A Love Rekindled

by Margaret Daley

  “But will your father accept me here?”

  “He will. He has to. He wants this house put back together. That’s part of the reason he’s so stressed. We’re living in half the upstairs. We had to move our kitchen upstairs and make do with what we could rig up. Not the most ideal situation.”

  “Then I’ll be here at two tomorrow. Can you give me the information about what shingles you want?”

  “Yes. I’ve got it inside.”

  “I can make some calls and put a rush on the delivery. In the meantime, I’ll prep the roof, so as soon as the shingles are delivered, I can start on it. I should be able to pull another man from one of my other projects for a few days.”

  “My offer still stands. I will assist any way I can.”

  “For this part, there isn’t much you can do except clean up the yard. That will save me some time.”

  “We can do that.”

  He moved up to the top step, his face coming more into the light streaming from the house. For a second, his medium-length black hair caught her attention. It still curled on his nape. She used to run her fingers through it and play with those curls. She wrenched her gaze away only to be snagged by his penetrating blue eyes. She used to think that was his best feature, but then he gave her his dazzling grin that took over his whole face and she’d decided it was his smile that appealed to her the most. But she hadn’t seen that in years—the one where his two dimples appeared and his eyes shone with a rich brilliance. She missed it.

  “I’m sorry to hear about your father’s illness. He was never my favorite person, but I didn’t want to see him sick.”

  His husky Southern drawl flowed over her, drawing her back into the past and threatening to melt her heart. She backed away a few feet and inhaled a deep breath, then another. “When Mom died, it wasn’t long before he began to have problems. He went to the doctor, and they diagnosed him with Parkinson’s disease, stage one. Now he’s in stage two.”

  “Until I returned to Hope, I didn’t realize your mother had died. What happened?”

  “Stroke. She went quickly, but it was such a shock to Dad and me. She hadn’t had any problems before that—at least ones we knew about. She had a way of not wanting to worry Dad with anything.”

  “She was a classy lady.”

  “Yeah. I still miss her.”

  “I know you two were close. I’m so sorry she’s gone.”

  How was she going to keep her distance? The conversation was becoming personal. Zane knew so much about her from the year they had dated. But then she wasn’t that person anymore, and from what she was glimpsing with him, he wasn’t the same, either.

  “Yes, we were close. She was not only my mother but my best friend.” Her mom was the one who had helped her get through Zane leaving her. Her throat closing and tears threatening, Kim swung around and started for the door. She’d spent too much time revisiting the past today. She swallowed several times and said, “Let me find the information you need. Will you need any money up front?”

  “No, we’ll settle at the end.”

  “But what about the shingles?”

  “Kim, you can pay everything—even the supplies—at the end. And I’ll only charge you my costs. I’m trying not to make money on the tragedy that happened to Hope. That is the least I can do. The Lord has been good to me. I can afford it.”

  “Some people don’t feel that way. Like the contractor we hired.” She gave him a smile. “I’ll be right back.”

  She went inside and up to her room and searched the top of her messy desk. When she found the shingle brochure, she made her way to the veranda, feeling for the first time in a long while a sense of hope. Her gaze skimmed over the heavy plastic sheeting hanging down and forming a corridor from the staircase to the front door. What happened to her home had stressed her more than she’d realized. Until the contractor had left town, she’d been able to suppress her concerns and feelings about the dishevelment her life had become. But not anymore.

  Out on the veranda, she handed Zane the pamphlet with her notes on it. “We’re still trying to settle with the insurance company, but the roof was covered fortunately. Once it’s completely done they will pay us the rest of the money.” She hoped it would pay for the supplies.

  “I’ll get on this right away. I’d better go. I need to go by the school and see how that project is wrapping up.”

  “So much of the original building was damaged beyond repair. I went to class there when I was in elementary school. I’ve been watching the changes you’ve had to make.”

  “Yeah, but it should retain a lot of its original architecture. Does it feel strange teaching where you went to school?”

  She chuckled. “For the first few months, it did.”

  “There is a good side to this. The building is being updated. Some of the wiring and plumbing was old.”

  “I can’t wait to get back into my own classroom. Right now we’re at the rec center. The gym has been partitioned into different classes, but the noise level is so loud it can be distracting to students.”

  “I’m still surprised you’re a teacher.”

  “At eighteen I didn’t know what I wanted to do other than to go to college.” When she and Zane started getting serious, the idea of going to college had changed. She’d begun to see herself getting married and having three or four children—or doing both. Her life certainly didn’t turn out as she’d planned. Although she still would love to have more children, that required a husband. She was through being emotionally vulnerable to a man. She would content herself with Anna and the kids in her class. “Teaching has allowed me to work with children. That’s something I’ve enjoyed.”

  “From what I hear you’re very good.”

  “Who did you hear that from?” The idea he had been talking about her to someone didn’t bother her as much as it would have yesterday. Their talk this evening helped to clear the air some. When she got right down to it, she and Zane were worlds apart, and any marriage between them fifteen years ago wouldn’t have lasted. He had been wise enough to see that. Back then she had believed love could overcome anything. Now reality had shown her how wrong that thinking was.

  “My neighbor’s son, Eric. He talks about you a lot. He told me you make learning fun.”

  “Did he just say that out of the blue?”

  “No, we were talking about me fixing his school. He wanted to help. He hates having class at the rec center. He told me he has a hard time concentrating because of the noise. One thing led to another, and we ended up talking about you.”

  She blushed. Suddenly she felt thrust back to when she was a teenager and had a crush on Zane, who was a year ahead of her in school. Then he’d begun paying attention to her. “Will you have it ready for the grand opening?”

  “One way or another. I have floodlights for the night work on the outside that needs to be done. Most of what has to be finished, though, is inside work so I’m working two crews to get everything completed in time.”

  “I’d better let you go, then. I’ll be so happy when I’m back in my own classroom.” She fluttered her hand in the air. “So go. Oversee or whatever you do.”

  He dipped his head forward slightly then descended the steps. Kim watched him as he got into his truck. When he glanced toward her, she waved and hurriedly turned away, the blush on her face intensifying. She loved observing people, but the last thing she wanted was to make him think she was interested by staring at him as he left.

  After entering her house, she closed the front door, locked it and headed upstairs. She needed to check on her dad before she went to the room she shared with Maggie and Anna and crashed. What a day. She’d woken up to the news that her contractor had skipped out on her, and the day hadn’t improved until Zane had finally agreed to help her. Although t
hat arrangement presented a whole new set of problems—ones she wasn’t sure she was prepared to handle.

  Kim popped into her temporary bedroom to see if Anna was getting ready for bed. Her daughter was already under the covers while she read a book.

  Anna set the book on her lap and smiled. “I like Mr. Davidson.”

  “I do, too,” Kim admitted. More than she should.

  “I’m not tired one bit. I’m gonna read awhile longer.”

  “That’s fine. I’ve got to talk to Papa Keith.” Kim leaned forward and kissed Anna on the cheek. “That’s in case you fall asleep before I get back in here.”

  Anna returned her full attention to her book.

  Kim quietly left her daughter reading a mystery, her first love when it came to literature.

  When she saw Brady in the hallway, she stopped and asked, “Can you wait until I have a word with Dad?” Her father and Brady sharing a room wasn’t an easy arrangement, but it had to work for a while longer until they at least could move into the rest of the rooms upstairs.

  “Sure. I’ll be in the game room. Just let me know when you’re through.”

  “Thanks,” Kim said then knocked on her father’s door.

  “Come in,” her dad called out.

  Kim entered, surprised to find him sitting at his desk in the corner. “I half expected to find you already asleep.”

  “I’m tired but not sleepy. I gave up staring at the ceiling, trying to fall asleep.”

  “So what are you doing?”

  “Trying to pay some bills.” His hand trembled so badly he dropped the pen next to the checkbook and curled his fingers into a fist.

  “I thought you agreed I needed to do that from now on.”

  He glared at her. “I made a few mistakes. That’s all. I don’t plan on doing that again.” The shaking had subsided some but not totally.

  “Dad, it gets you so upset. I don’t mind doing it.”

  “Leave me something to do. It seems lately there’s so little I can do.”

  Kim crossed the room and sat in the chair near the desk, taking her father’s hands and holding them. “Maggie would appreciate your help with the garden. You used to love to grow vegetables and flowers. Between you and the gardener, we had the best yard for miles around. We’d have people come by just to see your azaleas in bloom.”

  “And look at the bushes now. Most of them didn’t make it through the storm. Only the ones at the back of the property where the water didn’t flood.”

  “This spring would be a great time to plant some flowers.”

  He gestured toward the stack of bills. “With what money?”

  “A teacher at my school has cuttings and bulbs she often shares with us in the spring. I could get some of those. And we don’t know what will come back up. We had tulips and daffodils. They may bloom.”

  Her dad snorted and began working on the bills. “We’ll see.”

  “Zane is going to be back tomorrow at two to start on the roof. He’s going to complete the job Mr. Henderson—”

  Tossing down the pen again, her father pushed back his chair and struggled to stand, tremors attacking his limbs. “I know you have it all set up, but that’s what we need to talk about.”

  “Zane gave me a good deal. We don’t have much money left to make the repairs since—”

  “No!” His anger grooved his face in deep lines, making her father appear even older than he was.

  Fortifying herself with a calming breath, Kim rose and reached out toward her dad.

  He jerked away and put several feet between them. “I realize I should never have hired Henderson, but…” His words stumbled to a halt.

  Her father had found Mr. Henderson and contracted him before Kim could have done much about it—all because she had mentioned approaching Zane’s company to repair their house a month ago. In spite of their past, she’d known he was the best man for the job and from all she’d heard very reasonable.

  “What’s done is done. We need to move forward. At the very least, we have to get the roof taken care of. We can wait on the downstairs until we have enough money.”

  He pounded his fist into his palm. “I want my house back. Everything has been destroyed. Nothing is the same anymore.” For the second time since the hurricane, tears filled his eyes. “I’ve lost so much. I feel useless to change it.”

  Kim moved closer, prepared for her dad to reject her attempt to comfort him. But as the tears trailed down his cheeks, he let her take him into her embrace and hug him, which, she realized, only emphasized the depth of his despair. “We’re all doing what we can, Dad, including you. The storm surge on Hurricane Naomi was the worst to hit here for the past century.”

  “I dropped the flood insurance because we’d never had water problems and it cost so much on top of everything else. I’m to blame for the situation we’re in. I’ve let the family down.”

  “No, you haven’t. You’ve held us together for years. Now it’s my turn.” She leaned back and stared into his shiny eyes. “I need you to accept that Zane will be here helping us. Please, Dad. If we don’t get the roof fixed, we will be in worse trouble.”

  Looking across the room, he cleared his throat. “I’ll stay away.”

  “You won’t give me any problems?”

  He shook his head.

  “You’ll be civil to him?”

  The twitching muscles in his jaw attested to the battle raging inside her father. “Yes” was his clipped response.

  She rose up on her tiptoes and kissed her dad on the cheek. “Thank you. You’ll see in a few months things are going to look brighter. The house is completely dried out and clean finally. We can work on restoring it as a family as time and money permits.”

  With his shoulders drooped, he made his way to his bed and sat. “I’m tired. I’m going to try to sleep again.”

  “I’ll let Brady know, so he’s quiet when he comes in here.” Kim exited her dad’s bedroom and went toward the game room to find Brady.

  He was sitting in an overstuffed chair at the opposite end from the temporary kitchen, playing a video game while Maggie knitted a prayer shawl in the recliner across from him.

  Maggie looked up at her. “How’s Uncle Keith?”

  “He’s gone to bed. Brady, he left the desk light on for you.”

  The twelve-year-old paused his game and stood. “Good night, Mom, Kim.” As he walked from the kitchen, he resumed playing on his game console.

  “Good thing Dad is a sound sleeper and Brady mutes the game.”

  Maggie laid the coral-colored shawl in her lap. “I was worried about that arrangement, but it has worked out. I think Brady and Uncle Keith have grown closer. Now if I can just get my son to stop teasing Anna, this might be a quiet house.”

  Exhaustion weighing her down, Kim sank into the chair Brady had vacated. “I feel better knowing that someone is in Dad’s room with him.”

  “I thought with some time he would pull out of his depression, but he hasn’t. Do you think he would talk to a counselor about what’s been going on? Living through a hurricane can be a major trauma, especially for someone like Uncle Keith. The Christian Assistance Coalition has brought in a couple of counselors to help people deal with what has happened. They have some office space at city hall. When I go to work on Monday, I can check to see if there’s anyone who could help Uncle Keith.”

  “If you can get me some information, I’ll call them next week. The trick will be getting Dad to agree. He doesn’t believe in that sort of stuff.”

  “You sound tired. Why don’t you go on to bed. I’ll make sure everything is locked up.”

  Kim checked her watch. “To bed at nine o’clock on a Friday night. That about sums up my life. Dull and date
less.”

  Maggie’s eyebrows lifted. “Is that remark because of Zane’s visit tonight?”

  “Partly. He certainly hasn’t wanted for dates since he returned to Hope.”

  “Jealous?”

  “No. Well, maybe a little. But my track record with men hasn’t been good. Zane left me on my senior prom night. My husband left me because he preferred a marriage without children and promptly found himself one that fit his criterion.”

  “Scott doesn’t count. He’s a… There isn’t a word to describe your ex-husband. How can a man leave a woman and a month-old baby?”

  Kim laughed, but there was no amusement in the sound. “I think Dad was more shocked than I was. After all, he handpicked Scott to be my husband.”

  “Yeah, and look what the man did.”

  “But he came from the right type of family, and he had a future.”

  “Running your family business into the ground.”

  Kim shivered. “Please don’t remind me. We’ve never recovered from Scott being in our lives. But if it hadn’t been for him, I wouldn’t have Anna. She makes this all worth it.”

  Kim left the kitchen and started toward the bedroom she shared with Anna and Maggie, but in the hallway she paused at the top of the staircase. The faint light behind her spilled down the steps, dimly illuminating the darkness beyond. She saw some of the plastic sheeting, a constant reminder of the mess her life had become.

  It seemed an eternity ago that she’d dreamed of being a wife and mother with at least three children. When she’d married Scott, she’d thought that dream had come true. Her father had thought Scott was perfect for her, and she’d even believed it for the first six months of their marriage. By the time he’d divorced her three and a half years later, she’d realized she’d married Scott on the rebound, a year after Zane had left. At nineteen she hadn’t been ready to make that kind of commitment to another man—not after what had happened with Zane.

  What would have happened if Zane and I had married?

  Would her life have ended up in a disaster trying to hold her family together and keep the finances afloat?