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“You saw it, didn’t you?” his deep voice interrupted her thoughts and Amelia felt her shoulders drop.
“I saw it. In fact, we were watching you at school. The principal and I had decided that particular show would most likely be the safest, cleanest one for my class to watch. I had to send a letter home to the parents letting them know that I had jumped up and turned off the T.V. before any of the kids picked up on the drama.” She flattened her mouth. “I still had a few heated phone calls.”
She suddenly stopped and rounded her eyes at Creed. “I’m so sorry, Creed. I am not blaming you and I certainly don’t think talking to a few upset parents in any way compares to what you are going through, I just—“
Creed stopped as well and turned to her, his free hand on her upper arm.
“Amelia, slow down. I didn’t take it that way. As a parent, I’m really thankful that you turned it off. As your friend, I’m really sorry that you had to.”
He stared into her eyes, searching.
They stood that way, a slight breeze ruffling her hair. Creed moved his hand to cup Amelia’s face and rubbed a finger over her cheekbone. Olé sat down as Amelia had taught him to do when she stopped walking, but she barely noticed. The gold flecks in Creed’s chocolate brown eyes flickered like a campfire. The smell of wood smoke rising from a nearby chimney added to the affect. A warm glow began to rise from Amelia’s toes and up to her cheeks.
“You, Amelia Howard, are a kind, fun, and loving teacher. Those kids—and their parents—are blessed to have you. You have every right to tell me how it affected you,” he murmured.
His warm coffee-scented breath filled her senses; the look in his eyes rendered her speechless.
Olé whimpered up at them, breaking Amelia from her daze. She stepped back and tripped over a crack in the sidewalk. Her mocha flew in the air as she fell back. It smashed to the ground next to her, splattering the pavement—and her pant leg—with the sticky sweet liquid. Creed reached out to catch Amelia but tripped over Olé. He turned just in time to cushion her fall on the sidewalk. They lay that way—Creed cradling her in his arms, Amelia half sprawled on his chest—laughing until they were breathless.
“Now there’s my clumsy old friend,” Creed tossed out.
Amelia playfully smacked him on the shoulder. “Hey, I wasn’t that bad,” she protested.
Creed speared her with a knowing look and she relented. “Well, okay. I have always been a bit on the clumsy side, I suppose.”
She laughed again, but sobered at the clouded look in Creed’s gaze. His hand reached out to gently wind a section of hair that fell forward around his fist. Her scalp tingled; she labored to keep her eyes from closing in pleasure.
He’s held you like this before, Amelia. Remember? And then he stomped all over your heart. Don’t be a fool.
The chiding didn’t calm the squeeze in her stomach or the warmth spreading through her chest.
“I missed you, Amelia. I’ve really, truly missed you.”
She played with the string of his sweatshirt, feeling like the high school girl that had been so smitten with the man in front of her. The breeze shifted the branches of the trees above them and the sun shone brightly in her eyes, reminding her that they were sprawled on the sidewalk and part of a stranger’s lawn in broad daylight. She rolled away from Creed and rose to her knees, wiping off her pants and sweatshirt. Creed groaned and did the same before he stood and offered a hand to help her up the rest of the way.
“Well, looks like we’re out of coffee,” she said, gathering the now empty cups and lids that had popped off.
“I’ll take those for you,” Creed said, stacking them together and shoving the lids inside. He plucked a leaf from her hair.
They walked on in awkward, stiff silence before Amelia asked what she had wondered since she saw Hailey on T.V.
“Creed?”
“Hmm?” he answered, eyes on the sprawling old house they passed.
“Were you and Hailey together very long?”
“No, not really. We went out for a few weeks, but never really clicked,” he answered.
Amelia stopped and stared at him; her jaw unhinged in disbelief.
“What?”
“You have a child together, Creed. You must have clicked a little bit.”
He stopped as well and shoved one hand in his pocket. He waved the coffee cups in a wide, helpless gesture.
“Amelia, I am not proud of that period of my life. I made decisions, that I’m not…I just…I screwed up, okay?”
Amelia wished she hadn’t said anything. Her mind raced to come up with a way to back out of the conversation and go back to their easy banter.
Creed turned back to her before she could, his voice even and sure, “I wasn’t like you, Amelia. I didn’t think my future through. In fact, gave no thought to my future at all, let alone the spouse I hoped to have one day. I didn’t live the deliberate way that you chose to, and I am deeply ashamed.” The flecks in his eyes had cooled to a muted, muddy brown. She wanted to breathe life into him again, see the embers of light and life return after her careless words had snuffed them out.
“But you have Izzie.”
A slow smile crept onto his face. She watched in amazement as the embers did, indeed, begin to glow again.
“Yes, I have Izzie, and I am so thankful. It amazed me how generous God is, in spite of my desperate wandering.”
“I’ve never thought of that, Creed,” Amelia admitted, thinking again that all of her preparing to be the perfect wife in the name of God had kept her from a meaningful relationship with the Lord. The realization troubled her and she told Creed as much.
“I think that’s normal, Amelia. It is painfully easy to be distracted, even when what we are doing is the right thing. I can get very caught up in being a godly father without remembering to go to Him for that direction first.”
Amelia appreciated his honesty. Without thinking, she looped her arm through his, the way that she used to, and they continued down the street at a lazy pace.
“Tell me about Izzie as a toddler, Creed,” she demanded.
“Ah, you are on dangerous ground. This Papa is pretty enamored with that girl. I’ll bore you,” his eyes twinkled at her, obviously pleased that she wanted to talk about Izzie.
“Try me,” Amelia said.
For the next hour Creed shared stories of the little habits Izzie used to have and how he had balanced spending time with her while building his business. Creed’s family rallied around the single father and cheered him on, giving him time to breathe when he needed it, but mostly supporting him and Izzie as a complete family unit. No matter what anyone said about the way that Izzie had been conceived, the girl was loved well by Creed and his family.
Amelia’s heart flickered with disappointment when at last they found their way back to her street. Creed walked her to her French doors around the back of the house, but before she could insert her key in the lock, he reached out to lightly cup her arm.
“Hey, Amelia?”
His touch was burning through the jacket. “Hmm?”
“What do you think of Hailey suddenly appearing on that show? I mean, do you think there’s a chance she’ll try to be in Izzie’s life?”
Okay, if I am going to be grown-up Amelia I’m going to have to concentrate on his mouth—er, words, and not the way my inside are all squeezy right now. For goodness’ sake, pull yourself together.
She scratched at a pretend itch on her opposite shoulder and his hand fell away.
“I definitely think it’s odd that she showed up. And lied”—her face grew warm, and she rushed to cover her blunder—“or, er, Lucy told me that she lied. About Izzie reaching out for her?”
Creed worked a muscle in his jaw. “Yeah.”
“Anyway, that’s strange Creed. But has she tried to contact you at all since then?”
He shook his head, eyes fixed on a spot over Amelia’s left shoulder.
She shrugged. “Then maybe that was just her seeking her ten minutes of fame? I honestly don’t know. But I know you can’t worry about something that hasn’t happened yet.”
Right, Amelia. It’s only his daughter we’re talking about here. Like you would understand.
“What I mean is, you know the Lord is with you and Izzie, and even Hailey. And only He and Hailey know her intentions. I think you should seek Him. He knows better than I, that’s for sure.”
Creed shifted his glance to hers, the corners of his eyes wrinkled softly.
He slowly nodded his agreement. Then he took a step back, his eyes still on hers.
“Thank you for the walk, Amelia. I really needed this.”
“So did I, Creed. I—“ she cut off. She had been about to say, “I really needed a good ending for us after the way you left. A restart.” But she couldn’t say that. Couldn’t ruin their friendship now with remnants of her teenage emotions.
Hormones, she corrected herself. That’s all it was. You’re a mature woman now. A teacher, for goodness’ sake. Again—pull.yourself.together.
“I needed a walk,” she said lamely.
Creed eyed her wordlessly for a long heartbeat before he bid her and Olé good-bye.
Amelia had a lot to do in the following weeks with painting the new house and packing. She saw Creed at church each Sunday but she was either deep in conversation when he was free, or he and Izzie were slipping out immediately after the service. Izzie was back to riding the bus to school most days and the one time that Creed had picked her up, Amelia was busy with parents and students.
Although they hadn’t seen one another much, Creed had begun to text her almost every day. Sometimes about something funny Izzie said, or some snarky remark about stories in the news. Most often he would text her some insight about his devotional in the morning.
She couldn’t believe how different he was. The more they texted, the more she saw his heart. How humble he had become, and how much he truly loved the Lord and lived to be a man after God’s own heart.
The crush she had on Creed in high school was nothing compared to the one she was developing as an adult.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The first morning of parent teacher conferences, the buzz of Amelia’s phone brought a smile to her face. Not many people would text her so early. She finished drying her hair and put the hair dryer away before she read his text.
Pharaoh is a real delight, isn’t he?
She laughed and texted back: I always thought so
She added a silly face emoji and applied her mascara.
I mean, what kind of leader lets his people suffer like that?
A terrible one, obviously. But God said he would be hard-hearted. Because of it the people of Israel and Egypt saw the amazing wonders that God performed. But I agree with you—he was a real loser ;)
I hope your conferences go well today. Watch out for your 4:00—I hear he’s a real charmer.
Nah, he’s just a guy that’s too big for his britches. I can handle him.
Hey!
See ya at 4, Creed ;)
With Creed’s reminder, her heart fluttered in anticipation of the afternoon appointment. Amelia chose her clothes carefully. She wore gray pinstriped dress pants and a cream colored blouse with gray ribbon woven in the modest scooped neckline. She carefully worked her bangs into a delicate braid pinned just above her left ear.
Most of her meetings for the day went smoothly. She really enjoyed meeting with parents and learning more about her students and how she could best teach them. There were certainly meetings that didn’t go well, but for the most part each parent she met appreciated what she had to say.
In the short break before her time with Creed, Amelia stopped short of spritzing herself with the perfume she kept in her desk while she waited for him to arrive. Too much, Amelia. She rubbed a small drop of scented lotion into her hands instead.
Creed walked into her room five minutes late, face ashen, his smile—if one could call it that—not reaching his eyes. He slunk into the chair in front of her desk.
“Whoa, what is the matter with you?” Amelia asked, leaning forward in her desk chair.
“My lawyer just called me,” Creed murmured, dazed. “Hailey wants to be in contact with Izzie.”
* * *
Creed didn’t know what to make of the situation. Didn’t know what to do.
Hailey had her lawyer contact the lawyer he had used when Hailey dropped Izzie with him in the first place. Back then his attorney, James Q. Peabody, had counseled that unless he wanted child support from Hailey, he could go about his life with Izzie without contact. After all, Hailey had abandoned the child and Creed could file for custody. Creed hadn’t known then what he wanted to do. He had barely been keeping his head above water in the new role of father, but he had filed—and won due to no contest—full custody.
Now Hailey had a change of heart and wanted Izzie in her life?
What if he allowed Hailey in and she did more damage? Izzie might have a wonderful family, but Creed knew once Izzie had contact with her mother, her heart would be involved. It was only natural. And what if he said no? Creed had heard horror stories about the court system and their almost automatic favor for the mother in these situations. What if he said no and Hailey filed for custody—and won?
When he arrived at the school for his conference, and told Amelia about the phone call, she sent him home.
“Creed, we can do this another day. You just focus on this.”
Creed nodded numbly and rose, barely acknowledging Amelia’s tender squeeze on his shoulder as he walked out.
The next morning, a Friday, after a fitful night of sleep agonizing over what he should do, Creed finally rose and made a pot of coffee. He had a meeting with his lawyer later that day to seek his advice.
Before he could do anything, make any decisions, he needed time in the Word, seeking counsel from the only One who knew and loved them all.
He had finished reading two chapters in John, and was getting ready to head to the kitchen for a second cup of coffee when Kate called him in a tizzy.
“They’re following you Creed! It’s, like, the paparazzi. You need to warn Amelia or get a bodyguard at the school or some—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Kate. Slow down. I haven’t even had my second cup of coffee yet. What are you talking about?”
“Creed, turn on your computer and go to the But First the News website. They have pictures of you and Amelia, um, cuddling? Outside on a sidewalk or something?” her tone changed to sisterly curiosity.
Creed sat at his desk in the living room and ran a finger over the square pad to wake up the laptop. It only took a few seconds to find the site. His blood ran cold at the picture of him and Amelia at the top of the page. It was the day of their Sunday walk and the picture was obviously taken after they fell. He clicked on the article and another image came on the screen of him holding Amelia’s face in his hand and staring into her eyes. A little “play” icon showed that the article was a video news report.
“I’ll call you back, Kate.”
He tapped “end” on his phone and tossed it on the desk. Creed clicked the icon and sat back with his arms crossed, clenching and unclenching his jaw as a young male anchor with skinny jeans and a snug t-shirt enthusiastically delivered the “Trendy Snippet.”
“Creed Williams of the popular Father/Daughter video was seen canoodling with his daughter’s teacher last Sunday. Williams and his daughter took social media by storm when their video went viral after it was entered into a contest for grand prize money totaling fifty thousand dollars. Last week they made the morning show circuit in New York, but ended the last interview abruptly when the child’s mother, Hailey Anderson, appeared on set. Williams claimed to not know Anderson was coming and left New York immediately. Maybe to get back home to the teacher? Yesterday Ms. Anderson posted on Twitter that she is seeking more time with her daughter. Certainly Williams will have a response, just as soon as he disentangles himself from the pretty brunette. We’ll keep you posted on this and all of the Trendy Snippets we come across on But First the News.”
Creed groaned and closed the website. Questions raced through his mind, chasing one another with no resolution.
Why on earth was this news?
Why did anyone care one bit about his personal life?
He rubbed his hands down his face, pulling at the skin on his cheeks, and stared at the pictures again. Most disturbing was that he had not noticed someone with a camera following them on the walk. How would Amelia ever feel safe with him after this?
He groaned. Amelia. Dangit. He texted her.
Hey, you up? I need you to call me when you get this.
When she hadn’t answered five minutes later, Creed tried calling. It went straight to voicemail. He remembered that she’d told him on their walk that she turned her phone off every night.
“I started getting really weird calls from telemarketers at night. One even called at three in the morning! I finally got in the habit of turning my phone off when I go to bed. I hope no one ever needs me in the middle of the night because I’m not changing it any time soon,” she had said with a laugh.
He checked the time. 5:23 am. There was no telling when she would turn it back on. He had his sister back on the phone in no time.
“Kate? Can you do me a favor and come over here? I won’t be long, but I need to go warn Amelia; her phone is turned off. She has parent meetings all day and I don’t want her to be caught off guard.”
“Already in my car and on my way, Creed. I’ll see you in a few,” Kate said, breathless. The line went dead.
Creed laughed. How often had Kate badgered him to date Amelia in high school? No doubt she thought that embrace was something steamy and found great delight in the thought. He couldn’t wait to tell her that Amelia had knocked him over by accident and that she had no interest in him whatsoever.
