Hope Springs (33 page)

“I've got one.”

A hand went up at the table next to Becca. “ ‘In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.' ” The woman looked up from her Bible. “Call me weird if you want, but I like that trouble is guaranteed—seriously! It comforts me because things
do
go wrong.”

“That's for sure,” another woman said, as heads nodded.

“So I tell myself, ‘Beverly, this shouldn't shock you. What did Jesus say? You're gonna have trouble in this world.' And I remind myself that He's overcome the world.”

“I love that,” Sara Ann said. She looked around for others.

Another hand went up. “I've got one, only because God hit me over the head with it this week. ‘Before honor comes humility.' ” The woman was older and looked familiar, probably from Calvary. “I tend to want the honor, but not the humility,” she said. “But humility brings us closest to Christ. At least that's the message God wants me to get. I'm still working on it.”

Becca was still staring at the woman after she'd finished. It was as if she'd been talking only to her. The words had hit Becca over the head too, like a two-by-four.

Sara Ann had already moved on to someone else, so Becca got up and tiptoed over to the woman, crouching down beside her. “Excuse me, what verse is that?”

“Proverbs 15:33.”

“Thank you.”

Becca went back, leafed through her Bible, and read it again.

“Before honor comes humility.”

She didn't know why it was hitting her, but it was. Humility. Such an obvious, everyday word, but suddenly she wasn't sure what it meant. Not in the way she needed to. What was it supposed to mean
for her
?

Becca felt such a stirring inside that she knew one thing for sure—she had to find out.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

L
ibby, you're using all the red!” Tiffany came around the table, picked up the bottle of red paint, and moved it closer to her.

Libby put her fists to her hips. “Tiffy, are you being stingy? After I bought all this paint in Raleigh and brought it with me? I know you didn't think it was just for the kids.” She went and got the bottle and poured more red into her paint tray.

Janelle watched with amusement. “Tiffany, you should know better than to mess with Libby when she's working on a masterpiece. She thinks she's got skills.”

“She
does
have skills.” Becca peeked at Libby's work while she helped control Ethan's wildly flinging paintbrush. “Those red apples on the tree are popping.”

“Why, thank you.” Libby bowed. “Is it too late to pursue the path of starving artist?”

Stephanie broke her focus on her own creation and looked up. “Long as you're willing to starve.”

“Good point.” Libby twirled her brush in the air as if considering. “I'll be at work on time Monday.”

“Mommy, I need help.” Claire held her brush above the white paper. “I don't know how to paint a Chihuahua.”

“Has to be a Chihuahua?” Becca chewed her lip. “Can't be any old dog?”

“Of course not, Mom.” Janelle winked at her. “We watched
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
last night, remember?”

“Oh, what was I thinking? Of course it has to be a Chihuahua.” Becca looked at Claire's paper. “But, sweetheart, I wouldn't know how to draw one.”

“I can do it.” Daniel was standing over his paper, putting light strokes of blue on the sky.

Claire gave him a skeptical eye. “Can you really?”

Tiffany gave a matter-of-fact nod. “Sure he can.”

He took the same brush and with a few strokes painted a Chihuahua on the newspaper covering the table.

Claire's face lit up. “That's my Chihuahua!”

A rap on the door sounded as Daniel walked around to paint the dog on Claire's paper.

“It's Dee!”

Tiffany and Claire threw their brushes on the newspaper and dashed to the side door with their paint smocks on.

Janelle followed and opened up, looking first at the little girl with the big smile. “Hey, Miss Dee.”

“Hi, Miss Janelle,” Dee said, but Janelle barely heard it because Tiffany and Claire had her by the hands, pulling her inside, exclaiming, “Come on, we're already painting.”

Janelle looked up then, and instantaneously she was in Kory's arms.

He held her with a sweetness. “I haven't seen you since Sunday.” She felt his breath on her ear. “That's six whole days . . . feels like forever.”

“For me too. Even though we've talked on the phone, it's not the same.”

She allowed herself to savor the feel of her head on his shoulder, his arms around her waist, the scent of his sweater. But only for a moment. She stepped back and led him inside.

He smiled as he entered the kitchen. “You all have quite the art lab going on. Thanks for inviting Dee to join the fun.”

Someone had already put Dee in a smock and tied it in back. Libby was outfitting her with a brush, paper, and a plastic tray to squeeze her paints into.

“Libby's idea,” Janelle said. “I was wondering what the kids could do on a lazy Saturday, and she said she'd bring paint.”

Janelle and Kory stood a little away from the table. He lowered his voice. “I can think of something for the two of us to do. Why don't we go for a ride?”

Janelle replied with a semi-frown. “A ride where?”

Kory shrugged. “Wherever.”

“I can't. Aunt Gladys is with Grandma in the family room, but we've got a house full of kids here. Wouldn't be right for me to just leave.”

“Go!”

Janelle smirked at the women. “I thought this was a private conversation.”

As she turned back to Kory, her heart skipped a little. Time alone with him would indeed be very special. And he was right, the “where” didn't matter.

“Hey,” she announced, “Kory and I are going for a little ride. We won't be long.”

“Take your time,” Libby said, face to her painting. “We got it covered.”

Janelle grabbed her jacket and followed him out. He walked to the passenger side, opened the door, and she brushed past him as she got in. She could count on one hand the number of times she'd ridden in the car with him. Still felt like a new experience, one that gave her a feeling of anticipation.

“Where to?” he asked over the start of the engine.

“I have no idea,” she said.

“How about Stony Park?”

“Isn't that in Wilson? Never been, but I've heard some of my younger cousins talk about it.” She narrowed her eyes at him playfully. “Is that where you took your high school sweethearts?”

Kory drove off, wagging his eyebrows at her. “I shall neither confirm nor deny.”

A short ride down the highway later, Kory took the Wilson exit. Signs appeared almost immediately, directing them to the park. They drove about two miles, then turned into the park, and the sunlight dimmed slightly as they rode beneath a canopy of trees. They weren't lush, as they were in summer, but the overhead effect was beautiful nonetheless.

Kory took a road that branched left. Janelle hadn't seen a single soul yet, maybe because it was winter. Everything was peaceful. Even the two of them had lapsed into a comfortable silence.

He parked the car in an almost empty lot, and they got out and started walking. Janelle shivered a little with the forties temperature and zipped her jacket to the top. Kory took her hand, rubbing the back with his thumb. They nestled closer together as they stepped onto a walking trail. In that moment, there wasn't a single place she'd rather be.

His hand wrapped tighter around hers. “I think this is the closest we've ever come to a date.”

She watched their feet walking slowly in sync. “But it's definitely not a date.”

“Okay. What should we call it?”

“Two friends taking a Saturday afternoon stroll.”

“. . . holding hands, hearts beating wildly . . .”

Janelle laughed. “Hearts beating wildly? You might be a bit of a romantic, Mr. Miller.”

“Maybe a little,” he said.

The tree-lined path narrowed, moving them closer. Janelle looked up at him. “How are you feeling? About Monday?”

“It's been on my mind a lot this week. If I'm feeling anything, it's relief. I'm ready to put this part of my life behind me.”

“Not even a little sadness?”

He thought about it. “For Dee, yes. She didn't ask to be caught up in all this. But not for me. Not anymore.”

“Is Shelley coming to the hearing?”

“She said she is. I don't know when she's flying in. She told Dee she wanted to see her, but I haven't heard anything from her since.”

“What does Dee think?”

“Hasn't even mentioned it, which is weird because she doesn't forget things like that. Maybe she's guarding against disappointment in case she doesn't see her, or I don't know . . . I'm seeing distance between the two of them as far as Dee is concerned. Maybe she just doesn't care.”

“Oh, I hope it's not the latter.” Janelle's heart went out to the little girl. “She needs her mother. I really hope they get time together.”

Kory sighed. “If Shelley doesn't start making a real effort soon . . . She hardly knows Dee at all.”

They continued in silence, which made every other sight and sound come alive. “Are you hearing all these songs out here? It's like we happened into a bird convention.”

“Look up there.” Kory pointed to a tree branch directly ahead of them.

“Ooh, pretty cardinal. So striking against the bare branch.”

The bird looked as if it were staring at them, so they stopped and stared back. Janelle took a tiny step forward and imitated a birdcall. It flew away.

Kory looked at her as they walked on. “What was that?”

“I was trying to speak its language.”

“You probably spoke the blue jay war cry or something. He thought you were the enemy.”

Janelle laughed. “Well, we certainly don't want to start a war—wait, I just thought of something,” she said. “There are no snakes out here, are there?”

“Probably only nonpoisonous ones.”

“Probably . .
.” Janelle stopped dead in her tracks and surveyed every inch of space around them. “If I see a snake of any sort, I'll have a heart attack on the spot.”

“They're not thinking about you.” He tugged her along. “You gotta get a little tougher, city girl. You're in the country now.”

Their path forked, and Kory took them right. They came to a picturesque spot with a beautiful lake view. Two mountain bike riders came whizzing by, and they moved quickly aside. Janelle turned and kept looking, thinking it'd be nice if she and Kory did that one day. She hadn't been bike riding in years.

“Speaking of the country,” he said, “any idea how long you'll be down here?”

She'd wondered herself lately. “It's hard to say. Grandma Geri's doing fairly well, considering, and her chemo will be done soon. But I'm not sure what it means. If the chemo did what they hoped, it might mean she has a year instead of a few months to live.” Her eyes were focused on the water. “I don't know if I'll go back home after this school semester or what. I'll have to see how she's doing.”

“Do you want to go back?”

Goose bumps came with the question. “We still have our house in Maryland and other commitments we've put on hold.”

“Janelle.” He moved in front of her, still holding her hand. “Would you consider relocating permanently to North Carolina?”

“What reason would I have?”

“Me. Us.”

Janelle sighed and let his hand drop for the first time since they'd started walking. “I can't go there, Kory. I can't think of the future, can't think in terms of an
us
.” She walked ahead.

He pulled her to a stop again. “Can you in two days?”

She looked at him, but barely. “I don't know . . . Thinking about the future is scary regardless.”

“It's scary for me too.” Kory's eyes bored into hers. “But somehow, it's a little less scary when I picture you in it.”

“Kory, still . . . asking if I'd relocate is awfully premature. Technically, we've never even had a date.”

“Okay.” Kory took her hand back. “Will you go on an official date with me? How about Monday night?” His boyish grin penetrated her soul. “We don't have to go anywhere or do anything. Just being with you is enough.”

This was the moment Janelle had longed for sixteen years ago, hearing him say he wanted to be with her, to build an “us.” If anything, this moment meant more, knowing that after so much time had passed, they had found their way back to one another.