Marta Perry - A Father's Promise

“Home and hungry, I’ll bet.” Jamie held the kitchen screen door wide, welcoming her children with hugs. She wrinkled her nose at Meggie’s salty, sandy bathing suit. “You two get out of your swimsuits and wash up. And don’t forget to rinse out those suits. Supper will be on the table in a little while.”

Of course it would. Leigh looked at her sister, her affection mixed with both awe and amusement. Jamie had worked a full day at her accounting business and she’d still managed to beat them home and have supper cooking when they came through the door. High achiever had always been Jamie’s middle name.

“We found a losted little girl,” Meggie informed her mother. “And she couldn’t hear, so I spelled my name like Aunt Leigh showed me.”

“Lost,” Mark corrected his little sister for the tenth or eleventh time. “She was lost and she was deaf. So Aunt Leigh talked to her and then she found her daddy. We helped.”

“And her daddy wanted Aunt Leigh to come work for him, but she wouldn’t.” Meggie turned that direct blue gaze on Leigh. “Why wouldn’t you, Aunt Leigh? You could bring her here and we’d play.”

“Because I have other plans, pumpkin.” Leigh gave her talkative niece a hug.

“But it would be fun,” Meggie protested.

Leigh ruffled her hair. “Didn’t I hear Mommy say something about getting washed up? Hurry, and maybe we’ll have time for a game.”

“Chutes and Ladders!” Meggie shouted. “I’ll get it.”

“Wash first,” Jamie said.

“We will, Mommy.” Mark raced Meggie down the hall.

Jamie turned to Leigh, her blue gaze just as direct and inquiring as Meggie’s. Only, she was a lot harder to deflect than Meggie. Leigh’s heart sank. Jamie would not understand this decision.

“Think I’ll take a shower before the game,” she murmured.

Jamie raised an eyebrow. “A deaf little girl. That must be Daniel Gregory’s child.”

“Now, how did you—That’s right, he said he knew you and Josh.” Leigh took a step toward the door, hoping to escape a discussion.

Jamie moved in front of her. “Come on, tell all.”

“It was nothing, Jamie.” Leigh suspected her sibling wouldn’t be convinced.

Jamie gave her a big-sisterly look. “Right. Now, tell it fast, before the monsters get back and drag you into that game you rashly promised.” She cast an affectionate glance toward the hall.

Leigh shrugged. Trying to evade her sister had always been worse than useless, whether she was playing tag or keeping a secret.

“You already heard it from the town criers. We found her, we restored her to her father, end of story.”

“Aren’t you leaving something out? How about the part where he asked you to work for him?”

“He’s looking for someone to take care of Sarah. I told him I wasn’t interested.”

Jamie gave Leigh her accountant look, as if Leigh were a doubtful number in a column of figures. “Not interested? Leigh, it’s a chance to work with a deaf child again. How could you not be interested?”

“I’m not going to do that any more, Jamie. Remember?”

Jamie’s mouth set stubbornly. “Well, it would certainly be a lot better than waitressing all summer while you look for a new job.”

“Jamie…” Familiar frustration welled in Leigh. She loved her sister dearly, but this disagreement was getting old. “Just leave it alone, okay?”

Her sister’s blue eyes looked as stubborn as Mark’s.

“I know it’s been difficult, but you’ve got to put it behind you.”

“I can’t.” The lump in Leigh’s throat was big enough to choke a horse.

“If you’d just try harder…”

Leigh shook her head. Jamie loved her, but she didn’t understand. “Please don’t bug me about this. I’m sorry for Daniel and Sarah, but I can’t get involved. I can’t do it.”

“So you’re going to throw away your training and go into some other field entirely.”

“Lots of people change jobs. It’s practically a national sport.”

“Not for someone like you. You have a precious, God-given gift. You can’t turn your back on it.”

A God-given gift. Was that really what Jamie thought her abilities with deaf children were? If so, it had turned into something closer to a curse.

“I have to do this my own way.” She tried to smile. “This time, big sister, you can’t make it all better, no matter how much you want to.”

Jamie studied her, looking as if she considered a whole series of arguments. But finally she nodded. She patted Leigh as if she were one of the children.

“All right. I won’t bug you about it any more now.”

Leigh started to turn away, but Jamie caught her hand.

“Just…pray about it, Leigh. Will you?”

Leigh closed her eyes briefly. Sometimes it seemed she’d prayed about nothing else in months.

“I will. I have.” She opened her eyes and smiled at her sister. “Now I’d better get showered. I have a shift at the restaurant tonight.”

Leigh took the narrow lane slowly as she came home from the restaurant. The island didn’t boast streetlights, and even longtime residents sometimes had trouble spotting their destinations in the dark, screened as they were by the lush, invasive vegetation. Live oaks lined the road, their veils of Spanish moss dancing in the soft Southern breeze, soothing her frazzled nerves.

No doubt about it; that encounter with Sarah had touched her heart. Too vulnerable for your own good. That was what her supervisor had said at their last meeting, and the words still stung. Yes, Sarah had found her vulnerable spot.

As for Daniel, the confrontation with him had raised a dragon she thought she’d already slain. Her decision had been made, she reminded herself. Daniel Gregory, with his proud eyes and his charming smile, couldn’t change that.

She pulled into the driveway, its layer of shells crunching under her tires. A strange vehicle sat next to Jamie’s elderly Toyota. She stared at the darkblue pickup for a moment, certainty pooling in her mind. Daniel Gregory had come. The man wouldn’t take no for an answer.

For a brief, cowardly moment she considered pulling right back out of the driveway. Then she got out, closed the car door and started toward the deck. Polite but firm; that was the line she had to take. Surely this time she could convince him that she meant what she said.

She crossed the deck and swung open the kitchen door on a homey scene. Josh, Jamie and Daniel sat around the scrubbed oak table, coffee mugs cradled in their hands. One of Jamie’s carrot cakes, half-demolished, sat between them. The three of them looked up as she came through the door, and for an instant they seemed allied against her.

Ridiculous. But the suspicion lingered, giving an edge to her smile.

“This looks cozy.” She let the screen door close behind her. “Mr. Gregory, I didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”

“‘Daniel.’” He half rose, then sat down again, his chocolate eyes assessing her.

“Daniel just dropped by,” Jamie said, the words a little rushed. The faintest flush tinged her cheeks. “Would you like some cake?”

“I ate at the restaurant.”

Actually, she’d managed to choke down only half a greasy hamburger, but Jamie didn’t need to know that. It was clear her big sister had been meddling again, and Leigh wasn’t about to encourage her.

“At least have a cup of coffee with us,” Jamie pressed, shooting a sideways glance at Daniel.

Her sister wasn’t being very subtle. “No, thanks. It’ll keep me awake, and I’m beat.” She stifled a yawn. “In fact, I think I’ll go to bed.” If Jamie had invited Daniel Gregory here to change her mind, Jamie could entertain him herself.