Not wanting to be late, Arianna went back inside and put her cup in the kitchen sink. She left her purse and phone in the cabin but took the key and locked the door behind her. The air was definitely cooler than what she was used to in Los Angeles, and though it was still daylight, it was a cloudy evening which made it seem later in the day than it actually was.
Grateful for the long sleeves of her sweatshirt, Arianna pulled the ends of them over her hands, tucking the cuffs into her fists. Still, she enjoyed the short walk to the lodge. Once she stood in front of the door, though, she wasn’t sure if she should just walk in, or if she should knock.
Since they didn’t have any other guests, Arianna chose to knock on the heavy wooden door. It took a couple of minutes before the door swung open to reveal the man who’d been there earlier.
He gave her a nod as he stepped back. “C’mon in.”
“Thank you.” She smiled at him, hoping to convey friendliness. “Elijah, right?”
“Call me Eli,” he said with a tilt of his head toward the back of the lodge. “We’re all in the kitchen.”
Eli was dressed similarly to her in a sweatshirt and jeans, so at least she didn’t have to worry about being underdressed. As she followed behind him toward the back of the lodge, Arianna noticed that his dark hair was cut short in a no-nonsense style, which seemed to suit what she’d seen of him so far.
“Hi, Anna,” Nadine said as they stepped into the kitchen.
It was a large airy space with lots of cupboards whose wood fronts matched the log cabin interior. All the appliances looked to be commercial grade and were stainless steel. A counter separated the kitchen from a small eating area next to a bay window, where a round table made of polished wood had been set with placemats and dishes.
Eli moved to the table and picked up a pitcher of water, her knock obviously having interrupted him. Two young women stood in the kitchen, one next to Nadine and the other by the small table with Eli. Arianna remembered her saying she had a couple of daughters, but much like Norma’s omission, Nadine had neglected to mention that they were twins. Either that or they were sisters who looked very much alike.
“These are my daughters, Sarah and Leah,” Nadine said as she set a basket of bread on the table. “Girls, this is Anna. She’ll be staying in cabin five for the time being.”
The one next to Nadine smiled broadly at Arianna. “I’m Sarah. Welcome to New Hope Falls.”
“Thank you. It’s very lovely here.”
The other woman didn’t say anything, stepping aside to let Eli past, but her gaze remained steady on Arianna, as if trying to figure out every secret Arianna held close. But unfortunately for Leah, Arianna knew how to keep hidden everything she didn’t want people to know until she was ready to reveal it to them.
“Why don’t you have a seat there?” Nadine said as she gestured to a chair on the far side of the table.
“Right next to me.” Sarah shot her sister a look before scooting around the table and motioning for Arianna to follow her.
Soon, they were all seated around the table, Nadine to her right and Sarah to her left. Eli sank down into the seat between his sisters, and Arianna wondered if that was because he had to keep them separated. It seemed that for all that they looked alike, the sisters weren’t similar in personality.
“I hope you don’t mind, but we like to say grace before we eat,” Nadine said.
Arianna nodded. It wasn’t as if she would object even if she wanted to—which she didn’t. She was in their home, and if they wanted to pray before they ate, that was certainly their right.
As she bowed her head and listened to Nadine pray, Arianna was reminded of a time in her life that included some of her happiest memories, as well as her saddest. A time when she’d first experienced someone praying before their meal.
“So what brings you up this way?” Sarah asked once her mom was done praying. “You’re from California, right?
“Yes. LA.” Arianna took the large bowl of pasta Nadine held out to her. “I just needed to get away from the city for a while.”
“You’re not running from the cops, are you?” Leah asked.
“Leah Simone, that’s not polite,” Nadine admonished.
“Well, it’s not usual that someone wanders this far off the beaten path without a reason. Most people make reservations first.” Leah said with a shrug, apparently not concerned with whether her comments were offensive to Arianna or not.
“You don’t need to answer her,” Nadine said as she slid a bowl of pasta sauce toward her.
“I don’t mind,” Arianna said with a shrug. “I’m not on the run from the cops. Just on the run from life, I guess. I saw a sign for New Hope Falls on the highway and felt…pulled to come here.”
Realizing how crazy that might sound, she glanced around the table. Leah still looked suspicious, but Nadine was nodding as if she understood what Arianna was saying. Eli seemed pretty focused on his meal, so she couldn’t get a good read on him.
“You’re not the first to say that about New Hope,” Sarah said, an encouraging lilt to her voice. “Right, Mom?”
Nadine nodded. “People have been drawn here for a variety of reasons.”
“And some have left for a variety of reasons,” Leah added with an edge to her voice.
The silence that followed Leah’s statement seemed to gain weight with each passing second. Hoping to diffuse the moment, Arianna said, “Some of them might come for the food, if they only knew. This sauce is incredible.”
“Thank you,” Nadine said with a proud smile. “I make it from scratch from an old family recipe.”
“The bread is delicious too,” Arianna said. If she was going to stay there any length of time, she was going to have to exercise more or eat less.
“I made the bread,” Leah volunteered, though it kind of sounded like she didn’t want to admit to it.
“Well, it’s very good,” Arianna assured her.
“I made the salad, but that’s hardly a talent,” Sarah said with a laugh. “And that’s only because I burn everything else.”
“Not everyone’s talent is baking or cooking,” Leah said.
“That’s true,” Nadine agreed. “Sarah and Eli are more artistic than either of us.”
“Really?” Arianna swung her attention back to the other two. “Do you paint?”
“Yes, I do,” Sarah said. “Eli does wood carvings and handmade furniture.”
“He made the check-in desk,” Nadine added.
“I noticed that earlier and was thinking how beautiful it was. Do you take orders?”
“I do,” Eli said, but he didn’t follow that up with any more details.
“He mainly does word of mouth.” Nadine paused as if waiting for Eli to add something before she continued on. “Though he does a bunch of smaller items to sell here as well as at a gallery in town.”
“Do you sell your paintings here too?” Arianna asked Sarah between bites.
“Yep. My stuff is scattered throughout the lodge and the cabins. Any for sale have a yellow star on the frame.”
“I’ll have to check them out. I took a short nap, so I didn’t have much chance to look around before coming here.” Arianna found herself intrigued by the family around her. Their talents interested her, and she couldn’t wait to check out some of their work while she was there.
For the first time since leaving LA, she was itching to get her camera out. She wanted to record the beautiful desk and then go exploring for Sarah’s paintings. After that, she wanted to set up the camera to record Nadine and Leah showing her how to make the spaghetti sauce and bread. Her creativity, which had gone into hiding during the mess with David, was slowly beginning to re-emerge.
Could it be that she really had been led to New Hope Falls for some reason?
Arianna couldn’t say for sure, but for the first time since fleeing LA, she could envision a time when she would be in front of the camera again, creating the videos she loved so much. It mi
ght not happen right away but knowing that the desire was still within her made Arianna more determined than ever to figure out what to do about the mess she’d left behind.
Maybe she’d even find the courage to log into her social media accounts again.
CHAPTER SIX
Eli watched as Anna interacted with his mom and Sarah. It wasn’t unusual that he and Leah were the quiet ones at the table. His mom would usually try to draw them into a conversation, but after Leah’s crack about their guest running from the cops, Eli guessed that his mom was hoping Leah just kept her yap shut.
Anna hadn’t seemed to have taken offense at Leah’s question. In fact, the smile that had briefly crossed her face had caught him off guard. He hadn’t expected that to be the response to Leah’s rude question. Most girls that looked like Anna wouldn’t have been so accepting of what she’d said.
Leah knew better, but sometimes she liked to push people, just to see how they reacted. Sarah worked hard to make people fall in love with her while Leah tried to push them away. Most of the time, Eli just wanted people to leave him alone, so he didn’t do anything to try to extend his interaction with them, but he did try to not be rude.
Sooner or later, if people were around for any length of time, they heard about what had happened with Sheila. Most people weren’t invested enough in him to give him the benefit of the doubt, so finding out that he had been a suspect in a woman’s disappearance—a possible murder—usually meant they distanced themselves from him.
Eli often wondered why his mom let him have any sort of presence around the lodge or cabins since there was a risk that people would choose not to frequent their business again if they took the rumors seriously. But the one time he tried to keep a low profile, she’d called him out on it, telling him that if people were going to take rumors as truth, she didn’t want them as customers.
It seemed they all drove their mom nuts at times with how they related to the world and people, but such was their life. Events had occurred in their lives that had molded them into the type of people they’d become. It amazed him how those same things hadn’t seemed to change his mom. She was the same strong, loving, and caring woman he’d always remembered her being.
“Do you have a website for your woodwork?” Anna asked. “Or do you just rely on word of mouth?”
Eli stared at her for a moment, searching for any reason why she might be interested in what he did. Fancy car. Highlighted blonde hair. Perfectly done makeup and nails. Everything about her screamed a lifestyle that was shallow and self-absorbed. Did she really care about the things he whittled out of wood? Or was her interest purely because she was being courteous?
But there was something in her eyes, a seriousness, that led him to think that perhaps she really did care. Her gaze didn’t waver as she waited for his response, as if understanding he needed to process her intent.
“No website,” he said. “What orders I do get through word of mouth—along with my work here at the lodge—keep me plenty busy.”
Anna nodded. “It’s good to know your limits, and if what you have at the moment makes you happy, then there’s no need to seek more.”
“Do you not believe you should be content no matter what your circumstances?” Leah asked, her tone still sharp but more muted than it had been earlier.
Anna tilted her head as she turned to look at Leah. “Definitely, but sometimes people have the ability and the desire to expand whatever they might be doing in life. If it’s skill and a desire to do more that propels you and not discontentment, then there’s nothing wrong with reaching for more.” She gave a slight shrug. “At least that’s how I’ve tended to view life.”
“What do you do in LA?” Sarah asked. “Are you famous?”
Eli had expected Anna to respond to Sarah’s question in the negative, so when she paused, he was surprised. He watched her closely, but her expression gave nothing away.
“I work in the social media lifestyle industry.”
A glance around the table showed Eli he wasn’t the only one who didn’t understand what she’d said.
“What does that mean, exactly?” Leah demanded.
Anna shifted in her seat, the only sign Eli could see that she wasn’t comfortable with the new direction of their conversation. “I review products on social media, and I’ve done some home decorating.”
“And that kind of thing pays for your nice car?” Sarah asked, her brows drawn together. “I think I need a career change.”
This time, a rueful smile crossed Anna’s face. “I come from a wealthy family.”
Well, that explained a lot of things, Eli thought. Except, with that kind of money, why wouldn’t she take a plane to Europe if she needed to get away from LA?
“You must be used to places much nicer than this,” his mom observed. Eli knew she wasn’t putting their home down, just stating the obvious.
“I have been in places more richly decorated, but those places aren’t filled with heart the way I sense your lodge is.” She paused and smiled at his mom. “I like this better.”
Nothing she could have said would have pleased his mother more. And though she could have just been trying to say the right things, Eli didn’t seem to get that feeling from Anna.
Sarah began to ask Anna about the places she’d visited. Of the three of them, she was the one who had expressed the most interest in the world beyond their small town. Eli had once thought about traveling, but circumstances had changed, tying him to New Hope. He knew the ropes holding him there were loose, and he could have easily escaped them, but he’d never even tried.
“To be honest, I’m not a big traveler these days,” Anna said, a look of regret on her face, almost as if she didn’t want to disappoint Sarah. “I’m a homebody for the most part.”
A knock on the front door interrupted the conversation, and his mom excused herself to go answer it. When she came back, she had a frown on her face.
“It’s Coral for you, Eli.”
With a sigh, Eli pushed back from the table and left the room. Coral stood just inside the door, her arms crossed, a frown on her face. A diminutive woman, Coral still had a commanding presence. And in all the years he’d known her, Eli had never seen her without her hair and makeup done.
“What can I do for you, Coral?” Eli asked as he walked toward her.
“You weren’t answering your phone,” she barked out as if he’d committed a crime.
“I turned it off.” Eli fought back his irritation. “Mom insists that we turn off our phones at the dinner table.”
“Oh. Well, I need you to give Jerry Evans a message.”
Eli slid his hands into his pockets, figuring he knew what was coming. “What message is that?”
“Tell him to stop calling me. I’m not interested in hearing what he has to say.”
Letting out a sigh, Eli said, “Pastor Evans is only calling because he cares. I know he prays all the time that you’ll find peace in spite of everything.”
“Well, you need to tell him that I don’t want his care. God hasn’t done anything for us, and neither has Jerry Evans. Peace? We’ve not had a moment of peace since we found out Sheila was missing. So tell him to back off and leave us alone.”
“I’ll pass on the message,” Eli said.
“You do that.” Coral spun on her heel and pulled open the door, then she headed out onto the wide porch. “I’ll call you soon with all the details.”
Eli stepped into the open doorway, his hand curving around the edge of the heavy wood door. He watched as Coral made her way down the stairs to where her car was parked. He hated this time of year, truly hated it. Maybe next year he needed to take a long vacation. Leave a month before the anniversary date and come back a couple of weeks after. Of course, he’d have to leave his phone behind because Coral would likely be blowing it up regardless of where he went.
Once she’d driven away, Eli closed the door and headed back to the dining table. When his mom looked at him, he just gave
a shrug and sat down at his spot. His empty plate had been cleared away, and in its place was a plate with a slice of chocolate cake on it.
“Did you want ice cream, Eli?” his mom asked.
“Sure. Thanks.”
“I don’t know why you bother to ask him,” Leah said. “He always says yes.” She turned to look at Anna. “Ice cream is his favorite dessert.”
“Let’s not start spilling all our secrets,” Eli said as he held his plate out so his mom could add a couple scoops of ice cream.
“Leah’s favorite dessert is lemon meringue pie,” Sarah volunteered. “And we think it suits her sour personality quite well.”
“Well, Sarah will eat anything with sugar, which is why she’s a size bigger than I am.”
A thump drew Eli’s attention, and he looked over to see his mom sitting with her elbows on the table, her head in her hands. Clearly she’d reached the end of her tolerance with them. He wasn’t even sure what was going on with Leah and Sarah.
“I apologize for my children, Anna,” his mom said as she lifted her head. “They’re usually better behaved.”
It would appear that the bad feelings which had developed from the disagreements over the colors at the cabin, had lingered. Eli wasn’t sure why his mom was lumping him in with the twins, though.
“Sorry, Momma,” Sarah said, her voice low. “Sorry, Leelee.”
Leah mumbled an apology as well.
“Just eat your dessert before I take it away,” his mom said.
“I’ve always wondered what it might be like to have siblings,” Anna said, her voice light and laced with a touch of humor.
His mom laughed, and some of the tension in the air dissipated. “I’m guessing you think you dodged a bullet after this.”
“It does seem like I might have,” Anna admitted, her eyes sparkling with humor. “Although maybe I also missed out on some real personality growth by not having siblings to deal with.”
Eli barely managed to stop the laugh that suddenly wanted to escape. Instead, he shoved another bite of cake and ice cream into his mouth. Sarah was snickering, and even Leah seemed to have relaxed.
A Love So Real: A Christian Romance (New Hope Falls Book 1) Page 4