winding down projects and gearing up for finals, and the last thing she’d wanted to do was interfere with his studies. She knew he’d worked extra hard earlier this week to free up time to make a trip to Eternity Springs.
Out of the shower with her hair dried and styled and her makeup on, she stood in front of her closet debating what to wear. He’d told her casual, so she went with jeans and her favorite green sweater. Green was Chase’s favorite color. The evergreen color of your eyes, he always told her.
She heard the doorbell ring precisely at eleven. Giving her lip gloss one last touch-up, she headed downstairs. She found her mom standing at the front door, gazing toward the porch with a silly grin on her face. Lori glanced out the window, but didn’t see Chase.
Her steps slowed. “What is it, Mom?”
“Well, it’s a puzzle.”
A moment later, Lori saw what she meant. The three-foot-high stuffed animal—a giraffe—had a big bow and yellow ribbon tied around its neck. A note card and a large puzzle piece dangled from the ribbon. Delighted, Lori lifted the animal and read the note. “Roses are red. Corn is yellow. Collect the clue at the starting spot to find your fellow.”
“What in the world does that mean?”
Lori giggled aloud. “It means go to the Trading Post. Remember? Chase came into the grocery store looking for work while I was stocking shelves. He opened a box of canned corn for me. He’s doing a treasure-hunt date.”
“Clever boy,” Sarah said.
“Oh, Mom.” Lori hugged the giraffe tight and turned shining eyes toward her mother. “I like him so much.”
Years later in his parents’ family room on a snowy winter night, Lori turned a wistful smile toward Chase. “ That’s the day I knew for sure that I’d tumbled head over heels for you.”
His lips twisted with a crooked smile as he rose and stirred the coals and tossed a small log on the fire. “Coming up with the rhymes for those clues all but killed me.”
Laughing, Lori quoted from memory. “‘My heart you’ve taken like my mouth loves bacon.’”
“Pure poetry.” He polished off the last of his whisky, then resumed his seat. “Your moment is better than mine.”
“What moment?”
“The moment I knew I’d fallen in love with you. One of the worst moments of my life.”
“Well,” she snapped, offended.”How sweet.”
“I can’t hear a John Denver song without thinking about it. Reliving it.”
Summer sunshine toasted the back of Chase’s neck as he walked up Spruce Street, hand in hand with Lori. Square white tents lined the street with artists and artisans selling everything from paintings to pretzels. The town was packed to the rafters with every hotel room and vacation rental in a fifty-mile radius booked. “It’s a good end to the tourist season,” he observed as the aroma of warm funnel cakes drew his attention.
“A great end,” Lori agreed. “Mom is over the moon. She said last night that her profits were up double over last year. It’s really going to help with the expenses of my going off to school.”
Chase’s heart gave a little twist at the mention of their pending separation. He and Lori had made the mutual and mature decision that they’d both be free to date other people once she started school at Texas A&M later this month. Having gone off to college himself four years ago, he knew that having the option to date around was an important part of the college experience. If he and Lori were meant to be, well, they’d survive it. He cared about Lori very much, and while he didn’t like thinking about her dating other guys, he had confidence that their relationship would survive the test.
“In the spirit of assisting with your education, I think I’ll buy a funnel cake from your mom. Want one?”
“No, thanks. Those things are evil. They have about a million calories apiece. Of course, everything my mother makes has about a million calories each.”
“That’s what makes
Out of the shower with her hair dried and styled and her makeup on, she stood in front of her closet debating what to wear. He’d told her casual, so she went with jeans and her favorite green sweater. Green was Chase’s favorite color. The evergreen color of your eyes, he always told her.
She heard the doorbell ring precisely at eleven. Giving her lip gloss one last touch-up, she headed downstairs. She found her mom standing at the front door, gazing toward the porch with a silly grin on her face. Lori glanced out the window, but didn’t see Chase.
Her steps slowed. “What is it, Mom?”
“Well, it’s a puzzle.”
A moment later, Lori saw what she meant. The three-foot-high stuffed animal—a giraffe—had a big bow and yellow ribbon tied around its neck. A note card and a large puzzle piece dangled from the ribbon. Delighted, Lori lifted the animal and read the note. “Roses are red. Corn is yellow. Collect the clue at the starting spot to find your fellow.”
“What in the world does that mean?”
Lori giggled aloud. “It means go to the Trading Post. Remember? Chase came into the grocery store looking for work while I was stocking shelves. He opened a box of canned corn for me. He’s doing a treasure-hunt date.”
“Clever boy,” Sarah said.
“Oh, Mom.” Lori hugged the giraffe tight and turned shining eyes toward her mother. “I like him so much.”
Years later in his parents’ family room on a snowy winter night, Lori turned a wistful smile toward Chase. “ That’s the day I knew for sure that I’d tumbled head over heels for you.”
His lips twisted with a crooked smile as he rose and stirred the coals and tossed a small log on the fire. “Coming up with the rhymes for those clues all but killed me.”
Laughing, Lori quoted from memory. “‘My heart you’ve taken like my mouth loves bacon.’”
“Pure poetry.” He polished off the last of his whisky, then resumed his seat. “Your moment is better than mine.”
“What moment?”
“The moment I knew I’d fallen in love with you. One of the worst moments of my life.”
“Well,” she snapped, offended.”How sweet.”
“I can’t hear a John Denver song without thinking about it. Reliving it.”
Summer sunshine toasted the back of Chase’s neck as he walked up Spruce Street, hand in hand with Lori. Square white tents lined the street with artists and artisans selling everything from paintings to pretzels. The town was packed to the rafters with every hotel room and vacation rental in a fifty-mile radius booked. “It’s a good end to the tourist season,” he observed as the aroma of warm funnel cakes drew his attention.
“A great end,” Lori agreed. “Mom is over the moon. She said last night that her profits were up double over last year. It’s really going to help with the expenses of my going off to school.”
Chase’s heart gave a little twist at the mention of their pending separation. He and Lori had made the mutual and mature decision that they’d both be free to date other people once she started school at Texas A&M later this month. Having gone off to college himself four years ago, he knew that having the option to date around was an important part of the college experience. If he and Lori were meant to be, well, they’d survive it. He cared about Lori very much, and while he didn’t like thinking about her dating other guys, he had confidence that their relationship would survive the test.
“In the spirit of assisting with your education, I think I’ll buy a funnel cake from your mom. Want one?”
“No, thanks. Those things are evil. They have about a million calories apiece. Of course, everything my mother makes has about a million calories each.”
“That’s what makes
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