Aging with Gracie (12 page)

Grace was enthralled by the sights around her. Being a city girl, she had always preferred the inner sanctum of her home to the noise and pollution of the outdoors. She had never actually had much of an opportunity to enjoy nature except during her mission trips, and she was utterly amazed at God’s design. Amazed that there could be such a range of beautiful and interesting things in the scope of just a few feet.

I didn’t come as a surprise to Grace that Jack was a nature enthusiast. He was a virtual expert on both the flora and fauna of the region. While they walked, she used his knowledge to her advantage and called upon him numerous times to act as a guide.

The path was a narrow one that led them farther and farther from the pristine gentility of the B&B and into the dense, fascinating depths of the forest.

Jack lagged behind, letting Grace take the lead. He wanted her to enjoy the scenery. To take in the world that he and his grandfather before him had come to love.

“What’s that?”

She motioned him forward then pointed toward a rocky edifice that soared straight up from the side of the path.

“Looks like a rock to me,” he drawled.

“Funny, Jack Ellis,” Grace huffed. She shook her head in mock annoyance. “What I mean is, the path seems to be going straight up. Are we actually mountain climbing?”

“Not quite,” he assured her. “Our destination isn’t much farther.”

“But where are we going?” she persisted.

“Just believe me when I say you won’t be disappointed.”

That seemed to pacify her, and she trudged on, continuing every now and then to quiz him on her finds.

“What kind of tree is this, Jack?” She plucked a heart-shaped leaf from a small, spindly tree and traced its shape. A leaf in the shape of a heart! Imagine that!

“That’s an Eastern Redbud,” he told her.

“Redbud?”

“Yeah.” He took the leaf from her and retraced the lines her own fingers had just followed. “There’s an interesting story about the Redbud.”

“Really?”

“Some folks say that Judas hanged himself on one after he betrayed Jesus.”

“On that skinny thing?” she wondered aloud.

“Well, not quite that one,” he grinned at her. “The kind that grows in the Middle East is a lot sturdier,” he explained. “Of course, I hate to think that a tree would be saddled with that kind of guilt. Its flowers are actually very pretty in the spring.”

“Interesting.” She nodded her head. “I guess there is always some bad to go along with the good.”

“Most of the time,” he agreed. “But I sure do prefer the good to the bad.”

He took the heart-shaped leaf and closed her palm around it. Taking her hand to his lips, he placed a quick, but firm, kiss on her knuckles.

Before she could respond, he gave Mr. Knightley’s leash a tug and walked on ahead.

They were silent then, trudging along up the hilly path. Both of them seemed a bit overwhelmed by the turn of events, each pretending that nothing had happened. Of course, inside, they were a puzzle of emotions

Grace wasn’t just puzzled. She was absolutely flustered. Her chest was so full that it ached. It seemed that with each interaction, each time they were together, Jack Ellis overwhelmed her senses more and more. She’d never felt such strong, or such strange emotions, in her entire life.

Jack, on the other hand, was furious with himself. He’d had every intention of taking Grace for a simple nature walk. She was so beautiful, though, so completely adorable in her fascination of nature, that he’d been unable to keep his hands off her. He’d touched her before. Heck, he’d even held her in his arms, but today, simply having her hand in his had hit him in the chest like a ton of bricks.
Hard
.

And now he’d scared her off.

“You dumb jerk,” he muttered to himself.

“Did you say something?” Grace called from several yards back.

The distance between them had been steadily increasing, but in the stillness of the woods, his voice had carried straight back to her.

“No,” he answered as he looked over his shoulder to check on her progress. Seeing that she was starting to lag, he slowed his pace to allow her time to catch up

She reached him in a few minutes. As she approached, she reached down and picked up an object.

“What is this?” Grace stopped to catch her breath with the question. She had no idea how long they’d been walking, but even in the cool morning, her brow was damp, and the muscles in her legs were protesting..

He looked at her for a moment. Thankfully, his previous faux pas hadn’t deterred her as much as he’d assumed. He watched her face for a sign of something. Anger. Confusion.
Anything
that would give him a clue of her thoughts.

But all he saw was her beautiful face, full of excitement and joy, if not a little worse for the wear. After all, they’d been walking for almost an hour. His Gracie was a trooper, though. That was one of the reasons he loved her.

Loved
?

His
Gracie?

Jack felt the pressure return to his chest again, but it had nothing to do with the exercise. Amazing! He was actually falling in love with Grace Woodhouse.

“Jack?” Her hair had come undone from the clip she’d used to pull it back, and her long bangs drooped across her brow.

“It’s a hickory nut,” Jack finally found his voice. “Actually, the nut is the fruit of the tree.”

He took the rock-hard fruit from her hand and peeled away the husk. He held up a small nut as an offering.

“Is it edible?” she looked wary as she took the little gift.

“Of course,” he laughed. “Many things around here are. You just have to know what. Some people even eat the flowers of that redbud tree we saw a while back.”

She took a tentative nibble.

“Hmmm,” she tried a smile. She found the nut bland in taste, but she didn’t want to offend Jack after he’d taken the time to shell it for her. “I suppose...”

“You think it’s awful, don’t you?”

“Well, not quite,” she hedged.

“You can take the city out of the girl,” Jack began.

“Don’t even go there,” Grace kicked a pile of leaves his way. “It was just something I’m not used to…something different,” she defended her tastes.

“And are you interested in different, Grace?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Just come with me,” he took her hand. “I want to show you something. It’s only a few more steps.”

A few moments later, they stepped out of the trees and into a small clearing which seemed to hang suspended on the edge of a cliff. Jack secured Mr. Knightley’s leash around the limb of a sturdy oak. Within seconds, the dog had slumped down for a nap.

Grace eyed the sight before her, the open sky that surrounded the ledge, and began to slowly inch her way back toward the path. Gently, so as not to scare her, Jack placed his hands on her shoulders and urged her forward.

“Trust me, Gracie,” he whispered. “Trust me.”

She grasped his forearms and allowed him to lead her forward. Finally, she stood at the edge and looked at the reason for his previous secrecy. He’d wanted to surprise her, and as he’d predicted, she was definitely not disappointed.

“It’s the top of the world, isn’t it?” she gasped at the sight.

As she looked out over the expanse of land, she was almost speechless. In places, the fog still hung over the mountains, blanketing them with a silvery gauze. In other areas, sunlight glanced off ridge after ridge to form a ripple of color. Above all that was a sky so blue Grace imagined that God had taken his paints to it only moments before.

“We’re standing at the top of the world,” she repeated.

“Sometimes I think that it is,” he told her. “There’s a house farther up the mountain, almost right above us, but I still think this is the best view.”

“And you shared it with me.” She felt a prick of tears with the realization.

Jack wrapped his arms around her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder.

“It’s a lot different from the city,” his thoughts slipped out. He was worried that he might have offended her, but her body remained relaxed. “I wasn’t sure if you would like it here, but I thought that I’d give it a try. I wondered if you might like being different for a change,” he continued.

“Different,” she murmured as she leaned back into the security of his embrace. “I suppose I could learn to like that, Jack Ellis.”

“I thought so.”

They were so close that she felt his grin.

“Don’t be so smug, Mr. Ellis.” She gave his arm a gentle pinch.

“Never with you, Gracie.” He leaned into her and kissed her cheek. “Never with you.”

•∞•∞•

They spent over an hour enjoying the view from Jack’s Mountain. At least, that was what Grace was calling it now.

Jack, on the other hand, wasn’t sure enough of their relationship to share with Grace that this actually
was
his mountain.
His
property. Other than Mrs. Elderman’s little place, Jack and his grandfather owned just about the entire mountain. His grandmother was even living in Jack’s house, just yards above the clearing where they were presently standing. He was hoping that someday, he’d have the chance to show Grace that place, too.

As they walked back to Mrs. Elderman’s, things were peaceful between them. Content to simply share one another’s company, the two of them held hands, Grace’s slim fingers linked with Jack’s strong, calloused ones, while Jack kept a loose grip on Mr. Knightley’s leash.

All of them, particularly Mr. Knightley, had seemed reluctant to leave the tranquility of the mountain overlook. The dog had almost resorted to a temper tantrum when it was time to leave. Apparently, he’d been quite content on his little bed of grass in the shade of the ancient oak. Jack had coaxed him into a sluggish trot, however, with a doggie treat.

“So, do you have plans for tonight?” Jack asked.

He knew that he’d taken up much of Grace’s day off, but he enjoyed spending time with her. She was so different than the other women he’d known over the years. Like a breath of fresh air, she’d floated into his life and filled him with an immeasurable sense of vitality. Of completeness. Of love. And now, he was loath to part with that.

“Well, this afternoon, I’m helping Mrs. Elderman make fried apple pies for tomorrow’s Homecoming service at church,” she told him. “Her trees are covered with fruit, and she thought I might like learning something new.”

“Fried apple pies,” Jack sighed. “I’m almost sure that the manna God sent to the Israelites had to have tasted something like Mrs. Elderman’s fried apple pies.”

“You’re crazy, Jack Ellis.” Grace reached around and gave his arm a gentle shove. “It’s just flour and sugar and apples─”

“─In the most wonderful combination that has ever hit your mouth,” Jack explained. “Just wait. You’ll see.”

“I guess,” she shrugged. “So, I suppose you’ll be wanting one.”

“One?” Jack seemed offended. “There’s no way a man can stop with eating only one of those apple pies. And the fresher the better.”

Grace understood the hint.

“So, I can also
suppose
that you might make a surprise appearance tonight about seven o’clock?”

He pretended to think for a moment.

“Yep,” he nodded. “Seven sounds about right.”

“Jack Ellis, you’re going to drive me crazy, aren’t you?” she laughed.

“Not nearly as crazy as you’re making me,” he responded.

Before Grace could think of a comeback, Mr. Knightley started barking hysterically and pulled away from Jack’s loose grip. With leaves flying in his wake, he ran down the path and disappeared from sight around a large boulder.

“Knightley!” Grace called. “You come back here!”

“He’ll be fine,” Jack assured her. “We’re already a ways off from the edge. There’s really not much trouble he can find. Unless he comes upon a...”

“A what?” Grace waited for an answer. Jack’s reticence was bringing her mothering instinct to a frantic level. “Jack, tell me. Unless he comes upon a what?”

About that time, Mr. Knightley came back around the corner, whining and pawing at his pudgy face. His short little legs were beating a steady retreat. If he’d had hardly a tail at all, Jack decided it would’ve been between his legs. That dog had been taught a lesson, alright, and it had been a good one, too.

“Oh, brother,” Jack held in a laugh. “Gracie, I think Mr. Knightley has tangled with a...”

Before Jack could prevent her from doing so, Grace had lowered herself to her knees and opened her arms to the pitiful pooch. Mr. Knightley, seeing security in the face of his mistress, immediately picked up his pace and scurried toward the shelter of her arms.

“Gracie,” Jack warned her. “If I were you, I’d not...”

But it was too late. For Mr. Knightley...and for Grace.

“What in the world is that smell?” She pushed Mr. Knightley away and wiped at the greasy texture on her hands. “Oh, it’s horrible!”