A Valentine for Kayla Read online

  “Oh.” Her shoulders slumped ever so slightly. He probably wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t had his hand resting on one. “I don’t have to sing.” She shrugged off his arm and stepped away from him. “I only wanted to help since you’ve been so helpful with the float.”

  “Oh, no, you don’t.” He took her hand and dragged her toward the barn. “You’re not getting off that easy. I said I’d need to rethink the set, not that I didn’t want you.” He’d tossed aside one song he didn’t think would work, but as a duet it would be perfect. “I have an idea.” He let her into the room and gently pushed her onto the keyboard bench. “Give me a minute to dig something up.”

  He pulled out a file folder and flipped through the pages. The music was on the computer, but he’d printed off a copy and wanted to give it to Kayla. He’d written this for a movie a few years ago, but the producers hadn’t thought it was the right fit. The song was one that had always stuck with him, but he’d never had the right partner. Maybe, just maybe, Kayla’s voice would work, and she’d agree to sing a duet.

  He handed her the sheet music and held his breath.

  She studied the music for a minute, then looked at him with wide eyes. “This is a duet.”

  “It is. Before you freak out, take a listen. Jump in when you’re comfortable.” He picked up his guitar and started playing the song he knew so well. Two lines into it, the keyboard joined in and Kayla’s rich voice blended with his. She was better than he’d imagined. They crescendoed to the chorus, and she broke off into the harmony.

  He played the bridge as a solo; then their voices joined together again to the end. The song finished softly, and the vibrations from his guitar faded until silence filled the room. His eyes met Kayla’s. “Wow.”

  Her eyes sparkled with delight. “That song is so beautiful. When did you find the time to write it?”

  “It’s from a few years back. I wasn’t planning to use it, but I’d like to close with it, if you don’t mind. I have several fun upbeat songs planned for the start. Since you said you didn’t want to sing with me, I, umm…” How did he tell her he didn’t want her to join him until the end without hurting her feelings?

  “You don’t want a backup singer after all?”

  He shook his head. “I wrote all new stuff for this gig, and I think it would be best if I go solo until the end. I think the addition of our duet will be the perfect ending.” He studied her face, hoping to read something in it about her feelings.

  A sudden smile crossed her face.

  “What are you so happy about?” He’d expected anger, hurt or disappointment, but not this.

  “I’m singing a duet with DJ Parker. It doesn’t get better than that.”

  He set his guitar in its stand and moved to sit beside Kayla. Her breath caught and she slid to the edge of the other half of the small bench. They sat shoulder to shoulder until he maneuvered to face her a little. “Thank you.” He reached for her hand, which rested in her lap. “You’re talented. I’m surprised you didn’t try and do something with music.”

  She shrugged. “Honestly, I wanted to have the life you had at one time, but it never happened for me, so I moved on to plan B—college.”

  A strand of hair rested on her cheek. He thumbed it aside and cradled her cheek in his hand. “I’m glad you chose plan B, or I may never have met you and had this opportunity to sing with you.” He kept his voice low, their faces so close her minty breath tickled his chin. He tilted his head. Her lids closed, and their lips met softly.

  “What’s going on?” Estelle’s voice ripped through the quiet room.

  Heart pounding, he pulled away from Kayla and released her hand. “What are you doing in here?” he asked, making no effort to hide his annoyance.

  “Your mom sent me out to tell you it’s time for dinner.”

  “Ever heard of a cell phone?” He stood and pulled Kayla up with him.

  Estelle stood in the doorway with arms crossed and her foot tapping. “Are you coming or not?”

  “Please tell my mother I’ll be there shortly and to start without me.”

  “Fine.” She pivoted and strutted off.

  “Is she always so uptight?” Kayla asked.

  “Only when I have friends visiting, which makes no sense considering she’s trying to get me to return to LA with her. You’d think she’d pour on the charm all the time.”

  “Maybe she’s jealous.” Kayla’s cheeks turned a pretty shade of light pink.

  He waggled his brows. “Does she have something to be jealous about?”

  * * *

  Kayla’s forehead crinkled as she pondered Derek’s question. Did kissing him really change anything? Clearly they were attracted to one another, and she loved singing with him more than almost anything, but what did it mean? None of that altered the fact he could get bored with their little town and take off. She’d seen that happen so many times with friends she’d grown up with.

  One friend in particular stood out in her mind. She should have known better than to fall for Alex, especially since he matched only half of the qualities on her list. At least he’d never known how she felt about him, or his leaving would have been even more devastating. Last she heard, he lived in Portland, was married and had three kids.

  “Kayla?” He stepped toward her, invading her personal space, and held her hands between them. “What do you say? Will you give us another chance?”

  “I don’t know, Derek. I’m… I just don’t know.” Her stomach whirled. She loved being with him like this, but was he the one? And more important, was he here to stay? Her heart said yes, but could it be trusted? It’d failed her in the past.

  He sighed. “It’s fine. I understand.” Longing filled his eyes, but he released her hands. “Would you like to stay for dinner? I’m sure there’s more than enough.”

  “No, thanks. I should head home.”

  “You sure?”

  She nodded. His eyes almost begged her to stay, but she needed time to think, and she couldn’t do that while sharing a meal with him.

  “Okay, then. Is Stan still in town?”

  “No. He and my mom flew out this morning for Florida.” She liked him so far and hoped his family felt the same way toward her mom. It’d be nice if they could all be one big happy family. “Um, I’m going to go. I’ll see you.” She turned away before she changed her mind and melted into his arms instead of leaving.

  “Meet me here tomorrow after work?”

  She looked back and raised a brow. “To work on the float or to sing?”

  “Sing. We can finish the float this weekend.”

  She grinned and nodded before traipsing to her car. She turned to wave. He stood in the doorway to the barn, his gaze locked on her. Her insides melted from the tender look on his face.

  She slid into her car and drove toward home without looking back again. Her cell phone rang. She glanced down. Jill. She’d missed ten calls from her. Her stomach lurched, and she pulled over and put the car in Park. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s the flower shop.” Jill’s voice held an edge of panic. “I’ve been trying to reach you for the past hour!”

  “I left my phone in the car. What’s wrong with the flower shop?”

  “There was a fire on our block and Flowers and More didn’t escape it.”

  “But there’s a firewall between all of our businesses. I thought that was supposed to stop fires from spreading.”

  “I don’t know how it happened, but it’s not good.” Jill’s voice said it all.

  She leaned her head against the headrest. “How bad?”

  “Bad enough we’ll have to close the shop for a while. We can work out of my garage, but a friend of mine who’s a firefighter said there’s a lot of water damage.”

  “I don’t understand how this happened. At least we were closed, and no one was injured. Oh no—was the deli open when the fire happened?”

  “Yes. I don’t have all the details, but it’s pretty ugly down here.
”

  Kayla blinked back unshed tears. “I’ll be right there.” She pulled back onto the road that led to downtown and pushed the speed limit. Jill sounded so hopeless. Was the situation really that bad? She made a right onto Main Street and gasped. The buildings, illuminated by not only the streetlights but also the kind of lights road crews used at night, looked like a scene out of a war zone.

  Windows were shattered, glass covered the sidewalk, and the roofs appeared beyond repair. She wrinkled her nose at the smell. A sick feeling gripped her stomach as she pulled over and parked about a block away from her business. Only one fire truck remained, along with the fire chief’s SUV—probably watching any hot spots.

  As she walked the block to where Jill stood under the awning of Java World, she prayed that it wasn’t as bad as it looked.

  Jill’s attention turned to her. “It looks bad, huh?”

  “Yes. What do you know?”

  “I just heard murmurs about an explosion.”

  “Oh my goodness. Was anyone hurt?”

  “Not seriously. Nick at the deli had a good-sized gash on his face, so he’s at the hospital getting stitches, but everyone else only has minor cuts and bruises.”

  Kayla shook her head at the disaster and praised the Lord no one was killed. “Have you been able to get inside our shop to see the damage?”

  “Not yet. I was told to wait here.”

  The sun had gone down over an hour ago and a breeze kicked up, causing Kayla to shiver. “You want coffee?”

  “Sure. Thanks.”

  Kayla stepped into Java World and ordered two large coffees. It looked to be a long night, and they’d need the caffeine. Plus the hot cups would warm their hands. She paid, then headed into the cool evening air. “Here you go. I didn’t sweeten it or anything.”

  “That’s fine. I don’t care.” Cradling the cup between her hands, Jill took a sip. “They make the best coffee. It doesn’t even need anything in it to make it taste good.”

  “True.” As if coffee mattered right now. She still couldn’t believe the destruction across the street. It was like watching a movie. Only this was real.

  The fire chief stepped out of their shop, then crossed the street toward them. Kayla’s pulse raced. This was it. Would the shop be a total loss, or was there hope?

  Chapter 14

  “Oh my! Thanks for calling.” Derek’s mom hung up the living room phone and turned to him with worry-filled eyes. “There was an explosion downtown. Your friends’ shop is damaged.”

  His heart rate kicked into overdrive. “Kayla left a few minutes ago. When did it happen?”

  “About an hour ago.”

  Estelle walked into the room. “Did you say there was an explosion in town?”

  Derek nodded, his heart rate easing. “It sounds bad. I’m going to take a drive and check it out.”

  “Want company?” Estelle asked. “We should talk.”

  “Now’s not a good time.” He couldn’t deal with her drama and listen to her try to convince him to return to his singing career. Not when his friends needed him.

  “Then when?” She hiked her chin.

  “I don’t know.” He grabbed a jacket from the hook by the door and jogged to his pickup. Everything had been fine when Kayla had left. How had things gone crazy in such a short time?

  Several minutes later he pulled onto Main Street and noticed the block where the flower shop was had been barricaded against traffic. He parked and hustled toward the scene. At least he knew Kayla was okay, since she’d been with him when all this happened. But what about everyone else? He looked both ways and hurried across the street. Kayla and Jill stood shoulder to shoulder talking with the fire chief. He hesitated, unsure if his presence would be welcomed.

  Kayla turned her head and did a double take, then motioned him over. “Chief Thompson was filling us in.”

  “Don’t let me interrupt.”

  The chief nodded. “As I was saying, a small natural-gas explosion took place in the space two doors down from you. The fire is out and the gas is shut off, but we’d like you to wait until morning before entering the building, and then only after it’s been inspected to be sure it’s structurally sound.”

  Kayla’s eyes widened. Derek grasped her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “How is it the buildings are still standing?”

  “You mean why didn’t the explosion knock out the whole block?” the chief asked.

  He nodded.

  “It wasn’t a huge explosion. The damage is mostly from the fire that quickly spread along the rooftops.”

  “Which probably destroyed our inventory and our appliances,” Jill said.

  Derek had never heard Kayla’s business partner sound so down. She was always such an upbeat, positive force. It spoke volumes to what Kayla was probably feeling.

  “Thank you, Chief,” Kayla said.

  He nodded and strode across the street.

  Jill wrung her hands. “What are we going to do? That store is my life.”

  Kayla released his hand and pulled her friend into a hug. “We’ll figure this out together. At least we have insurance.” She stepped back and looked from Jill to him. “For now I suggest we go home and get a good night’s sleep because we’ll have a full day tomorrow.”

  Jill nodded. “I suppose I should call Charlie and tell him not to come to work in the morning.”

  “Why? We’ll need his muscle,” Kayla said. “Don’t worry—everything will be okay.”

  Jill scowled but didn’t argue as she ambled in the opposite direction of where he had parked.

  “I’m impressed with how well you are handling this, Kayla. You’re stronger than I realized. If you’d like, I could organize a group from the church to help with cleanup.”

  Kayla’s eyes widened and she turned her head to the side. “Thanks for the offer. I’ll take all the help we can get. Where are you parked?”

  He pointed.

  “I’m headed that way, too.”

  He couldn’t stop the grin that spread over his face when she looped her hand through his arm. “This is a nightmare, but I know if the town pulls together, we can have this area cleaned up before the festival in three-and-a-half weeks.”

  “Oh, man, I forgot about that.”

  “I didn’t. We’ll have to work hard and fast, but I’m sure we can pull it off.” She stopped beside her car and released his arm. “Thanks for coming down here.”

  “Sure. When my mom got the call about what happened, all I could think about was your shop. I’m really glad it’s not worse.”

  “Me, too.” Although she had seemed confident they’d be able to fix everything and that the town would be ready for the festival, her eyes told another story.

  “Hey.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “You know I’m here for you, right? Whatever you need, just ask.”

  She bit her bottom lip. “I could use a big hug.”

  His heart melted as he pulled her close. She clung to him. How long they stood like that, he didn’t know, but eventually she released her hold and stepped back.

  “Thanks. I’ll call you tomorrow.” She slid into her car, backed out and drove off.

  He watched until her taillights disappeared. Now more than ever he knew he belonged in this town pursuing his original dream of leading worship and ministering to the townspeople. A year ago if someone had told him he’d be living in his mother’s guest cottage, in a town he’d never laid eyes on, employed as a music pastor and falling head over heels in love with the girl next door, he’d have laughed. Things sure had changed.

  He drove back to his mom’s place, but rather than head inside, he headed toward the barn and his music studio. Before he got halfway, an all-too-familiar voice stopped him.

  “How’s your friends’ business?” Estelle stepped off the front porch and walked over to him.

  “We don’t know yet, but it sounds like it may only be water damage on the inside.”

  “Good. Do you think we could talk
now?”

  He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I suppose, but let’s go inside. It’s cold tonight.”

  “Maybe we could chat in the barn. I’d rather talk in private.”

  He glanced toward the house, then to Estelle. “Is everything okay with my mom?”

  “She’s fine. She’s a tough woman. I don’t think her recent fall had any effect on her, other than to annoy her. She still gets a scowl on her face when she brings up that last hospital visit.”

  “I know. She may never let me live that down. But I had to make sure she wasn’t hurt. Maybe I’m being overprotective because of her stroke.” He shrugged.

  “Talk about things being reversed. The parents are supposed to be the overprotective ones.”

  “Yeah.” He liked this side of Estelle. It reminded him of the good times they’d once shared. He slid the barn door open, then unlocked the door to his studio and flipped on the light. “This is the most comfortable space in the barn.”

  She looked around and sat on his stool in the center of the room. “It’s pretty basic, but it looks like all the necessities are here.”

  “Thanks. What is it you would like to talk about?” He pulled the chair out from behind the soundboard and sat.

  “Your mom has been sharing her faith with me, and I wanted to let you know that I finally understand what’s going on with you.”

  “Oh?”

  She chuckled. “Not the answer I expected, but that’s okay.” She took a deep breath and let it out in a rush of air. “The thing is, I can’t go back to LA without you.”

  “Of course you can. Just get in your car and drive.” He softened his words with a half smile.

  She shook her head. “You don’t understand. Jerry paid me a good deal of money to come here and bring you back. It was my job to talk you into returning to your singing career.” She laughed drily. “You must make him a boatload of money.”

  If this hadn’t been Estelle, and if he hadn’t been aware of what she was capable of, he’d have laughed at her claim, but it held a note of truth. “Give the money back and be done with him.” He made Jerry more money than any of his other clients, so he understood why he’d try to get him to return to singing, but to pay Estelle to get him? It felt off. What was really going on?