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

by Kimberly Rae Jordan

  As the website loaded, Shayna found herself entranced by the interior pictures of the place. She wasn’t sure what she expected. Given that the restaurant wasn’t part of a chain, it had a more eclectic look to it that was both charming and comfortable looking. It appeared as if they had decorated it using finds at thrift stores and estate sales.

  Though she’d planned to spend most her time on the site reviewing the menu, she couldn’t keep from enlarging the pictures and peering at the details. By the time she moved onto the menu, Shayna didn’t really care what they served, she was looking forward to the experience.

  When she crawled into bed a short later, her mind had turned to what she should wear. She hadn’t told Timothy yet that she was going out with Tristan while Danica and Sierra stayed with him. Of course, he would be over the moon. She had no doubt he’d understand the significance of their evening out—just her and Tristan. Up until that point, any of their interactions and times out had been the three of them or just Timothy and Tristan.

  Shayna shifted onto her side, staring at the night table beside her bed where she knew her favorite picture of her and Lorne sat in a frame even though she couldn’t see it clearly in the dark. Was she doing the right thing? Going out with Tristan, given what it would mean to their son?

  She knew Lorne wouldn’t object to Tristan as someone good for Timothy. Tristan would be good for Timothy. He had already been good for him. But if she chose to continue on this path, the one this dinner would set them on, Tristan could end up playing a very different role in Timothy’s life. One that should have been filled by Lorne.

  Not wanting to dwell too much on that, Shayna tried to shut her mind down so she could fall asleep. It was easier said than done, however, and she saw eleven and then twelve on the clock before she finally fell asleep.

  “Is it time for him to be here?” Timothy asked for the hundredth time.

  Shayna was glad she’d only told him about the evening plans that afternoon. Even Tristan hadn’t mentioned a word when they’d seen him at church that morning. She and Timothy had been sitting together in church since there was no separate worship for the kids when Tristan had settled into the pew beside them.

  She could only imagine how much Timothy would have fidgeted through the service if he’d known what was to come later that day. He hadn’t even blinked an eye when she’d said it was just her and Tristan going out. Once he’d realized who he’d be spending the evening with, he’d been super excited about staying home.

  “Bug, you know how to tell time, and I told you he’d be here at five o’clock,” Shayna said as she fastened her earrings into place. “What time is it now?”

  Timothy glanced at the clock beside her bed. “Four-forty-seven.”

  “Is it five o’clock yet then?” She checked her appearance one last time before she turned to where Timothy sat cross-legged on her bed.

  “No, Maman.” Timothy stared at the clock for a moment, his brows drawing together. “He’ll be here in…thirteen minutes.”

  As if to make a liar out of her, the doorbell rang. Timothy scrambled off the bed and darted out of the room. Shayna abandoned the mirror and headed after him. With youth and enthusiasm on his side, he made quick work of both flights of stairs.

  By the time Shayna made it down to the front door, Timothy already had the door open and was greeting Sierra and Danica with enthusiasm.

  “Are you ready for some pizza?” Danica asked. “And maybe some games?”

  “Just be wary of him if you play Monopoly,” Shayna said with a smile to greet them. “He doesn’t like to play with only one other person because it’s no fun with just one person to fleece at every turn.”

  Sierra giggled as she took off her jacket. Shayna held out her hands to take each of their jackets and went to hang them in the closet, smiling when she heard Timothy chattering with the two girls as they headed up the stairs. Clearly he was much happier about his evening babysitters than he was about his daytime one. She wished she could have them there each day, instead of sending him to the babysitter’s.

  “Tris will be here in a few minutes,” Danica said when Shayna joined them in the dining room. “He had to make a couple of stops along the way.”

  “Should I call to place the pizza order before I go?” Shayna asked.

  “Nope.” Danica gave her a wide smile. “Tristan took care of placing the order, and he’s picking it up.”

  “I suppose he does know our pizza preferences.” Shayna reached up into the cupboard to pull down a stack of plates, wondering what the girls thought of the plan for her and Tristan’s evening.

  When she placed the plates on the table, Sierra touched her arm, smiling at her when Shayna looked in her direction. “You look very nice.”

  Shayna straightened, running her hands down the outfit she’d chosen. She was thankful that Shelby’s had a more relaxed atmosphere because she didn’t have anything to wear that would have been suitable for a fancier place. Somehow, she knew that Tristan had taken that into consideration, and the thought warmed her.

  “Thank you. I hope it’s appropriate,” Shayna said.

  “It is. Danica and I went there before Christmas with some friends, and none of us have fancy clothes. We probably didn’t even dress as nicely as you have, and it was fine. Tristan’s just wearing black slacks and a button-down shirt with a sweater.” Sierra tilted her head and smiled. “I think you’ll look nice together.”

  That hadn’t really been in Shayna’s head as she’d picked her clothes. More important had been that she wouldn’t embarrass him by dressing inappropriately. It hadn’t taken her long—even before seeing his fancy car—to know that they came from different worlds financially. Her life before running away from home had been closer to how he appeared to live now, but she hadn’t appreciated it then.

  The years between that time and where she was now held a wealth of experiences that at times she wished she’d never had, but she could never regret them for the simple fact that they had brought her Lorne and then Timothy.

  When the doorbell rang, Timothy once again darted for the stairs, and Shayna laughed when she saw Sierra and Danica watching him go.

  “He has so much energy,” Shayna said. “I wish I could siphon off some of it. Maybe him with a little less and me with a little more would bring us about even.”

  “I’m pretty sure my mom has said that about each of us over the years,” Danica agreed. “I love the energy of children. It’s one of the reasons I wanted to become a teacher.”

  “Elementary, then?”

  “I hope to get a job as an elementary music teacher, but honestly, I’d be happy teaching any age.”

  “Maman! Tristan’s here with pizza for us.” Timothy appeared, a large paper-wrapped package in his arms. “And something for you.”

  Shayna looked up and met Tristan’s gaze as he joined them in the dining room. He gave her a quick—almost shy—smile. “It’s just a few flowers.”

  Timothy handed her the bundle he carried. Shayna moved to the counter and laid the flowers down to unwrap them. Just a few flowers actually appeared to be two dozen roses in shades of pink and red with a few white ones interspersed. She lifted one and took a sniff, appreciating the sweet aroma.

  She looked up and smiled at Tristan. “They’re beautiful. Thank you so much.”

  “Do you have a vase for them? I didn’t think about that until after I bought them.”

  “I think I have one up in the cupboard,” Shayna said as she gestured to the one above the fridge.

  “Let me check for you.” Tristan opened the cupboard, and thankfully, found the vase Shayna thought she’d remembered putting there.

  It wasn’t like she’d had a lot of need for it in recent years. Lisa had used it a few times, but fresh flowers hadn’t been something they’d indulged in too frequently. As she added the flowers to the vase once Tristan had put some water in it, Shayna found herself wishing that maybe it could become an indulgence at some point
.

  “Those are lovely,” Danica said. “How about I put them on the table so you two can leave? I’m dying for some pizza, and we can’t eat it as long as you two are still here.”

  “Trying to get rid of us?” Tristan asked.

  “Nope. Just trying to send you on your way so you can begin your lovely evening.” Danica patted her brother on his shoulder. “Off you go.”

  Tristan turned to Shayna. “Are you ready?”

  She glanced to where Timothy was already peering inside the pizza boxes. “I think I am.”

  Tristan led them downstairs. When she pulled her coat from the closet—the one he’d bought her—he took it and held it for her so she could slide her arms into the sleeves. She felt his hands rest lightly on her shoulders for a moment as she buttoned it up.

  “It fits you pretty good,” he said.

  She turned to face him. “It fits perfectly. Thank you again.”

  “I’ll admit that I had some help with the sizing.” Tristan opened the front door for her. “Danica and Sierra gave me a hand with that.”

  “I’ll have to thank them.” Together, they walked down the driveway to where his truck was parked.

  It was already dark when Tristan guided his truck out of the townhouse complex, but that made it easier to appreciate the Christmas lights that decorated the houses and streets along the way. She would miss them when people started turning them off for the season.

  “I hope you like the restaurant,” Tristan said. “It was recommended by two of my brothers.”

  “I checked out their website, and it looks like a really charming place. I’m looking forward to it.”

  They pulled to a stop at a red light, and when Shayna looked over, the overhead streetlights cast enough illumination in the truck for her to see his smile as he said, “I am too.”

  Soft music came from the speakers, and recognizing it, Shayna said, “You like Christmas music?”

  “I do. Very much.” Tristan accelerated as the light turned green. “You can blame my mom for that. She would start playing it as early as she thought she could get away with it. I suppose I got used to it and all the happy memories that she managed to attach to it for us.”

  Shayna wished she had had that, but she was trying to do for Timothy what hadn’t been done for her.

  “How is Lisa’s mom doing?”

  “She’s still doing rehab. I don’t think she’s done as well as any of them had hoped. Lisa’s worried, given her mother’s age, that she might not make a full recovery.”

  “What would that mean for her? Would she not be able to return home?”

  “No, she should be able to. The house is a single story, so she should be able to manage, even if she has to use a wheelchair or a cane.”

  Visiting them over Christmas had killed any hope she’d had that Lisa’s move might be temporary, and that at some point, things could go back to what they had been. Shayna didn’t know why she’d been holding out any hope, but she must have been because she’d certainly felt it die.

  Since it was Sunday, the traffic was fairly light as they made their way through the downtown. It didn’t take them long to reach the restaurant where Tristan parked the truck in the small lot behind the building.

  “Just wait for me,” he said as he slid out from behind the wheel.

  Shayna undid her seatbelt as he came around to her door. Once opened, he held out his hand for her to take. After barely a moment’s hesitation, she took it and allowed him to help her from the high seat of the truck onto solid ground. He released her hand as soon as she was steady, and then closed the door, locking it with a beep.

  He held his arm out to her, and since there were patches of snow along the walk to the restaurant’s entrance, she slid her hand into the crook of his elbow. She was grateful he hadn’t offered to hold her hand. That might have been moving too fast for her—silly as that might seem to people.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  As they neared the restaurant, warm yellow light spilled out of tall, narrow windows onto the sidewalk. When they reached the door, Tristan pulled it open for her. Shayna’s hand slid from his arm as she stepped inside the first set of doors. He then opened the inner ones for her. Shayna smiled at him as she moved into the foyer of the restaurant, thinking his mother would be very proud of his manners.

  Inside the restaurant, she was immediately greeted by the aroma of food and the low murmur of conversation. As Tristan spoke to the hostess, Shayna glanced around the interior, surprised by how large it was. From the outside, the restaurant looked small, but once inside, it was spacious.

  The center of the room beyond the hostess stand was dominated by a large fireplace that—judging from the lack of a burning wood smell—was either gas or electric. As they followed the hostess further into the restaurant, she could see that each side of the stone fireplace was open. There were smaller tables circling the fireplace with larger ones around the outside of the room.

  The hostess led them to a small table next to the fireplace. The tablecloth on their table was burgundy with a doily of ivory lace in the center of it. On the doily, there was a narrow vase that contained a single pink rose surrounded by several small candles.

  Once seated, Shayna looked around a bit more, glad that she’d already studied the menu so she didn’t need to focus too much on it. She loved how each table seemed to have a different colored tablecloth, and the centerpieces were also unique on each. Even the chairs at each table were different from the others.

  The ones she and Tristan sat on were plush, dark-green winged armchairs. She found hers to be super comfortable, and she was somewhat relieved they hadn’t ended up at one of the tables on the outer edge of the room. Those tables had an assortment of antique dining chairs, not all of which looked as comfy as the ones at their table were.

  “Do you know what you’d like?” Tristan asked.

  Shayna turned her attention to the man seated opposite her as she picked up the menu the hostess had given her. “Oh, I looked at the menu online last night.”

  “Me, too,” Tristan said with a smile. “I try to do that whenever possible because I hate having to make a decision on the spur of the moment.”

  The waitress appeared with a couple of water glasses on a tray. She set them down on the table as she asked, “Are you ready to order? Or would you like a few more minutes?”

  After they’d placed their orders, Shayna worried that things would lapse into silence. She wasn’t the most gregarious person, and though Tristan always had easy conversations with Timothy, she wasn’t sure how that would spill over into their time together.

  “How was Christmas with your family?” Shayna asked, figuring that would be a safe place to start.

  “It was good. Noisy because of all the children that have joined the family in the last couple of years.” Tristan settled back in his chair as his gaze turned to the fireplace and lingered there, his expression pensive.

  “But?”

  Tristan looked at her again. “But we weren’t all together, which made for a bit of a sad Christmas.”

  “Who was missing?”

  “Our youngest brother, Dalton. He took off as soon as he graduated from high school. He’s in Toronto now, or at least he was the last we heard. He didn’t call us at Christmas, and that was really hard on Mom and Dad.” Tristan gave her a small smile. “On all of us, truthfully.”

  “For such a large family, you seem quite close.”

  “Not just a large family, a blended one. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned that to you already.”

  “Yes, you did mention that.” Shayna wished that her experience with a step-parent had been as positive as Tristan’s family’s had been.

  “I think we were all just so thankful to have a sense of belonging. We’d all experienced some upheaval in our lives with regards to our absent parent. My mom didn’t want anything to do with us four boys after she divorced my dad, and the McFadden kids had lost their dad when he passed away.
So when we all came together, we kind of filled empty spaces in each other’s lives. I know for sure Mom filled an empty space in mine.”

  Shayna found she was happy for Tristan, even as she wished that her step-mother had filled the empty space in her life. She could only imagine how hard it would be for someone like Timothy to be rejected by his own mother.

  “If you’d like to meet them all and see how we all relate, just come on New Year’s Eve,” Tristan said, his pensiveness giving way to a smile. “I promise that most of them don’t bite, and I’ll warn you in advance of which ones do. Here’s a hint: they’re all under the age of three.”

  Shayna couldn’t keep her laughter from spilling over. “Timothy went through a biting stage. That only lasted until some fellow toddler bit him back. He was smart enough even then to realize that if that was the response he’d be getting to biting someone, he’d rather not risk it again.”

  “Definitely a smart one,” Tristan agreed, a grin lighting up his face.

  The waitress returned with their orders, interrupting their conversation. Once their plates were settled in front of them, Tristan said grace then they fell silent as they each tried a few bites of their food, eaten off fine china plates that didn’t match. Shayna was delighted to discover that what she’d chosen tasted every bit as good as the description had sounded when she had read it online the night before.

  “Are you enjoying your choice as much as I am mine?” Tristan asked.

  Shayna looked up and noticed how his eyes sparkled in the light from the candles between them. “It’s the best chicken parmigiana I’ve ever tasted.”

  “I’ll have to thank Kenton and Ryan for the recommendation.” Tristan took a sip of his water. “The décor in here is something else. I love the eclectic vibe it has. I’m usually the one that deals with the bones of a place, not the details of decorating it.”