Just a Little Hope Read online

  She pulled a black dress toward her and studied her collection of shoes. She could wear it a couple of times but with different jewelry, give it a fresh look each time maybe. Accessories would make all the difference. Tori took the dress off the hanger, snatched her black heels off the floor. She made a mental note to pull her jewelry collection out to mix and match several necklaces and earrings with her clothes.

  Tori used care in folding the dress up and placing it in the suitcase. Her shoes, she left outside the case so she could pack them last. Her mother’s ring tone sounded from the bed. She sprinted and plucked it off the bedspread.

  “Hey, Mom! You and Dad back from Arkansas? Are Aunt Caroline and Uncle Brian okay?”

  “Yes, they’re doing well, dear. It was a good visit, but your dad and I are glad to be home. Your father is a little under the weather it seems.”

  Tori plopped down on the bed and pressed against the headboard as she twisted one of her auburn curls between her fingers. “Oh, no. I hate to hear that. Is he still having the headaches?”

  “Yes, but he just tells me not to worry. He thinks he just overdid it some. The drive was short, but tiring all the same.”

  “I’m glad you had a good time, though.”

  “We did. I do think I am going to make a doctor’s appointment, though. He won’t go unless I just make it and tell him to go. You know how he is.”

  “I do. And it sure wouldn’t hurt to have him get a check-up. He works too hard and needs to take it easy more. He’s the hardest working retired person I know. Always teaching Bible classes and working up new material. I know it’s a good work, but I know it wears on him, too.” The sense of foreboding she felt earlier with regard to her dad raised its head again. No. There was no sense in worrying. Her dad was fine. Those thoughts were silly.

  “I know, sweetie. I’ll check into getting him an appointment in the next week or so. It’s been a few days since I last checked in with you. Have you heard from Carter since he left for their road trip?”

  She smiled as she thought about the past few days. “A few times via text. He hasn’t called, but with the time difference, it makes things harder.”

  “I’m glad things seem to be progressing nicely.”

  The dread she’d been feeling earlier dissipated. A sense of warmth replaced it with all the new and exciting things happening. “Me, too. Pax is feeling better. I’m busy with some new responsibilities at work…I’ve met this really sweet guy. Everything is falling into place. I’m blessed for sure.”

  “We all are, dear.”

  “The only problem I’m having right now is trying to pack for this trip Seb is taking us on. I think my fashionista sense is too big for my suitcase.”

  “Oh, Tori! You are so funny. Pack comfortable things. You don’t want to get out there and be miserable because you’re trying to look cute all the time.”

  A sigh escaped her lips. “Mom. I have to look cute because Carter will be there.”

  “If Carter is the right kind of guy, you looking cute will have little to do with how much he enjoys your company.”

  “Well, it won’t hurt—”

  “Victoria…”

  She grimaced but accepted defeat. “Yep, Mom. You’re right. I promise to not overdo it. I can’t overdo it actually. Seb said I could only bring one suitcase and a carry-on. I think Pax must have told him about the time we went on the cruise and I packed a little more than I should.”

  “Well, you did take eight suitcases for a two-week trip! One of those just had shoes in them. I think Seb has a right to be concerned, don’t you?”

  “Well, maybe. But I learned from the experience. I won’t ever pack that much again. Unless, you know, I can.”

  “You’re silly. Well, I need to go. Speaking of suitcases, your father and I need to get ours unpacked. Call me when you get to California if you can. Have a good time, sweetie!”

  “Thanks, Mom, I will. Give Daddy a kiss for me.”

  She hung up the phone and sighed at the pile of clothes lying on the bed next to the suitcase. Maybe if I get some of those space saving bags I can cram a few more things in there…

  ****

  “I think this could be the biggest challenge of my life. Seb is determined I can only take one bag and a carry-on. He apparently has never seen my closet. Wait, you’ve never seen my closet either. Strike that from the record, Your Honor.”

  Carter couldn’t help but laugh as he read Tori’s latest text. Relaxing in his hotel room outside Phoenix, he enjoyed the quiet of the evening. They’d won the game that night, which was always a good thing, but as usual, Carter found the middle portion of a long road trip more draining than the end. Tori’s texts kept him in a good mood.

  “Well, I guess he thinks you could make use of the washer & dryer at his place if you needed to.”

  It only took a few seconds to get her response.

  “I know, but I don’t know what we’re going to be doing out there. I need stuff for all occasions. Even a guy knows that. Right? Please tell me you know that?”

  Carter laughed again. Their relationship had moved into a more comfortable stage even though they had only gone on the one date. Carter was thankful for the advent of text messaging. He started to type a response and stopped as his finger hit the first key. Why was he texting? He scrolled to her contact info and hit the call button.

  A breathless Tori answered after one ring.

  “Hey… you threw me off-guard with the call. You’re a stinker.”

  “Why are you out of breath?”

  “Have you not been reading my texts? I’m trying to get my closet stuffed into a space no bigger than a laptop bag.”

  “You’re not prone to exaggeration at all, are you?”

  “Really? Me?”

  He laughed as he stood up from the bed. Carter walked over to the balcony to gaze over the lights of the city.

  “I don’t even want to hazard a guess at how much you’re planning to bring. That’s Seb’s problem. And the driver, and the valet, and—”

  “You think you’re funny, huh? Keep it up, big guy, keep it up. So, don’t hate me Carter, but I didn’t get to see much of the game tonight, ya’ know with all the packing. How did you do?”

  “We won. It’s all that matters in the grand scheme of things.” A tapping sound penetrated through the phone. Was that a nail?

  “Carter, do you hear that? That’s me waiting to hear more about your night. Do I need to ask again? Don’t make me go get on the computer and look up your stats, which of course, you’ll have to explain to me anyway.”

  He chuckled because he knew she’d do exactly as she said. “I did okay. Got a couple of hits.”

  “What kind of hits? Big hits, little hits? Did you get people home?”

  “Do you mean did I get some RBIs?

  “Yeah. Sure. That’s what I meant. Answer the question, Carter.”

  “I did get a big hit as you call it. Not a home run, but a double, which scored Linc from second.”

  “That’s great. I knew you’d break out of the slink you were in.”

  “I think you mean slump.”

  “Slump? Slink? Whatever. You’re rockin’ the house now.”

  Carter laughed. “You know what, Tori?”

  “What?”

  “I’m really looking forward to seeing you in a few days.”

  Silence greeted him. He gripped the phone tighter against his ear.

  “Tori?”

  “You know what?”

  “What?”

  “I’m over the moon excited about seeing you, too. Maybe. Just a little bit.”

  An unexpected warmth ran through his body. “I’ll let you go. Good luck with the packing. Let me know if you need to have anything shipped—”

  “Don’t tempt me!”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Stepping through the airport’s automatic doors, Tori threw her head back and sighed. The cloudless blue skies overhead and the wind-tousled palm trees
took her breath away.

  “Um. Pax. Explain to me again why you and Seb don’t just move here? This place is gorgeous. Have you seen the sky? I didn’t know such a blue existed. Is there a California Blue? Because if there isn’t, there should be. This blue deserves to have its own name.”

  “Take a breath. Yes, it is beautiful here. But there are aspects of California Seb said aren’t all great either.”

  Seb reached over and squeezed Tori’s shoulder. “That’s right. You haven’t seen traffic until you’ve been stuck on the highway during the rush hour.”

  After putting on her sunglasses, Tori turned to her friend and smiled. “Oh, I don’t know, Seb. Being stuck in traffic in these surroundings might not be too bad.”

  Seb snorted. “Remind me to stick you in a car on the freeway at five-thirty in the afternoon. We’ll see how much you observe the surroundings when all you notice is the never-ending line of cars in front of you and you’ve moved two feet in the last four hours.”

  Tori’s only response was to stick her tongue out at Seb.

  Seb rolled his eyes. “Cute, Tori. How old are we again? Two?”

  She stuck out her tongue again and this time put her fingers to her ears and wiggled them in Seb’s direction.

  Pax laughed at the two of them. “So what you’re telling me, Tori, is you want me to move all the way to California. You’re my best friend, and you’d be happy if I was a six hundred miles away?”

  Tori grimaced in Pax’s direction. “Well, I wouldn’t be too happy if you moved away. But I would be happy to know I could come visit you in this beautiful paradise whenever I wanted.”

  Seb grasped Tori’s shoulder and squeezed. “Tori, you do remember I own a condo out here, right?”

  Tori bit her bottom lip. “Oh, yeah. It is sorta why we are out here now, isn’t it?”

  Seb and Pax burst into laughter. “Come on. Let’s get a cab and get to the condo,” he patted Pax on the shoulder, “so this girl can get some rest.”

  Seb pushed Pax down the sidewalk to a waiting town car. “As soon as we are out of these crazy crowds, you can get up and at ‘em.”

  While Seb and Tori helped get Pax settled in the vehicle, the chauffeur loaded their suitcases and then Pax’s wheelchair into the trunk.

  “Is that all the bags, sir?”

  Seb nodded. “Yep. I gave these ladies strict rules.”

  “Well, if I say so sir, they get a gold star. I don’t think I have ever picked up three people and had fewer bags to load.”

  “That was my plan. It worked, didn’t it, Tori?”

  Tori cut her eyes in Seb’s direction and snorted as she slid into the back seat across from Pax. “Your boyfriend, he’s a real piece of work.”

  Pax wiggled her eyebrows. “Yep, but he’s my piece of work, so it’s okay.”

  “I guess so.”

  “Speaking of boyfriends, have you heard from yours?”

  Tori’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of Carter. “Um, first of all, let’s not go assuming anything like that is going on between me and Carter. We are texting friends. Buddies. Compadres.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  Butterflies made an appearance in her stomach. In just a few short hours she’d get to see him. “I might have texted him to say we’d landed in this fair city and were on the way to Seb’s.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “I didn’t know his schedule but said if he had any free time he could find us there for the next couple of hours.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “What’s with all the ‘uh-huhs’?” She swallowed hard. By her expression, Pax wasn’t buying any of it for a minute.

  Pax nodded her head. “Texting buddies. Yep. That’s all this is.”

  ****

  Carter glanced out the window of the taxi. He hoped he didn’t beat them to Seb’s place. Carter didn’t want to appear overzealous, but he was looking forward to seeing his friends. And Tori. Especially Tori.

  While the California landscape blurred past outside the window, Carter reflected to the end of his first and only date with Tori just a few days before. When he’d driven her back to the LLS parking lot after their stop at the custard shop, he’d tossed around appropriate ideas to end their evening. As much as his physical side demanded he swoop in and kiss the daylights out of her, his more sensible side realized it wouldn’t be the smartest choice. Opting for the chaste kiss on the cheek seemed to somewhat satisfy the both of them, if he’d read Tori’s reaction correctly. Who was he kidding? He didn’t know if he’d even read himself correctly that night.

  Okay, Lord. It seems crazy to be this anxious about seeing Tori after only one date and some text messages. But for some reason, she fills a hole in my life I didn’t know existed. Help me keep from saying or doing something crazy. And help me to be the kind of man you would have me to be. Pure in your sight.

  This girl.

  Well, just be with me, Lord.

  The taxi pulled into the driveway of the stylish two-story condo set back a bit from the road. Carter couldn’t tell if anyone was there yet, but he knew he couldn’t just sit in the taxi and wait to see if someone showed up. Besides, he had a game that night and needed to be back at the stadium in time for batting practice in a few short hours.

  He took out two twenties for the cab driver. No time like the present to see if someone was home.

  Before he reached the front door, it opened and Sebastian stepped out.

  “Hey, Carter! Glad you could find your way here!”

  Seb pulled him into a hug and slapped him on the back.

  “I was afraid you might not be here yet.”

  “Nope. We were lucky traffic-wise and got here about twenty minutes ago. The girls are getting situated downstairs, and my folks should get here while we’re at the game.”

  “Great. Trip went okay, I hope?”

  “Yeah. It was fine. Come on in and take a load off. I’ll tell Pax and Tori you’re here.”

  Carter followed Seb through the foyer and into the sprawling den with floor to ceiling windows looking out into the private backyard. The open plan allowed Carter to see into the large, spacious kitchen.

  “You’ve got a nice place here.”

  Seb stopped in his tracks. “Yeah. You know I haven’t been back in a while. It’s bittersweet.”

  “I can’t even imagine, man. Thanks for the invitation, though.”

  Seb’s eyes took on a faraway look for a moment, and then he seemed to return to the present. “Anytime. Make yourself at home, and lemme check on the girls.”

  Carter stuffed his hands in the front pockets of his jeans and wandered over to the bookshelf at the far end of the den. A title caught his eye. “Unconditional,” he read aloud. He pulled it off the shelf and skimmed the inside cover. Liking what he read, he sat down on the oversized love seat and relaxed.

  Carter caught a flash of color out of the corner of his eye. Before he could turn, Tori plopped on the seat next to him.

  “Well, hello there stranger! How are you?”

  Closing the book, Carter placed it on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

  “Hi, yourself.”

  She laughed in response, and that only furthered Carter’s desire to pull Tori into his arms. Her red curls bounced and teased him. He fought off the urge to run his fingers through them.

  “So, how was your flight? I didn’t see a stack of boxes by the door, so you must have gotten everything into one suitcase, huh?”

  Laughing, he caught her fist as she aimed a jab at his shoulder.

  “You aren’t that funny, Carter. I’m quite proud of myself. Everything made it here in one suitcase. Just don’t ask me to get it all back in there. I think I’ll need a magic wand to get it to happen again. By the way, I wouldn’t be too upset with a hug hello, all right?”

  Carter grinned and reached over to bring her into his arms. He nestled his face into Tori’s hair for a moment, allowing the scent of her strawberry shampoo to waft through
his nostrils. When he pulled back, Carter reached for her hand and caressed it with his thumb as he gazed into her eyes.

  “I’m really glad you’re here.”

  “Well, I’m glad you’re glad. And how about this weather? I love this city, what I’ve seen of it. Can you get over the skies? They’re so blue. And the palm trees. I just love how they sway in the breeze. Speaking of the breeze, there’s an actual breeze, so gentle to the touch. If you stand perfectly still, it’s like little feathers of the wind are glancing off your skin. I just can’t get over — Wha—?” she trailed off as he pressed his lips to hers.

  Velvet. Her lips were soft as an angel’s breath against his. Carter reached up his hand and found one of those teasing curls and lightly twisted his fingers around it. Satin. Her hair, that had teased him for so long, felt like satin in his hands. Tori sighed as Carter continued to meld his mouth to hers and began to relax in his arms. He could have drowned in the way she made him feel. But finally, the internal struggle between his brain and his emotions ended with his brain getting back into gear, and Carter leaned away.

  Tori appeared shell-shocked, her green eyes as wide as saucers. Carter swallowed hard. Had he made a terrible mistake? After he’d prayed for guidance, look what he’d done.

  After a few seconds, a smile crossed Tori’s face and Carter let out a breath he didn’t realize he held.

  “Well, I gotta say, mister, I’ve been waiting a while for that. Although I never would’ve thought my rambling description of the California weather would be what finally broke the ice.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Tori’s heart continued to flutter as she sat in the seats at Dodger Stadium waiting for the game to start. It didn’t matter how she tried to think about something else, her thoughts kept drifting back to Carter’s kiss. It hadn’t been how she’d pictured it happening, but it was perfect nonetheless. Now she couldn’t imagine it happening any other way.

  Poor Carter. He’d seemed flabbergasted after he realized what he’d done. When his blue eyes clouded over with nervousness, it made him more adorable than ever. Then when he understood her joy over the situation… wow! There was no way to describe his eyes then. Their cerulean blue was more gorgeous than any California sky she could hope to imagine.