Love Inspired August 2014 – Bundle 1 of 2 (46 page)

Paige turned her back on him. A chill ran through her body. Why were basements so
cold?

Caleb cleared his throat. “You’re pretty quiet for a girl.”

“For a girl, huh?” Paige fought back the first smile of the day as she turned to face
him.

Like sunshine after a week of cloudy days, a full smile broke out across Caleb’s lips,
lighting up every plane and angle of his face. “I have a sister.” His voice was bathed
in tenderness. “She talks a mile a minute.”

So he loved his family, had a nice voice and knew how to comfort a girl in need. Paige
needed to get away from him. Quick. She couldn’t afford to go soft on her vow against
men so soon.

“I have to go. I’m sorry we had to meet like this.” Paige rushed to the stairs and
grabbed the railing. She looked back at Caleb. He opened his mouth as if he wanted
to say something, but didn’t.

Go, Paige. Just go
. She’d gotten good at running away the past few months. At least, it was nice to
think so. Without looking behind her again, she climbed the stairs and tried to forget
the image of the concerned man in the basement with the gentle, chocolate eyes.

* * *

Caleb scrubbed his hand over the close-clipped hair on his chin. Women were confusing,
plain and simple. At least the fire situation was under control. He grabbed the dress
she’d left downstairs. Why had she made such a big deal of him giving it back to just
leave it again?

“So, Smokey the Bear, what was it? Or like I suspected, was it all in your head?”
Maggie’s voice made him jump.

He turned to face her. “Do you have a new girl working here?”

She wiped the dirt from gardening on her ripped jeans. “I never did fill the cleaning
position.” Maggie leaned her hip against the basement wall. “But do you mean Paige?
I’m letting her stay here for Principal Timmons until the tourists clear out and she
can rent something more permanent in town. Let’s see, she’s about this tall. Pretty
little blonde thing.”

“Principal Timmons?”

“Yes. Paige is the new English teacher.” Maggie smiled.

The three English teachers’ rooms were across the hall from where he taught science
at the high school. So he’d be seeing a lot more of Paige.

“This is hers.” He pressed the wedding dress into Maggie’s hands. “But don’t give
it back to her if she’s just going to try to light it on fire again.”

“On fire?” Maggie’s eyes grew big.

“Told you I smelled something.”

Maggie hugged the dress to her chest. “That poor woman.”

“That
poor woman
could have set your livelihood ablaze. Are you sure she’s safe? You know, right in
the head? I’d hate to see you in trouble.” Caleb squeezed Maggie’s shoulder.

“She’s safe. I promise.”

He searched her face. “You’re the only sister-in-law I have.” He offered a small smile.

Maggie brushed his hand away. “I keep telling you—you don’t have to waste your life
away worrying about little old me.”

Right. She knew too well. The last time he worried about someone it had caused Maggie
a lot of heartache, too.

Even though her words sliced, he shrugged. “Other than Shelby, who else do I have
to worry about?”

“Caleb.” She reached a hand toward him but let it drop to her side. “I didn’t mean
to—”

No more pity. He couldn’t stand another person’s concerned eyes on him. That was the
problem with a small town—everyone knew what had happened to his wife and treated
him differently because of it.

“Sink’s fixed.” He plodded up the steps. “See you later.”

He didn’t bother gathering his tools from Maggie’s kitchen. She’d probably call him
tomorrow with something else to patch at the inn. Not that he minded.

His sister, Shelby, might be waiting dinner on him at home. He checked his phone.
No texts from her yet. He still had time.

Maybe he’d go shoot hoops at the school first.

* * *

Paige scoured mascara off her face so hard she left a red patch of skin.

What must Caleb think of her? Hopefully she’d never have to run into him again. If
it came up in conversation she’d ask Maggie not to hire the same handyman next time
or at least have Maggie warn her before she had him come for a job again. Facing him
after she tossed herself into his arms would be nothing short of mortifying.

Okay. Let’s face it.
She probably would see him again. Hadn’t he said he was friends with Maggie? More
reason to find an apartment or home to rent somewhere else in town and soon as she
could. That would be her first goal.

Paige let out a long breath of air.

Running away had never sounded like a good idea. But what else could she have done?

She sank onto the edge of the bed. This room was the size of Paige’s closet at her
parents’ home, but in the same manner as the rest of the bed-and-breakfast, it was
decorated like a charming English cottage. Good thing Principal Timmons had taken
it upon himself to set up this living situation for her when he hired her last minute.
And the owner, Maggie West, seemed nice enough. Although perhaps a little rough around
the edges.

New starts were supposed to be exciting, right?

So why this heavy, hopeless feeling gnawing in the pit of her stomach?

Paige could hear Maggie in the kitchen, clanking spoons against bowls as she did prep
work for tomorrow’s breakfast. What to do? Paige didn’t know anyone in the town of
Goose Harbor, but going to bed before the sun went down seemed a little too desperate.

No, she needed to do
something
to clear her mind. Without wasting another minute, she snagged her gym shoes out
of the closet and tugged them on. Paige wouldn’t go for a jog tonight, but she could
scope out a trail to run for the next time she needed escape.

Maggie cleared her throat when Paige entered the kitchen.

“Are you okay, sweetie?” She wiped her hands on her green-checkered apron and gave
Paige a sad smile.

“I’m guessing Caleb told you about my episode downstairs. I’m so sorry. That’s not
like me. I promise I won’t act like that again.”

“Don’t even think about it. Believe me—men have done a number on my head one too many
times to count. I guess that’s why I’m resigned to spinsterhood.” Maggie winked at
her.

“Hardly. You’re what, my age?”

“I think a couple years older. Thirty-four, but let’s not go shouting that from the
rooftops. You’re going to be okay, you know that, right?” Maggie grasped Paige’s hand,
leaving some flour on her fingers.

“Sure. That’s why I’m here. Time for something new.” Paige tried to infuse life into
her voice. She did like learning new things, and with her upbringing, she had so much
to learn. But right now, it was the circumstances behind the uprooting of her life
that dampened everything.

Maggie went back to punching a wad of dough on the counter. “I hung your dress up
downstairs.”

“Thanks.” Paige touched her fingers to the couple of hair ties she always stored on
her wrist. “Do you need help preparing anything? I don’t know a lot about cooking,
but I’m willing to learn.”

“No need. I’m almost done for tonight. But I appreciate the offer.” Maggie rubbed
the back of her hand on her forehead, leaving more flour.

“Well, if you ever need me to, I do know one recipe for scones that I could make some
time. It’s about the only thing I know how to do in the kitchen.” Paige laid her hand
on the doorknob that led to the public section of the inn.

“I’ll probably take you up on that at some point.”

“Anytime. I’m going to go out for a little while.” Paige walked through the door that
led to the hotel portion of the bed-and-breakfast.

The common dining area boasted a large crystal chandelier that Maggie had told her
was original to the mansion. The front parlor was rich with Persian carpets, flowered
wallpaper, a grand piano and a stone fireplace surrounded by antique furniture. A
towering grandfather clock ticked off the seconds as she passed by the grand, deep
maroon carpeted staircase.

A bell tinkled as she pushed open the front door. She walked quickly down the sidewalk,
passing her Mazda and the sign proclaiming: West Oaks Inn Bed-and-Breakfast.

Paige glanced over her shoulder at the Victorian mansion. Built in the Queen Anne
style, sage clapboard gave way to pink-painted details and intricately carved wooden
embellishments. Giant oak trees formed a line of soldiers up the driveway, protecting
and shadowing the property. Cinderella might as well live there.

Too bad glass-slipper dreams only came true in storybooks.

Paige swung her arms, making herself walk faster.

Smaller homes on wide yards dotted the outskirts of the town. Even the most insignificant
house here had more personality than any house found in the Chicago suburbs she had
grown up in. Each one seemed to have a story—with a hundred years of history to be
told.

Maybe this new start in Goose Harbor was all she needed. A fresh start. A new home.

No, not home. Nothing could ever feel like home again.

Leaving Illinois and all the dreams she’d clutched since childhood hadn’t been easy.
But staying meant seeing
him
—being reminded of
him
. Staying hadn’t been a viable option.

At the bend in the road, the canopy of trees broke and the residential properties
became closer together. Fresh Lake Michigan air mingled with the smell of someone
barbecuing. Like giant sleeping bears, sand dunes hulked on both sides of the road.
The anchoring trees grew through the shifting soil and hooded the road, only allowing
slivers of sunlight to skip across her face when she turned onto Lake Front Drive.

A large town square made up the bustling portion of Goose Harbor. In the middle of
the square was a large grassy area complete with a red band shell, a few park benches,
a white gazebo and a small rose garden. A short distance from the square lay Ring
Beach—named for the almost perfect half circle of soft sand that lined the shorefront.
The calm, shallow waters at Ring Beach drew thousands of visitors to Goose Harbor
every summer.

On the road, traffic slowed to a halt as a crop of buildings came into view. End-of-the-summer
vacationers crowded the brick sidewalks that made up the downtown portion of Goose
Harbor, clogging the roadways as they filtered between the homemade fudge shops, art
galleries, unique mom-and-pop stores, ice-cream parlors and quaint restaurants built
on stilts over the pier section of the waterfront. Women in high heels clip-clopped
out of the way of darting children as old men sat watching the world go by from wooden
benches lining the dock. White masts bobbed in the marina.

No wonder Goose Harbor had been voted one of the top five places to vacation in the
Midwest.

Paige veered away from the cute downtown. Something told her to go to the beach, watch
the waves roll in and pray. But there was no point. God didn’t want to hear about
her minuscule troubles. After all, He had wars and starving children to worry about.
His time should be spent on situations that actually mattered to the world, not her.
No, she didn’t need to bother Him with her little issues.

Besides, when was the last time something she prayed for actually happened?

She followed the path that led to the high school. She stood in the parking lot, hands
on her hips, and scanned the building. A group of people tossed a basketball around
on the far outdoor court. A couple clad in neon spandex ran together around the track.

She could do this.

Sure, all her other teaching experience had been at inner-city schools in Chicago,
but students in a tourist town couldn’t be that different, not really. If she’d learned
something while teaching it was that all teens needed one thing—someone to let them
know that their life mattered and they had worth, as is.

Anyway, she’d relocated to Goose Harbor to volunteer at Sarah’s Home—a nonprofit organization
that helped at-risk youth. Over the past few years, Dad had donated to Sarah’s Home
because his college roommate, Mr. Timmons, was the head of the board. Dad might have
used the place as a tax shelter, but Paige looked forward to the quarterly newsletter
from Sarah’s Home.

No one knew, but those newsletters had shaped her desire to work with inner-city students.
She’d wanted to be a teacher since grade school, but only after poring over the updates
and the Sarah’s Home website had a passion sparked inside of her for at-risk youths.

After catching Bryan tangled up with a leggy redhead, Paige knew she needed to leave
Chicago. All her friends were Bryan’s friends. Her dreams near her childhood stomping
ground were all too linked with the boy she’d known since junior high school.

No, leaving had been her only option.

Sarah’s Home popped into her head immediately—her safe place. Now she could be a part
of the nonprofit that had already shaped her life so much. In the midst of her trial,
she could turn things around for the good and give back.

Yes, the chance to help at Sarah’s Home had been the main draw to this area; finding
a teaching job at the nearby high school had been a nice bonus. Her dad’s friendship
with Principal Timmons hadn’t hurt, either. Timmons had been urging her to apply to
his school ever since she graduated and was only too happy to call her when a last-minute
position opened.

Who knew? Maybe in a few weeks she’d have a bunch of friends here...maybe that would
be her in the middle of a neighborhood game of pickup.

Paige took a couple of steps forward, squinting to watch the basketball game. It looked
like a bunch of teens, probably her future students. Maybe they were members of the
high school’s team getting in a practice before school started at the end of the week.
A couple of elementary-school kids sat on the sidelines.

The tallest guy called for a break and walked over to where the children sat. The
two boys hopped up when he offered them the basketball. The man motioned for them
to follow him to the basket, where he took turns lifting both of them up to dunk the
ball.