Tony the llama came to the fence for his morning pat on the head. That was all Tony wanted. He wasn’t a particularly affectionate animal. Jack the donkey liked to have his ears rubbed. Dolly the miniature horse was all about the attention. She rubbed against the fence post, waiting for him to scratch her back, her neck, her ears.
“Give me a minute and I’ll feed you,” he assured the pint-size horse. She whinnied as if she understood him, then she trotted along the fence toward the barn. He had feed buckets for each of them and sometimes they kept to their own feed. Usually, they didn’t. In the field to the north of the house, the cattle had spotted him and they were moving toward the trough where he poured the bags of grain each morning.
“Nice livestock.” Avery’s voice came from the front of the barn as he loaded the grain into the wheelbarrow.
“Unique livestock,” he answered without turning. “How are you this morning?”
“I’m good. Thank you for taking such good care of us.”
He spun the wheelbarrow to face her. “Did you get any sleep?”
Her mouth hitched up on one side and her green eyes drew him in. “A little. How about you?”
“I don’t require a lot of sleep. How’s Quinn?”
“Still sleeping. I had to get up and call work. They’re moving most of our residents to other facilities.”
“What does that mean for you?”
“I’ll have a job, for now. I’m not sure if they’ll close the center or try to make repairs.” She walked with him as he pushed the wheelbarrow through the gate and into the field. “Maybe all of this happened for a reason. I mean, the contractor took my money but maybe it stopped me from getting further into debt when I was about to lose my job.”
“I don’t think you should go to worst-case scenario just yet. If you don’t have this job, I know you can get another.”
“Right, but maybe not this close to home. I like working in the same town my daughter lives in and goes to school in.”
“I know, but things don’t always go according to plan. But that doesn’t mean God doesn’t have a plan or that everything will fall apart.”
“I’m not sure if I can have this conversation with you right now,” she told him, stopping a short distance from the milling cattle and watching as he poured the grain into the trough.
He paused, watching her for a moment. She stood in the knee-deep emerald grass, grass that was nearly the color of her eyes. The blades of grass swayed in the wind.
“Why not?” He averted his gaze, watching the cattle because cattle were less complicated than this situation. “We share a daughter. Like it or not, we’re in each other’s lives. There will be graduations, dances, college, a wedding. Why not share our troubles, our fears, or even our dreams?”
“I know all of that. I do. It’s just a lot, to have these conversations but also—” she moved her hands “—you are not usually the person who discusses faith and God. Not that I know anything about you. I knew a boy and you’re no longer that boy.”
“You’re right, I’m not that person anymore, Avery,” he stated. “I’ve learned a better way to live.”
“I’m glad,” she said after a long pause. “I am happy for you.”
He was, too. “I appreciate that. I’m going to be honest. Being back home has made me doubt myself.”
“Doubt yourself?”
He’d started the conversation, now he wished he could take it back. “In California, I know myself. I know the person I’ve become. Here, I’m back to being the renegade Stone boy. I also just recently learned I have a daughter.” He smiled at that. “And I don’t want to let her down.”
“I don’t want you to let her down,” she agreed with an honesty that shook him a little.
“Let’s go take a look at your house,” he suggested.
“You mean, what’s left of my house.”
He pushed the wheelbarrow back to the barn. “No, I mean, your house. I’m going to make sure this works out for you.” Before he left, he would make sure his daughter and her mother had a home or at least the start of a home.
He waited for her to object. She didn’t. Instead she followed him into the barn, waited for him to put everything back in order, and then walked next to him as they started for her piece of property.
“This is difficult for me,” she said a few minutes into their walk.
He wasn’t sure which “this” she referred to so he gave her a look and waited for her to answer.
“Letting you help me. I’m pretty independent, in case you haven’t noticed.”
“Oh, I’ve noticed. Thank you for trusting me enough to let me help. It means a lot to me, to know that I’ve contributed. She’s my daughter, Avery. I want to be more than a guy who shows up to visit once or twice a year.”
More silence between them. They were nearing the building site, now a place of scattered debris. Avery’s indrawn breath reflected the look of disbelief as she studied the scene. He reached for her hand and she slid her fingers through his.
“Yesterday I convinced myself it was a dream, a bad dream. Today is the reality.” She slipped through the barbed wire as he held it up for her. After she was through, she pulled up the loose strand and he joined her on the other side.
As they approached what had been a home in progress, a tear slid down her cheek. She swiped it away.
“This hurts,” she said.
“I know.” He had released her hand but he reached for it once more.
Together they walked around the area, picking up the boards that had scattered in the storm.
“I guess this is all trash now?” she asked.
He looked at the boards he’d picked up and stacked to one side of the foundation.
“We can reuse some of this. It’s blown apart but the boards are still in one piece, most of them. Some of this...” He picked up a two-by-four and shook his head. “I think your builder was cutting more corners than you realized.”
“Really?” she asked as she looked at the pile they’d made.
“Really. Trust me, this is something I know about.”
She nodded, agreeing. She was beautiful. She always had been but he found the woman even more attractive than the teenager he’d known. She knew herself better and maybe that was the difference. This morning her blond hair had been tied back with a blue ribbon. He realized she’d changed clothes from yesterday’s outfit. She wore a T-shirt and sweatpants.
“Are those my clothes?” he asked.
“I didn’t have anything.” Her face grew pink and she glanced away, peering across the field they’d just crossed. “Quinn is coming.”
“Good thing.”
“Why?” she asked as if she didn’t already know.
“Because I really wanted to kiss you.”
She put several feet between them as her cheeks turned pink. “Grayson, you’re too much for me. You always have been. And I haven’t ever been enough for you. We have to think about Quinn. I won’t let her build daydreams about you in our lives, or about us together.”
He wanted to disagree but quickly he realized the wisdom in her words. She was right to keep a distance between them. He’d always hurt her and he would hurt her again. This time there was Quinn to consider.
He pasted on a fake smile and turned to greet their daughter. From that moment on, as much as he wanted to spend more time with Avery, he had to remember that he was here for Quinn.
Just Quinn.
CHAPTER NINE
“We’re going to be late,” Nan chided on Sunday morning. It had been four days since the tornado had ripped through their community.
Avery didn’t want to remind Nan that they were running late because Nan couldn’t find her slow cooker, only to realize it had already been put in the car, along with cookies, pies and a casserole. The church was serving
lunch to the workers who had been tirelessly helping to clean up the town from the tornado, and to local families who were still displaced or living without electricity.
Avery zoomed the car into a parking space, ignoring the looks given to her by both Nan and Quinn. “Made it,” she said cheekily as she hopped out and started to unload all of the food Nan had made.
“Late,” Nan said. “But at least we made it.”
“We aren’t late. The bell is just now ringing,” Avery defended.
“When Nan says we made it, I think she means safely.” Quinn danced out of her reach. “That one corner you took on two wheels? That was awesome.”
“Stop. You know I didn’t—”
Then Avery saw him. He headed their way, all smooth confidence and charm. She ignored the desire to take a longer look. He was just a man. A man in jeans and a button-up shirt and those “all hat and no cattle” boots of his. Today he wore an expensive-looking white Western hat that settled low over his dark hair, dark with just a hint of auburn. Just like Quinn’s.
Quinn hurried to join him, leaving Avery and Nan to watch as she greeted her father.
Nan whistled.
“That’s inappropriate,” Avery whispered.
Nan laughed a little. “So is that look on your face, but I didn’t mention that, now, did I?”
Avery ignored her. Grayson and Quinn were nearly to them and no way would he not notice the telltale sign of embarrassment that had obviously crawled into her too-fair cheeks.
“I thought maybe you weren’t coming to church today,” Grayson said as he joined them. He smiled at his daughter. “How are you feeling this morning?”
Quinn reacted by giving him a hug. “I’m good. No more headache.”
“I’m glad you’re feeling better.”
The way his face changed when he looked at Quinn did something to Avery that his mere looks couldn’t. It undid a little bit of her heart, making room for the man who was her daughter’s father.
As much as she’d always denied it, Quinn needed him. “Could you help us get the food inside?” Avery asked, pushing the slow cooker into his hands.
“Sure thing,” he said with a grin.
She also stuck the handle of a bag in his hand.
“Can you get all of that?”
Their gazes met, and for a brief second she wished he hadn’t caught up with them. A few minutes later he would have been inside and she wouldn’t have to deal with all of the things he made her feel. Insecure, afraid, grounded. He made her feel safe, too. She should feel the opposite of safe with him. He was anything but.
Nan grabbed a tray of cookies out of the back and handed them to Quinn, then picked up a casserole dish. “Quinn and I are going on in.”
“But...” Quinn started. She glanced back at them as Nan gave her a bit of a nudge. “I thought we would...”
“Nope,” Nan told her. “We need to get this stuff inside.”
Avery watched them leave. Unfortunately, Nan was not subtle. Ever.
“That wasn’t too obvious, was it?” Grayson asked, trying to tamp down a grin on his face.
“Not too much. Grayson, I don’t think we should sit together.”
“What?” He stopped short, and she stood next to him. People were entering the church, some through the front doors and some through the side. Those same people were staring, wondering what sort of drama she’d gotten herself into now.
Not that most of them didn’t know what was going on. The entire town knew that Grayson had returned and she was sure most of them knew that he was Quinn’s dad. They’d probably always known but were just too nice to say it to her face.
“Why can’t we sit together?” he asked too loudly. She cringed.
“Shhh, keep it down.”
“Why can’t we sit together, Avery? Every time I think I’ve figured this—us—out, you change directions on me.”
“I don’t mean to. This situation isn’t something I planned for and I don’t know the rules.”
“It isn’t exactly what I was prepared for, either, so we’re even. But I do need an explanation for why you don’t want me to sit with you.”
“Quinn. I don’t want her to get the wrong idea. I don’t want her to think we’re a family. Every Sunday we are in church, and it’s the two of us and Nan. All around her are families that look different than hers. Families with a mom, dad, siblings, grandparents. I know this sounds irrational but just try to understand.”
“So you’re saying you’re afraid she’ll get her hopes up if I sit with you at church.”
She nodded, hoping he would understand. From the way he shook his head, she guessed he didn’t.
“Nope, not buying it. I think you want to protect yourself, not our daughter. We’re a family, Avery. We might not look like the other families, but this is what we have, what Quinn has. She has a mom, a dad and she has grandparents. My dad. Nan. Those are her grandparents.”
She bristled at his calm tone and knowing words. He’d only just found out he had a daughter and already he was the expert on parenting?
The worst part was, he was right.
“Stop,” he said quietly as he stepped closer.
“Stop what?”
“Overthinking. This is our situation. We can’t change it or go back so we move forward and make it work.”
“Right, you’re right.” She looked down at the dish in her hands. They’d been standing outside the church for a while. The bell had stopped ringing. People were no longer going inside. “We have to get this food to the kitchen.”
“Yes, we’re already late.”
They hurried together to fellowship hall where lunch would be served immediately after church. It took a little work to find a place for the dishes they’d brought. The counters were already covered with slow cookers, casseroles and desserts. Several women were making sure everything was ready to be served.
One of the ladies took charge of their dishes and told them to scoot. On their way out the door she called out to them.
“By the way, you two look real happy together,” Miss Lana said. She’d been a Sunday school teacher at church and worked in the cafeteria at school. She’d known them both forever.
Avery felt her cheeks heat up as she kept walking while Grayson stopped to thank her.
They hurried through the church to the sanctuary. As they entered, the announcements were being read. Avery scanned the crowd and spotted Nan sitting next to Mathias Stone, with Quinn next to her.
“Forgive me,” Grayson whispered in her ear as they stood in the entrance to the sanctuary.
A few people craned their heads to see who was standing next to Avery. Mouths began to move as people talked. Or mostly gossiped. Gossip really didn’t have a place in church.
“Forgive you?” she asked, confused because her mind had wandered.
“I wasn’t a friend to you. I know I’m much too late but I’d like your forgiveness. And I hope we can be friends as we raise Quinn.”
The words shook her because he’d said them before. Not as eloquently. He’d been a teenager and he’d told her they were friends. But when she’d truly needed his friendship, he hadn’t been there for her. When she’d been nineteen and pregnant, he’d been long gone with no way to find him. Words had always been easy for Grayson Stone. The actions to back up the words were a different story.
Trust didn’t come easily for her, not just because of Grayson but because of a lifetime of people who had let her down. Could she forgive him?
“Avery, this is the adult me asking you to forgive the teenage me.”
She nodded. “I know, and I’m working on it. I do forgive you. But I’m doing so with boundaries.”
“Understood.” He inclined his head toward the pew where Nan and Quinn waited. “Shall we do this? Together. I’m not as brave as I loo
k.”
Somehow, she gathered herself up, put on a cloak of bravery, picked up her faith and took a seat in that church pew with Grayson Stone at her side.
* * *
The church fellowship hall was packed with members and visitors as they served up a huge meal for workers who had converged upon the community of Pleasant and the outlying area. Workers from the electric company, tree service workers and volunteers from other churches were all lined up together, as well as people who’d experienced damage to their homes. They were filling their plates and talking about things other than the storm.
Grayson got it. People wanted to get back to their normal lives. They wanted, even just for a short time, to think about something other than lost homes and the daunting task of rebuilding.
He stood next to Pastor Wilson discussing the damage to the church youth building. But Grayson’s attention started wandering to Avery. She was standing behind the tables laden with food, laughing at something the lady next to her had said, then served another helping of potatoes to the next person in line. She greeted the elderly man with a soft smile and leaned a little to hear what he said in response.
“What’s your plan?”
“I’m sorry?” Grayson jerked his attention back to the pastor. “I didn’t catch what you said.”
Pastor Wilson laughed. “I know you didn’t. I asked about your plan.”
“I’m making sure my dad is settled before I go back to California.” His gaze drifted once again to Avery.
Her soft laughter carried across the room and she lit up as she and the pastor’s wife discussed something with a woman Grayson didn’t recognize.
“I hadn’t really meant your plan regarding your father,” Pastor Wilson said. The man was nothing if not tenacious.
“I’m not sure,” Grayson answered. “For now I’m just trying to get to know my daughter.”
Love Inspired June 2021--Box Set 1 of 2 Page 28
