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His mouth quirked. “My pleasure.” As his thumb caressed her cheek, she felt it clear to her toes. “Good night.” He dropped his hand, spun around, and climbed the stairs out of view.
Grace sank onto the bunk, careful not to hit her head. All her preconceived thoughts about Amos shifted, making room for gratitude. He’d listened to her without mocking her. He’d offered thoughtful advice. Who knew if he was right, whether it was enough to simply want God to be present in her life.
I do want that, she acknowledged. But the last time she had called on her faith, God had kept utterly aloof. What made her think things would be any different now?
* * *
“She’s up!”
At Simon’s announcement, Amos wrested his attention from his laptop, turned his head, and spotted Grace emerging from the bunk area. Her russet hair was tousled, and her eyes were still puffy, but she appeared rested for a change.
“Good morning.” He slipped out of the eating nook to make her breakfast. “Coffee?”
“Yes, thank you.” With a smile for Simon, who was lying on his stomach reading their latestToonbook, she slipped into the bathroom and locked the door.
Amos set about making her coffee the same way he’d made it the other day. Then he set out the ingredients he would need to make waffles, a Saturday tradition he intended to resume. He had two more days of leave left before returning to the office on Monday, and he meant to make the most of them.
By the time Grace emerged from the bathroom, barefooted, having taken off her dirty socks, her coffee was ready. He brushed her fingers intentionally as he handed her the mug.
Her gaze flew to his, telling him she felt the spark between them, but then she turned away, going to sit close to Simon, who was frowning intently down at a word.
His son looked up at her. “What’s this word?”
Grace put down her mug and went down on the floor next to Simon, a sight that made Amos want her even more. If only she would open herself to the possibility of a relationship with him. Even though she had called upon him for protection, he could tell she didn’t want any romance between them. Was that due to her bad experience with marriage? Or was it because he’d torn her away from Mateo? If the latter was true, he intended to make up for it. He’d just sent an email to his CO, asking to return to Bogotá, for a follow-up with theAgrupaciónnext week.
Leaving Grace to help Simon read, Amos turned his attention to whipping up breakfast. “Waffles okay, guys?”
“Yes!” Bright-eyed, Simon glanced up at him.
Grace sent him a half-hearted shrug that meant,I’m not really hungry.
Twenty minutes later, Amos called them to the table, where he’d set out three plates, silverware, butter, maple syrup from his home state of Maine, a cup of blueberries, and a platter piled high with waffles.
Grace appeared impressed. “Wow.” She slipped onto the bench next to Simon, as Amos sat across from them.
“Let’s go to the aquarium today.” He set a waffle on her plate.
Simon gasped with excitement, then asked Amos, “What’s a ’quarium?”
“It’s a museum full of animals that live in the water. You’ll come with us, won’t you, Grace?”
She held up a hand as he went to give her another.
Simon eyed her expectantly. “You gotta come with us.”
“I don’t have any shoes.”
Amos cocked his head at her. “Now, what kind of excuse is that? We’ll swing by your place on the way.”
Instead of answering, she applied herself to smearing butter on her waffle. He could tell she was weighing the pros and cons of his offer. Thoughts churned in her mind like the gears in a clock. Amos stared pointedly at her as she poured syrup over the butter. Finally, she met his stare.
“I’m renting out my condo for a couple of weeks. Would you mind if I stayed here in the bunk room? It wouldn’t be for long.” She cut herself off, letting him know that there was more to her request than what she was telling him, something to do with Venezuela, probably.
But the prospect of having her here on his houseboat distracted him. “Of course. Then I won’t have to drop Simon off for daycare at four in the morning.”
Her fork hit her plate as she set it down suddenly. “Four in the morning! Amos, that’s insane.”
“Do you think I have a choice?” His defensive tone made her back down.
