The McKaslin Clan

“Love is complicated. When it ends, it’s even more so.”

Rebecca squeezed her eyes shut, as if looking in instead of out.

She was a soft touch. Hers was a goodness that didn’t come and go, but remained when the going got tough. She was no holiday Christian. It was his guess that she had a big, forgiving heart.

When she opened her eyes, she gave another shoulder shrug. “My sisters tell me that’s part of healing and moving on. But this love thing is painful.”

“It can be,” Chad answered. “So, this guy, he’s the one you were hoping to marry?”

“Not exactly. I was just hoping, is all. And now I’m on a path I didn’t expect.”

“Maybe it’s a better one.”

“Maybe.” She smiled at him, truly smiled.

Just like that his heart clicked, and he was in like with her. How about that?

JILLIAN HART

makes her home in Washington State, where she has lived most of her life. When Jillian is not hard at work on her next story, she loves to read, go to lunch with her friends and spend quiet evenings with her family.

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Her Perfect Man

Jillian Hart

But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.

—Psalms 71:14

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Epilogue

Questions for Discussion

Chapter One

The phone was ringing inside her apartment, but Rebecca McKaslin stepped out into the late-summer evening anyway. Thank goodness for caller ID. Why was Chris calling? He knew she wouldn’t talk to him ever again—mostly because she’d told him so. How many times would she have to let it ring before he got a clue?

Exasperated, she yanked the door shut and the lock gave a metallic click. See, this was the reason she’d adopted her newly instated No Man policy. Men, they didn’t call when you wanted them to, but when you didn’t want them to call ever, then, voilà, the phone rang off the hook.

Well, she was a free and independent woman these days and she wasn’t even going to let the thought of her ex-boyfriend bug her. It was too bad that he had regrets, because she didn’t, thank you very much. She went to hike her purse strap higher on her shoulder—

Wait. No purse strap.

No purse. How had she forgotten it? It was right there by the door on the little hallway table where the phone had been ringing with Chris’s number flashing away.

No biggie, she told herself and lifted her hand to sort through her keys.

Wait. No keys. She stared at her empty hand. Had she left her key ring inside, too? Oh, probably. Talk about being an airhead, Rebecca. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to turn into her sister Ava who, as adorable as she was, forgot everything.

Okay, this was a major problem. How was she going to drive the car? Pick up the pizza? Get to her sister’s house in time to babysit?

Good going, Rebecca. Way to start off the evening. She folded a stray lock of brown hair out of her eyes. She tried the doorknob just in case it wasn’t really locked and that click had been a figment of her imagination.

Nope. The knob didn’t turn. Wasn’t that just her luck? If she had her purse, she would have her cell phone and so a quick call to someone in her family would fix this in a jiffy. If it wasn’t after five o’clock on a Friday, she could bother her neighbor Ephraim, but he was off at a church function.

So who did that leave? Asking a neighbor she didn’t know to borrow a phone? She hadn’t lived in this complex long. She didn’t know her neighbors, other than Ephraim, but she was going to have to start knocking on doors. As she was shy, that was not something she was looking forward to. Although judging by the quiet stillness of the complex, most of them probably wouldn’t be home.

On a brighter note, the phone inside her apartment had stopped ringing. Was Chris finally giving up? Getting a hint? Finding a clue?

A girl could always hope. Because she was done with dudes for good—or at least the next decade. Prince Charming could come walking around the corner and she would be Fort Knox. Her affections impenetrable. Her No Man policy was unshakable.

“You need any help?” A man’s voice came out of nowhere right behind her.

Her heart jumped hard enough to make it to the moon and back. She turned around and clutched the porch rail to steady herself. There was a drop-dead handsome guy standing on her walkway—and not just everyday ordinary handsome, either. But twenty on a scale of ten. Really wow. She had to be dreaming, right? She blinked, but nope, the gorgeous guy was still standing there as real as could be.

He was a big athletic-looking guy—not heavily muscled, but not lanky, either. He was tall with blond hair and a wholesome, guy-next-door grin. He wore a loose sport T-shirt and basketball shorts. Friendly looking.

“I saw you lock yourself out.” He had a wholesome smile, too, one that brought out a dimple in his right cheek and an honest sparkle in his dark eyes. He was also carrying a cardboard box in the crook of his arm. “I wasn’t peeping or anything. I was unloading my truck and I couldn’t help noticing. I’m moving in next door.”

“Oh, you’re Ephraim’s new roommate?”

“Guilty. You must be Rebecca. He’s talked about you. Only good things, though. Said to look you up if I wanted to join a Bible study group.”

“I’d be happy to give you the information, except—”

“All your information is inside?”

“Yep.”

“Isn’t that always how it goes?” He flashed her a hundred-watt grin. “You look like you’re on your way somewhere.”

“Yep, in a hurry without the keys to start my car.”

“That’s gotta spell trouble.” He was, as her sister Ava would say, super-duper.

But was she noticing? No. It was good to know her No Man policy was firmly in place. Talk about peace of mind. She crossed her arms over her heart like a shield. “Trouble? That’s the least of it. I’m running late, and now this. It’s just been one of those days of doom.”

“Hey, I have those too now and then.”

There was something about that friendly smile, Rebecca decided as she found herself smiling back. If there really was a Prince Charming, then this man would be him.

“A pretty girl like you is probably rushing out for a date, right?”

“I’m pleading the fifth on that one.”

“I see.” His voice was warm as if it was a smile all on its own. “I’m Chad, by the way. Chad Lawson.”

“Rebecca McKaslin.”

“Well, Rebecca. Do you have a spare key lying around?”

“No. I’m not that organized.” Mostly because she wasn’t usually this absentminded. “And if I did, I wouldn’t be standing here staring like I’ve lost my mind.”

“That’s not how I would describe you.”

“Then you are too kind.” She shaded her eyes with her hand. “I hate to bother you, but could I use your phone?”

“That would be no bother at all.” There went that dimple, flashing at her. He had the knack of putting people at ease. “You’re going to call a locksmith?”

“Or my sister for the key. It’s her condo. I rent from her. She’s not going to be happy with me. Katherine is pregnant and on bed rest.”

“Is she going to be okay?”

Rebecca sighed. Right now she should start collecting all the reasons why she wasn’t going to like Chad, but then he had to go and ask the perfect question. She had to like anyone who asked about her family. “It looks as if she and the baby will be fine, but you never know. It’s some high blood pressure problem.”

“I’ll keep her in my prayers.” He seemed sincere standing there with the sunlight bronzing him and concern on his chiseled face. “You don’t want to disturb her by getting that key. I’ve got an idea.”

“What kind of idea?” This ought to be interesting. She squinted at him, trying to figure out why he was being so nice. Maybe he was just a nice guy—or liked people to think he was. A smart girl would be on guard for that kind of thing.

“How about I break in for you?”

“Break in? Uh, that has the word break in it.”

“Sure, but not literally.” There was something reassuring about him as he set down the cardboard box he carried on the concrete walkway. “I’m assuming that your unit has a sliding-glass door like ours does?”

“Sure, but—”

“Then trust me.”

Wow, he had the most honest eyes. Good thing there wasn’t a single bit of interest. Nada. Zero on a scale of ten.

“Wait here. I’ll be right back.” He had classic features, a confident rugged air to him, tousled blond hair and wide shoulders. In short: gorgeous.

Didn’t that spell trouble?

Not for me, she reminded herself. She wanted to find fault with him but she couldn’t. She didn’t want to like the way two dimples bracketed his friendly, open smile or the dependable line of his wide shoulders as he turned and disappeared around the corner of her condo.

Was he a locksmith or something? She checked her watch; she had called in a pizza order for pickup and it was probably about ready. She didn’t want the cheesy sticks to dry out. How long did it take for a locksmith to pick a lock, or whatever it was that they did?

She tried not to think about how disappointed little Tyler was going to be if they didn’t have the pizza night she’d promised him. Hey, she was going to be disappointed, too, because she loved her nights with the munchkins. Family was everything to her. Simply everything.

The warm wind gusted gently, bringing the scent of roses from the garden around back. She let the fragrance wash through her. Just the sweet old-fashioned scent soothed her. Why was she so tense?

It wasn’t only from Chris’s barrage of calls. He’d done this before when they were off again. She was managing through the stress. It would stop, if all went according to her experience with him. No, what bothered her was much more complex, and it troubled her every time she sat still long enough to feel it.

She ought to be moving forward with her life instead of being stuck in place. Everything felt off. She hated feeling like this, lost and at loose ends. Why was it still bugging her? Hadn’t she come to a good solution last night in prayer?

Yes. She was letting go and letting God.

Another phone started to ring again—she recognized the electronic jingle of her cell phone muffled by the thick door. No doubt it was Chris again, persistent, as always.

I’m giving this up to you, too, Lord. She looked heavenward and heard the phone cut off—and start ringing again. Not the best of signs, but her faith was strong. I trust You with this. I know You have a plan.

And speaking of a plan, where had the neighbor guy gone? There wasn’t one sign of Chad. Then again, there wasn’t the sound of breaking glass, either. That had to be a good thing.

Suddenly her doorknob rattled and turned. She startled in surprise as the door swung open to reveal Chad standing in her foyer.

“What? How did you—” She leaned against the rail as he joined her on the porch. “What did you do?”

“I went to your patio and popped open the sliding-glass door.”

That fazed her. “But it was locked.”

“Yep. Don’t worry, your door doesn’t have a scratch on it.”

“But how did you open it?”

“Trade secret. I used to work summers for my uncle. He owns a glass shop.” Chad shrugged those wonderful shoulders of his. Washed in sunlight and charm, he looked like a wholesome, decent man. “You really should get a dowel for the track. That will keep burglars from doing the same thing I did.”

“Great. I feel so much better knowing that.”

His eyes had a nice, friendly sparkle to go along with his killer grin. The more handsome a guy, the more trouble he was. Chris had been gorgeous and look how that had turned out. She hated to generalize, because her sisters had all married hunky men and they were as happy as clams. She was happy for them.

She didn’t have that kind of luck.

“I locked the sliding door, so you don’t have to worry about it.” He loped down the steps.

“So that’s it? You’re just walking off, your good deed done, and now you’re going back to your unpacking?”

“That was my plan.” He turned around and backed down the walk. “I don’t want to make you late. You’re obviously on your way somewhere. A girl like you has a boyfriend, doesn’t she?”

“And what exactly is that supposed to mean?” She didn’t want him to know the truth, so she gave him The Eye, as her brother called it. “A girl like me?”

“Pretty. Together. Smart.”

“You are a shameless flatterer. My last boyfriend talked like you at first. He was good with compliments, but not so good with kindness and respect and following his Christian values, or so I found out.”

“Hey, I don’t want to pay for his mistakes.” He came to a stop at the curb and winked at her. “I’m perfectly innocent.”

“No guy is perfectly innocent.”

“Well, you got me there, but I’m living my faith. My Christian values.” He wanted to be clear about that. She’s all right, he thought, and he liked that she made him laugh. He’d had a long day and a tough one. It felt good to smile. “You let me know if you need anything else. I’ll be happy to come to your rescue.”

“Like that’s a comforting thought. I’m trying to stay out of trouble.” She had happy eyes and a mouth that said she smiled often.

He liked that, too.

She was really lovely with those delicate features and heart-shaped face and the sleek, dark fall of her brown hair. It was hard to miss the gold cross dangling on a fine chain around her neck.

Faith was important to him, too. “You haven’t answered my question. If you’re not going on a date, then where are you headed?”

“And that’s your business, because…?” She arched one slim eyebrow at him, as if she were taking careful note of his personality flaws.

He wasn’t fooled. Not one bit. He’d been inside her place. Sure, he’d noticed the cross-stitch that was sitting half-finished on the coffee table, and the Bible and devotional on the kitchen table. He wasn’t snooping, but a guy couldn’t help noticing. It wasn’t as if he could close his eyes and not see anything, right?

“It’s not my business,” he had to admit. “Just curious.”

“Didn’t curiosity get the cat into trouble?” She slipped through the door.

“Who said I wasn’t trouble?”

“Yep, that’s just what I thought about you.” She grabbed her purse and keys and shut the door. “I’m babysitting for my other sister and her husband. They have a date night tonight.”

“That’s nice you do that for her. So family’s important to you.”

“Absolutely. What about you?” She squinted at him. “It’s only fair that you answer a question. How do you know Ephraim?”

“He and I have been summer buddies since we were six.”

“Summer buddies?” she asked with a quizzical look as she turned the dead bolt.

“When my mom and dad wanted to get rid of me for the summer, they sent me to my aunt and uncle’s.” He saw the question forming on her expressive face and kept talking; he tried not to mention his parents if he could help it. Too complicated, too painful, too everything. “Ephraim lived next door to Uncle Calvin. He came over and offered me a Popsicle and the rest, as they say, was history.”

He liked the way she seemed to be in a good mood, even on a day of doom, as she’d claimed. She had the prettiest sparkles in her cinnamon-brown eyes that shimmered with warmth and humor.

“A Popsicle tends to cement the important relationships,” she said. “Especially a grape one.”

He chuckled, his heart just…feeling. He didn’t know how to describe it, only that it was nice. Real nice. “That’s where I’ve been wrong in the past. I neglected to offer a Popsicle.”

“A fatal mistake.”

She was one of those totally organized girls who seemed completely together. Although she was dressed casually, everything was coordinated and that purse she had over her shoulder was no cheap knockoff. His aunt had one almost like it. That, along with her spring-sunshine goodness, made Rebecca McKaslin an awesome combination. She slipped her keys into the outside pocket on her purse and descended the steps like a cool breeze.

He really should go. So why weren’t his feet taking him farther down the walk? “How old are your nieces or nephews?”

“Isn’t it my turn to ask the questions?” She dug her sunglasses out of her purse. “Are you serious about the Bible study group?”

“Wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t.”

“Why aren’t you going to Ephraim’s group?” She slipped the glasses on, pausing to study him hard for any obvious flaws. She really wanted to find some flaws.

“I have obligations on Friday evenings.”

“A girlfriend?” Now, why did she ask that? She was teasing him, because he’d been just a tad curious about her. She leaned through the doorway to grab the bag she always carried to church with her. Inside was the flyer with all the group’s specifics. She handed it to him, realizing he was blushing.

Blushing. She didn’t know guys did that. Maybe the decent ones did. What did she know?

“Uh—” He looked flustered. “Currently, no.”

“See how personal that question can be?”

“I do. You’re making a point.”

“Yes. You are a smart guy.” She decided that a guy whose ears turned pink when asked about a girlfriend had to be okay. “Will I see you there?”

“Count on it.” He waved the flyer for confirmation.

“Good, our group has been losing numbers lately. A lot of us graduated last May. Well, I’ve got a pizza waiting.”

“Pizza. Sounds good. Is it for your niece? Nephew?”

“One of each.”

“Must be nice to have family.” He joined her on the walk, his gait easy and athletic, his voice amicable.

“It is.” She paused at the end of the walkway, where the sidewalk would take her left to the driveway, where her car was parked. “I don’t know what I’d do without my family. I have one older brother and five older sisters.”

“Sounds like heaven to me. I’m an only kid.”

“Was that a little lonely growing up?”

“Sometimes.”

It was hard not to feel for him. “As a kid, I always had someone looking out for me and someone to do things with. I was hardly ever alone. It’s probably why I like spending so much time alone now.”

“I pretty much had to figure things out for myself when I was little.” He knelt to grab his box of books. It was packed with what looked like mysteries. Though it had to be heavy, he lifted the box with ease.

So he was a serious reader. That didn’t surprise her one bit. He looked nearly perfect standing in the golden brush of the light, with the gentle breeze ruffling his blond hair and an expression of seriousness on his face. Why, she suspected if her sister Ava were to drive up right now she would call him a Mr. Wishable.

Worse, she would probably go on to call him Mr. Right, and there was no way he could be that. Knowing her luck, she had probably missed the boat to Mr. Right and would be forever standing on the dock. “It was good to meet you, Chad Lawson. I’ll see you on Wednesday night.”

“Definitely.” He folded up the flyer and slipped it into his book box. “Have a good time with your niece and nephew.”

“I will. Tyler’s five, he’s total fun, and the two-year-old keeps me on my toes.” Why wasn’t she leaving? You’re late, late, late, Rebecca. So exactly why was she lingering, as if she didn’t want to go? “Good luck with the moving. It’s a special kind of torture. I hope it goes all right.”

“Thanks. I’m lucky that I packed light, but it’s still a pain.”

“Did I say thanks for stopping to help me out? I can’t remember if I did.”

“You did.”

“Good. Forgive me, I’m more scattered than usual. I’m not normally like this. Goodbye, Chad.”

“Bye.” As if she was ever scattered at all, he thought, dismissing her self-deprecating sense of humor. He watched her saunter over to her little red Honda parked in the driveway in front of her closed garage door. The car suited her, zippy and fun and cute all at once.

Yep, she was real nice.

The sun’s heat beat down on him, and he realized it was getting late and the box he was holding was getting heavier. He resisted the urge to give Rebecca one last look as her car backed slowly out of the driveway. But as he headed for his apartment, he thought of her.

Chapter Two

“Rebba?”

Madison wobbled into the TV’s glare. The little girl was pure sweetness with her light brown curls, big wide eyes and pixie’s face. Tonight she wore her pink-and-purple Cinderella pajamas and a sleepy frown.

Rebecca was out of the chair in a second, scooping up the warm, sleep-snuggly toddler into her arms. “What is it, princess?”

“Thirsty.” A huge yawn, and then both little arms wrapped around Rebecca’s neck. “Where’s Mommy?”

“She’s still out with your daddy.” Rebecca started for the kitchen. “Let’s get you that water and put you right back to bed.”

“I want Daddy.”

“I know you do, princess.” She opened the cupboard door with one hand, found the pink cup with the princesses on it and turned on the tap. The water was nice and cold and she filled the cup partway. “He’ll be home before you know it.”

“Ye-ah.” Madison sighed, clearly missing her parents. Hers was a loving and secure world. Heaven knew that Danielle and her husband, Jonas, did everything they could to ensure that for their kids.

As she held the cup to her niece’s lips and tipped it so she could drink in dainty little sips, Rebecca had to wonder. Would her life have turned out differently if her biological dad had been a good man? She had been wondering this a lot lately. The breakup and the man Chris turned out to be was still troubling her.

She’d been younger than Madison was now when her real dad had walked out on the family after beating her mom so badly that she’d been in the hospital for weeks.

Poor Mom. That time was nothing but a scary, hazy blur to Rebecca. She had been too young to understand, but she could see her big sister Danielle standing between her and their rage-filled father. Nearly a lifetime later, she could still hear her mom’s broken sobs and the wounded sound she made, lying so still in the corner.

A year later, Mom had married John McKaslin, changing their lives for the better forever. John—who she thought of as her real dad—was a great blessing. Since the day she’d stepped foot in his house, she’d been as safe and secure as Madison was now. She hadn’t gained just a great dad, but also a big brother and loving older sisters who couldn’t have been more wonderful to her.

“Done?” she asked when the sleepy toddler pushed the cup away.