Page 6 of Muskoka Blue

“Thanks, but I don’t need help.”

You sure about that?He bit back his response, instead passing his empty plate across as she requested. Light flashed from a ring on her left hand. She was engaged.

Later, after Sarah had pleaded a headache and said goodnight, Dan joined Ange and John for coffee on the deck. He slouched into his seat, the pungent scent of Ange’s homemade anti-bug lotion tickling his nose. Distant lights twinkled from across the lake as the breeze sighed through the pines. He rolled his shoulders, trying to release the tension.

“So, Dan.” John placed his mug on the table. “How long will you stay in Muskoka?”

“I’ve got two months before duty calls me back. How about you? Do you get much of a break this year?”

John’s graying head nodded slowly. “A few weeks.”

“You deserve it.”

John gave a tired smile. “For once, I think maybe we do.”

The night sounds grew louder—the hum and whir of crickets and cicadas, the lake’s gentle wash, the slap as a mosquito found a patch of unprotected skin. John and Ange sat at the table, the porch light revealing the strain of the past few years in the fine lines around Ange’s eyes.

John reached over to hold her hand. “At least Sarah’s here.”

“I didn’t realize how hard she was still—” Ange bit her lip and glanced over at Dan.

“God can work things out for good,” John murmured.

“I know.” Her eyes sheened as she nodded. “We keep believing.”

Dan chewed his lip. The past two years had been tough for John and Ange as they’d struggled through church issues, the funerals of friends, and some family drama for which Ange had gone away for several weeks. He’d spent many hours praying for them, had upped his weekly offering and sent them anonymous gifts and donations for their own needs. John and Ange were good people and a blessing to so many. They really needed a break.

Dan stretched out his legs. “So, what’s her deal?”

His pastors glanced at each other. So, there reallywasa deal. He’d found it oddly amusing, the bedraggled kitten with the big green eyes and claws that he’d plucked from the lake who then turned her nose in the air and her personality down to frozen. But the earlier glimpses of humor and generosity had signaled Sarah’s personality might be more like her aunt’s than the initial ice princess act had suggested. So, what had happened?

John steepled his fingers. “Sarah was…hurt a while back.”

Oh. Remorse bit as he remembered her scars. And judging from the tension he sensed, any explanation was likely complicated. Still, she was engaged, so life couldn’t be all bad. The knowledge she was engaged eased a knot of concern. He must’ve misread Ange’s look earlier.

“Have you heard of Heartsong Collective?” Ange asked.

“The music ministry with all those albums, right?”

“Sarah was involved with them for a few years. She was one of their best…” Ange’s voice faded as she glanced at him, then offered a wobbly smile. “Excuse me for a moment.”

She left, leaving Dan to exchange glances with John, who murmured, “She’s okay.”

“You sure?”

Apprehension lifted at John’s nod. Dan took another sip of coffee, then plunked his mug on the table. Change of subject time. “So, John, are you free to go catch some walleye later this week?”

“Just tell me when.”

They discussed details, and Dan gave a small smile of satisfaction. Yeah, even with an ice princess around, this summer would be good. Water, sun, fish…what could be better?

Chapter 2

“Sarah, are you interested in coming to Pilates with me?”

Sarah looked up from her copy ofPride and Prejudice,her ultimate favorite novel, the perfect escape from reality. Who didn’t fancy herself as Elizabeth or want to spend time with someone like Mr. Darcy? “Um, sorry?”

“Sorryyou don’t want to come, orsorryyou didn’t hear because you’re engrossed in the world of Austen?”

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