Chapter 7
The noonday heat was like a blast furnace, driving Mark back to the air-conditioned comfort of his recently purchased bookstore. He’d have to remember to schedule his errands for the early morning or late afternoon hours whenever possible, at least until the relentless sunshine that typified Utah summers had dissipated.
His eyes and heart did a double-take when he noticed the dark blue SUV parked in front of the store. Though he’d seen it only once before, he was certain it belonged to Kate Ames and her son, Jason. He grinned sheepishly, as he remembered peering through the shop window a few days earlier, watching his two most recent customers, who had just exited the store, make their way to their vehicle, which was parked in nearly the same spot as today. What was it about the diminutive young woman and her lively, outgoing son that had so captured his heart in one brief meeting? Though a friendly and sociable person himself, who made it a point to get to know his customers, Mark had yet to meet anyone—during his short tenure as a businessman in Cedar City or anywhere else—who made such a quick, yet deep, impression on his heart and mind as Kate Ames. In fact, he had spent the better part of the three days since they had first stopped into his store trying to push the memory of their visit from his thoughts.
His grin widened as he stepped into his now familiar bookstore, blinking his eyes as they adjusted to the soft, muted lights, a welcome change from the harsh, bright sunlight that ricocheted off the sidewalks outside. Sure enough, there was Kate, wearing a red sundress and standing near the counter, talking to Stella, the middle-aged, slightly overweight saleswoman Mark had recently hired to help in the store.
“We just bought some books from you a few days ago,” Kate was saying, “but my son just wouldn’t let me pass by your store without stopping in again for one more look before your sale ended.”
As she spoke, Mark glanced toward the children’s section and discovered that Jason was sitting on the floor, his back to Mark, surrounded by a pile of books. Mark smiled. He so appreciated Jason’s enthusiasm for books. The boy reminded him a lot of himself at that age.
As Mark shut the door behind him, Stella looked up and smiled in recognition, just as Kate turned in his direction. His heart did a jig as he saw the smile that lit up her face, though she quickly shut it down again. He had seen it, though, and that was enough.
“Kate,” Mark said, holding out his hand as he stepped toward her. “Back from the lake already? What’s the matter? Did you and Jason fish it dry?”
Though it was obvious she was doing her best to show restraint as she shook his hand, the flush that crept up her face gave her away. She cleared her throat before she answered.
“Yes,” she said, the tremor in her voice nearly unnoticeable. “I mean, no, we didn’t fish the lake dry, but we did come back early. We—”
“Mark!” Jason ran up beside them, his dark eyes shining and his arms loaded with books. “We’re back,” he announced. “And look what I found.”
Mark laughed, delighted that Jason had remembered his name and seemed pleased to see him. When Kate joined in their laughter, Mark’s gaze flicked from the son to the mother just long enough to catch the smile that had spread upward from her mouth to her blue-gray eyes, and his heart accelerated from a jig to a major belly-flop. This lady might not know it, but she was armed and dangerous, and Mark Thomas knew from that moment that he was in peril of losing his heart, something he had never before allowed to happen.
As if their handclasp had caught fire, they dropped their hands simultaneously and turned their attention to Jason, but not before Mark realized that Kate’s blush had deepened.
“That’s a lot of books you’ve got there, Sport,” she said, giving Jason her undivided attention.
“But, Mom,” Jason complained, “they’re all good, I can tell. And remember what you said about how we can never have too many books....” His voice trailed off, and his eyes were pleading with her now. Before she could respond, Mark felt compelled to come to her rescue.
“Your mom’s sure right about that,” he said. “You can never have too many books. But there’s only one problem. If you buy all those books today, it will take you so long to read them, I won’t get to see you again for a long time. Why don’t you buy one or two at a time, and then you can come back every few days and get more.” He winked at Jason and tousled his hair. “That’ll give us all something to look forward to.”
Jason grinned and nodded. “Good idea,” he agreed, turning back and heading toward the children’s section. “I’ll put some of these back,” he called over his shoulder.
Kate started to follow him, her face straight ahead, but before she could make it more than a couple of steps, Mark reached out and laid his hand on her arm. He held his breath as she stopped and turned to him. Was it his imagination that he felt a shiver pass over her? Suddenly he was the one whose face glowed with embarrassment, and he worried that he had overstepped his bounds.
“Sorry,” he mumbled. “Forgive me, please. I just wondered if...well, how did you like your book?”
He heard his own words and wondered how he could be so forward and yet so foolish at the same time. Did he really think she would imagine that he treated all his customers with such personal attention? Did he even want her to think that, or did he want her to at least suspect that he thought she was very special and he would like very much to get to know her better?
A myriad of emotions touched her face before she answered, and once again he found himself holding his breath.
“It’s a lovely book,” she said finally, her tone polite, her smile distant. “Thank you so much for recommending it to me. I haven’t finished it yet, of course, but I certainly intend to. She’s an excellent storyteller.”
Mark swallowed. He was such a klutz when it came to dealing with women. He’d always known it; now Kate Ames knew it as well. Okay, forget the personal stuff and just concentrate on books. It was one of the few topics he felt comfortable discussing under most any circumstances.
“She sure is,” he answered, his enthusiasm only slightly overdone. “Definitely one of my favorites. I read everything she writes. She has such a way of weaving her Christian testimony into her writings without ever being preachy, don’t you agree?” Enough, he told himself. Quit babbling, and let her talk.
“Yes,” she said, undoubtedly anxious to change the subject. “I suppose so. Well, I’d better go check on Jason.”
“Wait,” he said, stopping her once again, even as he asked himself what in the world he was thinking. “I...I was wondering if...well...” He felt the flush return to his face, and he took a deep breath. “What I mean is, I was hoping that maybe you and Jason would consider going out for dinner with me sometime.... Tonight maybe? For pizza or something?”
The invitation hung in the air between them like an unexpected intruder, as Mark’s heart tap-danced against his ribs and he prayed she couldn’t hear it. Once more, their eyes locked, holding them in a seemingly endless abyss of silence. Just when he thought she could bear it no longer, Jason appeared at Kate’s elbow.
“Did you say pizza?” he asked, clutching two books closely to his chest. “Pizza is my very favorite food in the whole world.” He turned from Mark to Kate. “Are we going out for pizza with Mark, Mom? Are we?”
Kate looked down at her son, his face alight with excitement, as Mark wondered how long he could hold his breath without turning blue. Slowly Kate raised her head and looked back at Mark. Had he seen a spark of interest in her eyes before she regained control of herself? He hoped so.
And then she shrugged, as if his invitation didn’t matter to her one way or the other. “I supposed we could,” she said, her voice much calmer than Mark’s hammering heart.
“All right!” Jason exclaimed, jumping up and down beside his mother.
Mark wanted to jump up and down too, but managed to contain his excitement.
“When can we go, Mom?” Jason asked. “Tonight? Can
we go tonight, please?”
Mark couldn’t control himself any longer. He felt the grin spread across his face, as he raised his eyebrows questioningly. “Tonight?” he asked, echoing Jason. “Can we go tonight? Please?”
Mark heard the brief giggle before she stifled it and replaced her playful look with a serious one. “Tonight would be fine,” she agreed…and Mark’s heart sighed with relief.
By the time they had paid for Jason’s books, given Mark their address, and decided on a time, Mark wondered if he would be able to get through the rest of the day without giving himself away to Stella. But by the time Kate and Jason had exited the store and climbed into their SUV, Mark no longer cared what Stella thought. He let a whoop and watched her reaction, but apparently she wasn’t nearly as surprised as he’d thought she would be. She just smiled, shook her head, and went back to work. Mark tried his best to do the same.