“Myron, I’ll be there. Trust me, I’ve worked too hard to let this co-op fall into the hands of someone else. I believe we took care of this when we incorporated, but let’s be sure.”
“You’re not upset?”
Jess could hear Myron’s wife, Shelia, mumbling something in the background. “Myron, I really understand. I’ll do whatever I can to protect the co-op.”
“Thanks, Jess. I knew you’d understand.”
More than he realized. She’d met with Krispin Black several times now and knew he would be relentless in his pursuit of anything he put his mind to. Unfortunately he didn’t put his mind on God. Jess shook her head and ended her conversation with Myron. After she’d put away her groceries, she drove the kayak over to Krispin Black’s house. His car was in the drive. Her heart sank. If only he were still at the store.
The back door to his rental cottage squeaked open. “Thanks for bringing the kayak by. Are you certain about the loan, Ms. Kearns?”
“Yes.”
“Fine-looking kayak. I don’t recognize the brand.” His gaze traveled the breadth and length of the long, slim, one-man kayak.
“Dad and I built this about ten years ago.”
“Nice.” He pulled his gaze from the boat back to her. His royal blue eyes sparkled. “You built this?”
“Yes, with my father. We used to go kayaking every year until I went to college. Unfortunately, I haven’t used it enough lately.”
“What a shame. It’s a fine-looking vessel.” He knelt down and passed his hand over the top of the hull. The boat was a wooden-strip kayak with a fiberglass hull. “I don’t get to go as often as I used to, either.”
“Price of growing up, I guess.”
“Or our obsessions. Mine’s work. What’s yours?” He stood and faced her again.
Jess suppressed the desire to get to know Krispin. Or did the Lord put him in my life for me to witness to him?
“What?” She shook her head in confusion. “Look, Mr. Black, I’m uncomfortable speaking with you. One minute you’re talking a lawsuit, the next you’re asking me to go out with you. Forgive me, but I need to go. I hope you enjoy the kayak. Just leave it here when you go back home, and I’ll pick it up.” Jess scurried back to her car.
“So, your charity only goes out with regard to your possessions?”
She stopped and turned toward him. How dare he accuse her of not showing the Lord’s love to him! She placed her hands on her hips, opened her mouth slightly to rebuff him, then closed it. Why should she get into an argument? “Enjoy your stay in Squabbin Bay, Mr. Black.”
Jess slipped behind the wheel. Her hands and body were trembling. It wasn’t fear, exactly. The shakes seemed more to do with her controlling her anger. How dare he presume to judge my faith!
❧
Krispin had done it again. Whenever Jessica Kearns came near him, he put up more defenses than the US Army fighting terrorists. Why? He honestly didn’t have a problem with her and her religion. It just wasn’t something he cared about one way or the other. And apart from the cost of a replacement kayak and his medical bills, he didn’t need remuneration for the accident. But he continued to fluster Jess with the impending lawsuit. Why? Truth was, he would have sued her for every cent he could a year ago. Krispin let out a deep sigh. A year ago. That’s when all his dissatisfaction with life began. And whatever he’d thrown at Jessica Kearns, she didn’t retaliate. She simply went the extra mile and provided all the information he needed. She offered her home…what was she thinking?
He watched the old Volkswagen Bug sputter down the road. The answers he was looking for weren’t in Maine; they were back home at work, at his studio apartment, where his life had taken the wrong path. Yes, he needed to return home. Then he could put everything back into its proper perspective.
Inside the cottage he packed his bag, then left an envelope with a healthy tip for the maid service and a note that Jessica Kearns would be back to pick up her kayak in a few days. He drove through the heart of Squabbin Bay. People were chatting with one another. Lobstermen were working on the docks. Wayne Kearns waved as Krispin drove past. Krispin pulled over into a graveled parking spot.
Wayne Kearns left his dock and walked over toward the car. “What can I do for you, Mr. Black?”
Krispin stared down his opposition. “Tell Jess I am only asking for damages and that I’m leaving town, so she can pick up her kayak.”
“All right. But didn’t she just take it over?”
“Yes. Uh, something came up. I’m heading home earlier than expected.”
Wayne Kearns nodded. “Tell me something, Mr. Black. Why did you pick Squabbin Bay for your vacation?”
“I’ve been under a lot of stress at work and wanted a nice, quiet place to reevaluate my position with the company.” Krispin rubbed his hands on the steering wheel.
“I guess the accident changed all that.”
Krispin nodded.
“I’ll pray you’ll make the right decision, Mr. Black.”
“A rugged outdoorsman like yourself takes stock in that God stuff?”
Wayne Kearns’s smile brightened. “Yes, I do. Wanna talk about it?”
“Not really. I mean no offense. Religion never seemed to matter before. Life is life. You work hard, do your job, be nice to folks, and eventually die one day.”
“I suppose that’s how your life is. Mine, well, I don’t think I would have done so well if I hadn’t found the Lord. Jess was nearly two, I was nineteen, a single father, and my life was controlling me. I worked to provide for Jess. I spent every free moment I had with her. I loved her so much, yet something was missing. At first I thought it was that I didn’t have a wife. But the answer wasn’t in finding more women and a mother for my daughter. The answer came to me when I didn’t know what else to do, when I finally gave up trying to do my best and constantly falling short. Truthfully, if I hadn’t found God and surrendered to Him, I wouldn’t have made it as a single father.”
“Where was Jess’s mother?”
“She was sixteen when she got pregnant. She agreed to let me keep the baby and raise her. Terry finished school, went on to college, and eventually made a new life for herself. She wasn’t ready to be a mother. Not that I was ready to be a father, but I had the advantage of having a mother who would watch Jess while I was working. If it hadn’t been for my parents, I wouldn’t have made it financially or emotionally. Jesus gave me a peace, a confidence, the strength to go on. And I’m probably sounding like I’m preaching here a bit, but the Bible is a good handbook on how to really enjoy life. After all, God is the creator of life.”
Krispin wagged his head. “If you believe all that stuff, I suppose. It just seems archaic to me.”
“You know, you’re right. You can’t get much more archaic than with God.”
“I can see where Jess gets it from.”
Wayne narrowed his gaze and leaned a little closer. “I raised her in the church, but she had to find her own way to let God in and give Him the chance to rule over her life. God doesn’t have grandchildren, only children, meaning we all have to accept Him as our Father. There isn’t a grandfather clause in Christianity.”
Krispin raised his right eyebrow. Hadn’t his parents always told him he was a Christian, that they had baptized him as a baby? That he had his fire insurance if there was a hell? “So, you don’t believe everyone is going to heaven? If there is a heaven,” he amended.
“Nope. It’s a choice, Mr. Black.”
“Jordan said something similar the other night when they watched over me because of the concussion.”
“Not surprised. He has a pretty solid faith.”
“Is everyone in Squabbin Bay like you guys?”
Wayne chuckled. “No. But we have a good-sized church, and we’re a fairly strong-willed people when it comes to our faith and living it out. Actually, we can be strong-willed a lot of the time, even when we shouldn’t be.”
Krispin shifted in his bucket seat,
then slid his hand around the steering wheel again. He didn’t want to insult the man, but he had to admit he would make any minister proud. Krispin knew Jordan worked for Wayne’s wife as a professional photographer and had a huge respect for both Wayne and Dena. Jordan had said Dena’s first husband had been a pastor, just like her son was the pastor of the Squabbin Bay Community Church. So it made sense that she’d remarry someone who had a faith equal to that of her first husband… if she respected her religion. He supposed it worked for this blended family. “Hey, I’m happy for you, Mr. Kearns. You raised a fine daughter, even if she is dangerous behind the wheel of a boat.”
He saw the muscle in Wayne Kearns’s jaw move slightly. “For the record, Jess has been driving that boat since she was four, and she’s never had an accident. Unfortunately accidents do happen, Mr. Black. I’m sure, over time, Jess will get over nearly killing you. But I think you should be thanking the Lord that she had her wits about her and jumped in and rescued you, rather than securing the boat first. I think that’s what saved your life. And given time, I imagine Jess will get over this and be comfortable behind the wheel once again.”
“Forgive me; you’re right. Thank Jess again for me. I’d better go.”
Wayne tapped the lower part of the window doorframe. “All right, Mr. Black. Travel safely.”
“Absolutely.” Krispin put the car in reverse. Wayne stepped away from the vehicle. Krispin hesitated for a moment, then pulled out. The sooner he put Squabbin Bay in his rearview mirror the better. As uncomfortable as he’d gotten with his life back home, it didn’t compare to what he was feeling now. He’d never been so confused or on edge, even when he’d gone through the investigation from the gaming commission regarding the technology he’d written to protect their online Web sites from intruders. While everyone knew of Internet thieves, few had slipped under the radar like the one who got through one of Krispin’s encryption programs. Thankfully it was the first layer of encryption, and they’d only escaped with bogus files. The creative thinking he’d put into his program had earned him a partnership in the company. The intense scrutiny made him question why he was living like this.
He drove down the winding road that led out of Squabbin Bay to Route 1, which he’d take to Ellsworth. There he’d pick up Route 1A to Bangor, then Interstate 95 South toward home.
“Why did I pick Squabbin Bay? No one recommended it. I simply threw a dart at the map and it landed there,” he reminded himself. He’d taken to speaking to himself out loud inside the car. It was a way to sort out what was important, what he needed to remember, and besides, he had no one else to talk with.
Four
A month later Jess found the letter from Krispin Black waiting in her mailbox. It included his ambulance bill, his hospital bill, and the receipt for the kayak he’d purchased. When he’d left town, Krispin had told her father that he wouldn’t be suing her. But she couldn’t believe it was true, not until she opened this letter. The actual bill was less than a thousand dollars. She was only paying the co-payment and the cost of a new kayak. What she didn’t expect to see in the letter was “plan two,” as Krispin called it.
“Jess, if you’re willing to help me build a kayak just like yours, I’m willing to absorb all the costs. Can you help me?” He then listed all his contact information.
Jess dropped the paper. He lived in Manchester, New Hampshire. That was an easy four-and-a-half-hour drive. “No way, I’ll pay.” She stomped over to the phone and called her father.
“Hello,” he answered on the second ring.
“Hi, Daddy.”
“Hey, Jess, what’s up?”
“Krispin Black’s bill came in the mail today. He’s asking for less than a thousand.”
Her father sighed. “Thank the Lord.”
“Yeah.” Jess paused and curled the cord around her finger. “Daddy, he gave me an alternative to paying the money.”
“What’s that?” His voice sounded tight.
“He asked me to help him build a kayak like mine.”
Her father snickered. “He doesn’t quit, does he?”
“No.” She’d been open with her parents about Krispin’s insistence on going out to dinner. “He lives in Manchester, New Hampshire. I can’t be spending nine hours on the road—”
“There is that. But I think it would be better to simply keep your distance from the man.”
“I agree. Besides, the cost is nothing compared to what it could have been.”
“True. I’ll have Dena write a check in the morning, and you can put it in your account and pay him off.”
“No, Daddy. I appreciate it. But I have to pay for this myself. It will be tight, but I can do it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, sir.” It had taken her the better part of a year to learn how to control her spending and her finances, but she’d done it. Of course using her father’s credit card to buy her boyfriend expensive gifts right after graduation from college taught her some heavy-duty lessons, as well. But thankfully she had learned quickly and didn’t have any debt, except for her mortgage.
“All right. Thanks for calling, and I’m glad Mr. Black was a man of his word.”
A smile curled on the edges of her lips. Yes, Krispin Black had done exactly as he’d said he would. He’d even charged her less than what he could have. “Talk with you later, Dad.”
She pushed the Off button on her phone and walked back over to the letter. She opened her laptop computer and typed out an e-mail to Krispin Black.
Dear Mr. Black,
I received your letter today. I’ll be sending you a check in a few days.
Sincerely,
Jessica Kearns
Jess hesitated before she sent the e-mail. He’d given her his contact information the night of the accident and again in this letter. She hadn’t given him her e-mail address. Did she want him to have it? She paused, thinking on the matter. It would make it easy for him to contact her. But what other contact would they have? Once she sent the money, their association would be finished.
Jess hit the Send button. For better or worse, she sent it. She could always change her e-mail address or simply not read anything he sent in the future. She sat at the computer for a moment longer, scrolling through her in-box. For the most part, her personal e-mail entailed little notes from friends. There was an e-mail from her biological mother.
Hey Jess,
I’m sorry it took so long to get back with you. Yes, I’m looking forward to your visit. The kids are excited to see their big sister. I’m glad you’re doing okay after the accident. What a terrible thing to go through. I’m really glad your faith brings you so much comfort.
I have our entire time together planned out. We’ll be going…
Jess scanned the itinerary her mother had laid out. If nothing else, Terry, her bio-mom, was organized to the hilt, which was where, she supposed, she got her organizational skills. Her father wasn’t unorganized, but he wasn’t a neat freak. His record keeping consisted of a container here, a folder in the filing cabinet there, and a couple of coffee cans for each of his business receipts. That was how it had been for years, until Jess had taken over that part of the business while she was in high school, and then again once she returned home from college.
Maintaining a relationship with her bio-mom had been very strained during all of Jess’s high school and college years. But for the past two years, since her mom got a computer and discovered the Internet, contact was less strained but still not what it could be. It felt good to have some connection with this woman. She recognized a few of her characteristics in Terry.
Truthfully, she and Terry would never have a real mother-daughter relationship. The most Jess hoped for was a friendship, and that seemed to be getting better. The weekend visit with her mother would prove to be the true test of their new relationship.
Dena, her stepmother, was more of a mother than anyone else had ever been. The fact that they had begun their relationship when Jess w
as finishing college made it awkward at first to think of this woman as her mother. The plus side of all of this was Dena had raised three kids and knew how to have a good relationship with all of her adult children, even her in-law children. Jess could talk with Dena, and with all Jess’s heart, she loved and respected her stepmom.
Terry had been sixteen when she got pregnant, and her parents had not been nurturers. They had even moved away from Squabbin Bay right after Terry finished high school. They had never acknowledged Jess’s existence. Instead they encouraged Terry to have an abortion. They never wanted their daughter tied down to a child, certainly not one born out of wedlock. Jess honestly didn’t hold any resentment toward these people. They just never factored into her life. Her father’s parents had been wonderful grandparents whom she loved dearly.
Jess’s thoughts drifted back to the screen, and she typed in a reply to her mother. Her in-box contained an e-mail from Krispin Black. Hesitantly she clicked it open.
Dear Jess,
Thanks. Take your time with the check. I won’t be replacing the kayak for a while.
Krispin
Jess relaxed her shoulders. “Thank You, Lord. He didn’t push the idea of my helping him build a kayak.”
❧
Krispin pushed himself away from his desk and looked out his office window. The building his company now owned had once been a linen factory. Below was the Merrimack River, the power source that had kept the machines working for many years. He loved that about the old building. His office, like the rest of the others in his company, was a totally contemporary one. High-tech lighting, furniture, computers, and lots of white, black, and stainless steel metal with wooden-framed windows and cream-colored walls. It was a blend of the old and new.
Gary tapped on Krispin’s office doorjamb. “Krisp, got a minute?” His voice sounded more subdued than usual. Of course the fact that Krispin had only four more days with the company might have something to do with it.
“Sure.” Krispin put the tiny flash drive in his pocket. He’d backed up all of his files to download onto his computer. While he’d given his resignation a few days after returning from Maine, he had agreed to work as a consultant from time to time and to be the technical advisor on some of his more sophisticated encryption programs.
Suited For Love Page 3
