Finding Peace (Finding Series Book 1) (24 page)

Next, I am going to mark each tree that will need to be removed. Once, I have this done, I’ll have someone come in to cut the trees down. Fortunately, I’ve found some guys that are willing to do that just for the lumber. I’m truly stoked about this, because that will save us a great deal.

I’ve already determined where the house should sit. Thinking about it for days on end, considering the sunset, and sunrise, views from the front and the back. It’s going to be in the perfect location. My heart fills with joy as I think about the look that will be on Kayla’s face when I show it to her. I know she will love it too.

It’s getting dark by the time I’m finished. I’m tired and all I want to do is shower and go to bed. Right after I call Kayla to make sure she made it home alright, of course. Gathering up my stuff, I throw it into the back of my truck before climbing into the driver's seat and head home.

When I walk through the back door, I hear Mom call out to me.

“Blake? Is that you?”

I shut the door and take off my work boots to leave them there to avoid tracking mud through the house.

“Yeah, Mom. It’s me.”
Who else would it be?
I think to myself.

“That little girl called for you earlier. She’s a real sweetheart.”

She has my full attention now. I hurry through the kitchen and make my way to the living room. She and Dad are sitting in their recliners watching an old western. This is their life since they retired.

“What did she say?” I ask immediately.

Dad looks up at me and lowers his glasses.

“No hello?” He asks.

I want to say no, just answer my question, but I try to be polite.

“Hi, Mom, Dad. Now, what did she say?”

My mom laughs at me and my dad grumbles under his breath. My old man is rough, but I love him.

“I told her that you were working on your land and wouldn’t be back until later. She said, okay and thank you. We chatted a little. She is very polite and sweet.” She says, smiling at me.

“Thanks, Mom. I’m going to go take a quick shower and I will call her back.”

My dad yells down the hallway at me.

“You’ll be the one paying for those calls son. That long distance isn’t cheap, you know?”

Rolling my eyes because I know he cannot see me, I respond by saying, “Of course Dad. I’ve got it covered.”

I hear him grumbling again to Mom. Something about what’s gotten into that boy chasing after a girl like this. I laugh, gotta love my old man.

Jumping into the shower and feeling the warm water run over my sore muscles is pure heaven. It feels good after a long day's work.

I go back into the kitchen and grab the receiver to the phone; I put my finger on the rotary dial and dial her number. Fortunately, we have an extremely long cord on the phone so I am able to stretch it all the way down the hall and into my room for some privacy.

The phone rings a few times and then I hear her voice. I’d recognize it anywhere by now. The ache I get in my heart makes it seem as if I haven’t seen her in days, when it’s actually only been hours.

“Hello.”

“Hello, gorgeous.” I hear her intake of air.

“Hey. I’m so glad you called. I tried to call you earlier. Did your mom tell you? She was so nice on the phone. I can’t believe I’m actually talking to you.”

She is so excited, it’s cute. She hasn’t even let me answer her question. It doesn’t matter though I could listen to her ramble all night.

“She told me. I’m sorry I wasn’t here, though I did get a lot done today. I’ve got the house staked off and I got the trees that need to be removed marked. I contacted the people to come out and dig the well, as well as the power company to come and give us a temporary connection so that we can have power on the site.” Now I’m rambling. I hear her giggle.

“I don’t feel so bad now.” She says.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I felt like I didn’t take a breath when I started talking and I don’t think you did either. So, I don’t feel so bad, because you did the same thing.”

I laugh again. “I guess you’re right. It’s just that there is so much to tell you and these calls are expensive, so I know we won’t be able to talk for long. How was the trip home? Is everything okay there?”

“It was okay. You know sit in the car, listen to music, if you can hear it over Tessa’s non-stop twenty questions. How about you? It sounds like you got a lot done. I bet you’re really tired.”

It doesn’t escape me that she didn’t answer my question about everything being okay there.

“Got everything I wanted to do today done. I just wish I had more time that I could devote to it. To answer your question, I’m exhausted. Now, answer my question. How is everything there?”

She’s quiet for a minute.

“Kayla?” I wait for her to speak.

“I’m here. Everything is fine.”

She is lying, I know it. I can tell by the way her voice has changed.

“Don’t lie to me Kayla. What’s wrong?”

“Apparently David has been parked outside the house across the street while we were gone and today he was driving by in a different car, I’m guessing so that we don’t recognize it.”

My blood feels like it is starting to boil. I’m clenching my jaw so hard it is making my teeth hurt. I hate being this far away from her and not being able to help. This guy is going to cause me to beat him to a pulp.

“Blake, are you still there?”

I take a deep breath and let it out.
Get it together man. Don’t upset her.
“I’m here baby. Did Tessa’s dad call the police?”

I haven’t met any of them. I’m hoping when I go to see her Friday that I can talk to Tessa’s dad about all of this. I don’t want her going out alone if this guy is doing crazy stuff like this.

“He did. Troy already said that we need to call the police if we see him out anywhere where we are. He is also checking on getting a restraining order.”

I hope that Troy is Tessa’s dad, not some other guy I need to worry about. “Troy?”

“Oh, sorry. Troy is Tessa’s dad.”

Sigh of relief. “Good. Listen to him. I don’t want you going anywhere alone. It sounds like this guy has some serious issues.”

“I won’t. I don’t plan on doing anything but going to school. I have too much school work to catch up on.”

As much as I hate to, we need to end this call. The phone companies make a killing on long distance calls; all my extra money needs to go into the house and for gas to go see her.

“Baby, I already miss you so much. Just hearing your voice makes my heart beat faster. I wish you were here with me Kayla.”

“I miss you too. As soon as you pulled out of the driveway, I missed you. I’m wearing your shirt to bed tonight. I have it on right now.”

Control your thoughts.
I clear my throat and try not to focus too hard on the image I have of her in my head. Blonde hair a mess, my shirt so long on her that it covers her to her thighs. Those crystal green eyes looking up at me.

“You’re killing me, baby. I may need to go shower again.”

She laughs, which doesn’t help my situation at all. Her laugh is like music to my ears.

“I’m sorry. I just wanted you to know that I love it.”

And I love you
. I so want to tell her, it’s just not time yet. “I love that you are wearing it.” I’m pretty sure she has red cheeks right now. My sweet girl. “Good night baby. I’ll try to call again in a couple of days. Sleep tight; don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

She laughs again.

“You don’t have to call. You can just write me and I will see you Friday, right?”

Silly girl. “Hearing your voice makes my day so much better, it’s something I want to hear all the time. I’ll write you, as soon as I hang up and I will put it in the mail on Monday.”

“Okay. I’ll write you too. I just don’t want you to spend a lot of money on phone calls.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll be watching for your letter. Good night, Baby.”

“Good night, Blake. I’ll see you in my dreams.”

“Me too, baby. Now hang up.”

“No, you hang up.”

I laugh and so does she. “Let’s hang up together on the count of three.”

“Okay. Deal.” She says.

I start to count. “One, two, three.” I don’t hear her hang up.

“Are you still there?”

I shake my head. “Yes. We really do have to hang up.”

“Okay. Do it again. I’ll hang up this time. I promise. Bye.” She says while letting out a big breath.

“Bye, baby. One, two, three.”

Feeling a little disappointed when I hear a click this time. She hung up. I hang up the phone and grab my pen and paper to write my letter to her.
                                                                                                               

Kayla

Talking to Blake last night made all my worries leave. David didn’t even enter my mind after that. I got off the phone with Blake and went straight to my room, turned on some music, and started to do some of my make-up work.

Sunday, I got up went to Church with the family, came home and ate a huge meal, which is a southern tradition, of course. Then I went right back into my room. Honestly, I can’t believe how much work I have missed.

We haven't seen David since Saturday when we got back. Even though I feel better about that, I know not to let my guard down where he's concerned.

Skipping church tonight, I continued to do my homework. Taking a break from school work, I wrote Blake a letter and will mail it out tomorrow. That way, if he will mail me a letter tomorrow, we should both receive them on the same day.

Tessa walks into my room.

“Wow! You are really at it. Are you almost caught up?”

“Not even close. I can’t believe I have spent the last two days working non stop basically and I’m still not finished. A weeks worth of homework and classwork is just an insane amount when you put it all together.”

She laughs and sits down beside me on the bed.

“So, you go to your first appointment tomorrow after school. Are you worried about it?”

Lisa and Troy called a Christian therapist that was recommended to them by our Pastor. My first appointment is tomorrow right after school.

“No. Not really. It’s going to be strange telling a stranger stuff that I don’t even share with those closest to me, it’s necessary though. Being emotionally healthy is vital to me moving on with my life.”

She looks shocked by my comment.

“I’m so proud of you for taking this step. It will be good for you, I’m just glad you are finally seeing that.”

“I’m tired and ready for bed. I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”

She gets up and walks to the door, then stops and looks back at me.

“You’re looking a lot better by the way. Good night.”

“Thanks. Good night.”

She closes my door; I kneel beside my bed and say my prayers. Once I’m finished talking with God, I climb back into bed, reach over and turn off my lamp, snuggle into my covers and picture his face. Blake, he’s never far from my thoughts.

I wake up early and gather all of my make-up work for school. I arrange it for each class, so that I can turn it in. Tessa and I share a bathroom. She’s the morning person, so I always let her go first. By the time she is finished, I’ve got my stuff packed and ready for school and I’ve laid my clothes out onto my bed. I run to take a shower, brush my teeth, dry my hair, apply some light make-up, then go and get dressed.

Hearing the phone ring so early in the morning during the week is a strange occurrence. So when I hear it ringing I get a nervous feeling in my stomach, then I hear Tessa yell to me that I have a phone call. I run down the steps. I hear Lisa call out.

“Slow down, Kayla, before you break your neck.”

I look at Tessa, who is holding the phone out to me. I stand there frozen.

“You better hurry; every second you stand there is costing him money.”

She smiles at me as I rush over to her and grab the phone.

“Blake?”

“Were you expecting someone else?”

My smart ass man. Smiling to myself, I think of the perfect response. “Well, yes, but he isn’t due to call for another thirty minutes.”

The growl that came across the phone made me feel giddy. Yes, giddy. Honestly, I can't believe how much his voice makes me feel warm and safe all over.

“I guess, I should let you go then. Wouldn’t want to have the line tied up when he calls.”

This is so much fun. “No problem. We have call waiting.”

He is laughing now. What a great way to start my day.

“You and that smart mouth. If I was there I would kiss you senseless right now.”