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“I’m going to let you go, Bill,” I said. “It’s time for me to get in some rounds on the punching bag at the gym.”
“It doesn’t surprise me you’re going to the gym; that’s a vacation to you.”
I laughed and hung up. Then I reached into the back of the Jeep and grabbed my gym bag. I always kept a spare packed and ready. Bill was right: even on vacation, this was what I would be doing.
I couldn’t remember the last time I had taken a real vacation. I wasn’t exactly the beach type.
Three hours later, I came out of that gym a new man. I called my father to check in, but he wouldn’t have any of it. “All I can think about is that pizza you talked about earlier,” he grumbled. “Bring a couple back to the house. Your mom is bringing the demon boys out. Damon has to work the late shift.”
I laughed. “Sounds good.”
I dropped by the pizza place, which fortunately hadn’t changed much. I ordered a few pizzas, one each for my parents’ preferred toppings and a pepperoni for the boys.
As I waited, I wandered the old restaurant, thinking fondly of the time I’d worked here in high school. I spotted some notices pinned to the bulletin board, and one of them caught my eye—a picture of a lake house. The ad said the house was available for rent throughout the summer. When I checked the address, I realized it was two houses down from Ella’s.
Suddenly excited, I pulled out my phone and dialed the number. “Hi, I’m calling about the lake house. Is it still available this summer? Or can I do a couple weeks?”
My father had made it clear that I was supposed to forgive myself and get Ella to forgive me. I thought about stupid Clint asking her out and how someone had broken into her house. It made my blood boil.
“Yes, it’s for the summer. It’s my family house, and no one is using it this summer.”
I recognized that voice. “RJ?”
“Who is this?”
I laughed. “It’s Noah Armstrong.” RJ and I used to play football together.
“Noah? I heard you were in town. I’m sorry to hear about your dad.”
“He’s okay. I took him to the doctor today, and he’s doing good. He’s recovering.”
“I’m so glad. Wait. Are you calling about the lake house for yourself?”
I hedged. “Yes.” Everything was moving way too fast.
“Hey, I’ll just let you live in it, if you do some work around there. We need some painting done and a bunch of other projects. If you’ll be around all summer, I’ll get the boat out. We’ll do some waterskiing.”
The idea had me perking up. Growing up, RJ and I had a lot of fun waterskiing with our brothers. “You know what, buddy? I’ll take you up on that offer.” I felt like I’d just charged in for a touchdown in the state football game, or like I’d finally gotten the terrorists.
I was moving back home. At least for now.
I talked some details out with RJ, and he told me to pick up the keys from his office downtown, which wasn’t far from the pizza place. As I loaded the pizzas into my Jeep, I decided that maybe my dad was right. Maybe God did have a timeline. Could He convince Ella to forgive me? That was the big question.
Chapter Twelve
Ella
I awoke the next morning, grateful that I had Wednesdays off as well as Sundays. When I’d first started working at the hospital, Mercy had asked if I wanted Friday or Saturday off, but neither of them had appealed to me. It wasn’t like I had anywhere to go on the weekends.
The first thing I did was open the curtains, giving me a look at the sun rising above the lake. After a few minutes of admiring its beauty, I changed my clothes and decided to go for a run. I was grateful for the chill of early mornings during Wyoming summers.
I jogged around the lake, going past places I’d seen a thousand times while growing up. As I was finishing the loop, I reached the Whipple house, which was two doors down. I paused, noticing a black Jeep in the driveway. Noah had been driving one just like it.
I slowed to a walk, put my hands over my head, and pulled in deep breaths. What was he doing out here? Was the Jeep really his? When I looked around, no one was in sight. Everything was quiet.
Seconds later, Noah came out of the Whipple cabin. His eyes met mine, sending electricity crackling through me. We still had that old chemistry between us, just like in eighth grade when I’d noticed him for the first time. Or maybe he was the one who had noticed me. With our gazes locked, past and present mashed together. I felt scattered and weary, but hyped up at the same time.
Steeling myself, I moved toward him. “What are you doing here?”
