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“That was delicious, Sarah.”
Dan squeezed Sarah’s hand as her face pinked with pleasure at his mom’s compliment concerning the berry pie she’d made.
“Daniel was right. You are a woman of many talents, and with such pretty hair.”
“I’m supposed to have some Irish or Scottish blood, aren’t I, Mum?”
Lindy nodded even as his dad frowned. It had proved an interesting meal, the two sets of parents with little in common, his pastors, Sam, Sarah, and himself. Somehow, their stilted attempts at conversation had chiseled off the initial frost and, with Luke and Marguerite’s arrival tomorrow, the parents had at least found a mutual interest in grandchildren. Apart from Sarah being a little subdued during that conversation, everything had seemed to be going well, until the heritage comment.
“You don’t know?” his father asked Sarah.
Dan stifled a smile. His dad could proudly trace his lineage back to pre-Confederation English settlers and loved boasting about some of his forebears. He caught the sparkly tease in Sarah’s eyes as she turned to his father.
“I think we may have convict blood in us somewhere, too.”
“What?”
Sam unsuccessfully hid a snicker at their father’s bug-eyed reaction. Even their mom looked aghast. Uh oh.
“Andrew, numbers of Australians have ancestors who first arrived in the colony on the first and second fleets,” Ange said. “Many of them were convicts sent to the colonies from England for petty crimes committed in order for their families to eat. Today, most people see such ancestry as being a little like the colonists on theMayflower—cause for pride in their tenacity in coping with a harsh and very different environment.”
Ange’s explanation seemed to go some way toward appeasing his dad, although he still looked at Sarah doubtfully. Dan squeezed her hand again. He should probably mention his father’s lack of a sense of humor.
Sarah smiled sweetly. “I don’t think our history should define us, as a nation or as individuals.”
Dan’s dessertspoon fell with a clatter. She said that now, but wait until she learned about his past. John’s sharp eyes caught his, and he nodded faintly toward the kitchen.
Dan stood and started collecting empty plates and bowls, then met his pastor in the kitchen. After Dan had briefly explained his dilemma, John pursed his lips, frowning.
“I think it’s wise to say something soon. I hate to admit it, but secrets like that have a way of coming out.”
Dan exhaled. He hated to spoil this special time, but, “I’ll do it soon, I promise.”
Chapter 24
“So, have you ever ice-skated before, or is this another one of those ‘No, I’m an Australian’ kind of things?”
Dan’s teasing eyes pulled out the truth. “I skated a couple of times way back when,” Sarah confessed, thinking back to her youth group days. “I bet you can guess just how good I am.”
He groaned, even as he finished pulling the laces tight on the old skates that used to belong to his mother. “I’m looking forward to this.”
And yep, she was pretty sure she’d lived up—or, more literally, down—to his expectations, spending most of the next hour either sprawled on the thick blue ice or yelling, “Don’t let me fall! Don’t let me fall!”
He’d said they were lucky the lake had frozen so much already, allowing them to skate. She wasn’t so sure it was such a good thing. Skating wasn’t as easy as Dan made it appear. Despite his best efforts to help her stay up, she’d still managed some spectacular falls. There’d definitely be bruises tomorrow.
But it was fun. At least for him. Dan wasn’t bothering to hide his amusement. “You just gotta learn how to fall gracefully, Princess.” He shook his head. “It’s bringing back memories. Remember that first evening at the cottage? You, in the hammock, reading?”
Oh, that. Why did he have to remember those moments? Couldn’t he remember the times she’d behaved, well, slightly more gracefully?
He did some fancy move, ending up skating on his knees to where she was rubbing her elbow as she attempted to sit up after falling yet again. “But I have to say that this time, I’ve fallen for you.”
“You do have to say that.” But though the words held tease, the smirk wouldn’t come. The sweetness of his face only inches from hers caught her heart in knots. As for his smile…
Dan leaned in closer, the weak afternoon sun still able to find gold in the depths of his eyes. “Why’s that?”
She caught her breath.Because you’re so special, so kind, so good, so patient, and I appreciate so many things about you and have for months. You’re everything I could ever want. I love you. I don’t want to go home and don’t want to admit something I think may hurt you very much.… She swallowed. “I’m going to miss you so much, and I’ll need to remember that you care.”
* * *
