Cedar Creek Seasons (17 page)

Today she felt as if she outshone them all. What a difference a week could make! She waved good-bye and slipped outside again. The Rivoli Theatre’s retro Hollywood marquee, with its red neon letters and gold lights, already glittered in the early dusk. A few nights ago, she and Seth had held hands and stolen glances at each other in the screen’s flickering light. Finally they gave up all pretense of watching the movie. They bought a tub of steaming popcorn and snuggled on a bench, content to watch traffic together.

Longing for him washed over her like spring rain.
Don’t be ridiculous. You don’t have to see Seth every day
.

Yes, yes, I do!
Part of her wouldn’t listen to reason, though she wholly supported Seth’s spending the evening with his cousin from California. She paused before the large window that graced Amy’s Candy Kitchen, her empty stomach growling.

Trays of huge apples dipped in caramel and Belgian chocolate, many covered with nuts or candies, crowded her view. The seductive fragrance of homemade dips wafted to her nose. She pictured them bubbling in big copper kettles inside.

“Someday.” Maybe on her birthday. She turned to go, but sudden darkness—and two strong hands clapped over her eyes—stopped her in her tracks.

“Why not today?”

The scream lodged in her throat dissolved into the familiar double feeling of wanting to kill and kiss him. “Seth Amundsen. You frightened me to death. Aren’t you supposed to be visiting with your cousin?”

His hands dropped, but one arm wrapped around her waist. He ducked so his warm, slightly prickly cheek rested against hers. “I couldn’t stay away from you.”

Too much aftershave, but that didn’t keep her from wishing this moment would last forever.

“I don’t want to go,” he murmured in her ear.

Sixty seconds more, and she’d talk him into truancy. “I don’t want you to go, either, but we both know you should. If my family were living, I’d make them a priority.”

He gave a reluctant nod. Then he brightened. “Let’s do something special tomorrow after rehearsal. I know just the place.”

Curiosity dotted her pleasure. “Should I dress up?”

“No, you’ll be beautiful in jeans. In the meantime, enjoy this tonight and think of me.” Handing her a small white box, he gave her a resounding
mmm-wa
smack and dashed off like a kid late to class.

She sighed, peeked inside the box, and inhaled. The same mouth-watering fragrance that misted the air tickled her nose. She drew out an enormous apple then giggled until she couldn’t laugh anymore. Dipped in white chocolate, it featured yellow sprinkles for hair, blue jelly beans for eyes, a red licorice smile, and a pair of glasses perched on a gumdrop nose—Seth!

“Think of me,” he’d said. How could she not think of him tonight?

He should have told Chesca about the lambs. Then he wouldn’t be hiding behind the church before rehearsal.

The donkey, who seemed to sense his uneasiness, gave Seth a you-think-
I’m
-stupid? look.

“I know, I know. I forgot.”

What a lame line. Who was he kidding? Having won Chesca’s heart, he hadn’t wanted to mess with the way she looked at him, drain the intensity from her kiss. The memory of their brief, delicious apple encounter last night warmed even his cold toes. But that didn’t change the fact he soon would have to face the music. And Chesca wasn’t going to sing his favorite song.

“Baaaa.” The lambs nosed him through the pen’s slats.

Stupid handled the kids pretty well. He hoped these two survived. Seth scratched his head, thinking. Sure, they’d add to the drama. But maybe he should forget about using lambs. Better for them. Definitely better for him—

“Cool! You finally brought ’em!”

“What’re their names?”

Small hands pushed past him, around him, reaching for the soft, fuzzy heads.

So much for that option
. “They’re named Huz and Buz, after guys in the Old Testament.” Seth had never heard of them till the theologically inclined farmer informed him. “Don’t scare them.”

“But I’m gonna lead one, so they’d better get to know me, right?” Chandler always had an angle.

Zoe, elbows flying, dug past him. Seth slid between her and the pen. “No violence, please. Remember the system? We take turns petting the animals. Line up. We don’t have much time.”

Chandler stroked Huz, the smaller lamb, then let Zoe go next without a fight.

Seth, scanning the group like a security camera, glanced at the boy. Eyes squinted almost shut, he looked like he was thinking hard.

“The choir sings about Jesus being the Lamb of God.” Chandler cocked his head. “What’s with that?”

Whoa, Seth would answer that one, even if it made them late. “It means Jesus was like a lamb. He didn’t hurt anyone. He loved God and people. Yet bad guys nailed Him to a cross.”

“I know. That was mean.” Chandler’s eyes flashed.

A murmur of indignation rippled among the children.

“Not fair!”

“Why did they hurt Him?”

“They thought He was trying to take over. When He told them He was God, they thought He was lying.” Seth attached a leash to Huz. “What the bad guys didn’t understand was that Jesus
was
God. He told His Father, ‘Forgive them, please! They deserve to die for hurting Me, but let Me die instead.’ Jesus paid for their sins on that cross. But He didn’t just forgive
them
. He paid for all the bad things we do, too.”

“Okay.” Chandler nodded slowly. “I didn’t know why Jesus was a big deal, but I think I get it now.”

“Chesca wants to start.” A choir member, standing at the back door, waved an arm.

“Why do you always do what
she
says?” Zoe’s hands almost stabbed her skinny hips.

Seth blinked at the hatred in her eyes. “Miss Chesca and I work together, Zoe. She’s right. We should start rehearsal, or there will be no cantata. Let’s go.” Seth assigned various children to various leashes, including Zoe, who looked a little less hostile. “Walk slowly. If you’re calm, the animals will stay calm.” He hoped.

As they trudged to the sanctuary, Seth prayed. And prayed.
God, please help the kids understand what we’re doing. Please let Chesca like the lambs. And help us avoid a stampede. Amen
.

Late, late, late. Chesca, standing before the chattering choir, tried not to tap her toe. Where were Seth and the children?

The controlled chaos in the back of the sanctuary assured her of their arrival. She simultaneously relaxed and tensed up, but the sight of Seth, his nose wrinkled that cute way, made it all good. Now only Jesus was missing.

“Baaa. Baaa!”

Chesca tore her gaze from Seth. Zoe, ponytails bouncing, skipped down the aisle, yanking a sheep after her. Near the back entrance, another child held the leash of a lamb. Chesca fervently hoped it did not have a nervous bladder.

Zoe pranced madly along the altar rail. The choir exploded with laughter.

Seth’s nose wrinkle didn’t look nearly so cute as he corralled the obnoxious little actress and the bewildered sheep, sending them to the back again. He turned and approached Chesca as if she wore dynamite.

At the moment, she wished she did. “Quite a barnyard you’ve gathered, Seth. But didn’t you forget the chickens?”

“Oh, I don’t use chickens in drama scenes. You have to tie them down, or they’ll fly away.”

What?
She stared.

“I’m sorry.” Seth shook his head. “I’m a little rattled.”

“That makes two of us. Perhaps you might have told me about the lambs?” Chesca’s tone rose with each word. “Yes. Yes, I really should have.”

Seth sounded genuinely sorry. He was looking at her through those adorable tortoiseshell glasses. How she wanted to lose herself in his blue, blue eyes….

A fresh roar of laughter broke the spell. She turned toward the cast again. Seth, wincing, turned, too. What had the sheep done now?

The answer: nothing they hadn’t before.

Jesus finally had arrived. Looking more sheepish than the sheep.

He was completely bald.

Seth spread a chunk of french bread with creamy cheese from the picnic basket wedged between the front seats of his SUV. He handed it to Chesca then spread the rest of the loaf for himself.

Chesca didn’t seem to get the spring-picnic-by-the-covered-bridge idea he found so special. The sleet pecking the windows didn’t exactly set the mood.

And their wild rehearsal really drained her. He tried to encourage Chesca by telling her the choir sounded like angels. Which they did, if angels laughed a lot—a reasonable idea, in his opinion. Seth promised to find a wig and beard for their now-hairless Jesus. “You have to understand. It just happens with young guys.”

“
What
happens? Pizza overdoses destroy their brain cells?”

“Something like that.” He didn’t tell her Jesus lost his hair, beard, and mustache because his roommate won their trash can Horse competition. Or that a couple of years ago Seth himself wore pink sequins to school because the Packers blew a game with the Bears. The kids had never let him live that down.

Kids. He frowned. Today his young drama troupe alternately fought over the lambs and let them escape. “I’m sorry the kids were a pain. Especially Zoe.” He shook his head. “She was constantly making trouble.”

Even Chesca’s snort sounded ladylike. “She craves your attention. Zoe’s got a huge crush on you.”

He had to admit it was true. “She shouldn’t be so rude to you.”

The snort again. “Get real, Mr. Amundsen. I’m her competition. As long as we’re in the same room, she’ll go after me.”

He wished he could avoid the whole issue with Zoe. And with Taryn. The choir’s goofs had distracted Chesca so much she didn’t seem to notice Taryn often slipped out of the choir loft during rehearsal to “help” him. Downstairs, where he was directing drama traffic, she descended like a beautiful nightmare. At one point, he hit the guys’ restroom to escape her.

No, he wouldn’t tell Chesca. Not when she’d finally begun to smile. At least the disastrous rehearsal didn’t kill her appetite. Chesca munched bread, cheese, and fruit with almost as much enthusiasm as he did. He especially liked to watch her eat cherries. Stem clasped delicately between thumb and forefinger, she tucked the cherry inside her mouth, her pink lips hardly moving as she ate.

“… if it’s all right with you.”

Too late, he realized she’d been talking. He’d listened to exactly six words. “Of course.”

A guy couldn’t go wrong with that answer.

She gave him her knockout smile but seemed to wait for him to do something. He decided to kiss her. A guy couldn’t go wrong with that answer, either. Mmmm …

Chesca seemed to like his reply as much as he did. But when he drew back, she wore an odd little smile. “I definitely feel warmer now. But what I asked you to do was to turn on the heater to thaw my feet.”

He felt his face redden as he complied. Giggling, she poured them some of Charles’s best almond tea from a thermos. He unwrapped chocolate truffles, and their time together began to take on the magic he’d hoped for. Snuggling as best they could in separate seats, they watched the sleet slowly disappear and a hopeful sun throw experimental rays their way.