Page 93 of No Kind of Hero
A few more goodbyes, and the Farnsworths were out the door. Beth said, “Guess we have a yardstick, Evan. A baseline. When you move on from being, ‘And Evan, of course.’”
He didn’t say anything. He just smiled and took her hand, and Michelle looked at him more sharply and said, “Deck. Now. I need to know what this is all about.”
When they were sitting around the table, though, the candles flickering in the evening breeze, the patio heaters on against the chill that was September coming to north Idaho, Beth . . . didn’t start. Instead, she said, “Coming here was Evan’s idea. He said it mattered, and I’m not sure why. I have things to say, but I’m going to let him talk first.”
Evan looked down at his hand, which was holding hers on the table, right out there in the open. And then he looked up at her parents. Calm and sure, like he was enough in himself. Like he had nothing to prove. He said, “Almost ten years ago, I fell in love with your daughter. One winter, and one summer. And I never came to you and told you so. She wasn’t ready to face your disappointment, and I didn’t insist. I should have. I’m doing it now. I love her, and yes, I’m good enough for her. I’m not good enough because I have a house, and I’m not good enough because I have a business. I’m good enough because I love her more than anybody else ever will, and I’ll always treat her right. I’ll stand beside her through the tough times, and when the times get tougher than that, that’s when I’ll carry her. And she’ll do the same for me. That’s what makes her good enough for me. Not that she’s a lawyer. Yes, she’s freaky-smart. Yes, she’s hardworking. But the most important thing about her is that she’s got a loyal heart. And the most important thing about me is that I do, too. You can be disappointed, but we’re still good enough for each other, and we always will be. And that’s what I came to say.”
Beth couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t talk. She put her head against Evan’s chest and held onto him. And finally, when she could speak again, she said, “Thank you. And you can . . . you cantalk.”
“Every once in a while,” he said, his eyes so warm. “When it counts.”
“Which means,” Beth’s mother said, “what? Is this a proposal? Or what? What’s going on here, exactly?”
“No,” Beth said. “It’s not, because we’ve only had a few weeks here, and we’re not jumping.” She looked at Evan, and he didn’t seem shocked, so that was all right.
“Yep,” Evan said. “I’d say that both of us want to know for sure that it’s right. We want to work out anything we’ve got to work out. We’ve had part of a summer ten years ago, and less of another one. And I’ve got a little girl who needs us to be sure.”
“And what about the rest of it?” Beth’s father asked. “I haven’t heard anything about that. Are you telling me that Evan and Gracie are moving to Portland? And Evan, are you ready for Beth’s schedule? It’s not the same as being on vacation. A sixth-year associate doesn’t do much else besides work. Not a lot of time for homemaking.”
“You’re right,” Beth said. “That’s why I quit today. I’m coming to work here. I’m coming home.”
Thatwent over . . . mixed. Her dad smiled, and he kept on smiling. If Evan brought her home? That made him good enough for her dad right there. Her mom, though . . . Beth could see the battle raging behind her mother’s perfect facade as she explained her day and her decision as best she could.
“I should hate this,” Michelle said when Beth had ground to a halt. “I should be horrified. I should ask you what you’re throwing away.”
“But you can’t,” Evan said. His arm was around Beth now, and Evan’s arm was some solid comfort. “Because it means she’s here. I can tell you that’s how I feel about it. I’m a fan.”
Michelle moved on. “Right, then. Where are you planning to live, Beth? You’re not getting engaged, and I confess I’m happy about that. I agree, it’s not enough time. I can hear you saying now that you’re not moving back into the cottage, which I donotunderstand, because you could save your money, and there it is sitting empty, and you could be as private as you wanted. And Russell Matthews is going to be moving back into his house, surely, once he’s feeling better, whatever Dakota does.Ifyou wanted to live there, which you can’t possibly. I can ask around, though. They’re putting up some gorgeous condos out by Sand Creek, with walking trails and community areas and a pool. You know those will be appreciating. You’ll want to sell the Portland condo, of course, but Candy could help you out here in Wild Horse, get you in on the ground floor.”
“Nope,” Beth said. “I already informed Evan that I’m moving in with him.”
Her mother sucked in a breath, then hesitated for a long moment. Tact and conviction waged a battle, and tact lost. “I’m not saying it’s not a darling house,” she said. “And I’m not saying that living together without being married is a bad idea, even though I think it is. So I’m just saying that it’s tiny. For three people? Why, when you can do better?”
“Now, you see, Mom,” Beth said, “that’s where you’re going to have to take my word for it again. Or maybe see that you and Dad raised me with the right values after all. You could think of it that way. I love Evan’s house, and I want to live there. Trust me, he’s still going to want the cow even though he’s getting the milk for free.”
Evan smiled. “Well, yeah. I do want the cow. Although I don’t think I’ll be calling her that too much. Doesn’t sound like a great idea. And if the house turns out to be too small, we’ll add on. I can put a second half-story on there. Master suite. Get Russell to help me out, now that his back’s better. Dakota, too.”
“And me,” Beth said. “I’m a good painter.”
“Yes,” Evan said. “You are. And I hate to admit it, but I’m guessing Blake Orbison could swing a hammer if he had to, and that he’d do it.”
“It’s been a while since I had a tool belt on,” Don said, “but I haven’t forgotten everything about it. I used to be a pretty fair electrician back in the old days. Remember that, honey?” he asked his wife.
“You’re going to electrocute yourself,” Michelle said, “just to prove a point. There’s nothing wrong with paying for things, Elizabeth. Look at it this way. You’re giving somebody a job who needs one. And you won’t get engaged, but you’ll remodel a house you’re living in? That makes no sense.”
“What your mother’s saying,” Don said, “is that it’s the wrong way around. A remodel’s when you need the piece of paper and the vows. Keeps you from killing each other. Maybe.”
“Trial by fire,” Evan suggested. “And working on your house is what makes it yours. Working on ours will make it Beth’s.”
Michelle sighed. “I thought Beth needed a lawyer,” she said almost mournfully. “Always. A doctor. Or a professor, maybe. Somebody who would understand her and take care of her and have the right priorities. I’m not entirely enjoying admitting that it’s you.”
This time, Evan laughed, even as Beth gasped. Don said, his eyes dancing, “That’s right, honey. We’re going to have to admit that we were just as wrong as your mom was. She said I was a dreamer, and she was right. But I was a dreamer who was crazy about you. I wanted to marry my best friend, and I did. And I’ve never once been sorry. If Evan loves Beth half as much as I love you, I don’t guess a father could ask for more.”
Michelle’s eyes had started to shine. “Now you’ve gone and made me cry,” she said crossly, waving her hand in front of her face. “Let’s have some wine. Because, Don.” Now, the tears were coming, and Beth was choking up, too. “Our baby’s coming home.”
On December twenty-first, Beth had been living with Evan and Gracie for three and a half months, and she’d been working at Armitage, Caskell for most of that time, too. She’d be a partner eventually, or she wouldn’t. She was betting on “would.”
And more importantly, tomorrow—Sunday—was Gracie’s first birthday. Her grandma was baking her cake. It was going to be a merry-go-round with horses. They would probably all get a little over the top about the whole thing. A one-year-old didn’t really need a birthday party, but maybe the people who loved her did.
