by Beth Wiseman
Brooke held her hands out to her sides. Meghan latched on immediately, but Hunter just stared at her.
“Let’s say grace,” Brooke prompted.
“Grab her hand, boy,” Denny said as he held his own hands out. Then he grumbled, “We boys should be saying the blessing like this before all our meals. Shame on us, and thanks to Brooke for the reminder.”
After the blessing, the room went quiet except for the enthusiastic clinking of silverware against dishes. Travis hadn’t been a huge eater, but that was certainly not the case with Owen, Hunter, and Denny.
Brooke didn’t mind the silence. In fact, she couldn’t stop smiling. The amber walls cast a warm glow through the room. Owen kept catching her eye and smiling back, and all the men interrupted their feasting from time to time to compliment the food. The kids were behaving beautifully. It was shaping up to be the perfect evening. Then Meghan raised her hand and waved it in the air as she stared in Owen’s direction.
Brooke thought that seemed odd, but Owen just smiled. “Yes, Meghan. What is it?”
“Are you going to marry my mommy?”
Meghan! Brooke stopped breathing and didn’t move, hoping she would just vanish into thin air. Denny almost choked on his food, covering his mouth with his napkin, and Hunter chuckled. Brooke forced herself to look at Owen, though she knew her face was flaming red. He just smiled and winked. Spencer stopped eating and put his fork down. Like his sister, he was waiting for an answer, but with a scowl on his face.
Brooke wasn’t even sure how to reprimand her daughter for this inappropriate question. Her innocent little mind had obviously been working this evening.
Owen cleared his throat. “Well, I don’t know, Meghan. Would that be a bad thing?”
Meghan shook her head wildly, pigtails slapping her face. “No! It wouldn’t be bad at all!”
Brooke mouthed, “I’m sorry,” when Owen locked eyes with her. He just smiled more broadly. Then he saw Spencer’s sour expression and his smile faded.
“If your mom and I ever decided to do something like that, I figure it would be a family decision.”
Well, no, it wouldn’t. But Brooke had to smile, even though she still wished she could snap her fingers and disappear.
“Can I be excused?” Spencer pushed away from the table.
“You didn’t eat much,” Brooke observed, then decided that maybe it was best for him to leave before he shared his opinions on the subject. “But okay.”
Spencer rushed from the room, and a few moments later Brooke heard the television in the living room.
Meghan broke the silence. “I hope we live here if you get married! And I hope we find the secret bunker!”
“Okay.” Brooke held up one hand. “That’s enough. Let’s focus on eating.”
“I don’t think there is a hidden bunker. I’ve looked everywhere.” Hunter helped himself to another serving of lasagna. Brooke didn’t think she’d ever seen anyone eat so much. And he is so thin. She was just thankful they’d changed topics.
Meghan frowned. “That’s why no one has found it. It’s hidden real good, but it’s here somewhere.” She gave a decisive nod, as if that ended the discussion once and for all.
Hunter eased his chair back. “Brooke, the supper was real good.” He paused. “I’ll go check on Spencer, if that’s okay. He said he brought his plane, that you bought him a part online. Maybe I can help him with it.”
“That’d be great, Hunter.”
Everyone else finished eating, then Denny and Meghan joined the rest of the group in the living room. Owen helped Brooke clear the table. She was loading dishes in the new dishwasher when Owen put his arms around her waist.
“I wish I had a picture of you when Meghan posed her question.” He snickered as he moved her hair to one side and kissed the back of her neck. “I’ve never seen you turn so red.”
Brooke kept rinsing the plate in her hand, but the feel of his lips on her neck was a nice distraction. “I’m sorry my children don’t have better manners. Apparently when I was teaching them about right and wrong things to say at the table, that subject didn’t come up.”
Owen waited until she bent over to put the plate in the dishwasher before he put his hands on her hips and turned her to face him. Brooke kept her chin down until he gently cupped it and forced her to look at him.
“If anyone had told me a few months ago that I would be standing here, with you, in this house . . .” He grinned. “And that your daughter would be asking—”
“It’s not funny, Owen.” She playfully slapped him on the arm. “I have never mentioned anything to the kids about anything like that.” She couldn’t even bring herself to say the word marriage.
Owen brushed her lips with his. “I don’t know what the future holds because I don’t know how you feel.” He kissed her again. “But I know how I feel. I love you, Brooke. I’ve known that for a while. I just didn’t want to scare you off.”
“I’m not scared,” she whispered. And she wasn’t, though she had to admit to a lingering unease. Was it wise to get this involved with a man as conflicted about faith as Owen was?
Too late. She was involved. And she couldn’t shake the sense that God had brought them together. If not, please make that clear and help me do what’s right. Because I’m afraid I’m in deep.
She reached up and held his face in her hands. “I love you too.”
They held each other for a while before they finished cleaning the kitchen, then walked hand in hand out to the street where everyone else had gathered. Hunter put the plane down on the cement and handed Spencer the remote, giving him a few instructions.
Denny put his hands across his stomach when Brooke and Owen walked up. “Best meal I think I’ve ever had, Brooke.” He grinned at her. “Fun conversation too.”
“Thank you, Denny. Glad you liked the meal.”
“Now let’s see if this plane will fly.” Denny used his hand to shield his eyes from the setting sun. They all waited as Hunter showed Spencer how to operate the controls, then stepped back. It was exciting to watch the plane starting to glide forward, but then it made a horrible backfire noise and fell over to one side, balancing on the wing.
“Man!” Spencer walked to the plane and picked it up. “This thing is never going to fly.”
Hunter put a hand on Spencer’s shoulder. “Dude, we’ll get this figured out. You want to leave it with me and I’ll work on it?”
Spencer nodded. “But no test flights without me.”
“I promise.” Hunter stuffed his hands in his pockets, and Brooke didn’t even see the same young man who had walked into her store toting a water gun and demanding money. Every once in a while the image still haunted her, but this Hunter was so different—a testament to what a little love and new surroundings could do.
Owen put his arm around her and pulled her close. She felt his pocket buzzing, and he reached inside and pulled out his cell phone.
“Oh no.”
Brooke looked up at him. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Virginia calling.”
Owen let the call go to voice mail, but Brooke felt suddenly uneasy.
Owen listened to Virginia’s voice mail three more times after Brooke and her children left. “Hi, Owen. I need to see you. It’s really important. I was hoping maybe next weekend. I can come there. Can you please call me back?”
He knew his ex-wife pretty well, and he could tell by the sweet sound of her voice that she wanted something. To get back together? Surely not. She and Gary were having a baby. Money? She’d seemed happy with their settlement, and Gary made plenty of money.
He tapped the phone to his chin. Uncle Denny had gone to bed, and Hunter was sitting at the other end of the couch from Owen, glued to the television.
“Hey, Hunter, what do you say we go to church in the morning?” Owen shifted his weight on the couch, wishing again that it was comfortable like Brooke’s sofa.
“Huh? What for?” Hunter kept his eyes on t
he television.
Owen sighed. “Do you believe in God?”
“I don’t not believe in Him.” Hunter shrugged, paused the movie, and turned to Owen. “I just never could see that He makes much of a difference. I mean, all this bad stuff happens, and He doesn’t stop it.”
“But what about the good stuff? Where do you think that comes from?” Owen realized he’d often been guilty of overlooking God’s gifts in his life, especially in the last year.
Hunter frowned. “Why are you wanting to go to church all of a sudden?”
“Denny goes. I used to go.” Owen paused, knowing he was messing this up. “Let’s just go.”
Hunter shook his head. “I don’t think so. I just don’t think I’m the God type.” He paused, frowning. “But Jenny is. She talks about Him a lot.”
“You ever going to meet that girl or just keep chatting on the Internet?” Owen kicked his feet up on the coffee table, missing Brooke.
Hunter smiled. “One of these days.”
“So what does Jenny say about God?”
“That being close to Him makes you different. You believe that?”
Owen smiled. “Yeah, I do. But I guess when my life kind of fell apart, I quit having much of a relationship with Him.”
“So why do you need it? You seem to be doing just fine without God. You got you a nice girlfriend, a cool house, and lots of money. What can God give you that you ain’t got?”
Owen stared at Hunter, a sadness wrapping around him. “Salvation,” he said. “Through Christ.”
Hunter’s expression was blank. Clearly, he had no clue what Owen was talking about. So Owen tried again. “When we let God into our hearts, He gives us lots of things—like peace of mind, comfort when we’re sad, a reason to keep going when things get rough, and a way to deal with the bad things we’ve done. We can talk about it someday if you’re interested.”
Hunter shrugged and resumed the movie. But five minutes later he turned to Owen and said, “Okay.”
“What?”
“I’ll go to church if you want me to.”
That was good enough for Owen . . . for now.
He listened to Virginia’s message again, then said good night to Hunter. Once he was in bed, he called Brooke. She didn’t ask about Virginia’s call, and Owen didn’t mention it.
Brooke pushed her father down the aisle in a wheelchair while her mom and the kids followed behind. It was the first time for all of them to attend church together. They’d had a wheelchair delivered last week when her father could barely get up and down to go to the bathroom or to take a bath. He was getting weaker by the day, and Brooke was anxious to see what the doctor would say this week at his appointment.
Once they got settled, her mind drifted back to Owen and the phone call from his ex-wife. She’d felt even more uneasy after their phone call last night, since Owen didn’t mention what Virginia wanted. Brooke’s mind was awhirl. Had he called her back? Was she having regrets about giving up such a wonderful guy? Were they planning to meet?
Her thoughts were still spiraling when she looked up and saw Owen, Hunter, and Denny coming down the aisle. There was no room near where Brooke and her family were sitting, so the three men took a seat across the aisle. Brooke wanted to run to Owen and hug him, but she just smiled. It felt good to have all her extended family in church this morning.
After the service, they all went to eat together at the Back Door Café, then Brooke helped Mom get Daddy settled back in the bed before she, Meghan, and Spencer went over to Owen’s house. Spencer spent the afternoon with Hunter working on the plane. Meghan bounced back and forth between the television and chasing the black cat. And Brooke stayed safely cuddled in Owen’s arms on the couch.
“See what I mean about this couch?” Owen shifted his weight, frowning.
“I think it’s okay. It just hasn’t been broken in like mine.” Brooke plucked a handful of popcorn from the bowl on the coffee table and put her feet up beside it. “Where’s Denny, by the way? I haven’t seen him since we got here.”
“I don’t know. Probably napping. He does that.” Owen reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone when it started to ring. He pushed End as he’d done about an hour ago. Both times Brooke had seen Virginia’s name flash across the display.
“Do you need to call her back?” Brooke chewed her bottom lip. She hadn’t mentioned the phone calls before now.
Owen shook his head. “I’m happy. She’ll only mess up my mood.” He turned to Brooke and kissed her on the cheek.
Brooke jiggled one foot nervously as she contemplated whether or not to let this go. If Virginia still had the power to mess up Owen’s mood, that was worrisome. Finally, she couldn’t stop herself. “Maybe it’s important.”
“That’s what she said in her message, but everything is always important if it’s about her.” He shook his head.
There it was again—the bitterness. She’d thought he was getting over that. And Virginia had left a message apparently. What did she say? Both Brooke’s feet were in motion now.
Owen leaned over and kissed her. “Nothing Virginia has to say is important enough to warrant my taking time away from us.”
Brooke forced a smile, but something in her gut told her that trouble was brewing.
Twenty-Seven
You should go to work, Brooke.” Mom helped her father sip water from a cup while Brooke stood at the end of the bed putting some socks on him. “The doctor said we won’t know anything until they get the test results back, and I can call you.”
Brooke covered up her father’s feet with the blanket again and gave him a little pat on the leg. “I can stay.”
They had been at Smithville Regional Hospital since before daybreak. Brooke’s father had started running a high fever overnight. Though he was feeling a little better now, the doctors wanted him to stay until they knew what was wrong.
Mom sat down and pulled her father’s hand into hers. “Well, we’ll be just fine if you need to go.” But Brooke didn’t want to go. She had to admit that getting to know her father again was stirring up emotions she hadn’t expected to feel. At first, she’d written off her growing concern for him as normal nurturing instincts. She would want to help anyone who was ill. But the more time she spent with him, the deeper the fear of losing him burrowed into her heart. She was painfully aware that every moment together was precious.
“Big Daddy and Juliet are fine at the store, and they have Meghan and Spencer, so there’s no rush for me to go.” Brooke glanced back and forth between her parents, who were lost in each other’s eyes, and wondered if maybe they wanted some time alone. Good grief. They act like teenagers sometimes. “But I can leave if you want me to.”
“No, no . . .” Her father spoke up first, then her mother echoed his words.
A few minutes later her father turned up the television, and both her parents were totally absorbed in Jeopardy. Brooke had never been any good at the game show, so she allowed herself some time to think about Owen. I can’t believe he loves me too.
She had called him a little earlier to let him know where she was. And though he’d rented a sander and planned to do the upstairs floors that morning, he’d promptly offered to come to the hospital. Though she’d assured him there was no need, the fact that he wanted to come meant a lot.
She was really coming to believe that God was giving her a second chance at love, but she couldn’t shake the niggling feeling that something wasn’t quite right. She’d thought perhaps it was those phone calls from Virginia to Owen that had kept her up last night. But this morning he’d told her that he loved her before they hung up, and he’d wished her father well, so maybe she was worrying for nothing.
“I can see you two are entertained,” she said to her parents after about ten minutes. The only talking going on was both her parents voicing answers to the game show. “So I’m going to go after all.” She lifted her purse up onto her shoulder. “Mom, I’ll come back later this afternoon to
pick you up.” She kissed her father on the cheek, then her mother.
“Thank you for bringing me and for being here with me today.” Daddy’s voice cracked as he spoke, and Brooke hoped he wouldn’t cry again. He was so emotional these days. She swallowed back her own tears.
“I’ll see you this afternoon.”
She waved as she walked out the door. She’d spent so long hating him that she’d forgotten how much she loved him.
Owen worked all morning on Thursday to set up a home office in one of the upstairs bedrooms, the one with the built-in bookcase. It would feel good to get back to work soon. Denny and Hunter were in Austin picking up two doors, both special orders that Brooke’s store didn’t carry.
He hadn’t seen Brooke the past few days, even though they’d talked every night. She was spending her time going back and forth between the hospital and the hardware store. He decided to take a break and call her now. He headed downstairs and was scanning the kitchen cabinets for lunch options when she answered. She was at the hardware store.
“How’s your dad?” Owen pulled a loaf of bread from the shelf and set it on the counter.
“Not so good.” She paused. “He can’t seem to shake this infection, and he was a little jaundiced when I got there this morning.”
Owen wanted to ask her what the prognosis was, how long her father was expected to live, but he didn’t want to upset her further. “I guess you don’t know how long he’ll be in the hospital?”
“No. Just depends. He’s getting weaker, though, and losing more weight.” She sighed. “You know what worries me the most?” Owen waited for her to go on. “Meghan and Spencer have gotten to know their grandfather, and now they are going to lose someone else. I just hate to see them have to go through that again.”
“I know.” Owen rummaged around the refrigerator until he found a package of ham. “But I think God sent him back into all your lives for a reason. Several reasons, in fact. So that you could heal and forgive, so the kids would grow up with memories of him, and so both he and your mother can have some closure. If he’d never come back, I think his death would have been much harder on her.”
