Hometown Sweetheart

Just nerves. He wasn’t accustomed to being around a lot of people at once. And he hadn’t thought about another woman since Marcy. He didn’t like thinking that way.

“Have you met all the kids?” Rick asked, taking the steps to the cabin two at a time.

“No. I’ve tried to avoid all the kids.”

“You’re some welcome wagon, that’s for sure.”

“I only ask to be left alone.”

“You need to get out more, get involved in life.” Rick waved his hands. “Look around you, Simon. The dogwoods and magnolias are blooming. The azaleas are budding. The woods are alive with mountain laurel and rhododendrons. It’s spring, time for renewal and rebirth.”

Simon glanced around the woods. He hated to admit he hadn’t even noticed. “I have allergies.”

“You do not.”

“Do so. I’m allergic to nosy brothers and noisy kids.”

Rick stopped at the screen door to the cabin. “No, you’re just afraid to live, Simon. And if you don’t drop that attitude, one day you’ll look up and see that you’ve missed out on a lot of things.”

Simon sniffed, lifting his nose toward the kitchen. “Well, I ain’t missing out on that spaghetti. So move out of my way.”

“You came.”

Shanna smiled over at Simon as she handed him a sturdy foam plate of spaghetti and crusty French bread. “We have pound cake and ice cream for dessert.”

“My mom’s cake?”

“I do believe so. She’s such a good cook.”

“Yeah.” He took the plate then sat down at one of the long picnic tables he’d helped Rick and some of the boys carry down between the cabins to a level spot closer to the river. “She is a good cook. She taught my wife how to cook.”

Shanna looked up at that statement, her eyes filling with compassion. “I’m so sorry about what happened.”

Simon wanted to bite his tongue. He never talked to anyone about Marcy. How had that slipped out? “Thanks.” He went about shoveling in food, chewing so he wouldn’t have to speak.

“You don’t like talking about it, do you?”

“No.” And he didn’t like that she could see that.

“Then we won’t.”

Shanna sipped her iced tea and stared out into the woods. “It’s so peaceful out here.”

“Yeah.” Or at least it had been until this week.

“Don’t you get lonely, though?”

“No.”

She sat her cup down. “You’re not making this easy.”

“I’m just being me.”

“Like I said, you’re not making this easy.”

“What do you expect from me?” he said, looking up and into her eyes.

She didn’t back down, even if she did appear hurt. “I heard you telling Rick about how I almost set the woods on fire. If I didn’t have complete confidence in my ability to win people over, I’d certainly have a complex regarding you.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’m just an ornery old bootmaker.”

“You’re not that old, but you are ornery.”

He actually chuckled at that, only because he and Rick had just discussed that very thing.

“Wow, he laughs.”

Simon’s smile stilled on his face. “And she smiles. You’re pretty when you smile.”

She lowered her head then slanted her eyes up at him. “And you don’t look half bad when you laugh.”

“I’m not used to people being around.”

“I know. Your mom told me you didn’t even want Rick to buy the other cabin because you didn’t want tourists hanging out back here.”

“True. I do have to work for a living.”

“But has anyone really ever bothered you?”

“Yeah, you.”

“Me?” She shook her head. “I’ve tried to avoid you. And I’ve cautioned the kids to do the same. Even though they’re fascinated with what you do. Especially little Katie. She thinks you’re some sort of Paul Bunyan, a giant of a man.”

“Are they that curious about me?” He reckoned he could give the little varmints a tour, just to shut them up. Or say “Boo” to them so they’d leave him alone.

“Yeah. You’re like the troll under the bridge to them, part fascinating and part frightening.”

“I’m a troll?”

“I said you’re like a troll. But you don’t look like one, no.”

“I do like to hide and jump out at pretty women.”

She laughed at that. “Your brother didn’t tell me you actually have a sense of humor.”

He savored another bite of spaghetti, the rich sauce tasting spicy and sweet as it went down. “And what did my brother tell you?”

She turned serious then. “That you were hurting and you needed time to heal.”

Simon dropped his plastic fork, the rich food suddenly stuck in his throat. “You’re kind of blunt, aren’t you?”

“I believe in the truth. So let’s get things out in the open. I had a bad childhood, so I know all about neglect and dysfunction. Some of these children have been through much worse, however. You lost your wife to a horrible disease. You have every reason to be angry at the world. I lost both my parents when I was a child. My father left when I was a baby, so I don’t know where he is now. My mother remarried, but…it wasn’t a good marriage.” She stopped, her vivid eyes going dark. “She died when I was thirteen and…my stepfather died in a wreck shortly after her death. I’ve seen the worst that grief and pain can bring, so I try to reach out and embrace the world. And I believe in hope. So I hope one day you’ll find a way to be happy again.”

Neglect. Dysfunction? How could someone so vibrant and bubbly even speak in such terms? “I’m sorry about your childhood,” he said, feeling like a jerk. “What happened?”

“Nothing I’m ready to talk about,” she said, all the joy erased from her eyes. “Nothing you’d want to hear.”

Ready to get back to his solitude so he could remove his foot from his mouth, Simon got up. “Thanks for dinner. I’ve got to go.”

She stomped after him. “I was trying to be honest. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“You didn’t.”

“I told you I wouldn’t talk about it and I did. I shouldn’t have forced you to talk, since I sure don’t like to talk about my past.”

“Yep.”

“I’m sorry.”

Simon whirled toward her as a golden dusk settled around them and the sound of the kids laughing and talking to Rick and Cari echoed up the hill. He caught a whiff of wisteria, the scent reminding him of other spring nights near the river. “I’m sorry, too. Sorry that I’m bitter and ornery and nasty to little kids. But I didn’t ask for any of this. I’m not sure I’m ready for any of this, do you understand?”

“I think I do,” she said, backing away. “But that’s a shame. No one should have to suffer grief all alone, Simon.”

“It’s the only way I know how,” he retorted, his blood boiling with a shimmering rage and a heavy regret.

“Maybe you need to look for a new way, a better way, so you can go on living. That’s what I had to do.”

“And maybe you should stick to counseling your kids, not a man who only asks for some peace and solitude.”

He stared at her long and hard, then turned and walked away. He didn’t want to look for a new way. He only wanted to remember what he’d had and lost.

And that was something no one could ever change.

Shanna walked back down to the river, her mind still on Simon. Why had she said those things to him? Why had she gone after him? She didn’t even know the man.

But she knew what it felt like to be alone and hurting. She’d held that same anger at a young age, much like some of these kids were doing. She’d cried herself to sleep at night when her fighting, volatile parents had screamed their rage at each other. Because of their neglect and their obsession with destroying each other, she’d learned the hard way that people didn’t have to die to cause grief in your life.

Lord, how can I help these children, or this man?

Had God brought her to these beautiful woods to help Simon?

Or should she do as he’d suggested, mind her own business and get back to counseling the children in her care?

Janie met her on the path. “Have you seen Katie?”

“No, ma’am. I thought she was with you.”

Janie shook her head. “She was right there but she had to go to the bathroom. She ran ahead and didn’t wait for me to come up here with her.”

“I’ll go check the cabin,” Shanna said. “Why don’t you wait down by the tables? It’s getting dark.”

Then they heard a child’s scream echoing down the hill. Followed by a male voice.

“Shanna?”

That was Simon, calling to her. He sounded frantic.

“Shanna, can you come here?”

Shanna ran up the hill. “Wait here, Miss Janie.”

“Shanna!”

“Simon?” She searched the long back porch of his cabin then looked inside the brightly lit kitchen and den.

“In here.”

Running through the open door, she found Simon sitting on the sofa, holding Katie. The girl was crying her heart out against Simon’s shirt.

“I found her when I got inside,” he said, rocking the little girl, his hand stroking her hair. He looked as helpless as Katie. “She’s bleeding. Her leg.”

“Katie, baby, what’s wrong?” Shanna said as she dropped to her knees on the braided rug in front of the couch. “What’s the matter?”

“I miss my mama,” Katie said, gulping back sobs. “I got scared. I came up the hill to go to the bathroom and I came inside the wrong cabin. I got confused and…I tripped on the rug.” She burst into tears again.

“Oh, honey, that’s all right. I’m sure Simon didn’t mind you using his bathroom.”

“I didn’t,” Simon said, glancing at Shanna. “But when she came out and saw me standing in the kitchen, she screamed. I told her it was all right. But she tried to run and she tripped. I sat her down and told her I’d get you. Then I tried to calm her down.”

Shanna took Katie into her arms. “Did you think Simon would harm you?”

Katie nodded. “Everyone says he’s a mean old man.”

Shanna’s gaze locked with Simon’s. The hurt inside his eyes tore through her. In spite of his moodiness, she didn’t believe this man would ever hurt anyone, let alone a frightened little girl. And yet, that’s the perception the world had of him.

Lifting Katie up, Shanna held the girl’s head in her hands. “Listen to me, Katie. Simon Adams is a very nice man. He’s just been out here alone for so long, he’s forgotten how to act around other people. It doesn’t mean he’s a bad person, okay?”

Katie’s big eyes searched Simon’s face. “I thought he was gonna be mad at me. I didn’t want to get a whipping.”

“A whipping?” Simon let out a breath. “I’m not mad, Katie. You scared me as much as I scared you. I don’t mind you coming inside my house, not at all.”

Katie looked doubtful. “Brady said you’d turn into a bear if I bothered you.”

Shanna shook her head. “Brady was just teasing you, honey.”

“But Marshall told me Simon would grow fangs and look like a wolf.”

Simon stood up, his hands moving through his hair, shock clouding his face. Then he turned to face Shanna again. “I’d never—I don’t know—”

“It’s all right,” Shanna said, lifting Katie up onto a stool so she could check Katie’s bleeding knee. The girl had reopened the wound from her first fall the other day. “I’ll have a talk with those boys. They shouldn’t be scaring you that way.”

But the damage had been done. And not just to Katie. She’d get over her scare. After all, Simon had tried to comfort her. But he might not forget this night or the harsh accusations the boys had placed on him, all in the name of fun and jokes. He did seem scary, after all. But he also seemed as confused and lost as some of these children.

“I’m sorry,” Shanna said, taking Katie up in her arms. “I need to get her back to the cabin so I can check her knee. This is the second time this week she’s skinned it in the same place.”

Simon nodded, his eyes vacant and faraway. “I scare little children.”

Shanna sat Katie down again then hurriedly wet a paper towel and placed it on her leg. “Honey, stay right here, okay, and hold this on your knee. I need to talk to Simon for just a minute. You’re okay, right?”

Katie looked up at Simon, bobbing her head, her tears receding. “He wasn’t so scary after all, Miss Shanna.”

“I know, darling. I saw that.”

Janie called from the yard. “Shanna, is Katie all right?”

“She’s fine, Miss Janie. You can come in if you want. She just got confused and hit her knee again.”

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