Chapter 27 #2
“Michelle has a TV from Daily Grind that she wants to get rid of. She says the coffee shop isn’t a sports bar, and she’s doing some remodeling and doesn’t want it.”
He glanced over to her as they neared the end of the sidewalk that led to the parking lot.
“Your Aunt Hilde said she would donate any bedding you didn’t have, as well as towels and other linens, and your momma and daddy apparently have a credenza that came from the bookstore that’s just taking up space in their garage.”
Adam closed his phone and shoved it away.
“From what I can tell, that only leaves maybe a nightstand and a desk in your bedroom, maybe some drapes or something, and maybe a loveseat or a recliner, so that you have more seating. But it should be plenty to get you started.” He stopped and reached out to touch her elbow.
“Will you please look at me and tell me why you’re so angry? ”
She didn’t look at him, but she did stop and face him. “I told you I didn’t want you to help me with this.”
“Not true,” he said. “You said I couldn’t buy the furniture for you, and I didn’t.” He let her eyes flit all over the place, and then Adam slid his hand along her jaw and into her hair.
Her eyes locked on his then, and he leaned closer, hoping to drive his point home. “Joelle, I am falling in love with you, and if I can make your life easier, I want to do it.”
He enjoyed the way she closed her eyes and breathed out as she calmed down.
He rested his forehead against hers. “I just need you to allow me to help you. This is what I’m really good at—putting together all these pieces, finding all these details.
” He lowered his head and pressed his cheek to hers.
“Please, just let me do this for you. It’s not costing me anything. I’m not giving you a single dime.”
“No, you’ve just done all this work,” she said, her voice broken. “And it is going to cost you money—two hundred dollars to hold the apartment.”
He pulled away and looked into her gorgeous blue eyes filled with such worry. “You are worth two hundred dollars,” he said. “And besides, Blaze said he would pay that.” Adam gave her a smile and watched her chin wobble. “Please, baby doll.”
One tear splashed her cheek, and she wiped it away quickly. “I just don’t know if I’m good enough for you,” she said.
“Funny,” he shot back. “I spent last night wondering the same thing.”
“What?” The word exploded out of her body in mostly air, and he realized how that had sounded.
“No, no. I meant—I spent all last night wondering if I was good enough for you.”
“Well, that’s just silly,” she said.
“That’s how I feel about what you just said.” He dropped his hand and pocketed it. “All it takes is one text to get all those items,” he said. “And one phone call to get that apartment. We can have you moved into that apartment before Christmas.”
“Really?” Joey asked. “I wasn’t planning on moving until January first.”
“Just imagine baking all your pies in that new kitchen,” he said.
“I don’t want to cut Grams out of it.”
Adam smiled and pulled Joey into his arms. This time, she relaxed into his embrace and hugged him back.
“Joey, you are so good to everyone around you. When are you going to put yourself first?”
“I don’t know,” she murmured. “I was kind of taught not to put myself first.”
“Right,” Adam said, his mind flowing through the things he’d been taught too. “We can serve others. We should serve others, help them, but we can’t do that if we’re in dire need of care ourselves. God doesn’t expect that of us.”
“No,” she said. “He doesn’t.”
“If you don’t want to move in until January, that’s fine,” Adam said.
Joey pulled back and looked up at him with wide eyes filled with hope and wonder. “Can you imagine me having Christmas in my own place?”
He grinned at her. “So am I going to send the text and make the phone call? I bet I can do it before we even get back to the condo.”
She took his face in her hands and gazed at him in a way no one had ever looked at Adam before. “You’re fast becoming my favorite person.”
“Good,” he said. The thought of her having anyone else she liked more than him made him a little jealous.
She closed her eyes and leaned her head against his chest. “I’m a little scared,” she said.
“Of living by yourself?”
“No,” she said. “Of falling in love with you.”
Adam had been battling his own army of fear against such a thing, and he didn’t know how to reassure Joey. He took her hand, and they started back to the condo, and he simply let the quietness of the winter seep into him.
Just outside the condo, he asked, “So you’re not breaking up with me, right?”
“No,” Joey said.
“And you want me to make sure that you get this apartment and coordinate your move.” He leaned closer, hoping she could see the parallels between them. “Like you coordinated mine.”
Joey grinned. “I did coordinate your move, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you did, and see? You do a lot of good for other people, and it’s okay for you to accept help too.”
She nodded, something still storming in her eyes. “Okay, I want the apartment.”
“Your wish is my command,” Adam said, nodding toward the condo as a particularly nasty gust of wind came and tried to steal his cowboy hat.
Joey turned to the condo and pushed open the door, squealing. “Grams, I can’t wait for you to see this kitchen,” she called, suddenly all laughter and giggles.
Adam entered the condo too, and he whispered, “Thank you, Lord,” —his first uttered prayer in a long time.