Journal of a Lifetime (Journals of Love) (7 page)

Steve nodded. He knew that the feeling he got from her had been correct.

“So . . . you haven’t been here before?”

Lindsey reached for the cross on her neck. “No, but it’s an important trip.”

Steve stared at the cross in her fingers. It reminded him of something that he’d seen before, but he didn’t have time to give it much consideration, as the bus was pulling into the parking lot for the gondola ride. His thoughts were scattered and he stood up without a word to Lindsey and reached for his microphone, not realizing until later that his actions might be considered rude.

“We’ve arrived. We already have your tickets and will split up into three groups for the ride. The groups will be of seven or eight, so if some of you want to ride together, please form groups in the parking lot for us and we’ll go from there.”

He finished with a smile and then leaned in toward Lindsey. “You’ll be going with me,” he whispered.”

Steve almost lost his balance and grabbed for the handlebar as Don turned quickly into a parking space. Steve glared at him with a look that said, why did you do that? He regained his center as Don stopped the bus.

Don turned around in his seat and looked at Lindsey for her reaction. Normally, he and Steve stayed on the bottom of the mountain, so Steve’s offer to Lindsey had surprised, and disturbed, him. “I promise to protect you on the way,” he spoke up so Lindsey could hear him. “From this,” he punched Steve in the arm, “or any other vultures that may be up there.”

Lindsey was beginning to feel like a competition prize between these two men. She barely knew them, but was already feeling like she was coming between lifelong friends and couldn’t help but feel that Don was trying to protect Steve from her. That was a strange feeling. She was harmless and if anything, as the woman, would have liked protection from these two strangers who already seemed to have formed strong opinions about her.

Since most everyone else on the bus was touring together, the rest formed the last group. The gentleman she sat next to on the ride to the hotel, two women, Steve, Don, and herself were all that remained for the final gondola.

Don hung back until everyone else was on, then he climbed in and stood on Lindsey’s right side. Steve had already positioned himself on her left, and they reminded her of a pair of flame bookends in their orange and red uniforms.

The door closed and they began their ascent up the mountain. What should have been a relaxing adventure was suddenly filled with tension as she felt Don and Steve mouthing words to each other behind her back.

“What are you doing?” Don asked Steve.

“What do you mean?”

“Why are we going up the mountain? What do you see in her?”

Lindsey tried to ignore the two and reached in her purse for her camera. The snowcapped mountains were a beautiful sight, and one that she wanted to remember.

“Shhh. Can’t we just enjoy the view and talk about this later?” Steve said as he put his hand on Lindsey’s elbow and turned to look out at the view with her.

She heard Don exhale and saw him shake his head as he looked at his shoes.

Her head was spinning trying to figure out how all of this confusion began. “Are you okay?” she asked Don.

He removed his gaze from his shoes and looked at her. “Sure.” He paused. “I, uh . . . have a little fear of heights, though.” He didn’t really, but they needed another topic of conversation to distract her.

Lindsey removed her elbow from Steve’s hand and placed her own hand on Don’s. “Oh, no. Really? Is there anything that will make it better?” she asked with concern.

Don appreciated her kindness. “Not really. I think I’ll just have a seat here and try to not look down.” His attempt at humor made her smile.

Steve’s jealousy once again surfaced. He couldn’t play helpless as Don had done, so he returned to his guide personality and pointed out the sights in the distance and told her a little more of what to expect at the top. “I’d love to take you on the hike, and then for dinner, if you’d like,” he suggested.

Don stood up. “The hike really is amazing. It takes you up higher than the gondola and there’s a separate one-way car to bring you back down to the restaurant.” He paused, realizing what he was saying. “Uh . . . the height doesn’t seem as bad when you’re walking, and, um, knowing I’m coming down makes it easier for me.”

Steve would not be beat. “The peak is called Sanson’s Peak for Norman Sanson who walked to the peak every week for thirty years to check the weather.”
Top that, Don
, he thought.

“I’ve always thought that was incredible. He was eighty-four when he made his last hike,” Don added with a silent humph.

“That sounds great, guys,” Lindsey said, in an effort to include them both. This was getting a little strange.

They arrived at the top, and Steve and Lindsey made their way over to the railing to get a better look at the mountain range.

“Can you believe that the first visitors up here had to come by horseback?” Steve asked. “After that, there was a tractor with a type of platform attached to the back to bring visitors. You wouldn’t catch me coming up this high on a tractor,” he chuckled.

Lindsey looked at him. “You really do know a lot about this, don’t you? Does it remain exciting, or is it boring after a while?”

He turned to look at her. “My grandfather passed these tales down to my father and him to me. It’s a part of who we are and a part of our history too. Each time I come up here, it’s like the first time.” He paused. “Of course, I’ve never been here with such a beautiful woman before,” he added.

She gently punched him in the arm. “You had me going there for a minute,” she laughed. “I thought I was finally seeing a bit of the real Steve, and then you had to go and give me a line like that?”

“Come on guys!” Don yelled from a safe distance away from the edge. “Let’s get going, so we can make it to dinner on time.”

Steve didn’t move fast when Lindsey turned and walked away. He wanted to kick himself. He hadn’t meant for it to sound like a line.

It had also been the first time she’d said his name, and it was the sweetest sound he’d heard.

L
INDSEY AND HER
tour guides made their way up the trail, visited the compass station and rode the gondola back to the restaurant. Don was surprisingly quiet, but was never more than ten feet from the two of them.

Lindsey began to feel as if he were a chaperone. She tried a sneak peek at the journal a few times during the hike, but the men were determined to keep her company. She resigned herself to the fact that she’d have to look it over once she returned to the privacy of her room.

That was probably better anyway, she reasoned, then she could fully absorb what Nana had written and enjoy the fact that they had been in the same place at the same times—just years apart.

Dinner was set for the entire group, and Lindsey was seated next to the two women that she rode up with in the gondola.

“Isn’t this the most beautiful view you’ve ever seen?” the red-headed woman with the rose-print blouse asked her. She had a distinct New York accent.

“It is lovely,” Lindsey agreed. “Another way to feel God’s incredible power and creativity.” She had felt His presence since they arrived at the top. Even with Don and Steve vying for her attention, she had felt an incredible peace there.

“Isn’t that the truth!” said the brunette in the black jacket. “This is our second time here and we never cease to be amazed at the calm we find.” She extended her hand. “I’m Joyce and this is my sister-in-law, Martha.”

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Lindsey.”

“We know who you are, Miss Waters,” Joyce said, and both women laughed.

“How’s that?”

They looked around as if trying to avoid being caught telling a secret. “We overheard Steve talking about you to Don after lunch today,” Martha explained. “After their presentation in the lobby, they sat down to wait for most of the group to return. We had finished lunch, and were looking around the gift shop and overheard their conversation.”

Joyce continued with the story. “Don told Steve to quit following you around and that you would only bring him heartache.”

“Then Steve told Don to stop flirting with you, or he’d deliver more than heartache to him!” Martha’s red hair bounced in excitement. “We didn’t hear the rest because you came down the stairs, and they both scattered back to work, but we think that Steve has taken quite a liking to you.”

“He hasn’t been able to take his eyes off you,” Joyce said. “Haven’t you noticed?” She motioned toward the end of the table where Steve was sitting.

Lindsey blushed as she finally saw what the women were seeing.

“Do you think anyone else noticed?” Lindsey asked.

“Nah. The rest of the group is too distracted deciding when and what to eat, or just too busy enjoying the view. Don’t worry about it, honey. We’ve all been there,” Martha joked.

“What do you think I should do?”

“What do you want to do?” Joyce asked bluntly. “You could have an enjoyable vacation romance, make a new friend, or keep him in his place as your tour guide.”

“I think it’s up to you at this point. He’ll take whatever it is you’ll give,” Martha said.

Lindsey’s meal arrived and smelled delicious. The salad looked fresh and had every color of vegetable included, but she couldn’t enjoy one bite. She was churning inside with both anticipation and hesitation. She knew the women were right. She controlled the outcome of this situation. But she didn’t know if she wanted that power.

She excused herself and went outside in search of the peace she had found earlier. She found an empty bench near the ridge and had a seat. She closed her eyes to the snow-topped mountains and began to pray for decisiveness and direction. She hadn’t had thoughts of a relationship in so long and didn’t know if her heart was open to one at all. Besides, none of the relationships she had had in the past had ever amounted to much. She didn’t know if she could set herself up for yet another failed romance.

The words from Psalm 139, verses one and five, floated through her mind as if in answer to her ponderings: “O Lord, you have searched me and you know me . . . You hem me in - behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.”

Her heart was still healing from the loss of her Nana, and she didn’t know if it had healed enough to feel. All she could do was pray.

“Dear God, thank you for your protection. Already I feel closer to you in this beautiful world you created. I pray for your guidance as I continue this journey. Please help me make the right choices to comfort me and bring me peace. Help me move beyond my grief and find the connection to Nana and to you. I know she is with you. Lord, I pray that you put the right people in my path, people that I can trust and be myself around. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.”

When she finished, she felt a hand on her shoulders. The touch was light and not intimidating, or threatening. She knew without turning around that it was Steve.

“Are you all right?” he asked. He sat down next to her. He didn’t want to interfere, but had overheard the end of her prayer. He said a silent prayer of thanks that he had met a woman with strong beliefs.

“I think so,” she said. “I just needed to get some air, and wanted one last look at this beautiful scenery before we return to the bottom.”

“I know what you mean. Those crowds can get a little overwhelming sometimes. I don’t get up here as often as I’d like, but when I do, it’s hard for me to leave.”

Lindsey mumbled in agreement.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” he admitted. “It wasn’t a line. What I said. You are a beautiful woman and I’m happy to be here with you.”

Lindsey was silent. She looked away and wondered what she was going to do with the butterflies in her stomach. As if those butterflies gave her courage to admit to her feelings, she said, “Thank you. I’m happy to be here with you too.”

That was all Steve needed for encouragement. Unfortunately, before he could say anything else, the rest of their travelers exited the restaurant and were walking toward them, Martha and Joyce leading the way.

Lindsey could see the apologies in their eyes. Once the group finally caught up to them, Martha pulled Lindsey to the side. “I’m sorry, honey,” she drawled in her New York accent. “We tried to keep them in, but they are determined to get back to the hotel.”

“It’s okay, Martha. I think Steve and I will have plenty of time later to catch up.”

She listened to Steve’s tour and chatted a bit with Joyce on the way, but for most of the drive she continued to pray for open eyes and wisdom. Something deep inside had awakened in her. It told her to take the time to know Steve and not worry about the “what ifs.” The last thing she needed was a missed opportunity. Nana had taught her to take every chance that was given to her. Nana hadn’t regretted anything in her life and had lived her years well, and Lindsey wanted to follow that example. But she didn’t think she was as brave as her Nana had been. She could use a little push at times.

Once she did get rolling, it was difficult to stop her from her goal. Today, her goal would be getting to know Steve better.