“Good for you.” Gus sighed, opened his mouth to say something, but then snapped it closed again.
“I guess I had the opposite experience. Something happened to me one day, and I started to believe.” He recalled the firsttime he went to church with Susan and the relationship with God that evolved thereafter. It became a sort of friendship thatsaw him through his roughest times when Jayce didn’t think anyone understood him, only this Fatherly figure who seemed tostay close to him, then and now. God was the Father he’d never had.
“Good for you,” Gus repeated. “Now, where do we need to go to get me some clothes?”
It was confusing why Gus’s daughter, who hated him, was coming to the movie preview. Maybe she thought her father was coming into some money, and she wanted to worm her way into his life to snatch some of it. If the woman only knew . . . It was highly unlikely Gus would have even the tiniest cameo in the movie, and Brandon Clarkson wasn’t about to pay him for it.
“How much do you want to spend on clothes?” Jayce glanced at him.
Gus gave him the usual look—an expression that made him look meaner than he really was. “I don’t know. How much is a shirtand slacks?”
Jayce leaned his head to the left. “You might think about replacing those worn-out running shoes too.”
“Whatever. How much?”
Jayce rubbed his chin. “Hmm . . . for a decent shirt, some pants, and shoes, maybe three hundred bucks.”
Gus downshifted so abruptly, Jayce had to grab the dashboard.
“Are you out of your ever-loving, God-fearing mind? I’m not spending three hundred dollars on clothes and shoes.”
Jayce shrugged as he eyed his jeans. “I paid almost two hundred dollars for these jeans.”
“Then you’re an idiot. They have holes in them!” Gus shook his head after the outburst.
“That’s the style.” Jayce paused. “But maybe just go to Walmart. We can probably find you something decent there.”
“And you think you could live here and wear Amish clothes? You’re messed up in the mind.”
“Gus, there are ways to get your point across without calling people idiots and telling them they have messed-up minds.” He shook his head. Living like the Amish would be a challenge. He would enjoy living on a farm, riding around in a buggy, and ditching the demands in his life for something more peaceful. But he wasn’t worthy—or ready—to commit to the type of lifestyle the Amish lived. He felt ready to commit to Evelyn, at least to see where things were headed. “You could be a little nicer is all I’m saying.”
Gus was quiet, then finally said, “You sound like Esther, always schooling me on how to act.”
“Maybe you should listen to her. Esther seems like a very nice person.”
“Esther is the nicest person I know.”
Jayce turned to him and smiled after noticing the endearing way he said her name. “Wow. You’ve got a thing for Esther.”
Gus rattled off more curse words. “Shut up, kid.”
Jayce frowned. “I doubt Esther likes you using those words.”
He shook his head. “You just don’t know when to be quiet.”
But Jayce caught the hint of a smile on the old man’s face, and he was pretty sure he’d hit the nail on the head.
Twenty
Evelyn glanced around the small community center that usually hosted quilting parties, baby showers, or English book clubgatherings. The room had been transformed into a mini movie theater with a huge screen in the front of the room and dozensof chairs with fancy white covers and dark-green bows tied around them—like she’d seen before at a wedding.
Off to the side two men in tuxedos were serving drinks from behind a table, and in the back of the room four more uniformedservers stood behind what smelled like a lavish buffet. Even more surreal was the fact that she, Lizzie, and Esther were inattendance. Rose must have opted out, and she was probably smart in doing so. The bishop would never approve. Evelyn had ignoredthe rule, justifying her presence because she was still in her rumschpringe and hadn’t been baptized. She was a little surprised the sisters had come because Esther wasn’t the rule-breaker Lizzie was,and it was no secret that Lizzie didn’t care for Gus.
Evelyn was taking any opportunity she could to be around Jayce, especially since she hadn’t seen him all week. In addition to her work schedule, her mother had taken ill, which left Evelyn to handle all the household chores on her own.
“There you are.” Jayce breezed up to her, so close she was glad there weren’t any other Amish folks around besides Estherand Lizzie.
“Gus certainly cleaned up well. He must be excited to be included in the movie.” She tried to keep from blushing as she thoughtabout the last time she saw Jayce—and the kissing.
“I’m glad you’re here,” he whispered. “I’ve missed you. And yeah, I helped ol’ Gus get spruced up. I think his desire to lookpresentable is because his daughter is supposed to be here.” He looked at the wood floors, then raised his eyes to hers. “Mydad isn’t always the most honest person, and I have serious doubts Gus will even have a two-second spot in the film. I don’twant to see him get hurt. He’s an old grump, but he doesn’t deserve that.”
Evelyn wanted to tell Jayce she’d missed him, too, but he’d jumped to a different subject without a pause. “Gus would be embarrassed,and I don’t want to see that happen either.”
Jayce stared at her. “Can you spend the day with me tomorrow?” He lowered his gaze again, then locked eyes with her. “We’releaving Tuesday.”
Evelyn’s heart contracted like something was squeezing the life out of her. “I-I thought you were staying a month. That’s not even three weeks.” She heard the desperation in her voice, and while she’d known there would be a void when Jayce left, she hadn’t realized how large it would be until now, when his departure was only four days
