Lily of the Valley in May (15 page)
Faith sat at one of the tables, one hand petting Patches.
Lord, why are you doing this? You know I still have feelings for him, but it can't be. It's not fair to him.
Someone sat beside her. The waft of musk and spearmint confirmed it was Joel. “That was fast.”
“There wasn't a queue, which makes a change.” Joel pressed a cup into her hand. “I got you some hot chocolate.”
Faith smiled. “Thank you.”
He swallowed a couple of times before answering. “How's your sight?”
She shrugged. “Most likely gone forever.”
“How's work?” They both spoke at the same time. There was an awkward laugh then they both spoke again in unison. “You first.”
Joel touched her hand. “Are you still drawing?”
She sipped the hot drink, taking in its scent, the chocolate hit making her head spin almost as much as Joel's presence was. “No. I can't see. It's like part of me is missing, but nothing I can do.”
“Do you remember that first drawing you did for me?”
“A pencil sketch of Angus and Nessie. How can I forget?”
“You did it with your eyes shut. I stood and watched you. You didn't look at the paper at all until you'd done the basic sketch. You simply saw it in your mind's eye and transferred that image to the paper.”
“Wow. OK, maybe I'll try it one day.” She paused, taking a long drink of the hot chocolate. “What about you? Are you writing still?”
“Writer's block.”
“I'm sorry.”
“Goes like that at times.”
“I'm sorry.”
“It's not your fault.”
Faith ran her fingers around her cup. “It feels like it is. If I hadn't gotten you involved in all this, then you wouldn't have been put in danger and hurt the way you were.”
“Hey, I hate to burst your bubble, but you aren't personally responsible for every little thing that goes wrong in this world.” He was smiling at her. She could hear it in his voice.
“Joel, think about it for a minute. If I hadn't gone on the book tour with you, you wouldn't've been put in that situation with Damien and the lily of the valley's and wouldn't have been hurt.”
“If I hadn't asked you to come with me, or I hadn't decided to go off tour and go to Cardiff, then we wouldn't have been caught in that rainstorm. We wouldn't have had to stay overnight in Caergele. Then we wouldn't have been in the landslide.”
“I can go one better. If I hadn't dated Damien in the first place...”
Joel laughed. “Oh hushed, woman. If Eve hadn't eaten the apple and given it to Adam, then sin never would have come into the world. You want the blame for that one, too?”
Faith laughed. “No. OK, you can have that point.”
Joel touched her hand. “Thank you.”
Faith gripped his fingers. “To quote the sermon earlier, God has a way of making things happen and often uses people we'd never expect, in a way we'd never dream of. If we'd both been in the room at the same time, we'd be dead. But you left and came back to save me. We have to wait for God's timing to get on to page thirty-three.”
“Think I'd rather skip to the next chapter. Or actually, I'd use writer's prerogative and hit the delete key and just wipe out the whole of page thirty-two. Or hope my editor hated it and took it out. Or used her red pen liberally on it, leaving me a comment in the margin along the lines of this stinks, rewrite it.”
“Yeah, me too.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. No time like the present to be honest and tell him how she really felt. Things couldn't get any worse, could they? “Joel, in the hospital when I told you to leave and not come back, I was wrong. I was afraid you wouldn't want me anymore, now I'm blind.”
He gripped her hand tightly, his other hand cradling her face.
She wished she could see him as his touch burned into her skin, imprinting itself on her heart. The icy wall she'd built around herself was melting faster than she wanted.
His voice was warm and tender. “Hey, I love you. I never stopped loving you.”
She shook her head. “You loved the woman I used to be. The artist who broke your taillight.”
Joel's thumb covered her lips. “I don't care that you can't see. Actually, it's probably just as well, right now.” He lifted her hand to his face.
Roughness greeted her fingers as she touched him. “A beard? When did you grow a beard?”
“I got fed up with shaving. Might get rid of it though, it's too grey.”
“Grey hair is a crown of distinction, or so the Bible says.”
He laughed. “Says she who can't see how grey it actually is.”
Faith gripped his hand. “I missed you.”
“I don't want to lose you again.” Joel cradled her face. “I love you. You are the only woman for me. I'm convinced that God led you to me that day for a reason. You rescued me just as surely as I did you when I carried you out of the ruins of the lodge.”
He let go and she suddenly felt bereft. Then someone pulled her to her feet. Joel's scent filled her as his arms pulled her against his firm chest and his lips covered hers, and sent her soaring amongst the clouds. Her hands gripped his shoulders as she kissed him back, forgetting for a moment they were in a public place. It was just him and her.
He broke off, leaving her breathless. “That is how I feel about you. And judging from your reaction I'd say it's a safe bet you feel the same way about me.”
“I do.”
“Then I can only see one way forward. Will you marry me?”
Faith blinked and tried to take in what he'd said. “I'm sorry. Did you say marry?”
Joel stroked her face. “Yes. I don't care what anyone else thinks. I don't want to marry them, I want to marry you. If Patches doesn't mind me choosing you over him.”
Patches barked and they both laughed.
“Yes, Joel, I'll marry you.”
Joel kissed her again, more deeply this time. “Well then, Mrs. Faith Wallac in waiting, shall we drive to Ely to speak to your parents, once we've eaten the dinner Grace saved? I'd like to do this properly and ask their permission, too.”
Faith smiled and tightened her grip on Patches harness. “I'd love to.”
Joel pulled her to her feet and wrapped his arm around her. “Of course, I shall have to go home first and change my shirt.”
“Really?” She kept her tone as light and innocent as possible. “And why's that?”
Joel's rich, vibrant laugh echoed as they started walking across the park. “Because, darlin', while I was busy chatting up a strange woman I spilled my drink all over it.”
“Excuse me?” Faith put as much outrage into her voice without laughing as she could. “Strange woman? Who are you calling strange?”
Joel's warm lips left their imprint on her cheek. “Darlin', this is my story, and I'll tell it how I want. Anyway, this really strange, but incredibly attractive womanâ¦Is that better?”
“That's a little bit better.”
“Good. She has this really good looking dog and an exceptionally handsome fiancé... Actually you know what? It's a very long and complicated story, but it's a work in progress. So you'll have to wait until it's finishedâ”
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