A Love Worth Waiting For and Heaven Knows (19 page)

The rain ended and the wind died down as they drove along the main street of town. Modest shops were open for business, and a few cars were parked along the curb, but no one was in sight. Maybe the rain had scared everyone inside.

“Daddy, can we stop for ice cream? Please, please?”

“What do you need ice cream for? You're sweet enough already.”

Hailey rolled her eyes. “Gramma says a girl's gotta have chocolate.”

“Gramma ought to know. She's a wise woman.”

Hailey didn't know what a lucky little girl she was, to have a kind man for a daddy, Alexandra thought as the pickup slowed to turn off the street and into the gravel lot. Then again, maybe like Alexandra's father, this was how John acted in public—polite and deferential.

Home had been a different matter.

She'd learned the hard way it was difficult to really know a person from outward appearances. It was a tough lesson to learn but one she'd never forgotten.

John pulled up to the drive-through window at the same little stand where she'd eaten her lunch in the shade. On friendly terms with everyone, it seemed, he greeted the blond-haired woman by name after she slid open the glass partition.

“Hi there, Misty. We'll have three chocolate cones, double dipped.”

Before Alexandra could protest, the woman smiled brightly. “Three it is. I'll be right back.” Then she disappeared into the shop.

“Consider it terms of accepting a ride with us,” John explained easily. “Where there's Hailey, there's chocolate ice cream. It's best not to fight it. Just accept it as a law of nature.”

“Then it should be my treat in exchange for the ride to town.” She peeled a five-dollar bill from the stash in her wallet.

“No, it's not my policy to let ladies pay.” He held up one hand, gallant as any fine gentleman.

“It's my policy to pay back good deeds when I can.” She pressed the bill on the dash in front of John and gave him an I-mean-business look.

“This goes against my grain,” he told her, handing the five to Misty at the window in
exchange for three huge chocolate-encased cones. “Thanks. Hailey, pass one down.”

“These are awesome.” The girl's eyes shone with pleasure as she handed the biggest cone to Alexandra. “You gotta be careful 'cuz the ice cream is all melty.”

“I see.” The rich chocolate smell was enough to die for. Her mouth watered as John put the truck in gear and circled around to the shaded picnic tables.

Random raindrops plopped onto the windshield from the trees reaching overhead. “This looks like a good place to have a car picnic,” John announced. “What do you say, Hailey?”

“A truck picnic, Daddy,” she corrected with a roll of her eyes. “My Grammy loves car picnics. Don't you, Alexandra?”

“A car picnic, huh?” She'd never heard it called that before, but it wasn't hard to see at all, sitting in this comfy truck with the heat breezing over their toes as father and daughter picnicked right here, out of the weather. It was way too much for her and far too tempting to stay.

A gust of breeze buffeted the side of the truck, reminding her that she was like the wind. On the move, with no place to call home and no reason to linger.

There was nothing else to do but to tuck her purse strap firmly on her shoulder. “You two enjoy your picnic. This is where I go my own way.”

“No! Wait,” Hailey protested. “You gotta eat your ice cream.”

“I will, I promise.” Alexandra popped open the door and her feet hit the rain-sodden ground. “I hope you get your puppy. John, thanks for the ride.”

“Wait.” He bolted out the door. “You don't have to run off. You're going to need a ride back to your car.”

“I don't think your wife will appreciate your driving strange women all over town.” Alexandra took a step back, putting safe distance between them. “Don't you have a job at the hardware store to get back to?”

“I own the store, and my part-time hired help can handle things while I'm chauffeuring Hailey around.” The wind tousled his dark hair, drawing her attention to the look of him, and the way his shoulders looked as dependable as granite. “I'm not married. Not anymore.”

“My mommy died when I was just a baby,” Hailey added around a mouthful of ice cream.

“I'm sorry.” The words felt small against the size of their loss. Somehow knowing John was a single father made it easier for her to take another step away and another, her heart feeling as heavy as stone.

“It's a long walk back,” John called after her.

“I don't mind.” She waved goodbye across the gravel lot and disappeared before he could say anything else.

 

Crunching the last bite of his cone, John had to admit the chocolate didn't taste as good as usual. That was Alexandra's fault.

When he'd happened along her broken-down car on the road, he had to wonder if he was meant to help her out. A woman alone like that… Surely the Lord was watching out for her. Surely it had been no coincidence John had been the one to find her walking toward town. The good Lord knew John had debts to pay and never turned down an opportunity to do so.

It troubled him now. He tried to put thoughts of Alexandra aside as Hailey told him all about her morning at Stephanie's, but his mind kept drifting back. God hadn't intended for people to be alone. That's what families were for, neighborhoods, churches and towns.

He couldn't help wondering if Alexandra was about ready to walk alone back to her car.

The clouds overhead had broken, but the real storm hadn't hit yet. He could feel it in the wind and smell it in the air.

“Let's get going, Hailey. We can't leave Warren in charge of the store for much longer.” The high school kid he'd hired was reliable, but he was young. “Look at you, all covered with chocolate.”

“I made a real mess,” she agreed cheerfully as she rubbed her hands on a wadded napkin. “Is
Grammy gonna come pick me up now? 'Cuz I've got lots of stuff to do.”

That was his daughter, always on the go. “Yep. All I have to do is give her a jingle. Turn your head that way. You really smeared yourself up good this time.” John grabbed the last paper napkin and wiped the chocolate smudges from his daughter's face.

“It was really melty. Hey, Daddy?”

“What?” He gathered the trash and tossed it into the garbage bin. “This isn't about getting a dog again? You're wearin' out my ears on that one.”

“Oh, I don't want a dog. I want a puppy.” She climbed into the cab and plopped onto the seat. “A
puppy.
”

“That's just a little dog.”

“Yeah, but you let me have a horse.”

He got into the truck, turned the key and listened to the engine rumble. “That's it. I forbid you ever to visit Stephanie again.”

He gave her head a ruffle, and she giggled, light and sweet—his most favorite sound of all.

 

Back at the store, Warren was helping a customer, so John grabbed the phone and dialed. He counted nine rings—Mom must be outside in her garden.

She was out of breath when she answered. “Hello?”

“Hailey's ready for you.”

“Oh, John, perfect timing. I was starting to wonder about her. Say, grab a container of rose food for me. I just ran out.”

“Will do. And since I never charge you a penny—”

“Uh-oh, I'm in trouble now. I can hear it coming.” On the other side of the phone, his mom had to be smiling. “All right, I'm sitting down. What do you want now? Don't tell me you finally folded on the puppy issue.”

“Not yet. I'm still waging that battle. Listen, on your way to town, you'll see a woman walking. She's medium height and slim with dark brown hair and wearing a sweater and jeans. Give her a ride back to her car, will you? Don't take no for an answer.”

“I should hope not! A woman walking alone. This country is safe, I'm proud to say, we're a fine community, but a woman shouldn't be left alone. And walking on that long road. Why, I'll leave right now.”

“You're a good woman, Mom.”

“Don't I know it.”

John punched the button, ending the conversation. Problem solved. Alexandra wouldn't be able to refuse his mother. Few people could. Alexandra would get the help she needed, and his conscience could finally stop troubling him.

End of story, he told himself, heading back to the
garden section. The phone rang and more business walked through the door, enough to keep him busy. So, why couldn't he stop thinking about Alexandra and the way her smile never quite reached her eyes?

“I
just can't leave you here.” Bev Corey set her jaw, sounding as formidable as a federated wrestler instead of the tiny slip of a woman standing alongside the country road. “What if your car doesn't start? Dear, I truly believe we should call a mechanic.”

Alexandra couldn't help liking the woman. Bev Corey may be a stranger, but in the ten-minute trip from town, she almost felt like a friend. “Don't worry. I've done this before. I'll show you.”

“That's what men are for—to keep cars running smoothly. And it's my belief that's what we should let them do. My Gerald is a hop and a skip up the road. Let me go hunt him down, and I'm sure he'll be happy to fix this for you.”

“Thanks, but I can handle it. All I have to do is replace this hose, and I'll be on my way.”

“That simply seems dangerous.” Bev took a tentative step forward, as if to keep far from the grease. “Engines explode, metal parts can burn you. There's acid in the battery, you know. I don't think it's safe for you to be touching that.”

“The engine is cool and I'm far away from the battery.” Alexandra tugged the damaged hose loose. “Now I just fit this on here—”

“I'm not sure about this at all. Why, those are out-of-state plates. How far have you driven this poor car? I don't know a thing about engines, but this certainly looks as if it needs a mechanic's attention.” Bev shook her head, scattering the short, perfectly coiffed curls, which slipped back into place. “What were your parents thinking, to let you take off across country in a car like this?”

It seemed natural that Bev should ask, obviously being a motherly type. Still, it hurt to look back. Remembering couldn't change the past or the family she'd been a part of. “I left home when I was seventeen and I've never went back.”

“Never?”

“No. I'm happier that way.” If it still made her sad, she tried not to feel it. She'd been fine all these years on her own, with the Lord's help, and even though she'd had a rough time lately, that was all about to change. She was sure of it.

She changed the subject as she wrestled the hose into place. “Have you always lived here in Montana?”

“Goodness, yes. My family homesteaded the land in the 1880s. Five generations of Coreys have farmed that land. We grow potatoes and are proud of it. Montana is a fine place to live. Are you thinking about moving here?”

“It's a possibility,” she admitted before she realized she'd spoken.

“Are you here looking for work?”

“I'm looking for the right opportunity.” Alexandra slammed the hood and tugged on it to make sure it was latched.

“So you've come to interview for a job?” Bev lit up. “Why, that's wonderful. So many of our young people are moving away to the bigger cities. Are you interviewing right here in our town?”

“I don't have an interview, not yet,” she corrected, wiping her hands on the edge of a rag. “I'm looking and hoping the right job comes along.”

“Trust in the Lord to see to it, dear. What kind of work do you do?”

“I clean houses.”

“Honest work. And hard work.”

Alexandra pulled her key from her pocket. “Thanks again for the ride. I'm glad I got to know you.”

“Don't say your goodbyes yet. We'll wait and see if that car of yours starts.” Bev looked doubtful as she eyed the rusty Volkswagen.

Alexandra unlocked the door, settled behind the
wheel and turned the ignition. The engine didn't roll over, so she pumped the gas—but not too much so she wouldn't flood the carburetor.

She got out and once again moved to check the engine.

“Just as I thought.” Bev planted both hands on her hips, leaving her fine leather purse to dangle at her side. “That car isn't drivable. Do you realize what a godsend it was that John gave me a call?”

“John called you? But I thought you were on your way to town—”

“And so I was. But John asked me to keep an eye out for you on my way in and give you a ride back to your car. He's my oldest son. Always with a hand out to help, that's our John. Land sakes, what are you doing now?”

“Cleaning off the battery terminals.” Alexandra bent over the engine compartment. “That's probably why my car isn't starting.”

It took only a few seconds to wipe the terminals down and tighten the connectors.

“Something tells me you've been on your own a long time.” Bev eased closer. “No boyfriend? No husband?”

“No husband. Yet.” But there had been a man who'd proposed to her after three years of dating. A man she'd been ready to marry.

Panic clawed in her chest and she said nothing more about Patrick. She wanted to forget him, to
forget she'd ever known him. She slammed the hood and took a deep breath. “This should do it.”

“If it doesn't start,” Bev warned, apparently expecting the worst, “then you'd best come with me and no arguments. I can't in good conscience leave you here.”

“She'll start.” Alexandra gave her car a pat on the dash and turned the ignition. The engine rolled over, coughing and sputtering, but that was normal. “See? I know she doesn't look like much, but she really is a reliable car.”

“I don't know about that!” Bev didn't look convinced. “It's Saturday afternoon, and it's sure to be dark soon. What if this car of yours breaks down again?”

“Then I'll fix it. The great part about having a car this old and uncomplicated is that I can fix nearly everything that can go wrong with it.” She liked Bev, and wished her own mother could have been more like the woman standing before her now. “I'll be fine, so don't worry. You've helped me more than you know.”

“I feel as if I haven't done a thing. Maybe you should come home with me tonight. I've got a little rental cottage out behind the garage. It's as tidy as could be.”

Alexandra bit her lip, not at all sure what to think. She'd been too long living in a city and had forgotten what it was like to live in a small town.
Forgotten that in small towns, the world seemed kinder. It was hard to trust in that kindness—in the belief of that kindness.

Her chest ached, as if a part of the defensive wall around her heart crumbled a little. She'd learned long ago that kindness hurt, too, because sometimes it hid pity. “Thanks for the offer, but I want to reach Bozeman by nightfall. Once I'm there, I'll see where my path takes me.”

“But you're alone. How old can you be? Twenty?”

“I'm twenty-four.”

“Why, my youngest daughter is that age. I'd hate to think of her alone, driving across country in an unreliable car.” Bev opened her leather purse, which exactly matched her shoes. “Let me see…where is it? Here, my husband's business card. You promise to give me a call tonight, when you get settled.”

“Sure.” Alexandra took the card and ran her thumb across the embossed letters.

Gerald Corey, Potatoes And Soybeans, it said, and listed an address and phone number. There were different logos, probably farmer organizations she didn't know anything about, but she did know one thing. Bev was genuine in her caring.

It had been a long time since someone had truly cared about her. A long, lonely time.

Bev was a stranger, and she probably treated
everyone she met this way. With warmth and concern. As if they were family.

“I'll call when I'm settled,” Alexandra promised, tucking the business card into her back pocket.

As she settled behind the wheel, she couldn't help feeling hopeful. That this short stop in this little town was a sign of things to come. Good things the Lord had in store for her.

It was hard to say goodbye, but she managed it. Harder still to put the little car in gear and ease onto the road. Waving, she shifted into Second, watching Bev grow smaller in the rearview mirror.

Alexandra felt as if she were leaving something of great value behind, and she didn't know why. Bev Corey climbed into her luxury sedan, and then the road turned, taking Alexandra around a new corner and down a new path.

It made no sense, but the feeling remained.

 

“Here's Grammy,” Hailey announced from the front of the store. “See ya later, Dad!”

“Don't forget your bag.” John watched to make sure she grabbed the pink backpack from the counter, damp from the towel and swimsuit inside from her stay at Stephanie's. “And wait up. I've got something for your grandmother.”

The bell above the door jangled and the screen door slammed. Hailey hadn't heard him. Through the front-window display, he could plainly see his
mom circling around the front of her car, dressed perfectly as always, and greeting Hailey with a big hug.

His pulse skipped a beat—then he noticed the passenger seat was empty. Mom hadn't brought Alexandra back with her. Disappointment washed through him like a cold ocean wave, leaving him troubled.

Had he been looking forward that much to seeing Alexandra again?

Then maybe it was for the best that she wasn't here. He had no right to feel any caring—however remote—for any woman. Not after how he'd failed.

Through the screen door, he heard his mother talking, and his daughter answering. He could hear a hay truck downshift as it eased through town. It all sounded far away at the memory of his failure long ago now, but yet, in an instant, it seemed like only moments ago. When his world had changed. And a pretty young woman had lost her life.

The container felt heavy in his hand. Praying for the memories to leave him, he pushed blindly through the door, stumbling and dazed. He'd do anything to have the chance to go back and change the past.
Anything.

Mom's merry voice brought warmth to the afternoon suddenly turned cold. “Hailey, that bag of yours is as wet as your swimsuit. We'd better put it in my trunk because I just cleaned my car. Is that everything?”

“Yep.” Hailey took tight hold of Bev's hand, as she always did, and climbed into the back seat.

A typical Saturday afternoon, like a dozen others so far this spring. Mom's cheer, Hailey's charm and his life in this small town—the same as ever. The weight of his guilt made his step heavy and slow.

“John, are you all right? You're as quiet as could be, and that's not like you.” Mom peered at him carefully. “You don't seem flushed.”

“I'm fine. Just wondering if you found Alexandra,” he hedged.

Why was his pulse racing when he mentioned the woman's name? It was guilt—plain and simple. As if he could help enough people, that would atone for the one person he couldn't have helped.

“Heavens to Betsy, John, I'm so glad you called me. I found poor Alexandra walking along that road all by herself. That just isn't safe, not at all.” A deep look of sorrow passed over Mom's gentle face. She'd always been tenderhearted, caring about everybody.

“I insisted on giving her a ride, and you were right, she was stubborn at first, but that shows sense. A young woman can't accept rides from strangers these days. So I stayed with her until her car started. But do you know she doesn't have a soul in the world who cares about her? No family at all. No one to worry over her arriving safe and sound. It's a shame, it is, a nice girl like that.”

“That's why I called you.” John's throat tightened until he could hardly speak. “Thanks for helping her out.”

“She bought us ice cream,” Hailey volunteered from the back seat. “And she had a dog when she was little. Just thought I otta mention it.”

“We heard you, Miss One Track Mind.” Bev tried to hide a chuckle. “We'll pray Alexandra has smooth roads ahead of her. You were a good man to help her out, John.”

“The least I could do, seeing as she came into my store.”

“You don't fool me with your modesty act. You're one of the finest men I know, and I'm proud to call you my son.”

Not true, but it made some of the pain in his chest ease. “I come from good stock,” he told her because he knew it would make her smile, and he turned to his sprite of a daughter playing with the seat belt buckle. “You stay out of trouble, you hear?”

“I'll try.” Hailey grinned like the angel she was.

Such sweetness. Love for her filled his heart as he set the bin of rose food in the trunk with Hailey's backpack. She was a good girl, and he was grateful to his mom for the time she spent with Hailey, making up for a mother's absence.

His guilt felt as dark as the storm clouds overhead.

“Bye, Daddy!”

John watched his mother's car pull away from the curb. Hailey's purple-painted fingernails flashed as she waved.

The Lord had forgiven him long ago, or so Pastor Bill assured him time and time again, but that hadn't erased the guilt. John would never forgive himself for his wife's death.

Ever.

 

Because he'd stopped by Mrs. Fletcher's house, John was late arriving at his Mom's. The kitchen was a flurry of activity. The oven timer buzzed loud and shrill, and the potatoes boiling too hard on the stove spit sizzling water onto the burner.

“Good, you showed up just in time.” Mom poured water from the green beans at the sink. “Give your dad a shout, would you? He's out tinkering with that tractor and I can't get him away from it.”

“Daddy!” Hailey looked up from coloring at the table. Crayons flew as she tore across the room, winding her arms around his knees. “Grammy's making my favorite potatoes.”

“Good. Those are my favorite, too.”

The phone shrilled again just as Mom was reaching deep into the oven to rescue the delicious-smelling roast. Halfway to the door to find his dad, John lifted the receiver from the wall-mounted phone. “Howdy.”

“Is this Bev's home?”

Wait. He knew that voice—soft, pretty and gentle. “It surely is. This wouldn't happen to be Alexandra?”