the time Aimee woke up, she had settled on her plan of action. Knowing that her relationship with Samantha hadn’t deteriorated overnight and that it would take time to heal, she would go slow, but she also needed to be firm. The stakes were too high to make more mistakes.
As she dressed for the day, she remembered Jacob Mallory. Would he be a complication in the new beginning she contemplated?
Chapter Three
Aimee turned off the vacuum when she heard the door slam. Samantha plodded into the family room through the front door, dragging the bag that held her stuff. She was still in pajamas. Some of her hair was in the ponytail holder, the other half hung loose around her shoulders. Her half-closed eyes were a pretty good indication that the girls stayed up all night.
“Hi, honey,” Aimee said. “How was the sleepover?”
As she slouched toward the steps that went to her downstairs room, Samantha mumbled something Aimee didn’t understand. Aimee let it go and moved the vacuum into her bedroom, when Samantha yelled from downstairs, “Mom!”
Aimee went to the head of the open stairway, “Yes?”
“I’m trying to sleep,” Samantha said. “Pu-leeze! Vacuum some other time.”
“I always vacuum on Saturday morning,” Aimee replied. “I’ll be through in a half hour.”
Aimee finished vacuuming and started dusting. Usually, she crept around the house so she wouldn’t wake Samantha, but she made no effort to keep quiet today.
The telephone rang and Samantha didn’t pick up her extension, so Aimee answered.
“Hi,” Erica said, “just checking to see how you’re doing this morning.”
“Okay, I guess. Samantha is still in bed. I don’t suppose she slept at all last night. It’s time to have a talk with her, and I want her wide awake when that happens so I’m letting her sleep in. But I’m glad you called. What time is worship at your church tomorrow?”
“There’s an eight-thirty service and one at ten-thirty. I go to the later one. Do you want to come with me?” Erica said quickly, obviously pleased. She had asked Aimee to go to church so often that she’d given up.
“I am going tomorrow, but I’ll drive. I intend to give Samantha the option of coming with me, but I’m not expecting her to. Would you mind waiting for me at the church door, so I won’t have to sit alone?”
“I’ll watch for you in the foyer,” Erica said. “Good luck with your mother-daughter talk.”
“Thanks, I’ll need it.”
Jacob dressed in his running shoes and a pair of sweats, drew on a lightweight windbreaker and let himself out of the apartment he rented in his grandmother’s Victorian home. He turned on the MP3 player at his waist and got ready for his three-mile jog before church.
As he ran this morning, however, the inspirational music he was listening to was just background sound for his thoughts of Aimee Blake. His strong attraction to her surprised him. At times, Jacob wished that he had a steady girlfriend, but past experience had left him with a slew of emotional scars. He had dated Megan Russell all during high school. He’d loved her and thought she loved him, but she’d betrayed him with another man in their senior year. And she wouldn’t even tell him who the other man was. The pain ran so deep that he couldn’t forget it, and he didn’t want to get involved again. He dated occasionally but always avoided becoming serious about anyone.
He wasn’t sure that would be true with Aimee. Already, he was looking forward to speaking to her on the phone and seeing her again. He definitely didn’t want a serious relationship, so why was he thinking about her? If, after two brief meetings, he was eager to see Aimee, maybe it would be better to avoid her completely.
Jacob ran vigorously and, in spite of the mid-thirties’ cold, his body was steaming when he came back in sight of the house. He slowed his pace to a slow walk as he reached the front lawn.
A pert robin hopped around the grass, looking for breakfast in the ground. Jacob smiled when he saw a few dandelions beaming their yellow presence in the frosty grass. Although many people disliked dandelions in their lawns, they were such hardy plants that they encouraged him to keep going when the way was difficult.
Before he went to his apartment over the garage, Jacob stepped inside the house to check on his grandmother. Looking at her small frame, gray hair and the many wrinkles lining her face, he knew some might consider her an old woman. But the depth of her spiritual faith and her good health belied her seventy-plus years and made Stella one of the most powerful women Jacob knew.
“A nice morning for a run,” Gran commented. “How did the singles meeting go last night?”
“Very well,” he said. “The program was good, and Erica brought her neighbor, Aimee Blake, to the meeting. She seemed to enjoy it, and she may be interested in helping us with Siblings. I’m going to contact her about it.”
“I’ve heard Erica talk about a neighbor she’s wanted to bring to the singles meeting. She’s a widow, I believe?”
“That’s the one. She has one daughter who’s fourteen. We didn’t talk long, but I gathered Aimee was sincerely interested in our work.”
“We can use her help at the office,” Gran said. “A woman from Social Services called today, and they have two sisters they’d like us to lend a hand until they can find foster parents for them. It takes a lot of time to prepare profiles on new applicants, so I can use assistance. Besides, we have more children needing aid than we have volunteers.”
“I’ll contact Aimee sometime this weekend, and ask her to attend the Siblings meeting Tuesday evening.”
Although he wanted to see Aimee again, every time he started to dial her number that morning, Jacob got cold feet and backed out. Badly disillusioned by his fiancée when he was barely out of his teens, he had determined not to go beyond friendship with any woman again.
If she joined the singles group, he would see her monthly, but if he saw her more often in the Siblings meetings, his attraction might grow. He had a feeling Aimee was different from the other women he’d dated. Or was she? He hadn’t reached a conclusion before he left for church that morning.
Intent on his job as an usher greeting parishioners and visitors and finding convenient seats for them, Jacob returned to the foyer just as Aimee opened the door and stepped inside. She looked a little lost until she saw him. A smile relaxed her face, and he wondered if she was aware of the enchanting picture she made when she smiled. He noted how the cobalt blouse she wore with a black suit brought out the blue of her eyes. She carried a silver bag, and large silver hoops dangled from her earlobes.
Completely disregarding his intentions to stay a safe distance from Aimee, Jacob hurried toward her with a smile. She returned his smile and accepted the hand he offered.
“Is this becoming a habit?” he said. “We keep running into each other.”
“I’m not following you,” she said with a low laugh. “I promise.”
He took a bulletin from a rack and gave it to her. “Well, it’s great that you’re here. Let me find a good seat for you.”
“Thanks, but I’m meeting Erica. I’ll wait for her.”
He indicated a row of chairs near the doors to the sanctuary. “Sit there. Erica usually arrives early, so she’ll be here soon.”
Aimee glanced through the bulletin as she waited for Erica, surreptitiously watching Jacob as he carried out his assigned duties as usher. His voice was compassionate. He was gracious to old and young alike. She noticed again how captivatingly handsome he was, and decided that Jacob’s nature matched his appearance.
Was it just coincidence, or was it significant