Finding Faith (Love's Compass Book 4) (5 page)

Zane and Letty insisted on picking up Serenity and Gideon at their house so they could go to church with them. Serenity had tried to object, more than once throughout the week, but they wouldn’t hear of it. She finally relented. Zane moved Gideon’s booster seat over and they were soon on their way.

During the drive, she discovered the church was situated about halfway between her house and the school. It was insane how everything was so close together. What were the odds? On a nice day, she and Gideon could easily walk to the church. 

Serenity couldn’t remember not attending her family’s church. Hands shaking, she smoothed down the loose-fitting blouse for the third time since they’d left the house. Walking up to the large, brick building turned the butterflies in her stomach to airplanes.

She shouldn’t have worried. From the moment they stepped through those front doors, she and Gideon were greeted with smiles and handshakes. Zane and Letty introduced them to several people they knew and then helped them find the correct classroom for Gideon.

The class setup for special needs kids contained everything from building blocks to a tent filled with cushions. Gideon ran right in, dove into the cushions, and rewarded Serenity with a grin.

Serenity visited with his Sunday school teachers, telling them a little about her son and filling out some information. She was given a number that was assigned to him and told that if they needed anything, his number would appear on the screen in the worship hall.

Gideon seemed more than happy to stay, but Serenity still hesitated to leave him.  Letty appeared out of nowhere beside her. “He’s in good hands. I’ve known Aster for years. She used to work at Hope so she knows what she’s doing.”

That made Serenity feel a little better. She and Letty caught up with Zane in the worship hall. He was waiting for them in one of the back rows. Serenity claimed her seat and perused the bulletin she’d been handed on the way in.

The worship leader opened the morning with prayer. When he’d finished, the lights came on over the stage revealing six members of the worship team. Serenity’s eyes immediately went to the man in the back left. She leaned closer to Letty. “Is that Aaron?”

Letty nodded. “He’s played keyboard for the worship team for several years now. He’s really good.”

Serenity watched as his fingers touched the keys, his eyes closed as he sang along with everyone else. The songs were heartfelt, leading to a sense of peace and closeness to God. It’d only been three weeks, but she’d missed this. When Aaron stepped forward to lead one chorus, Serenity was completely unprepared for how deep his voice was. His speaking voice was lower than average, but nothing like this. Chill bumps sprang up along her arms as the bass filled the room.

His was the kind of tone that would sell a lot of CDs if he ever chose to record. Yet, he was working at a special needs school and playing music for his church.

Aaron Randall was one surprise after another.

~

After worship, Aaron made his way to the back of the church to join his friends. The last thing he expected, when he gained his seat next to Zane, was to see Serenity two chairs down. “Good morning,” he greeted her, his mind going in all different directions. He leaned over and whispered to Zane, “You could have warned me.”

Zane smirked at him. “According to what you’ve told me, I didn’t think it mattered.”

Aaron pretended like he didn’t hear his friend. He leaned down to retrieve his Bible from beneath his seat, giving him an opportunity for a quick glance at Serenity. She’d pulled part of her hair into a clasp at the back of her head. Shorter strands fell along her jaw and his fingers itched to tuck them behind her ears. It was a fight to direct his thoughts back to the church service, and it proved to be only partially successful.

After the final prayer, everyone stood to gather their things. Letty turned to Serenity.

“We planned to go to out for brunch after church today. You and Gideon are welcome to join us. It’s our treat.”

The invitation had barely been uttered and Serenity was shaking her head. “We don’t want to impose.”

“You’re not imposing.” Zane gave his wife a peck on the cheek. “You’ll be doing Letty a favor, adding a little more estrogen to the mix.”

Serenity’s cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink and Aaron’s heart rate increased when she nodded.

“We appreciate it, thank you.”

By the time they all caravanned from the church to the restaurant, Aaron was more than ready for lunch. They had to wait for a table, but once they got seated, their waitress took the orders quickly. Gideon stayed busy doing a dot-to-dot on the back of the kid’s menu with the crayons he’d been given.

Aaron was conscious of Serenity sitting in the chair next to his.  She and Letty were talking about Hope Academy. He was half listening, since Zane was talking about baseball scores at the same time.

It wasn’t until Serenity mentioned something about the school giving Gideon a backpack that his full attention was jerked towards her. “What was that?”

Her brows drew together. “Last Sunday, we found a backpack leaning against our front porch. It had a ton of school supplies in it along with snacks. Someone put a sign on it saying it was from Hope Academy.” Her eyes narrowed. “Was it not?”

Aaron shared a look with Zane. “As far as I know, the school’s never done that. Even if they did, I think they’d have given it to you during the introductory tour. I doubt they would have dropped it off at your house.” Serenity seemed nervous and he rushed to put her at ease. “I didn’t mean to worry you. It’s probably something new they’re trying this year.” Or maybe one of her family members left it there to surprise them?

Serenity nodded. “That makes sense. It was certainly a big help and Gideon will use everything they put in the backpack.”

The bright smile she offered him was completely captivating. He spent the rest of their time together finding ways to make that smile appear again.

~

Several days later, Aaron stepped out of the air conditioned school and into the humid warmth. He stopped and squinted at the late August sky. A wall of dark clouds approached from the distance. That, in addition to the unusually heavy feel to the air, suggested thunderstorms were on their way.

Ready to go home and relax for the rest of the afternoon and evening, he headed for his black Volkswagen at the back of the parking lot. Movement snagged his attention. He zeroed in on a pair of legs sticking out from beneath an older Kia, the engine running. Almost certain he knew who those legs belonged to, he knelt down on one knee and lowered his head to the pavement.

“Serenity? What are you doing?”

She scrambled out from under the car and stood up quickly. Brushing her hands off on her pants only added to the dirt smudges already there. “Shhhh! Listen.”

Aaron spotted Gideon sitting in the back seat of the car and thought maybe she was referring to him. A moment later, the faintest meow reached his ears. “A cat?”

Serenity nodded quickly. “I think it’s a kitten. It’s stuck up under my car. I can’t drive home knowing it’s under there. What if that kills it?” Her eyes brimmed with concern and her voice shook. “I was trying to reach it so I could pull it out.”

There were several strays in the area. One of them must have had a litter of kittens and one had crawled up under the car to get out of the sun earlier that day. It was the only explanation he could think of. “Can you actually see it when you’re under there?”

“Yep, right over the rear tire.”

She was watching him, her face full of hope, the storm clouds reflected in her eyes. How could he not offer to help? He set his messenger bag on the ground. “Let me give it a try.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to get filthy. I’m hoping I’ll be able to coax it out.”

He held back a chuckle, imagining her under there calling, “Here, kitty, kitty,” and waiting for the feline to jump down on its own. If the increasing volume of the meows was any indication, it wasn’t likely to come out willingly. And he wasn’t about to leave her out here in the parking lot with the storm rolling in.

Gideon opened a car door and jumped out. He ran around the back and joined his mom. She put a hand on his shoulder. “The Music Man is going to try to get the kitty out from under the car and then we can go home.” The boy looked at him expectantly.

Show time.

He eased himself under the edge of the car. The cat’s cry for help was much louder and he quickly saw two reflecting eyes staring back at him. As long as the cat didn’t try to wedge itself in any further, Aaron was sure he could pull it out. Avoiding claws might be a different story.

“It’s okay, we’re going to get you out of here. And let’s try to remember never to climb up under a car again, huh?” He kept his voice soothing as he reached for the cat, his hand closing on the scruff of its neck. A panicked mew along with an attempt to scramble away from him resulted but he kept a firm hold as he eased the cat out of the space it’d crawled into.

Aaron felt the sharp pebbles in the pavement against his back as he moved out from beneath the car and stood. They got the first real view of the small animal in his hands.

A pair of blue eyes stared at the three of them, wide and uncertain.

Serenity reached for the cat and he transferred it to her. “Poor little thing. I think it’s Siamese.”

“At least partly.” There was no mistaking the coloring of the fur in combination with those eyes. He couldn’t recall seeing a stray Siamese, but then it could have wandered from almost anywhere.

She tipped the animal slightly before bringing it to her chest with both hands. “She’s a girl.” It wasn’t long before her breathing slowed and she relaxed.

Gideon reached up and touched her softly. He ran a hand over the cat’s head and she closed her eyes. He patted his chest and reached his arms out.

“Oh, big guy, I don’t know. She might run off.” Gideon patted his chest again. Serenity relented. “Okay, but hold her close to you so she feels safe.”

Aaron watched as the boy took the animal in his arms in a much gentler way than he’d expected. The kitten rubbed her little head against the bottom of Gideon’s chin and started to purr. Aaron’s little brother had liked cats, too, even though their parents had refused to get one. Though Kenneth hadn’t been quite as gentle with them as Gideon was now.

Serenity seemed stunned. “He’s always liked my brother’s dog, but never got attached to him. He seems to like this kitten, though.”

“The feeling appears to be mutual.” He brushed some dirt off the back of his arm. “What are you going to do?”

“How can I not take her home now?” She put a hand on her son’s shoulder. “What do you think, Gideon? Should we take her home and she can be our cat?”

He turned, held the cat with one hand, and pulled the car door open with the other.

Serenity chuckled. “Gideon. Look at me. Does that mean yes? You need to tell me.” He nodded once and climbed into the vehicle.  “There we have it.” She turned her attention to Aaron. “Thank you so much. I appreciate your help. I’m sorry your kindness got you all dirty, though.”

Aaron brushed at his pants and shrugged. “It’ll wash. I’m glad I could help. Make sure you take her to the vet, though. Get her checked out.”

“We will. She seems young enough, it’ll be a couple of months before we’ll need to get her spayed.”

She helped Gideon get buckled into his booster seat and closed the door again. The kitten was content on his lap.

While she was turned away from him, Aaron spotted a leaf caught in her hair and some debris clinging to the back of her shoulder. Before he changed his mind, he took a step closer to her. “You have something in your hair. Here, let me get it for you.”

She froze as he extracted the leaf, amazed that the silky strands were even softer than he’d imagined. He swept it to the side and lightly brushed off the debris. The contact was brief, yet it felt as though it’d seared his skin. He cleared his throat and took a step back. “There you go.”

“Thank you.” She turned around slowly and clasped her hands tightly in front of her.

Aaron glanced at the sky, the storm front moving steadily closer. “You’d better get going or you’ll get caught in the rain.” They both needed an escape from the moment — from whatever it was that’d just happened. Was he the only one affected? The questioning look in her eyes said he wasn’t, or maybe that was wishful thinking.

Either way, she broke eye contact. “Same with you. Thanks again for your help. With everything.”

“You’re welcome.” He lifted a hand in farewell and watched as she climbed into her vehicle and disappeared across the parking lot.

The image of her shapely legs sticking out from underneath the car and the way her eyes had reflected the clouds in the sky didn’t come close to disappearing from his mind.

~

Serenity and Gideon ducked into a pet store on the way home to get a few supplies. She bought a pan for a litterbox, a small thing of litter, and a little bag of cat food. Her limited funds didn’t allow for anything else and she’d already determined to use dishes they owned to hold the food and water.