by Arlene James
Darlene nodded. “Want to join us? We’re almost done, actually, but Macy will feel better if she gets to spend a little time with you.”
Kylie and Zach followed Darlene to the table. She looked more frail all the time. Macy smiled pensively and, glancing out the window, commented, “Guess this wasn’t the day for a picnic, huh?”
“We’ll do it another day,” Zach promised, helping Kylie into her chair. He sat next to Macy and explained that she had nothing to fear from the “prankster” who had pushed over the flowerpot.
“It just all got me by surprise,” she said, looking a little embarrassed. “I didn’t know he was even there until he said to look out. That’s what surprised me and made me scream like that.”
“You were right to scream,” Zach told her. “Don’t worry about him. He won’t be pulling any more stunts like that around here anytime soon. It turns out that he’s decided to visit family in another state.”
Macy shrugged and polished off the frozen yogurt. They sat around talking while Zach and Kylie decided what to eat. The downpour passed. Darlene shepherded Macy out the door, saying that she had to get back to her job at the church.
Kylie turned in their order and carried drinks to the table—iced tea for her, the usual soft drink for Zach. Their food came mere minutes later, and Zach tucked in with his customary gusto. Kylie slowly put away her sandwich and fruit salad while Zach demolished his double cheeseburger and a mountain of french fries then drained his drink. She got up to fetch him another. When she returned, she saw that he had spread his hands across the tabletop, thumbs and forefingers meeting to create a triangle.
As Kylie sat down again he said, “My grandma used to say that the triangle represented God’s completeness, Father, Son, Spirit in One. When I’d misbehave, she’d lift her hands and peer at me through the triangle that she made with her fingers.” He demonstrated, lifting his hands to his face so that the triangle formed by his fingers framed his eye. “That was her way of reminding me that God was watching.”
“Excellent imagery.”
He nodded. “I guess I forgot that God is always watching me. He doesn’t just know what I’m doing at any given moment, though. He’s always aware of everything that goes on in my life and all that I need. I have to trust Him to be there, guiding me, in every situation and to provide my needs. I can’t depend just on myself.” He met her eyes. “I see now that I was depending on me alone. I guess I had to come back here to Clayton in order to remember that God is watching.”
“I understand,” Kylie told him.
He smiled. “I know you do.”
“Makes me think of Clayton in a whole new way, though,” she murmured. “Clayton was a trap to me.”
“Was?”
She nodded, then hastened back to the real subject. “I think you’re telling me that Vincent can’t win because God will deal with him. The law may constrain your actions, but we can depend on God for justice and protection.”
“That pretty much sums it up,” Zach said. “We both know that Vincent put Willy up to this latest stunt, but we’re never going to prove it. Willy took the rap for him before. He’d do it again. I have to accept that and leave Vincent to God.”
“So even though Vincent may think he’s gotten away again, it’s only temporary.”
“Until God’s purpose is achieved,” Zach expounded, nodding. “And I firmly believe there is a purpose. No matter what hateful thing Vincent does next, God will use it for His own reasons.”
Kylie lifted her hands, touching forefinger to forefinger and thumb to thumb. She looked through the resulting triangle. “God is watching.”
“All of us,” Zach added. “Vincent included.”
She sipped iced tea, thinking. “How do you suppose Vincent found out about what happened in Miami?”
Zach shrugged. “All he would need is a connection to the internet. It was all over the papers down there.”
“That’s true. So he found it and he tried to figure out a way to use it to crush you.”
Nodding, Zach said, “He might have succeeded if not for you.” He held up his thumb and forefinger, leaving only the tiniest space between them. “I was this close to walking away from the job.”
“I don’t believe that,” she scoffed. “You’re not a quitter. If you were, you’d have quit after Miami. You had much more reason then.”
“Maybe.”
“No ‘maybe’ about it. Besides, your sisters and cousins are depending on you.”
“I didn’t say I would leave Clayton,” he began, but before he could expound on that thought, a group of young people poured through the door, laughing and talking. Kylie instantly identified her sister, along with Jasmine and Cade.
“Picnic got rained out, huh?” Mariette surmised, coming to stand beside Kylie while the other kids pulled two tables together and rearranged chairs.
“Something like that. What’s up with you guys?”
“Oh, things are slow at the store, and Cade got off early because of the rain, so a bunch of us decided to get some sodas and hang out for a little while.”
“I see.”
Mariette smiled and went to claim a seat at the table with her friends. A moment later, Jasmine and Cade strolled over. Smiling at Kylie, Jasmine pulled out the chair on Zach’s left and dropped down onto it, while Cade remained standing behind her.
“We want to talk to you about something,” Jasmine said, looking at Zach. “We can wait and stop by your office, if you want.”
Zach spread his hands. “No point in waiting. What’s on your mind?”
Cade placed a hand on Jasmine’s shoulder. She smiled and leaned both forearms on the tabletop. “We been thinking about it and…I’d really like you to walk me down the aisle.”
The look on Zach’s face would have been comical if Jasmine’s hadn’t been so earnest.
“Me?” he choked out after a moment, thumping himself in the chest. “You want me to walk you down the aisle?”
“You’re, like, the family protector,” Jasmine said. “Well, the community protector, really. And since my dad’s no longer in my life…” She shrugged, adding dryly, “He never was in my life, really. Not in a long time, anyway. Not since he started drinking. And you’re someone I admire. You’re what I wish my dad could be. I just hoped… Will you at least consider it?”
Kylie held her breath, her heart going out to both of them. She hated to see Zach put on the spot like this, but who else could Jasmine ask? The pastor would be performing the ceremony, after all, and Cade’s half-brother Jack was against the marriage. Besides, none of the men on Cade’s side of the family could compare with Zach. The protector.
That, she realized, was his role. He was not just the avenger of injustices or the enforcer of the law, though both would naturally play into his true purpose—protecting the weak and needy. But would Zach see this request of Jasmine’s as falling too far outside his normal role?
She watched as he slumped back in his chair and thought it over. After a moment, he shifted his gaze to Cade.
“Are you in agreement on this?”
Cade did not hesitate. “I am. You’re Arabella’s family, and she’s the closest thing to family that Jasmine has. Besides, Jasmine respects you. We both do.”
Zach lifted a hand to the back of his neck and cleared his throat. “I still think you’re too young to get married,” he said. Jasmine wilted and Cade squeezed her shoulder. “But you’re obviously two bright, mature, responsible individuals,” Zach went on, leaning forward again, “and you’re obviously in love. So, if and when the day comes that the two of you marry, I’d be honored to walk you down the aisle, Jasmine.”
Cade let out a relieved breath, but Kylie would have missed it if she hadn’t been glancing at him when Jasmine shrieked with glee. Launching herself across the corner of the table, Jasmine threw her arms around Zach’s neck and hugged him.
“Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She dropped back into the
chair. “You don’t know how much this means to me.” Suddenly she popped up to her feet. “I have to tell Arabella!” Turning to those at her table, she called out, “Guys! I have to run home. Wait for me. I won’t be long.”
She rushed out. Cade stayed behind for a moment. Turning to Zach, he put out his hand.
“Thank you.” After only a slight hesitation, Zach put his hand in Cade’s, and they shook. “I know you aren’t convinced that getting married is the right thing for us to do,” Cade told him, “but I’ll always be grateful to you for making her so happy just now.” With that, he turned and followed her out the door at a trot.
Zach sighed, groaning, “Oh, man. Arabella’s going to think I’ve given this wedding my blessing.”
“Haven’t you?” Kylie asked, unable to hide her smile.
He screwed up his face. “Kinda, sorta, maybe.” Watching through the window as Cade caught up to Jasmine on the far side of the green, he added, “I have to give it to that kid. He wants Jasmine to be happy.”
“You think so?”
“More than anything in the world.”
“He loves her,” Kylie said softly.
Zach’s gaze switched to her face. “Yeah,” he admitted. “He does. I see that now.”
Kylie nodded. “Is that why you did it? Why you agreed?”
“Partly,” Zach answered. “That and what she said about her dad not being in her life. My dad was there, and I wasted that. We wasted that, both of us. Jasmine hasn’t been as blessed as I was, and she deserves someone who cares to walk her up that aisle, no matter when the wedding takes place. I couldn’t refuse.”
Kylie laid a hand on his forearm where it rested on the table. “You are a good man, Zach Clayton. Jasmine chose wisely.”
He gave her a lopsided smile. “I hope you mean that.”
“Of course, I do.”
He dug into his pocket and pulled out several dollar bills. Tossing them onto the table, he said, “Let’s get out of here. I want to show you something.”
Kylie rose as he did and began gathering up the dishes. “Okay. Just let me bus this table.”
“Leave it,” Zach said. “It’s your day off.”
She blinked at him in surprise, but she’d already stacked the dishes. “Won’t take a minute.”
He nodded, so she quickly carried the dishes behind the counter and dumped them into the big plastic tub there. One of the other waitresses said she’d wipe the table, so Kylie left it at that, but just as she reached Zach, Mariette skipped over, asking, “Hey, guys, can I get a ride out to the house? Dad’s sweeping out the storage bins and I don’t want to bother him, but I promised someone we’d chat online this afternoon, and my laptop’s at home.”
Kylie looked at Zach, who seemed to gnash his teeth, but then he smiled tautly and nodded. “Sure. We’re heading out that way. We’ll drop you.”
“Great! Thanks.” She waved to her friends and bounced out of the building.
Kylie telegraphed her thanks with a look and smile, wondering what Zach wanted to show her. Somehow, from his tone, she’d gotten the idea that it had to do with his past, something else that bound him to Clayton perhaps. She realized then that she, too, was bound to Clayton. By him. By the possibility that they might, one day, have a future together. It seemed that she had yielded her dream after all. She had traded it for another.
They dropped Mariette off at the Jones place.
“Does she ever just walk?” Zach asked, watching the girl skip and twirl toward the house.
“Not so you’d notice.” Chuckling, Kylie lifted her long hair and pulled it over one shoulder. The cover on the Jeep made it stuffy and warm inside, and she fanned herself with her hand. “Where to now?”
“It’s not far,” Zach hedged, trying to keep his tone light. He switched on the air conditioning, pretending that he wasn’t more nervous than he’d ever been in his life.
He wondered if he’d lost his mind. The urgent need to do this had seized him back there in the diner, but he’d started to doubt. Was God derailing him? Had he misread Kylie’s words and actions? Maybe he should forget the whole thing. But he wouldn’t. He couldn’t.
He turned right onto Waxwing Road and headed away from town. When he came to the trail, he judged the mud as nothing that his vehicle couldn’t handle. The wildflowers on the slope appeared less lush than they had before the rainstorm, but the brook burbled happily, the water like crystal. He brought the Wrangler to a halt at the top of the knob.
“This is it.”
Kylie looked around her then glanced at him before opening the door of the vehicle and gingerly stepping down onto the ground. Choosing her steps carefully, she made her way to the front of the Jeep and turned a slow circle.
Lord, give me the words, Zach prayed silently before joining her.
“Where are we?” she asked.
He pointed to the log home in the distance. “That’s your parents’ place there.”
She flashed him a look. “I know that. I mean, what piece of property is this?”
“Ah. It belonged to my grandfather. I used to ride my bike out here or get one of my parents to drop me off. Sometimes I’d bring a friend. We’d fish in the pond at the bottom of the hill, play war in the woods, go sledding and ice skating in the winter. We even camped out up here a few times.”
“And this was going to be our picnic spot today, wasn’t it?” she surmised. He nodded. “It’s beautiful,” she said, lifting her arms as if to bask in the beauty around them.
“I’d like to build a house here someday,” he confessed in a rush. “I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to. The property could wind up being Samuel’s someday. I think he’s counting on it, in fact, and that’s probably why he got your father to help him buy the property between this section and your folks’ place.”
She blinked at that. “He thought Dad would default on the loan and he’d get it all, didn’t he?”
“Maybe.”
She folded her arms. “That’s not going to happen. We’re keeping the payments current, and you and your sister are doing your part to fulfill the terms of your grandfather’s will. Surely your other sister and cousins will do the same.”
“I don’t know,” Zach said. “We can’t find Lucas, and I’m not entirely sure that Vivienne will make it. I think she will. I know she’ll try, anyway.”
Kylie shook her head. “Doesn’t matter,” she said. “Samuel can plot and plan, but he can’t compete with God. Somehow, it’s all going to work out. I’m sure of it. You’ll build your house here.”
“Will you live here with me?” Zach heard himself ask. At the stunned expression on her face, he muttered, “That didn’t come out right.”
At the same time she asked, “What did you say?”
Zach tried to hear his own thoughts over the pounding of his heart. “I know you aren’t keen on the idea of staying in Clayton. I just thought that if maybe I could show you the possibilities for the future, you’d…” He stopped and cleared his throat, rethinking. “I don’t want this to be a deal breaker, though.”
“What deal?”
He shook his head, trying desperately to finish his thought. “I mean, you could run your wedding business online. Granted, I don’t know beans about that stuff, but you could consult and advise, locate resources, even offer designs and recipes, whatever. They even have that video conferencing thing.”
“I’ve thought about it,” she said off-handedly. “But what deal? You said that you don’t want this place to be a deal breaker. I want to know what deal you’re talking about!”
Zach opened his mouth and what came out was “I love you.”
As if her bones had turned to water, she wilted against the bumper of the Wrangler. He reached toward her, afraid she’d wind up on the ground in a puddle, but she stiffened and barked, “Well, why didn’t you say so?”
“Uh…”
“Why didn’t you say it when I did?”
He opened his mouth, c
losed it again, blew out his breath. “I, um, I guess I thought I’d already made it clear.” He frowned, remembering. “And you didn’t exactly say it, either.”
“I didn’t?”
“No.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I thought I did.”
He tilted his head, feeling a smile budding deep inside his chest. “Come on,” he said, gesturing with both hands. “Give.”
She lifted her chin, parked her hands on her hips and tilted forward slightly. “I. Love. You.”
It was all he could do to contain that smile. It felt, in fact, as if it might burst from his chest, but one or two items remained. “What about Denver?”
“What about it?”
“We can go there if you want,” he said, stepping closer. “Once I’ve done my part to meet the stipulations of my grandfather’s will.”
“Why would we go anywhere together?” she prodded, inching forward.
“Because,” he told her, sliding his arms around her and pulling her close, “that’s what married people do. They go places together. They live together.”
“In that case,” she whispered, “together is all I care about. Where doesn’t matter.”
He closed his eyes. “Did you just agree to marry me?”
“Yes, I believe I did.”
He huffed out a sharp breath. “Thank God,” he said, then, “I love you. I really love you.”
She wrapped her arms around his waist. “I love you, too.”
“And no matter what happens,” he promised, smiling down into her face, “we’ll have a place to live. I can talk to my sisters about us taking over my mom’s house. I mean, Brooke’s going to move in with Gabe when they marry, and I can’t see Vivienne staying more than her year if she even makes it back for that.”
“I don’t care where we live,” Kylie told him, propping her chin on his chest. “We could move in with my folks if it comes to that.”
“About your folks,” Zach began, reeling out his thoughts. “I have some money put back, and I ought to be able to stash a good bit more cash because I’m not even paying rent now, so even if I don’t inherit that quarter million from my grandpa, I can help them retire that debt.”
