Sheri wouldn’t hear of it. “No, you’ve done so much already.” When he reached the bottom of the ramp, she put her hand in the middle of his chest. “There are lots of lighter boxes we can carry.”
A sudden excitement trilled through him, and for a split second, he was back in the singles bar scene, where every female was viewed as a possible hook-up for the night. He mentally gave himself a shake and took a small step back. “But the heavy boxes need to be on the bottom of the stack.” He maneuvered around her. “I’ll get those first; then you and Beth can argue about who carries the rest.”
He jogged back to their apartment before she could protest further. He met Beth coming out with a stack of two smaller boxes and wished their truck had come with a dolly. Or that I’d remembered to bring ours. He suddenly wanted this job to be over.
***
Joe and Ben drove up to Denver after lunch, and while they didn’t get in on much of the loading, the girls hadn’t considered how they were going to get both their cars and the moving truck to Colorado Springs. Having them show up solved that problem; Ben drove Joe’s pickup, and Joe drove the truck.
The trip back alone gave Joe time to think. Beth had been surprised to see him and tried pretty hard to still be mad at him, but she conceded that he had met her halfway in this Sabbath stand-off, and he finally got a kiss out of her.
A kiss that did nothing for him.
He wondered if he’d feel any less passion kissing his mother. If I get “zinged” barely touching Mari, what would a kiss be like?
He had no idea what to do. He felt like a yo-yo when it came to his commitment these days. One minute he was sure he could deny the attraction he felt to Mari and spend the rest of his life with Beth; the next, he knew without a doubt the impossibility of that feat.
The whole reason Beth is moving is to be closer to me. He raked a hand through his hair. And I’m driving the truck. How can I unload all her stuff then say, “Oh, by the way, sweetheart, I don’t think it’s going to work out between us.”? He shook his head. He cared about her too much to hurt her like that.
But what if Mari weren’t dating Eli? Would that change anything?
Joe adjusted his grip on the steering wheel. He’d done enough thinking. Once again, it was time to pray.
***
Mari had changed out of her sweater dress into comfortable yoga pants and a long light-weight white cotton shirt over a red shell. She spent the afternoon poring over the Torah, and when her mind started to wander, she read out loud. When she grew tired of that, she turned on some music. Every time she was tempted to think about Joe singing beside her or his touch on her back or warming up her hand, she would start to sing along at the top of her lungs. When that failed to distract her, she called her mom and talked for an hour, then several of her brothers, and then some friends.
When Eli showed up as she put her supper dishes in the dishwasher, she barely had a voice left. “So,” she said, with hands on hips, her voice husky, “did the mighty Eli Rhodes get the job done?”
Eli slanted a quizzical smile her direction as he peeled off his jacket then came at her with a determined, mischievous look and swept her off her feet, eliciting a screech. “The mighty Eli Rhodes did indeed, fair wench.” He carried her to the love seat and plopped down with her, unable to contain a grin. “You’re the most fun thing I’ve moved all day, and where did you pick up that sexy voice?”
Mari rolled her eyes. “Just talked too much today.” She put her hand to the side of her head in the universal sign for telephone.
“Ah, friends?”
She nodded.
“Family?”
She nodded again.
“Did you try some hot tea and honey?”
She nodded yet again. “It helped a little,” she whispered.
“You mean it was worse?”
She was starting to feel like a bobble head.
“Well, if we can’t talk, we’ll have to find other ways to communicate.” He waggled his eyebrows at her, and she giggled a weird, squeaky giggle. Eli laughed, and Mari giggled again. This went on for awhile, and Mari was glad for the release of tension found in laughter, and she was truly thankful for this man holding her and laughing with her.
How could I ever think of someone else? Eli’s warm, sweet, funny, and so handsome. When her giggles finally subsided, she was lying back against the arm of the love seat. Eli shifted underneath her and propped his head on his elbow beside her.
He gazed at her with appreciation in his eyes and ran a hand over her waist. Leaning to kiss her, he slid his hand up her side. His talented lips had her mesmerized in moments. The spell was broken, however, by his hand that was roaming where it had never roamed before. She grabbed it and tried to sit up, bumping heads with Eli on the way.
She slid off and stood holding her head. “Ow, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.” She opened her eyes and glared. “Did you mean to do... what you were doing?” she kind of squawked.
Eli sat up, holding his head as well. “Kissing you or touching you?”
“We’ve kissed before,” she whispered. “The touching—that touching—was new.”
He looked unrepentant. “I thought you might be ready for that.” He shrugged. “I guess I was wrong.”
She nodded, her brow furrowed.
Eli stood and ran his hand up into her hair. “I’m sorry, Mari. Look, it’s been kind of a long day for me. Since you can’t talk, and you don’t want to do... other things, I think I’ll head out.” He gave her a kiss on the forehead and turned toward the coat rack.
Mari was feeling jilted but didn’t have the voice to adequately express herself. Eli grabbed his jacket and gave her a weak smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow, sweetheart. You better go to bed and rest your voice.” He let himself out, and Mari sank into the love seat, wondering how they had gone from laughing to angry and irritated in such a short span of time.
She started thinking again, and this time she had no voice left to drown it out.
***
Eli walked back to the house on edge. He knew Mari wasn’t experienced—that was part of her attraction. But does she plan to stay that way? It’s not like I tried to undress her or anything.
As he and the girls had loaded the truck, Sheri seemed to find any and every excuse to touch him, and the hug she gave him for helping was longer than necessary, with extra caresses up and down his back. Eli knew a come-on when he saw one.
And felt one.
He had even mentioned his girlfriend in passing, and she’d just smiled as if she knew a secret he didn’t. He had never been so glad to see Joe and Ben drive up. He took his leave then and headed for home, so tense and so... turned on. The exhilaration of being pursued was something he hadn’t felt in awhile. He had done what he thought was the right thing and shifted those thoughts to Mari for the drive home. He wanted to teach her so much more than decorating...
He stopped before ascending the porch stairs. I haven’t been out for over a week. He did an about-face and headed for the garage. I really need a drink.
Chapter 18
Joe slowly became aware of a buzzing sound near his head. Turning over, he swept his hand across his nightstand sending his phone to the floor. Damn it. Leaning over the side he ran his hand swiftly over the carpet until he found it. He grabbed it and punched the screen in one motion to his ear. “Hello?”
“Joe?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s Mari.”
He looked at his clock; it was nearly midnight.
“Mari, you don’t sound like yourself. Is something wrong?”
“Lost my voice. I’m really sorry to bother you, but Eli isn’t answering his phone. Is he there?”
“I’ll check. Just a second.” Joe threw his covers off and stumbled down the hall. Eli’s door was open, and his bed was still made. “It doesn’t look like it, Mari. I haven’t really seen him since we got back from Denver. Have you?”
“Yeah, he was here
earlier... Joe, I keep hearing something in my backyard, and I think someone even slammed into the back door a few minutes ago. I hate to ask, but could you—”
Joe was already looking for his jeans. “I’ll be right there.”
He hung up the call and dressed as fast as he could. He refrained from running down the stairs so as not to wake up Ben, but as soon as the door was closed, he was sprinting to Mari’s backyard fence. A split rail design, it would be a simple matter to climb or even vault over, but if there were a burglar back there—a possibly armed burglar—he didn’t want to unduly startle him.
He peered around the corner of the house, but it was a partly cloudy night, and the street light didn’t reach her backyard. He could see a lamp post, but no light was shining forth. Must be burned out. There was a sudden thud that sounded like the rattle of a door with windows. Joe turned to see the culprit looking in the window. He looked at Joe, and his tongue lolled out just before his paws hit the ground and padded over to Joe. Joe smiled and scratched the big golden retriever behind the ears. “What are you doing, boy? This isn’t your house, and you’re scaring the dickens out of the pretty lady who lives here.”
He turned and patted his leg. “Come on, I think you and she need an introduction.” Joe and his new friend walked to Mari’s front door, and he rang her bell. He looked to the canine. “Sit.” He was surprised when he sat on the lawn just off the small porch landing.
A terrified brown eye appeared as the door opened a sliver; then farther as Mari recognized Joe. He couldn’t resist teasing her a bit. “There was a fella looking in your back window.” She gasped, and Joe went on. “He’s a real nice guy, though, do you want to meet him?”
Mari’s eyes got big. “No! Did you call the police?”
Joe gave her a lazy smile. “Oh, there’s no need for that. He probably was just looking for a hand-out or wanted to have his belly rubbed.” Joe patted his leg, and the happy dog came forward to nuzzle his hand.
Joe laughed as Mari’s puzzled expression shifted into recognition. “A dog? Was that all it was?” She folded her arms, looking cold, and Joe told the dog to “stay” before stepping inside and closing the door. The house was dark except for her bedroom light.
Mari shook her head, looking embarrassed. “I’m so sorry to drag you out of bed for a dog, Joe.”
“Don’t worry about it. I heard him jump on the door, and it was loud. I don’t blame you for freaking out.” He gestured toward the kitchen. “Do you mind if I have a look at your door? I’d like to make sure he didn’t damage it.”
She stepped back out of his way. “Please do. It’s kind of old.”
Joe started forward through her living room, and Mari followed. Even though dimly lit, he could tell that something wasn’t the same as the last time he’d been there to change the disposal. He paused at the kitchen door and turned back. “I see you’ve gotten some decorating done. It looks nice.”
Mari didn’t smile. “Eli did it. He has a real knack for it.”
Joe wondered at her lack of enthusiasm but chalked it up to the lateness of the hour. He flipped on the kitchen light and walked across the room to her back door. He inspected the locks and the frame, not really happy with what he found. Pulling back the curtain, he also found that one of the panes of glass was cracked. He pulled it back farther to show Mari. “Was this already cracked, or did our doggie friend do this?”
Mari thought a moment. “I don’t think it looked like that before.”
Joe let the curtain fall and hitched his thumbs in his coat pockets. “Well, you’re right. This is a really old door. It might even be original to the house. The locks are old, the frame has a bit of rot going on, and now the broken window. I’m going to give Mr. Merriman a call tomorrow and see if he’ll replace it for you?”
“The glass?”
“The whole door.”
“Oh! Well, that would be good, I suppose, if big dogs are going to continue to assault it in the night.”
Joe smiled at her good humor and noticed what she was wearing—flannel pajamas in a peachy color underneath a green and brown plaid robe that seemed to bring out the deep brown of her eyes. The crazy pig slippers of hers somehow seemed to fit right in. Joe’s door inspection was done, but he was reluctant to leave. “So how did you lose your voice? Are you coming down with something?”
She stuck her hands deep into the patch pockets of her robe. “I just sang and talked too much this afternoon.” She glanced at the clock on the stove. “Or I guess I should say yesterday. I called a lot of family and friends.”
Joe nodded, wondering if she had been lonely with Eli gone most of the day. “Well, it doesn’t sound too bad. Just a bit lower than usual.” It’s actually pretty sexy. He started toward the kitchen door.
“Joe, I don’t have any coffee, but would you like to stay and have a cup of tea or something. I’m pretty wide awake, and my hands are cold besides.” She pulled them out of her pockets to reveal her splotchy fingers. They weren’t as white as they had been that morning in the service, but he could see they were heading that way.
He really thought tea was a pretty useless beverage, but he took off his coat and hung it on the back of one of her wrought iron chairs. “Sure, I’d love to.” As she filled two mugs with water and put them in the microwave, he sat and was suddenly curious. “Mari, does this condition of yours have a name?”
She nodded. “It’s called Reynaud’s Syndrome. There’s not much information to be found on it, though. I don’t think it’s been studied much. Some people call it a ‘white-out.’ It started happening to me in college.” She paused and smiled. “The first time I was in college.”
She opened a canister on her counter. “I’m having something without caffeine. Is that okay with you, or would you like to be up until dawn?”
Joe didn’t think a drink as wimpy as tea would keep him awake, caffeinated or not, but he just said, “Whatever you’re having is fine with me.”
“Chamomile it is, then.” She brought the mugs and two tea bags on a small plate to the table and sat. The honey was already sitting there from earlier voice treatments.
Joe plunged his teabag in the water, watching Mari’s hands wrapped tight around her mug. The color slowly came back to the tips of her fingers. He reminisced about holding her hand to warm it that morning, and that led to the warm feeling he had felt singing with her. “So you said you were singing today? Did you mean other than Shabbas service?”
She nodded shyly. “I was just singing along with some CDs.” She took her tea bag out and laid it on a plate, so Joe did the same. “I overdid it, I guess.”
Joe purposely didn’t look at her as she passed him the honey. “Well, you have a beautiful voice. Singing with you is a real treat.” He chanced a glance at her face. Her cheeks were red, but whether from embarrassment or the hot beverage, he couldn’t tell. “I know Ben feels the same. He and I together were just a couple of guys singing, but with you... well, that makes it special.” He took a sip, finally allowing himself to look in her eyes.
Mari smiled. “Thank you. I enjoy singing with you boys, too.” She stirred her tea absently. “In fact, the first time I heard your voice, I nearly swooned.”
Joe smiled and wondered if his cheeks were red.
Mari brought up the morning’s sermon, and the two lost all self-consciousness as they discussed it and the fact that Joe had compromised his beliefs to go help Beth move. They tossed around different scenarios, and what constituted breaking the Sabbath.
Joe drained his second cup of tea. “Some go so far as to say you can only stop a building from burning down if you know someone’s life is in danger, but I think that’s absurd. Sometimes a life might be in danger only because you didn’t put it out when it was a small fire.”
Mari nodded. “Yes, and why is it wrong for me to cook, but okay to let someone else cook for me?”
“Right. If it’s important for me, then it’s important for me not to endanger them. I sh
ouldn’t enable them to break the Sabbath.”
Mari yawned, and Joe glanced at the clock on the stove. “I’m sorry, Mari.” He started to rise. “I’ve kept you up far too long.”
She yawned again. “What time is it?”
He looked toward the stove. “If that clock’s right, nearly 2:00.”
“Oh, my goodness!” She pushed herself up from the table. “I’m the one who should be apologizing. I got you up on a wild goose—er, dog chase, and then kept you here drinking tea like some crazy cat lady.” As if on cue, Tawny trotted into the room and went to her food bowl. The two laughed, and Joe found he could not stop smiling. He didn’t know when he’d spent a more enjoyable two hours. He turned and walked into the dark living room to hide the pleasure he knew was all over his face.
Praying on the drive back from Denver had finally given him a sense of peace for the future. Not exactly a peace for the way things were at the moment, but a peace for waiting on the Lord and following him one day at a time.
Or one night at a time.
She walked him to the door, and he stopped with his hand on the knob. “I’ll call Mr. Merriman tomorrow morning and see about getting that door done as soon as possible. It’s not exactly the right time of the year for such things, but I can hang up some plastic to keep it from getting too cold, and I’ve put in a lot of doors. I can do it pretty fast.”
Mari smiled. “Joe, my security angel.”
Joe raised his eyebrows. “I don’t know about the angel part, but I am definitely concerned about your security with that old door set in a rotting frame.” He squeezed her arm. “Good night, Mari.”
He opened the door and was surprised to see that the dog had actually stayed. “Well, look here, I may have an escort home.” He patted his leg and the dog bounded forward, looking at Joe like he’d known him all his life. He gave a backward glance at Mari, still in the doorway. “If only women were that easy to train.”
Mari stuck her tongue out at him, smiled, and closed the door.
Rocky Mountain Angels Page 18
