Love Inspired August 2014 – Bundle 1 of 2 (47 page)

From a distance, she couldn’t make out how old the man was, but his gesture warmed
her heart and made her long for the family she dreamed of but wouldn’t have. Perhaps
those were the coach’s sons. Either way, in her experience it was a rare trait in
a man to choose to play with kids when he could be standing courtside joking with
the older students.

When they called game again, Paige crept a bit closer. She took a seat on a wooden
bench near the court.

The tallest man dribbled the ball, skirted past his opponent and sank the ball into
the net with a
swoosh
. Caught up in the moment, Paige clapped.

The player turned around and locked gazes with her. Recognition hit her in the stomach
like a punch.

Caleb.

She shot to her feet, spun around and picked her way across the field in the opposite
direction.

So much for her hopes of never seeing him again.

Chapter Two

“C
an we not talk about this right now?” Caleb dropped his voice and glanced around the
Cherry Top Café to see if anyone was listening to him and Maggie. Burgers sizzled
on the big grill in back and a grease tang hung thick in the air. A busboy clanked
dirty dishes together as he cleared a nearby table. Tucked a block away from the popular
town square, Cherry Top didn’t rank high on the must-hit tourist list, but that’s
why Caleb ate there.

Maggie shoved the coleslaw around on her plate with her fork. “I’m not dropping this.
Hear me out. It’s like your life is on hold. You’ve mourned long enough. I hope you
know that.”

Mourned long enough?
Impossible.

Caleb grabbed the saltshaker and slid it between both of his hands. “Seriously, Mags,
leave it alone.”

“I can’t. You know, it’s hard for me, too, but I can’t keep digging in my heels hoping
she’ll come walking into the inn again, either. Because she’s not going to.”

“Do you honestly think you’ve moved on?”

Maggie pursed her lips and looked outside.

A fly skittered against the windowpane near Caleb’s elbow, buzzing wildly in its attempt
to break through the glass and get back out in the fresh air. Maggie grabbed the menu
and banged the heavy papers against the window, ending the fly’s struggle for good.

She exhaled a long breath. “Besides, you’re the only family around that I have left
to bug, so you have to indulge my meddling whims.”

“Not on this.” He shoved his plate toward the center of the table and tossed his napkin
on top.

Maggie reached across the table and laid her hand over his. “You’re still young and
have so much of your life left. My sister would have wanted you happy. You know that,
don’t you?”

He snaked his hand from hers and dropped it in his lap under the table. “I am happy.”
Sometimes.
Like during the school year with students filing into his science classroom, or at
the church’s summer camp when the teens talked at the end of the session around the
fire pit about how much they had learned and grown that week.

Maggie offered a sad smile. “Well, Caleb Beck, you could have fooled me.”

Caleb leaned forward and lowered his voice. “If you wanted to talk about this we could
have done it at the inn instead of out in public.”

People stared at him enough.
Poor Caleb.
He didn’t need to add this conversation to the list of reasons to pity him. Gossip
had a tendency to spread like lice in Goose Harbor, especially among the year-round
residents. He didn’t need anyone overhearing Maggie and thinking he couldn’t hack
it as a teacher or youth-group volunteer, or continue on at Sarah’s Home. He was so
tired of being treated like he was broken.

The high school’s soccer coach, a heavyset man in his mid-forties, walked past their
table and waved his spoon at Caleb. What was the man’s name? Caleb offered a polite
smile back.

Maggie tugged the giant clip out of the back of her hair, rearranged it a little and
pinned up her hair again. Only, she missed a chunk of unruly curls, making it look
like a crazy peacock feather coming out of the side of her head. “It’s not like I
planned to dive into all this, but I felt like I needed to tell you that I’m okay
with you dating again. In case you were worried about that. If you find the chance
to have love again, you should. Okay? That’s all I’m going to say about it. Promise.”

He kept his eyes trained out the window at the tourists strolling toward the dock.
“Thank you.”

The waiter dropped off their check, and Caleb had the man stay while he pulled out
the correct change and enough for a tip. “Just keep everything.”

Maggie crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat. “You don’t have to pay for me
all the time.”

“Besides my sister, who else am I spending my money on these days?” Caleb leaned a
little to put his wallet into his back pocket.

“How’s your sister doing?”

Scared. Lonely. Worried.
He shrugged. “Shelby’s the same as always, I guess.”

“Okay, I know I said I wouldn’t bring it up again, and after this I won’t.” Maggie
splayed her hands onto the table. “But there’s this girl in my Bible-study group at
church. She’s cute and she really loves the Lord. I think you two would—”

“Leave it alone, Mags. Just let it be.” Caleb worked his jaw back and forth.

The image of the lake outside the window suddenly blurred. “I’m not going to date
her.” He blinked a couple of times. “I have no intention of dating again. Ever. Got
it?” He snatched his baseball hat off the table and jammed it onto his head. “I need
to get home. I have to be at work early tomorrow.”

Maggie gave a small nod and clutched her purse as she scooted out from the bench seat.
Caleb handed over her coat without a word. On his way past the front desk he took
a handful of waxy mints from the large bowl by the register and tossed them all into
his mouth. They tasted like medicine-flavored chalk—a fitting end to the day.

He held open the door for Maggie. “I’ll stop by on Saturday to fix the drainpipe.”

She nodded and clicked the button to make her car chirp. Good thing she knew better
than to offer him a ride home. A man needed space for his mind away from everyone
crawling over every inch of his hometown.

At least he did.

Caleb shoved his hands in his pockets and took the long route. Frogs croaked in the
nearby stream, signaling the end of another summer evening. Near the residential section
of the lakefront, a fishy smell hung in the air—which meant a fish fry at Cherry Top
next Friday.

A car full of teens flashed their headlights at him and pulled alongside the gravel
on the road. They blasted the horn, all waving, as the car came to a stop.

“Mr. Beck!” One of the girls hung out the back window. “I have you for second period.”

He smiled and waved. “Only three more days until classes start. What are you guys
up to tonight?”

Please don’t say a party.
The town had seen a recent uptick in teen mischief down at the beaches at night.
Lots of empty beer bottles and spent fire pits most mornings made Caleb worried for
their safety. If only the town provided other outlets for the students during the
summer. Most of their parents were too busy running shops in town to keep a good eye
on their kids.

“Oh, you know. Same old.” The girl rolled her eyes. “Is it true we dissect cats in
your class? Because if so, I might have to transfer out.” She pulled a face like she
was gagging.

Caleb shook his head. “We stopped using cats years ago. It’s all on a computer now.”

“Good, because that’s sick. Not to mention, ethically wrong.” She smacked the boy
in the car next to her in the shoulder. “You liar!”

“You guys be smart tonight.” Caleb made his way back to the sidewalk.

“Of course, Mr. Beck!” A couple of the teens laughed. The car peeled away and sped
down the street.

Another car full of teenagers honked and waved at him as he walked home. He kept his
hands in his pockets and gave them a nod. Hopefully he could at least plaster on a
smile for them when classes started later in the week.

* * *

Paige glanced at the missed calls on her phone—three from Mom, but no voice mail.
Mom probably wanted to see how she liked Goose Harbor, right? That, or she had news
about the house. Right before Paige left home, her parents informed her they were
planning to downsize and travel more. Not that she’d tell them, but Paige hoped her
childhood home didn’t sell quickly. It would be nice to have somewhere familiar to
return to if the situation in Goose Harbor didn’t work out after the first year.

She pictured her mother, already put together for the day and decked out in her usual
pearls and heels.

The phone vibrated again.

“Morning, Mom, you’re up early. You caught me trying to get ready for my first day
of work.” Paige looked between the two outfits she’d laid out on her bed.

“I wish you would reconsider leaving Chicago.”

Paige closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Not this again. Please.
I don’t want to have this conversation right now.”

“You were so happy here. The plan had always been for you to stay close by. I can’t
imagine you living somewhere else.”

“Plans change, Mom.” Paige yanked a hair tie from her wrist and worked it around in
her hand.

“They don’t have to.”

Paige sank into the wicker chair beside her bed. “They did. You’ll see. This is for
the better. Anyway, I like it here.”

Mom sighed. “I always took you for more of a fighter, Paige. Someone who would stand
her ground. Stay and tackle things.”

“You know, sometimes leaving is fighting. Standing up for myself meant getting away,
don’t you see that? It would have been easier to stay there, living with you and Dad,
letting you guys take care of everything for me, and carrying on with my life. Leaving
was harder, Mom. Much harder.” She started to pull her hair into a bun and froze.
Leave it down. She wanted to wear it down for work today.

“If you ask me, I think you’re making too big of a deal about everything.”

“Too big of a deal?” Paige hated the tremble in her voice.

“Calling off a wedding that cost your father and me so much money without trying to
fix your problems with Bryan, first? That’s overreacting at its best.”

Except that she’d been able to get most of the money back. All but the security fees.

“I don’t think sleeping with some woman a month before his wedding is a problem that
we could have just fixed.” Just saying the words made the back of Paige’s eyes throb
again.
Don’t cry.
No more tears because of Bryan. He didn’t deserve them.

Mom sighed. “I don’t know what to tell you, honey. From time to time, men make mistakes—”

Don’t say it.

“Like Dad?” The back of Paige’s eyes burned the second the words left her mouth. She
shouldn’t have said that. She had promised her mom she wouldn’t bring it up again.
“I’m sorry.” Paige waited. “Are you still here?”

“I’m not trying to butt into your life.” Mom’s voice took on a flat tone. “But you
need to think through all your options with a
rational mind
. All those childhood books and movies, well, they lied, sweetheart. There is no
one
true love. There is no perfect match. There are just people, and you make it work
because you made a promise to.” Her mother’s voice took on a stern, almost scolding
tone.

Paige’s stomach churned.

“Even with his unfortunate mistake, Bryan is still a good catch. That boy is going
to be something big someday, and I don’t want you to regret anything down the road.
Believe me, I know all the feelings you have right now and how difficult it is.” She
stopped, but started again when Paige didn’t jump in to fill the silence. “What sort
of men are you bound to meet in who-knows-where Michigan? I’m sure there won’t be
a senator’s son chasing you there.”

“Maybe I’m not looking for a man.” Prepared for a verbal assault, Paige gripped the
armrest of the wicker chair.

“At your age, you should.”

Paige rested her forehead in her free hand. “I’m sorry about all the money you guys
lost.”

“I know, honey. It’s just a shame what a waste it all turned out to be. Bryan really
is a nice boy.”

She needed to change the subject. Talking about anything else was better than this.
“So have you guys decided if you’re going to put the house on the market?”

“The for-sale sign is already in the yard.”

“So fast?”

“Yes. The first open house is this weekend.”

After hanging up, Paige shoved the conversation to the back of her mind. Bryan couldn’t
ruin today.
From time to time, men make mistakes.

Mistakes and choices were two very different things.

She pulled on jeans and a loose knit shirt. From the paperwork she’d received it looked
like they’d be in and out of training for most of the day, but maybe she’d be able
to stay late and start putting together her classroom. If so, that would be dusty
work that included a lot of time organizing books on the floor. Jeans wouldn’t impress
her coworkers, but they were the best option.

She’d walk to work as long as the weather stayed nice. Doing so didn’t leave her a
lot of time for breakfast this morning, but it would help her save money to put into
her dream-house account. Living with Maggie so far seemed fun, but Paige needed to
prove to herself that she could make it without depending on anyone else.

The mouthwatering smell of baked cinnamon and frying bacon propelled her out of her
bedroom. Grabbing her bag, Paige rushed out to the kitchen.

Flour and eggshells covered the large island in the center of the kitchen, and Maggie
whirled around, grabbing muffins and restarting the coffee machine. She wore her curly
hair clipped back.

An elderly woman teetered by the sink, loading dishes into the washer. Her nylons
wrinkled around her ankles like elephant skin, and her flowered dress would make a
queen bee envious. A silver waterfall of hair dived down her back.

Maggie noticed Paige and smiled. “Sorry about the mess. Breakfast is the busiest time
around here. Every room is booked today with people trying to take in the last of
the summer.”

“Right.” Paige laughed. “I forgot the whole breakfast part of a bed-and-breakfast.”

“I’ll see you after school.” Maggie backed through the set of doors that led to the
hotel portion of the inn.

The old woman dried her shaky hands off on a kitchen towel. “You must be the pretty
new schoolteacher that Magpie told me about. You’re going to be the one teaching Shakespeare
and those sorts of books, right?”

“Yes, I’m Paige.” She extended her hand.

“Ida Ashby. I live right next door, and you’re welcome to pop by any old time.”

“Thanks. I better head out to the school. I don’t want to be late on my first day.”
With the kitchen looking like a Tasmanian devil had spun through it on a tirade, skipping
breakfast sounded like the best option.