Chapter 12
— chapter twelve
There was a time when Evan had been foolish enough to believe that he always knew better than his boys. He’d given up that notion when his oldest was nine or ten. Kurt had been blessed with the ability to illustrate that there was more than one way to do something well.
Much to Rose’s amusement and his dismay.
As the children grew older, Evan began to thank the good Lord for giving him a good set of ears to listen to advice. His sons had bolstered his spirits when their mother was ill and they continued to help in a number of ways after her death.
That was why he hadn’t ignored Jeremy’s advice when he’d encouraged him to visit Leanna again.
Evan had prayed about what to do, made a pro and con list, and finally come to a decision. He’d liked Leanna Mast for far too long to give up so easily.
His youngest had been right.
He had gathered himself together and decided to return to Leanna’s house.
Unafraid to use a little incentive, he’d even bought a gift.
He was rather pleased with it, all things considered.
He’d never been the type of man to frequent gift shops and especially not the type to pay a few dollars extra for the item he purchased to be gift wrapped.
But he’d done it for her.
If Rose was watching him from up in heaven, she was probably gazing down in shock. Or laughing uproariously. Gift giving had never been his strong point.
However, Evan was pretty proud of himself.
Becca’s visit to the house had inspired him.
Not only had she seemed so appreciative of all the food, Jeremy shared that she’d noticed that the house smelled of lemon oil.
It had been obvious that they’d gone to a lot of effort to show Becca that Jeremy—and the rest of his family—cared.
He decided that there was something to that.
With that in mind, he’d gone to the fancy gift store and bought Leanna a candle.
It wasn’t just any old candle either. It was made of sweet-smelling beeswax encased in a pretty glass container and then wrapped in silver paper and secured with a violet satin bow. The salesclerk assured him that women loved such gifts.
He just hoped that Leanna would.
He felt a little silly getting out of his buggy with a gift bag in his hand, but he decided that there was nothing to be done about that. He was determined to court Leanna properly. At the very least, he didn’t want her to think that he didn’t consider her worth the effort to go the extra mile.
If such a thing would even cross her mind.
His heart was pounding when he knocked on her door. When she opened it, Leanna was wearing a dark-maroon dress and was holding a dustrag. She looked a bit frazzled. “Evan!”
“Jah. Hello.”
Pressing her free hand to her mouth, she seemed to take a moment to gather herself before speaking. “You came back.”
As far as welcomes went, this one had a lot to be desired. “I did,” he replied, then attempted to smile—which just about summed up how suave and debonair he could possibly be.
When she continued to stand in the doorway, neither inviting him in nor encouraging him to leave, Evan held up the gift bag. “I brought you something.”
Her eyes widened. “You bought me a gift?”
“I did.” He cleared his throat. “I, uh, had them wrap it up special for you.” Like that wasn’t already obvious.
“Why?”
“Why?”
She nodded. “Why did you do all that for me?”
“Because I didn’t want to show up without something.”
Looking stunned, she stepped back, then, to his immense relief, waved him inside.
“Evan, I don’t know what to say.” Her voice sounded as flustered as he felt.
“How about that you’ll let me stay for a spell before you kick me out?” He made sure to sound like he was teasing, but he kind of wasn’t. She mattered to him, and he needed her to give them a chance.
“I . . . I’m not going to kick you out.” She closed the door behind him. “I just . . . ” She stopped. Seemed to get her thoughts together, and then added, “Evan, I thought I already made the choice for my future clear. I don’t want to get married again.”
Ignoring that statement, he pointed to the hooks on the wall. “May I hang up my coat?”
“Sure.” She stood like a light post, tall and proud, watching him unbutton his wool coat, carefully hang it up, and finally place his hat on another peg.
When that was taken care of, he handed her the bag.
Leanna took it, though she didn’t look any happier about it than when he’d first appeared at her doorstep.
“Where would you like me to sit?”
The barest hint of a smile flashed before she gathered herself together. “It’s warmest in the kitchen. I haven’t started the fireplace in the living room yet.”
“All right. The kitchen is good with me.”
“You sure you don’t mind?”
“Of course not.”
But it was like she hadn’t heard him. “I don’t know why, but I sometimes have trouble getting the fireplace lit and going. Today was one of those days.”
“I sit in my kitchen at home, Leanna.”
She looked down with a chuckle. “Forgive me. I thought I was done being flustered, but I guess I still am.”
As Evan followed her to the kitchen, he added, “I’ll be happy to light the fireplace for you. If you’d like. Then, when I’m gone, you’ll be able to enjoy it.”
“That’s awfully kind of you.”
“It’s nothing.” Taking a seat, he gestured to the bag that she’d placed on the table. “Open your present. I’m eager to see what you think.”
“Okay.” Sitting down across from him, she stared at the bag, then dug out the wrapped present. “It’s beautiful.” Lifting her chin, she added, “I almost hate to mess it up.”
“The sales lady worked hard on that bow. I didn’t think she was ever going to get it just right.”
Chuckling, she pulled on one of the tails of the bow, slid off the satin ribbon, then pulled open the paper. Evan watched every move, hoping and praying that she wouldn’t hate the thing.
“It’s a candle! And so pretty too.”
“It’s beeswax.” Feeling foolish, he forced himself to continue. “I thought its pretty yellow color might be good for the spring.”
“It is. I’m going to enjoy it very much. Danke.”
“You’re welcome.”
She frowned. “I wish you wouldn’t have done it, though. This was obviously expensive.” Meeting his gaze, she said, “I fear you’re going to be disappointed that you went to so much trouble on me.”
“I won’t.”
“Even if I don’t change my mind about marriage?”
“Even if.” When she looked down at the candle again, Evan knew he needed to say what was in his heart.
To take a chance. “Leanna, listen. I heard what you said. If you don’t ever want to marry again, then that is your choice.
But there’s a lot of room between being alone and getting married.
Couldn’t we spend time together as friends? ”
“You’d like to be friends.” She’d said the words under her breath. Like she was trying them on for size. “Evan, would you really be okay with that?”
Would he really? Probably not. But he didn’t want to lose her from his life either. “Maybe.”
Her eyes widened. “Maybe?” She chuckled. “I had no idea you had so much gumption, Evan.”
He chuckled too. “I don’t know if it’s gumption or that it’s that I don’t want to lie to you.”
“What’s the truth?”
“The truth is that I’d be happy to be your friend, but I’d also like to one day be more than that.” Before she could fend him off again, he added, “Leanna, why don’t we take things slow? Get to know each other better?”
She stared at him, her pretty brown eyes seeming to search for something. Then she looked down at the candle. Picked up the satin ribbon and let it slide through her fingers.
When their eyes met again, there was something new shining in hers. Maybe it was desire? Humor? Maybe it was nothing more than a little bit of gumption too. Whatever it was, Leanna seemed to be okay with her decision. “All right.”
He couldn’t resist smiling. “Danke, Leanna.”
She rolled her eyes. “Since you’re going to stay for a spell, would you like water or coffee?”
“A glass of water will suit me fine.”
“I . . . happen to have some almond poppy seed bread. Would you like to have a slice?”
“Only if you do.”
“I’ll have some too.”
He stood up. “Would you like me to help you with the fireplace while you do that?”
For the first time, Leanna’s expression softened. Trust and gratitude shone in her eyes. “Jah, Evan,” she said softly. “I’d like that very much.”
“And maybe soon you would like to have dinner together? As my friend, I would like you to meet my family.”
Leanna swallowed and took a breath, but he couldn’t breathe until she answered.
“Jah, Evan. Sometime soon.”
When he walked into her living room, he finally grinned ear to ear. He might have given her a candle, but she’d just granted him a gift of her own.
She was going to let him be her friend. He’d wormed his way into her life. He couldn’t wait to tell Jeremy all about it.
Evan was sure that his youngest was going to be very pleased about that.