Season of Hope

by Virginia Carmichael

  She couldn’t help noticing the shadows under his eyes. She knew his office was under a lot of pressure. Maybe he was headed back to work after this. There weren’t many guys wearing ties on Saturday morning between the swings and the rock climbing wall.

  Surveying the play area, she tuned out the rhythmic shriek of the swings, stopping at a pair of young boys near the slide. They were rolling snowballs up the slippery chute and trying to catch them on the way down. One little boy was wearing a coat that looked a little too new, as if he’d just moved from a warmer place, like Florida. But the next moment his mother called his name and he ran toward her, across the play area and away.

  Evie felt Gavin shift next to her, following her gaze. She sensed his amusement and tried not to laugh. This was silly, but she couldn’t help playing along. She was determined to win. Struggling to block out the sight of him, the sound of his slow breaths, the faint scent of soap, Evie focused.

  She was going at this all wrong. She should be looking for Sean’s mother. Evie’s lips twisted in triumph at her new plan, but she kept silent. Within seconds she spotted Sean. His mother was near but not hovering. Tall, slender, with a red scarf wrapped haphazardly around her throat, the strikingly pretty brunette leaned against a metal pole. A few feet away, three little boys worked on moving a large snowball through the toys. Allison didn’t scan the park for friends, wasn’t texting on her phone. Sean’s mother was watching him intently but from a short distance.

  Evie could guess from Allison’s line of sight which boy was hers, and when he turned she could see the resemblance to his mother. Straight blond hair peeking out from under a brightly striped knit hat, but his eyes were blue, features a little sharper.

  “And what’s the reward if I prove myself?” She slid a glance at him and felt her cheeks warm as he raised his eyebrows and made a sound that was part surprise, part laugh. She should be ashamed of her flirty tone. But it was hard to feel guilty.

  “You won’t be able to pick him out of the crowd, I’m sure. If you fail, I have a proposal.”

  Evie turned, mittens on hips, and shot him a look.

  Gavin turned to face her, one side of his mouth quirked up as if he was trying not to laugh. He rubbed a hand over his jaw and pretended to contemplate the situation. “I was thinking that when we’re not working together professionally... Dinners are always so awkward. Sitting at a table, trying not to spill food on your nice clothes. I think we could find something more fun to do. If you wanted.”

  Chewing her lip, she glanced at him, then back to Sean. Her cheeks were feeling downright toasty. She thought she knew where he was headed. Then again, maybe they weren’t on the same page after all. “You mean, like a park date?”

  This time he laughed out loud, a deep sound that made her unable to tear her gaze away from him in spite of herself. “I don’t know how I’ve given you the wrong impression, but I don’t need free babysitting.”

  She’d gotten a lot of impressions. And one of them was that he didn’t like her at all, but it seemed like that was changing.

  “And if there’s a man who thinks you’d make a better babysitter than a dinner date, he’s certainly not standing right here.” Voice low and words measured, he meant what he said. His warm brown eyes were locked with hers, speaking volumes.

  That small space inside, the one that held all the old grudges and hurts, eased just a bit. So many times she’d felt invisible, growing up as Jack’s twin, the daughter of a business owner who didn’t think girls were good enough. It had become second nature to assume people were interested in her paper, her brother, her family. But not Gavin. He made her feel as if she were captivating.

  “How about we head up to Echo Mountain for the day? Maybe on Saturday, we could go skiing, or boarding, whatever you’d like. There’s a great restaurant at the ski lodge.”

  A drive, mountain scenery, gorgeous slopes, excellent restaurants, cozy chats by the enormous lodge fireplace as they sipped hot cocoa. Evie couldn’t help grinning.

  “Sounds great, but there’s one problem.”

  “You don’t accept rides from strangers?”

  Evie gave him a shot to the arm. It was the unconscious, playful move of a girl crushing on a boy. Part of her wanted to groan. The other part thrilled at his answering expression of mock pain.

  “I don’t ski that well. I would only slow you down.”

  “We don’t have to ski. There are nature trails, too. We could snowshoe. If all else fails, we can just wallow around in the snow like little kids do.” He flapped his arms for emphasis.

  “I suppose I could manage that.” She stood, smiling up at him, lost in the idea of a day in the mountains with Gavin on a Saturday when she’d have a little more time off from the paper. But he’d said she couldn’t pick this kid out of the crowd, and she was stubborn. It would be easy to point out the wrong kid, but she didn’t play dumb for anybody. It just wasn’t in her. “But you can’t win a day with me. You have to ask nicely.” She pointed. “Sean is the little boy in the yellow ski jacket, by the jungle gym. Allison is the woman leaning against the pole a few feet away.”

  If she wasn’t a little irritated at herself for having to be right, she would have laughed at his expression. “I just looked for the mom who wasn’t all wrapped up in her own circle of friends, or stuck to her smartphone. She’s new here so she’s sticking close to him.”

  “That will teach me to set myself up for disappointment.”

  “She doesn’t look anything like you.” Evie swept a glance over his wavy blond hair, strong jaw and broad shoulders. Allison was dark and slight, with a pointed chin and delicate features. She looked familiar, somehow.

  “We’re not related except by marriage. Her father, my mother. She’s technically my stepsister, but I don’t bother with the step part.”

  She smiled a little, thinking of the way the world was always drawing lines in the sand and raising invisible fences. Gavin preferred to step over them, arms wide open.

  A few fat flakes of snow drifted lazily down between them. Did she really want to give up a date, just to be right? Before she thought it through, Evie slid a glance at him. “But Shakespeare said, ‘the quality of mercy is not strain’d, it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven.’” She held out a hand and a wet, clump of snowflakes dotted her mitten. “Or snow, as the case may be.”

  Gavin faced her, hands in his coat pockets, head tilted down. His voice was soft. “He also said, ‘it blesseth him that gives and him that takes,’ an attribute to God Himself.”

  “Right. So, we both win. I think we should go to Echo Mountain and have some fun.” The flakes were falling thick and fast. Evie lifted her face to the sky, unable to keep the warmth from spreading from near her heart, settling somewhere in her belly and translating into a goofy smile.

  He reached out and turned her mitten, examining the snowflakes in her palm. Their eyes met and Evie felt the warmth in her chest transform into something full of possibility, tenuously hanging in the air between them. The thrill that went through her was chased by a healthy dose of fear. Getting close to Gavin meant telling the truth, all of it, including how she’d bought the paper.

  “Uncle Gavin!”

  They both turned as Sean ran toward them. His small face was alight with happiness, huge smile revealing widely spaced front teeth. “It’s snowing, it’s snowing!”

  “Yup, it tends to do that here, buddy.” Gavin leaned down and rubbed his hand over Sean’s knit cap. “This is your welcome to Denver.”

  “You must be Evie.” Allison was just steps behind her son, dark hair pulled to one side and tucked into the collar of her coat. She held out her hand, but her smile contained a bit of wariness. Again there was that flash of memory, something struggling up to the surface of Evie’s consciousness.

  “It’s nice to meet you and Sean. I hope yo
u’ll enjoy your time here.”

  “I do, too. We’re making a whole new start in Denver. We’ve been hiding for too long.” She took a deep breath and smiled.

  Evie wondered if Allison was being literal. Hiding from what? Gavin’s expression was cautious.

  Allison went on, “I don’t know if we’ll be able to get Gavin to lay off the eighty-hour workweek for a while.” She cocked her head. “We’ve never been able to before. But maybe things are different now you’re in the picture.”

  Heat rising to her face, her gaze slid to the man beside her. His expression was inscrutable, but he didn’t look at all irritated by the implication that Evie was going to cut into his workaholic ways.

  “Which reminds me, I’ve got to get back.” Gavin dodged a snowball that Sean lobbed at his kneecap.

  “You’re not staying?”

  “I really wish I could. But there were five more reported cases just today. They’re talking about restricting travel in and out of Denver International. That would mean disaster at any time, but right now, near the holidays, it would be a bigger crisis than we’ve seen in a while.”

  Evie paused, wondering what to say, to ask. She could feel her pulse pounding in her throat. “City-wide quarantine?”

  “Not quite. For this they’d make sure people stayed home, skipped the holiday parties. It would put a huge damper on the Christmas festivities at the Mission. The kids would be crushed if the parties were cancelled.”

  Rubbing a hand over the back of his neck, he went on, “Antibiotics can help, but not after the first three weeks because the damage is already done. People just aren’t bringing the kids in soon enough. They just give them cough medicine, and then their lungs are already filled with fluid, their kidneys are starting to fail. The way this is going, it’s only a matter of time before there’s a fatality.”

  The snow seemed to pause in the air, time slowing down as Evie processed his words. Her hand went to her throat of its own accord. A fatality, just like his best friend. She couldn’t imagine how hard it was for him.

  Gavin’s face was pained, tone subdued. “Almost certainly it will be an infant. All the cases have been, so far.”

  Feeling her throat closing in fear, she struggled to get the words out. “I knew whooping cough was hard on kids. But I thought you just got vaccinated and everything was okay. I didn’t imagine it spread so fast, or could kill. Is Stacey’s baby safe in Memorial?”

  “They’re keeping the pertussis cases under strict quarantine.” His expression turned stony and he was silent. Then he said, “Unless you recognize the signs, you can still be infected and pass it to an infant. It’s the education that’s missing. People aren’t heeding the signs. Soon it will be too big to stop and we’ll be working under a city-wide alert that includes shutting down all public spaces. Schools would close, the Mission would be shut for the holidays. People who need services will go without until it’s under control.”

  People weren’t heeding the signs because no one read the paper anymore, just like Jack said. Their column hadn’t made much difference. She should get out of the paper business and get an internet news domain. She felt sick with powerlessness. “Oh, Gavin, we’re almost ready with the internet site for The Chronicle. The IT crew told us a week, maybe two.” She reached out and touched his arm, feeling her heart constrict. “We’ve got to pray hard this doesn’t claim any lives.”

  “We’ve had a lot of calls. I don’t mean to sound as if there’s no hope.” He drew in a breath, as if her touch was giving him strength.

  “Uncle Gavin! Catch me!”

  Sean was waving from the top of the slide, a bundle of hat and scarf and coat. His uncle lifted a hand and jogged toward the bottom of the slide, boots squeaking on the fresh dusting of snow. Evie watched silently as Gavin crouched down and held out his arms, neatly intercepting the boy-shaped projectile as he whizzed down the icy plastic. Sean let out a whoop as he got an extra swing out of the bargain.

  Evie tried to marshal her thoughts. This man, strong and sturdy, a shelter for his loved ones, was fighting to keep people from dying the way his childhood friend had. She wanted to help, wanted to do something meaningful. It felt like something from the Old Testament, the smiting of the firstborn. Lord, help us!

  “Poor kids. I’m so glad Sean is old enough to have all his vaccinations.” Allison sounded like she was almost talking to herself. She turned to her and smiled. “And I’m really glad we came. Sean needs someone like Gavin. I promise we won’t take up all of his time.”

  Evie blinked, hurrying to catch up with the conversation. “I think you’ve misunderstood something. See, we barely know each other. We’re just—” She’d started to say “friends,” but that didn’t seem right at all.

  “Just? Even halfway across the playground I could see the happy vibes.” She gave Evie an appraising look. “He was right, you know.”

  She was afraid to ask, but she couldn’t help it. Gavin was soldier straight at the bottom of the slide, waiting for Sean to make his way the last few steps to the top. Could he hear them? She didn’t think so. “About?”

  “Your eyes. They’re gorgeous. Such a deep blue, like sapphires.” Allison paused, her lips tugging up. “Of course, he didn’t say it like that. He just mentioned it in passing. But I noticed. He usually chats about E. coli and single-celled organisms.”

  Gavin had talked about her eyes?

  She stuck her mittens in her pockets and pretended like her heart wasn’t hammering in her chest. There was something real, something wonderful happening here. And it was a terrible time for it. All this talk about getting him to cut back on work. He had a purpose and a calling. Who was she to interfere with that?

  Allison tucked her long dark hair behind both ears and tugged her hood up over her head to block out the snow as it fell more steadily. “Gavin is always so driven. Patrick’s death really affected him. He’s totally consumed with eradicating every known disease from the city. Like one man could do that!”

  Every word seemed to reinforce her fear. Of course Gavin was just one man, but wasn’t that what they’d talked about in the gym? Doing so much more with God’s help? Stepping in to fill a need? She’d been giddy with infatuation, and now she felt like her heart was being battered. Let other people take the weekend off. His job was to save lives, hers was to keep the community educated and safe. They could work together. Anything more than that was asking for trouble.

  Sean let out a squeal of delight as he flew down the slide, snow dotting his hat. Evie watched Gavin grab his nephew in another swinging hug.

  Turning back to them, snow clinging to his dark blond hair, his face was lit with laughter. Her breath caught in her throat. There weren’t enough hours in the day for all of them. She watched the smile slip from his face and his brow furrow. Evie raised a hand.

  “Mom, I’m cold.” Sean had gone from having fun to freezing cold in seconds.

  Evie crouched down to his level. “There’s a great little coffee shop across the street that my brother and I go to all the time. If your mom says it’s okay, we can grab some hot chocolate and warm up.”

  “Can we, Mom? Please?”

  “Well, I don’t see why not.” Allison looked over at her brother. “Come on. You can’t work all the time. Join us.”

  Gavin sighed, stuffing his hands in his coat pockets. “I wish I could. Next time.”

  Evie nodded at him, hoping she betrayed nothing that was swirling in her mind. He had a serious job, the city had a serious problem and lives were at stake. It didn’t matter how many people pushed them together, or how he made her want to reconsider her own workaholic ways. There wasn’t time for them, and there might not ever be.

  * * *

  Gavin trudged toward his car, toes of his boots white with clumps of fresh skiing material. He should have waited before asking he
r out. He really needed to get the pertussis crisis out of the way before he even thought of bringing Evie into the situation. But somehow their conversation had hung a left turn somewhere around those dimples and plowed on through to its conclusion: the promise of a full day together. Up on Wolf Mountain, enjoying the fresh air and the great pines, maybe some time by the main lodge fireplace getting to know each other better? They couldn’t go wrong with that plan.

  He snorted. Wallowing in the snow. She probably thought he was nuts, but he didn’t want their first date to be the same old routine of dinner at some overpriced restaurant.

  His lips started to lift of their own accord. The way she’d picked out Sean and Allison was uncanny. He thought he was detail oriented, but she made him look like a big-picture guy. Maybe if it wasn’t in front of a microscope, he didn’t pay as much attention, but she sure had his attention and she was as far from the lab as she could get. His half smile widened to a full grin as he remembered the way she’d smacked his arm. Natalie Jenkins had done that in ninth grade when she’d had a crush on him. Everything he said got him a whack on the arm. It was such a classic girl move.

  He pressed the remote unlock and tugged open the car door, glancing behind him one last time. She was laughing at something Sean had said, leaning over to hear him better, holding out one mitten as if she was afraid of his snowball-throwing powers. Beauty was one thing, but Evie was stunning inside and out. Her faith seemed so effortless, seamless. Her work flowed directly from her desire to fulfill her God-given purpose. He needed to pray as hard as he worked; she’d reminded him of that.

  Gavin slammed the door closed and took a deep breath. It just seemed a losing battle, some days. He was Sisyphus, pushing that boulder up a hill every day and then having to watch it roll back down again. Quitting wasn’t an option, but he wasn’t even close to being the man God needed him to be.

  The way Evie talked, there wasn’t a doubt in her mind she could do what she had to do, as if she couldn’t fail. She made him want to be braver than he was, to live a little more.