Love Is Patient Read online

  Copyright

  ISBN 1-58660-806-1

  Copyright © 2003 by Cathy Marie Hake. All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the permission of Truly Yours, an imprint of Barbour Publishing, Inc., PO Box 719, Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683.

  All of the characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events is purely coincidental.

  Scripture quotations marked nasb are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

  One

  Granite Cliffs, California

  Big, brown, puppy-dog eyes—Vanessa Zobel had always been a sucker for them. It was why she’d opened Whiskers, Wings, and Wags. Right now, she had not one, but two sets of large, soulful brown eyes trained on her. “May I help you?”

  “Nobody can help me,” the little brown-eyed boy across the counter said in a despondent tone.

  Vanessa looked to the adult for an explanation. The tall, sable-haired man stared back at her for a moment, then glanced down at his shuffling son.

  “We need to return this.” The man set a quart-sized Zip-Tite plastic bag on the counter. It tilted toward the edge, so he caught and scooted the bag closer to the register. Blissfully untroubled by the changing current, the goldfish inside continued to swim tiny laps.

  The little boy stuck out a grubby finger and rubbed the edge of the clear plastic bag. “I done wrong.”

  His confession didn’t reveal much information, but he’d admitted responsibility for whatever the problem was. Vanessa hummed. “Is that so?”

  “I really, really wanted Goldie. I knew he’d stay little and he’d be quiet.”

  The man rested his callused hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Jeff—”

  “I know, Dad. I done wrong.” The little boy hung his head.

  Kids sometimes shoplifted. Vanessa had experience dealing with customers in that realm, but she knew Jeff couldn’t have stolen the fish. She looked at the father in puzzlement.

  “I understand you give coupons to the school for free goldfish. Jeff forged my signature on the parental permission line.”

  “Ohh.” The picture became clear. She looked from the child to the fish and back again at Jeff. His lower lip protruded in a quivering, almost-ready-to-cry pout. “Oh, my.”

  “Dad says I gotta—” His little chin rose as he sucked in a gulp of air. “Gotta give Goldie back to you.”

  Vanessa shot the broad-shouldered father a quick glance. The left side of his mouth kicked up into a rakish smile, and his eyes stayed steady as could be. He stood behind his son and kept a hand on his shoulder.

  To Vanessa, it looked like a show of support during a difficult time. Still, the father’s other palm flattened and scooted the baggy farther away. Taking her cue from him, she walked around the counter and knelt in front of the little guy. Since she didn’t know if he would be afraid of her dog, she rested a hand on Amber’s golden coat in a silent show of reassurance. “Jeff, I think you’re a mighty lucky young man.”

  “You mean I getta keep Goldie?” Hope flared in his big eyes.

  “No, I’m afraid not.” Vanessa took his little hand in hers as she shook her head. “I think you’re blessed to have a daddy who loves you so much, he wants to teach you to be an honorable man.”

  “Is honor’ble like being honest?”

  “That’s part of it. It means being honest and fair and that folks know they can trust you to do the right thing.”

  Jeff twisted the toe of his well-worn sneaker on the linoleum floor. The sound of the rubber squeaking mixed with tweets, yips, and a parrot squawk. He jammed his hands into his pockets and muttered, “My dad’s honor’ble.”

  “I try to be, Son. It’s not always easy.”

  Tears filled Jeff’s eyes. “I wanna keep Goldie. Goldie likes me. What if he isn’t happy here?”

  “I’m sure the lady has lots of goldfish to keep Goldie company.”

  “Yes, I do. Goldie will need to get used to the water, though.”

  Though lines of bafflement creased his brow, a devastatingly handsome smile tilted the father’s mouth. “Goldie’s already a very good swimmer.”

  “I’ll need to let him get used to the water temperature. It might be a bit of a shock to him otherwise, so we’ll just slip him—bag and all—into the tank until the temperature equalizes. Then we’ll let Goldie out so he can make friends with all of the other fish.”

  “We will? Do I get to help?”

  Oops. Me and my big mouth. She wrinkled her nose and looked up at the father again. “It’ll take about fifteen minutes.”

  Jeff tugged on his father’s paint-splattered sweatshirt. “Dad, you said we were going to bring Goldie back if it took all day!”

  Vanessa tried to smother her smile. She doubted the father meant he was willing to stick around for a fish reacclimation.

  The father chuckled and rumpled Jeff’s hair. “We can spare fifteen minutes.”

  Vanessa took the bag from the counter. “The fish tanks are right back here.”

  “Can I carry Goldie?” A quick look back into the dad’s eyes let Vanessa know it was okay. “Sure.” She handed the squishy package down to Jeff’s little hands, then shoved up the right sleeve of his lightweight sweatshirt. “We’ll even have you put his bag into the tank.”

  Jeff carried his tiny contraband through the store. Vanessa thought they made quite a procession—the boy and his fish, his father, then she and Amber bringing up the rear. Amber quietly sat at heel while the father clasped his big hands around his son’s waist and lifted him. Jeff solemnly lowered the bag into the goldfish tank. Big tears filled his eyes.

  “I know it’s hard for you, Son, but this is the way it has to be.” The father set him back down.

  “I knew it was bad to tell a lie. Writing a lie is wrong too, huh?”

  “Yes, it is.”

  Several of the fish in the tank darted by the plastic bag. A few nudged it. “It looks to me like Goldie’s got a lot of fish who want to be his friend,” Vanessa said. “You can watch them for awhile if you’d like. I need to do a little work around here, but I’ll come back to help you let Goldie out of the bag.”

  Vanessa walked past several more tanks teeming with fish, around the corner display of hamsters, gerbils, and mice, then shoved a protruding bag of dog food into place on a shelf before she reached the back room.

  “All done,” Valene declared as she pulled a load of towels from the clothes dryer.

  Vanessa smiled at her identical twin. “Hang on a second.” She unfastened Val’s clip, quickly finger combed the shoulder-length, honey blond tresses back into order, and popped them back into a tidy ponytail that matched her own.

  Val’s blue eyes twinkled. “If you tell me I look pretty, I’m going to accuse you of being vain.”

  “Your soul is beautiful,” Vanessa shot back. “I didn’t say a word about the package God put it in.”

  “Oh, so He gave Mom and Dad a two-for-the-price-of-one deal on us?”

  “Spoken like a business major.” Vanessa laughed at their silly banter as she plucked a green jacket from amidst the towels and fastened it over Amber’s back. “Speaking of deals, what would you think of us putting together a puppy package?”

  “Not a bad idea—especially since you filled every last cage and pen last night.”

  “What do I say?” Vanessa spread her hands wide. “I love dogs. I need to get back out there.” She smoothed the golden retriever’s jacket, gave the animal an
affectionate stroke, and started to push a cart out the door. “Let’s go.” She murmured the command, and Amber sedately walked alongside her.

  “Watcha doin’?” Jeff asked from over by the hamsters.

  “I’m going to give all of the animals some fresh drinking water.”

  “Can I help?”

  “You need to ask your daddy.”

  Jeff’s father turned around from admiring a parrot. “I’ll let him help. . . .” Glints of gold sparkled in his brown eyes. “If I can too.”

  Jeff scampered over. “Your dog’s wearing clothes now!”

  “Yes, she is. She’s a special dog. Her name is Amber.”

  Jeff pursed his lips and squinted at the writing on the green jacket. He pointed at it. “That doesn’t say Amber.”

  His father squatted down beside him. “Why don’t you read it, Sport?”

  “J-joo-eye-dee.” His little features twisted. “Jooeydie? What is that?”

  “Sound it out again. Use the other sound for G, and keep the first vowel silent.”

  Jeff’s face puckered. “Teacher says, ‘When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking.’ ”

  “That’s usually true, but this word is a rule breaker.”

  “G-eye-dy. Guide!” Jeff beamed as he ran his forefinger along the white lettering. “Guide puppy in training!”

  “What a smart boy!” Vanessa smiled at how the father beamed from her praise every bit as much as the son.

  “Jeff’s six. I’m Nathan Adams.” Laugh lines around his mouth deepened. “I’m sure he’ll be glad to tell you how old I am, what we ate for lunch, and that I occasionally drive too fast.”

  “Vanessa Zobel,” she provided with a quick laugh. “Twenty-four, a taco, and no speeding tickets. . .yet.”

  “Did Amber eat a taco too?”

  “No.” She played with Amber’s soft ears. “Amber isn’t supposed to be a pet. She’s going to be a working dog. We want to teach her to do her jobs without getting treats. It makes her happy for me to pat her and tell her she’s a good girl.”

  Nathan hooked his thumbs in the front pockets of his tattered jeans. “So you’ll train her and give her away?”

  The gentle quality of his voice made Vanessa’s heart melt. Most people focused on what a wonderful thing it was for the blind to receive such a dog. She did too—or she wouldn’t be training the dogs. Still, few ever understood the ache involved in relinquishing a puppy.

  “This is my fourth guide puppy.” She petted Amber and added, “She’s a good dog. I’ll miss her, but I know she’ll be a wonderful companion helper for someone who needs her.”

  “Does she sleep here at night with all of the other animals?” Jeff continued to trace the letters on the jacket.

  “No, Amber goes everywhere with me. It’s my job to make sure she learns how to behave nicely wherever we are. In a few months, she’ll go to San Francisco to a special doggy school where they’ll teach her how to help a blind person.”

  “Someone’s going to be lucky,” Nathan said slowly as he looked into her eyes. “It looks like you’ve trained Amber magnificently.”

  “Does she wear that thing on her face ’cuz she’s a working dog?”

  “Yes.” Vanessa glanced down at the green halterlike device. “It’s a training tool called a gentle leader. That part around her muzzle is loose, so she can still open her mouth.”

  “Can she still eat?”

  “Yes, she could, but I’ve trained her only to eat at special times from a bowl. She won’t eat food she finds on the ground or that people offer her. See how the other part of it goes under her chin here and makes a collar? If I give the leash just a tiny pull, it steers her.”

  Nathan gave her an astonished look. “Power steering for puppies. Wow.”

  “How come all of the other dogs and cats are noisy, but Amber is quiet?”

  “They’re just babies. They need someone to love and train them.” The door chimed. Vanessa craned her neck and spied one of her regular customers trundling into the shop. “Excuse me. I need to help Mrs. Rosetti.”

  She sold the usual pound of lamb-and-rice biscuits her regular bought each week, then came back to the father and son. “Would you like to help me give the animals fresh water to drink?”

  In no time at all Nathan, Jeff, and Vanessa had refilled all the water bottles and dishes for the reptiles, rodents, birds, and kittens. Jeff’s enthusiasm for the task far outstripped his ability, and his shirt showed it. Still, his father ignored the wet clothing and patiently helped his son. At each cage, habitat, or pen, Jeff decided he’d love to have that particular pet the most.

  “Looks like you have a bona fide animal lover on your hands,” she said to Nathan.

  “He’s decided anything worth having is worth collecting. We already have a rock collection, at least two hundred baseball cards, three oatmeal canisters of seashells, and enough Matchbox cars to jam our own freeway. If I let him have one pet, I’m sure our whole house would turn into one big menagerie.”

  As Vanessa raised a brow, she asked the teasing question, “And the problem with that would be. . . ?”

  “I’m not about to debate that issue with you.” Nathan shook his head and gave her a rueful grin. “Your bias is clear.”

  “True. I think pets are great.” Vanessa parked the cart in the corner and spread her hands wide. “I can’t think of anything better than being around animals!”

  “Why are you stopping?” Nathan asked her.

  “We can go release Goldie now.”

  Jeff stood on tiptoe and peeped over the edge of a pen holding a pair of cocker spaniels. “I wanna see the puppies. They’re so little!”

  “I tell you what: We’ll use up the rest of the water in the pitcher. Then, we can let the goldfish free. Afterward, I’ll take care of the rest of the dogs.”

  Nathan snagged one of a pair of cocker spaniels that bounded out of their pen when Vanessa opened the sliding door. She hastily grabbed the other and laughed as it licked her cheek. “You’re gonna run me ragged, aren’t you, Frack?”

  “Frack?” Father and son asked in unison.

  “Frack.” She held up her wiggling puppy. “You snagged Frick—for which I’m eternally grateful.”

  “I wanna hold a puppy too.”

  “I don’t mind your holding a puppy, but perhaps we could find one that’s a little less active.” Vanessa playfully tousled Frack’s ears, then set him back in his pen.

  The shop’s bell chimed again, announcing another customer.

  “If you don’t mind, I can help Jeff release the goldfish while you take care of those folks,” Nathan offered.

  “Fine. Thanks.”

  Lord, she prayed as she walked off, see that guy? Gorgeous brown eyes, fabulous sense of honor and ethics, even a dollop of humor. You can find me one of those whenever You’re ready.

  Two little girls stood with their mother at the door. “We’ve come to look at kittens.”

  “I hope all of the good ones aren’t taken!” one girl said.

  “I hope not too.” Vanessa smiled at them, but I’m not talking about kittens.

  Two

  Nathan watched the perky woman and her retriever head for the front of the shop. Her blond ponytail bounced as she walked. It had been a long time since he reacted to such a natural beauty. The moment they made eye contact, his brain went into a free fall, and he’d probably made a total fool of himself gawking at her. She hadn’t laughed at how he fumbled and almost dropped that dumb goldfish—a fact for which he was grateful.

  Most of all, he appreciated how she’d taken her cues from him and supported how he wanted to discipline Jeff. She hadn’t made a big, hairy deal out of the matter, but the way she stood firm about putting Goldie back in the tank reinforced his parental decision. Still, the compassionate way she allowed Jeff to make sure Goldie had new friends would undoubtedly keep him from doing a total meltdown when they left.

  “Dad, do you think Goldie will b
e okay?”

  “The lady here is nice, Sport. I think she’ll do a great job keeping Goldie happy.”

  “Prob’ly.” Jeff sighed. “I guess we can let him out of his bag now.”

  Jeff took his sweet time telling Goldie a half dozen “important” things. He then spoke to the rest of the tank’s occupants, earnestly telling them all about their wonderful companion as if he’d owned the silly creature for months instead of overnight. Lower lips quivering, Jeff finally freed the fish.

  Nathan watched tears fill his son’s eyes. He quietly took the soggy bag from Jeff’s hands and wished again he hadn’t needed to do this. As kids went, Jeff was a great, but Nathan wanted him to grow up to have integrity. Rewarding his dishonesty by letting him keep the fish would be a mistake.

  “I can’t tell which one is Goldie.” Jeff trembled. “Can you?”

  Oh, it would be so easy to lie.

  “No, Son, but I figure that’s a good thing. It means Goldie fits right in and everybody is already playing with him.”

  “How are you doing, Big Guy?” Vanessa asked softly as she rounded the corner. Nathan watched as she knelt, opened her arms, and Jeff ran to her. She hugged him. “It’s not easy to say good-bye, is it?”

  Jeff shook his head and burrowed closer to her.

  “I’ll bet you’d rather grow up to be a good man like your daddy than to keep one little old goldfish.”

  “Yeah,” he agreed, his voice muted against her shoulder. “I done wrong, but Dad said this would make it right.”

  “The next time you have to choose how to act, I’ll bet you do a better job,” Nathan said as he slipped his hands around Jeff’s waist and lifted him high.

  “We can’t go yet, Dad. She promised I could hold a puppy.”

  “I need to get more water. Why don’t you two go look at the dogs and decide which one Jeff wants to hold?”

  Whiskers, Wings, and Wags certainly boasted a bumper crop of animals. Nathan and Jeff sauntered along the puppy wall. Every breed from Afghans to wiener dogs snuffled, yipped, and wagged from the bright clean pens and cages. A pair of puffball-sized huskies tussled over a toy, and a little shar-pei that looked like a rumpled tan sock napped in a corner.