More Than Friends Read online




  Copyright

  ISBN 1-59310-098-1

  Copyright © 2004 by Tamela Hancock Murray. All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the permission of Truly Yours, an imprint of Barbour Publishing, Inc., PO Box 719, Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683.

  Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Niv®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

  All of the characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events is purely coincidental.

  Our mission is to publish and distribute inspirational products offering exceptional value and biblical encouragement to the masses.

  Prologue

  “Mommy, don’t go!” Tears spilled from four-year-old Piper’s brown eyes.

  “I wish I didn’t have to, Honey.” Lexie Zoltan bent down and hugged her daughter.

  As Piper’s face burrowed into her shoulder, Lexie gazed beyond the columns of her childhood home and noted the irony of the idyllic day. A cloudless blue sky and light breeze carried with it the scent of freshly mown grass. Any other time she would have relished the chance to relax on the porch swing. She could imagine herself sipping a glass of iced tea flavored with a sprig of fresh mint, watching Piper jump rope and run around the expansive yard where she once played as a little girl. But not today. She had never felt worse—except on the day Curt died.

  Squeezing Piper, Lexie struggled to keep from shedding her own tears, but to no avail. A tear hit the corner of her mouth, leaving a salty taste. Burying her face in Piper’s hair, the same blond as Curt’s, Lexie refused to worry about whether her dark mascara and pink blush would rub off on her daughter’s hair.

  “Why do you have to go, Mommy? Can’t I go with you?” Piper uttered between sniffles.

  Lexie held on to her daughter, her face pressing against Piper’s T-shirt. She didn’t dare look at Piper, lest her heart shatter beyond repair. “Not this time,” she murmured.

  “When can I come with you?”

  “Soon. I promise.” Lexie forced herself to break the embrace. She took Piper’s soft little chin in her hand and met her trusting but inquisitive eyes. She swallowed. How could she leave her preschooler? Would she still see the same trust in those eyes when she returned?

  Heavenly Father, keep us in Your tender loving care while we are apart.

  “When?” Piper persisted. “Tomorrow?” Hope lit up her face.

  Lexie shook her head. “I’m afraid it will be longer than that. I have to get settled in Richmond.”

  “But I want to come with you. I want to live in our house there.”

  “I know. But we don’t have a house there, at least not yet,” Lexie explained. “I’ll be staying with Miss Kassia. You remember her, don’t you? My friend from school?”

  Piper shook her head.

  Lexie stroked Piper’s head. Of course the child wouldn’t remember Kassia. “As soon as I find us a nice place to live, I’ll come back for you. It won’t take long.”

  The bang of the screen door turned Lexie’s attention to her parents. Mom and Dad had given Lexie a few moments to say good-bye to Piper. Their entrance signaled the time to leave had come—too soon.

  Her mother’s lips formed a tight line, and her eyes held a look of sadness. Her father’s arms were folded tightly across his chest, resting over his ample stomach. Lexie knew both parents felt ambivalent about her decision to start a new life in another state, but she had to leave North Carolina, her childhood home, with its problems—and its memories.

  They didn’t understand, but they supported her by promising to care for Piper for a short time. Maybe they never would understand why she had to move or why this step toward newfound independence was so important to her. She had to succeed. She just had to.

  She turned back to Piper. “Just think of all the fun you’ll have with Grammy and Pops while I’m away.”

  Piper barely smiled. “I know.”

  “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Lexie gave her daughter one last squeeze. Tears filled her eyes when she had to let her go.

  “You can still change your mind. You’ll always have a home here with us,” her father reassured her.

  The urge to take him up on his offer was almost too much to resist. Lexie glanced at the window of her room, unchanged since her teen years. That room would always represent warmth, security, and comfort—feelings she didn’t want to relinquish. But what she needed to accomplish took precedence.

  She drew in a breath and squared her shoulders. “I know. But I have to try.”

  “I guess this is good-bye then,” her mother said.

  “Oh, Mom. I’m not going so far away. Only a few hours.”

  “That’s too far for me, but you have to do what you have to do.”

  “Drive defensively,” Dad cautioned.

  “Okay, now I can leave.” Lexie winked at her father and hugged him.

  “If your dad didn’t tell you to drive defensively, you’d think something was wrong, wouldn’t you?” her mother said as she embraced Lexie.

  Then Lexie bent over and gave Piper one last hug and kiss. “Be good now.”

  “I will.”

  Lexie slid behind the wheel of her modest decade-old car and pulled out of her parents’ driveway. Unable to resist one last look, she waved and blew kisses to her little girl. Piper sent kisses back and waved with both arms in return. Her parents and daughter stood in front of the brick rambler. White shutters framed the windows, and their old calico cat was slinking away from its hiding place behind a boxwood shrub. She put the car in drive and pressed on the gas pedal.

  At the end of the dirt road, the right-hand turn she took seemed to signal a departure from everything she had ever known and loved. She had driven this country road a thousand times. She knew each dip and bend. The interstate, with its open space and unspoken promises, would soon stretch before her.

  She took a tissue from the box on the seat beside her and wiped away the last of her tears. “This is it. No more crying. I’m on my way. It’s now or never. With God’s help, I will succeed.”

  One

  Lexie set her suitcases down on the bed in the small second bedroom Kassia showed her in the rear of the apartment. Several pictures that weren’t to her taste adorned beige walls, and she could tell the dresser was too small to hold the clothes she usually kept folded at home. Still, Kassia was being generous to let her share the apartment for less than half the rent until she could find a place where she could afford to live on her own. Far be it for Lexie to complain.

  “Thanks for the room.” Lexie hoped her repeated expressions of gratitude would spur Kassia to leave her so she could unpack in privacy.

  Kassia didn’t budge. “I hope you brought some good clothes.”

  Lexie shrugged and opened the smaller of her two suitcases. “Just clothes for work. No evening gowns or anything. Why? Did you enter me in the Miss America pageant?”

  “If I did, you’d win. But I have a good consolation prize.” She paused. “Theo Powers.”

  Lexie’s stomach seemed to jump into her throat. “Theo. Oh. Well, that’s nice of him to think of me. I guess he has a wife by now. I’m sure she’s pretty, too.”

  Kassia shook her head. “I have good news for you. He’s not married.”

  So Theo had stayed single. An image of his striking face and toned physique flashed into her mind. “I don’t believe it.”

  “He’s probably been waiting for you all these
years.” Kassia sat on the foot of Lexie’s bed. “I think he’s still holding a torch for you, Lexie.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I wouldn’t flatter myself to think such a thing.” A warm feeling rushed over her, though, just imagining he still cared in the least.

  “You’ll think differently once you see him again. I know he wants to see you.”

  “You told him I was moving back to town?”

  “Of course. I remember how tight the two of you were back in school.”

  Lexie remembered, too. She and Theo had been inseparable until Curt entered the picture. Feeling abandoned, Theo hadn’t taken well to her marriage. But Lexie had her reasons. And she didn’t need new problems now. “I wish you hadn’t said anything, Kassia.”

  “This town may look big, but it really isn’t. Whether I said anything or not, you’d run into him sooner or later.”

  “Later would have been better. Or not at all.” She busied herself transferring blue jeans, T-shirts, blouses, and church dresses from the suitcase to hangers, hoping they would fit in the small closet. Lexie refused to let her gaze meet her roommate’s.

  “Why won’t you even consider it?”

  Why not? She and Theo had once been close, but there was a deal breaker. He’d always said he never wanted children.

  Lexie had been away from her daughter for only a few hours, and she already missed her. She yearned to touch Piper’s face. . .but instead returned to unpacking.

  “I didn’t come back to Richmond after all this time to find a husband,” Lexie said. “I came here because of my job promotion.”

  A promotion I pray will help me clear my debts. A job in another state, away from the painful memories. And the guilt. Curt died, and it’s all my fault. Maybe if I can make a go of it here, away from the town where he died, I can forgive myself.

  “Besides,” Lexie added, “it was high time for me to grow up.”

  Kassia shrugged. “I guess we all come to that place in our lives. Or at least we should.”

  “Once I get settled in my own place,” Lexie continued, “I’ll send for Piper and get out of your hair.”

  “You’re not in my hair. I’m glad for the company.” The brunette’s smile conveyed genuine emotion.

  Lexie gave her old college roommate a hug. “Thanks, Kassia. I really do appreciate you.”

  “You know you can always count on me.” Kassia returned her light squeeze. “I love having you as a roommate again. It’ll be like old times.”

  “You mean pizza and popcorn at midnight? Studying for midterms and finals?” Lexie scrunched her nose. “I’ll take the pizza, but skip the tests—thank you very much. And I definitely wouldn’t want to go through Dr. Stein’s macroeconomics class again.”

  “But wasn’t all the trouble worth it, to graduate with an economics degree? Try hitting the job market with liberal arts and a minor in Renaissance history.”

  “You’re doing great! What are you complaining about?”

  “Only because my uncle found a place for me in his office. Look at Morgan,” Kassia said, referring to another classmate. “She was laid off from her job three months ago and still hasn’t found anything else.”

  “As if she has to worry. It’s not like Gary doesn’t have a good job.” Lexie regretted the tinge of envy in her voice. She and Curt had never enjoyed job security.

  “I guess. But I think she’s worried since they just moved into their new house.” Kassia grinned. “You know, Theo has a good consulting job and a nice place on a cul-de-sac. I’ve seen it. That house is bigger than Morgan’s. All new, with spotless beige carpets and everything painted off-white.”

  “Sounds inspired.”

  “Oh, it is.” A laugh escaped Kassia’s lips. “He managed to get some shades on the windows, but that’s about it. There’s stuff from college thrown around as if he just moved in yesterday. I don’t think he’s bought a stick of furniture in ten years. Believe me, Theo’s place is ready for a woman’s touch.”

  “Good for him. I hope he finds the right woman to decorate it in grand style. Maybe someone like you,” she teased.

  “Me?” Kassia chuckled. “Theo’s a great guy, but we couldn’t ignite enough sparks between us to start a fire with a box of kitchen matches and the biggest pile of dry brush in the world.” She pointed a finger at Lexie. “But the two of you could rub two sticks together in a torrential downpour and start a bonfire.”

  Lexie turned away from Kassia and occupied herself by folding several pairs of socks. Unbidden, a picture of Theo flitted across her mind. Brown hair, streaked from summers as a lifeguard, accentuated tanned skin, and eyes the color of melted semisweet chocolate. All those looks and a brain, too. “That was a long time ago,” she forced herself to admit.

  “He had a lot of promise back then, and as far as I can see he’s lived up to his potential.”

  “You do realize I’d never pursue a man because of his job, don’t you?” Lexie knew her voice sounded artificially bright.

  “I have to agree ‘gold-digger’ doesn’t describe you, Lexie. Besides, I can’t imagine you as anything but independent. Even as Curt’s wife you kept your own identity.” Kassia stopped herself. Her face flushed pink.

  “It’s okay. You don’t have to act as if it’s taboo to mention his name.” She stopped folding her socks and looked at Kassia.

  “Yeah. But I know you’re still hurting.”

  Kassia spoke the truth. How could Lexie not be hurting? Curt’s accident on the construction site would always be with her. He’d gone home to the Lord much too soon. Lexie never quit blaming herself for his death. If only she hadn’t been so greedy, he would still be alive today. “I always will hurt.”

  “Maybe seeing Theo will make you feel better.”

  “Feel better? No way.” Lexie resumed folding with more vengeance than necessary. “I can’t see anyone else. I can’t do that to Curt.”

  “It’s been two years,” Kassia pointed out. “No one will think you’re being unfaithful to Curt after all this time.”

  Lexie looked directly into Kassia’s eyes. “No, Kassia. I won’t see Theo. And that’s final.”

  ❧

  Theo Powers swallowed the lump in his throat as he walked toward the two-story, red-brick apartment building. He hadn’t remembered being this nervous in a long while.

  Looking for a distraction, he noted the care professional landscapers had taken to keep the grounds pristine. Some garden spots were filled with strategically planted bushes—some with red leaves, others with green—and bordered by blue-faced pansies. Each plant looked robust and in full flower, evidence that any wilted specimen was yanked and replaced without hesitation to keep a uniform appearance at the upscale complex. Along sidewalks and the edge of the common areas were what looked like every type of flowering plant known to thrive in Virginia. Pink and white dogwood trees, apple trees, Asian pear trees, azaleas, and other flowers burst with color. They made a beautiful picture. He could only imagine their lovely scent. Too bad his stuffy nose prohibited him from taking in the sweet fragrance.

  Observing the blooms, Theo wondered how anyone could doubt God’s existence and His intelligent design. He had only one question. Why did the Creator choose to afflict him with allergies to pollen?

  He sneezed.

  Theo paused on the sidewalk. At that moment a group of young men in a 1970s muscle car sped past. The drumbeat and wail of guitars from rock music pulsated from open windows. In such a presence he felt wimpy extracting one of the ever present white tissues from his pocket. As Theo sneezed into it twice more, he imagined the young men inside the car were laughing at him. When he ventured a look, he saw them staring back but not laughing. Those workouts had paid off.

  He sneezed once more. Why didn’t the pills the doctor prescribed work or, at least, work better? For the thousandth time he considered allergy shots.

  Naturally he and Lexie were reuniting on a day when his allergies were at their worst. How could she enjoy
being with someone who was constantly sneezing and coughing and watery-eyed? Then again, if he delayed their meeting until his symptoms subsided, they’d likely not see each other until months from now. He didn’t want to wait.

  Theo stuffed the tissue back into the pocket of his chino pants and tightened the grip on the dozen red roses he had picked up for Lexie at the grocery store. At least he didn’t sneeze around roses. Not that he’d had much contact with roses lately. He hadn’t bought flowers for a woman in years.

  Theo groaned before straightening himself to his full height of just over six feet. He put on the confident expression he always wore when he felt jittery and climbed the two flights of stairs to Kassia’s apartment.

  Kassia had called a week ago to let Theo know that Lexie planned to move back to town, and long suppressed feelings had emerged. He’d missed Lexie and the easy friendship they once shared. When she’d moved back to North Carolina after graduation, disappointment had flooded him. The feelings were compounded when, a few months later, he watched her walk down the aisle of a little country church, dressed in flowing white, to marry Curt.

  He preferred to think of a more distant time, when Lexie was a carefree coed. Burnished gold hair flowed almost down to her slender waist. Eyes as luminous as sapphires sparkled with ready laughter. Lexie had been pretty and popular in school. So popular that Theo hadn’t been alarmed when Curt Zoltan, a jock known more for brawn than brains, joined their study group to cram for a history exam. Before he knew what had happened, study sessions turned to romance for Lexie and Curt. If only Theo hadn’t taken her for granted. If only he hadn’t misinterpreted Curt’s attention toward Lexie. If only he’d spoken up in time to let Lexie know his true feelings—that he wanted to be more than friends. If he had, perhaps Curt wouldn’t have stolen her away.

  Theo delayed his steps as he walked down the hall, in keeping with his resolution to take things slowly with Lexie. Kassia had told him Curt had died tragically in a construction accident. From what little he’d heard over the years, Theo gathered that Curt had been an ideal Christian husband. Theo sighed. Who wanted to compete with a ghost?