by Jillian Hart
Jake. He must have finished helping Ben and Cadence pack for their move south. Ben had to report to duty next week.
Which reminded her. Jake was Florida bound, too. He’d be heading back to his base, back to his life, back to protecting and defending. Her heart gave an impossible wish—just a little one—but it was more of a dream than anything else. Those shoulders of his looked strong enough to carry any burden. And his chest. What would it be like to have the privilege of laying her cheek there? She knew that no place in this world would feel safer.
“Rachel!” Brandilyn darted down the aisle. “You’ve got a bunch of orders up. I’ll grab some and help you catch up.”
“Ooh, me too,” chimed in her identical twin. “You’re gonna, like, turn into me, Rache. Daydreamin’, like, every second.”
“I don’t have time to daydream.” A lot of responsibility was going to land square on her own shoulders soon and she had to be ready for it. This diner was her future, that was where her wishing energy ought to be instead of directed at a man who was impossible for so many reasons. Mostly because guys that great, that handsome, that cool, that awesome, looked right past a quiet girl like her. Maybe she was too simple in this world of technology and fancy degrees and exciting careers. She didn’t know.
God knew what was best for her, she believed that with all her being. But sometimes…just sometimes…it would be something to have her most secret wish come true. Her secret dream man was too good to be true—sure, she knew that. But still, the image of him would always live in the deepest places of her heart and had taken root in her soul.
It’s time to get back to reality, Rache. There were so many people who needed her for more coffee, to grab another ketchup bottle, to refill their sodas. This was her life and it was enough.
“I’ll grab the pitchers and be right back,” she promised Mr. Corey on her way by the table, hurrying to help the teenaged twins, who meant well but often brought disaster right along with them.
They were juggling the orders for the party of twelve in the back. Clearly a nightmare. One of them—Brianna—was about to lose an order of teriyaki chicken, and Brandilyn was going to drop all four plates she was struggling to keep level.
“Let me grab these!” Rachel rescued the teriyaki chicken and tucked it along her forearm, swiped a steaming plate of lasagna from Brandilyn and checked the orders—Krista Greenley’s meal was short her substituted baked potato—and hollered through the window to Dave and juggled two more plates. “Let’s get these served, ladies.”
She led the way to the back, and as she passed the long row of windows, Jake filled her thoughts again. She’d managed to go a whole minute without thinking of him. The front bell chimed, and the cool evening breeze wafted down the aisle. It was probably him and Sally, come for their supper. As soon as she and the twins reached the table, she’d send Brandilyn back to seat them. The less she had to deal with Jake the better.
A dark color caught the corner of her vision—the navy of Jake’s shirt. He was still outside. As she turned her head to see him more clearly, he disappeared behind the open passenger door, but only for a second. When he emerged, he held a sleeping Sally tenderly in his arms. The soft evening light bathed them in a gentle rosy light as Jake pressed a kiss to his little niece’s forehead. She stirred, snuggling more deeply against him.
Rachel lost a little more of her heart. Just like that. At this rate, she wouldn’t have any left.
“Uh, Rache.” Brianna brushed by, as if heaven was reminding her what was important. “Do you know where these go?”
With some relief, she got back to concentrating on work, serving the meals and checking out the newcomers up front. “Krista, I’m sorry, your baked potato is on its way. I’ll bring it with the rest of the orders. Jenna, here’s your chicken teriyaki. And—” she whipped out a small bottle with her now-free hand “—a soy sauce.”
She moved her way around the table so she could check the front of the restaurant, but Jake wasn’t one of the customers waiting to be seated. He must have carried Sally up to bed. With promises to bring steak sauce and Krista’s potato, she hurried through the swinging doors and thanked Dave for having Mrs. Edison’s order boxed and sacked. After grabbing more condiment bottles, she set the ticket beside Brianna, who was now at the cash register and talking to herself as she rang it up.
“I put in an extra container of tartar,” Rachel told her former teacher as she handed the boxed meal to the older lady. “Have a good evening, Mrs. Edison.”
“Thank you, dear.”
Jake charged into her thoughts again. As she bustled down the aisle, avoiding the party Brandilyn was currently seating, she wondered if he and Sally had had a chance to eat. She caught herself just in time. It’s not your business, Rache. She wanted to tell herself that she’d show the same amount of concern for anyone who was staying in the upstairs apartment, but she knew that wasn’t the truth.
“Your baked potato with extra sour cream.” She presented the plate to a smiling Krista and then handed out the Cheeseburger Deluxe and Mom’s Super Meat loaf. She produced a few different bottles of steak sauces and everyone was happy.
She handed off the fresh container of ketchup, grabbed a pitcher of soda and one of decaf and made the rounds. Made another to distribute more butter and a complimentary second order of fries for the deputy who was not only a loyal customer, but who always went beyond the call of duty for her sisters and their diner. Rachel then sent Brandilyn away from the cash register—she looked too befuddled while ringing up a family of four.
“Bus for me, would you?” she asked the teenager, who agreed cheerfully and hurried off, cracking her gum.
“Busy night?”
That familiar baritone had her toes curling. She handed over the Coreys’ change, thanked them for coming and as they moved away from the counter, she saw Jake. His short hair was tousled, his sweatshirt rumpled, and yet he’d never looked more handsome. Maybe it was the remembered image of him holding the sleeping child so tenderly. Or the depth of affection in the parental kiss to her forehead. His strength and manliness was warrior-honed, and he had a heart like her father had had, that of a loving and good man.
“It’s a home football-game night. It always keeps us on our toes.” Rachel handed Brianna seven menus, and as the Sheridan family followed the teenager, she realized that was the end to the first rush. Everyone was seated, Paige must have come in the back because she was serving table four’s meal. “We’ll have a big push out the door in about twenty-five minutes, and then things will quiet down. How’s Sally?”
“Exhausted. She hasn’t been sleeping well, and I think spending the day with Amy’s son, playing and swimming and whatever else they did, tired her out enough. She’s out like a light.”
“I saw you carrying her.” Great, now she sounded like a stalker. “Through the windows.” She gestured at the long row of glass reflecting the parked cars outside and the impending twilight.
He didn’t seem to respond. “I don’t want to leave her for long. Do you do takeout here?”
“Sure. Here’s a menu.” No more social blunders around this man, Rachel. “There isn’t a phone upstairs, but did you want to take my cell? You can call the order in, and when it’s ready, I’ll send one of the twins up with your meal. That way you don’t have to leave Sally alone.”
“You’d do that?”
“For you. Sure.” She realized what she’d said a second too late, and embarrassment burned her face. She did sound like a stalker or something, because now he was staring at her. The openness was gone. He stood like a granite statue, and did not look up from the menu he was studying. Not even when she took her cell from her pocket and set it on the edge of the counter.
It’s just not meant to be. She knew it; she’d always known it. She stepped back, determined to keep her distance and what, if anything, was left of her dignity. “The number’s on the front of the menu. Just give us a call.”
“Thanks.”
His hand shot out and covered hers. She felt the warm comfort of his skin, the way his wide palm engulfed her hand. And in that moment, when his dark gaze found hers, she told herself it wasn’t her future she saw. So why, when he left, did it feel as if he’d taken her destiny with him?
Jake hesitated at the bedroom door, looking back at his little niece. Sally was still fast asleep. Curled up on her side, bunched in a fetal position, so small and helpless.
He eased the bedroom door shut. The fierce need to protect her roared up in him, and he fisted his hands in frustration. What good was all his military training and all the specialized skills he’d learned to defend this country, when they couldn’t do a single thing to rescue Sally from what was hurting her?
Grief wasn’t something he could ambush or capture, fight off or beat down. He’d never felt so inadequate or lost, but he trusted the Lord to guide him through this, for Sally’s sake. Because he couldn’t do this alone.
He heard what he thought were footsteps on the outside stairs. When he’d called down his order, Rachel hadn’t been the one to answer the phone. He knew she was busy—he’d seen how hard she was working and how crowded the restaurant was, so he didn’t expect her to be on the other side of the door. But when she was, peace settled in his soul.
Definitely nice.
“Surprise.” She spoke low, as if she expected Sally to be still napping and gestured with the huge sack she carried in both arms. “I told you there would be a lull. I hope you don’t mind that I came. The twins are on break and I couldn’t talk them into coming.”
“It’s okay.”
“I brought the makings for hot chocolate. Enough for two, uh, in case you want some.”
He could only stare because she blew him away. He’d never known anyone this thoughtful. She just kept wowing him. He stepped back, holding open the screen door for her. “Come in. Can I take that?”
“Oh, no.”
“Then what do I owe you?”
“Nice try, but I don’t want your money.” She moved past him like poetry of beauty and grace.
His chest tugged hard in a painful, inexplicable way.
“I don’t want a free meal.” He pulled the door closed against the crisp evening winds. “That’s not why I ordered from your place.”
“So? You helped Ben, we help you.” She moved through the half-lit room, circling the couch and disappearing through the kitchen door, and her gait tapped to a stop. The refrigerator door opened. “I’ll just put the milk in here. And I wrapped up Sally’s dinner, so all you need to do is take this out and pop it in the oven, preheated to three-fifty, for fifteen minutes, and it will be just right for her.”
Jake watched as she set a foil packet in the refrigerator. Her cheese pizza from the kid’s menu, he presumed, and it looked like a little more than a pizza. Rachel added a large container, the milk he guessed, and another covered plate.
“For dessert,” she explained as she closed the door and folded the big sack she’d carried everything up in. “Did you want to eat in here or the living room? I could put this on a plate.”
Okay, so maybe he wasn’t in love with this woman, but he didn’t really believe in love. And if the hard pang that settled dead center in his chest and throbbed like a bullet wound wasn’t deep, serious-like, then he didn’t know what was.
He did feel something for this woman, he could admit it. He admired her. God was right. She would be great for Sally. She was perfect, she was wonderful, she was a dream, and he couldn’t speak like a normal, sane man when he was near her. So he managed to grunt and nod. Maybe he felt more than like for Rachel. He wasn’t sure if he felt comfortable with that. He was a lone-wolf kind of guy.
She moved around the small, rather dusty kitchen as if she were at home. She brought down the plate and found silverware, and he just watched her work, humming a little.
“You really enjoy this, don’t you?”
“Enjoy what? I noticed you had the TV on. I take it you want to eat in there?”
He nodded. There were some reruns of a family sitcom that had just come on. He got all of two channels with the rabbit ears on top of the decades-old set, and neither was as interesting as Rachel. “You wouldn’t be able to stay for a few minutes, would you?”
“Oh, I wish. You have no idea.” She blushed, as if she realized what she’d said. How much she revealed.
So, he wasn’t alone in this attraction, or whatever it was he felt. The weight in his chest began to hurt and hope at the same time. It was hard to breathe. “You said there was a lull. And I’d like nothing more than to spend more time with you.”
“It’s a football night, and the game is about ready to start. You can see the stadium lights from here. In about five minutes the band is going to be warming up, and everyone is going to be leaving me. Paige’s son is playing, so she’s gotta be there. And the twins are that age where they don’t want to miss anything. I’ll be off until the game is over, and we’ll get slammed again. I’ll need to help out.”
He felt her apology, it hung in the air like the faint dust; it seemed this apartment wasn’t used very often. But the place wasn’t as neglected as his courting skills. Courting was different than dating. The decision to court, well, now, he’d never exactly been in this position before. So, he was at a loss. “Maybe you’d want to come to the game with me and Sally?”
“Isn’t she napping?”
“Uh, yeah, but we can eat here. Have you had dinner yet? No? Well, Sally’s bound to wake up sometime. When you on break and we can go on over. I haven’t been to a football game for a couple of years. And besides, we’ll be leaving for the base. I’d like to spend as much of the time I have left here with you.”
What? Rachel couldn’t have heard him right. Had he really said it, or was her mind just playing tricks on her? He wanted to spend his time here with her? A chunk of meteorite could hurtle down through the heavens, punch through the roof and strike her in the forehead and she wouldn’t be more surprised.
Jake inched closer. “Would that be something you’d be interested in?”
“Uh…” She knew her mouth was hanging open. Brilliant, Rache. She knew the capacity for speech had flown right out of her repertoire of social skills. The worst part of it was that she’d gone utterly paralyzed, in the middle of bending down to leave both his plate and his boxed meal on the coffee table, and she couldn’t seem to make herself straighten up and act like a normal, sane person.
Jake didn’t seem to notice as he bounded across the room, closing the distance in easy, powerful strides like the latent power of a panther stalking his prey.
He appeared taller from her bent-over position. He towered over her, his chuckle easy as he took the plate from her grip and set it on the table. “Does ‘uh’ mean yes or no?”
“Uh…” There she went again, in command of her verbal ability. “Yes. I’ll just run down and, uh, finish up a few things.”
“Bring up a meal. I’ll wait.”
“Uh, no. Don’t wait. Your burger will get cold. I, uh, I’ll be just a few minutes.” Or had she said that already?
See, this is why you don’t date a lot, Rachel. She was no dating genius, that was for sure. Was there such a thing as being date-impaired?
“Sounds great. I’ll look forward to it.”
“I’ll, uh, look forward to it, too.” His baritone dipped low and charming.
Were her toes curling? Sure enough, in the cramped quarters of her sneakers, her toes seemed to curl of their own volition. Somehow her feet carried her forward, but she didn’t feel the floor because she was floating through the room.
Floating. As if that made any sense! She felt even more lost as she fumbled with the doorknob. She might as well be groping in the dark. Surely, Jake Hathaway wasn’t The One. If he was, then why did he live across the country? Why would he be gone from her life before she even had the chance to get to know him?
She let the screen click shut behind her, careful not to let it slam
shut and wake Sally. Twilight had lengthened until the shadows were dark and thick, and she welcomed the privacy of that darkness and the wintry wind that battered her hot face.
Why do I want him so much, Lord? It would be nothing at all to fall absolutely in love with him. To see herself in his kitchen, fixing his meals, picking up after Sally, keeping house and sharing his life.
You’re just setting yourself up for heartbreak, you know that. She wasn’t sophisticated and dazzling, cool and coy, flirty or confident. Men hardly noticed her. There was no way a rugged, man’s man like Jake would see past her mousy appearance to the real woman she was—or was there?
The high-school band blared into life. Cheers rose up from the stadium. All those families huddled in the bleachers, bundled well against the cold night. All those people living lives that she could only dream of.
Jake was only being kind to her. She was his best buddy’s sister, of course he’d be nice to her. That’s all it is, Rache. Don’t go seeing something that isn’t there, she told herself firmly, protecting her heart well used to disappointment.
Jake needed a friend, that was all. And if there was one thing she was used to, it was that. She took a deep breath and hurried down the steps to the diner.
Chapter Ten
“This way.” Jake’s lips brushed her cheekbone, his breath warm and pleasant against her. “I see a couple of seats.”
Rachel’s soul shivered at his nearness. It was like a dream to feel the singular intimacy of being at his side. This big, strapping man who moved with agile caution—he was always scanning his surroundings, watching the people around them, and she could see the soldier in the man. Steely discipline and skill; he was a strong enough man to be gentle as he protected Sally from the bump of the milling crowd below the bleachers. Her heart fluttered more watching him lift Sally onto the top step, swinging her until a small grin cracked her solemn face.
