by Gail Sattler
He turned his head toward her, gave her a short nod, and then turned back to listen to Pastor Jake’s sermon. At the closing hymn after the sermon, she noted Chad didn’t sing with his usual enthusiasm and instead seemed rather quiet, even hesitant.
Usually they lingered in the lobby to chat, but today, he seemed reluctant to talk to people.
His anguish tore at her heart. Even though Pastor had not mentioned Chad’s name, it was quite obvious that his situation had been used as fodder for the sermon.
If anyone wanted to talk to him about it, it should best be done in private.
Anna grabbed onto his hand and tugged. “Come. Let us go. I wish to have a picnic lunch today. Let us hurry to your house to get in your car, and we can go to Cass Lake, like we did before.” At his hesitant expression, she smiled. “Donn nijch sorje. Do not worry. There will not be bears now. It is too early in the day for them to be out in this heat.”
He glanced from side to side, as if waiting for people from the hovering circles to descend upon him. “Are you sure?” He let his question hang, and she could almost hear him thinking . . . what about your papa?
About to pull his hand again, she froze and looked down at their joined hands. If people were looking—and they were looking—they would think that she and Chad were holding hands like a couple who were courting.
Instead of dropping his hand, she squeezed it tighter and pulled again. “I am sure. Now let us go.”
He followed her quickly out of the church, and they continued at a fast pace until they arrived at his house. “Let me throw together some leftovers from the fridge. How about if you wait in the car?”
She smiled at his solution to her not wanting to be inside his house with him without an escort.
He hurried into the house, and within seconds, the garage door began to rise. So amazing.
As she walked into the garage, she saw her bicycle tucked against his, leaning against the garage wall.
Again, she smiled. She should have taken the bicycle home, but leaving it here in Chad’s garage would give her an excuse to come back when she otherwise didn’t have a good reason.
She barely got herself settled in his car when Chad came out with a shopping bag. “I ended up just making sandwiches,” he said as he tucked the bag carefully behind the seats. He started the car and backed out of the garage. When the car had cleared the garage, he hit another button, and the garage door came down. All she could do was watch it close as he continued to drive away.
“You find that fascinating, don’t you?”
“Ja.” She nodded, then turned to continue watching out the back window of the car until the garage door had completely closed. “I have never seen such a thing before.”
“In the city, it’s normal. Most people have electric garage door openers. I didn’t buy it. I won it as a door prize. Since I had an apartment, I had it in my storage locker, which is probably why Brittany didn’t take it.” He made an odd laugh. “I’m sure all the neighbors laugh every time I use it. It’s got to seem pretty lame, because usually I only use the car once a week when I take your mother grocery shopping. It seems silly in the summertime, but I have to tell you that in the winter, when you take the car to work every day, it’s a great thing to have when it’s cold outside. Except here, I never take the car to work. But I had it, so I didn’t want to waste it.”
“I’m sure all the neighbors find it as fascinating as I do.”
They lapsed into a silence on the way to Cass Lake, and Anna didn’t mind at all. To the contrary, she enjoyed the quiet and found it relaxing. The silence being comforting instead of awkward spoke of a good relationship between them. Here, in the car, they could simply enjoy each other’s company without words. She’d never done that with a man before, not even with William, who tended to ramble when there was a silence and he had nothing to do with his hands. Although she didn’t know why William should be nervous around her, when they’d been friends since childhood.
When Chad parked the car and turned the motor off, Anna reached behind the seat for the bag containing their lunch, then froze when her fingers touched the bag. “When I first got this idea all I thought of was eating lunch and then going for a walk around the lake, since we did not do that the first time we came. But now, I have realized that neither of us is dressed for such a thing. We are in our good church clothes.”
Chad looked down at his new clothes and ran one hand down the smooth fabric of his tie. “You’re right. I never thought of that, either. I just wanted to get out of there.” He craned his neck and looked down at her feet. “Although, you’re still wearing sensible shoes. Back in Minneapolis, on Sunday morning when the women dress up, they wear shoes with insanely high heels. They sure look good, but I don’t know how they walk. From the angle of their feet, it’s like they’re walking on their toes.”
She turned to him. “I do not understand. Why would someone wear shoes that are not comfortable?”
He grinned, and his eyes lost focus. “When women wear high heels, the shoes alter the natural posture of the body. By changing the angle at which a woman stands, the shoes make the calf muscles tighter and more firm. But most of all, standing that way makes a woman’s . . . uh . . . never mind. I think you have the right idea wearing good sensible shoes like you do. You can walk as much as you want and not complain about sore feet for a day and a half afterward. I’ve got a blanket in the trunk, so let’s find a good spot and have our lunch.”
Chad gave the blessing for their food and thanked God for their impromptu time together, and they began to eat. Not only had he made some very delicious sandwiches, he’d also brought some fruit and a couple of cans of soda.
“When we are done, dressed as we are, we cannot really go for a walk around the lake, but we can certainly go to the shore and sit for a while to relax.”
“Sure. I’ll throw the blanket over that big log we sat on last time, and it’ll be nice. As long as there are no bears down there.”
Anna nibbled her bottom lip and pretended to concentrate intently on the top of her soda can. “Nein, there should not be bears by the lake, unless they are hot and decide to go swimming to cool down. That is the only way they can cool down in the summer, with all that thick fur.” As discreetly as she could, without moving her head, she kept her head lowered but looked up at him.
Chad had been taking a long swallow from his soda can, but halfway through her last sentence, he began to choke.
Anna didn’t know whether to laugh or pat him on the back. She ended up doing both. While she did feel a little guilty at making him choke, his life wasn’t in danger, and it was pretty funny.
When he finally caught his breath, he turned to her. “Okay, that was good. I know the bears aren’t going to go swimming in front of us like they do at the zoo. But you sure caught me off-guard. You made me think. Good one.”
When her laughter faded, she looked again into his face. Without commenting again on the bears, Chad reached forward and grasped one of her hands. Her breath caught as he brushed the back of her hand with his lips, then opened her palm and pressed it to his cheek.
His face was smooth, but she could feel the start of the prickles of his beard. It was a sensation she’d never experienced before.
Slowly she ran her fingers across his cheek, and his eyes drifted shut.
She wanted to kiss him again. A lot. Her heart burned with it.
Before she could think too much of the possibilities, his eyes opened, and he reached up and took hold of her hands, enclosing both her hands in his much larger ones. Not releasing her, he slowly rubbed his thumbs up and down her wrists.
“You know, when everything settles down, I’ve been thinking. I’d really like to get married. The whole thing. The 2.5 kids, a dog, and the white picket fence. And of course, here in Piney Meadows, chickens in the backyard, complete with their very own chicken hotel. What do you think of that? Not right now, but not too long, either.”
Anna had to for
ce herself to breathe. For a second, she could picture herself in that very scenario he’d described, happily married, and very much in love with Chad. Part of her wanted to think he had just proposed to her, but the more sensible part told her that he was speaking in general terms. After all, he was at that age when a man began to think of settling down.
Actually, he’d already thought of settling down and getting married, only not with her.
She didn’t know what to say, because she really didn’t understand his question, or if it was specifically directed at her.
He released her hands, then reached up with one hand and brushed her cheek with the backs of his fingers. “It’s okay. I don’t really expect an answer now. When the time comes when I do, though, I plan to ask you with much more flare than this.” One corner of his mouth tipped up in half a smile. “That day will come, Anna. I just want you to know.” He pushed himself to his feet and then reached down to help pull her up as well. “We’ve been sitting long enough. Let’s put the stuff in the car and go for that walk to the lake. We’ll just make a lot of noise on the way there so we don’t catch Winnie-the-Pooh skinny-dipping.”
“Who?”
He grinned, putting a little flutter in her heart. “Never mind. I just charged the battery in my camera, so just take me to the best place to take some good photos. I’m right behind you.”
29
Sitting at his desk, Chad nodded, even though the caller couldn’t see him, and entered a few more numbers in his calculations. This would be an important order for the factory if he could get a little more flexibility with the dates. He knew everyone on the crew would be more than willing to work the overtime, but Chad didn’t want his staff to become slaves to their jobs, as he’d once been.
Just as he began a new barter for some extras in exchange for more time, his cell phone rang. Again. For the third time in ten minutes.
So he wouldn’t be distracted from his negotiations, he reached into his pocket and pressed the mute button without allowing himself to see the caller’s name. If it was so important, whoever it was could text him or leave a voicemail.
With a bit more bartering, Chad managed to meet in the middle with the customer. He promised to have a contract e-mailed shortly, then hung up.
He’d barely raised his hand from the handset when Anna ran into his office.
“Chad, this is very important. You must call that detective person back immediately. He has said he has some very important information for you.”
Chad’s heart stopped and then began to pound.
This was it. According to his calculations, the baby would have been born by now, and this was the phone call he’d been waiting for.
The PI had found Brittany and the baby.
This call would change his life forever. He was a father, and he would use almost everything he had within him to get equal and shared custody.
The only thing he wouldn’t do was marry Brittany. For months, he’d realized that he’d never really loved her. It had been a wild infatuation fed by her feminine wiles, which he now saw was just a way to get what she wanted from him, without having to give anything in return. When he’d wanted something in return, which was to be a father to their baby, she proved she’d never intended to marry him.
Now, she could no longer take that from him. Rod had found her. Shared custody would be difficult, but he would do anything to make it happen, including taking her to court.
He turned to watch Anna, still standing in the doorway, shuffling her feet and looking like she didn’t know whether to leave or stay with him.
His throat tightened. He needed her now more than he’d ever needed anyone. He needed her not just as a friend but as his soul mate, forever, through good and bad, through joy and tribulations, if she would have him.
Even though she appeared unsure of what to do, she seemed to want to share the news with him and was waiting for him to ask.
He stood and extended one hand to her. “Please, come here. I would like you to be with me when I call him back. Now that the moment has come, I’m feeling a little unsure of myself.”
She gave him a shaky smile that was a perfect match to his shaky stomach, and came to him.
Before he reached for his phone, he wrapped his arms around her and drew her in for a hug. When she wrapped her arms around his back and gave him a squeeze, it made him feel both weak and strong at the same time.
Before he could start to enjoy her touch, she dropped her arms and backed up, causing him to release her.
“You had best make that call. The man sounded almost frantic.”
Chad’s stomach flipped. He hoped nothing was wrong with the baby, but even if there was, he still intended to be the best father he could be. And hopefully, Anna would be there to join him—not as a helper or his administrative assistant, but as his wife and the baby’s stepmother.
He sank into his chair, unmuted the phone, and dialed.
As soon as he identified himself, the receptionist put him through to Rod.
“You don’t have a lot of time,” Rod blurted out without preamble. “I’ve arranged a meeting for you and Brittany this afternoon—this was the only time she would agree to. I can’t divulge any details, but she says she will meet with you today, at one o’clock, in my office. Can you be here by then?”
He looked at his wristwatch. It was just past 9:00 a.m. and he knew it would take about four hours if he stuck to the speed limit—doable, since he wouldn’t be traveling in rush hour. “I can if I leave right now. Can I bring a friend?”
“Yes. I was about to suggest that if you could have someone with you, it would probably be a good idea. I believe there will be someone else besides Brittany at our meeting.”
“I’ll see you then. I have to leave now.”
He barely had his cell phone back in his pocket when he turned to Anna. “Will you come with me? I know it’s asking a lot, but I’d really like to have you there, as a . . .” his words trailed off as he thought of what he could say to describe her. He wanted to say “fiancée” but he really hadn’t formally proposed. He had been working up to it, but right now was neither the time nor the place nor the atmosphere for something that should be one of the most important moments in a person’s life. “Friend” was the best he could come up with. He lowered his voice and reached for her hand. Gently rubbing his thumbs against the backs of her hands, he gazed into her eyes. “A very special friend. I’d really like you to be with me for this.”
She gulped so loud he heard it. “Ja. I will go with you. I think we must hurry, mustn’t we?”
“Yeah. We have to run. Literally.”
Anna made a quick phone call to Frank to say they were leaving for the day—an emergency had come up and there was no one to answer the phones. The second she hung up, she turned to him. “As you have said, I am wearing very sensible shoes. We can run all the way to your house.”
Just as she’d said, she did run all the way, and at the same time, proved without words that she was in better physical condition than he was, because she wasn’t panting nearly as deeply as he was when they reached his house.
For the first time, he called himself a fool for installing the electric garage door opener, because he had to unlock the house, run inside, and go through the door leading to the garage in order to hit the switch to raise the garage door, when it would have been faster to just open it from the outside.
As quickly as possible, they were on their way. They’d left town and were on the highway at full speed before he remembered he hadn’t locked the house door when he left. Although in Piney Meadows, it didn’t matter. If anyone came to his door and found it unlocked, a person was likely to simply lock it for him and leave a note saying they would be back later.
This time, the drive was not comfortable. He didn’t have it in him to chat about nonsense, so he let the silence hang. However, Anna obviously didn’t feel the same way. He saw her reach into her purse and pull out a CD.
H
is brows knotted. “What are you doing with a CD in your purse?”
She smiled at him, then pushed the CD into the player. “Brian has made this for us. It is a collection of some of the choruses we have been singing at your house. He has made a copy so he may sing when he is working alone in his shop, and he said he made a copy for me, so I may do the same. I have no place I can play this except in your car, so I have been carrying it in my purse for the next time I am in your car, and this is today. I think these good songs will give you some peace today.”
Of course, she was right. It took a few songs to play, but by the time the fourth song started, the words calmed and soothed him by reminding him that God was watching, and whatever happened, God was in charge.
He didn’t know how many times the disc replayed, but Anna, bless her heart, didn’t complain. She sat with him, a comforting presence like he’d never had in his life. He felt like asking her right there if she would marry him, but now he had to make the proposal extra special, because she was so extra special.
He pulled into the parking lot of the private investigator’s office with exactly six minutes to spare, allowing them to walk in with a grace and dignity he didn’t feel.
Chad didn’t even try to smile when they approached the receptionist. He reached for Anna’s hand and held tight as he looked at the woman behind the desk. “I’m Chad Jones, and we have an appointment with Rod.”
“Yes, he is expecting you. You can go right in, third door on the right.”
Anna had never been in such a place, and being the first time, she needed to observe how office procedures were handled in the cities. The secretary’s manner was brief and blunt, and not at all cheery when she told them to go to the detective’s office rather than escorting them. The woman was not at all friendly.
When they reached the correct door, Chad stiffened, gave her hand a squeeze, and knocked, and when a man’s voice called to go in, they entered the small office.
Anna nearly gasped when she saw the detective was not alone. In a way, she’d expected to see Brittany already there, but she had not expected to see another man with her.
