by Cheryl Wyatt
Joel tried to lift the weight and strained. He sat up and eyed the barbells. “You moved up in weight I see.”
Ben grinned. “I have good incentive.”
Lying back, Joel laughed. “The girl.”
Ben nodded, spreading his legs to better spot Joel as he lifted his first set.
Joel replaced the bar in the metal slots. “How’s that going?”
“Stuff with the girl?”
“Yeah.” Huffs puffed from Joel as he lifted his next set.
“The four of us have a date tonight.”
“Four?”
“Yeah. Me, Amelia, her daughter Reece, and Bearby.”
“Bearby?”
“Little stuffed animal that her seven-year-old is attached to at the heart.”
Joel laughed. “Bradley has one of those. Little paratrooper toy Amber and I gave him when we first met and he was sick. So, how serious is this?”
“Serious enough for me to notice jewelry stores around town that I never knew existed before. And I stay up half the night thinking about her and the days spent with her.”
“Whoa.”
“Yeah, and I know the first question you’re going to ask. And yes, she is a Christian. Sort of.”
“Sort of? That doesn’t make me feel good, Dillinger. So anyway, what’s the big dig on this girl you’re losing sleep over?”
“It’s not just her. I’m juggling stuff with Hutton, too. And you saw for yourself how that’s going.”
“Yeah, yeah. Back to the kind-of-Christian girl. Spill.” Joel squirted water in his mouth then swiped his chin.
“I look up to you, Joel. Not only as our leader and phenomenal airman. I admire you as a friend and trust you as a spiritual leader. Any of us would follow you into a lake of fire and back. Plus, you’ve been married longest.”
“I take it you want advice?”
Ben nodded and pressed the weights harder. “She’s a good girl. Got pregnant in high school by a violent jock who used her then deserted her. She made me understand under no uncertain terms if I even hint at trying to seduce her, she’d walk and never look back.”
“What’s her relationship with God like?”
“Arbitrary. She’s not obstinate toward Him. Raised in church. Her earthly father won’t forgive her mistake and her mother won’t take up for her.”
“Poor kid.”
“You have no idea. Which reminds me, her dad’s also prejudiced against Asians and warned her all her life if she ever entered an interracial relationship he’d disown her.”
“That’s gonna be tough on you guys as a couple.”
“Yeah, and Mom says the closer we get to a permanent future together, the tougher the strain. Being in a mixed marriage herself, she’d know. But she wouldn’t trade being married to Dad for anything.”
“Marriage. That where this is heading?”
“I want it to. She has trust issues, for obvious reasons.”
“Probably doesn’t help that her father is how he is.”
“But it’s not like she and him are on talking terms now.”
“I see.”
“Anyway, I suspect she thinks she’s used up her ration of grace and there is no more mercy or forgiveness available, since she knew God then turned her back for that short time.”
“You said she was raised in church. What kind?”
“I get the feeling it’s legalistic. Small congregation but they shunned her when she got pregnant.”
“She resistant to church now?”
“Not sure. I confess I haven’t asked her because she’s trying hard to prove to herself she’s a capable mother. People in authority over her haven’t exactly spoken encouraging words to her throughout her life.”
“Tough break.”
“Yeah, so anyway, I thought if I invited her to church too soon, she might take that as me thinking she’s tainted or not good enough or something. So, I’m trying to be tactical about inviting her.”
Joel swigged from his water bottle. “If anyone can move the treacherous mountain of a prejudiced heart, God can. Entrust the outcome of this to Him, Dillinger. Hard as it may be, pray for this girl’s dad.”
“Thanks. I have been. Guess I just needed reassurance I’m on the right track.”
“I feel you are.” Joel wiped sweat from his forehead.
Doing the same, Ben stood. “I should go. She might need a ride to town and I need a shower. I’m bringing her to Manny’s birthday party. So warn the guys that if they tease or drill her for information, I’m sabotaging chutes.”
Joel laughed. “I hope you’re kidding, Dillinger. But I’ll warn them. However, you know how they can be. Whether they listen off the field is out of my control.”
“You can threaten to make them pay through other means.”
“Such as?”
“Subjecting anyone who disobeys your no-teasing-the-shy-girl orders to a rucksack run in their skivvies around Refuge. And I get to choose what goes in the rucksacks.”
Joel laughed and clapped a hand on Ben’s shoulder. “I’m glad you’re kidding, but the very idea you’ve plotted your revenge in this sort of detail concerns me about your sanity.”
“Sir, I am crazy. Crazy about her. She’s just really shy and self-conscious because of her lazy eye. I don’t want the guys scaring her off. You know how they can be.”
“Yeah, and until you met this girl, you used to join them. In fact, if memory serves, you’re the one who gave Evie the idea to name a street after Amber and her Mustang mishap.”
Ben straddled the arm curl bench. “Who told?”
A smirk covered Joel’s grin. “I know all, hear all and see all. And I can see that you’ve got it bad for this girl.”
“Concerned?”
Joel studied Ben a few seconds then shook his head. “Nah. Glad. I trust your judgment, Dillinger. Can’t wait to meet her.”
“I’d appreciate feedback once you do. Privately, of course.”
Towel flipped around his neck, Joel laughed. “I’ll fill out a full spec report. In the meantime, keep me posted. I’m praying for stuff between you and Hutton, too. See you at the party. Hutton be there?”
“Uh, no sir. That’s the other thing. I haven’t exactly told Amelia about Hutton.”
Joel nailed him with a harsh look. “You’re gonna need to man up and deal with that one, you know.”
“I know. I’m trying.”
Maybe if he bended a little on extending trust, she would, too. But that meant they both had to stretch in the vulnerability department. Ben didn’t know if he was willing or able to be quite that limber yet.
“Likely someone will bring up Hutton at dinner Friday. Amelia would start figuring some of it out on her own.” Just, hopefully, not the part about how utterly inept Ben was in dealing with Hutton.
“With her being exposed to your sometimes disorderly, outspoken teammates, and you facing the Hutton revelation, Manny’s party will be an important test for each of you.”
“And certainly an important turning point for our relationship, should we have a future in store.” Ben knew the recent ladder maneuver had been bold, but he couldn’t help it. Chalk it up to recon for Amelia’s feelings. He wanted to know if she was interested in him as more than a friend.
“Definitely.” Joel transferred to the free weights, leaving Ben alone with his thoughts. Ben lowered himself onto the leg-press machine and let Amelia take over his mind.
Sure, she had some faith issues to work out first, and he knew he couldn’t be unequally yoked. But he had a feeling that once she truly got to know God and experience His unconditional love and acceptance, she’d surrender her tender heart for good. Hopefully Ben’s kindness reflected God’s heart toward her.
And as far as the other big obstacle—her dad having racial hang-ups—he’d figure that out as they went along. Hopefully the odds weren’t insurmountable.
If anyone can make a way, You can. I rest my trust in You.
Chapter
Seventeen
His DZ duties concluded, Ben drove to the garage to pick up Amelia and Reece, who were becoming regular as wrenches at Eagle’s Nest. Amelia worked on her drawings between phone calls and filing.
Like clockwork, the foursome, including Bearby, piled in Ben’s car as they had for weeks. Ben smiled. Amelia had stopped apologizing for inconveniencing him. Progress. Growth.
“A princess movie! Yay!” Reece held the DVD Ben rented for their Friday video night.
“Animation okay?” Ben asked Amelia as rubber met the road.
She nodded and picked a cloud-covered pamphlet off the seat. The front said Refuge DZ. Multicolored parachutes dotted it like candy in the sky. “Ben, what’s the DZ?”
“It’s a skydiving facility term. DZ, or Drop Zone, is the area skydivers are supposed to land.” Ben laughed.
“What’s funny?”
“When Refuge revamped addresses to zone for a 911 system, they let Joel, who now owns Refuge DZ, rename the streets around the facility. My teammate Manny crashed through a grove of trees between the building and the Drop Zone. Joel named the road near where he crashed Pena’s Landing.”
“Ouch. I take it he’s okay now?”
Ben nodded.
Amelia flipped through the pamphlet. “Must be a town thing. Because Miss Evie mentioned naming Mustang Lane after a woman who crashed her car into the B and B.”
“Yup. That would be Joel’s wife, Amber. She offered to watch my—” he nearly said “brother when I have to leave on mission” but remembered he hadn’t told Amelia “—stuff when I have to travel for work,” he finished. Stuff? He’d reduced his brother to “stuff” now?
Pathetic, Dillinger. He just needed a tad more time to figure things out with Hutton.
Problem was, the day that they’d agreed for Hutton to come live with Ben was closing in faster than a ruthless enemy soldier.
He needed to come up with the courage to tell her before then, or trust would become a casualty.
Ben’s phone rang, as it had been several times a day. Ben knew from Gus that people continually ordered Amelia’s caricatures. He’d been seeing them everywhere around town.
People loved seeing themselves depicted as exaggerated cartoons that featured them in spoofy poses in their jobs. Her talent amazed him. Maybe she’d do one of his team once she met them.
Amelia closed the phone after her conversation. She looked back at Reece. “That was Glorietta. She leads a group of girls your age, like Girl Scouts, only it’s based out of her church. The group is called GIGs and it stands for Girlfriends In God. She’s wondering if you want to go to meetings with her?”
“Yay! Yes. Can Bearby go?”
“Well, er—he’s not really a girl.” The look on her face provoked Ben to laughter. He could tell she argued with herself about why she was even conversing about this when the bear wasn’t real.
“Maybe Bearby could be the GIG mascot,” Ben said, laughing.
“I know! I’ll let you Bearby-sit him, Mr. Ben. In case the other girls don’t carry stuffed animals.”
Now it was Amelia’s turn to laugh. “I think that’s a grand idea. Anyway, GIGs meet Tuesday evenings, but tonight they’re having a sleepover at Miss Evie’s church.”
Which was Ben’s church. Only he hadn’t thought to tell Amelia. Yet another secret.
“I wanna go, but I told Mr. Ben we’d watch movies.” Reece eyed him.
“We’ll watch the princess show another time if you want to do the GIG thing.”
“You sure, Mr. Ben? I wouldn’t want you to get lonely.”
“I won’t. Your mom and Bearby will keep me company.” He smiled at Amelia. Their first date alone without Reece. Maybe they’d open up more. He didn’t want to talk about certain aspects of his job around Reece, anyway. He sensed Amelia had perceived that.
“Glorietta’s meeting us at Haven Street Park when she gets off. We have time to run by the B and B, pack Reece’s overnight bag then play at the park until she gets there.”
Once there, they raced each other across the grass to the swirly slide. After they took several spirals each down it, Ben motioned toward the swings. “Come on. I’ll push you guys.”
Reece stuffed Bearby into a plastic baby swing next to them then sat in the rubber-strip swing beside Amelia.
Ben positioned himself in the grass behind the swings. He took a running start and pushed Amelia so high her feet cleared his head. He ran beneath the swing then around back. He didn’t push Reece high. He got a rhythm going so they were all three, including Bearby, airborne in different positions at once.
Glorietta arrived and Amelia handed her Reece’s backpack. “Here are her clean clothes and pajamas.” Amelia hugged Reece. Then Reece hugged Ben before snatching Bearby out of the swing and skipping with Glorietta to her car.
Ben grinned. “You still wanna watch the princess flick?”
“No. I’d like not to watch animation if I can help it.” She laughed.
“We could explore the hiking trails behind the B and B,” Ben said on arrival.
Amelia took the hand Ben extended and they ascended the steep hill behind the B and B later.
“Can you describe what you do during a rescue?”
“Nope.” He grinned. “But I can show you.” He swooped her up and slung her over his shoulders, then ran full tilt in a sweat-producing sprint up steep, treacherous terrain and rocky trails.
She squealed at first then relaxed to the point of laughing. He kept running. She kept laughing. Thirty minutes later, he set her down near the trail that led to the waterfall.
“How did you ever build up endurance to do that?”
“In my training, which is as constant as breathing.”
“Is that where you go on Saturdays?”
Ouch. “Yowza. You should consider a career in interrogation.” He chuckled and braced hands on his knees. “Yup, training is where I go. Some of the time.”
She eyed him, but didn’t press. They hiked at a rapid clip up the remainder of the trail. They got close enough to the waterfall that mist sprayed their faces.
Catching her breath, Amelia sat on a flat rock and pulled off her shoes and socks. Her toes stretched out and glistened as water misted her feet. “What are some of the rescues you’ve done that I might have heard about?”
She wasn’t giving up for anything. She was nothing if not tenacious. He needed to give a little. She deserved that.
He sat beside her on the rock, enjoying a rainbow visible in the wall of water. “Helped in Asia after the tsunami. Rescued climbers from Oregon’s Mount Hood. That’s always fun. I’ve been to Everest and into the deep Atlantic. I’ve recovered astronauts after water landings. Every nook and cranny of the world, I’ve been there. Glaciers. Every sea. Most national disasters you hear about on TV, and some you won’t hear about, I’ve likely been there. Floods. Earthquakes. Tornadoes. Terrorist attacks. I’ve dropped behind enemy lines to rescue downed Allied pilots. Also helped rescue Katrina victims after the hurricane that devastated New Orleans and the Gulf coast.”
“Wow. I’m in awe, Ben. Speaking of which, it’s under way.” She shivered.
“What?”
“Hurricane season. My parents live in the danger zone.”
“Ahh. Hopefully they won’t be too bad this year.”
She laughed. “My parents? Or the hurricanes?”
He leaned in, letting the mist cool him off. “Is there much difference?”
“Not really. They are decent people. It’s just, they had high hopes for me. I’m hoping distance will strengthen our relationship.” She pulled her socks and shoes back on.
“So, once your dad finds out I’m part Asian, how’s that gonna work?”
She opened her mouth to speak, then clamped it shut and looked away. Dismay widened her eyes, telling him what she couldn’t bring herself to say.
When Dad finds out, it’s not going to work.
He stood, pulling her up with him. He drew he
r into his arms in a loose embrace. “I am not sure how this’ll pan out. But I am sure that I can’t stand the thought of you and Reece not remaining in my life. Somehow.”
Amelia gulped. “Well, it’s not like Dad and I are even talking right now.”
“I can’t imagine a man not wanting anything to do with his daughter and granddaughter forever. He’ll eventually come around.” He released her and led them, hand in hand, back down the trail. Darkness would descend soon.
“I hope you’re right.”
A disturbing thought detonated inside Ben’s brain.
If her dad came back around, would Amelia shun Ben for the sake of her father, and for Reece knowing her grandparents?
Ben sensed a hard decision on Amelia’s horizon.
Chapter Eighteen
“I’ll bet Amber’s embarrassed to drive down the road,” Amelia said the following Tuesday, as Ben drove them along Mustang Lane to the B and B after dropping Reece off at Glorietta’s for GIGs.
“Miss Evie asked her permission. Amber has a great sense of humor. I think she felt honored.”
“Your friends sound fun-loving and nice, Ben.”
“They are. Hey, I’d love them to meet you. In fact, one of my teammates is having a birthday party Friday night at the local Mexican restaurant. I’d love it if you went with me. Bradley’ll be there so Reece can meet him. There’s also someone else I want you to meet the weekend after. Someone very important to me.”
There. He said it. Now he was bound by his word to introduce her to Hutton.
They exited the car and walked up the B and B steps. “Sure we wouldn’t be intruding on the party?”
“No way. I’m the one planning it.”
“You’re a good friend to people, Ben.”
“And you’re deserving of good friends, Amelia.”
“Friends. Now that’s something I can use.”
“You’ll make plenty this weekend.” Ben motioned toward a bench swing on the wraparound porch. “Joel told me his wife and Manny’s have been dropping by your place.”
“Yeah. I really like Celia and Amber. I envy their friendship. I had that with Nissa before she met this creep. Did you put them up to coming here?”