Light the Fire

by Mary Manners

  “Me, either.” She watched Cody stumble then quickly regain his footing. He placed his hands on his knees and leaned forward to catch his breath. Beads of sweat dripped from his hair to splatter the scuffed hardwood floor. “He’s just a friend of a friend. I don’t even know him, really.”

  “Then why’d he wave at you?”

  “I think he’s delirious from that knock on his head.”

  “Yeah, Jordan did nail him pretty hard.” Erin jostled her backpack straps. “He’s cute. You should go talk to him.”

  “Not now.” Rena kept walking. “I’m taking you to your car. I want to tell your mom what a great job you’re doing with your school work.”

  The smile left Erin’s face. “Why bother? She probably won’t have time to listen.”

  Rena frowned. Erin’s parents were recently divorced, and her attorney mother worked a grueling schedule that provided very little personal time for Erin. In spite of this, the girl strived to please her mother, and it broke Rena’s heart to watch.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll make it short and sweet.”

  When she returned from the parking lot a few minutes later, Cody slouched against the center’s entrance door. She frowned and glanced from side to side. There was no way to reenter the crowded lobby without passing by him. And to make matters worse, he held the door open for her. Why did he have such impeccable manners as well as gentleness and good looks? She didn’t want to like anything about him, including the waves of dark hair that tousled over his kind eyes—or the strong hands she sensed were gentle and sure. She reminded herself once again that men were off limits. She’d had her fill in New York, with Carl. The hurt was still so strong it was palpable.

  He flashed a grin. “Hi, Rena-I-don’t-know-your-last-name. It’s good to see you.”

  She didn’t break stride. “What, no slobbering sidekick today?”

  “Nah. Sammy’s on guard duty at the castle.” His tennis shoes slapped the floor as he followed her into the lobby.

  “Hmpff.” She fought back a smile as her stomach rumbled. She’d forgotten to pack a snack again, and had rushed right over from her job at the library. Being Director of a public library may not seem too demanding, but it sure kept her on her toes. She pressed a hand to her belly and hoped he hadn’t heard the gurgling. “What a coincidence I’ve never seen you here...until today.”

  “Not really.” He leaned against the snack machine. “Last week Kyle talked me into organizing pick-up basketball games with the teen boys. It keeps them in shape and out of trouble...me, too.”

  Rena tried not to notice, yet her gaze was drawn to washboard abs peeking through a sweat-soaked T-shirt. “Um...yeah.”

  He massaged his forehead and grinned wryly. “Today I’m teaching them how to use their heads.”

  Laughter erupted. “I saw the shot. You’re going to have a bruise. It’s already turning purple.”

  “Ah, war wounds. They come with the territory.” His skin glistened with a healthy sheen of sweat as his breathing returned to normal. “Nothing I won’t recover from…eventually.”

  “That’s dedication.”

  “All in a day’s work.” Cody swiped matted hair from his forehead. “So what do you do here?”

  Rena glanced up through an expanse of glass to the administrative offices on the second floor where Kyle sorted files with Kelsie’s help.

  “Whatever’s needed.” How could she explain the way she listened to kids, lent a sympathetic ear to their problems, offered guidance when warranted? “Kyle asked me to tutor a group of girls two afternoons a week.”

  “He’s good at that—persuasion. He could talk a cat into taking a bubble bath. I don’t know how he finds the time, but he’s got big plans for an expansion here.”

  “Well, I’d have to agree with that. Anyone can see additional room is sorely needed. The walls are bursting at the seams. The only place my girls have to study is in this noisy lobby or on the gym bleachers with basketballs sailing toward us like oversized grenades. The kids have a difficult time working through all the distractions. And the metal bleachers are…um…uncomfortable.

  Especially when my hip has a bruise the size of a Georgia peach, thanks to Sammy.

  Cody trailed her as she started down the hallway to the gym.

  “Are you saying I shouldn’t schedule pick-up games while you’re trying to tutor?”

  She turned back to face him. “That’s not what I said.”

  “You insinuated it, though.” He leaned against the wall and wiped sweat from his face with the hem of his T-shirt. “Basketball is just as important to these kids as tutoring, you know.”

  “Sure it is. And a car can run on corn syrup instead of gasoline.” Rena lifted her chin in a challenge. “It won’t get them passing grades in school.”

  “Better than that, it might keep them in school.”

  “Huh!” She spun on her heel, turning her back to him. “Tell that to the girls who are trying to write an English composition while getting pummeled by basketballs.”

  “I will, right after the boys shower up from their afternoon in the gym instead of hanging out on the street, where they’re sure to find trouble.”

  Rena drew a deep breath and clenched her hands at her sides. Her words fired like bullets. “Just keep the balls on the court, OK?”

  “No problem.”

  Rena picked up the pace and slammed through the double doors of the gym to retrieve her duffel bag. Cody stayed on her heels like a Golden Retriever.

  “So, you moved here from New York a few months ago?” His voice had an edge to it, a challenge.

  She turned to ice inside. The last thing she wanted was a lot of questions about why she was here. The burden of buried memories stoked a furnace of frustration. She spun to face Cody and they nearly collided. “How did you know?”

  “What’s the big deal? You’re not some kind of spy, are you? I’m not gonna find your mug shot on the post office wall?”

  She gasped. Under different circumstances... perhaps. At least, it felt that way since she allowed what happened to...happen. “Of course not.”

  He shrugged. “In that case, Kyle mentioned your move.”

  “Well, he shouldn’t have.” Though her heart pounded, she crossed her arms over her chest and pulled herself taller against Cody’s height. His size frightened her, and reminded her of Carl. What if he lost his temper? Would he try to hurt her? Best to keep her distance. “It’s really none of your business. Are you finished interrogating me?”

  “It’s just a simple question. I didn’t mean to ruffle your feathers.”

  Rena gulped and struggled with the fear that threatened to overwhelm her. Frustration took hold. Would she ever break free from the past…from the hurt Carl had inflicted? “I’ve got kids waiting for help.” She turned away, her pumps clacking along the wood floor, and added, “You’d better put some ice on your head, Cody. It’s beginning to swell.”

  ****

  “These plans are amazing.” Kyle studied the blueprints Cody had spread across the gleaming mahogany desk. “A single oversized room is just what we need for study groups, and the ability to section the room will allow for simultaneous meetings without distractions.”

  “And I really like this library that will double as a solarium,” Kelsie added as she tapped a section of the drawings with the eraser end of a pencil. “The outdoor feel will add a calming effect to the entire area.”

  “Now all we need to do is work on funding.” Kyle leaned back in his office chair and scratched his chin. “The town’s budget will barely put a dent in the cost. We still need to raise plenty of cash. Any ideas?”

  Cody searched the lobby below to find Rena helping a pair of middle school girls write what he assumed were essays for English class. They were huddled together, and the shorter flaxen-haired girl looked to be rubbing a hole through her paper with all her erasing.

  He rocked back on his heels. “I think I know just the person we need to recruit
to help with that.”

  Kelsie followed his gaze and nodded when she saw Rena. “She’s going to the bridal shop with me for my dress fitting tomorrow. I’ll bring it up...see what I can do.”

  “Work your magic.”

  Cody noted the appreciative gleam in Kyle’s eyes when Kelsie mentioned the dress fitting. It was obvious the two were head-over-heels.

  “The board has already unanimously approved your plans, Cody, so whenever the funds are in place we can get started.” Kyle smacked him on the back. “It’s been an answer to our prayers for you to donate so much time to this project.”

  Cody nodded. “I’ll give the plans to my contractor, and he’ll line things up. In the meantime…”

  Below, Rena and the girls were taking a break. Cody watched Rena debate over a sandwich selection at the snack machine before sliding a few dollars into the bill retriever. She pressed a button and took the cellophane-wrapped sandwich that dropped into the bin below.

  “Earth to Cody.” Kelsie elbowed him in the ribs. “Penny for your thoughts.”

  “Oh…I was just mulling over a few fundraising ideas.” He tore his gaze from Rena.

  “Sure you were.” Her expression told him she hadn’t missed a thing. “Why don’t you go downstairs and talk them over with Rena.”

  He watched Rena unwrap the sandwich and wrinkle her nose with displeasure at the site of it before taking a nibble. “Because the looks she sends my way tell me going before a firing squad would be less painful.”

  Kelsie laughed. “Afraid? Of a little bitty girl?”

  He shrugged and shook his head. “Just… cautious.”

  ****

  Like most nights lately, Rena couldn’t sleep. She tossed restlessly until she finally rolled over and switched on the bedside lamp. Soft light bathed the room in a warm, hazy glow. She slid exhausted from the bed and padded barefoot across the carpeted floor to the closet. Without turning on the overhead light, she stretched to the back of the highest shelf for the shoebox she’d hidden behind a stack of reference books.

  She could almost hear the contents whisper to her as she grasped the box and tugged it gingerly from the shelf. Bleary-eyed, she climbed onto the tangled sheets of her bed and sat cross-legged, cradling the box in her lap as she drew a shuddering breath.

  She’d nearly thrown everything away before she left New York, but couldn’t bring herself to do it. The mismatched contents stored inside were a vital part of her. Throwing them away would be like tossing out a part of herself, and she just couldn’t.

  Yet each time she held the treasures was more torturous than the last. Even so…

  Rena slipped the lid from the box and reached inside. Her lips trembled as she drew out a creased photograph. Tenderly, she brushed her fingers across an image eternally frozen in time.

  The baby was perfect—ten fingers, ten toes, a head of downy chestnut hair and the sweet little pucker of a mouth. Rena could still smell the innocent powdery scent distinctive of newborns. She laid the photo aside and rummaged in the box for a pink cotton receiving blanket and an impossibly tiny terrycloth outfit. They might easily have been mistaken for doll clothes. She pressed her cheek to the fabric and reveled in the soft, feathery feel as her throat constricted and the first tears fell.

  Setting the blanket and outfit aside, Rena reached for a second photo. Now she was holding the baby—her baby. It amazed her more each time just how young she looked in the picture, how impossibly carefree despite endless hours of exhausting labor. She closed her eyes, hopelessly lost in the soft scent of baby lotion.

  A sob shuddered through her and the box tipped, spilling a crumpled newspaper clipping onto the sheets. Rena’s breath caught as she reached for it. Her gaze slid over the graphic headline and callous front-page photos of the burning building, of the place that had been her home, hers and Allie’s. She began to read, and her tears stained the paper. Unable to stand any more, she stuffed the paper into the box and wrapped her arms around herself, rocking on the bed.

  How long, Lord? How long will my heart ache for something that will never be?

  Light the Fire

  3

  “What do you think?” Kelsie emerged from the bridal shop dressing room clad in a wedding dress fashioned from shimmering silk and lace.

  “Oh, you look positively gorgeous!” Rena’s voice caught and her eyes filled with tears. Memories flooded her—memories of all the times, as teenagers, she and Kelsie stayed up through the night, whispering over hopes and dreams for their wedding days. Rena’s hopes had been destroyed in New York, but Kelsie’s dream…well, it was coming true. “You’re going to make the most beautiful bride.”

  Kelsie twirled whimsically before the three-way mirror. Highlighted curls fanned like a veil around her face as she craned her neck to glance over her shoulder at her reflection. “You think so?”

  “I know so. Kyle is the luckiest guy on the face of the earth.”

  “Kyle. Oh!” Kelsie paused long enough to toss Rena her cell phone. “Call to let him know we’re running late. Tell him we’ll meet him at Salerno’s for dinner in half an hour.”

  “Oh, Kelsie, I couldn’t. You should meet him alone. You two have so much to discuss with the wedding only five weeks away.”

  “Don’t be silly. We’ll have the rest of our lives to talk. Tonight we’re celebrating. This dress is all I’ve ever dreamed of, and I feel like I’m in a fairy tale. I am so happy!” The joy reflected in her eyes was contagious.

  Rena smiled. “OK. If you insist.”

  “And look at you.” Kelsie nudged her toward the mirror. “You’re absolutely stunning in that dress. The fit is perfect and your legs seem to go on forever in those matching pumps. And the color…well, your eyes shine like magnificent bronze coins.”

  Rena gazed into the mirror. The soft lavender did compliment her eyes and the narrow cut of the bodice coupled with stiletto pumps flattered her slender frame. “Thank you, Kelsie, for being such a wonderful friend. I’d be lost without you.”

  Folds of lace rustled as they embraced and the soft floral scent of Kelsie’s perfume mingled with Rena’s honeysuckle. “We’ve shared so much, Rena. I can’t imagine anyone else standing beside me as I become Kyle’s wife.”

  Rena sighed and saw her emotions reflected in her friend’s emerald eyes. She might have sworn off men forever, but she was thrilled Kelsie had found her soul mate. “You’re going to have such a wonderful life together.”

  Kelsie sniffled and grinned. “We’d better change out of these dresses before we blubber all over them and ruin yards and yards of shimmery silk. Then we’ll go eat. Kyle and Cody will be waiting.”

  “What?” The room swayed and Rena pressed a hand against the dressing room door to steady herself. “Why’s Cody there?”

  Kelsie shrugged. “I guess Kyle had some things to discuss with him concerning the wedding. Cody is the best man, you know.”

  The best man…that means we’ll be standing up at the wedding together. Oh, no...

  ****

  “That was Rena.” Kyle flipped his cell phone closed and slid it into his pocket. “She and Kelsie will be here soon. They said to go ahead and order. They’re at the bridal shop doing a final fitting for the wedding.”

  Cody’s gut clenched at Rena’s name. Lately, he couldn’t seem to get thoughts of her out of his head. He tried to focus through the sounds of silverware tinkling against ceramic plates and the muted chatter of a dinnertime crowd.

  “It’s hard to imagine that five weeks from now you’ll be a married man.”

  “Yeah, and it feels so right.” Kyle’s grin was contagious. “Hey, this might be a good time for you to talk to Rena about your funding ideas. You have the plans right here, and they look great.”

  “She was kind of jumpy the last time I tried to talk to her. She gave me a tongue-lashing about basketballs distracting her students while they’re trying to finish work. I’d better put on my armor.”

  “Go easy on h
er. She’s had a tough time.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Her dad had a health scare, and her mom’s not doing so great, either. That’s why Rena came back here, to be closer to them. She and her mother have had a...strained relationship, and I guess Rena felt it was time to patch things up.”

  “What else?” Cody drummed his fingers on the table.

  “Isn’t that enough?”

  Cody shook his head. “There’s something you’re not telling me. I’ve known you my whole life, Kyle. You’re holding back.”

  Kyle glanced at Cody over the rim of his glass as he drew a sip soda. “That’s all I have to say. If you want to know more, you’ll have to talk to Rena yourself.”

  “That’ll be like breaching Fort Knox.” Cody sighed and his stomach growled. He reached for a menu. “Let’s order.”

  “Just make sure you show Rena the plans, and get her on board for fundraising. We need her help. In case you haven’t noticed, the woman can swing a hammer, and she has a good eye for architecture.”

  “Oh, believe me, I’ve noticed.”

  “There they are.” Kyle motioned to the rear of the café near a wall of windows shaded against blinding sun as it dipped low on the horizon.

  Rena two-stepped through the crowd in a flowing flower-print skirt that caressed toned legs. Waves of cinnamon-sprinkled blonde hair spilled over her shoulders and her eyes were the color of warm honey beneath the muted restaurant lights. He stood as she approached the table, and the scent of peaches and honeysuckle clung to her skin. “It’s good to see you again, Rena.”

  “Th-thank you.” She glanced up, and he thought he felt her tremble. “Your forehead’s healed nicely. No lasting damage?”

  “Not that I’m aware of.” He grinned and pulled out a chair for her, and she slid in beside him while Kyle and Kelsie huddled together on the other side of the table. The server quickly brought drinks for the women and announced the food would be out shortly.