Age Before Beauty (31 page)

Eric leaned sideways and whispered in Allie’s ear. “We’re just here as observers, right?”

“I don’t know. They might have some good stuff.” Allie widened her eyes innocently. “Do you think they take credit cards?”

That earned her a pinch on the leg beneath the table and a mock scowl from her husband. She laughed and linked fingers with him, then directed her attention to the lectern. Joan auctioned off her first item—a brand-new television set still in the box—like a pro.

Ken and the others carried each item into the room and paraded it across the floor as Joan read details for the bidders from a stack of index cards. Tori really got into the action when the item up for bid was a silver tennis bracelet donated by a local jewelry store. Allie watched her sister exchange competitive glances with a woman on the other side of the room as the price rose higher and higher. Tori won the bracelet, but Allie was sure she ended up paying more than she would have if she’d bought it directly from the store.

After about forty minutes, Allie started to fidget. She glanced down the table and caught Gram covering a yawn with her hand. Allie checked her watch. Eight twenty. Gram was normally in bed by nine, so she had to be about ready to leave. In another ten minutes Betty would bathe Joanie and feed her a nighttime bottle. If they hurried, Allie could nurse her instead. How many items was Joan going to auction? Surely they’d showed enough support for one evening.

To her relief, Joan answered her question as a box of used dishes was delivered to the new owner. “That’s it for me, folks. I’m going to hand the gavel to Brittany now. Thanks for—”

“Wait a minute, Joan.” Ryan stepped into the room with something small cradled in his hands. “You’re not finished yet. There’s one more thing here you need to take care of.”

Joan shuffled through the stack of index cards, confusion creasing her forehead. “I don’t think so. Maybe someone else has the details on that item.”

Ryan’s little-boy grin was so wide Allie wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d started skipping. “Oh, this one’s yours, alright. It has your name on it.”

Allie looked at the small black box in Ryan’s hand. She sucked in a loud hiss of air. She knew what that box held. She had one just like it at home. Beside her, Tori had recognized the item herself, and her eyes went round as blue saucers. Allie’s gaze connected with Mom, who wore a knowing smile. On her left, Eric straightened in his chair and grinned as he, too, recognized the box. Allie clutched his hand beneath the table and squeezed.

“My name is on it?” Joan shook her head, clearly confused.

“That’s what it says right here.” Ryan practically danced across the room and deposited the box in her hand, along with another index card.

Joan looked down at the card. “It says here …”

Her voice trailed off as she read. She grew very still. A movement at the doorway drew Allie’s attention. When Ken stepped into the room dressed formally in a black tuxedo, tears filled her eyes. She had to brush them away so she could watch.

Ken crossed the floor to stand in front of Joan. Allie saw the love shining in his eyes as he gazed down into her sister’s face. He gently took the box from her hand, sank onto one knee in front of her, and opened it. The diamond nestled on black velvet inside caught the light and twinkled with a flash of icy fire.

Ken held the box toward Joan. “The card says that this ring is yours, if you will do me the honor of becoming my wife.”

Allie’s tears slid freely down her cheeks as Joan bent to throw her arms around Ken’s neck. She caught him in a kiss that rivaled the one Eric and Allie shared in the parking lot.

When Ken came up for air, he grinned toward the audience. “I think that’s a yes.”

Joan nodded, her face alight with more joy than Allie had ever seen. “That’s definitely a yes.”

The entire room erupted into applause.

27

Allie stood in the dark parking lot surrounded by her family. The night air held the unmistakable touch of winter. She hugged Eric’s arm and snuggled close, trying to capture as much warmth as she could from his body.

Joan tore her gaze away from her fiancé long enough to beam at her family. “I am so glad you were here. That made tonight even more special. Were you all in on the surprise?”

Everyone except Mom shook their heads.

“I knew,” she said. “Ken shared his plan with me a few weeks ago and enlisted my help in getting Tori here.”

“Well, he didn’t tell anyone else.” Allie pretended to give him a sour look. “Just kept saying we needed to be here because it would mean a lot to you.”

Joan cast an adoring glance upward at him. “He was right.”

Gram shuddered visibly. “I’m happy for you, Joan, but I’m cold. I need to get home.”

Tori stepped close to Gram and put a sheltering arm around her shoulders. “I’ll take you on my way back to Lexington.” Allie didn’t think Tori looked overly pleased about Joan’s engagement, but that was to be expected. She wasn’t crazy about Ken because of how much he talked about his faith. Allie would corner her after their family dinner on Sunday and outline all the reasons Ken was perfect for Joan. Though one look at the joy on her sister’s face should be convincing enough.

They said their goodbyes with hugs and kisses all around, and Allie climbed into Eric’s chilly pickup. When he started the ignition, she looked at the glowing blue clock on the dashboard.

“We missed Joanie’s bath.” She shivered and huddled inside her jacket.

Eric flipped the heat dial all the way to the red side. “We’re not going home yet.”

She looked at his profile. “We’re not?”

The truck pulled out of the church lot onto Main Street. Eric shook his head. “We haven’t finished our talk yet. We can’t do it at home without worrying about Mother overhearing.”

That was certainly true. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

The air blowing through the vent gradually warmed. Allie cupped her cold hands in front of it. Eric turned the fan on higher, and she lifted her feet toward the lower vent to warm them too.

Allie had told him all about her opportunity to keep Sally Jo’s Varie Cose records on her computer the minute he walked through the door this evening. He’d been as excited as she. They’d discussed the sale of her inventory last night. So that just left one thing to talk about.

Allie gulped. The silence in the cab gathered around her like the darkness. God had become such a constant presence in her life in the past few days, more and more real with each minute that passed. She knew how Eric felt about anything to do with religion. But this thing she’d found had nothing to do with religion. It was far more personal than that.

“Eric, something happened to me Saturday night, and I need to tell you about it.”

He took his eyes off the road for a moment to glance at her. “I’m listening.”

Hesitantly, Allie began telling him about her mounting fears over the past few weeks, her feelings of insecurity over her weight, her irritation with his absorption with televised sports games. As she talked her confidence grew. By the time she got to the encounter in the kitchen at the sleepover, the words rushed out of her like water from a rain gutter.

“It sounds crazy, Eric, but I
felt
God there. I know he was telling me that he loves me, that I’m precious to him. That feeling hasn’t gone away. I’ve felt him ever since. Even in the seconds before my car ran into that cow, I knew he was right there, watching out for Joanie and me.”

She leaned across the seat, straining against the shoulder strap, and placed a hand on his leg. “The other night I stayed up late praying. About my job. About us. That’s why I decided to close my business, because I felt like the Lord was telling me that it was okay, I could rely on him to take care of me. On him,” she paused, then went on in a small voice, “and on you.”

His glance slid sideways to lock with hers. “You didn’t know that before?”

She held his gaze as she shook her head. “Not really, not deeply. I finally figured out why. It was Daddy.”

He turned the steering wheel and downshifted. “Your father? You mean because he was unfaithful to your mother?”

“Not just to Mom. To me and Joan and Tori too. I realized I’ve been watching for warning signs that you were going to leave me like Daddy left me. He used to come home from work and plant himself in front of the television set and stay there for hours.”

Understanding dawned in Eric’s face. “You thought I was becoming like him.”

“Exactly. And when I saw Molly flirting with you …”

She faced forward, unwilling to look him in the eye.

The car rolled to a stop on the side of a dark road. Eric turned off the engine and cut the lights, then popped off his seat belt and slid toward her.

“Do you see where we are?” He released her seat belt.

Allie looked through the windows. They were parked on a cul-de-sac with huge houses around them. She didn’t recognize the neighborhood.

“I’ll give you a hint.” He slipped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “I brought you here one night after a date between our junior and senior years at college.”

Allie gasped. “Eric! Are we in Cumberland Hills?” She was glad the darkness hid her blush. They’d gone parking here, but that was when these houses were still under construction.

“We are.”

He pressed her head to his chest and slowly caressed her hair until the tension left her body and she relaxed against him. She heard his heart beating a slow, even pulse against her ear.

“I don’t mind telling you that I said a prayer or two myself yesterday. On the way to the hospital.” His hand stroked her head. “I haven’t prayed since I was a kid, but after I stormed out of the house the other night, I ended up at the church. I had a conversation with Reverend Jacobsen.”

“You talked to the minister?” She tried to sit up and look at him, but he held her tight. His chin moved against her head as he nodded.

“He talked about God the way Joan did tonight. The way Ken does. Like you did just now. I realized for years I’ve let one jerk sour me against religion in general, and especially against God. I’d forgotten what my grandmother taught me a long time ago, that God is personal. He’s not a building, or even a group of people. He’s real. And he’s not just about showing up for church on Sunday morning.” She felt his throat move as he swallowed. “He’s about love.”

A sense of wonder crept over Allie. She never in a million years thought she would hear her antireligious husband speak of God’s love.

Thank you, thank you.
Eric might not be ready to join the mission team or anything, but he was making progress. God must be working overtime on her problems.

Eric pushed her back with a gentle hand until they were facing each other. His eyes were black pools of passion that bore into hers. When he spoke, his breath felt warm against her lips.

“You don’t have to worry about Molly or any other woman, ever. You are the only one for me.”

Her stomach gave a delicious flip-flop. “Even though I’m not as skinny as I used to be?”

He slowly leaned forward until his lips rested against hers with a featherlight touch. “You are so incredibly beautiful you take my breath away.”

Allie surrendered to a kiss that she felt all the way down to her toes.

28

Allie saw a strange car parked in their driveway behind Betty’s when they turned the corner onto their street. “Whose car is that?”

Eric shook his head. “I’ve never seen it before.”

She grasped the shoulder strap in a tight grip. Betty didn’t know anyone in town. What if something was wrong? Eric guided the truck to the curb in front of the house, and Allie was out the door before the engine died. She dashed across the yard, barely noticing the cold that seeped from the grass through her shoes, aware that Eric was right behind her.

They burst through the front door, and then stopped. A gray-haired man was seated on the sofa beside Betty, Joanie in his arms. It took Allie’s brain a few seconds to process what she was seeing before she recognized him.

“Don!” she exclaimed, at the same moment Eric said, “Dad!”

“Hey, there they are.” Don’s voice boomed. He turned to Betty and awkwardly extended the baby toward her. “You’d better take her. Been too long since I held one that size. I’ll drop her if I try to walk with her.”

The transfer made, Don came around the coffee table and wrapped them both in a strong-armed hug. “Good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too, Dad.” Eric clapped his father on the back. “Bit of a surprise, though. I didn’t know you were coming.”

Don pulled back to give them both a bushy eyebrow shrug. “Neither did I, till yesterday. But it seems my wife had other plans. She rented me a car and told me to get my hind end down here so I could drive her back home in her car.”

Allie looked at Betty, who wore a smug smile. Well, well, well. Looks like her mother-in-law had finally developed some communication skills.

“We’ve made some other plans too.” Don returned to the couch while Allie and Eric each sat in a chair. Don placed an arm across the back, and Allie noticed how Betty shifted slightly so her head rested against his arm. “I hope you two can stand us hanging around more often.”

Allie’s gaze flew to Don’s face. For a second she entertained the horrible thought that Don was suggesting they
both
move in.

“I’ll be retiring when this job ends next summer. We’re going to do a bit of traveling, see the world. And we’re going to put the old house up for sale, look for one down here.” He cupped Betty’s shoulder. “Your mother has taken a liking to Danville.”

Eric’s smile made Allie’s heart light. “That’s great news, Dad! We’d love having you and Mom close.”

Allie locked gazes with her mother-in-law and they exchanged a private smile. Her eyes held a spark of something Allie hadn’t seen there before. To Allie’s amazement, Betty looked happy.

On Sunday morning Allie walked proudly beside her husband down the sidewalk from the parking lot to the front entrance of the church, carrying her baby. Sunlight sparkled on grass wet with melted frost. When she’d stepped out on the front porch this morning to pick up the paper, Allie had seen her breath. Frigid weather had officially arrived to stay.