Love Finds You in Paradise, Pennsylvania

by Loree Lough

  “I won’t.”

  “First time in the yard can raise ugly blisters. Ask me how I know….”

  Okay, she’d play along. Anything to prolong their goodbye. “How do you know?”

  He chuckled. “Well, now you’ve caught me flat-footed.”

  “Flat-footed?”

  “It’s been years since I worked outside. I hire a neighborhood kid to mow and trim. He’s pretty handy with a planting spade, too.”

  “Well,” she said with a smile, “I’ll be careful all the same.” The last thing she wanted were ugly red blisters ruining the fun if he decided to hold her hand. Don’t be an idiot, scolded her brain. Have you already forgotten your promise?

  Oh, let her enjoy his company just once more before it’s over, her heart chimed in, you killjoy.

  “Will you be wearing those little sandal-like shoes you had on the other night?”

  “The black pumps, you mean?”

  “I have no idea what shoe genre they fall into. All I know is, they’re cute as can be on those itty-bitty feet of yours.”

  The heat of a blush crept into her cheeks. “You know,” she pointed out, “one of us has to be first to hang up.”

  “You.”

  “No, you.”

  “Why me? Obviously, you’re the mature one in this relationship.”

  Relationship? Julia bit her lower lip. “I could argue the maturity point, but that would only extend the conversation. And I’m burnin’ daylight over here.”

  “Okay, on the count of three.”

  “Agreed.”

  Together, they said, “One, two, three.”

  Silence. Then Simon said, “Hello?”

  “So much for mature, eh?” If it was this hard to hang up on him, how much harder would it be to tell him she could never see him again…except as a friend?

  “G’bye Julia.”

  “Bye.”

  “I mean it.”

  “So do I.”

  He snickered quietly. “Seriously. I’m hanging up now.”

  “Well, I should hope so.”

  “Seven thirty…”

  “Seven thirty.”

  When the dial tone buzzed in her ear, Julia’s shoulders sagged as Hannah’s words rang in her ears. “Talk to God,” she’d said. Maybe, somewhere amid the hoeing and planting and watering, she’d put in a word or two with the Big Guy.

  Couldn’t hurt, said her brain.

  Couldn’t hurt, her heart echoed.

  With a sigh and a grin, Julia headed outside, wondering if maybe the problem all along was that God sometimes grew weary of listening to ditzy, silly females like herself.

  Since he had time to kill, Simon decided to spend it on the Internet trying to find out all he could about Julia’s past. Clearly she had no intention of sharing any of the details. If he wanted answers to his questions, well, he’d just have to get them himself.

  An hour into his investigation, Simon still knew nothing. Frustrated, he dialed Casey’s number.

  “You want me to what?” his cousin said.

  “You don’t really expect me to explain the whole thing again, do you?”

  “No. Just stalling,” Casey said, “so I can come up with a legitimate excuse to say ‘Go take a hike.’”

  “Very funny,” Simon said, laughing. “Now, seriously, how long will it take you to get here?”

  “What makes you think I can dig up more on the poor girl than you did?”

  “You’re always bragging about what a computer geek you are. Time to prove it.”

  Chuckling, Casey said, “No can do today, Simon. I’m on kid duty till six. Joanna is at a baby shower.”

  “I’ll bring my laptop over there, then.”

  “And I’ll put on a pot of coffee. The kids are napping. We’re good for an hour, at least, so I’ll see ya in ten.”

  Simon gathered up the few notes he’d taken, grabbed his keys and laptop, and headed for the door. “You guys be good, ya hear?” he told Wiley and Windy. “I’ll bring you a special treat to make up for leaving you alone so much lately.”

  The cat and dog sat side by side, staring at him as he turned on the TV. “Aw, don’t look at me that way. You met her. Do you blame me?”

  Wiley yawned and Windy bent in a long, low cat stretch. “Man, curb your enthusiasm,” he teased, punching the remote’s numbers to select the Animal Channel. “I won’t be late,” he said, heading for the foyer. “Promise.”

  Simon closed the door behind him just in time to catch a glimpse of their “yeah, right” grins. It wouldn’t surprise him to find out that, while he was gone, they had long, deep discussions about his parenting skills.

  An hour and a half later, Simon shoved back from Casey’s computer desk. “This is it? How can that be?” he asked, scratching his head.

  “You’ve got a lot, if you ask me. I don’t know anybody else whose—”

  Simon paged through the printouts. “You haven’t read a word of this stuff, cousin, so how do you know what I’ve got?”

  “Judging by that stack of papers, it looks like a lot.” He added in a thick British accent, “Perhaps you can hire Sherlock Holmes to conclude the investigation.”

  “You know, that’s actually a great idea.”

  Casey leaned back in the desk chair. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Serious as a heart attack.”

  “What’s wrong with exercising a little faith?”

  Simon frowned. “Faith?”

  “You like her, right?”

  “Yeah…”

  “So go with your gut. What’s the worst that could happen?”

  She could break my heart, Simon thought.

  “You think maybe she’s an ax murderer?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Bank robber?”

  Simon blew a puff of air through his lips. “Knock it off.”

  Drawing quotation marks in the air, Casey whispered, “Lady of the evening?”

  “With that innocent face? No way.”

  Shrugging, Casey held out both hands. “They say Delilah had an air of innocence about her, and look how Samson ended up.”

  “I never did like guys with long hair.”

  “Okay, I’m just sayin’…”

  Casey was the closest thing to a brother Simon would ever have. A cutup by nature, the man had proven over the years that he had a trustworthy, dependable side, too. Maybe he’d made a valid point and the secret to the mystery of Julia was faith, pure and simple.

  “You think maybe she has a long-lost husband out there somewhere?”

  Simon laughed. “Nah. She ain’t the cheatin’ type.”

  “So what’s your problem, then? If you’re so all-fired certain she’s too sweet and innocent to have committed any crimes, and she’s too purehearted to have a spouse hidden away someplace, what is it you need to know about her, exactly?”

  As usual, Casey’s straight-shooting approach went right to the heart of the matter. “You make a good point,” Simon admitted. Thanks to the Internet and Levi’s prying ears, he had far more information than before. Besides, if he quit asking her to talk about bygone days, it would show her how much he trusted her. The only question remaining? How to prove to Julia that she could trust him.

  Simon unplugged his laptop and snapped the lid shut. “Thanks, cuz. You’re the best.”

  Just then, the kids’ voices and footsteps sounded overhead. “Oh great,” Casey complained. “Abandon ship now that the pirates have invaded.”

  “I’d stay, but I’ve got dinner plans.”

  “With Julia?”

  “None other.”

  “Gonna ask her to marry you?” It was Casey’s turn to elbow Simon’s ribs.

  “Not tonight.”

  His cousin’s eyebrows shot up and his eyes rounded with disbelief. “So…but…you’re gonna? For real?”

  “Honestly, I have no idea. Pray on it, will ya?”

  “Count on it.” He opened the door and, as Simon passe
d through, Casey added, “When are we gonna meet this amazing, unreal mystery girl?”

  “Soon,” Simon said with a wink. “If I have anything to say about it, real soon.”

  He’d expected good things, but this good? Simon licked his lips when she opened the door, stunned into silence by the vision before him. “As I live and breathe,” he said, “you’re gorgeous.”

  She blushed, making her look even prettier. As if that were possible. “Thanks.”

  “You oughta wear that color more often. Very flattering,” he said, presenting her with the bouquet he’d picked up on his way over.

  “Daisies,” she cooed, sticking her nose into the blossoms. “You remembered.” See? Simon said to himself. Another thing you already know about her. “So what do they call that color, anyway?”

  She smoothed the sides of her dress, reminding him yet again what a curvy little figure she had.

  “It’s coral. I think. Or peach.” Shrugging, Julia laughed. “Let’s err on the side of caution and call it some variation of orange.”

  “Boy, I’ll say one thing about us.”

  Julia stepped aside as he entered the foyer.

  “We could win a small-talk contest.”

  Crooking a finger as she headed down the hall, she said, “Come with me while I put these in water.”

  “People are gonna talk,” he said as she filled a cut-glass vase with water.

  “About…?”

  “About why in the world a babe like you is out with the likes of me.”

  “I’ll say one thing for you….” She poked flower stems into the water. “You save me money.”

  Maybe a guy really could get dazzled by a woman’s beauty to the point of being addlebrained. “Uh, come again?”

  “Who needs to wear blush with you around?”

  Simon walked around behind her and whispered in her ear, “You deserve to hear stuff like that a couple hundred times a day.”

  “Simon, really now, I—”

  “Hey, I don’t do it for you, you know.”

  She turned halfway and looked into his eyes. “Really…”

  “It’s for Him,” Simon told her, aiming a thumb at the ceiling. “I figure even God likes hearing ‘Good job!’ every now and then.”

  Smiling, Julia clucked her tongue. “Well, I’m finished here.” She put the vase in the middle of the kitchen table.

  “Heard on the drive over here they’re calling for thunderstorms.”

  “Oh no,” she said, leading the way to the door. “Not again.”

  “’Fraid so.” He took her keys and locked the bolt for her before handing them back. “Guess that means dessert in front of the chiminea?”

  A strange expression clouded her face, making Simon wish he had a talent for reading minds the way she had a talent for switching moods. When he was alone later tonight, he’d study those printouts, looking for—

  “I didn’t know you had a sports car.”

  “That old thing?” He opened the passenger door. “It’s been gathering dust in the garage for years. Thought I’d better take ’er out and give ’er a little air.” And then he added, “I didn’t forget about your lawn mower, by the way. I figured I could bring it by tomorrow, on my way to church, if that’s okay.”

  Nodding and grinning in response, Julia slid into the leather bucket seat. “Why do you call it ‘her’?”

  He ran around to his side of the car and started the motor. “Hear that?” he said. “She purrs like a kitten, doesn’t she?”

  Julia only smiled.

  “And she’s persnickety. When she’s not in the mood to purr, she growls like a tiger. And sometimes she just flat-out decides not to make any noise at all.”

  “Aha. I think I’m beginning to get the picture.” Laughing, she added, “May I ever so politely point out that subtlety is not one of your best-honed conversational skills?”

  You may, he thought, grinning. Because he hadn’t intended subtlety at all. In fact, he’d hoped it might open the door to a discussion about her own mercurial moods.

  After arriving at the historic Revere Tavern and Restaurant, Simon suggested they snack on the crab-dip appetizer while waiting for their steaks. When she admitted how much she’d always loved crabmeat, he said, “Baltimore’s only a little over an hour from here. They’re best in the fall, so maybe one Saturday we’ll drive down there. I know a place where they make the best steamed crabs on the East Coast.”

  How had she let things get so out of control? There he sat, making plans for a future that could not, would not take place. She wouldn’t spoil his dinner, since he’d told her on the way over how much he enjoyed eating at the Revere. Instead, when he took her home, she’d let him build that fire in the chiminea, just as he’d suggested. He’d need the warmth to counteract the cold, hard facts about her…and Julia didn’t intend to leave out a single detail. That, she decided, would kill two ants with one stomp.

  So with her plan firmly in mind, Julia settled back to fully enjoy her last meal with this wonderful, amazing, perfect man.

  “Tell me about your family,” she said when the waiter brought their appetizer.

  “Spoiled only child, I’m afraid, so there’s not much to tell.”

  “Your parents must be very proud of their son the doctor.”

  Simon only chuckled.

  “Do they live nearby?”

  “Not anymore.”

  Now who’s being evasive? she thought, smiling to herself. Funny, but he didn’t seem to like being on the receiving end of a fullblown inquisition….

  “Snowbirds, are they?”

  A good-natured chuckle emanated from deep inside him. “No, they haven’t migrated to Florida, like so many retirees.” He took a sip of his ice water and said, “Mom died of an aneurysm nearly five years ago, and Dad…” He let a deep breath slowly escape his lips. “Dad was diagnosed with lung cancer shortly after we lost Mom. He held on for a little over six months.”

  Guilt pulsed through her veins, doubling her heartbeat. “Oh, Simon,” she said, hiding behind both hands. Then, sandwiching his fingers between hers, she added, “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. How awful to make you relive such a—”

  “Julia,” he interrupted, kissing her knuckles, “it’s all right. They’re with God and His angels, whole and perfect and completely healthy and pain-free. I’m way okay with that. Honest.”

  Julia wondered if her parents had become believers, as so many of her clients had while in prison. It made her wonder if Simon’s folks and hers had met up there in God’s kingdom. If Granny had any say in the matter, they had. The idea made her smile a little.

  “We have a lot in common,” he said, dotting another kiss to the back of her hand.

  Funny, but Hannah had said something eerily similar not long ago. She waited for him to tell her what, exactly, he believed they had in common.

  “We’re orphans, you and I. No parents, no grandparents, no siblings. I’ve got Casey and his family, and—”

  “And Wiley and Windy,” she finished for him.

  He let go of her hand and said, “Yeah, them, too.”

  “Which reminds me…I forgot all about our appointment today. I’m so sorry!”

  He examined her fingernails and, narrowing his eyes, emulated a German accent. “Where ver you dis ahf-ternoon, Miz Schpenzer?”

  “Working in my gardens, just as—”

  “Den why iss der no broken feenger-nailz, unt no dirt ground into your skin? I see nuttink!”

  Julia laughed. “I discovered the most fantastic invention at the nursery—gardening gloves!”

  “Iss dat zo?”

  “I watch Hogan’s Heroes reruns, too, you big nut. And I don’t mind admitting, you do a wonderful imitation of Sergeant Schultz.”

  “Flatterer,” he said, poking a cube of sourdough bread into the dip then popping it into his mouth. “It’s cool enough to eat now, by the way,” he added, scooping a generous dollop of dip onto another cube and h
olding it near her lips.

  She almost giggled when he opened his mouth, the way mommies do when feeding their babies, as she accepted the treat. Her smile faded a little as she wondered if, sometime during the meal, he’d tell her about Georgia. Admittedly, Julia was curious about his first love, the woman who’d shared his heart and his life for—how long had Hannah said?—nearly four years. If she’d been his wife, Julia couldn’t have denied him anything. Especially not children! How could the woman have said no to something so wonderful?

  It surprised her to hear how many loved ones he’d lost. How had he achieved such a complete state of peace?

  As she sat considering his history, Simon scooped another generous portion of crab dip onto a crust of bread and held it out to her. Julia had only just leaned forward to take a bite when he said, “You might as well just spit it out, Julia.”

  “Not on your life,” she said around the nibble. “It’s too delicious!”

  “And you have the nerve to call me a nut?” Smirking, Simon shook his head. “I can tell by the look on your face that you’re dying to ask me something. So go ahead. Out with it before it drives you even more nuts.”

  “The longer I know you, the more I believe you’re some kind of mind reader.”

  “If that were true, would I need to ask what you’re wondering about?”

  “Guess not.”

  “So ask away.”

  She couldn’t very well say, “So what’s your secret? How do you keep from being furious with God when He’s allowed so much misery and pain to enter your life?”

  Or could she?

  Simon’s forefinger drew a tiny circle in the air, his silent signal that she was free to open up—the sooner, the better.

  “You’re right,” she began tentatively. “We do have a lot in common. So why are you so…How can you be…so at ease with having lost so many loved ones?”

  One shoulder lifted in a half shrug. “It’s like I said, they’re in a better place, and that’s just for starters. I’ve always been a firm believer that we’re all here on Earth to do God’s work, for as long as He needs us and not a minute more.”

  She could only blink in response, amazed at how similar his beliefs were to Hannah’s. Was it possible Simon had family ties to the Amish? “You weren’t angry or resentful, even at first, when they were taken from you?”