“What changed?”
“The job. I discovered a certain amount of self-centeredness goes hand in hand with that kind of work. At least in the company I was working for. To be successful, you surrendered to the company at the expense of your life, and your personal goals were to get ahead at the expense of those around you. I guess if I had stayed in it, I would have found a way to work within the system, but after someone stole my idea and ran with it, it kind of let the wind out of my sails. Even when I could prove it was my proposal, the boss didn’t care. He rewarded the thief. Can you believe that?”
“Yes, unfortunately. Let me guess, he was considered innovative.”
“Yeah.”
“Temp’s dropping,” he observed, changing the subject.
Jess looked away.
“I wasn’t suggesting we go inside. I should be going.”
“Krispin, no, I’m sorry. You’ve been the perfect gentleman, but—”
“But the first impression I gave you of myself still has you on pins and needles. Not a problem, Jess. I’m amazed that you even want to be alone with me.”
“God’s grace,” Jess mumbled.
“I understand.” Krispin stood up. “I’d offer to help with the dishes, but I think in this situation, it’s best if I just leave.”
“Krispin, thanks for all your help today. I don’t know what I would have done without it.”
Lost your identity or worse. “Not a problem. Again, thank you for such a wonderful dinner. I’ll return the favor sometime, after I learn how to cook.”
“Try the Food Network. It’s been a huge help to me.”
Krispin chuckled. “I’ll try that. Good night, Jess.”
“Night, Krispin.”
He got to his car just as her parents drove up behind him in the driveway in the same Mercedes he’d seen Jess driving right after the accident.
“Hello, Mr. Black.” Wayne extended his hand.
“This town’s gossip line is something,” Krispin grumbled as he accepted the proffered hand.
Wayne pulled him closer. “Actually, Jess asked us to swing by as a precaution.”
Krispin felt the heat rise in his cheeks again. So Jess doesn’t trust me. I can’t blame her, Lord.
“I was just leaving.” Krispin slipped behind the wheel of his car.
“Krispin,” Dena Russell said as she came up beside his window. “We brought a game. Why don’t you stay?”
Krispin’s jaw tightened, then relaxed. He’d done everything in his power to have these people not trust him. Why was he overreacting? Because you know you’ve changed, but they don’t. “Mrs. Russell, I really appreciate the offer, but I need to get home. I’ve been out all day.”
Dena stepped back. “Maybe another time.”
“That would be nice. Good night.” He saw Jess give a weak wave from the front porch. He knew he shouldn’t be upset. But he couldn’t help it. His past would keep him from having a future. He’d known it all along. Tonight he’d come face-to-face with that truth. He might be redeemed and certain God had forgiven him, but Jessica Kearns could never truly trust him.
Ten
Jess felt bad for having invited her parents to come over—not because it wasn’t the right thing to do, but because she hadn’t told Krispin she’d invited them. The next few days passed with little or no contact from him. His new encryption software seemed to be working well. She still didn’t like typing in twenty-five digits as her password, but then again, it was worth it.
Today, however, she was determined to make things right between them. Jess marched over to Krispin’s workshop and reached for the old steel handle before noticing the brass padlock. Locked. She scanned the area for his car. Nothing. She headed back to the co-op and went to work, wondering how she could reconcile this situation.
Five hours later, she saw him drive through town with his car loaded with bags of groceries. Jess smiled.
She dialed his cell phone. “Where have you been shopping?”
Krispin chuckled. “You see me drive past?”
“Yupper. What’s going on? Is there a huge sale at the store that I don’t know about?”
“Nope, I went to Ellsworth and did some shopping after watching two days of the Food Network.”
“You don’t believe in doing things slowly, gradually working up to them, do you?”
“Guilty, I’m afraid.”
Jess chuckled.
“Jess, would you like to come over and help me? I’m planning on cooking several meals ahead of time. Plus, I’ve got this new recipe for bruschetta that looks absolutely marvelous and a snap to make. What do you say?”
“Uh…” She paused.
“Jess? I’m not mad about the other night. After I had time to think about it, I understand why you called your folks. I would have appreciated a heads-up, but I understand. Look, I have enough food here to invite your parents to dinner, as well. What do you say?”
“Sure. Do you have all the pots, pans, and utensils you need?”
“I think so. I purchased a bunch of those, too.”
“You’re unbelievable.”
“I believe in getting the proper tools for the job, even if I don’t know how to use them yet. So when can you get here?”
“A half hour.”
“Great, call your folks and invite them. Tell ’em I have no idea what’s on the menu yet.”
Jess laughed. “They’ll love that.”
“Good. See you soon.”
By the time Jess arrived at Krispin’s, he had taken all of the bags out of his car. Jess shut his open trunk as she headed to his back door. She knocked.
Krispin opened the door with his right hand, holding a bunch of green grapes in the other. “Hi, come on in.”
“Have you ever frozen those whole?”
“No, why?”
“They’re really good frozen in the hot summer. Very refreshing.” Jess chuckled. “I was in college before Dad confessed that it also made them last longer ’cause I didn’t sneak as many.”
Krispin laughed along with her. “I’ll have to freeze some. How do you do it? Pack them in a baggie?”
“Not at first. You place them on a cookie sheet, freeze them, then put them in a plastic bag or some other container. They’re really good in sparkling cider, as well.”
Krispin smiled and handed her the grapes. “Okay, you’re on grape detail. Freeze half. The rest I need for the chicken salad and to munch on, of course.”
Jess took the grapes. “Do you have a colander?”
“The strainer thingy?”
“Yup.”
“In the living room in one of the bags on the sofa.”
Jess walked over to the couch and found it littered with all kinds of kitchen equipment. “Wow, you’ve bought some really nice stuff. Just how much money did you make when you sold your share of the company?”
“Enough, but I purchased this with other money. I deposited that settlement check in a high-yield account for a couple months while I decide just how I’m going to invest it. Most of it I’ll put aside for retirement so I won’t have to pay taxes on it. I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do yet, so I’d rather leave it untouched and in reserve until I have a definite direction.”
“Why’d you leave your business? Why not a leave of absence?” Jess fished through the bags and pulled out the colander, then went to the sink and washed it.
“I burned out. I went five years without a vacation. Often I didn’t even take the weekend off. I worked all the time.”
“I kinda felt that way after college. I didn’t want to see another book or take another test or write another paper for the rest of my life. A year later, I’m working on articles of incorporation and writing articles about why we should band together and sell our lobsters through a co-op.”
“College was a snap compared to the last seven years. The first three years after school, work was easy. I went to work, did my job, got really good at what I did, and began t
he promotion process. Gary and I started to consult more often. He kept raising my position within the company, and then last year, something I’d done as a backup to my encryption program saved the company from a huge lawsuit and at the same time put us in the media spotlight. The flip side of that was I had every hacker in the world trying to break my codes. I was working nonstop trying to stay one step ahead of the hackers. It was a horrible year for me.” Krispin pulled out a cutting board and retrieved a new set of knives from the sofa. “Should I wash these?”
“Always. Anything you buy from the store for food prep should be washed before you use it. You don’t know who might have sneezed on it in the store.”
“Now that’s gross.” Krispin held the package by the tips of his fingers and carried it over to the sink.
“Those are nice knives.”
“The set that comes with the cottage are horrible. I couldn’t slice a tomato without squishing it.”
“What are you making? And I’m done with the grapes. What do you want me to do next?”
“Okay, I’m going to make this bruschetta recipe. Would you take those boneless chicken breasts and bread them?” He turned around and fished out a container of preseasoned bread crumbs. “In the drawer under the oven, you’ll find a baking dish you can use.”
“All right.”
“Are your folks coming?”
Jess laughed. “Yes, but they’re a bit surprised.”
“Did you explain to them it’s going to be a wild night of experimental dishes?”
“I think that’s what surprised them the most.”
“I figure we can bring Jordan and Randi a couple of meals after we’re done. After I make the bruschetta, I want to marinate the steaks. Oh, the recipe for the chicken with the bruschetta is on the counter. I bought a grill. We’ll need to assemble it though. I thought we could make shish kebabs.”
Jess continued to laugh. “I’ve never met anyone like you.”
“Thanks, I think.”
“Let me call Dad and tell him to bring his toolbox, or did you buy the wrench and screwdrivers to put the grill together?”
“Ah, I didn’t buy those.” Krispin hesitated. “I do have some at the shop. What kind do I need?”
“Don’t bother. Dad will bring his.”
“If you say so.” Krispin started cutting the small grape tomatoes into tiny pieces. “What kind of potato or rice should we make for supper?”
“What are we having: the steak, chicken, or the shish kebabs?”
“All three?”
“Rice for the shish kebabs, baked potatoes for the steak.”
“Okay, how do we bake potatoes?”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. They didn’t cover making those on TV.”
“Three-fifty for an hour in the oven.”
They continued working on all kinds of food and various meals for the next thirty minutes. When her parents arrived, they were put right to work. By the end of the evening, they had made stuffed mushrooms, chicken bruschetta, shish kebabs, twice-baked potatoes, wild rice, corn on the cob, a tossed green salad, and had a roast cooking in the oven for roast beef sandwiches.
Krispin set aside two plates for Randi and Jordan. He also learned that his refrigerator wasn’t big enough for all the food he’d purchased. Some went home with Jess, and some of the meat went home with her parents to put in their freezer.
She reflected on the wonderful evening, thinking about how she had never enjoyed cooking so much. Tonight she had seen in Krispin a passion for life that she’d never seen in him before. She liked it. His enthusiasm was contagious. She found herself still grinning when she settled between the covers to go to sleep in her own home. Lord, he’s amazing. I pray I’m being a good witness for You. Father, please help him find You. I think he’s searching, Lord. I think he’s even curious about You. He seemed to hang on every word Dad spoke when he was talking about the joy in knowing You. Please, Father, bring him to You.
❧
Krispin blew off the sawdust, then stood up tall and stretched his back. A reflexive moan followed. He never knew working at a counter for several hours would so strain the lower back. Of course he’d been discovering all kinds of muscles since moving to Squabbin Bay. Woodworking took one set; cooking took another. He’d had a blast with Jess and her parents last night. He couldn’t wait until they could do it again. But every time he had looked over at Jess, his stomach did a flip. He needed to take this friendship very slowly.
“Hey, Krispin.” Bryan, Greg’s son, came running through the shop door. “Is it okay if I work with you and Daddy today?”
“Sure.”
He ran out the door as fast as he’d come in through it. “Daddy, Krispin says it’s okay.”
Greg walked through the door with the boy in his arms. “Are you sure, Krispin? You mentioned at the house he could come, and he’s been bothering me every day.”
Krispin chuckled. “No problem.”
“Great.” Greg lowered the boy to the floor. “Go get your wood and tools, Bryan.”
The boy scurried off again.
Greg walked over to the worktable where Krispin had laid out the Purpleheart strips. It was one of the more costly woods, but he felt the purple color would make great accent lines on the kayak.
“I love that wood,” Greg said.
“Yeah, I’m really glad I decided to purchase the couple of boards.”
“Would you like me to start sanding the yellow or red cedar strips?”
“Red, then the yellow. Thanks. That would be helpful.”
Bryan came waddling in with his arms full of wood scraps. “Whatcha making, Bryan?”
“Daddy says we ain’t got no money for expensive Christmas presents—”
“Bryan!” Greg scolded.
“Sorry, Daddy. I’m making Mommy a box to put things in.”
“That sounds like a wonderful present.”
“If I build it here, Mommy won’t know, and Daddy says we have four months before Christmas. Course, once school starts, I can’t do much buildin’.”
Krispin held back a grin. Then he thought about Bryan’s statement. Just how tight were the Steadmans? “Greg, I can pay you for helping me work on the kayaks.”
“No, no, we’re fine. We’re always tight just before the season starts. Truth is, Bryan likes building things, and I felt it would be a good idea for him to make some presents this year.”
“Understood. But I know I’m not going to use as much wood as I bought since you’ve been helping me out. So why don’t you build yourself a kayak, too? I have more than enough wood.”
Greg stroked his beard. “A canoe might be better for me and the family.”
“Great, you make whatever you’d like. I’m sure we have plenty of wood for the two of us.”
“You’re certain? I wouldn’t want to take the wood from you.”
“Trust me, I’m certain. I don’t think I could make another in the three months I have left in Squabbin Bay.”
“Where ya going in three months?”
“I don’t know.”
“Daddy, can I help you build the canoe?”
“That would be up to Mr. Black.”
Bryan pleaded with puppy dog eyes. “If you’re well behaved, I don’t have a problem, but you have to mind your father and me. There are some dangerous tools here.”
“I will, I promise.”
“All right.”
For the next couple hours, the three of them worked hard. By lunchtime Bryan had reached his max. “I’ll take him home. Krispin, are you sure about the wood?” Greg asked.
“Absolutely. And by the looks of it, I have more than enough fiberglass material, as well.”
Greg extended his hand. “Thanks, Krispin. That’s mighty generous of you.”
“You’re welcome. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your help and friendship.”
Greg nodded. He scooped his worn-out son in his arms and carried
him out the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Krispin looked at all the strips of sanded wood and all that remained to be sanded. He didn’t think he’d make another one of these again, but he was glad for the experience. He was learning all kinds of new things. More importantly, Greg used the process to show him how God continued to sand off a person’s rough edges. For the first time in Krispin’s life, he was glad he wasn’t God and in control. On the floor lay a broken and rough-cut piece of wood. That was me a few months ago. On the table were some pieces that had gone through the planer, nicely cut and semirefined. But they were nothing compared to the very smooth pieces that he and Greg had already sanded. The odd thing was that they would be sanded again and again before the kayak was finished. “Lord, you’ve got quite a project on your hands with me.”
“Krispin?” Wayne Kearns called from behind the closed door.
Eleven
Jess strained over the side of the boat to try and get a glimpse of what her father was doing in Krispin’s shop. It was the second day in a row she had seen him enter the shop in the early afternoon. Truthfully, she had no reason to be on her boat, except to try and get a bird’s-eye view into the shop’s harbor doorway. He had to be helping Krispin with his kayak, she figured. Something, in all honesty, she’d love to be working on with him. The memories of making her kayak with her dad so many years ago flooded back every time she thought of Krispin making his.
For two days she’d been trying to come up with an excuse to get together with Krispin again but had come up with nothing. Jess turned from the starboard side of the boat and headed to the dock. She went back to the co-op and continued to work on next spring’s advertising campaign.
Other small lobster fishermen were starting to contact the co-op to talk about joining the group. She’d had two inquiries so far this week. If the co-op continued growing at this rate, she’d have to start working full-time. The question was, when would the co-op be able to pay her salary? The balance between donated time and salary needs were quickly becoming a matter of discussion for the board of directors. And even then, she wasn’t sure if she could handle everything in the office by herself much longer. She knew she could use a secretary or an administrative assistant, but the income didn’t warrant it.
Suited For Love Page 9
