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His lips felt odd, as if they were convulsing, and then he realized he must be smiling. An odd, though welcome, sensation.
“Something tells me that you also believe in lost causes.”
“Also? Does that mean you’re a sucker for a lost cause?”
“The lost are some of my favorite people,” Maggie said. “It doesn’t feel like that long ago that I was one of them.”
So Maggie liked a lost cause. Without a doubt, it probably meant that she could certainly learn to love him.
Chapter 9
Who knew that a motley looking stray dog like Chief could cause a young girl an afternoon of joy? Lexi had put real effort into making Chief presentable, styling his fur using some of the hair products that Maggie used in her own hair. Later Lexi insisted on feeding him scraps from their leftovers.
Chief did look like a loving and pampered pet when Lexi was done with him and walked him reluctantly back to Jack’s place late in the afternoon, complaining out loud that she wasn’t sure Jack could handle taking care of a dog.
It was a good thing that Jack had pushed the lawn mower into her backyard, since Maggie required help figuring out the contraption. Somewhere in this house lay some kind of instruction manual on the machine.
In a way, she welcomed the distraction that the dog had provided, at least for tonight. It meant that she could avoid mention of Paula’s phone call for a bit longer.
Sooner or later, she’d have to face letting Lexi spend more time with Paula and Richard, but for now that possibility didn’t feel safe. And Maggie had to do what was best for everyone concerned. Even Matt would agree.
If anyone understood his father, it had been Matt. Richard Bradshaw thought Matt should be a lawyer, even though Matt was a born teacher. Richard didn’t hide his disappointment when Matt had insisted on taking a position at a private high school in Colorado straight out of college.
“A private school?” He’d shouted at Matt. “If you insist on teaching, at the very least you’d get more money at a public school. They’re union, and you’ll get great benefits. Better pay, even. Where’s your sense, Matt? You have a family to support.”
“Their basketball team won state three years in a row, and when Lexi gets old enough to go there, we’ll get a great discount,” Matt had shouted back.
And yes, it made sense to Maggie, too. Of course, Matt could never have imagined that by the time Lexi was old enough for high school he wouldn’t be in this world any longer.
Now she was a widow at thirty-one, facing spending the rest of her life alone. Slipping into bed, Maggie stared at the empty place beside her.Lord, I feel so alone. Please help me to fill this empty place in my heart.
It couldn’t be love, a romantic relationship, because who would want her baggage? No, she’d have to wait until Lexi was away at college. That is, if she could ever afford to send her to college. Not likely. Maggie fluffed her pillow.
Once Lexi was grown, maybe Maggie would join one of those Christian singles matchmaking services on the Internet. But the whole thing sounded so silly and contrived. Apparently, her pillow was the hardest one on the market since another fluff was not doing any good.
Maggie adjusted the covers a dozen times and punched her pillow into submission, but sleep wouldn’t come tonight. A strange occurrence for someone who had spent the past several months enjoying the escape that sleep had provided.
But today she’d been reminded that Richard Bradshaw would not give up on seeing his granddaughter again, and he’d be ready to pull out all the stops with offers of trips and all the things that would turn a young girl’s head. And he had the money to do it.
Maggie pulled out her mother’s Bible with the worn cover and dog-eared pages, and turned to one of the many underlined passages in Romans. Her mother’s favorite, a passage she’d highlighted and underlined, Romans 8:28.
All things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purposes.
Maggie’s heart lifted. It didn’t matter where or what she read, the word of God calmed her and gave her peace. More than ever, she realized she had to stop distrusting Richard and start trusting God. She needed that strength now, and it wouldn’t come from her own nature.
Some warm milk might help her sleep. It was two o’clock in the morning when she ambled into the kitchen and noticed a faint light coming from the front of her house. Curious, she tiptoed to the drawn shade, and lifted the edge with her finger just enough to peek outside.
Apparently, someone else couldn’t sleep. Hunkered under the hood of her car stood a decidedly male figure. She could see the muscles that strained against the gray t-shirt, the long, jean-clad legs in a purposeful stance. Jack Butler, holding a large flashlight with one hand, and Chief sitting on the edge of the sidewalk as still and attentive as any guard dog.
Would wonders never cease?
“Don’t start thinking this is permanent, because it’s not,” Jack told Chief the next morning.
Jack shook his head. Great, so now he was talking to a dog. Is that what he’d come to? Despite knowing better, it did seem to him that Chief understood him loud and clear. Otherwise, why would he hang his head and give him that hang dog, stuck- in-a-shelter look?
Thanks to Lexi, Chief now looked like a pet again, and it became clear to Jack he was definitely a Shepherd mix, one who had been at least partially trained by someone. He had a clear understanding of simple commands and had quickly learned a new one.
“Off!” had come in handy when he’d jumped on Jack’s bed assuming all the warm and cozy covers were for him. Wrong.
