Just a Little Faith (19 page)

 

Over the
next couple of weeks
,
Pax spent almost every evening with Seb
or
Tori.
She
knew better than to put a great friendship on the back
burner for the possibility of one with a man. Tori made her laugh
,
always clamoring for any morsel of information
she
provided about Seb.

Tori
sprawled
on Pax's couch, a bowl of ice cream in hand as a reality show played on the TV in the background. “So, has he mentioned me to any of his friends?”

Leaning over the couch, Pax held her spoon up in the air. “Tori, I hate to tell you this, but your name doesn't really come up in general conversation.”

“But if he did, you know, mention me
.
Y
ou'd make sure to only speak of me in glowing terms right?”

“Yes
,
Tori. If your name ever crosses Seb's lips, I'll make sure those in the surrounding counties know
you're
a decent and loving girl. Who shops too much.”

A pillow smacked her across the chest followed by
Tori's
giggle.
Laying her bowl on the coffee table, Pax reached for the pillow on the other end of the couch. “Oh. Is that the way you're going to play it? Well hang on to your socks girl because
I'm
about to lay you out!”

A loud whoosh filled the
room
as the pillow
flew through the air and landed on Tori's face. Not to be outdone, Tori jumped off the couch, bowl and spoon falling to the carpet spilling ice cream in several directions. Tori gave them a glance and grimaced before flinging her pillow at Pax.

Knocking the pillow away from her head, Pax spoke in a mock-menacing tone. “Oh you've done it now
,
Tori. I hope you know how to clean because that mess is all you, my friend.”

As more blows landed and incessant giggles filled the small apartment, Ace and KC scurried to hide underneath the recliner.
With eyes as big as saucers
,
the cats watched the girls fight until they collapsed together into a pile on the couch, breathless from laughter.

****

Even though they spent a majority of their time together, Pax never mentioned attending church to Seb. She didn't want to push him
,
but prayed
he
would
join her again sometime
.
As much as she enjoyed being with him, a part of her held back. S
he knew their relationship
c
ould not progress beyond its current state if he couldn
'
t make the decision to commit to a relationship with the Lord. She
remained
hopeful a desire for Jesus in his life would one day come to fruition.

But
, right now
,
Seb immersed himself in
a grueling
off-season workout program. Pax didn't know if she should be concerned about the amount of time he spent exercising or not
.
Whether he
overload
ed
himself with strenuous workouts to keep his mind off of the girls
,
or
if he devoted this much time as a regular routine
, she never questioned him
.
Since
she
'
d never dated a professional athlete before
,
she figured he knew
his body well enough to be careful
.

With t
he Thanksgiving holiday approaching, Pax toyed with the idea of inviting Sebastian back to her home in Alabama. Her family always got together with her
dad's
parents
,
and Pax
didn't
plan to miss it even with the eight-hour drive to get there.

Pax knew the holidays would be hard for Sebastian
,
and didn't want to intrude if he had already made plans with his parents. But after tossing the idea around for a few days she bucked up and asked him one night at dinner.

“I don't plan to go back to California anytime soon
,
Pax. I mainly spent the holidays there to see the girls. I know it will be just as difficult for my parents as it is for me this year and
,
at my encouragement
,
they've
booked a trip overseas for almost the entire month of December.
It's my
Christmas gift to them.”

“Well, if you would like to, you are more than welcome to come to Alabama with me for the holidays. I know it
might not be easy
,
but my family would love to have you.”

Sebastian reached across the table
to grasp
Pax's hand. “Thank you for the invitation. I promise
I'll
consider it.”

A few days before she planned to leave for Alabama, her office phone rang.

“This is Pax.”

“There's a handsome fella out here in the lobby. He says if you
don't have time for him
, he's going to dump you for your charming receptionist.”

“
T
ell him
to come on back.
Oh
,
and
tell him, he if thinks the receptionist is so great
,
he should try and take you shoe shopping some time
.
‘
Charming
'
might not be the word I would
use to
describe you when
you're
on a hunt for the perfect pair of pumps.”

Tori responded with a “Harrump” and P
ax replaced the phone, laughing.

“Hey you.”

Her heart still skipped a beat every time she heard
the quiet timbre of his
voice. Looking
toward the door
,
his
handsome
face
peered around the door
. “Hey
,
yourself. This is a nice surprise. What brings you by?”

“I know you're busy, but I've been thinking about what you asked me.” Seb moved from the doorway to the chair in front of her desk. “I appreciate you asking me to join your family for the holiday. And if the invitation is still open, I'd like to go.”

“Oh
,
Bash! I'm so glad
.
M
y family is anxious to meet you. Plus,
they
put together a pretty mean Thanksgiving feast if I say so myself.”

“Well, you know when you mention food
,
I crumble.”
She smiled, then frowned
,
as he
leaned over
to look at the floor
, clasping his hands
between his legs
. “There's one condition
,
Pax.
”

A sense of dread flooded her body. “Okay. I'm listening.”

“
Let's fly down instead of driving, my treat.”

A sigh of relief escaped her lips.
“Bash, you don't have to do that. I don't mind the drive. I've done it several times.”

“
Look, the time you have with your family is short as it is. Let me
pay to
fly us down, we can be there in an hour or so
,
and then rent a car for the rest of the visit.”

Paxson
c
ontinued
to resist
until
Seb interrupted. “Look, you have done so much for me. Please let me do this for you.”

Her elbow resting on the desk, she placed her chin in her palm
, cocked her head
and smiled.
“How can I say no? Thank you.
You're
too good to me.”

He
placed
his hand on her arm, his touch sending
jolts of electricity
down her spine. “No, Pax.
You're
too good to me.”

Smiling in return, she couldn't help but wonder exactly what he meant by that.

****

J
am packed events with family and friends
, the holiday went by
quickly
.
Seb appreciated the warm reception he received from all of
Paxson
's family. Every family member he met embraced him as if he was one of their own. What he
'd
feared would be a stifling and overwhelming situation, turned out quite the opposite. Welcoming him into their family didn't mean they were intrusive, but rather willing to let him participate in activities on his own terms
,
as his emotions would allow.

Keeping himself in check went better than he thought until their third day there. Jessica, Pax's sister
,
led an energetic life chasing after three little ones. Her husband
,
Shaun
,
realizing her need for some down time without the kids
,
offered to take them outside for a few hours
so Jessica could relax
.
Watching
Shaun and his girls
through the window
while they
play
ed
together
in the backyard,
an intense feeling of loss
hit Seb
all of a sudden
.
The hole in his heart seemed to deepen and widen in that brief moment.
Although most of the family chatted like nothing unusual happened, Seb
quickly
le
ft
the room and escape
d
to the upstairs guest room
.

Sitting on one of the two twin beds occupying the room, he buried his head in his hands. Light tapping sounded on the door. Assuming Pax had come to check on him, he didn't raise his head. “It's okay Pax. I'll be
alright
in a minute.”

“Seb. Can I come in?”

Surprised, Seb looked up to see Brad, Pax's father in the doorway. “Sure sir, come on in.”

Crossing the room,
the older man
sat across from him on the other twin bed.
Although in his
late
sixties, Pax's dad didn't look a day over fifty. An avid runner, he kept in great shape through diet and exercise. Seb could only hope to look as good Brad at that age.

“I
can't
imagine what
you're
going through right now. I have gone over and over in my mind what it would feel like if I lost Pax, Rachel and Jessica. I think I might go crazy if
that
happened. But I have to tell you son, it's evident to me how much you loved your daughters.”

“I did
,
sir. So much.”

“I know
,
Seb. If you didn't, then it wouldn't be
so
hard to see Shaun with his kids. I give you a lot of credit for agreeing to come out here
.
A lot of people in your situation would have chosen to sit at home and dwell on their grief. But you didn't do that
.
And I commend you.”

Brad reached across the room
placing
his hand on Seb's knee. “You also have every right to be sad and to
get
emotional about it. None of us will ever think ill of you for needing to get away when things get too difficult.
It's going to take time, don't forget that.”

He gave
Seb's knee a squeeze
and then
he
slipped out of the room.

****

Seb dropped
Pax
off at her apartment on the way home from the airport
after their return flight
.
He
seemed more exhausted than usual
,
and
Pax
realized he
'
d been covering
up his emotions
more than she realized. “Bash, I'm sorry I wasn't more considerate to realize how difficult it would be for you to see my sisters' children. I apologize.”

He turned to her, eyes wet with unshed tears.
“No. Don't apologize. I don't begrudge the fact your sisters have beautiful kids.
I'm
happy for them, truly I am.
I'm
going to have to learn to deal with events like this. The sooner the better.”
His gaze turned to look out the front windshield, his thoughts elsewhere.

Taking his hand in hers
, she paused before speaking
.
“Do you want to come up for a while?”

“No. I think I better get home and get unpacked. I've got to work off all the pounds I put on at your grandmother's house if
I'm
going to be in shape for the season.”
His soft attempt at humor didn't hide his sadness.

Pax nodded in understanding. “Don't overdo it
,
and get some rest. I'll talk to you later.”

Sebastian kissed her on the cheek
before she got out
of the car and
retrieved her small bag from the back seat.

Putting the car in reverse, he raised his hand in her direction
,
and
then
drove off. Paxson realized
that
for
the first time
since they met, Seb
hadn't gotten out to open the door for her.