Seasons of the Heart

by Susette Williams

  Did she do something wrong? Wade appeared to be in an awful hurry to get their evening over with. Katie wasn’t very good at flirting and she’d given it all she had. She laid her fork down and didn’t finish the last few bites of her pie.

  As much as she hated to admit it, Wade wasn’t interested in her and she’d made a fool of herself trying to get him to notice her. She should have known better than to try and act like Carrie had. It wasn’t in her nature to be so forward, but she felt desperate. With everything in her being, she wanted Wade to notice her as more than just a coworker or a friend.

  After Wade paid the bill and ushered her out to his truck, they drove back to her house in silence. Katie was glad he at least walked her to her door.

  “Congratulations on doing so well on your test. I’ll see you later.”

  “Thanks.” Katie closed the door and didn’t bother to watch Wade leave. She flopped down on the couch and allowed a tear—the one that had threatened to run down her cheek all the way home, to finally accomplish its task. “Lord, what am I going to do? I love him and I don’t know how to let him know. Or if it will scare him off if he finds out. Help me. Please.”

  Chapter Nine

  Wade sat with his elbows resting on his solid oak kitchen table, his head supported by his callused hands. Three years of concealed, unadulterated love, hanging in limbo, threatened to ruin his future happiness, should he make the wrong decision. He wasn’t a gambling man, but if he would wager anything, his heart and Katie’s love were the last things he wanted to lay on the line.

  Last week, if anyone had told him the woman of his dreams felt the same way, he wouldn’t have believed it, but after last night… The air in Wade’s lungs expelled. He straightened in his seat and ran a hand through rumpled hair.

  Last night he fled in utter turmoil, confused by Katie’s behavior. After hours of sporadic sleep, and intense rationalizing, he was fairly certain Katie was flirting with him at the diner. A vision of soft pink lips threatened his resolve. Thoughts of her made his heart race and his palms sweat.

  Finally, the opportunity to reveal his affections had risen, and he ran. Well, he wasn’t running any longer. It was time to take his chances. No matter how things turned out between them, he had to do something.

  ♥ ♥ ♥

  All morning, Katie had stared at the phone whenever she walked by it, afraid it would ring, even though she wanted it to. Finally, her nerves on end, she fled, hoping to find distraction at the grocery store. Half an hour later, still on edge, but loaded with enough chocolate and junk food to drown her sinking emotions, she returned home.

  She carried in her groceries and placed them on the kitchen table. Rummaging through a paper bag, she withdrew the container of whipped cream and the carton of strawberries. When she turned towards the fridge, a flashing red light on her answering machine caught her eye. Instantly her heart raced as her stomach sank. Her lungs constricted and she froze in place. He called. It couldn’t be anybody else, but him.

  In a daze, she continued to put groceries away, pausing to open a chocolate candy bar and biting off a large chunk. When she finished her task, she sat in a chair and stared at the red, blinking light.

  Four bites later, she summoned enough courage to press the play button, and cringed as the familiar masculine voice rang out. “Katie, it’s me. Look, there’s a dinner theatre I’ve been dying to go to. I’ll be by at six this evening to pick you up. It’s kind of formal dress, nothing too fancy, though. See you then.”

  Heart pounding, eyes wide, she choked on her last bite of chocolate. Coughing, she made her way to the sink and grabbed a glass of water. After gulping down the first glass, she refilled her cup and drank slower.

  Wade wanted to go out again? And tonight! She fanned her face with her hand to cool her hot cheeks. Not only did he want to go out—he wanted her to dress up. Her heart pounded in her chest and she took a seat again, feeling faint.

  By quarter to six, Katie had bitten the end of her nail off. Holding her hand extended in front of her face to peruse, she sighed before hoisting herself off the couch in search of nail clippers. On her return to the living room, the doorbell chimed, causing her to freeze in place. Moments later, the second chime set her back in motion.

  A faint smile crept to her lips as a nervous hand turned the knob to open the front door. Katie inhaled deeply. The sight of Wade dressed in a black, pinstriped suit and gray satin tie did heady things to her. His face was freshly shaved and the scent of musk filled her senses to near overload.

  “May I come in?” he asked in a deep, seductive voice.

  “Sure,” she squeaked, backing out of his way, gesturing with her hand. “I just have to get my purse.”

  Katie hurried to her bedroom, feeling as nervous as a teenager on her first date. She picked up her hairbrush and ran it briskly through her hair, then added a touch of hairspray to keep each strand in place.

  Grasping her handbag, she darted for the door, only to pivot around, toss her bag, and head straight for her bathroom. Taking an unladylike swig from the mouthwash bottle, she gargled and rinsed. She then headed back out of her bedroom again, and grabbed the purse she had thrown on the bed in her haste to freshen her breath.

  “You really look nice tonight,” Wade said when she entered the living room.

  He smiled as his eyes traveled from her head to her toes, sending chills down her spine. If he touched her, she was sure she’d jump out of her skin, yet the thought of his arm around her warmed her.

  Katie gave a weak smile. “Thank you. You didn’t say where we were going, exactly.”

  Katie stared at Wade's beautiful set of white teeth when he smiled, remembering the faint kiss he'd given her the other day at work. Her lips weren't strawberry scented tonight.

  “It’s a new dinner theatre I’ve been wanting to go to.”

  “Oh,” was Katie’s muffled reply.

  By the time they reached the restaurant, Katie wasn’t sure if she would be able to eat anything. Her stomach felt knotted. She watched Wade in nervous anticipation, wondering how she should react around him with her newfound feelings. The previous day’s bravado had left, leaving her no longer secure in trying the approach Carrie had used on Wade. Katie felt like she had made as big a fool of herself as Carrie.

  Inside the restaurant, a middle-aged woman, with auburn hair streaked with gray highlights, greeted them. “Hello, my name is Martha Ludwig. Welcome to The Wilhams Manor. What are your names please?”

  “I’m Wade McAlester and this is my date, Katie Morgan.”

  Martha rummaged through a pile of papers fanned out across a table. She chose two of them, then presented them to Wade. “These are the characters you’ll be tonight. Not all of the characters have lines. Take the time before the program begins to get acquainted with the other guests. Oh, and please sit in the seats that have your character’s names. Don’t change seats, please. It will mess up the performance. Your name tags are clipped to your papers. Have a good time.”

  Wade nodded, took Katie’s hand and lead her into a room filled with tables and chairs. “You’re Juliet and I’m Lord Capulet.”

  Katie looked around the tables, trying to find their ‘names’ and seating arrangements. She had to admit, this was different from the normal type of place they went to eat, but Wade did say she was his date. For that, she would play along with anything. A smile crept across her lips as she continued to hunt for their spot.

  “Here they are,” Wade announced, pulling her gently by the arm.

  He held out Katie’s chair before taking his own seat and handing her one of the pieces of paper. She removed the back from the name tag and applied it to the top of her green, satin dress.

  Katie read her lines, excited at the thought of having something to say. She hadn’t performed in a play since the Christmas pageant when she was thirteen years old. “Do you have a lot of lines?”

  Wade’s brows were creased. “It’s not the part I had hoped for. D
o you mind if I go mingle with the other guests?”

  “No, go right ahead.” She did mind, she wanted him to mingle with her, not strangers. Letting out an exasperated sigh, she continued to study her lines until she was interrupted.

  “So, you’re Juliet?” a tall, skinny man with brunette hair, a goatee, and deep chocolate eyes inquired.

  Katie smiled. “Yes. Who are you?”

  Wade stepped in, keeping the man from answering. “He was just about to go talk with me.”

  Wade put his arm around the man’s shoulders in a good-natured manner and lead him away. It wasn’t long before the man returned, sporting a wide grin. “Looks like I’ll be sitting by you tonight.”

  Katie looked at him in bewilderment before scouting the room for Wade. The other guests began filtering into the room and taking their seats. She spotted Wade seated at the table across from her table, next to a young guy who was giving a 'thumbs up' sign to the man seated next to Katie. This wasn’t at all what she had expected.

  A medium-sized man in a Monk’s costume came out from the back. “I’m in such a titter,” he announced. “I’m not sure if I should be helping Romeo and Juliet or grabbing an over-sized turkey leg and consoling Robin Hood. Anybody have a turkey leg?” He then pulled out an enormous turkey leg and did a Groucho Marx impersonation. The room exploded with laughter.

  “Have you seen the rest of this guy?” he asked a frail, elderly woman, leaning down towards her, waving the drumstick around. “With those glasses, you probably can’t even see me. Never mind.”

  He stood upright again. “Now to let you all have a nibble, so you’ll stop eyeing my drumstick, your waitresses will be out with your salads in a moment. Then we’ll continue with the next act. Make sure to watch for your cues and come here to stand in the middle of the room to deliver your lines so that everyone can hear you.”

  Waitresses, dressed in black slacks and white blouses, filed through the door carrying trays of salads, which they dispersed at each table. Katie glanced to where Wade was seated. He winked at her, then continued to listen to the young gentleman seated next to him.

  The man, occupying what should have been Wade’s chair, chose this time to introduce himself. “I’m Lord Capulet. You must be my daughter?”

  Katie tried hard to be polite when all she could think about was an attractive man across the room with simmering, blue eyes. “Guess so.”

  “Didn’t they sometimes marry family back in those days?” Lord Capulet asked, arching his eyebrows suggestively.

  “No,” Katie replied curtly. She turned to the couple seated on her left. “Have you two been here before?”

  “No,” the well-rounded woman next to her answered. “Weren’t you sitting with another gentleman earlier?”

  “Yeah,” Katie responded wryly. My supposed date, she silently fumed.

  ♥ ♥ ♥

  The moderator continued to orchestrate the evening’s show, indulging the room with lots of good-natured humor. Katie looked forward to the evening’s end so she could finally be near Wade again.

  The cue came for her lines. She stood and took her place near the center of the room, her father, Lord Capulet, close behind her. “Father, you have to allow me to marry Romeo.”

  “No,” Lord Capulet said firmly. “You cannot marry that scoundrel.”

  “Really getting into your part, aren’t you, buddy,” the moderator asked.

  A few people chuckled as Lord Capulet smiled broadly.

  “Oh, Romeo, where art thou Romeo?” Katie delivered her lines with deep emotion, clenching her hands to her chest.

  “I’m here, my fairest love.” Wade stood, his hand outstretched towards her.

  “No, you’re not,” the moderator said. “You’re dead, remember?”

  Wade ignored him and eased from his seat, to stand in front of Katie. He gazed into her brown eyes, captivated by her beauty. Without giving it another thought he bent to claim her lips in a kiss that began as a delicate exploration and deepened when he felt her respond. He backed away from her a couple inches and looked into a pair of mesmerized eyes that melted his heart and stirred him enough to reclaim her lips once more.

  Katie sighed when it ended. “Did you just kiss me… again?”

  Wade’s heart pounded. “We’ve worked together for years and I’ve never told you how I’ve felt.”

  The moderator looked at them both, then at the audience, shrugged and looked back at them. “That’s not in the script. I would know. I do this for a living.”

  Katie briefly looked at the moderator, then back at Wade. “How do you feel?” Katie blushed. "I mean, I know you kissed me, but..."

  “I’m in love with you." Wade smiled and gently kissed her forehead. "You might find it hard to believe, but it was love at first sight.”

  “First sight?” Katie’s eyes widened.

  Their audience, “Oohed,” while one gal hollered, “Go get him, girlfriend.”

  “From the day you walked into the clinic. I couldn’t help falling in love with you and it deepened as I got to know you." Wade brushed a strand of hair away from her face. "You were determined that no one would interfere with your schooling and so all I could do was pray that God would give you eyes for me. I don’t want you to not achieve your goals, but I’d like it if we could achieve them together." Wade tilted her chin up and placed a soft kiss upon her lips. "Do you think we could try?”

  “I know you want me to succeed. You’ve always been so supportive and I need to confess… I’m in love with you, too.”

  “You are?” As he hugged her close, he whispered into her ear, “You don’t know how happy that makes me.”

  Cheers erupted. Several people applauded. The moderator threw his hands up. “Sorry, folks, looks like our story took a different turn. I might as well have a seat.” The moderator chuckled and took the seat Katie had vacated earlier.

  “When did you realize you were in love with me?”

  “When I got jealous because of Laura, and after the things you said about the kind of wife you needed. Before then, I had never thought of you, or us, that way," Katie admitted, glancing to the side of him as the murmur from the audience distracted her.

  Wade tilted her chin so he could gaze into sparkling brown eyes. “I’ve prayed for a long time that you would see me that way. I’m so thankful that God answered my prayers.”

  Katie’s cheeks grew even pinker. “Lately, it has been the only way I could think about you. I don’t know why I never did before.”

  “I’m not sure if this is a love scene or a soap opera,” the moderator said loudly. Several diners laughed.

  One guy shouted, “Hey, Buddy, when you are going to kiss her again?” Then he turned to the other people at his table. “My wife loves the mushy stuff.”

  Guests at his table laughed, while his wife gave a good-natured jab to his arm, “Pay attention, you could take some lessons from him.”

  The man’s response was to put his arm around his wife and nibble on her neck, to which she smiled contentedly.

  “Okay, over there,” the moderator announced. “One show—make that two—are enough for one night.”

  Katie leaned against Wade’s chest. He cupped her jaw in his palm and lightly stroked her cheek. “We work together, study together, and even go to church together. You know what this means don’t you?”

  Katie glanced up, not wanting to move out of the comfort of his arms again. “No, what?”

  A woman near them gasped. An elderly woman sat with her head rested on her hand, watching love blossom in front of her. Two men at her table joked about that evening's show, to which the woman rewarded one of them with a jab to the ribs. “Shut up you two, he’s about to propose.” That quieted down the entire room.

  Katie was oblivious to the room full of people around them. For that moment, there was only one person in her world and one question she hoped he was asking. Her heart pounded in her chest. She took a deep breath.

  “We’re
going to have to get married now.”

  “Oh, Wade. Do you mean it?” Katie threw her arms around his neck.

  “Will you marry me, Katie, and make me the happiest man in the world?”

  “You know I’ve always wanted to make you happy and if that’ll do it, I guess I’ll have to.”

  Two pairs of eyes reflecting new found love gazed longingly at each other, before their lips met to seal their souls and their commitment to each other for a lifetime.

  The moderator stood up to take control once again. “I hope you’ll at least invite us all to the wedding.”

  “You bet,” Wade said and lifted Katie to swing her around in a circle.

  A room filled with hopeless romantics applauded their approval. Several reached to take the hand of the one they loved, a look of ‘knowing’ on their faces.

  Winter Chill

  Seasons of the Heart novella series

  By Susette Williams

  Published by Family Friendly Fiction

  ©2012 by Susette Williams

  Cover Art ©2012 by Nathaniel Williams

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

  Acknowledgements

  Thanks to God for giving me inspiration and the desire to write; my husband, Rob, and my six children (Delilah, Eric, Melissa, Gabrielle, Nehemiah and Nathaniel) for encouraging me and allowing me to pursue a writing career. A special thank you to all of you, the readers, who give me a reason to write and share my stories—Thank You!