by Debby Mayne
And he’d known her long enough to start feeling the pangs he thought he’d never have again. They were odd sensations, those pangs. When he looked at Jill, tenderness overcame him, and he felt immensely protective. When she looked at him or when they talked, he cared about what she thought. And when they touched—whether on purpose or accidentally—an electrical sensation shot all the way through him, straight to his heart. Her vulnerability added to his attraction.
If Jill hadn’t been a Christian, he could have found the strength to continue avoiding social situations with her. She’d told him she was a believer and that she read the Bible, but he hadn’t been certain she was all that committed to her faith. When he saw her in church, though, he noticed the sincerity in her eyes and how she was completely wrapped up in what the pastor was saying. He wasn’t 100 percent sure, but at least it gave him some hope that her faith was real.
Then he did a mental slap to the forehead. Hope for what? A deeper-than-friends relationship? She’d made it perfectly clear she didn’t want any more responsibility than she already had. And his girls needed constant attention.
He’d just have to settle for being Jill’s friend. But that thought didn’t appeal to him.
The girls were all giggles when he picked them up. Apparently one of the puppet ministry leaders had done an impromptu show for the kids, and they loved it. They were exhausted, too, but since it was a little past nap time Ed decided to keep them up until after dinner so they’d go to bed early.
His plan worked, except here he was at seven thirty on a Sunday night, virtually alone. He had way too much time to think, so he flipped on the TV. Nothing there but mindless sitcoms and talking-head news shows. He found his Bible and started looking for something to calm him and keep his mind off Jill.
No matter what verse he turned to, something about Jill popped into his head. It seemed she’d taken over all his waking and most of his sleeping thoughts. The woman was tiny in person, but she loomed very large when she wasn’t present.
Finally, after giving in and accepting what was happening, Ed sat back and read the book of James. As long as he focused on the Word, he could find peace in almost any situation.
He had the first restful night in weeks. When he awoke to two energetic little girls jumping on his bed, he propped up on his elbows and grinned at them. “Whatcha want for breakfast?” He knew it would likely be something dripping in sticky, sweet syrup or something from a fast-food place.
“Waffles!” they both shouted.
“Then waffles it is,” he said as he sat up and slowly swung his legs to the side. “Go get dressed, and I’ll meet you in the kitchen in about fifteen minutes.”
Stacy arrived in the kitchen wearing her shorts backward. He smiled. Tracy had her shirt buttoned in the wrong holes, making the hem lopsided. He wouldn’t trade precious moments like these for anything.
The day started off great, and Ed felt as if nothing could go wrong. Mrs. Cooper arrived humming a hymn, and the girls both gave her a great big hug. Everyone was happy, the sun was shining, and Ed was raring to go. Since Jill’s shop was being fumigated and he couldn’t do anything there, he’d decided to use this time to run errands and finish some of the legwork for his new development. He was close to breaking ground.
But first he stopped off at the warehouse to make sure Jill was okay. She pulled into the parking lot at the same time. He took a long look at her to gauge her mood, and to his delight she was smiling.
“You were a hit with everyone at church yesterday,” Ed said.
“So it’s a popularity contest?” she teased.
“You know what I mean.” He could tell by her smile and how her voice lilted that she was just being playful and not sarcastic.
“I’m glad I finally went,” she admitted. “It’s nothing like how I remember church being. Things have really changed.”
Ed wondered if the only thing that had changed was her attitude, but he didn’t want to dampen her spirit or insult her. So he brought up a new subject.
“So—ready to get started in the new digs?” he asked.
She offered a quick nod as she walked comfortably around the makeshift shop, turning on lights and moving a few things around. “To be honest, I thought it would take several days to get everything the way I wanted it, but it’s almost as if I’ve been here forever.”
“That’s what happens when you have more than a dozen people working on it.”
“Are the people in your church always this helpful?” she asked as she slipped behind the counter.
“Most of the time,” he replied. “We have a nice group of believers. They take their commitment to their faith very seriously.”
“Yes, I can certainly see that.”
Ed studied her until he heard the bell he’d hung over the door jingling. A customer. He turned around and saw a whole group of people from the church.
“Hey, we wanted to be the first to shop in your new location,” Jennifer said as she led the pack inside. “We all saw something we wanted to buy, so here we are.”
Ed hung around for a few minutes until he realized he wasn’t needed. Then he told Jill he had some things to do. She told him she could handle the crowd, and he agreed.
Thank You, Lord, he mouthed as he slid into his truck.
❧
Jill sensed a change in Ed. He was as sure of himself as ever, but she caught him watching her as if he wasn’t sure about her.
Being honest with herself, she knew she’d undergone some monumental changes since meeting Ed. She’d learned to accept help from someone else without feeling as if she had to offer payment for every little thing. And she realized that staying away from church simply because of her own bad experience as a child was just plain ridiculous. She should have known better than to judge anyone else based on something that had happened with her father.
Jill had brought her Bible to work with her. Between waiting on customers, she read over the scripture verses the pastor had referred to in his sermon. She loved hearing him talk. He had a wonderful way of relating everything biblical to current Christian living. This was something she’d missed when she’d isolated herself from other believers.
Another customer came in, so Jill slid the Bible beneath the counter. She answered a bunch of questions; then the bell sounded at the door again. When she glanced up she was surprised to see Ed’s girls trailing behind their nanny.
She grinned. “Mrs. Cooper.” Jill took a step toward the woman, her hand extended, but she pulled back when it became evident the woman was frazzled.
“I have an emergency, and Ed’s not answering his cell phone,” the woman said. “My daughter’s in labor, and she’s having some complications.” She gestured toward the girls. “I’m not sure—”
Jill held up her hand. “Don’t worry about a thing, Mrs. Cooper. Leave the girls with me, and go do what you need to do.” She looked down at the twins. “We’ll be fine, won’t we, girls?”
Stacy and Tracy looked at each other, then back at her, nodding. “We like Jill,” Tracy said softly.
“We love Jill,” Stacy added.
Jill felt a fullness in her chest as an emotion she’d never experienced before welled inside her.
“If you’re sure. . .” Mrs. Cooper had already let go of the girls’ hands and taken a step toward the door. Jill could see how worried the woman was.
“I’m positive,” Jill assured her. “Now go be with your daughter. Call Ed later and let him know how everything is.” She waited until Mrs. Cooper had her hand on the door. “I’ll let others at the church know we need to pray for you and your daughter.”
After Mrs. Cooper left, Stacy jumped up and down, clapping her hands. “Can we be salesladies?” she asked.
Jill chuckled. “I doubt that’s legal with child labor laws.”
“Child what?” Stacy asked, her forehead scrunched in confusion.
“Never mind.” Jill gently guided the girls to the area behind her desk. “Let�
��s get the two of you set up back here. I think I might have some art supplies. You do like to make things, don’t you?”
Both girls nodded enthusiastically, so Jill grabbed a bunch of crayons and the pack of colored computer paper she’d purchased to make signs and plopped them down at a child-sized table. She pulled up a little chair and an old milk crate. “I only have one regular chair,” she apologized.
“I want that one,” Stacy said, pointing to the milk crate.
Tracy pouted. “It’s my turn to pick.”
“Wait,” Jill said, holding up her hands. “If you both want to sit on milk crates, I have more. Just give me a few seconds.”
She quickly had them set up with something to do for a little while—or at least until she could think of something else. She hoped Ed wouldn’t be gone long.
Unfortunately, whatever business he had took longer than the children’s attention span, so Jill had to think of something else. She was going through a mental list of what she used to enjoy at that age when Stacy had a brilliant idea.
“Let’s have a tea party!” she said. “You have some children’s teacups over there.” She pointed to the demitasse set Jill had just brought in.
Jill paused. She was pretty sure they were valuable. But what did it matter? They weren’t terribly expensive, and she could wash them and sell them later. Besides, the set included twelve. If one of them broke, she’d just have one less cup to sell. No big deal.
“Fine,” Jill said. “But I don’t have anything to put in them.”
Tracy tapped her chin with her tiny finger. Jill’s heart warmed as she watched the child ponder. Suddenly Tracy’s face lit up. “Daddy sometimes lets us have ginger ale for tea parties.”
Stacy placed her hands on her hips, and in her bossy manner blurted out, “And where we gonna get ginger ale, Miss Smarty Pants?”
It took everything Jill had not to crack up laughing. The bell over the door jingled again. Jill glanced up, hoping Ed had come to her rescue. But it wasn’t Ed. It was Jennifer from church.
“Hey, how’s my favorite antique shop doing?”
Jill had an idea. “If I give you a couple of dollars, would you mind running over to that convenience store across the street and picking up a bottle of ginger ale?”
“Be glad to,” Jennifer said as she ran out the door before Jill had a chance to give her the money.
While Jennifer was gone, Jill found two more milk crates for herself and Jennifer. If they were having a tea party, they might as well do it right. She carried the demitasse cups and saucers to the big sink Ed had in his workshop area, scrubbed the cups, then dried them with paper towels. Before Jennifer returned, she had four places set up at the tiny table.
Stacy and Tracy found a couple of dolls and asked if they could have tea with them. Jill didn’t hesitate to say that was fine, in spite of the fact that one of the dolls was worth hundreds of dollars.
“Just be careful,” Jill warned. “She’s fragile.”
“What’s ‘fragile’?” Stacy asked.
“It means you have to be very gentle with her. She breaks easily.”
Stacy nodded her understanding. “We’ll be very careful.”
“Is my doll fragile?” Tracy asked, holding up the one she’d selected.
“Yes,” Jill replied. Tracy’s doll wasn’t as valuable on the market, but to Tracy she probably was. “Y’all want to invite Jennifer to join us?”
Both girls immediately nodded.
Jill was glad when Jennifer finally returned, holding up a bag with ginger ale. “I got some cookies for the girls. I hope that’s okay.”
Jennifer’s eyes lit up when Stacy told her she was invited to a real live tea party. “Ooh, it’s been a long time since I’ve done this. Thanks! Where should I sit?”
The four of them were seated on milk crates, sipping ginger ale from demitasse cups, and telling silly animal jokes when Jill heard someone clearing his throat by the door. She quickly spun around to see Ed propped against the door, his arms folded, and one leg draped over the other, a grin playing on his lips.
Jill hopped up. “Did you need something?” She glanced over her shoulder at the tea party, then back at him. “Oh, Mrs. Cooper’s daughter is in labor, so I agreed to watch the twins. Would you like some ginger ale?”
“Don’t let me interrupt,” he replied as he pulled away from his position. He ambled a few feet toward his office area. “When you’re finished, send the girls back here.”
Nine
Seeing his daughters having the time of their lives with Jill and Jennifer caused a swell of emotion in Ed’s chest. He’d known Jennifer for years, but until now she’d never made an effort with his daughters. She always said she wasn’t “into kids.” Well, Jill had said essentially the same thing, and now look at them.
“Daddy, look!” Stacy said. He stopped and turned around to face her. “We have fragile dolls.”
Tracy nodded. “Yeah, we have to be very careful not to break them.”
Ed lifted one eyebrow and looked over toward Jill, who forced a straight face. Jennifer kept darting her glance back and forth between him and Jill.
“Would you like something to drink?” Jill repeated.
“We’re having ginger ale tea, Daddy,” Stacy explained.
Ed felt as if he’d walked in on a private party he hadn’t been invited to, and he wasn’t sure what to do. “Uh, no. I think I’ll go back to my office and get some work done. Jill, when you’re finished with your, uh, party, can we talk?”
Jennifer chose that moment to speak up. “If you two need to talk, I can watch the sales floor for a few minutes.”
“No—,” Jill said at the same time Ed spoke. “That would be great.”
Jennifer cleared her throat. “Just let me know, okay?”
Ed headed to his office, but he propped the door open so he could keep an eye on his daughters. The ginger ale tea party lasted another five minutes until the girls suddenly lost interest. He jumped up and grabbed Stacy as she darted past shelves of cookware and toward some ceramic figurines.
“Okay, squirt, why don’t you and your sister work on some puzzles I picked up while I was out?”
“Puzzles?” Stacy said, looking around.
“Back here.” He led them to the makeshift table he’d set up a long time ago for days when he had them.
Tracy walked up to Jill and tugged on her hand. “Is it okay with you if we play with puzzles?”
“Of course it’s okay. Why wouldn’t it be?”
With her hands out to her sides Tracy shrugged. “I don’t want you to think we don’t want to play with you anymore. We like you a lot.”
Ed watched as tears instantly formed in Jill’s eyes. She sniffled and turned slightly so he couldn’t see her expression. “I like you a lot, too, sweetie. But I have to go back to work, so it’s just fine if you want to play with puzzles.”
Warmth flooded Ed. He could feel himself falling for Jill, but the relationship between his daughters and Jill had caught him off guard. What shocked him the most, though, was how it affected him. He was torn between joy over Stacy and Tracy finding a female adult to look up to and concern that Jill would break their hearts. Breaking his heart would be bad enough, but he could handle it.
“C’mon, girls. Let’s let Jill do her work. You’ve taken up enough of her time.”
“Wait a minute,” Jill said in a tone of authority he’d never heard from her before. “They haven’t taken up my time. I had a tea party with them because I wanted to and not for any other reason.”
“I didn’t mean—”
“Contrary to what you might believe, Ed Mathis, I like your daughters. I might not have much experience with kids, but I’ll play tea party with Stacy and Tracy anytime they want me to.”
“Okay,” he said softly, holding up his hands and taking another step away. “Sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
Jill backed toward her showroom. He went into his office after he h
eard her chatting with Jennifer.
The girls were now busy with their puzzles, and Jill was safely in her space up front. This was the perfect time to do paperwork on his new development. The problem now was that he couldn’t concentrate. All he could think about was Jill and how she made him feel. Her warmth and kindness when she let down her guard. Her generosity with her customers and his daughters. . .and with him when he least expected it. He felt as if he were being pulled toward her by some irresistible force he couldn’t control. He kept hoping that would fade, but with each passing day she took up more and more of his waking thoughts.
His awareness of Jill’s every move rendered him incapable of doing his own work. He finally gave up and started doing some physical labor. He liked to saw and hammer when he needed a physical release of any pent-up emotions.
“Daddy, are you mad at us?” Stacy asked from the table.
He stopped sawing the piece of wood and turned to face the girls. “No, of course not. Why do you think I’m mad?”
Stacy looked at Tracy, who shrugged. “Your face is red, like when you get mad at us for jumping on the bed.”
Ed let out a breath and put down his saw. He crossed over to the girls and squatted beside them. “Girls, I’m not mad at anyone. It’s just that I’m thinking about things you wouldn’t understand.”
“Are you thinking about Jill?” Tracy asked.
He started to deny that he was, but the girls could see right through him. He nodded. “Sometimes, yes.”
The twins faced each other and exchanged knowing smiles. “We thought so.”
“Jill needs a lot of help from us, and I’m trying to figure out what to do next.”
“We can help, Daddy. We love Jill.”
“Thanks, kiddos. Now get back to your puzzles, and I’ll see if there’s anything Jill needs before we go home.”
