Finding Faith (Love's Compass Book 4) (6 page)

By the time they got home, the storm was upon them and rain came down in sheets. She rushed Gideon and the kitten in before going back to get everything else.

They changed into dry clothes and set up the litterbox, food, and water before the kitten got any ideas on somewhere else to do her business. The little thing appeared grateful and used her new facilities immediately.

At least she appeared clean, especially after getting wet in the rain. Serenity would have to see how she was going to squeeze a vet visit into their budget.

Gideon stretched out on the floor, rested his chin on an arm, and watched as the kitten started to eat. The smile on his face told her she’d done the right thing by bringing the little animal home.

Her mind flew to Aaron and the way he’d looked, holding the kitten in his large hands. A tickle on her shoulder blade made her shiver. Even though she was still cold from getting soaked in the rain, she could have sworn some residual warmth from his touch remained. She caught a hint of his aftershave — something woodsy and unforgettable.

She rotated her shoulders in an attempt to push the thoughts from her mind. The guy had an amazing singing voice, he was friendly, he taught music to special needs children, and he rescued kittens.

Serenity frowned. Seriously, there had to be a catch. There was always a catch.

Did you get the kitten settled in okay last night?” Aaron paused at the table where he and Serenity usually ate lunch at. He didn’t see her when he got to work and had been looking forward to the break all morning.

Serenity smiled up at him. “We did. I’ve only ever had dogs. Let me just say that a cat is a lot easier to litterbox train than a dog is to house train.”

Her chuckle brought a smile to his face. There was something about her laugh that always made him want to join in. Her hair fell loose down her back. He remembered what it was like to touch it the day before and flexed his hand.

“I’m glad to hear it. And was Gideon as excited about the cat after you got her home?” He slid into the chair across from her, setting the bag of food down on the floor at his feet.

“Oh, yes. He didn’t leave her side until I insisted it was time for bed. She slept with him last night.”

Aaron thought about Gideon and somehow the interaction didn’t surprise him. He was still trying to get to know the boy, but had discovered several times that Gideon would become concerned if another child in his class got upset. He could see how caring for a kitten would be good for him. “Did you name her?”

“I went with Kia. It seemed fitting.”

He laughed. “That’s a perfect name.” He took in the plain sandwich that was still wrapped in front of her and the little bag of chips. She’d eaten the same thing for lunch since the first time he sat down with her in the breakroom. She usually didn’t seem to mind, but he’d caught a wishful look on her face a time or two when he brought leftovers.

When he had a few extra minutes, he decided to get takeout from one of the popular Mexican restaurants in town. He reached across the table and moved her food to the side, setting the bag down between them.

Her eyes widened as she took in the bag and then studied him. “What’s this?”

“Lunch.” He suppressed a grin at the confused expression on her face. He got a couple of paper plates out of a cabinet and handed her one.

“You bought me lunch?”

“You’ve got to have a break from sandwiches. Please tell me you eat something else at home.”

Her cheeks grew pink. “We do. Funds are a bit limited right now. But we eat and that’s more than good enough.” She took in a deep breath and her stomach let out a long growl. Her face went from red to crimson.

Aaron laughed loudly. He pulled out a stack of tortillas and a container with grilled chicken and vegetables, refried beans, rice, and toppings. “This place makes some of the best chicken fajitas in town.” He pushed the tortillas towards her. “Dig in.”

Her hesitation was momentary before she did just as he asked. When she’d rolled everything up in the tortilla and taken a bite, her eyes closed and she moaned. “You weren’t kidding. These are amazing.”

He took a big bite and nodded his satisfaction. This was a good call. After polishing his fajita off in a few bites, he rolled up another one. He was even happier to see that Serenity ate a second fajita as well.

When she leaned back in her chair and rested her hands on her stomach, her eyes twinkled. “Thank you. Now I don’t have to eat for a week.”

Aaron raised an eyebrow at her. “They’re good, but not that good. And you’re welcome.” He made a third fajita. “Who knows, maybe I’ll bring some again next week, Tuesday instead. Isn’t Taco Tuesday a thing?” He winked. Serenity gave him a warning look but said nothing. He chose to take that as agreement. “What are your hobbies?”

She blinked at him as though he’d asked a question in another language. He hadn’t expected her hesitation over what he thought was a simple inquiry.

Serenity tapped the cover of the book on the table near her. “I read. Does that count?”

“Absolutely.”

“What about you?”

The words came quickly and he suspected she was trying to deflect the conversation from herself. He thought about asking her what types of books she liked to read, but decided to go with her distraction.

“Most of what I do is music-related. My job here plus playing at church. There’s a group of guys there that I play basketball with occasionally. Not that I’m great, but it’s fun. Do you play?”

“I don’t. Or at least I haven’t for a long time. It’s funny because my brother and sister do. They’re always trying to convince me to join them. Now that they’re both married, they’ve got two on two. They don’t need a fifth.”

Serenity stopped talking suddenly and Aaron suspected she hadn’t meant to give quite as many details. He had the feeling she didn’t experience a lot of fun in her life.

The need to replace the frown on her face with a smile was so strong, he knew he ought to put some distance between them. Especially with Cynthia’s blasted guidelines hanging over their heads. But there was something about Serenity and the way he was drawn to her that refused to let him do that.

“Well, maybe it’s time you played again.” He gave her a wink. “I’ll let you know the next time we throw a game together.”

~

It was Friday night and Serenity was lounging on her futon, a book discarded next to her. Gideon was in bed and Kia was curled up in a little black ball between her ankles. She let her cell phone rest against her ear. “Do you want to hear something funny?”

“What’s that?” Lexi managed to get the words out before she started coughing.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“You sound like Lance. I’m fine. It’s a head cold.”

Serenity knew that but worried anyway. It was hard not to, especially after witnessing all her sister went through last year. She mentally prayed and released her fears. Or at least the bulk of them. “I know. You’d better make sure you get some extra rest.”

“Yes, Mom.” The sound of Lexi blowing her nose came across the phone. “Sorry. What’s funny?”

“I’m bored. I can’t remember the last time I was bored.” Serenity laughed, the sound disrupting Kia. The kitten yawned widely, stretched her paws out, and then curled up again.

“I’d say that’s a good thing. You’ve been so busy working that you haven’t really had a life.”

“Gee, thanks for that.” Serenity rolled her eyes and blew out a puff of air. “I’ve been reading a lot.”

“And that’s great. But you need a hobby.”

Was it a bad sign that the second person in as many days was commenting on her pathetic existence? She wanted to get annoyed at Lexi, but it was hard to do when she wasn’t wrong.

“What do you suggest?”

“Besides finding yourself a handsome man so you can start dating?”

The first thing that came to Serenity’s mind was a certain Music Man with piercing blue eyes. She sat up quickly, the movement disturbing Kia. She stood lazily, shot Serenity a nasty glare, and jumped to the floor.

“Yes, besides that.”

Lexi laughed, the sound flowing into a cough. When it had quieted, she said, “You used to crochet. Do you remember that? You could pick it up again. We can always use tiny hats for the preemies here at the hospital. Maybe you could start up an online store and make a little side money.”

“Are you serious? I haven’t crocheted since I was fifteen.”

“I thought you were bored. YouTube has a wealth of tutorials.” Lexi started coughing again.

Serenity had to admit the idea held some appeal. She could make gifts for her family for Christmas in a few months.

“Listen, Lexi. You need to go and get some rest. That cough sounds horrible. Are you sure you don’t need to see a doctor?”

There was a pause and she could hear the exchange of voices before Lexi came back on the line. “I’m sure, but Lance is insisting. He has an appointment for me tomorrow afternoon.”

Lance must have taken the phone from her because his voice reached Serenity’s ear. “Tell her, if she doesn’t go to the doctor willingly, I’ll pick her up and carry her there myself.”

Serenity chuckled. “I’ll do it. You’re a good guy, Lance.”

“Make sure to pass that along, too.”

She was still laughing when Lexi got her phone back. “Go to the doctor. It doesn’t hurt. Get some meds and get to feeling better, huh?”

“I will. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“You bet. Love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Serenity slid her phone onto the coffee table. The moment she did, Kia jumped back up on her lap, purring as she rubbed her head against Serenity’s arm.

“What do you think? Should I get some yarn and learn to crochet? I bet you’d like a ball of yarn, no matter what I do with it, wouldn’t you?”

Kia continued to purr as she curled up on Serenity’s stomach, apparently content right where she was.

Serenity’s mind drifted to the other suggestion Lexi had made. She chuckled when she thought about what her sister would have said if she’d known about Aaron. She would insist Serenity bring him to a family night dinner. While she’d have to endure Tuck and Lance questioning him, it would be Lexi dropping hints about a happily-ever-after. And that was the last thing she needed right now. It was definitely better that she kept Aaron to herself.

Ever since the air conditioner went out yesterday morning, their place had been uncomfortably hot. Tired of sweating, Serenity suggested they get out for a while and Gideon had responded by shoving his feet into his shoes and running to the door.

Serenity walked into the craft store and welcomed the air conditioning as the doors slid shut behind them. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been in a place like this. By the fascinated look on Gideon’s face, she wasn’t sure he ever had.

From the giant fall display in the middle of the entrance to the floor-to-ceiling shelves containing more pumpkins and scarecrows, it was the most she’d ever seen in one place. It would be easy to get lost browsing this Sunday afternoon. Especially when she wasn’t in a hurry to get home.

Gideon climbed into the main part of a shopping basket and they headed towards the back of the store in search of yarn. It took ten minutes to locate it, but then she stood in awe at the three aisles of yarn in every weight and color.

Gideon reached for a skein of neon red. “Not that one, big guy.” Under her guidance, they chose several colors together. A few crochet hooks and some tapestry needles later and she was more than ready to escape yarntopia.

Focusing closely on maneuvering the basket through the large displays of glass vases and objects, she hadn’t expected Gideon to stand up quickly and start gesturing down an aisle.

“Sit down. You’re going to make me crash the basket.” Which, judging by the way the displays were set up, would have resulted in a domino effect. It might be cool to see, but really rough on the wallet.

She lifted him out of the basket and followed him over to a kit for a robotic train.

“I didn’t expect to see the two of you here.”

Serenity whipped around and ran right into Aaron’s solid chest. The blue hand basket he’d been holding clattered to the floor at their feet.  His arms came around her, keeping her steady, and she was close enough to feel the vibrations from his chuckle.

“You scared me!” Her voice sounded more like a squeak.

“Sorry.” But he didn’t seem all that apologetic. His blue eyes changed to a darker cobalt and humor gave them a twinkle. It was a combination that made it nearly impossible to move.

It took everything in her, but she managed a shaky breath and a step backwards, despite the fact that it was the last thing she wanted to do.

The smile he gave her caused her stomach to flip flop. She cleared her throat. “Do you browse hobby stores often?”

“I frequent the toy aisle here, anyway.” He winked. “Seriously, though, I find some great music-related toys here for my classroom.” Aaron pointed to the display near Gideon. There were kazoos, harmonicas, finger cymbals, and a variety of other small instruments. “When someone has a birthday, I like to give them a kazoo or something like that. I realized today how low my stockpile was getting.” He placed a handful of them and several other items into the basket and picked it up again. “What about you?”

Serenity tipped her head towards her shopping cart. “I used to crochet when I was a teenager. I thought I might try to expand my meager list of hobbies.”

“Impressive.”

She lifted her shoulders and let them fall again. “My sister volunteers at the Kitner hospital working with premature babies. She said they could use little hats for them. I thought it would be a good thing to start off with. Assuming I can pick it up again.”

“I’m sure it’ll be second nature in no time. And I would agree about it being a great use of your skills.” There was that smile again, the one that took her heart rate and kicked it up a notch. Or two or three.

“Mostly we’re trying to find places to go today where it’s cool. Our air conditioner is out.”

Aaron’s brow wrinkled. “You’re renting, right? Did you call the landlord?”

Serenity sighed. “Yep. But since it’s the weekend, he said the earliest he can have someone come and fix it is Tuesday afternoon.” She pressed her lips together. “It’s going to be a long couple of days. We’re taking our time here, may try to get a bite to eat somewhere, and then head to the store. At least we’ll get our exercise.” She wasn’t overly excited about staying out all day. But it was a whole lot better than sweating it out for hours at home. Besides, after trying to get through yesterday, she planned to pick up a fan before heading home again.

~

Aaron couldn’t believe the landlord wasn’t going to do something about the air conditioning. “Tuesday? That’s not good. It’s ninety-eight degrees out there.” If it were him, he’d make sure someone was there to fix it first thing Monday morning. Especially with a kid in the house. “You ought to call him again tomorrow and remind him. Or at least get an update.”

She shuffled her feet. “I might. I don’t want to be one of those needy renters, you know?”

“Calling to have trim nailed down might be needy. This is a different thing entirely.” She said nothing and he suspected she was going to wait on the landlord’s timeframe regardless of what he said.

Gideon tugged on Serenity’s hand and signed that he was hungry. She smiled at him. “It is about time for lunch, isn’t it? What do you say to burgers and fries?” The boy grinned. Serenity turned to Aaron. “Have you tried that burger place across the parking lot? Do they have French fries?”

“It’s quite good and yes, they have fries. Three kinds, actually.”

“Okay, good. There’s a place in Kitner that only offers chips with their burgers.” She jabbed a thumb in her son’s direction. “That doesn’t work so well for us.”

Gideon knocked a box off the shelf and Serenity moved to help him. Aaron quickly centered his thoughts. Running into the pair of them was the last thing he’d expected when he’d turned down the aisle. Now they were all he could think about.

He pictured them baking in their house and it kept getting to him. They needed someone to fix their air conditioning as soon as possible. If he knew who her landlord was, he’d be tempted to call himself. He shoved the idea from his mind. The last thing he needed was to get personally involved in Serenity’s life. The less he knew about her, the easier it’d be to keep his distance. He needed that line to stay firmly drawn in the sand. Besides, she’d made it clear she was fine waiting until Tuesday. He was better off leaving well enough alone.

Serenity reached down and straightened one of Gideon’s sleeves, unrolling it so that it matched the other. Then she used her fingers to tickle him briefly, eliciting giggles from the boy.

A whisper of a wish passed through him. How was he supposed to keep his distance when he felt his entire being pulled towards her? He needed to leave now, before his heart stomped his logic into the ground. “I should probably …”

Her lashes lifted as she straightened, a smile on her face.

His mouth went dry.

“Probably what?”

Pull her into his arms? Bury his face in her lilac-scented hair? He wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. Clearly, he should have gotten off this highway some time ago — preferably taking the same exit his sanity had chosen. What was his deal? “Oh… to get something to eat.”

Serenity pushed some hair away from her face with long, graceful fingers. “I hear you. We’re starving. I think we’re going to head out of here.” She stopped, slipping her hands into her back pockets. “You’re welcome to join us if you’d like.”

She wanted him to go with them? Standing next to her in the middle of a hobby store was hard enough. If she continued to peek at him from beneath those long eyelashes…Did she have any idea how cute she was right now? He forced his gaze to take in the content of his basket. “You guys are having fun. I don’t want to…”

Gideon grabbed his hand and tried to pull him towards the exit, a grin lighting up his face.

Now how was he supposed to say no to that? Aaron took a quick step to keep his balance. “Whoa, kiddo.” Letting out a breath, he met her eyes and smiled. It was just lunch, right? They’d pay for their own meals and it wouldn’t be that much different than if they’d run into each other there instead of the craft store.

Serenity waited for his reply, her face a jumble of emotions. Was she hoping he’d say yes or decline the invitation? He finally acquiesced with a quick dip of his chin. “It is one of the best burger places in town.”

She led the way to the front of the store, Gideon standing on the back of the basket, his smaller hands grasping the handle between hers. If the two of them pulled on his heartstrings any more, he’d be lucky to survive the meal without doing something he’d beat himself up over later. He dug his wallet out of his back pocket and sighed. This would’ve been much simpler if he’d come by the craft store Friday after work like he’d originally planned.

But even as the thought took form, it dissipated like smoke when the sound of Serenity and Gideon laughing floated back to him. His heart swelled.

They paid for their items before driving to the burger joint and parking their cars in adjacent spots. Gideon held onto his mom’s hand and, to Aaron’s surprise, he reached out and took one of his as well.

Seeing the smile on Gideon’s face reminded him so much of Kenneth, he could almost hear his little brother’s voice. Memories Aaron had kept buried for years rushed to the surface. Holding one of his mother’s hands while Kenneth held the other. The happiness on her face as she swung their arms back and forth. The sounds of both of them laughing as she tickled their bellies.

When he saw his mother now, it was difficult to imagine she was the same woman. He shook himself free of the thoughts, hating the swirl of emotion they always dredged up. 

Serenity glanced over the menu that hung on the wall above the cash registers. Her brow wrinkled and she clasped her hands tightly together. When she stepped forward to place her order, she chose two of the most inexpensive meals on the menu. Aaron followed, ordering a double cheeseburger meal.

After they paid for their lunches, they claimed a table next to three arcade games. Gideon excitedly slid into one of the seats and grasped the steering wheel.

Serenity smiled at her son. “He loves these things and doesn’t care a bit that I’ve never put money into one.”

Aaron laughed. “I remember doing the same as a boy.” He had a question that’d been plaguing him for a while. The words spilled out of his mouth before he could stop them. “Is Gideon’s dad in the picture?” Yeah, that was smooth. But he’d gone over the question in his head a million times and couldn’t think of a better way to ask. Blunt it was. He said a silent prayer that he hadn’t offended her.

She took a long drink of her soda. He wasn’t sure she was going to answer his question when she drew a deep breath and pinned him with her gaze.

“Jay never met Gideon. Getting pregnant during our senior year of high school wasn’t part of the plan. He left before Gideon was born and relinquished all rights the following month.”

The way she worked her jaw told Aaron she still resented Jay — maybe even hated him. He realized his fists were clenched and consciously made an effort to relax them.

She was silent a moment before continuing. “I was only eighteen. I suppose the stress of a pregnant girlfriend was more than he cared to deal with.” She shrugged, as though it hadn’t bothered her.

Aaron knew better. “What he did wasn’t okay. I can’t imagine walking away from my child like that.”

She kept her gaze straight ahead but there was no missing the moisture that had gathered in her eyes. “Thank you.” She swallowed hard. “I’m blessed to have a supportive family and an older brother who’s great with Gideon. It’s not the same as having a father, but a whole lot better than anything Jay might have attempted to do.” She paused. “I’m sorry. When you asked, I imagine this was way more information than you were expecting.”

She paid an unusual amount of attention to the straw paper she held in her hand. If she didn’t normally tell people about Jay, he wondered if this meant she trusted him, even if just a little. She had to trust someone. “It sounds like you have a lot of family. Who’s your best friend?” He watched the range of emotions on her face.

“Probably my siblings, Tuck and Lexi. I don’t have any friends left from school. Having a baby as a senior will do that for you.” She laughed, but there was no humor in the sound.

His chest tightened as sadness shadowed her face. When Jay walked away, he must’ve stepped all over Serenity in the process. At twenty-three or twenty-four, she was way too young to be this sad and jaded. Not only was she raising a son on her own, but she’d given up her family’s support system in order to provide him with a better education and therapy opportunities. Didn’t Serenity realize how strong she truly was? Not everyone in her position would have been as brave. As far as he was concerned, she deserved the title of Super Woman.

Aaron released his drink, his hands damp from the condensation, and dried them off on a napkin. He’d kept his distance from women for a reason. After Kenneth died, he had to watch his parents’ relationship fall apart. The fights that eventually ended in divorce were more than enough motivation for him to steer clear of relationships. His life — his job and the kids he worked with — they’d been sufficient.

Until now. Meeting Serenity made him wonder if things could be different. Better.