Family for Keeps & Sadie's Hero (21 page)

“Do we have time for one more thing?” Sadie asked when they were walking away from the man who had drawn their picture.

“I’m afraid to say yes for fear of what you’ll come up with. After all, you were the one who bid on me at the auction just so you could see me about Special Olympics. That should have given me a hint when you told me that. And to think I turned the rest of the evening over to you.”

She waited until it was clear to cross the street before answering him. “I just want to see the river at night. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Again she was proven wrong when, a few minutes later, she was standing on the Moonwalk by the edge of the river enfolded in a velvety night, the cool breeze stirring the strands of her hair, the scents of beignets and coffee drifting to her from a café not far away. She shivered.

“Cold?”

She didn’t reply. Andrew drew her against his length and enveloped her in his arms. She felt as though she had come home in his embrace. Oh, no, she was in trouble again.

“We probably better leave,” she murmured, the statement not coming out with any force while her gaze was transfixed by the romantic spill of moonlight on the river.

“Yeah, probably.” His whispered words were close to her ear, tickling its shell.

Neither made a move to leave.

She snuggled against him, seeking his warmth. He hugged her closer. The stars, the river, the night cast their magic over her, making her believe anything was possible. And maybe for this one day, it was. Tomorrow they would be in Cimarron City, and life would proceed.

When he turned her to face him, she didn’t say a word. Instead, she tilted her head to look into his eyes, hidden in the shadows of night that had woven a spell around them. This was not reality, Sadie repeated silently. They wanted different things from life. They led different lives. And yet, she was drawn to him. She wanted to heal his broken heart, help him see that God hadn’t abandoned him all those years ago.

Andrew cupped her face, his fingers combing through her hair. “I enjoyed myself, Sadie.”

“But?”

“But we need to leave for the airport. Tomorrow we’ll regret staying so long in New Orleans.”

Regret? No, she doubted she ever would. “When we’re at work trying to stay awake?”

“Yes, exactly.” He stepped away, his arms falling to his sides.

Somehow she didn’t think that was what he’d really meant. He was already reining in his emotions, closing totally down. She didn’t have to see his expression to know how he looked. She could tell by his distancing, his stance that held him apart.

T
he second the seat belt snapped closed, the strap secure about Sadie’s hips, she felt trapped, perspiration beading on her upper lip. She gripped the arms of her chair and stared straight ahead. The plane began to taxi to the end of the runway. Her fingernails dug into the cushioned padding.

Breathe,
she told herself, but the tightness in her chest attested to the fact she couldn’t.
Remember the pastor’s sermon today about fear.

“Sadie, are you okay?”

Andrew’s question seemed to come from afar, as though he spoke to her from the other end of a long tunnel. Her mind was blank. She was unable to form a coherent sentence.
The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.
The words from Proverbs 29:25 gave her the strength to turn toward Andrew and offer him a ghost of a smile.

He covered her hand with his, rubbing his warm palm across the backs of her fingers. “Are you afraid of flying?”

“I’m trying not to be.”

“I thought you were a risk taker.”

“Only when I am in control. I thought about learning to fly—but only for a millisecond.”

“That long?”

“Okay, we’ve established I’m afraid of flying. Please let’s not talk about it anymore.” Again she recited silently the words from the Bible and again she felt more capable of dealing with this fear.

“Whatever you say.” Andrew continued to massage her hand as though he could impart his courage into her. “What would you like to talk about? The weather?”

“Not at the moment, since it directly affects flying,” she quipped, glad she could joke about her fear.

“Then tell me about Thursday night. What do you expect me to do?”

She focused her thoughts on her plan to get Andrew involved with her students. For a moment it took her mind away from the fact that the plane was barreling down the runway. “This is an organizational meeting. I want you—” The jet lifted off the ground, and Sadie choked back her next words.

“Don’t leave me hanging in suspense, Sadie. You can’t say that to a man and not complete the sentence.” He pried her hand loose from the padded arm and held it cradled between his palms.

The plane’s ascent left her breathless, her heart speeding as fast as the jet through the air. Sweat popped out on her forehead and rolled down her face.
I am not alone. God is with me.

“Take a deep breath, Sadie. You look like you’re going to faint. How in the world did you make it to New Orleans?”

Sadie followed his advice, and slowly her lungs filled with stale air and her heart eased its frantic beating. “I prayed a lot. I hate to fall apart around others.”

“But with me it’s okay?”

“Something like that. You should be flattered. I feel comfortable enough around you to fall apart.”

“Thanks, I think.”

She felt his gaze on her and turned to meet his look. “You’re welcome.”

The jet leveled off, and her body’s reaction to the fact they were thousands of feet in the air settled into a slight case of the nerves. She wiped her free hand across her forehead and upper lip.

She attempted a smile that quivered about the corners of her mouth for a few seconds before disappearing. “I’m not afraid of many things, but flying is one of them. I’m okay, usually, between takeoffs and landings.”

“So we have a few hours.”

“If the weather holds.”

“So what do you expect of me on Thursday?”

“I want you to present the check from IFI and say a few words. That’s all. You don’t have to stay, but I would love for you to have pizza with us afterward. That is, if you have the time.”

“Pizza? Isn’t that fattening? I’m surprised a teacher who teaches nutrition would encourage such a dish.”

Sadie responded to the teasing tone in his voice with a laugh. “Pizza covers four of the five food groups. If you happen to like pineapple on your pizza, it can cover all five. I think that’s pretty nutritious. Besides, you work with what you’ve got. Teenagers have distinct appetites and are particularly attracted to sugar and fats.”

“Then I’ll be at the high school at seven with a check, a few words and an appetite for pizza.” He unlatched his seat belt and shifted in the chair to a more comfortable position. “Now that the date is almost over, what was your fourth wish?”

The question caught her by surprise. Her eyes widened, and her throat went dry. She remembered her foolish fourth wish, to be kissed by him, and blushed. “Nothing to concern you.” She squeaked the words out.

“I don’t believe you, Sadie. You’re ten shades of red.”

“Okay. It does concern you. But that’s all you’re going to find out.” She pressed her lips closed to emphasize her point.

“Oh, now you have my curiosity aroused. You know I’m not going to let this drop.”

She narrowed her eyes and folded her arms across her chest.

He laughed. “I think I get the hint. Okay, if you won’t tell me what it is, then at least tell me when it is fulfilled.”

She nodded, feeling the heat in her cheeks spreading. She needed to get their conversation away from wishes and onto a safer topic. “I had two reasons for bidding on you at the auction. One was IFI supporting our Special Olympics team, and the other—” she heaved a sigh and plunged ahead “—the other involved a vocational training program I’m developing at the high school.”

Andrew stiffened, his expression neutral.

“I have a student who will be graduating this year.” She hurried ahead with her explanation before she lost her nerve. “I would like to place him in a job in the community before he leaves high school. He’s a wonderful, hard worker who would be an asset to any company that hired him.”

“And you want IFI to hire him?”

“If I can get the biggest employer in Cimarron City to participate in the program, others will follow. I want to try him out on a trial basis for a few hours each afternoon. There’s a funding source that will pay his salary while he’s training.”

“What if it doesn’t work out?”

“Then you don’t hire him after graduation. But if you agreed to this program, it would be with the serious intention of hiring him when he’s out of high school.”

“Is this why you couldn’t get by Mrs. Fox?”

“Yes.”

He frowned, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t know about this, Sadie.”

“Please meet Chris first before you decide.”

“Will he be there Thursday night?”

She nodded.

“Now I know why you didn’t take your donation and just buy uniforms.”

“What I said was true. We need a sponsor, but I won’t kid you. My main reason for betting on you was for Chris. If I didn’t think this would benefit everyone, especially IFI, I wouldn’t have pursued it so vigorously. I just need a chance to prove this job program can work and my students can be a valuable asset to a company.”

“This means a lot to you.”

It wasn’t a question, but she said yes anyway.

“So this whole date was really work to you?”

“It started out that way, but quickly changed last night.”

“When?”

“When you took me to see your home.”

Silence descended between them, the hum of the engines the only sound.

“You know, I should be angry with you. But how can I be when you’ve just proven you’re more like me than you think?”

“How so?”

“Your work—your students—they’re very important to you. Your life revolves around them, I suspect.”

“I do have a balance.”

“And I don’t?”

“What do you think?”

“I don’t.” He lifted his briefcase onto his lap and opened it. “Which reminds me, I have work to do.”

Sadie watched him shuffle through some papers before he pulled out a stack of them. He had effectively shut a door in her face, and she couldn’t blame him. She was afraid her plan had backfired.

“That concludes our business. Now I would like to introduce Mr. Andrew Knight from IFI, who has an announcement for us.” Smiling at Andrew, Sadie stepped to the side.

He walked to the podium in the high school auditorium and waited for the applause to die down before saying, “Miss Spencer, I appreciate the opportunity to come here tonight and present Cimarron High School Special Olympics team with a check from IFI for two thousand dollars. We are proud to be a sponsor of such a fine endeavor.”

Surprised at the generous amount, Sadie took the check from Andrew while her students and their parents cheered and clapped. “On behalf of the team, I want to thank IFI for their support and you for coming tonight.” After shaking his hand, she continued, “I hope to see everyone at Mitchell’s for pizza.”

Several of her students swarmed her and Andrew, wanting to see the check. Sadie held it up for them to look at it, then said, “I don’t know about you all, but I’m starved.”

“Me, too,” a small girl who didn’t weigh more than eighty pounds said.

“Does this mean we get new shirts?”

“Chris, this means we get new uniforms.” Sadie folded the check and put it into her pocket.

“New ones?” A tall, thin boy with freckles and a ready smile asked.

“Yes, Kevin.”

“In time for soccer?” Chris asked, his optimistic gaze fixed on Andrew.

“Not for soccer, but hopefully in time for basketball. Our soccer tournament is next week.” Sadie began walking toward the back of the auditorium, where some of the parents were waiting for their children.

Andrew slowed his pace, allowing the students to go ahead of them. “Is that the Chris you want to work at IFI?”

“Yes. He’s twenty.” Sadie stopped halfway up the center aisle, realizing Chris’s small stature might make him appear younger to some people. Only five feet tall, Chris Carter had dark brown eyes, slightly slanted at the corners, and a broad, flat nose. The most appealing part of his appearance was his wide smile, which came readily to his face.

“You comin’, Miss Spencer?” Chris called as he started for the back door with his mother.

“Yes, we’ll be along.” She waved the group on, then turned to Andrew. “Have you made your decision yet?”

“I thought you wanted me to get to know Chris first.”

“Yes, of course. Then we’d better hurry.” She started forward.

“Why?” Andrew hung back.

“So we can sit at the same table as Chris. He’s very popular.”

“Does he know about this job you want to get him?”

A few feet away, Sadie pivoted toward Andrew. “He knows I’m looking for a job for him.”

“But not at IFI?”

“I didn’t want to get his hopes up.”

“His hopes up?”

“His father worked at IFI until he died.”

“Who was his father?”

“Harold Carter.”

“Harold Carter?” Andrew creased his brow. “Didn’t he die a few years back from a heart attack?”

“Yes. He was only forty. Chris took it very hard.”

The auditorium door slammed shut, and Sadie realized they were the only ones left. She stared at Andrew, drinking in the sight of him in a three-piece gray pinstripe suit with a dark red tie, a bold statement in his otherwise conservative attire. She’d missed him these past few days and often had found herself daydreaming about their thirty-hour date in New Orleans.

“Then we’d better get to Mitchell’s. I want to meet this young man. I won’t agree to the pilot program unless I think he has a good chance of employment after graduation. That’s only fair to everyone.”

“What kind of pizza do you like? I’m buying,” Sadie said as they left the auditorium.

“Nonsense. I can—”

“You are my guest, Andrew Knight. It’s the least I can do for you, for coming here to present the check in person.”

“Canadian bacon. How about you?” Andrew held her car door open for her.

“A supreme with everything on it except anchovies. I’m not big into fish, especially on my pizza.”

“Then we agree on something. I’m not either.”

“If you don’t watch out, before you know it we’ll be in complete agreement.”

“I doubt that will ever be the case. We look at life entirely differently.”

“Ah, but that adds spice to the mix.”

“Sometimes too much spice can lead to heartburn.”

“At least you know you’re alive.” Sadie started her engine. “I’ll meet you at Mitchell’s.”

On the short drive, Sadie reflected on what Andrew had said. She’d grown up in a household where her mother had agreed with everything her father said. She often wondered if her mother had an original thought since she’d married. There were times she found herself wanting to stick up for her mother and having to bite her tongue to keep from saying anything. Perhaps her mother and father were very well matched. Or perhaps her mother had discovered it was easier not to disagree. Sadie knew one thing from watching her parents’ marriage—she could never be involved with a man who didn’t accept her differences. Was there even a man like that?

Sadie pulled into a parking space near the front of the restaurant. Inside Mitchell’s, she scanned the tables and saw that Chris and his mother were still alone. While heading toward them, she noticed Andrew enter.

“Mind if we join you?” Sadie asked, aware of Andrew weaving his way through the crowded restaurant toward them.

“Oh, no. It gives me a chance to personally thank Mr. Knight for the generous donation.” Amanda Carter removed her purse from a chair so Sadie could sit down.

“Me, too.” Chris chimed in as Andrew pulled out the chair next to Sadie and eased into it. “We needed uniforms for ages. Thank you, Mr. Knight.” A grin split his face almost ear to ear.

“You’re welcome.”

“You know what we want, Chris. Do you want to order for us?” Amanda asked, opening her purse for some money.

Chris leaped to his feet. “Sure. Can I have a large soda?”

“No, not so close to your bedtime.”

Sadie started to rise. Andrew placed his hand on her arm to still her movements. “I’ll order for us. It gives me a chance to talk to Chris.”

“Well, then here’s—”

“I’m paying.”

“But—” Sadie was protesting to a retreating back. She snapped her mouth closed and thought of how heavy-handed her father could be at times, never considering her wishes. Was Andrew like that? Then she realized she was overreacting. Most gentlemen would do exactly what Andrew had done.