Love Inspired May 2015 #2

by Missy Tippens

  She sighed. Maybe she shouldn’t go look at the maple sideboard the woman who had inherited Bert’s house was selling at her yard sale. But Jared had seen the sideboard and said it looked like the dining room table and chairs from her grandmother that she had in her dining room. And he’d asked the woman to let her have first look. Of course, it might not be the same at all. Jared could be using the sale to get them together, as he had the dinner at his grandmother’s house. She’d thought about that and the possibility of running into her ex-in-laws at the sale and the scene that could cause. But she couldn’t base her every move on what Ken and Debbie might think.

  “Yeah.” Brendon stuck his head in her room. “Do you really need to put on makeup and stuff? It’s Saturday. I want to get to Ian’s so we can go fishing while the fish are still biting.”

  Ari looked at her watch again. “I don’t want Mrs. Hazard to leave without me and Hope.” Anne Hazard was taking the three girls to the waterslide park at Lake George, while her husband was taking Ian, Brendon and their younger son on a fishing cruise.

  “Guys! We could all stay home and clean the house.”

  That quieted them down. Becca checked her makeup in the mirror, twisted up her hair and fastened it with a barrette. Ari had a point. She usually didn’t wear make-up on weekends except for church. And she’d taken more time choosing which shorts and top to wear than she would have if she’d been going to the sale alone. But, she’d admit it to herself, if not to anyone else: she wanted to look nice for Jared. Even though, at her best, a small-town high school teacher like her wasn’t in the same league as the women he usually dated.

  She spun away from the mirror. Today wasn’t a date. They weren’t dating. He’d simply offered his truck to bring the sideboard to her house if she bought it. Although she’d believed what Jared had told her at his grandmother’s house, believed that’s how he felt at the moment, she had doubts about her holding his interest long. He’d lived such a different life. Came from a different family background.

  A cardinal chirped outside. That didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy his company while he was here. She just wouldn’t let her heart get involved.

  “He’s here,” Brendon called up to her.

  She smiled to herself and headed down the stairs. She didn’t want to keep them waiting.

  “Ready?” Jared asked as she stepped off the last stair. His warm appraisal of her said it had been worth her extra fussing.

  “Yes.” She picked her purse up from the end table. “A couple of us are very anxious to go places and do things with their friends.”

  “I know how they feel,” Jared said.

  They dropped the kids off at the Hazards’ and drove to the yard sale. Several cars lined the road in front of the house. Jared pulled behind the last one in line. While Becca was unfastening her seat belt, he walked around and opened the cab door for her.

  “Thanks.” She couldn’t remember the last time a man had opened a car door for her.

  He shut it behind her. “We aim to please.”

  And he did, with his working man’s tan, black T-shirt and well-worn jeans.

  “Jared,” a woman called across the yard.

  He waved a greeting. “That’s Nanci, the woman Bert left his house to.” He grabbed her hand and led her over to the porch, where Nanci was standing.

  Jared introduced Becca to Nanci, who took them inside to the dining room.

  “Here it is.” Nanci motioned to the sideboard.

  Becca ran her hand across the carved design on the front of the three drawers. “It’s beautiful, and a perfect match to my dining room set.”

  Nanci laughed. “Glad it matches something. As you can see, it doesn’t match anything in this room, or anywhere else in the house, for that matter. In fact, I don’t think any three items in the house match.”

  Becca looked around the room and saw what she meant. Only three of the eight chairs around the dining table matched, and the china cabinet and small phone table were completely different from any of the other pieces.

  “Bert was a collector,” Jared said.

  “You’ve got that right,” Nanci said. “You should see the stuff out in the old horse barn. Tools, motors, who knows what else. A man’s bargain paradise.”

  Jared’s eyes lit. “Mind if I go look?”

  “By all means,” Nanci said.

  Jared looked at Becca.

  “Go ahead,” she said. “I’ll look around until you come back.”

  He was gone almost before she’d finished. Becca walked around the rest of the house, checking out what else Nanci had tagged for sale before returning to the dining room and the sideboard.

  “How much?” Becca asked Nanci, testing the sideboard’s three drawers and the cabinet doors.

  Nanci quoted a price far below what Becca knew the value was. “That’s all?” Becca asked breaking every buyer’s cardinal rule.

  The woman glanced in the direction Jared had taken out of the house and shifted her weight from foot to foot. “Yes. I want to get rid of most of Bert’s things so I have room for my own.”

  Becca touched the carved design again. “Did Jared pay you the difference between the real value of the sideboard and the price you gave me?” Her breath hitched. He didn’t need to use his money to impress her.

  “No.” Nanci looked back and forth over her shoulders. “He tried to, but I told him that was a dumb idea and that if I did and you found out, he’d be in big trouble.”

  “You’ve got that right. So, how much do you want?”

  Nanci quoted the same price. “Don’t worry. I’m so thrilled Bert left me this place, I don’t mind sharing my blessing. Besides, I’ll make enough off the rest of the sale, probably a killing on what your man alone comes back with from the barn.”

  “He’s not my man. He’s...” What was Jared? “We’re friends.”

  Nanci smiled. “So you’re taking the sideboard?”

  Becca considered the cost again. She’d taken enough money out of her school-tax savings account to cover it. And the last time she and her mother had talked, Mom had asked her what she wanted for her birthday. She and Dad would gladly give her what Nanci was charging for the sideboard.

  “Sure she is. She loves it,” Jared said from the doorway. He grinned at her. “I could tell by the way you kept touching it.”

  He was right. And she rarely did anything for herself. Becca pulled out her wallet and paid for the piece before her responsible, self-sufficient side took control again.

  Jared nodded. “I’ll settle up with Nanci for the stuff I want from the barn and find someone to help me carry it out to the truck.”

  He spread the sale tags out on the sideboard for Nanci. She totaled them on a hand calculator, showing him the result.

  Becca watched wide-eyed as he peeled off at least ten one hundred–dollar bills.

  “Keep the change,” he said.

  “Thanks.”

  Becca’s eyes locked with Nanci’s. “It’s ten dollars,” Nanci mouthed.

  “What was that?” Jared asked when they got outside.

  “Girl stuff.” Becca pushed a stray strand of hair back into her barrette.

  His expression clearly said he wasn’t buying her answer, but he didn’t press her for an explanation. He lifted his hand to shield the sun from his eyes. “I see a willing body to help me move your sideboard.”

  Becca followed him as he strode across the lawn to a group of young men.

  Jared slapped one of them on the back. “Ah, just the man I was looking for.”

  Toby Schuyler turned around, giving Becca a glimpse of the two guys the teen was with. She recognized them as students she’d had several years ago, and not people Toby’s mother would be happy to see him hanging with.

  “Jared. I
thought we were on for this afternoon, not this morning. Fixing the truck.” Toby sounded like he added the last sentence for the other guys. “We were looking at the tools and stuff for sale.”

  “We are on for this afternoon,” Jared said.

  Becca watched Jared size up the other guys. They both dropped their heads at his scrutiny. More likely they were casing the barn to come back later after the sale for anything that was left.

  “Later, Tobe,” one of them said, and they slunk away.

  “I need you to help me carry a piece of furniture to my truck for Ms. Norton.”

  Toby blinked as if he’d just noticed her. “Hi, Ms. Norton. Sure.” His gaze shot to his friends getting in a car and roaring off.

  “The sideboard is in the house,” Jared said.

  Becca directed the guys and the sideboard out to the truck. They lifted it into the back. Jared had bought a lot of other stuff. Things he’d use or nostalgic remembrances? Becca was discovering he had a softer side he wasn’t aware of.

  “You ready to work?” Jared asked Toby.

  “Got nothing else to do.”

  “Good. We’ll swing by Ms. Norton’s house first to drop her off and unload the sideboard and then head over to the parsonage to work on your truck. Connor’s letting us use half of the garage as our work space,” Jared said for her benefit.

  Becca bit back a smile at the grimace Toby made at Jared’s explanation. Jared had a talent for getting in the heads of kids. The teen would have a tough time sneaking out with the vehicle if it was in the parsonage garage.

  Half an hour later, Becca was standing in her dining room admiring the sideboard and how well it went with the rest of her dining room set. Whether intentionally or not, Jared had given her an out by planning to work on the truck with Toby. She hadn’t had to come up with a good reason they couldn’t spend the afternoon together. She should have been thankful. So why was she peeved at him?

  Chapter Twelve

  She couldn’t believe the Nortons would do this to her. Becca held the letter from Family Court in her shaking hand, glad, for once, that the kids were at Matt’s. They were taking her to court. And here she’d been foolish enough to think she had things under control with him and his parents. Apparently, it didn’t matter that she’d done almost everything they’d asked concerning the kids, including hiding her feelings for Jared. Who did they think they were?

  Becca collapsed on the couch. Better question. Who was she to allow them to do this to her? Not the parent she was trying to be. Ari’s sad face when she’d asked last night if she had to go to her father’s again wouldn’t leave her head.

  Matt had called Wednesday night, saying he “needed” the kids this weekend. Evidently, his boss had invited him and his family to his summer home on the shore, and Matt thought it would look bad if he didn’t have the kids. She’d felt she had to say yes. He was supposed to have had them last weekend when she went to the estate sale but hadn’t taken them. And now he was suing her for custody.

  She kicked off her flip-flops and pulled on her athletic shoes. She had to get out of the house or she’d explode.

  Picking up speed across the meadow, she ran until her lungs burned. At the sound of an engine, she slowed her pace until she could stop. Bending over, she rested her hands on her thighs and slowed her breathing. When she’d caught her breath, she straightened and looked out over the meadow toward her house. Jared was speeding around the perimeter of his property. At least she thought it was Jared. But he wasn’t riding his green street bike. She watched the rider circle around toward the road. He turned and roared down the hill, flying over the gully. Her breath caught until he landed perfectly on the other side. The way the rider melded with his vehicle, it had to be Jared.

  He curved around again in a tight circle, seemingly oblivious to her and everything else and started weaving a figure eight. As he completed his second pass, he raised his hand in a wave, grabbed hold of the hand grip again and gunned the engine. Watching him barrel toward her, she relived her ride home with him on the bike, the exhilaration, the feeling of power and freedom. Jared finished with a fifty-foot wheelie that ended a few feet to her left. He tore off his helmet and grinned.

  “Show-off.”

  “It’s what I’ve spent years getting paid to do.”

  “And you loved it.”

  He turned sheepish. “Yeah, I did.” He swung off the bike and laid it down. “No kickstands on racers,” he explained.

  “Are you going to miss it badly?”

  He shrugged. “I can do exhibitions to scratch the itch.”

  “Like the race last week? Brendon said you won.”

  “Exactly.” He grinned again. “But I don’t need the validation of cheering crowds and winning anymore. I haven’t in a while. And once the track’s built, I’ll be racing with the kids. I think I’ll get a lot more satisfaction from that. If I need more excitement, I can come over and race for myself whenever the track isn’t in use. One of the perks of being the owner.”

  Jared spoke as if the racing school and track were a done deal. Confidence spurred by his ride, or did he know something she and the Zoning Board didn’t know yet?

  “I know the school is an off subject between us, and I’m not trying to sway your vote.” He ran his hand over his already-tousled hair. “But I have some information from GreenSpaces that might interest you. Anne’s sent it to Tom.”

  Becca sucked in a breath and released it slowly. “I’d like to hear it.” Especially if it will help me vote in good conscience for the track and against the Sheriff.

  “The DOT came through with its report. Its engineers have recommended a way of rerouting traffic to bypass Conifer Road altogether and lessen the potential traffic on Route 9.”

  “No roundabout?” she asked.

  “No roundabout. And I’m working with the Girl Scout Council to donate some of my property to make a bigger buffer between the track property and the camp.”

  “That’s great. It resolves two of your opposition’s major points of contention, the reasonable opposition, that is.” Excitement for Jared bubbled up inside her. Without thinking, she threw her arms around his neck.

  He dropped his hands to her waist and tilted his head. “I know I’m not supposed to do this.” He lowered his lips to hers.

  “No, you’re not.” She accepted his kiss, leaning into the solid wall of his chest. But anything that felt this right couldn’t be all wrong.

  Too soon, he lifted his head, bringing her back to reality. He gazed down at her with a softness in his eyes that contrasted sharply with the angular features of his face and masculine stubble of a beard that shadowed his chin. A softness that empowered her and made her believe that by relying on God’s direction and with Jared’s strength supporting her emotionally, she could stand up to anything Matt and his parents could throw at her.

  * * *

  She was so beautiful, with her dark hair gleaming in the sun and a hint of a blush on her cheeks. The untouchable Becca Morgan Norton in his arms.

  He swallowed the lump in his throat. “I’ve wanted to do that again.”

  “Me, too,” she said, her voice as wispy as the summer breeze passing over the meadow.

  Her brown eyes misted, dulling the euphoria that had filled him when she hadn’t stopped his kiss.

  “But it doesn’t change things,” she said.

  He lifted his finger and wiped the tear that ran down her cheek. Another followed it. Nice work, Donnelly. He couldn’t leave well enough alone. “What’s wrong?”

  “Everything.” She buried her face in his chest.

  He hesitantly smoothed his hand over her hair. He’d thought things were looking up for him, for both of them.

  She stepped away and rubbed her palms over her cheeks. “It’s not you, this.” She
dropped her hands in an open-armed gesture. “Us.” She crossed her hands on her chest and took a deep breath. “Matt’s suing for custody of Ari and Brendon and permission to move them to Florida. My mind is such a jumble. One minute I think I can handle him and his parents, that I have everything under control. The next...”

  Jared bit back a word he shouldn’t say. “After the way the Sheriff and his wife treat you and all of the hoops you’ve jumped through for them and Matt, he’s suing you for custody? On what grounds? Your kids couldn’t ask for a better mother.”

  She gave him a watery smile. “Thanks. As the saying goes, you can sue anyone for anything. It doesn’t mean you’re going to win.”

  “I’m not part of this, am I?” He had to ask.

  “No, not specifically.” She rushed on before he could ask her to clarify that. “Matt and his attorney are contending that Matt and Crystal have a more stable two-parent household. Crystal doesn’t work outside the home. He makes a comfortable living.”

  “What century are they coming from? If that’s their tack, how do they justify him not sharing that comfortable living more equally with you for the kids? Gram told me about your need to work this summer. I can’t imagine it’s for things for you.”

  Becca raised her hand to halt him. “Matt also accuses me of using my nonwork time for socializing rather than spending time with Brendon and Ari, of dumping them with Ken and Debbie. That’s ironic considering Brendon and Ari complain that Matt isn’t home or is entertaining clients at the house half of the time when they’re there and that Crystal constantly tells them to go play or watch TV in their rooms.”

  Jared clenched his hands into tight fists. It was an unchristian thought, but he’d like to break something or someone.

  “I thought Debbie and Ken liked to watch the kids for me. They always asked for Matt’s weekends before Matt started using his visitation rights this summer.” She threw up her hands. “And where do I socialize? I sometimes go to the once-a-month meeting of the Singles Group at church. Last year I chaired the Career Day at school. That required me to attend a few evening meetings. And I’ve been to two Zoning Board meetings.” She laughed a harsh laugh. “After the Sheriff suggested I fill the vacancy on the board.”