“Maybe.”
An uncomfortable silence settled between them. Preston broke it after a few seconds with, “That’s why I wanted to help you, you know.”
Cynthia furrowed her brow. “No, I don’t know.”
“When the kids started getting sick.” Preston turned his back against the counter and crossed his arms. “I felt like, in my position of quasi-power, I might be able to stop it. And if I could, somehow that would…” His voice cracked and trailed off, and he turned his back toward Cynthia.
“Make up for your dad’s death?” Cynthia offered quietly.
Preston’s head bobbed down and back up once. Compassion and appreciation welled up inside her. She hadn’t been the only one carrying around sadness, and his had gone on a lot longer. And instead of just wallowing in self-pity, he had harnessed his sorrow to try to help others. His motives may have been a little bit skewed, a bit unhealthy psychologically speaking, but it was better than what many would have done – sticking their heads in the sand and letting the hurt slowly suck away their lives.
Cynthia eliminated the distance between them and gently grasped his arm with both her hands. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.” Preston turned, blinking quickly.
“Was it your dad’s death that made you bitter about the natural health world?”
He nodded, the sad smile returning. “I threw the baby out with the bathwater.” He reached out his hand to caress Cynthia’s cheek. “But then you came along. You and Melissa.”
He turned to face her fully, and she dropped her arms down as he moved. Their gazes met. Locked.
Cynthia’s body temperature went up at least ten degrees.
Preston lightly set his hands on both her shoulders and stepped close to her. Leaned his face close to hers.
Cynthia tilted her mouth up in expectation.
The kiss was soft, gentle. Caring.
Cynthia’s heartbeat tripled as pleasure shuddered through her.
Preston stepped back, his eyes searching hers. Hungry.
Cynthia again closed the gap between them.
This time, the kiss was not so gentle. Their arms went around each other, and passion erupted in their mouths. Just when Cynthia felt things were getting dangerous, Preston pulled away, leaving her breathless.
He seemed out of breath himself as he said, “I promised Lucy we’d behave ourselves.”
Cynthia was not disappointed. She held to certain boundaries that she didn’t want to cross unless and until they were married, and was relieved Preston had gotten control of himself.
That, in itself, said a lot. She smiled at him. “I think we should hold to that promise. For a time.”
“How about supper?”
A few minutes later, they were seated at the table, enjoying the salad. The heat of the moment over, they easily stepped into friendly conversation and banter. But the events of the past week were too fresh to be avoided, and they found themselves constantly coming back to them.
“Isn’t that something about Jeb Johnson?” Cynthia said when she’d finished about half her salad.
Preston wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Which something?”
“That he and the Delico CEO had gone to school together and fought over a woman.” The story had unfolded within the past couple of days: Jeb Johnson and Mike Dawes, the current CEO of Delico Foods, had been classmates and friends in college.
Until the woman Jeb was engaged to be married to broke off the relationship. Three months later, she was engaged to Mike. That ended the friendship between the two young men and began a lifelong enmity fueled by jealousy. Even though Mike and the woman had been divorced for five years, Johnson had sworn he would take his revenge. He couldn’t find a better way than to ruin the company his former friend headed.
“All is fair in love and war,” Preston quipped. “I mean,” he added quickly when Cynthia cast him a glare, “that’s obviously what Johnson believed.”
Heat rushed into Cynthia’s cheeks, but this time it had nothing to do with romance. “He succeeded in killing one child, and almost killed mine.”
Preston, seated across from her, reached out his hand and laid it over hers. “You told me you’d forgiven him.”
She sighed. “I’ve said the words to you and to God. But I’m afraid it’ll take a while before I feel it.”
Preston squeezed her hand and released it. “I know. And I want to be here to walk you through all that.”
Warmth filled her middle. “Me, too.” She could hardly believe that a month ago, she’d been convinced that she would never be able to accept another man into her life again, let alone need another man in her life.
Preston broke off the gaze to fork up some more lettuce. “Are you going to keep demonstrating?”
Cynthia sat up straighter. “Oh, Preston, I completely forgot to tell you with all the other craziness going on!” She put a hand to her cheek and shook her head as Preston cast her a curious glance. “The other day I got a call from one of the school board members. They want to meet with me and a few other concerned parents and talk about possible healthy changes to the lunch menu. Apparently a few of them have been researching what some other districts are doing, as well as a few private schools, and they’ve decided to look into some of the options.”
While she would never let Melissa eat school food again, short of Franklin beginning to cater in lunch from the health food store, she was thrilled that her hard work – and maybe the bad publicity of the district Food and Nutrition Director – was finally paying off. If other parents maintained their ignorance about the importance of healthy food, at least their kids would get something better at school than they were now.
Preston grinned at her. “Cynthia, that’s wonderful. I’m so proud of you, sweetheart.”
Cynthia’s stomach fluttered at the term of endearment. “I have to say, though, I’ll be happy when life can get back to normal again.”
She, Preston, Erin, and even Lucy were prepared to be called as witnesses in both Munger’s and Johnson’s trials. Cynthia could only hope that between now and that time, the media and social networks would forget about the excitement of the past week. The only thing that kept her from completely dreading the inevitable trials was that she would not have to face them alone.
After polishing off a bowlful of berries, she and Preston settled down to watch a romantic comedy for the remainder of the evening. Even though they “behaved themselves”, they sat hip-to-hip on the couch, and stole numerous kisses. At 8:20, the movie ended.
Precious few minutes remained of their time together. Cynthia already felt lonely at the thought that Preston would be leaving soon. She began to stand up, but Preston pulled her back down to the couch. Taking both of her hands in his, he gazed deeply into her eyes. “There’s something I have to tell you.” His voice was husky, making Cynthia’s heart skip a beat.
Then he said nothing for a long, heated moment. Cynthia thought she was going to melt. In a good way.
Finally, Preston released her hands and cupped her cheeks. “Cynthia, what I feel for you I’ve never felt for any woman. I love you, very, very much. And I love Melissa.” He leaned over, and kissed her. This time, it was different. It was soft like the first kiss, but it lingered. It was not hungry, but hopeful.
When it was over, Cynthia wanted to cry. But she swallowed her tears and choked out, “I love you, too.”
Preston gave her a smile that radiated from his eyes and into her heart. “I am hoping we have a future together. You…you feel the same?”
Before Cynthia could answer, the front door banged open.
“Mom, I’m home! Oh, there you are.” Melissa smiled at both of them, then froze. “Uh, Preston, were you about to kiss my mom?”
Cynthia glanced back at him. His smile broadened. “Come here, Melissa.”
She shrugged out of her coat, removed her shoes, and walked over to the couch. Preston scooted over so that she could sit between
him and Cynthia. “Melissa,” he continued, “how would you feel if I told you that I’ve fallen in love with your mom?”
Melissa’s eyes widened. “Are – are you going to be my dad?”
“You like that idea?”
“Yes.”
Preston shifted his gaze to Cynthia, then he winked. Leaning close to Melissa, he lowered his voice to a stage whisper. “Your mother and I can’t say for sure right now, but it’s looking good, Melissa. It’s looking real good.”
Melissa sprang up off the couch. She cut her eyes first to Preston, then to Cynthia. “Then you need to kiss again and get it figured out. Go on.”
Cynthia laughed, and turned to Preston. Amusement danced in his eyes as he filled in the space Melissa had just vacated. Then he wrapped his arms around Cynthia and melted his mouth into hers.
###
THE END
A Note For My Wonderful Readers
Dear Reader,
If you think that I have an agenda with this series of novels, you’re right!
I’ve heard that Jesus taught in parables because people can relate to stories. When you relate to a story, you remember it. I’ve tried blogging, and I’ve tried publishing non-fiction books to Kindle to teach people why following the mainstream status quo is unhealthy, unfulfilling, and a tremendous hindrance to both spiritual and personal freedom.
I reached a limited number of people, and felt that my message mostly fell flat. So I decided to take a risk. I decided to take my passion for natural health and simple living and combine it with my gift for writing stories to create both plots and characters that would not only entertain, but educate.
I hope that you not only enjoyed the first story in this series, but also have gleaned some life-changing information from it.
If you have enjoyed it, would you please take a moment to give it a positive review? That way, more people will be able to discover the novel much more easily. Thank you!
The next story will focus on Erin who, disillusioned with her chosen career, decides to start a home-based business in an attempt to find financial freedom. At the end of the second book of the series, I’ll tell you which character in this series strongly represents me!
What follows is the first chapter from that novel…
His First Choice, First Chapter
“Logan. Sit. Down. Now.” Erin Halley’s patience had not only worn thin, it was completely gone. When the second-grade boy rolled his eyes and sat down with a dramatic air and sigh more fitted to a fifth or sixth grader, it was all she could do not to grab him by the neck of his shirt and shake him until his teeth fell out.
And it was only the second week of October.
Grace Stevens, the first grade teacher whose student Logan had been last year, had given her fair warning both at the end of the last school year, and the beginning of this one. He had not gone to Kindergarten, and had been, in Grace’s words, a holy terror. With over thirty years of teaching under her belt, Mrs. Stevens was known for order and discipline. But even she had struggled to keep Logan from harassing the other kids and disrespecting her.
Off and on during the summer, Erin had prayed for Logan – mostly that he would move away before school started. Or somehow be transformed from a devil into an angel. Neither had happened.
The first few days of school had gone off without a hitch, but that was normal. Even the biggest troublemakers spent that time feeling their way and working to overcome the intimidating circumstances that a new school year always brought. But on day five, Logan had let his true colors shine in all their glory.
During recess, he cut off Emily Mason’s braids with Erin’s big scissors that she kept in her desk, and when he returned from talking to Mr. Wade about the incident, he purposely spilled a bucket of beads that Erin had set up in the art center for making crafts. When she insisted that he pick them up, he did so for about two minutes. Then he began rolling them in different directions around the room. Erin had been busy helping a couple of students with the math seatwork and didn’t catch him until several others started laughing and half the beads were covering the floor.
When she talked to Logan’s mother about it after school, the woman simply shrugged and said that he was just as bad at home and she didn’t know what to do about it. Erin, despite believing that corporal punishment was never the best solution, wondered to herself if Logan’s parents had ever tried a good spanking.
Of course, the boy was academically behind, as well. And had not returned a single homework assignment since the school year began.
Erin clenched her teeth and tried to compose herself. She didn’t want to take out her anger towards Logan on the other kids. For the fifth time in the past hour, he’d gotten out of his seat without permission. Each time he had been as slow as molasses in January to return and sit down when Erin asked him to. She had started out nice, but now had had enough of him. Besides, it was two o’clock and she was exhausted.
She collapsed into her desk chair, wishing she dared close her eyes for two minutes, but knowing trouble would ensue the second she did with a kid like Logan in the room.
Reina, a quiet, smart girl approached her desk timidly. “Miss Halley? Is it okay if I do the odd-numbered questions, too?”
The math assignment was to complete the even-numbered questions on the page. Erin forced a smile, glad that nobody else would ask such a question. The last thing she wanted was more work to grade. “Of course, Reina. Go right ahead.”
She gave a swift glance in Logan’s direction. He was leaning his head on his hands, staring off into space.
At least he was sitting down.
**********
An hour and a half later, she was on her way to pick up a new filtering element for the air purifier she had purchased last year. Reading up on healthy eating, which she’d begun to do ten years ago at the age of twenty, had led to books and blogs about natural health, which had led her to discover a podcast put out by a local businessman who sold the highest quality, state-of-the-art health equipment on the market – at least, so he claimed.
Last year, after listening to Theodore Greco talk about how toxic indoor air is and how his air purifiers cleaned it like no other, she had bit the bullet and bought one. Bit the bullet, because on a teacher’s salary to shell out $400 for a small black appliance was painful. But it worked as well as Greco claimed. Her apartment now always smelled like fresh mountain air.
Until recently, which was her cue to replace the purifier element.
Driving thirty minutes out of her way was cheaper than paying to have the thing shipped to her house. She also bought her shower filters there, although she ignored the wide array of nutritional supplements on display. She took a whole-foods based multi that she bought at the health food store, and it was less expensive than anything Greco had for sale.
A typical teacher, Erin had a hard time leaving her job behind when she went home every evening, and today was no exception. Five years ago, she’d started to realize that she had serious issues with the educational system. She’d chosen the career because she wanted to help children discover their gifts and talents. But three years into her position, she realized that the system was all about conformity. And in order to ensure that everyone conformed, the focus was on student weakness. Diverse interests and talents were ignored, even discouraged, and God help the teacher who tried to redefine her job description in order to persuade kids to become creative thinkers and innovators.
Not wanting to lose her job because she didn’t know what else she could do to earn an income, Erin had finally resigned herself to sticking strictly to the boring, tedious curriculum that was thrust upon each and every teacher, and each and every student.
And then there was Logan. And not just Logan, but every year there were one or two kids whose aim in life seemed to be to make her life miserable. Erin loved to teach, but she hated conformity, and she hated discipline. And Logan was the biggest discipline trial she’d encountered so far. br />
By the time she pulled into the parking lot in front of the small building that served as Greco’s business quarters, she had thought herself into a mild depression. She was even thinking about taking a couple of days off. And that was something, because more than her job, she detested having to return to her classroom after a substitute teacher had taken over for even a few hours.
Taking a deep breath, she uttered a silent prayer for help as she opened the glass door on which the words “Pure Living, Inc.” were painted. The last thing she wanted to do was spend the time away from her job thinking about how much she hated her job.
She blinked several times as she stepped inside. The autumn day, though chilly, was bright and it took a few seconds for Erin’s eyes to adjust to the darker interior. As they did, the now-familiar ozone smell of the Purity Now air purifiers wafted through the room. Theodore Greco was not a hypocrite. He had one of those purifiers up and working in every single room of the suite.
“Good afternoon, and welcome to Pure Life. How may I help you today?”
The voice came from the receptionist desk a few feet to her left; she had been looking at a table to her right as her vision readjusted. She glanced toward the desk, surprised to hear a male voice greeting her. The handful of other times she’d been in this office, the receptionist had been a gray-haired, wrinkly-faced female named Mary.
“Oh, hi.” She frowned. “Doesn’t Mary work here any more?”
“Moved to a retirement home in a small town in Wisconsin.” The man, who had been sitting behind a small stack of papers, stood up and reached out his hand toward her as she approached the desk. “I guess you’ve been here before. I’m Paul Court.”
She shook his hand, trying not to flinch at the sound of his last name. She had been in court this last spring and summer, several times, as a witness to a crime involving the tainting of cafeteria food in the St. Peter Independent School District, the district she taught in.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Erin Halley. I’ve been here four or five times.” She pulled her hand out of his, feeling that he was holding it a bit longer than appropriate. “I ordered an air purifier the other day. Theo said he’d have some in stock if I came in.”
If Paul took any offense at Erin’s gesture, he didn’t show it. Instead, his smile widened. “So, you’ve talked to the big cheese himself, huh?”