No, I haven't fallen off the face of the planet--I started a new job September 18 and that's taken more mental energy than I'd thought it would.  "A Credit For Love" is still progressing, albeit slowly, and I promise the regular updates are back on!

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Chapter 4

    Cate startled when the phone rang, not sure why she was sleeping so early in the evening—the setting sun was still visible through the window.  The phone rang again, and the pain in her shoulder and neck stopped her short as she reached for the phone, and she remembered the events of the afternoon.  Finally, she picked it up on the third ring and brought the receiver to her ear with a slight wince.

    “Hello?”

    “Cate, this is Greg Tanner.  I just wanted to call and see how you were doing after the accident earlier.”  He mentally berated himself for the lie, but didn’t want to scare the poor girl off—especially when it sounded like he might have awakened her.  The pause on the other end of the line confirmed that he’d at least caught her in the middle of something.  “I’m sorry, Cate, I’ve obviously caught you at a bad time.”

    “No.”  The answer came swiftly.  “I’m sorry, Greg—I’m just feeling a step or two slow right now.”

    “How did you do at work the rest of the afternoon?”

    “I ended up going home about 20 minutes after I got back to the mall,” she admitted.  “I was just a little too fuzzy around the edges to be able to run the store well, and my staff is well-trained and I’m sure they did fine without me.”

    Something in that statement made Greg wonder.  “Cate, you didn’t hit your head or anything earlier, did you?”

    “No, nothing like that—I’m just a little sore.  I’ll have some Tylenol in a little bit, and I’m sure I’ll be fine in the morning.”

    Greg was sure of no such thing, having been rear-ended himself a few years earlier, but didn’t think it was his place to argue.  “Do you have a busy evening planned?”

    “No, nothing except seeing what might be on the television.”   

    “I just tried the same thing, and there’s nothing there, I assure you.  Would you like to maybe have a coffee instead?”  There, it was out, and there was no reclaiming it now.

    “I’m not really sure I want to drive anywhere—I can’t get the car looked at until Monday, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it, but you never know, and . . . “ Her voice trailed off.  Cate found herself wanting to take it back—she wanted to see Greg again, she realized, and her excuse, while sincere, sounded like just that—an excuse.

    Greg was undeterred.  “If it’s okay with you, I could pick you up.”  The words hung in the air for a moment.

    “I suppose that would be okay.”  Cate’s quiet tone softened the words that she realized too late might have sounded uninterested or non-committal.  “Do you know where Shady Creek Apartments are?” 

    Cate was uncertain a heartbeat later when Greg laughed.  He realized how he might sound and hastened to explain.  “I live just down the road, Caitlyn.”  Relieved, she gave him her apartment number, and he promised to come for her in fifteen minutes.

    Only when she’d hung up the phone did Cate look in the mirror.  Her hair was scrunched up on one side where she’d lain on the couch, and there was a mark on her face in the pattern of the sofa pillow.  Cate groaned, knowing she didn’t have time to completely repair the damage before Greg arrived, but darted to the bathroom to do her best.

    True to his word, Greg arrived in fifteen minutes.  Caitlyn had used the curling iron in an attempt to fix the flat spot in her hair before grabbing a headband in desperation.  She added a touch of lip gloss before answering the door.

    Greg could see that she was nervous as soon as he laid eyes on her.  She looked breathless as she greeted him.  He respectfully stood on the doorstep as she reached for her purse, not wanting to presume or make her uncomfortable. 

    For her part, Cate was hoping he’d take the hint and come in—she was desperately trying to slip into her shoes, but it was going to require the use of her hands at this point, and she hated to leave him standing in the doorway while she fiddled with them.  Why did you choose these strappy little things? she asked herself.  The sandals were cute, but thoroughly impractical for slipping into quickly while not keeping her date waiting.

    Greg finally caught on.  “Cate, I don’t mind waiting while you get your shoes on.”  She gave him a grateful smile and reached down to adjust the straps.  She covered the pain that shot through her neck and arm and smiled at Greg quickly before picking up her purse again and following him to the BMW she’d seen earlier.  He opened her door and waited until she was seated to close it.

    Once inside, Cate overcame her nerves long enough to take note of the leather seats and fancy stereo that appeared to hold multiple CDs.  Her small car didn’t even have a single CD player—she had plugged a portable one into the cassette deck for a few longer road trips, but she normally listened to the radio.

    Greg came around the car and noticed Cate’s careful scrutiny.  She flashed him a quick smile that made him momentarily forget what he was doing.  He finally managed to start the car just as Caitlyn began to wonder if this had been a good idea.  Greg saw her relax against the seat out of the corner of his eye.

    “Have you ever been to Le Latte?”  Cate shook her head, regretting it instantly but managing not to make a face at the pain that radiated through her neck.  Greg momentarily wondered at the odd expression on her face but continued, “it’s a nice little coffee shop not too far from here.  I thought we could go there, if that’s okay with you.”

    “That sounds fine.”  Cate took care not to move her head as she answered him.  He was at a loss as she faced straight ahead, and the rest of the drive was nearly silent, Cate trying to hide the pain that she felt whenever she moved her head or arm suddenly and Greg wondering what he had done to offend her—if last night’s phone call hadn’t put her off entirely, surely his choice of a coffee shop this evening hadn’t.  He didn’t know her well yet, but she didn’t seem to be the bar type—and even if she was, he wasn’t, and hadn’t been sine his undergraduate days.

    The silence was approaching awkwardness when Greg put the car into park.  He’d never been so happy to see a half-empty coffee shop—hopefully they could find something to talk about for at least a bit before he took her home.  He wasn’t sure where he’d gone wrong this evening, but something was amiss.

    Cate was impressed by the way he seated her at the table they selected and opened the menu and placed it before her.  She’d rarely been out with men her own age who made such gestures—she and her friends in college had often bemoaned the death of chivalry as they read Arthurian tales for their literature classes, wondering when their own knights would come.  Shelby had gotten married two years earlier, and Lindsay’s wedding was coming up in a few weeks—Cate was the only single girl left out of their group, and her mother had wondered aloud on more than one occasion if her only daughter would ever find a man and settle down.

    “That’s quite a look.”  Greg knew he was going out on a limb with the comment, but someone had to break the ice that was forming between he and Cate, and the woman across the table from him appeared to be lost in though.  She smiled, which he took as a good sign.  He was about to ask what was on her mind when the waitress arrived to take their orders. 

He nodded for her to go first, his eyes widening when she ordered café Americano.  Most women he took out for coffee ordered frilly drinks with syrups and sweeteners and skim this and non-fat that.  Cate had ordered a strong, plain coffee drink with cream and raw sugar.  “I’ll have the same.”  That got him another smile from Cate.

“Aren’t you worried you won’t sleep tonight?”

“Actually, no—tomorrow, I plan to relax after church, so if I don’t get to sleep tonight, I’ll do it in the afternoon.  I can’t remember the last time I just took a whole day off like that.”

“I have every Sunday off, but I’m going to be organizing a Mother’s Day brunch at the church tomorrow, so I’ll be out bright and early.”

“Are you up to that after this afternoon?”  Normally the question would have irritated Caitlyn, but Greg’s face showed real concern.

“I should be fine, but thank you for asking.”  Cate nearly shook her head at her own words, but she knew it would only hurt.  She wasn’t acting at all like herself—she wasn’t normally this distant or reserved, but the pain in her neck was growing more insistent by the moment and keeping her head perfectly still seemed to be the only way to keep it manageable.

Greg had gotten beyond wondering what he’d done wrong and had reached the conclusion that Ms. Caitlyn Jordan was simply not interested.  She was polite enough, but there was a distinct chill in her voice whenever she spoke, and she was holding herself rather stiffly, as though she feared he would get closer.  He sipped his coffee, hoping his disappointment wasn’t obvious.  Cate had seemed like such a sweet girl, and she’d had no objection earlier to him calling her—she must have changed her mind after he left the mall and had been too nice to say anything when he’d called.

Twenty awkward minutes later, he asked if she was ready to leave, and Cate practically jumped to her feet, strappy sandals or not.  She wasn’t sure what had just happened, but Greg’s eyes were shuttered over and she was in pain.  Despite her long nap and strong coffee, she knew she would sleep like the dead—if she could find a comfortable position that didn’t make her neck and shoulder scream in agony.  Ever the gentleman, Greg once again helped her in and out of the car, and even walked her to her door.

“Thank you, Greg,” she said softly.  Their eyes met for a moment, and she extended her hand.

Her hand was remarkably soft in his.  Greg squeezed her hand gently, hanging on for a moment longer than necessary.  Cate bit her lip nervously, and that drew his attention to her mouth. 

Cate froze as she saw Greg’s glance drop to her lips, wondering if he intended to kiss her.  Her back stiffened slightly, and that was enough to change any plans he might have had.

“Good night, Caitlyn.”  He waited until she had unlocked her door and turned with a little half-wave to walk back to his car.

So much for that.  Cate closed the door behind her, wondering what had gotten into her.  She’d accepted a date with a man she scarcely knew, one who had made a terrible first impression by practically yelling at her over the phone—then wondered that they seemed to have nothing to talk about and nearly let him kiss her good night on their first date!  Catey girl, you need to get a grip.

It must have been the accident, she told herself.  A hot bath and a good night’s sleep and her head would be much clearer—and hopefully the ache in her neck and shoulders would be gone.

Greg sat in his car for a moment after Cate went inside.  Some impression you make, Tanner.  He’d been rude to her the night before, and now he’d been too forward and scared her.  He wasn’t sure what drew him to this woman—and now he’d likely never get the chance to find out.  You didn’t even tell her you’d give her a call!  Obviously, she hadn’t said anything in her hurry to get away.  He was rusty at this dating thing, but had a feeling that he’d gotten a total blow-off from Miss Caitlyn Jordan.

He drove home slowly, mulling the evening over in his head and wondering where he’d gone wrong.  By the time he got home, Greg had resolved to give it over to God’s direction.  If he was supposed to hear from Cate again, that was all he could do.  He called Keith, the neighbor who’d invited him to church, to confirm the time of the service and set his alarm.