“No. I want you to come to the party as my guest, not the hired help.”
“I don’t mind. I could be both.”
“I probably don’t have a lot of choice, do I?”
“Not really. Someone has to do it.”
“I won’t let you do all the work. I made this stuff. I want to serve it.”
“I’m sure you’ll have plenty of opportunity. Now I think it’s time for me to go.”
He checked his wristwatch then glanced at the clock on the stove. “I’ll help you carry this to your car.”
Once everything was stacked securely, Mitchell stood in such a spot that she couldn’t open the car door without hitting him with it.
“I’m really sorry that I didn’t take you out for dinner on your birthday. You shouldn’t have been working on your special day, but I was desperate.”
“It’s okay. I enjoy making things in the kitchen. Besides, the singing telegram more than made up for it. It was a birthday I’ll never forget.” Even more memorable than the young man in the horrid costume was the last of the kisses, but she wasn’t going to admit that to him.
“Have I told you how much I appreciate your help?”
“A few dozen times, yes.”
He grinned. “Then have I told you how much I’m looking forward to tomorrow, when we’ll be finishing this up?”
“I believe so.”
“Did I tell you that I can hardly wait until the rehearsal party, where I can show you off not only as the person responsible for teaching me how to make all this stuff, but also as my date?”
She wasn’t sure he’d emphasized the part about being his date, although his meaning when he talked about it had been clear enough, so she nodded.
“Well, then, have I told you how much I love you?”
She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
Quickly, Mitchell stepped forward, tipped her chin up with his index finger, and brushed a light kiss to her lips. “Good night, Carolyn. Drive safely. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
As quickly as he had moved forward, he stepped back and opened the door for her.
“Good night, Mitchell,” she mumbled as she scrambled behind the wheel and took off.
She obviously drove home, but Carolyn found herself standing in her kitchen loading the food they’d made into her fridge, remembering nothing of the drive. She only remembered Mitchell’s words.
He loved her. She loved him, too, but that didn’t make the relationship right or good. She couldn’t believe Mitchell didn’t see how wrong they were for each other.
For now, they had the excitement of a new relationship, but when everything faded to everyday routine, he wouldn’t find her so interesting, especially when age started to creep up on her faster than it would creep up on him. Projecting further, she tried to imagine what it would be like when she was sixty-five, ready to retire, and wanting to travel and Mitchell was still fifty-six, with many more years of active employment ahead of him. By the time he reached sixty-five, she would be nearly seventy-four. She wasn’t likely to be able to keep up with him then.
But for now, she wanted to have children and to do so before she was thirty-five. Her prospective mate had to be ready for an almost-instant family. While twenty-four was certainly not too young to be a responsible father, she didn’t know if Mitchell wanted children. And if he did, she didn’t know if he wanted them right away. She didn’t even know if to him love meant getting married versus simply having a steady relationship.
Love was more complicated than a case of the warm fuzzies. She needed security, compatibility, and strength. But most of all, she needed to seek God’s will for the man she saw as His choice for her.
She didn’t want to think about Hank and his proposal. One thing she was sure of was that God wanted her to be happy.
Despite the late time, she knew she would never sleep. Instead, Carolyn picked up her Bible and turned to 1 Corinthians 13 and read all the things God said about love. Patience. Kindness. Not envious or boastful. Humble. She read the section a dozen times, and to the best of her knowledge, Mitchell was all of those things.
She didn’t know what to do, so she buried her face in her hands and prayed for a sign that a relationship with Mitchell Farris was God’s will for her.
Carolyn helped Mitchell stack the containers of food into the back of his car, and they began the journey to his parents’ house.
Today was the day.
She’d never been so nervous in her life.
It hadn’t occurred to her until this moment that she hadn’t considered the other members of the wedding party who would be there today—the bride’s friends, or worse, Mitchell’s family.
Realistically, she could expect Mitchell’s sister to be at least one year younger than Mitchell. She would be participating in a social function with people who could possibly be her former students. She wouldn’t be Carolyn, an acquaintance or possible friend. She’d be Miss Rutherford, the teacher from their high school days. As their teacher and person in a position of authority, she was careful to define the line between the generations. Except for helping the odd student with extra lessons, she kept her private life exactly that, private.
The name Ellen Farris wasn’t immediately familiar, although she could hardly be expected to remember every student who passed through her class year after year. But even if she hadn’t had Mitchell’s sister as one of her students, the possibility existed that she had taught a few of the bridesmaids, some of whom would be friends of Ellen’s from high school. She didn’t want to think of the other guests at the wedding. Not that she’d never bumped into a former student at a social function, but this time it would be different because she would be accompanying Mitchell as a peer rather than an instructor.
Trying to be as discreet as possible, she glanced at herself in the rearview mirror to see if she looked her age, and she did. The beginnings of crow’s-feet and other telltale signs of being over thirty couldn’t be hidden, and since she rarely used anything more than a touch of eye shadow and lipstick, if she suddenly put on makeup to hide her age, it would only look worse.
“We’re almost there.”
Carolyn blinked and started paying attention to where they were. They had traveled about ten minutes and neither of them had spoken, which she found odd because Mitchell tended to be chatty in the car.
Upon the arrival of the wedding party, Mitchell planned to introduce her to everyone she hadn’t met, and then everyone would leave except Carolyn. Then, once she was alone, she would start setting out the food and make the punch and put everything that required heating in the oven. Since the rehearsal itself wouldn’t be long, she would have barely enough time to get everything done before the wedding party returned, and then it would be time to eat.
“Are you as nervous as I am?” she asked as she smoothed a few imaginary wrinkles from her sleeve.
Mitchell slowed the car, and they pulled into the driveway of a large white house with blue painted trim and a cheery flower garden in front.
He killed the engine but made no move to exit the car. He remained seated, rested one arm across the back of his seat as he turned the upper half of his body to her, and gripped the top of the steering wheel tightly with his left hand. “Before we go in, there’s something I neglected to tell you. I’ve been afraid to mention it, but I think you should know this before you meet my parents.”
Her stomach sank. She swallowed hard and listened.
“My mom and dad were only sixteen when she got pregnant. They got married when I was three. They became Christians when I was in kindergarten.”
She waited in silence, but he didn’t say anything more. “Why are you telling me this?”
He stiffened and grasped her hands as he spoke, holding them firmly enough that it would be an effort to pull away from him. The tightness in her stomach worsened her fear of what he was going to say.
“Just so you’ll be prepared when you see them. I should have told you
sooner, but I didn’t know how. I’m sorry.”
She stared at Mitchell, trying to picture an older version of him, which wasn’t difficult, because she’d often tried to fantasize him into being older.
“It’s okay,” she said, still not sure she understood why he thought the state of his parents’ early relationship was her concern. They were Christians now and had been for years, which was all that mattered.
Mitchell straightened and tugged at his shirt collar then ran his hands down his sleeves, straightening out the wrinkled fabric. “We’d better get moving. We have to get all the food inside and some of the work done before everyone gets here.”
Walking side by side, they approached the house. Instead of knocking and waiting, Mitchell rang the doorbell and opened the door. He poked his head inside, calling out that they had arrived, walked in, and shut the door behind them.
A couple approached from the stairs. The woman was blond, tall, thin, and absolutely beautiful. She wore fashionably snug jeans along with a loose, short-sleeved, cotton pullover sweater. Her right arm was bound in a cast, which was supported by a sling.
The man was about the same height as Mitchell and just as attractive in a different sort of way because of the maturity that enriched his handsome features. He smiled a greeting that would have melted any woman’s heart. He carried himself with a combination of good looks and confident manners that gave him a timeless appeal, except he wasn’t old enough to need to be timeless. He was drop-dead gorgeous. It took a few seconds for it to fully sink in that this chic couple was Mitchell’s mother and father.
The resemblance between father and son was striking, and he sported a physique identical to his son’s. They almost could have been brothers, except for the fact that since Mitchell’s mother was standing beside him, Carolyn could see some of her features in Mitchell.
“Carolyn, these are my parents, Kim and Roger. Mom, Dad, this is Carolyn.”
Carolyn blinked, speechless. In a single instant, she understood the meaning of Mitchell’s attempt to caution her about meeting his parents. She had friends the same age as Mitchell’s mother, but that wasn’t what hit her the hardest. Doing some quick math, she calculated that Roger was forty years old, only one year older than Hank—and closer to her age than Mitchell was by two years.
Carolyn felt sick.
His mother smiled. “So you’re Mitchell’s friend, the cooking teacher. We’ve heard so much about you. I’m so pleased to finally meet you.” With her arm in the cast, she awkwardly glanced down while Mitchell’s father extended his hand. Carolyn responded with the limpest handshake of her life.
“Yes, pleased to meet you, Carolyn.”
The second his father released her hand, Mitchell slipped his around her waist and gave her a little squeeze, drawing both his parents’ gazes to the obvious show of affection. His mother’s eyebrows rose, but no comment was made. Carolyn should have parroted the usual polite reply, but for a moment she couldn’t have formed words if her life depended on it. She didn’t know how to address them. She had called Hank’s parents by Mr. and Mrs. and besides, they were … older. If they were at school, she would have addressed a student’s parents as Mr. and Mrs., regardless of the age difference, but in any other social situation, she would have greeted them using their first names.
In this case, she settled for, “Thank you. It’s good to meet you, too.”
Mitchell’s mother cleared her throat. “Ellen and Jake phoned to say they’re going straight to the church. We should get moving, too, or we’re going to be late. While Roger and Mitchell empty the car, I’ll show you the kitchen and where everything is, and then we’ll be off.” Carolyn followed Kim into the kitchen, but every word of explanation and directions went in one ear and out the other. Not only was Mitchell’s mother a talented cook, she was gorgeous and slim. Carolyn wondered if her hair would go gray before Kim’s did.
Thankfully, his parents left the house quickly, but Mitchell lingered.
“Are you okay?”
She wasn’t, but she didn’t know what to say. She nodded dumbly.
“We’ll talk about it later.” Before she could think or move, his fingers tipped her chin up, and he gave her a light, lingering kiss. Very gently, he stroked her cheek with his fingertips, tilted his head, and brushed one more light kiss to her lips. The sweetness of his actions nearly made her cry.
He spoke so softly, she could barely hear. “Remember, I love you.”
Before she could collect her thoughts enough to respond, he turned and sprinted down the sidewalk, hopped into his car, and drove off.
Carolyn busied herself setting out the food on plates and preparing what needed to go in the oven. She didn’t want to think about Mitchell, and she especially didn’t want to think about his father. Instead, she paid an inordinate amount of attention to the exact amount of filling needed for each individual crab snap, and then put all her concentration on rearranging everything to make the most attractive display of all the food Mitchell had made.
Chapter 15
Mitchell smiled politely at a joke that had the rest of the wedding party nearly rolling in the aisles with laughter. He stood where he was supposed to stand and waited while the pastor instructed everyone on exactly what to do and how to walk.
She never said she loved him back. The first time he’d said it casually, just dropping it into the conversation, but he’d never been so nervous in his life. He didn’t know how she would respond, so he left her an opportunity to bolt, and she had. This time hadn’t been much different except that he was the one who ran, using the excuse that everyone was waiting for him. But before he took off, he had hesitated. He’d seen the shock on her face.
Ever since the first time he met Hank, Mitchell had worried about how Carolyn would react to meeting his parents, especially his father. At the time it had hit him right in the gut to see how much older Hank was than Carolyn. It had been almost like looking at his father, and it shook him.
It had taken him a long time to deal with the fact that his parents had been unmarried teenagers when he was born. Both his parents had continued with their schooling, except that his mother had taken a year off and graduated one year later. His grandparents, whom he loved dearly, had helped and supported them until his parents graduated, got jobs, and married.
His family had struggled, but now, twenty-four years later, his parents were happily married and in a few years would be celebrating their silver anniversary. Ellen had been born a year after his parents were married, after they had become Christians. Their story had a happy ending, unlike the story of so many teenage pregnancies.
As much as his friends had always been impressed with his youthful mother and father, Carolyn was having exactly the opposite reaction, and he couldn’t blame her. He should have found a way to mention it earlier so it didn’t come as such a shock.
Mitchell turned his head and stared blankly at the wall, ignoring the noise and clamor around him. He could only imagine Carolyn’s misgivings about getting involved in a relationship with a man whose parents were only seven years older than she was.
Mitchell buried his hands in his pockets and continued to stare at the wall. He desperately loved Carolyn with all his heart and soul, but now there was nothing he could do. He had to leave it in God’s hands and trust that if this was the woman God wanted him to have, then it would be so. If not, he would have to let her go.
He pulled his hands out of his pockets, stood the way he’d been told, and turned around to watch Ellen’s friends walking down the aisle one at a time. Today they were all wearing jeans, but on Saturday they’d be in long dresses.
He looked at Jake, who was now standing beside him. Jake’s hands were shaking as he watched the proceedings. For now, Jake rammed his hands into his pockets and grinned like an idiot trying to appear unaffected, but Mitchell wasn’t fooled.
Mitchell thought back to when Jake announced his and Ellen’s engagement. After he’d gotten over the shock
that his best friend really was going to marry his sister, Mitchell had teased Jake about getting tied down and having to answer to someone else for almost everything he did.
Mitchell now knew differently. Jake was happy. He had the commitment, companionship, and love of a woman for the rest of his life—if he didn’t do anything foolish enough to break that trust. Mitchell wanted the same.
He wanted to be Carolyn’s soul mate for the rest of their lives. When he gave her the promise ring and then kissed her at the school, he hoped that she could love him and see a future with him.
Now, he wasn’t so sure.
From the change in Jake’s expression, Mitchell could tell it was Ellen’s turn to walk up the aisle. As she hung on to their father’s arm, Ellen was grinning from ear to ear, staring at Jake.
Jake was smiling, but his eyes were getting glassy, and even though it wasn’t very macho, Mitchell envied his friend. He also wondered what it would be like on Saturday when everyone was all dressed up, the wedding march was playing, and everything was for real.
Once Ellen arrived at the front, the pastor talked to Jake and Ellen about their vows, exchanging rings, and signing the marriage certificate. When the pastor announced Jake would then kiss the bride, Jake grabbed Ellen around the waist and bent her backward. Ellen squealed in surprise and grabbed Jake’s shoulders, and Jake kissed her fully while everyone else hooted and cheered.
Mitchell wanted to kiss Carolyn like that—willingly, before friends and family and before God.
When Jake and Ellen finally separated, the pastor directed the wedding party to pair up and exit the sanctuary as they would when the ceremony was over. As best man, he stepped out before the other attendants and escorted Melissa down the aisle immediately following Jake and Ellen.
Once they all stood in the lobby, the official rehearsal was finally over.
Time to Laugh Romance Collection Page 59
