7

ON THE SATURDAY BEFORE LABOR DAY, the whole community turned out for the picnic and hot-dog roast. Ella considered that if even half of them would come to church, they’d be full up. But it was probably uncharitable of her to think such a thing.

It was early when Ella parked near the picnic area along Laurel Creek. Normally she’d park in the pasture, but Gran was still unsteady so she stuck close to the tables. They left the food they’d brought in a cooler in the backseat for the time being. There was Gran’s coleslaw, which Ella helped prepare, and Ella’s three-layer coconut cake. She had to confess she was pretty proud of her effort and hoped it had survived the trip. She decided to wait and look when it was closer to time to eat.She couldn’t do anything about it now anyway.

Ladies fussed with the food tables while several men selected slender branches and sharpened the ends for the hot-dog roast. There was also a contingent arguing over the best way to build and feed the bonfire so it would be perfect for cooking. Children ran around like wild Indians, as her grandmother would say, but then she had no notion of political correctness. Ella smiled to herself. Eventually, one of those children would get into trouble for setting a marshmallow on fire and threatening a sibling with it. She knew from personal experience.

Ella saw Richard walking toward them. He took Gran’s arm and helped her to a chair in the center of things.

“Perfect afternoon for a picnic,” he said.

“It is, and looks like a good turnout.” Ella gave him her best smile, glad she’d worn a cotton dress that she hoped accentuated her waist and hid her hips. She had a sweater in the car, knowing it would likely be cool once dusk fell. Richard looked like he appreciated her efforts.

She gave him a once-over as well, thinking he looked kind of like a J. Crew ad with the sleeves of his button-down shirt rolled back, loafers with no socks, and hair lightly tousled. He settled Gran and stretched his arms wide, inhaling deeply.

“Man, the air around here is like breathing in vitamins.” He tapped his chest with a fist. “Makes me feel vigorous.”

Ella smiled and took a deep breath of her own.

Richard glanced at the activity around them. “I don’t think we’ll be ready to eat for a while yet. Perla, if you don’t mind I thought I’d take Ella for a walk—work up an appetite.”

Gran inhaled and put a hand to her chest. “That sounds good.” She exhaled. “I’ll be right here.” She smiled like she’d won a blue ribbon at the state fair and Ella felt a stab of pride. Gran had come a long way in her speech therapy.

Richard put his hands on his hips and looked around. “Are there any trails?”

Ella wondered if he was picturing a paved park path. All she knew of was an old logging road on the far side of the swimming hole. They could reach it by picking their way across the creek on rocks or by walking downstream a little ways to the nearest bridge. She glanced at Richard’s loafers, considered her own white canvas shoes, and suggested the bridge.

“Excellent. Let’s explore.”

Ella hid her smile. Walking the logging road up toward the Simmons place was hardly exploring, but then Richard had never been here before. Maybe it would be something of an adventure for him. Dad said the Simmons were moonshiners back in the day, although now Lisa Simmons Hartwell lived on the property with her husband, Stuart, and their three kids. They were into organic gardening and solar energy—quite a change from moonshine.

“We can follow an old logging road back into the hills a ways.” Ella pointed to the trees rising beyond the creek. “Might even find evidence of an abandoned moonshine still.”

Richard’s eyes lit. “Do you think so? Does anyone still make moonshine?”

Ella laughed. “Sure, but it’s mostly legal now. There’s a distillery down in Summersville that’s been making it for a while. I guess maybe a few folks still make their own, but it’s hardly big business these days.”

Richard shrugged. “Oh, well. Guess I’ll have to settle for the beauty of the day and some good company. That should be adventure enough.”

He took her arm and headed for the bridge. At the touch of his hand, Ella felt her pulse pick up—and not because they were walking at a brisk pace. She enjoyed the warmth of the sun on her face, the sound of water over stones, and the smell of damp leaves underfoot. Glancing at Richard as he strode along, head up and eyes taking everything in, she decided this was exactly the kind of adventure she needed.

Fifteen minutes later, the track narrowed enough that it was hard to walk side by side. Richard took the lead, chatting about the amazing diversity of flora and fauna in the mountains of West Virginia.

“Do you think we’ll see a bear? Or maybe a raccoon?”

Ella peered around Richard to make sure they hadn’t left the trail. “A deer maybe, but raccoons mostly come out at dusk. If we see one in the middle of the afternoon like this, we’d better steer clear. Might be rabid.”

Richard shot her a look over his shoulder. “Rabies? Is that something we should be worried about?”

Ella shrugged. “I never have before. I think we’ll be fine.”

“Hey, what’s that?” Richard darted into a rhododendron thicket and thrashed around. “I think I found an old still.” His voice rose like he’d uncovered buried treasure.

Ella pushed branches aside—one flipping back and scraping her cheek—until she reached him. He stood over some twisted metal half buried in leaves and dirt. Ella kicked at it.

“What you have found is probably an old truck fender.”

Richard grabbed the metal and tugged on it until it popped loose. He dropped the rusted piece of junk and crouched down to examine it more closely. He grunted. “Yeah, I think you’re right. Thought we had something there.”

Standing, Richard dusted his hands off and started pushing through the thicket.

“Where are you going?” Ella asked.

“Back to the trail.”

Ella pointed in the opposite direction. “Trail’s back that way.”

Richard wrinkled his brow and looked both ways. “Are you sure?”

“Yup.” She started working her way out. “Don’t want to get lost in one of these rhododendron hells. They’re called that for a good reason.”

Richard followed her, although he kept glancing back over his shoulder. He seemed surprised when they popped back out on the trail and hesitated as though unsure of which direction they should go.

“I’m about ready to head back and see if it’s time to eat,” Ella said, starting back the way they’d come.

Richard trotted a few steps to catch up. “Sounds like a good plan.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked all around. “Sure is gorgeous out here, but I guess it could be dangerous if you aren’t woods savvy.”

Ella looked at him from the corner of her eye. “It could be. Although if you walk another fifteen minutes up the trail, you’ll come to a house. And even if you fought your way through the rhododendron you’d pop out over on the Rexroad Place. There are plenty of folks around. They just don’t like to be on top of each other.”

Richard nodded and whistled what sounded like a made-up tune. “So, Ella, I’ve been thinking that I might like to get to know you better.”

Ella had been thinking about all the neighbors within walking distance, and she had to refocus to catch up with Richard’s sudden change in conversation. Once she did, she felt a little thrill. Did he mean romance?

“And I’m thinking I can be up front with you now and ask the question that’s most important to me.”

Ella’s breath caught. What in the world?

“Are you a believer, Ella?” He looked her in the eye and then went back to watching the trail. “I’m pretty sure you believe in God, but I’m not sure where you stand in terms of a personal relationship with Christ. The Bible is clear in advising us not to be ‘unequally yoked’ with unbelievers. I think you share my faith. But before we go any further, I need to know you do.”

Ella had rarely felt this uncomfortable. Richard’s words almost echoed what she’d said to Mark when she broke up with him. Of course she was a Christian. She’d grown up going to church and she believed in God. What a question—just because he was a pastor didn’t give him the right to get all . . . all religious on her.

If he could ask her such a question, what must he think? He obviously had doubts about her and her beliefs. Of course she shared his faith. Oh, maybe she didn’t pray as often as she should and she didn’t go to church every week—or at all when she wasn’t at the farm—but who was Richard to judge? She was certainly more religious than a lot of people she knew.

Ella resisted the urge to snap at Richard. She focused on walking around some rocks in the trail, trying to buy time.

“Have I offended you?” Richard stopped and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Ella turned and looked at him. Those gray eyes were so incongruous—he should have blue eyes. She tried to find words for how she felt.

“I guess I’m a little surprised that you’d ask. You’ve seen me in church. You’re getting to know me. Surely you can tell I’m a Christian.”

Richard dropped his hand and started walking again. “I’ve found that there are plenty of people who say they’re Christians who haven’t spent a whole lot of time thinking about what that means. I want to know that your faith is as important to you as mine is to me.”

“Well, yeah. I mean, I haven’t gone to seminary or anything, but church has always been a big part of my life. Shoot, our family helped build Laurel Mountain Church.” She glanced at Richard, who walked with his head down as though deep in thought. “And I pray. Maybe not as much as I should, but me and God, we talk.” She put a smile in her voice and tried to laugh a little.

Richard looked at her and took her hand. “Good. Because I’m really enjoying spending time with you.” His brow furrowed. “You aren’t seeing anyone, are you? I don’t want to be presumptuous.”

Ella thought of Mark—she was doing her best not to see him. Then she thought of Seth, but they were little more than acquaintances. “No, I’m not seeing anyone at the moment.”

His smiled deepened, and she marveled at how the color of his eyes seemed to shift with his mood. She caught a glimpse of the swimming hole beyond his shoulder, where water tumbled over stones to flow into the pool she’d swum in time and again growing up. As though for the first time, she heard the music of the water and could swear it was singing a familiar song, something she’d heard once before. If only she could remember . . .

Richard followed her gaze. “Did you ever go swimming there?”

Ella snapped out of her reverie and refocused on him. “Yes. We went a lot when I was a kid.” She started walking again. “But I haven’t been back here in ages.”

Perla watched Ella and Richard return to the picnic area. They looked like they were having a serious conversation. She wondered again if the pastor had taken a shine to her granddaughter. She thought Richard was less likely to break her heart than that Mark fellow. Of course, there was no sense in trying to find the right person if you hadn’t figured out how to be the right person. And Perla suspected Ella still had some figuring to do.

Now that Perla was finally gaining ground with her speech, it wouldn’t be long before she could tell Ella her story and hopefully give her granddaughter some insight into the difference between fancying yourself in love and growing into the kind of love that could sustain you for a lifetime. She and Casewell had that. But she’d come by it the hard way, getting love horribly wrong before she got it right. It would be a blessing if she could save Ella that same pain.

Henry and Margaret arrived and set up chairs near Perla as Richard returned Ella to her family. He then excused himself to mingle with the crowd. As Richard walked off in one direction, Seth Markley approached from the other. Perla eyed him, thinking Ella was attracting young men like a birdfeeder attracts squirrels. Although, truth be told, Seth seemed to be drawn to the whole Phillips family, not just Ella.

Henry clapped Seth on the shoulder and pulled him into the group.

“Did you bring your appetite? Seems like all the women in Wise are trying to outdo each other.” Henry waved toward tables made from plywood laid across sawhorses. They sagged in the middle.

“I plan to do my fair share,” Seth said.

Ella jumped up from where she’d settled in a folding chair. “Oh, I almost forgot to get the food out of the cooler.”

“I’ll help,” Seth said, moving to her side. Perla hid a smile as the two hurried off to get the cake and salad.

They reappeared as Richard stepped up onto a stump and invited them all to bow their heads. Perla closed her eyes and remembered another pastor praying in much the same way.