Love of a Lifetime: A Sweet Contemporary Romance (Finding Love Book 3)

by Delaney Cameron

  “I’m fine. The view is a lot different up here. Why couldn’t I have been tall?”

  Her comment defused the tension growing inside him. He moved closer to the tree, trying to gauge where Faith was in relation to the kite.

  “A little to the right, please,” she told him. “Okay, stop. Now don’t move. Stay right here.”

  It only took a few minutes to maneuver the net under the kite and push it free of the branches. Landris couldn’t decide whether that was too long or not long enough.

  Olivia clapped her hands as it floated to the ground. “She got it! She got it!”

  Annoyed with himself for being so affected by something so innocent, Landris dropped to his knees again so Faith could get down.

  “Is my kite okay, Daddy?”

  The kite was probably fine; the same couldn’t be said for him. Landris examined the material for tears and found none. “It looks like it. Let me reattach it to the string, and you’ll be good to go.”

  The sound of Faith’s infectious laughter mingling with that of Olivia’s followed him back to the house. Working in his office, he convinced himself that what happened outside was merely the result of not being around women in a long time. His awareness of Faith wasn’t harmful in and of itself. It couldn’t become anything more unless he allowed it to happen, and he had no intention of doing that.

  * * * * *

  When Faith noticed Olivia’s enthusiasm for the kite waning, she suggested they go to the playset. She was emerging from one of the tunnels when Landris stepped out of the house. Knowing what she must look like with her hair all over the place and her face damp with perspiration made her wish she’d been content to observe rather than participate. No one looking at her would believe she taught college classes. If he found anything unusual in her appearance, he didn’t show it.

  “Are you ready for a snack, Olivia? Aunt Taryn made cupcakes.”

  “I hope they’re chocolate,” she said, running over to where he stood.

  “They are. If you hurry, you can help her put icing on them. Be sure to wash your hands first.”

  “Okay, Daddy.”

  Landris watched her go and then motioned Faith to follow him. “Taryn’s going to keep Olivia busy for a few minutes. I wanted to talk to you.” He took her through a door that led to the porch. “Have a seat,” he suggested. “You’re probably ready for a break.”

  What she’d like is access to her purse and a mirror. “I was okay until I started crawling around in those tunnels. That’s more tiring than working out at the gym.”

  “I avoid the tunnels. Small places and me don’t mix well. When I asked you earlier what you were doing this summer, you told me you had online classes starting next Monday. Does that mean you’re off this week?”

  “That’s right.”

  “The fact that we haven’t known each other long makes what I’m about to do somewhat presumptuous, but I tend to follow my instinct in most things. It’s only let me down one time. In this case, my instinct tells me I can trust you. My housekeeper had to leave unexpectedly. She won’t be back until next weekend. In the meantime, I have to be in the Atlanta area tomorrow through Wednesday. Would it be possible for you to take care of Olivia?”

  Faith just stopped her mouth from dropping open. She hadn’t been expecting him to say that. “Of course I can. I’ll be glad to.”

  The relief on his face was evident. “I really appreciate it. I didn’t want to take Olivia with me. She would have been miserable.”

  “Will she be comfortable with me?”

  Landris smiled widely. “I think you already know the answer to that. She’s talked about you continuously since Memorial Day. If you don’t mind, I’d prefer you keep her here. It’ll make it easier. She’s had enough change in her life lately.”

  “That’s no problem.”

  “One more thing. She’ll probably want to sleep with you. I hope that’s okay. She went through a spell where she was having nightmares. It was easier to put her in bed with me than spend the entire night going back and forth between my room and hers.” He stopped and shrugged his shoulders. “It quickly became a habit that’s been difficult to break.”

  “I don’t mind. Sleeping alone is kind of boring.” His expression told her that she’d spoken that last remark out loud. This was the result of living alone. She’d lost her verbal filter.

  “Well, sleeping with Olivia is never boring. Beware of flailing arms and legs.”

  With heightened color she asked, “What time do I need to be here in the morning?”

  “I’d like to leave by six. If I show you where everything is today, you could come as late as five-forty-five.”

  “Getting up early isn’t a problem for me. I’m used to it.” Falling sleep was the hard part.

  “Then let’s do a quick tour of the house, and then we’ll give Olivia the good news.”

  When they returned to the kitchen, Olivia was sampling a cupcake and Taryn was preparing to leave. As Landris had predicted, Olivia was ecstatic at the idea of Faith doing a sleepover. He sent her an ‘I told you so’ glance as he left the room to help Taryn load her things in the car.

  An hour later, he and Olivia were walking Faith to the Jeep.

  “Will you be here when I wake up, Miss Faith?”

  “I sure will.”

  “Can we have pancakes?”

  “If that’s what you want.” Faith opened the door and sat her purse on the seat.

  “Maybe we can make playdoh.”

  Faith laughed as she crouched down in front of the little girl. “You don’t forget anything, do you?”

  “No, she doesn’t,” Landris answered. “Say goodbye, cupcake, and wait for me on the porch.”

  Tiny arms snaked around Faith’s neck. “Bye, Miss Faith.”

  “Goodbye, Olivia. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

  Landris shook his head as she skipped away. “I haven’t seen her this excited since she had lunch with Cinderella in the castle at Disney World.”

  “I’m like a new toy. By this time tomorrow, she’s going to be missing her daddy.”

  “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you doing this.”

  “You’re actually doing me a favor. It will be like a vacation getting to stay here.”

  “A vacation with no rest or downtime. She wears me out, and I used to play professional sports.”

  “I don’t mind that. It will be a nice change. I miss having someone to take care of.”

  He waved away a bug that had flown too close to her face. “In a minute, you’ll be thanking me for suggesting it.”

  As she drove home, she thought about those words. Landris had no idea how close to the truth he was. She was glad he’d asked her to watch Olivia. It allowed her to indulge her love of children, something she didn’t have many opportunities to do. Her dream of having kids of her own had suffered not one, but two serious setbacks. The first might have been overcome; the second ended her chances forever.

  Chapter Four

  Wind whipped across the baseball field blowing clouds of red dust into the stands. Landris wiped his sunglasses on his shirt for what felt like the twentieth time. It didn’t seem to make any difference. In a few minutes, the polarized lenses would be covered again. The start of the game had been delayed by the late appearance of the referees. He was surrounded by men holding clipboards and radar guns waiting impatiently for number five to take the mound. At six-foot-four, two hundred twenty pounds, the sixteen-year-old had the physical tools, but what had brought the scouts out in force was his ninety-five-mile-an-hour fastball.

  Landris felt the vibration of his phone. A glance at the screen had him smiling. Faith had sent a picture of Olivia eating an ice cream cone. Below the picture were the words: Yours is in the freezer. This wasn’t the first picture or message he’d received since leaving St. Marys on Monday. Faith’s method of keeping him informed was both creative and addictive. He found himself waiting impatiently for the next upd
ate. Not only did her texts let him know that everything was okay, but they also made him a part of their activities.

  It was remarkable how quickly Faith had gone from being someone he met through a chance encounter to being someone he felt comfortable allowing inside his inner circle. Was he finally, after all this time, lowering his guard? Or did the credit for her quick ascension into his private life belong solely to her? Taryn had been right about one thing: Faith didn’t seem interested in him as anything other than a friend. This enabled him to enjoy her company without worrying about any repercussions and allowed him to be attracted to her without the pressure of it leading to anything. Not exactly the best reasons for being comfortable with a woman, but a good indication of how messed up he was.

  When the game ended, Landris put down the radar gun and made a few notes on the printed roster in his hand. Of the six kids he’d come to see today, only two performed well. Sometimes just knowing there were pro scouts in attendance was enough to throw off a player’s performance. They couldn’t relax; instead they tightened up, so afraid of making a mistake that they ended up having a horrible game. When that happened, it was a no-win situation for everyone.

  Once he finished in the stands, he walked around to the dugout. He spent a few minutes chatting with the coaches and then introduced himself to the player who’d pitched a shut-out before making his way to the parking lot. He was always anxious to get home, and this time was no different. With any luck, he’d be pulling into his driveway right about the time Olivia was getting ready for bed.

  He smiled when he saw the light shining from her bedroom window. He opened the door and sniffed appreciably. His house smelled like apples and cinnamon. It reminded him of the time his uncle took him, Trent and Taryn to pick apples at the family farm in Illinois. Between the three of them, they’d eaten almost as many apples as they put into the bucket they carried. For the several days that his aunt had canned the ripe fruit in the kitchen, the same aroma had filled the air.

  Hoping Olivia wasn’t already asleep, he dropped his bags in the foyer and took the stairs two at a time. His steps ground to a halt at the open door of her room. Olivia was lying against Faith, her eyes heavy with sleep. It was a picture that couldn’t fail to touch him being both a painful reminder of what he’d lost and a glimpse of what life would have been like if things had been different.

  Faith closed the book she’d been reading to Olivia and set it on the night stand. “Could you help me move her?” she whispered.

  Her words broke the spell he’d fallen under. Landris picked up Olivia allowing Faith to slide out of the bed. Then he arranged the covers around the tiny form and bent down to kiss the soft cheek. When he looked around, Faith had disappeared. He turned off the light, remembered to leave the door ajar, and went in search of her. She was waiting for him in the kitchen, the familiar blue duffle bag resting on one of the bar stools.

  “Are you hungry?” she asked. “There’s some chicken casserole from dinner. It won’t take but a few minutes to warm it up. I also made apple turnovers if you’re in the mood for something sweet.”

  One of the many parts of marriage that he missed was having someone to talk to when he came home: someone who cared about how his day had gone, and who was anxious to tell him about hers. “I’d love a turnover. Can I talk you into having one with me?”

  Faith opened the refrigerator. “It doesn’t take much persuasion to get me to eat dessert. How was your trip? We had some rain here yesterday. I wondered if you got any up there.”

  She looked at home in his kitchen. As if she belonged. Landris laughed inwardly. Where were these crazy ideas coming from? “It rained for about an hour and then the sun came back out, hotter than before. Thanks for all the pictures and messages.”

  “You’re welcome. I thought you might like to know what we were doing. It was a way to keep Olivia connected to you; to keep her from dwelling on the fact that you were gone.”

  It would also keep him connected to Faith. She might not be in the pictures, but he wouldn’t be able to look at them again without thinking about her. “You’ve spoiled me. I’m going to want updates like that every time I go on a trip.” He took the plate she handed him.

  “I’ll be more than happy to watch her again. Teaching online classes gives me a lot of flexibility with my schedule. It also has the advantage of allowing me to interact with my class while wearing my bathrobe and enjoying a bowl of ice cream.”

  Landris sat down opposite her at the bar. “Saves on gas, too. You don’t have to drive to Brunswick every day.”

  “I don’t usually have to go every day. My classes for last term were only Monday through Thursday.”

  He took a bite of the golden brown pastry and a big grin settled on his face. “This is fantastic. Where did you learn to make turnovers this good?”

  “From watching my grandmother and my mother.”

  “Has Marly set you up for any more weekend trips?”

  “Not yet. My family is going to Myrtle Beach for the 4th of July, but I haven’t decided whether I’ll be joining them. I don’t know if I can spend three days explaining to my family why I let a good man slip through my fingers.”

  Landris finished the last bite of his turnover and reached for another one. “It’s the fate of being single. I have the added pressure of knowing that my decision is depriving Olivia of the chance to have a mother. When I think of it in those terms, my actions seem very selfish.”

  “I’m not sure selfish is the right term. You have the happiness of three people to consider: you, Olivia and the woman you marry. I can see where that would make finding the right person more difficult.”

  “In refusing to have a social life, I’ve made it nearly impossible.”

  “I had a hard time getting back into the social scene myself. Ian was all I ever wanted. Just because he’s not here doesn’t mean I stopped loving him. I’ve only dated three men since he died. For different reasons, none of them worked out. The last one didn’t like me talking about Ian. He said it made him uncomfortable and that it was hurting our relationship. I understood his feelings; I can’t expect someone to share me with my dead husband.”

  “A man can’t expect you to forget Ian ever existed. You and I have a similar, yet different problem. You had a happy marriage. It’s natural that you want to remember your husband. I had an unhappy marriage which makes me wish I could forget my ex-wife.”

  Faith collected their plates and took them to the sink. “None of us come with a reset button. Our experiences and memories, whether they’re good or bad, are woven into our lives. We can’t help but be influenced by them.” She walked over to the chair and picked up her duffle bag.

  “Or changed by them,” he said as he took it out of her hand.

  “You have a thing about carrying bags, don’t you?”

  Landris shrugged as he led the way outside. “I can’t help it. I was brought up this way, and I’m too old to change. Thanks again for giving up your free time to take care of Olivia.”

  “You’re welcome. I meant what I said. If you need someone to watch her, give me a call.”

  Back in the house, Landris locked doors, cut off lights, and went upstairs. When he entered Olivia’s room, she’d thrown off the covers and was lying sideways. He didn’t have much hope of her outgrowing it. Her mother had slept that way, too.

  With a tired sigh, he picked her up and carried her into his room. She woke up long enough to smile sleepily at him. Like a movie stuck in an endless loop, his mind replayed that scene in her room when he’d come home. He knew he’d be thinking about that for a long time after tonight.

  * * * * *

  In spite of their busy schedules, Faith and Marly tried to meet for lunch at least once a month. The pattern for these lunches was almost always the same: Faith would arrive first, get a table, peruse the menu, and just when she was getting impatient, Marly would breeze through the door full of apologies. In temperament and personality they were opposi
tes. Faith was logical, level-headed, and organized. Marly was flighty, forgetful, and messy. Somehow those differences had helped to form a close friendship.

  The two women first met in a pottery class at the adult education center two months after Ian died. A newlywed herself, Marly had taken the young widow under her wing. She’d been the shoulder to cry on and a never-ending source of encouragement during one of the darkest times in Faith’s life.

  The restaurant they’d chosen today was fairly new and ideally situated on the main drag adjacent to the renovated historic district. The old buildings had been in dire need of a facelift. Faith could remember coming to what had been the main shopping area in St. Marys with her mother and Felicity as a little girl. There had been a dress shop run by two elderly sisters. Their elegantly styled white hair and prim starched dresses were reminiscent of days gone by. The tiny place squeezed in between an art gallery and a florist had always smelled faintly of roses and moth balls.

  Faith had loved to follow behind her mother and touch the dresses when no one was looking. Her favorite part of the store was the section at the back where they kept the wedding gowns. The huge three-way mirror with its raised dais drew her like a magnet. She loved to stand on it and imagine herself wearing one of those lovely lace and satin creations. That particular daydream didn’t come true. By the time she was in high school, the two women had passed away and the little dress shop was sold to an investor. It stood empty for many years before becoming what it was today: an attorney’s office.

  The first time Faith had passed by the familiar red door with its unfamiliar brass nameplate, she felt as if she’d lost a friend. Change was a part of life; that didn’t mean she had to like it.

  It was a testimony to her level of curiosity that Marly was the one waiting at the table today. Her bright red hair, cut in the latest short style, framed a pretty face set off by deep set green eyes. Faith hid a smile as she sat down and prepared to answer the questions hovering on her friend’s lips.

  “Have you been here long?”