Child of Grace (Love Inspired) (9 page)

As he added a small bunch of grapes to each plate, Luke mulled over this latest piece of news. It didn’t add up. When they’d first met, he thought Kelsey might have been in an abusive relationship with a husband or boyfriend. The scar would suggest that.

But now that he’d gotten to know her a little, had heard Reverend Howard sing her praises, had glimpsed her strong faith, that seemed less likely. She didn’t strike him as someone who would put up with abuse.

Perhaps she’d had other problems that had led her to make a mistake, though. She’d been in a high-pressure job, and she’d been focused on climbing the corporate ladder. Had she turned to drugs or alcohol to help her cope with the stress and the demands? And while under the influence of one of those, had she had a lapse in judgment that had produced this pregnancy? Was that the wake-up call she’d referred to earlier today?

An unwanted pregnancy could certainly account for her ambivalent feelings about the baby she was carrying. Yet from what he could see, she was doing all the right things to protect the health of her unborn child.

“Are you coming, Luke?” Hannah pushed open the back door and gave him a questioning look.

“Yeah. I’m on my way.”

He picked up their plates and headed for the deck, more confused than ever about Kelsey Anderson.

And doubly determined to ferret out his mystery neighbor’s secrets.

K
elsey stared in the bathroom mirror and sighed as she dried her hands on a paper towel. Though she’d done her best this morning, there was no disguising the bruise-like shadows beneath her eyes, the fine lines of tension at the corners of her mouth or her pallor. That’s what two weeks’ worth of fitful slumber could do to a person.

When she’d discussed her sleep problems with Dr. Evans yesterday, however, her OB hadn’t been too concerned. In fact, the doctor had pronounced both her and the baby in good health, though Kelsey hadn’t gained as much weight as expected. Even if she did feel huge.

Resigned to her wan appearance, she tossed the paper towel into the trash, tucked her hair behind her ear and headed back out front to wrap up the final session of her five-day introduction-to-quilting course. Juggling the class and a behind-schedule quilt commission with the PR work for the fast-track youth center project had been taxing, and she was glad the week was coming to an end. But all of her students had been eager and interested, and their enthusiasm had reenergized her. At least for an hour and a half a day.

As she emerged into the shop, she saw Luke hovering in the background. Her heart tripped into double time as he flashed her a smile, and she lifted a hand in response. An
unsteady
hand. The very reaction that had convinced her to follow Dorothy’s advice and set up an appointment for tonight with Dr. Walters. Her handsome neighbor was bothering her way too much.

She exchanged a few words with each of her students, smiling her thanks as they showered her with praise and departed one by one. When only Hannah was left, Luke came forward.

They’d talked a few times during the week, to hammer out details on interviews and speaking engagements, but there’d been no impromptu trips for brunch. No shared beach time. Hannah had told her Luke hadn’t had a minute to himself. When he wasn’t doing interviews or speaking to civic groups, he was busy meeting with potential benefactors and helping with details for the dinner/auction, which would be held a few nights before he left.

In other words, he was doing what he’d come here to do. Focusing on his mission.

But she’d missed seeing him.

Yet another reason to make an appointment with Dr. Walters.

She edged behind the work table as he approached. “Sorry I couldn’t give Hannah a ride home tonight, as usual.”

He stopped a few feet away. “No problem. It was nice to have an excuse to stop by.”

Why?

Their gazes locked, and for a moment she was afraid she’d voiced that question. Flustered, she broke eye contact and picked at a piece of lint on her shirt, searching desperately for something to say.

In the silence, Hannah looked from her to Luke—and back again.

The expression on the young woman’s face went from perplexed to surprised to smug in a heartbeat, and Kelsey narrowed her eyes. She knew what Hannah was thinking. And Luke’s sister was way off base. There was no potential for romance here. No way. No how.

To prove that, she summoned up her brisk corporate voice. “So, how did today’s interview go?”

Luke arched an eyebrow at her business-like tone. “Very well. It’s supposed to air tonight on the six o’clock news.”

“Did you mention the Twitter page?” Hannah turned her attention to Luke.

“Yes. And the website Father Joe set up.”

“Good. Because since you talked about it on the radio interview Wednesday, Carlos has attracted more than a hundred followers. The TV spot should raise the numbers a lot more. Hopefully some of them will also check out the official website and send a few bucks.”

“We’ll take every one we can get. You ready to go?”

“Not until the grand unveiling.” Hannah grinned at Luke and tapped her framed wall hanging, which lay face down on the work table.

He smiled and folded his arms across his chest. “Okay. Lay it on me.”

With a flourish, she lifted the piece and turned it around. “Ta-da!”

Luke gave the modernistic rising-sun motif an appreciative scan. “I’m impressed. Didn’t you tell me once you couldn’t draw a straight line?”

A soft flush suffused Hannah’s cheeks. “I had a lot of help with my design. Kelsey smoothed out the rough edges. And trust me, there were plenty. After that, it was just a matter of tracing the pattern, cutting out the pieces and stitching them up. Although I needed some help with the stitching part, too.”

“You did great.” Kelsey moved beside Hannah and put an arm around her shoulders. “Best of all, you found out there’s more to the art of quilting than patchwork.”

“For sure.” She slid the finished piece into a plastic bag and slung her purse over her shoulder. “Okay, I’m ready. Are you going to the beach tomorrow morning before you open the shop, Kelsey?”

“Yes. For a little while.”

Kelsey was tempted to ask Luke his plans, but held back. He’d be gone in four short weeks. It wasn’t wise to encourage social interaction. Besides, once he knew her story, he might lose whatever interest Hannah had picked up on a few minutes ago. Especially when he found out what she was considering doing with the baby.

“Good. We’ll be there, too,” Hannah told her. “You
are
going tomorrow, aren’t you, Luke?”

“Yes. It doesn’t make sense to stay in a beach house if you never go to the beach.”

Maybe she wouldn’t go, after all.

As if reading her mind, Luke pinned her with an intent look. “Why don’t I carry your things down for you? About nine?”

No way would she commit to that. She might change her mind at the last minute. “I can manage. I’ll only have my chair tomorrow.”

Tucking her arm in her brother’s, Hannah tugged him toward the door. “Let’s go, Luke. Kelsey needs to leave. ’Night, Kelsey. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

With that, she looked back, grinned and winked.

Oh, brother.

Sinking back against the work table as the door jingled shut behind them, Kelsey shook her head. The last thing she needed was a teenage matchmaker whose head was filled with visions of romance. Yes, there were vibes between her and Luke. But she wasn’t ready to deal with feelings of attraction for anyone, let alone a man who would soon be exiting her life. Besides, she had other more pressing issues to deal with before she tackled romance.

She stood, retrieved her purse from the desk and called out a good-bye to Dorothy, who was in the back baking for Saturday’s customers.

It was definitely time to talk to Dr. Walters.

Luke settled behind the wheel of the car, keeping one eye on Kelsey’s shop, in case she exited while they were still there. “Are you up for pizza again tonight?”

As he fumbled the key in the lock, finally looking down to slide it in, a chuckle was Hannah’s only response.

He turned the key and put the car in gear. “What kind of answer is that?”

“It’s not an answer. It’s a reaction.” She buckled her seat belt and settled her wall hanging in her lap.

“To what?”

“You.”

Luke frowned as he backed out. After giving Not Your Grandmother’s Quilts a final once-over, he headed down West Center toward Blue Star Highway. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I know. That’s what’s so funny.”

“You want to clue me in?”

“Sure. You think Kelsey’s hot.”

He jerked his head toward her. “What?”

“You heard me. Watch the road.” She gestured out the front window.

He made a quick course correction to avoid taking out a curbside planter.

“And on top of that, she thinks you’re hot. So what are you going to do about it?”

Blindsided, he tightened his grip on the wheel and tried to regroup. “That came out of left field, didn’t it?”

Although he did his best to hide his discomfiture under an amused tone, Hannah wasn’t buying.

“Maybe. But I hit a home run.”

“You’re nuts.”

“And you’re avoiding the issue.”

“There isn’t any issue.”

She chuckled again. “And they say teenagers are immature.”

Irritated, he pulled onto the highway and headed for the interstate that would take them back to Pier Cove. “This has nothing to do with maturity. Yes, Kelsey is an attractive woman. But for your information, she and I got off to a very rocky start. She was not happy to discover she had to share her private beach with me. I doubt we’d even be talking if the youth center project hadn’t forced us to interact.”

“Then that’s another blessing to come out of this project, isn’t it?”

In his peripheral vision, he noticed that his knuckles were turning white on the wheel. He unclenched his fingers. “Hannah, even if there was a spark of attraction on either side—and I’m not admitting there is—it’s too complicated. I’m leaving in a month. And she’s pregnant.”

“So? If you’re in love, you can overcome the distance problem. And I thought you liked kids.”

“I do.”

She lifted one shoulder. “Ready-made family.”

He pulled into the entrance ramp for I-196 and accelerated, his grip once more tightening on the wheel. “You’re jumping to a lot of wrong conclusions.”

“About what? That you’re in love? Or that you could accept a child who wasn’t your own?”

Man, she wasn’t cutting him any slack.

“First of all, I’m not in love with Kelsey. I just met her two weeks ago. Falling in love with someone that fast would be foolish. And as for accepting a child who isn’t my own…it’s not a subject I’ve ever considered. It would depend on the circumstances. And if I
was
interested in Kelsey, her circumstances are mysterious, to say the least.”

She skewered him with a look that was way too grown-up and insightful for a seventeen-year-old.

“You don’t choose who to fall in love with, or how fast it happens. And I’m not saying you’re there yet. But trust me, the mutual attraction is obvious. I bet even Dorothy’s picked up on it. As for Kelsey’s circumstances, they may be mysterious. But I’ve spent a lot of time with her this week, and she’s a wonderful person. You could do worse. And maybe if you gave it a chance, showed you were interested in her life and had feelings for her, she might let you in on this mystery that has you so worried.”

Her rebuttal finished, she settled back in her seat and turned her attention to the passing scenery.

In the silence that followed, Luke tried without much success to absorb all the implications of Hannah’s little speech.

But one thing was very clear.

He’d just been lectured on romance by his kid sister.

Even worse, now that she’d brought up the subject, he doubted she was going to let it die.

Meaning he’d better get a handle on his feelings for Kelsey. Quick. And then decide what to do about them.

Before Hannah decided to step in and take charge.

Something was up.

As Kelsey emerged from the tall grass on Saturday morning and joined Luke and Hannah on the beach, she caught the warning look sent from brother to sister.

A new dynamic was at play here.

One that made her uneasy.

“Good morning.” She forced her lips into a smile and tried to read their expressions. Hannah appeared happy, relaxed and…smug was the word that came to mind. By contrast, twin furrows creased Luke’s brow, and his posture was stiff as he stood to greet her.

“Hi, Kelsey.” Hannah reached for the jacket on the sand beside her chair. “Did you sleep any better last night?”

Kelsey shot her a surprised look. She’d only mentioned her sleep problems once, and Hannah hadn’t brought them up since. Why now?

She switched her attention to Luke. His frown had deepened, and she shifted under his scrutiny. He was a doctor. He wasn’t going to miss the dark circles under her eyes, despite her efforts to camouflage them. “I think it goes with the territory.” She kept her tone light as she placed a hand on her stomach. “Junior must be starting to feel confined.”

“Is it a boy?” Luke moved closer, tugged her folding chair from her fingers and settled it securely in the sand beside his.

“I don’t know.” She tightened her grip on her mug, trying to maintain her light tone. “There’s a lot to be said for being surprised, don’t you think?” She lowered herself into the lawn chair as he held it steady.

Without commenting, Luke retook his seat in the low-slung beach chair.

“So what color scheme are you using in the nursery, if you don’t know the baby’s gender?”

At Hannah’s question, Kelsey’s stomach twisted, curdling the milk she’d been drinking. How in the world had they gotten on this subject?

“I’m not that far along with my plans yet. Yellow is always a safe color, though. Or green. I have a few more weeks to think about it. And things at the shop will be quieter once the summer crowd leaves. I’ll have more time to focus on details like that.”

Stop babbling, Kelsey. That will only arouse suspicion.

Too late. When she peeked at Luke, he was watching her from under hooded lids.

Stretching, Hannah stood, put on her jacket and gestured down the beach. “I think I’ll take a little walk.” With a pointed glance at her brother, she sauntered down the sand.

Kelsey couldn’t see his face as he watched his sister walk away, but she was picking up some odd vibes. Like he was…nervous, maybe. Or uncertain. Odd. He’d always struck her as confident and in control and…decisive.

For some strange reason, his discomfiture had a calming effect on her. Leveled the playing field in some way. And his uncharacteristic awkwardness also made it easier to deal with Dr. Walters’s recommendation. When Kelsey had explained how her initial fear of him had given way to attraction, the therapist had suggested she let those feelings surface. Not necessarily act on them, but feel them in a safe context so she’d learn not to fear them.

This was about as safe as she was going to get.

Wriggling down into her chair, she waited Luke out.

Half a minute passed before he transferred his attention from Hannah to her. When he found her watching him, his neck reddened and he groped for his sunglasses—unnecessary at this hour of the morning, with the sun at their backs.