FICTION — PART 3
Lost
Part 3 (End) Getting lost can sometimes lead to the right destination
Olivia sat on a barstool eating pancakes dripping with butter and syrup while she watched her mother cook.
Bethany couldn’t help but smile. It felt so good to feed her baby something besides sandwiches and chips, which had been served as breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the last three days.
She scooped the last of the pancakes off the griddle just as Drake came through the door carrying an armload of wood for the fireplace.
He stacked the wood and headed in her direction.
“I set a place at the table for you. You want your eggs fried or scrambled?”
“Don’t bother with the table. I’ll just sit at the bar with the kids. And four fried eggs placed between four of those pancakes would do just fine.”
He took the barstool closest to Olivia, who smiled at him and offered up a bite of her pancakes held between two very sticky fingers. Drake bent over and accepted her daughter’s offering, delighting Olivia beyond words by sucking the syrup off her fingers with an extreme amount of noise making.
Time stopped for Bethany as she watched the interplay between the two of them. Growing up with a cold, angry father and neglectful stepmother had nearly destroyed her conception of family life.
As a teenager, she’d confused sex with love and ended up with a violent boyfriend and an unplanned pregnancy. Sadly, Olivia had been born into the same un-nurturing environment. She’d given her as much love as she could, but it never seemed enough to make up for the ugliness of their lives.
Swiping her weepy eyes with the back of her hand, she concentrated on getting four eggs perfectly fried and tucked between layers of pancakes, added four slices of bacon, and set the plate in front of Drake.
“You otay, Mommy?” Olivia looked puzzled.
Glancing in Drake’s direction proved to be a huge mistake. His eyes captured hers with compelling intensity, probing and examining her vulnerability.
“I frew, Mommy.” Olivia’s voice offered the distraction she needed to shift her attention.
“If you’re finished, come over here and let me wash you up, then you can watch the morning cartoons.”
Drake lifted Olivia from her seat and stood her on the floor. “You wash her up and I’ll get her settled with the television. You need to sit down and eat yourself.”
Bethany filled her plate, topped off both their coffee cups, and took one of the bar stools, leaving an empty seat between her and Drake.
Drake settled Olivia on one of the daybeds and, with a few clicks, managed to find her favorite cartoon channel. Mesmerized by the adventure on the screen, she took no notice as he left. Funny how some alien-looking character could suddenly render him invisible.
That wasn’t going to be the case with her mother, who stayed on constant intruder alert when he was present. He resumed eating his breakfast in silence. The last thing he wanted to engender in this woman was fear. He’d much rather see those dove-grey eyes warm with a simple welcome. As for her shiny, pink, little-girl lips…
“Would you like more?”
Drake groaned under his breath. More was a mild way of putting it. What was there about this half-grown woman that kick-started his libido? Oh, he liked women, all right, as long as their experience matched his own, and they understood he wasn’t into long-term commitments. At thirty-two, he was way past playing house. This little mama, barely out of her teens, with a deep sadness behind her easy smile, should have come with a warning label.
“Uh… Drake, did you hear me?”
“Yeah… I’m sorry. Maybe another cup of coffee, and thanks for breakfast. You’re a good cook.”
She nodded and poured his coffee from the other side of the kitchen bar, which was a stretch for a woman, not more than 5’4”.
“I was wondering if there were some chores you needed doing around the house, in the way of payment for our food and lodging. I’d pay you cash, but I’m a little low on that right now.”
“There’s no need for any kind of payment. If you wouldn’t mind cooking while you’re here, that would help. I rather hate the task myself. Other than that, consider the house yours. Make yourself comfortable and enjoy some stress-free time with Olivia.”
He picked up his plate and headed for the sink, stopping just a foot from her. “There is one more thing I’d like.”
“Wha… What is that?” She stared at him with anxious eyes.
“I’d like for you to stop being suspicious of me. Eventually, your mistrust is going to communicate itself to Olivia, and I don’t think you want that to happen. I won’t hurt you in any way. Some people say I can be easy company. Give yourself a chance to find out.”
He accentuated that last sentence with a teasing wink, then left the room, giving her some space and time to think about what he’d said.
Breeann couldn’t believe she and Olivia had napped for three hours. They’d slept right through lunch. She woke up to find a note from Drake on the kitchen counter telling her he had a problem that needed resolving and not to expect him till late. That left her plenty of time to wash their laundry plus one load of his.
The skies cleared around two o’clock, giving her a window of opportunity to venture outside. The priority was snowman building, followed by a serious snowball fight. Then she and Olivia made a couple of trips replenishing the firewood. You would have thought they were at a theme park with all the things Olivia found to explore and play with. A gate that swung on its hinges and a tire swing hanging in the old oak tree by the portico gave her the perfect ride. The day couldn’t have been more pleasant.
In the late evening, her tired little daughter gave no complaint when it was time to bathe and get ready for bed. She’d even managed to soak an extra twenty minutes in the tub herself, the steamy water drawing the tiredness from her body and leaving her mushy and mellow. She towel-dried her hair and left the natural curls to shape themselves. With few items to choose from, she slipped into a comfortable pair of sweatpants and an oversized tee shirt with a large pink hibiscus on the front.
After two hours basking in front of the fire and reading the only subject matter available, aviation magazines, she was considering going to bed when the sound of a vehicle changed her mind. It was past ten o’clock and if Drake had missed supper, the least she could do was heat some leftovers for him.
They entered the kitchen at the same time. He stopped just inside the door and let his eyes travel the full length of her body twice before he made eye contact.
“I didn’t expect you to be up. I hope I didn’t disturb you.”
“No. I hadn’t gone to bed yet. I heard your truck and thought I’d see if you might be hungry.”
His expressive eyes widened in surprise. “I’m just going to grab a quick shower and then make a sandwich or something. It’s late, you go on to bed.”
She decided to ignore his suggestion and started reheating leftovers from the supper prepared earlier, a robust beef stew with Mexican cornbread, minus the Jalapenos for Olivia’s sake who went ballistic with anything the least bit hot. Though she was sure Drake would probably prefer the cornbread with peppers, he’d have to make do with her kid-friendly version.
Drake let the steamy water run down his face and over the rest of his body, hoping to wash away the lingering effects of the homecoming scene in the kitchen. In the last couple of years, he’d frequently fantasized about coming home to a warm-hearted woman and a hot meal.
After spending the day trying to sort out his inexplicable attraction for the down-and-out stranger and her child, she’d unknowingly reinforced the intangible longing with a simple act of kindness.
He stepped out of the shower and toweled his body dry, then his hair. While he donned a pair of well-worn jeans and a blue flannel shirt, he considered how best to approach her.
Remembering her unguarded eyes, he knew she wasn’t the type of woman who hid more truths than she revealed, though she did purposely limit personal information. He couldn’t fault her for being cautious. After all, he was a stranger who’d practically kidnapped her. To make matters worse, the weather conspired to keep her captive in his home, alone, and with no easy avenue of escape.
He buttoned the cuffs of his shirt. While honesty and candor might not win a young woman’s heart, they might win him her trust, and just maybe — more.
Bethany turned from the sink to see Drake enter the kitchen, the earlier sign of fatigue no longer visible in his smile. Still, there was something new about the way his eyes searched hers.
“Can I talk to you a moment before I eat? I don’t think I can swallow until I get said what’s on my mind.”
He sat on the kitchen stool, leaving the bar as a buffer between them. That small space gave Bethany the distance she needed to feel comfortable.
He captured her gaze and with a crooked smile laid bare his heart.
“I survived a bad marriage, and by choice, I locked away my heart with no intention of ever opening it again. But when a doe-eyed woman landed me in a ditch in a snowstorm, I realized my heart wasn’t closed. It was simply waiting.
I think we’ve both been lost in our own way for some time. But I also think that we’ve, by some miracle, found our destination. I’m asking if you can give me a chance to show you that I can be trusted to give you and Olivia a home, one filled with trust, peace, and love.”
Bethany’s response astounded her. The bold declaration should have sent her running. But instead, the gut honesty in his eyes lit a spark of hope, one that she didn’t want to extinguish.
She let the hope she felt shine through her smile. “I will…”
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