Chapter 11
Wednesday afternoon, Elizabeth sat in Mom’s beautiful white-marble and gold kitchen, eating a sandwich and downing a glass of milk. The last thirty-six hours had been a whirlwind—an evening flight out of Nashville and an early-morning visit with the doctor.
He’d just called to say the virus had not reactivated.
“I’m glad you came home, Beth,” Mom said. She’d taken off a few days to be with her. “You can’t afford to sit on symptoms hoping they’ll go away. We saw what happened the last time.”
“Wharton is a huge motivator.”
Mom folded a dishtowel and hung it over the rack to dry. “And Ryder?” She grinned.
Right. The dumb question she’d asked Mom during a vulnerable moment. “Ryder? What about him?”
“Come on, he’s the one who prompted you to ask about love, isn’t he? You cut the call short when I started to ask for more information. Granny told me he’d moved back to town and you two have been hanging out.”
“So? We had pizza, and I helped him work on an old fire tower. Hardly the romance divine.” Elizabeth got up for another glass of milk. Why did she ever bring up love with Mom? “Granny sees what she wants.”
“Come on, let me have fun with this,” Mom said. “You didn’t date in high school or college, and Ryder is an adorable boy.”
“Man,” Elizabeth corrected.
“I’m a mother. I can call him a boy.”
Elizabeth focused on a long drink of milk. “You raised me to be independent. To get educated and go out into the world. Make a difference.”
“I did. I want all that for you, but Beth, without love, your heart will never be satisfied. All the work will be meaningless.”
Elizabeth regarded Mom for a moment. Growing up, she’d always been there to challenge and encourage her. Romance never entered the picture because she was too young or too focused. But now…
“The night I called you about coming home, we went for pizza after working on the fire tower, then took a long walk around town, eating ice cream from Pop’s Yer Uncle.”
“And?” Mom said.
“He’s a good friend. I like him. We’ve known each other since ninth grade, but only during the summers.”
“You always came home with a little crush on him.” Mom wagged a finger at her. “You never said, but you talked about him enough. So I knew.”
“Now you tell me.” Elizabeth finished off her milk.
“He has a job offer in Colorado. His boss at Cheatham WMA is giving him a hard time about lumber expenses.” Elizabeth paused.
“In fact, Mom, I’ve seen some of his so-called invoices at work.
His name is on cherry and teak purchase orders.
But I can’t see any evidence of it at his house. ”
“You’ve been to his house?”
Elizabeth made a face. “Yes, but only to collect the pine boards he’s using on the fire tower.”
“Did you ask him about it?” Mom opened the fridge for a Diet Coke, popped the top, and poured a glass.
“Should I? Or let him work it out with his boss?”
“Do you think he’s doing something nefarious?”
“No, I don’t. It’s just not who he is, and besides…
” She set her sandwich plate and milk glass in the dishwasher.
“I don’t want him to think I suspect him.
That I’m not on his side. The other night…
he shared some of his childhood with me.
Parents always gone. Nannies coming and going.
He had the flu in high school, and his mom sent him a giant teddy bear with weird, freaky eyes.
He learned about family from the Dorseys. ”
“I’m sad for him, but isn’t it a plus Granny and Pops were there for him? He already fits in with the family. You’d have a leg up on most couples at the start.”
“Mom.” Elizabeth snapped her fingers. “Wharton. Fortune 100. Don’t lose sight of the prize, Vanessa Dorsey. Marriage can wait.” If she married at all.
“Yes, but love…” Mom began. “When it shows up, you have to take a chance. Elizabeth, we work to make a life for love. Husband or wife, children, adorable pets, and crazy family vacations. The work is for you. Not you for the work.”
“Can I at least get started on the work before you give me this lecture?” She roped her arms around her mother’s shoulders.
“Thank you for the work that gave us three dogs, two cats, one iguana, and a hamster that might still be hiding in the pantry. For the magical Christmases, the crazy vacations, our education. For sitting up with me when I was sick. For always telling me I could be whoever, whatever I wanted.”
“I’m proud of you,” Mom said. “Just don’t ignore your heart in pursuit of your head.”
They talked about Mom’s job and her plans to redo the backyard landscaping until Dad came home. He asked about evening plans and how Elizabeth was feeling.
“The virus isn’t active. But I am a bit tired.” She retreated to her room to rest while her folks decided on dinner. Curled on her bed, she searched social media for any postings from Ryder. He never posted much but—
She sat up, smiling. He’d posted about the fire tower on Instagram.
>SM>@rangerryder: Fixing up this historic tower. Thanks @bethdorsey. Hurry back. Need my carpenter’s assistant.
She rested against her pillows, still smiling. A post like this said I like you. But she already knew that, didn’t she?
For a second, she was in his arms on Angelo’s dance floor, swaying to Frank Sinatra. Ryder held her so close, stirring wild and wonderful feelings.
And now she was awake. Energized. And a bit scared. Elizabeth hopped off the bed and headed downstairs, finding Mom in her office, reading emails.
“I can’t fall in love. Ever.”
Mom looked up, removing her glasses. “That’s rather drastic. Never? Also, your dad went to pick up dinner. Barbecue. He’ll be back in a few.”
“Mom, I have a kissing disease, and I’ve never been kissed.” Elizabeth paced around the office. “If I kiss anyone, they could get the virus. I can’t do that to a man like Ryder.”
Mom sat back with a sigh. “Then just be honest. Let him decide. And I’m still mad at your roommate for not telling you she was infectious.”
“She didn’t know. But I do. So how does it go? I just walk up to Ryder and tell him ‘No kissing, buddy’? Or do I wait until he’s almost about to kiss me, then tell him?” Elizabeth leaned over Mom’s glass and steel desk. “I can’t do it. I know how Epstein–Barr feels and—”
“Right, well…” Mom seemed to fish for a plausible argument. “Dr. Roth said most people already have some sort of mono or Epstein–Barr virus. They just never activate. And you’re not infectious right now. You may never be again.”
“But I could be. And Dad would tear your argument to shreds in court.”
“So you’re resigned to never falling in love?”
“Yes. Final answer. For the health and well-being of Ryder or whoever comes my way.”
If God wanted her to fall in love, then He’d have to step up and make it happen. Heal her or something. And Elizabeth didn’t have that kind of faith.
This was a week of data collecting, doing surveys, interviewing fishermen about the fishing and resources and, in the quiet, wondering what had happened with Elizabeth last Saturday night when they’d dined at Angelo’s again.
Ryder had dated enough to know when the vibe was right with someone, and he’d never experienced a vibe like the one he had with Elizabeth.
They talked so honestly. They danced in rhythm. They looked into each other’s eyes. She rested her hand against his chest. He set his cheek on her dark, curly hair.
Then she jetted off to Boston, answering his text with emojis until Wednesday evening, when she said the doctor had cleared her for any active Epstein–Barr antibodies.
Elizabeth
He said I have to be careful. Staying in Boston until next week. Mom wants me tucked in bed by nine. Ha!
Since then, she’d gone radio silent. He didn’t want to bother her, but man, if this didn’t feel like his childhood all over again. Which wasn’t fair to Elizabeth, but he was Ryder Donovan, after all, and people left him behind.
He knew better than to get attached to her. But she made him want to believe in every Buck Mathews love song.
Saturday morning, he rose early to work on the fire tower. So far, he’d avoided any more of Travis’s tirades.
To be fair, the higher-ups were pressuring him to find the men cutting down valued and ancient trees. And to clean up his budget issues. Like the cherry and teak purchases.
Grabbing his tools from the back of his truck, Ryder cut the pine boards and started rebuilding the third set of stairs. He snapped a picture and texted it to Elizabeth.
>>>Ryder: Wish you were here.
A car door slammed behind him, and Matt Dorsey headed his way. “Morning, Ryder.”
“Pops Dorsey. What brings you out here?”
“I heard you needed some help. Woodworking is my specialty.”
“Elizabeth?”
“She texted. Said your knee wasn’t a hundred percent. Even an old man would be better than nothing.”
“She said that?”
“Only between the lines.” Pops laughed. “Give me your cuts, I’ll carry them up.”
The two of them worked in tandem—one cutting, one carrying—then rebuilding the frame where the wood had rotted.
When they took a water break, Pops said, “Elizabeth comes home tomorrow.”
Ryder leaned against his truck. “I thought she was taking a few extra days.”
“She’s bored. And there’s a lot of work at Dorsey. End-of-fiscal-year accounting.” Pops finished his water and set the empty bottle in a bucket. “She won’t be easy to catch, Ryder. Most stubborn of all my grandkids, and that’s saying something. But she’s worth it.”
“You sound like Tina.” Was he so easy to read? “We’re just friends. And Elizabeth doesn’t want to be caught.”
“She’s caught all right. She just doesn’t know it.”
“Who says I want to be caught?” Ryder ignored the low, grandfatherly “Yeah, right” from Pops. “Travis and I don’t get along,” he said after a minute. “A boss I do respect and admire has offered me a job back in Colorado. It’s a good opportunity for me.”
Pops simply nodded. “How about we take a break, grab some lunch. Ella’s. My treat.”