He had dreaded the reactions of Ruthie’s friends to the news that they were back together as a couple. But Ruthie had insisted that everybody had been pulling for them all along, and it couldn’t have been more true.
She’d invited him to dinner at her house, where it had been planned they would announce to her friends that they were back on again, even if their engagement wasn’t. That would take some time, but for now, she clearly wanted the blessings of the friends whose opinions mattered so much to her.
They had asked questions, sure. And he had answered them all carefully, giving a shortened version of the incident that had shaken his faith and assuring them that his intentions toward Ruthie were not only honorable but filled with love.
After that he and Ruthie were the golden couple. Pop and Sobo couldn’t have been happier. Same with his parents and sister. Soon he and Ruthie were spending time together almost every day, which also meant spending more time with the people in her life. They were melding their lives and friends together. Melding everything but church. He actually found he enjoyed this newfound social life. And he was glad Ruthie was upholding her end of the bargain, offering no pressure whatever.
Officer Worth rode up right on schedule, and Gray lifted his chin in acknowledgment, but he wasn’t the one in the crowd that the mounted policeman was looking for. He grinned and turned to go back inside and see if his muscles were still in demand—and maybe steal a kiss from Ruthie, who had gone inside with Savannah for the napkins and forks—only to be stopped by a friendly but heavy-handed punch to his shoulder.
“Dude! The Classic Car Club is having a cruise-in at the Steak & Brake tomorrow night.” Matt Springer owned the shop across the street and sold classic-auto supplies and memorabilia. He was the one who’d provided the security tape of the parking lot and identified the make and model of Mrs. Kagawa’s car. “You want to come?”
Although Gray had gone to Springer’s shop to ask about the woman who’d bought Sobo’s doll, they’d bonded over their mutual fascination with her classic Mazda Coupe. He thought about the self-defense class he had arranged to teach Ruthie and her friends after work. “I’ve got something going on tomorrow evening. I might show up for a little while afterward, though.”
“Cool. Maybe I’ll see you there.”
Yep, he definitely liked this new turn his life had taken. He had not had much of a social life for so long that he hadn’t realized what he’d been missing. Hadn’t realized he’d been craving what others enjoyed as normal. Most of all, he hadn’t recognized that a portion of the ache he’d attributed to Jakey’s death had actually been the result of Ruthie’s absence.
Because of what had happened overseas, he had thought he would never fit in here again. With that one stupid letter he’d written to Ruthie, he had given up everything. He had expected never to have this charmed life back. Now he had everything. He had Ruthie. He had hope.
The back door burst open, and Ruthie and Savannah joined the rest of the crowd at the picnic table. He reached out and pulled Ruthie to him for the sunset blessing before the eating began.
* * *
Ruthie snuggled under Gray’s arm and bowed her head while Paisley said grace. She’d never realized she could love a person this much. The love they’d experienced before, though rich and real, paled in comparison to what they had now.
For one, they were older. More seasoned. Though she hadn’t realized it while they were going through their time apart, they had needed that time to grow emotionally. To learn how to handle this more mature relationship. What they’d had before had been fresh and tender, vulnerable to the lashings life would give them. This was different. It was so much more.
She peeked over at Gray, aware that he merely stared down at his shoes, but at least he was here. At least he cared enough to go through the motions. The basics were there to build upon.
Most of the basics. The only cloud on the horizon was Gray’s refusal to return to God. She wanted to know with a certainty that it would happen. That he would remember why he had believed in God in the first place.
But what if he didn’t remember? Not that he’d asked again, but would she marry him even if he never went back to his faith? Such a disparity would certainly affect their day-to-day lives. In fact, it already had. Although they had taken the subject of faith off the table for now, they sure tiptoed around whenever talk turned to the church members who delivered meals to his grandparents. And it felt stifling not to be able to discuss with him the fascinating tidbits she learned at Wednesday-night Bible study. Could Ruthie be content in a relationship where every conversation was filtered until devoid of all godly topics? And on a more practical level, how long could she continue saving important but off-limits topics to discuss with Savannah or one of the others?
Deep down in her heart, she wanted Gray to believe again. If their relationship was to survive, it had to happen.
* * *
At the self-defense lesson the next evening, Ruthie noticed that Daisy seemed more comfortable in Gray’s presence than she had that first night. A big reason for that change might have been the time she’d spent with him over the past couple of weekends, helping him with some backlogged filing and data entry that the regular receptionist hadn’t been able to get to.
“Y’all have gotta hear this,” Daisy said.
The girl put her cell phone on speaker and queued up her voice mail. A man’s voice introduced himself as the personnel manager at the local power company and said the department supervisor had been very impressed by her recent interview for the administrative assistant position at the company. He indicated he would like for her to start work the week after graduation and to please call him as soon as possible to discuss the salary, benefits and other details.
The room burst into applause and cheers, and everyone celebrated as if the accomplishment was their own. For in a way, it was. Ruthie wished they could have done even more to help, but Daisy’s father was a proud man, and he had a hard time accepting their generosity.
“You deserve it,” Gray said. “And the power company is fortunate to have such a hard worker coming on board.”
Savannah’s enthusiasm bubbled almost as high as Daisy’s. “Honey, I hope you called that man back right away and told him you want at least ten percent more than he offered.”
Daisy grinned. “I did, thanks to Gray’s coaching. And I listed all the reasons why I was worth it.” She pushed her hair behind her shoulder in a playful show of haughty victory. “It was a no-go for the extra ten percent, but after he looked over my school accomplishments again, he agreed to meet me in the middle for the salary.”
After a few more minutes of congratulations and good wishes, the group’s attention turned back to the reason for their gathering. Gray kept insisting that the best defense was a good escape. But just in case any of them found themselves in a position where they couldn’t get away from someone intent on harming them, he demonstrated some moves that would allow a smaller person to take down a larger one.
Despite Paisley’s initial reluctance to participate when they started more than two weeks ago, she had soon warmed up to the training and was actually becoming good at it. Nikki, being more athletic than the rest, proved the best at following through on the moves Gray showed them, and Savannah’s giggles and jokes at her own missteps kept everyone else laughing. Daisy followed through on Gray’s instructions with a hint of hero worship in her eyes.
Ruthie’s performance was the worst. She kept getting distracted by the instructor. She certainly understood the appeal he held for her young friend. His confidence and positive encouragement compelled everyone to give him their full attention. Which she happily did.
Once again, Gray paired them up, and every so often he surprise attacked one of them in an attempt to drive home the point that they needed to stay aware of their surroundings and the people aro
und them. On the occasions when someone attempted the takedown maneuver on their “attacker,” none was able to best him. But he merely used the failed incident to drive home his awareness message and the importance of avoiding a confrontation in the first place or escaping rather than fighting back.
“You never know when the pedestrian on the sidewalk near you may turn and do something unexpected,” he said. “Be prepared.”
The rest of them left in Savannah’s car to return Daisy to her father, then head back to their own homes. Ruthie had no idea where the father and daughter would sleep tonight, which made her ever more grateful for the job that awaited her young friend. Although she and her roommates had done everything they could within their limited means to help, the father’s circumstances and pride prevented him from accepting their generosity. And even though they had offered to let Daisy sleep on their couch, she refused to leave her father. Ruthie prayed the pair would soon have an apartment of their own and that Daisy would never need to use the self-defense skills Gray had been teaching them.
Ruthie could have ridden home with the others, but Gray had insisted on driving her despite the classic-car cruise-in he planned to attend later tonight. She appreciated that he wanted to draw out his time with her.
They were picking up their belongings to leave when Gray grabbed her purse from the end table and quickly turned toward her. Sensitized to his ongoing message to be constantly aware of the actions of others, she went into defense mode. A split second later, with the purse swinging toward her, she lunged to one side to escape.
Gray reacted with a speed she had never seen before. As if by reflex, he swept his leg toward hers. In the next fraction of a second, all she noticed was the intensity of his gaze. The fierce determination to stop her. If she had seen that expression on a stranger’s face, she would have been frightened. But in that short flicker of time, the only emotion she could register was confusion. And in the next half flicker, his expression changed to one that matched her own puzzled reaction.
Her knees buckled under the unexpected action, and the momentum took her down like a sapling felled by Paul Bunyan. Unfortunately, she fell like a heavy oak, landing first on her thigh and hip, then feeling the jolt of the floor against her side and arm.
Winded, she stayed where she had fallen and totally forgot about the escape portion of the lesson. All she could think to do at the moment was to drag precious air into her lungs.
Gray rushed to her side, knelt down and pressed a big hand against her shoulder to keep her from trying to get up too soon. “Hold on a sec. Let’s see if there are any injuries.”
His eyes, filled with such intensity only a second before, now revealed wide black pupils that took in her physical condition and mirrored back to her a large dose of fear. Fear of himself. Of what he’d done to her, apparently without realizing it.
“I’m so sorry.” He repeated the words over and over, as if they might somehow undo his reflexive action. “I went to hand you the purse, and when you jumped at me, I—”
He cut himself off and gently helped her up.
“It’s okay,” she assured him, her voice strangely small after having the air knocked out of her. “I misunderstood. I thought you were continuing the ‘be prepared for anything’ lesson.”
When it became evident that she could move all her limbs without difficulty and stand unassisted, he let her go and backed away as if afraid he might accidentally do more damage.
She knew he hadn’t meant any harm. His reaction had been purely instinctive, just as her own had been. The stricken look in his eyes told her he might have surprised himself even more than he’d surprised her.
“I’m fine,” she insisted. “It was an accident. You would never hurt me.”
His face crumpled, and his shoulders drooped. “I already have. But I won’t ever hurt you again. Never. I promise.” He opened his arms and took her into his warm embrace.
The circle of his arms felt so safe and secure, and the strength in them told her he would do everything in his power to keep her out of harm’s way.
She leaned back in his arms and gazed up at his handsome face, creased with concern and gazing back at her with pure love.
If only she could change his mind about the prayer thing, she felt certain it would all work out just fine.
The cell phone in her purse rang, breaking them from their tender moment.
She picked up the needlepoint purse she’d bought at an estate auction and glanced at the caller ID. “Paisley, it’s been ages since I’ve seen you,” she teased. “What’s up?”
She was aware of Gray studying her while she listened. His expression turned serious when her demeanor changed.
“Did you call the police?” she asked after Paisley filled her in on what was happening at the house.
As if his protector radar had been triggered, Gray moved closer. Their tender moment was over, and he was all business now. “What is it? What’s going on?”
“Lock the doors and stay put,” she said into the phone. “We’ll be there in five minutes.”
Car keys in hand, Gray had already opened the door for her and motioned her through.
“Cali’s acting weird and keeps going to the back door,” she explained on their sprint to the car. “Paisley doesn’t see anything that warrants a call to the police, but she’s nervous after our previous run-in with the prowler.”
Gray seemed to relax a little. “Nah, the prowler has probably moved on to an easier place to break in. Maybe Cali heard another dog in the neighborhood,” he suggested. “Or a siren in the distance.”
She hoped that was all that had set the dog off, but she doubted Paisley would have called unless the behavior had been extremely odd. Nevertheless, they made the trip from Gray’s office to the house in record time.
They arrived at the house as dusk settled into night. The electronic-eye porch light that Gray had installed shone brightly to light the way up the walk path, and she wondered whether Paisley had switched it on for them or if a movement in the yard prior to their arrival had activated the device.
They paused for a moment in the car, taking in the scene, but all they could see was the area of the yard lit up by the porch light.
“Give me a minute while I check it out,” he said.
The curtain at the front-room window drew back, and Paisley and Savannah stood there squinting into the dark, their hands shading their eyes. Cali appeared beside them and pushed her nose to the glass pane.
Gray entered the gate and peered over into the adjoining yard, perhaps assuming that if the guy was stupid enough to come back to the same house he’d unsuccessfully prowled before, he might try to hide in the same bushes where he’d found him before. Gray turned to her and lifted a thumb to let her know the front yards on both sides of the divided house were clear.
She joined him, feeling safe despite Paisley’s concern that someone might be lurking around the house. Having seen Gray’s lightning-fast reflexes up close, she had no doubt he could handle whatever had piqued the dog’s interest. Choosing not to dwell on the fact that the prowler might have a weapon, she followed Gray to the front steps.
From the side of the house came a grunt and the sound of something heavy falling to the ground. Cali abandoned the front window and went crazy barking, and Ruthie’s heart pounded in response.
Gray eased away from her to investigate, leaving her with the chicken’s choice of scaling the steps two at a time to take refuge inside, or the brave-and-maybe-stupid choice of staying close to him, though she clearly wouldn’t be of much help. Instead, her feet opted for choice number three by planting themselves to the ground where she stood.
So much for her self-defense lessons.
He motioned for her to go inside and slowly rounded the corner of the house, his posture guarded as if to fend off an attack in
case the unwanted visitor decided to become aggressive.
“Don’t move!” he ordered. “Stay where you are.”
From the side of the house, over the din of Cali’s barking, came a man’s voice. “Sir! Yes, sir!”
At the unexpected response, Gray’s body relaxed a mere fraction, giving her hope that the person he’d found was harmless. He paused, taking in the situation, and squared his shoulders even more than normal.
“Advance for inspection,” he said, his bearing that of a high-ranking military officer and his voice so commanding even Ruthie felt compelled to obey. Instead, she forced herself to remain right where she was, with Gray positioned between her and the interloper.
A shadowy figure stepped out from beside the porch and into the front yard, where the porch light illuminated a middle-aged man in camouflage fatigues and sneakers. He could have been much younger. It was hard to tell. His leathery face might have come from age, hard living or most likely both. Frizzy brown hair had been pulled back in a short ponytail, and a scruff of goatee sprouted beneath his lower lip, lending an air of wildness to his already disheveled appearance. And a portion of a tattoo meandered from under his sleeve over the back of his hand.
To her surprise, the man looked confused and scared. Apprehensive. Much as Cali had when Gray had found her and carried her into the house to tend to her wound. This guy appeared to be uninjured, and he didn’t seem to be a threat, but something just didn’t seem right about him.
The stranger snapped to attention and saluted. “Reporting for duty, sir.”
By now Cali had quieted inside. Paisley and Savannah watched from the window, and Ruthie noted that Savannah was talking on the phone. They must have called the police after all, for which she was relieved. Paisley gestured for her to join them inside, but Ruthie didn’t want to distract Gray or risk escalating what was turning out to be a weird situation.
Gray kept up the role-playing, his voice softer now but firm and authoritative. “At ease, soldier.”
Love Inspired June 2014 - Bundle 2 of 2: Single Dad CowboyThe Bachelor Meets His MatchUnexpected Reunion Page 54
