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She preferred to use the time waiting as an excuse to leavewithout him. “Not at all.” She inwardly groaned. Her tongue seemed to have developed a mind of its own.
Gil jogged to the horse and grabbed its halter. “Come on, Blossom. Let’s get you into the barn for the night.”
Ava held her hand to Timmy. “Come with me, Timmy, and we’ll wait for Mr. Baty in the carriage.” Having the boy with them was a blessing. Although young, he could be considered a chaperone of sorts. People wouldn’t presume she and Gil had been up to any kind of wooing if Timmy was with them. She’d have him sit in the front seat between them.
Gil returned more quickly than she’d expected and climbed up on the other side of the carriage. He sent her a grin. “Want me to drive?”
Ava kept hold of the reins. “Pansy’s used to me. I’ll drive.”
“Good.” He propped one foot on the front board, pushed his hat forward over his eyes, and slouched into the seat. “I’ll take a little nap on the way. I hardly have time to sleep these days.”
He didn’t have an opportunity to sleep on the drive. Timmy talked nonstop, telling Ava about his day with Mr. Willems—about fetching his crutches, bringing him water, petting the cats…He described every detail of every little thing, pride shining on his face.
Generally Ava preferred listening to the sounds of the prairie when she was able to drive out of town, but she didn’t have the heart to shush the child. Although she did wonder why he’d spent the day with Mr. Willems. If he ever took a breath, she would ask. He didn’t give her the opportunity. He was still jabbering as she rolled onto the churchyard and gave the reins a gentle pull. “Whoa, Pansy.”
Timmy sighed. “I’d better go sit with Taunte. Otherwiseshe’s all alone.” He clambered over Gil and jumped down, then waved. “Thank you for the ride, Miss Flaming. I hope the next time I see you, you’ll have cookies.” He dashed off.
Gil watched him go, a fond smile on his face. “He’s quite a boy.”
“You’re quite the saint for spending so much time with him.” She covered her ears for a moment, grinning. “He can wear out one’s listeners.”
Gil laughed. “Yes, but it’s worth it to see him so happy. I was worried at first, about spending extra time with him. Joseph told me not to let the boys get dependent on me since I’ll be leaving before long. But now that Timmy and Roald have formed a friendship, I won’t have to worry. Roald will be here for him after I’ve returned to New York.”
Her tender feelings faded with the reminder that he would leave again. Why did she let herself get drawn in by him? She should have refused to offer Gil a ride to church. She should have dug in her heels and told Papa she would go by herself. Joseph was right when he warned her that being with Gil would lead to nothing but heartache. And she would not allow herself to be cast aside again.
She set the brake and wrapped the reins around it, her motions jerky. “Let’s go in. We’re late.”
Chapter Eighteen
Joseph
As the congregation stood forthe opening hymn, Joseph caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He craned his head around. Gil and Ava, entering the church building. Together.
He pulled in a startled breath and held it. He stared at the door, waiting for Mr. and Mrs. Flaming to come in, too, but they didn’t. He shifted his gaze to Ava and Gil. They took the same pew near the back, but Ava went to the middle, and Gil stayed on the end. Joseph’s breath escaped. They’d arrived at the same time, but there was space enough between them for two people. Maybe they hadn’t really driven out together.
He leaned down to Earl and whispered, “Let’s go sit with Gil. He’s by himself. Tell Ma.”
Earl cupped his hand beside Ma’s ear. Ma sent a quick frown at him and Joseph, but she didn’t shake her head no. Joseph put his hymnbook in its tray and led Earl along the outside aisle to Gil’s side of the pew. He tapped Gil’s arm and pointed to the open space between him and Ava. For a moment he worried Gil would just move close to Ava, but he stepped into the aisle. Earl went in first, then Joseph followed.
As he joined his voice with the singers, he silently congratulated himself. He’d rather be the one sitting next to Ava, buthaving Earl between them looked better to others in church. This spot put him closer to the aisle, too, so he could get out and talk about the End of Harvest celebration if Gil didn’t mention it during the prayer requests.
Joseph sang every verse of the hymns, and he followed along in his Bible while Reverend Ediger shared scriptures and expounded on each passage. But he couldn’t honestly say he was paying attention. His mind was set on the end of the meeting, when the preacher would ask if there were prayer needs to bring before the body of Christ. He would wait a bit, give Gil the chance to mention the competition. After all, Gil was the boys’ leader, so he should be the one to mention the opportunity. If he did, Joseph would go up with him in a show of support. If he didn’t, Joseph would go up on his own.
He’d spent time that afternoon putting the words together in his head. He practiced them again silently while Reverend Ediger preached. His speech was so well thought out, so encouraging and heartfelt, he almost hoped Gil wouldn’t stand so he could present it. Ava would surely be impressed. Back when she, Gil, and Joseph ran as a lopsided trio—her and Gil always siding against him—she would sometimes scold him for criticizing his cousin. She’d hear no criticism tonight. Only praises. Praises with the potential to start a series of events that would propel Gil back to New York City and keep him there.
Earl wriggled on the seat beside him, giving him a gentle bump on the arm. Unexpectedly, Joseph’s chest panged. Gil’s departure hopefully would help his relationship with Ava prosper, but it would hurt Earl. Ma complained that his brother had even taken to sleeping with Gil’s old trumpet, he enjoyed the band so much. Would someone else take over the boys’ band when Gil left? If they did well at the competition,someone from the community would surely say “Let’s keep it going” and volunteer to direct it. Joseph pushed aside the worry about Earl. He’d get to keep playing the trumpet. But, oddly, the little pang in the center of his chest didn’t go away.
“Let us take to heart what we have heard tonight from the Word of God.” The preacher closed his Bible, the signal that study time was done. He sent his gaze across the congregation. “Before we begin our prayer time, are there new requests?”
People stood, one by one, and shared their burdens. Joseph sat poised, ready to leap up the moment Gil made a move. But Gil just sat there, hands clamped over his knees so hard his knuckles glowed white. Aggravation rolled through Joseph. What was wrong with him? Didn’t he know how important this could be? He waited until the preacher said, “Jo, well, then let us—”
Joseph bolted to his feet. “There is one more request, Reverend Ediger. May I come up there? I have an important announcement that affects our boys’ band.”
The minister stepped away from the podium. “Come right on up, Joseph.”
Gil
Gil swiped athis cousin’s sleeve as he stepped past him, but his quivering hand missed. He bit back a groan. If he’d arrived a little earlier, he would have had a chance to tell Joseph he wanted to wait a week to talk to the congregation about the competition. A week would have given him time to talk to the representative in McPherson, examine his schedule, find a place to carve out more time for the boys’ band, and truly ruminate over whether it was the right thing to do. But there was Joseph, charging up the aisle, and soon the entire town ofFalke would be abuzz. Again. If they weren’t in a church, he’d run up and tackle him.
