The Mine by John A. Heldt

Author:John A. Heldt [Heldt, John A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Tags: Fiction, Historical, General
ISBN: 9781731142412
Google: ecYfwQEACAAJ
Amazon: B0078S9B6G
Publisher: John A. Heldt
Published: 2012-02-12T23:00:00+00:00

* * * * *

When most on the deck returned to the dance hall, Joel led Linda down a flight of stairs to a well-manicured lawn that ran thirty yards to the lake. Four deck lights provided enough illumination to walk to the water without falling in.

"You like the outdoors, don't you?" Linda asked.

"I do."

"I overheard you talk with Tom at dinner. I don't think I've ever known a person who gets excited about glaciers and igneous rocks."

"They're pretty hot stuff. That's why I keep all my geology magazines in brown paper wrappers under the bed."

Linda smiled.

"You're funny – and pretty learned for someone who never attended college. Have you ever thought of going to school or doing something besides selling furniture?"

"You mean like joining the circus or working as a cabana boy? Yeah, I've thought about it. But there's something about ventilating mattresses that keeps me grounded."

"I see why Ginny likes you."

"She does?"

"Oh, yes. She said just yesterday that 'Joel Smith is the only man I've ever met who can make me laugh and think at the same time.'"

Joel grinned.

Wait till she meets Grandpa.

For the next fifteen minutes, Joel and Linda stood at the edge of the water, arm in arm, and watched dusk turn into night. Neither said more than a few words, but neither had to. Their silence was a source of comfort, not discontent.

The tranquility was broken a moment later, when two couples noisily emerged from the hall. One walked to a shiny black Ford parked near the front of a dirt lot. The other stayed on the deck and propped open an exit, allowing the upbeat sound of "In the Mood" by Glenn Miller to drift across the lawn and drown out a cricket philharmonic.

"You sure you don't want to dance?" Linda asked.

"I'm sure – and not just because I don't want to fall on my face. I'd rather stay out here with you."

"Really?"

"Really." Joel grabbed both of Linda's hands and looked at her face. "Why would you think otherwise?"

"Well, to be honest, I wasn't sure you even wanted to go out. I didn't exactly make the best first impression at Tom's graduation party. I had a little too much celebration," she said, staring at her feet. "And I've noticed you've become rather sweet on Grace."

"I wasn't sure about going out tonight, not at first. But I'm glad we did. You look stunning – breathtaking – and you've been perfect company. I could not have asked for a better date," he said. "As for Grace, I do like her. I like all of you. But I'm here with you now, not her, not anyone else, and I'm very happy to be here."

Joel meant it too. His feelings for Grace had not ebbed a bit, but for the first time in weeks he began to ask serious questions – questions he should have asked at the start. Did he and Grace actually have something? Or was he just a fool holding Paul McEwan's jacket until he

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