Unexpected Father. Carolyne Aarsen

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      She opened the old-fashioned cash register again and pulled out a key. She walked around the long wooden counter and wove her way through the stacks of shelves. Denny followed; still amazed that one place could hold so many books, surprised that people would want to buy them.

      At the back of the store she opened a door that led to a hallway separating the bookstore from the apartment behind it. She crossed the hall and unlocked another heavy wooden door.

      She stood aside as he walked into the room. A couple of worn leather recliners flanked the fireplace. To his right, shelves, also filled with books, lined one wall. He guessed the doors on either side of the shelves led to bedrooms.

      A couch directly in front of him faced the recliners, and to his left he saw a small kitchen and another door leading to, he suspected, a bathroom.

      “Looks cozy,” he said, releasing a sigh of satisfaction. Though he knew he would only stay here until he could move onto the ranch, it would be perfect for now. Just enough room for him.

      “The fireplace doesn’t work,” Evangeline said. “My grandfather put it in when he renovated this place but my dad never hooked it up.”

      “Grandfather?”

      “My mother’s father. He was the one who owned the store. He set up the apartment upstairs where I live. My mother inherited it from him and my father from her when she...when she died.” Her voice faltered.

      “And you got it from your dad?” Denny asked.

      Evangeline shook her head. “He still owns it.”

      “And the ranch?”

      “Belongs to my father, as well. He inherited it from his parents.”

      Just as he had when his parents had died, Denny thought. Only Denny had been nineteen, too young to run a ranch on his own. Thankfully his uncle had stayed on to help him take care of the ranch and his three sisters and foster brother. It was tough, but they’d managed.

      And then Lila came into the picture....

      “It’s summertime,” he said, turning his thoughts to the future and his plans. “I doubt I’ll need a fireplace.” He flashed her a grin, hoping to ease some of the tension he sensed in her.

      “There’re two bedrooms off the living room,” she said, indicating with a lift of her chin the doors by the shelves. “One has a queen-size bed, the other a single.”

      Denny didn’t care about the rooms, but he didn’t want to appear rude, so he followed her, stopping in the doorway. The room looked like any other bedroom. Bed. Closets. Windows with flowered curtains that matched the flowered bed covering Evangeline fussed with.

      “Looks nice.” Then he noticed a couple of framed pictures hanging on the wall above the bed.

      “Is that you and your dad?”

      Evangeline glanced in the direction he pointed and nodded. “Yes, it was taken at the ranch.”

      She brushed her skirt as she walked past him and out the door. Her high heel caught in the carpet and she lost her balance for a moment. Denny reached out to catch her.

      Her hair swung over her face as she regained her footing, releasing a whiff of her perfume.

      She smelled like flowers, he thought. Delicate and feminine.

      Then she pulled away.

      Man, she was jumpy, he thought.

      “Did you need to see the kitchen?” she asked as she walked past the couch, stopping on the other side of it, as if giving herself some distance from him. “It isn’t large, but it’s adequate. The stove is fiddly and the refrigerator tends to freeze vegetables if you’re not careful, but it worked for my dad.”

      “I think I can figure it out,” Denny said, content with the setup. He’d been living in motels and sharing rooms with his workers the past couple of years. He missed having a home. “When can I move in?”

      “Today if you want.”

      “Sounds good. So my next question is when can I go out to the ranch to check it out?”

      “We may as well get that out of the way. How about tomorrow morning?”

      “Sunday?”

      “Yeah. Is that a problem?”

      “Well, I was hoping to find a church. To worship on Sunday morning.”

      She gave him an odd look that he wasn’t sure how to interpret. Did she have a problem with him going to church?

      “There’s one across from Canadian Tire. It’s a good church.”

      “Do you go?”

      She shook her head. “No.”

      “I thought your dad said you did?” he blurted. Denny was surprised. Andy had often talked about Evangeline’s strong faith.

      “Not the only thing my dad seems to have wrong,” she returned.

      Better to leave that comment alone. “What time does church start?” he asked, changing the subject to a safer topic.

      “Ten.”

      “Okay, how about I meet you at the ranch after that, say one? Unless the preacher likes to go long.”

      “I’ll see you then.”

      “Okay.” He dragged in a long breath as one thing after another fell into place.

      This was really happening. Sure, it wasn’t a commitment, but it was a step in the right direction. And if leasing the ranch worked out for him, who knew...

      He caught himself.

      Don’t plan ahead. One day at a time.

      He’d learned that lesson the hard way.

      “I’m guessing there’s another way out of the apartment that doesn’t take me through the bookstore. One that I could use to move my stuff in?”

      “The hallway makes a turn and goes along the store and leads to the street,” Evangeline said. “And there’s another door that leads to the back parking lot. You can use that to move in.”

      “That’s perfect. Just perfect.” He glanced her way, surprised to see her looking at him.

      For a moment their gazes held and once again Denny caught a flicker of sadness. Something that he suspected had to do with Andy. He still felt bad that he had been the one to deliver a message that bothered her so much. He felt a need to make it right. “And I’m sorry about...your dad, I guess. That he’s not coming.”

      He added a quick smile and then, to his dismay, saw her lip quiver.

      Oops.

      She СКАЧАТЬ