by Kat Brookes
Their conversations had grown more and more comfortable over the months she’d spent there that summer, so like those they’d once shared back when they were young and falling in love. With each passing day, they had moved further away from the pain and heartache of their past and closer to the rightness he remembered. And now it just felt right. Lila was the only woman his heart had ever yearned for. The only woman he’d ever imagined being his wife.
Setting his drill down, he stood and turned to face her, grin still intact. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to wait to start on that project until after the festival.” Inclining his head toward the pieced-together plywood behind him, he said, “I’ve got a dance floor to build so that I can request a dance with you at the festival this weekend.”
“An actual dance floor?” she said, eyeing the project admiringly.
“A temporary one,” he replied, “but yes.”
“I remember kicking off our shoes and dancing barefoot in the grass for hours.”
He chuckled. “It didn’t take a peach festival to have you running around shoeless. You were barefoot more often than not when we were growing up.”
She lifted her sandaled foot and wiggled her toes. “I’ve grown up since then.”
Yes, she had. Into a beautiful, strong, independent woman. Into a loving, caring mother. Into the woman he intended to marry. “You’re more than welcome to give in to your inner child and dance barefoot on this dance floor next weekend.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” she replied. “But it won’t be the same.”
“Agreed,” he said. “However, we learned our lesson a few years ago when it rained for several days before the festival. The ground was a mess, forcing us to cancel the dancing portion of the festivities. Jake and I knew we had to come up with something to keep that from happening again.”
“I think it’s a great idea,” Lila remarked, her gaze sliding to the pieces of joined plywood. “Far less chance of someone twisting an ankle on a level dance floor.”
He nodded.
Lila glanced in the direction of the market and then back to Mason. “I’d offer stick around and lend you a hand, but I promised your momma and Violet that I would stop by today and help them get the market goods ready for this weekend’s festivities. Mama Tully will be over in an hour or so. She was finishing up some bows your momma wanted for the porch posts in front of the market.”
“I’m sure they’re appreciative of your help,” Mason told her. “Both you and Mrs. Tully. Things tend to get a bit hectic around here the week of the festival.”
“I remember,” she said softly. “For the first time ever, I find myself not looking forward to the start of school. The end of August will mean going home and leaving all of this behind. I suppose I should be grateful that Addy hasn’t been able to get the time off yet to come here. It’s given me the time needed to right so many wrongs and to realize the true extent of what I’d given up.”
He nodded in understanding. “I’m grateful for the chance we’ve been given, too.”
“I’m going to miss you and everything about Sweet Springs so much. The people. The church. Your family and Mama Tully.” She lifted her gaze to meet his. “But most especially, you.”
“Maybe you should consider moving back,” Mason suggested, trying not to push her too hard, but wanting to put that option out there. Wanting to let her know that she’d be welcomed there for longer. “Look for a teaching job around here like you mentioned to Finn.”
“You have no idea how tempted I am to give it a shot,” she replied.
He couldn’t keep the smile from his face. “Something tells me Finn wouldn’t be too adverse to your moving here.” Mason glanced around. “Speaking of our son, where is he off to?”
“He headed straight for the market as soon as we stepped out of the orchard. Your sister called earlier to tell him your momma had just made some peach and caramel-glazed coffee cakes and needed a taste tester.”
Mason glanced in the direction of the market and shook his head with an exaggerated sigh. “Looks like I’ve not only been replaced as Momma’s taste tester, I’ve moved down a notch on my son’s favorites list. Momma’s baking edged me out.”
Lila laughed and reached out to place a soothing hand on his forearm. “Don’t worry, Mason. You’re still at the top of my favorites list, along with our son, of course.”
His gaze locked with hers, his expression growing serious. He loved Lila so much. It was hard keeping those feelings inside. But he had wanted to give her time to figure out her own feelings toward him. He felt her heart opening up to him as his was to her, but neither of them had expressed those emotions verbally yet. “And you’re at the top of mine,” he said. “Right alongside Finn.”
They stood staring into each other’s eyes for a long moment. Then Mason lowered his head in a tender kiss.
Lila returned the kiss, her response confirming everything he already felt.
When the kiss ended, he looked down into her beautiful blue eyes. “I love you, Lila Gleeson.”
“I love you, too, Mason. I’ve never stopped loving you.”
His heart swelled. “Wait for me. When I get back from my mission trip, I want us to give our relationship another chance. Because when I think of my future, it’s you I see there.”
Tears shimmered in her eyes. Nodding, she said, “I want that, too. I’ll wait however long it takes. Just promise me you’ll stay safe over there. I couldn’t bear it if anything bad happened to you.”
“I will do what I can on my end,” he promised. “But my life’s course is in the Lord’s hands.”
“Then I’ll pray for you every day,” she told him. “Because I want us to be the family we always should have been.”
It already felt like they were a family whenever he and Lila and their son were together. But he wanted more. He wanted forever with Lila. A house filled with children. A lifetime of deep faith and shared smiles.
Someone cleared their throat, and Mason and Lila took a step back from one another.
“I hate to interrupt,” his brother said, “but this roll of vinyl flooring is getting a little heavy.”
Mason chuckled. “Jake’s giving me a hand with the construction of the festival dance floor.”
“I should be getting to the market anyway,” Lila said. “Your momma will be wondering where I am.”
“Oh, I think they’ll know,” Jake said with a grin as he lowered his load to the ground next to the nearly constructed dance floor.
“I’ll walk you and Finn home later,” Mason told her as he moved back to the piece of plywood he’d been working on when she’d arrived.
“I’d like that,” she said. “Bye, Jake.”
“Bye, Lila.”
Mason stood watching her leave. There had been so much more he’d wanted to say to her, but his brother’s untimely arrival had forced Mason to hold back. But they would talk, and he would make certain Lila had no doubt as to how committed he was to making their relationship work.
Halfway across the yard, Lila stopped to remove her sandals. Dangling them over the back of her shoulder, she looked back and flashed him a playful grin before continuing on her way, walking barefoot through the grass.
Mason couldn’t keep the smile from his face.
“If you aren’t a man in love, I don’t know who is.”
He turned to his brother. “She’s always had my heart.” Even after she had broken it.
“Not the best time to be leaving for the Congo,” his brother muttered as he set to work.
“Don’t remind me,” Mason replied with a frown. “It’s the first mission trip I’ve ever regretted signing up for. And not because the Congo is a riskier place than most. It’s just too soon. I’ve only just found my son.”
“You’ve only just reconnected with your one true love,” Jake add
ed with an understanding nod.
“That, too,” Mason said with a sigh. “I told Lila that I love her and want to give our relationship another try. Not only for our son’s sake, but because I know in my heart that I would regret letting past hurts keep me from seeing if we can make it work this time around.”
Jake didn’t appear the least bit surprised. “How did she react to that?”
Mason’s smile hitched higher. “She told me she loves me, too.” He looked to his little brother. “I want to be with her. Want to make her and Finn my family. I just pray my stay in the Congo passes by quickly so I can make that happen.”
“You deserve to be happy,” Jake said, emotion pulling at his words. “You’ve always given your all to our family. Even more so after Daddy died. When Violet and I could barely function because of our grief, you stepped in to be the man of the family, taking over the running of the orchard, shouldering all our burdens in the weeks and months after. I don’t know how I can ever make that up to you. All I can do is let you know that I thank the Lord quite often for giving me you as my big brother.”
Mason met his gaze. “I did what I did because I love you and Violet and Momma.”
“Love you, too,” his brother said.
“I want what Momma and Daddy had together, and I know I can have that with Lila. It’s there. It’s always been there.”
“Daddy!”
Both men turned to look as Finn raced toward them, a wide grin on his face.
“Whoa,” Jake said, holding up a hand in a gesture for Finn to slow down, which he did. “There are a lot of tools lying around you could trip on if you’re not careful.”
Finn glanced around and then looked to Mason. “Gramma Tully said to hurry before Grits eats Momma’s shoe.”
Eyebrows went up. “Her shoe?” Jake questioned.
Mason recalled Lila’s playful gesture as she was leaving and grinned. “Your momma needs to start keeping her shoes on her feet.” He looked to Jake. “It seems I’m needed.”
Jake chuckled. “So it does. Go rescue Lila’s shoe. I’ve got this,” he said, motioning toward the nearly completed dance floor.
“Thanks.” Mason turned to Finn. “Let’s go.” With that, father and son broke into a fast jog in the direction of the market.
* * *
That week had flown by, everyone busy with last-minute preparations for the peach festival. And now here it was. Crowds were milling about the yard, playing games and buying raffle tickets on the baskets Lila and Violet had collected. Inside the market, people were supporting the cause by buying baked goods and specialty items. Baskets of freshly picked peaches were flying out the door.
Mason couldn’t help but think about his daddy, knowing in his heart that he would be proud of how they’d been able to grow their annual mission trip fund-raiser.
“Do you have a moment?” Jake asked, inclining his head in the direction of the house.
“Can it wait?” Mason asked. “I’ve got to bring more peaches up to the market. We ran out already.”
“This won’t take long, but it’s something I’d rather discuss in private.”
His brother sounded serious. Mason’s brows drew together in worry. “Sure. Let’s go.”
They crossed the yard, away from the festivities taking place in front of the family market onto the porch of their house.
Jake turned to face him. “I wanted you to hear this from me first.”
“Hear what?” Mason asked.
“That I asked to take your place on the mission trip to the Congo.”
Mason shook his head, trying to process what his brother had just told him. Especially since it had come from out of the blue. “Wait a minute. What are you talking about?”
“I went to talk to Reverend Hutchins a couple of weeks ago to ask if there would be any issues with my taking your place if you should decide to back out for personal reasons. He looked into it and said that because I’m already a part of their missionary program, have all the travel paperwork I would need and am up-to-date with all the necessary vaccinations, it could be done. All I would have to do is secure my own airfare since your flight reservation can’t be transferred over to me.”
“Jake,” Mason groaned, gratitude causing his voice to crack. What his brother was offering to do for him went above and beyond the everyday things brothers did for each other. He’d like to think he would have made the same offer to Jake if the tables were turned. “What are you thinking?” he forced out. “The Congo trip is going to be several months long. Not to mention some of the safety concerns that exist there.”
“I’m well aware of the conditions and the risks involved in this mission trip. But my nephew needs his father here in the States with him so that the two of you can continue building your father-son bond,” his brother replied. “Then there’s Lila. You two are starting over, and your relationship doesn’t deserve to be put on hold. You’re so close to having that family you always wanted with her.”
Mason swallowed hard. What his brother was offering... Emotion clogged his throat, forcing him to clear it. “I can’t ask this of you.”
“You didn’t,” his brother said. “It’s something I want to do. I have no relationship ties to hold me back. And I can wield a hammer every bit as good as you, big brother. Let me go help build that school while you stay here and build your family.”
“I’m going to ask her to marry me,” Mason said, something he’d been wanting to do but had decided it better to do after he’d returned from his mission trip. His brother’s selfless offer changed everything.
“You have my blessing,” Jake told him, not appearing the least bit surprised by Mason’s announcement. “In fact, I’m pretty sure you have our entire family’s approval. We’ve all seen the love that exists between you and Lila. And it would make things a lot less complicated where Finn is concerned. No need for him to bounce back and forth between homes. He’d have one with both of you in it.”
Mason frowned. “One big hitch in my plan. I don’t have a home of my own.”
“We’ve all got acreage Daddy left us in his will to build on. So start building. It’s not as if we don’t have room to accommodate two more in our big old farmhouse while that’s being done.”
“You make it sound so simple.” But he would have to make some big decisions before those things could happen. Lila had already talked about moving closer, but was she ready to leave her job in Alabama and move back to Sweet Springs? He had no doubt she could find another teaching position in the area. Maybe not for that coming year, but she could always substitute until something opened up. But none of that would even come into play if Lila wasn’t at a place where she was ready to accept his offer of marriage.
“It is. God brought Lila into your life for a reason—twice,” Jake pointed out. “I’d say that’s a pretty good sign that the two of you are meant to be together.” Over in front of the market, music began to play, signaling the start of that afternoon’s dancing. “Speaking of being together, I believe you promised Lila a dance. You’d best get going.”
Stepping forward, Mason pulled his brother into a bear hug. “Thank you, Jake. You’re the best brother and friend a man could ever hope for. God be with you when you take my place in the Congo.”
His brother clapped him on the back as he returned the hug. “He always is.”
* * *
“I was starting to panic, as usual, but everything really came together.”
Lila looked to Violet, who was smiling happily as she took in the goings-on around them. She had done a lot to make sure the her family’s peach festival fund-raiser would go off without a hitch. Her organizational skills were beyond impressive.
“It certainly has,” Lila agreed.
“We’re bound to run out of everything,” Violet said happily. “Hopefully Mason gets back with those peaches soon. Peo
ple are waiting for them.”
And they were, waiting in a circle around the empty peach display, plastic shopping baskets in hand. “I don’t remember there being this many people in attendance back when I used to come help with your family’s peach festival.”
“It’s grown a little bigger each year,” Violet said. “But most of that growth came after Mason and Jake added on to the market and expanded our orchards. People started coming in from surrounding counties to shop at the market and from that found out about the festival. The increased attendance has been such a blessing for our church. The more festival attendees we have, the more money we are likely to bring in for the missionary program. Which, this year, of course, happens to be Mason’s mission trip to the Congo.”
Lila’s already anxious stomach knotted up even more at the mention of Mason’s upcoming journey. As his departure day drew near, she couldn’t help but think about the time they would be apart, separated by distance and with little contact, as Mason would be busy trying to get that school built as quickly as possible. She prayed that he and his fellow missionaries would be able to accomplish what they were there for without any issues and that Mason would return home safely.
“Lila? Are you okay?”
She blinked and then shifted her focus back to Violet. “Sorry. I’m just a little overwhelmed by everything.” While she couldn’t be more supportive, or proud, of his commitment to the Lord and helping others, she couldn’t help but dread the thought of saying goodbye to Mason and heading back to Alabama, where it would just be her and Finn. Her time back in Sweet Springs had reminded Lila of what the word home really stood for. It was a place where one felt safe, felt peace and contentment, and was surrounded by people you cared about and who truly cared about you. It was a place where people, through the love of God, forgave and accepted. And, to her, home was Mason. She would do whatever it took to be with Mason. To finally have the dream she’d long ago denied herself. Because she and Mason and Finn were that family she’d always longed for.
“You’ll get used to it,” Mason’s sister assured her with a smile. “Give it a year or two.”