Blue Sky Days (9 page)

“One of the best meals I’ve ever had. I can’t believe I actually helped make it.” When I saw the kitchen light go off, I told Nicholas I’d be right back and I went inside to get an old blanket from the hall closet.

I stepped back out onto the porch and silently took Nicholas’s hand before leading him into the middle of the backyard where I spread out the blanket and lay down.

Nicholas stood over me, blocking the moon so it created a halo effect around his head. His mouth curved into a gentle smile as he eased down beside me, shifting me so he could slide one arm under and around me. With my head pillowed on his shoulder, we lay together in silence among the sweet-smelling clover and gazed at the sky ablaze with stars and the elegant moon in all her glory.

I could smell the faint scent of Nicholas’s earthy cologne and all I wanted to do was touch him. I turned my head to look at him and thought how beautiful he was with his face shining in the silver moonlight. I knew by the way the corners of his lips curved that he could sense me watching him. He looked down, his eyes full of affection as they met mine.

I was sure that if anyone could read my thoughts at that moment they would say my feelings were just a crush, or equate them with infatuation or puppy love. But I knew my own heart. Yes, I was young and inexperienced, but this joy—this full, almost bursting feeling in my chest—couldn’t possibly be anything other than love.

Again, the urge to touch him rose inside me. I knew there was no reason to hesitate or be nervous; Nicholas wasn’t afraid to show affection. He was always touching me in some way or kissing my cheek, neck, or forehead. As I reached up to trace my fingers over his cheek, he leaned down and placed his lips gently on mine.

The kiss was brief, just a bare meeting of lips. When he pulled away, his smiling eyes looked into mine and he reached for the hand that touched his face, entwining my fingers with his. He rested our joined hands on his stomach as he eased back down and turned his gaze toward the heavens once more.
 
I sighed contentedly, snuggling closer to his body before turning to follow his gaze.

CHAPTER 6

The moment I was completely sure I was in love with Nicholas came one Saturday morning in mid-July. I awoke with a jolt, and, unsure of what had wakened me, I looked around my dark room. A scream nearly escaped my lips when I saw Nicholas kneeling beside my bed.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” he whispered, pushing my tangled hair away from my face. “I just didn’t want to wake you up before I had to. You look so beautiful when you sleep. Just like an angel.” He caressed my cheek, and I closed my eyes, delighting at his gentle touch.

When he pulled his hand away, my eyes popped open again and I sat up slightly while clinging to the solitary bed sheet that would hide the tiny nightgown I wore on hot nights. “What are you doing here?” I asked, my voice low and sleepy.

“I have a surprise for you. I told Daisy about it yesterday and she gave me a spare key to get in this morning. Come on, get dressed, we have to go before it’s too late.”

My mind was still half asleep as I sat up all the way and said, “Too late for what?”

The look on Nicholas’s face told me he was amused by my confusion—and probably my rumpled state, too. I could only imagine what my hair looked like at that moment; when your hair is long and curly like mine, it tends to be a giant, tangled mess in the mornings.

“That’s part of the surprise. I’ll wait in the hall while you get dressed. Just throw something on, it doesn’t matter what.”

He hurried out of my room, grinning over his shoulder before he closed the door. I sat on the edge of my bed and shook my head, wondering if I was having a weird dream. As I yawned and stretched, I glanced at the alarm clock on my bedside table and saw that it read 4:30 a.m.

I let out a surprised moan. “He’s lost his mind,” I muttered to myself as I got unsteadily to my feet and staggered to the closet. “Or maybe Daisy’s the one who’s lost her mind, agreeing to whatever crazy scheme he has that involves getting me outta bed at this ungodly hour.”

“You all right in there?” Nicholas called through the door, his voice full of barely contained laughter.

I cringed, realizing he had probably heard me grumbling. “Fine,” I called back and opened my closet door to pull out a pair of shorts and a tank top.

I tugged off my nightgown and tossed it on the bed, then pulled my clothes on quickly. Stopping in front of the mirror over my dresser, I moaned again when I saw my reflection. My skin was pale, my hair was a crazy mess, and my eyes were red and heavy-lidded. As I pulled my hair back and secured it with a hair tie, I wondered what Nicholas must have
really
thought when he saw me. I remembered him saying that I looked like an angel, and thought that love must truly be blind.

Love
. I’d always heard that love made people do crazy things, and what was crazier than getting someone out of bed at this hour for a mysterious excursion? I smiled to myself, feeling suddenly much more awake than I had a moment before.

Nicholas was leaning on the doorjamb when I opened the door. His eyes brightened when he saw me, and he said, “Beautiful.”

I blushed as he took my hand and led me downstairs. Noticing one of Daisy’s cardigans thrown over the bench by the front door, I grabbed it and let Nicholas pull me along.

Outside, the morning air was cool, and Nicholas stopped us on the front porch to take the sweater from my hands and hold it while I slipped my arms in. He turned me and pulled the sweater closed, holding on for a minute and looking down at me with a soft smile.

A few glittering stars still hovered in the sky as we walked to Nicholas’s truck, and I watched as some of them flickered out like dying candles. Nicholas held the door open for me, and before I got in he bent down to kiss me tenderly on the lips. When he pulled away, his eyes were dancing and I couldn’t help but smile as I got in the truck, wondering what he was up to.

“It’s within walking distance,” Nicholas told me as he got into the driver’s seat and started the truck, “but I figured the least I could do is drive since I’m getting you out of bed before dawn.”

I chuckled as I looked out the window, watching the now-familiar scenery of Daisy’s street pass by. It didn’t take long to realize we were heading to the park, but I had no clue why he would take me there so early in the morning. When Nicholas stopped the truck in front of the park, he hopped out to open my door before grabbing a blanket from the back.

“Our spot,” he said as he took my hand and led me up the hill. I sat on the blanket that he laid on the grass, and he eased down behind me, putting his arms around me and enveloping me in his warm, safe embrace. I leaned my head back and sighed deeply, feeling perfectly content. I was just thinking that this couldn’t be better when Nicholas said, “Look,” and I remembered he’d brought me here for a reason.

I looked where Nicholas was pointing and saw the sky starting to turn a deep amber colour at the horizon. As the fiery sun showed its head, inching up bit by bit, the colours shifted and changed, turning the sky brilliant shades of purple, pink and orange. Within minutes, the sun was a huge ball of fire that cast luminous, incandescent colours over the entire sky and the park below. I opened my mouth to speak, but realized words would only taint the purity of something so magnificent.

I wanted to cry. I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life. How many other people were experiencing this moment of wonder? Did they feel the way I felt? Were their bodies tingling the way mine was as the world came to life before me? It was like watching the universe being reborn, fresh and new, and in that moment I felt like I had also been reborn. I was no longer the confused girl who had arrived in Riverview less than two months before. I had a long way to go and many things to learn, but I was surrounded by blessings and love and beauty.

As the sun rose higher in the sky, emitting more light along with colours I had never seen before and couldn’t even describe, I swore I could feel my soul release the happiest of sighs. I turned to look at Nicholas, his face glowing in the pearly light. He was watching me, and the look of complete adoration in his eyes made my throat tighten with emotion. It was then I knew I loved him. No more wondering or guessing, I
knew
. Just like I knew I would never forget this special gift he had shared with me.

*****

We sat on the hill until it was completely light out and people started to appear for their morning walks or runs around the park. During those moments when the sun had been rising, there hadn’t been a single soul in the park but us.

I wondered briefly if people realized what they were missing, and if they experienced what I just did, would it get them out of bed at this early hour to watch it? I couldn’t honestly say that I would get up every morning from then on to watch the sun rise, but I knew this wouldn’t be the last time. It was magical to sit in the silence of those moments before dawn and watch the world change from dark to light.

When my stomach gave an embarrassingly loud gurgle, Nicholas suggested we head back to Daisy’s. Daisy herself greeted us at the front door when we arrived, wearing a knowing smile, her eyes bright as she gave Nicholas a conspiratorial wink.

The three of us made breakfast in the sunny kitchen, sharing tasks and moving with each other as if we’d always worked together. Nicholas and I made a favourite recipe of his—baked French toast with walnuts and fresh fruit—while Daisy cooked the bacon and made coffee. When everything was ready, we took it to the back porch.

As we ate, I could see Daisy looking at the two of us as we snuck glances at each other. It felt like we had a secret, Nicholas and I. We had told Daisy about our early morning adventure, but words couldn’t really do it justice, nor could they describe the feelings I experienced. We had shared something special that morning that would be ours forever.

When we were all finished eating, Nicholas had to leave. The work he’d been doing for his dad was completed, which meant Nicholas had to go back to work on Monday, so he needed to get everything sorted with his boss. We made plans for that night, then Daisy and I escorted him through the house and settled into padded white wicker chairs on the front porch.

“This is nice, just the two of us,” Daisy said, leaning back in her chair and crossing her legs in front of her.

“It is,” I said, feeling suddenly guilty. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around much, Dais.”

She looked at me with raised eyebrows. “You’ve been around plenty.”

I shook my head. “I’ve been
around
, but I haven’t spent as much time with you as I should. I came to Riverview to reconnect with
you
and spend time with
you
…”

“To get to know
yourself,
too,” Daisy said, raising her coffee cup to her lips and looking at me meaningfully over the rim before taking a sip. “And you’ve done that, or started to anyway. You wouldn’t have been able to do that cooped up here with me. I think Nicholas Shaw is the best thing that ever could have happened to you.”

I silently agreed. As I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, I realized I still grinned at the mere mention of Nicholas’s name.

“See?” Daisy said, and I could tell even without looking at her that she was holding in a laugh. “You came here to find yourself, Emma. For a lot of people, that’s a solitary journey, but you had the good fortune to find help along the way.”

“Not only from Nicholas,” I said quietly, reaching over to take Daisy’s hand.

She gave me a sidelong glance with shining eyes. She didn’t say anything, but gave my hand a squeeze before entwining her fingers with mine and leaning her head against the back of her chair.

We sat for a while like that, holding tightly to each other’s hands, looking out over the yard. The flowers seemed to have multiplied since my arrival, spilling out of fancy clay pots and crowding together in the garden beds, their faces turned toward the bright morning sunlight.

“Anyway…” Daisy said a few minutes later, her voice drifting off while she thought of a new topic. I could almost see the wheels turning in her head searching for a subject. Her eyes suddenly darkened and she asked in a sour sort of voice, “Have you heard from your mother lately?”

I immediately understand the sour tone. “I called her about a week ago, but she was really cool with me. That’s nothing new, but it was an even frostier chill than I’m used to. She said she was too busy to talk and she was about to hang up when I heard Daddy say something to her, and the next thing I knew there was a lot of muffled talking and he was on the line.” I released Daisy’s hand and shifted to tuck my legs up under myself, fiddling with the hem of my shorts as I replayed the conversation in my head before continuing.

“We talked for a while. When she left the room Daddy confessed that Mother can’t understand why I had to come all the way to Riverview to ‘
find myself
’, but he thinks she’s just using that as an excuse. He thinks she’s trying to cover up her jealousy that I’m with you and not with her. He said ‘You know your mother’s always been jealous of Daisy. Now she’s even more jealous because you and Daisy get along so well, and because you went to
her
for help instead of to your mother.’ I was so shocked, Dais. It’s the closest thing to honesty I’ve had from him in years. He told me not to worry about it. I don’t worry about what she thinks, but I’m afraid she’s putting strain on Daddy and their marriage.”

Daisy rolled her eyes. “That’s not your problem though, Em. Tilly’s always been like this and your father knows that. He’s put up with her for this long, I’m sure he just tunes her out now.”

I laughed, and although I felt guilty, I agreed. “This isn’t the way to get closer to me though—being cold and distant. I couldn’t believe it when he said she was upset I hadn’t gone to her for help. When have I
ever
been able to go to her for help? Or for
anything
? Why on earth would I start now?”