Reaching Her Heart: A Christian Romance (Callaghans & McFaddens Book 8)

by Kimberly Rae Jordan

  “Do you want to take a test drive with me?” Tristan asked. “Will it make you feel more comfortable?”

  “Maybe,” Shayna said, relaxing her grip on the wheel a bit. “Yeah. Maybe that would be good, but I need my purse.”

  “Is it upstairs?” Tristan pushed open the door. “I’ll get it for you.”

  “Yes, it’s on the counter by the fridge.”

  “Be right back.”

  Alone in the car, Shayna peeled her fingers from around the steering wheel and grasped them together in her lap. She hoped this wasn’t a mistake, that none of this was a mistake. Letting Tristan into their lives. Letting him spend time with Timothy. Letting him help find someone to live with them. Letting him loan her this car, that was no doubt worth more than she could earn in two—maybe even three—years.

  She jolted when the garage door began to roll up. As Tristan climbed in next to her again, Shayna glanced over at him, determined to refuse the offer of the car. But then he gave her an encouraging smile, looking for all the world like he had no qualms about letting her drive his car—his very expensive car.

  “Maybe it’s too soon,” she said as he placed her purse on the floor by his feet.

  “Nope. It’s better that you get right back on the horse, so to speak.”

  Shayna thought about arguing but knew he was right. “Okay.”

  Following Tristan’s instructions, she started the vehicle up and put it in gear. She tried to relax her grip as she pulled out of the garage. “Where should I go?”

  “Just drive to wherever you’re most comfortable. You don’t need to go someplace challenging right now.” As she turned onto the main road outside the townhouse co-op, Tristan asked, “Where do you work?”

  “At a restaurant over in St. Boniface.”

  “Wow. That’s a bit of a drive for you.”

  Shayna nodded. “But it wasn’t when I first started working there.”

  “So why did you move this far away?”

  “Lisa found the place. For what we paid, it was better than other places we had looked at. Our combined income worked because Lisa has a decent paying career.”

  “What does she do?”

  “Um, I’m not sure about the details, but it has to do with computers. Programming? Websites? I never really understood when she tried to explain it.” Shayna gave a shake of her head. “I’m not really good at stuff like that.”

  “How much will someone coming to live here with you need to make?”

  “I’ll have to check. I’ve earned more since we first moved in.”

  “Okay, just let me know, and let me know the amount of the rent as well.”

  Shayna was grateful for the distraction of the conversation as she drove the familiar route to Timothy’s school and then back home again. The roads had been plowed, but even if they hadn’t been, she would have felt safe. Tristan’s car felt solid on the road, not as if it would be sent into a spin by a singular patch of ice.

  By the time they made it back to the house, Shayna felt a bit more confident about borrowing Tristan’s car. She could only pray that even though he did have insurance coverage, she wouldn’t have an accident. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to get back behind the wheel again if she did.

  After she’d backed the car into the garage again, Tristan came around to help her out, and together they went back into the house. Before she could head up the stairs, he grasped her arm lightly, stopping her. She turned to look at him and found his gaze intent on her.

  “Please, don’t worry at all about the SUV. You’re going to be just fine with it.”

  “Thank you for loaning it to us,” Shayna said. “It will make things a lot easier.”

  He hesitated before pulling out his wallet, opening it to remove a card. He held it out to her. “Use this for gas.”

  Shayna crossed her arms, tucking her hands under them as she shook her head. “I can pay for the gas. I paid for the gas for my car, after all.”

  “Though this SUV has decent gas mileage as far as SUVs go, it’s still going to use more gas than your car did.”

  “You’re doing enough already. I can pay for the gas.”

  He stared at her for a moment then said, “Let’s make a deal here. Do you usually budget for gas? A certain amount each week or for the month?” She nodded. “Okay. So put the gas on the card as you need it, then you can give me the amount you usually budget for gas once you don’t need the car anymore. This situation was supposed to help you out, not put more financial strain on you.”

  Shayna knew that she should stop arguing, especially since he was offering a compromise that made sense. It still left her feeling indebted to him, but at least he was letting her carry part of the burden. She wasn’t entirely sure what motivated him, but she was hardly in a place to question him about it. Maybe at some point in the future, when she was no longer so indebted to him, she would ask him.

  Without saying anything—because what could she say—she held out her hand. He placed the card in it.

  “I know this is difficult for you,” Tristan said, his voice low. “That you’d rather take care of all of this by yourself, and I admire you for that, but I think until things are settled with your car, you need to accept a little help.”

  “This is more than a little help, Tristan,” Shayna said, gesturing with the card.

  Tristan looked like he was going to say something, but then he just smiled and gestured to the stairs. Not long after they rejoined the girls and Timothy, Tristan left with Danica and Sierra. When Shayna found herself wondering when she might see him again, she decided that it might be a good thing that he hadn’t said.

  “Is this about the makeup?” Makayla asked.

  “Or the chocolate covered strawberries?” Sammi chimed in.

  Tristan frowned at them. “It’s about someone needing a roommate.”

  “A very nice someone,” Danica said with a grin. “Right, Sierra?”

  Tristan could see that Sierra was reticent to join in on the teasing, and he appreciated that. Unfortunately, the other three would definitely make up for it, especially now that Makayla and Sammi realized they had an ally with insider information.

  “What’s she like?” Sammi asked.

  They now had the attention of the rest of the people in the room. They’d gotten together for an early dinner before heading to a Christmas program at church. He’d thought about offering to take Shayna and Timothy, but he wasn’t sure that she’d be up to heading out of the house just yet. And even though Timothy might have enjoyed it, Tristan had started to worry a bit about encouraging a friendship with the boy before talking about it with Shayna.

  They were rapidly gaining importance to him, and somehow, he knew that he shouldn’t allow himself to feel anything more before he talked with Shayna. If she wasn’t receptive to a possible relationship with him, he would need to step back. He wouldn’t completely abandon Timothy, but he’d definitely limit the time they spent together.

  “Shayna is very nice,” Sierra said. “And her son, Timothy, is a real sweetheart.”

  “Timothy?” Kenton asked. “The boy you brought to the hockey game?”

  Tristan hesitated because he knew what they would read into that, even though, at the time, he’d simply wanted to give the boy a special experience. But still, he nodded. “Yes. That was Timothy Caron.”

  “Is Shayna someone special to you?” his mom asked, her soft question breaking through all the chatter that had erupted at his revelation.

  Tristan ran his hand through his hair, forgetting for a moment that he still had somewhere to go that evening. “I don’t know. Maybe?”

  “Sounds like love to me,” Gabe said, a broad grin on his face.

  Tristan shot his brother a frustrated look. He understood that Gabe was always one to turn things into a joke. Unfortunately, there was no joking about the situation with Shayna in Tristan’s mind. The uncertainty of the relationship unsettled him.

  He liked to have thin
gs in place, orderly. It was hard when something was in disarray, like the situation with Shayna and Timothy, because then it demanded all his attention, which made it difficult to be able to focus on anything else.

  Though he was concerned what Shayna’s response might be, it was better to know. To bring order to whatever it was developing between them, whether it be a relationship or friendship. Or nothing.

  Unable to focus on those thoughts while fielding questions from his mom and other family members, Tristan pushed his thoughts aside for the time being. There would be time later for that. He hadn’t made plans to see them again before next Sunday. He’d debated asking Shayna about stopping by in a few days, but instead, he’d left without doing it.

  “Back to my original question,” Tristan said when there was a lapse in the questions. “Does anyone know of someone needing a place to stay?”

  “Why don’t you just offer her a place in the apartment building?” Mitch asked. “The three-bedroom place is still empty.”

  Tristan had considered it. He just didn’t want Shayna to feel like he was trying to take over her life. Her strength was one of the things he admired about her. He knew that the only reason she’d accepted the use of his car was because of Timothy. Maybe she’d accept an apartment for the same reason, but for now, he wanted to help her find another option. One that wouldn’t involve them having to give up their home.

  “I would like to see if she could find a roommate first,” Tristan said. “Moving isn’t easy this time of year, especially when it would mean uprooting her son.”

  “That’s very true,” his mom said. “Moving is never easy.”

  “So where is the apartment located, and what sort of rent is she asking?” Belle asked.

  Tristan gave her the details as he remembered them from what Shayna had told him earlier.

  “It’s actually quite a nice place,” Danica added. “And if she keeps things as they are, I think the available bedroom would come with an ensuite.”

  “I might know someone who would be interested,” Belle said. “One of the ladies at the store also just lost her roommate. Although in her case, it was to marriage.”

  “She just has to be good with kids. Well, there’s only one, but she needs to be okay with him.”

  “He really is a neat kid,” Sierra said. “So smart.”

  “He and Tristan seem to have a lot in common,” Danica added. “He said that Tristan helped him figure out what to do for the science fair he is part of at school.”

  “That sounds like something you’d like, Tris,” his mom said as she reached over to pat his hand. “You did love creating projects for the science fair when you were in school.”

  “He is a smart kid,” Tristan said, agreeing with Sierra. “I doubt he’d be any trouble, but still, anyone moving in with them needs to be okay with children.”

  Belle nodded. “I think Eva would be, but I’ll let her decide for herself.”

  “You can vouch for this woman?” Tristan asked. “I told Shayna that anyone we recommended to her would be someone we trusted.”

  “I understand that,” Belle said. “And yes, Eva is someone I trust. She’s worked for us for a few years now and has always been reliable. Good with the customers and others working at the shop. I’ll talk to Jasmine about her, to see what she thinks.”

  “I’ll give you Shayna’s number, so if it seems Eva might be interested, she can contact her.” Tristan felt a rush of relief. Even though the situation hadn’t been totally resolved, at least he had hope that a resolution might not be too far off.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Shayna let out a sigh as she settled on the edge of her bed. It had been a long week as she’d returned to work even though she’d still been in significant pain. Painkillers and makeup to cover the bruises had been the only way she’d made it through work. Thankfully, both the pain and the bruises were starting to fade.

  In addition to work, she’d had to follow through with the insurance adjuster about the accident. Thankfully, she hadn’t been at fault, so that was one less issue to deal with.

  What hadn’t been so great, however, was discovering that the damage to her car had been so extensive that they were going to write it off. That hadn’t come as a big surprise, but still, now she had the added stress of trying to find an affordable vehicle to replace it.

  What had taken her completely off-guard had been the emotions she’d felt when they’d told her she wasn’t getting her car back. That had been the car she and Lorne had saved up for. It had taken awhile, but the satisfaction of knowing they’d done it and owned the car free and clear had been immense. The minute they had insured it, they’d loaded Timothy up in his car seat and taken a drive outside of the city.

  That day had been one of the happiest days they’d spent together. Just the three of them, Lorne tossing smiles her way as he’d driven them along tree-lined streets north of the city. It had been perfect.

  It was hard to think of losing the tangible connection to that day. In fact, she’d tried very hard not to think of that all week, but now that the week was over, and Timothy was sound asleep in his bed, the memory wouldn’t leave her alone.

  But she refused to succumb to the emotions that wanted to eclipse everything else. On any other Saturday evening, she would have taken a bath after Timothy had gone to bed. Enjoying a soak while she read whatever book she had on the go. It had been a ritual that often helped her unwind from a busy week.

  Right then, however, she was too tired even for the effort of a bath. She’d taken Timothy to the museum earlier that day, using the pass Tristan had gotten them, in an effort to distract him from the not-so-great week he’d had at school. There were times she wished she could pull him out of his school, away from the kids who liked to tease him.

  At least there was one positive thing in the week. She’d received a call from someone named Eva on Wednesday, asking about renting Lisa’s room. It seemed that Tristan had followed through with his offer to spread the word among his family’s friends and acquaintances. Eva had said she worked for Belle Callaghan at her bridal boutique.

  It would be a great relief to have the roommate situation settled. They’d made arrangements for Eva to come by the next afternoon so they could meet and she could see the place. Shayna hoped things might be settled on that front before Christmas. It would make the holiday a bit easier. If there was a promise of a renter, it would free up a little bit of the money she would have had to use for a security deposit at a new place.

  That would mean she could buy a few more presents for Timothy, which is what she desperately wanted. Lisa had placed a couple of presents for him under the tree during her last visit, but so far, Shayna hadn’t bought anything but a science coloring book and a new set of colored pencils. He deserved so much more than that, and if it worked out for Eva to move in, she’d be able to get him a few more presents. Still, nothing like she would like to get him, but at least there would be more than just two or three presents under the tree for him to open on Christmas morning.

  Even though it was barely ten o’clock, Shayna got up and pulled back the blankets on her bed and slipped under them. Though she wasn’t excited to go to church the next morning, Shayna found that she was looking forward to seeing Tristan. She was a bit surprised that she hadn’t heard more from him during the week, but at least she’d see him when she picked Timothy up from Sunday School. Maybe they’d have a few minutes to chat then.

  The next morning, Shayna spotted Tristan when she took Timothy to the gym. She usually just dropped him off and left, but that day, she walked right up to the row where Tristan stood with several boys Timothy’s age. A couple of the boys greeted Timothy when he joined them, and Tristan looked up as she approached.

  “It’s good to see you again,” he said when she was close enough to hear him over the excited chatter that filled the gym.

  Tristan’s smile was friendly as she nodded her greeting. She felt a flicker of warmth and measured it
against other feelings she’d had over her lifetime. It felt insignificant in comparison, but it was also genuine—real—and more than she’d experienced in a long time.

  “I’ll see you after the service is over,” Shayna said to Timothy, but she lifted her gaze to meet Tristan’s, hoping he knew she included him in that statement.

  She moved slowly from the gym to find her usual seat in the sanctuary. Over the years, she’d gotten used to sitting by herself. At first, in the weeks and months after Lorne’s death, she’d sat on the padded pew, her gaze on the platform while her thoughts had been far, far away. The ache in her heart had been intense. So intense, she’d wondered if she’d ever be able to take a deep breath past the tightness in her chest.

  Now, as she sank down on the end of a row, that ache wasn’t as intense, but only because she’d learned to hide it. There were moments, like the previous night, when the ache slammed back into her on the heels of emotion and memories, but she was learning to press it down.

  The stage at the front was resplendent with Christmas colors and decorations. The tree was adorned with twinkling clear lights and a variety of different kinds of angels. One of them was a decoration that she and Timothy had chosen together. The kids were given the opportunity to bring in an angel to decorate the tree, and Timothy had insisted that he wanted to bring one in.

  It had taken awhile to find one that he liked because he hadn’t been willing to just take any angel off the shelf at the big chain stores. In the end, they’d found one at the thrift store they liked to visit. It had looked to be homemade and many years old. In Timothy’s eyes, it had been perfect, and Shayna had found herself agreeing with him.

  The choir began to file into the seats behind the stage, dressed in green robes with red overlays. Once they were in place, the worship leader took his place on the stage with a few other singers.

  The small band on the stage began to play Joy to the World, and Shayna stood with the others to join them in singing. When the song was done, a teen stepped behind the podium and began the advent reading for that Sunday.