Finding Peace (Love's Compass #1) (8 page)

“She really got along with you at the dinner. It’s not just family, there will be a couple of ladies that Serenity works with there as well.” He watched her as she seemed to mull the idea over.

“I don’t know.” She paused. “What do you think?”

Laurie’s question seemed to mirror the struggle he’d been having with himself all day. He thought he saw a flash of hope in her eyes, but it was replaced with uncertainty so quickly he wasn’t sure it had been there at all.

“I think that, if you would enjoy it, you should come.”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Laurie averted her gaze and they walked the rest of the way to their vehicles in strained silence. He could have kicked himself. Why didn’t he just tell her that
he
wanted her to go?

To his relief, Laurie spoke when they arrived. “I appreciate you taking the time to do this. And I would like to pay you back at least some of what you spent renting the guns. That couldn’t have been cheap.”

“I’m not going to take your money for any of that. I had a lot of fun and I enjoy sharing my interest in firearms.”

“Please, I insist.”

“Have I mentioned that you’re stubborn?”

“A time or two.” She wrinkled her nose, the sprinkle of freckles shifting with the movement. “It’s not one of my better qualities. But I come by it honestly. My sister and I butted heads a lot when we were kids.”

“Being stubborn is not necessarily a bad thing. It can be a strength.” Tuck paused, trying to weigh his words. “One of your many strengths.”

Laurie’s gaze locked with his until she motioned to her car. “I had better get going. I have a couple of sessions to process and I’m running a little behind this week.”

Reluctantly, he agreed. “I need to run as well. Be safe.” He watched her as she got into her vehicle and pulled away.

Tuck could feel a part of his heart go with her. The realization was a sudden one. Despite every attempt to the contrary, he was falling for Laurie Blake.

~

The afternoon’s patrol with Lance had been uneventful. It was a double edged sword. Tuck was happy that it was ordinary because it meant there were no issues in their fair town of Kitner. At the same time, it also promised a long afternoon. That was when he was grateful to have a partner – especially one he had known since they were children.

Lance threw a sideways glance at him. “So how’s Laurie?”

“She’s good. She had another scare at her studio a few nights ago. It turned out to be a photo that had fallen off the wall, but she was shaken up. She’s thinking about getting a gun.”

“The lady’s tough, I’ll give her that.” Lance hesitated. “It seems like you’re seeing a lot of her lately.”

“It’s just kind of happened.” Tuck looked at his friend’s profile. “Lexi is going to invite her to Serenity’s birthday thing this Saturday. You should swing by the house for cake around four, too.”

Lance used to do a lot with his family. In fact, when they were all growing up, he wouldn’t have been surprised if his friend and Lexi had ended up together. But as time went on, everyone grew apart some and he didn’t come over to the Chandler house like he used to. 

“Thanks. I’ll have to do that.”

The silence was heavy and Tuck could tell that there was more he wanted to say.

“Are you going to start seeing Laurie?”

There it was. Lance knew his stance on not getting close to a woman again – better than even his family did.

“The truth?” His partner gave him a nod. “I have no clue what I’m doing.”

“And that’s new?”

Tuck would have given his friend a shove if he weren’t driving. Instead, he shot him a look which had Lance chuckling.

“Thanks for the support.”

“Anytime.”

Both men were silent until Lance cleared his throat and said, “You should go for it. It’s been two years.”

They listened to some chatter that came across the police scanner before the conversation continued.

“I don’t want to hurt Laurie like I did Jana.”

“You couldn’t read her mind. She’s the one who wasn’t being honest with you.”

“I know.”

“And when she finally did tell you, you let her go.”

Tuck had realized being a cop’s wife wouldn’t be an easy thing for Jana. But he’d felt completely blindsided by her decision to break their engagement.

He tried to imagine being married to Laurie. Would she be upset if he had to go and deal with a confrontation in the middle of the night? Would she become bitter if family meals regularly got interrupted by call outs?

God was going to have to give him some direction, because right now, Tuck had no idea what he was going to do.

~

Laurie’s stomach was swirling with a mix of emotions as she pulled to a stop in front of the Chandler house. Lexi had invited her to come for cake, just like Tuck said she would.

On one hand, she was excited about the chance to see Tuck again. There was certainly no denying her attraction to him. She just wished she knew for sure that he felt the same way. Sometimes she was certain of it. Then something would happen and she thought she might have been imagining it. It left her mind reeling as she tried to sort it all out.

On the other, she was incredibly nervous about attending a social occasion with people who were future clients. She usually tried to keep her personal and professional life separate – at least to a certain degree. This was definitely smudging the lines. She wished she’d asked Lexi how she was supposed to dress. It was too late now. The dark jeans and soft, green sweater was going to have to do.

Taking in a deep breath to steady her nerves, Laurie got out of the car and walked up to the house. She wiped her sweaty palms on her pants. Just as she was going to knock on the door, she heard a car stop behind her. She turned to find Lance walking towards her.

“Hello,” he greeted.

“Hi. I never got the chance to thank you for coming when my studio was broken into. I really appreciate all that you did.”

Lance looked surprised and blinked at her as if he were seeing her for the first time. “You’re welcome. We were just doing our job.”

His eyes darted to the door and she got the feeling he wasn’t sure what else to say.

“Well, thank you. Truly.”

He gave her a nod.

Laurie swallowed loudly and knocked.

Patty greeted them at the door, opening it wide and ushering them inside. “You’re right on time! Thank you so much for joining us, Laurie.” The older woman pulled Lance into a hug. “Good to see you, stranger. You need to come by more often.”

“It’s nice to see you, too, Mrs. Chandler.” He returned the embrace and smiled at her.

Laurie took in the familiar surroundings of the living room where it seemed most of the family was congregating. She put a smile on her face, but wished she had just told Lexi she was busy that afternoon. Clearing her throat, she tried to not look as uncomfortable on the outside as she was feeling on the inside.

She waved her hello to Lexi and Grams. She saw a woman she didn’t recognize and was quickly introduced to Violet Slaten – one of Serenity’s coworkers from the elementary school.

Serenity walked into the room from the hallway, closely followed by Gideon. The boy had tears in his eyes as he grabbed a hold of one of his mom’s hands and tried to pull her back the way they had come.

Laurie heard Tuck’s voice before she saw him. The sound was welcome and both calmed her nerves while it raised her heart rate.

“Hey, Gideon, come hang back here with me. Your mom is going to be fine and she’ll come check on you in a few minutes.”

The moment he came into view, Laurie’s mouth went dry. She watched as he put his hands on Gideon’s shoulders and steered him away from Serenity. His eyes raised and locked with hers. She gave him a smile and he nodded before heading back down the hall.

Serenity looked flustered, but she greeted them brightly. “Hi, everyone!” There were several rounds of birthday wishes as she made her way around the room.

Laurie was trying to decide whether she should sit or not when Grams came up to her.

“Are you doing okay, dear? It’s very kind of you to come.”

“I’m fine, thanks. How are you?”

“As good as an old woman can be during these winter months.” Grams leaned over and pretended she was walking with a cane. A large necklace she was wearing swung back and forth with the motion. She laughed and straightened back up again.

Laurie chuckled. She pointed to the brass heart that hung from a matching chain around her neck. “I noticed that beautiful necklace when I was here last time and meant to ask you about it.”

Grams cupped the heart in the palm of her hand. She ran a finger over the three-dimensional compass on the surface. “Thank you! It was a gift from my Nicholas.” She smiled, a far-away look in her eyes. “He gave it to me right before he left for Korea.” She opened the locket, showing Laurie a photo of the two of them, arms around each other. “He told me that love is like a compass. No matter where either of us might be, our love will always lead us back together again.”

“That is sweet,” Laurie said. “And it’s such a great picture – he was very handsome. I am sure you still miss him.”

“I do. Thank you.” Grams kissed her finger, touched it softly to the photo, and then closed the locket again. “If there is one thing I’ve learned, when you find the right man, you enjoy every day you have together. Life is short.” She smiled and moved to visit with Violet.

Laurie had always been determined to be independent, but she found she longed for the kind of love Grams and her husband must have shared. She had never really thought of her own parents as having a great love. They were just her parents. Now, thinking about them traveling all over the world together, she realized how much they must enjoy being around each other and it gave her a whole new outlook on their relationship.

What if she never found someone like that? What if she never had someone to grow old with or travel the world with?

Laurie’s mind went to Tuck. Her eyes roamed the room and saw that everyone else was busy talking. She tried to calm her nerves as she walked down the hall towards Gideon’s room. Halfway there, she could hear Tuck talking calmly.

“You don’t have to go out there at all. We can stay here and just play until everyone is gone if that makes you feel more comfortable.”

She hesitated before stepping into the doorway. Tuck was on the floor with Gideon sitting in front of him, his face wet with tears. He had one arm around the boy and the other hand was rubbing circles on his back.

The floor creaked under her feet and Tuck moved to look at her.

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to intrude. I just wanted to say hi to Gideon. I’ll head back.”

She was already turning to leave when his voice stopped her. “Laurie, you can come on in.”

Wishing again that she had told Lexi no when she called to invite her, she walked in and sat down on the floor a few feet away from the guys. Gideon’s eyes followed her as he sniffed. She smiled and waved at him.

“Having a rough time?”

Tuck nodded and continued to rub his nephew’s back. “We could tell as soon as he woke up that things were a little off this morning. Then the girls all went out for the day to have lunch and get a manicure. Now, I think he’s just ready for things to return to normal.”

Laurie observed them and they both looked exhausted. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“We’re fine. You should go enjoy the party. I’m going to take him outside here in a little while. Did I hear Lance’s voice?”

She nodded.

“Let him know I’m back here and that he should plan on a basketball game later. I don’t suppose you play?”

“I did in college. It’s been a long time, though.”

His eyes brightened. He stopped rubbing Gideon’s back and pulled the boy to him in a bear hug. “You need to join us. Lexi plays, too, but that leaves us with three. It would be fun to have a two-on-two game for a change.”

Yep, she definitely should have said she was busy. Or sick with the flu.

“Oh, I don’t think so…”

“Please. It’s not like we’re all professionals. Trust me. If you played any basketball in college at all, you have a chance of wiping the floor with all of us.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Fair enough. But be forewarned, I don’t give up easily.”

“I believe that.” Laurie was happy to see Gideon had calmed down considerably. He moved away from Tuck and pulled a box of toys off the bookcase and dumped it out on the floor. “I had better get out there. I just wanted to say hi.”

His smile turned her insides to jelly. “I’m glad you did. I’ll see you again in a bit.”

~

Tuck stayed in Gideon’s room until birthday cake had been served and they ventured out for a piece. He noticed Serenity visiting with Lance, Laurie, and Grams in the living room. Lexi, Patty, and Violet were both in the kitchen. It wasn’t unusual to see his sisters as far apart from each other as they could get and still be in the same house. It had been years – would this tension between them ever end?