“There, check out the view. You can see everything up here. But be careful where you step. This whole area is littered with gopher holes,” Mike told her.
“Wow, I didn’t think we climbed this high. Look, you can even see my house over there and the church. Wow, this is cool. But this is weird. You have trees all around this place, but yet there’s nothing growing here except for some grass. Why is that, do you suppose?” Katie asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe it has something to do with all of these gopher holes. Here, sit down here. I just want to enjoy the view,” he told her. Katie sat down, and Michael sat down next to her.
Katie was scoping out the town when she noticed that Mike was staring at her. “What? You’re supposed to be enjoying the view, remember?” she asked.
“Oh, but I am. I enjoy looking at you,” he told her.
“Michael, the town, remember?” she asked.
“I’ve seen the town, but I ain’t never seen anything as beautiful as you, Ms. Katie,” Mike responded.
“Really? Then I guess you ain’t seen much ’cause I ain’t that pretty.”
“Ain’t that pretty? Why, Katie my dear, you’re underestimating yourself a bit. I’m telling ya, you’re as beautiful as only God could make it,” he told her.
“Really? Then prove it,” she told him.
“How do I prove it?” he asked.
“Well, you can start off by kissing me again,” she told him.
“I didn’t bring you up here for that type of stuff, Katie. I’m really not that type of guy,” he told her.
“Well, good because I’m not that type of girl either. But the last time you kissed me, you darn near knocked me off of my feet. So I think that I’ll be better now that I don’t have to worry about falling down,” she proclaimed.
So he leaned over and kissed her. But as he went to pull away, she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him back into her for a much better kiss. She fell onto her back with him falling on top of her. Then it happened. Katie could feel her entire body starting to tingle all the way down into her oxfords. As she released her hug, he slowly pulled away from her. He stopped a few inches from her face.
“Like that?” he asked.
“Well, almost, but I was thinking something more like this,” she said as she pulled him back down for an even more powerful kiss than last time. But this time, he gave in and fell onto her. He could feel her body pressing into his.
Neither one of them had ever been this close to another person of the opposite sex before. And without saying it, it was clear to both of them that they had better stop before things got out of hand. Mike sat up while Katie just lay there staring at the clouds. Katie sat up and looked at her feet.
“Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle. Just lookie there at what you’ve gone and done to me,” Katie said with devilish twist to her voice.
“What did I do? I just kissed you, that’s all!” he proclaimed.
“Relax, Michael, you just knocked off one of my shoes.”
Mike looked down and saw that one of her shoes had fallen off.
“Well I’ll be,” he said.
“Well I’m glad we quit when we did. A few more kisses like that, and I’d be naked,” she said half laughing.
“Really? So how many more kisses do ya think it would take?” he asked her jokingly.
“Very funny, but it surely wouldn’t take that many, I’m sure,” she told him with a huge smile on her face as she lay back onto her back with her arms crossed under her head.
“Michael, do you think we’re moving too fast?” she asked him. “I mean, we only met each other yesterday, and like I already have your ring, and you’ve got one of my shoes off and all.”
“Well, maybe a bit too fast, but I have no regrets. Not at all,” he told her. “And we can always put your shoe back on if that makes you feel better.”
“It’s not the shoe. Well, it is. It’s like this. I’m lying here in a field with this guy that I’ve just met yesterday, and I can feel that my shoe is off, but I like the way that it feels because it was you that made me feel this way. You understand what I’m trying to say?” she asked him.
“I think so. It’s like the sensation that came over me the very moment that I first saw you. I just knew in my heart that we were supposed to be. Ya know?” he asked her back.
“Well, I’ll tell you the truth. I have never felt this way for anybody ever before. I really mean that. It’s a nice feeling deep down inside. So does that mean that we really love each other that much? Is it really possible to fall that much in love with someone that quickly?” she asked him.
“Well, I look at it this way. From the very moment that I saw you last night, I haven’t been able to think of anything else. So if the Lord wants us to be together, then who are we to question him? The Lord works in mysterious ways, my dear,” he answered back.
“Yeah, and he works really fast too!” Katie said with a laugh.
“I guess he does at that,” Mike responded. “But there are a few other things that I need to ask you,” he said.
“Like what?” she asked.
“I would like to ask you to go with us to the train depot on Tuesday. There’s someone that I think you need to meet,” he told her.
“Someone for me to meet? And who would that be if I might ask?” she replied.
“My sister, Melissa,” he told her.
“Your sister? You never told me that you had a sister,” she replied.
“Yeah well, with everything that has happened in the past day or two, it must have slipped my mind. She’s away at college, but she’ll be home on Tuesday for a visit,” he told her. “But there’s going to be a conflict. I can see it coming just as clear as I see you now,” he added.
“A conflict? Why would there be any type of conflict between me and your sister?” she asked.
“Well, it’s fairly obvious that you don’t like Susie, and that’s your choice, but Susie is my sister’s best friend. So you can picture this trouble brewing, and Susie will surely add as much fuel to the fire as possible,” he told her.
“I see. Hmmm, that does create a bit of a problem, doesn’t it? So what would you like me to do?” she asked.
“Well, if you could possibly see it clear to steer clear of Susie, then I’ll have a chance to explain to Melissa all of the assorted details and just maybe we can throw some water on the fire long before it ever starts. Can you do that?” he asked.
“Well, I’ll do my best to avoid her, but if she comes looking for a catfight, then there’s not much I can do to stop her,” she responded.
“Well, I’ll talk to Susie and tell her to lay off. That’s all we can do. We’ll have to play the rest off of the cuff, so to speak,” he told her.
“Okay, but you’ll have to talk to her while I’m there. Maybe not right there, but close enough to keep my eye on her. I don’t trust her, not at all,” she proclaimed.
“Fair enough. But you do know that you can trust me alone with any female. Don’t you?” he asked her.
“I do. I really do, but it’s her that I can’t trust. She’s a very jealous and sneaky little thing, kind of like a snake in the grass. You might know it’s there, but it isn’t until it jumps up and bites you in the ass that you truly realize just how dangerous it can be,” she added.
“A snake, you say? Never thought about it that way before. But you’re probably right,” he told her.
“Yeah, a rattlesnake with very sharp teeth indeed,” she added.
“Well, with a rattlesnake, you at least have a warning by the rattling of its rattle. But I’m not too sure that Susie would offer you that courtesy,” Mike told her.
“Okay, but just to clear up some of the loose details, why is Susie so hooked on you? Were you and her a couple at one time or what?” she asked him.
“Well, to tell you the truth, Melissa told her that I liked her. But that was back about the time that I fell through your floor. But we were just friends real
ly. I reckon she just likes the idea of us being a couple, and she refuses to let go of that idea,” he explained.
“So you two were never an item, say like a boyfriend and girlfriend type of thing?” she asked.
“No way. Never happened. We were just buddies or friends. I swear,” he told her.
“Relax, my dear Michael, I believe you. Remember, I’m the new girl around here. So I’d like to know what I’m getting myself into is all,” she explained to him.
“Okay, and I do understand why you would have so many concerns. But you really don’t need to be upset or worried about anything ever happening between Susie and myself,” he told her again.
“Well, that’s good enough even for this girl. So shall we head back over to my house, or do you wish to continue taking in the view?” she asked him. “Of the town this time, Michael.”
“Yeah, we can go if ya want ta. I can look at you as we walk if I want ta,” he told her as he helped her to her feet.
“Hang on there, I’ve got to put my shoe back on unless you’d like to try knocking off the other one too?” she said laughing.
“Naw, I’ll save that for the picnic,” he told her.
“Oh, you think so, do ya? Well, when you see me in my red dress, you hadn’t better be lookin’ at my shoes,” she proclaimed.
“We’ll see what we shall see,” he said with a huge grin on his face.
A Leap of Faith
The walk back to Matterson House was slow at best. Mike and Katie weren’t in any hurry at all. They preferred to enjoy their time alone, just the two of them—hand in hand, heart in heart.
As they walked through the gate at the end of the walk, they heard Grady’s voice, but they couldn’t see him.
“Daddy, where are you?” Katie yelled to her father.
“Hey, I’m up here just patchin’ the roof. Hang on. I’ll be comin’ down in a minute, I reckon, unless I fall, then it will be a lot faster than I might had been planning,” Grady yelled down to Mike and Katie.
“Daddy, get yourself down from there. You be careful now. Ya hear me, Daddy?” she yelled back.
“Yeah, yeah. Darn girl thinks just because I’m older, I shouldn’t be doing what needs be done,” he said in a voice only loud enough for himself to hear.
“How did he get up there? That’s nearly three stories high. Your daddy is one crazy guy,” Mike told Katie.
“Yeah, or just really stupid. I guess it all depends on how you look at it,” she answered in a worried tone.
“Well, I wouldn’t call him stupid, maybe a little overly brave but never stupid,” he replied.
“Yeah, but you don’t know him like I do. Sometimes he’s really stupid! I swear to God he is,” she told him.
Grady was standing up on the top of the house, looking down at them. “This will get them, I reckon,” he said as he moved out of their line of sight and yelled as if he fell off the roof and then sat there quietly.
“Oh my god, he fell!” she yelled as she and Mike ran around to the back of the house, half expecting to see him splattered all over the ground. “Daddy!” she yelled as she circled around the corner of the house. But she found nothing! “Daddy?” she said as she looked around.
“Where is he?” Mike asked.
“I don’t know. I heard him fall, didn’t you?” she asked.
“Well, I thought that I did, but—” Mike was saying until he was interrupted by Grady’s voice from above them. Mike and Katie both looked up to see a very much alive Grady looking down at them.
“Scared ya, didn’t I?” he said with a smile.
“Daddy! That wasn’t funny, not at all. I thought you were dead!” she yelled up to him. “You get down from there this second! You hear me?” she told him. Katie looked over at Michael who was trying not to laugh. “And what do you find so funny may I ask?” she asked.
“He’s right. He got us,” Mike told her as he looked up at Grady.
“Pretty funny! ‘Should have saw the two of you running, best darn entertainment I’ve enjoyed in years!” Grady yelled back.
“I swear to God, you two are impossible,” Katie proclaimed.
“Hey, Grady, how in the heck did you get up there?” Mike asked. “I don’t see a ladder.”
“Who needs a ladder when you have a giant oak tree only a few feet away?” he answered.
“Excuse me?” Katie asked.
“Grady, that tree is almost three feet away. How did get from the tree to the roof?” Mike asked.
“Closer to four, I figure. But to answer your question, I jumped. ‘Couldn’t move the tree or the house, so I figured I’d just jump and hope for the best, I reckon,” he told him.
“Oh no, you didn’t!” Katie yelled up to her dad.
“Oh, sissy, relax. Just how do you think I’m getting down from here? Same way I got up here, I reckon,” he told her.
“Grady, I hope to God you’re just kidding us. Really, where’s your ladder?” Mike asked.
“Sorry, sonny, no ladder, but you might want to get Katie away from here just in case I miss. I’d hate like hell to land on her,” he said half laughing.
“Daddy, that’s not funny. Now don’t you dare. I swear, Daddy!” Katie yelled to her dad.
“Katie, I love ya dearly, but you’re just like your mother, God bless her soul. She didn’t have faith in me either. So if you’ll stand back, one way or another, I’m coming down. I figure if God wants me to make it, then I will, but if he doesn’t, well, I guess it’s a leap of faith. So here I go,” Grady proclaimed.
“Daddy, no!” she yelled.
Then he was gone. They backed up to see more of the roof. But he was nowhere to be found.
“All right now, where did he go?” Katie asked.
“Got me. One second he’s there, then the very next thing, he’s gone,” Mike told her.
Katie and Mike just stood there, both staring at the roof half expecting to see Grady jumping off of the roof and trying to grab a branch on the giant oak tree . . . or worse.
Mike and Katie just stood there in silence, waiting.
“What ya looking at?” Grady asked them. Mike and Katie spun around to see Grady standing behind them.
“Daddy?” Katie said as she hugged his neck.
“I thought you were going to jump over to that tree. So how did you get down?” Mike asked.
“You both must think I’m really stupid expecting me to jump for some damn old tree. Well, I ain’t. ‘Came in through the attic window. You really thought that I was going to jump off a third-story roof and try to grab on to a stupid tree, did ya? I might be old, but I ain’t that old,” he told them.
“You scared me, Daddy. I thought you were serious,” Katie told him.
“Relax, Katie dear. If I wanted to commit suicide, it surely won’t be off of a damn old roof nor in front of you, my dear,” he told her.
“Well, I would hope not, you crazy old man,” she told him as she hugged his neck.
“Katie, you being only twenty years old and all, you need to relax some. I plan on being around to see my grandkids sitting on my lap someday,” he told her.
“Well, good, then you’ll be around for a very long time, ain’t that right?” she said as she looked over at Mike.
“Uuhhh, right, a long time,” Mike answered with a very questionable tone.
Grady and Katie just looked over at Michael.
“What? I said a long time, didn’t I?” Mike asked.
“Yeah, but you didn’t sound too convincin’, is all” Grady answered back.
“I’m sorry, but you just caught me off guard a bit. Never thought about having any kids, is all,” he answered.
“Well, true. But I think having kids would be something I might want to do someday,” Katie told him.
“Well, me too, I think. Never thought about it before, is all” he told her.
“Relax, I was talking about later, you know, when I’m twenty-two or so,” Katie answered.
“Okay, but
we’ll talk more about it then, okay?” he asked.
“Well, Michael, I do declare that you’re a bit bashful, ain’t ya?” she told him.
“Bashful? About what?” he asked.
“Oh, nothing. We’ll talk about it later in private,” Katie said as she winked her right eye, so Michael would be sure to see it.
“Anyone thirsty? How about some tea, anyone?” Grady asked as he tried to change the topic of conversation.
“Yeah, that sounds good. Count me in,” Mike said as he kind of stared at Katie with a questionable look in his eyes.
“Good. Katie, would you be so kind as to fetch us some tea?” Grady asked her. “We’ll meet you on the front porch.”
“Sure, Daddy,” she said as she headed toward the house.
“Come on, son. Let’s talk a bit, shall we?” Grady asked Mike as they started walking toward the front of the house.
“Sure. So what do ya want to talk about?” he asked.
“Katie,” he told him.
“What about her?” Mike asked.
“You’re not going to hurt her, are ya?” Grady asked him.
“Why, no, sir. I would never,” Mike proclaimed.
“I didn’t think so, but you have to understand one thing. Katie is all that I have left since her mother passed away, God bless her soul, so I’m really protective, you see? I just don’t want to see her getting hurt, is all,” Grady told him.
“Well, I can promise you this—I’ll never do anything to hurt her,” Mike told him.
“Never promise anything. Promises are easily broken. Just give me your word, okay? A man’s word is as strong as the person giving it, I reckon,” Grady said.
“Okay then, you have my word on it,” Mike replied.
“That’s good enough for me. And that thing about having kids, don’t fret it. That’s her mother talking,” he told him.
Hearts of Grey Page 5
