Hometown Proposal (14 page)

Seth pulled into Elise's driveway. “Sometimes love makes a person do the unexpected.”

“I'm beginning to see that.” Opening her door, she slid out of the cab.

Seth stared after her. What had she meant by that comment? Was going out with him something she hadn't counted on doing? Grabbing his cane, he got out and hurried as fast as his cane would allow as he rushed to meet her on the other side of the pickup. “Thanks for letting me be your escort tonight.”

“I'm glad you asked.” A little smile curved her lips as she climbed the steps to her porch.

While she searched for her keys in her purse, he wondered what he should do now. Should he invite himself in? Should he try to kiss her good-night? He'd never been so indecisive about being with a woman in his life. He definitely wasn't going to shake her hand. Taking a cue from her was the best thing to do.

Producing the keys, she smiled at him. His heart raced. He wanted to kiss her.

She turned away and slipped the key into the lock. The door swung open, and she stepped inside. That pretty much
told him he wasn't going to get that kiss. Patience. God was definitely teaching him patience.

“Thanks again. You helped make the evening very special. Good night.” She started to close the door.

“Wait.” If he'd made the evening so special, why was she afraid to let it last a little longer?

Startled, she looked back at him. “What?”

“Nathan asked me to go boating up at the lake this coming Saturday. He said I should ask you to come, too.”

“Nathan's taking time away from the bank to go boating? I don't believe it.”

Seth shrugged. “He said he wants to test some new gizmo for the boat that he plans to give his dad for Father's Day.”

Elise narrowed her gaze. “Is this an invitation from you or him?”

“Does it make a difference?”

“Yes.”

“I'm asking.”

“Good. Then I accept.” She smiled as she stood half hidden behind the door. “Would you, Olivia and Maggie like to join my folks and me for lunch after church next Sunday? It's Father's Day. I didn't know whether you had something special planned.”

He wasn't going to get that kiss, but she was offering him more time with her even though they wouldn't be alone. Maybe she felt more comfortable that way. He had to give her time—that patience thing again. “Sounds great. Olivia will be thrilled.”

“Give Olivia a kiss for me.”

What about a kiss for me?
The question nearly popped out of his mouth, but he smiled instead, his heart thudding. “I will. Good night.”

Seth walked back to his pickup and got in. He sat there for a
moment and thought about the evening, especially the ending. Elise's invitation for lunch on Father's Day was completely unexpected. Could she be falling for him after all?

B
rilliant midmorning sunshine spilled through the kitchen window as Elise packed her bag for the day's outing with Seth and Nathan. With going to classes, filling out job applications and working at the store, Elise's week had been so busy that she hadn't had much time to think about Seth. Or about what the future might mean for them.

She shoved a tube of sunscreen into her bag. While she was taking a second accounting of its contents to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything, the doorbell rang.

Seth was here. Her stomach full of butterflies, she hurried to answer the door. When she flung it open, he stood there in jeans and a gray T-shirt advertising the Kellerville Recreation Center. He grinned, and she almost forgot to breathe. “Hi.”

“You ready?”

“I am.” She picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. “Aren't you going to get hot in those jeans?”

“Maybe, but I didn't want to scare anyone. The leg I broke is not a pretty sight.” He chuckled as they walked to his pickup.

“No cane today? Does that mean you don't have to use one
anymore?” She hopped into the front seat and placed her bag at her feet.

“I've still got the cane with me, but I didn't need it to walk to your front door.” He started the engine and backed out of her driveway.

“Are we picking up Nathan?”

“Nathan's not coming. He called and said he couldn't go boating. Something came up at the bank, and he has to be there to take care of it.”

“Now, why doesn't that surprise me?” Elise straightened in her seat as the implications of Nathan's absence suddenly struck her. She was going to be spending the day alone with Seth. Her heart hammered as she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. “What are Olivia and your mom doing today?”

“They're on their way to Cincinnati to the zoo with a group from the rec center. So it's just you and me.”

Still trying to calm her nerves, Elise fumbled with her seat belt. “Sounds like fun.”

“I know you were looking forward to a day on the lake, but I thought we could go on a picnic up in the Hocking Hills instead. Someone at work told me about it. It takes about two hours to get there.”

“I know. I've been there lots of times.” Elise thought she heard a hopeful tone in his voice. He wanted her to agree to his suggestion. “I'd love to go.”

“Great!”

As Seth drove out of town, Elise closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. This was it—extended time for Seth and her to be alone together. She couldn't back out now. She had to take this chance to test her feelings.

“I looked up stuff online. The Ash Cave area looked interesting.”

“It is. The whole area is fascinating. Perfect for all kinds of recreation.”

“I figured we could eat lunch at the picnic area, then do a little hiking on the trails.”

Elise jerked her head in his direction. “You obviously have no idea how hazardous parts of the trail are. How do you expect to hike with a cane?”

“Very slowly. Besides, I thought if I lost my balance, you'd be there to keep me from falling.”

Elise released a harsh breath. “Will you quit kidding?”

“Who's kidding?” He grinned. “There are some easy trails there, too.”

“Yeah, but you'll probably insist on doing the difficult part.” Shaking her head, Elise narrowed her gaze as she looked at him.

“We'll see.”

For several minutes they fell silent while Seth drove down the highway. Elise took in the rolling farmland on either side of the road. With the hum of the engine being the only thing that broke the silence, Elise worried that they had nothing to say to each other. Had they said everything that needed to be said?

The quiet didn't seem to bother Seth, but it made Elise worry that he wasn't enjoying their time together. Her worry just proved that she really did care about what he thought. She wanted to make things right between them. Did that mean she was falling in love with him again?

Maybe he didn't like to talk while he drove. He hadn't been very talkative during their ride out to the lake the other night. But this quiet Seth wasn't the Seth she used to know. He'd always been laughing and talking—the life of every party. Every once in a while these days she'd see that side of him, but rarely. Maybe everything he'd been through made him more serious.

“Have you heard from Juliane and Lukas?” Seth's question brought her thoughts to an abrupt halt.

“Juliane sent me an e-mail. They're having a marvelous time on their cruise. They're coming home tomorrow night. Since it's Father's Day, we're all going with Lukas's dad and grandfather to pick them up at the airport.”

“Sounds like your family has a busy day planned to morrow.”

“Dad still insisted he have his usual lunch at the café for Father's Day, which always includes a big piece of German chocolate cake.” She smiled at Seth. “And I'm glad he did, since you get to share it with us.”

“I'm glad, too.”

As the road began to wind through a forested area, Seth grew silent again. He turned on the CD player, and once again, the familiar guitar music floated through the air. For the rest of the drive, Elise enjoyed the scenery and tried to get used to the quiet companionship of the man who was ever so slowly winning her heart again.

Finally, they reached the turn off for Ash Cave. Seth pulled his pickup into a space in the parking lot, which was nearly full. He reached into the backseat and brought out a picnic basket. “Mom made us a picnic last night. We have way more food than we need because she thought we'd be having it on the boat with Nathan.”

“That was so nice of her.”

“She likes to pamper me, but she's been feeding me too much.” Seth patted his stomach as he put the picnic basket on an empty table sitting among the trees. “She's always trying to fatten me up.”

“You look fine to me.”

Surprise showed in Seth's eyes as he laughed halfheartedly. “Thanks, but you haven't seen this leg, have you?”

“Well, no, and it seems from your description that I don't want to see it.”

Seth laughed out loud as he took the food from the basket. “True.”

Sitting next to him, Elise surveyed the sandwiches, potato salad, fruit salad and little cakes. “You're right. This is a lot of food.”

As Seth settled beside her, he reached for her hand. “Let's pray.”

Without saying anything, Elise put her hand in his and bowed her head. Instead of the prayer, all she could think of was how right she felt holding Seth's hand.

After the short prayer, he looked over at her. “Let's eat.”

They ate in silence for a while, but Elise was getting used to Seth's new quiet way. While they ate, dozens of people laughed and talked as they walked through the area on their way to the trails.

Elise finished the last bite of her sandwich. “That was good. I'll have to write your mom and thank her.”

“You can tell her in person tomorrow.”

“I'll do that and send a note.”

“If that's what you want to do.” Seth shrugged.

“I do. Your mom deserves a lot of thanks for all she's done.”

“That's for sure. She was such a big help with Olivia while I was on those crutches.” Seth started putting the leftovers back into the basket. “I have her to thank for my faith, too. And that reminds me that we never finished that conversation we started about faith when we were at the Dairy Barn.”

Elise nodded, wondering whether that was the thing Seth had been thinking about during the silence in the truck. “I remember. What about it?”

“You said something about God using even the bad stuff to do good.”

“I believe He can do that.”

“When you were talking about your family's Father's Day celebration, you got me to thinking about my dad.”

Elise's heart sank. She hadn't been thinking, or she wouldn't have gone on and on about Father's Day. “I'm sorry. I wasn't very sensitive to the fact that you've lost your dad.”

He gave her a wry smile. “Actually, I was thinking how his death and the heartbreaking circumstance made me examine my life.”

“That's what I'm talking about. For years I tuned God out.” She bit her lower lip. How could she tell Seth that breaking up with him had brought her back to God? She couldn't. “I've made so many mistakes, but I have to remember that nothing's impossible with God.”

Seth smiled. “Thanks for reminding me, too.”

“I think when we're going through stuff, we can't see how God could possibly use it for good. It's when we look back that we can see the good.”

“Yeah, God sees the big picture that we can't see.” Seth hopped up from the table. “Let's take the basket back to the pickup, then go for that hike.”

By going very slowly, Seth managed to maneuver the trail circling the rim of the cave. Following close behind him, Elise watched every step to make sure he didn't fall. As they came down a long staircase near the end of the circle trail, Seth turned to Elise and grinned. “See? I told you I could go hiking.”

Shaking her head, Elise smiled. “And I didn't even have to keep you from falling. So you proved me wrong. Let's go down the trail to the cave.”

They walked through the narrow, quarter-mile gorge lined with hemlock and beech trees that gave way to the gigantic overhang of the recess cave formed from the erosion of the sandstone.

“Wow! You don't get the full picture until you see it for real.” Seth put an arm around Elise's shoulders and drew her close.

“I always loved coming here when I was a kid. My parents, aunts, uncles and cousins used to come up here for weekend campouts.” The pitter-patter of Elise's heart matched the sound of the water falling into the pool at the bottom of the cliff.

They watched the ribbons of water falling over the rim of the cliff where they'd walked earlier. Despite her accelerated heartbeat, somehow being with Seth today didn't set her emotions on edge. Instead, a contented feeling filtered through Elise's mind like the sunlight filtering through the trees to the floor of the cave. Looking up at him, she snuggled closer, and he smiled.

On the way back through the gorge, they walked arm-in-arm. They didn't talk, as if speaking would somehow ruin everything. Just before they reached the parking lot, a bridal party emerged from the picnic shelter and started making its way toward the path.

“A wedding.” Elise placed a hand over her heart.

“You mean, they get married with hikers milling around?”

Elise nodded. “What are a few spectators when you can get married in a gorgeous setting like this?”

“So is this where you intend to do that eloping you were talking about at Juliane's wedding?”

For a moment, a picture of Seth and her holding hands and repeating vows while they stood in the cave near the waterfall flitted through her mind. Her pulse skittered. She didn't know how to answer. “I haven't thought about it.”

“Maybe you should.”

“Maybe.” What did he mean by that? Was he implying that she should get prepared to elope, or did he just mean she
should consider this particular spot? At one time, she had very much wanted to marry Seth. Was she confusing the past with the present?

She was definitely testing her feelings today, but rather than answers, more questions emerged.

Could she trust herself to love him again? Would they be good for each other? Was this what God wanted for them? How was she supposed to find the answers for these questions? When would she have a clear understanding?

 

On Father's Day, as soon as church was over, Seth couldn't hold Olivia back. She darted out of the pew before he could stop her. He glanced up to see Elise coming their way. He knew trying to catch his daughter was a lost cause.

Watching Olivia race toward Elise, he could almost see himself doing the same thing, if it weren't for the cane. He was as eager as Olivia to see Elise. Yesterday had been a taste of everything he wanted for the future. He wanted to make the most of the time he would spend with her today.

Olivia raced up to greet Elise. “Hi, 'Lise.”

Smiling at him over the top of Olivia's head, Elise reached down and picked Olivia up. “Did you give your daddy a big kiss and hug for Father's Day?”

Olivia's curls bobbed as she nodded her head and shoved a folded-up paper at Elise. “I bringed you this.”

“Thank you. I'm getting a very nice collection on my refrigerator, but I'm running out of room. I think we'll have to start a scrapbook for all of your pictures.” Still holding Olivia, Elise carefully unfolded the paper with one hand and revealed Olivia's Sunday school paper, showing a picture of Joseph and his coat of many colors. Elise set Olivia on the floor and refolded the paper before putting it in her purse. “Are you ready for lunch?”

“Yes.” Olivia jumped up and down and clapped her hands. “Chicken finners.”

“I like those, too.” Elise laughed, then looked at Seth. “What about you?”

Just watching my two favorite females.
He wanted to say that, but he wasn't sure how Elise would take the comment, even after the things they'd shared yesterday. “I'm not sure what I'm going to eat.”

“Chicken finners, Daddy.”

Seth ruffled Olivia's curls. “Will you give me a taste of yours?”

“I give you lots.” Nodding, Olivia took his hand.

His daughter's tiny hand resting in his filled his heart to overflowing with love. God had allowed him to have this child. He was so thankful he'd come to find the faith and forgiveness that had sent him in search of Olivia. He couldn't imagine his life without her. Father's Day made him that much more aware of his blessings.

He turned to Elise. He couldn't imagine his life without her, either. “Would you like to ride with us?”