by Ross, Mia
“Yeah. Fortunately, my buddy was a medic. He packed it to keep me from bleeding to death while we hiked to our extraction point. The chopper came in, and we ran for it.” Stopping again, he heaved a deep, bone-weary sigh. “He shoved me inside, but a sniper got him in the back before he could pull himself up. When we landed at our base, I was the only one of my unit left.”
Lisa’s heart ached for those brave young men, but especially for the one standing in front of her, still in such horrendous pain. It took everything she had not to break down in tears. “I’m glad you escaped, but it must have been horrible for you. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s tough being the only survivor. At least that’s what the shrink told me. I knew he was trying to help me, but it never really worked. I still don’t know why,” he confided in a miserable voice.
“You need time,” Lisa said, resting her hand on his cheek in a comforting gesture. “When we lost my dad, it felt like we’d never be able to get past it. Somehow, we each figured out a way to remember him but go on with our lives. One day, when you’re ready, you’ll do the same.”
Seth pulled away from her slowly, as if it hurt him to do it. “We should get back to work.”
How many people had he retreated from this way? she wondered as she resumed her staining. While she now understood his reasons, she couldn’t help thinking there was a way around them. She was an outside-the-box kind of girl, accustomed to creating art out of nothing but an idea and a bunch of colors. Maybe she could come up with a solution.
In the meantime, she needed to concentrate on what she was doing. Blending various shades of brown to just the right shade of walnut wasn’t easy, but she kept at it until she found the perfect match for the decades’ worth of color on the old pews. As she brushed it on and wiped some of it off, she felt tremendous satisfaction watching Seth’s raw carpentry become a finished product.
She was more than a little proud of her contribution, she had to admit. Even though it was one of the most difficult tasks she’d ever attempted, the results were proving to be worth the effort.
“How’s this?” she asked.
He came over for a closer look, walking around the bench to see it from different angles. “Beautiful.” Grinning at her, he added, “You made it perfect, Lisa. Just like I knew you would.”
She thought she heard a little extra emotion humming under the surface of his praise, but she quickly put the idea out of her head. Seth had made it clear how he felt about her, and why he felt that way. Because she valued everyone’s right to their opinion, she’d never tried to change any guy’s mind about her, one way or the other. She wasn’t about to start now.
With the melancholy “Merry Christmas, Darling” playing on the radio, Lisa squared her shoulders and sifted through the facts Seth had laid in front of her. She needed wide-open honesty, and his past would always be closed to her. If their relationship was ever going to move past the let’s-be-friends stage they were in now, she’d have to accept that limitation and love him in spite of it.
Could she live with that? And more importantly, did she want to?
* * *
Lisa was manning the lunch counter Tuesday morning when John sauntered through the door and plopped onto a stool.
“Hey,” he said with a yawn.
“Hey, yourself,” she replied, laughing. “What are you doing here? I thought you and Matt were helping to finish the interior walls at the church today.”
“We were, but there’s six of us and we kept getting in each other’s way, so Seth sent me over for coffee.”
It didn’t take a genius to figure out why John had been elected gopher. “Did you break one of those nice new windows?”
“Course not. I’m not an idiot.”
He didn’t volunteer any more information, but she wasn’t letting him off that easy. Born troublemaker that he was, there were still only so many problems he could cause this early in the morning. “Who did you hit with a hammer?”
“Nobody.” When she tilted her head in disbelief, he muttered, “Okay, I almost hit somebody.”
Laughing, she filled in the extremely obvious blank. “Matt.”
“How do you know these things?” he demanded with a scowl. “It’s spooky.”
“Ordinarily, I’d say feminine intuition,” she replied breezily. “With you, it’s just logic. Seth didn’t want Matt to kill you.”
John chuckled. “Yeah, he was pretty mad. I almost forgot—he wanted me to tell you the parts are in for your transmission. If you bring your car out to the farm, he’ll get it fixed up for you.”
“Fabulous! That clunking noise keeps getting louder and louder.” Flipping back to waitress mode, she asked, “How much coffee do you need?”
“I dunno. For the crew, I guess.” Mild panic crossed his face, and he made a good show of patting the pockets of his jeans. He might have convinced a stranger, but Lisa knew it was all an act. “It’s free, right? I don’t have my wallet.”
“Would it matter if you did?”
Grinning at the dig, he shook his head. “Empty as usual.”
“Big surprise,” she scolded with a sigh. He was three years older than she was, but with his knack for losing and forgetting things, sometimes he acted a lot more like the youngest than she did. “How many folks have you got over there today?”
Looking up as if that would help him find the answer, he took a few seconds before answering. “Ten. I think.”
“I’ll do twelve, just to be sure.”
“Sounds good.”
As she pulled out three carriers and lined up a dozen to-go cups, he swiveled his stool back like a big, fidgety kid. “You look worried. What’s up?”
She did? Until then, Lisa was confident she had her emotions under control. While John wasn’t her first choice as a confidant, she decided to give it a try. “Just thinking about someone.”
“Seth?” When she nodded, he asked, “What about him?”
While she poured coffee, she answered, “I want to get him a Christmas present, but I have no idea what to buy. What’s your favorite thing to get from a girl?”
“You mean, besides her phone number?”
Lisa glared at him, and he laughed shamelessly. She should have known better than to ask her hound of a brother for advice on guys. “Forget it. I’ll figure it out on my own.”
“Why don’t you ask Ruthy? She probably knows what he’s into.”
“Her granddaughter is playing Clara in The Nutcracker in Charlotte, so she went there for the show. She won’t be back until tomorrow night, and he’s leaving soon, so I need to get him something today.”
“Because?”
“Because I want to, you doof.” After fastening the top on the last cup, she scowled at him the way Marianne did when he was being impossible. Which was frequently. “Are you going to help me or not?”
“Call his mom. She’ll know.” Stacking the coffee trays, he grinned at her on his way out the door.
“Thanks.”
While she set fresh pots of coffee brewing, Lisa seriously considered John’s suggestion. It proved how desperate she was that she didn’t reject it right off the bat. Finally, she admitted it was a horrible idea. She didn’t have the Hansens’ phone number and even if she did, what would she say?
Hi, this is Lisa Sawyer. You don’t know me, but I’m trying to buy a present for your son. Do you happen to know what he’d prefer?
If the woman didn’t hang up on her immediately, Lisa would be amazed. But while she was spraying disinfectant on the counter and wiping it down, a slightly more rational approach popped into her head. Seth’s mother was Ruthy’s sister, and Lisa was Ruthy’s goddaughter. That meant they were almost related. It was worth a shot, anyway.
Going to the pass-through window, she called out, “Tammy, I’
m going to take my break now, okay?”
“Sure, I can handle the dining room for a few. Hurry back, though.”
“I’ll be in Ruthy’s office if you need me.”
The cook nodded, and Lisa walked toward the office at the back of the building. Typical Ruthy, it was a charming mix of the old and the new. The antique cherry desk and cabinets looked as if they’d fit right in at a stately antebellum home, but the sleek laptop was the latest model.
Half closing the door behind her, Lisa settled into the chair and wiggled the mouse to wake up the computer. She would never snoop in someone’s personal files, but she thought it was all right to search through the Fayetteville online white pages. There were several Hansens listed, but one jumped out at her.
William and Sarah. Knowing her godmother’s solid Christian background, Lisa checked the other options but didn’t find any Biblical names. Instinct told her the names Ruth and Sarah went together, so she took out her cell phone and dialed the number.
A woman answered, and Lisa reminded herself to stay calm so she wouldn’t sound like a lunatic stalker. “Hello, this is Lisa Sawyer. May I speak with Sarah Hansen, please?”
“This is she.”
“We haven’t met, but I’m Ruth Benton’s goddaughter.” Lisa figured that was the best opening. If Sarah didn’t know Ruth, she’d try the next name on the list.
To her relief, the woman said, “I thought ‘Sawyer’ sounded familiar. Your family lives in Harland, right?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Knowing she didn’t have much time, Lisa got right to the point. “I hate to bother you, but I was wondering if you could help me with something.”
“I’m not sure how, but I’ll try.”
After Lisa explained why she was calling, Sarah laughed. “You’re the one, aren’t you?”
“Which one?”
“The girl who’s made Seth sound happier than he has in ages. I keep asking who he’s seeing, but he says he’s been so busy he doesn’t have time to date. I knew he was fudging.”
“Actually, he’s not,” Lisa corrected her quickly. “We’re just friends.”
“You want to buy a gift for a man who’s just a friend? Why?”
Because he’s incredible, Lisa almost blurted out before she stopped herself. Instead, she chose something a little less gooey. “He’s been tutoring me in some foreign languages for a trip I’m taking. He’s put in a lot of time and been so patient, I’m trying to find a way to thank him.”
“Saying it usually does the trick with him,” his mother pointed out.
“I want to get him something special. A gift that would mean a lot to him personally.”
“That’s so sweet of you. He’s not much for googaws, but let me think a minute.”
Sarah was quiet for almost that long, and Lisa hoped she’d come up with a good idea before she had to get back to work.
“Well,” Sarah finally said, “he used to have a pewter key chain with a charm that said ‘be strong and courageous.’ Bill’s father gave it to Seth, and he carried it in memory of his grandfather after he passed away. Seth lost it just before he was hurt.”
“It’s from the Book of Joshua, right? When my brothers graduated from high school, my dad gave them each a watch with that verse engraved on the back.”
“What a wonderful idea,” Sarah approved. “It was Seth’s favorite Bible quote when he was younger. Before—before things changed.”
Lisa heard a tapping on the door and glanced up to find Tammy pointing toward the dining room, her mouth open in a silent scream.
“I have to go now, Mrs. Hansen. Thanks so much for your help.”
“You’re very welcome. And thank you for being such a good friend to Seth. If you’re ever in Fayetteville, please stop by. I’d love to meet you in person.”
“Next time you and your husband are here visiting Ruthy, come out to the farm. You’re always welcome.”
“How sweet of you. Merry Christmas, dear.”
“Merry Christmas to you, too.”
Switching off her phone, Lisa mentally braced herself for a rush and followed Tammy back into the diner.
* * *
“This is great,” Marianne approved as she and Lisa strolled down Main Street. “I’m so glad you called me. I can’t remember the last time we went shopping together, just the two of us.”
“It’s been way too long,” Lisa replied as they stopped near a group of carolers dressed in Victorian costumes. Relatively on pitch, they really seemed to be enjoying their version of “Good King Wenceslas.”
“They’re like something out of a Dickens book,” Marianne whispered. “Only more cheerful.”
Lisa smiled agreement, and when the singers were done, the crowd that was circled around them applauded. The women curtsied, the men tipped their tall hats and they continued down the sidewalk to spread their Christmas cheer.
“I love it here.” Marianne sighed, looking around the festive downtown with a smile. “I don’t like how it happened, but I’m so glad God brought the kids and me back from Chicago.”
“Yeah, me too.” Lisa gave her a quick hug around the shoulders. “I missed you when you were gone.”
Marianne turned to her, suddenly serious. “I’m thrilled that you’re going to Europe, because I know it’s always been a dream for you. But I have to be honest. I’ll be just as thrilled when you come home.”
The unexpected revelation from her normally reserved sister brought tears to Lisa’s eyes. Emotion clogged her throat, and she swallowed before speaking. “I’ll feel the same way, Mare. I’m going to miss you, too.”
After a long, adoring look, Marianne gave her a shaky smile. “At least I know you won’t stay away too long. I’ll have your cat.”
Laughing, the two of them turned into Harland Jewelry, which the window proudly proclaimed had been in business since 1879. Several brightly lit cases sat at angles to one another, filled with watches and anything you could think of made from gold, silver and diamonds. Anniversary clocks, silver baby cups and crystal goblets lined the glass shelves on the walls, everything accented by holly garlands and tiny white lights.
“Wow,” Lisa breathed. “It’s all so beautiful, I don’t know where to start.”
“These chunky silver bracelets are gorgeous, really masculine.”
“Seth works with his hands constantly. He’d have to take it off all the time so it wouldn’t get caught in a saw or something.”
Marianne stared at the display a little longer, and Lisa grinned. She knew what Ridge was getting in his stocking this year.
“What are you looking for, then?” Marianne asked as she glanced around. When Lisa relayed what Seth’s mother had told her, Marianne frowned. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? He might not want to be reminded of how he lost it.”
“His grandfather gave it to him when he was younger,” Lisa argued. “It will make him think of a better time in his life.”
“Maybe.” After a few seconds, Marianne admitted, “You know Seth better than I do.”
Not much, Lisa realized, but her intuition was usually bang on, and it was telling her to do this for Seth. “I just want him to have something to remember me by after he goes home.”
That got Marianne’s attention. Turning, she pinned Lisa with her suspicious-mom look. “Is there something you haven’t told me about this guy?”
“Of course not,” Lisa hedged. “I tell you everything.”
“Since when?”
“I tell you the important stuff,” Lisa corrected. “If it’s really big, I tell the boys.”
“Just be sure you keep that up, even if you end up living across the ocean somewhere. Okay?”
Smiling at her big sister, Lisa added a hug for good measure. “You got it.”
Cha
pter Eleven
The rest of the week was a flurry of activity around Seth’s various projects. He sealed the floors in Aunt Ruth’s apartments, finished installing her new stainless-steel commercial dishwasher and bolted the pews onto the refurbished floor at the church. By the time everything was finished, he was whipped. He hadn’t been this tired in so long, he’d forgotten what it felt like.
But it was a good tired, he told himself as he drove his good-as-new pickup over to Lisa’s apartment the day before Christmas Eve. He’d accomplished a lot in the past month, and it had left him feeling stronger than he had in years.
“Decorating the tree’s kind of a family tradition,” he said as he helped Lisa crate up the portrait she’d been working on since before he first met her. “Are you sure I won’t be intruding?”
“Not a bit,” she assured him with a bright smile. “The more, the merrier. Besides, I can’t carry this thing by myself.”
“Now we’ve got the truth.” He chuckled while they strapped the protective frame together. “I’m the muscle.”
“Somebody has to be. I’m just for looks.” Adopting a fish-faced supermodel pose, she laughed and he joined her.
Laughter came a lot easier to him these days, and he knew he had Lisa to thank for finding that in him again. He just didn’t know how.
“You’re sure you don’t need a ride back into town?” he asked.
“Matt’s been working on my car out at the farm today, and he said it’s ready. Something about the transmission,” she added with a sour face. “He’s a mechanic, so he only charges me for the parts.”
“Farmer and mechanic. Good combination.”
“That depends on which day you ask him.”
Seth laughed. “I’m sure it does.”
Very carefully, he laid the framed canvas down flat in the bed of his pickup and cinched cargo straps over it to keep it from moving. They only had to go a few miles, but he was determined to get Lisa’s precious family gift to the farm in the same condition it was in now.
He opened the passenger door for her, and she gave him one of her bright, beautiful smiles. “Thank you.”
