Concealed Attractions (Cedar Island Tales) (71 page)

He
hugged her
. “
Then
I
’ll
settle for option number one,
but
I have no idea how I’m going to deal with all that pent-up tension
thinking of
you creates.”

“You’
re a dirty old man,
Joe
l Taylor
.
”
S
he sighed.
“I
love you, but
I just can’t see
being married to you
. N
ot now
, anyway
.”

“
How ’
bout
later?”

“
I can’t
answer that
.
”

“Does this mean we can’t
have
an occasional
dinner and roll in the hay?”

“Not necessarily.” She smiled.
“It’s getting dark. Which would you prefer
tonight
—the roll in the hay or dinner at our favorite seafood restaurant?
My treat
.”

He didn’t give her a chance to grab her coat and head for the restaurant.

Ben
looked out the window at the leaves as they drifted down from the treetops, lacing the lawn outside his apartment with golden
pat
ches of color. Staring outside wasn’t helping. Pacing hadn’t help
ed
, and the
longer he paced,
the more nervous he
beca
me, imagining what
Dannilynn
’s father might say. A quick call to his older brother
finally
cinched it. He had to get it over with and hope for the best. He picked up the phone.

“Mr.
Kelly
, this is Ben.
” He choked
, his throat now a desert
.
“
Edwards.”

“Yes, Ben. D
o
you want to speak to
Dannilynn
? She isn’t home yet.”

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you.” He gulped some water, aware that his hands were sweaty and his heart was
bang
ing again
st his ribs
, seeking a way out of his chest
. “Uh, I’m planning to come for Thanksgiving. Next week.”

“Yes, Ben. We’re looking forward to it.”

How could th
e
man
be
so calm?
“Well, I wanted to say, that is, I wanted to ask you
...” He reached for the glass and dropped it, spilling water onto the floor.
Oh, damn.
“Just a minute, please.” He wiped up the water and slumped back
into the chair. He took several dee
p breaths.
He could hear Jeff’s words to him the night before. “Just do it, bro. If he’s smart, he’ll say yes.”

“Take your time,” David’s
dee
p voice came through the phone.

Can he tell?
Ben
listened to
the man breathing. He opened the small box and looked at the ring his sister had helped him pick out. “Mr. Edwards, I wanted to tell you, to ask you first—that is, I want to ask
Dannilynn
to marry me, but I—”

The man’s voice
suddenly
turned
stern. “Stop right there.”

Oh, God, he’s going to
tell me to forget it
.
Jeff was wrong.
Ben rubbed his cro
ok
ed finger.
Maybe we’ll have to elope.

“I was hoping you
were
the one. I know
Dannilynn
love
s you, and you’ve already
shown
that you care about her—the right way—the way you helped her last year when she was pregnant, the way you stayed by her when
she had the baby, and after
.
”

Ben waited.
Why ha
d
the man
stop
ped
talking?
Now
he
was clearing his throat—getting ready to tell him to get lost?

“
I’m happy to give you
my blessing, and Anna’s
, too
. She’s right here.”

Ben didn’t realize he’d been holdi
ng his breath until he
began
to feel
light-headed
. He
gulped
for
air once. Twice
. “Oh. Well. Good.” He grinned. “Anyway, I want to do that—I mean, ask her—when I’m there for Thanksgiving.
If i
t’s okay with you.
”

“I can have her call
you
when she gets home
. She’s
with Joel
and Barbara
on some emergency
at
one of the farms.”

“
She’ll probably be home late.
I’ll call her tomorrow.” He closed the box and
pat
ted the top. “I guess I better go. Now that we’ve talked.”

David chuckled. “That we did. It was good to hear from you, Ben. Good luck with your exams.
Dannilynn
told us they
’re
big ones.” The man’s breathing was audible
again.
“
I
won’t say anything to
Danni
that you called, or what it was about.
Unless you want me to.
”

“Yes, er no. I mean, I’d like to ask her
.”
Ben thought he detec
ted a smile in the man’s voice.
“Thank you, sir. I’ll see you soon.”

“That you will.”

He hung up the phone, relieved. “
I must have sounded like a real dope
,” he muttered to himself, then look
ed over at the airline ticket.
Three days and his Boards were done. Five days and he was flying to Seattle.
Danni
was
going to
meet him so they could drive back to
Cedar Island
together. He could hardly wait to hold her in his arms. Thinking about h
er warred with his plan to get
back to the books.

He shrugged out of his clothes and jumped in the shower. Maybe he’d be able to concentrate on that last chap
ter if he took a shower first. A half hour
later, he resumed his seat at the table and opened up the review text. When the clock chimed twelve times, he closed the book, and shoved his notebook to the center of the table.

He
pat
ted the picture of himself,
Danni
and baby Jimmy propped on the small dresser in his bedroom
before falling
into bed, hoping sleep would come quickly. For the first time in a week, it did.

Three days later,
Ben
walked out of the last of the Board exams, confident he had done well. He
went back to his apartment and slept for
sixteen
hours.
When he woke, he began packing what he’d need for the trip to the island and the start of his work as the junior veterinarian at New Harbor
Veterinary Hospital.

Danni greeted him as he walked out of the security area at Sea-Tac Airport. He laughed when he saw the poster, held high over her head, that she’d written “Benjamin Logan Edwards, DVM!!”

They took their time driving home, opting for the ferry crossing at the south end of Cedar Island instead of the faster freeway route.
The late afternoon light was fading
when they drove off the ferry and angled in the direction of the meandering road that would take them back to New Harbor.

“I want to
stop and
watch the waves before I face your folks. You don’t mind if we’re a little late for dinner?”

Danni stroked his cheek. “Whatever you want is fine with me,” her voice breathier than before. “I’m just so happy to see you. I’ve missed you so much.”

Ben couldn’t seem to stop smiling
.
Minutes later h
e pulled the car into a deserted parking lot within sight of the shoreline. He hopped out, his heart thudding, and ran around to open Danni’s door.

Together, they walked hand-in-hand to the beach.
He pointed to a
seat made of a huge log that
lean
ed
slightly off-center at the edge of the beach sand.

“Have you been here before? You seemed to know where you were going.”

“Remember that day I drove down the island—after I had to talk to Joel? I found this place that day, spent nearly two hours here, trying to get my head straight
about
everything, about you.” Unsaid, he sensed she knew he was
also
thinking about Jimmy, too.

She squeezed his hand.

“So … I
wanted to come here again. This time w
ith you.” H
e reached into his shirt pocket,
pulled out the tiny box he’d been carrying for so many hours next to his heart
, and opened it
.
The diamond ring seemed to sparkle back at him.

“Will you marry me, Danni?”

She was a silent statue next to him on the old
log
bench, her eyes wide in her face
.
In the twilight, he watched a single tear slide down her right cheek.

“I talked to your dad and he said it was okay, in case you’re wondering,” he added
, wondering why she hadn’t replied
. “You’re all I’ve ever wanted. Please say yes.”

She stood up and threw her arms around him. “Of course! Yes, yes, yes!” She leaned her head back and shouted, “Yes!”

He rose from his seat. “Stop jumping. I want to put it on you. I hope it fits.” He pulled her back down to the log
seat and he slipped the ring onto her finger.

She admired it, turning her left hand in different angles to catch the light that was fast disappearing.
"I'd have said yes even if my dad hadn’t agreed, you know?”

“Good to know,” he sighed and kissed her. “After dinner tomorrow with your folks, maybe we could talk about a date? I can’t hardly wait to get married—now that I have a job and everything.”

She laughed. “Let’s go tell them—so they can share the good news.”

Four
days later,
Danni
and Anna
drove
to Seattle to look for a wedding dress
.

At a break in
his
planning meeting
with Joel
, Ben reached for another half of the sub sandwiches Bronnie had brought in.
“David said
he and I
should stay out of the way while the wedding planning’s going on.
He said the women are like two whirligigs on high speed.
”

“
Serves you right for scheduling the wedding only four weeks out.
Bronnie said she was engaged a full year and took every day of that time to get things right for the big day
.”
Joel laughed.
“
A wise man, your future father-in-law.”

Chapter
19

“So, are you coming to the wedding with me?” Joel slipped into bed next to Angela. “I’m the best man.”

“
As it should be. You
are
a best man.” She slid
her hand
away from his shoulder and playfully tugged his curly
red
chest hairs
. “But, do
I
count? I thought you said it was just family.” She
looked
at the calendar on her bedside table.
“And, I’m leaving the next day.”
 

“Ben invited me
.
And
when
Danni
sailed
in
to the office
with
that
rock on her left hand, she told me she expected me to be
there,
since I introduced them.
Bronnie’s invited, too. She keeps humming the
“
Wedding March
.
”
V
ery distracting, that tune.” He moved the sheet out of the way to kiss Angela’s shoulder and other parts.