Changing Her Heart (3 page)

“You don't still get motion sickness, do you? I can see using the skates to get to the mall, but it's quite an uphill journey back. How do you get home? Do you walk?” Walking home from work would explain why Randy was late, but not why Randy was being so evasive about it. He looked out the window to Randy's car parked on the street. “You've got your car now.”

“I got a ride home, and I took my own car from there.”

“Now we're getting somewhere. But if you got a ride, how in the world could you have been late?”

Randy's movements quickened as he turned the levels on the sound board down to zero, and began unplugging the unit. “Because we went out for dinner before she took me home,” Randy told him, barely audible.

Adrian nearly dropped the microphone in his hand. “She? You mean, like a woman?”

Randy tossed another neatly wrapped cord into the bin with far more force than was necessary. “No. A dog drove me home. What do you think?”

“You don't have to get so sarcastic. I was only asking.” He moved in closer to Randy. “What's she like?”

Randy dragged one hand down his face. “She's different than any woman I've ever met before. Funny, but not by telling jokes…she's witty. Smart. Unbelievably organized. Modest, if people use words like that anymore. I haven't known her for more than a few days, but I feel good being with her. I know it's wrong, but I can't help it. I keep thinking about her. I don't know what it is. For the past couple of days, we've started out talking about computers, but then we end up talking about something else, and we have a lot of fun. So much fun that it will almost be worth it when her boyfriend shows up and punches my lights out.”

Adrian blinked. “Boyfriend? If she's got a boyfriend, what are you doing going out with her?”

Using his toes, Randy pushed at a guitar pick lying on the carpet. “I'm not really going out with her. She's buying him a computer for his birthday, and she has a lot of questions, so we've been going out for dinner, just to talk. I also don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth when she offers me a ride, because then I don't have to kill myself skating home.”

“If she's got a boyfriend, regardless of the reason you're getting together, it must be pretty awkward.”

Randy turned toward Adrian. “You want to hear awkward? She's invited me to his birthday party.”

“Are you going?”

“Yeah. She asked me to put the computer together for him. It's a surprise.”

Adrian winced. “And you're okay with that?”

“No, but I don't have any choice. She said she'll give me a ride home every day this week, and I have to return the favor.”

Memories flooded Adrian of his initial contacts with his wife, Celeste. In hindsight, he could now see how much she'd affected him, and it had all happened so quickly. Adrian wanted to caution Randy about the same thing, because he knew how Randy felt about relationships, especially with his background. But before he could figure out how to put the words together, Randy stood up.

“Adrian, I feel really tired all of a sudden. I think whatever is happening with this woman is getting to me, and I can't let that happen. I'm going to go home and read my Bible for a little while, and then I should see if anyone from my chat group is online. I need to talk to someone.”

Before Adrian had a chance to volunteer to talk to Randy in person instead of having Randy go to his online support group, Randy turned around and left.

Without first stopping in the kitchen and raiding the doughnuts.

“Uh-oh…” Adrian said as he heard Randy's car squeal off in the distance.

 

“I can't talk now, Mom. I'm at work. But I have a price for the computer.”

Lacey nodded at another customer who entered the store, made a few quick calculations, then whispered the figures to her mother.

“Will you be going out with that young man after work again?”

Lacey's fingers froze over the calculator. “Probably.”

“How well do you know him? I mean,
really
know him?”

“Uh…not a lot….”

“You've already bought the computer so you don't need to see him again. Just be careful.”

Lacey gulped. She knew what her mother meant. Her family had a history of making bad choices when it came to men, from her father to her brother-in-law. Lacey was very likely to follow her mother's and her sister's patterns—it was obviously in her genes. And that was why Lacey had decided that she would never get married.

“I will.” Lacey hung up the phone, but instead of returning to her work, her hand stayed on the phone as she stared at the wall. The wall between her store and the computer store. Randy was on the other side of that wall.

She knew she didn't have to see him again, but she would anyway. She really hadn't needed to invite him to Bryce's party to set up the computer, either.

The only reason she was continuing to see him was because he needed a ride.

If there was anything she'd learned from all her hardships growing up, it was the pain of what it was like to do without. When she started going to church and the people there discovered the financial plight of her family, many stepped in to help. Their out-pouring of kindness, help and financial assistance was the first thing that opened her heart, as well as the hearts of her family, to God's love. At times it was humiliating to take charity. But it was also a lesson in how to accept graciously, as well as how to give sacrificially.

That was why she wanted to give Randy a ride home every day. Simply because he needed it. There was no other reason. Really.

She jerked her hand away from the phone and continued with her task of checking inventory for the sidewalk sale, but she was soon interrupted by a customer.

The woman closed her eyes briefly and inhaled deeply as she slid a pair of earrings toward the cash register. “It's really hot out there. It must be so nice to work in here, where it's air-conditioned.”

Lacey sighed. “Maybe, but I'm missing out on one
of the last really hot days of the summer. It's different when you don't have a choice.”

The woman shrugged her shoulders. “Suit yourself.”

After the woman left, the comment about the hot weather outside stuck on Lacey like a burr. When the rush died down, she retrieved her lunch from the fridge and called out to Kate, “I'm going to take my break outside. I'll see you in half an hour.”

Lacey smiled at the blast of heat as she stepped outside and headed straight for the small park next door. A gazebo sheltered people from the hot sun, and beside the gazebo, a patch of trees provided shade, where a number of people were sitting or lying on blankets. Blankets weren't her thing, but half an hour of sunshine sure was.

On the other side of the park a few benches lined the sidewalk, which was beside a small bed of flowers. Unlike the gazebo and the area under the trees, the benches were vacant because they were in the full sun.

Lacey headed for the benches.

Everything was fairly quiet, until the sound of a soft, clattery rumble began. She turned her head to see a lone man on inline skates approaching from the other side of the park.

She recognized the man, even from the distance.

Since he was coming quite fast, Lacey moved to the side of the path so he could pass without difficulty.

“Hi, Randy,” she said as he whizzed past.

The noise of the skates on the cement sidewalk stopped instantly. Lacy spun around, expecting to see Randy lying on the ground. Her heart pounded as she watched him, running on the grass, slowing his speed until he came to a stop. He turned around, stepped back onto the sidewalk and skated back to her.

“Lacey? What are you doing out here?” He switched the box he was carrying to his other hand and checked his watch.

She held up her lunch bag. “I'm taking a late break. What are you doing out here at this hour?”

He held out the box and grinned. “I missed my doughnuts last night, so I went to the doughnut shop on my coffee break.”

“You couldn't get a doughnut in the mall?”

He shook his head. “These are special. You can't get these in the mall.” He opened the box, displaying a half-dozen specialty Boston Cremes. “Want one? They're my favorite.”

She reached forward, then froze before she actually touched one. “I shouldn't. I haven't had my lunch yet.”

“It's okay. I promise not to tell your mother that you had your dessert before the main course.”

Lacey's stomach churned. She still wasn't sure that she wanted to introduce him to her mother, but by inviting him to Bryce's party, she'd opened herself up to her mother's justifiable curiosity.

Grinning, Randy held the box out, and winked. Lacey's fingers trembled as she reached into the box. “Speaking of my mother and the party, I still haven't figured out how to get you into the house early enough to set everything up before everyone else gets there.”

“I don't know, either,” Randy mumbled as he bit into one of the doughnuts. “All I do know is that I won't be available until after eleven-thirty, because that's when my church's service ends.”

“Really? My church ends the service at noon.” Lacey's mind raced and she stiffened, steeling her courage in order to ask her question. “How about if I go to church with you? Then we could be back at Mom's house half an hour earlier than everyone else. Would that be enough time to set up the computer for Bryce? That's about the amount of time I'll need to do the food.”

“Yeah. It would,” Randy said around the doughnut sticking out his mouth, keeping it clenched between his teeth as he closed the lid of the box and tried to press the tape back down. Unable to make the tape stick, he grasped the doughnut again and took it out of his mouth so he could speak. “I've been thinking. What is Bryce going to say when he sees me with you at his birthday party? Do you think he'll be okay with that?”

Lacey nodded and hurried to swallow her bite of
the pastry. “Of course he'll be fine with it. In fact, I'm almost sure that the two of you will spend quite a bit of time together with the computer, after all the excitement dies down a bit.”

Randy's eyes widened, and he continued to pick at the tape. “Oh,” he muttered.

Lacey waited for him to say more, but he remained silent.

“If you're worried that you won't know anyone there, it's okay. Everyone is all friends and family. Besides, I'm sure once Bryce discovers what you do for a living, he'll hog you to himself all day. Please don't be shy.”

For an almost indiscernible second, Randy stiffened. Lacey almost wanted to smile, except she was still too nervous. Despite her words, even though she hadn't known him that long, she suspected the last thing anyone could ever accuse Randy of was being shy.

“I guess,” he mumbled. “I really should go. It was faster going on the skates than walking, but I think I've used up my fifteen minutes, and I don't want to be late getting back to work. I guess I'll see you Sunday.”

“Sure. What time should I pick you up?”

Randy had begun to push off, but he stopped and spun around. “If you're going to my church, then I think good manners dictate that I should pick you up. After all, you're going to be my guest. It's just that I
have to be there an hour early in order to set up the sound system for the worship team.”

“That's fine. I don't mind. Would you like a ride home again tonight? You're pretty good on those skates, but it is a long way uphill. I can give my address and directions after work. Maybe over dinner?”

“I…” Randy's voice trailed off, and eventually, he nodded. “Sure. That would be great.”

“Good. I'll see you at five o'clock.” Because he'd sounded hesitant, Lacey turned and started walking toward the bench, not waiting for his reply.

She didn't want to admit it to herself, but she wouldn't have been able to bear it if he had said no.

“W
hat does this button do?”

“Uh…Lacey… Please don't touch that.”

Lacey yanked her hand away.

“Thanks,” Randy muttered as he held one of the earpieces of the headphones up to his ear with one hand, and adjusted another setting with the other.

While Randy adjusted knobs and buttons, Lacey watched his friends on the worship team practice. They were easy to see from the height of the sound booth, which was in a raised room at back of the sanctuary, recessed into the back wall.

“Okay, I've got everything set.” Randy put the headphones down on the table beside the very complex-looking soundboard, and gave the worship team a thumbs-up signal. “Now we sit back and wait for the service to begin. I'll have to make a few
adjustments as the room fills up, but this is pretty much it.”

“I've never thought about what happens behind the scenes on Sunday mornings. This is actually quite interesting.”

“The same things happen at every church, every Sunday, including yours. Speaking of your church, you think anyone will miss you?”

Lacey shrugged her shoulders. “No, and Mom thinks it's perfect. When Bryce and mom left this morning, the house would have looked normal. Since we'll be able to get back so much earlier we can let everyone in to hide without anyone having to rush. When Mom and Bryce finally get back, Bryce will really be surprised.”

Randy stiffened and blinked. “Bryce lives with your mother?”

Lacey turned to him. “For now, but he's going to move into the dormitory for his last year of university. Mom's already started complaining about how much he eats, and saying how good it will be that he's moving out, but we both know that she'll be lonely without him. Of course he'll move back home when he's done with classes, but who knows for how long? I don't think it will take him long to get a job. He'll probably work for a while to pay off his student loans, and then move out when he's financially stable. Maybe he'll even get married. Mom
says he's been getting a lot of calls from a woman lately.”

She expected Randy to make some kind of comment, but he was strangely silent. His eyes visibly widened, and he stared at her.

She couldn't figure out what he thought was strange about her story, although she couldn't really remember talking to him previously about her mother, or about Bryce. Of all the things they'd talked about, family was something that had never entered a conversation, hers or his. She'd even had the impression that he avoided the topic. Thinking about it now made her suddenly curious.

“I guess I didn't tell you. My dad died when we were kids. My sister is older than me, and she's been married for a while. I moved out when I got the job downtown. So now it's just Bryce and Mom left at the house.”

“I'm so sorry. Not about your brother. About your dad. That must have been awful.”

Lacey swallowed hard. She'd almost told him about it at the booth in the mall, but she couldn't bring herself to talk about it then. With the church service about to start soon, she didn't want to talk about it now, either. Yet she knew she had to tell him something, so he wouldn't accidentally upset her mother by saying the wrong thing, not knowing what had happened.

She lowered her gaze to the floor. “When he died, he left Mom with three small kids. We had a lot of struggles but we made it, with a lot of help. After Bryce finished high school he worked for a couple of years, then managed to get a student loan for university. He's been living at home, but Mom sees how hard the commute is, so she told him that for this last year, he should stay in the dorm. It's going to be best for Bryce, but hard on my mom. When Bryce moves out next week, Mom's going to be all alone for the first time. She's devoted her life to us kids.”

Randy cleared his throat. “So you must be older than, uh, your brother?”

“Yes. I'm three years older than Bryce, and two years younger than Susan. Are you okay? Your voice sounds funny. Are you coming down with a cold?”

He cleared his throat again and touched his fingertips to his neck. “No. I think I just have a frog in my throat. I'm fine.”

Lacey tipped her head to the side. “I probably should have said something sooner, but we never seem to talk about family.”

His whole body stiffened. “I don't have much to tell. I didn't live with my parents all the time. I sometimes lived at my best friend's parents' house.” He turned and began to play with some of the settings on the soundboard.

She waited for him to continue, but he didn't.

Despite his claim that there wasn't much to tell, Lacey suspected there was. She turned toward the sanctuary, which was starting to fill up. “Are any of them here? Can I meet them?”

“Unfortunately, my parents don't go to church, and Bob's parents don't go here. They go to the church across from the arena, where I used to go, as well. The associate pastor from there, along with Bob, Adrian, Paul and I, and a small group of other people, started this church. We've come a long way from twenty-seven people, don't you think?”

“Wow. I'm impressed.”

“It's God's work, not mine, or anyone else's in the ministry team.”

The worship team stopped playing and left the stage and Randy switched to a CD, setting it to play softly in the background.

“Are you going to join your friends? I mean, at my church, the worship team always prays before the service.”

“Usually I would, but I don't want to leave you here all alone.”

“It's okay. I'll be fine. Go pray with your friends.”

He turned to go, paused and then left.

While Randy was gone, Lacey watched as the sanctuary continued to fill up.

Even though it was her first time here, she felt
comfortable. But that shouldn't have been a surprise. It appeared that Randy hadn't had a happy childhood, yet he had settled into a niche that was good for him. He'd found good friends, a good church, and he was happy.

Lacey smiled. Randy was more than just happy; she thoroughly enjoyed his offbeat sense of humor.

The past few days she found that she could hardly wait for the end of the day so she could see Randy again.

Her smile dropped. After the party was over, she wouldn't have any reason to see Randy. Unless, of course, she continued to give him a ride home every day.

Lacey's heart began to pound.

If she had been trying to tell herself that she wasn't attracted to Randy, she was only deluding herself. She did like him, and she was starting to like him a lot. But she needed to find out more about him, including how he felt about her.

“I'm back. Did you miss me?”

She had missed him, but she didn't want to admit it, so she merely shrugged her shoulders.

He grinned. “Good. I missed you, too.”

Lacey quickly sent up a prayer of thanks to God for the answer to one of the questions she hadn't yet dared to ask.

Randy flipped a switch, and a screen floated
down. He flipped another switch and hit a few buttons on a computer beside the soundboard, and the words to the first worship song appeared.

Lacey focused her attention on the screen, and pushed all other thoughts out of her mind.

This was not the time to think about what might happen between herself and Randy. She was at church and she was there to set some time aside to worship God, not think about her personal life.

But after the party maybe, just maybe, she would have her answers.

 

“Surprise!”

Lacey watched Bryce's face pale, then turn ten shades of red. All their friends and family laughed, then broke out into applause. Beside him, their mother squealed with delight.

“We did it,” Lacey whispered to Randy. “Look at him! He's really surprised.”

“I think he's past surprised. He's gone into shock.”

Lacey ran forward and gave her brother a big hug, which made everyone in the room cheer and applaud even more.

“I don't know what to say,” Bryce admitted as he glanced back and forth at the room full of people.

Following her example, their niece and nephew, Kaitlyn and Shawn, also ran forward. Kaitlyn leaped into Bryce's arms.

“Happy birthday, Uncle Bryce!” Kaitlyn squealed with glee. “We all gots you a surprise!”

Bryce smiled and gave Kaitlyn a hug. “Yes, I'm sure surprised,” he said, giving her a peck on the cheek.

Lacey removed Kaitlyn from Bryce's arms and set her on the floor. “Go see your mom, okay, Kaitlyn?” she whispered, then took Bryce by the hand and pulled him in the direction of his bedroom.

“What are you doing?” His voice lowered. “Everyone is following us. I didn't make my bed this morning.”

Lacey barely suppressed a giggle. “Don't worry. The next surprise is that I made your bed for you. Just don't expect it to ever happen again.”

That said, she shuffled behind him, and gave him a gentle nudge into the room, where Randy had set up the new computer on Bryce's desk. On the monitor, the multicolored message “Happy Birthday!” rolled across the screen.

Bryce's mouth dropped open. “What have you done?”

“Happy birthday!” everyone chorused behind him.

As Bryce disappeared from her side to go to the desk, Randy shuffled in to take Bryce's place beside her.

Bryce picked up the large card, which Randy had set on top of the keyboard, and opened it. While
Bryce read the card and responded to everyone as he read their comments, more people continued to squeeze into the small bedroom to watch.

The more the room filled up, the closer she and Randy had to move together, until he was pressed into her from her shoulder to her knee.

She looked up to his face to see if she could judge his response. Almost as if he could sense her movement, he turned his head and looked down at her.

His voice lowered to a husky whisper. “Hi,” he muttered, and at the same moment as he spoke, his fingers intertwined with hers, and he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

Lacey blushed. She didn't know what to do, and she didn't know if they should be holding hands, but she didn't want to let go. She also had to accept his action as a signal that something was happening between them, and that he felt the same way she did.

The room quieted as Bryce lowered the card. “Thank you, everyone. I don't know what to say.”

Everyone started talking at the same time, offering their suggestions, mostly about taking turns using the new computer.

Lacey raised herself on her tiptoes and leaned toward Randy so he could hear her. “Do you want to show him how to work everything?”

He leaned back down to reply. “It's just a standard computer. He'll know what to do. I'll help him set
up his e-mail and configure the settings later, when he's not the center of attention.”

“I don't know. He looks a little flustered.”

Bryce chose that moment to look directly at Lacey. His lost expression made up her mind. She tightened her grip on Randy's hand and led him a few steps forward, until they were standing beside the chair where Bryce sat.

“Bryce, this is Randy. He's the one who helped me buy the computer.”

Bryce stood. As he caught a glimpse of their joined hands, he raised his eyebrows. He looked up and shook Randy's free hand. “That must have been a challenge. Lacey is afraid of computers.”

“Am not,” Lacey retorted.

Bryce looked at her, but spoke to Randy. “She is.”

Randy grinned. “But she's learning.”

Lacey released Randy's hand and stepped back. “I should go help in the kitchen. Everyone is probably starving.” She pressed through the crowd and hurried to the kitchen, where her mother and her sister were busily removing the canapés from the oven and setting them on serving platters.

“Mom. Susan. It looks like we're almost ready. Things are going really well.”

Her mother stopped fussing with the food, and straightened. “He was so surprised! And there are so many more people here than I expected. This is
wonderful. But this means there are more people to feed.”

That so many had been invited was no surprise to Lacey. The rented home was small, the furnishings were worn, but everyone was always welcome, and her mother had a habit of being generous when inviting people for a celebration that involved food.

There had been many times in their family's history when God had provided for them when they couldn't provide for themselves. Now that their family was doing better, her mother did her best to provide for others, despite her humble means.

Lacey swept one hand through the air, above the table, which was covered with trays of food. “You still have enough for double the amount of people here. I don't know why you do this.”

Her mother grinned, and reached into the oven for the second tray. “I can't let anyone go home hungry.”

Lacey turned to Susan, who was pressing the candles into the cake. “I was thinking about putting the cake in the middle of the dining room table, but I don't know if there will be enough room.”

Susan spoke without raising her head. “I've al ready moved the centerpiece. It's fine.”

Lacey froze. Susan's voice had been too quiet, and too controlled. Added to the fact that Susan hadn't looked at her when she spoke, it gave Lacey
a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach that had nothing to do with hunger.

“Susan, what's wrong?”

“Nothing,” Susan answered quietly without looking up, which was all the answer Lacey needed. Something was definitely wrong, and it could only be something to do with Eric.

Lacey struggled to remember if she'd seen Eric in the crowd. She hadn't.

Lacey helped carry the food into the dining room. Her mother called everyone to eat, and after one of the men from her church paused for a prayer of thanks, the guests descended on the food like a swarm of locusts.