Signs of Love Page 15

  He then watched through the large glass windows as they walked toward the main gate. Justin had seen the flash of disappointment on Caden's face when he'd realized they weren't going in his truck. Unfortunately for the little boy, he was getting caught in the middle of whatever his mom was dealing with and Justin's own confusion over things.

  With a sigh of frustration, Justin turned to the men sitting behind the security desk to retrieve the bags he'd left with them earlier. There was nothing he needed to hang around there for, so he would just head back to the compound to deal with stuff that actually made sense.

  ~*~*~

  Over the next week, Alana finished up the homeschool year with Caden. Though she never really stopped teaching him—even in the summer—she tried to make a big deal out of an official end of the school year so he felt he was getting a break like his friends.

  On Friday, Peter's family picked him up to go to the amusement park at the Mall of America with them. It had been terribly difficult to allow him to go with them without her, but she knew this was something she wouldn't ever be able to give him. If Peter hadn't been deaf as well, Alana might not have let Caden go, but it helped that she knew he could communicate with Peter and his parents.

  With Caden occupied, Alana hoped to accomplish several things. She'd made her list the night before in hopes of maximizing the time she had to run her errands before she had to pick Caden up.

  After dropping Caden off at Peter's house, she caught the bus that would take her to the deaf charter school she'd researched online. She'd been going back and forth on whether or not it would be a good idea to send him in the fall, so she hoped the appointment would help her figure that out. He was such a social child, and she wasn't sure she could provide enough social stimulation for him especially since they didn't know that many deaf children his age. Plus, it would free her up to look for a job that would fall within the hours he was at school.

  She'd prayed about it and hoped she could get enough information to make the best decision. It was at times like these that she missed having someone to help her make decisions. She was worried that there might be a perspective she overlooked, but all she could do was gather as much information as possible and then pray she made the right choice for Caden.

  When Alana left her appointment an hour later, she was definitely leaning toward seeing this as a good thing for Caden. And if she could continue to do her online work in addition to getting a job—even part-time—while Caden was in school, she might be able to afford to move them to a better apartment. Feeling encouraged, she tucked all the information she'd received into her bag, planning to review it again at home later then caught the bus to go get some groceries.

  Though grocery shopping was usually depressing, Alana found that having something positive to focus on made it easier. In preparation for Caden's upcoming birthday, she spent some of her grocery budget picking up a cake mix and frosting. Picking up what she’d need one or two things at a time meant it wasn’t such a strain on the budget. She would have preferred to make it from scratch, but it was cheaper to just buy the mixes since they were on sale. She was pretty sure that Caden wouldn't care as long as it was chocolate and sweet.

  She was just about to the end of her relatively short grocery list when her phone rang. Fumbling for it in the pocket of her skirt, Alana hoped nothing was wrong with Caden. The name on the display, however, had her hesitating over the icon to accept the call. Justin.

  Before she could talk herself out of it, she tapped the screen and pressed the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

  "Alana? This is Justin."

  She swallowed hard and said, "Hi, Justin. What's up?"

  “I was calling to see if you and Caden would be interested in coming to the BlackThorpe company picnic with me."

  "Uh...I'm not part of the company." She felt a little stupid pointing out the obvious.

  "It's open to family and friends of the employees and the people who are involved in BlackThorpe's wounded veterans program. I thought maybe Caden would enjoy it. From what I hear, they'll have lots of fun things like those inflated slides and bouncy houses along with some games and lots of food. There's also fireworks at the end of the evening."

  "When is it?"

  "Tomorrow. I realize it's kind of short notice, but Melanie got on me again today about inviting people. Beth and Dan have said they'd come, so if you need a ride, they can give you one, and Beth said you're welcome to stay the night since the fireworks will likely run late."

  Alana moved her cart to the side of the aisle so she was out of the way of the other shoppers. "I don't know..."

  There was a beat of silence on the other end of the line before Justin said, "Well, consider yourself invited. If you decide to come, just give Beth a call about getting a ride. The picnic starts at four and the fireworks will be around nine o'clock."

  "Okay. I'll think about it. Thank you for the invitation."

  "You're welcome. Hope to see you there."

  After Justin had ended the call, Alana tucked the phone back into her pocket. He was right, of course. Caden would absolutely love something like that. And it didn't mean Justin would be hanging around with them just because he'd invited them. She wasn't sure she'd be able to handle that without having even more of her emotions get tangled up where he was concerned.

  Maybe it would be better—safer—to turn down the invitation. Caden wouldn't know. And given that he'd just been to the Mall of America, it wasn't like he hadn't done anything fun. Yeah, it would be better if she just passed on it.

  Alana looked down at her list and pushed her cart forward.

  Oh, who was she kidding? There was no way she wouldn't accept Justin's invite. Having accepted that truth, Alana found herself finishing off her shopping with a knot of excitement in her stomach. By the time she got back to the apartment with her groceries, she'd gone back and forth several times, but each time her heart got the better of her. Not just because she really did want to see Justin again, but because it was something that would bring Caden joy.

  After she had put away her purchases, Alana sat down at the table and called Beth. As expected, the woman was thrilled that she planned to join them at the picnic. They made arrangements for Alana and Caden to meet them at their house at three the next afternoon. She also accepted Beth's invitation to spend the night and go with them to church the next morning.

  Now that she'd locked herself into that, she only had one more thing to figure out. What was she going to wear?

  ~*~*~

  The flow of people through the gates of the compound made Justin uneasy. Usually, things were locked down pretty tight, so having it this open didn't make sense to him. He stood next to Melanie Thorpe, arms crossed, watching the groups of people approach the sign-in table where their names were matched against the ones provided by employees.

  "Justin." Melanie jabbed her elbow into his ribs. "Stop scowling. You're going to scare off the kids."

  He glanced down at her, not bothering to change his expression. "This really is ridiculous. What were Alex and Marc thinking?"

  Melanie grinned at him. "Well, to be honest, it was more me and Adrianne who broached the idea with them."

  "What on earth did you do that for? Doesn't this strike you as a bit of a security nightmare? Did you vet all the people who said they were coming?"

  "We thought it might keep the morale high among the employees. And it's not like they have access to top secret information here. All buildings remain secure and there are clear boundaries marked to keep people within the area we've set up for the picnic."

  Justin scoffed. "Like that's going to keep someone from ducking past them and doing some exploring."

  Melanie patted his arm. "It will be fine, but I give you permission to say you told me so if this goes south."

  Before Justin could respond, he felt something attach itself to his lower leg. Looking down, he spotted Genevieve hugging him. A grin chased the scowl from his face as he bent down to sc
oop her up.

  "Who is this cutie?" Melanie asked as she reached out to touch Genevieve's curls.

  "This is my niece, Genevieve," he said as Beth and Dan walked up with Alana and Caden. He hoped his happiness at seeing the two of them with his sister didn't show too much on his face. "And this is my sister, Beth and her husband, Dan. This is Melanie Thorpe. The apparent mastermind behind the mayhem today."

  "It's a pleasure to meet you." Melanie held out her hand and greeted them with a wide smile. "I'm already discovering a big upside to this picnic, Justin. I'm meeting members of your family I never knew existed."

  He looked past Beth and Dan to where Alana stood with her arm around Caden. Her gaze was on Melanie, but Caden's was on him and the boy gave him a wave. When Justin gestured with his hand, the boy darted away from Alana's side to stand next to him, a big grin on his face. His green eyes—so much like his mother's—sparkled with excitement. Alana followed a little more slowly, and Justin could read her unease in the tension around her mouth and eyes and the way she held her hands clenched in front of her.

  He noticed the pair of jeans she wore fit her better than anything he'd seen her in so far, but her arms were still covered by the see-through long-sleeved blouse she wore over a pink tank top. And for the first time that he could remember, her hair was down. And it was long—longer than he would have imagined—and curly. He shoved his hands into his pockets when they itched to touch her hair to see if it felt as silky as it looked.

  “Melanie, this is Alana and her son, Caden." Justin rested his hand on Caden's shoulder. "They're family friends."

  He could see the curiosity on Melanie's face as she studied them. She held out her hand to Caden and waited until he slipped his into it. "Nice to meet you, Caden."

  Caden glanced at his mother and Alana moved to stand next to him. She quickly spelled out what Justin assumed was Melanie's name. He had only just begun to learn the alphabet, but the motions she made with her hand looked familiar.

  When Melanie shot him a wide-eyed look, Justin said, "Caden is deaf."

  It wasn't often something caught Melanie off-guard, but she quickly regained her composure and held out her hand to Alana. "It's nice to meet you, Alana."

  A small smile lifted the corners of Alana's mouth. "You too."

  "There's a lot of fun stuff for kids Caden's age." Melanie motioned with her hand towards to the picnic area. "I saw Lucas and Brooke arrive a little while ago. You should introduce Caden to Danny."

  "That's a good idea," Justin said as Dan took Genevieve from him and got her settled into the stroller he'd been pushing. He gave Melanie another hard look. "But I still think the whole picnic thing is the opposite of a good idea."

  This time Melanie reached up and patted his cheek. "Relax. You might actually enjoy yourself." She gave a little wave to the rest of the group. "I'm going to go make sure everyone is doing their job. Have a good time."

  As Melanie walked away, Justin gazed across the crowd in search of Lucas Hamilton and his family. When he didn't immediately spot them, he turned back and said, "Why don't we wander around and see what sort of stuff they've got for the kids?"

  Justin had barely taken a step when a small hand slipped into his. Looking down, he saw Caden standing at his side, his eyes wide as he took in all the people and activity ahead of them. Tightening his grasp on the boy's hand, Justin moved toward where they had set up some activities for kids.

  He glanced over his shoulder and saw that Alana had fallen in step with Beth. She didn't look nearly as happy or excited to be there as her son was. Though he'd known she'd likely accept his invitation for Caden's sake, Justin had hoped she would enjoy herself as well. Hopefully, as the afternoon wore on she'd relax.

  ~*~*~

  This was a mistake.

  Though Alana figured Beth would have mentioned if Justin had gotten a girlfriend in the past few days, seeing him with the beautiful blonde was still a harsh reminder that at some point, he just might. She told herself the sadness she felt was for Caden. When he'd slid his hand into Justin's, she'd held her breath, wondering how Justin would react. Though Caden hadn't come right out and said it, Alana knew from a few subtle things he'd mentioned that he really wanted Justin in his life more. If Justin had a girlfriend, Caden wasn't likely to get that wish.

  She saw that Justin had shortened his strides so Caden could keep up with him as they crossed the grass together. For too long she'd convinced herself that Caden was just fine without a father. Unfortunately, Caden's actions showed that he was craving a male influence in his life. And not just any male, but Justin. Though he seemed to enjoy being around Daniel, he'd never reacted to him the way he had to Justin.

  "Hey, guys."

  Justin's greeting drew Alana from her thoughts and onto the group of people he'd stopped beside. She recognized a couple of the men from her first visit to BlackThorpe.

  "Hey, man. How's it going? I see you got my buddy with you again."

  Than dropped down to Caden's level and signed to him. Caden pulled his hand from Justin's to reply but even though Than was engaging him in conversation, Alana noticed that Caden didn't move from Justin's side.

  As Than and Caden talked, Justin introduced them like he had with Melanie. Then he motioned to a pretty woman with straight brown hair and a friendly smile. "By the way, Alana, this is Lindsay, who just recently put Than out of his misery and agreed to be his girlfriend."

  "I just had to wait until I was sure the line had disappeared." Snickers sounded around the group as Lindsay grinned.

  With a smile, Justin drew her attention to another familiar face. "Beside Eric over there is his wife, Staci and their daughter, Sarah. And this is Eric's sister, Brooke, who is married to Lucas and their son, Danny. Lucas is Lindsay's brother." He laid his hand on the shoulder of the man next to him who held the hand of a woman who appeared to have dwarfism. "This is Trent and his fiancée, Victoria, another of Eric's sisters. They're just keeping it all in the family here at BlackThorpe."

  Alana noticed the young boy Justin had introduced as Danny had approached Than and was watching his conversation with Caden intently. The little girl—Sarah—also moved toward him and slid her hand into Danny's. Quickly reviewing the relationships Justin had just explained, Alana realized that the two of them would be cousins. She saw the affection on Danny's face as he glanced at Sarah before turning his attention back to Than and Caden.

  There was no missing the curiosity of the group as they shook hands with her. Alana stayed close to Beth. Everyone seemed very friendly, but she found it hard to think of things to say even though Beth was chatting easily with Lindsay.

  "Hey, why don't I take the boys to the slide," Than suggested. He looked at Alana. "Would that be okay? I'll be able to translate if Caden needs it."

  "Sure. That would be great. Thanks." She quickly signed to Caden what Than had suggested and that she had given her permission.

  Than flashed Alana a smile before taking Lindsay's hand and then reaching for Caden's. Danny took his aunt's other hand and the four of them set off together. Sarah seemed a bit upset at being abandoned but then she spotted Genevieve and made a beeline for the stroller. Beth squatted down next to the girl and told her Genevieve's name and answered the questions Sarah had about her. Staci moved to stand with her daughter and began to chat with Beth.

  Alana took a deep breath and let it out, trying to ease the tension in her body. There was a longing growing in her for something like this. A group of friends. An easy camaraderie. A sense of belonging. But there wasn't a place for her here. Justin belonged because he worked with these people and, if his current conversation with Trent was any indication, they were also his friends. As his family, Beth and Daniel also fit in easily. Daniel chatted with Eric and Lucas like they were old friends even though Justin's introduction made it clear they had just met.

  A gentle touch on her arm drew her attention, and she looked over to see Victoria at her side. The woman gave her a friendly sm
ile. "So have you known Justin long?"

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  "No. Only a few weeks. I originally met Beth and Daniel since we go to the same church. I've been helping them with...some stuff, and I met Justin as a result of that."

  "He's a great guy," Victoria said, her gaze going to where her fiancée stood talking to him. "Your son seems to sense that as well."

  Alana nodded. "Ever since Caden saw him with his guns, he's decided Justin is his hero."

  "Couldn't ask for a much better hero, if you ask me," Victoria said. "He helped me learn to shoot a while back. Never once told me I couldn't do it because of my size. He and Trent just figured out the best way to make it work for me and then let me go to town. He's a good man."

  As she listened to Victoria talk Justin up, Alana wondered what she was trying to accomplish. It wasn't as if Alana needed to hear all about Justin's good points. She knew a lot of them already, but his life didn't have room for an instant family, so it really didn't matter what she felt about Justin. He wasn't the man for her.

  "It seems most the men I've met who work for BlackThorpe are good men," Alana said, trying to move the conversation away from Justin.

  Victoria grinned. "Well, I'd have to agree since I'm engaged to one and related to another."

  "Have you set a wedding date?" Alana asked.

  "Yep. It took us awhile, but we finally decided on one." Victoria tilted her head, her eyes suddenly sparkling. "You should come. You could be Justin's plus one."

  Alana was sure her eyes widened significantly at that remark. No subtly at all there. "Um...wouldn't it be up to Justin to invite a date? He might already have someone in mind."

  Victoria shrugged. "I doubt that, but if it will make you feel better, I'll ask him about it just to be sure."

  Alana held up her hand. "No. No, that's okay. We don't really have that sort of relationship. It's more of a teacher-student kind of thing."