Jodie's Song (5 page)

“Seemed to me like he was making it clear he'd defend himself and everything he's done here at the Haven.”

He really was bothered, though he masked it as best he could with a genial tone and relaxed posture. Jodie wanted to help Kevin move past the layer of sadness that covered his observations, but she wasn't sure how far she should go with someone she was only just now getting to know.

She fingered the petals of a tall, sturdy snapdragon. “Andy sounds kind of like my dad. He was doing the same type of thing today at my sister's house while we helped her pack.”

He stopped working and looked up. “That's right. They leave this weekend. Did you enjoy today's first round of physical labor?”

Jodie chuckled. “It was fine. Like I said, Dad wanted to be active and do more, but he just couldn't. We ended up diverting him.”

“How?”

“Grandkids. Best remedy ever for grouchy behavior.”

He peeked at her over the top of his sunglasses. “Nicely played.”

Jodie fell into the moment of ease and ran with it—for the time being. Rather than push him for more about Andy, she tucked her hands into gardening gloves. “OK, coach, tell me what you need.”

“Well, the space around the structure is pretty much set, but we'll need to plant those two yellow rose bushes—” Jodie bumped his shoulder and gave him a wide-eyed stare, complete with raised eyebrows. Kevin shook his head and sighed with mock exasperation. “Sorry. I mean those
butterscotch
rose bushes.”

“Any true Texan would want to throttle us right about now.” Jodie's heart went light, and she bobbed her head. “Still, bravo. You catch on quick.”

“Something like that. I hope you catch on quick as well, because planting these other beauties is going to be quite a job.”

His gesture toward the fragrant carpet of packaged blooms didn't intimidate Jodie in the least. “I'm all in, and it's going to be gorgeous.” She breathed deep, lifting her face to the sun. “You know, this spot just sings the word romance.”

Kevin shot her a raised-brow glance. “It certainly has potential.”

OK, that quip came at her like an unexpected tickle to the sides, and it wasn't the sun that caused her cheeks to burn against a crest of heat.
Quick,
she thought.
Shift this conversation to safer ground.
She reached for a flat of flowers and slid them close. Before she could push her spade into the earth, Kevin beat her to the conversational punch.

“So, tell me more about the preparations to move. Are your sister and her family handling everything OK?”

Jodie thought about her answer for a second. “As well as can be expected, I suppose. I mean, yeah…they're not doing bad.”

She left it at that, knowing she was being vague, but Tracee had been stressed, keeping a handle on two moping kids who resented having to leave behind everything familiar. Then, there was her dad. He had insisted on helping, but ended up frustrated by his lack of energy and stamina, and had spent most of his time on the couch, watching the proceedings with a dejected, defeated air that broke Jodie's heart. She'd found herself directly in the middle when Tracee complained about their father's argumentative attitude and the battles she faced moving away from Angel Falls.

“Why do I get the feeling you're hedging?”

Kevin's question brought her back around. “Probably because I'm hedging.”

His short, quiet chuckle rumbled into the air and tingled against her skin. “C'mon. Tell me what happened.”

Jodie carefully worked more plants into place. “Everyone is pretty keyed up about the move, and I'm trying to be the glue that holds everything together. Like I alluded to just a bit ago, it didn't help matters any that Dad insisted on being there and helping. He ended up overdoing it, then he got frustrated and started lashing out, making some very opinionated suggestions about how to pack and how to handle moody kids. That's when an episode of grandkid diversion played out on the rear patio of Tracee's home with my dad watching the kids romp and frolic on a slip-and-slide.”

“Good way to cheer him up.”

Jodie made a sound of agreement. “I understand where his pain comes from. Still, it hurts.” Birds swirled and cawed through the cloudless sky. “He didn't used to be that way. He's always been our rock. We've always relied on him, but his days of being strong and in charge are slowly coming to an end. It's scary to watch. I worry about him.”

“I understand.” Kevin laid soil, smoothed the ground. “Believe me, my uncle wants to be right here with us, seeing to every detail of the complex. The more Viv and I urge him to rest, the more determined he becomes to do just the opposite.”

“Is it the breathing, or is it his heart?”

“One set of issues affects the other, actually. It's both.” Kevin shrugged; he resumed working but stopped after just a few more till strokes. “Know what?” He wiped a gloved hand across his damp forehead, slicking away beads of perspiration. “Part of me likes seeing him put on the battle armor and fight, but…”

He stopped short and Jodie found herself wishing his sunglasses didn't mask his eyes. She rested a hand against his forearm. Warmth and solid muscle met her touch. “But what?”

“He just can't keep up with the physical aspects of running this place any more. Viv and I have been trying to assume more of the responsibility without stepping on his pride, but Uncle Andy is a smart guy. He knows the score. It seems to me like he's barking and pushing to be sure everything is in order in case he can't do it anymore.”

Jodie's heart twisted. A connection flowed. Using a gentle touch, she pressed the roots of a vibrant purple hyacinth into the empty hole she had just dug.

“That sounds familiar.” She halted her gardening for a moment in order to watch him. Dark brown hair shone beneath the sun; his arm muscles bunched and flowed as he worked, unaware of her study.

“Kevin…” She hesitated but pushed on despite her tendency to back away. “Do you ever feel like you're empty inside? Like no matter what you do, what you try, where you go, what you say, nothing changes, and everything in your life leaves you drained and feeling a bit…I don't know…ineffective?”

He didn't break stride. “Yep. Especially lately. In spite of everything I'm trying to do, I sense what's coming. I dread the day Uncle Andy can't maintain this place the way he wants. His soul is tied to Heart's Haven. I guess spring couldn't have come at a better time, because nothing cures my anxieties like working the ground.” Jodie continued to lean on her heels for a moment. Her silence almost immediately snared his attention. “What?”

“Nothing. It's just that I admire you. You never seem bothered by circumstances. You're one of the most easy-going people I've ever met. Maybe if I keep hanging out with you, some of that peace will rub off on me.”

Silence beat by. He sidled a glance her way. “Seems to me like you don't need peace so much as you need strength. Perseverance. You're like this reservoir people come to for support and care.”

“Oh, come on.”

“No. I mean it. I've been tracking you on your show. I've paid attention to the people who call in. You open your heart to them, and they reciprocate. You help them, Jodie, and that's a gift.”

“Hardly.”

He ignored her attempt to downplay his words and delivered a smile that melted her bones. Snapping free of a delicious and increasingly familiar cloud of attraction, Jodie focused on the message he tried to impart. Rely on God. Rely on the comfort of faith, not outward circumstance. The result, she knew, would lead to hope, and renewal.

How had she allowed herself to stray from the scriptural promises she espoused across the airwaves of southeast Texas each day? The basic answer was simple. The rush and crush of everyday life had run a jamming circuit through her spiritual life. That needed to stop, promptly. No more clinging to solitude.

“Thanks for the support,” she began. “Truly, it means a lot to me. You're a great guy, Kevin.”

He chuckled lightly, continuing to cut his spade into the dirt. He upturned clumps of earth then nourished the planting spot with a fresh deposit of top soil. “Well, thank you, ma'am.”

Silently, Jodie groaned at her awkward entrée into a conversation she wasn't even sure she was ready to have. “No, really. What I mean is your friendship already means a lot to me.”

“Ditto.”

It was Jodie's turn to chuckle and admire the way he didn't press, stop awkwardly, or push for more. Rather, he dislodged a cluster of blue bonnets from their plastic cases, carefully extracting the blooms and settling them into the earth.

“I admire your freshness of spirit. Kaci's, too. The two of you are a pleasant antidote to the stagnant way I've been feeling. You're helping to set me straight, and to be honest, I'm kind of embarrassed by my attitude. I should know better.”

Jodie returned to planting, lifting a few white snapdragons from their plastic holders. Kevin was right. The rhythm of work made it easy to loosen up the mind and body.

“Know what else might help?” he asked.

“Hmm?”

The barest hint of a pause skimmed through the air between them. “An exceptional Italian dinner at Viviano's Taverna.” He shrugged those broad, wide shoulders, white cotton moving in time to his motions and rippling against a humid gust of air. “Really, it's the least I can do to show you my thanks after working you so hard.”

“You've hardly done that, and no thanks are necessary, but I'd love to have dinner sometime.”

Hiding a thrill of expectation by taking on her assigned landscaping work, Jodie nabbed a nearby garden shovel and launched into the task of making a hole next to the steps of the gazebo where they would plant the first of two rose bushes.

“Do you happen to have any plans for tonight?”

Expectation doubled. No, tripled. Braving a look over her shoulder, giving him a sassy grin, Jodie answered, “It seems I do now.”

Kevin's shoulders relaxed and his laughter combined with chattering tree branches and bird song. “Great.”

Jodie continued to dig, her back to Kevin. She grinned like a fool. Wedding preparations, hope, and promise. Anxieties ebbed away—not gone, but most certainly contained for the moment. A restorative breath of Spirit pushed through her body. She settled the rose bush, humming happily while she considered the way affection and friendship could push to life, given the right soil…and nourishment.

 

 

 

 

6

 

Early that evening Kevin trotted up the steps leading to the porch of Jodie's apartment and issued a firm knock. The instant she pulled open the door, he became tongue-tied. She looked like a movie star.

Outfitted in a flowered dress that framed her curves perfectly, Jodie's hair danced free, in soft curls that tumbled around her shoulders. The barest hint of jasmine drifted into his awareness. He stood silent for a moment, absorbing her glowing features, her open smile and dazzling eyes before he realized he was staring.

A foot shift and clearing of the throat helped clear his mind, and he finally remembered to hand her the bouquet of Lily of the Valley he clutched in his hand. Jodie accepted the gesture with a quiet exclamation of delight. Nose buried in the blooms, she breathed in the scent.

Kevin enjoyed her reaction. “I wish I could say I ran out to the flower shop and bought them for you, but there wasn't time before our dinner reservation. They're handpicked from my yard instead.”

A smile filled her face once more and transformed a gorgeous woman to positively stunning. “No man should ever make excuses for delivering flowers. Handpicked or not, I love them. Come on in for a second while I put them in water.”

“Sure.”

Meandering through the entry and into the great room, Kevin paused to take in his surroundings. All the boxes were gone now, and Jodie seemed firmly settled. That realization touched off a note of pleasure. A running faucet, the song of water striking home within a vase filled the silence.

She finished quickly and crossed the threshold of the kitchen to join him. His gaze traveled the length of slim, bare legs, feet shod in white sandals and toes that popped with a vibrant, fresh coating of pink, sparkly polish. Jodie liked nail color, he registered, and she seemed to enjoy shifting the shades often. That indulgence, for whatever reason, gave his heart a jump.

“You're sporting a suit coat and tie.” Subtle, floral spice moved through the air as she approached. “I like the look very much.”

“I was just thinking the same thing about you.”

“I suppose this is quite a change from our usual jeans and t-shirts, isn't it?”

In a tentative, unexpected motion, Jodie gently adjusted the knot of his tie, fingertips slipping lightly against patterned silk as she smoothed the fabric. Kevin opted to not rush past the warmth of the moment, especially since her eyes tagged his and didn't let go right away.

At last the spell broke, and she stepped back, fingering a beaded necklace of silver that circled a long, creamy neck. Kevin's mouth watered, and not at all from possessing an empty stomach.

Outside, sunlight spilled over them and the heat of the day hit at once. Kevin guided Jodie to his car, and she looked up at him. “I hope I didn't overdo the wardrobe. It's been a while since I've had a night out like this. It's a wonderful feeling, being out and dressed up and enjoying wonderful company.”

The light, breezy comments certainly formed a start, but she seemed to shy away from the idea of their dinner date being an entrée into the world of romance. That was fine. For now.

“I'm looking forward to it as well, Jodie.”

Kevin intended to woo her away from reticence, but kept mum on that count. Opening the car door, he steadied her with a touch to the elbow as she slid into the passenger's seat.