Love Inspired August 2014 – Bundle 1 of 2 (57 page)

“Can I help?” A deep voice only a few feet behind her made her jump.

Paige yelped, twisting around, and collided with Caleb’s rock-hard chest. She really
needed to start locking Maggie’s back door. Although, knowing Caleb, he probably had
a key to the inn.

“Whoa, careful there.” He wrapped his arms around her so she wouldn’t fall.

Paige’s lungs couldn’t take in enough air as her heart hammered in her ears. It shouldn’t
feel so right to be in this man’s arms—but it did. Moving out of his grasp, she silently
ordered the butterflies in her stomach to curl up and die.

“Were you looking for Maggie?” Paige edged farther away from him and started chopping
frozen butter into her mix. She chanced a glance back at him, which of course was
a big mistake.

Stop, Paige!
The feeling had to go away. She didn’t want a man in her life. Especially this one—this
one that made her believe in a different possibility for the future than the one she
had recently imagined. He had no right to smile at her like he was right now. All
calm and assuring. It was singularly disarming.

Caleb ran his hand under his collar, working out knots in his neck. “No. I didn’t
come for her. I came for you.”

“If you came to distract me, I’m not going to allow it. You hear?” Paige jutted the
goopy spoon toward him while she laughed.

“Easy there, Trigger.” He put his hands up in mock surrender. “After you told me about
the scones at Sarah’s Home, I figured I’d come by and help. Maybe we can get them
done faster if we’re both working. Where does Maggie keep the aprons?”

Paige bit her lip and squinted one eye, assessing him. “Deal. But only if I get to
pick out which apron.”

Without waiting for consent, she fished the pink tulip apron out of the drawer and
looped it over Caleb’s head. He broke into his brilliant smile.

Where had
this
Caleb emerged from? The Caleb she’d met a few weeks ago always had a worried brow,
not a ready laugh. This joking side of Caleb was a welcome change. Why didn’t he act
like this more often?

“Wow. This is quite the apron. Tie it for me?” He turned around for her, and she put
a hand on his back. She shouldn’t have been surprised by how firm his muscles were,
but she was.

He turned back around, reached behind her, his arm grazing her side, and pulled the
bowl closer to stir.

“You’re going to have to do that with your hands soon. It gets a little flaky. Here.
Just dump it onto the counter and knead in the chips and cranberries.” Paige demonstrated.

He bumped her out of the way with his hip and took over. “I know a little about working
in the kitchen. My mom used to draft me for help all the time when Shelby and I were
kids.”

She started another bowl going and adjusted the oven to the right temperature. Turning
her own mixture out she began kneading, and then puffed at her hair which slipped
into her vision. She chided herself for forgetting to pull it up. Suddenly, Caleb’s
fingers, featherlight, were on her face—brushing the hair behind her ears before she
could process what was happening.

“Whoops. I promise I was trying to be nice.” The corner of his mouth tipped up. He
showed her his doughy hands that must have left a trail of flour all over her face.
She grabbed a handful of flour and tossed it at him, but he lunged out of the way,
rounding the sink then spinning around—spray faucet in hand to face his opponent.

“Go ahead and try me,” he challenged. “You can’t get out of here without walking past
me, and you take one step forward and you’ll get it.”

“Weren’t you supposed to be helping me?”

He raised an eyebrow.

“You wouldn’t spray that in Maggie’s kitchen.”

“Try me.” He grinned.

“Okay, okay. I surrender.” Paige dropped the flour. She managed a defeated smile and
went back to kneading.

“Not so quick. While I have you cornered, say you’ll go with me to the Barn Dance
tomorrow. And just a hint—” he twirled the spray faucet in his hand “—I’m not taking
no for an answer.”

“I don’t know how to square-dance. Aren’t the chaperones supposed to be instructors?”
Paige pushed her hair out of her eyes with the back of her hand.

“I’ll teach you. Tomorrow evening. It’ll be fun.”

“I don’t know.” Trying to hide the warmth spreading over her cheeks, she turned away.
The chance to spend more time with Caleb—this joking, smiling version of Caleb—made
her want to say yes, but she couldn’t dance. A rabid squirrel would have been a better
dance partner than her.

He still had the spray faucet in his hand, but his smile dimmed. “You’re cleared by
your doctor for your foot, right?”

She nodded. “I’ve already been running on it just fine.”

“Oh. Um.” He hooked the nozzle back on the sink and kept his back to her. “That’s
fine if you don’t want to go with me. I just thought...”

Maggie told her he hadn’t asked anyone out on a date since Sarah. Not that being a
cochaperone to the Barn Dance counted as a date. But still, if she turned him down
for this it could set him back if he did want to start dating women again. An image
of Amy rose in her head, and her stomach twisted at the thought of him asking her
instead.

Okay, if she was being honest, she wanted to go with Caleb. Very much. If only saying
yes didn’t require dancing.

But better to make a fool of herself with him than sit at home wondering all night
who he was dancing with besides her. Anyway, Tammie, one of her students, had been
bugging her to attend since the volleyball tryouts.

Paige pegged him in the shoulder with a small ball of dough. “Get over here and help
me. Looks like I need to wake up early tomorrow and learn some square-dance steps.”

Chapter Twelve

F
or the sixth time during practice Paige stumbled. Caleb gave a good-natured smile
and offered his hand again. Taking it, Paige tried to remember the steps. If only
she could will her feet to move correctly.

The song skipped on the old record player Lenny the Leech had set up on a wobbly table
in the gym for them. Blue padded mats lined the walls and the smell of old sweat hung
in the air. Good thing the Barn Dance wouldn’t be held here tonight.

Every other pair had their dance down pat; only Paige and Caleb still fumbled. And
it had nothing to do with Caleb.

Caleb could have expertly taught each step at the Barn Dance.

With a weak smile, Paige looked down and tried to move her feet at the right time,
but that only lasted a half a second before treading right on his foot.

“Ouch!” He stopped moving. “Now you might want to try aiming for the left foot next
time. That right one’s taken a beating from you already today,” he joked.

Biting her quivering lip, Paige tried to meet his eyes, but she couldn’t fake a smile.
This was nothing short of humiliating, and on top of that, she was supposed to teach
high-school students these steps tonight.

She shouldn’t have said yes. Caleb should be with someone who matched him better.
Hadn’t Principal Timmons called Sarah an irreplaceable woman? Paige had no right entertaining
the feelings for him that swirled in her heart. But Caleb’s smile today was infectious,
and the way he patiently praised her efforts had made a seed of hope take root in
her heart. The way he watched out for her was so different from the men in her past.
As she looked back on the past month, even when he tried to overprotect, he did it
in a way that made her feel cherished. Caleb encouraged the best in her.

Yet here she was, probably disappointing him. He’d wanted one evening to have fun
at the dance, and she couldn’t even remember the steps.

Caleb reached for her hand, but Paige held up hers to stop him. Pinching the bridge
of her nose to stop the rush of tears, she chided herself.

Why was she making such a big deal of this? Yes, she felt foolish because she couldn’t
master something so simple. That was partly the reason, but another big part of it
was Caleb. In prayer, she’d told God she didn’t want a man in her life right now.
Then all of a sudden the right one stood in front of her, reaching out his hand with
a slight smile spreading across his face.

“What are you thinking right now? That furled brow doesn’t bode well for us.” Caleb
reached over and squeezed her shoulder.

“I...I can’t do this.” Paige hung her head and continued, “I’m not going to get the
moves down by tonight. Does Maggie know it already? Wouldn’t you rather dance with
her? Everyone knows her, and it won’t be weird that she’s at a school thing. I’ll
still come as a chaperone if that’s the issue.”

He didn’t answer right away. Taking his hand from her shoulder he moved it to cup
her chin and drew her face up so their eyes locked. He looked intensely at her for
a moment. “But I want to dance with you.”

She swallowed hard. “Maybe you should dance with Amy.” Saying the words hurt, but
knowing Amy, she could probably do the dances in her sleep.

Caleb’s lips twitched. “Maybe not.”

Paige pulled out of his hold. “You know, it would probably be a good thing for her.
She could use a boost. Some of the teens were saying downright mean things about her
the other week. So many of the students respect you—if you showed up with her maybe
it would make them be kinder to her.” What was wrong with her? Who shoves a good man
into the arms of another woman? Evidently Paige Windom.

“Maybe I would, if I was wired another way.” He drew in a long breath. “I have nothing
against Amy. She’s a nice woman, but I can’t dance with someone unless I feel something
for them. Call me old-fashioned, but even holding hands—that means too much to me
to do casually.” He offered the hand that a second ago had cradled her chin.

Paige slipped her hand into his. Did her action mean as much to him as it did to her?
“But we’d be dancing, so what’s the difference?”

He just raised his eyebrows and spun her in a circle. Did that mean...?

The song changed and another one of the science teachers called out for a promenade.

Caleb gave her hand a light tug, letting her know to step out for the group of couples
they practiced with. He led her to the edge of the gym.

“Do you know what the issue is, Paige?”

She shrugged.

“It’s not that you can’t do this. It’s that you’re looking at the situation all wrong.”

“I am?”

“You keep watching the other people around you. You watch your own feet. Comparing
yourself to others and focusing on yourself—those things will only ever lead to stumbling.
Sure, you can fake that you know what you’re doing for a little while, but when others
are looking to you for help...they’ll catch on eventually.”

“Then what am I supposed to do? I don’t want to make a fool of myself tonight.”

He offered her both his hands, palms up. “I know the dance. Trust that I can lead
you. Can you do that?”

“But how?” she whispered.

“Do you trust me?”

She bit her lip. Did he know what he was asking—how difficult that was for her?

But a thought rushed through her. She could trust Caleb. Really.

She nodded.

“Then look right at my face the whole time, and I promise, everything else will follow.”

* * *

“Wake up, you big lug.”

Caleb woke up to Maggie poking him in the arm. Lifting his head, he looked around
in a startled, groggy haze. Between practice for the Barn Dance that morning and then
cleaning the gutters at Maggie’s inn afterward, he’d been beat. He’d thought to rest
on the living-room couch a few minutes before going home.

He blinked a couple of times. Must have fallen asleep.

“Earth to Caleb.” Maggie waved her hands in front of his face. “You have a barn dance
to get ready for. I’m kicking you out.”

“I just need to change.” He yawned. “It won’t take me that long.”

Maggie pulled a face that bunched up her nose. “As your friend, I’m going to say that
you don’t smell the best right now so you best head home and shower.”

Sitting up, he good-naturedly rolled his eyes.

Maggie popped her hands onto her hips. “I need you out anyway so I can get Cinderella
ready.”

“Where’s Paige?” He stretched his hands above his head and tried to shake the soreness
out of his arms and back. He’d hurt tonight after working on the gutters.

“I made her go start getting ready. You do realize you’re going to have to fight the
other single guys off tonight after I’m done with her.”

He scrubbed his hand down his face. “Just where did you two disappear to after practice
this morning anyway?”

“I took her shopping. We went clear out to the mall in Shadowbend, and then we got
caught up talking. Girl stuff.” She winked. “I shouldn’t tell you, but you did come
up in conversation. And for the record—Paige spent a good five minutes in here watching
you sleep until I forced her to go take a shower.”

“Really?” Caleb lifted an eyebrow, unsure if Maggie was teasing him or trying to slyly
relay vital information.

“Uh-huh. She kept saying—” at this, Maggie raised her voice to imitate Paige “—‘How
is it that guys look so cute when they’re sleeping?’”

He stood up, grabbed his wallet off the coffee table and tucked it into his back pocket.
“Well, that’s one way to ruin a guy’s day. Call him cute.”

“
Cute
is good!”

“
Cute
is a word used for puppy dogs and little kids.”

“You’re impossible. Get out of here, buddy. I expect you back in an hour looking every
bit a gentleman.”

“Aye, aye, Captain.” Caleb saluted her and took the hint.

Sitting out in his truck before turning it on, he wondered what the night could possibly
hold.

For the first time in two years he was actually looking forward to the Barn Dance.

* * *

He should have brought flowers. That was the customary practice for something like
this. A man brings his date flowers on an occasion that calls for someone needing
an hour to get ready.

But this wasn’t a date.

She’d hesitated so long before saying yes, and even then it was because she was under
threat of getting sprayed with water. He shook his head. What had gotten in to him?
He was acting like a flirtatious teenager.

For tonight, whatever the reason for Paige Windom saying yes, Caleb was thankful.

It’s not a date.
He kept repeating the words to himself on the way over to the West Oaks Inn.

Hopefully Maggie wouldn’t make a big deal over it—yanking out the camera and making
them stand awkwardly together taking mock prom pictures. She’d done that so many times
when he’d showed up for Sarah over the years.

As his truck bumped up the gravel driveway, his greatest fears were confirmed. Maggie
and Shelby—
why was she there?—
waited for him. His stomach dropped. What if the attention scared Paige? He’d have
to put a stop to it. Walk in and whisk Paige out as quickly as possible.

“Ooh, is that a new top?” Shelby fussed as he crossed the lawn. “I love you in that
straw cowboy hat. The students will be putting your handsome mug all over Instagram.”

Whatever Shelby’s reason for showing up and meddling, he’d talk to her tonight. No
reason getting into a discussion here with the possibility of Paige overhearing.

He sidestepped his sister. “Where’s Paige? We need to head out.”

At that exact moment she walked out the front door and the sight of her made his heart
take off like a fugitive in a high-speed car chase. For all Caleb knew, someone had
sucker punched him in the gut. His lungs couldn’t take in enough air.

Most of the students and faculty dressed for the Barn Dance in jeans and flannel shirts.
Paige wore a long skirt that flowed when she walked, shiny new boots and a shirt that
cinched at her small waist.

Beautiful
didn’t describe her. It couldn’t. It didn’t mean enough. She was stunning—smiling,
the deep blue pools of her eyes luminous, her hair spilling down her back in large,
loose, golden curls—and walking straight toward him.

Caleb tried to swallow the lump in his throat. She was his date. This gorgeous woman
who enchanted him, teased him and challenged him on a daily basis. This beauty that,
unbeknownst to her, was making him a better man—making him face things he’d locked
away two years ago—was his.

At least for tonight.

“You look great.” Caleb managed.

Giving him a lazy smile she shrugged. “I feel weird. I think Maggie has it out for
me.” Pulling her gauzy skirt up a couple of inches, she showed off her shoes. “Look
at how high the heels are on these boots. I’m not used to walking in these babies
yet, and now I’m supposed to dance in them.”

“Just hang on to me tonight.” Caleb offered his hand and gestured toward his truck.

“You two are so cute.” Shelby busted in between them, looping an arm through each
of theirs. Dropping her voice she said, “You owe me for doing damage control—I made
Maggie promise not to embarrass you guys with pictures. She fought me hard on it,
though. And, bro, take care of Paige, I’m afraid all the guys will be after her tonight.”

* * *

Paige fixed her hair in the visor’s mirror and stared at her reflection. There was
nothing significant about her. No reason for Caleb to want to be with her.

He had seen her crying, been on the receiving end of her anger, listened to her deepest
wounds, stayed with her when she was bleeding and hadn’t laughed at her when she voiced
doubts about God and the Bible. All that, and he kept choosing to spend time with
her.

His cowboy-themed button-down shirt molded across his athletic shoulders as fading
sunlight poured through the window, giving his brown hair a shimmery aspect. Clean
shaven, he glanced at her shyly out of the corner of his eye.

In a small town, it didn’t take long to reach a destination. He pulled into the parking
lot of the country club and then rounded the truck to help her down.

She braced her hand on the side of his truck. “These shoes really were a terrible
idea.”

“You can take them off when we get inside. Most everyone ends up dancing barefoot
anyway.”

“Okay, before we go in there can you answer one question for me?”

“Shoot.”

“This is not a barn.”

“Please form that into a question and I’ll answer you.” He smiled.

“Why is this thing held in a country club if it’s called a Barn Dance?”

“Easy. It got too big to hold in the barn owned by the forest preserve and none of
the people with barns on their private property want the whole student body trampling
around on their yard.”

Caleb offered her his arm as they walked into the Barn Dance.

Her student Tammie ran up to them and snapped a picture without warning. “I didn’t
know you guys were dating! Sorry, Mr. Beck, but my friend is going to be devastated
when I show her this picture. She’s had a crush on you since last year.”

Paige bit her lip. She should probably correct Tammie before she spread that she and
Caleb were a couple all over the school.

Tammie squealed. “But you two are so cute together. Nice work snagging him, Miss W.”
She glanced at the digital image on the back of her camera. “This is so making it
into the yearbook.” She rushed off.

Heat raced to Paige’s cheeks. “The students can be so...energetic.”

Caleb chuckled. “Especially the girls.”

The room was cavernous with high ceilings lined with exposed mahogany beams. The wood
floor gleamed, and the back wall boasted floor-to-ceiling glass with an overview of
the rolling, well-manicured golf course. In clear contrast with the building, bales
of hay and scarecrows lined the edge of the room. A giant table in the middle overflowed
with a gurgling chocolate fountain, and a live band played old folk songs on the stage.