The Prodigal Comes Home (11 page)

She hadn’t expected him to show up at the church. Kate had mentioned that Matt usually participated in special events, but that evening something had come up.

Knowing he wouldn’t be there had taken some of the pressure off. Until Zoey had seen him standing in the doorway, staring at her as if he’d never seen her before.

“You know,” Matt said slowly as he pulled out of the parking lot. “I’ve been rethinking the whole ‘embarrass the visitors’ part of the worship service.”

It was the last thing Zoey expected him to say. Warmth bloomed inside of her. “Really?”

“Uh-huh. We can still give out a special welcome gift—after the service. What do you think?”

Zoey tipped her head to one side. “I like it.”

“I hoped you would.”

Zoey felt a smile coming on but was powerless to prevent it.

Matt realized that he waited for one of Zoey’s smiles like a kid waited for Christmas day.

He guided the truck down the driveway and pulled over between the two houses. As Zoey opened the door, the light reflected off a shiny object on the seat.

“Wait a second. You forgot your Bible Olympics medal.”

“I didn’t forget it.” Zoey winced as if she were in pain.

That could only mean one thing.

“What event did you win?”

“I can’t remember.”

“Uh-huh. Did the event you can’t remember happen to involve a relay with gummy bears and a straw?”

“How did you know?”

“I won it last year.”

“You didn’t.”

“Yes, I did. And I still can’t look a gummy bear in the eye. Now hold still.” Matt leaned forward and dropped the satin ribbon over her head. “And remember, the kids only make you compete in the humiliating events if they like you…” He flicked back a stray curl that got in the way.

Zoey stilled and Matt suddenly realized he was too close. Close enough to fall into those pearl-gray eyes and get lost.

“Zoey—” He wasn’t sure what he’d been about to say but whatever it was, he didn’t get a chance to say it.

The door closed with a snap and she was gone.

Z
oey made a beeline for the house.

Why did Matt insist on being so nice to her? Didn’t he know that every smile, every casual touch, turned into a fragile thread that linked them together? Made her want to stay?

Her hands shook as she peeled her coat off and hung it on the oak coat stand near the door. It was almost nine o’clock, which meant that Delia’s son would be picking her up soon.

Zoey sucked in her lower lip, considering her options.

She wasn’t sure she could face her grandmother and Delia yet. Gran would take one look at her flushed cheeks and know something was wrong.

George waddled up and pushed between her ankles.

“Miss me?” Zoey bent down and scratched the cat’s patchwork velvet ears. George began to purr, which Zoey took as a “yes.”

“You look thirsty,” she whispered. “I’ll bet you’d like some fresh water, wouldn’t you? Maybe a bedtime snack?”

George’s tail twitched.

That was good enough for Zoey.

George performed several graceful figure eights around Zoey’s feet as she made her way to the kitchen. Through the window over the sink, she caught a glimpse of a familiar silhouette backlit behind the curtains in the carriage house.

Stop. Thinking. About. Him.

But how could she? Especially when she’d been thinking, no dreaming, about someone like Matt for years. Strong. Funny. Compassionate. A smile that melted her heart. Hazel eyes that promised to keep her secrets safe…

Until Matt found out what those secrets were.

Zoey tore her gaze away from the window and set George’s ceramic bowl on the floor. “Here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to come with me to the parlor and be the adorable feline diversion. Do something cute so Gran and Delia won’t ask questions.”

Like who had brought her home? And why was she blushing?

George strolled over to the bowl, sniffed it once and strolled away again.

“Ready? Let’s go.”

George sat down and studiously began to lick one of her front paws.

“Fine. But I’m going to remember this when you bring me your catnip mouse tomorrow and want to play.” Zoey glanced at her reflection in the toaster and tweaked a few rogue curls back in place. The curls Matt had disturbed when he’d placed the gold medal ribbon over her head.

Zoey groaned as she walked down the hall to the parlor. Better to face Gran and Delia than the memory of the brush of Matt’s fingers against her hair.

She didn’t
want
any memories of Matt. Nothing that would keep her awake at night. Nothing guaranteed to stir up dreams she had no business dreaming.

“I’m back—”

Zoey felt the room tip sideways.

Liz lay sprawled on the floor in front of the sofa, surrounded by a puddle of water and the splintered remains of a pitcher.

Zoey sank to the floor beside her grandmother, oblivious to the crunch of glass beneath her knees. Spots danced in front of her eyes as she gently lifted Liz’s hand and checked for a pulse. Faint but steady.

“Gran?” She somehow managed to push the word out through lips that had gone as dry as chalk dust.

Liz moaned and her eyelids fluttered open. “Zoey? Are you all right?”

A bubble of hysterical laughter rose in Zoey’s throat. “I’m fine. I think it’s you we need to be worried about.” She slid an arm underneath her grandmother’s shoulders and helped her sit up.

Liz’s eyes darkened with confusion. “I must have fallen asleep.”

On the floor?

Zoey swallowed. “I think you fell, Gran.”

“I couldn’t have.” Liz pressed a hand to her forehead. “I was watching television.”

Zoey shifted and felt a slight sting in the bottom of her foot. Wincing, she plucked out a crescent-shaped piece of glass from her sock. “I’m going to call an ambulance.”

“No.” Liz clutched her arm. “That isn’t necessary, sweetheart. I’ll be fine.”

She didn’t
look
fine, Zoey thought as she helped her grandmother to her feet and guided her around the shards of glass to the sofa.

Liz sank limply against the cushion. “All I need is a glass of water.”

“I’ll be right back.” Zoey backed out of the room. But instead of going to the kitchen, she slipped out the back door and sprinted across the yard.

Matt found himself staring out the window. Again.

Great.

If Zoey saw him, she’d think he was turning into some kind of stalker.

If she didn’t think that already.

What was the matter with him?

He was so careful to maintain boundaries with women. He didn’t even hug them. As a single pastor, Matt never wanted to give someone the wrong idea or lead her on. He made an effort to keep his personal space…personal.

But that hadn’t stopped him from trespassing into Zoey’s.

I blew it, Lord.

A frantic pounding at the front door jerked him back to reality. Matt vaulted to his feet and braced himself for whatever emergency waited on the other side. If a crisis happened in Mirror Lake, the police took the first call, but it wasn’t unusual at all for him to receive the second.

The last person Matt expected to see on the doorstep was Zoey, her eyes dark with panic.

“Hey.” He reached for her instinctively, his hands closing around her arms. For a split second, she sagged against him and Matt’s body absorbed the tremor that shook her slender frame from head to toe. “What’s wrong?”

“Gran.” Zoey gasped the word. “Can you come?”

Without a word, Matt pulled the door shut behind him and grabbed Zoey’s hand, retracing her steps through the moonlit backyard. “Tell me what happened.”

“She was lying on the floor when I got home.” Zoey’s breath came out in ragged pants between each word. “Delia was supposed to be with her but Gran was alone. I don’t know how long. She doesn’t remember falling but there’s glass everywhere.”

“Glass?”

“She must have dropped the water pitcher.”

“Is she unconscious? Did you call 911?”

Zoey stumbled and Matt tightened his grip. “She told me not to. I shouldn’t have listened to her, but I didn’t know what else to do. She’s lying on the sofa right now. She asked for a glass of water, but I came to get you instead.”

“You did the right thing. The way Liz feels about hospitals at the moment, it might take both of us to convince her that she needs to take a trip to the ER.” Matt gave Zoey’s ice-cold fingers a reassuring squeeze as they reached the house.

“Matthew. What are you doing here?” Liz struggled to sit up straighter when they entered the parlor.

“Zoey is worried about you.” He could see why. The only color in her face was a crimson stripe where her forehead must have connected with the floor.

“I’m as right as rain,” Liz said. “I only wish I could say the same thing about my favorite pitcher.”

Matt saw through her attempt to lighten the moment in an instant. Picking his way around the fragments of shattered glass, he sat down beside her on the sofa while Zoey hovered close by.

“What happened?” He lifted her wrist to take her pulse.

“Oh, it was my fault.” Liz attempted a smile. “I tried to pour myself a glass of water, but I didn’t think the pitcher would be that heavy. It slipped out of my hand and broke.”

“Gran,” Zoey interjected softly. “You were lying on the
floor
when I came in.”

“I was trying to clean up the mess.”

The uncertainty in Liz’s voice worried him. “Are you feeling dizzy? Short of breath?”

Liz hesitated. “No.”

He and Zoey exchanged a skeptical look over the older woman’s head.

“Maybe we should take you to the—” Matt didn’t get a chance to finish the sentence.

“No.”
Liz’s voice strengthened. “I must have overdone it a little today, that’s all. I’ll go up to bed now and I’m sure I’ll feel better in the morning.”

Matt glanced at Zoey. Her arms were folded over her chest, her eyes swirling with emotion.

“All right.” He took hold of Liz’s arm and drew her gently to her feet.

Zoey stepped forward to help but Liz clung to him. “No offense, sweetheart, but you wouldn’t deprive me of the opportunity to lean on the shoulder of a handsome young man during my hike up the stairs, would you?”

A shadow of a smile touched the corner of Zoey’s lips. “Of course not.”

Matt grinned.

Liz’s ability to find the humor in a difficult situation was one of the things he admired most about her. “That’s a good idea. And while we’re doing that, Zoey can call Dr. Parish and make sure he agrees with your plan.”

“But—”

“No ‘buts,’ Gran,” Zoey interrupted. “You might feel fine, but
I
would feel better if I talked to him.”

Liz must have heard the wobble in Zoey’s voice because she gave in. “All right.”

“I’m sorry for causing such a fuss,” Liz whispered as they moved toward the stairs. “All I remember is reaching for the water pitcher. The next thing I knew, Zoey was there. I didn’t mean to scare her.”

She’d scared them both. Matt wondered how much time had passed after Liz had fallen and before Zoey discovered her lying on the floor. “Zoey mentioned that Delia was supposed to come over tonight.”

Liz had the grace to look guilty. “Her hip was bothering her. I told her to stay home, but I didn’t tell Zoey because I knew she would cancel her plans with Kate.” She glanced over her shoulder and her voice dropped to a whisper. “I’m worried that Zoey is going to blame herself for this.”

“Why would she do that? She didn’t know you were going to be alone. Or that you were going to fall,” Matt pointed out.

“I know that and you know that, but Zoey…” Liz hesitated as they reached the top of the stairs. “She has a sensitive heart. She blames herself for a lot of things.”

Matt remembered Zoey’s expression when he opened the door and found her standing there. Worry mingled with a darker emotion.

Guilt?

“Will you talk to her? Find out what she’s thinking?”

Matt nodded, knowing the first one would be easier than the second.

The relief on Liz’s face brought some color back into her cheeks. Matt flipped on the light in her bedroom and guided her to a comfortable chair in the corner. “I’ll send Zoey up to help you get settled.”

Liz squeezed his arm. “Thank you.”

Zoey was sweeping up the remainder of the glass in the parlor when Matt went back downstairs. His eyes narrowed on her stocking feet. “Are you limping?”

“I stepped on a piece of glass.”

“Let me see.”

“No!” Zoey held the broom in front of her like a shield. “I pulled it out. It’s fine.”

“Now you sound like Liz.” Matt’s hand cupped her elbow and he propelled her over to the chair by the fireplace. Ignoring her protests, he lifted the foot he’d noticed her favoring and peeled off a bright-green sock. “Stop squirming.”

“I’m not squirm—ouch!” Zoey’s breath hissed between her teeth as Matt’s thumb found a sensitive spot on her heel.

“Sorry. I want to make sure there’s no glass embedded under the skin.” Zoey’s pink-tipped toes curled under while he gently poked and prodded the perimeter around the cut. “What did Dr. Parish say?”

“I told him what happened and he didn’t think it sounded serious enough to warrant a trip to the emergency room. He does want to see her right away tomorrow morning.” Zoey shifted in the chair. “He asked what she did today and agreed that she probably overdid it.”

“When I saw her at church this morning, she looked great.”

“She said she felt great, too.” Zoey averted her gaze. “But I knew it was too soon.”

Matt sat back on his heels and studied her profile. Liz’s prediction had been right. Zoey
did
blame herself. “This wasn’t your fault.”

“I should never have let Gran go to church this morning, but she missed her friends…and your sermons. I thought she seemed out of breath when we were walking to the parking lot, but I didn’t ask her about it.” The words tumbled out in a rush. “And if I would have called to check on her tonight, I would have known she was alone.”

“Liz’s health might be a little fragile at the moment, but she’s a very independent woman. The last thing she wants is to be treated like the pneumonia affected her ability to make good decisions,” Matt said slowly. “Believe me, if you hadn’t been here the last few days, Liz would have been running errands and making meals for people who are in better health than she is. If anything, you
prevented
her from having a relapse.” Matt couldn’t tell if he was getting through to her. “God doesn’t make mistakes, you know. He knew what He was doing when He brought you here.”

Zoey wanted to believe him.

Oh, she believed that God didn’t make mistakes. That He knew what He was doing. But it had been so long since Zoey had felt as if she were part of His plan. It took time to absorb the sweetness of that truth. To let it resonate through her head until her heart picked up the refrain.

To avoid looking at Matt, she wrestled her sock back on. “I better go upstairs and help her get ready for bed.”

Matt reached out a hand to steady her as she rose to her feet, and Zoey flinched. Because once again, his touch left her feeling curiously
unsteady.

His hand fell to the side. “I’ll finish cleaning up the rest of the mess before I go home. You’ll call if you need me?”

Zoey hesitated.

“Let me rephrase that.” Matt gave her a lopsided smile, the one that never failed to send her pulse into a happy little dance. “You’ll call if you need me.” This time, it wasn’t a question.

But Zoey didn’t want to need him. It was safer that way.

Then why was he the first one you ran to?

She pushed the thought away as quickly as it surfaced.

“I know, it’s your job.” A part of Zoey wondered just who it was she was reminding of that fact. “Pastors are on call twenty-four hours a day.”

Being available was the unwritten clause at the bottom of his contract. And even though Zoey had begun to realize that being a pastor wasn’t a career as much as it was a natural outlet for the man Matt already was, it was the only thing Zoey could think of to yank her heart back in line.