One Sweet Kiss by Kelly Irvin

Author:Kelly Irvin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2017-04-25T04:00:00+00:00

If I die now, Gott, I would die happy. Jacob squeezed Martha’s hand and led her up the path. The skimpy tree cover consisted of a mix of live oak and mesquite. Not much privacy. Still, he knew of a spot where a fallen tree trunk just off the path could serve as a place to sit for a few minutes. The tall weeds, nopals, and black-eyed Susans would give them cover. There. He pointed to the trunk, suddenly overcome with a timidity he’d never felt before in his life. “Let’s sit for a minute.”

Martha didn’t let go of his hand. She led Jacob to the trunk and sat. He did the same. She didn’t say anything. His mind, normally so full of junk he couldn’t decide what to think on first, shut down and went out of business. The silence stretched.

“You said—”

“I thought—”

He breathed. “You first.”

“You said you wanted to tell me a secret.”

“It’s not much of a secret.” He rubbed a spot of mustard on his pants. “I am in lieb with you.”

The pause lasted longer than summer in south Texas. “Are you sure?”

Not the answer he’d hoped for. He didn’t feel unsure at all. He met her gaze head-on. “A man says he loves you and your first response is to question if he’s sure. Are you so unlovable?” To his consternation her eyes filled with tears. “Don’t cry.”

“I’m not crying. I never cry.” She dabbed at her face with her apron. “My mudder died when I was ten.”

He knew the awfulness of not understanding, of trying to wrap his mind around never seeing Mudder again. One morning, she came in and touched his feverish cheek with her cool, soft fingers and told him Daed would stay with him while the rest of the family went on a long-planned, much-longed-for trip to the beach in Corpus Christi. He’d been mad at her. He wanted to go, but she said sick little boys needed to rest. There would be other trips to the beach. She’d kissed his forehead and hugged him even though he tried to wiggle from her grasp. Her scent of vanilla and soap lingered long after she left the room.

Aunt Susan had been the one to tell him Mudder would never come back. His father spent days with Phineas in the hospital, and Jacob had been sure he, too, would never return. But he had. They both had. “I was eight.”

“I know.”

“She left and you think everyone who loves you will leave? Everyone will disappoint you? It’s not so.” The indecision in her face told him he’d careened into the heart of her fear. “You use caring for the kinner as an excuse for not taking a chance. Don’t do that.”

“It’s not an excuse. They do need me. But it’s true, you can’t know.”

“No. That’s why it’s called faith.” Never had an argument been more important. “Believing in the unknowable.”

“You drive a car. You hunt for alligators.”

“For now. Those are things I do for fun. I want to know what life feels like out there.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.