needed, dear?”
Shelby licked her lips and leaned forward. “I was young, so I might not remember correctly, but didn’t Mayor Ashby start a fund meant to rebuild the church?”
“Oh, was he ever heartbroken when he found out they couldn’t go ahead with plans for the church.” Ida laid her hands over her heart. “It was his dearest wish to see our little chapel standing again. I’ve always been rather unhappy about the fact that Henry didn’t get to see it happen in his lifetime. But he couldn’t convince the church board to keep the land. They were so bent on washing their hands of the building and moving on so the congregation could divide. It was a very sad time for us.”
“So there was an account set up for the church?”
“Not was, dear, there is one. I advised him to divert the money to another worthwhile purpose, but he just wouldn’t see the reason in that. My Henry was such a dreamer, you see. He held out hope that someday an opportunity to rebuild would resurface.”
“I think we might be able to.” Shelby unfolded the deed to the land the church used to occupy. She showed it to Ida. “My dad passed away recently.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. We weren’t close. We hadn’t spoken in years.”
“How tragic.” Ida closed her eyes for a moment.
“The important thing is we can rebuild the church, Ida. My dad left me the land in his will. I just need to know if there are enough funds, and if I can access them.”
Ida clasped her hands together and rocked back and forth as she stared at the piece of paper. “My Henry would be so pleased. I should have known he’d be right all along. That was his fondest wish. You do know that, don’t you? He’d say this was the happiest day of his life—besides our wedding day, of course.”
“Of course.” Shelby nodded along.
“Paperwork.” Ida shuffled over to a metal filing cabinet that was four drawers high. “Let me see here.” She pulled out a file a few minutes later. “Right here. Yes. My Henry was so brilliant. You see.” Plunking the paperwork on the table, she jutted her fingers to indicate the first few lines. “He set the account up as a nonprofit whose sole purpose was to rebuild the church. That way, some of the greasy-fingered board members couldn’t get a hold of the money and do something silly with it. You know the type—the ones who want to spend thousands of dollars on new street signs so we can look fancy for the tourists.”
Ida explained that since her name was on the account, she would need to sign all the bills with regard to rebuilding the church. “And I’ll be just delighted to sign whatever you bring me, because I trust you, my dear. I do. You’ll do right by this community and finally give us our shiny white pearl back in town.”
Shelby sure hoped she was up to the task.
Her phone rang as she waved goodbye to Ida. The screen told her it was her brother. “Hey, Caleb.”
“I’m worried about you.” In true Caleb fashion he cut right to his point.
“What’s new? You’re always worried about something.” Shelby grabbed her bike off the ground.
“You’re going to go ahead with this plan to rebuild the church, aren’t you?”
“Of course. I told you that after the reading of Dad’s will.”
“I don’t know if that’s wise.” He paused. “I mean, do you really want to bring up that bad memory again?”
Yes. That was where she had been burned. Why was he talking softer? As if it was a secret he didn’t want others to find out. He could say it. It wasn’t as if anyone could hear them.
“Don’t you see? That’s why I have to rebuild it.” She wouldn’t say the words out loud because Caleb would tell her what she felt was irrational, but ever since the fire, a part of her had felt trapped inside the ashes of the old church. Not long after the fire, she’d come up with the idea of rebuilding the church because it seemed like the only way to finally let go.
Caleb sighed. “Just tell me if you need something or if you need to talk or...you know. Anything.” The tone of his voice made it sound like he meant deep, serious talking, not simply an update about the church.
“Talk?”
“If you go through with it—rebuilding the church—it has the potential to drag up some really hard times for you. I’m here. That’s all I’m saying.”
“Thanks, but I’ll be fine. Hey, I’ve got to go. I can’t ride my bike and talk on the cell at the same time.”
“I just love you, Shelb.”
“I know you do.”
How could she make him see? Rebuilding the church wouldn’t open old wounds.
No. It would finally heal her.
* * *
Joel strolled past the blazing-red fire engine, letting his fingers trail over the cool metal.
He caught a reflection of himself in a tinted wall of glass and froze. How would people react if he told them the truth about the church like he’d originally planned to? Of course, he couldn’t do that now. Not after hearing that the church had burned all the way to the ground. When he’d set it ablaze all those years ago, he figured he’d char a section, at most, before the fire engine arrived. Just enough to get his point across to God, since He hadn’t listened to Joel’s cries. Joel hadn’t stuck around long enough to find out the total damage.
It had seemed like a great idea to his sixteen-year-old self.
Without a doubt, if people knew what he had done, they would treat him differently again—like they always did. Not just differently. They’d probably run him out of town. Certainly, Chief Wheeler would fire him. And Joel wouldn’t blame him. Who would keep a fireman with a history of arson on the payroll? Now no one could ever find out. His happiness in Goose Harbor depended on it.
When he first saw the listing for a position with the Goose Harbor Fire Department, he’d prayed about it. After a week of praying, he had known he was supposed to apply. Now he wasn’t so sure. Why had God brought him back to the scene of his greatest failure? Last time Joel had left town, he’d been so angry at God for dashing his hopes once again, but he’d made peace since then. God wasn’t the enemy, just selfish humans like his mom and the people who had cast aside Dante. Really, God was the only one who’d ever accepted him as is.
Probably the only one who ever would.
Maybe he shouldn’t have come back to Goose Harbor, after all. It had been a fool’s dream to think he could return without the past dogging his heels everywhere he went. But he was here now and needed to make the best of his new life. For starters, if he knew one thing, it was that staying on the chief’s good side was rule number one in fire department code. The chief wanted him to work with Shelby on a fund-raiser, so he’d do it.
There was a bright side: working with Shelby. Joel wouldn’t mind getting to know her better or spending hours beside the pretty woman. Not one bit. She’d been
