The Ride of Her Life (33 page)

Levi traipsed over and tipped his chubby face up to her. “Please, Mama.”

“Levi Hart, we’re not discussing this again. I don’t want you riding on the roller coaster.”

“But Mr. Nick said—”

“I don’t care what Mr. Nick said.”

Levi giggled.

“You don’t care what I say, huh?” Nick slipped in place beside her with two bamboo fishing poles in hand. He kissed Lilly’s cheek. “What have I said to get myself in trouble?”

“Nothing. Levi’s pestering me again about riding the roller coaster.”

Nick untangled one rod and passed it to Levi. “Now, wait for me, Levi. Did you bring the worms?”

“Yes, sir. A whole big, big, big bunch.” He spread his arms wide.

“Good job.” Nick turned to Lilly after Levi had scampered away. “I could go with him on the coaster, and you wouldn’t have to be on it at all.”

“Nick, I know you feel it’s safe, but I can’t in good conscience let him ride it. What if something happened to him?”

Nick nodded, hurt evident in his eyes. “It’s still a matter of trust.”

She laid a hand on his arm. “Not in trusting you. It’s in trusting the equipment, the heights, the whole thing. He’s all I have.”

“Have you ever considered you might be a tad”—he held his thumb and forefinger a half inch apart—“overprotective?”

“No, I haven’t.” She quirked a smile, tied off the knot on the sock, and bit the thread. “But he is
my
son. How about I promise to think on it some more?”

“And pray about it?” He snagged the sock from her hand and dropped it in the basket.

“What are you doing?”

“We’re going to be by the water, handling dangerous hooks and scary fish. You’d better come along to protect us.”

“I’m sure you can handle fishing all by yourselves.” She reached for another sock.

“Not so fast.” He took her hand and pulled her to her feet. “I don’t like worms.”

“Are you serious?”

He flashed her a grin. “Of course I am. Slimy things give me the creeps.”

“I know that’s not true.”

He shrugged. “Someone has to put the worms on
your
son’s line. Looks like it’s going to be you.”

She sighed and let him lead her to the water’s edge. Confounded man. Did he think she was going to give in on the roller coaster because of a worm? With a son like Levi, she’d dealt with plenty of worms. Crickets, cicadas, frogs, and granddaddy longlegs too. It was only the spiders and snakes that got her. She shivered. She hated spiders and snakes.

Once she had Levi’s hook baited, she turned toward Nick. “Need some help?”

Nick shot her a glare as he wrestled with a night crawler. “There. Ready to cast, Levi?”

“Yes, sir.” The two of them approached the shore. Nick tossed out his line, then turned to help Levi.

“We’ve got this.” Lilly smiled at him. She was already standing behind her son. “Pull the tip of the pole back like so,” she told Levi, covering her son’s chubby hand with her own. “Now swing it forward.” The line landed a few yards from Nick’s. Immediately Levi wanted to reel it back in. She stopped him. “Levi, I know it’s hard, but it’s time to be patient and wait to see if the fish are gonna bite.”

Nick and Lilly sat down on the shore. Heedless of the warning, in less than ten minutes, Levi had reeled in his line and recast no less than six times. The poor worm on the end of his hook flopped like a piece of wet rope.

“You never cease to surprise me.” Nick glanced at Lilly. “So, have you heard if the fish are hitting on night crawlers? Ever try corn, Miss Fisherwoman?”

Her stomach cinched when she looked at him. His face was shadowed with beard growth, and she ached to reach out her hand and run it along the rough surface of his solid jaw. Nick Perrin, undeniably handsome, made her insides jelly.

Jealousy poked her hard. Was this how Ruby felt when she was near him? Were all Ruby’s feelings for Nick coming back to her?

She swallowed. “I think folks use a lot of different baits to get what they want.”

“Are we still talking about fishing?” Nick took up the slack in his line.

“Yes and no. There are all kinds of fishing. You can fish for answers or fish for information. You can fish like we are right now, or you can look at all the other fish in the sea.” She cast a sidelong glance in his direction.

“I’m not looking, Lilly.”

Oh my, he knew whom she was talking about. She gave him a fleeting smile. “She’s beautiful.”

“I’m not interested.”

“She sure is interested in you.”

“But she won’t be reeling me in. Understand?” Nick stood and offered her his hand. His eyes dropped to her lips. Would he kiss her in front of Levi and make her forget Ruby Rawlins even existed?

No sooner was she on her feet than his line pulled taut. He braced his feet and reeled the catch in. A fifteen-inch catfish dangled from the line. He held it up triumphantly.

“You did it!” Levi set down his rod and applauded.

“Beginner’s luck,” Lilly teased.

“The trick is to make sure the fish want the bait you’re offering. If they don’t, it’s a waste of your time.” He met her gaze. “Goes double when you’re fishing for a person.”

Levi cast his line again. “Silly goose. Nobody fishes for people.”

Lilly walked over and laid her hands on his shoulders. “You’d be surprised, Levi. You’d be surprised.”

“Besides, Levi, remember, Jesus told His apostles He was going to make them fishers of men.” Nick managed to remove the fish from his hook. “Gotta use the right bait there too.”

Lilly’s insides warmed. Nick Perrin had a good heart.

The rest of the evening passed without another mention of Ruby. Nick caught a couple of additional catfish along with a few unwanted small crappies he threw back, and they headed to the diner to clean their catch. By the time Nick had finished, Levi had fallen asleep at one of the tables, his head resting on his arms.

Lilly soaked the fish in milk in the icebox and then set a piece of pie in front of Nick.

“Where’s yours?”

“I’m not hungry.”

Nick speared a bite and held it to her lips. “You go first. That way I know you aren’t poisoning me.”

She laughed and ate the bite. The blueberries burst on her tongue. She moaned as she swallowed the sweet juices. “This is really good.”

“Your pies are usually good. Delicious, in fact.”

“Mine, yes. Eugenia’s, no.”

“You were trying to poison me!” Nick laughed and took a bite of his own. “This is great. You’ve done wonders for her, Lilly.”

“She is improving, but I wouldn’t say it was me. She’s working hard. My mama always said everyone needs someone who believes in them.”

“You gave her the chance and made her believe in herself. You make people want to be better.” He gripped her hand. “You make me want to be a better person.”

She let the warmth spread from her hand to her heart, not daring to speak for fear the moment would evaporate like steam over a pot of soup.

“I love you, Lilly.”

His blue eyes searched hers, and her insides quivered like gelatin fresh from a mold. If she told him how she felt, would he stay in the city for good? But if she truly loved him, could she ask him to do that?

Trust Me.

The words pressed on her heart as surely as if the Lord had spoken them aloud to her.

But, Lord, he’ll leave me. I’ll be alone again. I can’t bear to give him my heart and then lose him.

Nick drew circles with his thumb on the tender flesh of her hand, seeming to say she had all the time in the world.

Her heart swelled even more.

Trust Me.

She licked her lips, still tasting of blueberry, and whispered, “I love you too, Nick Perrin.”

He didn’t finish his pie. He pulled her to her feet, his gaze locked on hers.

She closed her eyes and felt the heat of his breath. His lips covered hers, and the spark flamed until she forgot about fishing and Ruby and roller coasters and anything in the world—except the man she loved holding her in his arms.

Please, Lord, don’t let this be a mistake.

32

There had to be some kind of mistake.

As the messenger pedaled his bicycle away from the roller coaster site, Nick read the words of the telegram again. His chest tightened. How could a morning holding so much promise sour so quickly? He and Lilly had enjoyed a wonderful weekend, and now this?

“Problem, boyo?”

Nick looked at Sean and crushed the telegram in his fist. “I have to leave early.”

“I can cover for you here this afternoon. Does Lilly need you or something?”

“I don’t mean leave early today. I mean I have to leave Lake Manawa and this city earlier than we planned.”

“Why don’t ya come explain yerself whilst I check the motor and chain?”

Nick followed the burly man to the motor shed beneath the coaster. Sean eyed the lift chain, looking for any potential problems, then turned to Nick. “So, laddie, ya want to tell me what that telegram said?”

After reaching the roller coaster’s engine, Nick primed the motor and prepared to start it. “Fenton Evans fell while working on the Kansas City coaster. He broke his leg and some ribs, so he won’t be working for the rest of the summer. Mr. Ingersoll says he can cover for him until the end of June, but then he’s scheduled to start on a new project down South.”

“So Mr. Ingersoll needs ya to be takin’ over for him on the Kansas City project come July?”

“I have to be there after the Fourth.” Nick oiled one of the gears on the motor. “I thought I’d have the rest of the summer here. That’s what I told Lilly. How am I going to tell her I have to leave so soon?” He fired the motor, and the chain began to turn.

Sean adjusted the tension on it. “Ya thinkin’ the lassie will be a bit miffed at ya?”

“Miffed? Try furious.” Nick wiped his hands on a rag. “And scared. I don’t want to rush her, Sean. We need more time.”

“Guess the good Lord thought ya didn’t need it.” Sean clapped his hand on Nick’s shoulder. “Ya still have a month, laddie. If God created the whole world in seven days, I think He can move a mountain of stubborn like yer lassie in a month. The question is, are ya ready to make a commitment like that?”

Nick’s chest tightened. Was he ready? Up until this point, everything had been about convincing Lilly to take a chance on him. But now? Was he prepared to become both a husband and a father? And would he ever measure up to Ben Hart in Lilly’s eyes?

After leaving Sean to finish a few things in the engine shed, Nick rounded the corner of the loading station and stopped short. This day kept getting worse. He took a deep breath, forcing a calm he didn’t feel. Ruby was not taking no for an answer.

Nick rolled his eyes.
Like that’s a surprise.
Ruby Rawlins expecting to get her way.

He met her at the foot of the loading station’s stairs. “Morning. We’re not open yet.”

She flicked her gloved hand in the air. “Silly, I know that. But since you wouldn’t join me in the evening, I thought we could talk this morning. Surely Mrs. Hart wouldn’t be jealous of that?”

“Lilly’s not jealous. The choice not to see you at night was mine.”

She pointed to a park bench. “Shall we sit? For a few minutes?”

“Ruby—”

“It’s broad daylight. I can see your coaster is running, and your men seem to have things well in hand.” Ruby leaned a bit closer. “And
she’s
nowhere in sight.”

Nick sighed. He might as well get this over with. He motioned to the bench, and she gave him a triumphant smile.

Once she’d settled and arranged her skirt, she folded her hands in her lap. “So, where do we start? What would you like to know about me?”

“Not much.” He couldn’t believe he’d said the words out loud.

She playfully slapped his arm. “Nick Perrin, I’m going to forget you said that. Well, I’ve had several prominent roles. Did you hear of
The Chorus Lady
by James Forbes?”

“I don’t go to the theater much.”

“It was a modern vaudeville show. You know, more of a play with music and dance worked in it than a variety of acts. I had a major role as a chorus girl.” She flicked her auburn hair off her shoulder. “I only took this particular job at the last minute. Mr. Crowell contacted me and offered me a considerable sum if I’d come here for the month with his troupe.” She smiled. “He was lucky I happened to be available.”

“Fascinating.” The word fell flat as it came out of Nick’s mouth.

“Oh, it was. Now, you must tell me how you came to have this prestigious position. When we parted, you were merely a laborer on one of Ingersoll’s crews.”

“There’s not much to tell. I watched Mr. Ingersoll and learned all about the construction of the coasters. And I asked so many questions he probably wanted to send me packing. After a while, Mr. Ingersoll promoted me to being a building supervisor. This is the first coaster where I’ve been both designer and builder.”

“That is simply wonderful! I’m so proud of you.”

Nick glanced at her, and for a minute, he saw the young woman he’d once fallen in love with. They’d both been so full of dreams, and she seemed genuinely happy he’d achieved some of his. Perhaps he’d been too hard on her. They could possibly be friends. After all, he was the only one she knew at the lake.

He shook his head. No. No. No. This was Ruby—the actress. She could sell a glass of water to a drowning man. If there was anyone he shouldn’t trust, it was her.

“Mr. Nick!”

Nick turned and spotted Levi break free from Mark Westing and race toward the bench where Nick sat with Ruby. He stood, caught Levi in his hands, and swung him in a wide circle several times. When Nick set him down, Levi wobbled until he plopped onto the ground in a fit of giggles.

After he stood, Nick squatted in front of him. “Morning, Chipmunk. Where’s Chipmunk Mama?”

Levi frowned. “Workin’. She said she was too busy making beans to come see you, so Mr. Mark said he’d bring me.”

“Beans are more important than seeing me?”

“Yep. I told her it wasn’t true. Beans are beans, and you’re . . .”

“I’m what?”