Love Inspired August 2014 – Bundle 1 of 2 (50 page)

Old books were crammed in to fill every available space on the large shelves. Three
framed pictures sat on the shelf, as well. One photo off to the side caught her eye.
It was a wedding shot—Caleb and a beautiful redheaded bride who must have been Sarah,
both with their arms around Maggie.

Paige picked up the picture and studied it. Caleb had such a great smile. If he knew
the pain he would go through soon after his wedding, would he still have gone through
with it?

Maggie came in balancing a pitcher of tea and a plate of cookies. “I hope you like
oatmeal chocolate chip. I know some people prefer raisins in their oatmeal cookies,
but I’ve always thought raisins had no place in dessert. A cookie with raisins is
just breakfast in disguise if you ask me.”

“Oatmeal chocolate chip is perfect.” Paige smiled and snagged two.

“Good.” Maggie dropped into an overstuffed side chair and propped her feet up on the
coffee table.

Paige sank her teeth into the warm cookie. The chocolate melted on her tongue. “These
are delicious. You know, if you want a break in the kitchen I’m still willing to make
my special cranberry white-chocolate scones. I’d make them the night before so they’d
be ready for guests in the morning.”

“Like I said before, I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

“Sure you could. Maggie, you’re letting me live here for free. Making a couple scones
is the least I could do.”

“If you’re sure, then I’ll take you up on that next week. I have a doctor’s appointment
on Thursday so that would work out well.” Maggie tossed her feet onto the coffee table.
“I hope you don’t mind that I just told Caleb he can come do some yard work on Saturday
about midmorning. We have no guests booked for the inn on Friday night and that’s
the first time all summer. But if you don’t want the noise and would rather sleep
in, I could ask him to come later.”

Paige looked back at the shelf that housed the photos of Caleb on his wedding day.
“You two are close.”

A sad smile played across Maggie’s face. “For all intents and purposes he’s my brother.
You see, he was married to my sister, Sarah. So even though Sarah’s gone, he still
treats me like I’m his in-law. And hey, if a man’s offering free labor around the
house, I’m not going to pass it up.” Maggie polished off the last cookie.

“I’m so sorry for your loss.”

Maggie nodded. “I miss her every day. She was an amazing woman.”

In the truck Caleb had told her that Sarah was attacked. But so many questions swirled
in Paige’s head, still. What had happened to her that she would have needed CPR? “He
told me a little about her today.”

“Really?” Maggie set down her glass. “He so rarely talks about her. Sometimes it makes
me feel like he hasn’t processed through everything yet.”

“I want to volunteer at Sarah’s Home so—”

Maggie popped to her feet and started to pace. “You know he’ll never let you, right?”

“How I understand it from Principal Timmons, it’s not up to Caleb.” Paige crossed
her arms and leaned back into the couch cushion.

Maggie stopped moving and faced Paige. “Did he tell you everything?”

Of course not. Men always leave out a bit of the truth. “I don’t think so.”

She perched on the edge of the coffee table. “My sister was born with a condition
that meant one of her legs was longer than the other. She was teased so much at school.
You know how cruel kids can be. Well, in the fifth grade she was placed in the same
class as Caleb and he heard kids making fun of her and stood up for her. Told them
to knock it off. Everyone listened to him because Caleb’s always been popular.”

Maggie straightened a little owl statue on the shelf. “After that Caleb and Sarah
were inseparable. She followed him around and called him her hero. You know, she always
said that’s why she opened Sarah’s Home—because Caleb had saved her and it was her
turn to use her time to save others. I think he knows that, and that fact makes what
happened even harder for him to deal with it.”

Paige nodded. “He blames himself.”

“I know. He can be so thickheaded.” Maggie shook her head. “But it’s ridiculous, and
I’ve told him that a hundred times. He tells himself that if he’d gone along that
night, Sarah would still be alive. But know what I think? I think that the man who
shot Sarah could have used his gun on both of them. What does Caleb really think he
could have done to fight off a gun?”

Paige gasped. “She was shot?”

“Oh, he didn’t tell you that?” Maggie’s eyes went wide.

“He only said that she was attacked and died.”

“Multiple gunshot wounds. The offender was never found.” Maggie looked away, her gazed
fixed on the upper part of the wall like it was suddenly the most interesting aspect
of the room. A few moments passed before she started speaking again. “I think Caleb
has spent the last two years finding every way imaginable to punish himself.”

Paige didn’t want to press Maggie. After all, Sarah had been her sister. Maggie must
have mourned, as well. But it bothered Paige that Caleb felt responsible for everything.
“He has to see he’s not responsible for the act of a stranger.”

Maggie sighed as she picked up the empty plate. “In this world it’s a whole lot easier
to hold on to guilt than it is to forgive.”

“Who does he need to forgive? The gunman?” Paige grabbed the two cups and trailed
Maggie into the kitchen.

Maggie laid the dish in the sink and gazed out the window. She pressed her hand to
her lips before whispering, “Himself. Caleb needs to forgive himself.”

Chapter Five

“D
o you want an omelet? I have time to make one. I don’t have to pick up Snaggle-Tooth
until eight-thirty.” Clad in baggy sweats and an old sweatshirt, Shelby leaned against
the kitchen cabinets.

Caleb adjusted his tie. His image looked foreign in the hall mirror. He only kept
his beard in the summer, but once school officially started, he stayed clean shaven.

He turned and smiled at his little sister. “No, thanks. I’ll grab a cup of joe from
Cherry Top on the way to school. I wouldn’t want to keep you from walking every dog
in town,” he joked.

She crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue. “You’re impossible, you goof. Well,
you better be off—I don’t want to keep you from the pretty new teacher.”

Ever since he’d made the mistake of casually mentioning his talk with Paige, Shelby
found every chance to mention her.

Caleb shoved the large teacher binder into a backpack. “Did I tell you she wants to
serve at Sarah’s Home?”

“Only about seven times.”

“Well, she does.” He opened the fridge and grabbed his lunch bag. The rest of the
shelves looked bare. “Do you want me to get something on my way home for dinner? I
can stop and get groceries if you email me a list.”

“You’ll be on your own for dinner tonight.” Shelby’s wavy brown hair fell in front
of her eyes as she picked at her nails—a sure sign that she was nervous about something.

Caleb set his bags on the counter. “So you have plans tonight? Going out with one
of your girlfriends?”

Shelby bit her lip and looked out the window. “A guy from the singles group is taking
me out.”

He crossed his arms and fought the papa-bear protective urge rising in his chest.
The one that made him want to growl at any man that came within ten feet of her. Shelby
was an adult, but she would always be his baby sister.

She’d be married by now if not for the scars on her arms and legs. If he’d listened
to her that night when she wanted to talk about their parents’ divorce, she wouldn’t
have been in the church when it went up in flames. She’d be fine now—
whole
. Probably living a full life somewhere besides Goose Harbor, but instead she was
stuck here with him. Forever marked.

What did she have to look forward to? Taking care of Caleb and running a small dog-walking
business day in and day out couldn’t make her happy. He’d asked her to move in with
him after Sarah died. The house felt like a museum the months following his wife’s
funeral. But Shelby deserved better.

She deserved a man who would take care of her who wasn’t her brother, but so far all
the dates in the past five years had turned and run when they saw the burns on her
skin. No wonder she always wore long sleeves and pants.

“Are you sure that’s wise?” Caleb kept his voice even. Shelby wouldn’t want his pity.

“Settle down, okay? It’s dinner, Caleb—not a proposal.” She shoved her hands into
the wide pockets on her hooded sweatshirt. “What’s your problem anyway? I don’t need
your approval, nor did I ever ask you to protect me. I can take care of myself.”

He gently caught her arm before she could leave the room. “It always starts as dinner
and it ends with you hurt.” Caleb waited for her to make eye contact. “Just be careful,
okay? I don’t want you to get your—”

“Hopes up. I know.” She pulled away and brushed past him. “Just say it. You don’t
think someone could like me in that way.”

“You know that’s not what I meant. I—”

“You’re going to be late for work.” She jutted a thumb at the large clock on the wall.

He still had twenty minutes before he needed to be in his classroom, but he should
leave. A conversation could wait until they had more time. But parting ways with them
both worked up didn’t sit well with him.

Caleb trailed her out the front door. “Shelby,” he called.

She stopped with her hand on the door of her beat-up Volkswagen. With her back to
him, her shoulders sagged.

He stepped closer and laid a hand on her shoulder. “I love you.”

“I know,” she whispered.

“I don’t want to see you hurt again.” Why wouldn’t she look at him?

She took in a deep breath and blinked rapidly. “You can’t protect me forever. You
know that, right?”

“A brother can sure try.” Caleb leaned forward and kissed the top of her head. “Have
a good day.”

He climbed into his truck and backed out of their driveway. Books, besides
White Fang,
which he had finished last night, scattered across the floor of the passenger side.
Paige must have left one of her bags yesterday. He didn’t want her to waste time searching
frantically for those at Maggie’s. Coffee from Cherry Top would have to wait until
the next school day.

Usually the sunshine on Lake Michigan kept his attention during his drive, but this
morning he kept thinking about the sad expression on Shelby’s face.

Wanting solitude, he snapped off the radio dial.

You can’t protect me forever.
It wasn’t the first time she’d tossed those words at him. Maggie also warned him over
and over to leave Shelby alone and let her make her own mistakes. But surely it wasn’t
wrong to shelter people in your life from pain? Yes, his protective urge had doubled
since Sarah’s death. But this world was dangerous. It didn’t help that his best friend
was a cop and told him terrible stories of things that happened to people—real people.
All of it showed Caleb that he had to protect the people he loved or risk losing them.

“God, have I been wrong all along? Is it so bad to try to protect the people I love?
Isn’t that what You did for us on the cross?”

It all came down to trust. Did Caleb trust God? Of course he did—but that same God
let Sarah die. Sometimes, a man had to take protection into his own hands because
God couldn’t stop a criminal bent on causing pain.

Caleb shook his head as he pulled out of his neighborhood.

Nothing made sense anymore.

* * *

Up way before her alarm, Paige cradled a cup of iced tea as she gazed out the window
and tried to mentally prepare herself for the first day of school. Outside, the sun
burned on the eastern horizon. Primrose hues reached like slender fingers up over
the sand dunes, the pink mingling high up into the purple velvet sky.

Paige commanded the butterflies in her stomach to die. Freshmen were supposed to have
first-day-of-school jitters. Not teachers.

Her Bible rested on her nightstand where she’d set it when she finished unpacking
last night. She scooped it up and fumbled through the still-crisp pages. This was
the part she didn’t enjoy. The people at her old church told her she should read every
day, but she never understood just how, because choosing what to read felt like playing
a game of pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey.

Should she just open the book at random and let God show her what He wanted? That
never seemed to work. Start at the beginning? Except that one book—Numbers—always
made her brain hurt. Reading it made no sense. Some of her friends back in Chicago
seemed to find a daily message just waiting for them in the Scriptures, but to her
the book was a locked treasure chest with no key. That—and it said she should submit
to men.

Right.

She set the Bible back down.

A buzzer sounded in the kitchen, which meant Maggie was up preparing breakfast for
her guests. Paige ran a comb through her hair one last time and swiped some gloss
over her lips. Done. She might as well head to the high school early and finish last-minute
preparations before the students filed in. Paige grabbed the canvas bag full of books
and stepped out of her room. She should have one more bag, but she realized late last
night that she’d left the second bag in Caleb’s truck.

“Well, hi there, dear.” Ida scooted a stack of pancakes onto an empty platter. “Would
you care for one? I made them myself. Secret recipe and all.” She winked.

Paige set her bag of books on the counter. “You know, I actually have an extra couple
minutes. I might as well.”

All the dishes in the sink had been rinsed and the room smelled like the lemon all-purpose
spray Maggie used on the counters. Although, when Maggie cooked, the place usually
looked like someone had waged a food fight in the room. She never cleaned until long
after breakfast service.

“Where’s Maggie?”

Ida tottered over with two pancakes arranged on a delft-blue plate. “She’s not feeling
well this morning so I took over for her.”

Paige set down her fork. “She’s sick? Oh, no, I hope it’s not bad. Should I do something?
Do you need help?” Not that she had time this morning, but Maggie had let her stay
here for free.

“You just keep that seat and eat for me. Nothing makes me happier than people eating
my cooking.” Ida fiddled with the coffeemaker.

Paige dumped warm maple syrup all over her plate.

Ida continued, “That is, except for love. Love makes me happier than just about anything
else in the world. But then, you knew that.”

Paige tried to force a smile. Ida could enjoy her rosy version of love. But Paige
knew better. Men worth sighing over existed in two places—books and the olden days
when Ida found her husband. But men weren’t like that anymore. Love led to pain. End
of story. No need to pop Ida’s sweet soap bubble, though.

Ida arranged tiny mugs onto the coffee cart. “You know, that’s Magpie’s real problem.
If she could just find a man to love I think she’d be a lot happier.”

Right. Like marrying Dad had made Mom so much cheerier. Especially when Mom discovered
how many years Dad had been cheating on her. Why had she stayed with him, anyway?

No longer hungry, Paige pushed her plate a few inches away. “It could be dangerous
to use whether or not someone has a man in her life as a basis for measuring happiness.
A lot of women are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves.”

“Oh, I’m not saying that at all. No one needs a man to be whole. If they’re looking
for a man to do that—” Ida giggled “—tough cookies. They’re damaged goods just like
the rest of us. No man can meet that need, I’m afraid. Only the good Lord is up for
that task. But I know Maggie’s heart—she longs for a family. The Lord put that desire
inside of her, and He’ll meet that in good time.”

Of course—just like God had met her dream of a family and a faithful husband.

Wasn’t going to happen.

God was too busy managing the important functions of the world. Starving people, countries
at war and natural disasters ranked much higher on His list.

Paige stretched her fingers, willing her muscles to relax.
Don’t get worked up.
One little old lady spouting off foolishness shouldn’t ruin her day.
Smile and nod to Ida and be done with this conversation.

But Paige’s mouth didn’t obey. “Hasn’t Maggie lived here her whole life? I’m guessing
she knows all the men in town. I could be wrong, but her odds of finding someone now
are pretty slim.”

Ida pressed her hands over her heart. “God will send her someone—a man who’s just
right. For you, too. But you must make time for love, dear.”

Enough. “No offense, but I’m not really looking for that sort of thing.” Paige pulled
her plate closer and started eating again.

Ida squinted and shuffled forward. “Are you not sleeping well? You look a mite tired.”

Great. Did she have bags under her eyes?

She’d been up so late last night thinking after she received an email from Mom saying
they’d already received an offer on the house. Paige’s childhood home—gone that quickly.
Now she’d have to find a free weekend to pick up her belongings because she definitely
didn’t want her mom to choose what was worth keeping and what she should toss.

“I just have a lot on my mind with school starting. Besides, the last six months of
my life have been a mess.”

“You know, we’re all in the middle of a mess. That’s just life, girl. If you’re waiting
for a cleanup crew, well, they’re simply not coming.” She patted Paige’s arm. “Now,
look at that—we’re talking about good men and here Caleb turns up. He’s one I’d keep
my heart open to if I was you.” Ida motioned toward the window.

“No, thanks.” Paige smiled at the well-meaning old woman. Even still, she peeked out
the window to watch the man in question stroll across the yard.

Caleb stepped through the back door into the kitchen. He’d shaved since last night,
and it made him even more attractive, if that was possible. Without his beard, he’d
shed the mountain-man vibe. Now, with his strong jawline, he looked like a powerful
businessman ready to take on the world. He wore the go-to man uniform of khakis and
a blue oxford. She noticed a cleft in his chin à la Ben Affleck. Why would he ever
hide that behind a beard?

“Morning,” she offered. “Maggie’s sick if you’re looking for her.”

“Actually, I’m looking for you.”

“For me?” Paige’s pulse zinged into hyperdrive. She took in air at the wrong time
and started to choke on her bite of pancake.

He wore a boyish smile. “Need the Heimlich?”

“I’m okay.” She gulped down the rest of her water as heat crawled up the back of her
neck.

Caleb had an effect on her that she couldn’t deny. Maybe it was because he saw her
that first day, so distraught, and treated her with kindness and respect when she
fell to pieces. It could be because he’d shared honestly about his wife when she didn’t
need all the details—even if his fear from that incident put them at odds over her
position at Sarah’s Home. Perhaps her attraction hinged on all the praise she’d heard
about him around town or seeing him interact with kids of all ages over the past few
days. The man definitely had a paternal drive. Maggie went on about how wonderful
he was. Ida did, too. So did the store clerk at the mom-and-pop convenience store.

Or the feeling could have nothing to do with any of that.

Mischief danced behind Caleb’s expression. Looking into his eyes was oddly comfortable,
like snuggling by a warm fire on a winter’s night. A sudden desire to lean closer
to him overwhelmed her.