Restore My Heart

by Leah Atwood

  “I’m glad you have them.”

  “Me too.” She smiled again, and it transformed her entire face.

  He fought against a yawn and lost. “It’s late. I should get to bed so I can call Randy early in the morning.”

  “Me too. It’s been a long day, and who knows what tomorrow will bring.” She stretched her arms. “Is there any place to get a cream-filled donut in the morning? After this day, I’ve decided I deserve a sugary treat.”

  “There’s a bakery within walking distance. If you make a left onto the sidewalk, it’s six buildings down.”

  “Thanks. For everything.”

  “My pleasure.” He gave a short salute. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Chapter Five

  Cassidy woke up to the sun shining through the small gap in the curtains. She shielded her eyes until they adjusted then looked at the red numbers on the alarm clock.

  Nine A.M.

  A solid two hours later than what she’d consider to be sleeping in. On a normal day, she woke up at five-thirty and was out the door by seven to be at her office at seven-thirty sharp. Even during the trip, she was out of bed by seven. Since a young age, her parents had drilled into her that early risers accomplished more, and she’d never broken the habit.

  She sat up and stretched her muscles, realized she felt better than she had in weeks. For the first time since her father’s arrest, she’d gotten a much-needed restful night of sleep. Exhaustion played a large part, along with the high-quality mattress—which had been a pleasant surprise.

  However, she knew the conversation with Joel last night had also helped. He’d been understanding and supportive, and it helped to unleash her burdens to a virtual stranger. The girls were fabulous listeners, but Joel could listen objectively since he didn’t know her history.

  Springing into action, she threw her legs over the bed and dug her hygiene bag from the suitcase, along with a clean pair of clothes. She hopped in the shower, dressed, then went in search of her friends. She knocked on the doors of both rooms the others stayed in, but no one answered.

  Hmm. It was late. They wouldn’t have left her to go somewhere, would they have? Her gaze took in her surroundings that she hadn’t seen last night. Across the street, old cars were lined up outside of a general store. From the looks of them, they served as decorations and not usable vehicles. Several stores had false fronts and created scenes of times gone by. Some might consider it gaudy, but Cassidy found it absolutely charming.

  If she had time later, she’d love to stop in and explore the various shops. Ha. I’m sure I’ll have nothing but time today. She opened the office door and saw Lark, Rain, and Jessica sitting around a table. An open box of donuts lay in the middle, surrounded by coffee cups and a jug of orange juice.

  “Good morning, sleepyhead.” Rain took a bite of a glazed donut.

  “Morning. Where’s Bridget?”

  “She left an hour ago to ride along to get the SUV.” Jessica handed her a cup of coffee. “This is for you. There are sugar packets and creamer in the bag.”

  “Thanks.” She took the cup and added a single container of creamer. The donuts called her name. “Who picked all this up?”

  “Joel had them waiting for us.” Lark raised an inquisitive brow. “He said to make sure we save you a cream-filled one.”

  “Don’t give me that look.” Taking a donut, she shot Lark a warning scowl. “I asked him last night if there was any place to get some and happened to mention I wanted a cream-filled treat.”

  “We were there for all the conversations. Donuts were never mentioned.” Rain’s teasing smile shouted Gotcha.

  “I couldn’t sleep so I went to the pool for a swim and ran into him.” She shrugged her shoulders. “No big deal.”

  “He’s a nice guy.” Jessica poured orange juice into a clear plastic cup. “Not many people would go out of their way for strangers like he has.”

  Cassidy agreed, but she didn’t dare vocalize it. Her friends clearly had romance on the mind, and she wouldn’t give them a reason for any more fodder. Joel was a rare gem in this day—anyone could see that—but she’d be leaving as soon as they settled the vehicle situation. Even if she had an ounce of interest in romance, entertaining notions about Joel was frivolous.

  She set her coffee and donut on the table and pulled over a chair for herself. “Did Bridget get hold of the rental company?”

  “Yes. They feel horrible and are bending over backward to make it right. Bridget said they’ve waived half of the fee due to the inconvenience, along with emailing vouchers to several hotel chains to use along the rest of the trip.” Lark rolled her napkin into a ball and tossed it into the trash. “I had my hesitations about using a local company instead of a national one, but their customer service has proved exceptional.”

  “And talking to Joel this morning, he said a transmission can fail with no warning signs so it could have happened regardless of who we rented from.” Rain polished off her donut, then glanced out the window. “Here comes Bridget.”

  Cassidy shifted her gaze outside then quickly averted her eyes when she realized she also searched for Joel. “What are we doing about a vehicle in the meantime?”

  “The rental company was still working on that when Bridget left.” Lark nodded toward the door. “Maybe she’ll have an update.”

  Bridget walked into the lobby and office area and the door shut behind her. “Do you want the good news or bad news?”

  Everyone but Cassidy wanted the bad news first, so she agreed to hear it.

  “Randy thinks the SUV experienced a catastrophic failure and will require a rebuild, which will take two days minimum, not counting today.”

  Jessica groaned. “What’s the good news?”

  “If the problem is what he thinks, he can get the parts by this evening and have his best mechanic start first thing in the morning.” Bridget dragged a chair to join them. “The rental company also arranged a temporary replacement for us to be brought up from Flagstaff. It’s the closest place that had an available vehicle to comfortably fit us all.”

  “That’s great.” Jessica glanced around the group. “Does that mean we continue on and pick up ours on the way home, or what?”

  “That’s our choice.” Bridget set her phone on the table. “What do you all think?”

  Rain winked at Cassidy. “I vote we stick around here for a few days. It’s a neat town.”

  “I agree.” The mischief in Lark’s grin couldn’t be disguised.

  Jessica gave a pointed stare to Joel’s truck parked outside. “I also think we should stay. You never know what, or who, we might discover.”

  Cassidy willed a hole to open in the ground and swallow her. The only saving grace was that Joel sat in his truck, oblivious to the conversation inside. Her embarrassment couldn’t handle her friend’s blatant attempts at matchmaking. She opened her mouth to oppose them, but the words refused to leave her mouth.

  Could she secretly want to stay?

  The idea was ludicrous. They had a schedule to keep and lives to get back to. What life? She wished she could turn off that obnoxious voice in her head, but it had a good point. What did she have to return to? A luxury apartment in Foggy Bottom that would require a substantial dip into her savings to keep the lease?

  Was it worth returning to? Not really. She didn’t want to return to Washington, but what about Treasure Harbor? It wouldn’t be the same without her friends, and they’d all be moving to pursue new lives.

  The thought depressed her, and not even the long-awaited sugar-laden breakfast could appease her. Her blank future stared her boldly in the face, daring her to take a risk and paint a colorful new canvas. Only God knew what that canvas would come out as, but did she trust Him?

  “Let’s stay,” she said before she could change her mind. “Why rush when our goal was to see the country? We might never make it this away again, and I’d like to see the town. Maybe we could even attend part of the convention.”

/>   ***

  Á hand written out of order sign taunted Cassidy. It wasn’t so much the sign, as the fact her friends were up to something. She’d been on the phone when they’d knocked on her door and told her they were going next door to do laundry.

  That was a half hour ago, and they hadn’t returned to say anything about going elsewhere. She could only surmise they’d gone in search of a laundromat but obviously had reasons for not including her.

  And she was ninety-nine percent sure that reason related back to Joel.

  After she’d made the announcement to stay until the SUV was fixed, her friends had taken that, along with Joel’s donut treat, and ran with it. Each had decided that Cassidy’s turn for love had come and that Joel would turn out to be her soulmate.

  Funny, they didn’t care that she didn’t believe in soulmates. Never had. She also hadn’t been one of those girls who had planned their wedding from an early age. When the others had flipped through magazines they’d borrowed from their mothers and picked out the perfect color schemes—and the girlie celebrity magazines to pick out their husbands—she’d tuned out.

  On a scale of one to ten, she came in as a three on the romance scale, and that was only because she believed in true love, if not soulmates.

  She lugged her bag of dirty clothes back to the motel room and tried calling Bridget. No answer. Continuing down the line, she received the same response. Nothing. Not even to text messages. Suspicions confirmed, she decided to show them. She’d find out where the laundromat was and meet them there—presuming that’s where they were.

  And she’d do it without Joel’s help or contacting him. Her friends’ schemes irritated her, although she knew it came from a good place in their hearts. However, her father’s massive betrayal had left her sensitive to manipulation and schemes of any kind.

  She already regretted her impulsive decision earlier in the day to stay. Once she found the girls, she’d talk to them, explain that she didn’t want any matchmaking. Then she’d tell them how much she loved and appreciated them so there would be no hard feelings. They meant the world to her—she just didn’t want to be pushed into a romance, especially one that held no possibility of a future.

  After connecting to Joel’s internet, she searched the browser on her phone for a laundromat. Nothing popped up in the results, and she let out a low growl. Making a mental list of her options, letting the laundry go another day topped the list. Except I need clean clothes. We’d planned to wash them when we got to Camp Margo.

  Reluctantly, she trudged out of her room and cut to the back of the motel and crossed the path to Joel’s small house behind the property. She knocked on his door.

  When he answered the door, his face registered surprise to see her. “Everything okay with your room?”

  “Yes, and I’m sorry to bother you, but is there a laundromat in town?” I’m not paying attention to how good he looks in jeans and a white T-shirt. Really, I’m not.

  He shook his head. “Is the Desert Breeze full?”

  “It’s out of order.” She scowled, wondering where the girls had gone. “I was supposed to meet my friends there, but they’re nowhere to be found.”

  “I have a washer and dryer in the house you can use if you need.” He shoved a hand in his pocket. “They are apartment size, so you might have to do several loads, but you’re welcome to it.”

  “Thanks, but I couldn’t impose on you like that.”

  “It’s no problem. Who wants to wear dirty clothes?” His smile revealed perfect teeth. In the full light of day, he was even more attractive than last night.

  She lamented her thoughts and pushed them aside. Should she accept his offer? She did need clean clothes. “Where’s the closest place to buy a small pack of laundry detergent?”

  “You can use what I have back there unless you need the special dye-free kind.”

  “I use whatever works and is available.”

  “My kind of girl.” He winked, and her heart flipped in ways she wished it wouldn’t.

  “Are you sure you don’t mind?” She hated accepting help, especially for free. “You’ve been much too generous already.”

  “Just being neighborly.” His eyes looked behind her toward his motel. “If you absolutely feel like you have to repay somehow, maybe you wouldn’t mind giving me some tips on the motel. You said your dad owned one, right?”

  “He did.” On a much larger scale, but she didn’t mention that at the risk of offending him. “And I minored in hospitality.”

  “Would you mind letting me pick your brain?” He glanced at his watch. “I have to be somewhere in a few minutes, but Bridget mentioned you’ll be sticking around for a few days. Maybe if you’re free tomorrow?”’

  “Sure. As far as I know, we’re not doing much except relaxing and exploring the town.”

  He laughed, a deep masculine sound. “I love this town, but it’s not too big. It won’t take you long to see it all, but I would take your time and see all there is.”

  A thought occurred to her. “If you’re leaving soon, should I come back later with my laundry?”

  “My laundry room is on the back side of the house with its own entrance.” He pointed around the corner. “I’ll go unlock it, and come anytime you want. Use whatever you need, and when your friends return, they’re welcome to use it as well.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

  “No problem.” He pulled out his phone. “What’s your number? I’ll call you, and you can save my number so you can give me a ring if you have any questions.”

  She listed off the ten-digit number then felt the phone vibrating in her pocket several seconds later. She took it out and saved Joel’s number. “I’ll go grab my bag. If you’re gone when I get back, thanks again.”

  Walking back to her room, she couldn’t shake her smile. Against her better judgment, she looked forward to the time she’d get to spend with Joel tomorrow. His unassuming, generous attitude struck a chord deep in her heart.

  Maybe her friends were on to something after all.

  Chapter Six

  Hope leaked into Joel, but he tried not to get too excited. He’d met with a contractor who might be willing to repair the ceilings of the remaining rooms on credit. It wasn’t his preferred method, but there wasn’t much difference between that and taking out a business loan with the bank. It all depended on the inspection scheduled for next week. If the quote came in under a certain amount, the contractor would take on the project.

  The ceilings were his largest remaining expense, and he didn’t have the knowledge or skill to do them himself like he had with the painting and minor repairs. With the money he had left in savings, he could finish the motel with careful planning, while still holding enough back for emergencies.

  “If this is your will, Lord, please let it be, and if not, please give me direction on where to go next.” He continued praying the rest of the way home from Flagstaff.

  Until he reached the fifteen-minute mark, and then his concentration shifted to Cassidy. She’d unwittingly reached into him and captured his attention. He was glad she’d agreed to meet with him today for suggestions on the motel. Yes, he welcomed her advice, but that wasn’t his impetus for the invitation.

  He wanted to spend time with her, have a chance to see her smile. It was foolish, he knew that, but he couldn’t ignore that nudge. Even if he only had a few days to spend with her, he wouldn’t regret that time. Cassidy’s lack of pretense spoke to him, and her vulnerability regarding her father awakened his protective mode. They shared a connection that he couldn’t yet explain.

  Maybe the only reason for their intersection in life was to restore her faith in humanity. It didn’t take a genius to realize her father’s actions had obliterated her trust in people as a whole. From what she’d described, it sounded as though she’d dealt with a slew of betrayal from people she’d trusted, from her family, down to friends who had abandoned her in the aftermath. Thank goodness for the four friends she
had. He barely knew them but respected them all the same for standing by Cassidy’s side.

  He also respected Cassidy’s faith in God. Many people had lost theirs when confronted with trials, but she held onto hers with a steadfast determination.

  When he stopped to think about it, he was amazed how much he’d learned about her in the forty-some hours since they’d met. How much more would he learn before she left? He glanced at the clock on the dash. Once he got back into Seligman, he’d have a half hour to grab a bite to eat and get ready before meeting with Cassidy.

  Scores of people walked along the streets. It was odd to see so many people in his sleepy town, but he was glad for the boost it would bring the businesses. Too bad he hadn’t been able to get Route 66 Roadside Lodge up and running in time. The convention offered a prime opportunity for a grand opening event. What were the chances they’d return next year?

  It took several minutes longer than normal to reach his house, due to the sheer volume of people crossing the street. He parked in the rear and went inside. Digging through his cabinets, he found a can of chicken corn chowder. Even though it sounded good, he returned it to the shelf, deciding it was entirely too hot outside today for soup.

  A sandwich and chips it would be. He opened the fridge and grabbed the ham and cheese from the deli tray, along with a bottle of mustard and a jar of pickles. Reaching up, he grabbed the loaf of bread from the top of the fridge, then a bag of salt and vinegar chips from the cabinet.

  He made the sandwich and wolfed it down between bites of chips. He chased the meal with a tall glass of water before going to the bedroom to change. After shedding his business casual attire, he pulled on a pair of shorts and a clean T-shirt. Checked his watch—he had two minutes to walk to the office before he’d be late.