Chapter 10
The next week, Elizabeth gathered her courage to call Wharton, to see if she could nudge along her acceptance. Didn’t they know it was mid-July and a girl needed an answer? But administration assured her that wait-listed students would be informed of their status in time for the fall term.
So she occupied herself with work. She’d not say it out loud, but she enjoyed working at Dorsey Furniture, being around the family—despite her grousing—and getting to know all of the longtime, devoted Dorsey employees.
There wasn’t a week that went by without a birthday or wedding anniversary celebration, or some employee milestone. The lunchroom was perpetually filled with cake and balloons.
This afternoon, Ethan popped into her office. “Are you counting the days until you go?” She didn’t have to ask about where.
“Almost.” Elizabeth fixed on a smile. “Trying to enjoy the lull before the storm of classes, study groups, research papers, all-nighters.” She was starting to hate this facade.
“We’ve been talking around here and decided to throw you a Good Luck at Wharton send-off.” His goofy jig made her laugh. “We’ll celebrate.”
“I think Dorsey employees are addicted to cake.” But she appreciated the gesture.
“Lots of cake. And balloons.” He leaned close like he was telling a secret. “Maybe even a DJ.”
“A DJ?” Elizabeth shuffled the papers on her desk. “Sounds like you’ll be happy to get rid of me.”
“What? No, we just want to…Really? Will offered you the job as CFO because we want you to stay. We just know you got to do what you got to do.”
“Eh, I was kidding.” She shuffled and stacked the same papers. “Does, um, Will still want me as CFO?”
She’d not talked to him since the offer for fear of leading him on, but it would be nice to hear more details.
“The job is yours if you want it, Beth,” Ethan said. “Think about it.”
She was beginning to feel she’d hamstrung herself by only applying to Wharton for her MBA. It’s just she didn’t want to go anywhere else. Jordie had tried to talk her into applying to Kellogg, but she was so sure Wharton was a lock.
Okay, backup plan. It was time. If Wharton didn’t take her off the wait-list, she’d apply to Kellogg and other schools for next year.
She’d considered Notre Dame, but who did she know in Indiana?
Boston University had a good program, but that meant she’d be back home.
And after being sick for two years, she was ready for adventure.
Besides, she wanted to forget the years she battled Epstein–Barr, thinking she’d recovered only to fade again.
As for figuring out her life, Pops and Granny thought faith played a big part. Dad and Mom trusted in reason and intellect. From what Elizabeth saw of her cousins like Will, Ethan, and Jeff, faith, intellect, and reason worked together.
Elizabeth grabbed her phone to text Ethan, bundling her faith with her intellect that Wharton would see reason and accept her into their fall program.
>>>Elizabeth: Get a DJ who plays ’80s music.
Ryder tried to call Elizabeth all morning in between chores around the house, but her phone kept going to voicemail.
Finally, he rang up Ella’s Diner. Not to bother her at work, but maybe Tina could give her a message.
He was putting in Saturday hours on the fire tower and wondered if she’d be free to help.
“I shooed her out of here after the lunch rush,” Tina said.
“She’s looking rather tired these days.” She spoke away from the phone.
“D’Angelo, drop another basket of fries.
It’s chili-cheese fry day, and we’re going through potatoes like crazy.
I need to drop this special and throw business over to the Fry Hut. ”
“Thanks, Tina, good luck with chili-cheese fry day.”
“Ryder, hey, don’t give up on her.” Tina’s advice came with the sounds from the diner’s back of house.
“She doesn’t make it easy.”
“Most good things don’t come easy.”
“Yeah, but she has her plans. And to be honest, I’m not sure about my future.”
“Are any of us?” Tina said. “You have to answer one question, Ryder. Do you want a future with Elizabeth Dorsey?”
Yes. The confession settled in his heart with a surprising ca-chunk, and it was too late to say never mind. His whole being knew the truth.
He was falling in love with her. Maybe he’d always loved her. But love never went well for him. Beginning with his parents.
“One more thing, Tina. What did you mean when you said she looked tired?”
“You know she has Epstein–Barr? Or had, I guess. Though the virus never goes away. Her granny and I are joining forces to make sure she doesn’t work too much, tire herself out, and reactivate the virus.”
“Yeah, she mentioned something about it. Thanks, Tina.”
Hanging up, he headed for the kitchen with Fred and Ginger following, looking up as if waiting for a summary.
He knew a little of the virus. A coworker in Colorado struggled with the same thing. “I can’t do it, Fred, Ginger. Can’t ask her to give up her dreams for me. Not when she overcame something like Epstein–Barr.”
The dogs twisted their heads in sympathy. Ryder tossed over a couple of treats from the bag on the kitchen counter, then loaded his truck with the lumber and tools needed for the fire tower. Today he wanted to work on the stairs.
When the tower came into view, so did Elizabeth’s vintage Beetle Bug. Ryder stepped out, calling her name, navigating the weathered and broken stairs, his banged-up knee buckling once.
Still in her Ella’s T-shirt, she sat on the far side, on a set of solid boards, back against the wall.
“Hey…” he said, picking his way across the twelve-by-fifteen cab, massaging his knee as he sat down next to her. “You shouldn’t be up here alone. Too dangerous.”
“Why? You come up here alone,” she said with a soft smile.
“Yes, but I’m a highly trained TWRA officer.
” His laugh drew out hers. “I’d just hate for you to get hurt with no one to help.
Hey, I called the diner looking for you.
” Ryder sat back against the wall, the breeze dipping down from the trees, cooling July’s afternoon heat.
“I wanted to see if you could help me with the repairs. Tina said you looked tired, so she sent you home.”
“Granny has her worried about me. But I’m fine. I’m getting plenty of sleep. I drink lots of water. I have a doctor and homeopathic specialist working to boost my immune system.”
“I had the flu my junior year of high school,” Ryder said, pulling up an old memory.
“My parents were out of town, but Mom sent me a giant stuffed teddy bear because I loved the one I had as a kid. Man, that thing freaked me out. It had these wild, glowing green eyes. Don’t mind saying it, I turned him toward the wall. ”
“My parents took turns coming home early to take care of me. Or they worked from home,” she said. “But hey, let’s share a happy memory. We’re always talking about the bad things. And please don’t say it’s the freaky big teddy with glowing eyes.”
“No, not the big teddy. A happy story, huh?” There were a few, but Elizabeth’s challenge made him dig deep. He’d buried most of his memories under the hurts and disappointments.
“Come on, Ryder. Spill. I can feel the boards rotting beneath us.”
“Okay, okay, how about…well…minibike.” He blurted the word as an image flashed through his mind’s eye.
“Wow, I’d forgotten the minibike. So yeah, when I was ten, Dad surprised me one Christmas.
It was snowing, but I rode that bike from dawn to dusk with Dad instructing and helping, then he got on his motorbike and we raced down the long driveway.
Dad, my brother, and me. They let me win, and we had a blast. Mom brought us snacks and hot chocolate.
I went to bed like I owned the world. Best Christmas ever.
” He picked at a vine growing through the cracked boards.
“I thought everything would be different.”
“But it wasn’t?”
“No, not really. We went skiing the next year. No presents. Fun, but didn’t feel like Christmas.”
“But you have that really great memory. There’s always one or two that stand out.”
“What about you? Tell me a happy memory, Beth Dorsey.”
“My childhood was very different from yours.” She glanced at him.
Go on. “My mom was the queen of Christmas. She decorated the whole house. Bought the biggest tree. Everything was so magical and beautiful. Looking back, I can see how worn out she was by New Year’s Eve, but she never backed down.
Jonathan and I always had great presents, but nothing too extravagant.
I guess one memory that stands out was when Granny and Pop came for the holiday.
We were so excited we couldn’t stand it.
We were around ten and eight. Mom was baking, so the whole house smelled like cinnamon and warm dough.
Big snowflakes piled up in the yard and on the tree limbs.
You know how the whole world feels peaceful when amber streetlights shine on fresh snow?
Dad had the fireplace roaring and Christmas carols playing.
It was literally a winter wonderland meeting ‘all is calm, all is bright.’ Dad and I played a game while Jonathan helped Mom.
Then Pops and Granny showed up three hours early to surprise us.
They told Dad they were on a different flight.
I thought, ‘Every day should be Christmas.’”
“Maybe it should. Maybe that’s what Christmas is trying to tell us.”
“You mean keep Christ in Christmas,” she said. “Keep Him in all things.”
“Yeah, I guess so. Tell you what, I’d love a little Christmas weather about now.” Ryder wiped his brow. “It’s roasting in this box. Even with all the holes.”
“Thanks for telling me the minibike story.” Elizabeth pressed her hand over his.
“Thanks for listening. And telling me about your Christmas.” He turned his hand over so her palm fell into his. “Want to help me repair the stairs? My knee is still roaring. We’ll work for as long as we can stand the heat.”
“Lead the way.”
Yet neither one moved. The sunlight through the leaves, the curt edges of the breeze, the feel of her hand in his…this was the happy memory he wanted to relish.
It was well after dinner with low-sloping sunlight when Ryder said, “That’s all the boards I brought. Good work, Dorsey.”
“Good work, Donovan.” She slapped him a high five, liking that he clung to her hand a second longer.
They’d rebuilt the second set of stairs—tread and riser—with the nosing to be done last. It took way longer, and was harder, than she thought, but she loved it—the scent of the wood in the heat, the sound of the saw and the drill, the presence of Ryder.
And she loved making something old and defeated strong and new.
Would that happen for her? Would she ever stop seeing herself as the girl with a virus that could rear its ugly head again?
“Can I buy you dinner? Ella’s? Fry Hut? Angelo’s? It’s the least I can do for all your free labor. I couldn’t have done this much without you.”
She hesitated, removing the oversized gloves she’d borrowed from him. Spending more time with him meant feeling more. But hey, she was an adult woman capable of controlling her feelings. What’s wrong with being around a man who made her feel wanted and pretty, appreciated?
“How about Angelo’s again with a side of Pop’s Yer Uncle ice cream?”
“You read my mind.”
She helped him clean up and load his tools. But by the time she climbed behind the wheel of her Bug, she was exhausted. Her muscles and joints ached—not just from hauling and hammering. She had a headache, and maybe it was her imagination, but the lymph nodes in her neck felt swollen.
Reaching for her phone, she called Granny to let her know she was dining with Ryder. Then she dialed Mom.
“I think I need to come home,” she said. “See Dr. Roth.”
“I’ll make an appointment,” Mom said. “Does next week work? I’ll book you a flight.”
“Next week is—” Her voice broke with a whimper. “It’s happening again. Just as I’m moving forward.”
“We don’t know that, Beth. Just keep your head up, be positive, and maybe stop working two jobs. It’s okay to rest. You’ve made your point. If Wharton doesn’t want you with your résumé, then they’re not the school we believe them to be.”
Mom, the corporate executive and Christmas queen, was also the consummate cheerleader. As well as a legendary secret keeper.
They chatted a few more minutes as she drove toward town and Angelo’s. Pulling into the parking lot, she saw Ryder waiting for her.
“Mom,” Elizabeth said, her voice low. “One more thing. How do you know you’re falling in love?”