“I’m not open for business yet,” he mumbled just before opening the door.
“Hey Blake.” Rob grinned at him. “Need any help?”
The two younger boys stood to the side with matching grins. Blake peered past them but didn’t see Tessa’s car.
“Are you guys on foot?”
“Not exactly.” Rob pointed to the side. “We rode our bikes.”
“Does your mom know you’re here?” Blake glanced at his watch. A quarter till four in the afternoon. He’d be surprised if Tessa knew where her boys were.
His restaurant was on the corner of two four-lane streets with a residential section behind. Tessa and the boys lived about half a mile into that area, so if the boys were careful, they could ride their bikes to the store without touching the busy areas. He hoped that’s what they had done.
Rob shook his head. “Nope, but she won’t care. She likes you.”
“Yeah, she misses you,” Seth added.
Blake looked at Derek. The youngest boy looked back with solemn eyes. “How come you haven’t been around all week?”
“I took your mom to see her friend in the hospital Sunday afternoon.”
Blake’s frown didn’t deter the little guy. He crossed his arms and lifted his chin to look Blake in the eye. “Yeah, and now it’s Friday. We decided you weren’t gonna come see us, so we came straight from school to see you. Mama’s real sad ’cause you don’t want to see us anymore. Is that true? Don’t you want to be our friend?”
A silly grin replaced Blake’s frown. He couldn’t help it. Tessa hadn’t seen him in five days, and she missed him. In that case, he’d escort the boys home after they put in a few minutes helping, and he’d make sure he timed their arrival for when Tessa got home from work.
He put a hand on Derek’s shoulder and squeezed. “I am your friend and your mom’s.” Until she decided he could be more. “Come on in. I’ve got a room upstairs I’d sure like to get painted. Are you up to that?”
“Maybe if we work hard, we can finish before Mom gets home.” Rob led the boys inside.
Blake gave a quick nod. “Maybe.” He liked Rob’s willingness to work. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you, Rob. You asked me if I could hire a fifteen-year-old.”
“Yeah, I figured you couldn’t, or you would’ve said something.” Rob shrugged as if he didn’t care.
“Not necessarily.” Blake looked into the teen’s blue eyes. “I don’t usually hire anyone under sixteen, but I think you are an exceptional person. You seem responsible and aren’t afraid of work. I’ve seen how you’ve taken over the kitchen at home. You learn quickly. So, while I can’t put you on the books, I’d like to give you a part-time job if your mother approves. If you’re interested, I’ll take you guys home about the time she gets off work and talk to her. How’s that sound?”
Rob’s eyes shone, and his smile spread across his face. “Yeah, that’s great. Thanks, Blake.”
“No problem.” Blake shrugged off his thanks and motioned to the kitchen. “The brushes and paint are in there. Let’s paint my bedroom.”
An hour later, Blake stopped his SUV in front of Tessa’s house. He followed the boys inside. “What time does your mom usually get home?”
Rob glanced at a clock on the living room wall. “In about ten minutes. Oh man! I’d better get supper started.”
He jogged toward the door leading to the kitchen, grabbed the door frame, and looked over his shoulder. “Hey Blake, what’s quick?”
“Takeout?” Blake couldn’t resist. He laughed at the raised eyebrows. “Let me take a look at what you’ve got.”
All four guys tromped to the kitchen, and the two younger boys began making suggestions ranging from chili to hamburgers and chips.
Rob shook his head. “All the hamburger’s frozen, and we snacked on the last full bag of chips.” He grabbed a couple of open bags of potato chips from the counter and plopped them back down. “Guess there might be enough, but these have been open a couple of days so they sure aren’t fresh. Won’t work anyway with frozen meat.”
“Do you have tuna and cream of mushroom soup?” Blake looked over Rob’s shoulder as he stood in the pantry. He picked up a can. “Here’s some peas.”
Rob pulled the tuna and soup from the shelf. “What do you want with these?”
“You want something quick that tastes fantastic. Right?” Blake backed out of the cubby that served as a pantry and looked at each of the three boys.
At three nods, he grinned. “Then tuna chip casserole is your best bet.”
Rob’s eyes grew large. “You’re going to bake potato chips with that stuff?”
Blake shook his head. “Nope, you are. And you’re gonna love it.”
“All right. I’m game, but it sounds gross to me. Seth, get the casserole dish down, will ya?” Rob took the tuna and soup to the counter and opened them with the can opener.
Seth set the dish beside his brother and backed away. Rob took the peas from Blake and opened them. “Okay, now what do I do?”
Blake handed a bag of chips to each of the younger boys. “First step is to crush these right in the bags. Go ahead, guys, squeeze the chips and then pour the crumbs into the casserole dish.”
He handed the tuna to Rob. “While they’re doing that, you can drain the tuna. Spread it out over the chips.”
Tessa recognized Blake’s car in front of her house from a block away. Her traitorous heart beat a rhythm that clearly said they could never be just friends. How had she lived eleven years without him, when now five days seemed like forever?
Inside she heard their voices coming from the kitchen. She stalled long enough to toss her purse on her bed and change into blue jeans and a T-shirt before she headed for the homey scene she knew awaited her. Sure enough, Blake and Rob stood at the counter mixing something. Seth and Derek were setting the table. Her kitchen held the aroma of food cooking, although she couldn’t identify what was in the oven. She leaned against the door frame and watched, since no one seemed to notice her.
“That’s good,” Blake said. “Brownies need to be stirred rather than beaten. Here, stir the nuts and chips into them.”
“Potato chips?” Derek turned from the table with a look of horror on his face. “You aren’t putting them in the brownies, too, are you?”
Blake looked up and laughed. That’s when he noticed her. His laughter stopped, but his eyes brightened and locked with hers. He answered Derek, never taking his gaze from hers. “No, son, chocolate chips.”
Her heart slammed against her ribs, and her gaze faltered. Did he suspect? Did he know? Why else would he call Derek “son”? She should have told him long before now. He was a good man. A good father. His mother was no longer a threat to her. She had no excuse. She’d kept her secret far too long. Guilt and fear flooded through her veins, and she made a silent promise. Soon she would tell, but not now. Not in front of the boys. There would be time later, when she and Blake were alone.
“Mom, we’re having potato chip casserole.” Derek shattered the moment as he ran across the room and flung his arms around her waist. “We went on our bikes and got Blake. He isn’t mad at us.”
“I should hope not.” Tessa’s laughter cut off when she caught up with Derek’s info overload. She turned toward Rob. “You rode your bikes where?”
Rob straightened from the oven, a hot casserole dish in his hands. He set it on top of the stove and shrugged. “To Blake’s store. I knew you wouldn’t mind, because he needed the help. Don’t you always say we should help our neighbors who are in need?”
Blake turned his back to the room and washed his hands at the sink, but Tessa noticed his shoulders shaking. So he thought this was funny? Oh, she would be first to admit, Rob was a master manipulator. Turning her words against her was only one of his tricks.
“Rob, you know that riding across town without permission—”
“I know, Mom, and I’m sorry.” He’d interrupted, but he looked genuinely repentant, so she wa
ited to hear what he had to say. “I guess being a mom is a pretty heavy job. Especially when there’s no dad to share the responsibility and the worry we cause. I mean here we are, three guys growing up without a dad to teach us all the guy stuff we need to know.”
Tessa folded her arms and waited. Blake’s shoulders had stopped shaking. She bet he was listening to every word. She lifted her eyebrows at Rob. “And your point is?”
Rob shrugged. “No point. I’m just agreeing we should’ve asked permission. But we got to thinking maybe you and Blake had a fight, and we thought we’d better go fix things up if we could. Guess you didn’t fight, huh?”
Warmth crept up Tessa’s face when Blake turned around and looked at her with a crooked little grin on his lips. His dark eyes danced as if he found the entire situation amusing. “Of course not. Blake and I have nothing to fight about.”
Tessa pushed away from the doorway. “So what’s that you set on the stove? Supper, I hope.”
The room came alive then as the boys finished setting the table and Rob and Blake explained what they had cooked. Tessa sniffed the air above the casserole appreciatively. “I’ve never cooked with potato chips, but that does smell good.”
Blake just grinned. “Wait until you taste it.”
An hour later, Tessa sat on the porch swing alone with Blake, watching the sun go down in the west. They both wore jackets to ward off the chilly evening breeze.
“The boys have been in school almost two weeks already,” she said. “Summer’s over.”
“I know.” Blake seemed unusually quiet. “I wanted to open the restaurant by now, but the furniture hasn’t arrived yet. I’ve been interviewing for jobs. At least that’s going well. I offered Rob a part-time job.”
Tessa stared at him. “Are you sure?”
He nodded and grinned. “He’s got his faults, but mostly he’s a good kid.”
Tessa thought of Blake’s store. Of the bar. Wouldn’t he be selling alcohol? Maybe he wouldn’t make such a good father after all. She shook her head. “I don’t know, Blake. I’ll have to think about this. I hope he understands, I need to approve of him working.”
“He knows.” Blake gave her the hint of a smile. “We talked about that already.”
“Good.” She knew the answer, but she didn’t want to say anything yet. The evening was too peaceful. “Do you remember Cindy?”
“The girl that jerk beat up?”
“Yes. I went back to the hospital to see her a couple of times this week. She was released day before yesterday.”
“She going back to him?”
“No.” Tessa shook her head. “She’s going home to her parents. She’s just eighteen, Blake. It’s hard to break out when you get caught in a trap of destruction. I have her address. I’m going to write to her and pray she’ll make a clean break.”
“I hope she does. Let me know what happens.” Blake stood. “I’m going to Oklahoma tomorrow to check on things there.”
“Is everything going okay?” Tessa stood, too.
“Yeah.” He grinned. “Just great. The Pizza Playground is rolling right along without me. I always figured they could.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Tessa didn’t want Blake to leave, but she knew he shouldn’t stay either. After all, they were just friends. Besides, if he left, she wouldn’t have to tell him about Derek. At least, not tonight.
He stepped off the porch then turned back as if something else was on his mind. “When do you go to church Sunday morning and where? Maybe I’ll see you there.”
Tessa’s heart almost stopped beating. She stammered out the address and the time then watched him walk to his car. Would Blake Donovan come to church? She closed her eyes and lifted her heart in praise. Thank You, Jesus!
Chapter 13
B lake didn’t meet them at church. Instead he showed up at Tessa’s front door half an hour early Sunday morning. Looking handsomer than any man had a right to be, he stood on her front porch with a Bible clutched in his hand.
He lifted the black book when she opened the door. “I am supposed to bring one of these, aren’t I?”
She laughed and pulled the door open wider for him to walk through. “It never hurts, especially if you want to follow the scripture for yourself. I always take mine.”
“Good, I wouldn’t want to look like a dork.” He sat on the edge of the sofa.
Tessa stifled a grin. She couldn’t believe how nervous he acted. She sank into the chair across from him. “The boys are getting ready now. They were so excited when I told them you might come. Have you had breakfast?”
He nodded. “Tessa, do you know how long it’s been since I stepped through a church door for something other than a wedding or a funeral?”
“No.”
“Well, I don’t either, but I guarantee, it was before I met you.”
“Then it’s been too long.” Tessa smiled. “I am so proud of you, Blake.”
A faint touch of red flushed his neck and ears. “I’m only going because of you and my mom. She’s convinced God healed my dad. He’s doing really great. And look at you. You’re not the same girl you used to be, Tessa.”
“No, I’m not.” She spoke in a soft voice. “When I accepted Christ as my Savior, I turned from the old sins that held me captive. I haven’t looked back, and I don’t intend to, not ever.”
“Hey Blake, you’re going, huh?” Seth walked into the room. He shoved his glasses up on his nose. “Rob said you wouldn’t. Me and Derek knew you would.”
Blake chuckled. “Thanks for the confidence, buddy.”
Several minutes later, Tessa felt the stares behind the friendly handshakes as she introduced Blake to her church friends. Travis and Kasi gave him a warm welcome. Travis sat next to Blake in Sunday school, and the two families sat together later during the church service. Tessa listened to the sermon but couldn’t help glancing to see Blake’s reaction from time to time. She wished he would show more emotion, but at least he seemed absorbed by the message on faith.
After church, Tessa’s mother headed straight for them. She waited while Kasi and Travis said their good-byes; then she shook Blake’s hand. “We are so glad to have you join us today. I’m Deloris Stevens, Tessa’s mother. I don’t believe we’ve met?”
“Well, maybe a long time ago.” Blake smiled warmly at the older woman. “Tessa and I have been friends for a long time. I’m Blake Donovan.”
Her mother stared into his eyes as if she hoped to find something there that would tell her of his intentions. With a quick nod, she smiled. “I know you see the difference in Tessa, then. She isn’t the only one who has changed. If I met you years ago, I don’t remember, but that isn’t so surprising since I had more interest in a longneck bottle back then than I did in my only daughter.”
He nodded. “Tessa is teaching me that people can change for the better.”
The woman smiled at her daughter. “Yes, through the grace of God, we can put away those old things. Tessa taught me that, too.”
“We’re going out to eat. Would you care to join us?”
Tessa gave Blake a quick look. Since when had she agreed to go out to eat with him?
“Oh, that sounds like fun.” Her mother turned and drew forward a man whom Tessa hadn’t even noticed. “However, I have other plans.” She introduced Clark Albright, one of their fellow church members, to Blake. Mr. Albright had been leaning against the pew ahead, obviously waiting for her mother, who now smiled up at him. “Maybe we can all enjoy a meal together another time. You will be back, won’t you, Blake?”
“Yes ma’am, I believe I will.” Blake grinned at Tessa. “If your daughter lets me.”
“She will.”
Tessa watched her mother pat Blake’s arm. She could almost read her mind. If Blake accepted Christ, she would do all in her power to get her daughter married to him. The boys would help their grandmother, too. Of that, she had no doubt. She looked into Blake’s dark brown eyes and her heart picked up its beat. Maybe she
would help, too.
Blake shook hands with Clark Albright, and Tessa wondered how she had missed a romance going on right under her nose. She might be upset with her mother for keeping a secret if she wasn’t so happy to see her taking interest in life again. For too many years she had grieved for her husband, shutting out the world. Mr. Albright was a nice man whose wife had died a couple of years ago. Tessa hoped her mother found happiness with him.
Blake took them to a sit-down restaurant. No pizza and no fast food today. As they ate, Seth asked Blake, “What’s the name of your restaurant going to be?”
“Yeah,” Rob chimed in. “You don’t have a sign up yet. I noticed that the other day.”
“That’s because I haven’t named it.” Blake held a forkful of mashed potatoes and looked around the table. “What do you think it should be?”
“Donovan’s Family Pizza and More,” Seth answered, as if he’d already decided.
“Now that’s a good idea.” Tessa lifted her eyebrows, challenging him to turn down the name. “Don’t you think so, Blake? A family restaurant where kids can come with their parents because no alcohol is served. A business where I won’t have reservations about letting Rob work.”
Tessa’s words hit Blake hard. When he added them to the hints his mother had been not so discreetly dropping, he was starting to get the picture. “You don’t like my store very much, do you?”
“I love the idea of your store, Blake. As far as I know, there isn’t another just like it anywhere around here. I’m sure it will be a success, but my boys won’t be there when you open the doors.”
“Because I’ll offer a few drinks that are too old for them?” He frowned across the table at her. “No one under twenty-one will be served, Tessa. The bar won’t even open until late.”
Tessa shook her head. “I know that. I just don’t want my boys near alcohol. Even if the bar isn’t open until later, you do plan to serve drinks with dinner, don’t you?”
His jaw clenched as he nodded.
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