Tender Love. Irene Brand

there was a black smudge on his face, and he wore an apron over his jeans with a message printed in flashy letters, What’s A Nice Guy Like You Doing In A Dump Like This?

      “You did come back,” he said, and the relief expressed in his eyes and on his face reinforced her belief that it was right to be here.

      “What made you think I wouldn’t?” she said in her low voice, as he held the door for her.

      “I couldn’t blame anyone for hesitating to take on a job like this one,” he said with a slight laugh.

      “In my own strength, I wouldn’t have tackled it, but Mr. Tanner, I believe God is calling me to this position.”

      Mark’s face darkened, and he ignored her comment.

      “You’re in time to join us for a late lunch, early dinner or whatever. I’m grilling hamburgers in the backyard. We’re about ready to eat. Gran and Kristin are making lemonade. I was going upstairs to bring Eddie down when I heard your car drive in.”

      When Mark turned toward the stairs, Alice walked into the kitchen. “Anything I can do to help?” she asked after she greeted Gran and Kristin.

      “You can carry out the lemonade, if you like,” Gran said in her halting voice. “I need both hands for my walker, and the pitcher is a bit heavy for Kristin.”

      “We’ve got your room ready, Mrs. Larkin,” Kristin said. “Want to see?”

      “Sure.”

      Alice walked with Kristin to the porch. The mini-blinds were closed, and the room was cool. One corner was piled high with boxes, but the rest of the room had been cleared for her use, and a small chest, chair, table and bunk bed moved in.

      “Is the room all right?” she asked anxiously, reminding Alice of a troubled adult.

      “I’ll be very comfortable here. I brought my own television, and a few other personal items that I’ll move in later.”

      “Daddy says you’re only coming for a month.”

      “Maybe longer, if we get along all right.”

      “Guess what!” Kristin said excitedly. “I’m going to camp next week. Daddy couldn’t afford to send me, but someone at the church provided the money.”

      “That’s great,” Alice agreed. “I’m sure you’ll enjoy church camp—I always did when I was a girl.”

      When they returned to the kitchen, Mark was entering with Eddie, stooping low with an arm around the boy to support him. Eddie shuffled along like an old man.

      Alice carried the iced beverage, Kristin picked up a package of hamburger buns and a bag of corn chips and they followed Mark and Eddie out to the yard, where hamburgers sizzled on the grill. Gran awkwardly maneuvered her walker down the two short steps, but Alice didn’t offer to help because she gathered that Gran wanted to maintain as much independence as possible.

      The backyard was larger than the small weedy area in front of the house, and it was secluded from the neighboring houses by a tall wooden fence that required a coat of water seal. Shrubs needed a good pruning, and the grass was sparse in spots, while weeds grew profusely. A huge evergreen shaded the lawn, littering the whole area with pine needles. A wooden picnic table was situated on a stone patio beside a gas grill sending out tempting aromas.

      “Kristin, will you bring the carton of potato salad from the refrigerator?” Mark said as he settled Eddie into a chair. With a dimple-deepening grin at Alice, he added, “I bought it at the deli—I’m not a cook and wouldn’t have time to prepare food if I was.”

      “What can I do to help?”

      “Not a thing,” he insisted. “This meal is on me. You don’t start work until tomorrow.”

      Alice sat in an aluminum folding chair and sipped the lemonade that Kristin brought her.

      “What should we call you?” Kristin asked.

      “I’d like for you to call me by my first name— Alice.”

      The hamburger was overdone and ketchup dripped around the edges of the bun, but Alice ate it, as well as the large pile of corn chips, and scant portion of potato salad that Mark served.

      “I’m tired, Daddy,” Eddie whined before Mark had time to eat anything. “I want to go back to my room.”

      “Can’t you eat anything else, Son?” Mark asked worriedly.

      Eddie shook his curly head, and Mark left his plate and helped Eddie back into the house. Alice watched their departure speculatively. Did Eddie need all this coddling or had they spoiled the boy? she wondered.

      Alice turned to Gran. “What is Eddie’s problem? Betty St. Claire told me his surgeries had been successful.”

      Speaking with difficulty, Gran said, “The heart’s malfunction has been repaired, but he isn’t gaining much strength.”

      “I’ll get Mark’s permission to call his doctor and find out what kind of diet and exercise would help Eddie. He’ll have to be stronger than he is now if he goes to school this fall.”

      They spent the rest of the afternoon unloading Alice’s van. Mark whistled in amazement when she opened the rear gate of the van. “Where will we put all these things?”

      “We’ll leave most of them in boxes, and I’ll unpack when I need something. I brought my television and computer, and a folding table for them, and there’s plenty of floor room for that. I didn’t notice a computer when I was here last week, and I thought it might be a good way to entertain the children.”

      “Kristin has been pestering me to buy a computer,” he said lightly, “but that’s another thing I can’t afford right now.”

      “Give it time, Mark. You’ll soon have your affairs in order.” She laid her hand on his arm, and he covered it with his. She was standing closer to him than she should be, and she tried to remove her hand and move away, but he held her with a firm grip.

      “For the first time in many months, I believe that. When you came this afternoon, I felt like a burden had been lifted off my back. I can’t understand it. You walk in the house, and suddenly I’m confident that all my troubles are over. Why is that, Alice?”

      “I don’t know, Mark, but I’m glad it’s so,” she whispered. “It feels right for me to be here.”

      Chapter Two

      Before she went to bed, Alice checked out the kitchen. While the equipment was adequate, the food supply was short, and she’d need to go to the grocery store before she did much cooking. Alice located several boxes of cold cereal, some fruit bars and a box of oatmeal that hadn’t been opened. There was plenty of milk and orange juice, and a small can of coffee in the refrigerator. Although an expensive coffeemaker sat on the cabinet top, a jar of instant coffee on the table indicated that Mark didn’t take time to fresh perk his coffee.

      Her sleep was sporadic, and since the master bedroom was over the enclosed porch, Alice heard Mark’s footsteps when he got up at six o’clock. She dressed in denim shorts and a yellow knit shirt and hurried into the kitchen. She prepared the coffeemaker, sprinkled oatmeal in a pan of boiling water, poured a glass of orange juice, and placed a plate and cup on the table. Two slices of bread were waiting in the toaster when Mark came into the kitchen.

      He was dumbfounded!

      “Why, Alice! I don’t expect you to wait on me. I’ve always gotten my own breakfast.”

      “I was awake, and I might as well be doing something. I’ve cooked oatmeal. Would you like to have eggs with your toast?”

      He sat at the table awkwardly, seemingly at a loss to know how to deal with the situation. “The oatmeal and toast will be fine. I don’t eat a heavy breakfast.”

      Alice lowered the