A Season of Angels (Angels Everywhere #1)(39)
“Of course,” she said, stepping aside.
A blast of cold air accompanied him as he stepped into her house. He rubbed his hands together and cast her an apologetic look.
“Would you like a cup of coffee?”
“If you don’t mind,” he said, continuing to look uneasy. “I shouldn’t have come.”
Jody felt a twinge of guilt over the way she’d rejected his offer to take Timmy and her out for pizza. It had been a cowardly thing to do.
“Please, sit down,” she said, motioning toward the kitchen table while she assembled a pot of coffee and waited for the liquid to drain through.
Glen stood until she’d finished with the coffee before he took a seat himself. Jody guessed that this didn’t have anything to do with manners. He seemed preoccupied and nervous.
“I’m not exactly sure what I want to say,” he began, stretching his arms across her tabletop. “I don’t doubt that I’m making a fool of myself. I seem to do that when it comes to dealing with women.”
“I’m sure that’s not true.” Jody’s guilt was mounting until it was a palatable thing. Glen was one of the nicest men she’d ever known.
“I guess the real reason I’m here is to ask you what I did wrong.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I realize I was rushing you and if I haven’t already apologized for that, then I am now. I . . . it’s just that I think the world of you and Timmy, and knowing I’d done something—”
“Glen,” she said, interrupting him. “Believe me, please, it isn’t anything you said or did. Timmy received a package from his grandmother, Jeff’s mother, with things that had been Jeff’s as a boy, and now . . .”
“And now,” Glen finished for her, “Timmy feels another man in his life would be betraying his father’s memory.” Glen grew silent for a moment, then slowly he leveled his gaze on her. “More important, so would you. I know how much you loved Jeff,” he continued, his voice gaining conviction, “that was one of the things that attracted me to you the most. You’re not the kind of woman who’d give her heart lightly, and when you do, it means something.”
The compliment made her uncomfortable.
“That appeals to me, Jody, because I’m that kind of person myself. I didn’t fall in love until recently and it’s been hell getting over that relationship. Love means more to me than being sexually compatible. It means being an important part of your life as you’ll be in mine. It means encouraging you to be everything you’ve ever wanted to be, sharing in your triumphs and comforting you in your failures. It means giving you the courage to try again. That’s what love is all about.”
Jody didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t likely to meet anyone like Glen in a good long time. A man who looked outside himself was a rarity. He’d spoken of his broken relationship and the pain it had brought him, and yet he was willing to trust again, willing to love again.
“I’ve been thinking about marriage for a long time,” Glen went on. “And because of that I’ve put unnecessary pressure on you and Timmy. I want you to know how sorry I am.”
“Please,” she said, “don’t apologize again. It isn’t anything you’ve done.”
He stood as if sitting had become intolerable. “I want you to know I don’t plan on taking Jeff away from you and Timmy. It would be impossible. All I’m asking is that you give me a chance to prove myself to you. All I’m asking is that you make room in your life for me.”
Jody recalled the way her son’s eyes had lit up when she mentioned the outing with Glen and how that expression had gradually faded as he looked at the trophies that had once belonged to his father. Like her, Timmy had assumed having dinner with another man would betray Jeff’s memory.
Glen plowed his hand through his hair. “I realize men aren’t supposed to react to rejection like this. We’re supposed be flippant and to take it on the chin and all that. Forgive me, Jody, if I’ve made you uncomfortable. I hope I haven’t embarrassed you, but I wanted to speak my piece. I figured I’d better do it while I had the courage.” He turned and walked out of her kitchen.
He was at the front door before she stopped him. “Glen?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you for stopping by. You’ve given me something to think about. I’ll . . . probably see you at the copy machine soon.”
He nodded and his soft, dark eyes held hers captive. “I can be patient, Jody, I just haven’t proved it yet, but I promise you I will.” With that, he turned and let himself out the door.
“Here they come.” Bonnie Stewart stuck her head in the labor room door where Leah was stripping the sheets from the bed. Her patient had recently delivered a healthy eight-pound baby girl, her third child. The labor and delivery had gone smoothly and mother and father were delighted with their latest addition.
Leah’s shift had been over half an hour earlier and she’d hoped to be long gone before the birthing-class tour group arrived. There was something about ten pregnant woman parading through the labor and delivery rooms that left a sour taste in her mouth.
She was being unfair, Leah realized, but meeting with these groups had always been a painful experience for her. Dealing with the mothers-to-be, one and often two or three at a time, was challenge enough. A roomful tested the very limits of her patience.