Jim tilted his head back and laughed.
It felt good and right and like a rich blessing to tease a friend. To see a smile of satisfaction on Alice’s face. To feel the wind against his skin, smell the ocean, and enjoy the waves gently rocking the boat.
Quitz lay at his feet, her head on her paws.
The sun was indeed setting as they made their way past St. Jo Island and toward the Lydia Ann Lighthouse. He’d seen it twice with Madelyn. The first time had been on a boat like this one. The second time they had signed up for a tour that required them to take a boat out, dock, and walk up to the structure. He realized that his memories of Madelyn now brought him joy instead of pain. When had that changed? When had he learned to appreciate the memory of her instead of agonizing over the loss?
The captain again came over the loudspeaker and told them the details about the lighthouse. “She was built in 1857. Texas has a 400-mile coastline, and most of that is protected by barrier islands. Aransas Pass is one of the few gaps that allow access to the mainland. Congress authorized the building of the lighthouse in 1831 for a cost of $12,500. Most cars cost more than that now.”
There was laughter from the passengers. Charlie could tell they were listening intently, though several continued to take photographs of the lighthouse as the setting sun splashed rays of color around it.
“At one time it was called the Lydia Ann Channel Light, and it was very important during the Civil War. In fact, the lighthouse passed hands many times from Confederate to Union and back again. At one point soldiers from the South removed the lens from the light and hid it in the marshes on the island. Then on Christmas 1862, Confederate General Magruder ordered the destruction of the lighthouse in order to keep it out of Union hands. Rebuilding began in 1867. If you have time, I highly recommend you take the tour of the lighthouse and learn more about it.”
Charlie had been standing to get a better view. When he sat down, Shelley ran to his lap and crawled up in it, snuggling against him.
“I’m a little cold, Charlie.”
“We can’t have that.” He shrugged out of his jacket and placed it around her shoulders.
Alice started to protest, but he stopped her. He counted it a joy to be able to help the child, even if it was just to ward off the evening chill.
“Anyone want to help drop the trawl into the water?” Pete asked.
C.J. looked back at Alice, who nodded but hollered, “Be careful!”
And then Alton was picking him up, holding him near the button that allowed the line to release. C.J. laughed as the net fell into the water. It followed in the wake of the boat, causing a bit of a ripple as it collected treasures from the sea.
And when Alton put the boy down, he stepped closer, nearly plastering himself to Alton’s side. C.J. had indeed changed in the last few weeks. It seemed to Charlie that he’d allowed himself to be a child and let the adults handle the big stuff. That, for C.J., was a real mark of progress and healing. The boy had been through so much—being raised without a father, abandoned by his mother, and then finally having his home ripped away by a hurricane.
Yet he’d learned to trust an Amish man from nearly seven hundred miles north. Yes, it would seem that God had a hand in such things. And once the boy was moved into his new home, Charlie would finally rest easy.
CHAPTER 43
Joshua stood in front of Becca, casting a shadow onto the page where she was scribbling descriptions of all she saw.
“Better put that up and come watch One-Armed Pete.”
Becca added two more words, clicked her pen, wrapped the elastic band around the small book, and stored the pen beneath the band. “You think I should? It may be dangerous.”
“It may,” he agreed. “But I imagine it’s worth the risk.”
Joshua was worried she would say no, that the distance he had created between them would continue. But Becca smiled, tucked her small notebook into her backpack, and said, “I’m ready!”
Pete was pulling up the trawl net by the time they reached the back of the boat.
“It’s best not to let the net go too deep or stay in for too long,” he explained. “That’s how I lost my hand. Pulled up a shark.”
C.J.’s eyes had widened to the size of quarters, and Shelley stepped closer to Sarah.
“But that’s not the end of the story,” Pete said. “I killed the shark, and later—after I was out of the hospital—I ate him! So I suppose you could say I had the last word.”
He waved his stump in triumph, and the people gathered around clapped.
Joshua leaned toward Becca and whispered, “Think he’s telling the truth?”
“Could be! He lost that hand somehow. I can’t imagine going through something like that. I’m sure I’d find a different job.”
Pete must have heard her, for he winked and said, “I’ve worked on fishing boats all my life. Didn’t see any reason to stop doing something I loved because I had a single bad experience.”
In fact, the man was wiry and muscular. The net he pulled up was brimming with different types of fish, shells, and even some plant specimens. He selected a dozen items, dumped them into two waiting buckets, and then he emptied the net back over the end of the boat.
“Follow me downstairs, and we’ll look at what we caught.”
Joshua reached for Becca’s hand. She hesitated for a moment, and then she looked at him and smiled. It was enough to cause his pulse to race. She was going to give him a second chance. Relief washed through his mind and his heart. He hadn’t realized how hard it would be to not speak with her each day, to not share the good and bad events at work. He’d quickly found out just how much he missed their walks on the beach.
“What are you laughing about?” she asked.
“It’s only been three days since our argument, but it’s felt like much longer. I’m glad you’re not angry with me.”
“I was never angry with you.” She nudged her shoulder against his.
“Well, you certainly weren’t happy with me.” He held up a hand to stop her protest. “I don’t blame you. I was being bullheaded.”
“Yes, you were.” Her laugh mingled with his. “We can talk about this later. I want to see what Pete put in those buckets.”
“And describe them in your journal for your mamm?”
“Exactly.”
By the time they had descended the stairs, Pete had dumped the buckets onto an odd type of table. The top of the table was recessed two to three feet and the area had been filled with saltwater. The fish from the buckets swam back and forth.
C.J. and Shelley weren’t the only curious ones. Joshua noticed Alice reach forward and touch one of the fish as it swam by. Shelley glanced up at her grandmother, and a smile spread across the child’s face. It occurred to Joshua that when you lived in a place, you worked and went to school and went about your daily life, but often you missed out on the little pleasures that visitors enjoyed. He was glad Alice and her grandkids had come. They seemed as much a part of their group as Charlie or Jim or the Mennonite folks.
“This here is a flounder. I suppose most of you have seen or eaten one of these.” Pete dropped the fish and reached for a smaller specimen with his good hand. “Of course, this is a shrimp. I like mine battered and fried.”
There were several murmurs of agreement. Joshua realized that Pete was actually quite good with the crowd. He was instructing them as well as a teacher in a classroom. No wonder he had returned to his job after his accident. His skin was weathered, his speech that of common people, and his love for the sea quite evident.
Pete reached into the tank and picked up a fish that was flat, about the size of a dinner plate.
“This is a stingray. It has a barbed stinger on its tail.” Pete carried the fish to a tabletop behind him and snipped something off. He held the fish up, so that they could see its underbelly.
“I removed the stinger—”
“Did that hurt?” C.J. asked.
He returned it
to the water. “I don’t think so, and it will grow back. Some people say it’s wrong to remove the stingers, but I think that it’s good to teach people about fish. I wouldn’t want you getting hurt, though. Now you can touch this one or even pick it up.”
“How big do they get?” Shelley asked.
“Giant ones can be more than sixteen feet across and weigh more than a thousand pounds.”
Becca glanced up at Joshua, a comical look on her face.
“Worried about putting your toes in the water now?” he teased.
“We don’t see the monster size here in the gulf. At least I haven’t.” He again picked up the stingray as it swam by. “They hide under the sand. Their eyes are on top, but their mouth is on bottom.”
He flipped the fish over, and they all leaned forward, staring at the little mouth.
“Because they’re buried in the sand, they can’t see their prey. Instead, they smell it.”
“They smell us?” Shelley asked.
“Well, mostly they aren’t interested in little girls. Stingrays eat small fish, snails, clams, and shrimp. It’s okay for you to touch it and even pick it up. Just don’t leave her out of the water too long.”
Alton had picked up the stingray and was holding it for C.J. and Shelley to touch. He moved next to Becca. Joshua almost laughed when she hesitated, but then she reached forward and ran a finger gently over the top of the fish.
“I never thought I’d touch something like that,” she whispered.
“The sea is amazing. It’s full of a wide variety of God’s creatures. Just be sure to respect all people and animals, and give them plenty of space if they have big, sharp teeth.” He waved his stump again. “Best to learn from my mistake rather than endure the consequences of your own.”
“Learn from my mistake… ” Those words echoed in Joshua’s mind as he watched Becca and Sarah ooh and aah over starfish, crabs, and even the stingray.
The last fish Pete held up was small and practically spherical in shape. “This is a puffer fish.”
Shelley giggled and leaned forward, gripping the edge of the table.
“His best defense is that he can fill his stomach up with water. When he does, he becomes like a spiky ball, which is not too good if you’re a bigger fish trying to eat him.”
Pete again encouraged them to touch all of the fish, including the puffer. And then he reminded them once more that the ocean was a wonderful place and not to fill it with their trash. “Leave it like you find it,” were his exact words. “Better yet, if you see some trash, pick it up and take it home with you.”
The captain came over the ship’s loudspeaker, telling them they would be docking in twenty minutes.
“I want one more look at the ocean,” Becca said.
So the two of them went upstairs and stood at the side of the boat, watching the lights of Port Aransas come closer and the darkness of the sea recede. The sky was ablaze with starlight, the moon a mere crescent on the horizon. A light breeze had sprung up. Looking around to make sure no one else was close by, Joshua moved behind Becca and put his arms around her.
Instead of acting surprised, she snuggled into his embrace.
Could this be happening to him?
Was he falling in love with Becca Troyer?
And was it possible… a prospect that surely rivaled the wonders of the universe… was there a chance she loved him too?
CHAPTER 44
When Becca heard footsteps coming up to the main deck, she reluctantly stepped out of the circle of Joshua’s arms. She didn’t want to. She wanted to stay there, stare up at the stars, and enjoy the beating of his heart in rhythm with her own.
Joshua seemed to understand what she was thinking as he squeezed her hand once and then tugged her down on the seat next to him.
Soon they were surrounded by the others in their group, everyone talking about the fish below, the dolphins they had seen, and the lighthouse.
“Maybe we can go out to the lighthouse someday,” Shelley said, sitting on the seat between Becca and Sarah, bouncing up and down.
“We travel home soon,” Sarah reminded her.
“When?”
“In two weeks.”
Shelley stuck out her bottom lip. “Why can’t you just stay here?”
“Our family is in Oklahoma,” Becca explained. “They miss us, and we miss them too.”
“I’d miss Nana. I wouldn’t want to be away from her.”
“So you understand.” Sarah reached forward and straightened one of Shelley’s ponytails.
“I guess.” Shelley had popped up, but she sat down again and snuggled next to Sarah. “But when you want to see a lighthouse or a stingray, you’ll have to come back here!”
Becca and Joshua shared a smile.
They spoke of it when they had arrived back at their trailers and were sitting out on the patio. “It’s almost as if those two are healing one another.”
“Ya?” Joshua had foraged around in the kitchen and found a plate of cookies, a jar of peanut butter, some crackers, and a carton of milk. “I didn’t know Sarah needed healing.”
It wasn’t her secret to tell, so Becca shrugged and changed the subject. “That’s not exactly a balanced meal you have there.”
“The milk balances it.”
“Does not.”
“Well… ” Joshua popped a cracker topped with peanut butter into his mouth. “What do I need? Fruit? Vegetables? I think I saw a celery stick in there.”
“We had dinner before the gulf tour. You had a giant platter of fried shrimp.”
“Hours ago. A man needs constant nourishment.”
“Does he now?”
“Ya. A gut Amish wife would know that.”
Becca wasn’t entirely comfortable with talk of wives, and she blushed at the thought that Joshua might be thinking along those lines. She did care for him, and she was glad they were no longer cross with one another, but—
“You have that worried look.” Joshua’s tone was no longer light and teasing. He pushed aside the snacks, crossed his arms on the patio table, and leaned forward to study her in the light that spilled from the dining room.
The heat on her face warmed until she felt that her ears were burning. She was grateful for the semidarkness, which didn’t seem to keep Joshua from noticing her discomfort.
“Best to tell me than to chew on it.”
“It’s only that… what I mean to say is… well, I don’t want to be presumptuous.”
“I care about you, Becca. You know that, ya?”
“And I care about you.”
“Then I’d like to know what’s bothering you.”
She pulled her hands into her lap and stared down at them. She couldn’t see much, but it was better than looking into Joshua’s eyes. “You know I’m an only child.”
“I do.”
“And perhaps that is the reason it bothers me so much.”
“It?”
“Your arguments with Alton.”
Joshua cocked his head.
“Could be it’s normal for siblings.” Now she rushed to explain, the words tumbling out of her mouth. “My mamm and dat and I, we don’t argue in that way. One of us may be out of sorts, even a bit short tempered, but we quickly apologize and then… then harmony is restored.”
Now Joshua sat back in his chair, but he continued watching her closely. She finally raised her gaze to his. What she was about to say was too important to diminish by staring away like a child.
“I wouldn’t know how to… how to live in an environment of constant disagreement and dissension.” The worries she had been afraid to admit even to herself spilled out. “Not that I’m saying we’re ready to make such a commitment. Only I thought I should let you know… how… how it is that I feel.”
Joshua took his time answering, but finally he stood, walked to her chair, and squatted down in front of it. He pulled her hands out of her lap and gently kissed her fingers. “I want to know how you feel, Becca. I wa
nt you to always be honest with me. Do you understand?”
She nodded, not trusting her voice.
He squeezed her hands one more time before he stood and walked over to the patio railing. After a few moments, he turned, crossed his arms, and studied her.
“So you care about me.”
She could hear the smile in his voice. “I do.”
“And I care about you.”
Oh, how she wished she could see his expression.
“But you’re worried that were we to court seriously, and even one day decide to marry, that you’d be agreeing to live in a contentious home.”
“Ya.” She joined him at the porch railing. Instead of looking at each other, they gazed up at the Milky Way.
“You’re a wise woman, Becca. Probably more than you know.”
“I’m not judging you.”
“I can tell that.”
The breeze tickled the hair escaping from her kapp. She batted her hair back into place. Soon they would be back in Oklahoma. How would their relationship change then?
“I hadn’t stopped to think how my constant arguments with Alton might affect others. So often I focus on setting him straight, convinced he’s going to land in some trouble that will hurt our family.”
He turned and rested his back against the railing.
“You’re not the first to talk to me about this. Jim tried. Charlie tried. And now you have tried.” He cupped her face in his hands. “Danki, Becca. For caring enough to be honest with me, even about things I’d rather not hear.”
“What will you do?”
“What I should have done long ago—pray about it.” He lowered his head and brushed her lips with the gentlest of kisses.
Becca realized then that though the situation might not improve immediately, at least Joshua was willing to try. That was all she could ask.
CHAPTER 45
On the second Sunday they attended Jim’s church. It wasn’t lost on Joshua that the minister spoke on forgiveness. Matthew, Ephesians, Colossians—he worked his way through the New Testament, showing time and again how God commanded the church to forgive. Then he reversed directions and took them through the Old Testament.
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