Until Then (Cornerstone Book 2) (30 page)

She turned onto Sean’s street, scanning the house numbers, and caught sight of him and Aaron. They were playing basketball at the hoop set up in their driveway, and a smidgen of her anxiety disappeared.

Sean waved as she pulled in, and Aaron dropped the ball and jogged over to greet her.

“Hi, Michelle.” Aaron grinned at her. He was a dark blond version of his dad, with those same bright blue eyes.

“Hi, Aaron.”

Michelle popped the trunk and climbed out of her car.

The guys had her bags before she had a chance to close her door.

She glanced around at the lovely two-story brick home. It seemed Sean had done very well for himself.

Sudden movement in a first-floor window caught her eye. The curtain flipped closed.
Ashley
.

Sean headed toward a side door with her bags. “Let me show you where you’ll be staying.”

“Oh, don’t let me interrupt your game.” She dropped her purse by the door and grabbed the basketball from the grass, where it had landed. She dribbled toward the basket and shot from a good distance away.
Nothin’ but net!

“Pretty good,” Sean noted.

“Pretty good?” She gave him a smug look. “Show me what you got, Davis.” She tossed the ball at him as hard as she could, and it hit him in the chest with a loud
thud
.

He grunted, then took a shot from where he stood. It swooshed silently through the net. He glanced over at her and grinned.

“My turn!” Aaron ran to retrieve the ball. He stood back almost as far as Michelle and took a shot.
Swoosh!

Her eyes widened. “Aaron, that was awesome!” She and Sean both clapped for him.

Aaron shrugged his shoulders. “No big deal.”

Sean grinned at Michelle again.

A shuffle in the doorway signaled Ashley’s arrival.

“I’m starving. Can we eat already?”

Sean shot his daughter a look of disapproval, and she turned and walked back into the house.

Aaron walked over and grabbed Michelle’s bag. “Come on. I’ll show you your room.”

She looked at Sean, then followed his little gentleman of a son into the house.

It was as nice inside as it was out. They walked through the mud room, which held their washer and dryer, and into the kitchen with its large center island, dark granite countertops, white cupboards, and stainless steel appliances. It looked like something she had seen on an HGTV makeover show.

They led her through to the open staircase that led to the second floor.

Sean pointed past the dining area to a hallway. “My room’s down there. There’s a bathroom just over there.”

They continued upstairs. There was a bathroom at the top of the stairs, Aaron’s bedroom was on the right, and two bedrooms were to the left. “This is where you’ll stay. Ashley’s right next door.”

Ashley walked past them and closed the door to her room. “My room is off limits.”
 

“Ashley,” Sean scolded.

“It’s OK,” Michelle assured him. “I understand. A girl’s gotta have her own space.”

Ashley rolled her eyes and walked back downstairs.

“Aaron, will you please go help your sister get dinner started?”

“OK.” Aaron hopped down the stairs two at a time.

Sean carried the bags into the guest room, and Michelle followed.

He placed them at the end of the bed, then turned and enveloped her in his arms. “I’m so happy you’re here.”

She gave him a quick hug, then stepped back. “Are you sure this isn’t weird? I mean, we’re just getting to know each other again. And this …” She motioned around the room, feeling suddenly uncomfortable.

He looked at her searchingly. “This what?”

“This was your home with your wife.” It was blunt, but it was what she was thinking.

He laid a hand on her shoulder. “I know. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have happiness here again. Lindsay was the kind of person who made the most out of life. She wouldn’t want me moping around here all alone for the next eighty years.”

“Eighty years, huh?” She grinned. “So, you’re planning to live past a hundred then?”

“Seventy. Eighty. Whatever. I was never good at math.”

Michelle chuckled.

He looked her in the eye. “I want you here, OK? Let’s just make the most of it.”

She smiled. “OK.”

The kids made spaghetti for dinner. Ashley had most certainly been forced to help. She poked at her food the whole time and refused to take part in the conversation. Aaron baked garlic toast in the oven all by himself and lit candles on the table to set the mood, which was very thoughtful.
 

“You’ll love our church,” Sean told Michelle. “Great people there. We’re having an Easter sunrise breakfast Sunday, so we can go if my sleepyhead kids get out of bed in time.”

“That sounds nice.” Michelle glanced over at Aaron, then Ashley.

Ashley stood and picked up her mostly full plate.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Sean asked.

“I’m not hungry.” She certainly fit the stereotype of the snotty teenager.

“Sit! You are not leaving this table until your plate is clean.”

“Da-ad,” she whined.

“And we have company.”

“She’s
your
company.” Ashley glared at him.

“It doesn’t matter who she’s here to see. We do not treat people like that.”

“Whatever.” Ashley rolled her eyes and plopped down in her seat, dropping the plate onto the table.

“Hey!” Sean raised his voice. “You’re lucky that didn’t break.”

“I wish it had.”

Sean’s fist met the table. “Enough!”

Michelle looked down at her plate. She felt very out of place and had an overwhelming urge to cover her ears like she had as a child during her parents’ fights.

Sean seemed to realize how uncomfortable she was. “I’m so sorry, Michelle.”

She shook her head. “It’s OK.”

They finished the rest of the meal in silence, then Ashley bolted up the stairs to her room and slammed the door.

Aaron walked over and took Michelle’s plate.

“Thanks, Aaron. Can I help you clean up?”

“Nah.” He patted her on the arm. “You’re our guest.”

Her heart warmed. He was the nicest kid.

Sean looked over at her when Aaron left the room, and his shoulders slumped. “I’m so sorry. Sometimes I just lose my patience with her, and I get a little crazy.”

Michelle nodded. “I get it. I was the same way at her age, and I did everything I could to push my parents’ buttons.” She noticed Sean’s weariness, and it reminded her of her mother of all people. He had the same look on his face that her mother had so often worn — the exact same look her rebellion had put there time and time again.

“Why did you do it?” he asked.

“I thought I didn’t need them, and I didn’t want them telling me what to do or how to live my life.”

He rubbed his tired eyes. “I just don’t know what to do any more.”

“Have you thought about counseling? It could help her deal with the grief in a more positive way. And I’m sure it’s hard for her not having her mom to talk to about all the changes she’s going through right now. It can be a tough time for a teenage girl.”

He shook his head. “I’ve thought about it, but I don’t want her to feel like I’m sending her off to a shrink because something’s wrong with her.”

“It wouldn’t have to be like that. There are a lot of great Christian counselors out there that could help her so much. I see things like this every day at Cornerstone.”

He leaned his elbows on the table and rested his forehead in his hands. “I’m just not very good at being both the dad
and
the mom, ya’ know?”

She reached across the table and touched his arm. “Maybe you need to talk to someone, too. It might be good for all of you.”

He nodded. “Maybe.”

“I’ll pray for you.”

That seemed to calm him.

Long after midnight, Michelle jolted awake. She glanced over at the alarm clock on the nightstand, which read 2:36 a.m. Her head met the pillow again, and she let out a calming breath. Something had woken her, but she wasn’t sure what. Had it been a bad dream? She couldn’t remember dreaming about anything. In fact, she had drifted off rather quickly last night and slept quite comfortably. Maybe it was just being in Sean’s home, so close to him, knowing he was lying in his bed in the room beneath hers.

Just then, she heard a faint sound coming from the room next door. She quietly moved to the wall that separated her room from Ashley’s and leaned her ear there to listen. What she heard broke her heart.

It was the sound of a young girl crying.

An hour passed as she lay awake staring at the ceiling. Everything in her wanted to go to Ashley’s room to comfort her, but she fought the instinct.

When the crying stopped and all was quiet, she tiptoed down the stairs to the kitchen for a drink of water. One of the cupboards squeaked when she went searching for a glass, and she winced. She slowly opened another, but found bowls instead.

Strong hands suddenly grasped her waist, and she jumped and let out a loud yelp.

Sean chuckled and wrapped his arms around her to calm her. His bare chest met her back. “
Shhh!
The kids,” he whispered.

She was hyper aware that she was wearing a tank top without a bra, and she wished she had wrapped up in a blanket or thrown on a sweatshirt before she left her room.

“Don’t scare me like that,” she whispered back.

He laughed into her neck. The rough feel of his stubble against her shoulder sent a shiver down her spine, and she tilted her head a little to the side, giving him more access if he wanted it. The heat of his breath there made her warm all over.

They stood like that for long minutes, breathing together, his chin resting on her shoulder.

She waited for him to move. It had been her who took the lead in the past, but things were different now. She was different. She would never pressure him into doing anything ever again. He had suffered a great loss, and his life had been turned upside down. She wanted him to be ready.

“Sean?” she whispered his name.

“
Hmmm
?” His lips brushed her earlobe, and her eyes slid shut.
Stupid earlobe.

“You can let go of me now,” she breathed.

She felt him nod, but he didn’t move for several long, exhilarating minutes. She could feel the pulse in his neck beating rapidly against hers.

“I don’t want to,” he finally replied. “I let you go once, and I don’t ever wanna do it again.”

She smiled. How wonderful it was to hear that.

He turned her around to face him. “I never forgot about you, Michelle.”

Her arms wrapped instinctively around his back. She wound her fingers together, and her hands came to rest against the elastic waistband of his plaid pajama pants.

His hands rubbed softly up and down her arms, as if to warm her, and settled on her shoulders. “I never stopped wondering what might’ve happened if I had stayed.” His expression turned serious then, and he sought permission with his eyes, which appeared even deeper in the dimly lit kitchen.

Staring into the depths of blue, she knew she was a goner.