Page 41 of Wishes on Wildflowers
“Don’t mind if I do.” Basil eased into the only chair at the tiny table. “What’s up, Hamelin? You changed. When I talked to you about marketing our little venture, I didn’t figure you’d switcheroo like this.”
“My relationship with Jasmine...” Man, it felt good saying that. Nathan swiveled his desk chair around and settled into it. “It’s got nothing to do with the business. There’s no conflict of interest, if that’s where you’re going with this.”
“I figured you were different, Hamelin. Figured you were someone who’d understand me. We could hang out.”
At the other man’s silence, Nathan quirked his eyebrows. “And...?”
“Now you’re sitting in church and dating my sister, and she’s a bit on the uptight side, if you know what I mean.”
Might depend on a guy’s definition of uptight. Eight years back, he hadn’t spent a lot of time worrying about what their breakup would do to Jasmine. It had all been about his own freedom to do what he liked. Whatever she’d become in the intervening years was his fault, but she and God had forgiven him.
Her kisses last night — and when he’d dropped her off at Bridgeview Manor an hour ago — were definitely not those of an uptight woman.
“Didn’t you and Jasmine used to be really close?”
Basil snorted. “When we were little kids, maybe.”
“What happened?”
“Daddy’s little princess could do no wrong. It became rather sickening.”
The teenage Jasmine Nathan remembered had basked in her parents’ approval, always striving to do what was right. He’d admired that about her and longed for that kind of relationship with his own parents... until he’d been in the way of her mission. She’d stayed on her chosen path, willing to sacrifice him.
And he’d gone his own way.
“Basil? I have to ask. Are you a Christian?”
The other man shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. I asked Jesus into my heart when I was a little kid, but it’s not all that relevant anymore.”
Nathan got it. He really did. Only he’d escaped Spokaneand lived out his rebellion elsewhere. Somehow Basil had managed to stay in the bosom of his family, engage in their daily activities, and still slide away. “What happened?”
“I don’t know. Does it really matter?”
“Yeah, I think it does. I pretended God didn’t exist for years, but that didn’t keep Him from being real. When I quit running and turned back toward Him, it’s like my life snapped back into focus. I feel like I’ve got roots again, grounded deep into something that won’t dissolve in the blink of an eye.”
“You sure that’s not just Jas?”
Nathan chuckled. “Definitely not. I had my back-to-Jesus moment in California. It had nothing to do with your sister. Everything to do with the lifestyle I’d chosen there, and how it failed me.” Oh, man, and how it had failed him.
“Well, bully for you.” Basil surged out of his chair. “I guess you think you know what you’re doing, then. Have fun being a good little Christian boy and marrying my sister, because that’s probably where this is going.”
Was it? Nathan could only hope so. He and Jasmine definitely needed to get to know each other much better again before they took that step but, yeah, he’d had trouble sleeping last night from thinking about her devastating kisses. He wanted more, but not like eight years ago. Now he was ready to do things in the right order. He could be patient, knowing the prize was the woman he’d never truly stopped loving.
Basil paused with his hand on the doorknob. “I don’t even know what to say.”
Neither did Nathan, but he had to try. “Want to talk about it?”
“What good would that do?” Basil scoffed. “Sometimes I feel like everyone around me has a blindfold on, and I’mthe only one who can see. It’s a big world out there. Why tie a bandana around your eyes again when you’ve seen what’s out there? Experienced it?”
“Funny you think Christians are the ones with limited vision. In my experience, it’s just the opposite. Looking back over the years in California, I’d focused on immediate pleasure, like I was nearsighted and couldn’t see past the end of my nose. Anything bigger, anything longer term, anything eternal was just a vague out-there notion. But when I looked up and realized God had never stopped loving me, everything changed. It was like my eyesight was restored, and I could see into the distance. Beyond the horizon.”
“Nice sermon, Hamelin. Save it for someone who cares.”
Nathan had to know. “Why did you stay in Bridgeview? Stay living with your parents?”
Basil shrugged. “I didn’t live with my parents the whole time, since you asked. I had an apartment with friends a couple of times, but then they’d move away or get married or something. It was cheaper — easier — to move back into my parents’ basement.”
Hadn’t Basil been employed by Public Works? Surely he made enough to afford his own place. He’d invested into Bridgeview Backyards, hadn’t he? So he’d saved some.
