Fourth of July (19 page)

Rachel put a finger to his lips. “Don’t worry about it. You’re here now.”

He smiled, grabbing her hand and placing another kiss on her palm. “You’re so beautiful.”

Rachel blushed. Madison dragged her daddy away. Rachel leaned against the wall, content to watch as Dylan held the pinata from a broomstick and instructed the young girls on the fine art of whacking a pinata with a baseball bat. She sighed happily, all earlier frustrations evaporated. Dylan remembered Madison wanted a princess party, he was here, and he thought she was beautiful. What more could any woman want?

Alexis shined the coffee table before glancing at her watch for the seventh time in three minutes. It was approximately five minutes to seven. She was certain she would scrub a hole into her hickory entertainment center if Chris didn’t arrive soon. She’d already cleaned the glass surfaces to sparkling, now she’d latched onto the wood polish. She had to do something while she waited.

Her emotions ran the full spectrum as she readied herself for the long awaited date with Chris. Could she call it a date?

She worried about being too interested in him, especially because he had a girlfriend. At least she thought he had a girlfriend. She worried if he was interested in her. But why on earth would he be coming if he weren’t? At least she could bolster her flailing confidence with that question.

Presently, she worried about being late. She hated being late, especially for church. Where could he be? Maybe he wasn’t coming and she would have to go by herself. She fought the surge of disappointment.

The least he could have done was call
.

At precisely that moment she heard a loud knock reverberating throughout the small apartment.

“Alexis,” a deep voice called. “Alexis, are you in there?” The pounding on the door increased, threatening to wrench it from its hinges.

Alexis yanked the door open, he’d come. His hair was wet. It curled irresistibly when it was wet. He must have shaved quickly. He’d missed a thin strip of growth along his jaw line. He looked wonderful, and he smelled almost as good as he looked.

“Hey, Half-pint.” He grinned at her.

“You came.” Alexis couldn’t hide her pleasure. She reached up to touch the bit of stubble he’d missed.

Chris caught her hand, planting a soft kiss in the center of her palm. “I couldn’t miss church, now could I?”

Alexis sighed as he guided her down her apartment steps and into the warm evening air.

CHRIS SQUIRMED, UNCOMFORTABLE on the hard wooden bench. The scent of aged woodwork was still familiar to him. He was having difficulty paying attention to the meeting. First of all, the speakers were idealists and he was as real as it came. They were irritating.

Chris empathized with their sorrow for the victims and their families, but he didn’t agree with the way these people drew their comfort. Oh sure, Chris knew God existed, but he didn’t see Him as the all-loving being these people envisioned.

Chris pressed his lips together. The faithful were so trusting. He wanted to tell them all to face reality. No miracles had occurred or were coming. Their Heavenly Father wouldn’t solve their problems, especially when those problems stemmed from the twisted minds of terrorists.

Alexis shifted against his side. He turned to look at her. Here was the second reason he couldn’t concentrate. Every time he risked a glance at her glowing face he wanted to believe in a higher power. Alexis made him wish he could lose his callous attitude and find the kind of faith she obviously possessed. Her faith didn’t strike him as simplistic. It radiated from her with a peace he couldn’t partake of.

He shook his head. Not wanting to be pulled into the religion crutch. Shifting again, he felt her soft form leaning into his, the thin material of her teal-colored sun dress rubbed against his arm.

He wished he could hold her hand. Would it be appropriate? He brushed her hand with his own for what must have been the sixth or seventh time. She didn’t flinch or move away. That was encouraging. Maybe it was just wishful thinking on his part, but it seemed she moved closer.

What have you got to lose? There’s an extremely low probability of her slapping you during a church service.

Even the positive self-talk didn’t alleviate the nervous churning of his stomach.

Now or never.
, The service was coming to an end. He reached out and grasped her delicate fingers. She didn’t pull away. Score one for Chris Harmer. He felt like he was back in high school on his first date to the movies.

Chris intertwined their fingers, smiling with contentment. Relaxing, he allowed himself to enjoy the simple pleasure of his large hand encompassing hers. A sweet scent radiated from her. Gardenia? Vanilla? His musings were interrupted by a slight buzzing sensation next to his hipbone.

Alexis started.

“Sorry,” Chris mouthed.

He didn’t want to release her hand, he’d stewed too much to lose the prize that quickly. He reached across with his left hand to retrieve his cell phone from his right pocket, awkward, but effective. He loathed the disturbance but needed to see who was calling.

Danielle Jefferson. Chris sighed in disgust, pushing a button to stop the phone’s insistent gyration. Danielle would have to leave a message. He wasn’t going to interrupt the meeting to talk with her. He realized Alexis had released his hand, sliding a few inches away from him. He moved toward her. Reaching for her fingers, he gave them a gentle squeeze.

“Sorry,” he mouthed again, indicating he was sorry for the interruption.

She blinked up at him, shaking her head almost imperceptibly.

Chris was shocked by how exquisite her deep brown eyes looked, framed by long lashes and bright from unshed tears. He immediately sensed there was something different about these tears. She’d cried freely throughout the meeting, but now she was blinking to stop her tears. The sadness reflected in her beautiful eyes had somehow changed.

Alexis removed her hand from Chris’ grasp once again and wove her slender fingers together on her lap.

What had he done? Why was Alexis suddenly so distant? It took him several minutes to deduce the cause of her distance. She saw the cell phone display.

“Alexis,” he whispered, scooting closer. He reached his arm around her shoulder and inched her into his side. “Alexis, don’t be upset.”

His lips brushed her ear. He’d never realized an ear could be so appetizing.

His heart leapt as she snuggled into his embrace. The inner turmoil he experienced throughout the meeting disappeared as he relished the feeling of her body close to his.

His relief was short-lived. Several minutes later the meeting adjourned. Alexis jumped from his grasp, pushed past his legs and fled toward a side exit. The masses of people moving through the church impeded Chris’s pursuit. He tried to politely expedite his move toward the door, his frustration climbing.

“Alexis,” He called when he managed to exit the building and raise his voice above a respectful whisper.

He caught a glimpse of her red hair as she dashed in the opposite direction of the crowd, racing around the building toward the church’s back lawn. He sprinted after her. He had to let her know how he felt. She must have been crying because she thought he cared for Danielle.

Chris rounded the corner of the building, anxiously searching the surrounding area. He breathed a sigh of relief. She sat on a bench at a park adjacent to the church. He could barely discern her slight outline in the growing dusk.

Please Lord, don’t let me mess this up. If a woman this amazing is interested in me, help me to say the right things.

Where had that come from?
Chris wondered. The last time he had prayed for any reason had been over five years ago.

“Half-pint,” he whispered. Weaving through the maple trees, he carefully approached the bench like a tiger, prepared to pounce on his prey if she ran. She looked up like a startled rabbit. Chris was afraid she would bolt again. He sat down and engulfed her small hand with his before she had the opportunity to pull away.

Dylan lay on the grass in their fenced back yard, inhaling the sweet scent of Rachel’s spearmint plants and the freshly mowed lawn. Rachel had taken over one of his few household responsibilities in his absence. He shouldn’t feel so guilty about it. Their yard wasn’t big but he knew how exhausted she was lately.

Madison’s party was over. Each guest had been picked up by her parents, and he and Rachel were able to enjoy a few minutes relaxing with their children before bedtime. Dylan heard tiny footfalls pounding toward his head.

“I’m gonna get you Daddy,” Tyler yelled.

He should have known his son would come running as soon as he lay down. He pretended he didn’t see the little knight hurtling through the air toward him, dressed in full body armor. It was one of the few perks Tyler received from Madison’s princess obsession. He acted as her knight in shining armor, provided he didn’t slay the princess instead of the dragon.

Daddy was another story. The second Dylan lay on the ground he became fair game. Tyler knew the rules and always triumphed in the staged battle. Dylan grabbed the flailing mass of little boy covered with shield, breastplate, helmet and sword, all several sizes too large.

“I got you, Sir Knight.” Dylan tackled Tyler. He pinned him between his legs, laughing as the little boy writhed and groaned for his freedom.

“No sair, Daddy, no sair!”

“No sair?” he questioned. He looked to Rachel, observing the fight from a lawn chair.

“No fair,” she mouthed, smiling at the interaction, probably relieved that for a moment she wasn’t the recipient of Tyler’s uncontrollable sword.

“No fair,” Dylan shouted back. “All’s fair in love and war. Didn’t you know that, son?”

Tyler appeared momentarily confused, and then understanding brightened his face.

“Okay, Daddy, okay.” He lifted his sword and wielded it with surprising strength, poking Dylan in the eye.

“Ouch.” Dylan relaxed the tension in his legs. He grabbed his injured eye with one hand. Tyler slipped from his father’s grasp and fled.

“What was that for?”

“You said all’s fair in love and war,” Rachel placed a hand over her mouth, cackling at his misfortune.

“He’s too little to understand what that means,” Dylan protested, opening his eye slightly to test for blindness.

“You’d be surprised.”

“Come back here, you conniving little knight.” Dylan lumbered to his feet to chase Tyler around the yard.

Tyler laughed as he pumped his short legs as hard as they would go.

“No catch me Daddy, okay?”

“Not okay.” Dylan reached his little boy and lifted him high above his head. He enjoyed the peals of laughter elicited from Tyler as he flew through the evening air.

Madison wasn’t about to be left out. She joined in the fun of wrestling with Daddy, princess dress and all. Dylan didn’t want Rachel to miss the excitement. He grabbed her leg and tugged her off the lawn chair, using his other hand to cushion her rear as she tumbled to the ground.

Rachel laughed as she fought to keep away from Dylan. Tyler jumped up and down with joy as they conquered Mommy and Madison. For this moment their family was safe, happy, and healthy. Dylan’s numerous concerns were forced to take a back seat.