Eight
Jayce stood rigid, his heart hammering against his chest, his fists clenched at his sides. “Are you okay in there?”
“Ya. It’s just like I remember. Although it seemed bigger when we were kinner.”
Her voice echoed when she spoke. He assumed kinner was her word for kids.
He dropped to his knees and thrust his head inside, keeping the rest of his body out of the cave. “Seen enough?”
Her head popped out, almost bumping into his. “Ya.” He jumped back to give her room to crawl out and stand, wishing he’d taken the brief opportunity to do as he’d threatenedand kiss her.
“Your thing on your head, your, uh . . . prayer covering. It’s lopsided.” He was tempted to help her straighten it, but whenhe reached out, he stopped suddenly, unsure if touching her head was allowed. Although, apparently kissing was.
She adjusted the covering and tucked loose strands of hair back beneath it. Then she brushed the dirt from the black apron she wore over her maroon dress. Her attire reminded him of Little House on the Prairie reruns. He’d never admit to anyone that he liked the old sitcom. Aside from the simpler way of living, it was about a bigfamily in a house filled with love. If Jayce ever had a home and a family, he was going to strive for that kind of atmosphere.
“Okay. So aside from caves, what else do you have to show me in this part of the world?” Jayce raised his arms and stretched.Her eyes landed on his tattoo, so he lowered his arms and raised his short sleeve so she could see the entire thing. “I’mgoing to guess tattoos aren’t allowed?”
She shook her head but put a hand over her mouth as she took in the multicolored design. “It’s a dove,” she finally whispered.“And . . .”
He kept his sleeve raised, eyeing the artistry. “Yeah, of all things, I have a tattoo of a bird.” He suspected she was thinkingabout something beyond her fear of winged creatures. “You’re wondering why it’s so many colors and abstract?” He waited forher response.
When she finally nodded, he continued, “Because peace isn’t easily attainable, and you can’t have it all the time. Life isn’tperfect, and it never will be. But . . .” Jayce traced the outline of the bird. He’d chosen various shades of blue for thedove, blended with hues of black and purple in the background. “Even though the lines aren’t defined, the meaning is.”
She reached up and gingerly ran her finger along his arm, sending a shiver down his spine. Her eyes glowed as if the tattoo held some special meaning for her. It was almost weird the way she looked at him, but there was a mysterious warmth in her expression as well.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered as she eased her hand away.
Jayce glanced at the artwork. He could still recall the night he’d had it etched into his skin. He’d been at a point in hislife when things could have gone very badly if he hadn’t found a way to cling to hope, to God, and to the promise of peace.If not always, at least some of the time. And that strength had given him the courage to keep putting one foot in front ofthe other, even on the darkest days.
He stared into her eyes, still teasing him with mystery. There was more to this girl than she was letting on. But there wasa time and place for everything. He got in step with her when she finally started walking back to the picnic tables. As theclouds parted, sun rays flooded the space around them, slowly at first, then shining as far as Jayce could see. A gentle windruffled the few leaves on the ground, and as fate would have it, a cluster of birds fluttered and fled as he and Evelyn walkednear an elm tree. She moved closer to him, almost shoulder to shoulder.
“Tell me about Los Angeles.” She reached into her apron pocket and took out her sunglasses. What else did she keep handy inthose pockets? Like her purse, it seemed to be a purposeful yet curious hiding place.
“Like I said before, lots of people. Traffic all the time.” He glanced at her. “It’s busy. Always something going on. Lotsof restaurants, businesses.” Shrugging, he tipped his sunglasses from his head to his nose. “The polar opposite of this.”He waved around the park as a horse and buggy galloped by in the distance.
“I don’t think I’d like a big city.” She briefly looked up at him before shifting her gaze to another buggy turning a corner not far ahead.
“I don’t think you would either.” He couldn’t envision this sweet woman, dressed in her calf-length dress, black apron, andhead covering, walking the streets of LA. She’d be out of place, stared at, and probably made fun of. Then he’d have to defendher honor and would probably end up back in jail. He wasn’t proud of his temper, even when his intentions seemed honorable.But he’d never admit that to his father.
They were quiet for a while as they walked, but it didn’t feel awkward. It was as if it was okay just to be.
“Do you ever want to leave here?” Jayce scratched his head. “I mean, you might not like a big city, but are you ever curiousabout what’s out there, away from here?”
“Believe it or not, I have been to other places.”
“Like where?”
“Florida. We’ve vacationed there twice. Mei bruders even surfed.”
“Really?” Jayce raised an eyebrow. “Did you like it?”
“I liked the ocean,” she said softly. “It’s one of God’s biggest wonders, I think. Huge masses of water that can be calm andsoothing or ferocious and dangerous. We were there once when a hurricane was coming. I’d never seen such big waves.”
As they approached the picnic table, Jayce realized he wasn’t ready for the day to be over, but he didn’t know the area wellenough to suggest something else to do.
Evelyn blew out a big breath. “It didn’t seem like such a hike to the cave when we
