Waking Up in Charleston by Sherryl Woods Read Free Book Online Page A

they make at least perfunctory appearances at church for the sake of the children. She’d gone along with it, using the quiet time to reflect on things. The hymns had been lovely, a few of the prayers meaningful, but she’d made little attempt to absorb the messages in the sermons.
    Ministers had come and gone, and she’d paid scant attention—until she’d had to make arrangements for Bobby’s funeral. That was when she’d seen the compassion in Caleb’s eyes and felt a much-needed steadiness in him that had gotten her through those first awful months when everything in her life had unraveled.
    It had been his idea that the church come together to build this house for her. And, remarkably, as the weeks had passed and she’d seen her home taking shape, her life had come together, as well. She’d felt stronger, more capable of facing an uncertain future.
    And when they’d handed her the keys on that last day, she’d looked around into the faces of her newfriends and felt whole again. Despite all the adversities she’d faced, her life truly was blessed. She’d looked across the room and met Caleb’s gaze and knew that he’d understood all along how desperately she needed what she’d found in this house and the building of it. She’d reclaimed her self-respect.
    “Thank you,” she’d mouthed.
    To her utter shock, he’d winked. That tiny, flirtatious wink had rattled her so badly she’d turned and fled. For months she had tucked Caleb into a nice, safe niche in her life. After the turmoil of living with Bobby and the chaos after his death, Caleb epitomized a quiet serenity she craved. That wink, however, had suggested there was another side to him, a human and very male side she wasn’t ready for.
    But even though he continued to disconcert her, for some reason she hadn’t been able to insist he stay away. The stakes escalated more every time they saw each other. She knew it and she was pretty sure he did, too. That kiss the other night had been as innocent as a peck on the cheek between friends, but way too much passion had simmered just below the surface. The depth of it had shaken her. Yet when she’d needed help transporting the armoire today, Caleb was the first person she’d thought of. And he’d agreed readily in fact, with an eagerness that told her he’d missed her during the week as much as she’d missed him.
    Amanda felt a tug on her sleeve and looked down into the too-serious face of her five-year-old daughter.
    “Hey, baby, what’s up?” she asked Susie, relieved by the distraction.
    Susie frowned. “I’m not a baby.”
    Amanda scooped her up and tickled her. “You’re my baby. You always will be.”
    “Even when I’m ten?” Susie asked in a dismayed voice.
    “Even when you’re thirty,” Amanda replied.
    “How old is thirty?”
    “Almost as old as me,” Amanda said.
    “But you’re not a baby,” Susie protested.
    Amanda knew she was in one man’s eyes, or had been, anyway. Sometimes knowing she’d lost that relationship hurt more than she could bear. Knowing that her once-beloved father had willingly tossed it aside hurt even more.
    “No, I suppose not,” she said, biting back a sigh. In fact, she was the only grown-up these children had. Sometimes the pressure of that was overwhelming. It would have meant the world to be able to lean on her father from time to time, to share the joy of her three kids with him. But there was no point in wishing for things that simply couldn’t be.
    “So can he?” Susie asked, apparently completing an entire line of conversation Amanda had missed.
    “Can who do what?”
    “Can Mr. Caleb stay for dinner?” Susie asked impatiently. “We could have pizza, like last time.”
    “You have to stop thinking that we’re going to have pizza every time Caleb comes over,” Amanda told her daughter.
    “Why is that?” Caleb asked, coming back into the living room, wiping away his sweat with a towel, which only drew attention to those