thirty. Sharp. Oh, and I kind of busted up my pots and pans, so do you mind if I borrow yours?”
“I don’t mind at all.” Lark handed Skelly two fifty-dollar bills. He waved them in the air and headed down her front walkway. He still looked tired, but at least he had a little more spring in his step.
As soon as Lark shut the door, she wondered what Everett was up to. Would he be busy making phone calls? She hated to bother him because it’d been her fault he needed to spend the next few weeks pounding the streets for clients. Knowing she’d had a hand in truly messing up his professional life made her nearly ill, but every time the reality tried to bring her down, she gave it back to the Lord to deal with.
Once she’d showered and dressed in her favorite pink velvet overalls, she settled back in her office. Lark sat down and pretended to work at her art table. She hated to just stand up and gawk and pound on the glass, so she turned her swivel chair ever so slowly as she glanced into Everett’s office window.
What? Lark rose so hastily, the chair zoomed out from under her, making her tumble to the floor. After scrambling to her feet, she blinked her eyelids to make the scene in Everett’s office disappear. But it refused to go away.
Fifteen
A woman. An attractive blond stood next to Everett in his office. In fact, the woman had positioned herself so closely to him, even the thinnest résumé wouldn’t fit between them. Guess it wasn’t a job interview.
Should she open the window and toss something to get their attention? Like a sofa? But did she have the right to stop Everett? Her last thought gave her pause. She and Everett weren’t engaged. They hadn’t made any verbal commitments. Yet there seemed to be such an amazing bond between them. Such a hope for greater things to come. Soon.
Lark stared at them again. She couldn’t see perfectly, but since his lights were on and the day was cloudy, she could see well enough. Everett seemed to take the woman by the shoulders and gently move her away. He glanced out his window and looked in her direction. Lark stepped away from her window. Since her lights were off, perhaps he hadn’t seen her glaring at them.
Suddenly Everett’s lights flickered off, and both of them disappeared into another part of the house. Lark felt like a sleazy private eye, and the emotion did not suit her. She also felt a bit hoodwinked. Who was this woman?
Lark had never been one to carry on over a man. But Everett had changed her heart. He had changed everything. And apparently her heart had soared before she’d had time to engage her thinking parts.
The phone rang. She and Everett had exchanged numbers, so she knew it could be him. What am I supposed to do now? In her mind, he would always have the heart of a hero, but weren’t champions sometimes terribly flawed? The phone kept ringing. Could it be Everett was capable of goodness as well as deception? Or had she overreacted? Just as she reached to pick up the phone, it stopped its beseeching noise. The Caller ID let her know Everett had indeed called.
Lark went to sit in a place where life’s puzzles seemed to unravel. Her tire swing. Flying-freedom-on-a-rope her mom always called it. She pushed off and then pumped her legs to fly higher and higher. At least as high as one could go in a tire swing. But despite its limitations, laughter always came, no matter what mood she was in. How could one not feel lighter while swinging free? Surely there would be tire swings in heaven.
As she peered up, she noticed the light playing hide and seek among the branches. She stopped her swinging and held her hand up to the glimmer, pretending the topaz-colored leaves were jewels on her fingers.
Lark slowed her pace and breathed in deeply of the brisk, fresh air. The snow had nearly gone, but there were still patches of the icy remains hiding from the sun. Picasso was in a jolly mood. He munched on something in the grass and then paddled around in his small pond. A duck’s life looked so easy. Why couldn’t her life be so simple? A good place to sleep and eat and someone to love you. Oh, there was that word again. Love.