Just a Little Faith (14 page)

 

Knowing it
to be
far down on his list of things he wanted to do, Pax encouraged Seb to return with the family to Rick's after leaving the cemetery.
Once
they entered
Rick's home,
Seb never let her linger too far away from his side.
P
lann
ing
to
help
the ladies
in the kitchen, Pax didn't get two feet when she felt Seb's hand on her arm
.
His face
offered
a
silent plea
.
S
he
nodded
,
standing
beside him
,
greeting everyone who offer
ed
their condolences.

Receiving the w
hisper
ed
words of sorrow and hugs of comfort
,
Pax wasn
'
t surprised to see Linc and Traci approach. Linc told her
before they left for California
he would see her at the funeral.
A better friend, Seb couldn't find.

Behind them an attractive Hispanic man seemed unsure of what to do.
Constantly in motion, he moved his hands
from his pockets to clasping them behind his back
only to return them to
his pockets.
Paxson didn't need a formal introduction to know
this was
Durango Cortez
.

Rangy reached
Seb,
grabbing him
as if his life depended on it.
O
bvious
in their
love
for each other,
they embraced
for several minutes
. When
Seb released
Rangy
,
he
leaned over
putting
his arm around Paxson.

“Rangy, this is Paxson
,
who I told you about. Paxson, this is my scalawag friend and best of pals, Durango Cortez.”

Rangy
's
gaze
dropped
, color filling his face at
Seb's description.

Extending her
hand
, Pax smiled at the handsome man
. “It is certainly nice to finally meet you
,
Durango. Seb speaks of you often, although
I'm
not sure you would appreciate the stories.”
Her t
eas
ing brought the desire
d
effect
when
a smile graced his dark features.

“It's real nice to meet you too ma'am. Although I
do
wish the circumstances were better. Seb surely has taken a liking to you, that's for sure. I can certainly see he
didn't
over exaggerate in his description. You are as pretty as the morning sun after a dark rainy night.”

Paxson
felt heat rise in her cheeks
. “You are too sweet
,
Durango. And I don't care what Sebastian says, I like you.”

His dark eyes became wet with emotion. “I'm so sorry I wasn't there that night
,
Seb. When Linc called, I couldn't believe my ears. I wanted to be there, please know that.”

“I know Rangy. Don't worry about it. You being here now means the world to me.”

G
ingerly nudg
ing
Rangy
with his arm
, Seb pointed in the direction of the kitchen
. “Go on with yourself Rangy and get something to eat. There's plenty to be had and I figure you haven't had your second lunch today.”

After another brief hug
Rangy
followed Linc and Traci into the other room
.
“
You're
right
,
Seb. He is truly a down-to-earth guy.
I'm
glad he
and Linc
came to
support you
.
”

“If there are two people in the world I know will always have my back
,
it is Linc and Rangy. I knew they would be here
,
even if they had to drive all night from St. Louis to do it.”

****

Eventually
,
as
the last of the guests left and only a small number of family members remained
,
Pax helped clear dishes and clean the kitchen
.
Seb
,
after saying his goodbyes to Linc, Traci
,
and Rangy
,
found
his parents
on a
couch in the sunroom off the kitchen. Since
t
h
eir
arrival three days ago
,
t
he
y
h
adn't
had
much opportunity to visit. R
ight now
,
he felt the urge to share in their company.

“Hey Momma. How are you doing? You didn't stand too long did you?”
He sat beside her, giving her arm a gentle rub.

“No
,
Seb,
I'm
fine. Your daddy has taken great pains to ensure I didn't overdo it.”

“That's right
,
son
.
I pushed her toward this couch the first opportunity I had.”

Seb smiled
when his
d
ad put his arm around his
m
om's shoulders in a loving embrace. He
had
wished for this type of marriage when he
'd
asked Melissa to marry him. But he knew they both grossly underestimated the amount of work it took to have a successful relationship. H
e
'd
discovered
through his rocky relationship with Mel,
his parents
made it look easy.

H
is eyes strayed to the kit
chen where he could see Paxson
cleaning up dishes and putting things in the refrigerator.
Could
Paxson
be
someone he
could
have that type
of
relationship with
? M
aybe. But Sebastian still
didn't know if it was
a road he wanted to travel down again.

“She's a good one
,
Seb.”

Startled, he swung
his head around to face his mother
.
“I'm sorry. What did you say?”

“I see you looking in there at her. From the short time I have been able to visit with her, she seems like a thoughtful and considerate girl. In fact, I believe this is the first girl with real depth you have brought home in a long time.”

He
looked again at Paxson
,
appreciating her
quiet and gentle spirit
.

“She is a good girl
,
Mama
. We have a good time together and I like her. I'm just not sure I ever want to go through all that again
.
I couldn't handle another marriage like the one with Melissa. Our daughters were my greatest joy and now
that
they're
gone, I'm not sure I would be worth having around.”

His father squeezed his knee.
“Seb, you can't keep thinking every relationship will end up like your marriage. You and Melissa were young and didn't have an idea what you were getting into.
You're
older and
,
I hope
,
wiser now. Surely you know flitting from girl to girl is not the way to be happy.”

“I don't know
,
Dad. Somet
imes I think it's the only way.”

Paxson entered the room wiping her hands on a dishcloth. “
Margaret, Alex
, can I get you anything? Something to drink perhaps?”

“No
,
thank you
,
dear. Why don't you sit down for a
while?
You've
been on your feet all day.” Seb's Mom pointed toward the overstuffed chair to the right of the couch.

“Thank you, Margaret. I might take you up on it. My dogs are barking you might say.”
Relaxing in
the chair
,
she
slipped off her heels to rub her feet.

“Actually,
before I forget…
Seb,
c
ould
you
tell me how I might get a cab?”

“What? Why do you need to call a cab? You aren't leaving are you?” Seb s
cooted
forward on the couch ready to spring
to
his feet.

“Oh
,
no. But I will need one tomorrow. I found a church about twenty miles from here I would like to meet with in the morning.”

Her
soft reply eased Seb's mind.
“Oh. Um, well there's no need to call a cab. I've got two cars in the garage at my house.
You're
welcome to use one of those if you like.”

“I
don't think I would be comfortable
driving
one of your cars…. I would be so nervous I would wreck in spite of myself.
I can easily take a cab.
”

“Don't worry about getting a taxi. That's silly.
Take one of my cars.
”

Reaching across to the couch,
she rested her
hand
on his.
“Oh
,
I don't know. It's too much.”

“It's not a problem at all. I'm glad to repay some of the kindness you have shown me and my family the past few days.”

“Well, since you put it that way. I accept your offer. Thank you.”

Margaret l
ean
ed
forward to face them both
. “What's your plan for the rest of the day
,
Sebastian? I think your Dad and I are a ready to
go
back to the house and rest.”

“I
've been
thinking about heading to the beach for a little while. Pax, would you like to see the Pacific Ocean?”

Paxson's eyes lit up. “I would if you want to
,
Bash,
I haven't seen it since I was in college and came to the coast on a recruiting trip
for college
.”

“
Good.
We'll run by the house so you can change clothes and then go.”

Just thinking of
the beach gave him an overwhelming sense of
peace
.
He loved going there, listening
to the waves crash on the shore
.
A
quiet place of reflection for Seb
,
he look
ed
forward to sharing it with Pax.

 

At
Sebastian's house, Pax
climbed the stairs
to the second floor guest room
.
N
ervous at first when Sebastian told her she would be staying at his
condo
,
her fears were allayed
when he mentioned his parents would be there
,
too
. Pax
didn't
want to tell him she was
n't
comfortable staying in a house alone with him
.
But
after seeing they each had their
own
floor
, she relaxed
. Wealth certainly
had
its privileges
.

She changed clothes and came down the stairs
. Not finding
Sebastian on the ground floor
,
s
he looked up to the open hallway of the third floor
. A
shadow
reflect
ed
on
an
open door
,
presumably
Seb
.

The soft carpet beneath her feet muffled her footsteps as she padded up the steps and down the hall to the open room, pausing in the doorway. A soft sob from inside became a blow to her heart. Dolls and stuffed animals cluttered the room.
I'm intruding
… She backed up a step
.

“Pax. Wait. You can come in. I don't mind.”

She treaded
quietly
across the white carpet
,
taking
in the room full of toys and drawings made by a small child's hand.
The walls held photos
of Seb with each girl. Shelves lined one wall
,
full of various books for each age. Two twin beds rested against the
farthest
wall,
a large picture window in between.

“I know it seems silly
,
but when they came to stay with me
,
they enjoyed sharing a room.
E
ven though
they were in
my house
,
the
surroundings were
strange to them. I think they felt more comfortable together. I assumed when they grew to be teenagers, Ashlynn would ask for the bedroom downstairs.” Sebastian's voice broke.

Dear Lord. Please be with Seb. He is crumbling
,
and I don't know what to do or say.

His voice interrupted her silent prayer.
“I guess I don't have to worry about it now. I don't have to fret over the silly arguments over inconsequential things. I don't have to wonder about what boys
they're
seeing
,
and where they might be taking them. I don't have to be concerned about any of it anymore.
” Collapsing on the bed nearest him, he put his head in his hands. “
I would give everything I own in this world to have all those cares and concerns if it meant I could have them back.
Oh please. Can't I just have them
back?
”

Encircling him
with her arms
, Pax
bit
back her own tears
.