Just a Little Faith (9 page)

“It wasn't a hard decision to make…well, for Jim to make. He could see
,
as I could
, that
LLS
is
a good organization and well suited to my lifestyle of athleticism
…
You know, I never asked you how you became involved in the organization in the first place.”

She released his hand and stood
to
clear the dishes from the table
.
S
he
'd
told him about her experience as a participant in the Team in Training program
.
“I liked the idea of helping others and
,
in a way, helping myself at the same time. It certainly drove me to be a better person in many ways. Going through the program got me in the best shape of my life. I wasn't always one to go out and exercise but in working with the trainers, it generated a love of going outside and getting my blood pumping.
”

She leaned against the doorframe. “
Now I try and meet up with the training teams on Saturdays
if
my schedule allows. I think it helps the participants realize there are
rea
l people in the organization, besides the trainers themselves, who are actually LLS employees.
Did I tell you p
art of Michael's job is canvassing the area for local runners, bikers, swimmers, or other athletes who are willing to volunteer their time with our program
?
Most of our trainers are also doctors, computer scientists, engineers,
and the like
.”

Sebastian
followed her into the kitchen, leaning back against the cabinets while she stacked the dishes in the sink.
“Honestly, I had never heard of LLS
or
Team in Training before Jim found the listing somewhere.
I'm
glad
we decided to come and meet with you.
For many reasons.
”

H
er face warm
ed
.
“Well, I admit
I'm
glad you did too…
And having someone of your caliber as one of our spokespeople will help in letting others know about our charity and what it has to offer. Perhaps in the future, people won't just have to happen upon us in a charity listing. They will know who we are first and want to be a part of what we do.”

Pax
started to
put the remaining food up in the refrigerator
when
s
he popped her head up from the open door of the fridge
.
“How are you feeling? Any adverse reactions to the cats? If so, I can make your to-go plate before I put all the food up?”

G
roan
ing
,
he
grabbed her waist from behind and spun her around in his arms.

“You are right. You do have quite a mouth on you
.
”

Before she could react, he leaned his head down
claiming
her lips
.
His touch was gentle
.
S
he
remained
frozen in place with shock
, b
ut as he continued to move his mouth over hers, her arms
instinctively
came up to intertwine behind his neck.
She inhaled his breath as it mingled with hers.
Lost in the moment,
she felt her back
press
against the
cool metal of the
refrigerator
door
. T
he intensity of the kiss
grew
.
The feel of his lips on hers ignited a flame within her she'd never experienced before. A battle between what she wanted and what she needed to do raged on in her mind.
She had to stop
before the feelings s
urging
within her swept her out of control.

S
he
p
ressed her hands on his chest
, forcing him to step back so she could escape
his arms. She walked the length of the kitchen before she turned to face him.
She touched her lips with her fingers
still
feeling the burn of his kisses, passion overwhelming every part of her body. Suddenly, she felt a chill, missing the warmth of his arms around her.
She inhaled
a
deep breath
,
and
her heart raced against her chest.

“Seb… I, um…”

Pax had never felt a rush of emotion like this before and
didn't know
what to do.

Seb
motioned toward the living room
.
“Why don't we go and put in a movie or something? You had some titles on the shelf I haven't see
n
yet.”

Pax nodded her head
, her legs on the verge of collapse. She
hop
ed
by the time she
reached a chair
her heart would have slowed down enough he couldn't hear it beating across the room.

****

For the first time,
a woman
walked away from him in a passionate moment. It wasn't as if
Seb
expected things to escalate to her bedroom, but for Pax to cut him off
just as things were starting to heat up
stunned him. He wasn't sure how to take her reaction.
He replayed
their kiss, his heart racing when he remembered the soft touch of her lips and her hands as they splayed across his neck. For the life of him, he didn't understand what happened. He
'd
been
enjoying himself
.
Hadn't
she?

I
n the living room, he sat on the
couch;
she chose the chair across the room.
Her actions
reminded him of a timid creature
,
afraid to be touched
, but somehow he couldn't imagine it. She was a beautiful girl. He felt confident she had been with other men before.
What woman in her thirties hadn't?

She didn't stay seated long
before
vault
ing
up from the chair.

“What movie were you interested in? I can get us some popcorn if you like. Or perhaps something else? Maybe something to drink?”

If Seb
hadn't been
so confused
,
he would have laughed at her behavior.
She
chatter
ed
like a magpie.

“Pax. I'm fine. I don't need a thing. How
about we watch
Apollo 13
? I've
only seen bits and pieces of it.”

Nodding
,
s
he
picked the movie up off the
shelf,
slid the DVD in
,
and
returned to
the chair across the room.

“Pax? Did I do something wrong?
I may need a bullhorn to talk to you way over there…”

His attempt at humor f
e
ll flat
. S
he
refused to look at him
, choosing
rather
to
look
down at her legs curled up in the seat under her.

“It's nothing you did
,
Seb. I just needed to catch my breath for a moment and regroup.” She fiddled with a thread coming off the end of her sweater. “Suggesting the movie was a good idea.”

“Okay. But I promise I won't bite if you sit over here on the other end of the couch
.
”

Her head shook.
“Oh
,
it's okay.
I'm
comfortable right here. I love this chair. It was my grandmother's and I love to sit in it.”

Shrugging
his shoulders
he
turned toward the TV
. Maybe she wasn't intere
sted in him after all
,
but he knew he
felt something for her. His mind swirled with questions
.

When the movie
finally ended
, Seb got up from the couch
while
Pax eased out of the chair. It was the first time
since their initial meeting
he felt awkward in her
presence
. H
e didn't want this to be over with Pax before it really began.

“Hey
,
Pax.
Would you
be interested in going to Union Station tomorrow night? Have you been there before? They have shops, restaurants
,
and other activities.”

A look of relief crossed her face at his suggestion. “I have been there before, but several years ago. I
'
ve wanted to visit again since I moved here.”

“Good. I'll come by
here tomorrow around 4 o'clock
then. It will give us plenty of time to walk around and have dinner.”

She agreed and followed him toward the door.
Opening it, she leaned against the frame.

Although she seemed to be
feeling
more at ease, Sebastian
didn't know what to do
. D
ecid
ing to
give her
a
goodnight hug
,
he
whispered, “
You're
a great cook
.
Or at least the poison hasn't taken
effect
yet.”
She
giggle
d
in his ear as she
hug
ged
him
in return
.

A
genuine smile
caressed her
lovely features.
Seb smiled. “I'll see you tomorrow.”

 

All
throughout the day
, Pax
's
thoughts strayed
to
the previous night's events.
Standing in the kitchen preparing lunch, s
he
paused as memories rushed through her mind. The feel of
Seb's
lips on hers
and
his warm breath cascading down her neck sent tingles
along
her spine.
She shook her head
to
clear the thoughts. Sebastian had no idea the effect he had on her.
Although
she knew the kiss was
innocent enough
,
the touch of
his hands on her
body
sent her heart racing
.
She
w
ould have been
clay in his hands
if she hadn't come to her senses
.

Embarrassment over not telling him why she reacted
so strongly
also bothered her.
She shouldn't be ashamed
,
but she also knew i
t wasn
'
t often she had to tell a member of the opposite sex she
planned to
sav
e
herself for marriage. She had a pretty good idea Sebastian
had
never heard that one before
.

Hesitation crept into her mind
.
A handsome guy
showing interest
f
lattered and shocked
her.
D
id she really
have any business i
n continuing this relationship…
friendship…
this “
thing
”
going on
between them
?
She desired companionship
.
She
didn't relish
the thought of being alone
,
and
she hoped to one day settle down with a good
man
—
a moral, God-loving guy.

F
or all accounts
Seb fit the nice guy qualification to a T
, but God-fearing
…
that
was
a whole other matter.
His first marriage
broke
up because of infidelity on both sides.
Pax didn't know if h
e would be faithful to one woman
…
ever
.
He as much
as
admitted to her th
eir
first night
out
he
didn't
plan to get serious with anyone.
You better get a hold of yourself Pax
,
or this could end badly.

Doubts overshadow
ed
her excitement.
Standing in the bathroom
putting
on her mascara, she paused. Staring at herself in the mirror, she knew what needed to happen.
A
fter tonight
,
she
needed
to find a way to tell Sebastian Quinn “no” the next time he called. With his kind
,
s
miling face
always
popping up in her thoughts
, she
didn't look forward to the
conversation.

Four o'clock arrived
,
and a tap sounded on her door
.
Quick
to answer at the first knock
, she swung it open
, heart racing at his appearance. He
casually lean
ed
against the door frame, hand
s
i
n the front pocket
s
of his
jeans
, a smile on his face
.
Thankfully
,
it seemed
his
reaction to her previous night's behavior
was
now a
far memory.

“Hey there
.
Ready to go?
” His eyes traveled down her body, stirring the butterflies in her stomach. “
You might want to bring a little bit heavier coat… I think it's going to be chilly tonight.”

Not for me. Just being by your side warms me to the core.
Could he make this any more difficult to try t
o cool things off between them
?

Pax slipped off the lightweight jacket she'd originally put on
,
and grabbed her leather
coat from the closet by the door
.
F
e
eling
his hands take the coat from her
,
she easily put her arms in the sleeves.
Smiling back at him in thanks, she
determined to enjoy this evening as much as possible
.
I can put my doubts aside for a few hours and
relish in
our
last
evening together
.

Union Station
bubbled with energy
. The various shops bustl
ed
with people fil
ing
in and out
,
perusing the merchandise displayed within their walls
.
Pax and Seb
spent the first hour walking around
,
occasionally stopping in
one of the stores
if something caught their eye
, though neither made a purchase
.

Pax's
first real taste of being with a celebrity arrived
when they approached the Cardinals Clubhouse store.
Fans
ask
ed
him for his autograph
,
and
he
g
raciously signed everything put in front of him
.
A bit overwhelmed,
Pax shied
away to stand inside
a store
.

Once they dispersed
,
she
saw him look around for her. Catching her eye, he walked toward her, a sheepish look on his face
.
She chuckled.
“It's funny how I forget who you are
at
times. We've only known each other a
few days
, but I feel comfortable enough with you
that
the celebri
ty status ha
s
worn off
,
I guess.
W
hen the people came rushing
over, I initially didn't understand why. It
g
ot a little crazy
.”

He
put his arm around her
.
“
I'm glad to know you'd forgotten about
the ‘celebrity' thing
for a little while
.
One day,
I hope you'll feel
comfortable even when the crowds rush in
.”

One day.
A grumbling noise erupted from Pax's stomach. Covering her middle with her arms, she grimaced. “
Perhaps I didn't eat enough lunch today.”

He laughed and whispered
close to
her ear
,
“
We better take care of that monster in your
stomach
.
Let's find somewhere to eat.
”

Enjoying a
scrumptious
steak at the
Station Grille
,
Paxson
knew the
awkwardness from the
previous
night
slip
ped
away
.
It didn't hurt
that
Seb acted as if nothing changed between them.

After leaving some cash on the table, he waited while she gathered her purse and coat. T
urn
ing
to face him
,
she bit her lip. “
I was wondering if you would mind if we stopped by The Fudgery
?
It
's the one place I
remember
visiting when I
w
as a little girl
. I'm curious to see if it's still as entertaining and delicious as I remember.”

“Sure. I haven't been there in a while myself.
We'll go right now
!” Pax's heart quickened when she felt Seb's hand slip
around
hers
and it
remained ensconced
there
while t
hey stood and laughed a
t
the cooks prepar
ing
the fudge in their unique manner
.

Pax noticed a somewhat familiar
man
slipping
quietly
through the
crowd
to approach them.
He tapped Seb on the shoulder, his
face br
eaking
out in a large smile
.
I
mmediately
Seb
released her hand and hugged the man.
“Paxson,
” Seb placed his arm around the other man's shoulders. “T
his is one of the guys I have wanted you to meet. Linc, this is Paxson Taylor.”

Linc. Of course!
I
knew h
e looked familiar.
It never ceased to amaze her how different they looked out of their baseball uniform
s
.

“Hello Linc. It's great to meet you! I can definitely say I have heard
a lot
about you.”

Linc rolled his eyes nudg
ing
Seb with his shoulder.
“You know
to
only believe half of what he tells you
,
don't you? He and Rangy are the real troublemakers. I'm just there to clean up the mess
.
”

Seb
shook his head in disbelief
as
Paxson laugh
ed
.
“Seb
might have
mentioned you were the responsible one of the group.”

“That's right
.
It's my goal in life to try and keep them walking the straight and narrow as much as possible.
” Linc leaned over
to
her.
“
Sometimes, I feel
I'm
a miserable failure.”

She smiled.
Pax
immediately took a liking to
Linc
.
She could
see in the way he spoke, he had Sebastian's best interest at heart.
It pleased her
Seb
had
Linc in his life.

Seb looked around the crowd. “So… what brings you out here? Where are Traci and the boys?”

“Traci is looking in one of the shops over there.
” He pointed in the direction from where he'd walked earlier. “
I told her I thought I saw you
.
She said she'd be right out. Of course, right out to her and right out to me are quite
different
lengths
of time
. But as you know
,
it's rare she gets a night away from the Killer Bees.”

Paxson wrinkled her nose a
t
the descriptive name. “Killer Bees? Seb didn't mention anyone with that name.”

Seb
laughed.
“The Killer Bees are Linc's twin boys, Brett and Bradley. They are what… four now? Linc and Traci lucked out on getting two for the price of one.”

“Oh
,
wow.
” Pax couldn't imagine.
“
You let that poor woman shop as much as she wants!”

“I will don't you worry. I know who the real boss of the family is.”
His face brightened. “Well, what do you know, I see her coming
,
and she doesn't have forty bags in tow. This is a good night
for my wallet
.”