Authors: Beverly Barton
Tags: #Contemporary, #Fiction, #Romance, #General, #Religious
While Caleb was in the shower, the telephone rang. Sheila, who had already bathed and put on the black dress she'd worn the night before, hesitated. If she answered, whoever was calling would know she was at Caleb's house early on a Sunday morning and would probably assume correctly that she'd spent the night. Deciding to allow the answering machine to respond, she picked up her heels and slipped into them.
"Caleb, if you're there, answer the phone," the male voice said. "I've got a proposition for you I think you're going to like. How would you like to live in Greenville, South Carolina? Give me a call ASAP, and I'll fill you in on the details."
Sheila froze to the spot. How would Caleb like to live in Greenville, South Carolina? What was in Greenville? And who was the man making the proposition? Her heart sank. Surely Caleb wouldn't leave Crooked Oak so soon. He'd been here only a few weeks. Not long enough. Not nearly long enough.
Long enough for what? she asked herself. He's been here long enough for you to fall under his spell again, for you to give him your heart and your body and your very soul. Long enough for you to start hoping for the impossible again!
"Who was that on the phone?" Caleb asked as he emerged from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his lean hips.
"I didn't answer," she said. "He left a message."
"What sort of message?"
Sheila hit the button on the answering machine. "Hear for yourself."
Caleb instantly recognized Dale Harris's baritone drawl. His agent for most of his career, Dale had stood by Caleb after the accident and proved himself a real friend.
The minute Dale mentioned Greenville, Caleb suspected what the proposition was. One of the Braves's minor league teams was home-based in Greenville and there were rumors that A. J. Macias, the team's coach, was thinking about retiring.
"That's my agent, Dale Harris," Caleb told her. "Would you mind if I give him a quick call before I drive you home?"
"I can walk home. It isn't that far."
"Absolutely not. I'm driving you home to change and then we're going to church together and—"
"Make your phone call, first," she said. "You might have to change your plans after you talk to your agent."
"Nothing's going to change my plans for today." He crossed the room hurriedly, grabbed her arm and pulled her up against his chest "Nothing takes priority over my spending time with you today." He kissed her nose. "Have you got that?"
She nodded shyly, bowing her head as feelings of doubt churned in her stomach and uncertainties crept into her mind. She wanted to believe that today was the beginning of a whole new life for her, for Caleb and for Danny. But now her fears cautioned her that she'd been overly optimistic to think she had a future with Caleb.
With his hand around her waist, Caleb pulled her along as he walked across the room, sat on the bed and picked up the telephone. He hauled her onto his lap, lifted her arm and draped it around his neck. "Stay put, honey. This won't take long."
She sat there stiffly, her heart racing, her nerves screaming, as Caleb dialed a number he obviously had memorized. When a male voice answered the call, she leaned her head against Caleb's and waited quietly for him to speak.
"What's this about a proposition I'm going to like?" Caleb asked.
Sheila heard Dale Harris's voice on the other end of the line. "It's definite. A.J. is going to retire in two years and he's told the owners that he'd like to turn the team over to you. They want to talk to you about it, feel you out to see if you're interested. I told them we'd let them know something tomorrow."
"Two years is a long time to wait for a job," Caleb said. "I'll go out of my mind with nothing to do until A.J. retires."
"Hey, I as good as told them that and …" Dale paused for effect. "They suggested you might want to work alongside A.J. as an assistant coach for the next couple of years."
"That's a possibility that interests me, but not nearly as much as the head coaching position." Caleb nuzzled Sheila's neck. She kissed his temple. "How about I drive over to Atlanta tomorrow and we ask them to put us an offer on the table?"
"I knew you'd say that," Dale replied. "So I've set up a tentative meeting for two tomorrow afternoon. And A.J.'s expecting you to meet the guys on the Greenville Braves and see how y'all connect."
"Can't say I hoped I'd be coaching by the time I was thirty." Caleb chuckled, the sound mixed with regret and resignation. "I'd thought it was something I'd be doing when I was well over forty. But at least a coaching job would keep me in the game."
"Why don't you drive on over today and spend the night with Shelby and me?" Dale suggested.
"Can't." Caleb squeezed Sheila's hip. "I've got more important things to do today. See you tomorrow."
As soon as Caleb hung up the receiver, Sheila slid off his lap and stood by the bed. "I'd understand if you want to drive to Atlanta today."
He reached out, took her hands in his and lifted them to his lips. Kissing her hands repeatedly, he made an effort to reassure her. "I want to spend the day with you."
She forced a smile, all the while her heart warned her to beware. "I couldn't help but overhear everything. About the coaching position with the minor league team."
"Yeah, it's great, isn't it, honey? I'm not sure it's what I want to do, but at least it gives me an option that would enable me to stay connected to the game."
"If you decide to take the position as an assistant coach, when would you begin work?"
"I don't know." He stood and put his arm around her shoulders. "Probably right away. Spring training has already started."
"If you take the job, then you'd be moving right away, wouldn't you?"
"Yeah, I'd have to." Noticing the forlorn look on Sheila's face, he tickled her chin, then lifted it, urging her to look directly at him. "Nothing's settled. We haven't even discussed terms, yet. I might not want the assistant's job. I could find something else to occupy my time until A.J. retires and his position is available."
She wanted to scream,
But what about us?
and then realized that there was no
us.
An affair, no matter what the duration, was not a commitment. It wasn't an offer of marriage, and only marriage would ever tie Caleb to her permanently. Whether he left Crooked Oak now or in two weeks or two years, the results would more than likely be the same. When it came time for him to move on, Caleb would leave her and Danny behind and she'd be left to pick up the pieces of her shattered life.
Their idyllic Sunday ended far too soon and Monday morning rolled over her like a steam engine, full speed ahead. After church, they'd eaten at Pete's Café and driven over to Marshallton to the movies. Then Caleb had played catch with Danny and Tanner until dusk and the Finches and Susan and Lowell had stopped by to join them for homemade ice cream.
And after they'd put Danny to bed, she and Caleb had sneaked off outside and made love in a wooded grove behind the house. He had left her, reluctantly, at midnight, but she hadn't slept until nearly dawn.
She stood on the back porch, watching the rain come down in a slow, steady springtime shower. Was Caleb up and getting ready to leave for Atlanta? Or had he left already? Would he think of her while he was gone? Would their relationship affect any of the decisions he made about his future?
The dampness blew onto the porch, a fine mist caressing her face and bare arms. She shivered as the cool moisture touched her.
The telephone rang. She gasped, startled by the unexpected sound. She raced into the kitchen, lifted the receiver from the wall and held her breath.
"Hello?"
"Good morning, sunshine," Caleb said.
"Good morning, yourself." Her heart beat against her chest like a trapped bird.
"I'm fixing to head out, but I wanted to hear your voice one more time."
"I'm so glad you called," she told him. "Please, drive carefully. The roads will be slick and dangerous because of the rain."
"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I'll miss you while I'm gone."
"I'll miss you, too."
"I shouldn't be gone long. Three or four days at most. And when I come back, we might have something to celebrate."
She wanted to beg him to come back to her and never leave her, ever again. But she could hardly do that. Despite what they'd shared, she had no claim on Caleb. She never had and probably never would. She needed to start the process now, while she still could. She had to let Caleb go— in her mind and in her heart. He might come back to Crooked Oak. He might return to her temporarily. But in the end, he would go away and leave her again.
End it now! End it now!
her mind shouted.
Do it before it's too late and you ruin your life and Danny's by trying to hold on to something that never belonged to you in the first place.
"Caleb, I—" She couldn't! Heaven help her, she couldn't. Not if there was one chance in a million. "Come home soon."
"As soon as I can, honey. Believe me, as soon as I can."
Eight
Caleb gave the Realtor a check and the two shook hands. For the first time in years, he knew, for sure and certain, that he was doing the right thing. The coaching job in Greenville would be his in two years, if he still wanted it, and he figured that by then he'd know for sure which would be the best route for him to take. As much as he loved baseball, he really didn't see himself playing assistant coach for twenty-four months, waiting around until A.J. retired. No, what he needed was enough time and space to adjust to his new status as a former athletic superstar. The best place for him was right here in Crooked Oak, where he would always be a hero to the locals.
He had to admit to himself that he wasn't sure how much of a part Sheila Vance played in his decision not to move to Greenville right now. All he knew was that the idea of not seeing Sheila on a regular basis didn't appeal to him in the least. In the two weeks he'd been away, she'd been on his mind day and night. And so had Danny. There was just something about Sheila and her son. Something special.
Was that what he really needed, what he truly wanted—a ready-made family? He'd been tempted to take the job in Greenville simply to escape his possessive feelings about Sheila and Danny. Never in a million years had he ever thought he'd be tempted to settle down in his old hometown with a widow and her child. Hell, he wasn't the settling-down type, wasn't the marrying kind. And he knew Sheila would expect nothing less than forever after. Was he willing to make that kind of a commitment?
He wasn't sure about anything, least of all his feelings about a future with Sheila. But by renting this downtown building and opening a baseball-card shop to fill the endless hours each day, he figured he could take all the time he needed to find out what he really wanted.
Caleb had made the decision yesterday when he'd stayed overnight with Dale and Shelby in Atlanta. And he'd called the Realtor first thing this morning. A certain sense of relief filled him now that he'd made some decisions about the next year. He was going to stay in Crooked Oak, open a baseball-card shop, fiddle around with restoring a few old cars and maybe even do a little farming. He wouldn't mind raising a few head of beef cattle and growing enough grain to feed them.
And he was going to court the Widow Vance. Caleb grinned. Hell, he was going to have a full-blown affair with the woman. He wanted her in his bed every night. Just the thought of the last time they'd made love gave him a rock-solid hard-on.
But he realized he'd probably have to mend a few fences with Sheila. He had kept in touch with her the first week he'd been out of town, but then, when he'd realized just how much the woman meant to him, he'd panicked and pulled back, hoping his feelings for her would change. He hadn't talked to her in a week and she was sure to be upset with him. He had to find a way to make her understand.
He wasn't used to caring so much about another person, to truly needing one specific woman in his life on a daily basis.
Caleb pocketed the keys to the building he'd just leased, exited the Realtor's office and slid behind the wheel of his Porsche. Should he go to the farm and settle in before he contacted Sheila, or should he go straight to the garage? If he called first, he gave her the opportunity to tell him she didn't want to see him. No, his best course of action was to go directly to her, face her wrath and then drag her out of the garage and straight to the nearest bed.
Sheila kicked the tire on the Honda, then winced when pain shot up her foot and leg. Damn! For the past week she'd been taking her frustration and anger out on any inanimate object available whenever thoughts of Caleb Bishop crossed her mind. That man! That inconsiderate, uncaring SOB! She should have known better. She wasn't some starry-eyed teenager any longer. Why hadn't she listened to her head instead of her heart? If she had, she wouldn't be hurting so much right now, and she wouldn't be so furious.
She hadn't heard a word from Caleb in a week. He had planned to be away only a few days. Those few days had turned into a week and then into
two
weeks. He probably wasn't ever coming back to Crooked Oak. And that was just fine and dandy with her. She didn't care if he never came back.
Liar!
an inner voice mocked
her.
You
care. You care too damn much. You're dying
inside and
you know it. All your hopes and dreams have gone
up in
smoke. Caleb Bishop used you again. And left you,
just as
he did twelve years ago.
Sheila slammed down
the Honda's
hood, dropped the wrench into her toolbox
and pulled out a
rag from the back pocket of her overalls.
Tanya
Tucker's gravelly voice belted out her latest country
hit
from the CD player at the back of the garage. Checking her watch, Sheila realized it was past lunchtime, nearly one. Her stomach growled.
She had a full afternoon ahead of her, with Mike gone for the rest of the day to accompany Christy to her doctor's appointment. Today the sonogram should reveal the sex of her brother's child, and he was beyond excited.
Wiping her hands on the orange rag, Sheila thought about her own pregnancy. She'd been eighteen, alone and scared. And Daniel Vance had been her rescuer, marrying her, loving her and giving her baby a father. What would she have done without him? No woman should go through a pregnancy alone, without her man at her side.
Caleb Bishop had missed out on one of life's most precious experiences.
Stop thinking about him! she admonished herself. Stop torturing yourself with what-ifs.
He's gone. Out of your life. And good riddance. He'd have been nothing but trouble for you and Danny.
Sheila washed up hurriedly, pulled her bologna sandwich and bag of chips out of the paper sack, poured herself a cup of hours-old coffee and propped her behind down on an uncluttered spot on her desk. While quickly devouring the sandwich and chips, she answered the phone twice. Once a wrong number. And once a customer checking on his car. Each time the phone rang, her heart jumped up in her throat. Stupid woman! she chided herself. Do you really think Caleb is going to call?
Just as she dumped the trash in the wastebasket, she heard a vehicle pull up outside the garage. Craning her neck to glance out the window, she saw Caleb's Porsche. Every muscle in her body froze.
What was he doing here? Had he come to say goodbye? Well, he needn't have bothered. She'd already said goodbye to him, already cut him out of her heart.
You're lying to yourself again,
that little inner voice told her.
Oh, my gosh, she must look a fright. No makeup. Her hair held off her face with a headband and her body encased in a pair of baggy overalls. She shouldn't care what he thought of her, but dammit, she did care.
She licked her lips. Caleb walked toward the front entrance. No time to even run a comb through her hair, she thought as he opened the office door.
Act nonchalant,
the voice advised. As
if you don't care that he's back in town, as if you aren't the least bit interested in anything he has to say.
Caleb stepped over the threshold and hesitated.
"Hello, honey," he said in that deep, molasses-rich Southern baritone.
Despite her intentions to remain unaffected by his presence, she glared at him, a frown marring her features, "Hello, Caleb."
"Where's Mike? Looks like you're holding down the fort all by yourself today."
"Mike's with Christy. She's having a sonogram done today. They'll find out if the baby's a boy or girl."
"That's great." Caleb took a tentative step forward, then stopped abruptly when Sheila turned her back on him and headed out of the office and into the workstation. "I guess you're pretty busy, huh?"
"Very."
Go away, Caleb,
she wanted to scream.
Go away and leave me alone. I never want to see you again.
"I know I should have called you this past week," he said as he followed her out into the garage. "But I wanted to wait until I'd made some definite decisions before I talked to you again."
"There's no reason for you to have called," she told him. "You didn't make me any promises. We don't have a commitment."
"You're angry, aren't you? I knew you would be. I'm sorry, honey. It's just that—"
Bracing her hands on her hips, she turned to face him, her eyes glimmering with rage. "Look, Caleb, just say what you have to say and then leave. Okay? You don't need to make any pretty speeches or try to soothe my feelings. You didn't bother with any of that nonsense twelve years ago and there's no reason for you to bother now."
"Do you want to sock me in the jaw? Would that make you feel better?" He turned his cheek and stuck out his chin.
"I don't want to hit you! I just want you to leave. Go away and don't ever bother me again."
Taking slow, steady steps in her direction, Caleb grinned, his smile curving the left side of his mouth. "I'm afraid I can't oblige you. I have no intention of going away. And I have plans to bother you a lot during the next year."
"What?" Had she heard him correctly? How could he bother her during the next year when he'd be hundreds of miles away in South Carolina?
"I honestly don't know what the future holds for you and me, but I'm going to stick around and find out." He neared her, only a couple of feet separating them.
"You—you're going to stick around? Here? In Crooked Oak?"
"Yep."
"But what about the coaching job in Greenville?"
Don't let your hopes soar. Don't start dreaming again.
"The job is mine in two years, if I still want it," Caleb said. "I decided against the assistant's job."
"You're going to stay in Crooked Oak for the next two years?"
Even if he stays, it doesn't mean he's staying because of you.
"For the next year, at least." He moved closer.
She backed away from him. "The next year?"
"Yeah, I just leased space downtown," he told her. "I'm going to put in a baseball-card shop to give me something to do when I'm not tinkering on antique cars here at the garage or overseeing my cattle out on the farm."
"Baseball-card shop?" she mumbled. "Tinkering? Overseeing cattle? When did you decide all this?"
"Last night, as a matter of fact." He reached for her, but she eluded him, backing up against the wall. Smiling, he trapped her there, his big body blocking her escape. "No promises. No commitments. Not yet. But I know one thing for sure. I don't want to lose you, Sheila. I need you. And I've never needed another woman. Not ever."
Please, don't do this to me,
she wanted to beg him.
Don't say these things. Don't offer me hope. Don't let me believe that there's a chance for us. For you and me and Danny.
She couldn't think. Couldn't breathe. Caleb was too close. Shutting her eyes to avoid the sight of him, she leaned her head back into the wall and clenched her teeth.
He caressed her cheek with his, his breath warm against her skin.
"Any chance you can close the garage for an hour?" he whispered seductively. "I've missed you a hell of a lot, sweetheart." His big, hard body pressed into hers, showing her just how much he had missed her, how very much he wanted her.
Opening her eyes, she stared at him. "Are you staying in Crooked Oak because of me?"
"Weren't you listening?" He rubbed her nose with his. "You're the only reason I'm staying. I'm not ready to give up what I've found with you. I want to hang around and see what happens."
"What—what do you think will happen?" She wanted to touch him, to open her arms and welcome him home. But her instincts warned her to go slow, to be cautious.
"I don't know," he said. "Anything. Everything."
"Or nothing."
"Something has already happened." He cupped her face in his big hands. "I've finally found a woman I need as much as I want."
"Caleb, I can't afford to play games. I have a life here. A job. And most important, I have a child who depends totally on me."
"I'm not asking you to give up any of that." Lowering his head, he brushed her lips with his. "I just want to be a part of your life. I want us to be friends and lovers."
"What about Danny?" she asked breathlessly.
"What about Danny? Well, I think Danny and I could be buddies. I'd make sure he understood that you and I didn't know exactly where our relationship was going and that there was a good chance that I'd eventually move to Greenville."
"Substitute father for a year." Would that be fair to Danny? Somehow she'd find a way to survive when Caleb left again, but did she dare risk letting Caleb break her son's heart, too?
"Can't we take things one day at a time?"
The phone rang. Sheila jumped. Caleb glanced over his shoulder at the telephone on the wall.
"I need to answer that," she told him.
He stepped back, allowing her room to maneuver around him. She hurried across the garage and lifted the receiver from the hook.
"Hanley Garage and Tow Truck Service." Sheila paused to listen. "Oh, my God! Yes, I'll be right there."
"What's wrong?" Caleb asked. "It's not Danny, is it?"
"No. No. That was Lowell. He's on his way to an accident. There's been a bad wreck out on Highway 20. They'll need a tow truck."
"Someone you know?"
"Lowell said he was told it was Jeb and Renee Holder's teenage daughter, Misty, and a friend of hers. The girls took a turn out near the Mackays' farm doing what Mr. Mackay said was at least seventy-five miles an hour. Misty lost control of her dad's old truck."
"Then it's bad."
"Yeah, it is. I've got to go. Lowell said that Misty is trapped in the truck," she told Caleb. "We really need to talk more later. Come by the house tonight and—"
"I'll ride out to the sight of the wreck with you," he said.
"But there's no need for you to … Oh, well, okay. Let's go!"
Within ten minutes, they arrived at the scene. Lowell Redman met them the minute Sheila parked the tow truck.
"An ambulance is on its way and a med flight from Nashville, too, just in case." He explained, "Paula Carlow was thrown through the windshield. Richard, my deputy, gave her CPR and she's breathing on her own, but it looks bad. And Misty is trapped inside the truck. I'm afraid that old pile of scrap metal could catch fire any minute now."
"Then we don't have any time to waste," Sheila said. "We'll use my Jaws of Life and open that old truck like a sardine can."
"What can I do to help?" Caleb asked.
"Keep a lookout for the ambulance," Lowell said. "And if any cars stop to sightsee, tell them the sheriff said to keep going. I don't want the road blocked or a bunch of curious townsfolk getting in the way."
Caleb nodded agreement, then stood back and watched as Lowell and Sheila went to work trying to free the trapped teenager. He glanced over to an oak tree where the deputy tended to a dark-haired young girl, her face and body covered in blood. A shudder racked Caleb's body. Memories flashed through his mind. Another accident. The sight of blood. The smell of death.
No! Don't think about it! Don't remember!
When he'd first awakened in the hospital nearly a year ago, he hadn't been able to remember anything at first. But day by day, the memories had returned. Vivid. Traumatic. Frightening. And then he'd wished that the temporary amnesia had lasted forever.
The wail of the ambulance brought him out of his painful thoughts. He motioned the driver onto the gravel road near the wrecked truck. The attendants jumped out and rushed over to the girl named Paula. When Lowell Redman shouted that they had the truck open, Caleb hurried toward them.
"We've got to lift her out of there. Now! Smell the gasoline?"
Lowell dove inside the truck. "Call those paramedics over here. I don't want to move her, but I don't think I have a choice."
Caleb called out and one of the medics nodded and came running to them. Working as quickly and carefully as possible, they placed a brace around her neck and then removed her from the wrecked vehicle.
Within minutes, an explosion rocked the ground and a thundercloud of fire and smoke rose into the sky.
Caleb breathed in the scent of smoke and gasoline, absorbed the disaster with all his senses. As the clear blue sky turned black with billows of smoke, he stood in the open field and trembled from head to toe.