Page 70 of Love in Tandem
“Well, I don’t see how staying together is possible. Not if you’re planning to go off to California once this is done. And you should. Really. I don’t want to talk you out of it. The last thing I’d ever want is for you to resent me because I held you back from a great opportunity. I’m just trying to remind you why a real relationship between us isn’t possible.”
“Not possible isn’t good enough. Aren’t you the one always spouting off about keeping the faith?”
“Yeah, and weren’t you the one scoffing about that faith only yesterday?”
Zach held her gaze a long couple of seconds, his breath fanning her lips, before he leaned back, rubbing his palm up and down his face. “Look. I’m not going to lie. God swiped the rug out from under my feet two years ago when he decided he had more important things to do than stop a driver from falling asleep at the wheel and colliding head-on with my dad.”
“Zach, I—”
“No.” He reached for her hands, brushing his thumbs across her knuckles. “I’m not looking for pity here. I’m just trying to get you to understand. All my life I’ve been taught God is good, but if you ask me, cutting a man’s life short a few months before retirement is just downright cruel. At least that’s how it feels. So I’ll admit, I’m still working through some issues with God, okay? But I think we can agree I’ve been nothing but respectful about your faith.”
He paused, squinting one eye shut. “Okay, yesterday I might have walked a fine line when I made that comment about hosting a revival with the squirrels.”
Charlotte offered a sad smile. “Zach, I appreciate you being honest with me, but I don’t think faith was ever the real barrier between us. It’s more like . . . everything else. We’re too different. I started to forget that, so you were right to put up a wall between us.”
“No, I wasn’t.”
“See? This is my point. We’re never on the same page when it comes to us.”
“Then why don’t we go back to the page where we love each other?”
“I’d rather go back to the page where our only focus was finishing this challenge on time. Please. Nothing else matters right now except that.”
Zach’s lips pressed together as he turned his head and wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. The heat of the day was already promising to be a killer. Just like this conversation if he continued to press it. Thankfully he didn’t. He rose to his feet and held out a hand, almost like a truce, then tugged her up from the bench. “So back to coming up with a plan B then. Any suggestions?”
“Well,” she said, dropping his hand so she could take a step away and hopefully clear her head a bit. “For starters, I think we definitely get back to enforcing the no-kissing clause.”
Zach lifted his palms. “Hey, I’ve been on my best behavior. You were the one who started tackling me with your lips the other night.”
“Stop.”
“That’s what I kept saying, but you just wouldn’t listen.”
Charlotte playfully punched him in the gut, glad they were somewhat back on familiar ground. “Second thing I think we do is pray for a miracle, because I honestly don’t know what else we’re going to do.”
Before Zach could respond, a shout caught their attention from the parking lot next to the hotel, where a man stood next to a truck, waving his arms at them. “Do you know him?” Charlotte said, shielding her eyes.
Zach frowned. “No. Maybe. Kind of looks like the officer I talked to yesterday.”
“You don’t think . . .” Hope spurred Charlotte into action. She raced up the hill, waving her arms and shouting back at him. “Please tell me you found it. Oh please, please, please.”
“Ta-da.” The officer lowered the back of his truck bed and motioned as if he were Vanna White on Wheel of Fortune and their tandem bicycle a glorious prize.
“How did you find it?” Charlotte said, jumping up and down like an overexcited contestant.
“Well, that’s a funny thing,” the officer said, stroking his mustache. “You see, I headed out to the lake to do a little fishing this morning. But instead of going to my usual spot, I thought I’d give another spot a try. Don’t know why. I like my usual spot. It’s why I usually go there. But this morning, I thought, No, Earl. Let’s shake things up a bit. Let’s try a different spot. Good thing I listened to myself ’cuz soon as I got to the unusual spot, I saw something shining in the thicket. Which isn’t usual.”
“So you found it,” Charlotte cut in, afraid they’d never make it to the finish line on time if she didn’t.
“Afraid that’s all I found though,” Earl said, dragging the bike down from the truck. “No sign of your other belongings.”
Zach had meandered up the path and now stood staring quietly at the tandem bike, almost like he couldn’t believe it. Charlotte almost couldn’t either.
Other than lots of mud splatters, the bike looked okay. No missing chains. No flat tires. Nothing missing but the bicycle horn. “Thank God,” Charlotte whispered.
“Glory hallelujah be,” Earl added good naturedly, slapping Zach on the back.
Zach rubbed his chin, apparently not ready to add any amens to this revival just yet. “We still don’t have our trailer. Our tent. Our clothes. Water bottles. Food.”
