Mrs. Miracle 01 - Mrs. Miracle(24)

The room that at one time had belonged to Pamela. Her dead daughter. It seemed fitting that this was where Sharon would live out the last days of her marriage. Forty years and sinking fast.

Forty years and dying.





Chapter 11


Words are windows to the heart.

—Mrs. Miracle





The blue dress. No, the red one. Reba couldn’t decide. Both were festive, one in silk, the other in a lightweight wool. She’d tried on the two outfits at least a dozen times, those dresses and everything else inside her closet, including a couple of items left over from her college days.

This wasn’t an ordinary dinner date. This was an evening to be spent with Seth Webster. She closed her eyes and cradled her arms around her middle, breathing in deeply as she contemplated what was in store for her.

Disillusionment, no doubt, Reba decided. She’d set herself up for a major disappointment and knew it. Brad Pitt himself couldn’t live up to the fantasy she’d created in her mind with Seth. He was her dream man. Why she’d picked him out of all the men she saw in the strip mall parking lot, she couldn’t even begin to guess. Theories had bounced around her mind all week, and she’d dissected and examined them until she couldn’t think straight any longer. She’d worried and stewed over this one date more than she had over her high school prom.

She wanted everything to be perfect: her dress, her hair, her…attitude. For one night, one short period of time, she longed to place the hurts of the past behind her, forget that the two people she’d loved most in the world had betrayed her. Forget that this one act had colored the way she’d looked at all relationships since.

For this one night she wanted to pretend her heart hadn’t been stricken. That she was footloose, carefree. That she was capable of dreaming again and having those dreams come true.

The doorbell chimed. Panic set in, and Reba glanced at her watch as her heart bounded to her throat like a bouncing basketball. It had to be Seth. Not so soon. Not already.

She calmed herself, then opened the front door and let him inside her home. If she’d gone to trouble to look her best—and she had—then Seth had, too. His hair was freshly cut, she noticed, and he’d donned a crisp-looking business suit.

“You didn’t say where we were dining,” she commented as he helped her on with her coat.

“I didn’t know,” he admitted, and chuckled. “I ended up getting a couple of suggestions from my housekeeper. She made the reservations. I hope you like Thai food. If not…”

“It’s my favorite.” It’d been months since she’d eaten at a Thai restaurant, and it sounded perfect. Perfect.

Although they were both a bit nervous at first, the uneasiness soon disappeared, and as Seth drove to the restaurant they chatted like longtime friends. Rarely had Reba felt more at ease with a man, especially one she barely knew.

“I understand you met the twins,” he commented. “My twins, Judd and Jason.”

“Wednesday night.” Her first night working with the children for the Christmas pageant.

“Jason’s actually glad to play the role of an angel.” The two boys struggled to be different from each other, seek their own identity.

Reba grinned. The six-year-old’s animated face had sprung to life with delight. “Judd wasn’t nearly as keen on the idea,” she said, hiding a smile. It’d been easy to read the first-grader’s thoughts. He’d wanted to play a Roman soldier and carry a spear and shield. Instead he’d be flapping a pair of aluminum wings and a tinsel-wrapped halo. To be fair, she didn’t blame the lad, but the older boys had dibs on the more masculine roles.

“He’s adjusting,” Seth assured her. He looked away from the road long enough to smile at her. “That’s quite a project you’ve taken on.”

She was only beginning to understand how large the task was going to be. “Practice went well, and several adults volunteered to lend a hand.”

“I’ll help too if you find you need it.”

“Thanks, I just might take you up on that.” The inside of the car was warm and cozy. Warm and intimate. Comfortable in a way that was foreign to her. Since breaking her engagement with John, Reba had felt uneasy with men. Oh, she’d dated, but she’d never allowed a relationship to grow serious. Generally, after a few times out, she found a convenient excuse to call it quits. Counseling probably would have helped her face her fears, but in seeking professional assistance, she’d have to confront far more than her reluctance to enter into another relationship. A trained professional would soon root out the heart of the matter, and she’d be forced to peel back the wound of betrayal and talk about what had happened with John and Vicki.

Reba couldn’t bear it. Not with a stranger. Not with anyone. She wanted to think it would be different with Seth, but it was too soon to know.

The restaurant was perfect. Romantic, exotic. Fun. They removed their shoes and were seated at a lowlying table, the seats padded with large satin pillows propped against the wall. The waitress, a beautiful, unbelievably small Asian woman, filled the gold-edged china cups with fragrant tea and left them to read over the menu.

“Everything looks wonderful.”

“I’m partial to anything with peanut sauce,” Seth said.