size play sets at work. It wasn’t just his physical size, though, that made him seem larger than life. The way he carried himself left the impression he was even bigger than he actually was. She wasn’t a small girl, yet she felt tiny by comparison. It was kind of nice.
“So, you work around here or something?” he asked.
She nodded. “Over at Cordova Elementary with Brynn.”
He nodded and unwrapped his sandwich. “That’s right. You like working with kids?”
“Yeah, it’s pretty fun. Most of the time.”
“Most of the time?”
“We open up full time during spring break for parents who have to work. A lot of kids don’t come, but we still have a couple dozen. Some of them from 6:30am to 6:30pm. By the end of the day, the littler ones are worn out and miss their parents…and those who work there are ragged.”
“You work twelve hours a day?” Jaydon’s expression was incredulous.
“No,” she assured him. “We all split the days. Brynn, Erica, and I work the longer hours and we have another part timer who fills in so we have enough overlap.”
“Ah, that makes sense.” He took a huge bite of his sandwich and a blob of mustard dripped into his beard. She made a motion at the spot and handed him a napkin. He quickly took care of it and sat back in his chair while he chewed.
His deep-end-of-the-ocean blue eyes penetrated like he could see straight into her soul if he looked hard enough. It made her rethink that whole at-ease thing. Those eyes were freakishly intuitive, and she quickly looked away.
Time for a refill?
No, she wasn’t prone to escaping situations. She faced discomfort head on. Adjusting her position, she made herself at least look relaxed. Her eyes reached his with renewed determination.
“So, Jaydon, you’re a pastor, huh?”
Jaydon
Jaydon bit back his surprise, working to keep his face neutral. He’d just seen Gina’s body language go through a rapid series of changes and he was still trying to catch up. One minute, she was relaxed and smiling, then suddenly shifty and ready to bolt. Just as quickly she’d schooled herself back into control and he wanted to know what had brought it all on.
He maintained contact with Gina’s coppery brown eyes but noted a hint of discomfort behind her determined composure. He relaxed even further into his chair and broke eye contact in hopes she would relax once more. Seriously, what had brought forth such strong responses? They were just making small talk.
“Yeah. I’m the youth pastor over at Well of Hope. That’s where I met Josh. My dad’s the pastor and Josh’s family has gone there forever.”
He sensed her tense up again, though he could tell she was working not to let it show.
Huh.
“You work with kids, too, then?”
He dragged a hand down his beard and nodded. “Yeah. I just started last fall. I was an associate pastor before that.”
“What does that mean? Associate pastor?”
“Basically, it’s my dad’s right-hand man. I did whatever he needed, filled in when he went out of town, stuff like that.”
“I’ll be right back.” Gina abruptly stood and walked toward the soda machine. His gaze followed her as she filled her cup with ice and unsweetened tea. She was probably in her late twenties, definitely no more than thirty. She was tall for a woman. Probably pushing 5’9” or so. She had gorgeous, thick, dark brown hair typical for most women of Hispanic descent. She wasn’t small, but he wouldn’t consider her heavy, either.
She was probably thinner than she looked in the baggy sweatpants and oversized SAEC tee shirt she had on. Although she obviously hadn’t put much effort into her appearance, there was a quiet confidence about her that suggested she wasn’t going to fret over anyone’s opinion. He’d noticed that about her back when they’d first met in January.
He remembered arriving late to the party, having had some obligation at the church. She’d been heading out early to get to work. Which didn’t make sense, now that he thought about it.
If she worked at the school with Brynn, why had she been leaving early on a Saturday night? He only remembered because Josh and Brynn had been greeting him with matching sappy expressions of adoration when Brynn had reached her arm out to stop Gina from leaving so she could introduce them.
She’d been wearing curve-hugging but comfortable looking jeans that drew attention to how long her legs were. She’d also worn a loose dark blue top that had made her eyes look like shiny pennies. That, he remembered clearly. Her dark hair had been twisted up into a clip, so her eyes had stood out brightly. Brynn had only been able to make a brief introduction before she’d had to leave, and Jaydon recalled feeling disappointed at not having time to get to know Brynn’s beautiful closest friend.
Not that he should think of her as beautiful. She wasn’t really, in the traditional sense, but he’d bet she turned more than a few heads.
He shook his head. No, he definitely shouldn’t think of her as beautiful because beautiful women were brutal, and he was in no position to get involved with a woman who could tear him apart. Again.
A throat clearing yanked him back to reality. Oops. She’d gotten that refill quickly.
“Hey, I was wondering about something.”
She looked confused. “About what?”
“At Brynn and Josh’s party. We barely had a chance to meet because I got there when you were leaving for work. Does that mean you have another job?”
She shifted in her seat, clearly fighting discomfort again. Dang it, he really should control his curiosity better.
“Um, I do. Two more, actually. During the school day, I’m an assistant in the Pre-K class at Cordova. Afternoons, I work with Brynn for the SAEC. But I also help out an elderly couple. Their two grown children alternate a couple nights a week each, and I help out the other three so they can focus on their own families.”
“You’re a natural caretaker, then.” Or crazy in debt, if she really had three jobs. But that was too personal to just throw out there. Also, none of his business.
Her eyes widened before narrowing. “You’re awfully
perceptive. Or nosy. Or both?”
He laughed. “Sorry. I’m told I’m pretty good at reading people. Hazard of being a pastor for so many years.”
“How old are you?” She slapped her hand over her mouth like she’d surprised herself. “I’m sorry, that’s too personal. You just made it sound like you’ve been at it a long time.” He laughed at the apologetic look still on her face.
“No worries. I’m thirty-five, and I’ve been a pastor for almost a decade already. Some days it feels like longer. When you’ve seen some of the things I’ve seen….”
His voice trailed off and he shook his head. Not important. “Anyway. I didn’t mean to pry. I tend to have good intuition with people most of the time, but I’m probably a little too direct. Sorry.”
“Eh, it’s okay. I just wasn’t expecting that basically a stranger would know what I’m a natural at. But you’re right. I do tend to take care of other people. I don’t even think about it.”
She checked the time on her phone and quickly stood and grabbed her things.
“I’m sorry to run off on you, Jaydon. It was nice to meet you again, but I’ve got to get back so my coworker can take her lunch break, too.”
She balled up the butcher paper from her sandwich and tossed it in the can before picking up her drink in her left hand. She started to reach for the keys clipped to the little purse wallet around her wrist before pausing to extend her hand. He reached up and gave it a polite but firm shake along with a friendly smile, which she returned, though somewhat guarded. A warm sensation spread from his fingertips and into his palm as he sat there, still clutching her hand like a brainless idiot. Weird.
She looked down at her hand and scrunched her fingers open and shut, shaking off whatever that had been.
“It was nice to meet you again, too, Gina.”
She tossed him a smile before bolting to her car, which looked to be at least fifteen years old. It made a sound like a dying animal caught in a hamster wheel as it accelerated down the road toward the elementary school. He didn’t know much about the mechanics of a car, but he knew it didn’t sound good. He prayed for her safety and for the vehicle’s reliability. She didn’t look like she had a lot of income to spare, even working three jobs. He wondered about that, but...none of your business, man.
Whatever Comes Our Way (Everyday Love Book 2) Page 3
