One Thursday Morning: Inspirational Christian Romance (Diamond Lake Series Book 1) (4 page)

A cool early morning breeze nipped at my bare shoulders two days later on my way out the door to go work at the
Inn at the Lake
. I went back inside and retrieved a sweater. My eye caught a picture of my late mother on the dresser as I put on a red sweater that she had gotten me the Christmas before she passed. My heart longed to see her again, even to just hear her sweet voice once more. But I knew it’d have to wait until the day we reunite in heaven. Her passing was hard, but the regrets I had afterward were harder. I should have visited a bit more, nagged a bit less, and thanked her for all she had done. She wasn’t perfect, but she was my mother and I loved her. Though she gave me the advice to stay with John, I believe she would have been proud of all I had achieved after I left John. I imagined my mother playing with my sweet baby, Hope, in heaven. I know she would’ve been so thrilled to be a grandmother.

After letting the moment slip away, I headed out the door and drove to the inn for a couple of hours of work before I enjoyed my day off. Pulling into the driveway of the inn, I saw Charlie’s car.
For not liking Jody, he sure comes around here a lot.
Fumbling in my mind for an excuse, I arrived at the idea that I needed a drink of water and thus, the reason I was going to go in. The real reason, though, was Charlie. He was too mysterious and cute to not want to know more.

Quietly, I went in through the front door of the inn. Jody had told me I could let myself in whenever I needed. Tiptoeing to remain inconspicuous, I glided through the foyer and toward the kitchen. I could hear them around the corner in the kitchen, so I pressed myself up against the wall and lent an ear to listen.

“Charlie, like I’ve told you before, there is just
nothing
we can do.” Jody’s words were strained.

“Yeah, I know, Jody. I guess I just expected more.”

Hearing him walk the floor of the kitchen toward the foyer—and thus me—I jerked forward and began walking. We almost bumped into each other, and we both sidestepped to the left, then the right.

“Sorry,” we both said.

The frown he was carrying from the kitchen hinted at a smile for the moment as our eyes met. His forest green eyes and musky cologne pulled me. When he touched my arms and shifted me to the opposite side so he could get by, a fire ignited inside me. The sensation of his fingers clasping against my skin swept a tidal wave of warmth throughout my body. Being over a year since I was with John, I missed the warmth of another’s touch. We both kept walking, but I couldn’t help but look back at him. To my joy, he was also looking at me and smiling.

“Amy,” Jody said from behind me, pulling my attention away from Charlie as he left out the door. I looked at her as she asked, “What are you doing in here? The flower beds are almost done.” She lifted her chin as she peered behind her in the hallway that led into the kitchen, which still held a view of the French doors leading to the outside balcony. “Or did you finish them?”

“I, uh. I was going to go do that now.”

“Why’d you come in then?” she questioned.

“I needed a drink,” I replied. As Jody went over to the cupboard, my mind drifted back to Charlie. “How do you know Charlie?” I asked.

Pulling a glass from the cupboard, she said, “He’s my stepson.”

My eyebrows shot up. “
Really?
Wow.”

“Why’s that ‘wow’?” she asked, bringing me a cup of water. Taking it from her, I took a drink as I tried to fabricate a response.

Shrugging, I replied, “I don’t know.”

Jody slowly nodded. “Charles . . . he’s a bit difficult, but I love that kid.” Her eyes followed my cup as I set it down on the counter. Raising an eyebrow, I knew the look she was giving me. It said, ‘I’m not paying you to sit around and drink water.’ Taking the cue, I headed out the French doors that led out to the balcony. Spotting Charlie pushing a canoe out onto the water, I stopped at the railing and watched. He didn’t have a shirt on, even though the air was still chilly outside that morning, but I wasn’t about to run down there and tell him to put one on. His defined shoulders and unclothed torso reminded me again of how long it had been since I had the close touch of a man. I missed the comfort of a man’s arms around me in the form of a hug. Those feelings of being protected and cherished were but a
very
distant memory. Memories that were tucked away under layers and years of abuse, worry and anxiety. Seeing Charlie made me begin to wonder how Charlie’s arms around me would make me feel. Could he bring me those once familiar feelings? My mind soon drifted elsewhere as I admired his body.
This is a sin,
I told myself, breaking my concentration off the hunky eye candy. Continuing to the end of the balcony, I headed down to start in on the flower beds.

After finishing a grueling morning of work in the flower beds, I realized on my way home I had forgotten my sweater on the railing of the upper. Sweater or no sweater, I wasn’t going back to Jody’s. I had a handful of errands to run, as it was my only day off. After finishing everything around town I needed to do, I had plans for a night that was going to consist of reruns of General Hospital and bonbons—a new favorite treat of mine.

After a hot shower and slipping into a pair of pajamas, I curled up on the couch to watch my show when the doorbell rang. My heart pounded as I gripped my couch pillow. Though it had been a year, I still worried about John finding me. Glancing at my phone, I saw it was eight o’clock.

The knock came again.

Setting the pillow to my side, I reached under the couch and grabbed my can of pepper spray as a precaution. Holding it behind my back, I stood up and headed to the door. My heart pounded as I approached the door and peered through the peephole to see who it was.

Charlie.

I breathed a sigh of relief and swung open the door, slipping the pepper spray onto the entryway table out of sight. Grasping the edge of the door, I said, “Charlie.”

A sideways smile from the corner of his lip revealed his awkward feelings about being on my porch. He tossed a thumb over his shoulder to his car. “I have your sweater. I brought it.” His eyes traced my Tweety Bird pajamas, and I felt my cheeks flush.
Ugh! I can’t believe I’m wearing this.

“Oh, neat. Yeah. Thanks . . .” Raising my eyebrows, I glanced over to his car.

He laughed nervously. “Sorry I didn’t bring it up to the porch. I don’t know why I didn’t do that.” He shook his head. “Let me go get it.”

He turned and jogged down the porch steps and across the gravel to his car. I stepped out onto the porch. Watching as he fumbled through his car, I scanned the perimeter out of habit after having a scare. It was something I did daily after first moving to town, but it became less and less often over the course of the last year. Seeing him pull my red sweater out and holding it up near the car, I smiled. Charlie walked back over and came up to meet me on the porch.

“I came back over to Jody’s to talk to her and saw the sweater on the railing. Figured I’d bring it by.”

“How’d you know where I lived?” I asked.

“Jody.”

Since this guy made the decision to bring my sweater to me, unannounced and after eight at night, I decided to ask, “Why don’t you like her?”

He handed me the sweater and slowly shook his head. “It’s a long story.”

“I’ve got time.”

He pursed his lips and squinted as he tried to figure me out or something. His green eyes looked me over. “Well . . .” He let out a sigh. “It’s just . . .
family
drama.”

An eyebrow went up as I replied, “Yeah? What kind of
family
drama, if I may ask?”

“Nothing really. Jody was married to my dad before he passed away, and now she wants to sell his boat down at the marina.”

“Doesn’t seem like that long of story,” I said with a playful smile. Not knowing what else to say without being intrusive, I rubbed the corner of my sweater’s hem and waited for him to say something more about it. He began to look uncomfortable as he adjusted his footing and leaned onto the railing behind him. I went to stop him, but it was too late.

Crack! The railing gave way and broke, sending Charlie flailing, arms and all, along with the whole rickety railing, toppling over to the flower bed below. Darting down the steps, I hurried down to him. Dropping to my knees beside my wounded deliverer, I asked, “Are you all right?”

Grabbing his head as he went beet-red, he flashed a quick nod. He got up in a hurry and brushed off the dirt from his jeans. “I’m sorry. I’m going to fix this.”

“No,” I replied. “That’s okay. I’ll get it taken care of.”

Raising a hand, he said, “I insist. I came over without even a phone call and smashed your porch up. Let me take care of this.” His pleading eyes and sweet smile were hard to resist, but I did.

“Don’t worry about it. It was already falling apart and needed repaired. I’m pretty handy with a hammer and nails.” Noticing a cut above his eyebrow, I said, “You’re bleeding. Come inside and let me clean that cut up.”

“I have to get going.”

I raised an eyebrow as I realized I didn’t even know if this guy was single. “Wife or something waiting at home?”

“
Something?
” He laughed. “Just a needy house cat is all. She gets mad when I’m gone from the house too long.” He looked back at his car and then at my house. Feeling his forehead with a few fingers, he found the trickle of blood running down the side of his face. “Oh, wow. I guess it’s bleeding pretty good.”

“Come inside.” I tilted my head toward the porch, and he followed behind me. As we walked up the porch and headed through the front door, it dawned on me that I hadn’t had a male in my house in the last year. Not in a non-professional manner, anyway.

As he sat down at the kitchen table, I dampened a wash rag in the sink. Looking back at him, I asked, “Where do you work?”

“Ikan Web Designs in Spokane. I’m a graphic designer.”

“You like it?” I asked, glancing at him as I grabbed the Band-Aids from the cupboard.

“It’s a good job. I’m looking to branch off on my own soon, though. Go global. Be my own boss and work out of my house. I think something like that would be amazing.” Catching another glimpse of him, I saw his eyes light up at the talk of starting his own business venture.
Ambitious. I like that.
Finding a Band-Aid that would do the job, I set the box back in the cupboard and walked over to the table.

“Why haven’t you done it?” I asked.

He shrugged.

I nodded slowly as I began to gently dab the blood off his forehead.

His tone soft, he said, “I’ve always got an excuse for why I don’t start doing it. I . . .”

My eyes met his as I pulled the wash rag away from his face. He looked hesitant to continue, so I pressed. “What, Charlie?”

“I’m scared of failing.” He let out a breath of air like a relief valve. He continued, “Huh. I never realized that before.” He watched me as I peeled the wrappings away from the Band-Aid and then asked, “So what’s
your
deal, Amy? Where’d you come from before Dixie’s diner?”

Rippling memories from my past came rushing to the forefront of my mind, crippling the enjoyable moment.
Why’d he have to go there?
I sighed. “New York,” I replied curtly. There wasn’t any harm in giving that up to him, and my hope was that he’d drop it.
I guess that’s what I get for trying to figure him out.
“Have you always lived around here? Around Newport?” I asked, hoping to divert him.

“I know what you’re doing. Don’t try to redirect the focus off yourself, Amy. Tell me. What were you doing in New York City?”

“
State.
Not City. Um . . . Just living and whatnot.” I placed the Band-Aid over his wound, and my mind continued the conversation where my lips did not.
And by living, I mean being beat by a man that I had to run away from and go clear across the country to save myself and my baby. Then I lost the baby and almost ended my life. But I didn’t, thanks to God. After recommitting my life to the Lord, I’m now living by a secret name and trying to pretend my abusive husband doesn’t exist! And I can’t ask for a divorce or he’d find me! Eek!
Too bad I didn’t have the courage to tell him.