Autumn Falls

by Delia Latham

  Russ swallowed—once, twice, and then again. Go somewhere? Wild horses and a sleuth of hungry bears couldn’t drag him away.

  But he really had to do something about that pesky golf ball in his throat.

  ~*~

  Autumn had no idea how big a hole their dinner put in Russ’s wallet. But the food was worth every penny. From the scallops—or in Russ-speak, Coquilles Saint-Jacques—they enjoyed as an appetizer, to the Soupe à L’oignon and melt-in-your-mouth Magret de Canard, all the way through the sinfully rich and delicious Mont-Blanc they shared for dessert…if taste buds could bloom, theirs were flourishing. Autumn so wanted their evening to go on forever.

  Russ smiled right into her eyes, and her tummy did a backward somersault. His lips—those precisely shaped, far-too-perfect lips that had darn near left her swooning with that kiss before dinner—curved upward, and his gray eyes shone. Autumn’s heartbeat threatened to race right out of control. She eased a sigh in an attempt to get a grip. Hey, God? If this man isn’t the one for me, You’ll have some major repair work to do on this girl’s heart. Just sayin’…

  Russ stood and held out a hand. Was he going to kiss her again? But this time he led her onto a tiny dance floor. On a low stage against the wall to one side, a lone musician swept skillful fingers across the keys of a gorgeous, onyx-colored baby grand piano.

  Autumn allowed herself to be pulled close—she wasn’t sure she’d even be capable of turning down a chance to be in Russ’s arms. “I’m not sure I remember how to dance, Russ. To be honest, I don’t think I ever knew how.”

  He chuckled. “Just relax, honey. Follow my lead.”

  Easy for him to say. He wasn’t the one with two left feet and a body permanently set on anti-rhythm.

  “There, see, you’re doing great.” Russ murmured the reassurance against her ear, his warm breath sending delicious spirals of something electric surging through Autumn’s entire body.

  Oh, boy. I’m definitely in trouble.

  The touch of his lips on her skin…the emotions brought about by his arms around her…that little something special in eyes that took her breath away—it was all so powerful. For the first time ever, Autumn understood why her college friends let themselves get carried away and make decisions too quickly, based on all the wrong reasons. But she was older now. Wiser. More mature.

  Love rejoices in the truth. Words from Pastor Merckle’s sermon eased into her mind with quiet persistence.

  Fine, then. Older, wiser, more mature…and every bit as carried away by this man as she might have been at nineteen.

  “Hey, where’d you go?” Russ grinned and tugged her closer. “Come back. I miss you.”

  “You couldn’t get rid of me if you tried. I’m not going anywhere, just…thinking.”

  “That much I could see. Are you going to tell me what you were thinking about?”

  Her face warmed. “Well, since you asked…you.”

  “I like the sound of that—as long as you were thinking good thoughts.”

  She nodded. “I didn’t think men like you existed anymore.”

  “Men like me?”

  “Good men. Gentle men who care about their families, who are kind to others.” She tugged his face a little closer so she could kiss the corner of his lips. “Men who sweep a woman off her feet but don’t let her fall and bump her heart.”

  He laughed. “I’ve never heard it put quite that way, but—” He sobered and touched his lips to her hair. “Thank you, even though I’m not sure I’m worthy of such lavish and sincere compliments. And for the record, I haven’t noticed a great swarm of women like you around either.”

  It was Autumn’s turn to laugh. “That’s probably a good thing. I’m not sure the world is ready for a whole ‘swarm’ of women like me.”

  The music stopped, but Russ kept dancing.

  The pianist chuckled into the mic. “Well, I guess I’ll play another slow song, then.” A few diners laughed and applauded as he launched into another tune, this time crooning the lyrics along with the music.

  Autumn rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t wipe the silly grin off her face. “Why did you do that?”

  “Because I had something to say, and I didn’t want to get distracted. You are the most amazing person I’ve ever known. You’re warm and loving, beautiful, kind to my daughter, respectful to Miss Angie.” He leaned in to touch his forehead to hers. “No, there aren’t many women like you. There are none. You’re one-of-a-kind wonderful.” His voice had taken on a gravelly edge…but not flinty. Not hard. Not even related to the rock man. Whatever it was, it sizzled every nerve in Autumn’s frame.

  “Now who’s dishing out undeserved praise? Thank you, Russ.” She wracked her brain for something halfway intelligent to say but couldn’t think of a thing. Humor, then. It always helped make the mood lighter. “I happen to know that you don’t always think I’m wonderful.”

  “What?” He frowned. “Why would you say that?”

  “Well, I distinctly recall a few encounters between the two of us when it was quite clear you didn’t think I was any kind of wonderful.”

  He looked up—and away from her amused gaze—as his grin went a little lopsided.

  Autumn executed a mental eye roll. Even sheepish looks good on this man!

  “OK, so I was a little hot-headed that first day.”

  “A little hot-headed?” Autumn laughed.

  Apparently no longer embarrassed, Russ narrowed his gaze, pulled her close and executed a couple of spins that had her clinging tight and praying she didn’t trip over his feet—or her own. When they stopped going in circles, she released a breath, knowing her eyes were wide.

  He wore a Cheshire-cat grin and appeared quite pleased with himself.

  “You wouldn’t think it was so funny if I’d tripped and made us both fall on our tushies.”

  “Oh, but I knew that wouldn’t happen. I would never let you fall.” The big grin faded. “Never, in no way. You need to know that.”

  “I don’t think you would, but I can’t possibly know that, Russ. Doesn’t every couple who ever falls for each other believe the other will never let them down? But they do. Break-ups happen. Marriages fall apart. Love fails.”

  “No, sweetheart. Love never fails.” He touched a finger to her lips when she opened them to argue. “People fail. Couples allow life to come between them. Their priorities get skewed, and they place each other too low on the list. They don’t take time to keep the flame stoked. And most importantly, they don’t include God in the relationship.”

  She blinked, unable to think of a single response.

  The music ended, and this time, Russ led her off the dance floor.

  ~*~

  In the car, Russ kept quiet until the lights of Atascadero were reflected in his rearview mirror. Then he squeezed Autumn’s fingers. “About that first encounter of ours…”

  “Oh, no.” A soft gurgle of laughter spilled out. “We’re really going there again?”

  “Yes. I apologize for being such a jerk that day.”

  “You were a jerk.”

  He couldn’t see her expression. Night had fallen and wrapped the vehicle in its dark embrace. Still, her voice wore a smile.

  “I nicknamed you Rock Man because you were so hard and unyielding.”

  “What?” Russ flipped on the overhead light so he could get a glimpse of her face. “Hard and unyielding? I just asked you and Ceci to move the car.”

  “It wasn’t so much what you said as the way you said it. And then you proceeded to run that awful…loud thing, whatever it was. A rock flew up and scratched my arm.”

  “Are you kidding? A rock hit you? And you didn’t attack me right then and there?”

  “Ceci wouldn’t let me.”

  He laughed. “I’ll have to have a chat with Ceci. I’d like to know how she gets you to do anything other than what you want to do. By the way, when a weed eater throws a rock, it doesn’t usually just ‘scratch’ the unlucky person it hit
s.”

  “Really?” She shrugged. “It stung, that’s all—and made me even madder at you.”

  Russ laughed. “Must’ve been a pebble, sweetheart. Not a rock.” He switched off the light again and grinned. “You were pretty doggone cute. Stood up to me as if you thought you could tear me apart with your teeth—just like one of those annoying little lap dogs that try to rip a person’s leg off if they get too close to their humans.” He chuckled. “Yappy too…but irresistible.”

  She was quiet for so long he thought he’d angered her, and then she laughed. A pure, unchecked burst of pure merriment.

  “OK, what’s so funny?”

  “I remember hoping you’d be amused at the funny, sassy kitten nipping at your heels. Instead you were thinking of an irritable, yapping puppy.”

  Russ laughed with her. “Whatever you were being that day, I drove away from the lodge thinking you were cute as a button.”

  “You did not.”

  “Before God, I did. And I watched my rearview mirror for a glimpse of you, which made me pretty mad at myself.”

  “I seem to have an outstanding ability to make you angry.”

  He picked up her hand and kissed it. “Only because I’ve been fighting such a strong attraction.” Sobering, he tossed about for a way to explain. “It may be difficult for you to understand, Autumn, but—”

  When he didn’t immediately go on, she squeezed his fingers and brought her other hand around to touch his arm. “But…?”

  “Well, after what Linda did to Dalynn and me, I made up my mind I’d never let another woman close enough to risk that kind of thing again. I’m not sure I could even survive another end to a marriage—not like that—but Dalynn…she’s far more delicate than she appears, Autumn. She only remembers what Linda looks like because I let her keep a picture of her mother in her room. But she remembers a few things Linda used to do with her, and sometimes she cries.”

  “Oh, no. Russ, I’m so sorry. That must be hard to take.”

  “It rips me apart every time it happens. Not long ago, she asked me what she did wrong to make her mommy go away. She wanted to write Linda a letter and apologize for ‘being bad.’ Then maybe Mommy would love her again.”

  Autumn sniffled.

  Doggone it. Some date he was. “I’m sorry, honey. Please forgive me for bringing this up. I told you I’d forgotten how to play the game. This has been an amazing evening, and I don’t want to ruin it now.”

  “You haven’t ruined anything. I’m glad you shared that with me—although, I have to admit, it makes me want to find Linda and give her a great big dose of—”

  Russ chuckled. “You want to give her an example of your yapping puppy persona?”

  “No. With her, I fear I’d turn into something more like a rabid St. Bernard.”

  He laughed. “You know, something tells me you’re not even kidding.”

  “Something tells you right. I can’t imagine any mother doing what she did, Russ. I mean, I know those things happen every day, but I’ll never understand it. I desperately want to shield Dalynn from any further hurt, so I can only imagine how protective you must be of her. I don’t blame you in the least for putting up walls.”

  “Thank you.” He cleared his throat. Her impassioned speech woke up feelings in him he’d forgotten existed. “I’m pretty sure she thinks you fell through the gates of Glory and landed here in Cambria.”

  “Oh, my, that’ll be hard to live up to. Poor kid is sadly disillusioned.”

  “I don’t know…I think she may be onto something.” He stroked circles on the palm of her hand with his thumb. “Hey, pardon me for changing the subject, but weren’t you going to tell me something after dinner? Something you said was ‘a good thing’?”

  “Well…I’m not sure this is such a good time, after all. Maybe I should wait…”

  She didn’t mean it. Even in the dark, he heard the fun side of her nature taking over, showing itself in the teasing lilt of her voice.

  “Woman…” He growled a playful warning, and she collapsed into giggles, just as Dalynn would have done. He wished he weren’t driving, so he could pull her close and kiss her until she begged for breath.

  “OK, OK, don’t go all caveman on me. But I believe I said I wanted to share my news at the lodge.”

  “Yes, you did.” He slowed and turned off the highway. “And we’ll be there in about sixty seconds. So get ready to spill it.”

  When he parked—on the driveway, at Autumn’s insistence—she asked if they could get out of the car. “I have a special place in mind.”

  The air was cool, but not cold. Still, he worried that she’d be uncomfortable. She was accustomed to the hot, dry evenings in Bakersfield. “Do you need to get a wrap?”

  She shook her head. “I’m fine.”

  “OK. If you get too cool, say something.” He pulled her arm through his. “Lead the way, my beauty.”

  She laughed softly but headed around to the apartment side of the lodge. Before they stepped onto the grass, she paused, removed her heels, and hooked them over one finger. Then she set off across the lawn toward the line of trees in the distance.

  “Are we going on a late-night exploration of the woods?”

  “Are you kidding? Not a chance. There might be bears in them thar woods.”

  Ross laughed aloud at her sudden, completely convincing hillbilly twang. “I promise to stand a’tween you ’n any ornery varmint, Miss Ellie Mae.”

  “Why, thank you, you big, brave man!” She stopped beside a tall sycamore and dropped the drawl. “This is where it happened.”

  “Where what happened? You’re very good at building suspense. Are you sure you’re not a writer? The last woman who stayed here—Summer Bullard—is a novelist, though she’s very shy about letting the world in on that bit of information.”

  Autumn’s eyes glimmered in the moonlight. “Bullard? Isn’t that the artist who does such amazing paintings? The guy who helped Pastor Merckle read the first time I visited Cambria House of Praise?”

  “Great memory. Yes. Summer and Logan met when he plucked her out of the ocean shortly after she arrived in Cambria. The rest, as they say, is history—very recent history.”

  “She’s a writer?”

  “Yes, and you’re stalling again.” He pulled her close and dropped a kiss on her forehead. “Talk.”

  She snuggled close, and for a moment he considered letting her off the hook. Getting a taste of those beautiful, soft lips of hers sounded mighty appealing.

  “Russ, we’re standing in the very spot where I gave my heart to God.”

  19

  She waited for his reaction. One second. Two. Three.

  “Where you—what? You—” With a loud whoop, he hauled her into his arms, lifted her off her feet and swung around in circles while she laughed out loud. When he came to a stop, he didn’t release her, but raised his face to the sky. “Thank you, Lord!” he called.

  “Russ! Shh!” Autumn couldn’t turn off her own laughter, but she touched a couple of fingers to his lips. “You’ll wake Ceci and Miss Angie.”

  “Ceci’s at my place, remember?”

  “Oh, that’s right. Well, Miss Angie, then.”

  “Somehow I think it would take more than a man praising God to frighten Miss Angie.”

  “True.” She snuggled close again.

  “Tell me everything.” He rested his chin on the top of her head. “I want to hear it all, step by step.”

  “This could take a little while. We could go in and have a cup of coffee while I talk, or we could sit right here on the grass, where it all happened.”

  “What about your dress?” He eyed her gown, one brow raised toward his hairline. “You don’t want grass stains on that, do you?”

  “Well, you sit down first then, and I’ll just...”

  She gave him a gentle shove. He made an obvious show of falling, and then peered up at her, waiting.

  Autumn gently lowered herself to his lap, where
she cuddled against his chest. “Am I too heavy? I might be talking for a while.”

  “No.” He wrapped his arms around her and held tight, as if afraid she’d fly away if he let go. “This is perfect. Start talking.”

  “Well, there was this little blue jay that kept bringing me gifts…” She explained the charms engraved with scriptures about love. When she reached the high point of her story, she paused and looked up into his face, concerned that he’d doubt the tale. Lampposts scattered around the lodge grounds made visibility decent. Although not as crisp and clear as daylight, she could see his eyes. “Is this all too far-fetched for you, Russ? Because, I swear, every word of it is true.”

  “I believe it, sweetheart. I know God, and I know He’s able to do absolutely anything. Besides, I’m no stranger to Paradise Pines Lodge, or Miss Angie. This place seems to draw miracles like a magnet—or, who knows. Maybe it’s Miss Angie they’re drawn to. Either way, things happen here. Every season seems to bring about more strange and wonderful events. I’ll tell you about some of them one day.”

  “I’d like that.”

  She launched into her story again, and by the time she finished with Miss Angie leading her in a prayer of surrender to God, tears streaked her cheeks.

  Russ blinked rapidly and cleared his throat a couple of times.

  Leaning against his chest, Autumn smiled. Her rock man wasn’t all hard lines and sharp ridges. He had a bit of a soft side too.

  “So.” He cleared his throat yet again. “What was the last scripture your Mr. Blue brought you?”

  “Love is not easily angered and does not keep a record of wrongs.”

  He sat, lost in his own thoughts. Autumn kept quiet. He probably needed to wrap his mind around what she’d told him.

  “That’s what I’ve been doing.” At last, he spoke through another deep breath. “Refusing to forgive Linda, building up in my heart all the things she did wrong and letting them fester and rot. I have to find a way to forgive her.”