Restorations (Book One Oregon In Love) (5 page)

Chapter Four

Sara kept silent on the road home. She knew
her aunt must be curious about what transpired with Brian. But her
thoughts raged in such an exhausted whirl, she only wanted to go
home and sleep.

When they arrived home and exited the car,
she turned to her aunt. “Would you mind if I took a nap?”

Hattie put an arm around her shoulder as
they walked through the door. “Taking care of a patient is very
fatiguing. You rest as long as you want. I’ll be lying down as
well, so you’ll have some peace and quiet. If you get hungry,
there’s plenty to eat in the fridge.”

“Thanks, Hattie.” Sara hugged her aunt and
went into the spare bedroom. At the foot of the bed, she dropped
her purse and fell face-first onto the hand-crocheted
bedspread.

The main theme of her
thoughts stemmed from Brian’s cryptic comment.
I think you know why
. His enigmatic
response left her mystified. Sara completely rejected the idea he
might be hoping to rekindle an old flame. Her break with him two
years ago had been decisive and succinct. With his rugged good
looks, doubtless he experienced no lack of feminine interest from
others. Brian didn’t need to reanimate
her
affections for him.

Then what did he mean? Her brain ached from
the effort of wondering. Did he worm his way into relationships
with Eli and Hattie for some nefarious plot of revenge? Sara rolled
over and stared at the ceiling. The thought struck her as
ludicrous. Brian had many faults, but spitefulness wasn’t one of
them. Besides, a plan of revenge implied pain on his part. His
half-hearted attempt to contact her after she left disabused her of
that notion.

Sara reminded herself she’d made a lucky
escape. After witnessing the string of philanderers her mother had
shacked up with in an assortment of towns through the years, she
should’ve recognized one of their ilk in Brian.

She reached for the pendant at her throat,
twisting it back and forth. Thoughts of her mother, as usual, made
her uncomfortable. Tanya Andersen spent her existence as a brittle,
flirtatious woman, striving to live the life of a partying teenager
forever. Pregnant at fifteen and unsure of whom the father was,
she’d been ill equipped to care for a child.

Sara’s life would’ve been unbearable if not
for her sweet soulful grandfather and dear dithering aunt. They
cared for her as a baby and as she grew, she spent the summers with
them. But just when her battered soul began to heal, fall arrived,
along with her mother who came to take her to yet another ‘home’.
The round of dissipation began anew, along with Sara’s headaches
and retreats into books and studying at the expense of all
else.

Reluctantly, she allowed her mind to go back
to the past when she and Brian were a couple. She was a junior. He,
older than her by five years, was a senior who started college
after working in construction for a time.

Everything had seemed so right, just like
the sappy words from a cheesy love song. Sara had been so confident
his love for her was real, not like the tawdry sham she’d seen
growing up. Brian even attended church with her and kept the early
part of their courtship chaste. He acted considerate and kind—an
absolute gentleman. The cynical side of her insisted this was a
plot to get her to lower her defenses.

Maybe.

Their relationship progressed, along with
the desire for intimacy. Sara closed her eyes, feeling a fresh wave
of humiliation wash over her. Even with her warped upbringing, Sara
had allowed herself to be lulled into thinking her situation with
Brian was different and special. Of course she knew the limits for
a single Christian girl. But a voice inside her head cautioned her
that if she acted too prudish, she might lose Brian. Another still,
small voice she ignored altogether in the tumult of burgeoning
romance.

For the most part, Sara managed to keep
their relationship fairly above-board. One night, things got way
out of hand. Just days before the school term ended for the year,
they spent an evening alone in Brian’s apartment to ‘study’, which
they both knew was a pretense.

Somehow they ended up on his bed yet again
in a tangle of arms and legs—but that night their actions had taken
on a more desperate tone. Sara knew she wouldn’t stop Brian from
the inevitable. If not for his roommate walking in the door, she
might’ve ended up pregnant and abandoned—a mirror image of her
mother.

If anyone said the spiritual, church-going
Sara Andersen would end up in some guy’s bedroom before marriage,
she would’ve scoffed at the idea. She worked in the church nursery,
helped out with the youth group, and studied her Bible. She was the
good girl who strove to be the exact opposite of her mother.

Sara released a heavy sigh.
She felt a pang of sympathy for her mom. Tanya had made no pretense
of faith. Sara
knew
better. And she had to face the fact that she turned her back
on her scruples to be with Brian.

The next day had added insult to injury. She
heard Brian talking to the roommate who unwittingly saved her
virtue the night before. He asked if Brian was getting religion
just to have his way with a girl. Sara remembered Brian’s words
with dreadful clarity.

Whatever it
takes
.

She clenched her fists. Instead of dimming,
her anger seemed to grow with time. After discovering Brian’s
duplicity, she’d stumbled back to her dorm room and packed up her
things, staying with a friend only long enough to finish up her
finals. She'd gone on to enroll in a college in Oregon for the
following fall. Since her scholarship was non-transferable, she had
to get an additional loan to finance the rest of her tuition. It
took weeks to get everything straightened out. But she didn’t care.
It helped keep her mind off the pain.

Sara hadn’t talk about it much with her
aunt, relying on the excuse of homesickness for explanations. Of
course, her aunt knew about Brian, but apparently believed Sara’s
story of an amicable break. When he'd called looking for her, Sara
had refused to talk to him. She'd left him a brief letter saying
she wanted nothing more to do with him. No reasons mentioned,
although she knew he’d figure it out. It didn’t take long for him
to forget her, which only served to embitter her all the more.

Sara bit her lip. For the
hundredth time she wondered what that man was doing
here
.

***

Sara awoke several hours later. From the
rumbles in her stomach, she wondered if the noise awoke her.
Stretching, she got up from bed then raided the refrigerator while
Hattie continued to sleep. Resolutely pushing away any thoughts of
Brian, she concentrated on an even more pressing issue—the need to
call the library where she worked and request another week off.

Hattie had grieved deeply over the death of
Eli and Sara had felt reluctant to leave her side during her first
week home. Then there was the delay in visiting the farmhouse. Now,
she needed another week to get the house cleaned up and ready to go
on the market. She dreaded the task of calling her supervisor. As a
newer employee at the library, with no seniority whatsoever, she
worried about being replaced.

Although Sara appreciated the dilemma she
placed her boss in, she didn’t have a choice. Hattie couldn’t be
expected to get everything done alone. Her mind spun with all the
details needing to be accomplished in a short amount of
time—packing, cleaning, and making arrangements for the actual sale
of the house.

She thought briefly about asking Brian to do
any needed repairs, but decided against it. He might be offended by
the snub, but it made more sense to make a clean break than risk
continued contact with him.

Glancing at the clock, Sara made a mental
note to broach the subject with her aunt when she awoke.

***

“But Eli didn’t want the house to be sold,”
Hattie said with tears filming her eyes. “He left it to you hoping
you would follow through with his ideas.”

Feeling rotten for causing Hattie fresh
grief, Sara reached across the table and took her hand. This wasn’t
going the way she hoped. “Only think,” she said gently. “I live so
far away from here. I have a job, an apartment, and friends. It’s
impossible.”

Even as she spoke the words, her conscience
gave a jab. So wrapped up in her own little world, she’d neglected
to take time getting to know many people in Crescent City. She'd
only just moved there a year ago after a string of post-graduation
part-time jobs.

“Why can’t you move here and live in the
house while it’s being renovated?” Hattie asked in a querulous
voice. “If you turn it into a bed and breakfast, you could support
yourself that way and still be able to pursue your other
interests.”

Sara studied her aunt
thoughtfully.
So they’re all in on this.
Eli, Hattie, and Brian. But how do I suddenly fit in, and why?
Surely, Grandpa didn’t plan on dying!
She
shook her head. “I’m sorry. I just don’t think it’s
realistic.”

“Well,” said her aunt in a tone of appeal,
“Why don’t you pray about it? How do you know God doesn’t want you
here?”

Because he’s
here
, Sara thought ruefully.
Brian Farris. Duh
.

Feeling the need to placate her aunt, she
smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring manner. “Okay, I’ll pray
about it. But this doesn’t change the fact that I need to get the
house cleaned and ready for...whatever.”

***

The next morning, Hattie drove her over to
the farmhouse. The blue sky soared above with trailing wisps of
high white clouds. Another beautiful day in eastern Oregon. Too bad
her mood didn’t match. Sara felt the now familiar sinking sensation
when she saw the rundown house with the little inhabited cottage in
the back. After parking in the driveway, her aunt turned to
her.

“Now that you’ll be spending more time here,
you might consider using Eli’s pickup. It runs, I think, and it
would give us both a lot more freedom. Besides, my car is acting up
and I want to get it looked at.”

Sara thought about Hattie’s
job, which required travel all over the area, not to mention her
church functions. She couldn’t expect her aunt to be at her beck
and call. And she certainly didn’t want to be stranded again,
having to rely on
Brian
.

“That’s a great idea. But I haven’t seen it
around anywhere.”

“It’s parked in the barn on the other side
of the property.”

Sara got out of the car, thanked Hattie for
the ride, and walked in the direction of the barn. The looming
outbuilding appeared to be leaning slightly to one side. At the
doorway, Sara paused, taking in the sunlight slicing through cracks
in the plank walls, highlighting a plethora of spider webs and the
hulking shapes of nameless machinery. She stepped inside, shaking
her head at the cleanup job to come. The interior, crowded with
tools, farm implements, and just plain junk, also housed the
pickup. Sara peered at the old Ford truck with a distinct lack of
enthusiasm. Did everything around here have to be so
ramshackle?

The truck, from a whole other era, certainly
didn’t inspire confidence. Rust red vied with ancient green for the
dominant color. Sara seriously doubted the thing ran. She peeked in
the window and wondered why she wasn’t surprised to see keys
dangling from the ignition.

Sara tried to open the driver’s side door,
but it stuck fast. She gripped the handle more tightly and wrenched
with all her strength. With a sound like a shot, the door flew
open, knocking her backwards.

She dusted herself off, gamely climbed
in—wrinkling her nose at the smell of gas and grease—and gave the
key a twist. By pumping the gas pedal, she heard a few sputters,
and then, silence. Trying the key again, she only heard a
click.

“It needs a new battery.”

Sara started at the sound of Brian’s voice
and banged her knee hard against the steering wheel.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Rubbing her knee, Sara didn’t reply. She
slid from the seat and noticed Brian wore essentially the same
outfit as she, a black T-shirt and faded blue jeans. Her black
leather coat and his jean jacket saved them from looking like the
Bobbsey twins.

“How ridiculous,” she mumbled.

“What?”

Sara shoved her hands in her back pockets.
“Uh, I’m surprised that you’re up and about so soon after your, uh,
deathly illness.”

Brian seemed unaffected by her mocking tone.
“I still feel a little weak, though I slept for twelve straight
hours after you left. I’m tired of lying around.”

Sara studied him through her lashes. He
didn’t appear weak at all. Noting his lightly tanned skin,
sun-streaked blond hair, and guileless green eyes, he never looked
more hale and hearty. She caught a teasing glint in his gaze and
realized she'd been staring. “So, I need a new battery, huh?”

He nodded.

“Any idea where I can get a truck battery in
this one horse town?”

“There’s an auto supply store not too far
from here. Can I give you a lift?”

Sara wanted to say
Of course, I need a lift!
but refrained. Instead, she gave a bland smile. “Thank
you.”

Brian swept his arm in the direction of the
driveway where his own truck was parked. Sara strode to his vehicle
and scrambled into the cab, wishing the whole ordeal was over
already.

The trip to the store passed in absolute
silence. Sara pretended to be vastly interested in the scenery. She
needed the opportunity to get a handle on her emotions. Dismissing
Brian Farris from her mind and heart was much easier when he lived
in a different state. Sitting next to him, noticing all the little
things about him she used to find so attractive, made it a more
difficult task.