Page 56 of Love and Other Trials
Puzzled, he pulled into the gravel driveway of the two-story white house with green shutters. It was built on stilts like the rest of the ones they’d passed. Flooding measures, he imagined.
When she put her hand on his arm, he already knew what she was going to say by the way she seemed lit up from the inside. “This is Grandma’s house. I wanted you to see it.”
He cupped her cheek. “I’m glad you brought me here, Ariel.”
“Me too.”
He stopped the engine and went around to open Ariel’s door before letting Sherlock out. She had another heart-tugging expression on her face as she left the car, one he wanted to fix but knew he couldn’t. Grief. He got choked up like that whenever he thought of his grandpa.
“It’s a really nice house,” he commented softly as she walked over and touched the palm tree in the front yard. “I like the flamingos the most. She must have been a cool lady.”
Pretty determined too, he imagined, since there was only a wide wooden staircase in the middle. He wondered how a little old lady had climbed it, because he didn’t see a ramp or anything. None of the houses they’d passed seemed to have anything but stairs, yet many of the people he’d seen in the area were older.
Sherlock was pressed against Ariel’s side now—his favorite place. “She was the coolest, and yeah, she loved her life-size flamingos. Said it told anyone passing by she was a fun bird who wasn’t afraid to stand out. Plus, she loved shrimp. God, she could eat a pound by herself. But only in her later years when she relaxed some about that kind of thing.”
Her voice was raspy, and he had a moment. Was it a mistake for them to come out here? “Is this bringing back too many tough memories? Because Ariel, we can do this another time.”
She shook her head. “No, I wanted you to see. Plus, there are good memories here, even though I miss her hard. I tried to shimmy up this palm tree once. Failed miserably. And see that white shell wind chime? I made that when I was eleven. I spent one whole summer scouring the beach for the best shells and then found some old fishing wire in the tackle box and strung them. I gave it to her for her birthday. She loved it.”
He went over to her and put his hands on her shoulders, feeling the tension there, but worse, the grief. Sherlock gave a sad whine as they looked up at the house from the ground.
“I love this place,” she whispered, pressing her hand to her chest. “When I need a happy thought—besides you—I think of this place. That’s how I got through today, and that’s how I’m going to get through this wedding.”
He could hear the resoluteness in her voice. “It’s a beautiful house, Ariel. I can see why you love it so much.”
She slid her hand into his, as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do. He clasped it, and when she looked up at him, her heart was in her beautiful baby blues. “I’m glad. I wanted you to understand. She’d have liked you a lot. You’re what she’d have called a fine fella.”
He traced her cheek with his free hand, deeply moved. “I’m glad you wanted to share it with me. Her memory too, because I know how precious those are. You don’t just share them with anyone. Only people who will treasure them. As I look around, I see a lot to treasure. Besides you, there’s the smell of sea in the air. The way the flamingos brighten up the front yard and how your shells blow in the breeze. I like seeing something that means so much to you. Because Ariel, I want to know everything I can about you.”
Her smile was soft and sweet and almost heartbreaking as she gazed up at him. “I like hearing that, and Dax, I feel the same way. Let’s do more speed dating questions when I’m up for it. But first, I’d like to take that walk on the beach.”
They headed there holding hands and didn’t let go the entire length of the beach and back as Sherlock walked with them. Neither one of them said much. They didn’t need to. The rush of the tide and the call of the seagulls was its own soundtrack, along with the sound of nail guns and electric saws from the surprising amount of construction taking place on the homes lining the beach.
When he caught a few porpoises playing out in the deeper part of the ocean, he pointed them out to her. She had wonder on her face as she gazed out at them—and with the setting sun on her face, making the gold highlights in her hair come to life, she looked so beautiful he stopped breathing.
Yes.
Her.
This moment.
They’d had a few of them, and this one seemed significant because of its lack of talking. There was an easy camaraderie between them, one that didn’t need to be filled with chatter or questions. His other interactions with women hadn’t been like this, and he liked knowing they could be like this together. He knew it was another item checked off on a long-term relationship list somewhere.
When they finally came back to the car, Sherlock went over to sniff at the bushes while Ariel lifted her gaze to the cute little white house again. “I have something I need to do. It’s a Charleston tradition to bury a bottle of bourbon in the ground to be dug up for the wedding. Rob loved the idea so I put one in the ground when I was here not too long after they got engaged. Tiffany didn’t seem inclined to want to dig it up with Rob, saying they had better things to do. I might as well do it now.”
“If you grab a shovel, I can do it for you. My muscles need a little workout after all that wreath-making.”
She gave a sputter of a laugh—not a full one yet, but a start. “You still look pretty good, but I’ll help your muscles out. Be right back.”
He stayed in the yard, gazing around, taking in little details. The railing at the bottom that could use a touch of paint. The way a couple of the paver stones could use some leveling. Little things. House details. Ones that made his hands itch to be useful.
“Here you go, Stephan.” She appeared at his side with a sturdy shovel with a green metal edge. “Or is this a Captain Hotpants’ job?”
“Probably not Stephan’s,” he told her, grabbing the shovel. “Now let’s dig up this buried treasure.”
Her rich laughter filled the air, lifting his heart. Yeah, she was feeling better. And he’d liked helping her get there. When she pointed to the area beside a garden gnome with a blue outfit and red hat, he had her move it aside and started digging. Carefully. When they unearthed the bottle, he rubbed off the sandy dirt and made a humming sound.
“Buffalo Trace. Rob’s fave.”
