by Diann Hunt
She knew that bad things happened to good people. But they were other good people. Not her.
Or so she’d thought.
So when it happened, the foundation of her faith fell out from under her. She hadn’t meant for it to but it had.
Still, God was faithful.
She knelt by her bed and poured out her heart to Him. Her guilt, her sorrows, her fears. When she finished, she climbed back into bed, feeling more lighthearted than she’d felt in months.
Scott knew her so well. He’d known all along what she needed. Just the way he’d always known. She saw that now. The truth slowly seeped through her thick head while her dry, broken, and dusty spirit sprang to life.
Scott saw her as she was—through Jesus’ eyes—and loved her still.
Could this be happening? Was it possible? Her heart had refused to believe that love would come to her again. She had thought when it did come, it would be with Jake. But she had been wrong. For now she knew in her heart what had been there for so long.
Scott Hammond loved her and she loved him!
“Okay if I leave now?” Katelyn poked her head into Carly’s office.
Carly glanced at the clock. Hard to believe another workday was almost over. “Sure. Got big plans for tonight?”
Katelyn just smiled. “One never knows what possibilities may lurk around the corner.”
“So true. Go enjoy yourself.” Carly waved good-bye and smiled inwardly at the carefree days of youth. Katelyn had been doing a great job for them, and Carly had grown quite fond of her.
“We need to talk,” Scott said when he stepped into the room. “Would you be willing to come to my house for dinner tonight? It’s hard to talk at your place with Magnolia there.”
Carly hesitated. He no doubt wanted to talk about their future. Not exactly the kind of “possibilities” Katelyn was talking about. She’d wanted to dream a little longer, but decided tonight she’d better tell him the truth about Ivy and C. J. Might as well get it over with. She needed to settle this before her heart twisted around him even more. And though she’d rather forget the ring, she knew she had to confront him about it.
“Okay, that would be fine. I need to talk to you about a few things too.” He seemed surprised at that but said nothing. “Want me to pick up something?”
“No, I’ll get it,” he said. “How about seven?”
“Sounds good.”
They talked a few more minutes before closing shop, and Scott left. On her way upstairs, Carly’s stomach was in knots and she prayed once again that God would give her the strength to deal with all this.
“Magnolia, I won’t be staying here for dinner.”
“Oh?”
“I’m going to Scott’s house. We need to talk over some things.”
Magnolia bit her lip. “I need to talk to you about something too, dear. Would you sit in the living room with me?”
“Sure.” Must be a full moon or something. Everyone is acting weird today.
They settled on the sofa. Magnolia grabbed Carly’s hand. “I hope this doesn’t bother you too much, what with Ivy and your relationship, all that. But the pastor talked to me today. Told me there were a few other people in the church who wanted the coffee shop named after their relatives. Seems it could start a problem in the church if they name it after a person, so he thought it might be best to have the teens come up with a fun name for the place. So we’re not going to name it after Ivy.” Disappointment lined Magnolia’s face, but she was giving in to the turn of events with grace.
“I’m sorry, Magnolia. I know that would have meant a lot to you. But you know Ivy—she never liked the limelight. She would prefer it this way, I think,” Carly assured her.
Magnolia brightened. “Do you think so?”
Carly smiled and nodded.
Magnolia hesitated. “I believe you’re right. I don’t know what got into me. It seemed so important to have her name on that. It was a pride issue, no doubt about it. I’ll have to apologize to Scott. He was right all along.”
Carly bent over and kissed Magnolia on the cheek. “You are such a special lady. I hope I can be just like you when I grow up.” And she meant that. Well, for the most part.
“Oh, dear.” The older woman chuckled and waved her hand. “You can tell Scott for me, if you want to, and I’ll talk to him later, let him know there are no hard feelings.”
“You’re amazing. I’ll be back soon,” Carly said with a final squeeze to Magnolia’s hand.
Carly breathed a prayer of thankfulness for the way things had turned out. This way Magnolia didn’t have to know the truth about Ivy. Why bring her pain at this point? Nothing she could do would change the past. Ivy was gone, and unfortunately, she’d left a trail of sadness behind. Why not spare Magnolia the sorrow, if possible?
“Mmm, it sure smells good in here,” Carly said as she stepped into Scott’s house. The air was perfumed with the tangy scent of garlic and tomatoes.
“Why, thank you, kind lady,” he said with a slight bow.
She followed him into the dining room where the table was decorated with linens and flickering candles. “Scott, this looks wonderful.”
“Thank you, again.”
While she helped him bring the salad bowl, hot lasagna that still bubbled in its serving dish, and garlic bread to the table, she told him about Magnolia’s change of heart over the coffeehouse name.
“Boy, that’s a relief.”
Over their meal, they talked of days gone by, work, and trivial matters. Carly’s stomach was in knots, but she tried to stay calm. He would say what he needed to say, and she could share her piece. Whatever happened once the air was cleared, happened.
After dinner they took their coffee into the living room and settled in for whatever it was Scott had on his mind. He sat beside her on the sofa.
“Why don’t you go ahead and tell me what it is you wanted to talk about.”
Carly bit her lip, then leaned over and reached for her handbag, while Scott looked on with interest. “I know I shouldn’t have been snooping. I didn’t mean to, really. I was looking for your tax paperwork to bring over to you while you were sick and—”
“You were looking in my desk?”
The expression on Scott’s face sent a spurt of panic through her.
“Yeah.” She opened her bag. “And I found something I wanted to ask you about.” She unzipped the compartment in her handbag and pulled out the velvet bag holding the ring. Scott’s eyes grew wide as walnuts, causing more fear to shoot through Carly. “Where did you get this?”
He hesitated as though she’d caught him red-handed. One look in his face and all her hopes and dreams came crashing down once again.
“Do you know something about this?” he asked.
Just as her world was spinning out of control, his question jarred her to a sudden halt.
“Do I know something about this? Of course I do. It was my mother’s ring. The question is what were you doing with it?”
“Your mother’s ring?” He rubbed his jaw and looked away. “That makes no sense.”
Fresh anger replaced her fear. “Exactly. It makes no sense. Dad gave this to me after Mom died, and it came up missing when I was in the hospital.”
Scott’s eyes widened again as he seemed to understand her inference. “You think I . . .” His breath stuck in his throat.
The pain on his face not only softened her, it made her heart constrict. “I’m sorry, Scott, but I don’t know what to think. Everything is so confusing right now.”
He blew out a sigh. “It’s just as well. That’s why I brought you here to talk tonight anyway.”
She swallowed hard past the thickness in her throat. “So it’s true? You stole my ring?”
He held up his hand. “No. Hear me out. I hate to tell you this. I wish you didn’t have to know, but there’s no way to hide it. I should have come clean with you awhile back, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.”
Her stomac
h clenched. Come clean with her? What could that mean? Would this be another life-changing moment that would spin her world in another direction? Please, God, not again.
“Carly, it seems neither one of us really knew Ivy.”
Ivy? This was about Ivy?
“There was a side to her I knew nothing about.” He looked into the distance. “I was gone too much. Maybe that’s what caused her to get into trouble. Like a child left alone, she couldn’t be trusted.”
To Carly this was a good thing. All this time she worried about telling him of Ivy and C. J. and it seemed he already knew. “So you know about C. J.?”
He turned to her. “Huh?”
Carly’s breath froze in her throat.
“What about C. J.?”
“I thought you were—Oh, never mind. Go ahead with what you were saying.” If this wasn’t about C. J. and Ivy, what was it?
“You first. What about C. J.? Was he part of the embezzlement?”
“What?” She couldn’t imagine what he was talking about. “Embezzlement? What do you mean?”
“Ivy embezzled money from the spa.”
Carly opened her mouth, but not a single word came to mind.
“She’d been doing it for quite some time.” Scott told Carly about the key, the moneybox, the checkbook, the ring, everything.
The pieces fit.
She rummaged through her bag again. “So that’s where this came in?” She waved the checkbook.
“You found it.” Scott shook his head. “I’m so sorry, Carly.” He explained how Ivy had embezzled the money, how he had sold his motorcycle and obtained a loan and had paid most of it back.
A tear slipped down Carly’s face that Scott would go to such lengths to right Ivy’s wrong.
“I would have done anything to spare you this. I know you’re saving money for something, and I’ll get every penny back to you, Carly. I promise.”
“It’s not that, Scott. I’m not worried about the money anymore.”
And the unbelievable thing was she really didn’t care. Oh, she still wanted to have the surgery one day, but it didn’t seem so important now. Besides, she’d pretty much decided any profits they made she’d just put back into the business for now.
“I still don’t know what she did with all that money,” Scott said, running his hand through his hair.
“She was gambling with my brother.” There. She’d said it.
“Gambling? With C. J.?”
“Yep. Listen, Scott, I’m sorry to tell you this, but they were having an affair.”
“I know.”
“You do?”
“Yeah, C. J. pretty much told me that.” His eyes lit with understanding. “So the ring—”
She nodded. “It’s my guess, C. J. took it and gave it to her.”
Scott stared at the carpet. “I don’t know what to say. This was my fault. I should have been here for her.”
Carly placed her fingers at his lips. “Stop right there. She had a choice. You didn’t make her do that. We all make choices, some good, some bad. Unfortunately, Ivy’s bad choices affected a lot of people.”
“Did C. J. give you the details of that night?”
Scott looked up. “I don’t know what you mean. When he told me about him and Ivy getting cozy, I didn’t give him much time to say anything else. I was pretty hot at the time.”
“I can imagine.” Carly told him how C. J. had called off the relationship, and then how Ivy’s accident happened later that night. She didn’t bring up the baby. If C. J. wanted to tell people, he could. It wasn’t her place. Why make them hurt even more?
Scott was silent for the longest time. Carly was afraid the news was too much for him. Maybe his love was so strong, he wouldn’t be able to move past this hurdle. He wouldn’t be able to forgive himself.
“Guess I have my own guilt to work through. The truth was Ivy and I had drifted apart a long time before she died. I just refused to see it. I worked longer hours. She had an affair. We were both wrong.”
“I’m so sorry, Scott.” Carly squeezed his hand.
“Yeah, me too,” he whispered, her head beneath his chin as she leaned into him, both mourning the friend and wife they once loved.
“Does this mean you won’t hold it against me. The C. J. thing?”
“Why would I hold it against you?”
“Well, if we, if you and I—” Suddenly she couldn’t find the words. He had said he loved her, but now she felt foolish bringing it up. What if he had changed his mind?
He tipped her chin in his hand. “Nothing could change the way I feel about you.” He bent down and kissed her soundly on the lips. Nothing,” he mumbled again, his lips still pressed against hers as though he couldn’t bear to pull away.
She didn’t dare think about the future, because right now all she wanted was Scott and the dream of growing old with him. Still, even though she had earlier entertained a life with Jake, deep down it had never gotten so serious that she had to completely release her heart. But now with Scott, things were serious. Very serious. She had released her fears to God, but there was one thing that bothered her.
Could she leave them there?
twenty-three
“Can I come in?” Scott asked when C. J. opened the door. The man looked like death warmed over—not unusual for a Friday night, but he looked bad. Scruffy whiskers, wrinkled shirt, and dirty jeans.
C. J. eyed him with suspicion then finally stepped away to allow Scott to enter. Putting his bottle on the stand, C. J. motioned for Scott to sit down.
The room smelled of stale beer. “I know,” Scott said. “I know everything.”
C. J. looked through cold, bloodshot eyes. “Did you come over here to beat me up or something?”
“No. I came over here to tell you it wasn’t all your fault. We both played a part in Ivy’s downfall. And what’s done is done. We can’t change the past, but we do have a choice about our future.”
C. J. grunted. “You’re beginning to sound like Carly.” He picked up his bottle and took a swig. “I’ll never change.”
Scott shrugged. “It’s your choice.” He got up from the sofa and headed for the door. He wouldn’t force his ideas upon C. J. He would just lay them out there for him to think about. “But if you want to get your wife back, you’d better think about it.” He walked out the door, praying that C. J. would stay sober long enough to see what God had to say in the matter.
Scott and Carly had decided to give each other some space, time to sort through things. For the past two weeks things had been a little awkward at work. Carly had prayed through her fears, but she still wanted to make sure she did the right thing. She’d been hurt once and didn’t want to go there again.
Still, life offered no guarantees. She knew that. Sometimes risks had to be taken. And God would be there every step of the way, just as He had always been.
Back and forth she went in her mind, trying to make sense of it all, wanting to make sure she did the right thing.
“Hey, Carly. I wondered if you’d go to lunch with me today.” Jake’s offer surprised her. She hadn’t seen him in a while either. Was she becoming a recluse? She’d been busy with work and sorting through the mess Ivy left behind, and Jake had been most likely preoccupied with Melissa.
“Everything okay with Katelyn?”
“Yeah, everything is fine.” He grinned, then turned serious. “But I still need to talk to you.”
She didn’t really want to take the time right now, but Carly needed to let Jake know she wasn’t interested in a relationship, other than friendship. Though she suspected he already knew that and most likely felt the same way.
Carly looked over at Scott. “All right with you if I leave awhile?”
“If that’s what you want to do, go ahead,” Scott said, keeping his face buried in his work.
“Be back soon.” Carly grabbed her bag and followed Jake out the door.
“Thanks for meeting with me,” he said a few moments late
r as they slid into their booth at the cafe. After placing their orders, they shared small talk until the server brought back their meals. Carly was beginning to wonder what this lunch date was all about.
“By the way, C. J. told me he’s agreed to counseling with Rita.”
“Yeah, Rita told me,” Carly said.
“I’m glad to see he’s getting some help. I’ve been worrying about him. We’re going to meet for breakfast on Saturday mornings. I’m trying to help him get through this.”
Will wonders never cease?
Carly would never have dreamed Jake was strong enough to help her brother, but they were best friends. If anyone could knock some sense into him, it would be Jake.
“Thanks for doing that, Jake.”
“Hey, that’s what best friends do. I think he’ll make it. He loves Rita, and he sees now that he’s been a total jerk. I just hope she doesn’t give up on him too soon.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“I’m sorry about keeping things from you. C. J. asked me to keep it quiet, and then the night he told you, I don’t know what got into me. After seeing the agony he had been going through, I guess I just wanted to protect him.”
“I understand.” Carly wondered if Jake knew about the baby. If C. J. told Rita, he’d most likely have to tell Scott. It could cause a whole lot of hurt. Maybe it was better if no one knew. One thing she knew: if and when C. J. decided to tell someone, it wouldn’t be easy. “Listen, Jake, I need to talk to you about something.”
“Wait. Me first. If I don’t tell you now, I’ll lose my nerve.”
The big Marine might lose his nerve? Okay, he had her full attention. “All right, go ahead.”
He swallowed hard. “You’re a great kid, Squirt—er, uh, Carly. You always have been. You’ve been the little sister I never had.”
Uh-oh, this couldn’t be good.
“But, well, I’m afraid it’s not going to work between us.”
Carly tried to hide her smile. “Melissa?”
His eyes lit up and he nodded. “We didn’t mean for it to happen; it just did.”
Carly had a sneaking suspicion that Melissa fully intended for it to happen, but she was okay with that. “It’s all right, Jake. I feel the same way.”
