Another Solution (Crowley County Series Book 4) Read online

  “Okay? Sure, I’m okay. In fact, I’m just great. Karen finally agreed to go out with me.”

  Richard smiled and slapped Jason on the back. “That’s good news my friend.” Then he got a twinkle in his eye. “Now don’t blow it Son.”

  Jason didn’t stop to think about the fact that even Richard knew all about his feelings for Karen. He just rushed into the house to tell Granny he was leaving and she surprised him yet again. When he told her about the date, she cackled and said, “Bout time. Looks like I’ll be getting me some great-grandkids after all.”

  Jason wasn’t even going to respond to that. He just kissed her on the cheek and raced out to his truck. He had to get home and get ready.

  By the time he made it back to his townhouse, it was almost five o’clock. He went through his bedroom to his bathroom pulling his clothes off as he went and stepped right into the shower.

  He just stood there under the shower head letting the hot water beat down on his head for a few minutes in an attempt at clearing his mind somewhat. It didn’t work very well though. All he could think of was that he was finally going out with Karen. Finally!

  An hour later, Jason was standing outside his front door waiting for Mike and Daisy. He didn’t have long to wait. When they pulled into his driveway, he quickly jumped into the backseat.

  As Mike was backing out of the driveway, Daisy leaned over the front seat and giggled. “You’re not the least bit excited are you Jason?”

  He shook his head. “Nope. Why should I be? I’ve only been waiting a year for this night.”

  Laughter rang out from both sides of the front seat.

  When Mike pulled into the driveway of Karen’s townhouse, Jason jumped out and rushed up to the door. It opened before he got there and Karen stepped out. Wow! He almost fell over. She was so beautiful with her glorious long black hair loose and hanging down her back all the way to her waist. The pale pink dress finished off the look that was about to knock Jason off his feet.

  She looked at him shyly and said. “Hi Jason.” When she walked past him toward the car, he raced ahead of her to open the door for her.

  Soon they were all entering the steakhouse and Jason wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do next. But Mike saved him. He watched as Mike stood behind a chair, pulled it out, and helped Daisy slide it forward.

  Jason grabbed the next chair and pulled it out for Karen. His sudden thought almost made him laugh out loud. Even a monkey could imitate Mike the way he did.

  But the smile she rewarded him with almost knocked him down again. He realized then that he’d better get his head straight quickly before he made a fool of himself.

  Daisy and Karen seemed to resume a conversation that it sounded like they’d had at lunch today leaving him looking at the back of Karen’s head.

  He felt a punch on his other shoulder and looked back to see Mike grinning at him. Mike leaned toward him and whispered in his ear. “You better cool down before you spook the poor girl. Can’t you see she’s as nervous as you are?”

  Was she? He looked closer. He watched Karen’s hands revolving around each other in her lap and listened to her nervous giggle at whatever Daisy had just said. Yes, Mike was right. That realization did more to calm him down than the huge breaths he’d been taking.

  Jason was concentrating so hard on trying to figure out how he could calm himself down enough so that he could make Karen more comfortable when he realized Mike was talking to him.

  He turned back to Mike and said, “What?”

  Mike just shook his head and laughed. Jason knew Mike was making fun of him but this was his best friend here. He’d let him get away with it . . . for a little while.

  “I said that one of my students said that she overheard several boys talking about how they’ve been harassing one of the guys from the home. From the way she said they talked, it sounds like it was Bert.”

  Before Jason could respond, Mike added, “Boy, I’m glad I’m not a cop anymore. I don’t think I could keep from busting heads if I caught some kids harassing Bert like that.”

  Jason nodded. “Yeah, I know what you mean. It really is hard sometimes though.”

  He turned back to look at Karen again and didn’t realize how long he did so until she turned around, frowned at him and said, “Would you stop staring at me like that?”

  Jason didn’t know what to say to that but what came out of his mouth embarrassed him immediately.

  “You’re just so beautiful. I can’t keep from looking at you.”

  He heard a loud chuckle from his other side, which he chose to ignore.

  * * *

  Karen had been trying to avoid looking at Jason while she listened to Daisy talking about some of her five-year-old daughter Lucy’s antics that evening on the way to the home where Mike’s mother now had Daisy’s old job.

  Karen marveled at how good a fit it was for Sarah Bates, a retired school teacher to be the director of that home where Bert and the others lived.

  But when she’d turned toward Jason and caught him staring at her the way a cat would a mouse hole, she had to say something. She had simply asked him to stop. But she certainly hadn’t been prepared for his answer or excuse or compliment or whatever it had been.

  She knew she was blushing furiously because her face and neck were both so hot that she quickly took a drink from her water glass in an attempt to cool off. That was when she heard the tinkling sound of Daisy giggling to her right.

  Before she could think of something to say, Jason quickly added, “I mean . . . .” He shook his head then tried to smile at her. “I guess I’ll just say that I meant what I said.”

  Karen blushed again but finally found her voice. “Thank you Jason. That was a nice thing to say. But it does make me a little uncomfortable when you stare at me like that.”

  Jason didn’t seem to know what to say to that.

  Out of the corner of her eye, Karen noticed that Daisy was giving Mike a look and even nodded at him.

  Therefore, she wasn’t surprised when Mike spoke up. “Well, Jason, what do you think of the Cardinals chances this year?”

  While the two men began to talk about baseball, Karen gave Daisy a knowing smile. Daisy reached over, squeezed Karen’s hand, and began talking to her about a patient from her clinic who was one of Karen’s PT patients too.

  After they had exhausted that subject, Daisy said, “Karen I sure miss being in the same Sunday School class as you.” She looked thoughtful for a moment. “But, I do enjoy being with Mike in our young couple’s class.”

  Karen smiled back at Daisy and said, “Yes, I miss having you in there too. But I have made friends with a new high school teacher. Her name is Brandi Leonard. She’s a year younger than I am but she has black hair almost as long as mine. People mistake us for each other quite often.”

  Mike heard that last part and snorted. “Yeah, she was one of the teachers hitting on me last year.” He thought for a moment and said, “But she was really nice about it when she realized I wasn’t available.”

  Daisy laughed and said, “Yes and I know exactly when that happened too.” At Mike’s puzzled look she explained, “Don’t you remember? It was when I pushed your wheelchair into class one Sunday and when she came over to us I put my hand on your shoulder.”

  “Oh yeah.” He laughed loudly. “You’re right. She never bothered me again after that day.”

  Mike and Daisy talked for a few minutes about their experiences while they were dating last summer. That left Karen and Jason staring at each other.

  Suddenly Jason laughed. “Do I get to say something about you staring at me too?”

  Karen immediately dropped her eyes and blushed furiously again.

  He reached out and touched her hand lightly. “I’m sorry Karen. But I couldn’t resist that. But you can look at me as much as you want.” He snorted. “After all, if you do then that means I can stare at you too.”

  She found herself laughing at Jason’s silly remarks but wa
s also surprised that she was beginning to relax ever so slightly.

  Their meals came then and they all held hands as Jason asked the blessing on their food.

  Listening to Jason pray sent chills down Karen’s back. It was so nice that he was a strong Christian. And he wasn’t afraid to share his faith either. She remembered Daisy telling her that before Mike accepted the Lord, he used to complain about how Jason was always talking about God to him.

  Then she came to a realization that warmed her heart. She had been so afraid to date again, after what Larry had done to her that she had turned this wonderful man away. Larry! She tried not to think about him anymore but forced herself to do so right then.

  Jason and Larry were both cops. Yes, that was true but that was where the similarities ended. Larry was not a Christian. Also as she looked back, there were so many of his personality traits that were not good that she wondered how she’d ever agreed to marry him in the first place. She could certainly see them clearly now especially when she compared him with Jason.

  She didn’t realize she was shaking her head until Jason said, “Are you okay, Karen?”

  She gave him a puzzled look and he said, “You were frowning and shaking your head. Did I do something to offend you?”

  Before she could think about how it might sound, she blurted out. “No Jason. In fact, I just finally realized that you are nothing like my ex-fiancé.”

  It looked as if he tried to smile. “Is that good or bad?”

  She grinned at his concern. “Oh yes. It’s good . . . very good.”

  She thought that might end the discussion on that topic but Jason wasn’t finished with it yet.

  “When I compare you to any other girl I’ve ever known, they don’t even come close to you Karen.”

  She tried not to blush again but wasn’t successful. So she tried for a bit of levity. “I’ll bet you say that to all the girls you date.”

  He was shaking his head vigorously before she even finished talking. “No way!” His face grew serious. “Karen, I haven’t been on a single date with anyone else since that day I met you in PT. I just haven’t wanted to. I felt that you were more than worth waiting for.”

  She was blushing again and she hoped he was finished but he wasn’t.

  “I would have waited much more than a year for you Karen.”

  That was when they both remembered that they weren’t alone at the table. This time Jason joined her in blushing. Mike and Daisy had been observing them quietly for some time now. How embarrassing!

  Later, when Mike pulled into her driveway, Karen quickly opened her door and jumped out but Jason caught up with her just before she reached her front door.

  She turned to him and she could see it written all over his face that he wanted to kiss her. And surprise of all surprises, she thought that she might actually want him to. But they had an audience and she reached out her hand which he took like it was a lifeline.

  “Good night Jason, I had a wonderful evening.”

  He grinned and said, “So did I.”

  He hung his head which reminded her of Bert. “Would you go out with me again Karen? This time just you and me?”

  She nodded and spoke softly. “Yes, Jason, I would like that very much.”

  She felt that she needed to wait. So before he could ask, she said, “How about next Saturday night. Friday nights are not as good for me since I’m so tired from working all day.”

  He continued to grin and said, “That’s just fine. Can I call you in between now and then?”

  She nodded and turned to open her door.

  Once inside, she simply sank into the nearest chair without even turning on the light. That was when she realized she was grinning just as Jason had been.

  She laughed when she also realized that Jason didn’t have her phone number. Oh well, he wouldn’t have any trouble getting it from Daisy.

  Chapter Two

  Sunday morning, Jason was still in the clouds over his date with Karen Friday night. Sure, it hadn’t really been a normal date where he would have been alone with Karen but it had been a start. They had been together away from PT for the first time.

  As he thought about it though, he thought that she had wanted him to kiss her at her door but Mike and Daisy were looking on. That was when he really wished they’d been alone. But maybe next time. And there would be a next time.

  Sure, he’d rather they would have gone out again last night, but he definitely didn’t want to push her. She seemed to be coming along nicely and he didn’t want to blow it now.

  Just as he finished his shower and stepped into his bedroom, his cell phone rang. When he picked it up off the dresser and saw the caller ID, he grew concerned when he saw that it was his granny.

  “Jason, Son, you’re going to church this morning aren’t you?”

  “Yes ma’am I am.”

  “Would you mind coming out here to get me?”

  “Are you okay Granny?”

  “Sure I’m okay.”

  “Is there something wrong with your truck?”

  “No there’s nothing wrong with me or my truck. I just plain don’t feel like driving in to town this morning.”

  “Okay, I’ll be out there at about ten after nine.”

  “Thank you Son.”

  He hung up wondering what Granny was up to now. He just knew she was up to something. She was one super independent woman who did not like for anyone else to do anything for her. She was constantly fussing with him about some of the things he did for her around the farm.

  As soon as he pointed his truck back down the lane from her house toward the highway, Jason knew immediately why she had wanted to ride with him.

  She crossed her arms and glared at him. “Jason Earl Walker I’m disappointed in you.”

  Uh oh. What had he done now?

  “I waited all day yesterday for you to either call or come out and tell me about your date with that therapy girl. But no, you didn’t think your old granny needed to know a thing about something that was so important to you.”

  Jason was grinning by the time she finished. He knew she was razzing him and not really mad at him. But if he didn’t tell her something right now, she really would get mad at him.

  When he finished telling her about the date, she slapped her palm down on her thigh and said, “Well, why didn’t you kiss her. You had the perfect chance to do it. And I’ll bet she wanted you to.”

  Jason laughed as he pulled into a parking space at the church but he didn’t answer her. Somehow, he knew she didn’t really need an answer. She was still razzing him.

  He smiled all the way into his classroom. Then there she was sitting in her normal place on the left side of the room. Always before, to respect her wishes, he had sat on the other side of the room.

  Today, however he hoped things would be different. He hesitated only briefly but when Karen looked up and smiled at him, he headed her way. It sure was a good thing that no one got in his way.

  “Is it okay if I sit next to you Karen?”

  She continued to smile and said, “Yes, Jason I would like that.”

  As he was easing into the seat next to her, she said, “How are you this morning?”

  When she smiled at him like that, he had trouble remembering his own name much less being able to come up with something intelligent to say to her. So he sat quickly and turned to look into her eyes. They were sparkling and that was when he realized she was laughing at him.

  And what really surprised him was that he didn’t mind. He was sitting next to her and she was talking to him. That was a drastic improvement. In fact, it was fantastic.

  After Sunday School, they walked together into the sanctuary and down to where Mike and Daisy were sitting.

  He didn’t get to say much to her there for she and Daisy talked until the service started. He frowned to himself. Who was he kidding? He still had trouble putting enough words together to make a sentence whenever he was around her. So he wasn’t sure h
e was up to holding an actual conversation with her yet.

  After the service, they were all four standing in the foyer when Daisy turned to Jason and Karen to say, “We’re going to Thelma’s. Why don’t you two go with us?”

  Karen looked at Jason who suddenly remembered he’d driven his granny to church. “I drove my granny in today.”

  Before he could say anything else, Granny appeared at his elbow between him and Karen and said, “That’s no excuse young man. Don’t you think I ever get tired of eating my own cooking? Let’s go.”

  While everyone was trying hard not to laugh at that outburst, Granny turned to Karen and said, “So this is the little girl you been pinning over for the most part of a year now huh?”

  Jason felt like grabbing Granny and running out the door with her but then he took a cautious look at Karen and was shocked to see that she was smiling broadly.

  “Yes ma’am. I guess I’m the guilty party all right.”

  Granny reached out and grabbed both of Karen’s hands in hers as she leaned closer to look into her eyes.

  After a moment, she cackled, let go of Karen’s hands, slapped her on the back gently, and said, “I’m going to like you just fine. You’re a keeper all right. And you’ll give me fine great-grandkids too.”

  With that, Granny went out the door and down the steps toward Jason’s pickup leaving a stunned Karen pale and shaking. Then Jason noticed that a deep blush took over from the pale.

  He leaned toward Karen hoping his concern showed in his voice. “Are you all right Karen? I’m sorry if Granny offended you, but that’s just the way she is. She doesn’t mean any harm by it. She’s just blunt and always says exactly what she’s thinking.”

  Karen had been watching Granny cross the parking lot through the glass doors then turned all the way around to look at Jason. There were tears in her eyes. Oh man! Now what. If his granny had just destroyed his chances with Karen he’d never speak to her again.

  Daisy had reached into her purse and came out with a tissue, which she handed to Karen who still hadn’t said anything.