Dearly Loved Page 8

  David put a finger to his lips. “Shhh. Don’t tell anyone.” He grinned, exposing his deep dimple. “I wouldn’t be able to if this were a manual transmission. But since this is an automatic, I can escort you properly.”

  Meredith gave him a disbelieving look. The guy couldn’t talk unless it included some form of flirtation. Aggravation surged anew within her.

  They drove in silence, wending their way through the downtown part of Cedar Hill. David pulled into a parking lot of a new delicatessen she’d been meaning to try out. When he shut off the motor, she got out and hurried around to the driver’s side to help him get out of the car.

  David shooed her away while he carefully climbed out of the Jeep. “This is old hat,” he assured her, ushering her ahead while he got his cane into position.

  Meredith went into the deli, holding open the door for him. She was a nurse and couldn’t ignore the fact he’d been recently injured. When they arrived at the counter, she ordered her usual turkey sandwich with cream cheese and pickles on dark Bohemian rye.

  David looked down at her. “It’s nice to know some things don’t change.”

  Meredith’s heart pounded at the intimacy of his tone. Can he hear it? Worse, am I so immature that he could still affect me that way? “You remember that?”

  David gazed at her with a hooded expression. “I remember a lot of things about you.”

  Now, what’s that supposed to mean?

  After placing their orders, they sat down at a table. Meredith looked around at the bright mosaic-tiled walls, potted palms, and overhead fans swirling in rapid circles. Her thoughts echoed their movement. She gripped her hands together in her lap. “This is nice. You seem fairly well-acquainted with Cedar Hill for being a new resident to the area. Besides, I would've thought you'd live in Sacramento.”

  “I like the small town flavor and it has...other attractions for me.”

  Before she allowed his comment to make her go all soft and mushy, she armored her heart, remembering he was a practiced flirt.

  “Yes,” she said briskly, “Cedar Hill has a thriving business district and arts community, along with an exceptionally fine hospital. But that still doesn’t explain how you found this restaurant.”

  David leaned back in his chair. “When I decided I’d like to live here, I purposely drove around until I was lost. By doing that I became familiar with where most everything is.”

  Meredith let her gaze drift over his features. That sounds like something he would do. “Have you ever heard of those novel items known as maps?”

  “Maps only tell you what streets are where, not where cool little delicatessens are located.”

  Guess I can’t argue with that.

  “So, do you go back to work tonight?”

  “No, I’m off until Friday. By working weekends, I make more money. Those tiresome school loans, you know.”

  David laughed. “Yeah, I still have some of those, too.” He leaned forward. “But I bet that doesn’t give you much of a social life.”

  Meredith wished she could read David’s mind. What is he after? “I manage,” she said evenly, feeling a twinge of guilt. What social life? Does an occasional date count for anything? “Besides, I heard people who work in television don’t have much time for personal relationships either. And they seem to move around a lot. Every few months, there’s a new reporter replacing someone else on KVL.”

  David sighed. “It’s true, the business can be hard on some. And many people want to move up to the larger markets. The Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto market is nineteenth. The big jobs are in New York and that’s what a lot of people work towards.”

  “Is that your goal as well?”

  He shrugged. “I’m not trying to claw my way to the top, if that’s what you mean. I’m happy to be in the upper twenty-five. Of course, I have to stay on my toes to keep my job. There’s always competition nipping at your heels.” He paused, a thoughtful look on his face. “If anything, I’d eventually like to become the General Manager of a news station in the area, if not KVL someday.”

  “Last I heard, you wanted to escape from the small town life,” she said, a dry note in her voice.

  “Things change, Merrie. I’ve seen most of the country and even other parts of the world during my soccer career. What I’m after is right here in Cedar Hill.”

  “Hmmm.” Meredith wondered what kind of game he was playing with her. But why would he? This doesn’t make sense!

  “So, what does Cedar Hill have to offer you?” he asked. “Nurses are in demand all over the place.”

  “You forget, I’ve always been a homebody. I like small towns.”

  “So why not stay in Greenwood where you grew up?”

  Meredith lowered her gaze. There were so many painful memories there. She’d lost her mom while living there, among other things, and had felt an intense need to start fresh somewhere new. Greenwood was situated east of Cedar Hill by a hundred miles. Not too close. Not too far.

  She looked up. “I went through the Nursing Program at Greenwood Community College, but got my first job at Cedar Hill Community Hospital. I’ve been there ever since. If I want to change anything, it’s the hours I work. I’m always tired from working nights.”

  David smiled. “You’re so much like your mom. She was the hardest working woman I knew aside from Aunt Gloria. You must really miss her.”

  “I do,” she whispered. Meredith glanced up at David, unable to completely hide the pain in her voice. “I...had hoped you to see you at the funeral.”

  His face flushed and he averted his gaze. “I’m sorry, Merrie. I really have no excuse for staying away.” He traced a pattern on the tiled tabletop with his finger. “I guess you could say I was going through my selfish phase at the time.”

  She bit her lip hard to stop the angry retort springing to her lips. A selfish phase? How dare he! She looked away, gripping the tabletop with numb fingers. It took her several moments to bring her roiling emotions under control, and only politeness kept her from getting up and leaving the restaurant altogether.

  A waitress brought out their sandwiches along with fruit shakes adorned with little paper umbrellas. David touched Meredith’s hand.

  “May I?”

  Still reeling from their discussion, she gave an absent nod, not sure what he meant to do. When he bent his head and gave thanks for their food, she barely heard his words over the pounding of her heart. David is a Christian? Since when? She remembered the newscast when he thanked everyone for their prayers.

  When Meredith raised her gaze to meet his, David lifted his brows.

  “You look surprised.”

  She swallowed. “I...I mean, I wondered. I guess there were clues.”

  David raised a brow. “What, like almost forcing you to spend the night with me?”

  She felt her face grow hot and looked around to see if anyone heard. In this day and age, who would care?

  He leaned forward. “Seriously, when my knee became injured, all my hopes and dreams came to an end. There were a few other Christian guys on my team at the time. They made a big impact on me and helped me through the disillusionment.” He gave her a steady look. “You made an impact on me, too. Remembering your family’s faith was a big part of why I turned to the Lord.”

  Meredith took a sip of her fruit shake to wet her suddenly dry throat. The man sitting across from her seemed more of a stranger than ever.

  “My teammates started taking me to their Bible studies. They didn’t freak out when I challenged their doctrines. I learned that God didn’t owe me anything, whether it was a career or a restored leg or whatever. But he did offer me the gift of life through his Son.” He smiled. “And let me tell you, a blown knee was worth it if that’s what it took for God to get my attention.”

  Meredith tried to get a grip on her careening thoughts. Regardless of her personal feelings, this was something worth rejoicing about. “I’m really happy for you, David. I prayed for you for years and years.”


  “I know you did, Merrie, and I can’t tell you what it means to me.” He leaned forward. “And I’m so sorry that I didn’t come to the funeral. I know now it was a horrible thing to do.”

  She nodded her heard jerkily, then switched her attention to her sandwich. They ate in silence for several minutes. Meredith’s seesawing emotions kept her from tasting her food. One minute she wanted to throttle David for his insensitivity, the next, she wanted to weep with joy at his conversion. That’s the way it is with David—always able to whip me up into a lather over one thing or another.

  She felt mental and emotional exhaustion taking hold. Sleep. I need a good eight hours before I can process all this. Thankfully, the conversation for the remainder of their visit stayed light.

  David dropped her off back at the athletic club an hour later next to where she’d parked her car. She came around to the driver’s side to say good-bye. Leaning his arm along the window of his Jeep, he seemed reluctant to part.

  “I’ll be starting at KVL in a week.”

  “Channel Nine is my favorite news station. I’ll look forward to watching you.”

  “Hey, my first fan!”

  Meredith thought of all that fan mail. “Just one of the multitude, I’m sure.”

  He smiled. “Maybe we could get together again before I start.”

  With her heart in her mouth, Meredith avoided his gaze and pulled a strand of hair from her face. David represented a swirling vortex of painful memories, unrequited yearning, and present attraction. She’d worked hard over the years to bring order her life. Spending time with someone like David promised havoc of one form or another. Besides, he was new in town and probably lonely. After he settled into his new life, he’d also have plenty of new distraction—female ones.

  And history would repeat itself all over again.

  She looked back at him and shook her head. “I don’t think so, David.”

  David look surprised. Then his expression went blank. “Oh—okay.”

  Meredith lifted her lips in a small smile, and with a little wave, walked away to her car.

  David Steller is trouble and any close association with him only means more heartbreak, despite the fact that he’s a Christian. I’m doing myself a favor to stay away from him.

  When she saw him drive away, Meredith slumped against the side of the Saturn. So why did she feel a sudden urge to cry?

  Nine

  David banged his bad leg on the coffee table, sending mind-numbing pain up his thigh. Grinding his teeth, he threw his cane across the room. It skidded harmlessly along the kitchen floor as he collapsed onto the sofa. As the pain subsided, so did his temper, making him feel like an idiot.

  David gave his face a harsh rub and closed his eyes against the black wave of depression that had been plaguing him the last several days. He didn’t know if it was a kind of backlash from the accident, combined with chronic pain and endless therapy, as his doctor had suggested—or the fact that Merrie Ambrose wanted nothing to do with him.

  He could still see the grief in her eyes when she asked him why he hadn’t made it to her mother’s funeral. Guilt, mingled with an edge of anger at her expectations, made him feel miserable. When he’d received Meredith’s letter about her mom, David had grieved, but he preferred to remember her mother when she was alive, not attend some gloomy funeral service. Still, he should’ve written at the very least. Time had slipped away the way it always did in his hyper-paced lifestyle. Besides, I was a self-centered jerk in those days.

  David shook his head as if to clear it. The resulting headache made him wince. He groped for his bottle of medication and swallowed a couple of pills. Leaning his head on the back of the sofa, he let out a deep sigh.

  The accident, along with his convalescence, had completely diverted him from his usual routine of church attendance and Bible study. Perhaps that was part of his problem. He knew fellowship with other believers was crucial to maintaining spiritual equilibrium. And I just plain miss the friendships.

  David glanced at his watch. Today was Friday. On Sunday he’d drag himself to church if he had to. Before leaving the hospital, he’d asked Rosa, who revealed she was a Christian, if she could recommend a church. Naturally, she mentioned the one where she attended. It turned out that Cedar Hill Christian Center was only a few miles from where he lived. In two days, do or die, I’ll be there.

  ***

  Due to Bitsy escaping from the house and chasing a cat halfway across the neighborhood, Meredith was late to church the following Sunday. After parking, she hurried into the building constructed in the style of a rambling ranch house with lots of brick and windows of plain stained glass. About three hundred people attended on any given Sunday.

  Inside the sanctuary there was a wooden altar flanked by large potted palms. Navy carpeting that ran wall-to-wall complemented rows of wooden pews cushioned with beige upholstery. A large wooden cross lit up by a concealed light source was the focal point of the room.

  Meredith started attending two years ago but had yet to make many close contacts aside from Rosa, probably because she worked with her as well. She regretted not making more of an effort to become involved and connect with the members of the congregation.

  She slipped into a back pew and closed her eyes for a moment. She had a monstrous headache that defied her regular OTC meds. Meredith let the swelling music from the worship team wash over her. The subsequent reduction of her stress level brought a smile to her face. No matter what Erin said, spirituality had a positive impact physically and she was living proof.

  She thought again about David’s conversion. It was a true miracle, and regardless of her personal angst with him, she felt a deep sense of pleasure that he’d found the Lord. She had prayed for him long after he’d left. Now, she’d continue to do so. That much I can promise.

  Throughout the remainder of the service, Meredith absorbed the peace and encouragement she felt. I need to make this a priority instead of being so haphazard. Do or die I’m going to start coming every Sunday morning.

  After the closing benediction, she rose and spent several minutes visiting with those who sat around her. She spied Rosa far across the sanctuary, talking to a man. They turned toward her. Meredith let out a little gasp when she saw David. Rosa looped her arm through his and they began walking up the aisle together. David looked down on Rosa with one of his dimpled smiles.

  Meredith gripped the back of the pew in front of her. What’s wrong with me? I’ve got to get a handle on myself!

  “Meredith! There you are!”

  She took a deep breath, keeping her expression bland as they approached. “Hi, Rosa. David.”

  Rosa raised her brow at Meredith. “David was a little unsteady, so he’s letting me help him out.”

  Glancing at David, she gave him a tight smile. “Did you enjoy the service?”

  “Very much. And it helps knowing two lovely ladies such as you will be my fellow parishioners.”

  The blessing she’d received from the service seemed to fade away. All she wanted now was to escape. “Well! My bed is calling to me. I’ll see you later.”

  Before either could respond, Meredith turned and threaded her way through the crowd. She didn’t relax until she made it to the safety of her home. From there she hurriedly undressed and crawled into bed. Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to shut out images of David and Rosa as a couple.

  She failed.

  ***

  The following Tuesday, Meredith received a call asking her for an interview for the Peds position she’d applied for. With anticipation, she showered and dressed, wondering how her life might change should she get the job.

  The interview lasted nearly an hour. Meredith made her way home feeling very confident. She was told she’d hear back in a month or so with the decision.

  Clay called and asked her out to dinner. After a moment of mental wrangling, she agreed. Why shouldn’t I go out with someone nice and calming? Spending time with someone else is the
fastest route to getting over David.

  Wait a minute. I am over David. Have been for like a decade. Sheesh!

  After dinner she invited Clay in and made tea while Bitsy provided some comic relief with his unending stream of dog tricks. She and Clay settled onto the couch a short time later. He stretched his arm along the back of the sofa and wrapped a strand of Meredith’s hair around his finger.

  “I’ve really enjoyed our time together, Meredith,” he said in a low voice.

  She cleared her throat. “Me too.”

  When he leaned closer, Meredith knew he was going to kiss her. She bit her lip, suddenly nervous. Bitsy hopped onto her lap, startling her. “Bitsy!” she cried, embarrassed at the depth of her relief. “Go play or something. Enough tricks!” Then she noticed a ragged piece of material hanging from his mouth. “What in the world?”

  Looking disappointed at the interruption, Clay tugged at the fabric in the dog’s mouth. “What is it?”

  She furrowed her brows. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

  Dumping the dog from her lap, Meredith stood and walked to the doorway of her bedroom. She sagged against the doorjamb. “Oh, no.”

  Clay walked up behind her and looked over her shoulder. He made a noise that sounded remarkably like a snicker.

  Meredith turned and looked up at him. “This isn’t funny!”

  His solemn expression was at odds with the amusement in his eyes. “I never said it was funny. It’s more like disastrous.”

  They both turned at the same time and looked at the destruction Bitsy had wrought in her absence. Her goose-down comforter, just back from the cleaners, was a shredded mess, spreading to the farthest reaches of her bedroom. White feathers covered the floor and wafted in the air as Bitsy ran around in spastic circles.

  “Are you sure you don’t want the dog back?”

  Clay grinned. “Doubly sure.” He tugged on her hand. “C’mon. I’ll help you clean it up.

  Despite her protests, Clay went to work, scooping up as much of the fabric and fluff as possible. Meredith fired up her vacuum cleaner and together they eradicated every last feather from sight. An hour later, Meredith gave Clay a tired smile.