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  He smiled. Was she inviting him to spend more time with her? “I like puzzles.”

  Rachel poked a fork in the broccoli. “I think these are done. Shouldn’t you check on the meat?”

  He jumped away from the counter and pulled open the oven door. A small plume of smoke wafted from the opening. The edges of the meat were black. “I hope you like yours well-well done.”

  ❧

  Rachel savored her last bite of venison. The edges may have been singed, but the rest was divine.

  Will picked up their plates and headed for the sink. “Sorry about burning dinner. That’s usually how I eat—blackened and charred.”

  “It was still tasty. I think it must have been your special blend of spices.”

  He turned from the sink with a grin.

  Good. She hated to see people grumpy. They returned to the office, and she stared at the open boxes on the floor. “My head is still spinning from my last dive into those boxes. I’ve spent most of the day pulling stuff out and reading it only to discover I have no clue what it means. If it means anything at all.”

  She was afraid this huge task was going to take more time than she had. She had to be back in Boston in a week. She wanted to have this all sorted out and filed away in an orderly fashion so Christopher wouldn’t see any of it. And she wanted to find out for sure if Charles Dubois was her grandfather. If not, then she didn’t have to worry about telling Christopher she was part Native American because she wouldn’t be.

  “I think I’m going to just hang paper on the wall for now. My eyes are still a little tired from earlier.” Rachel lined up another sheet of white printer paper on the wall and leaned her shoulder against it as she reached for the scotch tape in her back pocket. It wasn’t there. She hadn’t put it back in her pocket. She glanced over her shoulder to the desk and saw the tape next to the stack of paper on the corner. She splayed her hand out over the paper on the wall and reached for the tape. It was just out of reach.

  Will grabbed it. “I can help with that.” He studied her a moment before pulling off a piece then pressed it on the seam between the two sheets of paper.

  She moved her hand before her fingers got taped to the wall as well.

  When she had put up the last sheet, she turned from the freshly papered wall. Will was right there, inches from her, pressing something onto the wall next to her.

  “This one was coming loose.” His eyes locked on her, holding her in place. Neither spoke. He seemed to be studying her face, her mouth.

  Surely he wasn’t thinking about kissing her? No, he couldn’t. He began to lean toward her.

  She turned and stepped away from him. This was really awkward, and she didn’t know what to say. She heard him draw in a deep breath behind her.

  “I should get going.”

  “Okay.” That was a relief. “Thank you for all your help.” She walked to the front door.

  “I can’t come back tomorrow. I promised to fix some things around my mom’s house on the mainland, but my Sunday afternoon is free.”

  How did she tell him he probably shouldn’t come back? Or had she misinterpreted his actions, and he never intended to kiss her at all? Christopher always said she was a little naïve when it came to reading men.

  Will continued, “Speaking of Sunday, would you like to go to church with me?”

  “I’m not into religious rituals.” And it might be best to keep some distance from him.

  He stared at her as though he couldn’t believe what he’d heard. “You don’t go to church?”

  “No.”

  “Never?”

  “I went a few times when I was a child, but it never really did anything for me.”

  ❧

  Religious rituals? Never did anything for her? Will sat on the edge of the brown leather recliner in his living room. Lord, how can someone be in Your house and not be moved by Your Spirit? Unless their heart is hardened. How could I have fallen for someone who is not a Christian? Good thing he hadn’t kissed her. Lord, that had to be Your hand. Thank You for keeping me from making that mistake. But what do I do now? I like her. I like her a lot.

  He stood and paced the room. Do I just forget about her? I don’t know if that is possible.

  He wished Garth was around to talk to, but he and Lori had gone to visit his parents for the weekend. He wouldn’t be able to talk to Garth until Monday at school. He heaved a heavy sigh and headed off to bed.

  Seven

  Will leaned into Garth’s classroom just before the first bell rang on Monday morning. Garth was taking off his coat. His friend had made it on time. When he had called to find out where Garth was this morning, Lori told Will that Garth had overslept and had just jumped into the shower. She urged him to go on to school alone.

  He patted the door frame. “Glad to see you made it.”

  Garth ran a hand through his blond hair. “Barely.”

  “That’s all that counts. Are you busy for lunch?”

  Garth shook his head. “What’s up?”

  “I just need some advice.” The bell rang, and he patted the frame again. “I’ll meet you in here.” He stepped across the hall to his room.

  When the lunch bell rang and the hallway had cleared, he grabbed his lunch and rolled his desk chair to Garth’s room. Garth was still talking with a student. When the student left, Will blessed their food.

  Garth picked up half his sandwich in one hand and a pen in the other. “What’s up?”

  Will peered over to see what Garth was working on. “You didn’t get your papers graded over the weekend?”

  “Only my last period class. They won’t take long, all multiple choice. I’ll have them done in no time.”

  “If you’re busy, I don’t want to interrupt you.”

  “I can grade these and listen at the same time. What’s bugging you?” He took a bite of his sandwich.

  Will reached into his lunch sack and was about to pull out his sandwich when a boy walked in.

  “Mr. Kessel?”

  Garth looked up. “Hi, Shane. What can I do for you?”

  “I need some extra help with math.” Shane was a senior with a mild learning disability that made learning in the traditional ways challenging for him at times, but he tried hard and for that Will had often given him the benefit of the doubt when grading his papers and tests.

  Will stood and grabbed the back of his chair. “I’ll catch you later.”

  “Come over for dinner tonight. We can talk then.”

  “Will that be okay with Lori?”

  “Sure.”

  ❧

  Will and Garth still sat at the table after dinner. Lori had gotten up and was in the kitchen. “I invited Rachel to church.”

  “Great. How’d it go?”

  “It didn’t. She’s not a Christian.” He knew that meant any romantic relationship he hoped to have with her needed to be put on hold.

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’ve prayed, but I’m not sure. And forgetting about her isn’t going to work because I tried that all weekend. What can I do? She didn’t sound very open.” And giving up on her wasn’t an option.

  “Do you feel you are supposed to try to lead her to the Lord?”

  “I think so. I’ve been spending time over at her place helping her sort through Dancing Turtle’s things. Maybe I can work on her, tell her about the Lord and all the wonderful things He has done in my life. Talk about how great our church is and hopefully make her curious enough to want to go. You don’t think that will be too obvious and pushy?”

  Garth shrugged. “It’s hard to tell. It depends on how hungry her heart is for spiritual truths. People are sometimes searching and don’t even know it is God they are seeking.”

  “The one thing I won’t do is try to kiss her again. . .for now. It would only confuse things.”

  Lori set a plate of chocolate chip cookies on the table harder than normal. The cookies jumped a little. “You tried to kiss her?”


  He looked up at her staring down at him. “I was seriously thinking about it, but the moment passed. What’s so wrong with that? I know she’s not a Christian, but I’m still attracted to her. And maybe a friendship between us will help bring her to the Lord.”

  Garth took a cookie. “But, Will, don’t expect her to come to the Lord just to please you.”

  He knew it needed to be real and personal for her. “I know, but it would open that door, and church is just the place to start if I can figure out how to get her there.”

  Lori held up her hands to form a T. “Time out, boys.”

  Will grabbed a cookie from the plate, as well. “You don’t think it is a good idea for me to win her over for the Lord?”

  “I think it is a great idea.” Her lips curved up in a sad sort of smile.

  “But. . . ?” He could tell Lori had more to say. A lot more.

  She took a deep breath. “Haven’t either one of you noticed the rock the size of this island on her left ring finger?”

  “What?”

  “I’m sorry, Will, but she’s engaged.”

  He dropped his cookie onto the table. “That can’t be.”

  Lori shook her head slightly. “Unless she wears a large diamond ring on her left ring finger for fun, she’s spoken for.”

  ❧

  Rachel peeked out the front window. Will stood on her porch, facing her door. She couldn’t very well ignore him. He knew she was home. She had done a lot of thinking and decided it would be best to play things safe and tell him not to come around just in case. She had enjoyed his company and help, but she couldn’t let him think it was leading anywhere. She opened the door.

  “Can I come in a minute?”

  She hesitated.

  “Only for one minute.” He looked like a lost puppy.

  She opened the door wider. He stepped inside, and she closed the door.

  “I just want to know one thing.” He grabbed her left hand and stared at it. “Are you toying with me?”

  She yanked her hand from his. “What are you talking about?”

  “Lori says you have a significant engagement ring. I’ve never seen you wear it.”

  She stared at her outstretched hand. Where had she left it this time? She was always worried about damaging it. “I took it off when I was doing dishes. You interrupted me. I forgot to put it back on.” She walked to the sink and came back with it. “See.” She slipped it on her finger.

  He raked his hands through his hair, loosening it from his ponytail, then walked in a tight circle in place. “I didn’t know. I promise you I didn’t know.”

  That was a relief. She didn’t like thinking of Will as a man who would knowingly move in on another man’s woman.

  “I never would have tried to kiss you the other night if I had known.”

  “I appreciate you telling me that.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me you were engaged?”

  Was he accusing her of being deceptive? “It wasn’t any secret. I wear my ring all the time.” She had taken it off a lot lately with all the cleaning she was doing but never purposely to hide her engagement from him. It was coincidence that he’d never seen it.

  He sighed. “But you could have told me.”

  He was accusing her. “I find it a little awkward to introduce myself, ‘Hi, I’m Rachel Coe, and by the way, I’m engaged in case you were planning to have feelings for me. Because I think every guy I meet is going to fall for me.’ Or maybe I should have just waved my engagement ring under your nose to show you how much my fiancé cares?”

  “Instead you let me make a fool of myself by coming over all the time. I even made you dinner. Twice.” His voice rose the more he spoke.

  She gritted her teeth and tried to school her growing frustration. “I thought you were being neighborly.”

  “There’s neighborly and then there is interested.”

  “And how am I supposed to tell them apart? How was I to know you never saw my ring? It’s not like it is that discreet.” Christopher had made sure of that.

  He pulled his eyebrows way down. “I don’t know. You just do.”

  She frowned as well. “Well, I didn’t.”

  “Well, you should have.”

  She was tired of being yelled at. “I think you should leave now.”

  “I’m already gone.” He walked out and slammed the door.

  She stared at the door and took a deep breath. At least everything was out in the open now.

  A small ache welled up inside her at their friendship being severed. She had to focus on Christopher. She still had him until she found out whether or not she was Ojibwa. Part of her desperately wanted to be Dancing Turtle’s granddaughter. Even though he’d never met her, he cared enough about her to leave her everything he owned. But another part of her wanted to walk back to Christopher and leave all this trouble behind her.

  ❧

  Will climbed out of bed. His digital clock read 1:03 a.m. Sleep eluded him. He scrubbed his face with his hands and walked to his living room window. Pulling back the curtains, he looked across the street. Her house was dark. Why shouldn’t it be in the middle of the night?

  Lord, how could I have gotten so carried away? I thought she was that one special girl for me. The one You chose for me. How could I have been so wrong?

  The connection he’d felt obviously wasn’t real. Just wishful thinking. . .or his overactive imagination. The Lord would never direct him to someone already spoken for, and the Lord certainly wasn’t the author of his feelings for someone who wasn’t a Christian. Even so, his feelings for her were real enough, and they hadn’t just poofed away with this new bit of knowledge. He wished they had.

  At twenty-eight, he’d been content with his life, his job. He hadn’t been looking for someone to spend the rest of his life with. Oh, he wanted to get married someday, but he didn’t feel any rush to make it happen; let it come when the Lord chose. Then bam! Rachel happened, and his whole outlook on his future had suddenly been turned upside down and brought into focus. Now having a family of his own had suddenly become a priority. But not just any family—a family with Rachel. He shook his head. He couldn’t have that and had to stop thinking about her.

  He let the curtain fall back into place and walked back to bed.

  He had to stay away from her. Somehow. That was all there was to it.

  Except he’d handled it all so badly. He’d have to apologize.

  The next day, Will motioned Garth from his classroom before the start of the next period. “I’m going to head over to Rachel’s house.”

  “Do you think that’s wise?”

  He had his prep period just before lunch, so he should have plenty of time. “I’ll be back by the end of lunch.” And he didn’t want to put it off.

  “No. I mean about her being engaged.”

  “When I left your house last night, I went over to hers.”

  “I thought you probably did.”

  “I ended up yelling at her. I need to apologize. I shouldn’t let any more time pass.” Even though he knew he should stay clear of her, he also knew he owed her an apology.

  “Is that the only reason?”

  He kept telling himself it was.

  ❧

  Rachel studied the photographs on the wall. Was the woman she assumed was her grandmother in any of the other pictures? She couldn’t find her in any of them. Was this the only picture? If the woman in the one photograph was her grandmother, shouldn’t there be more? Pictured with other family members? It was almost as if her grandmother was a phantom or figment of her imagination. Why was there this one picture of her and no others?

  She startled at a knock at the front door. Just after eleven. The only person this time of day she could imagine coming over would be Lori. She pulled open the door. Her smile dipped. “Christopher.”

  He smiled. “Surprise.”

  She glanced over her shoulder at the paper-strewn living room then down at her flannel shirt hanging out over
her sweat pants. Her impulse was to close the door and make things right before inviting him in.

  “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

  Was there any way she could gracefully say no? “Of course. Come in.” She closed the door behind him and began rushing around the room scooping up her carefully laid piles into one big messy wad. “Sorry about the mess. I told you there was a lot to go through.”

  He set his bag by the door. “Don’t worry about that right now. I just want to look at you and hold you.”

  She dropped the papers into the chair and smoothed her hands down her flannel shirt. “I’m a mess. I’ll just quickly go change.”

  He snagged her arm as she passed and pulled her into his arms. “I just want to hold you for a minute first.” He kissed her.

  Why did his show of affection make her feel uneasy? He was her fiancé after all. Shouldn’t she want him to kiss her? Was it her conscience nudging her because she was keeping a secret from him? She stepped from his arms. “I’ll just go put on something more suitable.”

  “I’ll look around a little and get a feel for the place.” His gaze scanned the room.

  “I’ll only be a minute.” She’d better hurry. She didn’t want him looking too closely. She shucked her work clothes and slipped on her silk pantsuit she’d been wearing the first day she arrived. She checked her appearance in the bureau mirror. Oh no. She’d forgotten she had parted her hair down the back and braided each side. She’d wanted to put herself in the mood of her ancestors as she sorted and it kept her hair out of her way. She yanked out the bands at the bottom of each braid and raked her fingers through her hair. She tried fluffing it with her hands but couldn’t erase the memory of her previous look. Hopefully Christopher would quickly forget. She grabbed her ring off the nightstand and slipped in on then took a deep breath and pasted on a smile before stepping out of her bedroom.

  Christopher was at the wall of pictures. Not just standing by the wall but destroying the wall. He removed a picture and stacked it with the other two he’d already taken down.

  “What are you doing?” She didn’t care that her voice had a sharp edge to it.