Seeking His Love

by Carrie Turansky

  Kayla sniffed. “I promise.” She clutched her mom and pressed her face against Shannon’s shoulder.

  When Shannon stepped back, tears glistened in her eyes. “You be good, and have some fun this summer.” She lifted her daughter’s trembling chin. “Don’t worry, sweetie. Everything’s going to be fine.”

  Kayla grabbed her mother in a tight embrace once more as tears coursed down her cheeks.

  Cam swallowed hard and clenched his jaw. What made him think he could handle a situation like this? How would he comfort Kayla and help her deal with all the emotions she was feeling? How would he answer her questions? How could he explain why terrible things like this happened to a wonderful woman like Shannon?

  Rachel took a fortifying gulp of her French vanilla coffee and motioned Chandra over to the classroom doorway. “Could you take my group for a few minutes. I need to make a phone call.”

  “Sure. Everything okay?”

  “I’m having a hard time straightening out my bill with the storage company. They want to charge me for June, even though I moved everything out by the end of last month. I was hoping if I called them first thing this morning, I might catch someone in a better mood.”

  Chandra sent her a sympathetic smile. “I’ll pray for you.”

  “Thanks. I need it. It’s not a huge amount of money, but right now, it’s the difference between eating real food or macaroni and cheese for the rest of the month.”

  Chandra squeezed Rachel’s shoulder. “Let me know how it goes. And remember, my fridge is your fridge. Come over any time.”

  “Thanks. I may take you up on that.” Rachel sent her friend a grateful smile.

  Chandra walked to the front of the classroom. “Morning everyone. Time to settle down and get started. We’ve got a lot planned today, but first I want to remind you about the auditions for our summer musical on Saturday morning. We’ll be doing Anne of Green Gables.” She took a stack of papers from the desk and sent them around the room. “Auditions start at 9:00 a.m., so read all the info, and be sure to take this sheet home to your parents.”

  “Ms. Wetzel?” Ten-year-old Gabriel waved his hand to get her attention. “That sounds like a girl’s story. Are there any parts for guys?”

  “Yes, Gabe. There are twelve parts for guys and fifteen for girls. Plus we’ll need lots of help on the stage crew, so there’s something for everyone who’d like to be involved.”

  Gabe grinned and nodded, looking pleased.

  Chandra rounded up the ten youngest students and sent them with Amy. Rachel shot off a silent prayer, asking the Lord to give the timid girl courage.

  “I’d like the rest of you to come with me to the auditorium.” Chandra lifted her finger and waited. “And remember, we need to be quiet in the hallway.”

  “We know the drill, Ms. Wetzel—keep a lid on it, or else!” Steve’s perfect imitation of Rachel’s daily mantra made them all laugh.

  “Okay. Glad you got the memo. I don’t expect to hear a sound until we’re settled in the auditorium.”

  The chattering faded as they walked out of the classroom, leaving Rachel alone to make her call. She pressed in the number to the storage company. Lord, please help me reach the right person. You know I can’t afford to waste this money. But she got an answering machine—again. With a sigh, she pressed the off button and slipped her phone in her pocket. She’d have to try again later.

  “Rachel?”

  She turned as Cam approached her classroom doorway.

  Uneasy lines creased his forehead, but he looked as handsome as ever. “Do you have a minute?”

  A shiver raced up her back. “Sure. Come on in.”

  He shuffled over to the desk. “Kayla has barely spoken since her mother dropped her off. She spent most of yesterday shut up in her room. And this morning she announced she was not going anywhere—especially drama camp.”

  Rachel’s stomach dropped. “So what did you say?”

  “I told her staying home wasn’t an option.” He crossed his arms. “I don’t get it. Shannon said she liked the idea of going to drama camp. Why would she change her mind now that she’s here?”

  “She’s probably just upset about her mom.”

  “I’m sure she is, but I can’t let her sit home alone all summer.”

  “So did you talk to her?”

  “What’s there to talk about? She said she won’t go. I told her she either goes to camp or she has to sit in the shop with me all day. She can’t stay home.”

  “How did that go over?”

  “Not too well.”

  “I can imagine. So where is she now?”

  He glanced toward the door. “In the shop, sitting on a stool, looking like the world is coming to an end.”

  “Poor kid. She must be really miserable.”

  He cocked his head and sent her a confused look.

  “Try to see it from her perspective, Cam. She’s probably frightened about her mom being sick. She might feel abandoned by her parents. But she can’t get mad at them, so she’s focusing her anger on you.”

  His shoulders sagged. “I’m sure you’re right. But I don’t know how to help her.” He lifted his gaze to meet Rachel’s. “Would you talk to her?”

  The S.O.S. flashing from his blue eyes grabbed her heart and she nodded. “Okay. I’ll try.”

  He released a deep breath. “Thanks. I really appreciate it.”

  A flash of blue in the hallway caught Rachel’s attention.

  A young girl with long curly blond hair, large blue eyes and a slim figure looked in the door. This had to be Kayla. The family resemblance was clear in the shape of her chin and high forehead as well as her hair and eye color.

  Cam froze, and Rachel could easily read the silent question running through his mind—how much of their conversation had Kayla heard?

  Tears shimmered in the girl’s eyes. Her rigid posture and fisted hands, said she wanted to be anywhere but there.

  Rachel’s heart twisted. She was one scared kid. “Hi, Kayla. I’m Ms. Clark. Come on in.” She walked over and met her at the door. “Your uncle and I were just talking about drama camp. We have some great things planned this summer.” She tipped her head and smiled at Kayla. “How about you and I go get a soda in the lounge, and we can talk about it?”

  Kayla pushed her hair over her shoulder with a trembling hand. “I’m not very good at drama.”

  “That’s okay. A lot of the kids who come to camp have never been on stage before.”

  “I’ll probably be the youngest one there and feel totally stupid.”

  “Actually, you’re right in the middle age-wise. We have three groups—kids who are ten to twelve, thirteen to fourteen and fifteen to eighteen. Since you’re turning fifteen pretty soon, you could try either of the older groups and see which one you like the best.”

  Her tense posture eased a bit. “Could I just watch the first day?”

  “Sure. But I don’t think you’ll want to sit on the sidelines too long. Most of the activities are really fun, more like games.”

  “That sounds a whole lot more interesting than hanging out with me in the frame shop all day,” Cam added.

  Rachel laid her hand on Kayla’s shoulder. “Come on. Let me show you around, and we can stop and get that drink I was talking about.”

  “I guess that would be okay.” Kayla walked with her toward the door.

  Rachel looked over her shoulder at Cam. “We’ll check back with you later.”

  He mouthed the words, thank you, and sent her a heartfelt smile.

  She suppressed a triumphant grin and looked back at Kayla. “The key to fitting in at drama camp is just being yourself. Everyone is a little nervous at first. That’s totally normal. I’m sure in a couple days, you’ll feel like you’ve been part of the group for a long time.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Cam glanced at his watch and knocked on Kayla’s bedroom door. She had retreated to her room as soon as they’d finished dinner about half an hour e
arlier, leaving all the dishes and clean up for him—again. He didn’t mind the solo K.P. He was used to that. What he did mind was her ungrateful, sour attitude. For the past four days he’d tried to be patient and give her time to adjust, but all he got for his effort was an icy cold shoulder. “Kayla?” He knocked again, harder this time.

  “What?” Even through the door he could hear her irritation loud and clear.

  He swallowed his sharp reply. “May I come in?”

  A couple seconds passed before she gave him permission.

  He pushed opened the door, scanned the room and stopped cold. Clothes littered the floor. Dirty dishes, DVD cases, soda cans and wadded up candy wrappers covered the top of the dresser and trunk. Kayla sat in the middle of it all, looking like the queen of clutter, enthroned on her bed with her computer open on her lap and her earphones plugged in.

  His gut twisted. So much for the beautiful room he and Rachel had worked so hard to set up for her. “I’m going out back to water the garden.”

  She focused on her computer screen, ignoring him.

  He clenched his jaw. “Take your earphones off,” he growled.

  She glared at him and slowly pulled them out.

  “I’m going outside and I didn’t want you to look for me and wonder where I was.”

  She lifted her brows, looking at him like that was the stupidest remark he’d ever made.

  “Okay. That’s it.” He pointed his finger in her direction. “When I come back I want this room cleaned up.”

  She stared at him like he was speaking a foreign language.

  “Did you hear what I said?”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m not deaf.”

  “Kayla—” he pulled in a deep breath and released it slowly “—I know you’re not happy here. Believe me, I get it. But pouting and trashing your room isn’t going to change anything.”

  She narrowed her eyes to a hateful glare. “You don’t have a clue.”

  “Maybe not. But next time I see this room, it better be clean, or there will be consequences.”

  Her blue eyes flashed. “Like what?”

  “Clean it up to my standards, or you’ll have to say goodbye to your computer, iPod and phone.”

  She gasped. “You wouldn’t!”

  “Oh yes, I would. So you better get busy.”

  She slammed her computer closed and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

  “The vacuum is in the hall closet. The cleaning supplies are under the kitchen sink.” He pointed at the stack of dirty dishes on the dresser. “And be sure you load those into the dishwasher. I already cleaned the kitchen.”

  Her face flushed pink, and lips scrunched into a jagged line.

  He checked his watch. “It’s now seven fifteen. I’ll give you until eight o’clock to get the job done.”

  Her mouth gaped open. “That’s only forty-five minutes!”

  “That’s right, so you better get hoppin’.”

  She jumped to her feet. “Oooh! You are so…mean!”

  He clamped his mouth shut and walked out the door. Heat pulsed from his face. His heart pounded like he’d just run a 5K race. That little girl had him totally tied up in knots. Closing his eyes, he tried to calm his rushing thoughts. Please, get her moving. If I have to follow through, she is going to hate me for the rest of her life.

  He opened his eyes, surprised he’d sent off a prayer. He and the Almighty weren’t exactly on speaking terms—and for very good reasons.

  Though he tried to stop them, memories swept over him like a rising flood. Once again, he walked the sterile hospital hallways, begging God to save his wife. It was too late for his son. Tyler had died immediately. But after two agonizing days and countless pleas, he had lost his wife as well.

  If God wouldn’t stoop down and save the life of a faithful, loving woman like Marie, how could Cam ever trust Him?

  Rachel pulled the last plate from the rinse water and set it on the counter to dry. Looking out her kitchen window, she soaked in the peaceful view, the gentle sway of the deep green fir trees lining the backyard, the wide expanse of blue sky above. A soft breeze floated through the screen, carrying the sweet scent of roses from the trellis by the back porch.

  What a gift. She loved her apartment, the well-kept yard and garden, the quiet neighborhood, and the reassuring thought that Cam was right downstairs. For the first time in months she felt settled and safe. No one would bother her here.

  But memories of the troubled student who’d stalked her for months rose and taunted her, sending shivers up her arms. She swallowed and closed her eyes, wishing she could forget the terrible accusations he’d made against her. But that was impossible. The administration had called her in, the school board got involved, and the police grilled her with humiliating questions.

  Of course she denied everything. She’d never had a romantic relationship with Kyle, but she was suspended from teaching while they conducted the investigation. Weeks of waiting and wondering what would happen just about sent her over the edge emotionally.

  A lawyer from the teachers’ union prevented the case from going to court, but by then two damaging articles had been printed in the Seattle Times for the whole world to read. When the charges against her were finally dropped, the Times gave the story one paragraph at the bottom of the obituary page.

  But it was too late to save her reputation or her job. Kyle’s lies convinced almost everyone she was the predator, and he was the victim. In the end her only option was resignation.

  But that didn’t satisfy Kyle. He’d continued to follow her and make her life a nightmare until she finally had to flee Seattle.

  It was shocking that one unstable young man could unleash such a huge tidal wave of trouble simply because she refused his advances. But that was exactly what had happened.

  She blew out a deep breath and tried to refocus her thoughts. Father, please help me forgive Kyle and everyone who hurt me in Seattle. I know I’ve asked this so many times before, but I’m still struggling with it, and I need Your help. I believe You can somehow use all of this for good even though I can’t see how right now. Help me hold on to that and trust You. Thank You for loving me and watching over me always.

  She stood still, with her eyes closed, waiting for peace to fill her heart. But instead, more troubling questions rose in her mind.

  What if someone found out why she’d left her job in Seattle? She’d told Suzanne the basic facts when she applied for the job as director of N.C.Y.T., but she hadn’t shared the whole story. She was afraid to be totally honest. Everything pointed toward her guilt. Hardly anyone in Seattle believed her, why would people in Fairhaven think any differently?

  Bile rose and burned her throat. How could she build a new life on a shaky foundation of incriminating secrets? But she had no choice. The whole episode was humiliating, and she wasn’t about to expose herself to that kind of scrutiny and condemnation again.

  With a stubborn shake of her head, she wiped her hands on the dishtowel. Everything would be okay. God would take care of her. Hadn’t He proven that by bringing her to Fairhaven, giving her a new job, new friends and a chance to make a fresh start?

  She was about to turn away from the window when Cam walked across the backyard. He tugged the hose along with him, his black T-shirt stretched tight across his broad chest and strong arms. But weary lines creased his forehead. Had he heard bad news from his sister? Whatever the problem, he looked like he needed a friend. She tucked her keys and cell phone into her pocket, and headed downstairs.

  Cam waved to her as she crossed the brick patio. She slipped off her flip-flops and padded through the soft grass. Taking a seat on the stone bench under the cherry tree, she watched him set up the sprinkler. When he finished adjusting the water level, he walked over to her.

  She smiled up at him. “Isn’t it a beautiful evening?”

  He scanned the sky frowning slightly. “Yeah. I guess it is.”

  She invited him to join her and slid d
own the bench to make room. He sat down and left a bit of space between them.

  She waited while crickets chirped and insects buzzed. Finally she asked, “Everything okay?”

  He sighed and crossed his arms. “Kayla is definitely not happy here. I’m worried about her.”

  She sent him a sympathetic smile. “It’s not easy stepping into the parenting role.”

  “You’re right about that.”

  “If it’s any consolation, she seems to be doing better at camp. She chose to stay with the older group, and she’s fitting in well.”

  “Yeah. Camp’s the only thing she likes right now. Most mornings she’s up and ready to go before I finish breakfast. Probably can’t wait to get away from me.”

  Rachel grinned and bumped his shoulder with hers. “Ahh, don’t take it personally. I’m sure she still loves you.”

  He shook his head. “Her last words to me were, ‘you are so mean!’”

  Rachel chuckled. “What did you do?”

  “I told her she had to clean her room.”

  “It couldn’t be that bad. She’s only been here a few days.”

  “Oh, believe me, it’s a disaster. Looks like a hurricane blew through.”

  Rachel covered her mouth to stifle her laughter.

  “Go ahead and laugh, but when the health department condemns the house, you’ll be out on the street, too!”

  “So how did you convince her to see things your way?”

  “I threatened to take away every piece of electronics she owns.”

  “Wow, you really know how to hurt a girl.”

  “Just trying to motivate her.” His playful expression grew more serious. “I’m not sure what I’ll do if she doesn’t listen.”

  “Oh don’t worry. She’ll come around. No teenager wants to lose their connection to their friends.”