A Steadfast Companion, page 13
Then he’d seethe inside and imagine himself throttling the man who’d toyed so carelessly with Maddie’s affections. She was too beautiful, too kind, too amazingly wonderful to be this hesitant to let love in.
And all the more reason she deserved better than Witt could offer.
He’d told himself a million times he needed to stop thinking like that. God already saw him as worthy, had made him worthy through Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross. But old thought patterns were hard to break, and he prayed every day that both Maddie and he would one day shake free of the destructive effects of their pasts.
One Saturday morning in mid-August, while they scooped dog food and meted out meds and supplements, Maddie nudged Witt’s arm. “I think we deserve a day off. Are you with me?”
He had to admit, they’d both stayed pretty busy all summer. Word-of-mouth referrals had kept Witt flush with handyman jobs, a good thing because he was slowly building up his savings. Maddie had secured booth space at a few more events in and around Missoula, with another big one coming up on Labor Day weekend. Her pet portraits continued to generate substantial income for the sanctuary, both in sales and extra donations.
He dropped two chewable joint treats into Rocky’s bowl. “What did you have in mind?”
“I thought we could drive up the mountain to look for huckleberry patches while the picking’s still good.”
Just thinking about the deliciously tart sweetness of Maddie’s homemade huckleberry jam made his mouth water. “Soon as we’re done here, I’ll get the berry buckets.”
The nearly cloudless sky and warm summer breeze made it a perfect day for an outing. Maddie decided to bring Joey along, which was perfectly fine with Ranger since the dogs had become best buds over the summer. With the two dogs in the back seat of the Suburban and Witt behind the wheel, they headed north from Elk Valley up a winding mountain road.
The temperature dropped incrementally as they climbed. The dogs poked their snouts out the open back windows, ears flapping and tongues lapping up the fresh, pine-scented air. When Witt leaned his head out his window and mimicked the dogs, Maddie burst out laughing. The pure sound of it lit a flame in Witt’s chest.
A little farther up, Maddie pointed ahead. “There’s a patch that doesn’t look too picked over. Let’s stop.”
Filling a bucket with huckleberries wasn’t exactly fast work, and it didn’t help that for every ten berries they picked, they ate at least one or two...or more. Witt sighed with pleasure each time he popped one of the tiny, dark purple berries into his mouth and let the tangy flavor explode across his tongue.
He looked across a bush to see Maddie grinning at him. “You’re eating my profits,” she said. “I’d thought about taking several jars of jam to the Labor Day festival to sell at my booth.”
“Oops.”
“It’s okay. This close to the end of berry season, I doubt we’ll gather enough to make it worthwhile.”
“Just let me know if you plan on selling the jam you made a couple of weeks ago, because I’ll save you the trouble and buy the whole batch.”
She stood close enough to give him a playful slap on the arm and almost made him drop his bucket of berries. He yelped and grabbed his bicep as if she’d really hurt him, then tried to tug her ponytail before she ducked out of reach. With both dogs wanting to get in on the fun and nearly tripping them, soon they were laughing so hard that they had to set down their buckets before they spilled every berry they’d gathered.
Witt wasn’t sure how it happened, but somehow Maddie ended up in his arms. Their laughter died away, and when she gazed up at him, invitation in her eyes, he couldn’t stop himself from kissing her.
It was everything he’d imagined, everything he’d longed for. Fingers tangled in her curls, he cradled her head.
She pressed her forehead against his chest. When she drew a shaky breath, he was pretty sure she was smiling.
Drawing her closer, he fought to get his pulse and breathing under control. “It’s been a long, long time since I kissed a beautiful woman. I hope it was okay.”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been kissed.” She tilted her head until their eyes met, her languid smile fully visible now. “But I can assure you, that was much better than okay.”
He tried to swallow, but there wasn’t a drop of moisture left in his mouth. Gently but firmly, he eased her away. “Maybe we should head back.”
“Good idea.” Her voice sounded almost as raspy as his. She bent to retrieve their buckets. “Looks like just enough for a pie,” she said brightly. “If I get started right after lunch, it’ll be cool enough to eat by suppertime.”
Witt considered offering to help—nothing he’d like better than spending the rest of this gorgeous day at Maddie’s side—but he decided a wiser use of his time would be to make a little more progress on the barn and kennel repairs he wanted to finish before the first winter snows blew in. The calendar might say August, but as fall approached, Montana weather could take some surprisingly harsh turns.
The thought reminded him of the nasty spring snowstorm that had brought Maddie into his life. Sometimes it could take a while, but he’d learned over the years that with a little patience and a whole lot of faith, God had a knack for bringing incredible and undeserved blessings out of the worst imaginable situations.
* * *
“Good job on the punctuation worksheet, Eva.” Maddie smiled at the ninth grader’s image in the Zoom window. “We’ll review parts of speech on Thursday so you’ll be ready for your English quiz next week.”
“Thanks, Ms. McNeill. You’re so good at making this grammar stuff make sense.”
“You’re welcome. See you in a couple of days.” Ending the session, she sighed. If only someone could make financial stuff make sense for her.
As portrait sales and sanctuary donations had steadily increased over the summer, Witt remained unwavering in his support. But whenever she sought his thoughts on how best to handle this newfound revenue, it was like a curtain fell across his eyes.
And oh, those eyes! She could get lost in them—and almost had, more than once. Then that kiss on Saturday, and she was undone. How in the world could she have reached forty-six years old with two new gray hairs as of this week and still tremble like a lovesick teenager at the mere thought of being in Witt’s arms?
Maybe because you really are falling in love?
“Knock, knock!”
At the sound of Witt’s singsong call from the mudroom, she nearly fell off her desk chair. Self-consciously tucking a curl behind her ear, she hoped her face wouldn’t give away the recent direction of her thoughts. “Be right there.”
Holding a stack of mail, he waited just across the threshold. “The mail truck was pulling up when I got home an hour ago, but I didn’t want to interrupt your tutoring session.”
“All done for the day.” She crossed the kitchen and held out her hand. “Let’s see what we’ve got.”
A funny smile on his face, he passed her the stack. “It’s a hot one out there. Mind if I get a glass of ice water?”
“Angus Wittenbauer.” She rolled her eyes. “You do not need a special invitation to help yourself to anything in my kitchen.”
While he filled a glass, she plopped down at the table to sort through the mail. Bills, ads...and a letter from the Missoula pet supply store that a few months ago had withdrawn their support. She glanced at Witt, who was grinning like the cat who’d eaten the canary. Waving the envelope, she asked, “You know something about this, don’t you?”
“Maybe you should just open it.” He set his glass on the table, then turned a chair sideways and sat, one leg crossed over the opposite knee.
“Okay, Mr. Smarty-Pants, I’ll just do that.” She slid her thumb beneath the flap. When she pulled out the letter, a baby blue business-size check slid from the folds. It landed face up on the table, the amount plain to see—a staggering twenty-five hundred dollars!
Heart hammering, she forced herself to draw a breath as she spread open the letter. The owners wrote that they’d recently heard from several customers about the “extraordinary and invaluable service Eventide provides for dogs that otherwise might never have received the loving care they so deserve.” The letter went on to explain that the store wanted to begin with this larger onetime donation to kick off a renewal of their ongoing monthly support.
“Wow.” The word whispered across her lips. “Witt, what did you do?”
“Hardly anything. One day when I was picking up some kennel supplies, I gave a handful of your new brochures to the manager and asked if he’d display them on the counter for their customers to take.” He chuckled. “Apparently, the brochures were conversation starters. People you’d done portraits for and who’d been out here to see the dogs just couldn’t stop talking about Eventide.”
She stared again at the check and shook her head. “Did you know they were going to do this?”
“When I replenished the brochure stack last week, they sort of hinted at it.” He shifted and reached for her hand. “This is all you, Maddie. It’s your talent, your commitment...your heart.”
A tearful laugh bubbled up, and she flicked away an escaping droplet. “I appreciate the compliments, but you have to take credit for setting all this in motion. If you hadn’t prodded me to do that first arts and crafts fair and then backed me every step of the way, I’d probably be in bankruptcy court by now. And those dogs...” Voice trailing off, she couldn’t let herself imagine where her precious pups would have ended up.
“You’d never have let that happen.” He scooted his chair closer so he could capture her face in his hands. “Remember, I know exactly how stubborn you are, especially when it comes to protecting your dogs.”
He wasn’t wrong about her stubbornness. And she hoped he was right about her resourcefulness. But as for making do without him? That was something she hoped she’d never have to find out.
* * *
The next morning, Maddie tucked the pet store donation into her purse and drove to the Elk Valley mini-mall. Her bank didn’t have a branch in Elk Valley, but they did staff a teller window inside the grocery mart.
“Got a deposit for you, Irene.” She slid the check and deposit slip across the counter.
“Oh, my.” The sixtysomething teller eyed Maddie over the rims of her cat’s-eye reading glasses. “Why, Maddie McNeill, I do believe this is the most money to hit the Eventide account since before...” Her expression turned sympathetic. “Since your poor grandma passed away.”
“Yes, I’m hopeful the tide has turned.”
“I’ve been hearing about your drawings—talk of the town this summer.” Irene typed something into her computer terminal. “Howard’s hunting spaniel was the last dog we had, but he’s been gone two years now. I ought to dig out some pictures and see if you could draw him for Howard’s birthday coming up. He still misses that ol’ fella.”
“Happy to. Just let me know.”
After processing the deposit, Irene passed Maddie the receipt but kept one finger on it. “Hang on a sec, hon.” Lips pursed, she studied her computer screen. “The way this account is growing, you ought to think about investing some of the money so it could earn interest. Standard savings accounts don’t pay much of a return, but there are other options.”
Stomach tensing, Maddie shook her head. “I prefer knowing my money is safely tucked away in my bank account.”
“After what those scammers did to your grandparents, I do understand. But if you ever change your mind, we have some savvy investment counselors at the branch office in Missoula. They wouldn’t steer you wrong.”
With a polite thank-you, Maddie slid the receipt into her purse and reminded Irene to get in touch if she wanted a portrait of her husband’s old hunting dog.
Dealing with money issues was stressful enough. She could have done without the reminder of how her grandparents had been cheated. Despite her best attempts toward a more forgiving attitude, the anger persisted.
At home later, she spent more time than usual in the play yard with the dogs. Seeing them happy and well never failed to cheer her—and to remind her why she so wanted to honor and preserve her grandparents’ legacy.
Was she being too cautious, though? What if she really could augment the Eventide funds with a few wise and well-secured investments? Maybe tonight over supper she could persuade Witt to share his thoughts. Though he’d been hesitant about offering financial advice, she’d trust him over some random bank officer.
It was after six o’clock when Witt got home from his handyman job. By then, Maddie had already taken care of the dogs and horses and had lemon chicken in the oven. After cleaning up, he trudged to the house. Looking exhausted, he apologized for not getting home sooner to help with the animals.
“I’m perfectly capable, and anyway, you’ve pitched in plenty of times when I had other things going on.” She handed him a tall glass of iced tea. “Sit down and take a load off while I get supper on the table.”
“You’re too good to me, Maddie.” Before taking his seat, he massaged his low back. “I think I’m getting too old for hauling and laying paving stones.”
There was a tiredness in his tone that she hadn’t heard in a while. Stepping around Ranger, she found the bottle of over-the-counter pain reliever in the cupboard and set it beside Witt’s tea glass. “Take a couple of these. I have an electric heating pad you can use tonight, too.”
He perked up slightly as he filled his belly and the pain tablets began to kick in. After a quiet supper, she served up the last two slices of huckleberry pie with generous scoops of the vanilla ice cream she’d picked up at the market that morning.
When she set his dessert plate in front of him, he broke out in a grin. “I was hoping there was still some pie left. Ice cream, too—what a treat!”
“It’s nice to feel like I can afford the occasional splurge.” She savored a bite, a satisfied sigh escaping. This probably wasn’t the best moment to pose her money questions, but now that she’d brought up the subject... “When I deposited that big check this morning, my friend at the teller window said I ought to consider investing some of the money that’s come in this summer.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
She tapped her fork on the edge of her plate. “After how my grandparents lost their savings, though, the whole idea makes me nervous.”
He kept his eyes lowered, as if scooping up exactly the right ratio of pie to ice cream were of the utmost importance. “You never told me about that.”
“Just thinking about it makes me so angry I could spit nails.” Already sorry for mentioning it, she attempted to stab an errant huckleberry. “Never mind. Let’s talk about something else. Please.”
Witt pushed his plate away, the last couple of bites uneaten. “Afraid I’m not much for conversation tonight. I’ll help you clean up, and then if I could trouble you for that heating pad...”
Concern rising, she studied him. “Are you sure you’re just tired? Not getting sick, are you?”
“I’ll be fine. Like I told you, too much heavy lifting today.” His smile was less than convincing. As he pushed to his feet, he winced and nearly doubled over.
She jumped up to steady him, easing him back into the chair. “That’s it. You need to cancel whatever jobs you had for tomorrow and take it easy.”
“Can’t. The guy I partnered with to lay this patio is counting on me, and we’ve got at least another full workday ahead, maybe more.”
“You can’t work if you’re hurting.” She harrumphed. “The way you’re looking right now, I’m not even sure you can make it upstairs to the loft.”
“I’ll be fine,” he repeated, but the white-knuckled fist resting on his thigh belied his assertion.
“Hand me your phone.”
He twisted his head to look up at her. “What? No.”
Glaring, she darted her hand out and snatched the phone from his shirt pocket, then scurried several steps away. She’d seen him call the Happy’s Helpers office often enough that she knew his unlock code and how to find the number.
“Maddie—”
She turned away and tapped a few buttons. When the answering service picked up, she gave her name and said, “I’m calling for Witt Wittenbauer. He overdid it on the job today. He needs—”
“Maddie!” Two long strides closed the distance between them. He reclaimed his phone and held it to his ear. “Hello, is this Nancy? Yeah, hi, it’s Witt. Everything’s okay. Sorry for the mix-up.”
Maddie fumed while he ended the call. “You are not okay. Why are you being so stubborn?”
Ranger was on his feet now. Upper lip curled, the dog moved in front of Witt.
“Easy, boy.” Witt reached for the dog’s collar. “She meant well.” The hint of a smile returning, he whistled through his teeth. “And talk about stubborn!”
“You are so—”
His lips landed on hers in a long, gentle kiss, and whatever she’d meant to say dissipated like smoke on a breeze. He pulled her close and tucked her head beneath his chin. “Thank you for caring so much. I’m going up to the loft now and get some rest. But you have my word, if I’m still hurting this bad in the morning, I will call in sick.”
She leaned away and cupped his cheek. “If you’re still hurting at all—”
“Now, don’t get pushy.” His tone was firm, but his grin held nothing but affection. “I know my limits. I’ll be careful.”
“You’d better.” Because I can’t lose you. “I’ll be right back with that heating pad.”
