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“So you want me happy?” I asked.
“Of course. What do you want?”
A kiss for starters because I’ve missed your kisses more than you know.
“I’ll tell you later,” I said, still holding her hand.
Adilyn looked me in the eyes and said, “By later do you mean after the vacation?”
I shook my head. “After we finish with the ornaments.”When we’re not rushed, and when we can finish what we start.
She smiled. “Guess there is just one thing left to do.”Kiss me?“Go and set everything up. How do you feel about carrying the boxes for me?”
Since she wasn’t picking up on my thoughts, I better find a way to stop thinking them. It was only going to make this a long, frustrating, vacation.
“Lead the way,” I said, reluctantly releasing her hand.
As we left the library, I saw my aunts, just sitting there smiling.
I didn’t say a word and just followed Adilyn. Whatever they thought wasn’t even close to the truth. And with any luck, they won’t guess what that was.
CHAPTER4
Adilyn
I felt horrible. Yesterday Mark had agreed to help with the ornament decoration activity and had ended up helping me with so much more. Granted, I was grateful for the extra set of hands, but I could tell by my mother's expression that she wasn’t pleased at all.
No one was up yet, and this awkward silence was killing me. As I took the fresh pecan rolls out of the oven I said, “Mom, I want to explain about yesterday.”
“Not sure what you could say that would make it any better. I mean, Mark is a guest at the lodge, and you had him help you clean the horse stall? I’m so embarrassed,” she said, taking her frustrations out on the eggs she was whisking by hand.
“I know it sounds bad, but he offered.”
She stopped and looked at me. “He was being nice. You shouldn’t have accepted,” she snapped.
My father entered the kitchen to hear her. “Doreen, please tell me you’re not discussing Mark with her now.”
“Paul, do not defend what she did. You know it was wrong,” she warned him.
Dad remained calm. “Wrong? Let us hear her explanation before jumping to any conclusions.”
“Ha. She said he offered. That doesn’t sound like an explanation to me,” she huffed, going back to whisking the eggs.
Dad walked over and took the bowl from her. “Don’t need to take it out on the eggs.” Then he turned to me. “I saw him helping you several times yesterday. As a man, I can think of only one reason why I’d offer to shovel horse shit when I was on vacation. It would be because I liked the girl. My question is, do you like him in return?”
I never thought it would be my father who’d figured it out. He was usually so quiet. Now I didn’t know what to say.
“I...I...like him.” It was the first time that I’ve ever admitted it out loud. Never thought it would be to my parents under duress. I could only imagine the list of questions that they were about to ask me. But they didn’t.
“Good. Because allowing him to do your work if you didn’t, would be using him, and for that, I’d be even more angry than your mother.” He turned to Mom and said, “It appears that Mark wants to help, and she wants his help. So, we stay out of it.”
“But...”
“No buts. She’s not a child any longer,” Dad stated.
Thanks Dad.
Mom turned to me and changed the subject. “Do you think we should do French toast as well?”
