Authors: Jillian Hart
Some might think that her no-dating stance was a drawback considering that he liked her, but he wanted to take small steps slowly. Considering all he had been through, he was wary, too. The last thing he wanted to do was to get his heart broken. He did not want to find out that his fears had merit after all—that a great, wonderful, gorgeous Christian woman like Rebecca would want nothing to do with him if she really knew him.
His chest felt as if he’d inhaled a hive of bees. He took a sip of soda and felt a little better. “I know what you mean. I haven’t dated in a long time.”
“Really? You?” She didn’t seem to believe it.
“I guess that would mean I’ve had a No Woman policy for a while, but I’m thinking about ending it.” He took a bite of taco before any more incriminating words could roll right off his tongue.
Ephraim shook his head at that. “Dude, I have never had to bother with a No Woman policy. What I need to change is women’s policy against me. Do you think it’s the pocket protector?”
“I’ve told you to lose it.” Chad couldn’t believe it. The girls across the table were trying not to laugh, but it really was funny. “Do you two think Ephraim needs help?”
“I think he needs more than that.” Rebecca had the kindest manner. He had noticed it before, but it blew him away now how she gently turned to his best friend. “Which woman in particular has this No Ephraim policy?”
“Sorry. Can’t reveal that.” Ephraim grinned. “It’s privileged information. Classified, even. I could be court-martialed if I told you.”
“Lauren.” Rebecca leaned close and gently bumped her sister’s shoulder with hers. “What do you think—could it be someone in your guys’ Bible study group?”
“Could be. There are a lot of pretty girls there.” Lauren bumped her sister back. “I’ll take scrupulous notes on Friday and let you know. We’ll figure this out, don’t you worry.”
“Joy.” Ephraim scowled as if he were not pleased at all with this development.
Chad wasn’t fooled. Ephraim just didn’t feel comfortable with his feelings any more than most guys did.
Just as he wasn’t comfortable when the attention shifted to him. Both women eyed him as if he were next. “Now, wait a minute. Don’t look at me. I’m on a No Dating policy, remember?”
“Yes, but you were considering altering it.” Rebecca took her plastic knife and fork in hand and sliced a dainty bite out of her soft-shell chicken taco. Ranch and salsa sauces oozed out right along with the cheese.
“What I am considering is ordering one of those next time.” Whew, it looked as though he’d successfully derailed her. “Don’t worry. I’m nothing like Ephraim. If you notice, no pocket protector.”
“Hey.” Ephraim good-naturedly protested as he unwrapped his second taco. “The pocket protector is sensible. I do accounting. I need lots of writing utensils and they always leave marks in my pocket.”
“Then it is a worthy accessory,” Rebecca said sincerely, although it made the rest of them laugh. “What? Was that funny? Well, the solution is obvious. Ephraim, wear the pocket protector at work and no place else.”
“I’m not sure about that. You never know when you’ll need a pen.” Ephraim’s comment made them all burst out in laughter.
This was great, Chad thought, digging into his taco. Tasty food, good friends and laughter. It was an excellent way to spend the evening. He suspected having Rebecca there made all the difference.
It was well after seven by the time Rebecca pulled into her driveway and hit the remote. While the door chugged open, her phone trilled. A new text message.
It was from Lauren.
Any more calls?
No, she typed back. With any luck, Chris had gotten the hint. She grabbed her keys and slung her bag over her shoulder. Birdsong drifted in from the open garage door along with a mellow patch of evening sunshine. The leaves in the trees rustled in the hot breeze as she made her way to the bank of mailboxes across the driveway.
“Great minds think alike,” came a familiar baritone behind her. Chad walking down his driveway. “Did your errand go all right?”
“Yep. Katherine’s husband is on evening shift covering vacations and her seventeen-year-old stepdaughter is off at Bible camp, so we’re all making sure she has what she needs while he’s working.” She waited for him to catch up. “I’m surprised to see you up and about. You said you were going to go home and collapse.”
“I got a second wind. Must have been the food and the company.”
“Are you ready for another whirlwind day tomorrow?” She fell in stride with him.
“No, but I want to be. It’s a lot of fun.”
“I think so, too.” She unlocked her box, not at all surprised to see bills and junk mail. “Oh, a postcard from Mom and Dad.”
“Are they on vacation?” Chad looked up from rifling through the stack of junk mail and bills.
“They are out exploring the West in their RV.”
“Sounds to me as if you have a fun family. Sisters to do things with. Parents who go off and explore.”
“I like to think we are a fun group. We have fun together, anyway. I take it your parents aren’t the kind to go off and enjoy their retirement?”
“No. My mother is very busy with her charity and my father isn’t retired yet. He’s one of those workaholic types.”
“My father has a very strong work ethic. I think that’s why my brother is the same way. He learned at Dad’s knee—” She saw a familiar black sports car out of the corner of her eye. She turned without thinking and there was Chris behind the wheel. She could see him plainly through the rolled-down window.
“Uh-oh.” Maybe she was wrong about the calls. Her stomach fell.
“What’s uh-oh?” Chad asked. “Do you know that guy?”
“It’s Chris.” She closed the mailbox. “I didn’t think he would show up.”
Chad sure was giving Chris a hard look as he climbed out of his car. He squared his shoulders protectively. “I can get rid of him for you.”
A confrontation. That’s all she envisioned. Loud angry words and roughness. Panic fluttered inside her. “N-no. I don’t want trouble.”
“It won’t be any trouble, believe me.” Chad drew himself up, as if ready for a fight. “I’ll put him back in his car and that will be that.”
The sight of Chris powering toward them seeming ominously angry made her panic intensify. She did not want to be alone with that man. But she didn’t want to make this situation much worse than it had to be. And there was a bigger reason, a deeper one that had her taking a step away from Chad, too. She was afraid to lean on another man again. She was afraid to trust. “Chad, no thanks. I can handle this.”
“No, I don’t think so.” He looked determined and protective. If ever there was a man who appeared to stand for what was right, it was Chad.
But hadn’t she believed in that before and been wrong? The proof of it was stalking toward her. She took a shaky breath and gathered her courage. No, she would be far better standing on her own two feet. “Chad, I said I can handle this.”
“But—” He sounded confused, but didn’t move a muscle.
She watched in dread as Chris looked from Chad to her. His perfectly baby-blue eyes hardened.
“Who is this, Rebecca? Just what is going on here?” He fisted his hands.
“I’m Chad Lawson. Good to meet you. I understand you aren’t welcome here.”
Rebecca sighed. Taking him up on his offer would make things easier. “Thanks, Chad, but I want you to go.”
“But—”
“Please.” Her stomached tightened into one big knot. He meant well, she knew he did, and she meant well, too. “If you want to help, then please go home.”
“Yeah, go home.” Chris came to a stop, shoulders braced. “I need to talk to my girlfriend.”
“Chris, I’m not your girlfriend. Not anymore. Chad, please.”
“Fine.” Chad looked angry. His mouth worked, as if he had more to say but wasn’t about to say it. His eyes conveyed hurt. “You’re sure?”
It was tough seeing his hurt, how much he only meant to help her, and she was rejecting him. But she had to. Couldn’t he see that? “I’m sure. Thanks, Chad.”
He nodded once, saying nothing more and walked stiffly away, his gait tense and a little too fast.
She had upset him. Air wheezed out of her tight throat. She hadn’t meant to sound harsh. She’d only wanted to do the right thing.
“Now I see why you have been ignoring my calls.” Chris straightened his shoulders as if posing, looking as handsome as ever in his polished, captain-of-the-football-team kind of way. “You didn’t answer my messages, Becca. I must have left a half dozen of them.”
“Lauren listened to them for me and erased them.” Rebecca was glad she had her cell phone with her. She steeled her spine and gathered up all the courage she had. She wasn’t good with ultimatums, especially with Chris. She wasn’t good with uncomfortable situations. But right now she had to be. “I told you I don’t want to see you. Please leave or I’m calling my brother.”
“W
hat’s so fascinating out the window?”
Chad winced. He hadn’t meant to get his roommate’s attention. He wasn’t ready to tip his hand just yet about his like for Rebecca, especially since he had no idea if Rebecca liked him—or if she would ever amend her No Man policy. He stepped away from squinting through the open aluminum blinds. “I ran into Rebecca when she was getting her mail, too. And guess who drove up? That jerk she was dating.”
“That can’t be good. She’s too nice for someone like that.”
“No argument there.” Chad turned back to the window. “I just wanted to check and make sure she was okay, since you told me that guy might have gotten physical with her.”
“Maybe we should go out there and back her up.”
“She said she wanted to handle it alone.” He didn’t know her well enough to have refused to go. She might have thought he was the one being a jerk. He shook his head. “I thought I would keep an eye on her.”
“Good plan.” Ephraim joined him at the window. “She doesn’t know yet, does she?”
“Know what?”
“That you like her.”
How had Ephraim guessed? Chad grimaced. What if Rebecca had guessed, too?
“Dude, you do like her, right?”
“No comment.” It seemed the safest answer. He didn’t take his gaze from her. She was standing straight and tall, her feet braced, her arms crossed in front of her like a shield. She didn’t seem happy. The Chris guy didn’t, either.
Suddenly a green new-model pickup roared around the corner and came to a stop in the middle of the street. Two men leaped out. The driver was a big guy.
“That’s the brother,” Ephraim pointed out. “The other one is Lauren’s husband. Caleb’s a city cop. If I were that dude, I would be shaking in my sandals.”
“Looks to me like he is. Think we outta go out and provide backup.”
“They don’t need it. Look, he’s leaving.” Ephraim sounded relieved.
But not as relieved as Chad felt. He watched Rebecca’s ex head back to his pricey car. Her brother and the cop walked her toward her condo, out of sight. He let the curtain fall. Ephraim had already wandered off to the TV and was flipping through the on-screen channel guide.
Rebecca hadn’t wanted him to hang around. He had to remember that. Everything in him wanted to go next door and make sure she was all right. He was torn between doing what he wanted and what she’d needed him to do.
“She gave you her cell number, right?” Ephraim dropped on the couch. “Text her. Calling might be too intrusive right now. She’s with her family.”
Another car drove up, and he recognized Lauren’s newer-model economy sedan. She wove around the brother’s pickup and parked in Rebecca’s driveway.
Chad stepped away from the window. The cavalry had arrived. Rebecca McKaslin didn’t need him, not one bit. Why that struck him hard, he couldn’t say. He just knew that he liked her. He knew without her having to say it, without knocking on the door and seeing the look on her face, that she didn’t need him.
So that was that. He dropped into the nearby chair, propped his feet on the battered coffee table and tried to focus on whatever Ephraim was watching.
Now that it was all over, the shaking kicked in. It was all Rebecca could do to hold the teapot and not spill as she poured two cups of steaming lemon chamomile. Her pulse knocked in her ears, drowning out the sounds of Lauren getting settled in the second bedroom. Her sister had announced she was spending that night, end of story.
Rebecca set the pot on the counter. Her hands were still shaking. She hadn’t been afraid of Chris, not exactly. She didn’t think he had come to threaten her. No, he had come to apologize and try to get back together. He had looked sad tonight, as if he were truly hurting.
I still love you, Rebecca, he said with all sincerity. I’ve never stopped loving you.
Wasn’t that the trouble? She thought of his erratic behavior over the last few years. His moods had been up and down. Sharp and unpredictable. Then she thought about the better times when things had gone really well. He made her feel needed and important to him. She was special. And he had loved her. Her heart gave a little twist.
Love. There was that troublesome word again. She had been blissfully happy and dismally unhappy, felt safe and afraid for her safety, and all because of love.
If this was love, who needed it?
Her cell phone chimed. A text message.
“Is that Chris?” Lauren called from down the hall.
Rebecca picked up the phone she’d left on the table and checked the screen. Seeing Chad’s name on her new message list soothed away some of her shakiness.
“No,” she called back to her sister and, smiling to herself, opened the message.
How R U?
OK, she sent back and, still smiling, slipped the phone into her pocket. Chad. Her heart warmed remembering how he had wanted to help her. And although she had refused him, he still cared how she was. He was a good guy. She stirred milk and honey into the cups and carried them in to her sister.
Lauren zipped her overnight bag closed and shoved it into the closet out of sight. “There. All settled. That smells like perfection.”
“And calming, too.” She wanted to keep things light. She wanted to wish Chris away. “Are you sure you want to do this? I told you, I will be just fine.”
“I know, but we haven’t had a sleepover in a while. It will be fun.” Lauren sat on the edge of her twin bed. “This is for the best, you know.”
There they were, talking about Chris. Again. Rebecca cradled the cup in both hands. “Yes, but what I want to know is how did you luck out with such a great guy?”
“My Caleb is one of God’s great blessings.” Lauren shrugged. “I don’t know what I did to get him, but I’m deeply grateful.”
Rebecca’s eyes smarted. She took a small sip of the hot tea. She was glad true love was out there. But tonight it felt as if her chances of finding it were nil. Nada. A big fat zero.
Her phone jingled again. Chad? She set the cup down on the little nightstand. “I’m glad Caleb found you. Do you know what we should be talking about? Katherine’s baby shower. Hello.”
“It’s months away. I have the invitations finished. Ava’s making the cake. The caterer’s set. The flowers are ordered.” Lauren leaned back on the pile of pillows and stretched out, balancing her full cup carefully. “Oh, and did I tell you? William has offered to do all the pictures. To think, an award-winning photographer in our own family.”
“It’s a blessing Aubrey found him, too.” There had been a time when she’d been wistful, glad for her sisters but looking forward to the same blessings herself.
But after tonight, that felt resolved. Okay, she had to silence a tiny bit of longing down deep in her soul, but for the most part she was at peace with her singleness. Thank the Lord she was on her own. She shuddered, thinking of what her future might have been like had she chosen to stay with Chris.
She eased the phone out of her pocket and glanced at the screen. Yep, another note from Chad.
“Is that Ava running late?”
“Ava’s coming?” Rebecca rolled her eyes. She should have known Lauren was only the first wave. “No, this is from Chad. He was there when Chris drove up.”
“And why didn’t he stay?”
“Because I made him go. All I could imagine was Chris getting the wrong idea. That would only make him harder to handle. This way he knows that no matter what, we’re over—if I’m dating or not. He might have actually gotten a clue this time.”
“I’m glad Spence and Caleb could help with that.”
“Me, too.” Rebecca peeked at Chad’s message.
Need a Popsicle?
Do I!!! she typed and hit Send.
“And why are you smiling?” Lauren asked.
“Am I smiling?” No, that couldn’t be right. There was no way she was smiling since Chris was still weighing heavily on her mind. “It’s just the neighbor.”
“The neighbor. Hmm. Want to tell me more about how you feel about the neighbor?”
“No.” Really. Rebecca took another sip of tea and scooted back on the bed. “After this thing with Chris, do you really think I want to jump right into dating again?”
“What I don’t understand is why Chris came by tonight.”
“He wanted to get back together.”
“Why? Doesn’t he get that he messed up? He’s history.”
“Yes, but he wants to start over.”
“And you told him…?”
“That I’m not interested in that. I wish I could go back and have things turn out differently—or I used to.” She thought of that night when he’d come over and frightened her. He had been so angry and on the edge of violence. “But after I saw that side of him and realized why he’d been behaving the way he had, up and down, and so difficult, then there was nothing else I could do.”
“Sometimes people change on you.”
She nodded, unable to say the words. “Dumb me. I should have accepted that Chris grew into someone different than the man I fell in love with, but I stayed in denial. I guess I couldn’t see it.”
“You’re not dumb, Becca. Just good and sweet and wonderful.”
“Says you because you have to. You’re my sister.” Rebecca rolled her eyes. And she loved Lauren for it. Her phone chimed again. She glanced down at Chad’s message. Meet U out back. “I’ll be just a sec.”
“Where are you going? Oh, you’re going to see him, right?”
“It’s nothing romantic, I promise.” Rebecca set her cup on the nightstand and headed toward the door. “I’m sticking to my No Man policy, never you fear.”
“I was sort of hoping you wouldn’t.” Lauren’s gentle words followed her out into the hallway.
“Rebecca.” Spence blocked her way into the living room, glowering worse than usual. “There’s some guy on the patio. Want me to take care of him, too?”
“No, but I appreciate the offer.” She didn’t let her brother’s scowl detour her. The trick to Spence was interpreting him correctly. For instance, he looked formidable and snarling mad. Translation: deeply concerned and too macho to show it. “I can handle this one. Go back to your baseball game.”
Caleb glanced up as she passed by the couch. “I could help take care of him, too.”
“Enough.” Now they were jesting with her. She knelt down to remove the dowel.
“Smart idea,” Spence called as he settled back into the chair. “Glad to see you’re thinking.”
Did she dare tell them that the guy on the patio was the smart one? And then they would want to invite him in, probably befriend him and start speculating about their future. Would they date? Get married?
No way. She mentally rolled her eyes and slid open the door.
“Hi.”
Other men might look uncomfortable standing on the patio and holding a box of Popsicle treats, but not Chad. No, he was steady and sure.
“I brought the whole box,” he explained. “There ought to be enough for everyone.”
He humbled her. He ought to be angry with her, but he wasn’t. “I’m sorry I sent you away. I appreciate that you wanted to help.”
“I still do, Rebecca. That hasn’t changed.”
“I just had to do this on my own. I’m alone. I have to get used to that. I have to start solving my problems that way.”
“You’re not alone. You know that, right?”
“I do.” That wasn’t what she meant. She trusted God. She trusted her family. But it was hard to see past the way Chris’s angry threats had hurt her that night not so long ago. Having a No Man policy was definitely the best idea she’d had in a while. “Thank you for leaving when I asked you to. You listened to me. You actually did.”
“Of course I did. I respect you, Rebecca.”
“I respect you, too.” Her chest felt all knotted up. What was she going to do about Chad? “Do you want to come in? If you do, I have to warn you. I’ve got an overprotective big brother and five overprotective older sisters. Most of them are on their way over.”
“No, this is your family time. I don’t want to interrupt that.” Chad took a step toward her, holding out the box, but it looked to her as though he wanted to say something else. Maybe it was the waning evening light. Maybe it was just her wistful heart.
Or maybe it was the fact that she hadn’t liked any guy so much so fast in a long time. The last time, well, that had been Chris.
She took the box. “I suppose this means we have to be real friends now.”
“That’s the deal with a grape Popsicle. It stands for so much more than a summer treat.”
“I see. We’re in luck. I might have a No Man policy, but I do have a friend clause.”
“Then it’s my lucky day.”
A friend. There was definitely no harm in having another good friend. Perhaps things would be better and easier that way. And if a part of her heart gave a little sigh of disappointment, then that was a part that she refused to listen to. “Well, friend, I’ll see you tomorrow at work?”
“You know it.” He was already backing away, moving slow, grinning at her with that confident, sincere way of his that could calm her troubles. “I’m looking forward to it.”