CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The following afternoon, Elisabeth sat in the passenger seat of Theresa’s car, staring out the window at the passing scenery. Early morning chores, a car that wouldn’t start, and the busy Saturday lunch shift at the bistro had worn her out. Not to mention a restless night.
She had dreamed Henry was staying on the farm. Not just until Manny returned but forever. In her dream, she’d been euphoric at the news.
Too bad her life didn’t have room for fantasies, daydreams, and romance. Her shoulders sagged.
“You okay?” Theresa asked.
“I will be. Nothing a hot shower and a nap can’t fix.” Elisabeth straightened. “Thanks for the ride home. I hope Gabe fixed the Suburban.”
“He was working on it when I left to pick you up. If it can be fixed, he’ll do it, but the Suburban is almost as old as you are. You need a new car.”
What she really needed was a new brain.
No wonder she dreamed about Henry after the way she’d kissed him last night. Kissing him the first time had been bad enough, but twice? She couldn’t even blame it on the wine; she’d had one glass at dinner and half a glass while listening to the band.
The fault lay entirely with her.
She’d kissed him only to prove to herself she’d magnified his kiss to mythic proportions because she hadn’t been kissed in such a long time.
After Gabe’s pleasant good-night kiss with no zings or tingles or fireworks, Elisabeth had figured Henry’s kiss would be the same—nice but uneventful.
She would be able to distance herself mentally and forget about his kisses and him.
She’d been wrong. He hadn’t even taken her in his arms, but his lips against hers were all she needed to realize she hadn’t blown his kiss out of proportion. To be honest, kissing him had been better than she remembered. Much better.
Elisabeth leaned her head back against the seat. “I need a new everything.”
Theresa turned on her playlist, and a romantic ballad played over the car speakers. “Does that include a new farmhand?”
“Henry’s doing better.” If only he was as great at farming as he was at kissing, they could turn the farm around.
“He’s not making as many mistakes. Though the other day when I asked him to bring a chicken for dinner, he thought he had to kill one.
” Her insides had melted when she saw him holding on to a hen and petting it, an ax on the ground outside the chicken coop.
“Luckily, he couldn’t do it. He was so relieved when I showed him the freezer where we kept the frozen chicken. ”
“Henry’s a great guy,” Theresa said.
“How would you know?”
“You haven’t been complaining about him. You haven’t really talked about Henry at all.” Theresa glanced over at her. “What’s up with that?”
“Nothing.”
“You like him.”
Like didn’t describe how Elisabeth felt about Henry. She wasn’t sure what word did. “He works for me.”
“That’s an excuse, not a reason.” Theresa tapped the steering wheel to the beat of the music. “If you don’t like him, why are you blushing?”
“I’m…I’m hot.”
“And bothered?”
Elisabeth wasn’t about to answer that.
Theresa continued. “I don’t blame you for feeling that way. He’s perfect for you.”
“I thought you liked him.”
She shrugged. “I would never stand in the way of true love.”
“True what?”
“Love.” Theresa winked. “Elisabeth plus Henry equals true love.”
If only…no, Elisabeth couldn’t think about that. “You’ll only be disappointed if you think that’s true.”
Uh-oh. She hadn’t realized she’d spoken out loud.
“A girl can dream, can’t she?” Theresa turned the car onto the dirt driveway leading to the farm. “There’s nothing wrong with one friend wanting to see another friend live happily ever after.”
“Fairy-tale endings aren’t real.”
“Don’t let what happened in the past color your future.”
“No guy will want the baggage that comes with me.”
“Just wait,” Theresa said. “Your happily ever after is closer than you think.”
Theresa had lost it. Still, the idea of loving and being loved appealed to Elisabeth in a way it hadn’t in years.
Not since Toby. Yet at the same time it frightened her. “And you think Henry is a part of it?”
“You said it, not me.” Theresa parked her car next to Gabe’s truck. The hood to the Suburban was raised.
Not a good sign. Elisabeth had wanted it to be an easy fix. She couldn’t afford anything serious to be wrong. But the way her luck was running…
Elisabeth slid out of the car and prepared herself for the worst. Caitlin, Abby, and Henry greeted her. The girls jumped up and down and giggled. Elisabeth had never had a welcome home like this. Henry’s influence? Or was something wrong?
“We have a surprise for you,” Caitlin said. “Close your eyes.”
Elisabeth did as she was told. “Now what?”
Small fingers clasped her right hand.
“Don’t peek,” Abby said. “We’ll lead you there.”
As Elisabeth took a step, a larger hand took hold of her left hand. Tingles raced up her arm and down to the tips of her ugly white shoes.
“Don’t worry,” Henry whispered. “We won’t lead you astray.”
His warm breath caressed her neck. Being led astray by him suddenly didn’t sound so bad.
Her shoes crunched on the gravel. “Where are we going?”
“Be patient,” Caitlin ordered in the same tone Elisabeth sometimes used with her.
They released her hands.
“You can open your eyes,” Abby said.
Elisabeth did. A soft gasp escaped her lips.
“Surprise!” everyone shouted.
She covered her mouth with her hands. “This can’t be our house.”
“It is,” Caitlin said, clapping.
On closer inspection, Elisabeth knew it was, but somehow, the front porch had been magically transformed from run-down and neglected to new and beautiful, like a layout from a home and garden magazine.
A sparkling white swing hung from chains. The broken slats on the railing had been repaired. A flower basket had been hung, and potted plants of different sizes had been added.
Sam was there. Gabe and Theresa, too.
Abby bit her lip. “Do you like it?”
Elisabeth gave her sister a reassuring squeeze. “I love it. So much. It’s beautiful. But who did this?”
Smiles lit up their faces. “We did.”
“Henry bought the swing and supplies,” Abby said.
Sam stepped forward. “Gabe showed us how to refinish it and fix up the porch.”
“Theresa did the plants,” Caitlin added.
Tears stung Elisabeth’s eyes, and she blinked them away. She ran her fingers along the edge of the porch rail. The front of the house hadn’t looked this good in years. “I still can’t believe this is our house.”
“This came out so great.” Theresa rubbed her eyes. “It reminds me of one of those HGTV shows.”
“This is better.” Happiness bubbled inside Elisabeth. Not because of the porch but because of the people who did this for her. “All this work. Thank you doesn’t seem like enough.”
“A hug would work,” Abby, ever practical, suggested.
Elisabeth grinned. “I can do that.”
She hugged each of the kids. Theresa, too. Gabriel was next.
“We all helped,” he whispered. “But this was Henry’s idea.”
Henry?
Once again, she’d been surprised by the unpredictable Henry. Emotion surged through her. “You shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble, Henry.”
“I wish I could have done more,” he said.
The warmth of his smile blanketed her, making her feel cherished and special. A hug didn’t seem an adequate gesture of thanks. But she couldn’t risk anything more. Not with her heart pounding and her gaze focused on his lips.
Elisabeth forced herself to look away. As she wrapped her arms around him, his scent intoxicated her. It felt so good to touch him, to hold him. “Thank you.”
She waited for him to hug back. He stiffened instead. As her chest tightened, she ignored the disappointment his reaction brought and stepped back.
Henry still had a grin on his face. He acted as if nothing were wrong.
She didn’t understand. Had she imagined the awkwardness?
Was she being hypersensitive? Was she afraid to enjoy the moment?
She wasn’t used to people doing things for her.
For the first time in almost four years, someone had. Maybe that was it.
He motioned to the swing. “Why don’t you try it?”
As the swing went back and forth, she felt like a kid again, carefree, safe.
It was a good feeling. She remembered swinging with her mother and later her stepmother.
The spot next to Elisabeth was now empty, and so was a spot in her heart.
No one had been able to fill it. No one had wanted to try.
For the first time in a long while, Elisabeth wished someone would.
* * *
“What’s wrong?” Henry didn’t like the kids’ sad faces as they sat at the dinner table, waiting to be served. Strange, considering today had been such a good day.
Sam grimaced. “Can’t you smell it?”
Henry inhaled. The awful aroma made him wrinkle his nose. “What is that?”
“Dinner,” Elisabeth answered as she stood in front of the stove and stirred one of the pots.
“Liver and onions,” Abby added as if she had to eat mud for dinner.
Caitlin pouted. “I’m not eating it.”
“Me either,” Sam said.
“You’ll eat it.” Elisabeth placed full plates in front of each of them. “It’s good for you.”
Henry had never seen something so unappetizing in all his life. Paté was made from liver, but this? No way could this dish be good for anyone. “I’m not that hungry.”
“I’m not hungry,” Sam echoed.
Elisabeth sat. “Children who are starving all over the world would be happy to eat this.”
“Let’s FedEx it to them,” Abby murmured. “I’d rather starve. A person can survive without food. Water, however, is critical.”
Henry bit back a chuckle. Abby was so precocious and adorable. He wondered what she would be when she grew up. A scientist, a doctor, a CEO?
“It’s not that bad,” Elisabeth said.
As she took a bite, he glimpsed a slight grimace as she chewed.
“Do you actually like this?” he asked.
She drank half her glass of milk. “My stepmother used to make it.”