“Three.” Pat, her assistant, provided the answer.
Suzy squirmed, not at all comfortable with the conversation. As much as she loved Scott’s thoughtfulness, his gestures were drawing too much attention. It would make things doubly difficult later.
“He’s so dreamy.” Janet looked wistfully at the door Scott had disappeared through. “If I had someone like that bringing me my favorite latte, I’d be floating three feet off the floor.”
“Well, as you can see, my feet are firmly on the ground.” Which was good, because it wouldn’t be so far to fall later on. And there would be a fall. Every day she grew more certain of that. Suzy knew the truth.
For three weeks, Scott had been dutiful, conscientious and kind. He’d taken her to dinner, shopping, and even to the Pumpkin Patch to pick out some odd-shaped fellows to carve. They talked about holidays, the house, and gardening, even about her work.
Scott had several appointments with Pastor Meyers. The two men even met once and prayed over the house together. But not once, not ever did Scott mention to her the shadowy image or his past. Suzy had kept her promise to God and not mentioned it either. So Scott’s silence made the truth more apparent.
He needed her company to keep the shadows at bay.
Suzy understood and didn’t hold it against him. In fact, she found it hard to hold anything against him. They had wonderful talks. Their morals seemed on par with each other. They even had the same ideas about a perfect home. Scott was kind, caring, capable, and fun. Not to mention, he made her heart pump fast and her palms sweat every time she caught a whiff of his forest/man scent. He even made her forget to count.
It seemed her Rochester could jump buildings in a single bound…and had landed right in the middle of her heart. Suzy had fallen in love…not with some larger-than-life romance hero, but with a real man.
Scott cared about her, thought of her as a good friend. He needed her “sunshine” as he called it. But Suzy wanted to give him everything. All that she was. He didn’t even know what else she had to offer. Besides, his true strength and comfort needed to come from God. Not her. Scott would never be truly healed until he accepted that fact.
So…for both their sakes, their Friday night date would be their last. Suzy blinked away the moisture in her eyes and started to pray. She’d need four full days of prayer to gain enough strength to do what she needed to do.
6
Scott heard Suzy’s car outside. His gaze travelled around the entryway one last time. He wanted everything to be perfect. He’d worked four straight days for this moment, not even daring to talk to Suzy for fear he’d give away his surprise. Now it was ready, and he couldn’t wait to see her face.
He didn’t want her to see it until the right moment, so he flipped off the light before he opened the door in answer to her ring.
Suzy stood there smiling, dressed in trim jeans and a matching jacket. Around her neck she’d wrapped a russet-colored scarf, the same color that made her eyes so green. It was his favorite color now. She looked beautiful, but somehow, just a little sad. He was about to ask her what was wrong when he saw the two pumpkins, one on each side of the door.
The one on the right was badly misshapen, crooked and tall, and Suzy’d carved his face with a goofy expression, tongue sticking out on one side. The other pumpkin, fat and squat and sporting a gap between his two front teeth, made Scott laugh and forget his question.
“They’re great! But only two? I thought you said this porch needed twenty?”
“Well,” she said her voice oddly subdued. “I’d like that. But it’s your house, and you said you’d be swimming in pumpkins with that many.”
Now he knew something was wrong, but he was too excited to talk about it. Whatever was bothering her could wait. What he had on the other side of the front door would cheer her up anyway. “Come on. I have something to show you.”
He opened the door. The only light in the entry came from the open archway leading to the family room. Just enough. Suzy stepped in and walked to the center table. Scott shut the door behind her and meandered toward the stairs as she placed her purse on the table and unwound her scarf. When she finally looked up, Scott flipped the light switch. Bright light from outside flooded into the entryway from the stained-glass, lily window above the landing.
Suzy stepped toward the window, up one step and then another, her hand sliding along the balustrade. Those green eyes were bright and framed by her dark lashes. Peach-colored lips parted in sweet surprise. Her expression was everything Scott had hoped for. It made all his work worthwhile.
“I put the light on the corner of the house. It shines down into the garden, too. Eventually, I might put a gazebo there, to look up at the window.”
“It’s beautiful.” She never took her gaze off the window with its kaleidoscope of dancing colors. Her tone, the sweetness in her voice sent pleasure racing through Scott.
“You were so right, Suzy. Now I’m determined to buy the rest of the windows we picked out. I can’t wait to see them.”
Or the expression on Suzy’s face.
She stood two steps above him. When she turned, the colors of the window lit her profile. Red brightened the tips of her hair. Cream poured over her skin and her lips were like peaches. The pleasure racing through Scott turned to fire.
Before he knew what was happening, she reached across the space, threaded her fingers through his hair, and pressed her lips to his.
He was wrong. Her lips weren’t peaches. They were like honey. Sweet and hot at the same time. Heat raced through him. Somehow his hands found her hips. His little pixie had soft, round hips. He pulled them closer, tight against him and groaned with pleasure.
That’s when his senses returned.
His little pixie. His sweet, caring friend. He couldn’t…wouldn’t take advantage of her.
Reaching up, he pulled her arms from around his neck. “Suzy, I’m sorry. I didn’t…”
She pressed two fingers to his lips. “You didn’t do anything. I did.”
“I’m sorry. I never meant to lead you on.”
“Don’t apologize, Scott. I know you don’t feel that way about me. I’m just your interior designer.”
“You’re more than that.”
“Am I, Scott? What exactly am I to you?”
“A good friend.”
“That’s me, all right. Reliable, dependable, forgettable. Little Miss Suzy. That’s what my sisters call me.”
“Don’t say that. You’re more than that.”
“What am I exactly, Scott? What do you really know about me? How do you feel about me?”
Confused. Caught off guard. He couldn’t think. No words came to him.
She sighed. “You see, Little Miss Suzy.”
She walked to the table and picked up her scarf and purse. “Now that you know exactly how I feel about you, I’m sure you understand why I have to leave.”
“You’re leaving?”
“Yes, I think it’s best.”
“Don’t go, Suzy. I’d like you to stay…all the noises and shadows are gone. You’ve brought sunshine back into the house.”
“I want to be more to you than just some sort of evil spirit repellent.” She gave a sad little shake of her head.
He wanted to tell her she was more to him, much more. But the sense that he’d used her, disappointed her, failed her swept over him. The words jumbled in his mouth and refused to come out.
Dazed and frozen, he watched her walk to the door. She paused, one hand on the doorknob.
“Don’t worry, Scott. I talked to Mr. Hart about you. He says there’s a legion of angels just waiting to protect you. All you have to do is say the word.”
“Angels?” Skepticism made his tone strong and fierce.
“You’ve seen the dark spirits, heard them, felt them…but you can’t believe in their opposites, the angels?” She shook her head. “Maybe things are worse than I thought.”
She started to close the door behind her, then came back in. “Mr. Hart told me to read II Kings, 6:14-17. It’s wonderful, Scott. You should read it, too. I’ll be praying it happens for you.”
With that she turned and left. Scott stood still, listening as her car started and the gravel of his drive sprayed beneath her wheels. Then he was alone with the silence.
But the silence was not empty. He heard the refrigerator kick on in the kitchen. His grandmother’s old clock ticked on the mantel. Then the hairs on the back of his neck began to rise.
II Kings, 6:14-17.
He hurried into the dining room and opened the sideboard drawer where his grandmother always kept her Bible. The verses told how the king of Aram waged war against Israel, but the prophet Elisha knew his every move before he made it, and thwarted his every effort. The king sent soldiers to stop Elisha. An army surrounded the city in the night.
“Early the next morning,” Scott read aloud to combat the silence. “When the servant of the man of God arose and went out, he saw the force with its horses and chariots.
“‘Alas!’ he said to Elisha. ‘What shall we do, my lord?’
“Elisha answered. ‘Do not be afraid.
Our side outnumbers theirs
.’ Then he prayed, ‘Oh, Lord, open his eyes that he may see.’ And the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw that the mountainside was filled with fiery chariots and horses around Elisha.”
The last words echoed in the empty room. Scott closed the book and then his eyes. Suzy said she would pray that he would see the angels surrounding him, ready to fight. All he had to do was say the word.
What word? Hadn’t he said many words? Prayed again and again, and still the shadows surrounded him, just beyond his reach, waiting and waiting. For one misstep. For the silence…
The hairs on the back of his neck stood up again. Scott jerked to his feet, certain that if he turned, he would see one dark shadow in the shape of a woman.
He dropped the book and headed out the front door. The moon lit his path as he crossed the yard, headed for the forest. He knew the way like he knew the back of his hand, and he hurried through, letting branches and bushes slap him, fleeing as if he could escape the dark things that followed him.
But how far could he run? Where could he go? He was the problem, the failure. Once again, he’d misled a woman. Let her down. Disappointed her. He wasn’t a worthy partner.
He was a failure.
The dark spirits weren’t behind him. They were attached to him.
He broke into the clearing and there, by the light of the bright moon, he could see the dark, floating shape of a woman with flowing hair. She whispered, “Failure,” and the sound of it was like a hundred hissing snakes.
Scott cried out, dropped to his knees, and covered his face with hands.
“Lord, help me. I know…I believe I am worthy because you died for my sins. I
am
your precious child. I
am not
a failure.” His fingers clenched into fists as he lowered them. “And our side…outnumbers…theirs!”
Something bright flashed behind his closed eyes. He opened them and gasped in amazement. Brilliant, glorious, beautiful creatures filled the forest and the clearing in front of him.
One stood in the very center. Taller than the others, with majestic, flowing wings. He was so beautiful Scott could hardly look upon him. The creature raised a massive sword. It flew through the air, trailing fire behind and sliced clean through the dark shadow.
Scott blinked. When he opened his eyes again…the clearing was empty. The forest was dark. All that remained was a thin, wavering thread of dark smoke, already fading beneath the steadfast light of the moon.
****
The lights of Suzy’s car flashed over the trees of the forest as she pulled into Scott’s driveway. She dare not look at the warm, inviting light coming from the windows. If she did, she’d never make it up the steps of the porch. And she’d promised Pastor Myers she would do this.
The pastor had caught her at church this morning and told her Scott wanted to see her, had asked him to intervene. Suzy tried to explain why she could not go, why it would it be too difficult to see Scott again. But Pastor told her Scott had something important to share and made her promise. So here she was, ready for more heartache and trying very hard to be brave.
She raised her gaze. Scott stood in front of his closed door. The porch was alight with carved pumpkins and candles. Suzy forgot all about bravery and promises as she climbed out of the car and headed to the stairs.
Some pumpkins were carved, but most were not. Large, round candles sparkled and twinkled from every nook and cranny. Scott stood above her on the steps, his gaze welcoming. A soft smile played over his lips.
Suzy gave a little laugh and shook her head. “They’re wonderful. But what does it mean?”
Scott didn’t answer. “Did you count them?”
She halted on the last step. “Excuse me?”
“I asked if you counted them. You see, I know you are a secret counter. You count everything when you think I’m not looking. But I know. I figure you’ve already counted the pumpkins. How many are there?”
“Sometimes you make me forget to count,” she said with a slow shake of her head.
“That’s all right. I’ll tell you. There are thirty two, one for each day we’ve known each other.”
He opened the door, took her hand, and pulled her inside. Stacked in every corner, twinkling with lights, sparkling with glitter and glowing with gold were pumpkins of every kind. The entryway shimmered with color and the scent of cinnamon.
“I didn’t count these, but I pretty much wiped out Country Creations’ stock of pumpkins and maybe even a few other stores.”
“You must have.” Suzy’s tone sounded breathless. “What I don’t understand is why?”
He took her other hand and turned to face her. “To prove that once again you were right, about the stained-glass window, the pumpkins…me. You were right about everything.” He kissed her fingertips. “I brought it all together to show how perfectly right you were and…how perfectly right we are together.”
She started to protest but this time, he pressed his fingers to her lips. “The other night, you caught me by surprise. I was confused, and stupid, and let you slip away. But you were wrong about one thing. I do know you. I know you’re a secret counter. That you are wildly passionate and have read every classic romance ever written. I even know you call me Rochester.”