by Debby Mayne
The next two days passed by slowly. Each night the girls talked about all the things they wanted to show Jill when she came over. Ed imagined himself being invisible while Jill continued to charm his daughters. The amazing thing was, it didn’t sound so bad. He even found himself smiling a time or two.
On Wednesday night Jill arrived at the door with a bottle of soda and a box of cookies. Ed made a quick decision before the girls saw her.
“Either the soda or the cookies. Not both.”
“Huh?” Jill asked.
“Too much sugar for a couple of little girls to consume at this time of day.”
She sighed as she reached over and set the soda down on the side of his porch. “Okay, you’re the boss.”
Several times that night Ed had to be firm with the girls, including when they needed to take their baths. As he left the room to go and run their bathwater, he felt Jill’s studious gaze on him.
After their baths the girls ran into the living room to give Jill a big hug and kiss good night.
“Thank you for dinner, Ed,” she said, standing. She leaned over and placed her hands on the girls’ shoulders. “And I loved having dinner with you two.”
Tracy chose that moment to look up at Jill. “Read us a bedtime story, Jill.”
Eleven
How could Jill say no to such a sweet little cherub? She glanced at Ed, who nodded, before looking back down at Tracy. “Sure, sweetie. What book do you want me to read?”
“C’mon—I’ll show you all our books.”
Jill let the girls pull her toward their room where she noticed the perfect neatness of the house along the way. Was there anything Ed didn’t organize? She shuddered as memories of her father flashed through her mind. Then she shook off the thoughts as she remembered Ed was nothing like her father. If her father had a fraction of Ed’s good qualities, like his gentle spirit and ability to listen, his other traits wouldn’t have seemed so bad.
She walked into the girls’ bedroom and looked around at how organized it was. Even the books were in order, according to author’s last name. “We like this one,” Tracy said as she pulled a thick children’s Bible storybook from the shelf.
Jill chuckled nervously. “I don’t have time to read that whole thing tonight.”
The girls giggled. “Not the whole book, silly. Just one story.”
“Oh,” Jill said, smiling. “That would be just fine, then.”
It took them at least ten minutes and a stern face from Ed for them to pick a story for her to read. After the story, they managed to get a glass of water each from their dad. Then they folded their little hands under their chins and took turns saying their prayers. Jill left a piece of her heart in the girls’ room as she stood and walked out.
“Thanks,” Ed said as they reached the front door. “That meant a lot to the girls.”
Jill nodded. “It meant a lot to me, too.”
“Look, Jill—there’s something we need to talk about.” Ed’s voice cracked on his last couple of words.
“What?”
“The girls really love you, but we need to be careful not to let them get too attached to you.”
Jill suddenly felt sick to her stomach. “What are you saying, Ed?”
His jaw tightened, and a serious look spread over his face. He shook his head. “The girls are starting to want more from you than just friendship.”
“And what do you want, Ed?”
“I’m not sure it matters what I want. You know how difficult things have been for the girls.”
“And for you.”
He looked at her then nodded. “Yes, and for me, too. I can’t deny I’m attracted to you. . . .” Her heart hammered as he paused and looked at her. “But we’re so different.”
She shrugged and tried to pretend she wasn’t fazed. “Maybe we’re not as different as you think.” Now she was the one wanting more from him, but he obviously wasn’t ready.
“Come on, Jill—admit that my girls can be a handful.”
She sighed as she tried to find a tactful way to respond. “I know it must be hard.”
They gazed into each other’s eyes for several seconds before he shook his head. “We need to be careful with our relationship, or the girls will be in too deep emotionally. I don’t want to destroy their spirits.”
Jill looked down and swallowed deeply. “I understand.”
“You’re always welcome to come to church with us.”
“Good night, Ed,” she whispered, backing toward the door. “And thank you for everything.”
He smiled. “Thanks for coming. The girls. . .and I. . .enjoyed having you.”
Jill darted out the door and had to force herself to walk calmly to her car. She managed to make it home before her wobbly knees gave out on her. As she sank down into the chair, she admonished herself for letting down her guard and allowing herself to fall so deeply in love with Ed. . .and his girls.
While she was getting ready for bed, she thought about the parallels between her father and Ed, as well as the differences. Everything Ed said or did had a reason, even if she didn’t agree with it. And he didn’t seem to mind sharing that reason with his girls. They didn’t always accept it at first, but they seemed to come around without holding a grudge.
Jill knew her grudges ran deep, and this was wrong. Her father had never given her any reasons for some of his random punishment disguised as discipline, but Ed was always clear with his daughters. With her father it was always “his way or the highway”—no questions allowed.
Granted, Ed still needed to lighten up a little. And she sensed the twins needed a little less regimen in their lives by the way their eyes lit up when they saw her. Or maybe they just liked being with her. They were thrilled to explore her shop and rummage through boxes of miscellaneous stuff. It wasn’t what was in the box that excited them. It was more the unknown. The mystery. The surprise. Something Ed seemed to avoid. But he was getting better. Now he needed to allow himself to let go in a relationship with her.
With a deep sigh, Jill realized she couldn’t change anything. She wanted him to love her, but she couldn’t force it. She also couldn’t change the fact that he was a regimented neatnik and she was a loosey-goosey slob who was happy with messy hair and her things in disarray.
Lord, thank You for making things clear to me. I don’t understand all of it yet, but with Your help I’m working on it.
Jill lay in bed mulling over everything. She had no doubt Ed loved his daughters with all his heart. And he clearly hadn’t broken their spirits based on their unadulterated excitement over the smallest things.
The next several days felt strange. Ed stopped by the warehouse, but he didn’t spend much time there. Sometimes the girls were with him, and other times they weren’t.
The following Sunday Jill went to church alone and sat with Jennifer. She saw Ed briefly, but after the services were over he’d disappeared. She went home and frantically cleaned the house, and then she fell asleep exhausted.
Early the next morning she was awakened by the phone ringing. She stumbled out of bed to answer it.
“Hey, this is Jennifer. Sorry I woke you, but I wanted to catch you before you left for the day.”
“That’s okay,” Jill mumbled. “I needed to get up anyway. What’s up?”
“Ed said he’s waiting for a call from Ray. He thinks you’ll be moving back to your place this weekend, so I wanted to find out when you wanted to get started.”
Hmm. This was the first Jill had heard of it. “Um, I’m not sure,” she said. “Can I get back to you on that?”
“I was hoping you’d know, but that’s okay. I’m leaving town for a few days and won’t be back until late Thursday.” She paused. “Tell you what. Why don’t you call and leave a message on my voice mail? I would tell you to call my cell phone, but I’m not sure I’ll get service where I’m going.”
“Okay, I’ll do that,” Jill replied.
“When I get back I’ll show you so
me pictures. Brian and I are going on a very short cruise that’s long overdue. We fly out of Atlanta tomorrow. We never had a honeymoon, unless you consider a day at Six Flags and a late dinner at the Big Chicken in Marietta romantic.”
Jill laughed. “It sounds good, but I know what you mean about needing to get away for a real honeymoon.”
“That’s why we decided on a cruise. All the temptations from home won’t be there.”
“A cruise sounds nice,” Jill said, holding back any feelings of jealousy. “Have fun.”
“Trust me,” Jennifer said with a lilt in her voice, “we will. I’ve heard there’s so much to do on those ships that we’ll need a vacation when we get back.”
Jill set the phone down and lowered herself into the closest chair. A cruise. How nice. And how absolutely wonderful Jennifer can spend the rest of her life with such a fantastic Christian man.
Jill was truly happy for her friend but sad she’d probably never find a man with whom she could share her own life.
Ed wasn’t around all day. She stayed busy waiting on customers. The next day was more of the same.
The Bible study group had decided to meet on Tuesday. She was hesitant about going. But after she got home and listened to a couple of messages from her new church friends, she figured she might as well go. At least they cared enough to call. Besides, her faith was growing in importance in her life.
The first thing people asked was, “How’s Ed?” or “Where is Ed?” She was as polite as she could be when she told them she had no idea. Just as politely they nodded, then changed the subject and asked how business was. She could only guess what they were thinking.
During the fellowship time before the study, she noticed people chatting in whispers until Ed arrived. They turned and looked at him, then grew quiet. He didn’t seem to notice.
The Bible study was short, but Jill was glad she’d gone. It gave her something to think about until the next time the group met.
Before leaving, Jonathan, the study leader, announced they were meeting at the Peachtree Grill on Friday night. He said he’d get there early to reserve a table and wanted to know how many could come. Jill managed to glance in Ed’s direction and caught him looking at her. He smiled but didn’t attempt to come over and talk to her. She felt a knot forming in her stomach. She wished things were different.
Later that night, as she was getting ready for bed, the phone rang. It was Jonathan.
“Hey, Jill, you didn’t put your name down for Friday night. You’re going, aren’t you?”
“I’m not sure. Friday and Saturday are both big days at the shop, and. . .”
When she didn’t finish her sentence, Jonathan helped her out. “It won’t be a late night, I promise. We’re eating at seven, and we should be out of there by nine. Why don’t you go? I think you’d enjoy it.”
What could she say? “I’m sure I would. Okay, put me down.”
“Great! See you then.”
Jill wondered if Ed would be there and what she’d say if he was. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized it didn’t matter. Her friendship with Ed wouldn’t change. . .or at least it shouldn’t.
The next morning Ed was in his office behind the shop when she arrived. He lifted his hand and waved but continued working. Jill felt disconcerted, but she went through all the motions of opening her shop.
❧
Ed wanted more than anything to approach Jill and ask how she was doing. If he did, he knew he would be drawn into the depths of her gorgeous, warm brown eyes. Her smile brightened his day and made him want to follow her around the shop. And when he was close enough, it took every ounce of self-restraint not to reach out and tuck her hair behind her ear. None of the physical attraction would have affected him so deeply if it hadn’t been for his falling in love with who she was as a person. Yes, he finally admitted to himself that he was in love with Jill—in spite of her quirky ways. Or perhaps because of them—he wasn’t sure. Whatever the case, he needed to take a step back because his daughters needed stability, and he didn’t want to take any chances.
The girls had been asking about Jill, and he’d managed to change the subject by being vague. He told them she was busy with her shop and that he’d bring them to see her whenever things lightened up.
He finished filling in the paperwork for the next step of his development, but he felt fidgety. He did what he usually did when he felt this way—he went out to his shop, grabbed some scrap wood, and started working with it. He decided to build the girls a dollhouse; they’d been asking for one, and this would be the perfect time to do it.
As he sawed, he thought about the phone call he’d received the night before. Jonathan wanted him to go to the dinner party on Friday night. Ed rarely went to those things, but he gave in. He thought he might get to see Jill. He knew that probably wasn’t good for him, but he missed her. For the past couple of days he’d been avoiding her until he couldn’t stand it anymore.
He was cutting the last of the wood to build the sides of the dollhouse when the phone in his office rang. It was Ray, the exterminator.
“Good news,” Ray said. “We finished everything. The tent comes off tomorrow as planned.”
“That’s really good news,” Ed said with a heavy heart. “Thanks. I’ll tell Jill.”
“I’ll call her if you want me to.”
“No.” Ed glanced up in time to see Jill coming from behind her counter to help a customer who’d just walked in. “She’s in her shop right now. After she finishes with this customer, I’ll let her know.”
Ed thought that was the end of the conversation, but Ray apparently thought otherwise. “I know you’re not asking for advice, Ed, but I’m gonna give it to you anyway. This girl is special. You need to hang on to her.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ray.” Ed shifted his weight to the other foot.
Ray chuckled. “Oh, I think you know, buddy. She’s been coming to church regularly, and from what I can tell she loves the Lord. She’s a sweet woman, and you show all the signs of being smitten. That’s as good a start as any of us get.”
Ed swallowed hard. “Thanks for the advice, Ray. I’ll think about it.”
After Jill was finished with her customer, Ed approached her. “Ray just called. The extermination is finished.” He tried to keep his voice on an even keel, but he knew it was shaky. The mere thought of not having an excuse to see Jill every day depressed him.
Jill glanced down then looked at him. “Good. Thanks. I’ll see about moving back.”
“I’ll call everyone to help,” Ed said. “We’ll get most of it done this weekend.”
Jill started to say something, but another group of customers walked in. “We can talk about it later,” she said as she edged toward her customers.
Later never came. The shop stayed busy for the remainder of the day, and Ed had errands to run. Not only was Jill about to move back to her own place, he was very close to starting his new development, meaning he’d hardly have time to see her.
As always, the girls greeted him the minute he walked in the door. Emma came around the corner from the kitchen, grinning. “How’s Jill?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Fine, I guess. Oh, by the way, we’re moving her back into her shop this weekend. Would you mind calling a few people to let them know?”
“Can we help, Daddy?” Stacy asked.
Ed turned around to see his little girls staring up at him with hands clasped beneath their chins. His heart twitched. “Of course you can, but you have to do exactly what I tell you to do.”
They jumped up and down, squealing with delight. Ed chuckled and turned to Emma.
“They’ll have a good time helping,” Emma said, “but I’ll be there, just in case you need me to help out with them.”
Emma truly was a blessing. Ever since she and George had arrived, the entire church experience was not only a great place to be fed spiritually, but it had also become a true community. Their
giving nature had filtered down to the congregation, and everyone had started pitching in to serve.
“Another thing, Ed. . . ,” Emma continued. “If you need someone to watch the girls Friday night, I’m available.”
Ed couldn’t help but smile. “You’re an angel, Emma.”
“No, I’m just a very good friend who cares about you. I want you to get out more and have a good time. You work hard.” She moved toward the door. “What time do you want me here?”
They made arrangements; then she left. The girls were still excited, but they’d calmed down enough for dinner, which Emma had started cooking.
“This is the best b’sketti I ever had,” Tracy said as she twisted her fork around a strand of noodles. “Jill would like it, too.”
“I’m sure she would.”
Ed needed to find another measure for both his daughters and himself. They couldn’t keep thinking about everything in relation to what Jill would like.
After the girls ate, he did his regular evening routine with them, running their bathwater and reading a story once they were in their pajamas. The girls were being too well-behaved, though, which left him no doubt they were up to something.
The rest of Ed’s week was extremely busy, organizing Jill’s move, and then finishing the paperwork on his new development. He wanted to tell Jill about it, but her shop was so crowded all the time that he didn’t have much of a chance. It was certainly obvious she’d hit on something that had taken off.
He still felt out of sorts. Everything on the surface of his life looked excellent. He had two very happy, healthy daughters. He loved everything about his church, and his faith in the Lord was growing. And Jill was doing well, so he didn’t have to worry about her anymore. Nevertheless, something was bothering him.
By Friday afternoon Ed was ready for a little rest. Dinner with the church group would be the perfect ending to his productive week.
Jennifer called his cell phone as he was about to leave the warehouse. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with Jill,” she said. “Is she there?”
Ed leaned over and saw that the lights in the shop were off. “Doesn’t look like it.”
