“Congratulations on a job well done,” Tristan said as he lifted his glass toward Timothy.
Timothy beamed at his words and clinked his glass of chocolate milk against Tristan’s glass of soda. “I can’t believe I won.”
“Well, you did, and you deserved it.”
“You helped me though,” Timothy said after he’d taken a sip of his milk.
“Not as much as you think. Once you decided on the project you wanted to do, all I did was help you figure out how to present it. You did everything else yourself.”
As they went on to discuss Timothy’s success at the science fair, Shayna observed them. Tristan connected with Timothy on a level that Shayna never had been able to. It was a level Lorne wouldn’t have been able to connect with him on, either.
Frowning, she pulled her thoughts from Lorne. She tried not to think of him when she was with Tristan. Too often lately, comparisons would pop up, and that wasn’t fair to either of them. She was trying hard to be present in the moment, and that moment was for the three of them to celebrate Timothy’s success.
After Timothy had won at the science fair, they had gone out for dinner. A pancake dinner, of course. Even she and Tristan had ordered pancakes. While hers were just simple blueberry ones, Timothy’s were heaped with whipped cream and sprinkles. And then there was a plate with plenty of bacon to go around.
It made Shayna feel slightly better about not having been able to get Timothy into Lighthouse Academy yet. At least, for now, he was happy to be in his current school. That wouldn’t last too long though, and there were still almost five months left in the school year.
The biggest roadblock to the switch in schools had to do with getting him there. The buses for the private school didn’t run to their area, and even though they had a before school program, she couldn’t drop him off for it since she had to go to work so early. The program didn’t start until eight AM, while she had to be at the restaurant by seven for her current shift.
“Do you have another big project coming up?” Tristan asked as he poured more syrup over his pancakes.
“Nope. At least not one that I really like.”
“What do you mean?”
“I have a book report for my special class.” Timothy picked up a piece of bacon and took a bite.
“Your special class?” Tristan glanced at Shayna. “What’s that?”
“I want to keep him with his class, so they just pull him out for a couple of advanced classes. Math and reading, specifically. The staff wanted to bump him up a grade or two, but I didn’t want that, so we compromised.”
“I don’t mind reading, I just don’t like having to write the report. I’d much rather be doing science experiments.”
“I hear ya,” Tristan said with a nod. “When I was your age, I would rather be doing math, learning about the things that would help me reach my ultimate goal.”
“Becoming an architect?” Timothy asked.
“Yes, exactly. What is it that you want to be?”
Timothy shrugged. “Sometimes I want to be a scientist, but other days, I want to be a chef.”
“A chef?”
“A pancake chef.” Timothy took a bite of pancake loaded with whipped cream.
Tristan looked at Shayna, and the two of them laughed. It felt good to do that together.
“How are things going with Eva?” Tristan asked once they had stopped laughing. Timothy was focused on his pancakes and bacon once again.
“Good. Eva is friendly but doesn’t feel the need to talk all the time. She’s fairly neat, but not overly so which is good since…well…an eight-year-old boy lives there too. It would have been a challenge if she was a neat freak.”
“That’s good. I had hoped that having her as a roommate wouldn’t be a problem since Belle said she was a real sweetheart.”
“She has a boyfriend, so sometimes he stops by, but most the time, they go out or to his place.”
Tristan regarded her for a moment. “But you still miss Lisa.”
This time, Shayna was the one to shrug. “Yes. I do miss her. I mean, she was a friend, so I miss having her close, but we also miss her because of how our lives fit together so well. Because she was able to work from home, and had such a deep devotion to Timothy, she had a willingness to help us out beyond what your average roommate might have.”
“No need for the dreaded babysitter, eh?” Tristan picked up his cup of coffee and took a sip.
“Lisa took care of all of that for us. She was so great at taking care of Timothy when I couldn’t.” Shayna poked at her pancakes with her fork. “I had more flexibility in my shifts then too. I was able to work extra ones when necessary.”
Tristan lowered his mug to the table as his brows drew together. “Have you been having trouble at work because you can’t be so flexible with shifts now?”
Shayna sighed, wishing she could take her words back. She didn’t want to lie to Tristan. “Not trouble, per se, but they keep talking about how they need workers who can be flexible.”
He leaned forward. “Is your job at risk?”
“I don’t think so. I mean, I’ve been there for almost ten years, but you never know.”
At her words, Tristan sat back in his seat, his arms crossed over his chest. “Maybe you need to find a new job.”
“The thing is, they know about me and are aware of my situation. While they would like for me to be more flexible, they have also been understanding if I need to take time off to care for Timothy.” So far…
She could see that Tristan was mulling over her situation. It was something she’d come to understand about him. He tended to zero in on a problem to try and solve it, or at least come up with possible solutions. That seemed to be how he dealt with her, too. He took her problems, found solutions, and then presented them to her, letting her make the decisions.
It was something she appreciated, for the most part. On occasion though, she remembered what it was like to have someone who took care of all the difficult decisions, leaving her to deal with the simpler things in their lives. But now, all decisions that pertained to her and Timothy fell on her shoulders.
“Will you tell me if something happens with your job?”
“Uh, I suppose so.” Shayna cut off a piece of pancake and jabbed her fork into it. “We are in constant contact most days now. It would be a pretty hard thing to hide from you.”
Tristan’s eyes narrowed as he watched her. “Please don’t hide things from me, Shay. Honesty is important if we want to be…together.”
Shayna agreed with him—honesty was important—she just wasn’t sure she could be completely honest with him about everything. She’d lived a whole life before meeting him. And had experienced a whole love—from the beginning, to their marriage, to the moment when death had parted them. She figured she was entitled to some secrets, hidden deep in her heart.
She would never lie to him, but there were some things she wouldn’t divulge—couldn’t divulge—not if she wanted to have a life with him.
“I won’t hide it,” Shayna said. “I promise.”
Tristan appeared to consider her words then nodded. “Thank you.”
Timothy had finished his pancakes and bacon as they’d talked, and, for the moment, appeared to be full. Shayna was also full, so she accepted the server’s offer of a container to take the remainder of her pancakes home. Timothy would likely be the one to eat them, even though they lacked the whipped cream he always wanted.
After they were done, Tristan took care of the bill, and they left the restaurant. They were in the midst of a cold snap that didn’t see the daytime temperatures anywhere near zero and night time was plunging to nearly forty below with the windchill. Thankfully, as usual, Tristan had started his car while they were still in the restaurant, so after a quick walk across the parking lot, they climbed into a relatively warm vehicle.
When they got to the townhouse, Tristan came in for a bit, but with church early the next morning, he didn’t stay long. She sent Timothy upstairs to change into his pajamas while she walked Tristan down to the door.
“Will you be available to go out on Valentine’s Day?” he asked as they stood at the door. “Sierra has said she’d watch Timothy if you’re free.”
Shayna gave him a smile. “I’m sure I’m available.”
Tristan reached out to cup her cheek with his hand. Shayna was sure that soon, he’d want to kiss her. She waited for it with equal parts anticipation and dread, uncertain of what emotions would flood her when the moment came. She’d only been kissed by one man, and given how he’d been ripped from her life, Shayna just wasn’t sure how she’d react when the time came to share a kiss with Tristan.
Tristan hurried from the florist shop to the car where Sierra waited. They were on their way to Shayna’s, and he was a bit nervous about the evening. Not that he had any big plans for their Valentine’s Day, but it was the first one he’d spent with someone special.
In the past, he’d been careful not to date someone in the months before Valentine’s Day. It was the only way to make sure that there weren’t any undue expectations for something special on the day. For some reason, that hadn’t even entered his mind when he’d asked Shayna out before Christmas. In fact, he was excited to have her with him to celebrate Valentine’s.
“Oh, that’s lovely, Tris,” Sierra said when he handed her the cellophane-covered floral arrangement he’d picked up. “Shayna will love it.”
“I hope so. I didn’t want to get her just the standard bouquet of roses. I thought she might like an arrangement of flowers better.”
“I think she will. There are roses, but they’re mixed in with other beautiful flowers.” Sierra sighed. “I hope someday…”
“Is there someone special?” Tristan glanced over at her. “Someone, in particular, your heart is yearning for?”
“Yearning?” Sierra gave a laugh. “Well, that’s a bit of an old-fashioned term.”
“And yet so appropriate at times,” Tristan said. “So? Is there?”
“Yes, I suppose there is, but I’m sure nothing will ever come of it.”
“Never say never, and be sure to pray about it before giving up.” Tristan knew that what he said might seem trite, but at the same time, it was still valid.
“I pray about it every night,” Sierra said softly. “But maybe God’s answer is no.”
Considering his own suspicions, Tristan said, “Or maybe it’s just wait.”
“Maybe. I pray that’s what God’s answer is, but some days it’s hard.”
When he pulled to a stop at a red light, Tristan turned to look at Sierra. She sat with her head resting against the window as she stared down at the flowers. He had suspected that Sierra had feelings for Dalton, though she’d never said anything about it to him. But since Sierra had come into their lives, she’d always seemed sweet on the youngest Callaghan brother.
Of course, Dalton being Dalton, he hadn’t seemed to notice. He didn’t pay attention to much, other than his music.
“You keep praying, and I’ll pray for you too,” Tristan said, hoping his reassurance gave her encouragement.
Though he thought Dalton would be fortunate to have someone like Sierra, he hoped that if Dalton wasn’t going to return soon, that God would free Sierra’s heart to love another man.
When they got to the townhouse, Timothy greeted them enthusiastically as usual. Sierra had become one of his favorite people. Danica joined them sometimes, but now that Les was part of her life, it seemed she was spending more time with him. Tristan hoped that Les wouldn’t come between the two girls.
“You look beautiful,” Tristan told Shayna when she came downstairs. She wore a light pink sweater and black pants. Her hair was up so he could see narrow hoops in her ears.
Shayna looked up at him and smiled, her fingers touched the thin silver chain that hung down low on her chest. “Thank you. You look quite dashing yourself. Well, what I can see of you.”
Tristan looked down at the black coat and scarf he wore then laughed. “I’m afraid to disappoint, but underneath this isn’t anything special. Fashion forwardness has never been my thing.” When her gaze dipped to the cellophane-covered flowers in his arms, he said, “Oh. Right. These are for you.”
“They’re beautiful,” Shayna said as she took them from him. “Do I have time to take them up and put them in a vase? Or do we have a reservation?”
“We do have a reservation,” Tristan told her. “How about we have Sierra take care of them for you?”
Shayna nodded then turned to hand the flowers to Sierra. “Thank you.”
“Let’s take these upstairs,” Sierra said as Timothy peered at the flowers. “I brought some games for us to play.”
“Maman got us pizza,” he told her as they headed up the stairs.
Sierra glanced over her shoulders and gave him a quick smile before they disappeared, their voices growing muffled. Tristan was grateful that Sierra had been willing to help him out, but he supposed part of that was because Danica was out with Les.
Valentine’s Day had never been his favorite holiday. It seemed that for everyone who loved the holiday, there were more for whom the day was a struggle. As a rule, Tristan didn’t acknowledge the day, but he thought that this year, he would make an exception for Shayna.
“So where are we going?” Shayna asked as they stepped out of the house.
Tristan rested a hand on her back as they moved toward the car. He had debated a few times on where to go, but for some reason, he felt compelled to return to the place where they’d had their first date. She’d seemed to enjoy it until things had gotten a little tense at the end.
Tristan hoped that this date wouldn’t end the same way. There was really no reason why it should because any dates they’d had since December had ended just fine.
“We’re going back to Shelby’s,” he said as he opened the door for the car. “I hope that’s okay.”
“Oh! That’s perfect.” She graced him with a bright smile before sliding into the passenger seat. “I really enjoyed it the last time we were there.”
Tristan breathed a sigh of relief then shut her door and rounded the back of the car to climb behind the wheel. The evening was relatively mild, the cold snap having ended a few days earlier.
“Was work busy today?” Tristan asked as he pulled away from the townhouse.
“Not so much during my shift, but I imagine it will be a bit busier this evening.” She hesitated then said, “Not that where I work is the most romantic destination for Valentine’s Day, but it’s a good place for people to share a nice meal without breaking the bank.”
They chatted more about work—his and hers—on the drive, and Tristan was glad that they were able to talk about things like that. He was grateful that she was interested in what he did—or at least was willing to listen to him talk a bit about his work—and in turn, he enjoyed hearing about the customers she served at the restaurant.
Once they got to Shelby’s, Tristan was glad he had made reservations for them. There was a line-up, but when he gave his name, they were immediately shown to a table. One beside the fireplace like the last time, though not the same one.
“I’m going to have to look at the menu this time,” Shayna said once they’d been seated by the hostess and left with their menus.
“You’re not going to have the same thing as last time?” Tristan asked, looking up from the menu he held.
“No.” Shayna shook her head. “I like to try different things. I suppose it comes from being forced to eat the same foods all the time when I was younger.”
Tristan lowered his menu. “You mean when you were on the streets?”
She glanced at him. “Yes, then, but also before. When I was still at home.”
“Not much variety?”
“No. Every day was pretty much the same for me. Dry cereal with milk for breakfast, and never the sugary kind. Ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Supper was on a three or four-day rotation. Spaghetti. Meatloaf. Tuna casserole. Sometimes we had baked chicken.” Shayna shrugged. “Not that I keep much of a varied menu now. Budget aside, Timothy likes to eat the same foods regularly. So when I get the chance to eat something new and different, I take it.”
“I’m a bit more like Timothy when it comes to food, as it happens,” Tristan said, putting down the menu. It hadn’t taken him any time at all to decide what he wanted.
Shayna leaned forward, a smile on her lips, her eyes sparkling in the light from the small collection of candles on their table. “And I’m not surprised about that at all.”
Tristan returned her smile. “I do draw the line at pancakes smothered in whipped cream though. That’s not something I would be able to eat on a regular basis.”
“And in that regard, we are the same,” Shayna said as she picked up her menu to study it once again.
The waitress—a different one from their prior visit—arrived at their table with a smile and took their drink order. Once that was done, Tristan sat back in his chair and studied Shayna. Ever since he’d first met her, he’d felt that there was something special about her that drew him in. For the first time in his life, he felt something stir deep within him. A desire to be with Shayna always. Forever.
Was it too soon? Probably for Shayna, and others would likely say that as well, but being with Shayna—and even Timothy—gave him a feeling of completeness. From almost the moment they’d met, he’d felt something different for her than any other woman he’d contemplated a relationship with. And that was in spite of knowing that she’d loved another man with a love that—by all accounts—had been intense and all-encompassing. A love that had been ripped away from her.
Would she be able—or willing—to love him in that same way?
It was something he’d been praying about, and he trusted that if it was God’s will for them to be together, she would feel the same way about him. He hoped that she would love him the way he loved her.