Betwixt Two Hearts (Crossroads Collection)

by Amanda Tru

  David looked at Cal. A genius with no people skills and little concern for the health of his sister. He’d skimmed right over the sanitarium and on to his own grievance. David hoped Angela found work that would fulfill her—and work for which she’d be recognized.

  “If we weren’t all Christians,” Penny said, “I’d say Aunt Violet’s part witch. She’s got this uncanny ability to read people and tell the future. You know those quilts she makes?”

  Eleanor nodded. “Yes, they’re all over the house.”

  “She made a block for me, of course. You know what was on it? Clothes from Brian’s childhood. All those years ago, she’d decided that I’d eventually marry him.”

  “You’re kidding!” Eleanor sat up straight.

  “I’d show you, but she still has it.” Penny laughed. “She’s probably adding my children as we speak. I wonder if I’m having boys or girls.”

  “Hmm… I wonder if she’s started mine yet. I’d like to know the future.” Would she? Yes, Eleanor decided. She would.

  “I’ve been wondering… do you think she’s doing okay? Mentally, I mean?” Penny twisted the cap of her water bottle. “It might be my imagination, but she seems quieter lately.”

  “I don’t know what she was like before I came here,” Eleanor said. “She’s really sharp with things that matter to her—the genealogy, quilting, and things like that. She knows what she wants to do for a garden this year.”

  “Maybe she’s hoping to dig up more family treasure. Last year, she found—or rather, Brian found—an old Swedish bridal crown that her father made for her mother before they were married.” Penny smiled. “And a love letter to go with it. Brian read it to me when he proposed.”

  “I saw a picture of it,” Eleanor said, “and a copy of the letter. It’s so romantic, and sad, too, knowing that she died in childbirth.”

  “They did have some time together. They were friends for ten years before they got married, and they were married for nearly twenty years. That’s pretty good by today’s standards.”

  “True.” Eleanor snuggled back into the corner of the couch, tucking her stockinged feet underneath her. “Why do you think Aunt Violet never married? Kristina never did, either, but she sounds awful.”

  “I don’t know,” Penny said. “Violet worked for the phone company, you know, as an operator. Maybe she just never met the right man.”

  “Their lives don’t seem to have been very happy. Linnea escaped at the first opportunity. I think if I’d been Violet, I wouldn’t have been too fussy about finding Mr. Right.”

  “Aunt Violet? Are you in here?”

  “Hello, dear.”

  Eleanor turned on the light, and her aunt blinked. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to blind you. She turned on a table lamp and flicked off the light switch. “I forget how bright that one is.”

  “Brian put daylight LED bulbs in everything. Penny and I have been quietly replacing them with soft whites, but I keep forgetting to do that one.”

  “Are you okay, sitting here in the dark?” Eleanor dropped onto one of the old-fashioned wing chairs.

  “Praying. Thinking about the past, praying about the future. Trying to give it all to God to worry about instead of taking it on myself.” Violet smiled. “And praying for you. We really haven’t talked about God much, have we? You come to church and sound like a believer, but I don’t know much about your faith.”

  “Yes, I’m a believer.” Eleanor said the word again. “Believer.” It sounded like belonging. She believed in Jesus, belonged to Him.

  “So, did you grow up in a Christian home?”

  “We went to church most weekends, when I was little, but we got busy with sports and things later,” Eleanor explained. She hated making her parents sound bad—and Aunt Violet would think poorly of her parents for skipping church in favor of sports—but she needed to be honest. “And I went to youth group for a while in junior high. I did confirmation.”

  “But were you saved?” Violet pressed. “I don’t know the terminology people use today. Were you born again? Converted?”

  Eleanor furrowed her brow. “Well, yes, but… you mean, was there one time that I did all of that at once and understood it? I sort of knew it, growing up, and then we went over it all again in confirmation classes. We had to say if we believed it or not, and then we could join the church.”

  “Did you—do you believe it?”

  “Yes, I do. I think I understand what you’re talking about. There was a little girl in one of my classes who told me she invited Jesus into her heart. I asked a friend about it, because I was afraid it might be something weird.” That memory reminded her of meeting David at the coffee shop.

  “Yes. Did you have a time like that?” Violet asked.

  Eleanor shook her head slowly. “I don’t think I had any one magical epiphany moment. Was I supposed to? It just kind of clarified over time, over the last few months. I knew all the basic facts, and it’s like things just clicked into place a bit at a time. I started understanding sin more—if you know what I mean. Not like the little girl who was seeing sin as being naughty or telling a lie. So, then I could see the holiness of God. Salvation wasn’t a light thing—not a quick, cheap forgiveness.”

  “The gift of grace is very precious,” said Violet. “His blood, poured out for us.”

  “Right. And then when we were at church, and later, when I did some reading on my own, I just kept seeing the bigger picture. And I realized I’ll never see the whole picture until I’m in Heaven.” She smiled at her aunt. “Until I go Home.”

  “Glory, glory.” Violet’s words were just a whisper.

  Eleanor continued. “I knew the words since I was little—saved by grace through faith, the grace of God that brings salvation, if we confess our sins, he forgives—even though I hadn’t thought about them in a long time.” She tapped her chest. “They were still ‘in there.’” She tipped her head to one side, considering. “It’s almost like they were big words. I knew what they meant all along, but as I got older—mostly in the last few months—my vocabulary and comprehension skills increased, and they started to make more sense.”

  “And the better you understand God’s word, the more you know Him and love Him. You can’t have a close relationship with someone you don’t know.”

  “Very true.” Eleanor stood up. “So that’s where I stand, Aunt Violet. I’m reading and praying and listening at church. The Holy Spirit keeps pretty busy, convicting me of something new every time I turn around, but it’s all good. God’s good.” She dropped to her knees by the old woman’s chair and hugged her.

  “Glory, glory.” Aunt Violet’s words made Eleanor think of the quilts. She’d ask her about that later.

  David knew how to pray. He did it all the time. He was doing it now. Larry was right… why did he need a class in prayer? David worked his way through the test. The definitions were all so similar, each with just a small difference in nuance. But those differences mattered.

  He wondered what Eleanor was doing. She’d been… adorable at the job site last Friday. She’d been trying to be professional, of course, and she really was. But with the hard hat sliding all over her head, she did look a bit like a bobble head doll. A beautiful bobble head doll.

  Outside the testing room, the reference librarian stamped books with vigor, branding them for return if they tried to escape. A little girl skipped back and forth between the rows of books. When she stopped and made a face at him through the window, he made one back. She ran away.

  He had to focus. This final exam, unlike most of the tests for his online classes, required paper and pencil, a proctor and a ticking clock. He bent over the test, completing and reviewing the answers until the librarian tapped on the door. “You have five minutes left.”

  “I’m done.” David stood up and handed her the sheaf of papers. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” She led the way to the reference desk. “I’ll just sign off on this and seal up the envelope for
you. You have the postage ready? There you go! It will go out with the morning mail.” She beamed at him. “Mostly, we get homeschoolers in here. College students usually use the university library.”

  “My classes are online, through a school in Virginia,” David said. “And I’m almost done.”

  “Well, I hope this goes well for you.” She held up the envelope.

  “Thanks.” He cracked open one of the glass doors to inhale fresh air. The black sky and bright stars promised a cold night outside the overheated library. Slipping on his coat, he turned back to nod goodbye to the librarian. She stood outside the other testing room in conversation with a young blond woman. Eleanor.

  He pulled on one of his gloves. He should leave before she saw him, avoiding embarrassment for both of them. He should do it quickly. Just walk out the door.

  He stepped toward Eleanor.

  “David.” She held out her hand, not surprised to see him. She’d probably seen him through the glass of the testing room earlier. “Nice to see you. Do you come here often?” She laughed at the cliché pickup line. “Let me rephrase that. Do you use this library frequently?”

  “No, hardly ever. What are you doing out here?” It felt good to talk with her again. “What’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?”

  She tipped her head toward the testing room. “My cousin Jeffrey has a test. He does some online courses, and he didn’t get to the Milaca library before they closed. We raced out here.” She glanced at her phone. “He’s barely got enough time to finish it here.”

  “Ah. One of the homeschoolers the librarian mentioned. He takes college classes online while he’s finishing high school?”

  She nodded. “It’s a smart plan. I wish I’d done that.”

  “I’m surprised you didn’t, coming from a family of educators.”

  “I took a lot of AP and Honors classes instead, another year of Spanish and some music electives. All very useful.”

  He raised his brows. “Do I hear sarcasm? What would you have liked to take, other than early college credits?”

  “Auto repair, for one thing. My car is making a squealing noise. Uncle Gary said I can use his, but I’d rather not. I need to ask Uncle Carl or Jeffrey.” She scowled. It was a cute scowl. “Everyone should take a class in auto repair.”

  “I agree. Would you like me to take a look at it?” He hadn’t meant to say that, but it was too late to take it back. “I’m a mechanical engineer. Mechanical, mechanic, auto mechanic? Engineer, engine? I’m not making any promises, but I could take a look.”

  Her eyes had a faint wash of green over the blue tonight, probably from the fluorescent lights. “No. I can’t ask that of you. David, I am so, so sorry. I was wrong, and you were all right. I wish… I wish I hadn’t done that.”

  “Please let me.” David moderated his eager tone and responded to the apology. “No hard feelings. I can at least take a look, to see if it’s safe to drive. Is it in the parking lot now?”

  She shook her head. “No, we took Jeffrey’s. He can drive at night with a licensed adult driver. I feel old.”

  It was just as well. In the cold, dark night, with only the few tools he kept in the truck, he wouldn’t be able to see or do much.

  “I could take it to work tomorrow, but I won’t get there until nearly one o’clock.” She smiled. A warm smile, not the dazzling one or the mischievous one. “On Tuesday mornings, I play the piano for the Golden Oldies sing-along at the nursing home where Uncle Gary and my Uncle Olof are.”

  “I bet that’s fun!”

  “It really is. I only agreed to do it because Uncle Gary’s shoulder was broken, but I love it. He still leads the singing.”

  Maybe he should go visit his good friend, Gary, in the nursing home tomorrow. “I didn’t realize he was still there.”

  “I think they have to chain him to the bed at night, so he doesn’t escape. He’s ready to leave, as soon as they release him.”

  “I’ll come out at one o’clock tomorrow and take a look at it.” David sat down, compelling her to do the same, not above taking advantage of her good manners. “Look, Eleanor. There’s no reason we can’t be friends. Not every relationship has to end in traditional marriage. Not all relationships should.” He wished this one had been going that direction, though.

  “I was at fault, David. It was selfish of me. I’m sorry.” She pushed a strand of hair back from her face. “I’m upset with myself and embarrassed about the whole thing.”

  “Well, it’s over. We can have a good laugh about it someday. Maybe not this week, or this month…”

  “Or this year,” Eleanor interrupted. “Thank you. I appreciate your willingness to let bygones be bygones. I didn’t mean to -”

  It was his turn to interrupt. “Let’s just drop it. Let’s pretend we met at the coffeehouse that day Larry broke your mouse.”

  A genuine smile lit her face. “Okay. I got a much nicer mouse with the money he gave me.”

  “Good. You should have kept all of it. Larry can afford it. He makes about three times what I do, and he’s always looking for opportunities to do good.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” she said.

  She was smiling. He should leave while the going was good. “I’ll be there at one tomorrow.”

  “I’ll pack a lunch for both of us. Do you like peanut butter?”

  “Of course I like peanut butter. I was a poor starving college student for five years. I did get enough of ramen noodles, though, so don’t bring those.”

  “I ate in the cafeteria,” Eleanor said, “so I didn’t have those. I was going to stock up on them in case I stayed at the cabin, but now that I live with Aunt Violet, I’ve been eating pretty well. I just like peanut butter sandwiches, so that’s what I normally bring for lunch.”

  “Works for me. See you then.”

  Eleanor watched David leave the library, hastily, as if afraid she’d change her mind. He’d been gracious about the matchmaking business. Had he told the people at Betwixt Two Hearts about her deception and requested another match? She hoped he’d find one. He would make a good husband.

  “Who was that?”

  “A friend.” Eleanor waited while the librarian sealed up Jeffrey’s test. “How do you think you did?”

  “Oh, fine. Piece of cake.” Jeffrey zipped up his hoodie. “I didn’t know you had any friends.”

  “Thanks a lot!”

  “I didn’t mean that. I just didn’t think you knew many people here. You work for Uncle Gary in the office and you live with Aunt Violet.”

  “That does sound pretty pathetic, doesn’t it?”

  Jeffrey cast an anxious glance at her. “Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “Well, don’t keep explaining. It gets worse every time. Are you driving?”

  “Absolutely.”

  She followed him outside, marveling at his bare legs. Did boys around here wear cargo shorts as some kind of macho symbol? “Aren’t you cold?”

  “The car warms up pretty fast.”

  “I mean, your shorts. Aren’t your legs cold?”

  He glanced down as if surprised by his attire. “Oh, no. I’m good. I thought you meant you were cold. The car gets warm fast. It’s not one of those new ones with heated seats, though.”

  “Just wondered. I’ve seen a lot of teenage boys with shorts on, all winter.”

  “Yeah, we’re tough.” Jeffrey smirked. “We only wear jeans when we’re doing stuff outside, not just going in and out of buildings.”

  The boy drove competently, as he did most things. She wished she could ask him about his education. Her parents made a point of not discussing the homeschooling Andersons, tight-lipped and tactful. They probably saw it as a rejection of the very things they devoted their lives to. That was probably how they saw her behavior, too. A rejection.

  “So, are you ever going to be a teacher again?”

  The question startled her. She glanced at his profile. He looked relaxed, with hands
at ten o’clock and two o’clock, his slender neck revealing his youth even in silhouette, in the dark.

  “Maybe. I don’t know yet.”

  “Did you like it?”

  “No.” Her answer startled her as much as his question had. It was easier, in the dark car, on a quiet road, to be honest. And Jeffrey wouldn’t pressure her to be something he wanted her to be. He didn’t care what she did. It was a refreshing change. “No, I didn’t like it.”

  “But you thought you would?” He asked. “That’s what you went to school for? You got all the way through college and then found out you didn’t like it?”

  “Sort of.” She tried to find helpful words. These were important matters for a boy his age. “By the time I graduated, I was beginning to think I’d made a mistake. Then I taught school for a few years, and I was sure of it.”

  “All my siblings are in the medical field. Mark is on his way to med school. He wants to be some kind of surgeon.”

  And it made her mother crazy that they were all so academically successful. Eleanor smiled in the dark.

  “I thought I might want to be a lawyer,” Jeffrey went on. “Probably because it goes with doctors. I told Mark I’d defend him when he cut off the wrong body parts and got sued for malpractice.”

  “You could give him a family discount,” Eleanor said lightly. “Handy to have a lawyer in the family.”

  “According to my mom, it would be more handy to have a plumber. She’s thrilled that Penny’s marrying Brian, because he’s an electrician. Well, an electrical engineer, but he has practical skills, too.”

  Eleanor laughed. It was the funniest thing she’d heard in ages. Brian had gone to college for five years, to earn an advanced degree in engineering, and his future mother-in-law was glad he had some practical skills. “The degree isn’t worth much if it doesn’t come with some useful skills, is it?”