Love From the Ashes (18 page)

Rebecca was nervous as Thomas escorted her into the school gymnasium.  She didn’t know if she could refer the evening as a date, but he brought her flowers, opened her door, and paid more attention to her than ever before.  Bethany rushed off as soon as they entered the room and she turned to Thomas.  “Are you prepared that that could be the last time you see her tonight?”

He laughed.  “I’m not worried; we have a deal.”

“A deal?  Such as…”

“I told her that if she has any plans of dancing tonight with Drew that she has to introduce him to me.”

“Drew; as in Drew Glass?”

“You know him?”

She nodded.  “Yeah; he’s harmless.  I had him in class before.  He’s a cutie.”

Thomas groaned.  “So I have been told.”

“I’ve been waiting for you both.”  Rebecca saw Adam Gregory approach them.  “I didn’t know you two were coming together.”

Rebecca noticed that her arm was still intertwined with Thomas’, but she didn’t mind.  “Where did you want us?”

“I thought you could work the coat check and Mr. Campbell could work the refreshment table.”  Rebecca knew that the only reason they were getting separated was because Adam was experiencing some jealousy.

Rebecca pulled her arm from Thomas and smiled.  “Okay; I will see you later?”

“Of course;” she walked with Adam to where the coats were being taken.

“You two really do seem chummy.  Are you officially dating now?”  She looked to where Thomas was now set up and she shook her head.  “I just thought…”

“We’re just good friends; that’s all, but thank you for your concern.  I think I have it under control.”

“Okay; I will be monitoring the dance floor.  If you need anything, just let me know.”  She nodded as he took off and left her to her job.  She then turned her attention back to Thomas where he now had company.  She saw that Troy Donovan’s mother, Sissy, was now stationed at the table.  She wouldn’t have normally minded, but she was going through a recent divorce and it wasn’t due to her ex’s infidelity.  She was the type of woman that always seemed to get what she wanted and by the looks of it, she wanted Thomas to be her next catch.

She looked away; she couldn’t explain her jealousy, but it wasn’t her proudest moment.  “Excuse me?  Is this where I give you my jacket?”  She looked at the young boy and tried to smile.

“Oh…yes; here’s your ticket.”  She had to keep focused on her job at hand; just because they came together it didn’t mean anything.  If she could focus on that, she was sure to be fine the rest of the night.  Unfortunately watching Thomas and Sissy talking was where her eyes kept wandering. 
It isn’t fair; some women have all the luck.

___________________

Thomas could tell that the woman that introduced herself as Sissy Donovan was used to having her way.  Unfortunately for her, there was only one woman that he could even fathom of thinking about.  He caught himself watching Rebecca as she worked on the other side of the gym.  He didn’t know why he didn’t fight for them to work together, but he wasn’t willing to prove just how much he cared for her.  “So, I told my husband that I was tired of being left at home at night; so why wouldn’t I go out with other men.  It only makes sense; don’t you think?”

“Uh…yeah.”  He rolled his eyes as he looked back across the room.  All he wanted was to go over there and ask her to dance, but he was stuck with Sissy and her tumultuous marriage.

He was relieved when he saw Bethany approach the table.  She was followed by a shy looking boy.  He had to wonder if this was really the guy that all the girls found attractive.  He looked so awkward.  “Dad, this is Brady Michaels.  Brady, this is my dad.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you sir.”

He shook his hand and then turned to Bethany.  “Brady?  What happened to…” she quickly shook his head and he knew how to finish the statement.  “It’s a pleasure to meet you Brady.  Are you two going to dance?”

“I was hoping we could sir.”

“That sounds like fun; have a good time.”  Bethany smiled as they walked out to the floor.

He looked over at Rebecca and she was staring at him.  He wondered if she was as confused as he was.  “Do you think that you could watch the table for a bit?  I could use some fresh air.”

“Sure thing dear; take your time.”

He smiled as he left the gymnasium and went outside.  He took in a breath of fresh air and was thankful that he had just a few minutes alone where he didn’t have to hear about the Donovan drama.  “You needed fresh air too?”

He turned around and saw Rebecca standing behind him.  She laughed at his surprised expression.  “I sure did.  I’m tired of hearing about Sissy and her ex-husband.  She knows how to talk; that’s for sure.”

Rebecca started to laugh, but covered her mouth.  “I’m sorry; that wasn’t very nice.  You two look like the perfect couple.”

“I bet we do.”  He replied with a chuckle.  “I really just wanted to go and ask you to dance.”

She nodded.  “I wanted you to ask me to dance, but inside…it really didn’t seem right.  We’re supposed to be chaperoning the kids.  In fact, I probably should get back in there.”

She started to leave, but he reached out and grabbed her hand.  “Just one dance for the road.”

She laughed.  “Right here?”

He shrugged.  “It’s as good of place as any.  We won’t be long.  I’m sure that Mr. Gregory could handle it if any kids need their coats.  So will you dance with me?”

She reached out for his hand and smiled.  “I will.”

When he pulled her into his arms he couldn’t deny the fact that it felt good to be dancing with her.  “While we’re dancing, I do have something to tell you.”

She looked at him.  “Okay!”

“I have learned something over the past few months about myself.  I can be pretty ignorant at times.  I have held onto this concept that I can’t get mixed up with anyone else, because it will be hurtful to Scarlett.  I know that she isn’t here in the physical world, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t feel her.”

“I understand Thomas; you don’t have to…”

“I do have to explain, because in discovering that I’m ignorant I realized that all this time I have pushed you away.  It wasn’t intentional, but it happened.  I wanted to believe that any feelings I was having were just wrong and didn’t mean anything.  It’s not true; no matter how much I want to believe that I’m not falling for you, it would be a lie.”

Rebecca stared at him; his arms were still wrapped around her, but she didn’t make any efforts to pull away.  “So…”

“Rebecca, I care for you.  In fact, I care for you more than I should.  What do you think about that?”

Rebecca laughed.  “I care for you too Thomas.  I have tried not to, but the fact is I can’t fight those feelings.  I was jealous when I saw you with Sissy Donovan.”

He rolled his eyes and laughed.  “Believe me; you don’t have to be jealous of her.”

Rebecca laughed.  “I wanted to watch the refreshment table with you.”

Thomas smiled.  “I wanted you there, but we don’t need that to know that what we have could be special.”  He leaned in; their mouths were nearly met when he heard someone clearing their throat.

They pulled away and turned to the entrance of the school.  Adam Gregory was staring at them.  “Um…Rebecca, people
need your help.  Mr. Campbell, Ms. Donovan is finding that she’s pretty busy.”

“Of course;” Thomas reached for Rebecca’s hand and they went into the school.  It didn’t surprise him that they would be interrupted, but it definitely irritated him.  They would get their moment together; he would make sure of that.  No one was going to get in his way of happiness; especially Adam Gregory.

____________________

“I had a great time Thomas; despite the fact that we rarely had a chance to talk.”

Thomas laughed.  “Thanks to Mr. Gregory, that is.”  Rebecca knew it was true; every time they had just a hint of free time he was there reminding them that the children needed them.

“It was fun, nonetheless.”

“Bethany will surely fall asleep in no time.  She might even be asleep when I get back to the van.”

“She seemed to have a good time.  Did she even dance with Drew?”

“I don’t think so; I was wondering if that was in part to the fact that her best friend Heather was dancing with him most of the night.  I don’t think she wanted to ruffle any feathers.”

Rebecca smiled.  “That could be.  Thanks for everything.”  She wanted him to kiss her, but she knew he wouldn’t his daughter was right there.  It would have been awkward.  She reached for the door and started to back into the house.  “I’ll see you…” she thought for a moment she didn’t know when she would see him next.  “I guess that I’ll see you soon.”

“Would you like to come to our house for Christmas dinner?”

She smiled.  “I would like that.  Also, if you need to do any shopping…I could watch the kids.  I know you might not have any Christmas shopping done.”

“That would be great!  How about Monday?”

“Perfect; I will see you then.”

He nodded as he moved closer to her.  She wondered if she was wrong and he would kiss her, but he then brushed a tender kiss on her cheek.  “Goodnight Rebecca.”

She slowly put up her hand to wave to him.  “Goodnight Thomas.”  She closed the door behind her.  Even though she wanted more; she found that the simple kiss on the cheek was more romantic than she would have imagined.  She smiled to herself.  This was going to be the best Christmas ever.

When Thomas dropped the kids off at Rebecca’s house on Monday he felt like things were going his way and he was so happy about that.  He was drawn to her smile, her touch, her laughter, and the way that she scrunched her nose when he told his lame jokes.  They had talked several times over the weekend and he couldn’t believe that each time they talked they were still able to hold on a lengthy conversation.  It was as if they had known each other for years, but it was nice because each time they were learning something different.  “Do you need me to pick you anything up?”  He asked her as she walked him back out to his van.

“I think I’m good; I did a lot of my shopping this weekend.  I have to tell you that I’m super excited about spending Christmas with you and your family.  I hope that your kids like what I bought them.”

“Rebecca, you didn’t have to do that.”

She laughed.  “Please; I wanted to.”

“I am sure they will like it all; that was very kind.”

“I can’t wait to see your house decorated.  I never really have reason to decorate, but I love decorations.”

“We didn’t really get a chance to do much; a lot of our decorations were either damaged with smoke or sold once we moved into the new house.  We just didn’t have the place for them, but we did some.  I won’t be late.  I could bring something back with me for supper when I am finished.”

“Okay; we’ll see you later.”  She waved as she hurried back into the house.

He took a long slow breath as he pulled out of the driveway.  He had waited so long to tell her that he cared, that it was scaring him to think that it could be more than that.  He didn’t know why he couldn’t just say those 3 little words, but something was holding him back.  He had to talk to the one person that knew him the best; he would be able to straighten things out.”

___________________

Thomas looked around the grounds of the Bed and Breakfast; he couldn’t find anyone around.  “Seth?  Are you out here?”  He looked in the back and was about to give up when he saw Cassie sitting at table with Megan and her daughter Jasmine.  Before he could make a getaway she had turned and their eyes connected.  She smiled and so he reluctantly went to her table.  “Hey; how are you ladies doing?”

“We’re doing well!”  Cassie smiled at him.  “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.  Where are the kids?”

“They’re at Rebecca’s for the day; I had Christmas shopping to do.”

She nodded, but she appeared like she wasn’t totally convinced that was what was going on.  “Are you shopping here?”  She laughed and he just smiled.

“Not exactly; is Seth around?”

“No; he actually went to do some shopping himself.  Is there something that I could help you with?”

Thomas started to shake his head and then looked at Megan; he didn’t want to be rude, but he really didn’t want the whole world to know what was going on.  Not that Megan would tell, but it was just easier to keep quiet.  Megan seemed to understand, because she stood up and grabbed hold of Jasmine’s hand.  “Actually Cass, we can talk later.  It was good seeing you Thomas.”  He felt bad that she felt like she had to leave.  He had to talk to someone; after careful consideration he realized that Cassie was probably even a better candidate than Seth.  She was a girl, after all.

“I’m sorry I chased her off; I hope you weren’t talking about anything too important.”

Cassie shook her head.  “We can talk later.  Have a seat; what’s going on?”

He sat down at the round patio table and then groaned.  “I don’t know Cass; I’m at a loss about my life and I don’t even know where to begin.”

“I highly doubt that; tell me what’s troubling you?”

“It would be easier to tell you what isn’t troubling me.”  He laughed as he looked away from her kind expression.  “I have built this wall around me that I don’t want to let anyone in.  When someone gets close to the wall, I turn away.  I’m afraid that that’s what has happened with Rebecca.  I want to trust my feelings, but what if I’m wrong?”

“You’re feelings are saying what exactly?”

“That’s a loaded question.”  He snickered. 
“I care about Rebecca and I don’t want her getting hurt, but could there be something more?”

Cassie laughed and laid her hand on his.  “Thomas; I’ve known you for a long time and please don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re an idiot.”

“Wow; thanks for not holding back.”

“I mean it out of the utmost respect.  You know that Scarlett was my best friend; I should be the last person you would expect to hear say this.  Your feelings for Rebecca are real; you can’t deny those and hope that one day they’ll just magically disappear.  That’s not the way that it works.  Can you honesty look at me and tell me that you don’t know what you’re feeling?”

He turned to her; he willed the words to come out of his mouth, but it was pointless.  “No; I can’t.”

“Then why can’t you tell her that
?  You told Seth and me that you said you care for her, but this surpasses caring.  I care for you, but that doesn’t mean that I want to run away with you and get married.”  Under normal circumstances, one could be offended by that, but Thomas knew what she meant.  “You can care for someone without loving them in the way that a man loves a woman.  However, in this case that isn’t what’s happening.  Is it?”  Thomas thought about that question and slowly shook his head; he couldn’t even bring himself to look at her.  “Thomas, you’re not cheating on Scarlett.  Scarlett has unfortunately been gone for two years; you have to start living again.  She would want that for you.”

“I know she would.  I have so many obligations and what if she doesn’t want to deal with the baggage?”

Cassie nodded.  “You have a point there; you have little ones that rely on you and you are now jobless.  She would be absolutely out of her mind to fall for you.”  His eyes got big and he hoped she was kidding.  Slowly a smile came to her face, relieving him that that was the case.  “Fortunately for you…Rebecca must be out of her mind.”

Thomas laughed.  “You don’t know that; you can’t honestly tell me that you know, with 100%
certainty that she’s in love with me.”

“I see the way she looks at you; I see the way she looks at all 5 of your children.  If that isn’t love, I don’t know what is.”

Thomas thought about that for a moment; he was hopeful that Cassie saw the truth, but he couldn’t help but think that she had it all wrong.  “What should I do?”

“Start by being honest with your feelings.  What do you want to do?”  Thomas shrugged, but Cassie snickered.  “Thomas, it’s written on your face.”

“Are you going to make me say it?”

Cassie smiled.  “It would be nice.”

He laughed.  “Okay; fine.  I love her.  There; are you happy now?  I love her.”  He let out a breath that he had been holding inside for weeks.  As he realized without a shadow of a doubt that it was love he was feeling; he just prayed that she was feeling the same.  “There’s only one thing left to do.”

Cassie smiled and nodded.  “You have to tell her.”

He wasn’t going to lie; that was intimidating, but if he was going to truly be able to move on he knew he had to do it.  He smiled to himself; he knew exactly how he would tell her and with any luck they would be able to start a new beginning to their lives.

____________________

Rebecca heard Thomas’ van pull into the driveway.  The kids had been watching Christmas movies all day and she had just gotten them some hot chocolate.  She opened the door before he had a chance to knock.  “We’re you watching for me?”  He laughed as he entered the foyer.

“Maybe;” she teased. 
“Did you get your shopping all done?”

He nodded.  “I sure did; thanks to you.”

“It was no problem.  I’m glad I could help.  The kids are watching Christmas movies.  She grabbed the pizza boxes that were hands and headed to the kitchen.  “Thanks for the pizza.  We can serve them in the living room; let them continue to enjoy the movie.”

He smiled.  “I doubt they know how lucky they are to have you around.  You spoil them.  I know that I’m starting to see how lucky we are.”

She blushed and turned away.  She grabbed the dishes from the cupboard and shrugged.  “It’s no big deal.”

“That’s not true; it’s a huge deal.”  She turned to face him and saw that his eyes were saying more than they usually did.

She cleared her throat.  “Do you want to help me serve the children?”

“Of course;” they took the pizza into the living room and delivered to the children while they continued to watch
Jingle All The Way
.

“Thank you!”  They whispered; none of them wanting to take their eyes off the television.

“You would think that they’ve never seen a Christmas movie before.”  Thomas replied with a laugh.

“Well, it’s a magical time of year.  It’s when everyone, both young and old,
feels like just about anything can happen.”

He pulled her so that they were a step out of the living room.  “What about you Rebecca? 
Is Christmas a time when you become a kid again and lose sight of reality?”

She smiled and shrugged.  “I don’t know; I tend to think that reality can be magical, even without Christmas.  Call me foolish or naïve, but we all can be a little kid at heart.”

“I have to agree.”  She smiled; in that moment he looked like he was about to kiss her, but he slowly pulled back.  “I’m starved; let’s eat.”  As she watched him go back into the kitchen, she was flabbergasted.  She didn’t know what to make of him, but one thing was certain.  She was determined to unravel about what made Thomas tick; it was going to be an interesting discovery.