[Novel] A Different Road Traveled
Chapter 3
Rachel’s next encounter with her newfound family friend was slightly more eventful, and a little unsettling.
It happened when she had gone outside to wash her car. Not only had she made a name for herself by choosing not to date, Rachel owned a 1990 Ford Mustang.
It was painted a deep cherry color which appeared either black or red depending on the light. It was a thing of beauty, and needless to say, she got a lot of attention when she drove it. When Rachel decided to go out and wash her car, it had never occurred to her that she would have company, so she was a little surprised when she saw Frank come out of his house and walk straight towards her.
“Hey Rachel, washing your car I see,” he said.
“Yeah, thought I would get all the grime off. It sure gets dirty in this ocean air.” As Rachel was filling the bucket with water, she took a minute to look at him a little more closely. He had dark hair which was closely cut, a round head and glasses. He had to be at least six feet tall. His arms were huge and she wondered for a moment how many hours he spent working out each day. His physical presence was a little intimidating to her. Rachel was just barely above five feet and while she was muscular and fit, she felt very small next to him.
“I was watching for you, hoping you’d come out today so I could talk to you.”
Rachel’s mind quickly went from thoughts of his muscles and focused on what he’d just said. “Really? You’ve got nothing better to do than look out the window, waiting to talk to someone you barely know?” Rachel probably was a little rude, but there was something odd about the statement he’d just made and the way he looked at her caused a little quiver of discomfort.
“Well, I am waiting to hear back about the job I interviewed for, so other than waiting for the phone to ring and going to the gym, there’s not much else to do.”
Rachel saw her chance and seized it. “You probably should go back in the house then. You wouldn’t want to miss your phone call.” Knowing she had practically told him to go away, Rachel added a small smile to soften the abruptness. After all, her parents had told her to be nice to the guy.
_______________
“Oh, Violet! I’m so happy for you, but I’m going to miss you.” Rachel said as she helped Violet pack her suitcase.
“I’m excited, but sometimes I get a little nervous.” Violet grabbed a pair of socks and tossed them onto her bed. “I’ve never been to Mexico and I’m not too sure about working at an orphanage. What if the kids don’t like me? So much depends on how well this trip goes. If they like me, they’ll sign me on full time.”
“That would be so awesome! Your dream of being a missionary would be coming true! Of course they’ll like you, Vi. How could they not? You’re sweet and kind and you smile a lot. And, you have a nice nickname.” Rachel’s eyes twinkled with mischief as she teased her friend.
“Oh dear, that’s one thing I’m not going to miss! I’m glad you won’t be there to teach the kids to call me Vi.”
Laughter filled the air as the girls teased each other. Violet continued to find items she needed for her missions trip and Rachel carefully placed them in the suitcase. “You’re lucky I’m here to help you, Vi. I can pack a suitcase like no one else!”
“Yeah, but how am I going to get it all back in there when I’m ready to come home? Do you plan on packing yourself in there too?”
“Ha-ha, I guess you’ll just have to learn how to be less messy!”
“Oh, you are terrible! If I traveled as often as you do, I’d be good at packing, too,” Violet said as she punched Rachel in the arm.
“Ouch! No wonder the boys run from you! Not only are you gorgeous, brilliant, and wise; you’re violent! If that won’t scare them off, I don’t know what will.”
“You’re real funny, Rachel.” Violet tried unsuccessfully to contain her laughter.
“Well, I bet Mr. Right is sitting at the orphanage, just waiting for you to come to Mexico. And he’ll be a real man who’s not scared of your punches!”
As Rachel continued to giggle, Violet pretended to be offended and stepped farther into the closet to hide her laughter. With clothing muffling the sound, she missed what Rachel said next. Certain it was another comical comment, she asked Rachel to repeat what she said.
“I said, speaking of guys, I wish you could meet this Frank guy.” Violet stepped out of the closet and sat down next to Rachel. “I really need someone to give me a non-biased opinion of him. My parents think he’s just lonely and needing a friend. But Vi, he seemed creepy the other day.”
“What happened?”
Rachel had Violet’s full attention now. “Well, not much really. But I was outside washing my car and he walked over to talk to me. Just as I was looking at how huge his arms are, he says he was watching for me.” Rachel shrugged her shoulders in uncertainty. “Have you ever felt that something was wrong but you just can’t put your finger on what it is?”
“Of course I have, many times.”
“Well, that’s how I feel. There was something about the way he looked at me... I can’t explain it. But don’t you think it’s odd that he was waiting for me to come out of the house so he could talk to me? Besides, do you normally tell people those kinds of things?”
“Well, maybe he’s really bored or lonely. What did your parents say about it?”
“I didn’t tell them,” Rachel said with a sigh.
“Why didn’t you?”
“It just didn’t seem like much to tell. What am I supposed to say? That I have no idea why, but Frank makes me nervous?”
“Maybe you should try and stay away from him. And if something else happens, you really need to talk to your parents.”
“I know…” Rachel returned to artfully stuffing the suitcase. Why did she feel so uncertain about Frank? It wasn’t as if he’d said something inappropriate. And she’d dealt with all kinds of guys in her travels. Some of them were really weird and she was always able to deflect their attention without feeling bothered. But those guys didn’t live in her neighborhood. And the only contact they had with her was either during the conference or through mail. This was different; different enough to leave her unsettled.
_________________
Later that afternoon, Rachel walked into the kitchen where Mary was preparing dinner. “Mom, I really want to make some cookies for Violet. She leaves tomorrow and I thought it would be nice for her to have something to munch on while they drive to the airport.”
“Ok, but I think you’ll need to go to the store, I just used all the butter.”
“And I used all the brown sugar in my oatmeal this morning.” Rachel looked through the cupboards, taking note of the things she would need. “Do I have time to go now? Or do you want me to wait until after dinner?”
“That’s fine, Sweetie, you can go now. And that way you can get some milk for the mashed potatoes.”
“Ok, I’ll try to hurry,” Rachel said as she grabbed her purse and keys and ran out the door.
_________________
Frank Smith was just hanging up the phone with the gas company when he saw Rachel get into her car and drive away. He was thrilled to know he got the job and seeing Rachel only added to the excitement he felt.
I’m going to tell her I got a job! With that thought running through his mind, he grabbed his keys. He had to force himself to slow down; otherwise he would have run to his truck like the house was on fire. How could one little woman get him so worked up? When he got into his truck, he put the keys into the ignition and started the engine. He shifted into drive and pressed the gas pedal to back out of the driveway. The truck lurched forward and he let out a curse while stomping on the brake as fast as he could.
“I’m so worked up I don’t even know what gear I’m using…” he mumbled. He had come within inches of plowing through his own house. Wouldn’t Phil love that! His stubborn brother was still angry at him for lying to the Rileys and he certainly didn’t need to give him more reasons to be angry. It would be horrible if Phil kicked him out.
After placing the vehicle in reverse, Frank backed out of the drive and made his way down the street. This would be a lot easier if I knew where she was going. But thankfully the town was small and there weren’t too many places to look. By the time he found her car in the grocery store parking lot, she was pulling out of her parking space. He was too late! He decided to just follow her to the next place she was going. Of course, he would have to be careful so she didn’t notice. He wouldn’t want her thinking he was weird or something.
It didn’t take long for Frank to realize she was simply going back home. For fear of her knowing he was following her, he took a different route and pulled into his drive just minutes after she pulled into hers.
She was just now opening the trunk to get her groceries. He had to hurry, this was his only chance. “Hey, neighbor!” Frank called as he stepped out of his truck. Rachel turned and looked to see who was talking to her. When she saw him, she gave a quick wave and turned back to her groceries. As she was pulling out the first bag, Frank walked up next to her and reached for the other one.
“Let me help you,” he said, settling the paper bag into the crook of his arm and closing the trunk.
“Thanks.” She refused to look at him.
Why is she being so quiet? How can she get to know me if she’s always in a hurry to leave?
“So I got the job I interviewed for.” Frank couldn’t help the boyish grin that spread across his face.
“That’s nice, I’m glad for you.” Rachel finally looked at him. And when she did, those hazel eyes seemed to steal all his common sense away.
“You, uh… you sure are looking good today.” Frank didn’t even realize what he had said until Rachel’s whole attitude changed. Her eyes went from almost friendly to ice cold in a matter of seconds. He could think of a lot of names to call himself, but he decided to focus on salvaging the conversation instead. “So, uh… you making dinner or something?” he stammered.
“No, my mom’s doing that.” Rachel bit off each word as if forcing herself to talk to him. Then a gleam lit her eyes and she turned to him, looked him full in the face and said, “Actually, I’m baking cookies for someone special.”
And with that, she took the bag from his arm and walked away. As the screen door slammed, Frank wondered what had just happened. Most girls were flattered easily and would have loved the compliment, even if it was clumsily said. As he pondered how to handle Rachel and win her heart, he walked to his own house. He was walking up the steps to his front porch when something hit him. “Someone special?” He practically yelled the words. Did he have competition?
_________________
“Violet, the guy told me I looked good!”
“Oh my, I guess your funny feeling about him was right. Didn’t you say he’s ugly and smells like beer and cigarettes? Gross!” Violet stood in her doorway holding the cookies Rachel had stopped by to give her.
“My thoughts exactly.”
“Well, you have to promise to tell me how it all turns out. By the time I get back, I’m sure he’ll just be another humorous story to tell. It’s not like you haven’t dealt with guys being infatuated with you before.”
“I haven’t had to deal with a neighbor before, Violet. And laugh all you want, this isn’t funny to me. Maybe it will be when it’s all over with, but in the meantime, I have to go through that awkward conversation of explaining why I don’t want to date a long lost family friend!” Rachel smiled as her last comment caused her to giggle. “Well, enough with all this talk about Frank,” Rachel said with a silly voice and a goofy expression. “Let’s talk about you going to Mexico and finding Mr. Right.”
“Whatever!” Violet laughed.
“Seriously though, Vi, I know God is going to do something great through you in the next couple of months. Who would have ever thought you’d be spending Thanksgiving with orphans this year? They will be so blessed to have you there.”
With that, the two girls hugged and promised to pray for each other. Rachel said her goodbyes as she walked to her car and Violet stood in the doorway, waving until her friend was out of sight. God watch over us both…
Thanks for UPVOTING!
Don't miss free Chapters one Steemit! Follow me!
