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“That was Jacob Mallory,” she explained. “I met him at the meeting Friday night.”

“And you’re already going on a date with him?”

“It isn’t a date,” Aimee explained. “He’s invited me to a meeting to learn more about Substitute Siblings, a volunteer organization he and his grandmother founded.”

Samantha’s eyebrows lowered in an angry frown. “Is that the group who looks after orphans and street kids?”

“I understand that’s part of their work,” Aimee said.

“Mom!” Samantha shrieked. “If you have anything to do with them, everybody at school will make fun of me. How can you treat me like this? You’re so mean!”

Samantha ran to her room sobbing. Aimee jumped up and started to follow, but at the top of the stairs, she stopped abruptly. If she gave in to Samantha’s demands now, she might as well forget steering her daughter in a different direction. Although it was one of the hardest things she’d ever done, Aimee turned a deaf ear to her daughter’s theatrical sobs, went to her own room and shut the door.

Chapter Four

A robin that seemed to be singing from her windowsill woke Aimee the next morning. She lifted her head and through bleary eyes looked at the clock. Suddenly wide awake, she threw back the blanket, put on her robe and hurried to the head of the stairs.

“Samantha,” she called. “Get up. The alarm clock didn’t go off. We leave for school in thirty minutes.”

“I’m not going! I’m sick.”

Startled, Aimee lifted the bottom of her robe and hurried downstairs. Samantha’s door was open, and Aimee went in without knocking. Samantha was lying on a stack of pillows, a pitiful look on her face. Her eyes were swollen, and she was sniffing as if she had a cold.

Aimee got a thermometer from the adjacent bathroom cabinet and took her temperature. It was normal. So was her pulse rate.

“Stick out your tongue,” Aimee said. Samantha closed her eyes and complied.

Observing her daughter carefully, Aimee wondered if this was a stunt to get sympathy. If Samantha had been crying, that would account for the red eyes and stuffy nose.

“It’s too late for me call in to stay home with you. Erica isn’t working today, so I’ll ask her to check on you a few times. And I’ll call during my lunch break. You know, if you’re too sick for school today, you’re too sick to stay after school and cheer in the game.”

Samantha’s glare was almost more than Aimee could stand, but she turned away quickly. While Aimee dressed she heard the water running in Samantha’s bathroom, and when Aimee was ready, Samantha was standing beside the door, fully dressed, with her backpack over her back.

“Feeling better?”

“A little,” Samantha said weakly. “I remembered a science test today. Better not miss it. And the squad is expecting me to be there to do our new routine.”

Aimee’s heart was a little lighter when Samantha meekly followed her out to the garage, slid into the car and fastened her seat belt. She had wondered more than once what she would do if Jennifer showed up to take Aimee to school. Perhaps the crisis was over. But when Samantha was silent on the way to school and got out of the car without saying goodbye, Aimee knew that although she won the first battle, the war wasn’t over yet.

Throughout the day, as she answered the phone, worked at the computer and handed out school supplies to the kids, Aimee’s thoughts kept shifting from Samantha’s rebellion to Jacob. She hadn’t been attracted to any other man for years, so what was it about Jacob that piqued her interest? Maybe he wasn’t any different from any other man she’d encountered in the past dozen years; maybe she had changed. It was a startling thought.

After Aimee watched Samantha cheer on her team at the game, they made their way home. Samantha stayed in her room all evening, speaking only in monosyllables when Aimee asked questions. Tuesday morning, she was silent also. After school, however, Samantha replied amicably to Aimee’s questions about her day. Aimee soon found out the reason for the attitude change.

“Mom, Mrs. Nibert asked me to go with her and Jen to a spring fashion show at the mall tonight. Can I go?”

“What time?”

“About six. She wants to treat us to Chinese before the show.”

Aimee deliberated momentarily. That meant she would be home when Samantha left to be certain that Jennifer’s mother was with them. She felt guilty about not trusting Samantha, but she wouldn’t be comfortable at the Siblings meeting unless she knew that the girls weren’t alone.

“I guess that will be all right if you get your homework done in the next two hours. You really need to get that math grade up.”

Samantha didn’t answer, just went to her room immediately. Aimee didn’t hear any phone conversations, so she gave Samantha the benefit of the doubt that she was actually studying.

When the Niberts arrived, Aimee walked outside to greet them. “Thanks for taking Samantha. Do you know what time you will be back? I’m going out for the evening, and I don’t want Samantha coming home to an empty house.”

“I’m not sure,” Mrs. Nibert said, “but if you aren’t here, we’ll stay until you come home.”

Aimee thanked her, waved them on their way and turned toward the house. She didn’t really know the Niberts well, but she had to give Samantha some space. If fourteen years of parental guidance hadn’t taught her daughter the difference between right and wrong, she had failed as a mother. It was time to have some interests of her own, and she turned her thoughts to the evening with Jacob.

By the time Aimee was dressed, she was so nervous, she couldn’t sit still. While she paced the floor, she thought about how she felt the first time she had a date with Steve. Because she was only sixteen at the time and he was eighteen, her parents threw a fit when Steve asked her to go out with him. But she had known Steve forever, so in the end they trusted him. It wasn’t quite the same as going out with Jacob, who was almost a stranger.

She didn’t know why she was worried. Jacob seemed to have a knack of putting people at ease that must come from his profession as a counselor. Besides, she was only going to learn more about Substitute Siblings, right? This was definitely not a date. She just wished someone would tell that to her racing heart.

It had been a long time since Jacob had looked forward to anything as much as he did the evening with Aimee. As he drove the few miles to her house, he thought of the past few years when his only emotional outlet had been his clients and their problems. It had been a blessing when he had organized Substitute Siblings, for it kept his mind occupied with the needs of others rather than his own personal life—or lack of it.

But no matter how many unfortunate children he helped, a part of his heart still seemed empty and unfulfilled. Was it time for him to trust someone again? Would Aimee be the woman he could finally allow into his life—and his heart?

Benton, Virginia, was a town of fifteen thousand, established two hundred years ago in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. He knew the town so well that he easily maneuvered through the narrow streets as he went to pick her up. Although he hadn’t been in the subdivision where Aimee lived, Jacob drove directly to her house without any problem.

He parked along the curb and went to the front door. Aimee soon answered his knock.

She was as pretty as he remembered. As they walked down the sidewalk, he quietly surveyed her. Jacob had a knack for reading people’s thoughts, but Aimee was an enigma to him. He had no idea if she was excited about their evening together. Although thoughts of her kept intruding into his mind, he wondered if she had thought about him at all.

Jacob held open the door of his SUV for her, rounded the front of the vehicle and was in the seat beside her before she had her seat belt fastened. “I haven’t been in this subdivision before. Have you lived here long?”

“About fourteen years. My husband had a job in Washington, D.C., but after he died, I didn’t want to stay there. My parents live a few miles out in the country from Benton, and I came home to raise Samantha with the support of my family.”

He sensed that she was hesitant to talk about her husband, but he asked one more question, “Does your husband’s family live here?”

“Only a few cousins. His parents live year-round in Florida, as does my brother-in-law’s family. Samantha always spends two weeks with them during the summer. Occasionally, both of us go to Florida for Christmas.”

Although there were many more things Jacob wanted to know about Aimee, he would take his time. She’d already indicated that she devoted all of her time to her job and Samantha. Did that mean she hadn’t dated at all since she became a widow? Was she still mourning her husband?

Although he wanted to know more about Aimee, he didn’t want to pry. During the short drive to his offices, where the meeting would be held, they shifted the conversation to upcoming events in Benton, especially the city’s bicentennial celebration to be held in the summer.

“I’m on the planning committee, and we’ve had to revise our plans this month,” Jacob said. “David Harwood, one of the longtime educators in Benton, died a few weeks ago. The committee has decided to honor him at the celebration, so we’re changing our schedule to include him. Did you know Mr. Harwood?”

“No, but I’ve seen him on television several times,” Aimee answered. “I heard about his funeral on the evening news. Apparently he had a great influence on the schools and educational program in Benton.”

“That’s true. He taught at Paramount High School where I attended, but he moved on to administrative positions soon after I graduated. The committee asked me to prepare and deliver a eulogy about him at the bicentennial, but I can’t add anything more to my schedule. So they’ve asked a former resident who lives in Richmond to do it.”

Aimee smiled at him. “It seems to me that you do have about all you can do now. Your counseling business, Substitute Siblings, the singles group and church commitments must take up all of your time.”

“Just about,” he admitted with a laugh. “But I want to keep busy. I suppose I could have found time to write the eulogy, but I didn’t think I was qualified to do it. Mr. Harwood came to Paramount High in my senior year, but I wasn’t in any of his classes. I was away from Benton for several years, and we seldom met after I moved back home. I didn’t know him well enough to speak about him.”

Jacob drove into the parking lot adjacent to his two-story, brick building. It was located in an industrial park with many other office buildings and a few factories. Surrounded by a brick wall, they entered through a security gate. Aimee had rarely been in this section of town and had no idea that so many corporations were located in the area. She was quietly thinking about how narrow her life had been as they took an elevator to the second floor of his building and walked down a hallway to a conference room where the meeting was to be held.

Approximately two dozen people were in the room, and Jacob touched Aimee’s arm and steered her toward the front where a small woman with short, iron-gray hair was talking with two men.

“Excuse me,” Jacob said. “We have a guest tonight.” He introduced Aimee to the two men, whose names she promptly forgot. Then he turned to the woman. “Gran, this is Aimee Blake.” His eyes softened with obvious fondness for his grandmother as he turned to Aimee. “I want you to meet Stella Milton.”

As they shook hands, Aimee quickly assessed Stella. The makeup on her wrinkled face had been skillfully applied. She wore diamond earrings, and her blue suit was trendy. Her dark eyes glowed with intelligence and warmth as she greeted their guest. Aimee judged that she was in her seventies.

Taking Aimee’s arm, Stella said, “Come and meet our volunteers.”

Stella explained that this was a regularly scheduled monthly meeting, and the first part of the meeting consisted mostly of reports. Although it seemed to be routine stuff, Aimee got a fair idea of what the Siblings volunteers really did. More than thirty children had been contacted in a month’s time. The children had been taken on shopping trips, to ball games and movies, or out to eat at their favorite restaurants. The Siblings children as a group had been taken to the circus at the civic center. She gathered that, for the most part, volunteers supplied the finances for these extras, as well as their time. Well, that wouldn’t be an issue with her. Although she didn’t consider herself wealthy, Aimee was thankful she had an adequate income.

During new business, plans were made for a Fun in the Sun Day at Pioneer Park, an outing for youth enrolled in the Siblings program and their parents. Jacob reported that two of the restaurants in the city had volunteered to provide food and drink. Before she knew it, Aimee had been paired with Jacob to plan entertainment for the youth who didn’t want to participate in contact sports.

After the meeting ended, Jacob guided Aimee on a tour of the building. In addition to the conference room, there were three rooms on the second floor, one of which was the Siblings main office, plus his business offices on the first floor. He pointed out a waiting area, the receptionist’s office, his consulting room, a small lounge and a snack room.

“I’m impressed,” Aimee said as Jacob locked the door and they walked to the car. “Not only by the work of Siblings, but also with the scope of your counseling service.”

“I feel that God has really blessed me to become so well established in such a short time. Since I was a child, I wanted to meet the needs of others, but I didn’t think I had the ability to enter the medical profession. Counseling seemed to be the right outlet I needed to fulfill what God created me to do.”

Jacob waved to the security guard as they drove from the parking lot.

“Your grandmother seems like a lovely person,” Aimee commented.

“She is. Everybody loves Gran.”

“What about your parents?” Aimee asked. “Do they live in Benton?”

The streetlights illuminated the interior of the SUV, and Aimee watched Jacob’s expressive face go blank. His jaw tightened and his eyes darkened with emotion.

Automatically, she stretched her hand toward him. “Oh, I’m sorry I asked. I had no right. Please forgive me.”

From what she had seen of Jacob Mallory, she wouldn’t have dreamed that there were any dark areas of his life that he couldn’t, or didn’t want to, reveal.

He took her hand and squeezed it gently. When he glanced toward her, the pain was gone from his eyes, and he smiled, but not as brightly as usual.

“Of course you have the right to ask. You’ve answered the questions I’ve asked about your family.” Still he hesitated, and finally said in a husky voice. “I assume I have a father somewhere, although I’ve never known him. He abandoned my mother when I was less than a year old. They married when they were students at the University of Pennsylvania, and I was born a year later. He hung around for a few months, but apparently he wasn’t ready for family responsibilities. He left one day and, as far as I know, she never heard from him again.”

“I’m so sorry,” Aimee said.

Now that he’d started talking, it seemed easier for Jacob, but still his voice was distant as he continued. “Mother never got over his rejection. She died when I was six years old from a severe case of pneumonia and flu, but she’d been dying inside since he left her. She didn’t handle rejection very well, and I guess I don’t either,” he ended, almost in a whisper. Then he added, “Gran had most of the care of me while my mother lived, and she gave me all of the love I needed. I had a happy childhood, but I suppose all guys miss their dad.”

Up until now, Jacob had appeared to be without any problems. Maybe this was the reason he had chosen to become a counselor? He wanted to deal with his own hang-ups as well as the problems of his clients.

“So by not trying to get well,” Aimee asked quietly, “do you feel as if your mother rejected you, too?”

A look of surprise swept over Jacob’s face, and he replied thoughtfully, “Maybe so, although I hadn’t really thought of it before.” He laughed, and the tense moment seemed to have passed. “Aimee, you should have been the counselor.”

“I doubt that I would have succeeded in that profession,” Aimee replied with a chuckle. “It’s difficult enough to deal with one adolescent daughter.”

When they stopped in front of her house, Aimee put her hand on Jacob’s arm. “Again, I’m sorry for prying, but as for your life with your grandmother, she did a great job in raising you, as far as I can tell. I don’t believe you missed much.”

“Thanks. I’m trying to be a credit to her. After all Gran has done for me, I don’t want to let her down.”

“Samantha isn’t home yet,” Aimee said, “so we’re here in plenty of time. Thanks for asking me to the meeting.”

He got out of the car and opened the door for her. As they walked toward the house, he asked, “Is it too soon to know if you’re willing to be a Siblings volunteer?”

“Yes,” Aimee said. “I’ll have to think about it and see how I can fit it into my schedule. Maybe there’s work I can do at home until school is out. I could probably help more during the summer break. But I’ll find time to help with Fun in the Sun. I miss not doing things like that with Samantha.”

She took the house key from her purse, opened the door and invited, “Would you like to come in and meet Samantha when she gets here?”

He shook his head. “I’d like to, but I have some computer work to complete tonight. Is it okay for me to call you?”

“Yes, of course.”

Jacob’s gaze traveled over her face and searched her eyes, suddenly causing a stirring of her heart she hadn’t experienced for a long time. He bent toward her until she felt his warm breath on her face, and her pulse tingled at the thought that he was going to kiss her. Suddenly, he shook his head and stepped back.

“Good night, Aimee. I’ll be in touch in a few days and we can make plans for Fun in the Sun.”

Slightly disappointed, Aimee went inside and watched from the dark hallway as Jacob drove away. What had happened to her common sense since she’d met Jacob Mallory? She wasn’t sure it was a good idea to start a relationship now, when Samantha was already testing the waters as an adolescent. It would probably be better to wait a few years, until Samantha was safely off to college. But Aimee wondered, if she waited, would she be losing her only chance of finding a new life—and a new love?

Chapter Five

Jacob had attempted to hide his distress so that Aimee wouldn’t feel bad about saying the wrong thing to him, but as soon as he drove away from her house, reaction set in. A few blocks from her house, he pulled over to the curb, stopped the vehicle and slouched over the steering wheel.

His resentment of his absent father was one of the hardest situations he faced in living a Christian life. And when this resentment surfaced, he didn’t even feel as if he was a good counselor. How could he counsel clients who had a grudge toward family members when he knew he hadn’t forgiven his father for abandoning him? He’d prayed often for the grace to forgive his father, so why couldn’t he put it behind him?

Aware of how his father’s abandonment concerned Jacob, several times Gran had suggested that he search for his father. The last time the subject was mentioned, Gran had said, “For all you know, your father may be dead, or perhaps he was involved in a situation that made it impossible for him to contact you.”

“Well, if that’s the case, there isn’t any need to search,” Jacob had replied.

“But you’re certain to have other relatives. Perhaps grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins,” Gran had quietly insisted.

“I don’t even know where his family lived. If only Mother had told me more about him before she died. I think I remember asking her questions a few times, but she ignored me. She could have at least told me that.”

As Jacob pulled back onto the road and headed home, he realized that he resented his mother’s silence even more than his father’s desertion. She should have leveled with him about the trouble between her and his father.

And as he thought of their conversation, Jacob knew that Aimee had a point. He did have hard feelings toward his mother, too. He resented his father for abandoning him and his mother, and he blamed her for dying before he was old enough for her to answer some of his questions. He drove into the garage, turned off the engine and leaned his head on the steering wheel.

“God,” he moaned in distress, “I can’t carry this burden much longer. Give me some guidance. This is ruining my life.”

Jacob had almost kissed her. Why did he draw back? Aimee was alarmed at her own reaction. She’d wanted him to kiss her! What had happened to her? A week ago she was perfectly satisfied with her life. Now, it seemed like everything had gone haywire.

She had been content to live out her life as a mother, eventually a mother-in-law and a grandmother. Now, after seeing Jacob Mallory a few times, she wondered if that was enough. She finally had to admit to herself that she was lonely. She knew she was no longer satisfied with her life as it was.

As she undressed for bed, Aimee made up her mind that Samantha was still her first responsibility, and always would be. She’d have to be very cautious if there was going to be any room in her life for a friendship with Jacob. Still, as the week passed, Aimee was disappointed when he didn’t call, and she wondered if it was already too late to guard her heart.

Although she had intended to return to Memorial Church on Sunday, when she woke up on Saturday with Jacob on her mind, she wondered if she should go. Was he annoyed because she had questioned him about his family? Since he hadn’t called, she guessed he didn’t want to see her. Or did he think she was expecting more from him than he was willing to give? If he was interested in her only as a possible volunteer for Substitute Siblings, she didn’t want him to assume she was pursuing him by showing up at places where she knew he would be.

So on Saturday afternoon when Erica called and invited her to ride to church with her the next morning, Aimee turned her down. “I haven’t visited my folks for a few weeks, so I’m going to see them tomorrow. I’ll go to their church. That will make them happy. They haven’t approved of the way I’ve neglected worship.”

When Samantha came upstairs for dinner, Aimee said, “How about going to see Papaw and Grammy tomorrow?”

“All right, I guess,” Samantha said.

“Let’s leave early enough to go to church with them.”

“Hey, what’s up, Mom? Why are you pushing church at me all of a sudden?”

Aimee felt her face flushing. It was hard for her to come up with the words to explain to Samantha about the time she’d spent with God a few nights ago. But she had to let Samantha know that she intended to follow the teachings of the Bible more closely in the future than she’d been doing for several years.

“I told you a few days ago that I haven’t been a very good mother. One of the things I’ve neglected is your spiritual life. I want you to understand that God is real, that He loves you, and that He wants a relationship with you—and with me.”

Samantha stared at Aimee for a few seconds and then lowered her head, seemingly embarrassed.

“I’m going to attend Sunday worship regularly from now on,” Aimee stated, “and I intend for you to go with me.”

Samantha stirred uneasily in her chair, chewed on her lower lip and said hesitantly, “Mmm, I’ll go with you tomorrow. But no promises about next time.”

“It isn’t a matter of promising—it’s called parental responsibility. When I haven’t been attending worship, I didn’t expect you to go without me. Now I realize that I’ve been wrong. Spiritual growth is just as important for a mother to promote as seeing that you have the proper food to grow physically.”

“Aw, Mom, do we have to talk about this now? I’ve got tons of things to do.” Samantha started toward her room.

“Please sit down and listen to me,” Aimee said. “If you were skipping classes at school, for your own good I’d see that you stopped that. It’s just as important for you to have spiritual training. I expect you to start going to Sunday worship.”

Samantha studied her mother’s face momentarily, as if wondering if she could change her mind. Apparently, she decided she couldn’t.

“Okay, I’ll go, but I won’t like it.”

Aimee nodded. “I’ll call Mom and Dad and tell them we’ll be there tomorrow.”

As Jacob went about his work, exercises and private meditations all week, Aimee often intruded into his thoughts. Several times he started to punch in the digits of her phone number, only to lay the phone aside. He kept hoping she would call him first, perhaps to discuss their participation in Fun in the Sun Day. As the days passed, he decided she wasn’t interested in him.

But as the weekend approached, he remembered that Aimee had indicated she would come to church again. When Sunday morning came, he headed to the church with enthusiasm and hope. When Erica came into the foyer and Aimee wasn’t with her, his spirits plummeted. He didn’t ask Erica why Aimee hadn’t come. If he asked about Aimee, she would probably read too much into his question. He found himself distracted during the service wondering why she wasn’t there.

On his way home, Jacob decided he was acting like a teenager, rather than a man who’d been making relatively intelligent decisions for several years. Because Aimee was a widow with a teenager to raise, he knew she had a lot of difficult decisions to make in regards to her daughter. They should probably just be friends for a while. Right? They could be friends, and friends call to see how their friend is doing. He felt as if a burden had been lifted from his shoulders, and as he pulled into the driveway, he took out his cell and dialed her number, anticipating her pleasant, lilting voice.

He felt like a deflated balloon when he got her answering machine. “You’ve reached the home of Aimee and Samantha Blake. Leave a message, please.”

So sure that he would reach her, Jacob was at a loss for words. He considered disconnecting without saying anything, but if Aimee had caller ID, she would see that he’d called.

“This is Jacob Mallory,” he said at last. “I missed you at church this morning. Talk to you later.”

He disconnected, wondering if he had used the right approach. He hadn’t asked her to return his call, so if she didn’t want to see him again, she wouldn’t call back. Please, God, let her call back.

Aimee’s pleasant day with her parents lifted her spirits considerably. Ed Ross had been the mail carrier for thirty years on a rural route out of Benton, and her parents lived on a small farm about a forty-five-minute drive from Aimee’s house.

Papaw and Samantha went fishing in the afternoon. While her mother knitted an afghan, Aimee relaxed on the couch. For some reason, she was in a nostalgic mood, and she turned the conversation toward the past, mentioning some of the good times she’d enjoyed with her parents, wondering if she had provided enough pleasant memories so that she and Samantha would some day reminisce like this. All in all, it had been a good day.

The light on the answering machine was blinking when they entered the family room, and Samantha rushed to pick up the message while Aimee took off her coat and hung it up. She had started toward her bedroom when she heard Jacob’s voice. She turned quickly into the family room. Samantha stood staring at the phone and turned to her mother as Aimee hit the replay button.

Aimee’s spirits soared as she listened. “This is Jacob Mallory. I missed you at church this morning. Talk to you later.”

Although she told herself it was nonsense to get so much satisfaction from a voice mail, she couldn’t deny the ripple of excitement that went through her at the sound of his voice. When the message ended, she pushed the stop button and turned to face her daughter, who had a suspicious look in her eyes.

“Jacob Mallory again?” Samantha exclaimed. “Do you like him, Mom?”

“I don’t know. As a friend. I’ll be seeing him some over the next few weeks. I’m helping him with a Siblings outing at Pioneer Park. We could use your help, too.”

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Samantha said disgustedly. “Are you going to call him back?”

Aimee shrugged. “Probably, but not right now.”

Samantha tossed her head defiantly and ran downstairs.

When Aimee heard the bedroom door slam, she knew that their friendly day had been only a reprieve. Although she wanted to return Jacob’s call, if she had to choose between his friendship and her daughter, there could be only one choice. Samantha.

But her heart didn’t seem to agree. If she didn’t return his call, she was convinced Jacob wouldn’t contact her again. Aimee felt sure that he was interested in her, but if Erica said he only dated women casually, she needed to go slow. Since Jacob had been rejected by both his father and mother, it was obvious to Aimee now that he couldn’t open himself to similar treatment by a woman. Still, if she allowed Samantha to call the shots on the issue of Aimee even making friends, she would try the same tactics again and again. Her daughter wouldn’t control her if Aimee could help it, so she decided to return Jacob’s call.

Since Samantha could easily listen in on their conversation if she used the house phone, Aimee went to the bedroom and picked up her cell. She found Jacob’s home number on the business card he’d given her at the Siblings meeting, kicked off her shoes and lounged on the bed before she punched it in.