by K Carothers
Luke stood up and turned to face her, sensing she was there even before he saw her. “I know you want to make sure Jenna gets some rest—we both do—so I think I’ll head back to the station. I still have a few loose ends to tie up.” His eyes dropped to her swimsuit-clad body. The robe she wore over it gaped open temptingly, and he silently groaned. The first thing he was going to do was stop at home and take a cold shower.
But he couldn’t resist the urge to torture himself a little more anyway, so he closed the distance between them and pulled her against him, whispering into her ear, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Erin.” Then he pressed a kiss on her cheek, letting his lips linger there, longing to taste more of her. Another time, he reminded himself, and reluctantly released her. For now he needed to take a really long, cold shower.
Erin watched him leave, lightly touching the spot on her cheek where he’d kissed her. She’d come back to this town for Jenna and starting a relationship had been the last thing on her mind. But Luke had lured her in too far, and now she didn’t want to get out. She really hoped she could learn how to swim.
Chapter
8
She did believe. Deep down, she’d always believed.
Erin came to that conclusion as she sat next to Jenna in the pew at St. Mary’s Church. She remembered sitting there as a child and always staring straight ahead at the priest, not daring to look away for fear of being punished. Yet she would never hear anything. She’d always found better places to go in her mind during those long Sunday services.
This time she was present in mind as well as in body, though. She listened to the priest, but also let her eyes wander around the inside of the church. All the windows were made of stained glass: beautiful, colorful, intricately designed works of art that ran the entire length of both side walls, gleaming brightly in the morning light. And the high, sloping cathedral ceiling was just as awe-inspiring with its elaborate architectural design and ornate decorations. The ceiling also provided an incredible sense of spaciousness within the church, a hint of the infinity beyond.
She no longer felt the oppressive burden on her soul, the heavy weight of condemnation that had always filled her when she’d been inside the church before. Now she wanted to believe in God, she needed to believe. Not in the dark God her grandparents had worshipped—that stern, unforgiving, humorless God who allowed bad things to happen to good people—but in the God of hope, love, and peace, the God who was the shining light at the end of the dark tunnel of life. Jenna’s God.
She glanced at Jenna. There was no one she knew who’d been through more hell than this beautiful, wise, warmhearted woman who refused to stop loving, who smiled through the pain and lived every moment with joyful gratitude anyway, even now as she was dying.
The thought struck Erin then that maybe there was no other hell than this. Maybe it was all right here on Earth, even if it was a beautiful hell at times. But the only thing that could make it beautiful was to love. And to remember that Heaven wasn’t too far away.
The church service ended, and they followed the stream of parishioners toward the church lobby. They’d arrived just as Mass was about to begin, so there hadn’t been time to meet up with Luke and his parents beforehand.
“Was the torture as bad as you thought it would be?” Jenna asked as they waited for them in the lobby.
“It was surprisingly no torture at all,” Erin responded. “In fact, I’m glad I came. It was an entirely different experience being here with you.”
A teasing grin crossed Jenna’s face. “Does that mean you’ll come back next Sunday?”
“I knew that was coming,” Erin said with a chuckle. “And yes, I’ll—”
“Hey, you.”
Erin jumped as those words were spoken from behind her, close to her ear. She turned and saw Luke standing there, looking stylish and more attractive than ever in a suit and tie. And her heart leapt as it did every time she was near him. “Hi, you,” she softly returned.
He leaned toward her, and for a heart-stopping moment she thought he was going to kiss her right there in the church lobby. But he brushed past her face and dropped his head lower until he was just a breath away from her neck. Then he inhaled for a second before straightening up. “You smell amazing,” he said with a slightly devilish smile. “Just like you look.”
Erin could only stare at him, speechless yet again. He shook her, right to the foundation of her soul. How he managed to do it was utterly beyond her. But he did it so effortlessly.
Jenna gave her a subtle nudge, telling Luke, “I think Erin would agree with me in saying that you clean up very nicely yourself.”
Luke affectionately squeezed Jenna’s arm. “I see you’re recovering well.”
“Yep, good as new, and ready for round two in the pond whenever you are.”
“No,” Luke and Erin said simultaneously.
Luke grinned at her. “One of these times I’m going to say—”
“Jinx,” she finished with him, and they all started laughing.
Luke’s parents walked up to them a moment later, and his father hugged Erin warmly. “It’s good to see you after all these years, Erin.”
“You too, Dr. Mathis.” Erin guessed he was in his early sixties now. His previously dark brown hair was peppered with gray, but he still had the same boyishly handsome face as his son, with a few more laugh lines around the eyes.
“Please, call me Greg,” he said. “And this is my wife, Joanne.”
Erin looked into a mirror image of Luke’s azure blue eyes as she shook his mother’s hand and they exchanged pleasantries. Joanne was attractive, with mahogany brown hair that was elegantly cut in a long bob around her face, and she had a general air of sophistication about her. But there was also a kindness in her eyes and in her smile that softened the sharpness of her style, and Erin liked her immediately.
Greg and Joanne greeted Jenna, and while they were talking, Luke moved closer to Erin and softly said, “I told my dad your story about the missing donut right before Mass started. And when Father Burnett announced the bake sale next month, it took everything we had not to laugh.”
“Was that all the coughing and choking I heard?” Erin asked in amusement. “I thought maybe I needed to give someone the Heimlich maneuver.”
Luke chuckled, whispering into her ear, “You still can if you want. I’d be happy to volunteer. Or for any other maneuver you want to try on me.”
Erin looked up into his heated blue gaze, and a nervous fluttering started in her chest. He was outright flirting with her again, and she’d never been good at that sort of thing. Not that she’d ever really tried—much less attempted any of the maneuvers he probably had in mind. And now they were inside a church of all places. She had no idea how to respond.
“Why don’t we all head over to the Corner Café?” Greg asked, saving her from her ineptitude. “Luke tells me you might be interested in working some ER shifts, Erin. We can talk about that over lunch.”
“If Jenna is up to it,” she said uncertainly, turning to her friend.
“Yes, I would love to go,” Jenna responded with an enthusiastic smile.
“All right then, we’ll see you at the café,” Erin told Greg. She could feel Luke’s eyes on her the whole time, but she made a conscious effort not to look at him, so far out of her element with the man she didn’t know what to do.
“Luke, you’re coming too, aren’t you?” Jenna asked.
“Yeah, that sounds good. I’ll meet you all there.”
Luke glanced at Erin as they left the church, trying to catch her gaze, but she continued to ignore him. And with a sinking feeling he wondered if he’d gone too far with his comments a moment ago. Maybe this amazing connection he felt with her was mostly in his mind. Maybe he was wrong in thinking there was anything brewing between them at all. He suddenly felt like that awkward, insecure teenager again,
not knowing what to say to her, unsure how to act around her. Where she was concerned, he was clueless.
* * *
“Jen, this is beautiful.”
Erin stood in front of a painting with a poem overlying it that hung on the far wall of the small café. It was another watercolor, this one of an elderly man and woman sitting at a table in the café, sharing a secret smile. Jenna’s name was printed at the bottom of the painting, and Adam had scrawled his own in the corner, but Erin recognized his art style as soon as she saw it, and the poetry as soon as she started reading.
A Moment at the Corner Café
That cute old couple comes to the Corner Café,
Walking hand in hand almost every day.
They move along at a slow, unhurried pace,
While around them the younger generations race.
He holds the door open with a twinkle in his eye,
And she conveys her thanks with a lovely old smile.
Then they sit at a table by the window together,
A delightful display of rare antique treasures.
They’re long past worrying about a watch or a clock;
They simply take pleasure in the moments they’ve got.
But for those who look closely it’s clear to see,
They have more than a moment, but all of eternity.
—Jenna Godfrey
“Adam and I did this one together last year. The owners of the café helped our school out with a fundraiser, so we made it for them,” Jenna said, standing alongside Erin. “I wrote the poem years ago. It was inspired by a lovely old couple who used to come in here all the time. They’ve both passed away since then. I guess they found their eternity.”
Erin thought of Jenna and Adam together as she looked at the couple in the painting. This would be the only place they would get to grow old together, to share their own eternity. “Are you sorry you fell in love with him?” she asked.
“No, I’m not,” Jenna said, turning to her. “As Tennyson would say, ‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.’ Though I suppose if my mind had any say in the matter I would have chosen differently. But love is a choice the heart makes after all. And not even the strongest mind can withstand the most stubborn heart.” She smiled ruefully. “Not that I have the strongest mind, as much as I do admire Einstein.”
“I love your mind. And I’m sure Einstein would agree with that.”
“We’ll see. I have every intention of meeting him one of these days. It will no doubt be a very enlightening conversation.”
Erin was still amazed at how Jenna could say something like that with such serenity, and even a touch of humor. She had a feeling her friend was going to help her through these next months more than the other way around. Her eyes misted with tears, but she attempted a smile. “I’m sure he’s going to fall in love with you. And who knows? You might end up ditching Thoreau.”
Jenna laughed softly. “Having to choose between two such great minds would present quite a dilemma indeed. But I’m sure we’ll all get along just fine.” She gave Erin’s arm an affectionate squeeze. “And I love your mind too, by the way. You’re without a doubt the smartest person I really do know.”
“Then you admire a mind with a lot of imperfections.”
“Confucius would say, ‘Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.’ And every mind has flaws of some sort. I’m sure Einstein would agree with that, too.”
“Well, I’d say mine are definitely multifaceted.”
Erin heard the jingle of the café door opening as she spoke, and knew without even looking that Luke had just walked in. It was like he could touch her skin with his eyes. She turned her head and their gazes met across the room. Jenna was right. The heart certainly had a mind of its own, and hers never failed to do crazy things when he was nearby.
He started walking over to them, and she saw the questions in his eyes as he got closer. She knew what he was asking without him having to say a word. He wanted to know what was going on in her head. They needed to talk. Alone. She thought about the last time they’d been alone together, when he’d almost kissed her, and the fluttering in her chest went wild.
Erin didn’t exactly know what she was going to say to him. On the way to the café she told Jenna what had happened in the church lobby, and once her friend stopped laughing, she’d repeated her quote from Confucius: “‘Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.’ So stop worrying about it. Just laugh and love instead, and you’ll find out how simple life really is.”
When he reached them, Luke glanced up at the painting and smiled at Jenna. “I see the town poet is here with her poetry. Are you signing autographs?”
Jenna snorted a laugh. “I’m hardly the town poet, Luke. And since nobody’s bound to ask for my autograph, I think I’ll go sit and chat with your parents. I see they found a table.” She grinned impishly at Erin. “I’ll leave the two of you to contemplate the décor here—or anything else that catches your fancy.” And with a wink she slowly walked away.
Erin tentatively faced Luke, who was now regarding her with the same questioning look as before. Once again, she had a hard time putting two words together in her mind when it took all her effort just to keep from drowning in the blue of his eyes. But she finally managed to get out, “Luke—”
“Erin—” he said at the same time, and they laughed, breaking some of the tension between them.
“Ladies first,” he told her.
Nerves got the best of her, and she couldn’t say what she wanted to. “No, you go ahead.”
Luke took her hand lightly in his. “Erin, I was wondering if maybe I could—”
“Janey Mac! If me old eyes don’t deceive me, it’s Erin Harris!”
Erin turned in surprise, remembering well that voice with the melodic Irish lilt. And a thrill of pleasure went through her. “Dr. O’Reilly!”
Nolan O’Reilly smiled at her in delight. “Erin. Erin go bragh! As pretty as ever, like the land I was born in, with eyes just as green.” He enveloped her in an enthusiastic hug. “And I think it’s time ye call me Nolan, lass.” He held her at arm’s length for a moment, shaking his head. “My, how the time has flown by. It feels like just yesterday ye went off to Harvard to become a doctor yerself. And now here ye are back again. It’s wonderful to see ye, Erin. Welcome home!”
“Thank you, Dr.—Nolan,” Erin corrected herself. “It’s good to see you again too.”
Nolan greeted Luke, and Erin continued to happily drink in the sight of the man who’d been her idol for so many years. His blue eyes were as bright as ever, and he still had the same thick, white hair. His face had aged some in the decade and a half since she’d last seen him, but time had been kind overall, and he wore his seventy years well.
“Luke told me you retired from practice,” Erin said.
“Och, I did. Retired but not tired, and now with perhaps a little too much time on me hands. A dangerous combination to be sure—as Colin will attest to. We don’t exactly see eye to eye on the definition of retired.” Nolan chuckled. “But I amn’t quite ready for the rockin’ chair yet, though he has threatened to tie me down to one a few times.”
Erin smiled at him teasingly. “And to think, you used to talk nonstop about how much you were looking forward to Colin coming home for good.”
“I did mention that once or twice, didn’t I?” Nolan chuckled again. “But there are no unmixed blessins’ in life, as we Irish like to say. And aside from the whole rockin’ chair business, it’s been a real joy havin’ him home. I wish he were here now so ye could finally meet him, but he’s over at the hospital reducin’ the world by one appendix as we speak. And Sophia’s still at church, organizin’ the summer bake sale.”
Luke gave Erin a grin. “I think you and Jenna should help out with that.”
�
��And I’m sure you’d want me to make donuts,” she returned dryly. “But I suppose, it would be a crime if there weren’t any.”
“Yes, it would be.” Luke’s grin turned devilish. “And then I’d have to put you in handcuffs.”
There it was, the flirting again. “Well, I have no idea how to make a donut, so that’s bound to happen,” Erin said, trying to keep her voice steady, though her nerves certainly weren’t. “I hope you won’t get too rough with me, Detective. I’ve never been in handcuffs before.”
She watched the smile disappear from Luke’s face and his jaw sag open a little. He stood there staring at her, dumbstruck, and she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. She just might get used to this whole flirting thing after all.
“I see the two of ye know each other,” Nolan said with a look of amused speculation in his eyes that reminded Erin of Jenna.
“Are you here by yourself?” she asked him.
“I am. I thought I’d stop in and have a bite to eat before I take me grandson, Sean, out for a drivin’ lesson.” A wry smile crossed Nolan's face. “I’m hopin’ the food is especially good today because it may be me last meal.”
“You should have lunch with us—especially if it’s your last meal,” Erin facetiously responded. “And you can tell me all about this grandson of yours before he takes you out.”
“Ah, a lass after me own humor,” Nolan laughed. “And that would be lovely, Erin. I hadn’t realized until now how much I’ve missed our little talks. A few cards and texts here and there just aren’t the same.” He turned to Luke for approval. “I don’t want to be a fly in the ointment, though.”
“No, of course not,” Luke told him, motioning to their table. “We’re here with my parents and Jenna, so come join the party.” His conversation with Erin would just have to wait until later, when he could catch her alone. At least she’d given him a glimmer of hope.
Nolan looked over at Jenna and softly sighed. “Such a dear girl. She comes to visit the nursin’ home all the time, and the residents adore her. She always brings a special kind of sunshine with her, even on the gloomiest day. It saddens me somethin’ fierce that she’s got cancer.”
