by LoRee Peery
She studied the deck frame and then frowned at the notched length of wood. “Uh, Eric?”
“Yeah?”
“Am I missing something here?” She straightened her brow. “These can’t be long enough to reach all the way.”
When he smiled, the crinkles around his eyes did funny things to her tummy.
“You’re right. The steps would be too steep if they led straight up.” He grabbed a diagram from his jeans pocket.
“You’ll have a landing.” He stepped off a corner in the gravelly dirt. “Right here. Four feet by four feet.”
She was with him all the way now.
What would it be like, she wondered, going through the next fifty years, beside him all the way through life, maybe helping him do fix-it jobs?
“Can you hand me that little T-square, please?”
Eric’s voice interrupted her daydream.
“I want to check one measurement before I start sawing.”
She picked up the tool in question and took it to him. But instead of handing it to him, she stepped right into his space, almost touching him, but not quite.
“Eric?” She flared her nostrils, taking in his manly sunshiny scent.
When he swallowed, she was captivated by the sight of his Adam’s apple. She heard, rather than saw, the folded sheet of paper flutter to the ground.
She lifted her gaze. His full attention made her all fluttery inside.
Moselle lowered her lids and tipping her head, reached to kiss his neck, right on that pointed knob. His pulse throbbed between them. He tasted like heat and salt.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
He gulped.
This must be how it was for Eve, thrilled by her effect on Adam.
But was she teasing Eric by leading him to believe they had a future?
On the other hand, he had never said he wanted a future with her. Eric seemed to thrive on the moment.
She sobered, shielded her heart with that familiar guard. And removed herself from his space.
****
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something,” Moselle said.
Oh, boy. Eric slid a hand over his whiskers.
She’d taken a step back, yet her soft voice filled his world. It blocked the vehicle noise coming from surrounding streets, and her words sounded louder to him than the squawking jays in the tree across the alley.
How could she be more beautiful each time he saw her? The fire from her red hair touched her cheeks with a rosy glow. Her green eyes flashed as bright as winter wheat in April.
His ears even buzzed whenever she came around.
He again recalled the refrain from one of Geneva’s oldie tunes. The earth moved under his feet when Moselle came around.
Thank God it was daylight and they weren’t alone somewhere in the dark.
The music ended in his mind, but he still felt like he was on shaky ground.
“Sure,” he managed.
She set the T-square on top of the eight-foot long two-by-twelve and picked up the dropped sheet of paper.
He took the note without looking at it, refolded it with one hand, and stuck it back in his shirt pocket. Eric cupped her warm, enticing elbow. “Want to get out of the sun?”
Without comment, she turned to the bench underneath the shade tree behind Frivolities.
Once seated, she started right in. “I’m clearer about what happened that last night we were together.”
“Oh joy,” Eric mumbled. He swallowed a big gulp of cappuccino. A drop threatened to drop off the lip of the cup. He rubbed it away and ran his hand against his jeans shorts. The drop was nothing compared to the sweat he felt erupting all over.
She tracked every movement.
The sweat drops beaded along his hairline. “I’ve had the feeling lately that you understand a lot more about, uh, what goes on between a man and a woman.”
“I do. I’ve finally grown up.”
Must be humid. He didn’t have enough air. The sweat chilled. Did Moselle give him these goose bumps? He needed to focus here.
He grudgingly admitted, “I threw you away, the only decent person in my life. All because of my selfish intentions. I felt we had reached a point of mutual consent, uh, to take our feelings for one another to the next level.”
She shook her head and tightened her lips, but she didn’t interrupt.
He wanted to crush the cup but it wasn’t disposable. “I admit. I felt sorry for Beth. After a while I even tried to understand why she had lied. Oops.”
He hadn’t meant to go there.
“Beth told me the whole story.”
The now empty cup slipped from his grip. What a relief. “She did?” He didn’t want to hide anything from Moselle. Now, finally, the truth was out so they could put the past far behind them.
“So you know.” He searched the depths of her green, green eyes. “When she lost the baby, all I saw was my only chance at fatherhood go out the window. I overreacted and told her to get out of my life.”
He’d never tried to put his feelings into words. Eric ground his teeth, a muscle jumped in his cheek. “I didn’t stop to think about anyone but myself. I kind of lost who I was for a time. I pushed God far into a corner where I tried to keep Him hidden.”
“Back up a minute, Eric. Let’s leave Beth out of it for a moment.” She finished her latte and set the empty cup near her sandaled foot. “Sure, you hurt me. But I let us get that far by going to the country with you that night. We were asking for trouble, spending so much time together alone.”
She hesitated and turned from him. “Anyway, looking back on it now, I admire you for marrying Beth.”
How in the world could she think that after the way he’d set her aside?
“I agree that Beth was in the wrong by not letting you know her baby wasn’t yours. Now I understand she had to get away. We can both understand where she was coming from. I don’t want to take her side when I wallowed in my own hurt for so long, but you provided Beth’s escape from a life of abuse. I can’t even imagine going through something so awful.”
He blew a relieved breath. “All these should-haves don’t get us anywhere. Being where God wants us now and following His lead for the future is our place to be.”
She wouldn’t let it drop. “The biggest thing I realize is how much you were also hurt. Beth’s deceit damaged you every bit as much as I was hurt when she threw our friendship out the window. That’s what I meant when I said I was growing up. This world is not all about me.”
“But it’s a fact that I dumped you.”
“That, too. But we formed a bond as kids.”
“Right. We were friends long before Beth started school with us.”
How well Moselle seemed to know what he had struggled with over the years. He wanted to be done with the past. Why, oh why, did she keep going back there?
Yet, he’d been traveling back through the memories they had shared earlier than in high school, as children. Moselle had been such a full part of his life, so much that he’d talked to her when she wasn’t there.
And after he’d driven her away from Platteville, even sometimes with Beth, he’d start to talk to Moselle in his mind. But she hadn’t been there to listen.
“I’m going to confess something now, Eric.” She faced him. “Remember when we were teenagers?”
Her hand felt cool against his heated jaw.
“You woke up my senses.”
Of all the things she could confess, he had never dreamt of this one. He gave her his full attention. Did he want to hear more?
Moselle twisted her dangling beaded earring. “I was afraid of my own reaction to you as much as what you might do to me.”
That was a confession, all right. And some. He swallowed again. Hard. The aftertaste of French vanilla tasted sour.
Why did either of them pummel themselves instead of striving for joy? Joy in the present and the future, instead of what lay behind. Accepting all God’s blessings?
He wanted that joy now. He wanted her to welcome a lifetime commitment and come to believe they were soul mates.
They were ordained to be together.
But she still fought it, holding out until he asked her to stay.
“I’m so glad to know we’re friends again. You can give me a call now and then once I’m back in Kansas City.”
You can dream you’ll go back, Moze, but I’m not letting you go again.
****
“It’s really done.” Moselle tucked her hand in the crook of Eric’s elbow, as confident in his strength as the wooden steps beneath her feet. They ambled up the stairs in perfect harmony.
She trailed her free hand along the top railing, made of treated lumber. She’d stained and Eric had sealed the planking. She loved the idea that they had worked on the project together and that the initial idea for the loft had been Eric’s.
And she’d had mind pictures of sharing future fix-it jobs with him. Those daytime dreams were better than the night fantasies that prevented peaceful sleep.
She dropped her arm and faced him when they reached the landing. “I can hardly wait to move completely in.”
He joined their hands. “I’ve got some guys lined up to plumb the bathroom.”
“It’ll be right above the one downstairs?”
He nodded. “You’re fortunate the former owner insulated. The wallboard will go up fast and can be done the same time as the plumbing.” He looked so deep into her eyes that she felt him touch the hidden corners of her heart. Another chunk of ice broke off.
How could they talk about everyday things when her senses were so alive? Her whole world was encapsulated in the two of them standing close on a little square platform ten feet above the ground. Eric’s nearness shot fire through her body. Her steamy reaction came from more than the humid air surrounding them. She tried to concentrate on the mundane. “How can I ever repay you for all this work?”
Eric squeezed her right hand then laid it over his heart. “Go out with me. Somewhere special. As in, will you please spend a whole day with me?” He raised her hand, skimmed his fingers to the ends of hers, where he touched only the tips. Then he kissed the knuckles. His breath whispered over her skin, and she imagined his kiss so thoroughly that she could taste the mint that was unique to Eric.
She trembled inside.
He finally spoke, “Do you think your mom could get along without you?”
“Is this a for-real date?”
“Yeah. It hit me like a runaway oxygen tank last night.” He tucked his thumb around hers and placed their joined hands back on his chest. “We’ve seen each other almost every day, but we haven’t done a single thing for fun. We haven’t gone out of town together, just the two of us.”
“Not since we got the permit. Where shall we go?”
He didn’t answer.
After a moment, she warmed to the idea. “Somewhere without crowds. Not a noisy restaurant, agreed?”
“Hey, I aim to please.” He pulled his thumb from underneath her palm, flattening her hand back over his heart, and traced his fingers along hers.
Her heart soared. Her spirit seemed to lift up and join the puffy white clouds above them.
She lifted her gaze and scanned the back wall, now a sea of glass. Delighted, Moselle couldn’t have held a smile back for a million dollars. The exterior entrance to her new living quarters shined in the waning light.
Of course she’d spend a day with Eric.
“How about next Monday, when we’re closed? As long as I’d be back for Bible study that night.”
“Count on it.”
His deep, rich-as-espresso voice shot a shiver of tingling awareness throughout. Her very skin came alive, every time she was near Eric. Her heart fluttered like a hummingbird’s wings.
For the rest of the day, Moselle felt as light and airy as the clouds that floated above them, suspended in cerulean blue.
Moselle’s Insurance
15
Eric surveyed the kitchen. It looked puppy-proof, but Dear seemed to find new things to explore all the time. Every day when he came home he’d find something else Dear had pulled apart, chewed up, or eaten all together. He needed to work on training her a little harder.
Dear jumped, weight on her back legs, front paws hanging over the kiddie gate. He returned her puppy grin and scratched her between the ears.
It did his heart good to have another living being in the house, especially one to greet and give him unconditional love.
But a puppy wasn’t the answer to his loneliness. The void he experienced went deeper than a lonely house, or even another physical body. There was more to life than living alone.
Plain and simple, he needed to have Moselle around, going through life with him. Could he convince her to stay in Platteville?
He knelt to roughhouse with Dear and laughed over the puppy’s antics. Moisture gathered in his eyes at the thought that Dear was a gift from Moselle.
He smoothed a hand down the puppy’s back. It reminded him of the texture of Moselle’s hair. She used something to stiffen it, but after he ran his fingers through it a couple times, he loved the way the strands drifted through his touch.
What would it be like to have Moselle as the warm body at home, greeting him at the end of the day—or after a fire—with unconditional love? He scanned his kitchen and had a fleeting glimpse of her standing at the sink.
Is it Your will, Lord?
The idea of marriage dried up his mouth. He swallowed. Then he had to swallow again. He was so consumed with emotion at the thought of her, his chest felt like it could burst. She was a part of him.
Had been as long as he could remember.
He’d be lost if something happened to keep them apart. He couldn’t lose her again. And what they had together was bigger than any physical joining.
Eric was beyond ready to spend the day with his special girl, the woman of his heart.
He leaned forward to nuzzle the puppy’s nose. As he gave her an extra scratch, he said, “Now, girl, don’t bathe in your water bowl while I’m gone, all right? Stay.”
The puppy’s light brown eyes shone as though she understood. It remained to be seen whether she’d obey.
He grabbed the lightweight cooler filled with fruit, mini carrots and broccoli flowerets, string cheese, trail mix, and whole wheat mini sandwiches spread with organic crunchy peanut butter. He grinned, gave himself a mental pat for knowing the food groups. He counted on Moselle to provide their drinks.
Moments later, Eric stood on Geneva’s familiar porch and basked in the sight of his love. Her short, tussled red hair framed her gorgeous face. More freckles had made their appearance. A flush appeared on her cheeks
His chest raised a notch at the idea that he put it there.
He lowered his eyes and gave her the once over. Her toes were bare, tipped in soft orange. She wore khaki Capri pants that revealed her shape and a top in a darker shade of green. A scarf consisting of a riot of burnished colors rode on her hips.
Eric couldn’t get over the jittery feeling in his gut that made him feel about fourteen, especially when he looked into those incredible emerald eyes. There was so much more to Moselle than her looks. She had done well for herself in Kansas City, but he was so proud of the way she’d come home to Platteville. She’d dug right into the business, using her talent and her smarts, and her generous heart.
And she seemed to have finally put the past influence of others behind her.
Now, his monumental task was to keep her here.
His throat felt thick, but somehow Eric managed to say, “Hey.”
“Hey, yourself.” Her eyes traveled over him from head to toe, giving as good as she got.
He thought he looked presentable, especially with the deeper tan from running and working outside on the loft. Eric rolled his tongue around inside his mouth, trying to find enough moisture to speak.
“You ready to go?” He finally managed.
&nb
sp; “You bet.” She grabbed a thermos from inside the door and glanced up at him. “I haven’t had my shot of caffeine so can we stop at Frivolities and load up?”
“Would I say no to that?” He took her elbow as they headed down the walk.
Settled in his truck, he asked, “Where are we going, by the way?”
“I thought you were taking me.”
“Surprise is later.”
“Sounds good. I want to walk my legs off.” She giggled. “Well, until they feel like lead and I want to chop them off. I’m exercise deprived.”
“You could always jog with me.” He roared at her screwed-up monkey face. He glimpsed the girl he once shared adventures with.
“I see that’s a bad idea. We’ll go where you want to first, then my surprise after lunch.”
“Goldenrod Trail.”
Eric grabbed her free hand and held it between them on the bench seat. Moselle loosened her fingers and tucked them between his. He glanced down at their cupped hands, gave her fingers a squeeze, and grinned at the look on her face.
Her eyes were closed and her lips moved, but she didn’t even whisper.
This woman was a dichotomy. He never knew what adventure lay ahead.
Moselle opened her eyes but focused on something outside instead of turning to face him. He waited.
“All right already. I prayed. Let’s get on with this day. This is the day that the Lord has made.” She tacked on with a musical lilt to her voice, “Amen.”
“Amen.” He added in his deepest bass, and put the truck in gear.
“Eric!”
He slammed on the brake and looked all directions.
Moselle spurted a gusty laugh. “Sorry about that. Shall we pick up Dear on the way out of town?”
“That’d be like taking a toddler along.” But his admiration for her went up another notch. “Sure you’re up to it?”
“She isn’t too heavy to carry along when she gets tired, is she?”
“What’s too heavy for me? Dear is growing only the way a puppy can.” Eric stopped the truck behind Frivolities. “I can still handle her. Ask me again in a year.”
While Moselle busied herself behind the counter preparing two cappuccinos for him and a latte for herself, Eric braved a step into the shop. He stopped in front of a broad-brimmed straw hat with a coppery band and waved it at Geneva. She nodded, so he folded the brim, and put it behind his back.