Page 49 of Where Are You Now
He grinned, the glass of wine making his cheeks pink. “I thought you’d like that one.” He stood with his empty plate and picked up hers. “Should we take these in?”
“Sure.”
She got out of her chair and opened the door for Lucas as he carried the plates into the kitchen.
“How was the casserole?” Martha called from the living-room sofa.
“Delicious,” Lucas said. “Thank you for dinner.”
“Any time.”
Lucas held up a finger and then went back out to the deck, returning with their wine glasses. He uncorked the bottle on the counter and topped them off.
“How are you feeling? Your ribs doing okay?” He handed Ava her full glass.
“I feel surprisingly great.”
“Are you up for a little exercise? What do you say we bring our wine with us and take a walk?” he asked.
“That sounds like a wonderful idea.”
He leaned around the corner. “Mrs. Barnes? Would you like to go on a walk with us?”
“Oh, no, dear, but thank you,” she returned. “You two enjoy yourselves.”
Ava led them to the front door, and Lucas held it open for her. They stepped into the cool evening air and crunched over the leaves that had blanketed the steps and the front grounds of the cabin.
The road was quiet as always. They walked along the pavement toward the old church at the intersection and sipped their wine, not a car in sight. Spells of chilly air floated in from the nearby trees as they strolled along. This moment in the crisp woods, the roads peppered with acorns and brightly colored leaves, and Lucas walking beside her, was earth’s equivalent to heaven— paling in comparison, surely, but beautiful just the same.
“You’re a very different person from the boy who moved away all those years ago, but deep down, so much of you is the same,” Ava said.
Lucas blinked and shook his head. “I don’t feel like I have a shred of that boy left after my adult life got a hold of me. What do you see that’s the same?”
She tapped her index finger. “One, you still love to farm.” She tapped her middle finger. “Two, you can still fish.”
“I didn’t catch anything,” he said with a chuckle.
“You know how, though. You’re a natural.”
“Fair enough.”
“And three, you still … look at me the same way.”
His smile slid away, and he sobered. “How do I look at you?” he asked, thoughts behind his eyes.
“Like we’ve known each other our whole lives and we haven’t been apart for even a minute.”
“I’m sorry I was a bear when I first saw you at Vanderbilt. I wasn’t myself.” He took a drink from his glass. “I’m still not.” He bent down, picked up an acorn, and tossed it into the woods.
“Well, I’m not either, if it makes you feel any better.”
They rounded the curve and then walked along the straightaway leading to the old white chapel. Dusk had fallen upon them, the sky turning a mix of bright lavender and deep blue. It had been a long time since Ava had gone to church, and she couldn’t help but wonder if she, like her mom, had lost faith in the merits of church after her father’s death. But something about that particular chapel tugged at her. Was it her subconscious begging for answers after her near-death experience? Would she find any solutions there?
When the church came into view, Ava pointed it out. “I saw that chapel when my mom first drove us to the lake.”
Lucas nodded.
Then, something came over her—it was both impulsive and purposeful at the same time. “I might go to the service tomorrow.” She looked up at him. “Wanna go with me?”
