Or we could drive west together.
The words were on the tip of his tongue, but that was a bad idea on so many levels. Surely they’d push through this impasse with two long days in the car. They’d have to talk, wouldn’t they? But they weren’t married, and it would look bad. He didn’t want to have to explain Liz to his pastor in Billings.
Zip your mouth, Waterman. Don’t even suggest it.
“I’ll come out with you.” He reached for her coat and held it for her. Her fragrance teased at his senses, and he barely resisted the temptation to slide his arms around her along with the coat.
No. He didn’t have the right.
* * *
He was such a puzzle. One minute attentive and winsome. The next surly and guarded. It was a good thing he’d be out of her hair for a couple of days so she could try to figure out how to treat him back in Galena Landing.
The wind had died down leaving sub-zero temperatures that seeped into Liz as she stood at her open trunk. She’d tried to keep everything as organized as her home. That’s what the car had been for her the past few weeks. A mobile bedroom.
She layered a few changes of clothing and underwear into her carry-on while Mason trucked across the parking lot with her small bag of trash. Her personal supplies and makeup. A pair of shoes. She zipped the case and set it on the pavement while she closed the pieces remaining in the trunk.
Mason reached for the handle. “Is this everything?”
Liz swung her laptop strap over her shoulder. “Yes, this should do me.” She walked beside him into the lobby and across to the elevators. They exited on the eighteenth floor and, a moment later, he slipped a key card into a slot. He pushed the door open, and she entered ahead of him.
She surveyed the thick moss-green carpet and the rusty-red bedspreads embossed with gold threads. Through the door on her left she spotted a jetted tub. That would be where she’d spend the afternoon. She could feel the soothing heat already. “Pretty posh.”
“Yeah. Not my usual.” Mason swung her carry-on to the desk by the window.
She crossed the room and looked down into the parking lot and the gray city beyond. Saying goodbye to Des Moines would not be at all difficult. It was probably a very nice place full of good people. Too bad she’d met the other kind first.
The sound of a zip behind her caused her to turn.
Mason set a battered carry-on beside the door. His gaze met hers across the room. “I guess this is it.” He tossed a set of keys on the nearest bed. “We took my car to Spokane, so Zach will need these when you guys get there.”
Keys. Liz tugged hers from her purse then crossed the space. “My registration is in the glove box.” She met his gaze as she handed the keys to him. “Thanks, Mason.”
His fingers closed around hers, and his clear blue eyes searched hers. Something flickered in their depths.
What was he thinking?
Mason’s eyes hardened as she stepped back, too simultaneously to be a reaction. He pocketed the keys and extended the handle on his case. “Take care, Liz. See you in a few days.” The door clicked shut behind him.
Liz sucked in a long breath and let it out slowly. She crossed to the window and stared out, blinking back the burn in her eyes. A few minutes later, Mason strode across to her car. The lights flashed and he tossed his bag into the backseat. He sat in the driver’s seat for a long moment before starting the car and driving away.
Gone. Just like that.
She bit down on her lip. Had she really expected to simply walk back into his life? That her surrender to God was all that stood in their way? What else was she supposed to make of the fight they’d had in the farmhouse before she left? She’d expected him to be happy for her.
Instead it was like he didn’t even believe her. Was he so full of himself that he thought she’d pretend to reignite her faith just for him? He should have known better. She’d have done it in Galena Landing if it were only a sham.
My ways are not your ways, neither are your thoughts my thoughts.
Why was that old memory verse entering her mind now? God wanted her to push thoughts of Mason aside and move on with her life? Fine. She’d do that.
First she’d have a good cry in the bathtub.
Chapter 31
Liz had never been hugged by so many people in her life. It was worse than the Humbert family reunion when she was twelve. Worse... or maybe better.
She swung Maddie into her arms at the first break in the welcoming committee.
“I missed you, Auntie Liz.”
“I missed you, too, sweetness.” She nuzzled the soft neck.
“Did you come for my birthday?”
Liz’s mind scrambled. What day was it?
“Ours too!” Avery tugged at her arm.
Liz crouched, still holding her niece, and looked into the eyes of Mason’s daughter. “You have a birthday soon, too? Wow, so many birthdays.”
Avery nodded. “We’ll be six. Miss Kass is making us each a birthday cake. Christopher wants a boy cake and I want a girl cake.”
“Miss Kass?”
“She helps Daddy cook our food.”
Kass. From the bakery. Whoa. There was a woman who'd wasted no time.
Reality rocked Liz to her heels. No wonder Mason seemed so distant. Liz had only been gone a few weeks, but he’d already moved on. He’d been moving on before she left.
“Two cakes sounds really nice.”
“Miss Kass promised me real strawberries on top.”
“Not that they’re in season,” Jo said tartly.
“Sometimes it’s worth it to please a child.”
Who was that? The beloved Kass? Liz set Maddie down and rose. Why hadn’t she noticed the woman with the red-gold curls and pretty nose in the welcoming committee?
The smile on Kass’s face didn’t reach her eyes. “Pleased to meet you, Liz. I’ve heard so much about you.”
Yeah, I just bet you have.
In the next heartbeat, Liz pulled the cloak of God’s forgiveness around her. She wouldn’t be sarcastic. She hadn’t turned to Jesus to win Mason back, but because she’d been at the end of her own rope and heard Him calling.
Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.
“Nice to meet you, Kass.” She’d sing at their wedding if that’s what it came to. God’s got it. God’s got it.
Allison reached between them and put her hand on Liz’s arm. “I was so glad to get your email yesterday. I had a few students on hold I wasn’t sure we could fit in without a bit more help. We’ll have a greenhouse 101 class as well as business management and animal husbandry. With twenty sheep due to lamb soon and half a dozen cows, there will be lots to keep everyone's hands busy.”
“I often helped Dad with lambing when I was in high school. After Zach left for college.” Good memories, working with her father in the dim, pungent barn, watching new lives emerge.
“Terrific.” Allison nodded. “Keanan has been doing a lot of that the past couple of winters. We only call Zach when there’s a problem. But when he is up to his shoulder assisting a birth isn’t a time when he can answer questions and teach. On Monday I’ll give you the class syllabus to go through. Students start arriving next weekend.”
Liz nodded. Room, board, and a small stipend. This would give her time to figure out where her life was going. Where God wanted it to go. She was done running it herself.
“Mom and Dad are expecting me for dinner, but I’ll be back later.” She fingered Mason’s car keys in her pocket. He’d be here tomorrow, and they’d trade back. Meanwhile, she wasn’t going to flaunt them in Kass’s face. Wonder what Kass thought when Mason caught a flight to look for Liz? Bet that had burned.
No. She was done with manipulating. Kass was probably very nice. Right now she bent to hear something Avery whispered to her. She was likely much better suited to Mason and the twins than Liz was.
God knows.
Liz whirled for the door and collided wi
th Chelsea. “I’m sorry!”
“It’s okay. I wasn’t trying to sneak up on you. I heard you were back and wanted to say hi.”
Liz reached to hug her. “I can’t thank you enough for sending me your Bible and those note cards.”
Chelsea smiled. “Did you read them?”
“A lot, in the past few days.” Liz forced a chuckle. “Before that I wasn’t much interested.”
“I get it.” Chelsea squeezed her back. “A person has to be ready. I can’t wait to curl up with a hot chocolate and hear all about it. Save me a few hours before things get busy, okay?”
“Really?” How long had it been since Liz had a girlfriend who wanted to hang out? Even better, one who could walk beside her as they both followed Jesus? She couldn’t remember. “I’d love to. Sometime tomorrow?”
“You’re coming to church?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”
Chelsea jiggled. “I’m so excited I can hardly stand it. We’ll find a time tomorrow afternoon or evening. Now go! I’m sure your parents are waiting for you.”
No doubt they were. And for the first time since she’d been a young teen, Liz was ready to open her heart to them. Would they welcome her like the prodigal daughter she was?
They would. She knew it.
* * *
Almost home.
Mason stopped at the one and only traffic light in Galena Landing on Sunday afternoon. He saluted the tire shop two blocks down on his left. “Made it, Roger,” he announced as the light turned green.
The ringtone he dreaded most broke through the rock music. He reached to accept the call on the car’s Bluetooth. With any luck, Erin was calling to say she wasn’t coming after all.
“Hello, Mason here.”
“Mase? It’s Erin.”
“Hey. How are things?” Please say you’re not coming, at least for their birthday.
“I’m such a mess, Mason.”
He took a deep breath. What kind of a selfish, horrid guy was he, anyway? “I’m sorry. What happened?”
“My boyfriend. H-he... I left him. Can I come tomorrow? I can’t stay here anymore.”
“I... Uh...”
“Please, Mason. I’ve nowhere else to turn.”
“Try Jesus?” Even as the words left his mouth, Mason knew it wasn’t that simple. How did that saying go? You are the only Bible some people will ever read. He was it. Front line.
He imagined Erin in the same room as Liz and Kass, and his whole body trembled. Wasn’t following Jesus supposed to make his life easier? How could he tout that at Erin when his own was still such a disaster?
Not easier. More fulfilling. More complete. Jesus had never promised easy.
“Mason? You there?”
He clenched the steering wheel as he drove across the bridge. “I’m here. Sure. Come.”
“Oh, thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me.”
“You’re taking the bus?”
“I guess so.”
He wanted to ask if she had enough for the round trip but didn’t dare. “My friends have a spare room you can use for a week or so.”
“But...”
“You’re not staying with me, Erin.”
“But the kids.”
“You’ll see plenty of them. They have school every day and go to my parents on Monday and Tuesday on the bus. I’m not changing that. I’m not rearranging everything for you.”
“I don’t want to stay with people I don’t know.”
Mason turned the car onto Thompson Road. “It’s them or my parents.”
She sniffled. “Not happening.”
He shrugged, not that she could see it. “Those are the options.”
“Fine.” She sighed deeply into the phone. “I thought maybe... maybe you still loved me.”
Why hadn’t he whisked Kass off to Vegas for a whirlwind wedding last weekend? That would have solved everything. If only he loved her. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Erin, please don’t start. We don’t have a future together. I’m only allowing this visit for the twins’ sake.” He should never have said yes at all.
“Wouldn’t it be best for them if we were a fam—?”
“No. I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t.”
“But I gave birth to them.”
“You did.” He hadn’t been there. He’d been out getting smashed. “Those papers you signed? They gave me full custody of Christopher and Avery. You have no jurisdiction except what I grant you. None.”
He drove past Elmer’s and into his own driveway. No way was he pulling in at Green Acres with Erin still on the line, no matter how much his heart ached to clutch his kids close after four days apart.
Not Liz. He wasn’t thinking about her.
“I see you’re as stubborn as you ever were.”
“Yep. Pretty much. Look, Erin. I have to go now. Your bus gets in about four o’clock tomorrow. Walk down to—” Oh, man. After ditching Roger for two days this week, Mason couldn’t leave early, nor could he have Erin pacing the tire shop for an hour. “Walk down to the bakery on Main. Anyone can give you directions. I’ll meet you there when I get off work at five, okay?”
She sighed. “I guess.”
“Okay. See you tomorrow.” He tapped the dashboard icon to end the call then cradled his face in both hands.
Could God possibly want him to marry Erin? He wanted Liz, but had bungled everything again. And then there was Kass. God? I’m going to need a boatload of help here. Oh, and patience. I don’t even know where to start. Point me in the right direction?
When wisdom from heaven didn’t instantaneously flood his heart, he put the car into gear and headed next door. At least he knew where he stood with his kids. Whatever else happened, they were his primary responsibility, and right now, he couldn’t wait to wrap his arms tight around them.
* * *
Liz paced the small duplex. Funny how it seemed like home, though she’d been away again as long as she’d been on Green Acres over Christmas. She straightened the two Bibles on the table: the one Chelsea had given her and the old leather-bound she’d dug out of storage last night at her parents’ new house. Their tears had mingled with hers as they’d held each other, another piece of her reconciliation.
She had so much to be thankful for. So much. God’s love and forgiveness. Her parents. Her brother and his friends, who'd taken her in and given her a home and a job. What more could she want?
A knock at the door hip-checked her brain from the direction it was headed. Chelsea? She was early.
Liz hurried to the door and swung it wide.
Mason. Her breath caught. Blond hair disheveled, a few days’ worth of growth on his face and the wary blue eyes she was all too familiar with.
“You made it!” Why hadn’t she heard her car? Oh, his was in the way. He’d parked over by the straw bale house.
“Yep.” He reached out, dangling her fob.
“Come in for a minute?” She accepted her keys and fumbled in her purse for his.
“No. I can’t, really. I need to pick up the kids from Brent and Allison’s and spend some time with them.”
“Claire said she’d invited you for dinner.”
He shook his head, not meeting her gaze. “Not tonight. I’ve got meals in the freezer I can quickly thaw and heat.”
Realization sank in. “Kass.”
“Uh. Yeah.” He scratched the back of his neck. “Not that she’s coming for supper. She helped me get a bunch of starters in the freezer.”
Good? Bad? How could Liz possibly know? But there was time to figure it out. She’d promised Allison to stay at least a couple of months.
He stretched out his hand and she dropped the keys into it, as careful as he’d been not to touch.
“Mason!” Chelsea squealed. She grabbed him and gave him a fierce hug from behind.
He snagged her and returned her hug.
Liz stepped back into the room.
Chelsea’s gaze swung from M
ason to Liz then back again. “Am I interrupting something?”
“Not at all.” Mason held up his keys. “Just doing the car swap.” He nodded at Liz. “I’m going to pick up the kids. See you around.”
“See you.”
He strode up the path toward the houses above, where Allison and Brent lived next door to Zach and Jo.
Liz realized a hand waved in front of her face.
“Liz? I’m sensing quite the story here. I brought cookies.” Chelsea shut the door, blocking off the view before Mason disappeared between the trees.
“I don’t think there’s a story.”
“Ha.” Chelsea shrugged out of her jacket and peeled off her boots. “That’s what you think now, but I’m an expert in these things. I can tell you all about Sierra and Gabe and Allison and Brent.”
She probably could, too. Tales that might be fun to hear one day, but not now. Not when her own heart felt fractured. “Where does Kass fit into things?”
Oh man. Had she really asked that out loud?
Chelsea chuckled and pried the lid off the round tin. “Pumpkin raisin?” Her eyes danced.
“They look good.”
Chelsea swung the tin behind her back. “I’ll let you have one if you tell me why you asked about Kass.”
“Maybe I’m not that fond of cookies.”
“I’m a good listener, and I don’t blab.” Chelsea set the tin on the table. “But I’m thinking there aren’t that many secrets here. Just dots that need connected. Help yourself to a cookie while I fix some hot chocolate.”
No secrets? Chelsea might be correct. From what Zach and her parents said, Mason had already told his version of what had happened their senior year. Her darkest secret had been exposed, and everyone still loved her. “I have a question.”
“Oh?” Halfway to the kitchenette, Chelsea turned. “What’s that?”
“There’s this verse I keep thinking about. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. What does it mean?”
"Oh, that's Isaiah 1:18. I looked it up not long ago. It goes on to say, though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."
Berry on Top (A Farm Fresh Romance Book 6) Page 22
