by Watters, Kim
He settled himself behind his desk and stared at the spider web in the corner of the ceiling, forgetting the mail and the rest of his tasks. He couldn’t help but think of Sarah. Her laughter over the past few weeks filled his brain.
The woman who’d come into his life unexpectedly and turned it upside down with her silent strength and resilience. The memory of the first time she stood outside the door infiltrated his brain. Bill in hand, Sarah had been uncertain, defensive, and then angry. He swore he could still feel the imprint of her finger on his chest where she’d poked him weeks ago. It amazed him how far she’d come in such a short time.
His cousin, Susan, was right. Sarah was like the azalea, just waiting for the right time to blossom. She’d started to. He needed to see that she finished. As soon as he found her.
With each tick of the second hand, Sarah got further away from him. Sitting here, thinking about her didn’t do him any good. He needed to act, but then again, cancelling Mr. Ericson’s appointment didn’t do him any good either, since his business depended on repeat clients and their referrals.
Rocky nudged his hand, begging for more attention. Grant obliged, stroking the thick gold fur. He loved her. Heck, they both loved her. He could understand why she left him, but he couldn’t understand why she’d leave Rocky. Her dog had done nothing. Something wasn’t right.
It all became clear as he scratched Rocky under the chin while looking into his eyes. Sarah had no choice. Leaving Greer and her dog had probably killed her, just as the thought of Sarah spending a night or a week in a shelter until she got herself together was killing him. But until he figured out where she’d gone, there was nothing he could do.
The bell sounded over the front door.
Grant looked at his watch. It was too early for his first appointment. Sarah? His heart beat faster as Rocky’s ears raised, his attention on the soft sound of footsteps coming from the reception area. The dog let out a yelp and ran to the door, only to return more forlorn than before as Gillian stepped in.
“She’s gone, isn’t she?”
Grant nodded. He should have known better than to get his hopes up when he heard the bell. Except for the first two days, Sarah had always used the back door.
“I’m sorry.” His sister sat down, a genuine look of sorrow flashed across her features. “Where do you suppose she went? Aunt Mildred will be disappointed. I suppose I should go tell her.”
A vision flashed in his mind. The answer was so simple. “Don’t tell her anything yet.” Reaching under his desk, Grant grabbed the phone book and plopped it on the wood surface. The noise startled Rocky, who jumped up and skittered from the room.
He flipped through the pages, finally finding the number he wanted. “I haven’t a clue where she went, but I think I know how she’ll get there.”
Sarah sat huddled in the back of the Greyhound, her two bags packed underneath the bus, heading toward Los Angeles. She’d left with no more than she’d arrived with, except the painful memories of Grant. After all these years, she thought she’d learned that lesson. Obviously not. Love was conditional and nothing was free. Still, in spite of everything, she missed Grant and she missed Rocky.
Pain swelled in her heart as the tears formed. Through the mist, she stared at the grease stain on her dress. In her haste, she’d forgotten she still wore her uniform. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d been accused of stealing, but it would be her last. She’d send it back to Ted as soon as she settled down and tried to forge a new life. Maybe in the big city, she could blend in.
“You look a little down, honey,” the elderly woman in the seat next to her remarked as she set her knitting in her lap. She’d boarded at the last stop, but Sarah had ignored her, not ready to talk to anyone.
Maybe she should. “Is it that obvious?” She sighed and looked out at the passing scenery. The grass had dulled to brown and most of the trees had lost their leaves. The bare limbs reached out toward a dismal sky filled with gray clouds that threatened to spill rain any moment. The weather did little to lift her spirits.
“Running away never did any good.” The needles clicked together as the woman began to knit again.
Sarah turned away from the window and regarded her carefully. She guessed her seatmate to be in her late 70s because of her frosted-white hair and the years of lines etched into her skin. “How did you know?”
She smiled at her as she looked over the rim of her glasses. “I was young once, too, you know, and very much in love. Besides, I don’t know of anyone who’d commute such a long distance to work in a restaurant.”
“Oh.” Sarah tried to pull her short jacket down to cover her uniform. “Who says I’m in love?”
“Take a look at yourself, child. It’s written all over your face.” She reached into her bag, pulled out a blue ball of yarn and carefully added it to the burgundy strand. “What happened?”
Three months ago, Sarah would have ignored the lady, but that was before Grant. Before his kindness and generosity had changed her and her views about herself and humanity. Even Rocky had helped her change by showing her the meaning of unconditional love.
Unconditional love. Maybe it existed for dogs, but it sure didn’t extend to the people department. His kindness and generosity were probably a front, too. She didn’t know, she didn’t have much experience to go on. It hurt to think that Grant was no better than the people who’d raised her. She sighed. She’d begun to believe he was different.
While his kiss told her he was different, the look in his eyes last night told her another story. Her heart broke in two. Which was the real Grant?
“Don’t want to talk about it? I understand. But if I had listened to anyone but my heart, I wouldn’t be as happy as I am today.”
The woman leaned down and retrieved a small photo album from her bag and handed it to Sarah. “This was my husband, George.” She pointed to the black and white photograph of them on their wedding day, standing in front of the courthouse.
“At first, I tried to run from my problems, too. Our families were dead set against our getting married because of our religious differences. But soon, I realized they were all wrong. I loved George, and I was determined nothing would come between us—not our religions, not our families, nothing. I convinced him it was the right thing to do, and we eloped.”
She turned the page where Sarah could see a photograph of her seatmate, George and two infants. “He gave me two children, Mary and George Jr. before he died in an automobile accident. And they gave me four grandchildren.” She turned to the next page where Sarah could see the grown children with their spouses and two children apiece.
“I’m sorry about George.”
“I’m not. We only had a few years, but he made me happy. I don’t regret a thing, even if I had to fight for the family I wanted.” She shut the book and returned it to her bag.
A real family. Something Sarah had dreamed of, even long before she’d met Grant. She just hadn’t realized it. She thought she’d found it with the Morrisons, but that was before her past and her fears came between them.
Or was that her excuse to distance herself from Grant?
Yes.
Sarah didn’t like the answer and shredded the toilet tissue she’d bunched in her hands. Grant had always been there for her—even last night. He’d been shocked, but had every right to be.
She was the one who’d blown everything out of proportion by letting her pride get in the way. She should have explained everything then. She should have made him understand about her past, about everything. She should have reached out to him, but no, all she’d done is retreat and let Grant think the worst of her. The war of emotions was written in his eyes and still she’d kept quiet. No wonder Grant had dropped her off with hardly a word.
But his last kiss still lingered on her lips. He’d awakened her. She’d always shied away from emotional contact and support because she was afraid—afraid of rejection, afraid of the complications, afraid of feeling emotions. It
had always been easier to rely on herself.
That wasn’t what she wanted anymore.
She was tired of running, tired of her fears, and tired of not knowing her future—a future that would be lonely without Grant. As her thoughts skimmed over the days they’d spent together, everything became crystal clear.
She knew enough about him to believe that when he learned the truth about her record—another case of being blamed for something she didn’t do—he would accept her. “I’ve been such a fool.”
The woman gathered her in her arms and hugged her gently. “You’re only human, child. Your situation may not be the same, but you’re no different than I was at your age. Go back. Everything will be okay.”
The bus pulled into the next stop. As her seatmate gathered her things, said good-bye and departed, Sarah sat paralyzed in her seat, staring out the window, her hands clenched into fists. She wanted to go back. She needed to go back. She needed to finds the strength to quit running and get off the bus. Once she did, her fate, for better or worse, would be sealed. It was a chance she had to take.
And she didn’t have much time.
All the passengers getting off had departed and she could hear the few people that had boarded taking their seats. She took a deep breath. As her one hand grabbed the black strap of her backpack, her other hand grasped the top of the seat in front of her so she could propel herself to her feet.
“Excuse me, is this seat taken?” A familiar voice filtered through her thoughts, Sarah looked up and dropped her bag. The familiar voice came from a familiar face.
“Grant. What are you doing here? Rocky!”
“We’re on our way to LA. What are you doing here?”
“Being a fool.”
He’d come for her, which meant—she flew into Grant’s arms as he stood in the aisle, glad to feel his solid strength around her, comforting her. This was where she wanted to be, not alone in the back of the bus, heading toward an empty and lonely existence. Today had been the longest day of her life.
“No, I’m the fool. I’m so sorry, Sarah. I let you down last night.”
“But—”
He silenced her protest with a kiss. A long, drawn out kiss that sent her pulses spinning and her heart racing. She reached up and wound her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, mindless of the fact they weren’t alone.
“Sarah, my beautiful Sarah. You had us so worried.” Grant cradled her face between his palms and began planting tiny kisses on her cheeks, her nose, and her chin.
Woof. Pushing Grant out of the way, her dog lunged for her. His wet tongue lapped at her hands and then the tears in her face as his tail thudded excitedly against the seats.
“Rocky, down, you bad boy.” Sarah managed to push him down even though he seemed to have grown bigger in just the few hours she’d been gone. She knelt to hug him, wondering how she could have even thought about leaving her man or her dog.
“What’s this?” She felt something hard attached to his collar. Sarah parted his fur and spotted the black velvet box. Her heart leapt to her throat and her hands shook as she untied the ribbon that released it. She looked at Grant.
“Open it.”
At his gentle prodding, she opened the lid to reveal a solitaire diamond. More tears sprung from beneath her eyelids as she eyed the simple, yet elegant ring. She looked at Grant and wondered how she could ever have doubted him. Love truly was unconditional and certainly free.
“Let me have it a second.” He lifted it from the box and reached for her hand as he knelt in the aisle. She gasped as he put the ring on her third finger. “Come home, Sarah. I love you. Will you marry me?”
Happiness swelled inside her. Never in a million years did she ever think this was how it would end when she boarded the bus this morning. Grant was her hero, a fighter, her own Rocky. She could hear the imaginary chorus in her head as she threw her arms around him again and kissed him passionately.
“I think that’s a yes,” a man called out from the front of the bus.
Sarah ignored him as well, as cheers and clapping erupted around them. She didn’t want to let Grant go, even for the briefest time. She’d waited her whole life for this moment and was going to savor every single moment. She whimpered when he pulled away.
“We’d better get off now if you don’t want a long walk back to the van,” Grant murmured in her ear. “Besides, we have some unfinished business to attend to, remember?”
Sarah blushed as he placed his hand protectively on her arm and escorted her and Rocky off the bus and toward his waiting van.
The sun broke through the clouds, bathing them in its warmth. Birds sang in the trees around them as they watched the bus pull away with a puff of diesel exhaust. Sarah waved happily, glad she’d finally stopped running, glad she’d finally be able to put her past to rest.
“I need to tell you what happened.” Sarah slipped her hand into his and turned to face him. “The fire wasn’t my fault. There were five of us homeless teens living in an abandoned warehouse. We lit a small fire to keep warm while we slept. It got out of control. Next thing we knew, the whole place was burning. I was the only one over eighteen, so I got the rap.” She gave him a rueful smile. “At first, the owner was going to press charges until he found out the situation. He dropped them because the building was up for demolition anyway. Of course it still shows up on my record, but that’s not everything—”
“And I stole a bunch of ‘For Sale’ signs and planted them in my geometry teacher’s front yard, which is a misdemeanor, if I’m not mistaken.” Grant tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear before brushing her cheek, then her lips. Sarah closed her eyes relishing his touch. “What I’m trying to say is I’m not perfect and I don’t expect you to be either. I’m sure there are lots of stupid things we both did. But we’ll have plenty of time to talk about them because I want to know, and I want you to know everything…later.”
Sarah leaned her head back and let out the loudest scream she could muster. As she released the air, she expelled all the pent up emotions that had been buried inside her for years. It felt great to be alive.
A startled Grant stared down at her.
She laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m happy.”
As she rested her head against his chest, a warm and fuzzy feeling took hold of her. She never wanted it to end. “I love you, too. And in answer to your earlier question, yes, I’ll marry you.” She gazed up at him and smiled. “Wow, I’ve never said that before, and I thought I never would. I’ve always shied away from emotional contact and support for fear of getting hurt. Until you. And to think, I’d almost given up the most precious things in my life. You, Rocky, and my happiness.
“I wasn’t about to let you.”
He leaned down and sealed their pact with another long, drawn-out kiss. As Sarah reached under his shirt to feel the warmth of his skin, she couldn’t wait to get back to his place to start what should have begun last night.
He clasped her roaming hands. “Wait. Your bags.”
Sarah stopped him from jumping in the van and going after the Greyhound. “Don’t worry, Grant. There’s nothing I need in them anyway that can’t be replaced. Someone else is welcome to my past, I’m done with it, okay?” She kissed him lightly. “Now Dr. Morrison, now that you and Rocky have healed my heart, take me home.”
After settling themselves in the van, Grant put it in drive and turned onto the highway that took them back to Greer. Toward home. Sarah would never leave again. She leaned into the seat with Rocky’s head resting on her lap, Grant’s hand holding hers.
“Before our engagement party tonight, there’s a house I want you to look at that’s not too far from Greer,” Grant said, a smile on his lips. “It has a huge yard and a white picket fence. I think it would be perfect for a bunch of little Morrisons, three dogs, four cats, two rabbits, some ferrets, and maybe a foster child or two.”
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Excerpt for Web of Deceit.
An inspirational romance novel
By Kim Watters
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes, with your right hand you save me.
Psalm 138:7
Prologue
“Mayday, Mayday!” He shouted into the radio, struggling to stay on his feet. Another wave crashed into the side of the Lady Luck and drenched the deck. More water filled the lower compartment behind him. Dark, murky seawater swirled around his ankles. The boat was taking on water fast. Too fast. His mind reeled as he tried to remember where he’d put the life jackets. They weren’t in their normal place.
“This is the US Coast Guard. What’s your emergency?
“This is Lady Luck. We’re sinking.” He fought to contain his rising panic. Miles from shore and running under the cover of darkness made it almost impossible for anyone to spot him.
Under normal circumstances, that suited him fine. Especially with the cargo he carried. But the sudden storm surprised him, dooming his last delivery for that gravely voice on the other end of the line.
As if they would let him go so easily. The gnawing in his stomach escalated. Lady Luck had been fine yesterday, and the storm mild in comparison to some. So why was he taking on so much water?
The anonymous voice faded in and out, making it almost impossible to understand. “What…coordin…?”
“I don’t know. My instruments are dead. I’m about five miles out and close to Mexican waters.”
“Do you have any flares?”
“Affirmative.”
He released his grip on the radio, and forced his way through the now knee-deep water to one of the cabinets in the tiny galley beneath the deck. With shaky hands, he felt for the waterproof container holding the flares. He found the cool, smooth metal frame he’d thrown in there over a year ago and pulled out the picture of his smiling son.
