The Ride of Her Life (23 page)

“N-no. I have plans with Marguerite and Trip.”

He grinned. “Well, isn’t that a coincidence. So do I.”

Lilly was going to wring Marguerite Andrews’s pretty little neck.

No matter how many times Marguerite told Lilly to sit down and relax, the stubborn woman refused.

Nick had had enough.

With Levi awake, Nick again had the use of both arms, so he approached the picnic table in Lake Manawa’s Shady Grove where Lilly attempted to put on the tablecloth against the breeze. He took it from her, snapped it in the air, and let it float down over the table. When it fell into place, he looked at her, only to discover a glare rather than a look of appreciation.

She placed her hand on the table. “I can do this alone.”

“I know, but you don’t have to.” He quirked an eyebrow. “Besides, why do you want to?”

“It’s easier that way.” She reached for the picnic basket she’d set beside the table.

Even before she touched the handle, Nick picked it up and plopped it on the tablecloth. She reached for the handle to pull it toward her, but Nick held fast, refusing to release the basket. “It may be easier to do it yourself when you’re with some people . . .” He glanced at Eugenia, who was batting her lashes at Marguerite’s brother. “But with others, you can let them help.”

She lifted her face to his, appearing ready to retort, but he locked gazes with her. Her jaw was set firm. Hmmm. A battle of wills. Oh, she was a stubborn one, but he’d let her know she’d met her match. Maybe some people might be put off by her tough, I-don’t-need-anyone exterior, but he wasn’t. She was not going to chase him away.

Lilly Hart needed to realize he was here to stay.

His gaze dropped to her lips. Her tongue darted out and swept over their ripe fullness. Warmth pooled in his chest and spread until he could barely keep from tasting what she offered.

“Nick!” Levi pulled on his sleeve. “Come play ball with me and my friend.”

Lilly blinked and stepped back. Nick cleared his throat and turned toward Levi. “What friend?”

“Him.” Levi pointed toward an athletically built man wearing a baseball uniform. A mop of dark, curly hair hung from beneath his baseball cap.

Lilly squealed. “Carter!”

Who was Carter, and why did Lilly’s face light like fireworks on the Fourth of July when she saw him?

The next twenty minutes blurred with hugs and shouts and tears. Lilly stepped back and watched Carter run his finger along his wife’s cheek and kiss her tenderly. A deep ache balled in her stomach. She missed intimate moments like that when she knew she was the most important person in the world to someone.

Baby Kate lay nestled in the crook of Carter’s arm. Lilly doubted the baby girl would be more than two inches from her daddy’s side for days.

She glanced at Nick and smiled. Relief seemed to wash over his face. How odd. What was he thinking?

“That’s Carter Stockton—Emily’s husband?”

Lilly glanced at the couple. “Yes, of course it is. Who did you think it was?”

“I didn’t know.” Nick released a long breath. “He’s a baseball player?”

“Was. He and Emily own and manage a Bloomer Girls team now. You know, an all-women’s team that competes from town to town.”

Nick nodded. “But since Emily had the baby—”

“They thought she and Kate would be better off here for the summer, rather than traveling all the time.” Lilly glanced at the couple. “Emily’s been missing Carter something fierce.”

Nick opened the picnic basket. “A husband and wife should be together.”

How often had she thought the same thing? But after Levi was born, things had changed. When Ben had to leave on business, she could no longer join him. They had a child to consider. “Even if one of them has a job that requires travel?”

“Even then.” Nick lifted a covered glass dish of potato salad from the basket and set it on the picnic table. “I understand the choice they made, but I want my family where I can take care of them.”

“You can’t take care of everything.”

He grinned, but a serious note clung to his voice. “I can try.”

Lilly’s heart skipped. The hidden promise in his words scared the daylights out of her, but it also created a thrill she dared not admit.

She shook her head. She was imagining things where they didn’t belong. Seeing Carter and Emily together had simply addled her thinking more than she realized.

Forcing her mind to think quieted her errant heart. Nick could never be there for her. It wasn’t possible. His job made him travel around the country. She wanted a house—a home to call her own. And Nick was too much of a dreamer to realize he couldn’t have it all.

Working silently, they unloaded the remainder of the basket’s contents. When Marguerite directed them to sit, Lilly wasn’t surprised to find her friend had seated her beside Nick, but she was caught off guard when Trip asked Nick to say grace.

After he removed his hat, Nick bowed his head. Beneath the table, he took Lilly’s hand in his own. “Dear heavenly Father, thank You for bringing Carter home to his family safe and sound. Thank You for each of the new friends I’ve made here.” He squeezed Lilly’s hand. “And thank You for being with us in each and every storm. Give us courage to face them. Bless the hands that prepared this meal and the souls that are going to consume it. In Jesus’ name.”

When the whole group joined in the “amen,” Nick released her hand. Those gathered began to pass the picnic fare, and Lilly glanced at Eugenia. She couldn’t believe Marguerite had seated the girl across from Mark. That poor man was going to suffer her moony eyes and twittering giggle for the entire afternoon.

Carter regaled them with stories from their travels with the team. Crowds came to watch their team, and Emily always made sure they got an earful about suffrage as well. “And did Emily tell you she’s speaking at the next National Suffrage Association meeting in Washington, D.C.?” He beamed at his wife.

Her cheeks bloomed pink. “I haven’t said yes yet, Carter, and I’ll probably trip walking to the podium.”

He kissed her cheek. “If you do, it’ll only make your speech more memorable.”

Nick nudged Lilly’s arm and leaned close to her ear. “Your buns are better.”

Choking on a bite of fried chicken, Lilly reached for her lemonade. “Thank you, but don’t let Marguerite hear that.”

“Hear what?” Marguerite, who sat across the table from them, passed the basket of buns to her right.

Lilly dabbed her lips with a checkered cloth napkin. “Nick was telling me how much he enjoys my cooking.”

“In comparison to mine?” Marguerite wagged her fork in Nick’s direction. “Shame on you, and here I was on your side.”

Lilly’s cheeks flamed.

“The food is wonderful, Mrs. Andrews.” Nick picked up his piece of fried chicken and offered a weak smile.

“But not as good as Lilly’s?” Marguerite laughed. “Oh, don’t look so nervous. I know she’s a better cook than I am—especially her desserts.”

Trip draped an arm around his wife and pulled her close. “Honey, I’ll eat your desserts any day of the week.”

“Speaking of desserts . . .” Lilly stood. “Why don’t I start serving the pie?”

“Let’s save it for later.” Marguerite eyed Nick. “Unless, of course, Nick wants to help you with dessert.”

Lilly rolled her eyes and glanced down at Nick’s empty plate. “Well?”

He stood and carefully unfolded his legs from the bench. “Actually, I’d love to.” He turned to Marguerite. “May we be excused, madam hostess?”

“Absolutely.” Marguerite’s lips curled in a knowing smile. “We’ll keep an eye on Levi. And, Nick, Trip put everything you and Lilly will need by the dock.”

“The dock? The pie isn’t on the dock. Everything you need? Nick, what have you planned now?”

Nick cupped Lilly’s elbow and winked. “Dessert.”

24

“We’re going out in that?”

Nick glanced at the rowboat Trip had pulled onto the sand and raised his eyebrows at Lilly’s question. “You’re not afraid of the water, are you?”

“Me? Heavens no, but—”

“Good.” Nick held out his hand to assist her. “In that case, get in.”

“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on. What will people think if they see us alone?”

“They’ll think we’re courting.”

“Which we aren’t.” She stuck her fists on her hips.

“Who says?”

“Nick!”

“Lilly, I simply wanted to spend a day with you without interruptions—or adorable interrupters.” He swept his arm toward the boat. “So, if you’d care to join me.”

“And if I don’t?”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ll kidnap you.”

“Honestly, Nick. It’s not like you’re some kind of pirate.”

He scooped her into his arms.

Lilly gasped and wrapped her hands around his neck. “Put me down!”

“Arrgh, prisoners don’t make demands.” He crossed the sand to the boat and gently deposited her on a seat. In a smooth motion, he shoved the boat into the water and hopped inside. Flashing her his best pirate grin, he added another wink. “Fair maiden, consider yourself kidnapped by Captain Nick.”

“All right, Captain Nick, where are you taking me?” A crease in her brow warned him he may have gone too far.

“The other side of the lake.” He inserted the oars in the locks and began to row. The boat surged forward with each stroke.

“Why are we going there?”

“Do you always ask your captors so many questions?”

“I wouldn’t know. This is my first abduction.”

He grinned. “We’re going to that wooded area in search of a treasure you’ll love.”

“Me? What do I want from the trees?”

“Mushrooms. We’re going mushroom hunting. Marguerite told me they were your favorite and that the rain the other day and the extra-warm temperatures in the last few days should have made them pop out.”

“Truly? That’s what we’re doing?” A wide smile replaced Lilly’s frown. “Marguerite’s right. I do love morels.”

“Morels?”

“Yes, that’s the official name for the mushrooms we eat.”

“So you know what we’re looking for?”

“Yes, of course I do.”

“Good, because I don’t know a mushroom from a toadstool.” He studied Lilly sitting across from him. She’d worn her hair down today. He liked the way it looked, framing her face. What color would he say it was in the sunlight? Cinnamon, maybe? And the fancy daffodil-yellow dress brought out the amber flecks in her eyes.

He winced. She probably shouldn’t be traipsing through the woods in her Sunday dress. So much for thinking of everything.

She lifted the basket Trip had placed in the boat. “How do you like your mushrooms? Fried? With eggs?”

He grinned. “With you.”

Lilly diverted her gaze to the lake. “It’s a perfect day to be on the lake.” She pulled the edges of her little jacket more tightly around her. “Only a little bit of a chill in the air out here. It’s been unusually warm for late May in Iowa. Don’t get too used to it. We could have a blizzard yet.”

“A blizzard in May?”

“It happens.”

Was she telling him the truth? The playful expression on her face was new to him. “So, will you forgive me for kidnapping you?”

“It will depend on how many mushrooms you find.” She adjusted a hat pin.

He glanced at the shore. “I guess that gives me an incentive to look hard.” After he pulled the rowboat ashore, he helped Lilly out. “Lead the way, great mushroom hunter.”

Lilly made a beeline for the woods. Under the canopy of the oaks, cottonwoods, and elms, the air cooled considerably, but she didn’t seem bothered. She snagged the first long stick she could find and used it to nudge the foliage aside. “They’ll be under brush, around old logs, or any place that’s damp.”

“What do the mushrooms look like?” Nick lifted a branch out of her way so she could pass beneath.

“They look like a brownish-gray sponge. They can be as small as this.” She held her thumb and forefinger a half inch apart. “Or as large as this.” She left the span of a foot between her hands.

“Are you serious?”

She laughed. “Well, I’ve never seen them that large, but I’ve heard they can grow to be that big—kind of like fish stories. Mushroom hunters are quite competitive.”