Child of Grace

by Hannon, Irene

  “It’s not mine, either.”

  The teen furrowed her brow. “But isn’t that what quilting is all about?”

  “Not the kind I do. This is quilted.” She hefted the tote at her side. The modern, geometric design defied every stereotype Luke had about quilting.

  “For real?” Hannah examined it, running her fingers over the colorful pattern.

  “Yes. Let me show you the sketch I’m working on for my new commission.”

  As Kelsey dug into her tote bag again, one of the guys in the background grimaced at his friend. Cooking and quilting obviously weren’t high on their list of compelling topics.

  Hannah noticed their reaction too. She excused herself, rose, and strolled over to them. After a brief conversation, they took off down the beach and she dropped down beside Kelsey again.

  “What’s up with your new friends?” Luke leaned back in his chair and folded his hands over his stomach.

  She shrugged. “They’ll be bored with this stuff. But I’ll see them around again. They’ll be here for another ten days.”

  And with that, the two women launched into an intense discussion about fabrics and designs and techniques. Terms like “tacking” and “batting” were bandied about, but they had little meaning to him—at least in the context of quilts.

  Luke tuned out the conversation and let the balmy sun seep into his skin. As long as Hannah was with Kelsey, he could relax. May as well take advantage of the moment.

  Within seconds, he dozed off—and remained lost to the world until a jab on his arm jolted him awake.

  Jerking upright, he gripped the edges of his chair, every muscle taut, ready to spring into action.

  Hannah regarded him from a foot away, keeping her distance. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  He unclenched his fingers from the arms of the chair. “No problem. I guess I spent too many years on the front lines. What have you ladies been up to while I zoned out?”

  His sister switched gears at once, but it took Kelsey a few seconds longer to regroup after his spooked reaction. As Hannah gave him a recap of their conversation, his neighbor gathered up her paraphernalia and tucked it back in her tote bag, fingers trembling as she fumbled with the snap.

  “Would that be okay?”

  At Hannah’s question, he refocused on her. “What?”

  “Could I visit Kelsey at her shop and meet Dorothy? The lady who made those great scones?”

  “Oh. Sure. Maybe Monday, if that fits with Kelsey’s schedule.”

  “We’d love for you to stop by. And speaking of the shop, I have to get ready for work.”

  She made a move to stand, and Luke rose at once to extend a hand.

  With a chagrined shrug, she accepted it and let him pull her to her feet. “Thanks. I’m switching to the regular lawn chair for my next visit.” She folded up the beach version, tucked it under her arm, and reached for her bag.

  “Why don’t I carry that up for you?”

  “Thanks, but I can manage. It’s not heavy now, since we finished off all those scones.” She winked at his sister. “You two stay here and relax. It’s a made-to-order beach day.” With a wave, she set off for the steps.

  Hannah trotted over to get her beach chair, studying Kelsey as she resettled it in the sand. “I bet it’s not easy to do all those steps if you’re pregnant.”

  His neighbor paused at the midway landing as Luke watched. “I’m sure it’s not.”

  “What’s her story?” Hannah plopped in her chair. “You didn’t say much yesterday, other than she was pregnant and here alone.”

  “That’s all I know.”

  “Do you think her husband died or something? I mean, a guy would have to be nuts to divorce someone like her. She’s cool.”

  That was true. Why a man would willingly walk away from a woman like Kelsey was beyond comprehension. From what he’d seen so far, she was smart, caring, strong, and had her priorities straight.

  “I have no idea what her marital status is. She’s a very private person. I’ve only been here a week, and it takes longer than that to establish a friendship strong enough to exchange confidences.”

  “Hmm.” Hannah spread sunscreen on her arms. “I thought she was very open. I mean, she didn’t have to tell me about how her sister thought she was crazy to throw away her corporate job and move here. Or how her grandmother taught her to quilt when she was a little girl, and how much she misses her. Or how she’s not sleeping very well anymore because the baby kicks so much.”

  Luke twisted toward his sister. “When did she tell you all that?”

  “While you were sleeping.” She put down the tube of sunscreen and faced him. “So…we need to have a talk.”

  “About what?” He tried to shift gears…but his mind was too busy grappling with the fact that Kelsey had felt comfortable sharing information with his sister but not with him.

  “About being superbrother. Here’s the thing, Luke—you don’t have to worry about me. I know how to handle guys. You need to trust me.”

  That got his attention. “I do trust you. The guys—not so much.”

  “Look…I’m only going to be here three weeks. What’s the point of starting something that’s going nowhere? I’d rather hang around Kelsey, to be honest. All guys want to talk about is sports, which is b-o-r-i-n-g. And for the record, I don’t fool around. I still go to church every Sunday, and my values are solid. So give me space—and quit worrying.”

  Once again, Kelsey had been right. He needed to dial down the protective mode.

  “Maybe I hovered a little too much this morning.”

  “Ya think?” She rolled her eyes.

  “But I promised Mom and Dad I’d watch out for you.”

  “I know. And I promised them I wouldn’t give you any trouble about that—unless you went overboard.” She stuck out her hand. “Truce?”

  Grinning, he took her fingers. “Truce.”

  That matter resolved, she settled in to soak up the rays.

  Luke did the same.

  Yet as he let himself drift, an image of his neighbor struggling up the steps alone flashed across his mind.

  The alone part niggled at him. What was her story? She hadn’t shared it with him—but maybe, with Hannah here, he could find out more about her solitary state. The two of them had hit it off, and she’d already told his sister more than she’d told him in a week.

  Not that he intended to pry, of course. Or ask Hannah to reveal confidences. But if a few discreet questions ferreted out a nugget or two of information, he wasn’t averse to asking them.

  Because the more he saw of Kelsey, the more he was convinced she carried a burden that was weighing down her slender shoulders.

  And whether it was wise or not, he wanted to help her shed some of it.

  7

  Luke slipped his arms into his sport jacket and tapped on the bathroom door as he passed. “Five-minute warning.”

  The door opened, and Hannah poked her head out. “I need ten.”

  “Eight.”

  “Fine. But why do we have to go to the early service? This is supposed to be a vacation.” She stifled a yawn.

  “I thought it might be less crowded. We can go later next Sunday, if you’d rather. There’s one at ten too.”

  “I vote for that.” She shut the door.

  While he waited, he booted up his laptop and skimmed his email. Messages had been flying all week among the youth fellowship board members as they’d fleshed out the fundraising plan. At tomorrow morning’s meeting, they’d finalize it and move ahead on all fronts—including implementing the communications and PR initiatives Kelsey had been tweaking for them as the plan solidified. She already had a newspaper interview lined up for him tomorrow afternoon with The Record in Saugatuck, and one with The Holland Sentinel on Wednesday.

  When Hannah appeared nine minutes later, he tapped his watch.

  Heaving a long-suffering sigh, she planted her hands on her hips. “Chill, big b
rother. It’s only five after eight. How long will it take to get to church?”

  “I’m not sure.” He clicked his computer shut. “This will be my first visit. I was too jet-lagged last Sunday to do more than veg.”

  “You’re lucky God doesn’t veg out on you.”

  “You sound like Mom.”

  She made a face at him. “Ha-ha. So let’s get this show on the road.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Luke angled into a parking spot beside the small white church in Saugatuck where Reverend Howard presided. The man had been impressive at last week’s board meeting—a strong incentive to give his church a try.

  Discovering Kelsey was a congregant had clinched the decision.

  Funny how his attitude about his neighbor had done a one-eighty in the past week. Finding her on his beach that first morning had been annoying. Now their encounters were the highlight of his day.

  Go figure.

  He and Hannah slipped into a pew near the back, and a few minutes before the service began Kelsey walked past them down the aisle. Alone, as usual—and so fixated on the soaring stained glass window above the sanctuary that she didn’t even notice them.

  Dorothy waved at her from where she sat halfway down the aisle and slid over to make room in her pew. His neighbor joined her.

  The organ music swelled, and Luke did his best to immerse himself in the service. Yet he found his gaze wandering to the mother-to-be far too often. A nudge in the side from Hannah’s elbow after he skipped a verse in one of the hymns helped him remember why he was here—as did Reverend Howard’s excellent sermon, which took its theme from Matthew’s story of Peter’s faltering trust as he walked toward the Lord across the water.

  “How often in our lives have circumstances overwhelmed us and undermined our faith?” The pastor scanned the congregation as he concluded. “How often, in the midst of a crisis, does our trust in the Lord waver and we, like Peter, begin to sink? Not into water, but into despair and desperation and depression?”

  He leaned forward. “My friends, the message of today’s reading is simple. No matter what perils befall us…no matter how many tribulations land in our lap…no matter how alone or lost we feel…the Lord is always nearby, his hand outstretched, waiting to save us if we but ask. Waiting to banish our fears. So be not afraid. Go to him in your need, and he will never fail you.”

  Carlos had believed that, heart and soul. In the face of danger, the young medic had never been afraid.

  As the organist launched into the introduction to “Amazing Grace”—the medic’s favorite hymn—Carlos’s response when Luke had asked about his steady calmness under fire replayed in his mind.

  “The Lord called me to this work. This is where I belong. And if he calls me home while I’m here…” The man had shrugged. “His will be done.”

  “But what about all your plans?” Luke had pressed. “Being a paramedic, having a family of your own, the youth center….”

  Carlos had just smiled. “The Lord’s plans trump mine any day.” And then he’d snatched Luke’s cookie off his tray and popped it in his mouth with a grin, lightening the serious mood.

  The man’s joy, his trust, his confidence, had banished many of Luke’s own fears—and regrets.

  But not all of them.

  As his voice faltered, Luke dropped out of the song. Hannah’s questioning look registered in his peripheral vision, but he ignored it as he struggled to rein in his emotions.

  Strange.

  In the field, he’d had no trouble keeping an iron grip on his feelings. There, it had been a matter of survival. Every young life lost had ripped at his gut, and if he’d given in fully to the pain, he wouldn’t have been able to function.

  Now, back in safe territory, his emotions were straining at the tight leash he’d kept them on for years.

  Especially his feelings about Carlos.

  The man who had saved his life.

  Carlos had never agreed with him on that point, always countering by saying he hadn’t known there was a sniper on the roof when he’d stopped Luke from leaving the mud hut where they’d taken refuge. He’d just wanted to ask his advice about one of the wounded soldiers he was treating.

  But the next man out of the hut had taken a fatal bullet in the brain.

  Without Carlos’s interception, that man would have been him.

  Three weeks later, Carlos too had died…and the young medic’s final words were etched in Luke’s mind.

  Let not your heart be troubled.

  Wise advice—but hard to follow.

  He shifted his attention to his neighbor.

  Unless he was way off base, she felt the same way.

  “Hey.”

  At Hannah’s quiet prompt, he redirected his attention to her.

  “You okay?”

  He nodded and picked up the melody as they came to his favorite line—“T’was grace that brought us safe thus far, and grace will lead us home.”

  That’s what he—and Kelsey—needed.

  Grace. In abundant measure.

  * * *

  Kelsey spotted Luke and Hannah as soon as she exited the church. They were off to one side, on the lawn, chatting with Reverend Howard.

  Her step faltered, and the man on her heels ran into her.

  With a mumbled apology, she moved out of the line of traffic, keeping her neighbor and his sister in sight.

  Since parting from the two of them on the beach yesterday morning, their paths hadn’t crossed. But laughter had drifted toward her house from their deck last night—as had the aroma of barbecue as she’d prepared her solitary meal and placed her weekly call to her sister. And the flicker of candlelight on their patio table had twinkled through the trees as she’d eaten her baked chicken breast on the screened porch and paged through the latest issue of Quilting Arts.

  It was her typical Saturday night ritual—and it suited her fine.

  Or it had, until last night.

  For the first time since coming to Michigan and moving into the cozy, memory-filled house that was infused with Gram’s presence, loneliness had infiltrated her placid existence.

  But it was wrong to think about all she lacked, when she’d been blessed with so much.

  Someday…maybe…she’d meet a man whose love would fill her life with warmth and whose steady presence and gentle patience would put her nightmares to rest once and for all.

  But Luke wasn’t that man. Because while it was possible he had the qualifications for the role, he wasn’t going to be around long enough to play it.

  As she struggled to contain a sudden surge of melancholy, Reverend Howard shifted toward her, raised his hand, and beckoned.

  Too late to escape unnoticed to her car.

  Quashing her gloomy thoughts, she smoothed down the front of her dress, joined the throng of people descending the steps, and crossed the lawn.

  Hannah was stunning this morning, just as she had been on the beach yesterday, her mane of blond hair dazzling in the sun, her youthful face lit up in welcome.

  But it was Luke who captured her attention.

  Like the day he’d visited her shop, he wore a sport coat that sat well on his broad shoulders, this one navy blue. A few springy dark hairs peeked out through the open neck of his blue-striped dress shirt. His tan slacks were pressed and creased, his shoes polished to a high gloss, his dark hair neatly combed.

  No question about it. Captain Luke Turner was one handsome man.

  Tall too. He towered over her by at least eight inches. Yet she no longer felt fear in his presence. That was a step forward.

  But the flutter of attraction that danced along her nerve endings whenever their paths intersected wasn’t.

  “Good morning, Kelsey.” Reverend Howard cocooned her hand in both of his. “We were just talking about the youth center, and we wanted to get your opinion about an idea Luke had. Why don’t you explain it?” The pastor ceded the floor to the man at his side.

  “To be honest, it’s Hannah’s
idea.” Luke tossed his sister a grin. “I was explaining the project to her over dinner last night, and she suggested we set up Twitter and Facebook pages for the fundraising drive. She thinks those would get information to a much wider audience.”

  Kelsey nodded. “I like the notion of using social media to help publicize this. It has no geographic or demographic limitations.”

  “I could set them up for you while I’m here,” Hannah offered. “And I could post updates even after I go home. We could use it to direct people to the website for the project and keep them updated on developments. It’s kind of a cool way to participate in a worthwhile cause—and I have to do a service project during senior year anyway. This would qualify.”

  “Sold.” Kelsey telegraphed Luke a silent Nothing to worry about with this young woman message.

  One side of his mouth twitched.

  “Excellent, excellent.” Reverend Howard beamed at them. “We’ll have a final fundraising plan after tomorrow’s meeting, and then we can really get this rolling. Father Joe will be ecstatic. As we all are, of course. What a blessing you’ve been to us, Luke.” He clapped the army doctor on the shoulder.

  A ruddy tinge crept over Luke’s face, and he gave a dismissive shrug. “Carlos is the one who deserves thanks. If he hadn’t been so inspiring—and so passionate about this project—I wouldn’t be here.”

  “Well…blessings come in many ways and many forms.” The pastor encompassed all of them as he spoke. “Now I see Harriet Lucas waving at me. I want to ask how her husband is doing since his knee replacement surgery. I’ll talk to you all soon.” Lifting his hand in farewell, he set off across the lawn.

  Kelsey adjusted the strap of her purse and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “I think I’ll be off too. Is the beach in your plans for today?”

  Hannah answered for both of them. “No. We’re having brunch, and then Luke’s going to show me around Saugatuck. Why don’t you join us?”

  Given Luke’s expression, he was as taken aback by the impromptu invitation as she was.

  “I’m not exactly shod for much walking.” She lifted one foot and twisted her ankle to display the inch-and-a-half-heel on her dress shoe. “Now if I had my Nikes…”