“They’re exhausted,” Julianne remarked.
Luke agreed. “They’ve had a very fun day. Mostly thanks to you.”
“I enjoyed the day, too, Luke. Very much,” Julianne admitted. “Mostly thanks to them.” And their father may have had something to do with it, too, she thought, but did not say.
The ride to her apartment was short and quiet. Julianne directed Luke to the postmaster’s large old house and pointed out her upstairs apartment.
“Thanks for the ride home,” she offered and reached for the door handle to let herself out of the truck.
“I’ll walk up there with you,” Luke said. “That’s a long, dark stairway to be climbing by yourself this late at night.”
“No, don’t.” She reached across the seat and touched his arm, wanting to emphasize that she didn’t need his assistance; but once she’d placed her hand against his warm arm, she regretted the action. It had been too personal, almost inappropriate, and she wasn’t sure how to undo what she’d done except by pulling her hand away. Quickly. “I’m sorry, Luke, I just meant that I can go upstairs by myself. I’ve done that hundreds of times—alone. I’m not afraid. And, anyway,” she added, nodding toward the sleeping twins in the back seat, “I wouldn’t want you to leave them alone in this dark truck even for a few moments. If they woke up, they’d be frightened.”
Luke agreed, although somewhat reluctantly. He thought the children would be fine sleeping right where he could see them from her stairway, and he certainly wasn’t used to dropping a woman at the curb and letting her fend for herself to get inside her front door. This hadn’t exactly been a date, he realized. He hadn’t been on a “date” in over ten years, but he did feel responsible for seeing her home safely. Then he had an idea.
“Do me a favor, Julianne. Once you get inside and lock the door behind you, wave to me from that front window.” Luke pointed up to where she’d left a light burning in the kitchen window. “That way I’ll know you got in all right.”
“Okay,” she agreed, then opened her door and slipped easily out of the cab before he had the chance to help her. “Thanks for everything, Luke. I had a really good time today,” she said with a heartfelt smile—the same warm smile Luke had seen from her during the fireworks display. It was one he liked seeing again.
“I enjoyed the day, too,” he began, then paused. “Julianne, you’re great with my kids.”
“Thank you, but if I am, it’s only because I’m a teacher.”
But Luke disagreed. “No, it’s something more than that,” he stated. “They really had fun today. I think this is the best holiday they’ve had since…for the last year or so. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” she answered, her smile fading. She should close the door to the truck and head up that stairway, she knew. There really was nothing left to talk about at this point. Except… “Maggie looked very tired when we left. Do you think she’s okay?”
“I hope so. Frank mentioned to me the other day that he’s worried about her getting too tired during her pregnancy. He thinks she’s working too hard at the center.”
Julianne agreed. “She probably is. You know how Maggie is—she gives too much of herself to everything she does.”
“I know. She even wants to watch the kids for me tomorrow so I can go to Minneapolis and get caught up on my work. Being rained out again on Thursday put me behind schedule.”
Julianne’s own giving-too-much-of-herself-to-everything trait kicked into gear. “I could watch them for you. That would allow Maggie to rest, and you could still get your work done,” Julianne suggested. “I hadn’t planned to do anything special tomorrow.” The only activities she’d be giving up were cleaning the apartment and grocery shopping.
“But you work with my kids five days a week, Julianne. I can’t ask you to keep them on your day off.”
Julianne looked toward the two children sleeping safely in the back of the truck. “You’re not asking…I’m offering,” she replied, then returned her gaze to Luke’s uncertain expression.
Luke hesitated. He needed to work tomorrow to stay on schedule. And the kids did seem to be crazy about Julianne. “Are you sure it wouldn’t be an imposition? I mean, you’ve just spent this entire holiday with them.”
“I really like Nora and Todd. I’d enjoy having them for another day. That is, if it would be okay with you.” She tucked wispy blond hair behind an ear. Working at the center was one thing, but maybe Luke O’Hara wouldn’t trust her enough to leave his children with her alone, here at this tiny apartment with an ominous stairway for them to climb up…or to fall down. “I could take them over to the center, if you’d rather not leave them here—”
“No, here would be fine,” Luke said. “But you’d need to be careful of the stairs. They’d both want to run up and down them.” He glanced toward the black steps and railing.
Julianne smiled. She’d guessed his exact concern. “I will be. You don’t have to worry.”
“Better yet, why don’t you watch them at my house? That way, they have their own toys and tapes, things to entertain them. And there’s a fair-size yard out back for them to play in.”
“That might be better. What time would you need me there?”
“Would seven o’clock be too early?”
“No, that would be fine. I’ll see you then,” Julianne answered.
Luke felt suddenly relieved. Maggie could rest, and the twins would still have someone they liked watching them. “Do you know where I live?”
“You bought the Taylor house on Spring Street, didn’t you? Maggie mentioned it to me.”
“Yes, that’s the one. We’ll see you at seven?”
“See you then. Good night.” Julianne pushed the door shut and started for the stairway. She was up the steps and inside her apartment in a minute or less. Walking to the window that faced the street, she looked down to where Luke’s dark blue truck was parked as he waited for her signal. She waved. She’d made it inside safely…that was, everything except her heart. Foolishly, she’d allowed it to become endangered in an attraction to this man whose own heart was broken, and Julianne knew no special cure for his kind of pain.
She watched Luke drive away and thought of Craig Johnson. Losing him had taken her a long time to get over, and that would be nothing compared to what Luke had lost. The woman he’d loved and chosen to spend his life with had been taken from him. He would need to heal slowly, from the inside out. It wasn’t something anyone else could help him with. Only God could be his refuge now. If Luke wouldn’t accept that, then the battle was his alone.
“But I can help him with his kids,” Julianne said softly to herself. But, if she did, would she be setting herself up for more heartache? She groaned at the thought. Suddenly, that banana cream pie she’d saved for herself was starting to sound very good. Maybe she could drown her uncertainty in a slice. Or two.
Chapter Three
When the alarm sounded the next morning, Luke reached to shut it off quickly. Maybe the kids hadn’t heard it ring. If they’d sleep in this morning, they’d be in a better mood for Julianne that day, and if he could make her day better in some way, he wanted to do it. Having Julianne in the children’s lives was something for which Luke was beginning to feel very grateful. Even after only a few days, Nora and Todd seemed to have bonded with