Finding the Way Back (Book 1 in the Forgiving Hearts Trilogy) (5 page)

Her mother joined her a few minutes later, a watering can in her hand. “What have you decided to do about the mission trip to West Virginia?”

“I’m going to go. They’re short on female chaperones.”

“The trip is planned for June, right?”

“Yes. That will give me plenty of time after school gets out to get ready.”

“What about your summer job at the bookstore?”

“Jane can get someone to fill in for me.”

“It will be nice for you to get away. You haven’t been anywhere in years.”

“Mom, going on a camping trip with fifty teenagers isn’t my idea of ‘getting away’.”

Her mother laughed as she walked toward a row of potted plants arranged on a stand in the corner. “Pastor Mike will appreciate your sacrifice.”

“It’s no sacrifice; I enjoy helping out. Now I just have to get Colton to see it that way.”

Her mother laughed. “He doesn’t want you to go?”

Laurel remembered Colton’s words when she told him she’d be gone for almost ten days.
“How can I imagine we’re breathing the same air when you’re hundreds of miles away?”

“He’s not thrilled about it, but he would never stand in the way of me doing something I believe in.”

* * * *

A week later, Laurel walked out of the school and stopped dead at the sight of Colton leaning against the hood of her car. Her heart expanded so tightly in her chest she thought she might faint. As his smile grew, she started running, uncaring of what she must look like. If he’d doubted whether his sudden appearance would please her, he couldn’t have been more satisfied with her reaction. Before he could say anything, she threw her arms around his neck.

“Did you miss me a little?” he asked softly.

“You know I did. Are you done for the night?”

Colton shook his head regretfully. “I’m back on at midnight.”

“You should be home sleeping.”

“I don’t want to sleep. I want to go somewhere quiet and kiss you breathless.”

Laurel looked around guiltily. “Where did you park?”

“I got Ben to drop me off.”

Once they were inside her car, she asked, “Where were you planning to take me so you can kiss me breathless?”

“Not to my apartment, that’s for sure. David and his girlfriend are there.” Colton rolled his eyes. “She was throwing his clothes off the balcony into the swimming pool when I left a half hour ago.”

Laurel shook her head as she buckled her seatbelt. “How old are these people?”

“I thought I was robbing the cradle with you, but he’s got me beat. He’s thirty-two and she’s twenty.”

“You’re only six years older than me. That’s not robbing the cradle.”

“Anyone seeing us together would never believe it. You look as young as your students.”

“Were you able to talk to David about her living there?”

Colton laughed. “I won’t have to. During the course of their very vocal argument, I found out Taryn’s parents stopped sending her money. She never told them she dropped out of college. Her part-time job doesn’t pay enough to cover her living expenses. She was under the impression David would let her stay with him permanently. He suggested she go home. Naturally, she didn’t like that. When will these girls learn that guys like David are out for what they can get? They’re not looking for a serious relationship.”

“I see it every day at school. All a boy has to say is, ‘I love you’. These kids don’t even know what the word means. They throw it around like confetti.”

“I feel sorry for her. She thought David was going to solve all her problems.”

“I hope she gets her life back together,” Laurel said.

“In the meantime, I hope she’s not tearing up my apartment.”

“Maybe we should stop by and make sure everything is okay.”

“Are you serious?” he asked in surprise.

“Can you imagine how Taryn is feeling right now? She’s in trouble with her family, and the one person she thought would help her can’t get rid of her fast enough. The least we can do is make sure she has enough money to get home.”

A tender look passed over his face. “I didn’t even think of that.” Colton started the car and drove out of the parking lot. “We could be wasting our time; David might have already taken care of it.”

“I hope he has.”

“I do, too. I’m starving.”

Patting his leg, she reassured him, “This shouldn’t take long; we’ll have plenty of time to get something to eat.”

* * * *

When they entered Colton’s apartment, Taryn was sitting at the dining room table; David was nowhere in sight. Colton correctly interpreted the look Laurel sent him and strode down the hall to his bedroom. If anyone could get Taryn to talk, it was Laurel. She had a unique gift for handling people. He hid a smile as murmurs of conversation reached his ears. Not long after, he heard Laurel’s voice outside his door.

“Colton, could you come to the living room, please?”

Following her down the hallway, the easy smile on his face faltered when he caught sight of the cracked mirror on the wall. His eyes went to the girl sitting on the couch. She was a pitiful sight; her eyes were puffy and red from crying and black streaks of mascara marked her cheeks.

Laurel went to sit next to her. “Taryn has decided to contact her parents and let them know she’s coming home. In the meantime, she’s going to finish packing, follow us to my house, and then the three of us can get something to eat.”

Colton tried not to look as if his evening had been ruined.
Why should he be stuck taking care of David’s girlfriend?
His eyes flicked from Laurel to Taryn, and his conscious smote him. The poor girl looked miserable and frightened. “That sounds like a good plan.” The grateful glance Laurel sent him went a little way in reconciling him to the inevitable.

“I’m sorry about the mirror,” Taryn said in a low voice.

“Don’t worry about it,” he assured her. He hoped Ben would share those sentiments – the mirror belonged to him.

With an uncertain smile, Taryn stood up. “I’ll go get my things together.”

Once she left the room, Laurel motioned Colton into the kitchen. “I just realized I should have consulted you before I altered our plans.”

He smiled widely. “Would you have done anything different if I’d disagreed?”

She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair. “I would have tried my best to change your mind.”

Colton took her hand and brought it to his lips. “You know I can’t refuse you anything.”

“Have I told you how wonderful you are?”

“You can show me,” he whispered as he pulled her into his arms. After a satisfying few minutes, he reluctantly let her go. “If you keep that up, we’re going to need a chaperone.”

Laurel laughed softly. “Have you forgotten already? We’re going to have one all evening. I’ll go check on Taryn.”

* * * *

The school year was winding to a close, but for once Laurel didn’t mind the endless activities associated with graduation. Keeping busy helped with the withdrawals she was experiencing from not seeing Colton. Talking to him on the phone was great when that was all she had, but she missed being with him.

On the last day of a hectic week, she was surprised to find a note on the seat of her car. It wasn’t long or poetic, but Colton’s words left her in no doubt that she never left his thoughts. Another one appeared two days later on her desk at school tucked inside a box of chocolate truffles. The notes continued in varying frequency and location for several weeks, with no more than a few days passing without her getting one.

This evidence of Colton’s thoughtfulness blew Laurel away. She knew how little free time he had. The fact that he used it to do something that gave her so much pleasure deepened her already growing feelings for him.
Was she falling in love at last?

* * * *

As she arranged the paperbacks in the bargain bin, Laurel wiped the perspiration from her forehead. It was barely eleven and already the temperature was in the nineties. This was her third summer to work in the used bookstore owned by one of the women at church. The pay wasn’t great, but it kept her from being idle and had the added bonus of giving her plenty of reading material.

With a sigh, she flipped the “open” sign around. Only a few hours separated her from Colton. For the first time in weeks, they had a whole evening together. He’d teased her with warnings to be ready for anything. No amount of pleading had elicited a single hint of what awaited her.

Never had a day dragged so slowly. Laurel’s nervous excitement manifested itself in a compulsive reorganizing of the fiction section of the store. She hoped Jane wouldn’t mind the new system. The jingle of the bells attached to the front door brought her eyes from the book in her hand. Colton was walking toward her, the half-smile she couldn’t resist adorning his lips.

He bent to kiss her. “Mmm. You’ve been eating chocolate. Did you save me some?”

“Of course.” She drew a Hershey’s kiss from her pocket, removed the wrapper, and waved it in front of his face. He opened his mouth, and with a grin, she fed it to him.

“Two kisses in ten seconds. I’m not doing too badly.”

She touched the green material of his scrub top. “Does this lovely outfit mean you’re going to cancel our evening together?”

“Would I be smiling like this if I had bad news? The truth is I was in such a hurry to see you, I didn’t take the time to change.”

“You say the sweetest things.”

He came around the counter and pulled her into his arms. “Only because I’ve got you to say them to. How long before you can leave?”

Laurel looked over his shoulder at the clock on the wall. “Not for another hour.”

“Can I stay and keep you company?”

Her eyes lit up. “I’d love that.”

“Will your boss feel the same? I might not be able to keep my hands to myself.”

She reached underneath the counter and dropped a bag of chocolate kisses in front of him. “This should keep you occupied.”

“Chocolate has a lot going for it, but it’s not a substitute for you.”

The sound of jingling bells took Laurel out of his arms with a speed that brought an amused grin to his face. With a glance in his direction that said she regretted the interruption as much as he did, she turned to greet the two older women making their way into the store. Colton took out a piece of candy and returned the bag to its place beside the book Laurel had been reading. A gleam his family would have recognized appeared in his eyes.

Laurel had her back to him, her attention wholly on her customers. His shoulders shook with silent laughter as he perused the shelves until he found what he was looking for. He’d never have known about this book if Josh hadn’t given it to Simone as a gag gift on her birthday. The switch was easily made; his only fear was Laurel wouldn’t notice the book while he was there to witness her reaction.

After the women had made their purchases and left the store, she returned to where he stood waiting. “Still holding out on me about tonight?”

“This is something that goes over best if you don’t know it’s coming.”

“Now I’m seriously alarmed. What are you planning?”

“Nothing you won’t like.” He hesitated and then went on. “Well, let’s put it like this; I hope you’re going to like it.”

Laurel reached for the candy and her hand stilled. She pulled out the book and laid it on the counter. “Where did this come from?”

“You were reading it when I came in.” He tried to sound normal, but found it difficult to keep a straight face.

“I wasn’t reading ‘Ten Ways to Keep Your Husband Happy’, Colton.”

“If you weren’t reading it, why are you blushing?”

“Because I blush at the drop of a hat, and you know it.”

He kissed the tip of her nose. “I couldn’t resist teasing you.”

“I should have known it was you. Oh, look! It’s almost closing time.”

“Good. Prepare yourself, Miss Mills, for a night to remember.”

* * * *

Their evening began with a romantic dinner at Laurel’s favorite restaurant. The rambling wooden structure stretched over the salt marshes and was reached by a long, winding boardwalk. Its popularity was such that it wasn’t uncommon to wait over an hour for a table.

As soon as they’d given their order, Colton reached across the table and took her hand in a light clasp. “Do you realize I’m six weeks away from being a fully qualified surgeon?”

“You must be ecstatic. I can’t imagine going to school for so long.”

“There were many times when I wondered if it was worth it.”

“Your perseverance is paying off. Now you have to decide where you want to work.”

He smiled mischievously. “I took care of that today. I accepted the clinic job in Charleston.”

Laurel’s heart began to pound in her chest. “I thought you were leaning toward the one in Hilton Head.”

“I was until I met you. Once that happened, I knew I wasn’t going anywhere.”

Unshed tears shimmered in her lovely eyes. “I’ve been so afraid you were going to leave.” She turned her hand over and linked her fingers through his. “When you told me to expect anything tonight, I had no idea it would be something like this.”