Love Inspired August 2014 – Bundle 1 of 2 (61 page)

“I don’t know if she’ll want to see me again. I made a lot of stupid mistakes.”

“Remember.” She knocked on her head. “Don’t dwell on past circumstances—learn from
them. And side note, Paige will want to see you again. I’m sure of that.” Shelby blew
him a kiss and walked out the door.

Perhaps Shelby was right.

The door swung open again. “Oh, and if you do have a time machine—I want in on that.”

“Go to the market.” He grabbed a nearby throw pillow and pretended to lob it at her.

She giggled and finally left.

Or maybe Shelby was crazy.

Chapter Sixteen

S
he should be paying attention to the minister speaking up front, but Paige kept craning
her neck to locate Caleb in the small crowd in the church. Since the service took
place in a movie theater, it was hard to see people who sat in the last few high rows.
Was he up there? If so, they needed to talk before they saw each other at school tomorrow
and things became awkward. Moreover, Paige had to get him to agree to a compromise
to keep Sarah’s Home open.

After the closing song, Paige flagged down Shelby. “Where’s your brother?”

Shelby grabbed both her hands and pumped them. “Oh, you know. Off being moody in nature
somewhere. Please don’t give up on him.”

“If you see him will you tell him I want to talk?”

“I’ll do better. I’ll tie him up, toss him in my trunk and drive him over to Maggie’s.”
Shelby opened her arms for a hug. She pulled Paige close and whispered, “He loves
you, even if he’s never told you that.”

Heart fluttering like a caged hummingbird, Paige slipped on her sunglasses and walked
outside. Caleb loved her? He couldn’t...so soon. Right?

After church Maggie drove Paige into Brookside to pick up her car. Paige would have
picked it up sooner, but she’d had so much on her mind and Marty had promised to check
on it every day. Besides, she refused to live in fear that something would happen
to her car or to her every time she ventured out of the safe bubble of Goose Harbor.

“Are you sure you’re good to drive?” Maggie asked for the seventh time as they pulled
into the parking lot of Sarah’s Home.

“Promise.” Paige took her purse. “Don’t wait for me. There’s something I have to do
in town. I should be home by dinner.”

Maggie rolled down her window and yelled, “Do you have a cell on you?”

“Mine was on the floor of my car when I drove here, and I brought a charger in my
purse.” She fished the cord out and waved it for Maggie to see. “I’ll be fine.”

It felt weird to drive again after three days of not being allowed. Pulling out the
folded directions she’d printed off from the city website, Paige turned onto Ashland
Square and saw the police station right away. No one knew, but she had called Miles
before church and set up an appointment to come speak with him about the attack.

Miles greeted her with a smile and an offer of coffee. He steered her into a small
interview room off the lobby. “How have you been feeling?”

Paige gave him a warm smile. “I’m fine. I’m sorry it took me a couple days to make
it out here, but I’m ready to talk about what happened—and who I think the offender
might be.” Orange shoes running away. She shook her head to shoo away the image. “But
I have a concern because I don’t want them to get in trouble—especially if the person
is a juvenile.”

Eyes narrowed in a thoughtful way, Miles tilted his head. “We have a couple options
if it’s a juvenile. However, since an assault took place there will have to be a consequence
of some sort. Now—I have to ask, do you know who attacked you?”

Fiddling with the strap on her purse she considered not telling, but that would be
lying. “Do you know Smalls Avaro?”

“Albert? Yeah, his brothers are both regulars.”

“I think he did it.”

“One of his brothers?”

“No, Smalls. I mean Albert. And I actually think I know where we can find him.”

* * *

Caleb tossed a stone into the lake. All the teens he taught could get them to skip,
but he’d never figured out how to flick his wrist correctly.

He turned a well-worn rock over and over in his hand.

As much as he didn’t want to admit it, Shelby and Paige were both right. In the past
few hours he’d assessed what his life after Sarah’s death consisted of.

Basically, it had become pathetic.

Not counting his job, besides his jogs and reading and the occasional pick-up game
of basketball with the students, he had no life outside of taking care of others.
Which wouldn’t be terrible, but his motives hadn’t always been pure. He hadn’t taken
charge in a manner to serve them. Instead, he made them dependent on him so he felt
important. Like he had worth.

He’d chided Paige for not realizing her worth and searching for it in the wrong place,
but really, he was no different.

Slipping the stone into his pocket, he shuffled his feet in the sand.

Paige pointed out once that the whole town enabled him in his vain desire to protect
everyone and overcontrol situations. She’d been right. After Sarah, they’d all gone
out of their way to make him feel useful and needed. Problem being, he’d moved from
caring about people to trying to handle everything in their lives so he could keep
them from getting hurt. Which, like Shelby pointed out, sometimes kept them from growing.

Fact was, if he was in charge of protecting people, he’d always fail.

Caleb dropped to the ground and brought his legs close to his chest so he could lay
his forehead on his knees. The wind picked up down the beach, creating a whistling
sound in the grass. Seagulls squawked a couple of yards away.

He bowed his head to pray.
You care more about the people I love than I do, don’t You? Forgive me for not trusting
that before. I do now.

What would he do now, though?

Love them. His job was to love those people in all their circumstances and to show
them grace. The students at Sarah’s Home marched through his mind. He’d been a poor
example to them and almost considered shutting down their safe haven in town. No more.
They deserved his respect just as much as his students in Goose Harbor.

Sarah’s Home wouldn’t be closing.

* * *

Paige scanned the parking lot at the high school. No cars.

She’d stopped by Caleb’s house, but his sister said he hadn’t been home yet. School
tomorrow could be awkward if they didn’t talk tonight. They had to make peace about
Sarah’s Home and their broken relationship, if only to make working together manageable.
Then again, perhaps they weren’t meant to.

Go home, Paige.

Tracing her normal walking route to and from school, she turned onto the street that
led to Maggie’s inn. Color in her peripheral vision made her slam on her brakes. Ida’s
flowers.

She turned on her hazard lights, put her car in Park and stepped onto the bridge.
Sweet Ida with her constant reminders to keep her heart open to love.

Why hadn’t she listened?

Since her first day in Goose Harbor, Caleb had been there for her. It burned to know
she’d entertained the thought of him cheating on her. If any man was loyal, it was
the one who devoted himself to his late wife’s dream.

Caleb proved to be everything she never thought any man could be. He cared about his
family, watched out for people in need, took his faith seriously and treated her with
dignity.

Yes, he tried to control things more than he should, but the source came from love.
He wanted to shelter the people he cared about. Was that so bad?

“And I love him.” The words came so suddenly she slapped a hand over her mouth. But
they were true.

Running her fingers on the soft flower petals, she leaned in, breathing their bee-luring
perfume.

“I botched everything,” she whispered. “Didn’t I?”

Not wanting to go straight back home after such a revelation, Paige climbed back in
her car and turned it in the direction of the dunes nature park. She hadn’t returned
there since cutting her foot, but it struck her as the ideal place to figure out what
to say to Caleb and pray.

It only took ten minutes to get there and park, and another fifteen to hike out to
the beach area on the dunes. A downed tree made for a perfect bench, and after a cursory
look, she slipped off her shoes and sank her feet into the cool layer of sand.

Closing her eyes, she tipped her head back to let the sun’s warmth wash over her face.
A moment later, a cloud must have passed in front of the sun because it got darker.
Except that didn’t make sense, seeing as the sky had been cloudless when she walked
down there. Still dark. She opened her eyes.

“Caleb.” She breathed his name and the rest of her voice caught in her throat.

He looked down at the ground. Shuffled his feet. “Can we talk? Or if you want to be
left alone, that’s okay, too. I understand.”

“You’re here.” She was having a hard time being eloquent. The man standing a few feet
away was the love she’d dreamed about her whole life. Overcome by the thought, she
sprang to her feet and reached for him.

Caleb shook his head and stepped forward where his gentle hands found a home on her
shoulders. “I can’t stop thinking about you. I’m so afraid I messed up what we had.”

Paige lifted one of his hands from her shoulder and leaned her cheek into his open
palm. Savoring the feel of his calloused fingers against her soft skin, she closed
her eyes. “The last time we talked I was so cruel to you. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have
said any of those things.”

“I said a lot of terrible things, too. We both have a lot of hurt to bring to the
table, but I think it’s worth getting through it all to be together.” His thumb traced
back and forth in the hair above her ear. “I’m not going to close Sarah’s Home.”

“Really?”

“A lot of the security needs to change before I’m comfortable with it staying open,
but that is the only safe place for so many students in Brookside. It stays open,
and you’re welcome there whenever the door is unlocked. I’m sorry I tried so hard
to overprotect you.”

She nodded a bunch of times and swallowed hard. “You know, someone caring enough to
want to protect me isn’t so bad after all.”

He framed her face. “I’m not good at this stuff—being in a relationship. Sarah and
I were kids when we decided we’d get married. So I missed learning all the dating
rules in high school. But if you’ll...” He stopped for a moment and leaned so they
could have eye contact. “I know it sounds silly, but would you be my girlfriend?”

Paige gave a rapid-nod answer. “Yes.”

“Really?” He squeezed her shoulder. “I might make a couple more mistakes along the
way. Actually, I can promise you I’ll make a lot of mistakes.”

“I love you.” The words were out before she’d considered saying them, but they were
true.

“I love you, too.”

A small smile pulled at his lips, and when he opened his arms she didn’t waste a minute
flying into them. Pressing her face into his neck, she breathed in his familiar pine-and-midnight
smell. It felt like home.

His fingers found the soft skin at the nape of her neck. Tipping her head back, Caleb
kissed her deeply, and Paige returned the kiss with equal fervor, drinking in the
man she thought she’d lost.

When they parted, he pressed his forehead to hers for a minute with his eyes still
closed. “This is all too good to be true.”

“Walk with me.” She unwound from his arms and reached to lace her fingers with his.
“We have so much to talk about.”

“Only if you do one thing first.” Caleb winked. “Put your shoes on.”

Tugging her gym shoes back on, she laughed. Only Caleb would remember about her foot
getting cut after sharing such a great kiss, but she no longer minded taking small
precautions if they made Caleb feel better.

They moved up the beach as the tide rolled in higher. A flock of seagulls scuttled
away as they walked nearer.

Paige took a deep breath. “I went to Brookside today.”

“Oh?” Caleb’s tone held none of the censure she’d feared.

“I met with Miles and we found the person who attacked me.”

His grip tightened.

She pumped his hand once. “It was Smalls.”

He stopped, causing her to jerk backward by a foot. “Smalls? But he likes you. That
makes no sense.”

“It didn’t for me, either, until we talked to him. His brother’s gang tried to recruit
him. They had a gun to his head and instructed him to do it or face punishment.” She
faced Caleb. “He doesn’t want to end up in a gang. Smalls has dreams—he wants to go
to college and get a degree to help him become a writer. Isn’t that great?”

Brow scrunched, Caleb scanned the horizon. “Miles will have to arrest him. That’ll
ruin his chances of going to school.”

“Your friend Miles is great. He made arrangements for Smalls to serve as an informant
so the police department can capture some of the major gang members in town in exchange
for his charges being dropped. They fingerprinted him, but as long as he doesn’t have
any more trouble in Brookside for the year, the charges will never be filed. Miles
promised to keep an eye on Smalls and have him protected if any of the gangs start
to suspect him.”

Using one finger, Caleb tucked her wind-blown hair behind her ear. “You’re amazing.
Most people would have wanted him punished.”

“I want him to have a future. That’s the kind of impact a place like Sarah’s Home
can have on a community.”

“I agree.” He tugged her hand so they could keep walking toward the magenta sun as
it began to dip into the onyx horizon. “But we need to raise money for security cameras
and a fenced parking lot. Small things like that to make the place safer for everyone.”

“I have ideas for changes, too.” Paige swung their hands as they walked.

“I can’t wait to hear them.” He stopped then, and pulled Paige in front of him so
her back was against his chest. Wrapping his arms around her, he rested his chin on
her head. They stood there until the sun finally dipped below the edge of the lake.
“We should head home.”

Paige laced her fingers with his and realized Caleb was wrong about one thing. All
of this wasn’t too good to believe.

Hadn’t God directed them on this path all along? Even through the difficult circumstances
in life they had both faced before meeting each other. God had taken two broken and
hurt people and made them new.

More than that, He now offered them a new start—together.

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt from LONE STAR HERO by Jolene Navarro.