Having Faith (14 page)

He kept his pace relaxed, and Faith had to admit, he looked damn good.  It was the fourth day in a row she hadn’t gone into
BodyWorks
, choosing instead to text Matt from the car when she arrived.  She’d told Matt it was because they were having some trouble with the alternator in the Taurus, and she was afraid to turn the car off for fear it wouldn’t start again without a jump. 

That was only partially true.  Faith had been making a concerted effort to keep her distance from Kieran.  It wasn’t easy, and she wasn’t willing to give him up completely, but hopefully reducing their face-to-face time kept her from being called to Lexi Callaghan’s office again. 

“Sure,” she said, hoping he hadn’t picked up on her slight hesitation.  He was a smart man, though, so chances were he had probably already figured out that she was avoiding him.     

“Matt told me they delivered the new roofing shingles.  I thought maybe I could come by on Saturday and help you get them on.”

Faith shot a glance at Matt, who suddenly seemed to find his shoes terribly interesting.  Matt knew quite well that they had been invited to a barbecue being hosted by one of their neighbors.  Neither of them wanted to go, but as Faith had already politely declined several such invitations, she didn’t think she could do so again without hurting the woman’s feelings.  Mrs. Campbell was at least eighty, and had looked so hopeful when she explained how everyone else on the street would be there, that Faith hadn’t had the heart to say no. 

Her decided lack of a backbone was really starting to become a nuisance, she realized.

Now Matt was trying to enlist Kieran unknowingly, no doubt in an attempt to avoid said barbecue.

“I’m sorry,” Faith said, meaning it.  “We can’t.” 

She’d much rather spend a day on the roof pounding nails than at a neighborhood shindig.  Secretly she hoped that there would be enough people there that she and Matt could stay only long enough to be polite and then return to their cottage.  And she really did miss Kieran, even if they would never be anything more than friends.  She’d hoped by keeping her distance it might prove to his family that she really didn’t want anything more than that.

It was a lie, of course, but a moot one. 

“Oh,” Kieran said, his face falling. 

Damn it!
  It was hard enough to stay away from the man as it was, but when he looked at her with those soulful eyes, her resolve melted away completely.

“It’s not that we wouldn’t love your help,” Faith said, searching for some way to get rid of that crestfallen look (and eliminate her own ache at the sight of it in the process), “but we kind of got roped into attending this barbecue one of our elderly neighbors is hosting.”

“Not Mrs. Campbell?” Kieran asked, leaning his forearms against the driver’s side door.  It placed him close enough that she couldn’t mistake the unique but familiar scent of Kieran – clean, warm, spicy male.  Or the obvious amusement that had so quickly replaced the hurt in his eyes.  Did they always sparkle like that, or had not seeing him for a couple of days made her forget?

Faith nodded, trying not to let either get to her too much.  It wasn’t easy.  She concentrated on their conversation instead, definitely not looking at the finely carved forearms and biceps just inches from her face.  No man should be that attractive.  It was
so
not fair. 

“Yeah.  How’d you know?”

“Elsa Campbell is a legend in these parts,” he chuckled.  “She knows everything there is to know about everyone, and apparently, she’s set her sights on you.  I’m surprised it’s taken this long for her to get her talons into you.”

Faith thought about the sweet, white-haired old woman with the mischievous blue eyes.  “I’ve been had, haven’t I?”

“Afraid so.”

Faith pinched between her eyes where she felt a headache coming on.  It was one thing to be politely social, another to unknowingly sacrifice yourself to the town gossip. 

“Any words of advice?”

Kieran seemed to give it a moment of serious thought.  “You could try a little ipecac in some baked beans.”

Matt, now ensconced in the passenger seat, snorted in laughter.  Faith shot him a warning glance but found her own lips twitching as well.   “That bad, huh?”

* * *

P
oor Faith, Kieran thought.  She had no idea what she was in for.  He kept the teasing smile on his face, but inside he was squirming.  Elsa was as notorious for her matchmaking as she was for her penchant for gossip.  Five minutes with Faith, with her quiet, gentle demeanor, and Elsa would no doubt be networking faster than Ian’s quad-chip processor.

The thought clawed at his chest.  He was taking things easy for Faith’s sake, but there was no way in
hell
he was going to let Elsa Campbell dangle her out there as bait for the hungry wolves.

* * *

“D
amn,” Faith muttered Saturday morning, breaking her own rule about cursing.  But she had every reason to after looking out the kitchen window and seeing nothing but a cloudless blue sky and copious amounts of bright sunshine.  The weathermen had been teasing all week about a possible low pressure system heading into the area and threatening outdoor plans for the weekend, but as usual, they got it all wrong.  It was going to be a picture perfect summer day, well-suited to outdoor activities.

Double damn
.

Her trepidation had only increased since talking to Kieran, a sense of unease that left her slightly anxious and tense.  She really didn’t like these kinds of things to begin with, and generally avoided social gatherings as much as possible.  It wasn’t a hard thing to do when you worked full time and were singularly responsible for a child.  Down in Georgia folks had become so accustomed to her declining such invitations that they eventually stopped asking.

But this wasn’t Georgia.  And maybe, just maybe, some very tiny part of her actually wanted to feel like she belonged somewhere.

It wasn’t like she was going to join the Ladies’ Auxiliary or the Holy Name Society or anything.  But it might be nice to know the names and faces of her neighbors.  Elsa Campbell had hinted that they tended to look out for one another up here, and that might not be such a bad thing. 

Besides Kieran and some of his family, the only other people she’d met had been the mailman and Elsa, and that was because Elsa had tenaciously shown up on her doorstep several times.  First as the self-proclaimed “Welcome Wagon” lady for the area, and afterwards to offer a few personal invitations to various events.  The informal barbecue at Elsa’s seemed the most innocuous choice; Elsa had assured her that it was only for neighborhood residents and would be an understated, casual affair.

With a sigh, she slipped on her simple white cotton print sundress and a pair of Earth Spirits.  Matt looked every bit as unhappy as she was to be going, but he had at least dressed in one of his nicer pairs of shorts and a clean short-sleeved shirt.

Elsa accepted Faith’s contributions graciously – a massive bowl of southern-style potato salad and a pan of Mississippi mud brownies (sans ipecac or Matt’s suggestion of chocolate Ex-lax) – and ushered them through her house and out on to the patio.  Faith’s heart immediately dropped when she saw the crowd assembled around the in-ground pool.  At least half of them were young to middle-aged men, and nearly all of them were looking her way with interest.

She squeezed Matt’s hand so hard he grunted.  “Leave me and I’ll take you grocery shopping  every day for a month,” she whispered in warning.

In the first hour alone, Faith had been introduced to several “available” men.  One of them was a gym teacher at the high-school, though after checking out Matt’s height and build he was as interested in Matt’s athletic inclinations as he was in Faith. 

There was the bagger who worked at the Weis’ market in town, nearing forty and still living with and caring for his mother (which, Elsa pointed out, proved that he was a good man). 

The absolute worst had to be the divorced butcher, nearly as round as he was wide, whose breath reeked of garlic and dill spice. 

There was the bookish-looking accountant that seemed nearly as embarrassed as she was.  If worse came to worse, she decided, she would move towards him, especially since he confided quietly to her that he was, in fact, gay.

Somehow, Faith retained a pleasant smile and managed to nod in the appropriate places, but her head was already beginning to throb with what had the potential to become a migraine.  She wondered exactly how long she’d have to stay before their departure would no longer seem rude.

Matt, at least, was fairing better than she was.  He recognized a couple of boys who also took Mixed Martial Arts classes at
BodyWorks
, and gravitated toward them.  Shortly thereafter, the boys were joined by several young girls, who were naturally drawn to the “new kid”.  Faith watched in fascination as her son smiled shyly and nodded, hands in pockets, at something the pretty brunette said.

He was a good-looking kid, she thought with no small measure of pride, though she wasn’t quite sure she was ready for the boy-girl stage yet.  On the plus side, he was meeting kids he’d be going to school with in another few weeks, and Faith knew how much of a difference even one friendly face could make.  They seemed like good kids, too, which helped ease some of her worry.

After enduring another hour of mingling and skillfully evading personal questions, Faith sought a few moments of solitude in the shadows of the tall arborvitae that bordered Elsa’s massive patio.  Matt was now flanked by another brunette and a pixie-ish looking blonde, though he didn’t seem to mind so much.  She saw a couple of the men looking around for her and sighed, wishing she could just close her eyes and become invisible.

“Didn’t go with the ipecac, huh?”  Kieran’s deep, velvety voice teased her ear.  Forgetting where she was, she spun around and nearly launched herself into his arms, the sound of his voice was so welcome.

“Kieran!” she exclaimed in hushed tones.  “Am I happy to see you!  What are you doing here?”

He chuckled, the low tones warming her from the inside out.  “Why, rescuing you, of course.”

She blinked, then a low grin spread across her features.  “Yeah?”

“Yeah.  But I have to warn you – it may ruin your chances with a few of those fine eligible bachelors out there.”

Faith glanced toward the patio and suppressed a shudder.  “Hmm.  Sounds serious.”

His eyes darkened.  It was incredibly sexy, and something deep inside her clenched. 

“Oh, it is,” he answered, his voice dropping an octave, and Faith wasn’t sure he was kidding anymore.  “But it will get those guys to stop sniffing around you.  Are you game?”

She inhaled, taking in the deliciously masculine scent of Kieran.  She hadn’t realized she’d become so fond of it.  Or of him.  But after spending a very long afternoon playing Elsa’s version of “The Dating Game”, she realized that no one came remotely close to Kieran on the desirability scale, even if they were only friends.

“Absolutely,” she nodded.  

“Good girl,” he said, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead that nearly had her swooning.  “Stay out here for another five minutes, then make your way back to the patio.”

“But where are you - ”   She turned, but Kieran was already gone.  She shook her head.  How did a man that large move so quickly and quietly?  Must be something they taught to SEALs, she realized.  After all, they couldn’t exactly send in soldiers like bulls in a china shop now, could they?

She remained hidden in the shadows, wondering what he was up to.  Within a few minutes, she heard Elsa’s twittering but very pleased voice. 

“What a lovely surprise!” Elsa was saying.  Kieran murmured something; from this distance Faith could only identify the deep, resonating timbre of his voice but not what he said.  Whatever it was, it made Elsa laugh in delight. 

A peek between the bushes revealed Kieran emerging from Elsa’s house onto the patio, with the older woman holding on to his arm and beaming up at him.  He, in turn, looked at her as if he was the luckiest man in the world to have her on his arm.  Female heads turned en masse, all drawn to the finely sculpted figure that was her knight.  The thought made her tingle in some very private places.

Kieran said hello to a few people.  It appeared that he knew everyone there, but that made sense.  He’d lived here his entire life, and Kieran Callaghan was not a man easily overlooked in any event.

He looked especially good today, Faith thought.  When he’d surprised her earlier she’d been so happy to see him that she hadn’t noticed what he was wearing, but from her hiding place amongst the arborvitae she was able to gawk her fill.  Faded, well-fitting Levi’s clung to his muscular legs.  A navy blue button-down with the sleeves rolled up enough to glimpse his muscular forearms.  And boots – black Harley Davidsons that had a very distinctive sound with each step, one that caught your attention and made you look.

There was no doubt about it.  Her knight was one damn fine looking man.

Faith caught Kieran’s discreet glances toward her location and realized that she must have been ogling him for some time.  A soft blush colored her cheeks when she caught the amused, knowing look in his eye. 

Kieran leaned down and said something to Elsa, making the older woman’s eyes widen. Elsa followed his gaze to Faith and she beamed.  Literally.

Feeling more than a few curious eyes on her, Faith made her way over to them, silently praying she didn’t trip and do a header into the pool in the process.  Kieran’s intense gaze remained glued to her.  Heads turned and conversations stopped as others looked back and forth between them. 

Kieran grinned devilishly.  What was he up to?

“You look stunning, Faith, as always,” he said, capturing her hand and bringing it to his lips.  “Are you ready?”

It was hard to form a cohesive thought with Kieran’s lips on her skin like that.  “Ready?” she murmured.

Kieran grinned wider.  Oh, the devil knew exactly what he was doing.  “Yes.”  He paused as an amused expression crept across his perfectly sculpted features.  “Don’t tell me you forgot?”