Love Finds a Way (9 page)

Evan watched Lorna’s retreating form. Her shoulders were hunched, and her head was down. Obviously she wasn’t at her best. He could tell she’d been trying to be polite when she took their orders, but from her tone of voice and those wrinkles he’d noticed on her forehead, he was certain she was irritated about something.

Probably wondering what I’m doing here with Vanessa. Wish she had stuck around longer so I could have explained. Maybe I should have gone after her
.

“Evan, are you listening to me?”

Evan turned his head. “What were you saying, Vanessa?” “I’m glad I ran into you tonight. I wanted to ask your opinion on something.”

“What’s that?”

Vanessa leaned her elbows on the table and intertwined her fingers. “All day I’ve been thinking about that solo part I should have had.”

“You’re coming to grips with it, I hope.”

She frowned. “Actually, I’ve been wondering whether I should have taken Lorna up on her offer to give the part to me. What do you think, Evan? Should I ask her about it when she returns with our orders?”

Evan grunted. “I can’t believe you’d really expect her to give you that solo. Professor Burrows obviously feels Lorna’s the best one for the part, or she wouldn’t have assigned it to her.”

Vanessa wrinkled her nose. “And I can’t believe the way you always stick up for that little blond. She’s too old and too prim and proper for you, Evan. Why don’t you wake up?”

Evan reached for his glass of water and took a big gulp, hoping to regain his composure before he spoke again. When he set the glass down, he leaned forward and looked Vanessa right in the eye. “I’m not hung up on age differences, and as far as Lorna being prim and proper, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Vanessa blinked and pulled back like she’d been stung by a bee. “You don’t have to be so mean, Evan. I was only trying to make you see how much better—”

She was interrupted when Lorna appeared at the table with their orders. Evan was glad he could concentrate on eating his meat loaf instead of trying to change Vanessa’s mind about a woman she barely knew.

As Lorna placed Evan’s plate in front of him, she was greeted with another one of his phony smiles. They had to be phony. No man in his right mind would be out with one woman and flirting with another. For that matter, most men didn’t bring their date to the workplace of the woman he’d dated only two nights before.
Dated and kissed
, she fumed.

Lorna excused herself to get their beverages, and a short time later she returned with two mugs of mocha-flavored coffee. She looked at Evan sitting across from Vanessa, and an unexpected yearning stirred within her soul. Why couldn’t she be the one he was having dinner with tonight? All this time Lorna had been telling herself that she and Evan could only be friends, so it didn’t make sense to feel jealousy over seeing him with Vanessa Brown.

Maybe I don’t know my own heart. Maybe
…

“This isn’t low-cal dressing. I asked for low-cal, remember?”

Vanessa’s sharp words pulled Lorna’s disconcerting thoughts aside. “I think it is,” she replied. “I turned in an order for low-cal dressing, and I’m sure—”

“I just tasted it. It’s not low-cal!”

Lorna drew in a deep breath and offered up a quick prayer for patience. “I’ll go check with the cook who filled your order.”

She started to turn, but Vanessa shouted, “I want another salad! This one is drenched in fattening ranch dressing, and it’s ruined.”

Lorna was so aggravated her ears were ringing, yet she knew in order to keep her job at Farmen’s she would need to be polite to all customers—even someone as demanding as Vanessa. “I’ll be back with another salad.”

As she was turning in the order for the salad, Lorna met up with her friend Chris.

“You don’t look like the picture of happiness tonight,” Chris noted. “What’s the problem—too many customers?”

Lorna gritted her teeth. “Just two too many.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Lorna explained about Evan and Vanessa being on a date and how Vanessa was demanding a new salad.

Chris squinted her eyes. “I thought you and Evan went to Ivar’s on Saturday.”

“We did.”

“Then what’s up with him bringing another woman here on a date?”

Lorna leaned against the edge of the serving counter and groaned. “He’s two-faced. What can I say?”

“Want me to finish up with that table for you?”

Lorna sighed with relief. “Would you? I don’t think I can face Evan and his date again tonight.”

Chris patted Lorna’s arm. “Sure. What are friends for?”

Lorna peered into the darkening sky, watching out the window as Evan and Vanessa left the restaurant. She thought it was strange when she saw them each get into their own cars, but she shrugged it off, remembering that she and Evan had taken separate vehicles on Saturday night. Maybe Evan didn’t have time to pick Vanessa up for their date. Maybe she’d been out running errands. It didn’t matter. Lorna’s shift would be over in a few hours, and then she could go home, indulge in a long, hot bath, and crash on the couch in front of the fireplace. Maybe a cup of hot chocolate and some of Ann’s famous oatmeal cookies would help soothe her frazzled nerves. Some pleasant music and a good inspirational novel to read could have her feeling better in no time.

Lorna moved away from the window and sought out her next customer. She had a job to do, and she wouldn’t waste another minute thinking about Evan Bailey. If he desired someone as self-serving as Vanessa Brown, he could have her.

Determined to come up with a way to win Lorna’s heart, Evan had decided to try another recipe from his online cooking class. This one was called Bodacious Banana Bread, and it looked fairly simple to make. Between the loaf of bread and the explanation he planned to give Lorna tomorrow at school, Evan hoped he could let her know how much he cared.

Whistling to the tune of “Jesus Loves Me,” Evan set out the ingredients he needed: butter, honey, eggs, flour, salt, soda, baking powder, and two ripe bananas. In short order he had everything mixed. He poured the batter into a glass baking dish and pulled it off the counter. Suddenly his hand bumped a bowl of freshly washed blueberries he planned to have with a dish of vanilla ice cream later on. The bowl toppled over, and half the blueberries tumbled into the bread pan, on top of the banana mixture.

“Oh no,” Evan moaned. “Now I’ve done it.” He tried to pick the blueberries out, but too many had already sunk to the bottom of the pan.

“Guess I could bake it as is and hope for the best.” Evan grabbed a wooden spoon and gave the dough a couple of stirs to ensure that the berries were evenly distributed. He figured it couldn’t turn out any worse than the other desserts he’d foiled since he first began the cooking class. That Lemon Supreme he’d been dumb enough to give Lorna without first tasting had been one of the worst. He’d sampled a piece after their date on Saturday night and realized he’d messed up the recipe somehow, because it wasn’t sweet enough.

Two hours later the bread was done and had cooled sufficiently. Evan decided to try a slice, determined not to give any to Lorna if it tasted funny.

To Evan’s delight, the bread was wonderful. The blueberries had added a nice texture to the sweet dessert, and it was cooked to perfection. “I think I’ll call this my Blueberry Surprise,” he said with a chuckle. “Sure hope it impresses Lorna, because I’m not certain I have any words that will.”

G
oing back to school the following day—knowing she would have to face both Evan and Vanessa—was difficult for Lorna. She didn’t know why it should be so hard. Evan had made no commitment to her, nor she to him.

When she arrived at school, Lorna was surprised to see Evan standing in the hall just outside their anatomy class. He spotted her, waved, and held up a paper sack. “I have something for you, and we need to talk.” His voice sounded almost pleading, and that in itself Lorna found unsettling.

“There’s nothing to talk about.” Lorna started to walk away, hoping to avoid any confrontations and knowing if they did talk, her true feelings might give her away.

Evan reached out and grabbed hold of her arm. When she turned to face him, he lifted his free hand and wrapped a tendril of her hair around his finger. He leaned slightly forward—so close she could feel his breath on her upturned face. If she didn’t do something quickly, she was sure she was about to be kissed.

Evan moved his finger from her hair to her face, skimming down her cheek, then along her chin.

Lorna shivered with a mixture of anticipation and dread, knowing she should pull away. Just as Evan’s lips sought hers, the floor began to move and the walls swayed back and forth in a surreal manner. Lorna had heard of bells going off and being so much in love that it hurt, but if this weird sensation had anything to do with the way she felt about Evan, she didn’t want any part of loving the man.

Evan grasped Lorna’s shoulders as the floor tilted, and she almost lost her balance. Knowing she needed his support in order to stay on her feet, Lorna leaned into him, gripping both of his arms. “What’s happening?” she rasped.

“I believe we’re in the middle of a bad earthquake.” Evan’s face seemed etched with concern. It was a stark contrast from his usual smiling expression.

Lorna’s eyes widened with dread. She looked down and thought she was going to be sick. The floor was moving rhythmically up and down. It reminded her of a ship caught in a storm, about to be capsized with the crest of each angry wave.

“This is a bad one!” Evan exclaimed. “We need to get under a table or something.”

She looked around helplessly; there were no tables in the hall and none in the anatomy class either. The room only had opera-style seats. “Where?”

Evan pulled her closer. “A doorway! We should stand under a doorway.”

The door to their classroom was only a few feet away, but it took great effort for them to maneuver themselves into position. Lorna’s heart was thumping so hard she was sure Evan could hear each radical beat. She’d been in a few earthquakes during her lifetime, but none so violent as this one.

A candy machine in the hallway vibrated, pictures on the wall flew in every direction, and a terrible, cracking sound rent the air as the windows rattled and broke. A loud crash, followed by a shrill scream, sent shivers up Lorna’s spine. There was no one else in the hallway, which was unusual, considering the fact that classes were scheduled to begin soon. Where was everybody, and when would this nightmare end?

Another ear-piercing sound! Was that a baby’s cry? No, it couldn’t be. This was Bay View Christian College, not a day-care center.

“I think the scream came from over there,” Evan said, pointing across the hall. He glanced down at Lorna. “Did that sound like a baby’s cry to you?”

She nodded and swallowed against the lump lodged in her throat.

“Stay here. I’ll be right back.” Evan handed Lorna the paper sack he’d been holding.

“No, don’t leave me!” She clutched the front of his shirt as panic swept through her in a wave so cold and suffocating, she thought she might faint.

“I think you’ll be okay if you wait right here,” he assured her. “Pray, Lorna. Pray.”