In God's Own Time. Ruth Scofield

      “Um, I don’t recall hearing it. Thank you.” He’d paid her a few offhand compliments when they were younger, but she’d always thought them in the nature of a big brother. This was of another kind altogether

      “Well, you look very nice this morning. All the time, really.”

      She tipped her head and stared at him over her coffee cup.

      “Thank you, Kelsey.”

      “This is no good” He set his cup down suddenly, letting the liquid slosh over its rim. “If I drink any more of this stuff I’ll be so jittery with caffeine the kids’ll think they have a snapdragon for a dad.”

      She laughed, the sound bubbling out of her spontaneously. He joined her, his lips spreading in a genuine smile, while his eyes took on their mossy look.

      “What is it, what’s the matter, Kelsey? I’ve never seen you so…jittery. It’s not like you. Can I help?”

      “Actually, you can. I mean…” He brushed back the neatly trimmed hair above his left ear, sighed and leaned back. His expression turned determined. “We’ve been friends for a long time, Meg. Good friends, I like to think. I’m just going to shoot straight, okay?”

      “Sure, Kels. Fire away.”

      “I overheard what Lissa and Aimee said to you the other night. Out on the drive. I’ve been thinking about it. About Linda…”

      “Oh.” She swallowed hard and put down her cup, willing the rising blush to abate quickly, or better yet, wishing to hide it altogether. But it was no use, so she rushed into a response. “Oh, Kelsey, I wish—Don’t be angry with the girls. They mean well, you know, and they’ll get used to Linda in time. She’s really a good person, and she’ll make a wonderful effort to…”

      She lost her momentum as he staunchly shook his head.

      “No. Linda’s a nice woman, Meg, but she’s all wrong for the kids. She has no patience for them, and they don’t get along with her girl. Besides—” he looked at her with a growing realization, a frown puckering his brow “—I’d make her a lousy husband. No real respect between us, you see. While with you—”

      “With me?” she squeaked out.

      “Meg—” he held her gaze “—why haven’t you married by now?”

      “I don’t know.” Clasping her cup hard to keep her hands still, she felt mesmerized with the intimacy of this conversation. “Just never found anyone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with when it came down to the nuts and bolts of a commitment, I guess.”

      “Are you ever sorry?”

      Dropping her gaze, she hesitated for a long moment.

      “Sometimes.”

      “Don’t you want to?”

      How could she answer that? “Well, I always thought I would. Like most women, I suppose.”

      “Would you consider it, Meg? Marrying me?”

      Looking up, she could only blink at him, wondering if she’d hear her morning alarm go off at any moment

      “The thing is, Meg—” he straightened and reached across the table to pry her fingers from her cup “—I think the girls are on to something. We could make a go at marriage. You and I.”

      Meg looked at his callused hand holding hers, his fingers strong and steady, his nails clean and neatly pared. Her own hand trembled.

      “The way I see it,” he continued, “we could form a kind of partnership. I haven’t much to give you but myself, but I’d be a faithful husband. And you’d be close to your mom, that’s something to consider.”

      “Yes, I’ve been thinking about that,” she murmured absently.

      “We have a lot of advantages on our side, Meg—we’ve known each other for years, respect each other. I don’t have to tell you anything about Dee Dee or question the fact you’ll be good to my children. You’re fond of them, and they love you.”

      “I’m not sure about the boys. Or Heather.” She made her comment in jest because she didn’t know as yet how else to respond. But for once he answered seriously

      “They’ll love you when they know you better. As much as the rest of us do. In God’s own time, you’ll see As you said a moment ago, they’ll adjust to a mother’s hand. And you understand how to handle Heather.” He grinned his old teasing grin. “As Aimee said, she need’s unspoiling. Maybe we all do.”

      The boys would love her as much as the rest of them? Did that include him?

      Even if it did, that didn’t necessarily mean Kelsey was in love with anyone but Dee Dee’s memory. Could he ever fall in love with another woman?

      A sudden rapping on the window beside their booth brought their faces about like puppets, startling them from their concentrated attention on each other. Thad and Phillip. They beckoned eagerly, their muffled voices telling them to come see the old cars driving through town on their way to a car rally.

      Meg’s usual sharp mental switches eluded her as she tried to take in what the boys wanted while a long-held breath whooshed from her lungs. Kelsey had just asked her to marry him. She’d heard the very words that had filled her thoughts and fueled her longings for days. Would it be wrong to marry Kelsey for her own selfish desires?

      Oh, but she wasn’t kidding herself. He’d never have thought of asking without the kids’ prompting, and he wasn’t offering anything like a romance.

      But did that matter? They were two rational adults who looked at life’s practical needs first. Kelsey thought they had a shot at building a good marriage. At a fulfilling, long-lasting relationship based on friendship.

      Now it was up to her. Now she had to discover if she had the courage to chance getting her heart broken. Because if she married Kelsey and he never fell in love with her, that’s exactly what would happen

       Chapter Six

      The moment Meg stepped into the church foyer where she’d promised to meet her mother, Sandy stood ready, waiting to pounce. Audrey was coming with Babs Dunning.

      “Meg, dear, really! You should have a little talk with Aimee.”

      “Aimee?” Meg blinked rapidly to bring her cloud-raptured thoughts back to the moment at hand. She’d barely been able to think in a straight line since leaving the café. Stalling, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Why? What’s wrong with Aimee?”

      “Why, she’s making outrageous statements which are bound to upset your mother. You should put a stop to it right away.” Sandy pursed her lips. “That’s how rumors get started, y’know.”