Читать книгу Homecoming at Hickory Ridge - Dana Corbit - Страница 12

Kyle closed his office door and started downstairs to the main level on a Friday afternoon more than a week later. This part of the church wasn’t newer construction like the vestibule and the sanctuary, but it had its own charm. The two-story section was part of the stately home that once housed all of the church’s programs.

He liked the statement that the structure made: it showed a commitment to the church’s roots even as the congregation grew. He’d found a lot of things to like about Hickory Ridge in his first week of working there, though, admittedly, he hadn’t made much progress on the development of the prison ministry. Reverend Bob had assured him they were still working out some final details for joint funding of the ecumenical ministry.

Since waiting wasn’t one of his more developed skills, he itched to make some progress. The sooner the program was well established, the sooner he could leave it to more capable hands.

Today would be another day of negative progress toward that goal. He knew that. And it should have frustrated him more than it did, but he didn’t bother kidding himself that he minded. She would be there. Okay, he didn’t know for sure, but she might.

He hadn’t seen Julia at all since Sunday services, and even then they hadn’t had time to talk when he’d sneaked in late and slipped out right after the benediction to avoid another confrontation with Trooper Lancaster. He’d avoided Wednesday prayer meeting for the same reason, though he’d wondered if she might have been there.

So today when Reverend Bob had assigned him to work on the same committee Julia had mentioned before, he’d looked forward to it more than he had any business doing. Even lecturing himself about it hadn’t stopped the anticipation he felt as he entered the main office.

“Hey, Kyle.” Hannah waved from behind the counter. “Need something?”

“Just the paperwork for the Search and Invitation committee.”

“Oh, you’ll be working with that? Julia took a lot of it home, but there are a few files in the storage room.”

Hannah indicated with a tilt of her head a doorway behind her, the smallest smirk on her lips. Kyle moved around the counter and headed in the direction she’d indicated.

He couldn’t help being disappointed that the room was empty. Just as well, he decided. At least he could focus on this new assignment and not on Julia. On a long folding table, several large brown accordion envelopes had been arranged, one for each of the subcommittees Reverend Bob had mentioned. He claimed the one for the committee he’d been assigned to and unwound the string holding its fastener closed.

He hoped Julia had a lot of the materials at home because the contents looked a little sparse. Still, he pulled out a manila folder and tucked the container under his arm. He could do Internet searches from his own desk PC upstairs.

Trying to balance the file with his free arm while opening the folder in his hands, he crossed back through the office and out the door.

“Find some interesting reading?”

Kyle glanced up toward the voice he recognized, somehow managing to avoid scattering the file over the floor. Julia grinned at him.

“It’s not The Grapes of Wrath, but it’ll do.”

Their gazes connected the way they had before, but this time Julia was the first to look away.

She looked back at him, or, more specifically, at the labeled file under his arm. “Hey, we’re working on the same committee.”

“For a few weeks, anyway. Who else will be working with us?”

“Reverend Bob and Andrew oversee all the committees, but I’m doing most of the search work myself.”

“No wonder they thought you needed some backup.”

“It’s not that bad. Just doing Internet searches for past members in whatever city or state they were thought last to have lived. Members keep e-mailing, too, with updated info.”

“Sounds like a lot of work to me, but whatever you say. I’ll let Reverend Bob know you’ve got it handled.”

She appeared to consider that for a few seconds and then shook her head. “I don’t mind the help. The searches haven’t all been as easy as I expected, especially for families with names like Smith.”

“OrWoods,” he observed, supplying the minister’s surname.

“And I’ve discovered that a few of our former members have moved more than once.”

“What happens if you can’t find them? Have you accepted that you might not locate some of them? That some might not even want to be found?”

“Want to?” Her eyebrows drew together. “Why wouldn’t they want to? We don’t have big battles in this church.”

Kyle shook his head. “You’re right. Forget I said anything.”

Good thing she seemed satisfied with his answer because he wasn’t sure how he would explain what he’d said. Just because there were people in his life who would prefer to stay hidden didn’t mean everyone was like that.

“How about we divide the list and work individually on the easy searches?” she said. “We’ll tackle the tougher ones together.”

“Sounds good. But no lists were in the file.”

She grinned sheepishly. “Right. I took the list home to work on in the evenings. I’ll get your half to you.”

He was marveling again that Julia didn’t have more dates to fill her evenings when she snapped her fingers.

“I know. I’m going to a picnic at Central Park with my sister, Charity, and her family. Why don’t you join us? I’m sure they wouldn’t mind. I could give you the list then.”

“I don’t know.” He wasn’t even sure why he hesitated when he had to admit he’d been looking forward to seeing her.

Still, as tempting as spending an afternoon with Julia sounded, there was something about her invitation that appealed to him more. Julia had mentioned the word that had meant little to him in the past but had become so critical now: family. He wasn’t ready to face his judgmental brother again, and he hadn’t gotten up the guts up to visit his parents since his release, but he still liked the idea of sharing time with somebody’s family.

“I guess that sounds all right,” he answered.

“Oh, good. It’s going to be fun.”

“Your sister’s family? Does that include her mother?”

At first she looked surprised, but then she must have remembered that she’d shared the story because she shook her head. “I’m sure she was invited, but she tends to decline when I’m invited, too.”

“Her loss.”

She smiled at that, but sadness lingered in her eyes until she perked up again. “I hope you like cold fried chicken, German potato salad and apple pie. Charity’s an amazing cook.”

“What about you?”

“If you like boiled water, I’m your cook, but otherwise you might want to consider takeout. I usually survive on frozen dinners and canned soup.”

“Nobody can be everything, I guess.” He said it as a joke, but he was serious. A Julia Sims who was also a twenty-first-century Julia Child in the kitchen might be too much for Milford, Michigan, to handle—in his part of town, anyway. He didn’t mention that or the fact that once upon a time he’d been more than competent with a sauté pan and spatula.

Fidgeting, she tilted her head to the side. “So, we’ll meet you there tomorrow at about noon?”

“Need me to bring anything?”

“Just yourself.”

“I’ll be there. I’m looking forward to it.”

He smiled at her, and she smiled back for several seconds before looking away shyly.

“I’d better get going. See you tomorrow.” With a wave, she started for the door.

Kyle studied her as she left. Why had Julia come to the church in the first place? If she’d come for her committee work, she hadn’t brought anything, and she hadn’t taken anything with her. He didn’t mind the idea that she might have come just to invite him to the picnic. It was a kind, Christian gesture for her to include him. It also beat a Saturday afternoon of him sitting around his apartment wishing he had cable.

Anyway, there was something to be said for fun, food and family on a sunny afternoon. Though he realized it was unwise, he couldn’t resist imagining himself slipping away with Julia for a romantic walk along the river. And maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea for him to become involved with a woman right now. He was looking forward to tomorrow, all right. He couldn’t wait.

“Would you stop fidgeting?”

At her sister’s voice, Julia looked up from her hands that were indeed fidgeting. In fact, the wrestling match of her wringing hands had become downright painful.

“What do you mean?” Julia asked, but couldn’t keep a straight face.

Charity frowned at her, but her expression didn’t stick, either. She slipped onto the picnic table bench across from her younger sister. “Don’t worry. He’ll be here. Nobody skips my fried chicken.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about.”

Nodding, Charity glanced over Julia’s shoulder to the parking lot. “I wondered about your plan. It’ll probably be fine, though. He’ll appreciate the effort.”

Charity’s uncomfortable expression suggested she wasn’t as confident as her words. Julia tried not to let her sister’s unease shake her confidence, not when she knew she was doing the right thing.

Rick called out to his wife from the blanket just outside the park shelter. “Hey, Charity, take a look at this.”

Both women looked up in time to see ten-month-old Grace take an unsteady step toward her daddy. The tiny golden ponytail on top of her head bounced with the effort of this new skill, but her eyes shone with excitement. The next three steps came in a rush before she landed on her diaper-padded behind. With a wail, the baby held out her arms for her mother.

“When it’s playtime, she wants Daddy, but when something hurts, it’s all Mommy,” Charity said, already off the bench and gathering her child in her arms.

“She just knows which of us gives softer hugs.” Rick grinned as he leaned down to wipe a tear from his daughter’s tiny pink cheek.

Charity glanced toward the parking lot again. “Oh, he’s here.”

Swallowing, Julia looked over her shoulder to determine which he had arrived first. Kyle had climbed out of his car and was reaching back inside it for something.

Julia took a deep breath to steady her nerves, but it didn’t help. Somehow this didn’t seem as good an idea as when she’d come up with it yesterday, and not just the surprise part, either. She’d hoped to develop some immunity to Kyle by now. She’d kept her distance for a whole week, figuring time and space would help her put her thoughts about him into perspective. Kyle was the kind of man she should be willing to reach out to as he tried to repair his life, but he wasn’t the type she could ever see socially. Unfortunately, his past did make a difference.

So why, if she realized he was a poor choice for her, couldn’t she stop these feelings of attraction she felt whenever she was around him? Even now as she watched him bend to pull several shopping bags from his car, she couldn’t help noticing how his polo shirt stretched across his shoulder.

The shirt’s deep green color would bring out the flecks of green in his hazel eyes. She wished she didn’t know that.

Glancing to the side, Julia discovered that Charity had come to stand beside her and now balanced Grace on her hip. Julia could only imagine what she’d seen because that knowing smile Charity wore was something only a sister could love.

Julia couldn’t meet her sister’s gaze. “I told him he didn’t need to bring anything.”

“That’s what I told you, too, and look at how well you listened.”

The bags of bakery goods from where she’d pillaged the local Kroger’s spoke for themselves, but still Julia explained, “I just didn’t want us to run out of food.”

Kyle started in their direction, his saunter confident and un-hurried. Julia liked seeing this self-assured side of him, so unapologetically male.

“That’s unlikely.”

“What’s unlikely?” With effort, Julia drew her attention back to her sister.

“Like you said. That we’d run out of food.” Charity indicated with a tilt of her head the picnic table they’d commandeered and then loaded with enough picnic fare to feed a small army—or at least a start-up militia.

“Oh. Right.”

Kyle had reached the edge of the parking lot, so Julia waved to make sure he’d seen them. His smile was so warm that she felt rooted in place by it with no thought of anything but staring back at him.

“Hi, there,” he said when he reached her.

“Hi.”

Kyle looked at the shopping bags dangling from his hands. “I didn’t want to show up empty-handed.”

“Thanks. Here, let me get those.” Rick stepped forward and relieved him of the bags, setting them on the picnic table bench.

Julia cleared her throat. “You met my sister and her husband at church, right?”

“Not formally.”

Charity jutted out her hand. “Well, let’s fix that. I’m Charity McKinley.” She paused to grip his hand. “That’s my husband, Rick.”

The two men shook hands, and then Rick indicated the baby his wife held. “And this little mess-maker is Grace.”

Kyle studied Grace, who was giving him a stranger once-over. “She looks clean to me.”

“Give her a few minutes,” Charity said with a chuckle. “We tried to introduce ourselves at church on Sunday, but you were gone so fast. You must have been in a hurry.”

The side of his mouth lifted. “Something like that.”

Charity and Rick exchanged a look, but neither said more. Grateful that they didn’t, Julia flitted a look toward the parking lot. Maybe her other guests had decided not to come, after all, and maybe that was just as well. Charity had suggested it might be too soon, and she was probably right.

Rick lifted Grace from his wife’s arms and swung her around until she giggled. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I hate to see all of this food go to waste.”

“Go to waste? Are you kidding?” Kyle gave her a look of pure incredulity with a touch of mirth. “We can’t let that happen, now can we?”

“So let the food frenzy begin,” Julia returned.

Julia could feel herself relaxing for the first time since she’d pulled into the lot of Central Park. Now she would get the chance to enjoy the afternoon—the sunny day, the breeze off the Huron River, the swings inside the playground. Even the company.

She couldn’t help grinning as she watched Kyle, paper plate already in his hand, examine the spread Charity had laid out for them. He fit in so well with her family. He laughed with Rick as if they were old pals. Charity liked Kyle, too, if the way she followed him around the table and plied him with food was any indication. Even Grace had bestowed on him one of her precious smiles, from the safety of her mother’s arms.

She could get used to this, even if she and Kyle were only friends. Even if she would have to keep reminding herself that the rest of the day.

“Hey, Julia,” Rick said in a stage whisper from the corner of the shelter. He mouthed the words “He’s here.”

This time she didn’t even have to look to know which he her brother-in-law was talking about, but she glanced in the direction he indicated, anyway. Her stomach tensed as she caught sight of Brett carrying a covered casserole dish in one arm and a basket of something else in the other. Behind him, Tricia carried Anna, the couple’s seven-month-old baby, her nearly bald head protected by a colorful sun bonnet. Taking up the rear were Lani, Rusty Jr. and Max, Tricia’s children with her late first husband.

Brett grinned when he saw Julia. Max waved, causing him to drop the lawn chair he carried. The family laughed as Lani helped her little brother reclaim his load.

Julia knew the instant Brett recognized Kyle because his laughter died and his smile disappeared. He stopped so quickly that Tricia bumped into the basket he carried and then looked up at him, surprised.

Swallowing with difficulty, Julia glanced sidelong at Kyle. He stood frozen in place, his jaw ticking as if he was clenching and unclenching his teeth. Shock and fury clashed in eyes that he trained on his brother. He let the plate in his hand drop to the table.

The children ran up behind their stepfather and then stopped, looking back and forth between the two men. Julia started to do the same thing, but when she looked back at Kyle, he had turned those angry eyes on her.

“Julia, would you mind telling me what Trooper Lancaster is doing here?”