Page 81 of Where Are You Now
Ava spent a few minutes refolding a couple of shirts in her suitcase and getting it organized for tomorrow’s departure. Then, she went out to the deck to sit by the lake. The cooler weather was just now beginning to infiltrate this part of the world, and there was a tiny chill in the air, so she lit the firepit and snuggled in close.
She was completely alone. But she didn’t feel alone. Even though she hadn’t grown up in this cabin, the lake was like home for her. She’d spent so much time there with her dad that it was an anchor to her childhood. In the quiet sounds of wildlife, she closed her eyes and imagined herself on her father’s boat.
“It doesn’t matter how many times I come, a day on the lake is full of surprises,” her father had said once. “The birds, the fish,the air—it all has its own plan for the day that doesn’t include us. We’re just visitors, interacting with their world.”
She’d chattered on about something she couldn’t remember now, and he’d put his finger to his lips.
“Sometimes, I like to just sit back, silent, and observe it, see what nature is up to. That’s when I find my biggest surprises.”
“Like what?” she’d asked.
“Rainbows, butterflies, cardinals …”
Ava recalled seeing a cardinal when she’d first arrived. Was that what her father was doing now—silently observing her? If he was with her, she wished he’d make himself known.
“Hey there.” Lucas walked through the back door and onto the deck. “Your mom said to let myself in.”
Perfect timing, she thought. Maybe Lucas’s presence right when she’d wished for her father was her dad’s way of reminding her to focus on her life with the living instead of trying to connect with the past.
She patted the chair next to her, and Lucas sat down.
“Where’s your mom?” he asked.
“Picking up Dorothy.”
Lucas’s eyes rounded, a playful grin surfacing.
“She called, and my mom thought she seemed lonely.”
“That’s kind of her.”
“Are you up for helping her around all afternoon?” Ava teased.
“Yeah, I don’t mind. The more, the merrier.”
His words hung in the air around her.The more, the merrier.She definitely agreed. She’d miss this.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“Are you comfortable?” Martha asked Dorothy as the woman wriggled in the Adirondack chair. They’d cushioned it with blankets for her and draped another one over her legs.
“Oh, yes, thank you,” Dorothy said happily. “I’m so appreciative of you having me over. I don’t get out of the house except for church, and after my husband Henry died, it’s been hard being home alone.”
“Do you have anyone who stops by to help you with things?” Lucas asked.
“There’s a neighbor boy I can call, but no one comes by regularly.”
“Well, now someone can,” Lucas said. “I’ll come over to see you any time you need me to. We’ll work out a schedule, if you’d like.”
Dorothy let out a small gasp, her eyes filled with tears. “That’s too kind.” She put a trembling hand to her heart. “I wouldn’t want to burden you.”
“It won’t burden me at all.”
Ava’s heart swelled with Lucas’s gesture. The land he’dbought was on the other side of the city, and driving out this way would be quite a distance to do regularly. She went back to the first message she’d heard at church:service in the name of love. Lucas was a good man.
“I can come get you too,” Martha said. “It’s only a ten-minute drive. If you’re bored, you can sit with me. Maybe we can sew some bags together.”
“Yes.” Dorothy’s voice broke, and she forced a smile, her eyes brimming with more tears.
