A Path Less Traveled (34 page)

“I’ll take a
sausage biscuit, a hash brown, and a milk.”

“One sausage
biscuit, one hash brown, and one milk, coming up! Pull around to the next window,
please, and have a good morning!”

Trish pressed
both hands over her ears until the blaring voice stopped, then released the
brake and pulled up as far as she could, counting four cars in front.

“Aren’t you gonna
get something to eat?” Bo’s eyes held a knowing look.

“Nope, I’m really
not that hungry. I might take a bite of yours, but that’s all I want.”

He studied her a
while longer, then turned his head away.

Now was as good a
time as any to discuss yesterday’s episode. “Wanna tell me why you ran away?”

His eyes filled
with tears, and his mouth worked like he wanted to speak but couldn’t. Finally
the words spilled from him. “’Cause I’d rather live outside on the ranch by
myself than move to Austin.” He dissolved into tears.

Trish pulled up
to the payment window, choking on his words. She somehow managed to count out
the right change and take the bag from the woman.

“Thank ya much!
Come back and see us!” The woman sent a toothy grin that Trish didn’t even try
to return.

Instead of
pulling out of the parking lot, she yanked the car into an empty slot near the
highway and buried her head in her hands, loud sobs pouring from her. Bo could
have been killed in yesterday’s ordeal, and it was her fault.

Chapter 31

A
ndy gave his head a
shake, then rubbed his eyes and yawned, forcing his attention from the
mesmerizing center stripe on the pavement to the early morning lights of
Morganville. It didn’t help matters that he’d spilled his earlier cup of coffee
down his shirt instead of into his stomach.

Another yawn escaped.
If he expected to catch Trish on her trek to Austin, he had to wake up. A
strong dose of caffeine would do the trick, but did he dare take the time
knowing that Trish and Bo were somewhere on the road in front of him? He ran a
hand over his whiskered chin. If it kept him from falling asleep at the wheel,
a few minutes’ delay to grab some coffee would be well worth it.

He zipped the Z-3
under the golden arches and into the drive-through line, his teeth immediately
set on edge by the blaring speaker. Okay, nobody had a right to be that peppy
before six a.m. Inching forward behind the cars in front, he prayed for the
millionth time.
Lord, help me find them.

At the pick-up
window, he reached for the cup with one hand and gave Happy Woman a five with
the other, trying to infuse his tone with a friendliness he didn’t feel. “Keep
the change.”

“Thank ya much!
Come back and see us!”

Don’t count on
it, lady.
Andy eased forward enough to let the car behind him reach the
window, then braked and cracked open the coffee lid. The aroma filled the
confines of his sports car. He added two packets of sugar, stirred, and took a
sip, feeling instantly revived. Too bad you couldn’t get this stuff as an IV
drip. As he deposited the coffee cup in the holder on the console, his eyes
widened in surprise at the sight before him. A lemon-yellow car sat in the last
parking spot. Surely there wasn’t another car that same gosh-awful color. It
had to be Trish.

His heart
pounding, he steered into the only available space, then climbed from the car,
praying for wisdom. He hurried to the driver’s side, then halted, a knife
lodged in his gut.

Trish hunched
over, her head covered by her hands, and her shoulders shaking.

Andy rapped
gently on the car window.

She yanked her
head toward him, her eyes red from crying, her mouth half-open, and her face
streaked with tears.

From the backseat
came an excited cry. “Andy! Andy!”

When the car
window lowered, Andy reached into the backseat and grabbed Bo’s hand. “Hey,
buddy!” He turned back to Trish, his heart breaking at the sorrow in her brown
eyes. “Hi, Trish.”

She opened her
mouth like she wanted to speak, then clamped her lips together and faced
forward.

He lowered his
head and released a sigh. How long would he have to fight this battle with her?
“Don’t worry, Trish, I’m not here to rescue you.”

“That’s too bad.”
She whispered the words, and then sniffled.

“What does that
mean?”

“I could really
use rescuing right now.” She choked out the words, then buried her head in her
hands and sobbed some more.

In less than a
heartbeat, Andy yanked open the car door and pulled her into his arms. She
clung to him and cried. He caressed her hair with one hand, while his other arm
held her close. Now was the time to say it. “I love you, Trish. Please let me
help.”

She tore herself
from his embrace, using her fingertips to swab at the tears on her cheeks.
“Quite honestly, I could use a little help, but I’m not sure you’re ready.”

How could she say
that? Didn’t the past few months prove how ready he was? Didn’t chasing her
across Texas at an ungodly hour show her how he felt? “What are you talking
about?”

Trish pointed to
his pants. “I’m a little embarrassed to take help from a grown man who . . . ”
She pulled both lips between her teeth, as if trying not to laugh, her amused
gaze travelling over him.

Andy glanced
down, fiery heat creeping up his torso, neck and face. In his haste to chase
after them, he’d left Miller’s Creek in his green plaid pajama bottoms and
coffee-stained t-shirt.

* *
* * *

Trish leaned back
in the passenger seat of her car and peered over at Andy. One arm draped the
steering wheel as he chatted easily with her very excited little boy. Even in
pajamas, with his sandy curls plastered to his head and his jaw covered with
stubble, the sight of Andy sent a ribbon of delight spiraling through her
insides. This felt so . . . so right, but was it?

It might not be
right, but neither was moving to Austin. Not if it made Bo so miserable that he
would run away to avoid it.

Andy pulled into
a parking space at Walmart and turned off the engine, then faced her with that
killer dimpled grin of his. “Hurry up, woman. I need some clothes if I’m gonna
treat y’all to pancakes.”

“Yay for
pancakes!” Bo raised both fists in the air, a different kid from the glum child
who’d been in his place only a half hour earlier.

Trish smirked and
reached for the door handle. “Well, if you guys would learn how to dress
yourselves, we wouldn’t be making this little side trip.”

Laughter burst
from Andy, a contagious sound that seemed to saturate every ounce of air in the
car. He removed several bills from his wallet. “Point taken. Just grab a large
button-down shirt, size 11 tennis shoes, and a pair of jeans, size 34-36.”

“And if those
sizes aren’t available?”

“Then I guess
I’ll play the penguin part again like I did at Steve and Dani’s wedding.”

Now it was her
turn to laugh. “In that case, I think I’ll buy a camera while I’m at it.” She
unbuckled the seatbelt and sat up on her knees to rifle through the box in the
back seat. A minute later she found what she was looking for and handed Bo a
pair of shorts and a matching shirt. “Here, kiddo. Unbuckle and change into
these while I’m in the store.”

As she traipsed
across the mostly-empty parking lot, her thoughts turned to Andy, and she couldn’t
help but notice the warm feeling flooding through her veins. All this wasted
time. God had surely sent him their way, not just this morning, but back in
April when he’d burst through the back doors of the church, messing with her
decorations and her carefully-laid plans.

And now, wonder
of all wonders, he’d told her that he loved her.
Loved her.

She pulled a
green button-up shirt from the rack. This would match his eyes perfectly. As
she made her way to the men’s jeans, she thought about her own selfish reaction
to Andy. In her pride, she’d done nothing but push him away, choosing to
believe she had to do it on her own. But he hadn’t given up on her—or on her
son. Andy knew better than anyone how to handle Bo—how to make him smile when
he was grouchy, how to make him mind without shattering his fragile heart.

Trish grabbed a
pair of size 11 white tennis shoes from the shoe department and made her way to
the check-out. A few minutes later, she was back in the car.

“Wow, you’re
fast!”

No, she was
incredibly slow. Too slow. Especially when it came to catching on to what might
have been God’s plan all along. Trish sent a wry smile. “Yeah, well, it helps
when it’s early on a Sunday morning. The store was deserted.”

His eyes took on
a scheming gleam. “How about going to church in Morganville after breakfast?
Then we’ll grab a bucket of chicken and find a shady park at the lake for a
picnic, so Bo can play and we can talk.”

She smiled her
approval.

After locating an
outdoor public restroom where he changed clothes, Andy treated them to a tasty
sit-down breakfast at the local waffle house. Feasting on pancakes loaded with
butter and blueberries, they spent the time laughing about their early morning
adventure. With their bellies full, they opted to walk across the road to a
small stone church for the worship service.

As they seated
themselves, an elderly lady, her skin translucent and her eyes reflecting an
inner light, turned around to shake their hands and introduce herself. “What a
beautiful family you have.”

At that moment
the music minister had everyone rise to sing, so Trish had no opportunity to
correct the woman. Not that she wanted to. The early morning sun streamed
through stained glass windows, and left a pattern of dappled light on the
forest green carpet and maple-colored woodwork. Soon the preacher, a rotund,
balding man, made his way to the pulpit. “Turn to Proverbs, chapter three,
please.”

Trish’s heart
fluttered. The chapter with the verses about trusting God. Was this some kind
of sign? Could it be that God had been trying to get her attention since Dani
and Steve’s wedding? The sound of turning pages whispered across the room.
Trish located the passage and positioned her Bible so Andy could look on.

“Trust in the
Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your
ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

Trish felt Andy’s
eyes on her. She turned to meet his gaze. The look that passed between them
possessed an electric energy that zapped its way through her and landed in a
tingle in her toes. She inhaled a deep breath and focused her attention on the
pastor.

“Trusting God is
easy to say, but not so easy to do.”

How many times
had she considered that very thought?

“I can say that I
trust this pulpit to hold me up, but that’s not really trust. Trust is active.
Only when I lean my weight against the pulpit is my trust proved. It’s the same
with God. Only when we lean against Him—and not our own understanding—is our
faith proved.”

Trish pressed her
lips together and lowered her gaze to the velvety pew cushion. Had she trusted
God over the past few months or fought against Him? Had she leaned the weight
of her worries against Him or her own understanding?

The pastor’s
gentle voice lulled her back into the sermon. “We’re sensory creatures. We tend
to base our decisions on what we can see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. But as
children of the kingdom, we have another dimension to consider—a spiritual
dimension—where God reigns and often moves in ways that are beyond our ability
to understand.”

Her heart pounded
faster, and she rubbed her arms to erase the chill bumps that gathered. God’s
thoughts and ways were far above hers. Had His plan involved Andy all along? If
so, she’d ignored all the signs, intent on finding her own way, sure that it
was much too soon to give herself to another man.

“His timing is
often puzzling to us, but once we put our trust in Him completely, with all our
heart, we later can look back and see how He wove situations and days and
moments and people together in a way that gives direction to our lives.”

Andy reached over
and grabbed her hand, entwining his fingers with hers. She raised her gaze in
utter amazement at what was taking place. He held her hand for the rest of the
service and all the way to the car, then helped her and Bo into their seats.
Soon they were on their way to the lake, the delicious aroma of fried chicken
wafting from the large bucket they’d picked up on their way out of town.

As soon as lunch
was over, Bo high-tailed it to the playground while the lake gently lapped
against the shore. Trish watched his retreating back, then turned to Andy with
a smile. “I don’t know what we would’ve done had you not showed up when you
did.”

He frowned and
concentrated his gaze on the ground. “I had to know you were okay. I—I wanted
you to know how I felt before you left for Austin.”

Her heart
pounded. His words proved how much he cared, but also revealed his
vulnerability. He intentionally put himself in a vulnerable place, a place
where his heart could get broken. Showered with shame, she gulped down her
fear. “I’m so sorry for how I’ve acted over the past few months, Andy. I was
just so confu—”

He held up one
hand, his ocean eyes stormy and troubled. “You don’t have to explain. I know
you’re still grieving your husband.”

Andy’s chest
heaved. “I shouldn’t have pressured you so much. I moved too fast, and I’m
sorry.”

“Can I ask you a
question?” Trish chewed the inside of her cheek. The last thing she wanted to
do was offend him, but she had to know.

“Anything.” His
direct gaze sent a shiver down her spine.

“Do you think
you’re just enamored with the idea of family, or do you . . . is it . . .?”