Splintered Oak (Winsor Series Book 3) (2 page)

“He found you.” My voice shook with a combination of fear and fury. “I’ve been going out of my mind, Issy. How could you do this to me? To me!” I’d never understand why she didn’t come to me first. I would have died protecting her—she knew that.

She didn’t say a word, and I wasn’t sure if it was because I kept going or because she felt guilty.

“Where is Grant and why the hell didn’t he call when he found you? Does your father know? Whatever he did, Issy, he will not get away with it. We are going to take him down, I promise you!”

I could hear her light breathing on the other line and for some reason it calmed me. I grabbed my keys and headed to the door. “Where are you? I’m coming to get you.”

She hesitated, but finally answered, “I’m in the Caribbean, Jake. Grant and I got married last night.”

Ice shot through my veins.
I couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe. We had a pact, a promise to never get married, to never be weak and vulnerable the way our mothers had been.

T
he phone dropped out of my hand, cutting off our conversation.

History was repeating itself all over again—another person I love
d had just abandoned me.

2. COMING HOME

NAOMI

I stood staring at my reflection in the small airport mirror.

Is this the same person who came here just a year ago?

It didn’t seem possible. So much of me had changed. I pulled back my long hair and put on my glasses
, staring at the girl I left behind. The one I had invariably outgrown.

Long gone was the girl who hid in the shadows. The poor girl in a rich school. The half Hispanic girl in the white neighborhood. The Christian surrounded by those who didn’t believe in anything.

I placed my glasses back in my purse and pulled my hair free, fluffing the massive strands.

Long gone was the fear.

Portugal had been an escape, but turned out to be my biggest blessing. Initially, I wondered if leaving and going back to Winsor University would shake my confidence, but I felt more empowered than ever.

God gave me this time to heal, to find myself, and to ultimately accept He crea
ted me just the way I am. I had a great purpose for Him, and I couldn’t wait to get back to my old stomping ground and discover how God intended to use me.

I dabbed a light sh
een of gloss over my lips and reflected on how lucky I had been to travel the world at just twenty years old.

France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Austria—I
had seen them all.

The wait went by quickly, thanks to a good book from my favorite author, and soon I made my way down the aisle of the plane.

When I spotted my assigned seat, I sighed in disappointment. I had secretly hoped for an empty flight, but sure enough, the seat next to mine was already taken. Smiling as he stood, the man moved aside so I could get to my seat by the window.

He spoke to me in Portuguese, asking if it was my first time to America. I answered back in my broken accent, irritated I hadn’t done a better job at picking up the language.

After a few minutes of listening to me struggle, he smirked and switched to English. “You are doing better than most Americans I know.”

I gasped at his perfect American accent and felt terrible he was speaking my language in his country.

“Your English is very good,” I said.

“It should be. I grew up in Virginia.”

I put my head in my hands, completely embarrassed. “I should have known. Portuguese men are far too charming to pull a stunt like that.” The teasing helped ease my humiliation and made him laugh.

He went on to ask me about why I was in Portugal and I told him about the exchange program at Winsor.

I didn’t mention what drove me here in the first place—unrequited love.

“So, what about you?” I asked once the flight attendant finished going over the safety features of the airplane. “Are European trips a regular thing for you?”

“Yes and no. My grandparents live here, so I come visit every summer. My parents immigrated to the States when I was little. Portuguese is my first language.”

“
That makes me feel so much better,” I admitted, slightly hitting his arm.

My comfort with him didn’t surprise me. I grew up with four older brothers and seemed to always have more guy friends than girlfriends—well, one guy friend in particular.

Jonathan had been my best friend for as long as I could remember, and then suddenly things changed.

When I looked at him, I no longer saw the kid next door, but a handsome man with blue eyes
who could drive me senseless. Unfortunately, I remained the girl next door, the closet friend with geeky glasses.

The rejection no longer stung, but it would always be a reminder to me
that rushing ahead of God and His perfect plan for my life was never a good idea.

“I’m Benigno, but you can cal
l me Ben. Most of my friends do.” He extended his hand and I took it.

“Naomi.”

He held on to my hand a little longer than necessary. “Beautiful name. It suits you.”

My cheeks immediately flushed
. I’d ditched baggy jeans for fashionable dresses and sneakers for heels. But I still wasn’t used to the attention I now received from the opposite sex.

I felt mys
elf wondering if Jonathan would notice the change and then immediately scolded myself. That chapter had closed, tight. It was time to focus on the now and move on with my life.

The long flight seemed to fly by as Ben and I chatted. We talked about school
, our travels, and our families.

While I had high hopes of staying awake through the red eye flight and pushing through the jet lag, I suddenly realized my head rested on Ben’s shoulder. I shifted slightly and noticed he was resting on me too, his head lightly touching mine.

My movement woke him and we both apologized shyly, shifting away from each other.

“Sorry about that,” I
said. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you.”

He smiled and unlatched his seatbelt. “Trust me, I didn’t mind in the least.” He gave me a quick wink before heading to the lavatory in the back of the plane.

Realizing I enjoyed the attention he was giving me, I pulled out my purse and attempted to freshen up.

Like a shot to my conscience,
a verse from Psalms came to my mind: “The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord.”

I needed the reminder. I may be single now, but one day
would be someone’s wife and would have to account for the relationships I had before my husband. I would just need to learn how to reconcile this new attention with the person I wanted to be.

The pilot announced our descent and before I knew it, we were all walking through the tunnel that would carry us our separate ways.

I looked up at the signs and saw my connecting gate was down a different hallway than baggage claim, where Ben was headed. I turned to say goodbye when I saw him write something on a small business card. 

“Here’s my number. Call me if you ever make it up to New York. There are wonderful places to see, and I won’t even make you feel like a tourist.”

I took the card and smiled. “Thanks.”

“
You could also call just to talk. I mean, if you want to.” Ben seemed a little embarrassed and adjusted his bag strap on his shoulder. “Anyway, it was nice to meet you, Naomi.”

“It was nice to meet you
, too. Thanks for making the flight much more interesting than I expected.”

He smiled at my compliment,
gave me a quick wave and turned to leave, glancing back at me one more time before settling into his stride.

I turned the opposite direction and pondered his invitation. We talked about nearly everything in our lives on
the flight, but not once did we discuss faith.

W
hen I approached the subject, he evaded the discussion and turned the conversation around.

I passed by a trash can and watched as the little pi
ece of paper floated down. I knew what I wanted and had no intention of settling. Even if he was a nice guy.

I deserved more.

My entire family eagerly waited as I rode down the escalator in the Raleigh Airport. The sight of all of them clustered together made my heart swell.

My brothers argued over
sports, waving their arms while they spoke. My mom chewed on her fingernails while my father rubbed her shoulders.

She glanced up and saw me, her entire face beaming with happiness.
I was the baby of the family and a constant source of worry for all of them.

“Naomi, I missed you so much!” M
y mom embraced me with tears in her eyes. She let go just to get a good look at my face and then pulled me in for another tight embrace.

Despite the tiny li
nes around her eyes, my mother was still a beauty. Her black hair was free of any gray and she always wore a warm smile.

Reluctantly
, she stepped aside so my father could get a squeeze along with each of my overbearing brothers.

“You look different.
” Manny squinted his eyes, looking skeptically at my dress. His real name was Manuel, after my grandfather, but I couldn’t pronounce it when I was a baby. He was the oldest of the bunch and eight years older than me.

His wife, Patrice, hit him on his arm before pulling me into her embrace.
“She looks beautiful.”

“Thank you,” I said, giving my brother the stink eye behind her back.

“She looks too old,” my other brother, Luke, chimed in. “Where’s your baggy sweatshirt?”

I sighed
, already irritated by their comments. “In my suitcase, thank you very much. I thought I might look nice as I traveled across the world. Is there a problem with that?”

My father intervened, wrapping
his arm around my shoulder. “Of course not, sweetheart. Your brothers are just protective. It’s hard to see their baby sister grow into a beautiful woman. I have to admit, it’s not easy for me either.”

He had tears in his blue eyes, which of course made me tear up too. Stand
ing over six feet, my father had always been my rock. His sandy blond hair was now turning gray at the temples, but he still looked as mighty as he did when I was just a toddler.

Alex ruffled my hair
and pinched my side. “Come on, Shorty, let’s get your bags.”

We
were the closest in age, only fourteen months apart, and I smiled up at him, grateful for the way he always kept things light.

We headed towards baggage claim, looking like we had chartered our own plane. I love
d coming from a big family, even if it meant there was always someone nosing around in my business.

“So,” my mom
said as she put her hand in mine, “are you ready to get back to school?”

“Honest
ly, it feels surreal, like another life.”

“Did you and Issy talk much while you were gone?”

“Issy isn’t the ‘spend hours on the phone chatting’ type. I’m sure we’ll just pick up right where we left off.”

Truth be told, I hadn’t heard from
my roommate in months. Not even an email. While a little concerning, I’d long ago accepted Issy’s erratic behavior.

“What about Betsy? Is she doing better?”

My mother’s probing question didn’t bother me. We were truly best friends, and I had told her all about the nightmare that occurred when Issy’s cousin Jake broke Betsy’s heart.

Betsy
had the third room in our apartment. We all got along pretty well until the Jake ordeal. After that, the apartment became a whole lot of drama.

“
She called the other day, and we talked for thirty minutes without her once mentioning the name Jake Matthews. Who knows? Maybe she’s almost over him.”

“That g
irl should have known better.” My mom stuck her hand on her hip. “Dating a roommate’s cousin is never a good idea, but dating Jake? Well, that was doomed before it ever started.”

I swallowed a laugh
. Jake’s playboy reputation was well known among my family. He and my brothers had attended public school together. The same one I would have gone to if not for my scholarship to Saint Anne’s High School.

“It doesn’t matter anymore; Betsy’s long gone. It was probably for the best. She wasn’t doing great in school anyway. I just hope I like my new roommate. The paper the school sent said her name is Avery Nichols.”

“Oh, I’m sure you will, sweetheart,” my mother assured me as we came to a stop at baggage claim. “I’ve never known anyone you couldn’t get along with.”

I slugged Alex
when he laughed at my mother’s comment. My other brothers chimed in, reminding me of what a pain I was to live with growing up.

I pointed to my bags as they came around the conveyor. My strong and capable brothers stopped teasing me long enough to grab them all before we made our way to the parking lot
.

Yes, they were nosey and overprotective and overbearing.

But standing by the car, watching the six of them laugh and poke at each other, I had only one thought.

I love my family
.