Love Inspired August 2014 – Bundle 1 of 2 (51 page)

And he was only inches away....

Paige rocked back in her seat, breaking eye contact.

Whoa. Let’s not go off the deep end about a guy.
Making up her mind too soon about a man had caused trouble in the past. Whatever the
reason for the feelings swirling in her heart, the draw needed to go away. Jay, Tommy
and Bryan had all seemed nice at first, too. It looked like it was time to put her
internal junkyard dog back on patrol around her heart.

Caleb set his keys on the counter but they fell onto the floor. An out-of-character
chuckle left his lips and he grabbed them from the tiles. “You left your books in
my truck. I thought you might need them.”

“Oh, thanks.” Real eloquent.

“Do you want a ride?”

“Um, sure.” Paige slid off her stool and squeezed past Caleb to get to the sink with
her dirty plate. She couldn’t help breathing in his cologne.

Paige paused near him for a moment. Whatever cologne he wore had a sweet, woodsy smell
with a mix of vanilla.

Back at home, her mother had a cedar chest in the master bedroom that she stored a
fur coat in. In grade school, Paige used to love to sit next to the chest and talk
to Mom while she got ready for the day. That smell always calmed her, as if her body
knew it meant safety and home.

Caleb smelled like that.

She shook her head.
Rinse off the dish already.

After placing the plate in the dishwasher, Paige waved to Ida and then followed Caleb
out to the truck. He wordlessly hoisted her bags into the truck’s bed. An awkward
silence filled the cab on the drive to the school—no radio, no windows down, no talking.

Paige watched him out of the corner of her eye as he parked in the school’s staff
lot. After he shared about Sarah yesterday, she had felt a connection to him. Caleb
and she might not see eye to eye on Sarah’s Home, but she had to admit, he was sweet
to try to protect her. He didn’t even know her, and he already wanted to make sure
she was safe.

No. That’s controlling. And not healthy. Just another Bryan in the making.

She crossed her arms. Somehow in a matter of days, Caleb had worked his way into her
heart. That needed to stop.

She tightened the hold on her bag.

As they walked through the hallway students waved at Caleb and a couple of guys exchanged
high fives with him. A group of teens started to clap when they passed.

“Mr. Beck, I have you for fourth period. Can we play that game in study hall again?”

“We’ll talk about it then.” Caleb laughed and stopped to joke with some of the students.

Paige kept walking. She should focus her attention on going over her lesson plan one
last time and not on how good Caleb Beck looked clean shaven, how he smelled like
home, or how much the people in this town loved him.

All those thoughts were far too dangerous.

* * *

“All right.” Caleb stepped away from the podium in front of his classroom. The students
sat in pairs behind large black lab tables. He breathed a silent prayer that what
he taught them in class would reveal God to them in tangible ways. Goose Harbor High
was a public school, but Caleb believed all truth pointed to God.

“I know that bell’s going to ring and you all want to head home, but humor me for
these last few minutes. Let’s brainstorm a list of ways science is part of our daily
lives.” He rolled up his sleeve and grabbed a marker for the whiteboard. “Think of
ways that science influenced something you did over the summer.”

“Can you give us an example?” A boy yawned in the back row.

Caleb set down the marker and instead pulled up a stool and sat down. “Sure. Here’s
one. I had a camping trip planned over the Fourth of July, but as you all probably
remember, we had rain that flooded the area. So, because of the weather I had to change
my plans. That’s science. Those cell phones you’re all texting on behind your desks
as if you don’t think I notice—that’s science, too. The technology.”

A couple of students looked up from their phones.

“How about when my mom burned my breakfast this morning so I had to grab a Pop-Tart
on the way out the door?” The boy in the back row grinned.

Caleb nodded. “Science.”

“I made out with a girl at summer camp and got mono,” another student offered.

The class erupted in laughter.

“Science...and hopefully lesson learned.” Caleb stood as the bell sounded. Students
grabbed their bags and started to make for the door. “We’ll talk more about this next
time, but for tonight everyone write a paragraph about how science affected you in
some way this past week.”

Caleb stuffed papers into his messenger bag and locked up his room. Normally he’d
stay around for an hour after school in case a student wanted to talk, but no one
would need help on the first day. Besides, tonight some of the volunteers at Sarah’s
Home were meeting to clean up the building and get it ready for the nonprofit to open
its doors for the school season.

Caleb took calculated steps down the hall, because he knew he’d have to walk past
Amy’s office. For everything in the world, he didn’t want his boots to squeak on the
linoleum floor as he passed by her. Just after her thirty-fifth birthday it seemed
like the primal instinct to marry had overpowered her rational work behavior. Caleb
couldn’t put his finger on it, but somewhere along the line Amy decided that he was
the man for her. The other guys mocked him unmercifully. They harped on the fact that
Amy had years on him and consequently dubbed him “cougar bait.”

He hated it all. Hated how embarrassed he got, and hated that she didn’t pick up on
any of his hints. A lot of men would have considered her attractive. Gorgeous, even.
He wasn’t blind, just not interested.

His shoe caught on a rug between doorways and made a thumping flat tire sound. It
was instantly followed by the
click, click, click
of high heels. Caleb released a hiss of breath and shot up a quick prayer for patience.

“Hey there, handsome!” She wore all red today. Red, tailored suit coat with matching
pencil skirt and even redder pumps. Her was face made up, her hair curled and fixed
in place. Amy was the kind of woman who was always chomping on gum.

“Why didn’t you stop in and say hi?” she gushed, her hand cupping his elbow. “Oh,
no! Caleb, you have marker on your shirt.” She ran her hands up his arms and down
his chest, pretending to check for more. “If you want I can wash it for you. I know
just the thing to get out a stain like that.” She rested both hands on his chest,
a look of concern plastered on her upturned face.

Just then, Paige and Bree walked by. They both looked right at Amy’s hands resting
on him. Why now? For some reason Paige’s opinion mattered. She’d been the first person
to go toe-to-toe with him in the past two years. His friends in Goose Harbor had coddled
him after what happened to Sarah. Hopefully Paige wouldn’t do the same now that she
knew the details.

What must she think of his exchange with Amy? Caleb sure didn’t want any of the women
thinking he was willing to lead Amy on.

He stepped back, took Amy’s wrists and set her hands back alongside her body. “It’ll
wash out.”

“Oh, don’t mind me. I’m just trying to help a clueless bachelor.” Amy leaned toward
him, lips puckered.

“Widower.” He took a deep breath.
Be kind
. “Anyway, thanks for the offer, but I have Shelby if I need help. Speaking of which,
I actually have to head home. You have a great evening.”

He ducked out of her reach and kept his head down until he arrived at the parking
lot. Caleb sank into the driver’s seat and rubbed his thumbs back and forth over the
steering wheel. Should he go back in and find Paige, offer her a ride home again?
He’d have to invent a reason....

He put the truck in Reverse but still scanned the lot for a woman with blond hair.

Not outside. Maybe she already left.

Just go home.

Life had become so predictable over the past two years—go to work, go to church, take
care of Maggie and Shelby, avoid Amy, try to manage Sarah’s Home—but suddenly Caleb
itched for a change.

Chapter Six

P
aige hunkered into the seat between Amy and Principal Timmons. Amy narrowed her eyes
at Paige and flared her nostrils like it took her every ounce of effort not to start
screaming. Her bloodred nails pounded against the table.

Amy leaned closer and in a harsh whisper said, “Exactly what are you doing here?”

If Principal Timmons heard her, he didn’t let on.

Paige gulped. “Only helping today with tryouts.”

“You mean trying to steal another one of my jobs?”

“I didn’t—”

Amy grabbed her clipboard and rounded the table to face the girls waiting to try out.
“There will be two fifteen-minute scrimmage matches and then we’ll be done. Make sure
your number is fixed to your back and that it matches the form you filled out. There
will be three of us walking around taking notes and weighing in on who will make the
team this year, so don’t come crying to me if you don’t make the list.”

Timmons nudged Paige, his eyebrows raised as if to say,
see
.

Amy split the girls into teams and blew her whistle to signal the start of the first
match. All three judges paced around the gym. Paige carried a pad of paper and scribbled
notes, praying she made the right choices. Making the team had meant so much to her
in high school and college. But a few of these girls wouldn’t feel that elation; instead,
they’d rush to the team posting next week and leave in tears. She didn’t like thinking
about that aspect of the responsibility.

At the end of tryouts, Paige handed her notes to the principal. “That’s it, then.”

He scanned her ranking of the girls and nodded. “Thank you for taking part in this
on such short notice. I appreciate your input.” Timmons tucked the papers away. “Do
you need directions to get to Sarah’s Home tonight?”

She paused. “Sarah’s Home—has it opened already? Why didn’t I hear anything?”

Timmons shoved his hands in his suit coat pockets. “Caleb sent an email out about
meeting tonight to clean the building since it’s been locked for most of the summer.
So I guess that means you’re not on the mailing list yet.”

Paige fisted her hands. She wanted to shake Caleb for not telling her. Oh, he’d hear
about this when she saw him later. Only earlier today she’d considered him such a
nice guy, so much that she’d warned herself not to be attracted to him.

What a joke.

He knew she wanted to be involved and hadn’t said a word when he drove her to school
that morning. The nerve of that man! He had the whole look-like-the-innocent-sheep-but-be-the-tick-on-it
act down—or something.

She pulled up the notes app on her phone and entered in the time and directions to
Sarah’s Home from Principal Timmons and assured him she could drive there herself.

Lenny the Leech sat on a plastic chair with his legs propped up near the main entrance.
Not what she wanted to deal with right now. On edge because Caleb didn’t tell her
about the gathering tonight, she might snap at poor Lenny for nothing other than him
being there. Paige wanted to go home, change and have an hour to unwind before heading
to Brookside. Her temper needed to dissipate before she arrived at Sarah’s Home. If
only she had time for a jog. Not today.

She veered toward the doors that led back into the school hallways; she’d just take
the long way out and avoid Lenny altogether.

“Miss Windom!” A girl with a long black braid chased after her. When Paige stopped
and turned back around, the girl puffed as she caught her breath. “I’m Tammie. I’m
in your second period class.”

“I remember you.” Paige smiled. The girl had raised her hand to answer almost every
question. She’d also aced the quiz on the books covered in the school’s required summer
reading program.

“I just wanted to tell you that I loved what you said about that Robert Frost poem.
I’ve been thinking about it all day, and I think you’ve helped me choose what to do
after graduation.” Tammie jumped up and down.

Paige’s eyes went wide. “Really?” Teaching always amazed her. The impact she could
have through words without even realizing it was happening made her want to rethink
everything she said and did. Once a teacher, students watched her actions. She needed
to remember that.

“Yeah, that thing about taking the less-traveled path, it finally helped me make the
decision to go on a long-term mission trip after graduation instead of going straight
to college. I’ve been wanting to but was never brave enough to actually say it. I
called my parents after school and they’re totally supportive. I don’t know what I
was so afraid of, after all.” She lunged to hug Paige.

Paige laughed and hugged her back, welcoming the human contact. “I’m glad it was helpful.”

“You’re cool, Miss W.” Tammie flipped her hair over her shoulder. “I’m glad they picked
you for the position.”

“Me, too.” Paige winked at her.

Tammie hugged a textbook to her stomach. “Okay, but there’s one more thing. Are you
going to the Barn Dance?”

No, because a raccoon with rabies could best her on the dance floor. “I haven’t heard
anything about a Barn Dance.”

“It’s tradition. At the end of the first month of class, the school holds the annual
Barn Dance, and the teachers chaperone it. Tell me you’ll be there. I don’t like to
do stuff like that, but if you go, I’ll go.”

“Well.” Paige looped her hand on her bag strap. “How about I promise to think about
it?”

“Okay, but if that’s the case, then I promise to hound you about it every day until
you say you’re going.” Tammie walked backward down the hall so she was still facing
Paige.

“Deal.” Paige shook her head good-naturedly. Hopefully Tammie would forget to badger
her about the dance, and Paige wouldn’t have to find an excuse to not go.

After leaving home, Paige made a promise to herself to learn new things. Despite the
few years she’d worked in the inner city, for the most part Paige had grown up sheltered
and with so many chores taken care of by hired help. Cooking and cleaning were high
on her must-learn list. Dancing, however, was not.

Tammie joined her friends and left while Paige gathered her bags again and headed
for the side entrance. Amy fell into step beside her. Where did she even come from?

“I see everyone just loves the new teacher. A word of advice? Don’t let it go to your
head.” Amy placed her hand on the door handle so Paige couldn’t leave. “Just a hint,
Paige. If you were trying to get anywhere with Caleb, it’s not going to happen. It
would really be best if you kept your distance from him.”

She didn’t care about Caleb, but Amy didn’t know that. This woman needed to realize
that it wasn’t okay to push other people around. Amy had done just that to all the
girls at volleyball tryouts, but she wasn’t about to get away with treating Paige
that way.

“What’s that even supposed to mean? You can’t go around threatening people.” Paige’s
hands popped to her hips making the straps on her bags dig into her shoulders. Hard.
Amy didn’t answer her. She lifted her hand off the door handle and walked off down
the hallway.

Oh! Paige would have loved to say something to get under Amy’s skin. But she didn’t
know Caleb well enough to know if he enjoyed the attention from Amy. In the truck
after the teacher’s institute he’d seemed annoyed when Amy flirted with him. Then
again, Paige’s record at judging men was not the greatest.

Either way, Amy could have Caleb because Paige sure didn’t want him.

* * *

The ride to Brookside took a solid thirty-five minutes. Quaint shoreline towns and
winding roads near the dunes gave way to flat-grid neighborhoods and then a sprawling
downtown. The economic difference from the tourist section to the normal towns in
the state shocked her.

After passing the Welcome to Brookside sign, Paige drove by empty lots, weaved around
trash in the street and gawked at the boarded-up homes and warehouses. The condition
was far worse than the part of Chicago where she taught last year. Brookside looked
like it was dying.

A crumbling concrete lot made up the area in front of Sarah’s Home. Weeds grew knee-high
through the cracks near the sidewalk. Shouldn’t someone cut those? A single light
flickered on the front of the building and only illuminated half of the nonprofit’s
sign. Chills washed down Paige’s back. Maybe this had all been a mistake.

Maybe Caleb was right.

No, he couldn’t be. Mistake or not, she’d go in. If only to prove Caleb Beck wrong
and show one more man that he couldn’t call the shots in her life.

Five other cars, including Caleb’s truck, filled the lot. Paige sucked in a deep,
fortifying breath and left her car. She checked the door handle to make certain her
Mazda was locked and then headed into the building.

The tight feeling in her lungs went away the second she stepped inside. Fresh paint
in bright colors filled the first few rooms. There were tables and desks to work at,
a room with five old computers, and another with science equipment. Inside felt like
a safe haven in the midst of the darkness shadowing Brookside.

She followed the sound of voices to the back dining room where everyone huddled around
a table over bowls of pasta. The room fell silent when she stepped through the doorway.

Caleb’s mouth hung open and his fork stopped midair. “What are you doing here?”

Great. Now she’d been asked that same question twice today.

“I’m here to help.” Paige shrugged.

Caleb rose and crossed to where she stood. His brows formed a deep V. “I thought we
talked about this.” His voice held an insistent tone.

Paige tugged a hair tie from her wrist and tossed her hair into a messy bun, then
she leaned to look around him at everyone else. Did he really want to get into a heated
conversation in front of the other volunteers?

Principal Timmons motioned for everyone to bring their bowls to the large kitchen
sink. “I think it’s about time we start working. Marty and Sam, you’ve got the floors.
Vick and Claire, you have the bathrooms, and please also make a list of supplies that
need to be restocked. I’ll be in the office or the basement with Wayne. Smalls—” he
pointed at a teenage boy wearing orange high-tops and boasting what looked like the
beginning of a patchy mustache “—you can wash up these dishes. But before we get started,
I’d like to introduce Paige Windom. Paige is the woman I told you about at our last
board meeting, and she’s going to be a great asset to our team. She’s come all the
way from Chicago to help us.” Timmons offered an encouraging smile. “Paige, we’d love
to hear your ideas about ways to improve Sarah’s Home.”

“Now?” Paige’s voice squeaked. Her gaze darted to Caleb. He looked like a bull about
to start pawing the ground.

Timmons didn’t seem to notice. “If you have any ideas now, we’d love to hear them.
The board’s made up of Marty, Claire and myself, and we could all head to the office
if you’d like.”

Paige clutched her purse, suddenly feeling inadequate. “Maybe we should wait until
after I’ve been here a few weeks.” These people were looking at her like she had a
special plan to save their nonprofit when the truth was, she didn’t even know what
was wrong with it. She’d left her life back in Chicago thinking Sarah’s Home would
save her. It was disheartening to find out the place she’d depended on for redirection
needed rescuing instead.

Everyone but Smalls and Caleb dispersed to their assigned tasks. Smalls whistled long
and low. “You’re a fine-looking lady. I wouldn’t mind—”

Caleb grimaced. “Be respectful.”

Smalls stood a bit straighter, although it was hard to tell with his baggy pants.
“Apologies. I mean, you’re one pretty woman, Miss Windom.”

Paige laughed. “Thanks. I think. But you can just call me Paige.” She sidestepped
Caleb and placed her purse on the counter. “Nice shoes. Very bright.”

“You like them? Orange beats all.” The boy’s chest puffed out like she’d just given
him the best compliment.

“Could you use some help with those dishes?”

Caleb stayed rooted in the same spot. He worked his jaw back and forth like he wanted
to say something, but fought the urge.

Smalls motioned for her to join him at the deep, industrial sinks. He nudged her as
she rolled up her sleeves. “See how I did that? I’m a player. Got you to come do my
work.”

“Between you and me, you still have a lot to learn about women.” Paige smiled at the
teenager. His forced charm, seasoned with street smarts, had a way of softening her
heart and made Paige miss her Chicago students.

“Aww, haters gonna hate.” He grabbed the scrub brush and laughed.

“So, you volunteer here?” Paige tried to ignore Caleb looming in the doorway.
Go do something.

“Kind of. More like, they can’t shake me even if they want to.” Smalls grinned, showing
a chipped front tooth. “Timmons said you’re from Chicago—that right?”

Paige plunged her hands into the lukewarm water and fished out the tattered rag. “I’m
from the suburbs outside of the city, but I taught there for a few years.”

“Chicago’s off the hiz-zay.” He said it like it was two words, his voice getting louder
on the last part. “I’d give everything to go there.”

“Let me guess—for the deep-dish pizza?” Paige glanced behind her. Thankfully Caleb
had left at some point during her conversation with Smalls.

Smalls started drying off the plates. “Naw, man. Keep up. Chicago’s the home of slam
poetry.”

“You do slam poetry?” She’d gone to a slam contest before, where poets competed against
one another—rattling off poems they made up. A couple of the well-known improv theaters
in Chicago hosted slam poetry events. She’d enjoyed attending them and marveled at
people who could come up with intelligent work on the spot.

“Sometimes.” Smalls shrugged. “There’s a place on the west side of town that does
it once a month. I’m not so bad at it.”

Paige rinsed off the last bowl. “I’d love to come see you sometime.”