Returning Home

by Toni Shiloh

  Evan heaved a sigh. His feelings could no longer be denied. I like her, really like her. She stood there, answering his parents’ questions, while his mind tried to wrap itself around his emotions. Instead, he found himself captivated by her. The way her eyes lit up when she talked construction was beyond sexy. What could he do to make her eyes light up like that? Would she laugh at him if he asked her out?

  He gulped the coffee, trying to still his thoughts. Just as quickly he spat it out, coughing as his tongue tingled.

  “Are you all right?” Jo asked, concern in her eyes.

  “You okay, sweetie?” His mother asked.

  His dad just grinned in amusement.

  “I’m fine. Wrong pipe.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin.

  Although the women were oblivious to his thoughts, he could tell by the look in his dad’s eyes that Senior knew exactly what he’d been thinking. “So shall we get started?” Anything to divert the attention away from himself.

  “I’m ready when you are, homeowner.” Jo smiled at him.

  It took all his strength not to take the look further. He needed to make sure she’d be interested before he went all soft over her.

  She held up a sledgehammer and explained how to use it without injuring themselves. Evan got the first swing since it was his house. He smiled in satisfaction as half of the kitchen cabinet fell to the floor. His dad went next, removing the remaining half. When his mother swung, their laughter couldn’t be contained. The small hole left from her swing seemed paltry.

  “No laughing,” Jo said. “Not everyone is naturally gifted. This next one is for you, Mrs. Carter.” She winked at his mother and then took a swing.

  Evan’s jaw dropped as a few of the remaining cabinets came tumbling down. She could hit like that?

  “You play ball, Jo Ellen?” His father asked.

  “I sure do, Mr. Carter. My dad taught me.”

  “He was a fine man, fine man indeed. Did he teach you how to swing like that?”

  She grinned. “Sure did.”

  “You’ll have to join the intramural league when spring hits.”

  “Sure, sounds fun.” She turned to look at Evan.

  He gulped. She really was beautiful.

  “I hope your swing will improve by then.” She winked at him.

  “Oh,” his mother said, laughing hysterically. “You’ve met your match, son.”

  “All right, all right. It’s not my job like it is hers.”

  He gestured for her to continue.

  The rest of the gut job went smoothly. There were some good-natured jabs tossed between the four of them, but Evan didn’t mind. It had been awhile since he had enjoyed himself. Surprisingly, he loved watching how Jo interacted with his parents. But why do I care about that?

  He shook the thought loose. He couldn’t help but compare his parents’ interaction with Jo and how they had behaved around Brenda. They had always remained aloof, claiming that Brenda was just too hard to get to know. But judging from the instant camaraderie between them and Jo, he had to wonder if Brenda had been the problem.

  Had he been too blindsided by her good looks and charm to notice the selfishness running through her veins? He thanked God for opening his eyes.

  May I never be blind again, Heavenly Father.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Jo opened her blinds. The first snow of the season had arrived. The quietness calmed her and the blanket of white awed her. Snowfall in November wasn’t a big surprise, but she wasn’t ready for winter yet. It restricted her ability to enjoy the outdoors, since she wasn’t overly fond of the cold. If she couldn’t go anywhere without access to heat, she didn’t go outside. Thankfully, there were no outside projects scheduled for the day because it was Sunday.

  As usual, she had the day off because most of her clients were of the religious type and didn’t want her working on their homes on the Lord’s Day. However, today, Jo would be joining those clients and taking a journey out in the cold to hear Bishop Brown speak at Freedom Lake Tabernacle.

  She turned to gaze at her reflection in the mirror. Would her outfit meet with the approval of the elders in church? It had been so long since she’d gone. What was the dress code nowadays? And did they still have elders, now that they were a non-denominational church? They must—she doubted the elders from the Baptist church would have left just because the church came under new leadership.

  Jo turned to the side and back to the front again.

  “You look just fine, Jo, it’s not a beauty pageant.”

  She turned at the sound of Michelle’s voice. Jo couldn’t decide what was more surprising, her friend talking to her or the outfit she wore. Michelle stood in the doorway in a black pinstripe suit with a purple silk blouse.

  “Wow, don’t you look nice and professional. Where are you going?”

  “I thought I’d tag along with you and Chloe.”

  Jo arched an eyebrow. She was going to church?

  “Don’t say anything.” Michelle crossed her arms in front of her.

  “Okay.” Jo paused.

  How could she silence her brain when it was screaming in shock? Michelle had been horrified when she mentioned going to church. What changed her mind? Instead of asking, she focused on her outfit. “Do you think this looks okay?” She gestured to her black slacks and red sweater. Her hair lay parted on the side, hanging straight down. No ponytail today.

  “You look fine, JoJo. Come on, let’s go. And I’ll drive of course,” Michelle said with a smirk.

  Jo shook her head and followed her friend out the door.

  THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE church was more charged today than last Sunday. Maybe the Holy Spirit was moving through the place but, then again, maybe it was his own excitement. Last week, Evan had been in his wheelchair at the end of the aisle. This time, he stood while listening to the melodic sounds of the choir.

  Thank You, Lord.

  As the song came to an end, the congregation clapped and sat down. He scanned the crowd, enjoying the look of peace on people’s faces. He stilled as he noted that Chloe had visitors this week.

  She’s here.

  Surprise, gratitude, and happiness flooded his being. Jo actually came. More shocking: Michelle sat next to her. He turned to Darryl to point out the girls, but his friend’s gaze had already found Chloe. The boy looked like a sad puppy dog.

  He leaned close to whisper to him. “Dawg, you gotta stop mooning over her. Just ask her out.”

  Darryl blinked as if he had just noticed Evan.

  “Did you hear me?”

  “I heard you. I’m not ready so until then ignore my looks. Besides, I don’t see you asking Jo out.”

  His jaw dropped. He hadn’t told anyone of his recent interest in her.

  “Man, don’t give me that fake look of surprise. You’ve been sweet on Jo since we were kids. You just thought you were too cool to like her in high school. Your loss.” Darryl pointed to Jo shaking hands with one of the eligible bachelors of Freedom Lake.

  Deep down he knew the guy was probably just welcoming her to church, but that didn’t stop the jealousy from running through his veins.

  BISHOP BROWN’S MESSAGE on “Doing Right Regardless” intrigued Jo. Of course, she’d always tried to do right by others, but she never thought of it in the context of religion. He cautioned the congregation on judging a group of people based on the actions of just one person. Everyone was fallible and could make mistakes. He stated that their job would be to do right regardless of whether another person was. This would bring glory to God and be a good testament to those watching.

  Jo heaved a sigh. It was like Bishop Brown was speaking directly to her. She had avoided the church and religion like the plague based on one person’s actions: those of her mother. If all Christians were like her mother, then Jo hadn’t wanted any part of them or their two-faced religion. Now, God was opening her eyes to other viewpoints.

  She had the examples of the joyful-and-sincere behavior of the Cart
ers and Chloe—although zealous in her approach—who never spoke badly of anyone. Instead, her friend constantly sought to point others to God. Jo had been so hung up on not ending up like her mother, that in a sense, she had.

  Shame rolled over her in waves.

  Um, hello it’s me. Jo. Well, I don’t know where to start, but I will say that I don’t know how I feel about church or religion. Evan says You care. He says You put people in my life to remind me of that. And now Bishop Brown is saying I’m supposed to do the right thing regardless of what others are doing. This seems like an impossible task, but I guess following You won’t be easy. I’m not sure I’m ready to take that step, but I want You to know I’m listening if You have something to say. Um, Amen?

  She looked up and noticed that the service had come to a close. Jo turned to Michelle and leaned in, “What did you think?”

  “Interesting.” A thoughtful look crept into her eyes. “I’ve always believed in doing the right thing, but I never equated that to religion. I just assumed most Christians were hypocritical. It never occurred to me that they were struggling everyday like I am. I guess I need to remember everyone can make mistakes.”

  “Oh, wow, I didn’t even look at the sermon from that point of view. I mean I heard him say that, but I was so stuck on doing the right thing regardless if the person next to me was or not.”

  “Isn’t it funny how we heard the same message, but different things spoke to us?”

  So true.

  The thought that Christians still struggled bothered her for some reason. What was the point of becoming a Christian if you still wrestled with life’s issues? And what did her mother think about the message? Did she ever feel like she was messing up in life?

  So many questions and so little answers. Her head hurt from her musings. Perhaps she should contemplate those things later.

  Jo got up and made her way down the aisle, with her friends following closely behind. It was surprising to see how many people attended church. She never thought Freedom Lake was that big, but she didn’t know half of the people here. Plus, she figured the weather would have kept them in. Then again, Indiana and cold went hand-in-hand for the winter.

  “Did you guys enjoy the service?” Chloe asked, looking back and forth between Michelle and Jo.

  “Well,” Michelle said slowly as if gathering her thoughts. “It did give me food for thought. I don’t know how I feel about the music. It was just noise to me really. Sorry.” Michelle looked at Chloe cautiously, as if to decide if she had offended her.

  Michelle had never been one to believe in religion and after her parents had died she was convinced God didn’t exist. What had happened to get her to even step foot in a church? Was she finally tired of hanging on to the bitterness?

  “It’s hard to get into the music if you don’t like the genre or even understand the whole point of worshipping” Chloe stated. “But, I think if you keep coming and get to the point where you believe Jesus is your everything, the music will come together.”

  “I suppose that makes sense,” Michelle said.

  Jo wanted to laugh because her tone suggested otherwise.

  “What about you, Jo?” Chloe touched her arm.

  “I liked the words to the music. It seemed...I don’t know...mystical in a way. Like Michelle, I found the sermon intriguing. I’m definitely going to be thinking about it for days to come.”

  Chloe beamed as if Jo had just won the national spelling bee. They made their way into the hall, although Jo wouldn’t call it that. It was huge. It had a café area for people to sit and mingle with one another as well as enjoy the food and beverages laid out on tables situated alongside a wall. The hall even had an information booth with chairs set up behind them for more seating to talk with one another. As Jo looked around, she wondered why she hadn’t seen Evan today.

  “Good morning, Jo.”

  Did I just conjure him up?

  She turned around. “Good morning, Evan.” She took small breaths, trying to calm her nerves. Why was she nervous?

  “Did you enjoy the message? Do you think it helped clear some things up for you?” He gazed into her eyes as if searching for answers there.

  His eyes shined with warmth. Think, girl! “Actually, I do think it helped answer some questions I had.”

  His cheekbones appeared as his lips curved into a smile. She stared, mesmerized.

  “I’m so glad. I was hoping you enjoyed the message.”

  What did he say? She searched her mind. Oh. “You saw me? This place is so big. I’d imagine you could lose someone here.”

  He chuckled. “It is pretty spacious. Hey,” he touched her elbow. “If you have any questions, I’d be happy to talk them over with you.”

  “Would you now?” Michelle interrupted mordantly.

  “I would.” He answered her, but his gaze never wavered from Jo’s.

  What was he thinking?

  “Would you care to join us, Michelle?” He asked, finally looking at her. “We could make it a Bible Study.”

  “That sounds wonderful,” Chloe exclaimed.

  “I’m in, man,” Darryl said, staring straight at Chloe.

  Jo did a double take, finally noticing how Chloe refused to return Darryl’s stare. Hmm, what is that about? She turned back to Evan, who stared at her expectantly. Oh, yeah, he had said something. “Are you offering to do a Bible study? And we’re all invited?” She waved toward their group, huddled off to the side.

  They had never hung out in high school. Did it make sense to suddenly expect them to want to study God’s word together? She glanced at Michelle to see if her friend would bow out or cave in.

  Her friend arched an eyebrow. “Fine. I’ll come. Whose house are we going to have it at?”

  “Not mine,” Evan said quickly.

  Jo laughed in agreement. His was a disaster. The only thing intact was the sidewalk. She’d had a great sunny day a few days ago, allowing her to level it and create the ramp.

  “How about mine?” Darryl offered.

  Chloe gave him a cautious smile which Darryl returned.

  When no one spoke up, Jo did. “Sounds great, Darryl. What day of the week works best for everyone?” Did she hear crickets? What was with this group? “Okay, how about Friday night?”

  If they weren’t going to respond, then she’d just lead the way. Besides, Friday was her least busy day. Heck, who was she kidding, she never did anything on a Friday night.

  The group agreed. After setting the time, the men departed and said good-bye to the women.

  “What in the world did we just agree to?” Michelle muttered as they headed for their cars.

  Jo got in the passenger side, buckling her seat belt. She watched as Michelle pulled out of the parking lot. How long could she be silent before bombarding Michelle with questions?

  “JoJo, do you mind if I just drive?”

  Uh-oh. Michelle only drove when she had something on her mind.

  “Not at all. I’ll just relax.” Jo laid her head against the headrest and closed her eyes, hoping she really could relax. The sermon seemed to echo in her head.

  She opened an eye, noticing the car seemed to be picking up speed. Realizing Michelle had turned onto the highway that led to the city, she closed her eyes once again. Hopefully, the girl wasn’t planning on driving all the way there. Then again, she didn’t have anything planned today so it didn’t matter.

  “What in the world?”

  Jo opened her eyes and glanced at Michelle. “What?”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Michelle slowed down and glanced in the rearview mirror.

  She looked at the side view mirror and gasped. A Freedom Lake sheriff car was behind them, lights ablaze. Michelle pulled over and rolled the window down, turning off the car in one fell swoop. Jo shivered as the wind whipped into the car. “Girl, you could have waited until the cop appeared before lowering the window.”

  “Hey, I don’t want them saying we didn’t cooperate.” />
  Good point.

  “Hey, the guy looks black,” Michelle pointed out.

  Jo glanced back and saw a lanky Black man walking toward the car. She squinted—he almost looked like Guy. Maybe he wouldn’t give her girl a ticket. Then again, they had hated one another in high school. Probably more than she and Evan.

  He stepped up to the car. “Afternoon, ma’am. Do you know why I pulled you over?”

  She wanted to laugh. Cops were the same no matter where you lived. Jo wondered if Michelle figured out who he was yet. His hat was tipped so low you couldn’t see his face, but Jo knew that voice anywhere.

  “No, officer, why did you pull me over?”

  She covered her mouth, holding in a snicker at the lawyer tone of voice her friend used. Yep, Michelle had no clue who she was talking to.

  “I clocked you going twenty over.”

  Guy tilted his hat up and Jo heard Michelle gasp.

  “Guy? What in the world are you doing back in Freedom Lake?”

  Jo looked down at her hands, wincing at the ice in Michelle’s voice.

  “I moved back last month. What are you doing here?”

  “I moved back last month as well. I just opened Thomas Attorney-at-Law.

  “You’re that Thomas?”

  “Yes,” she snapped back.

  “Then why on earth are you speeding, counselor?”

  “I’m sorry. I was...” she stopped.

  Jo looked around Michelle’s head. Guy looked sick. What was that about? She wished she could see the look on Michelle’s face to gauge her mood.

  “Never mind. Can I have my ticket, Officer Pierre?”

  “Actually, it’s Sheriff Pierre.”

  “What? You’re the new sheriff?”

  Guy grinned, his white teeth flashing. Jo remembered how often he had flashed that same grin during high school. It had always aggravated Michelle.

  “Sure am, counselor.”

  “Will you please stop calling me that and give me my ticket?” Michelle snapped out.

  “Now, Chelle belle, why would I give our newest lawyer a ticket? I’ll let you off with a warning.” He tapped his notebook against the palm of his hand.