Rocky Mountain Angels (31 page)

He looked up at the two stories above him. I 
don’t think I’ve even made it around one floor.
He brought his eyes back to ground level and looked in the direction he’d been heading when his feet had given out. A blue dress on display caught his eye. The flared skirt and bodice were all one piece, cut to flatter the female figure in a silky fabric that criss-crossed over the bustline in a halter style. Joe got up to take a closer look.
That would look amazing on Mari.
He remembered how the blue sweater dress she’d worn on the last Sabbath complemented her deep brown eyes.

He knew he shouldn’t buy it for her. He knew it was too soon—he didn’t even know whether she returned his feelings—but something wouldn’t let him go without it. He stood staring at it for so long, picturing her spinning around and making the skirt flare out, a clerk came to ask if she could help. Joe made the decision on the spot. “I want that in a small size.”

The woman gave him a condescending smile. “How small, sir?”

Joe realized he was out of his element. He tried to use his hands to indicate her size, putting one level with his shoulder. “She only comes up to here on me, and she’s... petite.” Joe looked up to see a smallish woman passing by the window and pointed. “About her size.”

The woman went to a rack and looked through the dresses, finally pulling one out. “What do you think about this?”

Joe scowled. It was hard to tell on a hanger. “I don’t know. If it doesn’t fit, can I exchange it?” He knew he’d be making frequent trips to Oklahoma City if he got the synagogue construction job.

The woman nodded. “Of course.”

As he left with his purchase, he noted that he had probably never spent so much on any single item of clothing in his life. It had blown his budget and was completely impractical.

And he didn’t care.

***

Eli sat scowling at his design plans, but it wasn’t the designs he was scowling about. He had been waiting half the day for Mari to call, and when he finally decided to call her, she had seemed distant. He supposed it could be from all the stress surrounding her father, but he couldn’t lay aside the notion that something had changed.

Rising, he decided he needed a break and closed his laptop. He’d like to go to the gym, but he was afraid he’d run into Sheri. Flipping the light off on his way out of his office, he couldn’t help thinking about his dream of the previous night. Sheri had figured prominently, teasing him until he had given in and kissed her. And that was only the beginning. The dreams he’d had about Mari had never been that steamy.

Few of his dreams had ever been that steamy.

It was a difficult thing to dislodge from his mind, but he knew he had to try. And then out of nowhere, an inner voice said,
Why?

Eli shook his head and blinked as he walked to the kitchen to get a beer.
Why? Because I promised Mari I’d be true to her
. He pulled out a bottle and opened it.

The voice continued.
But what do you have in common with Mari, anyway? She’s super religious when you are not. She doesn’t like the same music you do, and while you love horror films, she watches the Lifetime channel.

He took a long pull on his beer, not wanting to continue this conversation with himself. He was thankful when Ben walked in to distract his thoughts. “Benjamin! How goes the zoo?”

Ben came to the kitchen carrying a soda from 7-eleven. “Do you really want to know, or are you just being a jerk?”

Eli was stung. “Well, I did want to know, but you seem to be in no mood to tell me.”

Ben slipped into a chair, still in his coat. “Sorry, volunteering most of the day and bowling every evening is starting to wear me down. I can’t wait for this tournament to be over.”

Eli thought he looked like he was about to drop. “Do you have time for a nap? I can make you something to eat.”

Ben got up. “Maybe. Don’t let me sleep past 6:00.” He started out of the kitchen then turned back. “Oh, you know Beth’s roommate, Sheri? She was at the zoo today. I thought it was a pretty cold day to be wandering around at the zoo, but she said she was bored waiting for classes to start, and the cold doesn’t bother her. She talked to me while I cleaned the pony stables.” He gave Eli a pointed look. “She asked a few questions about you. I think she likes you.”

No shit.
“What kind of questions? She knows I’m dating someone.” Sheri was starting to feel like a stalker.

A beautiful, sexy stalker.

Ben gave him a wry grin. “Yeah, she wanted to know if I thought you were really serious about Mari, and how long it would last.”

Eli’s glare could have penetrated steel. “And what did you tell her?”

Ben laughed. “Don’t worry, I know better than to be a go-between. I told her she’d have to ask you that question.”

He turned to head upstairs, and Eli was back where he started—with Sheri on his mind.

***

“Now, Daddy, you know I love to write, but it’s just not going to make me any money. I really think photography is going to be the way to go. I already have a nice camera, and Eli says I have a good eye for it, and he is very good with design.”

“That’s just about all you’ve told us about Eli—what a good designer he is.” Mal looked tired but seemed in good spirits. “What else can you tell us?”

Valerie nodded from where she sat on the other side of the bed. “What about character? Is he as devout as you say that Joe is? Does he sing with you, too? You’ve told us much more about Joe than Eli.”

Mari didn’t know what to say.
I can’t tell them he’s a really good kisser, and I just like to have his arm around me while we watch movies.
“Eli has good qualities, too. All the Rhodes men do. Did I tell you that Ben helped me move in, took me on a tour of two campuses, and sat with me all afternoon when I broke my toe?”

Mal smiled indulgently. “Yes, dear, Ben sounds like a marvelous young man.”

“But too young,” Val interrupted.

“Yes, probably too young,” commented Mal.

Mari nodded, her exasperation starting to show. “Yes, he’s a dear, but too young for me. Eli is...” Her frustration was evident. She didn’t even know what Eli was to her any more, and until she could figure Joe out, she didn’t want to confuse her parents further. “Eli and I are dating, but we’re not engaged or anything. We just enjoy each other’s company.”

“Okay, dear,” conceded Val. “Where have you gone on your dates? What did you do?”

Mari opened her mouth to speak, but closed it, wondering if shopping could be considered a date. Until her mom had voiced it, she hadn’t realized that with Eli, “dating” might be a stretch of the definition. “Well, with my broken toe, we couldn’t exactly go dancing.”

“Well,” began Mal to Val, “we know he is a hard worker as he was too busy to drive our pumpkin clear to Oklahoma City.”

Mari had no idea if that was a compliment or a dig, but no matter what, she wouldn’t run down Eli’s character. “He truly wanted to bring me, but when Joe offered, that seemed like the most sensible plan since he needed to come this way sometime anyway.”

Val nodded, smiling. “I know, dear, you told us that, but it seems to me—”

“Let’s talk about something else, please,” interrupted Mari in frustration. She suddenly remembered why living ten hours away had seemed appealing.

Her dad extended a hand to her, and Mari leaned forward to grasp it. “We’re sorry, pumpkin. We just want to see you settled and happy.”

She sighed. “I know, Daddy. But I can’t make it happen. It just has to... to happen.”

The door opened, and Joe popped his head in. Mari’s heart seemed to float to the ceiling at the sight of him. “I hope I’m not interrupting—just didn’t see anyone I knew out in the waiting room.”

Val rose. “Come on in, Joe. I was just heading out to stretch my legs.”

He entered, and Val patted his arm on the way out. “Thanks again for taking care of Mari.”

Joe nodded, and Mari rolled her eyes. He tried but couldn’t contain a grin. Mari knew she should be irritated, but she was too glad to see him for that.

Joe didn’t want to sit in the recliner across the room; he pulled up a light weight chair next to Mari. After some general chit chat about the construction business and Joe’s possible synagogue building project in the city, he could see that Mal was tiring. As his eyes slid closed, Joe and Mari exchanged glances and started to quietly rise from their chairs.

Mal’s eyes popped open. “Are you two sneaking out on me?”

Mari put her hand to her startled heart. “You look tired, Daddy. Time for a nap, I think.”

He folded his hands across his stomach. “Maybe you’re right.”

They turned to go, but he stopped them again. “Joe, Mari tells me you sing. Why don’t you and Mari sing something before you go?”

Joe hadn’t expected that. “Oh, I think we might disturb...” He looked to Mari whose eyes were unexpectedly bright. “Don’t you think, Mari, that we’d disturb the other patients?”

“Oh, I don’t know, we could sing quietly.” She looked so agreeable, and Mal so expectant, that he gave in. After a few minutes to decide on a song they both knew by heart, Mari started, and Joe joined in. They sang in hushed voices, but the beauty of the Hebrew blessing sung in two part harmony brought a smile to Mal’s face and a sense of peace to Joe’s heart.

He closed his eyes on the second verse and slipped an arm around Mari’s waist in an attempt to bring her closer and hear her better, but the touch sent a zing straight through him, and he suddenly went blank on the words. Mari looked up at him, not singing either, and time seemed to stop.

Mari’s dad began to snore.

Joe turned her toward him and ran a hand down her cheek, looking deep into those brown eyes that seemed to have flecks of gold in them this evening. Her lips parted in a tiny sigh, and Joe zeroed in on them.

A rattle at the door broke the spell, and half a second later they were stepping apart as a nurse rolled in a cart to take Mal’s vitals. Joe and Mari slipped out before the nurse had a chance to wake him up.

Joe intended to walk her right out of the intensive care unit to find someplace private, but the waiting room had once again become populated with family. Family that wanted to chat with Mari. The little curly-headed girl that he’d been informed was called Sissy came running when she saw Joe and raised her arms, a big smile on her face. Joe swooped her up and threw her over his shoulder, causing a riot of giggles to pour out of the youngster. It wasn’t the curly-headed beauty he’d hoped to have in his arms tonight, but she also seemed to have found a way into Joe’s heart.

Chapter 24

The rest of the week had gone by in a whirl of construction meetings, hospital visits, and family dinners. Mari’s mother had started going home in the evenings, and Mari rode with her, so Joe could take care of business in time to leave on Sunday. The result being that Joe and Mari were never alone. Joe had finally learned all of Mari’s brothers names—Jerry, Noah, Nathaniel, Sam, and Alex—most of the wives and some of the kids. Some of Mal’s brothers and sisters had shown up, too, as the week went on—it seems he was from a large family, also—and Joe just gave up trying to keep everyone straight.

Because everyone treated him like her boyfriend, they all had a story to tell about Mari. Joe was gathering them like the seashells he had collected on their one family vacation to the ocean when he was ten. And every one made him fall a little bit more in love.

Mal was recovering well and had insisted that the family attend Sabbath services Saturday morning at their home synagogue. Joe hadn’t thought to bring along nice clothes so had done some shopping for himself Friday afternoon after his last meeting with Rabbi Yelson. He saw many pretty things he’d like to buy for Mari, but refrained. He wasn’t entirely sure the dress he bought would be accepted.

Dressed in gray slacks and a plum shirt with a paisley coordinating tie, Joe waited nervously in the Bakers’ living room for Mari to appear. He had finally decided that he really didn’t care who was around, Mari was going to know his feelings for her before the day was done.

When she finally emerged from the hallway, Joe was surprised to see her hair thrown up in a hair clip, the curly ends sticking up like a decoration. His gaze moved over her, and he took in every detail. A lacy cream blouse with cap sleeves covering a black knit top with spaghetti straps seemed a conservative choice. His eyes went lower to a slim black skirt, shorter than anything Joe had ever seen her wear, and he tried not to look shocked. But when his eyes hit the lace-up ankle boots, Joe actually laughed.

Mari put her hands on her hips. “Now stop it, Joe Rhodes! I had to find something to wear besides jeans and a t-shirt, and the pickin’s are pretty slim in my closet.” She looked down and tried to tug her skirt to a longer length. “I’m sure this was probably in fashion at some point in my life.”

He patted the spot beside him on the sofa. “If you can sit down in that thing, come here a minute.”

Mari walked toward him, shifting her small shoulder bag’s strap, and looked at her watch. “We really should be going.”

Joe reached forward, grabbed her hand, and pulled. “Your mom’s not ready yet, and I need to talk to you.”

Mari reluctantly sat, and Joe took her hands.

“Okay, kiddos, are you ready?” Mari’s mother breezed into the living room in a black pant suit. “We better get moving.”

Joe hung his head, but as Mari started to rise, new determination filled his heart. “Give me just a minute, Mrs. Baker. I have something I need to ask Mari.”

Val stopped in the middle of putting on her coat and took in the couple on the sofa. Smiling, she continued zipping the gray parka. “Sure thing, I’ll just get the car started.”

She went out the door, and Joe looked back to Mari who was staring at him with wide eyes. He took a deep breath.

***

Eli and Ben were slouched over their pancakes, eating without talking.

Ben was still recovering from his jam-packed week of zoo work and bowling. Eli was coiled tight after four days wondering about he and Mari alternating with thoughts of he and Sheri.