Finding Love (A Mill Creek Crossing Romance) (4 page)

“Mr. Barnes. We meet again.” Amelia tried not to make eye contact. “Where are your kids? Did you finally find someone who could take care of them for you?”

“Actually no, my next-door neighbor is an elderly woman, and she's very sweet, but she's in no position to be able to take care of the kids on a regular basis. However, I wanted to do a little shopping and get them a surprise, and they both love to read, so I asked her to keep them for a few minutes while I came out to the bookstore.”

“Who’s your next-door neighbor?” Amelia asked out of sheer curiosity.

“Her name is Mrs. Higgins. I'm not sure how old she is, but she's kind of frail,” Clay said

Amelia started laughing. Clay cocked his head to the side and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

“What are you laughing at?”

“Mrs. Higgins's is as old as the hills. Your kids are probably running her ragged about right now. She was our English teacher when I was in the first grade, and she was old then. Her husband passed away about twenty-five years ago, and she's known as being a little bit off-balance.”

“Oh, my God! And I left my kids with her? I’d better get back.” Clay started to put his books back and dug his hands into his pockets looking for his cell phone and keys.

“No, no. It's okay. She's not mean or anything. Your kids will be fine for a few minutes, but I certainly wouldn't leave them there for hours at a time. Mrs. Higgins tends to talk about things that don't really exist, but it's probably pretty entertaining to a kid I would think,” Amelia said with a laugh.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, she tells lots of stories that aren't really true - and they have lots of interesting characters.”

“So when she told me that story about her husband who worked for the CIA…”

“No, her husband didn't work for the CIA. In fact, he handled produce at Millard’s grocery store,” Amelia said with a hearty laugh. She hadn’t laughed that hard in what seemed like years.

“I like your laugh,” Clay said with a bit of a twinkle in his eye. The comment took her off guard, and she didn't know what to say.

“Well, you’d better get back to your kids just to make sure they're okay. I'd hate for Mrs. Higgins to try to take them off on her space ship or something.” Amelia started averting her eyes to look at books again.

Clay smiled at her uncomfortable nature.

“You're not used to people giving you a compliment, are you?”

“No, actually I'm not. But, that's okay. I don't need compliments really,” she said.

“Everyone needs a good compliment from time to time. Anyway, it was good to see you again Amelia,” he said with a quirk of a smile.

“Have a good day, Mr. Barnes,” she said trying not to smile..

“And Amelia?”

“Yes?”

“I'd still like for you to be the person who helps me with my kids, if you change your mind. Now you know where I live,” Clay smiled as he walked up to the checkout desk and left Amelia in the back, cowering in the business section trying to avoid letting him see the flush on her face.

What was this man doing to her? She didn't have time for romance right now, she thought. Getting her business started was the most important thing she had to do, and she didn't plan to let anyone get in her way of that.

As she heard the door chime, she realized Clay had left the bookstore and it was safe to come out now. She nonchalantly walked up front and put a real estate book on the counter as Zelda pulled the mystery novel from behind the counter and put it in front of her. Zelda was smiling and eyeing Amelia carefully as she rang up the purchases.

“That Mr. Barnes is certainly a nice man,” Zelda said with a smile.

“Yes, from what I can tell, he is. I've only met him twice now, but he seems nice enough,” Amelia said trying to sound unaffected.

“He's also a very handsome man,” Zelda said.

“I suppose he is quite good looking. Of course, he was on television, so you kind of have to be good looking for that,” Amelia said, again trying to sound like she didn't care.

“Maybe you should consider his offer,” Zelda said raising one of her eyebrows.

“How do you know about his offer?” Amelia asked with her hands on her hips.

“Honey, it's a small town. Everybody knows everything. You know that. And I also know you're having a little trouble getting that real estate business started, so it only makes sense you take him up on his offer. He needs you, and you need him,” Zelda said in her most motherly tone.

Amelia fidgeted with her wallet, and then looked up at Zelda.

“Zelda, you know I love you like a mother. But you have got to stay out of my business. I need to focus completely on my real estate so I can get some money coming in. I'm on my own now, and I've got to make a go of this. I can't let that man and his children interfere in my life. You know what’s happened to me through my life, and I've never had a chance to do anything but raise children. Why would I want to start all over again helping somebody else with their children?”
 

“Amelia, you know I love you like a daughter, so I'm gonna tell you straight. That man needs some help, and you need some money. You know you love taking care of children, and you're going to miss that. I'd be surprised if you weren’t already feeling a little bit of an ache in your heart because you don't have any kids at home to look after. You can do real estate and take care of somebody else's kids in the afternoon – you could do both at the same time. It's not like you're going to be raising them yourself. He’s still their father. It's like taking a babysitting job, and you would change his life if you did it. That man needs a new start just like you do, and I don't see any reason why you can't help each other.”

Amelia took her bag and smiled at Zelda. She knew the old woman was just trying to make a point, and unfortunately she was making a good one. Amelia nodded her head and touched Zelda’s hand.

“It's something to think about, Zelda. And I promise I will. In fact, I'm going to make a decision about this one way or the other today. I'll see you later,” Amelia said as she walked out the door of the bookstore. “Oh, and give Gus a big kiss from me, okay?” Zelda nodded and waved as Amelia left the store.

Amelia decided to take the rest of the day off to clear her head and figure out what she was going to do next. She walked around the town square, got another cup of coffee and enjoyed lunch at the diner. She wondered about Clay and his children. She hoped that Mrs. Higgins hadn't done anything too crazy to scare the poor man when he got home. The thought of it made her smile to herself, and she enjoyed a little bit of a chuckle when she thought about her spaceship comment.

She looked at her phone to check her e-mail and then it dawned on her. She could look up Clay Barnes and see exactly what his story was, and what had happened to his wife. As she looked through the search engine results, she was astonished at what she found. His wife had died of leukemia, and it had been a rather quick but hard fought battle. She read interviews from him where he talked about how much he loved her and how horrible it had been to go through it. She read his final interview where he said he gave up his television career to raise his kids and move somewhere they could have a normal life. Her eyes welled with tears as she thought about all of the things he had given up to raise his kids just like she'd given up so much to raise her brothers and sister.

In that moment, Amelia changed her mind about helping Clay with his children. She remembered all of the people who had helped her after her mother died, including Gracie and Zelda. Clay didn't live far from the town square, so Amelia decided to take a walk and find his house. She needed to tell him she had reconsidered and would keep his kids after school and on some weekend days when he needed her.

As she approached the street were Mrs. Higgins lived, she had to figure out exactly which house was Clay’s. It only took a moment to figure that out though, because she saw him out front clipping some shrubs.

“Mr. Barnes?” she called from the street.

Clay turned around with a surprised look on his face. He smiled and waved her up the driveway.

“I told you to call me Clay,” he said.

“Oh, sorry. Clay then.”

“So what are you doing here?” he asked taking off his garden gloves and throwing them on the ground.

“Actually, I just wanted to come and tell you I'm willing to help you out with your kids if you still need someone.”

Clay’s face lit up with a big smile. “Of course, I do. I'm so glad that you've reconsidered. But can I ask what made you change your mind?”

“Well, after my mother died so many people banded together to help me out. I realize you're starting over with your kids, and it's only right of me to help out if I can. It's the neighborly thing to do.”

“Neighborly?” he asked. Amelia could tell by the look on his face he was questioning her intentions. In reality, she was questioning herself as she thought about how good-looking this man was.

“Yes. Neighborly. I know you're from California, but here in Mill Creek Crossing, neighbors do things for one another. I'm sure you're going to love living here, Clay.”

“I'm sure I am,” he said with a slight smile. “So, when would you like to start?”

“Well, I can start anytime. When do you start your new job?”

“Actually, I start on Monday. So that gives us a few days to work out the specifics of when they need to be dropped off and such.”

“Great, maybe you can just have the school bus driver drop them at my house after school each day. Or, I could pick them up. The school’s only a couple of blocks from my house and I always need the exercise,” Amelia said with a laugh.

“I don't know, you actually look like you're in pretty good shape to me,” he said, which made Amelia’s cheeks feel warm. She turned a bright shade of crimson red, which she tried to hide by turning an looking at the street as a car drove by.

“You really don't like compliments do you?” he said again, shaking his head. “Would you like to come in?”

“Oh, no. I’d better get back. I took the whole day off just rambling around town, so now I have some work ahead of me when I get home.”

“Are you sure? I'm about to get ready to start dinner and I have more than enough. I haven't yet learned how to shop for three people instead of four,” he said with a sad look on his face.

“Thanks for the invitation, but I really have to go. I will chat with you later about the specifics for getting your kids to my house?” she asked.

“Right. Yes, I'll be in touch this weekend.”

With that, Amelia walked back up the street and turned around to wave as she rounded the corner. Clay stood there, unsure of what he was doing either.

On Sunday afternoon, Amelia decided she’d better touch base with Clay to make sure she knew the plan for his children. Since she didn't have his telephone number, she decided to take a walk over to his house. As she approached the driveway, she saw Clay sitting on the front porch with a book. He looked sad, and it made her sad for some reason. She wasn't sure what was in the book, but she approached quietly so that she didn't disturb him.

He was staring down at the book, slowly thumbing through the pictures, sometimes smiling and other times blinking back the tears. Her natural inclination was to go put her arm around someone who looked so sad, but she knew she couldn’t do that with this virtual stranger.

As she walked closer, Clay noticed her approaching and put the book down. He seemed stunned that she was standing in the driveway, although she could detect a hint of happiness as he looked at her.