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The conversation moved on. Eventually, Kye’s phone rang, and he told Elsie that Frank had cleaned the corrosion off the posts and her battery should work fine now.
After they finished eating, Elsie thanked the McBrides for dinner and followed Kye to the garage. Kye led her to a new dark-blue pickup truck, not the old white Ford he’d driven to school his first year as a teacher. He opened the door for her and helped her step up into the cab.
Well, that was another moment to cross off her prayer list—three years too late.
She sat down, pulled on her seatbelt, and couldn’t think of anything to say. She wanted to ask who Lisa was and if he remembered howthey’dmet, but asking either question would make her sound like she hadn’t moved beyond him. And she had. Or at least she was going to. So Elsie sat in the cab, her arms wrapped around her middle to keep warm.
Kye drove out of the garage and the two silently made their way toward Windstream Road. She’d forgotten how bright the stars were out here away from the city lights. They hung in the sky above, sparkling like frozen chips of ice.
Kye asked a few questions to fill the silence, mostly things about the wedding. “It’s funny that Carson is marrying a girl from Lark Field,” Kye shot her a glance. “I guess not everyone wants to get as far away from here as possible.”
That, she supposed, was a reference to what she’d said to him at graduation. “People change,” she said.
“Yes, thankfully they do.” Another glance. “You’ve grown up quite a bit.”
What did he mean by that? Did he see her as a peer now since they were both in their twenties or did he just think she was more mature because she was no longer throwing herself at him? Elsie inwardly groaned. This was the problem with being around Kye. She would forever analyze everything he said. He probably meant the statement in the same way his parents had meant it when they’d said nearly the same thing. Kye hadn’t seen her in three years. She looked older, that was all.
Time to say something else so there wasn’t an awkward, long pause. “I was surprised Carson and Olivia hit it off,” Elsie said. Carson and Olivia had gone to school together but had been closer to enemies than friends. He’d been a jock, she’d been the bookish type, and there’d been some bad blood between.
“Well, like you said, people change.” Another glance.
She wished Kye would stop doing that, looking at her like that. It was hard not to overanalyze what he said when he kept giving her that blue-eyed gaze.
How did Kye see her now? She asked another question so she wouldn’t have to think about it. “You must have wanted to leave Lark Field at one time. Weren’t you going to become an electrical engineer? Not many jobs for those in Lark Field.”
He shrugged as though it wasn’t a big deal. “I’ve always been good at math, so it seemed like I should take a job that used it. But I wouldn’t have lasted long in a cubicle, and I would’ve hated living in some crowded city. I like space too much.” He took his gaze off the road for long enough to send her a questioning look. “Don’t you miss Lark Field at all?”
“Sometimes.”
“Really? If you missed it at all, I’d imagine you would’ve come back more.”
“School has kept me busy.” She didn’t have to say more because they’d reached her car.
He put his truck into park. “I’ll wait around to make sure your car starts.”
“I’m sure it will. Tell Frank thanks for me.” She opened the door and slid outside. She probably should’ve said more, thanked him again for dinner, something. Instead, she hurried to her car.
It started right up. Good. Apparently, Fate was done making her suffer. Elsie gave Kye a wave to let him know everything was fine and drove down the road toward home.
Tomorrow Kye would be with Lisa—whoever she was. Elsie wouldn’t have to worry about being thrown together with him again. And that was for the best.
5
The next day was a blur of wedding activities. Olivia’s family had never been wealthy. Her mother worked as a receptionist for a dentist and her father had never been around much. Carson said Mr. Travers worked construction in Bozeman when he worked at all. No one was sure whether he would come to the wedding or if he’d be sober if he did come.
Since Olivia’s parents didn’t have much, Carson was paying for the bulk of the wedding. After playing for the NFL for years, he could afford it. Mrs. Clark hadn’t relented all of the decorating tasks to the professionals, though, and found things for the family to do.
Still, Elsie found time before the rehearsal dinner to drive to town and get her hair trimmed and highlighted. It was more than she usually paid for her hair, but she wanted to look good for the wedding photos. The new red sweater she wore—the one that clung to her just right—had been on sale, and she’d never been one to pass up a bargain. Ditto for the jeans, which were the perfect combination of soft and formfitting. Her boots were a sophisticated touch that also worked well in cold weather.
When Elsie’s parents called to her that it was time to leave for the rehearsal, she cast a satisfied glance at herself in the mirror. Last night when Kye had plucked Elsie off the road, she may have looked like a bedraggled college student. Tonight, though…tonight she looked like a confident, beautiful woman.
When they got to the church, most of the wedding party was already there. The pastor was in the chapel talking to Olivia’s mother. Olivia stood beside them, her long dark hair pulled back in an I’ve-been-running-around-all-day ponytail. Still, she had a glow of excitement about her. Elsie walked over and gave her a hug. “Nervous?”
“I’m too busy to be nervous,” Olivia said.
“I guess that’s the point. Keep the bride and groom so busy that they don’t have second thoughts and bolt.”
Olivia let out a laugh. “If that’s the point, then you’d better keep Carson extra busy. If he bolts now, I’ll kill him.”
