Home to You (16 page)

Just great. Though exasperated, Carolyne pasted a smile on her face. She slipped her arm through Meghan’s arm and held her closer.

Startled, Meghan glanced at her, but before she could say anything, Georgia arrived.

“Good morning, Carolyne. How are you?”

Dressed all in gray, Georgia Bennett looked elegant as always, right from the tiny clip she wore in her styled hair, past the white pearls, to the expensive leather shoes on her feet. She always matched perfectly. The scent of expensive perfume drifted to Carolyne, and Georgia’s
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makeup, barely visible, was impeccable. Carolyne smiled politely. “I’m doing well, and you?”

“Fine.” Pleasantries done, Georgia’s gaze zeroed in on Meghan. “And you must be the guest who’s living with the pastor.”

There was a sudden murmur among those nearby who heard what Georgia had said.

Meghan looked aghast, blanching white in mortifi-cation.

“She’s
our
guest and is living in the garage apartment, Georgia.” Carolyne corrected her loudly enough for those who had overheard Georgia to hear her as well.

Georgia fluttered her fingers as she reached up to feel the pearls around her neck. “Oh, my, yes. I’d heard that.

I’m Georgia Bennett,” she added, not taking her gaze off Meghan. “And what brings you here?”

“We’re here for the Bible study, of course,” Carolyne chuckled, though she felt her smile was becoming strained the more Georgia talked. “We’re about to find a seat.”

“Oh, of course, of course.” She didn’t move. “Dakota has always opened his house up like some kind of shelter. We pay good donations for a shelter in Dallas, but he insists on bringing the people to his house.” Her trilled laughter was meant to make it sound as if she’d meant nothing by her words.

Carolyne knew differently. She wasn’t going to let Georgia get away with that, but before she could say anything, Meghan spoke. “And I’m glad he has. I’ve been in a shelter and hope never to repeat that experience.”

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Silence fell across the room as those around now strained to hear what was being said.

Georgia puffed up as if she’d been insulted. “And what is the matter with a shelter?”

Meghan flushed. “Nothing, if they’re run properly.

I, however, landed in one that wasn’t. Drugs, sex, booze, it was all there and I was nearly accosted in the process.”

“Oh my, oh my.” Georgia worried her pearls again.

“We’d heard of the alcohol but not the drugs or well…oh my…”

She turned to walk off. Carolyne didn’t let her, simply by saying, “Thank goodness she got out of there and came here where she can feel safe.”

Georgia was at a loss as to what to say. She had what she wanted—an embarrassed Meghan—and she’d now do her best to spread gossip and get Carolyne’s son in hot water. Carolyne could see it in her eyes.

“Well, then, we should find a seat. My, my.”

Conversations resumed. But the mood in the study was now different. Some studied Meghan unobtru-sively, curious about what Georgia had intimated, while others whispered. Still others showed sympathy in their eyes, as they had been in Georgia’s sights at one time or another.

She hoped Meghan would be okay. Carolyne turned to her. “I’m sorry you had to meet the gossipy one first.”

Meghan shook her head. “It felt good to be honest about my past.”

Carolyne sighed. “She and her husband love to cause problems for Dakota.”

Meghan bit her lower lip and then asked, “Is my living in the apartment going to do that?”

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Carolyne took Meghan’s hand and patted it. “No, honey. God placed you in our path and you shouldn’t worry about what a few people may not like.”

“You know I wasn’t lying. I did try the shelter and it was awful, but if you have one here, and it’ll help Cody, I’ll be glad to go. I just didn’t know where to go, and well…”

Carolyne was already shaking her head. “We don’t have a shelter. Cody has brought up the issue many times to the elders but they just don’t want to take on the responsibility.”

“Well, why don’t you open it then?”

Carolyne blinked. “Me?” She’d never thought of such a thing. Open a shelter? In Shenandoah? And run it? “That’s crazy…” She hesitated.

“Why is it so crazy?”

Carolyne had already admitted they needed a shelter. “Well, because…” She trailed off. What had been shock at the suggestion by Meghan churned to interest.

She discovered that the absurd idea did hold some appeal.

“Or someone. I mean, does it have to be through the church?” Meghan asked.

Ideas formed. The Bennetts loved to control everything and they thought by denying the church the op-portunity to open a shelter they would keep the less desirables, as they thought of them, out of town. Of course, no matter what they did, the homeless people were still in town. The Bennetts were of the belief that once out of sight, they were out of mind.

Dakota had a heart for those very people, as did Carolyne. She loved working with people. And she loved
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creating projects. “I couldn’t do it alone,” Carolyne murmured to Meghan, not answering her question directly. “I know a bit about business and how to run one from watching my son all these years as he’s had to deal with the church. But I’m not as wise on the shelter end.”

Meghan snorted. “I could certainly tell you what
not
to do.”

Carolyne brightened and glanced at Meghan with fresh hope. “You certainly could.”

Meghan’s eyes turned wary. “Wait, I didn’t mean…”

Carolyne laughed. Grabbing Meghan’s hand again, she said, “You told me you wanted to go out and look for a job. Well, what if I have a perfect job for you?”

She squeezed Meghan’s fingers. “We’ll discuss this after the meeting. I think, however, my dear, that you’ve just found a new ministry for you and me to open together.”

Chapter Thirteen

Sarah was happy that it was almost time for her dad to pick her up. He was getting off work early today, and they were going to go shopping for some new clothes for her. She’d been waiting all day for him to pick her up. Their relationship had been strained since Mom died. She sometimes felt her dad blamed her for her mother’s death, and then he had moved here without even asking her if she wanted to.

Sarah had been certain her dad hated her—until lately. Lately he had been paying more attention to her, and she got the feeling maybe he didn’t hate her so much after all. So, she was in a hurry to finish her homework so she and her dad could spend the day together. She didn’t tell him, but it made her really excited that he was going to take her shopping.

Sarah finished her last math problem just as the doorbell rang.

Carolyne opened the door as Sarah started stuffing her books into her book sack. “Hi, Dad!”

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Her dad walked in and smiled. “Hey, pumpkin. Clean up your mess and let’s go.”

She grinned and did just that.

“Carolyne, how are you and Meghan doing today?”

Carolyne smiled. “We need some advice if you have a minute.”

Chase nodded, holding his uniform hat in hand.

Sarah slowed her packing, wondering what was up. She hadn’t done anything.

Her dad crossed to the sofa and took a seat. “So, what’s going on?”

“What do you think about a shelter here in town for homeless women and children?”

“Are you asking professionally or personally?”

Meghan cleared her throat, drawing everyone’s attention. “Actually, we’d need your opinion on both.”

He nodded and set his hat aside. “Professionally I’d have to say the town could certainly use a shelter like that. Of course, there’d be all kinds of permits and such and hoops the person would have to jump through if they were going to open it, and it all depends on where you were going to open it, like in your house or in a public building.”

“We’d want to rent a building.”

He pursed his lips. “Personally, I’d say the project could be dangerous. Are you two planning to run the shelter by yourself? Are you sure about such an idea?”

“I think it’s something we could do,” Carolyne argued. “And we’d have to recruit help. But why do you think opening a shelter would be dangerous?”

“If you take in abused women, for instance, you might have to deal with angry husbands. If you take in
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ex-jailbirds, you might have to deal with whatever bag-gage they bring with them.”

Meghan nodded. “That was the problem in Fort Worth. Anyone could come in, and the people who ran the shelter didn’t monitor what went on. They served supper and then locked the doors. There was someone at a desk downstairs, but they never came upstairs.”

Carolyne frowned. “Well, I was thinking more of a place for people to come who needed a short stay. We could screen them, find out what’s happened, why they’re there. And then we could give them a place to shower, a good meal, a bed to sleep in and help them find a job. It wouldn’t be for people who weren’t willing to work.

Everyone there would have to help around the place.”

“You’ve put a lot of thought into this.” He shifted his body.

Sarah waited, listening, hoping it was over so they could leave and go shopping. But her dad’s next words devastated her.

“Let me see what type of plans you’ve made.”

Sarah waited and waited, her heart starting to hurt all over again as Carolyne, Meghan and her dad brainstormed.

And as it hurt she got angrier and angrier, and she vowed she’d show him how much she hurt. Sarah walked right past them and went outside, and her dad didn’t even notice.

It was dark before they left that night. And they never made it shopping.

Three days had passed, and Sarah had done what she had vowed, striking out at her dad.

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But now she was scared. Her PE teacher stood in front of her with the principal. Mrs. Patterson was a nice woman but she was all red faced and angry now. She was actually scaring Sarah to death, though Sarah stared back mutinously and refused to answer. If she did, there was no telling what the teacher might do to her friend.

And it was her fault because she’d asked Jesse to bring it for her.

“I’ll ask you again, where did you get this beer?” the gym echoed with Mrs. Patterson’s angry query.

She just couldn’t tell on Jesse. She’d wanted to make her father angry, but now she was afraid she might go to jail or worse.

“Did one of the other children give this to you?”

Anger at her dad and at Carolyne and Meghan built up in her. It wasn’t fair that they had taken up all of her dad’s time and it wasn’t fair that her dad was avoiding her again. She felt tears coming to her eyes and fought letting them fall.

“Young lady, answer your teacher,” the principal said. Oh yeah, Mr. Zimmerman had to come as soon as he’d heard. He didn’t like her. He called her a juvenile delinquent.

“Meghan gave it to me.”

She lied. She hadn’t meant to, but she’d heard Meghan say something about drinking and stuff going on in the shelter where she’d been. So maybe if she told them Meghan had done it, then they wouldn’t punish her so bad. Adults didn’t get in as much trouble as kids.

“Which Meghan?” Mrs. Patterson demanded.

Her stomach churned and hurt. She stared at the un-opened beer can in the principal’s hand. Why hadn’t she
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kept it in her backpack instead of taking it out and looking at it? She wasn’t going to drink it. She’d just wanted her dad to find it. “She’s staying with Ms. Carolyne.”

“You’re lying,” Mrs. Patterson said.

Her stomach clutched. If she was caught lying
and
with beer, they might send her to kids’ jail. She’d heard about those from Jesse and her dad. Frantically, she shook her head, needing to make them believe her so she wouldn’t lose her dad completely. “Honest. She used to drink and do drugs in a shelter in Fort Worth.”

Sarah tried to remember what she’d heard Meghan say.

“She lost her job. She was drunk when she came here.

She said she wasn’t going to drink anymore and she didn’t need it. So I took it. She threw it out, you know.”

“Mrs. Ryder wouldn’t allow such things to go on in her house,” the principal informed her.

She shook her head. “That’s why Meghan threw the beer out. She didn’t want to make Ms. Carolyne mad.

I’m so sorry. I won’t do it again. Just don’t call my dad.”

“Too late.”

Her stomach twisted and acid filled it at the sound of her father’s voice near the door of the gym. The color drained from Sarah’s face.

“Beer?” His voice cracked with incredulity.

“This is very serious, Mr. Sandoval.”

That principal just had a way of saying things. She shook her head. “I wasn’t going to drink it.”

“She had it in her hands when I came in to make sure all the girls were out before I locked up for lunch,” Mrs.

Patterson informed her father.

“I was just looking at it.” Sarah argued but knew how feeble that excuse sounded.

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Her dad snorted and her heart hurt. He didn’t believe her. “It’s true!” she protested.

“That’s enough, young lady,” Mr. Zimmerman said.

“Go sit over there until I’m done talking with your father.”

She stood her ground for a minute but then wilted and did as she was told, going over and plopping down on the bleachers.

Chase watched her go. He was furious.

The principal motioned him outside the gym and Chase followed. When the door shut behind him, he turned to Mr. Zimmerman. “Where did she get the beer?”

“She says from a lady she’s staying with.”

“Carolyne?” His voice rose and he forced it down.

Steam poured out of his ears, or at least it felt that way.

“No, the new lady in town—Meghan.”

Chase stumbled back at that.