Prelude: Prequel to The Lewis Legacy Series (34 page)

Chapter 39
♥

Wednesday Evening

“Girls, I can’t ever thank you enough. What a wonderful surprise!” Mom cried after she walked inside the house, and she immediately noticed the results of their redecorating efforts. “You’re both so busy, and I don’t know how you found the time to do all this. Oh, it looks absolutely beautiful.”

She gave them both hugs and then, as if in a daze, Mom put her hands over her mouth and glanced around the living room with big eyes, drinking it all in. Finally, she lowered her hands and managed to speak. “Bill, look what the kids have done for us! Isn’t it wonderful?”

“Sure is. As long as my chair’s in its same place, I’m fine.” Almost as soon as they’d walked in the door, Dad had made a beeline for that favorite chair. Collapsing in it, he sighed with satisfaction.

Pleased to see her mother so happy, Sarah winked at Tess. She opened the screen door for Sam as he came inside the house, weighted down with suitcases and assorted bags.

“Thank you, son.” Bill instructed him to take everything to the master bedroom at the back of the house.

“Glad to help.” Sam gave Sarah a quick wink as he headed for the hallway leading to the bedrooms. He’d changed out of his suit before coming to the house, and Sarah loved seeing him in his jeans and blue striped cotton shirt. As usual, the black Stetson was perched on his head. He’d told her he missed wearing it while serving in the Air Force. She’d noticed he’d been wearing the hat with his business suits, and he often parked it on the seat beside him at the diner.

“We had help from a couple of handsome guys and a crew from the church singles group,” Sarah told her parents.

Dad chuckled as Sam came back into the living room. “Maybe you’d better sit with me, Captain Lewis. Fill me in.” He shot a grin at Sarah. “Seems like it’s been an eventful week here.” As the ladies departed to the kitchen, Sarah heard Dad telling Sam about places they’d visited in the Denver area, including a tour of the new Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Sarah smiled, knowing how much her father must have loved it.

“We’ve done the living room and the kitchen so far, but we can work on other rooms in the house, if you’d like.” Tess worked beside Sarah as they prepared a light supper of soup and sandwiches. When Mom offered to help, Sarah put a hand on her shoulder and made her sit at the table. She kept them laughing with stories of her sister, Mary, and news from the Colorado side of the family. As she listened, Sarah arranged turkey, ham and roast beef sandwiches on a platter and then pulled out the homemade potato salad from the Frigidaire. She’d made the potato salad for a recent church function, and a certain tall cowboy had raved about it to the point of embarrassment. Not that she ever minded Sam’s compliments.

As they ate their meal a short time later, Sam squeezed Sarah’s hand beneath the table so many times she lost count. She nudged his knee more than once, not caring if it was inappropriate, and they’d exchanged silly glances as often as possible. Mom and Dad watched them, trading smiles of their own. The expression in her mother’s eyes was wistful. Could it be she was reliving memories of shared moments like this with Dad from the early days of their own courtship? At one point, she noticed her parents holding hands on top of the table. That was something she hadn’t witnessed in forever.

“Looks like Captain Lewis has stolen my daughter’s heart.” The ladies washed up the dishes and Sam once again kept company with her father. Thankfully, Mom lowered her voice before she made that statement. Tess had left the kitchen to retrieve something out of Mom’s suitcase, and Sarah suspected her mother’s request was an excuse for them to talk privately.

“He’s wonderful, Mom.” Sarah felt quick tears sting her eyes. “I never would have believed it possible, but he’s in love with me.”

Mom walked over to where she stood at the sink, put her arms around her and hugged her from behind. “Honey, why wouldn’t he love you? I know what I said before about the difference in your ages, but I can see now that it doesn’t matter. You’ve always been mature for your age.” Releasing her, Mom moved beside her, both facing the kitchen window. “Even when you were much younger, I sometimes thought you could teach your old mother a thing or two. You and Sam have been friends for a long time, and you seem to have a lot in common. More importantly,” she said with a slight catch in her voice, “you and Sam share a love of the Lord and a desire to serve Him. That’s a bond like none other. I can tell how much you love him. It’s in your eyes when you look at him. He’s a good man, Sarah, and you’ll be happy together.”

Sarah finished the dishes and they sat down at the table. “It’s premature to talk about such things.”

“Perhaps, but it’ll happen.” Her mother sipped from a glass of water. “When Sam comes to ask your father for your hand in marriage, we’ll give him our blessing.”

Sarah’s cheeks felt warm, and she prayed Sam couldn’t overhear their conversation. Dad had turned on the television, and based on the familiar newscaster’s voice, she assumed the men must be watching the news. Hopefully, the sound would drown out what was being discussed in the kitchen.

“Tess and Charlie Sorrel are dating, too. He’s good for her, Mom, and she seems to really like him.”

“That’s an answer to prayer. Maybe your father and I should go away more often. You’re in that early stage of your relationship with Sam, honey. Enjoy it. That euphoria and passion you’re feeling right now won’t last forever, but love can endure through the years and be very satisfying in many different ways.”

Sarah nodded. “I know.” For now, she’d enjoy the euphoria. And yes, the passion. In her heart, she looked forward to the kind of passion to be shared in a marriage relationship.
Sorry, Mrs. Bittenbottom. Yes, I think about these things before marriage.

Tess came back into the kitchen and held up a blue cup emblazoned with the U.S. Force Academy logo. “Is this what you wanted me to find, Mom? Seriously? It took long enough.”

“That’s it. Sarah, honey, that’s your souvenir from Colorado.”

Sarah’s eyes grew wide as Tess handed the cup to her. “How did you. . .”

Mom shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe I suspected you had an affinity for a handsome fly boy right here in Rockbridge.”

♥

Sam sat beside Sarah on the porch swing outside the Jordan home later in the evening. Shortly after they’d gone outside, Nadine turned on the porch light. Although he knew Bill and Nadine trusted him, and even though he was getting older by the minute, they were Sarah’s parents. As such, they were asserting the boundaries. He could only respect their wishes, and he fully intended to honor their daughter. Never would he put Sarah in a position to compromise her. He loved her, and he’d be patient.

The only sound to break the quiet of the night was the pesky buzzing of the insects attracted to the outside light.

“I’m glad you could have supper with us tonight,” Sarah said. “The invitation’s always open. You don’t need to ask or let us know in advance. Just stop by after work.”

He laughed. “Admit it. You just needed someone with muscles to bring in the luggage.”

“Hey, I’ve got muscles.” She raised her arm and flexed for him.

“Not bad,” Sam said, squeezing her upper arm. “You been working out?”

“Other than swimming at Thornton’s Creek, no. And lifting trays at Perry’s, of course.”

Whatever she was doing, it worked. “Thanks for the perpetual invite,” he said, “but I’m not sure your mother would appreciate such a casual ‘do drop in’ policy.”

“She likes you, Sam. So does Dad. They wouldn’t mind.” She turned to face him on the swing. “Did I ever tell you that Mom was engaged once before?” When he shook his head, she launched into her story. “She was engaged to her high school sweetheart, but she broke the engagement when she caught him kissing another girl. He’d claimed to be a Christian man, and it left her disillusioned for a few years, thinking men were unfaithful liars. Then she moved from Colorado to San Antonio to live with a widowed aunt for a few years, and worked as a legal secretary. Through clients, she met a young civil engineer named William Jordan. After asking her out for over a year, and repeatedly being turned down, he finally told her to let him know if she ever changed her mind. Then one night, Nadine showed up on his doorstep. As rain poured down, Bill opened the door and she said four words to him. Can you guess what they were?”

Sam’s mind had wandered a bit during her story. When he didn’t answer, Sarah poked him in the ribs. “I have no idea,” he said. “What did she say?”

“I changed my mind.”

“Aw, come on, Sarah. Cut me a break. I got distracted by your beauty. Tell me what she said.”

She laughed and then laughed some more. “That
was
what Mom said. ‘I changed my mind.’ Oh never mind. What were you thinking about? Or should I even ask?”

He’d started to move his arm behind her but then stopped, teasing her. With a smile, she took his arm and planted it behind her. Pushing against the floor of the porch with his cowboy boot, he started them swinging.

If he didn’t want to get his face slapped, he couldn’t reveal the complete truth. He’d need to come up with a plausible explanation. “I was thinking how good Charlie and Tess are together. She brings out the best in him, and he does the same for Tess.” Sam laughed. “I’ll say one thing. You sure are relentless as a landowner and that sister of yours can be equally conniving.” After dinner, they’d all enjoyed a fun evening playing Monopoly.

Sarah laughed and leaned her head on his shoulder. “You’re just upset because I bankrupted the vice president of Rockbridge Savings & Loan. I hated to do it, but when you rent my houses and hotels, you’ve got to pay up, mister.” She patted one hand on his chest. “You’re a handsome loser, so you’re forgiven.”

“
I’m
forgiven?” Laughing, he kissed the top of her head. “I’ll forgive
you
as long as you promise to never call me loser again, in any sense of the word.”

“Promise.” He loved sitting like this with Sarah. A gentle rain began to fall, filling the air with the scent of blooming roses and damp earth. He kept them swinging, content in the quiet.

“We haven’t been to the creek as much lately. Why is that?” she said.

“Probably because I no longer need to follow you to the creek and then pretend I ran into you by accident, or at least without forethought.”

“What?” Sitting up on the swing, Sarah gave him an incredulous look. “You planned it?”

He grinned. “Come on, Sarah. You must know I created opportunities to spend time with you. I’m glad you can be such a creature of habit. Once I realized you went to the creek almost every evening, I made sure I sat and read the paper by the front window. As soon as I saw you come out of your house and come down the street, I’d walk about ten minutes behind you.”

“You followed me?” She sounded surprised but not mad.

“Not always but sometimes. Call me weird stalker guy. Does that bother you?”

Sarah feigned outrage for a few more seconds before her gorgeous smile emerged. “No. I actually like it, but only because it’s you. If it were anyone else, then it would bother me.” She tugged on the collar of his shirt. “How clueless was I? I thought it was a God thing, like you just happened to find me there. As if the Holy Spirit whispered to you and filled you with a conviction to visit the creek at such and such a time.” Her eyes widened. “Is that a bad thing to say? Irreverent, I mean?”

He chuckled. “No, I don’t think so. I know what you meant. More like God bellowed and told me to hightail it over there and get to know my neighbor again. For the record, the very first time I found you at the creek, it
was
by accident.”

“Oh, I disagree.” With her hand still on his collar, she pulled him close. “It was no accident.”

“Hmm,” he murmured. “If this is the way you disagree, let’s do some more of it.”

“Dad might be coming out any minute to check on us,” she whispered against his lips. That was no idle threat. Bill had a habit of flicking that front porch light on and off in rapid succession as his cue they’d spent enough time together. Made him feel like a teenager stealing kisses with Sarah, but maybe it was for the best.

“All the more reason not to waste time talking.” He lowered his head, anticipating the taste of her sweet lips. The way she responded to him made him forget about everything else in the world and turned him into a romantic fool.

Lightly pushing against his chest, Sarah shook her head. She didn’t want to kiss him? That was a first. He didn’t like it, but maybe it was best since he needed to keep his emotions in check. The more private time they spent together, the deeper he’d fallen in love with her.

He blew out a sigh. “What’s on your mind?”

“I have one last question before I head inside the house.”

“Should I be afraid?” His chuckle belied his question.

“Not at all. I just wanted to ask if, in some way, your new car is a substitute for your plane.”

That statement surprised him. “A substitute?”

“You know, replaced the plane in your affections.”

“My affections? Just give it to me straight, Sarah.”

Her eyes met his. “Okay, then. Here goes. Why don’t you fly anymore?”