Lorraine Beatty - Restoring His Heart

“Here ya go. Eat up. Those rolls were homemade this morning by my wife. She’s a great cook.”

Adam eyed the man suspiciously. “Thanks.” Mr. Durrant waited while Adam doctored his coffee with a little cream and sugar and took a roll from the plate.

“I imagine you have some questions. Let me go over the high points and then I’ll show you to your room. Number one, this will be your home for the duration of your sentence. You will be allowed to wander anywhere on our property, but nowhere else. Check-in is whenever you stop work for the day, and you’re required to call the police station within five minutes of your arrival here. You’ll be picked up for work each day and brought home each night. Oh, and only one phone call per day.”

He pulled a cell from his shirt pocket that Adam instantly recognized as his own. He started to reach for it. Mr. Durrant shook his head.

“Sorry. I know how you young people live and die by these things, but we’ll keep it down here on that table over there. You can make your calls in here.” He smiled. “Don’t worry, we’ll give you all the privacy you need.”

Adam swallowed a bite of cinnamon roll. It was the best he’d ever tasted, but he wasn’t in the mood to truly enjoy it. “Is that all?”

Clasping his hands on the table, Mr. Durrant leaned toward him. “Treat my wife and me with respect, behave yourself and everything should be fine. Any other questions?”

Adam set his coffee cup down with a firm thud. “Why are you doing this? It doesn’t make sense.”

Tom Durrant smiled again. “You’ll understand soon enough. But I will tell you that the judge is my brother-in-law. Apparently you’re something of a celebrity and he thought you’d be better off here with us than being locked up in the county jail. Because you’ll be working on the gazebo, this was a logical place to put you. And—” Mr. Durrant inhaled a deep breath “—I have a personal stake in the matter.”

Adam was beginning to wish they’d locked him up in a nice safe cell with ordinary criminals. He was used to dealing with people who wanted something from him. But this was different. He didn’t like being off balance, and this situation had him teetering like a tightrope walker over a canyon.

“Well, you’ll be going to work soon, so we’d better get you settled in.”

Adam followed Tom Durrant through the large home. And it was a home. A place where people lived. Signs of life were on display everywhere. Magnets held scribbled drawings on the refrigerator door. An open book lay upside down on an end table. A sweater draped over a chair. The furniture was traditional and tasteful, but comfortably used. A pile of magazines lay on the stairs as if waiting to be taken up. Family photos covered the wall along the stairway. Too many for him to process as they passed by. He’d never seen pictures displayed like this. The only picture in his home growing up was the portrait of his mother in her favorite ball gown which hung over the fireplace in the main salon.

Upstairs, Tom Durrant led him to a room at the far end of the hall. Adam stepped inside, his attention falling on the items on the bed. “My bags.” He walked to the bed, quickly sliding open the zipper on the small case. The sight of his personal items filled him with a rush of comfort.

“They sent your things over this morning. I knew you’d need some different clothes to work in. Carpentry is dirty work.” He walked across the room and opened another door, flipping on the switch to reveal a private bathroom. “I think you’ll find everything you need. If not, just ask and we’ll see what we can do.” He smiled again. “Within reason of course.”

A sudden lump of gratitude rose in Adam’s chest. While he still harbored serious doubts about this arrangement, at least he’d have a place to retreat to each night, a place to be alone. And alone was where he was most comfortable. “Thanks. This will be fine.”

“Daddy!”

Adam turned at the sound of the female voice.

“Up here, Boo.”

Adam waited as the sound of pounding footsteps rumbled on the steps and along the hall. From the noise being made, he expected someone large and sturdy to appear in the doorway. He wasn’t prepared for the woman who stepped into the room.

“Hey, Daddy.”

She was short, five foot four tops. At first glance he thought she was a teenager, but on closer inspection he realized she was probably not much younger than himself. Perhaps thirty-one or thirty-two.

“You’re putting him in Matt’s room? I thought you’d put him in the spare room over the garage.”

Tom Durrant shook his head. “Too isolated up there. I thought it would be better if he was close by.”

Adam didn’t like the sound of that. Was Mr. Durrant going to monitor him every moment?

“Mr. Holbrook, this is my daughter, Laura Durrant.”

She made no move to shake his hand, so he merely nodded. From the scowl on her face, he had a feeling she was not going to be one of his fans. She turned to look at her father and Adam felt a small skip in his heartbeat when her features suddenly changed from disapproving to near worshipful. The love in her eyes for her father gave her a glow.

“We need to get going. How soon will he be ready?”

“Ask him.”

She turned and glared, the loveliness on her face gone. “I assume you have something else to wear other than a tuxedo? We’ll be doing real work today, Mr. Holbrook. This won’t be a party.”

Her attitude irked him. He started to say something smart, but remembered Mr. Durrant’s request for respect. Something she’d said suddenly clicked into place. “We?”

Laura Durrant placed her hands on her hips and took a step toward him. “We. You’ll be under my supervision for the duration of your sentence. I’ll be showing you how to rebuild what you destroyed, and I want to get started today if that’s all right with you.”

Adam looked over her head to her father. There was a knowing and sympathetic smile on his face. He shrugged.

“My daughter is a skilled carpenter and contractor. Trust me, she knows her stuff.” He took his daughter’s arm and tugged her along with him out of the room. “We’ll leave you alone to get ready. Don’t take too long. She gets cranky when she has to wait.”

“Dad.”

The door shut behind them, but not before Adam heard Tom Durrant gently scold “Boo” for her attitude.

Adam dragged a hand across his face. Surely this had to be some kind of bizarre parallel universe. No way could he take orders from that little slip of a thing. He had to find a way out of this mess. And fast.

* * *

Laura followed her father downstairs to the kitchen. “He’d better not take all day primping. I want to get started on that gazebo today. I’ve got too many other things I need to take care of.” Her dad pointed to a kitchen chair.

“Sit. I’m sure he’ll be down directly. How’s the Mobile situation?”

Laura sat down, resting her head dejectedly on one palm. Her last restoration project had been in Mobile, Alabama, on a historic downtown building. Unfortunately, the owner had suddenly declared bankruptcy and everything was on hold. Including her pay. “Awful. The lawyers are going to draw this thing out as long as possible so they don’t have to pay up.”

“What does your attorney say?”

“He’s doing all he can, but you know the court system works like molasses.” She exhaled and leaned back in her chair. “I never would have taken that job if I’d known the company would go belly-up a week after I completed the work.”

Her dad chuckled. “We all wish we had a crystal ball to see into the future, but that’s not how the good Lord set things up. We’re supposed to rely on Him, not ourselves. You upheld your part of the deal. That’s all you can do.”