Finding Faith (Love's Compass Book 4) (4 page)

Serenity wondered if Aaron was trying to decide whether or not he wanted to stay. His blue eyes were on her and she could have sworn the edges had darkened to cobalt. He blinked and motioned to the table.

“Well, it’s good to see you again. Do you mind if I join you?”

“Not at all. I guess I’m not the only one who gets a late lunch.”

Aaron sat across from her and started peeling the layers of aluminum foil off his plate. “I arrange lunch for this time. It gets pretty crowded in here if you come around noon. Especially if you need to use the microwave.”

“Is there a lunch thief on campus?” Confusion flitted across his face and she chuckled. She pointed to the aluminum foil and the numerous times he’d written his name on it.

“Oh.” He laughed. “Only once. It was actually Zane — one of my friends here. I stole his lunch the next day. Now it’s tradition for us to write our names all over our lunches. It’s just for fun, of course.” He looked at her in mock seriousness. “Unless I bring leftover Mexican food. Then I have to hide it in the back somewhere so Zane doesn’t touch it.”

He laughed again and Serenity found the deep tone worked its way right to the center of her. There was something about it that made her comfortable, though she couldn’t explain it.  “I’ll have to remember that. You going to eat it cold?”

“The pizza? Yep.” He took an exaggerated bite. “It’s the only way to eat leftover pizza.”

With a grin, she took a bite of her sandwich. Since it contained packaged chicken lunch meat and a swipe of honey mustard on the bread, she had to admit that his pizza smelled a whole lot tastier. “Do I remember right that you’re a music therapist? What does that mean, exactly?”

Aaron put his pizza down and his face lit up. “I spend half my time as a glorified music teacher. The other half, I work one-on-one with kids who are referred to me by their teachers. I’ve seen music help kids talk more. I even had one little boy with a lot of self-injurious behavior improve once we realized how much classical music relaxed him. He has an iPod with him now and when he starts to get frustrated or upset, he knows to put in the earbuds and listen to his favorite song.”

“Really? That’s amazing.” She was fascinated as much by his excitement as she was by his words. “What made you decide to go into this line of work?”

Aaron shrugged and picked up his pizza again. “It’s a long story.” He took a bite and chewed it thoughtfully. “But I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

A pang of jealousy hit her in the chest. Sometimes she wished she could be as enthusiastic about something in her own life. Aside from Gideon, that is. For all of her adulthood, everything revolved around trying to provide for her son. The jobs she’d had were a means to an end and certainly not something she truly loved.

Thankfully, Aaron didn’t seem to notice the mess of thoughts going through her head. He took a drink of his lemon lime soda.

“Are you doing okay working with Maggie?”

Thinking about her co-worker elicited a chuckle. “She’s actually been incredibly helpful. I’ve worked a similar job in the past and it’s already been more exciting here on the first day.”

Aaron finished his pizza and crumpled the aluminum foil. “It is a great place to work.” He checked his watch. “I’ve got another class coming in so I’d better run.” He stood and paused. “I hope the rest of your day goes well. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Now that he was standing again, he seemed to tower over her. She also got the sense that he was older than she was, though she wasn’t sure by how much. She managed a friendly nod.  

The way he winked one of his blue eyes and the sound of his deep laughter stayed with her the rest of the day. If eating lunch together became a frequent thing, she had a feeling it would be her favorite part of the workday. Nerves collided with anticipation at the thought as she worked to finish her sandwich and get back to the front office. 

~

“I hear you’ve been having lunch with the new lady in administration all week.”

Aaron pierced Zane with a “don’t start with me” glare and put the last of the disinfected instruments away. “We happen to have lunch at the same time and there’s usually only a few of us there after one. It would have been rude to ignore her and leave her by herself.”

Zane lifted an eyebrow and Aaron pretended to ignore it. “But you find her attractive.”

Aaron cast a glance at the door to make sure no one else was around. “I’d be lying if I said she wasn’t. But it’s a general observation.”

“Of course.” He waited for Aaron to finish up then led the way out of the room and down the hall. “Hey, you up for going to see that new movie this weekend?”

As if Aaron ever turned down a Marvel movie. “Absolutely. Is Letty going?”

Zane chuckled. “Of course. Superheroes and Red Vines. She wouldn’t miss it.”

“You sure I won’t be a third wheel?”

“Invite your lunch friend and then you won’t be.” Zane nudged him hard in the ribs.

“Very funny.” Truthfully, he didn’t mind being the third in their group. It happened often and his married friends never made him uncomfortable. But Zane’s lighthearted suggestion got him thinking about asking Serenity to go along. Which was crazy because eating lunch with her at work was a long ways from asking her out. “I wouldn’t dare risk the wrath of Cynthia.”

Zane’s face contorted into a look of disdain. “Who would? But for the record, the memo said you couldn’t date a student’s mother. It never said you couldn’t show interest in someone else working here.”

Technically, that was true. A little hope welled up in his chest. Maybe, at some point in the future, it wouldn’t be such a stretch to ask her to go to a movie with him.

“Where are you guys headed?” Letty’s voice floated up the hall behind them. They stopped and waited for her to catch up.

Zane put an arm around her shoulders and drew her close. “I was about to come find you. Right after I convinced Music Man here to bring a date to the movies with us this weekend.”

Letty’s eyes widened and a smile tugged the corners of her lips upwards. “You should, Aaron. It’d be good for you. Who’s the lucky gal?”

Aaron cast a glance behind them and lowered his voice. “Your husband thinks I should ask the new woman in administration.”

“They’ve already had lunch together.” Zane chuckled.

Aaron was about to object and then decided not to bother. Zane could tease ruthlessly when he got on a roll. It was better not to encourage it either way.

“Serenity?”

Aaron nodded, curious to see what Letty thought about the idea, and said, “She seems nice enough. Although I think Zane might be jumping the gun a little, here.”

Letty frowned. “Aren’t you worried about Cynthia’s new guidelines?”

Aaron exchanged an equally confused look with Zane. “I think they’re insane. But what does that have to do with Serenity?”

Letty’s eyes widened. “Didn’t you know? She’s got a son going to Hope. You met him on Monday. Remember Gideon?”

The little boy immediately came to mind. He remembered vaguely thinking he seemed familiar. Now he realized why: Both mother and son had the same chocolate-colored eyes.

He blew out a puff of air and shrugged. “I remember him. I hadn’t made the connection. So much for your matchmaking skills, Zane.” Aaron was trying to be nonchalant. It wasn’t easy when the idea of asking Serenity out had seemed like such a good one at the time.

He was certainly glad Letty made the connection between Serenity and Gideon, though. With her in administration, Aaron likely wouldn’t see her often anyway. It was probably just as well. Dating wasn’t something he usually made time for, and when he did, he couldn’t seem to connect with the women on a personal level. Serenity being the mother of one of his students was an additional layer of complication he didn’t need in his life. The last thing he wanted was Cynthia breathing down his neck.

Aaron bid his friends farewell and headed towards the parking lot. He considered eating at his desk in his classroom instead of the breakroom so that he wouldn’t risk spending too much time with Serenity.

But as soon as the thought entered his mind, he dismissed it. He wasn’t going to run away. He barely knew the woman. All he had to do was keep treating her like he did any of his other co-workers. He could be friends with the new lady in administration.

The new beautiful lady who smelled like lavender and had one of the prettiest smiles he’d ever seen.

Yep, it ought to be easy. 

Serenity managed to survive her first week at Hope Academy and felt like it was relatively successful. While she had a lot to learn, at least she wasn’t stumbling over the computer keys when checking visitors in. And she knew how to replace the roll of adhesive name tags that printed out as temporary badges.

Gideon seemed to have a good first week as well. She heard mostly encouraging reports from Letty and the notes she’d received from his speech and occupational therapists were all positive as well. By the end of the week, they’d started to settle into their new routine. Letty kept Gideon after school ended for an extra half hour in the classroom. When Serenity got off work at four in the afternoon, she picked him up and they headed home.

Their second weekend in the Dallas area was a strangely relaxing one. The idea of having spare time was nearly foreign to Serenity. When she was employed at the restaurant, extra hours were worked in whenever she could get them. They were living pay check to pay check now, and while she felt tempted to find work on the weekends, for the first time in her life she had no one to keep Gideon. And she wasn’t about to find a random day care for him.

Besides, Lexi had made her promise to give it six months in their current situation before trying to locate any other type of work. She was the only one Serenity had confided in when it came to her financial situation. Both of them were shocked and thrilled when Serenity had not only gotten the job at Hope Academy, but Gideon had received such a large scholarship. One that size was virtually unheard of.

“It’s a God thing,” Lexi had told her. “Which means you need to give Him a chance to work the rest of it out. Don’t try to push it.”

Serenity knew she was right. Even if Gideon didn’t receive the scholarship again next year, he would have one year at an amazing school. She had to focus on that.

After doing a lot of reading over the weekend and checking out the local parks, she and Gideon both felt ready to tackle a new week.

When she dropped him off at his classroom, Letty stopped her before she left. “Will you have about twenty minutes after you get off work? I wanted to talk to you about getting Gideon into some one-on-one music therapy. I think it would benefit him.”

“Oh, sure. That’ll be fine.” Serenity tried to imagine what all would take place during the session and was grateful she would have the chance to ask her questions.

“Great! Meet me here like usual and we’ll walk over to the music room. Aaron will wait for us there.”

Serenity nodded her understanding, gave Gideon a kiss goodbye, and made her way through the maze of hallways back to the front of the school.

All the while, Aaron remained on her mind. They’d eaten lunch together almost every day. Sometimes someone else joined them, and other times it was just the two of them. Either way, she always enjoyed the company. They usually kept conversation light and centered on activities within the school. Aaron rarely asked her any personal questions and she’d taken her cue from him. 

The day quickly turned into a typical Monday. Two kiddos came into the office sick, keeping the nurse, Candace, on her toes. The printer jammed, a parent came in and yelled at them for losing a permission slip, and Serenity spilled her water. Thankfully, she’d managed to mop up the mess before it soaked through the papers on her desk.

Halfway into the morning, Aaron came through the office, giving her a nod and a small smile on his way out.

Maggie grinned at Serenity. “I think he may be interested in you.”

“I seriously doubt that.” The suggestion alone caused heat to flood her cheeks. “We don’t even know anything about each other.”

“The Music Man is a busy guy. But I’d be willing to bet he’s come through the office about three times as often since you started working than he did before.” Maggie winked, her blue eyeshadow the same shade as the streaks in her hair. “I’m pretty sure it’s not because he’s got a sudden interest in yours truly.”

Serenity shot her a dubious look and focused on the flyers she was stuffing into envelopes. On the inside, her mind was running ninety miles an hour, trying to process what her co-worker had just said. There was no way Aaron had an interest in her.

Besides, the moment a guy found out she was a single mom with a child who had autism, any interest that did exist dissipated. It’d happened to her a couple of times and she’d reached a place in her life where she was okay with that. Or, at least, that’s what she told herself regularly. Most of the time the pep talk worked.

By the time four o’clock came around, Serenity’s thoughts had worked her stomach into a knot. Picking at a hangnail, she made her way to Letty’s classroom. Gideon glanced up from his spot by the blocks and grinned.

That smile — those sparkling eyes — it made everything worth it.  The tension she’d been carrying across her shoulders all day melted away. She sat on the floor with him, pulling him into a hug. “How’d your day go, big guy? Did you build that tower?”

Gideon patted the top block that was a little taller than him. A mischievous look passed over his face and the next moment, he executed a fantastic roundhouse kick, knocking the blocks into a heap on the floor.

Letty joined them as she laughed. “Good job, Gideon. All right, let’s clean up and then go visit the Music Man.”

As soon as he heard that, he rushed to stack the blocks in a series of piles near the wall. When he finished, he grabbed Serenity’s hand and tried to drag her through the door and out into the hallway.

Apparently her son liked visiting the Music Man. It made her even more curious to see what his classroom was like.

As they walked down the halls, Letty asked, “How do you guys like the area? Do you attend a church?”

“Our neighborhood seems nice. We live in a duplex, but I have no complaints about the man who lives next door. And no, we haven’t found a church. I’ve gone to the same one since I was a child, so I admit I’m overwhelmed by the prospect.”

“I completely understand. You’re welcome to visit ours. Zane and I go to a friendly one a few blocks from here. It’s the only church in town that has a dedicated children’s class for special needs. I’ve heard nothing but good things about it.”

Serenity had to admit that sounded tempting. She asked her several questions about the church as they neared their destination and finally agreed to go with Letty and Zane the next Sunday.

There was no missing the music classroom. Entering it was like walking right into a colorful world all of its own. No wonder Gideon couldn’t wait to go back.

She took in the colorful rug and posters on the wall, bins of instruments, and the line of music that ran from one wall to the other.

Her focus went to the man seated at his desk. When he saw them, he stood and walked towards him. How was it that, in a room full of color, his blue eyes seemed to outshine everything else?

~

Aaron tried to stay busy all afternoon, looking forward to the meeting with Serenity. When the trio walked in, he welcomed them with a wave. He knelt down and held out a hand towards Gideon, face up. “It’s good to see you, kiddo. Can I have a five?” The boy obliged, his eyes darting around the room. “I’ll bet I know what you’d like to play with.” Gideon’s eyes focused on him, filled with expectations and questions. “Are you kidding? Go get ‘em!”

He ran straight to the bin of hand bells and pulled it over to the carpet.

Serenity watched him take out one bell after another. “Now I know why he was excited to come back here.”

She chuckled and Aaron drank in the sound of it. He’d been held up at lunch and didn’t see her. He didn’t think it would make a difference until he’d gone through the whole weekend and then today without talking to her. Apparently their friendly lunches were becoming addicting.

He caught Letty watching him, her brows drawn together in concern. He hoped the barely perceptible shake of his head put her at ease.

With a deep breath, Aaron took on his teacher role and tried to bury everything else plaguing his mind. “Gideon’s a great kid. Letty brings his class by on Mondays for music. You can probably guess what instrument is his favorite.”

Serenity bobbed her head. “I could certainly speculate. I’m surprised you get him to leave again.”

Letty laughed. “It’s not easy. All of the kids love coming to see the Music Man.” She tilted her head towards Aaron. “I don’t know if he told you or not, but Aaron also does a lot of one-on-one music therapy with some of the kids. We’ve been talking and we think Gideon would benefit from it.”

Serenity smiled at Gideon. “It’s definitely something I’m interested in for him. What exactly does a music therapy session contain? What are your goals?”

They were good questions. Serenity’s pretty brown eyes were on him, waiting for his response.

“I usually start out with a song. In Gideon’s case, since he’s non-verbal, we’ll be singing songs that have a lot of hand motions or dancing to them. That way I can get him moving and give him motivation to try and copy what I’m doing.” Aaron found that mimicking was something a lot of kids with autism struggled with and, so far, he’d seen the same with Gideon. “After that, we’ll work on a particular task. Whether that’s learning to play an instrument or studying a music note. Finally, we’ll have a question and answer session and then that’ll be it. It will last twenty to thirty minutes, depending on how he’s doing that day.”

He watched Gideon leave the hand bells lined up and start to explore another bin. “It may take us a week or two to get our footing. But the ultimate goal is to help him initiate interactions, extend his attention span, and use music to help with alternative communication skills. I’m looking forward to working with him.”

Aaron never tired of seeing kids connect with him and others through music in a way they were unable to otherwise. It was a true gift from God to be able to be a part of it.

Serenity seemed happy with his responses. “I think he’ll like that. Any extra therapy he can get is a good thing.” She hesitated, almost as if she were trying to get the courage to speak. “I was nervous about moving here like we did. We left a lot behind to come to this school. It’s only been a week and it’s exceeded my expectations. Thank you both.”

Moisture gathered in her eyes, reminding him of molten chocolate. She sniffed quietly and Letty put an arm around her shoulders, hugging her. “Sometimes it’s almost overwhelming when we see evidence that God’s taking care of us, isn’t it?”

Serenity nodded and leaned into Letty, swiping at the corners of her eyes.

Something told Aaron that Serenity had been through a lot and she wasn’t the type to reveal much about herself. He was probably a glutton for punishment because right then, he wished he were the one offering her a hug.

He’d made a point of keeping their conversations basic and somewhat impersonal in hopes of not fueling the attraction he felt towards her. If the pulse in his ears and the ache in his heart were any indication, it wasn’t working.