Engaging Carol

Chapter 1-2

“I know, Mom, I’ll be back before you miss me.”

He found Carol waiting for him on the road, bathed in shimmering moonlight. She looked like she would take flight any moment. A sort of sharp energy radiated from her. Her eyes darted around, she shifted her weight from foot to foot, and fidgeted with her skirt.

“Ready?” Daniel asked.

Carol sighed, motioning to the path that wound behind the church. Daniel wanted to take her hand, or touch her shoulder, or hook his arm through hers. She marched ahead of him, unmindful of the uneven ground or the tall weeds slapping against her legs.

“I can clear this path if you’d like,” Daniel said.

She looked over her shoulder. “What?”

“Our old minister, he didn’t really have the energy to keep up the grounds…” Daniel pointed to the weeds. “I can take care of it.”

“That’s not necessary.”

Daniel shrugged. “Well, they don’t bother me, since I don’t have to wear a dress.”

“Oh, I won’t be wearing another dress. Ever again,” Carol assured him, coming to a stop as she reached the top of the small hill. From their vantage, they could see the church lights flickering through the windows, while sharp, gray smoke curled through the night air. “I can’t believe I’m stuck here,” she muttered.

“Is it really as bad as all that?”

“Yes. Don’t you get it? It’s like moving to the Stone Age!” She threw up her hands in disgust. “But of course you wouldn’t understand. You don’t know any better.”

“Excuse me? The Stone Age? I don’t know any better? Who do you think you are? You come up here and you don’t know anybody or anything, and I try to be helpful and how do you show your appreciation?” Daniel asked, his voice rising with anger.

“Well maybe I don’t want your help,” she shouted back. “I don’t want to be here at all. I just want to be left alone until I can escape this place.”

Daniel shook his head. “Fine. Have a nice evening.”

He waved, turning back down the hill. Let her find her way in the dark. And let her sit alone in her cold cabin while she waited for her father. Daniel knew Pastor Thorn would be kept quite a while. They’d want to know about his family, where he grew up, what his favorite foods were, when he’d be free to eat at their homes, where he worked before, if he had any good gossip to share…

And where did she get such an attitude? Daniel had been nothing but friendly since he first saw her, and she turned into such a witch. Well forget her.

“Daniel? Wait!”

Daniel kept walking, carried forward by his anger. Mountain Grove may not seem like much to a stuck-up city girl like her, but his family had lived there for almost a century. His roots ran as deep in the soil as the trees that surrounded them, and all the people she insulted with her ignorant comments were his family and friends. The Stone Age indeed.

“Daniel! Please?” Her voice faltered. “I…I’m not sure where to go.”

“I thought you didn’t need help,” he flung over his shoulder.

“Please! I don’t want to get lost out here.” Now she sounded desperate, frightened, and even childlike. Nothing like the confident young woman who had just shouted at him seconds before. Daniel turned around, his irritation already dissipating.

“Who knows what’s out here,” she added once he returned to her side.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“That’s easy for you to say. You grew up out here in the sticks. I’m accustomed to civilization,” she said, her attitude returning in full force.

Daniel rolled his eyes. “You’re quite the spoiled little princess, aren’t you?”

“I’m not spoiled.”

“Whatever you say. Hey, where are you going? That isn’t the way you want.”

“I want to sit down,” Carol said, moving further away from the path.

“What are you looking for? A chair?” Daniel asked, chasing after her. The last thing he needed to do was lose her somewhere on the mountainside. He thought she was probably a smart girl, but wouldn’t have the first idea of what to do if she actually got lost.

“This’ll do,” Carol announced, settling on a stump. She looked at the sky through the tree limbs with a bright smile. “Aren’t the stars beautiful?”

Daniel approached cautiously, confused by her sudden shifts in mood. “Yes,” he agreed slowly. “They are something.”

“Come sit by me.”

He settled on the edge of the stump, making it a point not to touch her. He thought she might be crazy, but that didn’t mean he didn’t long to be near her. If he touched her once, he suspected he wouldn’t be able to stop.

“How old are you, Daniel?”

“Fifteen.”

“Really? You look older.”

“Yeah. My birthday’s coming up.”

“I’m seventeen.”

It was Daniel’s turn to be surprised. “Are you serious?”

“Why would I lie about that?”

He shrugged. “It’s just…I mean, I figured you were like fourteen or something.”

“Fourteen!”

“Well, it’s because you’re so small,” he said defensively.

“Small? I am not small. I’m just the right size for my age, thank you very much.”

He held up his hands, smiling, eager to avoid a fight. “Of course, I’m sorry. You’re right.”

“But my point is, Daniel, I’ve lived in Los Angeles my entire life. All my friends are there. That’s where I went to school. And now everything has changed, so yeah, you know, I might not be the friendliest girl right now. You probably hate me.”

“I don’t think I could hate you.”

“I just feel really alone right now.”

Daniel longed to wrap his arm around her, but he settled for a hesitant pat on her back “You’re not alone.” He bit his lip, trying to think of something comforting to add. “I could show you around town tomorrow, if you like.”

Carol snorted. “That’ll take all of five minutes, right?”

“You might be surprised.”

“I guess it’s better than listening to Dad practice his sermons.”

Daniel smiled, pushing himself to his feet. “Come on,” he said, finding the courage to offer his arm, “let me take you home.”

“Are there bears here?” Carol asked, folding her arm in his.

Daniel looked down, staring at the spot where their skin touched. How could such a small amount of a contact make him warm all over? He thought she would burn him. “Bears? Oh, um, sometimes.”

“Sometimes? How often is sometimes?”

He looked at her from the corner of his eye. “Are you scared?”

“Of course not. I’m just curious.” She sounded scared, though.

Daniel couldn’t blame her. “We see the occasional tracks, but there are few sightings. Most wild animals don’t like to venture to close to the houses. They don’t like the lights or the noise.”

“So I don’t have to worry about a bear ripping down my front door and tearing me from my bed?” she asked, her voice serious.

He laughed. “No, I don’t think that’ll happen. Hey, watch your step here.”

They fell into silence as Daniel guided her up the path, and he liked her again. A patient boy by nature, he wasn’t inclined to nurse a grudge against her or linger on her angry words. Besides, he didn’t know what he would do if he was forced to leave Mountain Grove and start a new life in a completely foreign place with no friends. The least he could do was extend the same kindness he hoped others would show him.

“How ‘bout I come by tomorrow after breakfast?” he offered as they approached her front door.

Carol grinned, almost shyly. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

“If your dad is still swarmed when I get down there, I’ll be sure to rescue him and send him home, okay?”

“Thank you.” Carol shook her head. “He’s just too nice sometimes. He’ll let anybody take advantage of him.” She pulled her arm away from his, leaving him cold and stung from the lost contact. “I’m sorry I shouted at you.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Carol stretched her legs, standing nearly on the tips of her toes, to brush her lips across his cheek. She turned and hurried into the house before he could respond, leaving him standing alone and shocked.

She’d kissed him. She had actually kissed him. His skin tingled from the contact, while his face heated. He forced himself to walk, but he couldn’t feel his legs. He moved down the hill in a daze, feeling more than a little heady. He tried to snag the memory of the kiss and hold it close, attempting to relive the mere second over and over. The velvet smoothness of her lips, the heat of her body pressed against his, her soft, tantalizing whisper of breath.

Daniel had kissed his share of girls—and those girls had been more than willing to return his affections—but nobody had ever affected him in quite this way before. He wanted to race back up the hill, push open the door, gather her in his arms, and kiss her until they were both breathless.

“This is not good,” he muttered. “Not good at all.”

He remembered what happened when his brother, Mike, fell in love with a girl from the valley, Christine. Mike had pined for Christine until he was sick, falling all over himself to please that girl. And what did he get for all his troubles? An invitation to her wedding. Daniel remembered finding his brother hiding in the back of the barn, tear stains on his face, a crumpled letter in his hand. Daniel had quietly turned around, for once allowing Mike a bit of privacy, but he had vowed that would never happen to him. Even at the tender age of fifteen, he knew better than getting caught up with some girl.

But Carol wasn’t just some girl. He couldn’t wait to see her again.

* * * *

Mountain Grove, Idaho

1988

“What story is your father telling you now?” Carol greeted as she stepped into the church. “It’s probably not true.”

Daniel and Becky both jumped to their feet. “What are you doing here?” Becky blurted.

“Why do you look so surprised?” Carol asked as she drifted toward them. She wore a simple white line dress, and soft curls framed her face. “I couldn’t leave you in charge of the flower arrangement.”

Becky rolled her eyes. “I could have handled it.”

“Maybe, but why risk it?” She turned her attention to Daniel. “Don’t you look handsome?”

“You’ve never seen me in my tux, have you?” He held out his arms.

“I thought we decided this would be informal. You know I didn’t buy a big, white frou-frou wedding dress.”

“This tuxedo cost me three-hundred dollars when I bought it forty years ago, and I haven’t used it yet,” he reminded her. “I got to get my money’s worth, don’t I?”

Carol stepped back, eyeing him from the tips of his freshly polished shoes to the top of his new haircut. “You really do look quite remarkable,” she said with just a hint of shock. “At least twenty years younger.”

Daniel puffed out his chest, beaming from the compliment. “I did what I could. You only get married once, right?”

Carol’s smile matched his. “Right. Now, what were you two up to? We have too much work to do this morning to sit around and jaw the day away.”

“Dad was telling me about the night you two met,” Becky explained.

Carol laughed. “Too bad we can’t have your mother’s atrocious group sing at our wedding, huh?”

Daniel smiled faintly, pained by the mention of his mother. She had been fond of Carol while they were both children, but her fondness deteriorated as Carol fluttered from cause to cause, country to country, leaving Daniel and Becky home to fend for themselves. He liked to think his mom would have been pleased to finally attend their wedding, but she died convinced that Daniel would be much happier if he cut Carol from his life for good.