Love Inspired June 2014 - Bundle 2 of 2: Single Dad Cowboy\The Bachelor Meets His Match\Unexpected Reunion (48 page)

When it became evident that she could move all her limbs without difficulty and stand unassisted, he let her go and backed away as if afraid he might accidentally do more damage.

She knew he hadn't meant any harm. His reaction had been purely instinctive, just as her own had been. The stricken look in his eyes told her he might have surprised himself even more than he'd surprised her.

“I'm fine,” she insisted. “It was an accident. You would never hurt me.”

His face crumpled, and his shoulders drooped. “I already have. But I won't ever hurt you again. Never. I promise.” He opened his arms and took her into his warm embrace.

The circle of his arms felt so safe and secure, and the strength in them told her he would do everything in his power to keep her out of harm's way.

She leaned back in his arms and gazed up at his handsome face, creased with concern and gazing back at her with pure love.

If only she could change his mind about the prayer thing, she felt certain it would all work out just fine.

The cell phone in her purse rang, breaking them from their tender moment.

She picked up the needlepoint purse she'd bought at an estate auction and glanced at the caller ID. “Paisley, it's been ages since I've seen you,” she teased. “What's up?”

She was aware of Gray studying her while she listened. His expression turned serious when her demeanor changed.

“Did you call the police?” she asked after Paisley filled her in on what was happening at the house.

As if his protector radar had been triggered, Gray moved closer. Their tender moment was over, and he was all business now. “What is it? What's going on?”

“Lock the doors and stay put,” she said into the phone. “We'll be there in five minutes.”

Car keys in hand, Gray had already opened the door for her and motioned her through.

“Cali's acting weird and keeps going to the back door,” she explained on their sprint to the car. “Paisley doesn't see anything that warrants a call to the police, but she's nervous after our previous run-in with the prowler.”

Gray seemed to relax a little. “Nah, the prowler has probably moved on to an easier place to break in. Maybe Cali heard another dog in the neighborhood,” he suggested. “Or a siren in the distance.”

She hoped that was all that had set the dog off, but she doubted Paisley would have called unless the behavior had been extremely odd. Nevertheless, they made the trip from Gray's office to the house in record time.

They arrived at the house as dusk settled into night. The electronic-eye porch light that Gray had installed shone brightly to light the way up the walk path, and she wondered whether Paisley had switched it on for them or if a movement in the yard prior to their arrival had activated the device.

They paused for a moment in the car, taking in the scene, but all they could see was the area of the yard lit up by the porch light.

“Give me a minute while I check it out,” he said.

The curtain at the front-room window drew back, and Paisley and Savannah stood there squinting into the dark, their hands shading their eyes. Cali appeared beside them and pushed her nose to the glass pane.

Gray entered the gate and peered over into the adjoining yard, perhaps assuming that if the guy was stupid enough to come back to the same house he'd unsuccessfully prowled before, he might try to hide in the same bushes where he'd found him before. Gray turned to her and lifted a thumb to let her know the front yards on both sides of the divided house were clear.

She joined him, feeling safe despite Paisley's concern that someone might be lurking around the house. Having seen Gray's lightning-fast reflexes up close, she had no doubt he could handle whatever had piqued the dog's interest. Choosing not to dwell on the fact that the prowler might have a weapon, she followed Gray to the front steps.

From the side of the house came a grunt and the sound of something heavy falling to the ground. Cali abandoned the front window and went crazy barking, and Ruthie's heart pounded in response.

Gray eased away from her to investigate, leaving her with the chicken's choice of scaling the steps two at a time to take refuge inside, or the brave-and-maybe-stupid choice of staying close to him, though she clearly wouldn't be of much help. Instead, her feet opted for choice number three by planting themselves to the ground where she stood.

So much for her self-defense lessons.

He motioned for her to go inside and slowly rounded the corner of the house, his posture guarded as if to fend off an attack in case the unwanted visitor decided to become aggressive.

“Don't move!” he ordered. “Stay where you are.”

From the side of the house, over the din of Cali's barking, came a man's voice. “Sir! Yes, sir!”

At the unexpected response, Gray's body relaxed a mere fraction, giving her hope that the person he'd found was harmless. He paused, taking in the situation, and squared his shoulders even more than normal.

“Advance for inspection,” he said, his bearing that of a high-ranking military officer and his voice so commanding even Ruthie felt compelled to obey. Instead, she forced herself to remain right where she was, with Gray positioned between her and the interloper.

A shadowy figure stepped out from beside the porch and into the front yard, where the porch light illuminated a middle-aged man in camouflage fatigues and sneakers. He could have been much younger. It was hard to tell. His leathery face might have come from age, hard living or most likely both. Frizzy brown hair had been pulled back in a short ponytail, and a scruff of goatee sprouted beneath his lower lip, lending an air of wildness to his already disheveled appearance. And a portion of a tattoo meandered from under his sleeve over the back of his hand.

To her surprise, the man looked confused and scared. Apprehensive. Much as Cali had when Gray had found her and carried her into the house to tend to her wound. This guy appeared to be uninjured, and he didn't seem to be a threat, but something just didn't seem right about him.

The stranger snapped to attention and saluted. “Reporting for duty, sir.”

By now Cali had quieted inside. Paisley and Savannah watched from the window, and Ruthie noted that Savannah was talking on the phone. They must have called the police after all, for which she was relieved. Paisley gestured for her to join them inside, but Ruthie didn't want to distract Gray or risk escalating what was turning out to be a weird situation.

Gray kept up the role-playing, his voice softer now but firm and authoritative. “At ease, soldier.”

The man actually seemed relieved to be told what to do, as if the strain of deciding his next move had been too big of a burden for him.

“Yes, sir, Major, sir.”

His response didn't sound quite right, but since she didn't know military protocol, she wasn't in a position to question it.

“What is your business here?”

Cali woofed, her bark less frantic now and more curious.

For the first time, the man took his eyes off Gray and looked toward the house. Her roommates stepped away from the window, and she wondered if she should have gone inside with them as Paisley had urged. The “soldier's” gaze remained fixed on the house, leading Ruthie to suspect he might either try to run off or force his way into the house.

“Soldier, I asked you a question,” Gray demanded. “Speak up. Give me your report.”

The man babbled something about the mission he was on and how he could speak with Gray about it only because he was a major. The man said he had come to retrieve classified documents from this encampment, referring to the house. The more he talked, the more confused he seemed to be, as if he had a hard time keeping the details of his fantasy straight.

“What division are you from?”

The man told him his name, Private Denton, his gaze repeatedly returning to the window. “Major, this is urgent. My partner was captured on our first mission to secure the documents and is being held hostage. You've got to let me attempt a rescue.”

He made a move toward them, and she retreated toward the divider fence. With his attention fixed on the front door, it seemed that escaping to the supposed safety of the house would be the wrong move at the moment.

Visibly upset, the man kept repeating that he had to get to his partner. Had to bring his partner back.

At the guy's first twitch, Gray had poised himself for a hand-to-hand altercation. He spread his arms and held his hands low, leaving no doubt he could take the guy down if needed.

The intruder started toward the house, stopped himself and seemed to change his mind a couple more times.

“Halt!” Gray commanded, giving him the option of a peaceful end to this confrontation. “Stand down, soldier.”

All military protocol thrown to the wind, the man rushed past, shouting, “Radar!”

The front door opened, and Cali emerged, ears forward and on high alert. The dog zoomed down the stairs toward the man, her paws barely touching the steps.

Still going full throttle, Cali launched herself at him.

Chapter Eleven

C
ali slammed into him so hard they both hit the ground and rolled. The supposed army private shrieked and threw his arms around the dog. Concerned that the animal might hurt the addled man, Gray reached for the collar to pull Cali off of him.

That was when he noticed the man's tears. He was crying. Cali squirmed in his arms, licking his face and grunting happy little “ooh-ooh” sounds.

Blue strobe lights lit up the yard, heralding the arrival of two squad cars. Ruthie met the officers at the gate and quickly briefed them on what had happened.

“Radar,” the man murmured into Cali's fur. “You knew I'd come back for you. Didn't you, girl?”

Gray hated to interrupt their reunion, but the police were here to take the man into custody. “Hey, buddy,” he said. “It's time to go with these gentlemen. They're here to help you.”

Denton—Gray doubted he was currently enlisted in the army—looked up at him as though he'd forgotten he was there. “What gentlemen? Why?”

“The officers need to debrief you,” he said, playing along with the fantasy the man had acted out earlier.

Denton rose unsteadily to his feet, and Cali—now known as Radar—circled his legs as if to keep him from leaving her again. One of the officers assisted him into the car, and Cali trotted back to Ruthie.

Gray wished she had gone inside as soon as she had come home. Her presence had heightened the stakes, making him more nervous for her sake than the situation called for. He didn't know what he would have done if something bad had happened to her. Didn't want to think of it.

The officer took their names and asked a few questions. Ruthie, ever compassionate, insisted she had no desire to press charges against Denton. Savannah and Paisley, who had joined them in the yard, agreed.

“What about the dog?” Gray asked.

“We can take it to the shelter for a few days,” the officer said. “Mr. Denton will need to be processed, and it might be a while before he gets straightened out. The shelter won't be able to house the dog indefinitely.”

By now Cali circled the yard, trying to go with her owner. Gray could tell that Ruthie's soft heart wouldn't allow them to take the dog to the pound, even if only temporarily. Ruthie called the dog and grasped her collar to keep her out of the way.

“I'll watch out for her,” Ruthie promised Denton, who peered at her from the back of the police car. “Radar can stay with me.”

Denton looked between Gray and Ruthie, then reluctantly nodded his assent. “She likes bologna,” he said. “And a knuckle rub between the shoulders.”

Ruthie grasped the collar tighter to steady the wriggling dog. “I'll do that for her. She'll be well taken care of.”

Gray had no doubt Ruthie would follow through with the requests, but he suspected she'd be more generous with the knuckle rubs than with the processed meat.

Satisfied that his duty to the dog had been done, Denton reluctantly eased back in the car.

That matter settled, Gray asked the officer, “What's going to happen to him now?”

“He'll be evaluated. Probably have his meds adjusted.” He straightened the watch on his wrist. “Since you folks don't want to press charges, he'll probably be released to the supervision of his social worker once he's ready to return home.”

As the police cars drove off, Ruthie and her friends waved goodbye to Denton. Ruthie even lifted Cali's front legs off the ground and waved one furry paw after the dog's buddy.

Gray shook his head. It was as if they had been plunked down in Mayberry in a rerun of
The Andy Griffith Show.

He walked away from the cluster of friends and stopped at the far side of the yard. The guy's earnestness to get to his partner had nearly been Gray's undoing. He understood the urgency. The feeling of helplessness and panic at not being able to protect his charge.

Denton's “mission” to retrieve his canine partner had brought back his own futile attempt to rescue Jakey Rayner. At least Denton had seen to it that his partner had made it to safety. Gray wished he could say the same for himself.

He rested his hands on the points of the white picket fence. Maybe he could have protected Ruthie better, he thought, as he second-guessed his actions. Denton had seemed harmless enough, but who knew what could have happened if the man had taken advantage of an opening.

A sick feeling settled at the pit of his stomach. He had failed once, four years ago, and couldn't let himself fail again. Never. Especially not when it concerned Ruthie. He lifted his hands from the fence, aware of the pressure dents in his palms from leaning against the wooden pickets. Given the choice, he would gladly put himself between her and any danger. Would have offered himself in exchange for Jakey, but he hadn't been given the choice.

“Oh, my goodness! You were amazing!” Savannah hobbled over to him and squeezed his arm appreciatively.

Paisley joined them, followed closely by Ruthie and Cali. “Yes, indeed. Cali was quite frantic,” she said. “Thank God you were here to calm that man down. You were brilliant.”

“Gray is amazing,” Savannah declared. “A knight in shining armor.”

Fortunately, Ruthie refrained from turning the event into a medieval knighting ceremony. “Would you two mind taking Cali inside?”

The two women flashed glances at Ruthie. At her nod, they disappeared into the house.

Then she looped her hand through Gray's elbow. “Looks like it's my turn to rescue you,” she said with a small laugh.

Just as she expected, he didn't laugh with her.

The last thing she wanted to do was to give Gray a reason to leave her again, but after what they'd both just witnessed, she couldn't just stand here and pretend it had been an ordinary turn of events.

“I agreed not to pressure you, and I've upheld my end of the bargain,” she said. “But you have to admit the situation couldn't have been choreographed better than how it turned out. You were here...the right person for the situation at the right time, with all the right things to say.”

He pushed his fingers into his hair, and it looked as though he might actually give it a strong tug. “It's coincidence, Ruthie. Why can't it be just a simple coincidence?”

He sounded tired. Perhaps tired of having this discussion with her, but maybe he was just tired of arguing it with himself.

Whatever the case, she couldn't just let it slide. Couldn't let “coincidence” be the last word on the subject. She had agreed not to pressure him, but she hadn't agreed to stifle her own thoughts and beliefs in subjugation to his.

Despite her frustration with his unwillingness to see the truth, she purposefully softened her tone and focused on her desire to understand where he was coming from. “How can you show such compassion and understanding of others, yet not see that God put
you—
of all people—in that man's path? He needed someone strong. Someone who understood how to lead him where he was supposed to go. You were that person, and I believe God put you here for him in that moment.”

Now she found herself pushing her fingers through her hair in an action that mimicked his gesture of a moment ago. She lowered her hands and was surprised to discover she'd left her hair intact.

“You can't call that a coincidence,” she added.

Gray's jaw jutted forward, and he stared down at her, his expression stoic and hard. “Maybe I shouldn't have called it a coincidence,” he admitted.

Finally! At last they were getting somewhere.

His hand squeezed hers in a manner that didn't quite match his expression. Perhaps to convey that he understood where she was coming from? That he was open to the possibility that although Jakey Rayner's prayer had not been answered in the way they had wanted, God was present and active in their lives every day?

“Maybe,” he said, his eyes softening as he looked down at her, “a better term would be
fluke, happenstance, luck,
or
twist of fate.
I'm sorry, but two unexpected circumstances happening at the same time does not imply causality.”

Slowly he released her hands, and she felt as though her heart would break in two.

She had tried to do all the right things. Live by example. Step back and give him space. Bite her tongue to hold back even the most innocuous comments that might be taken the wrong way. She had tried to be respectful and understanding, yet it wasn't enough. And might never be enough.

Well, enough about him. What about her? Could she be with him if he didn't believe? If he never changed his heart? She had thought such a pairing might be possible, especially since they were compatible in so many other ways, but maybe this one major difference couldn't be reconciled after all.

“I'm going to skip the classic-car event tonight,” he said as casually as if they had just been discussing what they'd eaten for dinner. “I've got to go to the office tomorrow morning and finish some work at the office with Daisy.”

He bent and kissed her, but the gesture warmed her about as much as ice cream on a snowy day. Then he got into his car and waited for her to go inside and lock the door before he drove off.

Ruthie went straight to her room and didn't bother to turn on the light. She had promised she wouldn't try to change Gray, but that didn't mean she couldn't ask God to do some fine-tuning on his heart.

She knelt beside the bed and pressed her palms together. This was too big for her to handle. Who better to turn it over to than God? Cali pushed her nose under her elbow, and Ruthie looped her arm around the Lab's neck.

“After all,” she told the dog, “if God could change Saul's heart and the hearts of kings, He can surely change Gray's.”

And if that prayer wasn't answered in the way she hoped, she would have to change her own heart...and let him go.

* * *

The prowler's capture warranted a two-minute spot on the eleven-o'clock news in which the anchorman explained that the delusional man had been apprehended while searching for his dog. Then the fickle media moved on to a three-car accident in neighboring Henrico County.

By the next morning, Ruthie's attention had turned to creating a display on the back wall featuring Sobo's hats and some stylized heart-shaped wrought iron pieces. Hard and soft. Cold, wintry colors and warm textures. Opposites.

Back to that again. Last night she had fallen asleep wondering if she should just set her concerns aside and try to find a way to meet Gray in the middle. Wishing it was even possible to mesh a relationship around two such divergent beliefs. And while she was wondering about the future, what about children? Was it possible to raise a child with two differently believing parents and not have the little one grow up confused and searching, possibly in the wrong places?

The front door to the shops opened and closed several times, so she needed to hurry and finish this job before any customers needed her attention. She moved a beveled-glass picture frame and temporarily set it on a small round display table where it wouldn't get broken while she climbed up to arrange the pieces on the wall. With a knee hold on the waist-high storage cabinet along the back wall, she climbed up onto the surface to drape some beads over the decorations for a feminine and festive effect.

“I'll spot you.” Savannah appeared beside the cabinet and held her arms up in preparation to catch her if she fell.

A customer with a two-year-old daughter in tow paused to watch. “Ruthie, please be careful. You're making me nervous.”

Milena, a regular at Gleanings and especially at Milk & Honey, had become a mother a few months ago after a trip to China to adopt little June. Since then, her mothering tendencies had widened to encompass everyone in her path, whether young, old, friend or stranger.

When the new mom had first brought June to the shop to show her off, Ruthie's thoughts had gone immediately to the baby she and Gray might have had if they had stayed together. Would their child have had dark hair and warm-toned skin like Gray's? Would the genes from Sobo's lovely almond-shaped brown eyes have been passed along through Gray to the child, or would there have been a hint of Ruthie's hazel eyes and reddish hair in their blended traits?

Now that she and Gray were back together, albeit connected by a fraying thread, there was another thought to add to her futuristic musings. Would the child go to church with her and learn that red and yellow, black and white, we're all precious in His sight? Or would that child stay home on Sunday mornings and learn that God is a fairy tale and that you have to rely on your own strength to get by?

She moved to one side to straighten the gold-and-black hat with the asymmetric brim, and her foot slipped on a scrap of paper that had been left on top of the cabinet.

Savannah and Milena gasped as one. Little June, thinking it a joke, squealed with delight, then giggled in anticipation of her doing it again.

“Ruthie, please come down,” Milena pleaded. “Let me help you.”

“I'm fine,” she insisted as she righted herself and nudged the paper off the cabinet to avoid a repeat performance. “You go ahead and shop around. Holler if you need me.”

Milena grabbed June by the hand. “We'll go over there where we can't watch you.”

“Speaking of needing you,” Savannah said, her head tipped back and arms outstretched as if fully expecting her to fall. “How is Mrs. Bristow? Is she back to climbing the rose trellis yet? Considering your monkey antics today, I'm beginning to think you and she may be more than honorary relatives.”

The bell over the door jangled again. The sound of money, Savannah had called it. All of the Abundance entrepreneurs welcomed the Saturday surge of customers.

She gave Savannah a quick update on Sobo's health and filled her in on the unresolved situation with the doll. “The aunt's birthday party is today, so it looks like we're going to have to break the news about the doll to Sobo very soon.” She started to bend down for the pile of bead necklaces at her feet, then thought better of it. “Would you mind handing me the purple beads?”