The Big 5-Oh! (29 page)

“And you?”

“Me?”

“Yes, how are you?”

“I’m tired. And cold!” she declared, and Jared laughed. “It's fifty degrees here, which at one time I would have considered lovely spring weather. But now I can’t seem to get warm.”

“You turned into a Floridian when you weren’t looking,” he commented. She had no reply to that. “How is it being home?”

“Strange. My house hasn’t seemed so empty since Robert died.”

Jared was silent for a long moment. Then, “I haven’t died, Liv. I’m still here.”

The grass in the meadow was long and green, and the recent rains had left it fragrant and inviting.

But inviting as it was, Prudence didn’t partake. It just wasn’t the way she remembered. Or maybe, because she’d tasted the lush grasses surrounding the Enchanted Pond, she just didn’t like this grass anymore.

“I’ll likely starve to death now,” she brayed.

“You won’t starve,” Horatio assured her.

“I will. I don’t want the meadow grass any more. I only want the faraway grasses that I can’t have.”

“Well, that is a dilemma. Whatever will you do now?”

“I told you. I’ll probably just starve to death.”

Horatio covered his beak with his wing so Prudence couldn’t hear how he hooted with laughter.

“That's a terrible fate,” he said. “I wonder how you can avoid it.”

P
reston and I are driving over to that new Chinese place for dinner. Do you want to join us?”

Jared regarded Georgia with amused curiosity. “Just to clarify. This is the same new Chinese place that you warned Rand and me away from because of—what was it? grease and MSG?”

Georgia's gaze dropped to the concrete parking lot beneath her feet, and she blushed all the way down to her shoulders.

“Likes Chinese food, does he?”

“Loves it.”

“So a little grease and MSG doesn’t seem so bad now, huh?”

“Do you want to join us or not?” she said, looking up and stamping her foot ever so slightly.

“Nah, you go ahead. I’m going for a bike ride and then home to make dinner for Rand and Shelby.”

“I guess they’ll be leaving soon.”

“Another couple of days and the happy married couple will be off to London.”

“Leaving the old man far behind.”

“There's a lot of that going around lately,” Jared remarked, pulling open the door of her rental car for her. “Have a good time, Georgia, and give my best to Preston.”

“Will do, Jared. Have a good evening.”

Jared closed the distance between their cars and, by the time he thought to ask how much longer it would be before her Toyota was repaired from the rumble with a fallen tree, Georgia had already pulled out of the parking lot.

He slipped into his own car and turned over the engine, but then froze slightly as the CD loaded in the stereo queued up “their song.” Jared dropped his hands from the steering wheel and leaned back into the leather seat with a sigh.

Had she really only been gone for less than forty-eight hours? It seemed like a lifetime already. And as the thought
occurred to him that she might never come back, a lifetime without Liv seemed far too real a possibility.

Once he arrived home, Jared changed clothes in a rush, flew into the garage, and wheeled out his bicycle. He was pedaling at full speed before he ever turned out of the driveway. Bike riding with a vengeance; it had always been his favorite way of relieving stress. But the kind of thoughts plaguing him now were far more deeply rooted and tangled up than the simple pressures of a hectic day.

He steered his way around countless other riders, never once pausing to return their greetings with a casual wave or a nod. Jared shoved pedal over pedal over pedal without restraint until his leg muscles felt scorched. It wasn’t until he was already parked on the bench, downing cool water from his plastic sipper, that the memory smoldered its way to the surface.

It was on another bench, far behind him now, that he’d shared lemonade with Liv. He almost wanted to laugh out loud when he thought about her behavior that day.

“My leg. My leg! MY LEG!!” she had shouted at him. “Make it stop.”

Jared remembered how he’d tried to disguise his utter amusement as he pumped her leg out and back in an effort to relieve her pain.

“Better?”

“A little. ”

“We’ll just rest a while longer.”

“Like until tomorrow?”

There was a childlike, up-front honesty about Liv that had attracted him right off. He loved that about her. She was nothing short of adorable, and as he remembered it now, he felt something inside of him go hollow.

He bowed his head and clamped shut his eyes.

How am I going to live without her, Lord? Now that I know what it is to have her at my side, I don’t know if I can do it. I want her with me, every day. Please do what you do best. It was a sheer miracle that you put us on that plane together that day. I know you can do that again. Bring us back together. Somehow.

Jared remembered Rand's wedding ceremony, and he marveled again at how brave the couple had been to accept the gift they’d been given without any doubts at all. No over-thinking it, no deep analysis. Just a general assurance in their hearts that this was the path meant for them.

Why was I too dense to take the leap the way Rand did? I should have dropped to one knee and proposed to her the second I realized that she was The One.

Recognizing that Liv might have run swift and fast in the opposite direction had he done just that, Jared pondered whether everything that had happened up to that moment might actually be a part of the grand scheme of things. Perhaps things had tripped along just as they’d been meant to unfold.

Just relax. Timing is everything.

On the ride home, he wondered where such a peaceful acceptance had come from. It was so unlike him to feel denied something he wanted with all of his heart, and then to simply accept the denial as a temporary thing.

It must be you, Lord, because I don’t have that kind of wisdom.

Liv stood at the side of the bed, brushing Hallie's honey-blonde hair. Hallie tipped her head back and grinned at her friend, and Liv gasped.

“Don’t do that. I almost brushed your face.”

“Thank you for doing this, Liv.”

“Well, we couldn’t have you looking like a mangy dog.”

“How can you talk like that about Boofer?” Hallie teased. “I thought you two were friends now.”

Liv brushed Hallie's hair on each side, collecting it at the back of her head and drawing it upward into a short little ponytail. She clasped it loosely with a blue band.

“There. That's better. Do you want to brush your teeth or wash your face or anything?”

“Liv,” Hallie said, taking her by the hand. “Stop being my nurse. Sit down and be my friend. Talk to me.”

As Liv rounded the corner of the bed and dropped to the chair, she noticed that Hallie winced.

“Are you in pain?”

“A little.”

“Should I call the—”

“Olivia.”

“Sorry.”

“Have you spoken to Jared since you came back?” Hallie was nothing if not outspoken.

“I have. I called him the night I got in, and we talked for a few minutes.”

“And?”

“And … then … we hung up.”

“Don’t make me work so hard for some details. I don’t have the energy. Have you talked to him since?”

“Not since, no.”

“And why not?”

“Hallie.”

“Come on. Give. Tell me what's going on.”

“Well, there's not much to tell, really. We have deep feelings for each other. I miss him already. But it's not like we didn’t know the time would come. We always knew I’d come home and go back to work and that he’d go on with his life there.”

“Do you know what your problem is, Olivia?”

“I have a problem?”

“Yes, you do. It's that you are inflexible.”

“Inflexible!”

“You are,” Hallie said, leaning back against the raised bed. “You get one plan in your head, and then you won’t deviate from it no matter what other things are tossed in your path.”

“That is just not true.”

“Of course it's true.”

“It's not. I was heading home a couple of days ago, but all the signs pointed to me staying. Jared came to the airport, and the weather turned, and … and …”

“It was a hurricane, Liv. God had to send a hurricane to stop you in your tracks and make it impossible for you to leave because you wouldn’t pay attention to the more subtle signs.
Like falling in love with someone in Florida!
”

“Don’t you need some more morphine?” Liv suggested with a grin. “You look tired. It will help you sleep.”

“And shut me up?”

“That too.”

“You know what my mother used to say?”

Josie walked through the door at just that moment, right on cue. “Don’t keep me in suspense, darlin’. What did your brilliant mother used to tell you?”

“Hi, Mama.”

The two exchanged a tender hug, and Josie kissed the top of Hallie's head.

“What did I used to say?” Josie asked as she scuffed the second chair toward the bed and sat down beside Liv.

“You used to say that sometimes we’re so busy following what we think are the signs that we forget to go to God and just ask for His direction.”

“Oh, I still say that.”

Liv chuckled.

“Laugh it up, Liv,” Hallie said, shaking her finger. “But I have a feeling, if you’d just pray for a little guidance and intervention, this would all be taken care of for you.”

“I keep telling her she needs more pain medication,” Liv said to Josie. “Don’t you think she needs a long nap?”

“I do nothing but
nap
in this bed. Right now, I’m being smart and insightful for you. Sit back and enjoy it.”

“Don’t you have something insightful to say to someone else? How about your mother?” Liv prodded.

“In fact, I do,” Hallie replied. “Mother, would you please tell Olivia what a catch Jared Hunt really is?”

“On that note,” Liv declared, “I’ll let the two of you visit so I can walk down the hall and make a couple of calls.”

“Jared?” Hallie asked.

Liv didn’t respond. She just wiggled her fingers at them over one shoulder and strolled out of the room.

Becky sounded winded as she answered the phone in response to Liv's call.

“Becky? This is Olivia Wallace.”

“Liv! Where are you? Are you all right after that terrible storm?”

“I’m safe and dry and back in Cincinnati,” she admitted with some reluctance. “I got a flight out yesterday.”

“Oh, good! When can we expect you back at work then?”

“Well,” she hesitated. “That's a bit of a conundrum. My best friend was in a car accident. In fact, I’m over here at Good Samaritan Hospital with her right now. She cracked two ribs and has a head injury.”

“Oh, my.”

“And Hallie has three young children.”

“I see.” Becky's voice was tempered with cool anticipation. “You’re not coming back to us after all, are you, Olivia?”

“Yes! I mean, I want to. I was just hoping you would reconsider the timing of it and allow me to wait until next week.”