“Huh?” The bagel in Jess’s hand plopped back on the plate.
“You know, pay me back, thank me—those kinds of things. Personally, I’d like a ’68 Mustang convertible in pristine condition.”
“Dream on, Dad.” Jess retrieved the fallen bagel and bit into it.
Wayne reached over and grabbed the other one off her plate.
“Hey, get your own.” She swatted his hand.
“Why? You can make another for the both of us.”
Jess rolled her eyes heavenward, picked up her plate, and headed for the kitchen. “Thanks for taking the picture with me.”
“Not a problem, princess. So, tell me, besides senioritis, what’s happening at school?” Wayne leaned against the counter and sampled the bagel. He couldn’t help but be curious about one Mr. Trevor Endicott. Having a historical New England name didn’t necessarily mean he was a good man, and—he continued to fret—and, I don’t like it that he’s declined to meet with me three times throughout the past semester.
Jess folded her arms across her middle. “What you’re really asking about is Trev, isn’t it?”
She had him there. “Yes. And everything else. You know me, Mr. Nosy Dad from way back.” He tried not to be too nosy, and he tried to keep a balance between her need for privacy and his own responsibility to watch and protect her.
Jess’s laughter eased the slight tension in the room. “You’ll never change.”
“Not likely.” Wayne poured a cup of coffee. “Want one?” he asked, lifting the pot.
“No, thanks. I’m heading back to school right after church. I’ll grab a cup there at the fellowship hall. Trev is taking me out to dinner tonight.”
“Jess, I don’t want to sound like a broken record—”
“Then don’t. You need to trust me, Dad.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you. But it is odd that this young man has managed to avoid seeing me on three separate occasions. Doesn’t that bother you?”
“Yes, but there’ve been very good reasons each and every time.”
“I see. And what happened this time?” Wayne sipped his coffee and prayed for the Lord’s leading. Guide me, Lord.
Jess plopped down at the kitchen table. “He was called into work to cover for someone.”
“He couldn’t say he had other plans?”
Jess nibbled her lower lip. Wayne took in a deep breath. She’s concerned, too.
“Tell you what. I’ll plan a trip down there next weekend and take the two of you out to dinner.”
“Really?” She jumped up from her seat.
“Sure. I understand what it is to work for a living.”
“Thanks, Daddy. I’ll tell Trev. He’ll be so excited.”
I hope so, Wayne prayed. The one thing that really got under his skin was anyone hurting his daughter.
“What did you think of Mrs. Russell, the pastor’s mother?” Jess asked.
Where’d that come from? She sat there staring at him with a foolish grin on her face.
“She seemed like a nice person,” he finally commented—not that he wanted his daughter to know he found the woman attractive.
“Hard to tell with all that cream on her face, huh?”
Wayne grabbed a hand towel and twisted it into a rat’s tail. “You’d think I’d get a little respect from my own daughter.” He snapped the towel.
Jess picked up another, and their mock battle ensued. He took aim and snapped the end of the towel at her knee. She countered with a snap at his elbow. They stopped after they were unable to stand up straight from their own laughter.
“Seriously, Dad. What did you think of Dena Russell? I saw you give her that plate of food.”
❧
Dena stretched her stiff body as she got up from bed. She glanced at the alarm clock. The red digital glow of the numbers read ten o’clock. Dena moaned.
“Chad, Brianne, we overslept. Get up!” she called out before exiting the bedroom door. In the kitchen, she found the young couple snuggled up beside each other, sipping their coffee.
“You overslept, Mom.” Chad’s grin filled his face. His features were softer than Jason’s, but she still saw Bill in both of her sons. “I was about to wake you. I tried an hour ago, but it was no use.”
“Sorry.” She’d been doing that more and more lately after a hard day of work. Getting older definitely had a downside. She headed back to the bedroom. “I’ll be ready in seven minutes, then we’ll leave for church.”
Chad and Brianne giggled. Dena tossed her head from side to side. Young love.
Showered and dressed, the small group went to church. Dena sat back in the old oak pew. Jason had told her that they’d been made from local lumber nearly three hundred years ago. Dena scanned the congregation. She’d photographed just about everyone.
“Grandma, Uncle Chad!” Billy yelped out, leaving the pew where he’d been with his mom.
“Shh,” Dena warned.
Chad scooped the boy up in a bear hug. “Hey, buddy, how you doing?”
“Good. You should have been here yesterday. Dad got dunked over and over again.”
The entire congregation started to chuckle.
“Oh, man, I wish I’d been here to see that. I wouldn’t have minded dunking your daddy myself.”
Billy leaned toward his uncle’s ear. “Mr. John made it easy to dunk him,” he said in a rather loud whisper.
Dena glanced over to John Dixon. I wonder how Jason will get back at him. She winked. John’s wife buried her head deeper into her church bulletin.
Jason called the service to order. “Good morning, everyone. I trust all of you had a good time yesterday. We raised three thousand dollars for the youth ministries, thank the Lord.”
A round of applause erupted.
Jason raised his hands to abate the praise. “Hang on, there’s more good news to thank the Lord on.” The room hushed. “Jessica Kearns informed me this morning that she will be graduating with honors from Gordon College in two weeks.”
Dena scanned the congregation, looking for Wayne and his daughter, Jessica. The broad smile on her father’s face showed just how proud he was.
“I’d say the college scholarship fund and investing in our youth has seen a long and good history in this church. With God’s help, I pray we continue to be sensitive to the Lord’s leading for our youth.” Jason drew the congregation back to the purpose of their meeting, of fellowship with one another and fellowship with God.
Dena closed her eyes and silently prayed. It had been hard being a single mother, raising three kids through their teen years, supporting them, and still trying to be there when they came home from school. But her career choice had paid off. Purchasing the storefront with an upstairs apartment allowed her to have the studio at home and be near her children. And when they had grown and left for college, taking photo opportunities around the world for national magazines and other media groups had helped pay for their college educations. A tear edged her eye. Thank You, Lord. Without Your help, I couldn’t have done it. Now I’m blessed with two grown sons and a grown daughter, each of them making their own families. Chad and Brianne’s engagement and desire to marry quickly had startled her, but she was happy for them. After a long discussion, they’d decided to get married next weekend in Maine and honeymoon for a week in the Caribbean.
Church. She opened her eyes and focused on Jason. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Wayne Kearns. Her heart fluttered. Her palms began to sweat. She closed her eyes and reopened them, staring straight ahead. She was a grown woman and had no time for romance.
She snuck another glance at the very handsome Wayne Kearns. He’s too young. He looked over at her and smiled. Her cheeks flamed.
She closed her eyes and bowed her head. Dear God in heaven, what’s come over me?
Four
Wayne Kearns couldn’t help but be amused by Dena Russell. She was a beautiful woman, even with whipped cream hanging off her nose. On the other h
and, he felt guilty for having been the cause of her embarrassment. Jess had informed him that everyone brought or offered her a piece of pie throughout the entire fair. If Squabbin Bay was noted for anything apart from the lobster industry, it had to be that it was a town of practical jokers. And while he understood that, he wasn’t too sure that the beautiful Mrs. Russell would. Pastor Russell had told him on more than one occasion how his mother had virtually raised him and his siblings alone.
Of course, Pastor Russell knew of Wayne’s past, and being a single parent since the age of eighteen had been very difficult in the beginning.
He thought back on the service, to the brief moment when his gaze caught Dena’s. Wayne shook off the memory and paced the deck overlooking his backyard. Once again the image of Dena’s cream-covered face came into view.
Wayne stomped off the deck, over to his truck, and headed back to church. He’d planned to spend the afternoon with Jess, but she’d gone back to see her boyfriend. Boyfriend! Did he even like the sound of that word?
Wayne turned off the engine in the church parking lot. He pulled out his toolbox and marched into the fellowship hall. Within minutes he had the doors off their hinges and laid out on a couple of sawhorses. John Dixon was right; these doors needed windows.
“Hello!” Wayne heard someone call as he clicked off his jigsaw. He turned to greet the pastor. A slight heat rose on the back of his neck.
“Hi. I decided to fix these doors.”
Pastor Russell placed his hands on his hips. “Need a hand?”
“Not really. I can frame out the windows, but I don’t have the glass to fill in the holes today.”
Pastor Russell leaned over the door. “I see. Wouldn’t it have been better to wait until you had the glass?” He chuckled.
“Probably. But my guilt got the best of me. I feel so badly about your mom. I heard that just about everyone brought her a piece of pie yesterday.”
Jason Russell smiled. “Just about.” He leaned back against the other sawhorse. “She can handle it.”
Wayne sanded the edges of the pine frame he would place around the hole he’d cut for the window.
“Wayne, can I ask you something?”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“Well, old Ben Costa said it’s been a bad year for lobstering. Have you noticed?”
“Yeah, it happens every now and again. Why, is Ben hurting?”
“Some. The church has been able to help.”
“I’ll keep an eye out for him.”
“Thanks. It isn’t like he hadn’t planned ahead for retirement.”
Wayne left the sandpaper on the door and brushed off his hands. “Yeah, Maggie getting cancer really knocked out their savings. One thing about this community, people help one another.”
“Very true. But if everyone’s feeling the crunch with the low hauls this year…” Pastor Jason looked up at the ceiling and let his words hang for a moment. “We could be in for an interesting year.”
Wayne nodded. He lobstered, but he also worked as a carpenter. With a daughter to raise, he couldn’t afford the lean seasons of fishing only.
“Jason,” Dena Russell called while entering the room.
“I’m coming, Mom.” Pastor Russell turned back. “Sorry, I told the family I’d only be a minute. My brother, Chad, is getting married next weekend.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thanks, now to figure out how to do premarital counseling in a week.” Pastor Russell slapped Wayne on the back. “Thanks for the windows.”
“You’re welcome.”
Dena stood in the doorway.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi.”
Wayne looked down at the door lying in front of him.
“Peace offering?” she asked.
“Kinda. I had the afternoon free, and, well, while I might have innocently creamed you with a pie, what would have happened if it were a small child?”
“Ah, I see your point.” She glanced back at Pastor Russell exiting the building. “Could you use a hand?”
Her smile sent a kicker of a punch deep in his gut. “Sure,” he managed to speak. Wayne found himself in unfamiliar territory. For years, he’d been too busy to consider a relationship. Now, in less than twenty-four hours, he found himself unable to think of anything but getting to know this woman.
“What can I do?”
“Could you sand the rough edges off this framing?”
“Sure.” She took the sandpaper and began to work.
Wayne paused for a moment and caught himself staring. He walked over to the other door and cut open the hole for the window.
A few minutes later, Dena asked, “Are we staining or painting?”
“I’ll stain to go with the original.”
“Okay, where’s the stain?”
“Didn’t bring any. I’ll take care of that later in the week after I can get to the store and purchase the stain and glass.”
She nodded and sat down on a chair.
“Pastor Russell said he was trying to convince you to move up here.”
Dena chuckled. “Yes, he is.”
“What’s keeping you in the city?”
“Convenience, mostly. I travel a lot for my work, and Logan, in spite of the traffic, is a good airport for foreign travel.”
“From what your son says, you’re on the road a lot.”
“Yeah, he’s trying to get me to slow down a bit. Personally, I wouldn’t mind, but each new trip is exciting, a new world to explore and photograph. I love it.”
Wayne lined up the angled cut for the corners of the frame for the second door. “I haven’t been any farther than Boston. I’ve lived down east in Squabbin Bay all my life. I’ve seen many photographs of places I would love to see someday. But more than likely, I won’t get much farther than various spots in New England.”
The small board slipped.
Dena stood before him. “Can I hold the board for you?”
“Thanks.” He could smell the light lavender scent of her perfume. Perhaps she should stay in Boston.
❧
“Why did I offer to help him, Lord?” Dena spoke out loud in the security of her automobile. With Chad and Brianne now getting married in Squabbin Bay, she’d have to stay for the week. “A wedding in a week. Lord, is the end of the world at hand and I don’t know about it?”
On the other hand, the kids made sense. Their schedules conflicted so often, it was impossible for the two of them to have much time off together.
Dena went over the list of things she needed to do. She placed the phone’s hands-free headset to her ear and started her calls while driving to the market to purchase some food. She’d have to travel to Boston for appropriate wedding clothing. She drummed her fingernails on the steering wheel. What to wear?
“Hello?”
“Hi, Jamie. It’s Dena Russell.”
“Hey, Dena, what’s happening?”
“A ton. I’m wondering if you’d like to cover an assignment for me.” Dena filled in the eager photographer about the assignment in Australia.
“Thanks so much. I owe you.”
“Just do me proud and come back with some excellent shots.”
“I promise. Thanks. Thanks again.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Bye.” Jamie hung up the phone.
The rest of the day, Dena found herself busy making wedding plans, rearranging her schedule, and trying to figure out when to develop the pictures she’d taken the day before at the church fund-raiser.
By nightfall she found herself with a cup of black coffee, sitting on the deck, looking out over the bay. Crickets chirped and the stars shone their brilliance.
Wayne’s handsome green eyes floated back in her memory. They seemed to appear overhead in the night sky. “Lord, what’s wrong with me? Why am I attracted to a man I don’t even know?”
The phone rang.
Dena jumped up and answered it. “Hello?”
“
Hi, Mom.” Amber’s voice sounded cheery but tired.
“Hi, honey. What’s up?”
“You mean besides Chad’s rush wedding? He’s so Chad. It’s a good thing he flies jets; nothing else would be fast enough for him.”
Dena laughed. “Agreed. So, to what do I owe the pleasure of hearing your sweet voice tonight?”
“David and I have a slight problem.”
“Money?”
“Yeah, sorry, but can you help us out again?”
“Sure, I’ll pay for the trip. You don’t have to pay me back. Also, I’ll rent another cottage for the weekend for your whole family.”
“No, Mom, we can make do at your place.”
“Maybe you can, but I can’t. I love you, but this place is too small for five extra people. Not to mention Chad will be staying here, too.”
“Ah, well, I hate for you to pay so much.”
“Amber, it’ll be my pleasure. My present to Chad. After all, he doesn’t need a lot of wedding gifts. He’s had his own place for years and has made good money.”
“True.” Amber’s voice lowered. “David’s overcoming the layoff, but he’s so worried and depressed about our finances.”
Dena spent a few minutes trying to encourage Amber about her and David’s financial situation. There were many days, shortly after Bill died, when she didn’t think she would be able to survive and keep the family intact. But the Lord had provided, and, after many years, He provided above and beyond what she ever expected.
“Jason says you had a run-in with a cream pie.”
“Yeah, and this town is a bunch of pranksters. Just about every one of them came up to me with a slice of pie afterward. The poor man who hit me felt so guilty he was at the church this afternoon putting windows in the doors where it happened.”
Amber’s laughter reminded Dena of when Amber was a teen still living at home.
“I heard he nearly ruined Old Faithful.”
“Don’t remind me. The only thing that probably helped me keep my cool was that my camera didn’t get damaged. Wayne’s handsome green eyes wouldn’t have been sparkling then.”
“Handsome…” Amber paused. “Green eyes.”
Horror rushed over Dena. Why had she ever expressed her inner thoughts to her daughter?
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