Читать книгу Their Unexpected Love - Kathleen Y'Barbo - Страница 12

Chapter Three

Logan waited for her smile and was rewarded by laughter instead. “So,” Pippa said as she swept an errant strand of hair back over her ear, “how exactly does a guy make the career change from missionary to carpenter?”

“Involuntarily” slipped out of his mouth before he realized what he said.

That got her attention. Logan stifled a groan as he waited for the barrage of questions that usually came along with any admission of what he had once done and what now occupied his days.

“Yes, I suppose that happens, doesn’t it? But then the Lord tells us our plans won’t always be His,” she said instead.

How many times had he heard that one? Or the statement about how everything happened for a reason? That one usually had him wanting to demand just what reason a loving God might have for taking the life of a woman whose only crime had been to listen to him when he insisted that she be on the flight that day.

Of course, he’d never actually said those things or responded to any of the other comments of those who were so sure of God’s good plans. Nor would he say them now. Only a few of his closest friends, fellow widowers at the church’s Starting Over group, had heard any of them.

“Granny says your missions work has to do with kids.”

Logan thought of the orphanage, of the little ones and teenagers he hadn’t seen in more than three years. Some would be grown by now, others likely unrecognizable from the babies and toddlers they once were. “Yes, it did.”

“Did? As in the past, then?”

Logan recalled the planes he and his wife had ridden, skimming the treetops before dropping down for a landing that almost instantly had them surrounded by happy and eager young faces. Resolutely he pushed away the image. “Yes.”

Pippa turned to face the beach and then lifted her hand to shade her eyes. “Oh?” she said almost as an afterthought. “Would it be prying to ask why you’re not involved in anything like that now?”

It would, but he told her anyway. “I’ve got obligations in Vine Beach to see to first.”

She glanced over her shoulder to meet his gaze. “And then what will you do?”

Go back to Zambia. That’s where he’d left his heart. And yet the longer he was away, the less he felt the Lord leading him back.

The truth was, for the first time since he gave his life to Christ, Logan had no idea what God wanted him to do after his late wife’s property was sold and the money distributed. So until He gave other instructions, Logan intended to put all his effort into making that sale happen.

Pippa must have sensed he had no answer, or perhaps she realized he did not want to reply. Whatever the reason, she offered a wry smile and then nodded toward the spot where the satellite dish lay askew. “So, tell me more about your thoughts on a covering for the deck portion of the roof. Is that possible up there or would the wind make a structure like that a bad idea?”

And so it went, a smooth transition from the uncomfortable to the comfortable. Only later when Logan had deposited Pippa at her grandmother’s doorstep did he wonder if she had managed that transition on purpose or by accident.

“Thank you for taking the time to show me your idea,” she said as she climbed from the Jeep, her hand still on the door handle. “You probably noticed I like it very much.”

And I like you.

The words came so close to the tip of his tongue that he actually bit down on his lower lip to keep from speaking. He glanced beyond her to where several people were loading catering equipment into the back of a Pop’s Seafood Shack truck.

“Thank you for missing out on the party to come along and see it firsthand.”

Her laughter caught his attention. The wind had whipped strands of her very proper do into a more casual style. In the waning light from the afternoon sun, Pippa Gallagher looked absolutely stunning. When she smiled and offered a goodbye, Logan found himself wishing he could stay just a few minutes longer.

“So I’ll see you at the meeting next week,” she said as she closed the door.

“Wednesday morning. Ten sharp,” Logan said through the open window. “And I’ll have the preliminary sketches to you by Monday afternoon.”

Pippa rested her hand on the car door and leaned slightly forward to meet his gaze. “I would hate to be responsible for making anyone work on what is supposed to be a beautiful spring weekend.”

Logan shrugged. “Nothing better to do.”

“No?” she said. “You don’t happen to skateboard, do you?”

“Nope. I prefer to keep my adventure to the water.” At her confused look, he said, “Surfing.”

“Oh. Well, surfing and skateboarding aren’t much different. You balance on a board either way.” Pippa tucked a golden strand behind her ear and, for the first time, he noticed she wore tiny pearl earrings.

“Different enough.”

Logan thought of the surfboard he was working on in his garage, the one he’d probably sell as soon as the property issue was settled. If he worked quickly enough and the weather cooperated, he might get a few decent days of surfing from it before it was gone.

“You sure you don’t want to give it a try? I’ve got this thing Saturday and I...” Pippa shook her head. “Your expression speaks for itself.”

“Does it?”

A nod. “You’re frowning, Logan.”

“Oh, well...” He forced a smile. “How’s that?” he said while trying to keep his grin in place.

“Worse.” A warm wind ruffled the palms standing sentry on either side of the gate. “However, since you ignored my little incident with the umbrella, I’ll pretend otherwise.”

He patted his front pocket where the second paper umbrella still resided, and Pippa laughed. In the distance, a gull shrieked. She looked up to spy the white bird circle and then dive out of sight behind the house.

“Thanks for saving me from the speeches,” Pippa said when she turned back toward Logan. She seemed to study him for a moment.

“I get points for that, right?” he called.

“Yes, but you lose them for not being brave enough to try a skateboard.” She gave him a suspicious look. “Or have you changed your mind?”

Logan shifted the Jeep into Reverse. “Never.”

And yet as he drove away, Logan couldn’t help thinking if anyone could convince him to get on a skateboard, it would be Pippa Gallagher.

* * *

“Pippa, darling?”

Taking the phone off speaker, Pippa rose to close the door to the storage-closet-sized office she had claimed for her own at the skate park. Outside, the afternoon shadows were lengthening, but with the first-ever skating competition being held Saturday, there were too many details yet to handle.

Since Pippa had been forced to stay, she allowed those few kids who had nowhere else to go on a Tuesday night to stay, as well. They were now having a grand time on the ramps while she struggled to hear her grandmother. The door muffled the noise to an acceptable level.

“Yes, Granny. Sorry, I’m at the park and the kids are making noise. Are you back from visiting Aunt Betsy?” She returned to the squeaky chair and ancient metal desk that the previous owners had left.

“Why are you at the skate park so late?”

“Just tying up some loose ends. The outreach is Saturday, although the kids would rather call it a skating competition.” Pippa leaned back and rested her head against the cinder block wall. “Anyway, everything all right with Aunt Betsy?”

“Everything is wonderful,” she said. “I’m having such a great time that I’ve decided to stay here in Dallas an extra week. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Mind? No, of course not.”

“Will you let our contractor know? His is the only appointment I’ve not yet canceled. I thought perhaps you could tell him yourself, what with the familiarity I saw between you at the reception last Saturday.” A well-timed pause. “Interesting that the two of you left at exactly the same time. The speeches had barely begun.”

There it was. The reprimand she expected. Or at least the beginning of it.

“Yes, Granny, about that. I do apologize.”

“Do you?” Before Pippa could respond, Granny continued. “Well, we can discuss that when I return. Will you just please let our Logan know we’re rescheduling?”

“I will,” she said. “Would you like me to have him email the plans to you so you can look at them before next week?”

“Oh, goodness no. I’ve got a great-grandbaby to play with. Why in the world would I want to look at construction drawings? And besides, I prefer old-fashioned blueprints I can touch to some silly nonsense on a computer screen.”

“Then I’ll have him overnight the blueprints. That way you can study them.”

“Have you not heard a word I’ve been saying, Pippa? Just handle things until I get back. Make all the decisions you want. It’s going to be your home.”

“And your gallery,” Pippa reminded her.

“Yes, of course,” Granny said, “but Gallagher and Company is hardly the reason for this renovation. It’s just a very nice benefit of the project.”

“Oh? What is the reason if not to build a gallery for your art?”

“Sorry, darling. I really must go. Bye now.”

And then she was gone.

Pippa opened her laptop and sent a quick email to Logan canceling tomorrow’s meeting and rescheduling for the following Wednesday, then went back to putting together the skating competition.

A half hour later, she closed her computer, tucked it into her bag, then turned off the lights and locked the office. “Time to go,” she called to the three skaters who remained. And then, “Anyone need a ride?”

They all did, of course, but asking them was a formality she allowed, as was the stop she made at the Hamburger Hut. At least she would know these three got home safely and had a large if not completely healthy meal.

“Invite everyone to the competition,” she said as she turned down the street where all three lived.

“What if you can’t pay?” the youngest of the group asked.

“Not a problem,” Pippa said. “Anybody who can’t come up with the entry fee can do some work for me around the skate park to earn the money.”

That perked up all three, and soon they were chattering about decks and wheels and other skating essentials. When Pippa had dropped off the last of the trio at his door, she was still smiling.

If every kid had to work off his fee, she would still hold the event. The Lord would provide. It was just that simple.

Her route back to the rented cabin took Pippa past the building where she would soon be living. The windows were dark, indicating the work for today had ceased. A few minutes later she arrived home. The sound of the waves breaking against the shore filled her ears as Pippa grabbed her bag and headed up the stairs to the front door. Pausing on the deck, she placed her bag at her feet and then walked over to the rail to look out at the ocean.

The sun had dipped close to the horizon, but there was still plenty of daylight left. To her right, the wide sweep of beach ended at the marina where sailboats rocked at anchor. On the left, the neon lights of Pop’s Seafood Shack twinkled in the distance. In between, the sand shimmered as the water lapped at the beach and then quickly retreated.

Pippa inhaled deeply of the fresh salt air and then let her breath out slowly. Of all the things she missed about her life prior to coming to work for Granny, living in the city was not among them. Nor was the lack of fresh seafood or the ability to take a long run down the beach whenever she wanted.

And right now she decided that’s exactly what she wanted.

Ten minutes later, Pippa had changed clothes and laced up her running shoes. She headed toward the marina at a slow pace, picking up speed as she neared the docks, and then turned around and retraced her steps toward the cabin. Instead of stopping, she kept going in the direction of Pop’s Seafood Shack. If Leah was there, perhaps her friend would have time to share a slice of pie back in the kitchen. If not, then a piece of pie to go would do the trick.

Pippa took her customary route up the back stairs and into the kitchen with renewed vigor. It had been too long since she paid Leah a visit here. Unfortunately her friend was out.

“Leah’s taking the night off,” the cook told her. “You want the usual?”

“No catfish for me tonight,” she said. “But I would like a slice of apple pie to go, if it’s not too much trouble.”

A few minutes later, she paid for the pie and headed back down the stairs. She had almost reached the deck when someone called her name.

Logan. She turned to face her building contractor. He, too, appeared to be carrying a slice of pie.

“Great minds think alike,” he quipped as he closed the distance between them. “Did you come for the pie, too?”

“I had hoped for conversation and pie, but Leah’s not here.” Pippa nodded toward the take-out container in her hand. “So it’s just pie.”

“Want some conversation to go with it?”

“Sure,” she said as she followed him over to the deck. “I wasn’t expecting anyone but Leah to see me, so please excuse my choice of outfit.”

He laughed. “I just figured you had decided to run off your meal before you ate it.”

Logan settled at the edge of the deck, his feet in the sand, and Pippa joined him. Instantly several seagulls went on alert, hovering overhead and then coming to roost on the rail nearby. Pippa ignored them, just as she did every morning when she drank her coffee on the cabin’s front porch, and dug her heels into the sand.

“You know, maybe there is something to this running first and eating pie later philosophy,” Logan said as he reached for the plastic fork inside the container.

“Maybe so.” They fell into companionable silence until Pippa decided to ask a question that had been bothering her. “So, Logan, you said something at my grandmother’s party that has me confused.”

He glanced at her. “What’s that?”

“You said something about seeing kids up to no good. What did you mean by that?”

His attention went to the fork in his hand. Slowly he set it aside and then regarded Pippa with a serious look. “I’m not completely sure what you’re asking.”

“Well,” she said slowly, “since I work with kids who aren’t always considered socially acceptable, I’m wondering whether you were making that determination about the kids based on how they looked.”

Logan seemed to consider the question a moment. Then he shrugged. “Partly. I think. If I remember right, the rest of what I said was that they reminded me of myself at that age.” Logan reached for the fork again and then seemed to think better of it. “I wasn’t exactly socially acceptable, either.”

“I see.”

“You sound disappointed in me.”

In a way, she was. She let her silence speak for her.

“Look,” he said gently. “I saw a lot of things in Africa what weren’t pleasant, but what I did see was the family unit taking care of its own. We’ve lost that here. Kids roam the street and there’s little anyone can do. Or maybe little they will do. At least until the kids have gotten in enough trouble for the authorities to intervene. I would like to stop that cycle.”

“So would I.” Pippa warmed to the topic. “That’s why I’m so passionate about the skating outreach. These kids are outcasts, or at least they look like it, and they need a place to go so they’re off the streets.”

“I don’t think that would have worked for me, so I’m not sure I can agree with your method.”

“I see.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “And what would you suggest?”

“Rules, for a start. Some sort of order in their lives. Maybe a good talking-to or at least some incentive to stop hanging around doing nothing. I guess you could say I advocate a more direct approach between outcast and productive member of society.”

Oh.

Pippa opened her mouth to argue and then decided taking a bite of pie was the better course of action. Obviously Logan’s opinions and hers were in direct opposition.

He met her gaze. The man was attractive, even if he was completely wrong about the best way to win wayward souls to the Lord. “You don’t like my approach.”

“It doesn’t matter whether I like it,” she said. “I will say I disagree.”

Logan nodded. “All right. But you need to understand I’m thinking about what’s best for these kids. And considering I was one of them, I think I know what I’m talking about.”

He was wrong, of course, but for the sake of continuing the discussion, she decided to attempt a different argument. “All right, just one more thing.” Pippa mustered a smile. “I’m ready to prove you wrong.”

“Are you, now?” Logan seemed to think on that. “Considering we’re both wanting the same result for these kids, I hope you’re right. In the meantime, I’ll leave the skating to you and I’ll stick to building construction.”

This time her smile was genuine. “It’s a deal. Though you have an open invitation to come and see what we’re doing down there.”

Logan closed the pie container, his dessert now gone. “I’ll consider it,” he said. “Now what say I walk you home?”

She rose to toss the remains of her pie into the trash can nearby. “Thanks, but after eating this, I probably ought to run back, too.” Pippa smiled once more. “Oh, and consider this a formal invitation to come skate with me. Meet me at the building on Saturday at eight-thirty and we’ll drive over together.”

Pippa turned and headed off toward her cabin at a slow jog before he could respond.

“Hey,” Logan called. “I never said I was coming. I just said I was thinking about it!”

Pippa picked up her pace and didn’t look back until she reached the cabin. As she climbed the stairs, she glanced at the restaurant to see that Logan was still standing on the beach.

A moment later, her phone rang. Logan.

“Wondering what to wear?” she asked.

His laughter was deep and swift. “Hardly. I was wondering if I could strike a deal.”

She leaned against the deck rail. “What kind of deal is that?”

“I’ll skate with you if you’ll surf with me.”

“So skating on Saturday?”

“Not going to commit to that just yet.” He paused. “But only because I’ve got a contractor who’s been ditching me and I need to get him pinned down to a time he’ll be available. If it’s Saturday, then I won’t be there.”

“All right,” Pippa said. “Now, as to what to wear—I’d say any of your baggy jeans and hooded sweatshirts will work just fine.”

Logan was still laughing when she said goodbye.