A Place to Heal, page 15
Dana could almost laugh at that. What had happened tonight was a full-scale assault of opposition, not a snag. “How can you say that?”
And then he did touch her cheek, and Dana’s eyes fluttered closed at the power of it. Is this what people meant when they said swoon?
“Because this is about so much more than land. Or a camp. This is about...this.” Mason leaned in and touched his lips to hers with such a gentle kiss that swoon most definitely was the only word that applied.
Dana tried to say his name, but it only came out as something awkward between a squeak and a sigh. She ought to be more composed, but it was hopeless. Too many emotions rushed through her.
Mason pulled back, looking at her with the tenderest question in his eyes. “Okay?” he asked. As if he’d done something wrong. As if he hadn’t done the thing she’d been wishing for but didn’t feel she deserved. She’d convinced herself she needed to give him the camp to gain his heart. Would he really give it to her even if they failed? Could it be that he’d need it more because they failed?
Dana managed a bumbled, astonished nod. She put her hand to his chest and felt his heart race beneath her palm. A tiny bit of her brave self showed up out of all the weariness and she let herself take in the warmth of his gaze. The brilliance of his dark eyes and the strength of the arms around her. A bit more of the bravery returned, and Dana leaned in to return his kiss. Maybe not quite as gently as he kissed her.
The world and all its worries faded in the glow of their kiss. She drew strength and joy from it, felt healed despite all the jabs and wounds of what people had said. As if by somehow combining their wounds they made a healed whole. It had been so pointless to resist this, to keep herself from the connection she felt with Mason. The connection she now felt absolutely certain God had designed for her—for them—all along.
Mason pulled away a bit after the long kiss, his eyes gleaming and his smile broad and warm. The power of the moment for him showed on his features, and in the gallop of his heart she could still feel under her palm. “That,” he said a little breathlessly, “was even better than I imagined.” He let his forehead rest against hers, and Dana let her eyes fall closed at the tenderness of the gesture. She’d known so many men who were strong—relentlessly strong—that it was a wonder to know a man who could be strong and tender at the same time.
Maybe, just maybe, it would be okay to have come to North Springs looking for property and finding the treasure of a partner instead. If her future did not contain Camp True North Springs, perhaps God had other plans for her. Plans she could welcome with Mason by her side.
And, of course Charlie. Without moving from his closeness to her, she heard him whisper, “I have to get back to Charlie. I’ve only got the sitter for another thirty minutes.” He pulled back just enough to catch her gaze. “I really wished you’d answered your phone half an hour ago.”
She was so pleased to hear the “it’s okay now” in his tone of voice. Even though a lot of it was far from okay, this one piece of it made up for all the others.
“I couldn’t bear to hear how I’d brought this on you. I’d be so furious. I am so furious. Those people. How could they do that?”
“I am furious,” he said, running his hand down her arm to take her hands firmly in his. Its echo of the way he’d touched her before the committee meeting reassured her. “At them. But it did wake me up to what was more important. I didn’t count on getting angry enough to come over here determined to kiss you.” He laughed softly. “And I’m not sure I was counting on you kissing me like that. Wow.”
It spread through her, warm and sparkling, to know he felt the same way. “Seriously.” She let her thumb wander across the back of his hand, smitten by the fact she could do something so...romantic. “What do we do now?”
* * *
Mason sighed. He’d been asking himself that question for hours. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “Prayer would be a good start.” He didn’t have another antidote for the sense of betrayal pulling at him. “I’m not much good to anyone in my present state. I don’t know how to react to what I heard and saw tonight.” He shook his head. “From people I thought I knew.” He looked right into her eyes, realizing that so much of his healing seemed to be there. “I’m going to need your help.”
Did she feel the same way? Did she feel the only hope she had for healing was beside him? When she said, “Me, too,” the steel in his spine eased up a little. She was brave and strong, and he needed to borrow that spirit from her. And not just tonight, but for a long time afterward.
As if she’d realized his need for that warrior spirit, Dana straightened her shoulders a bit. Some of the determination returned to the vivid green of her eyes. “We’ll figure this out, the two of us. The three of us, actually.”
The three of us. Mason had let himself believe he’d never get to use those words again, that it would always be just him and Charlie against the world. What a gift it was to let the lie of that fall away.
“Charlie means the world to me. You know that, don’t you?” She squeezed his hand, and he heard her unspoken, You mean the world to me.
There was the most amazing piece of the whole thing: Charlie did mean so much to her. It was one thing to know the attraction and affection he had for her and she for him, but the extra blessing of how close she and Charlie had become astounded him. “I do know it,” he said, hoping his words reflected the enormous gratitude he felt. “And he knows it, too.”
Mason wanted to stay here and talk to her for hours. To work through this monumental wall thrown up in front of them. To hold her—and have her hold him—until the raw pain of tonight subsided. Instead, he looked at his watch and winced. “I have to go.” He kissed her again, far more quickly than he would have liked. “Next time answer your phone right away,” he joked, his voice husky.
Dana laughed. “First ring.” She brought her hand up to stroke the curve of his jaw, and Mason forgot how to breathe. What a breathtaking woman she was. How had he not seen that from the first second she stood at his gate? Why had it taken him so long to see? “Good night, Mason,” she said, delight setting a glow in her eyes.
He let his head fall back and gave a small groan. “That’s what did it at first, you know. The way you say my name.” It was true. The way she said his name went through him like a roll of thunder. Mason forced himself to pull away, letting go of her hand slowly, down to the fingertips at the very last. “Good night. We’ll figure out things in the morning.”
“We will.” The determination in her voice was a blessing, a benediction. There was a way out of this. They just couldn’t see it yet.
But together, they would.
Chapter Seventeen
Charlie did not take the news well.
Mason had expected that and had rehearsed a dozen different ways to tell his son, but none of them could soften the blow with any success.
“Why do we have to have their stupid permission anyways?” Charlie pouted as he dumped a second helping of cereal into his bowl Thursday morning. “This is our house.”
Mason wasn’t sure there was a useful way to explain zoning ordinances to a seven-year-old. “Certain parts of North Springs are set up for certain things. You wouldn’t want an airport to move in next door, right?”
Charlie scowled out the window. “Nobody lives next door to us.”
Mason sighed and tried again. “If we became a camp, we’d be changing the rules for this property. You can’t just do that without asking.”
“But you asked,” Charlie insisted. “You said you were following the rules.”
There wasn’t any way around it. “And people said no.”
“Why?” his son whined. Mason had to admit, he felt like whining the same question, even though he knew the answer.
There wasn’t really a safe way to explain the fear his neighbors had displayed. “Do you know what violence means?”
Charlie poked his spoon around in his bowl. “Bad stuff. Mean stuff.”
“All the people who would come to the camp have had bad stuff or mean stuff happen to them.”
“Like us.”
Those two words burned into Mason’s chest like a firebrand. “Like us. I think the people who said no are afraid of that.” He couldn’t bring himself to say that some of his own neighbors believed bad things made for bad people. Yes, it was true some of the time, but it was never true all of the time. Nor did it have to be. That was the whole point of Camp True North Springs, wasn’t it?
“That’s dumb,” Charlie declared.
“It is,” Mason had to agree. “I hope we can get people to see that. Only I’m not sure how we’ll do that just yet. Miss Dana and I—and you—are going to have to figure that out. With some of our friends, I hope.”
Charlie pushed his bowl away. “I don’t wanna go to Special Ladies Day anymore. I don’t wanna go to school today. I don’t wanna go anywhere.”
Mason could certainly relate to that urge to stay up on the mountain. A month ago, he would have. But he was a different man now, and he was pretty sure that man was going to have to go back down the mountain and fight. “I’m sad, too. And a little bit mad. But we can’t just stay up here. We shouldn’t. You have school, and we have church, and we’ve spent too much time up here missing the good things about our friends down in town. I forgot about those good things for a while, but Miss Dana helped me remember.”
“I still don’t wanna go. Why do I hafta?”
Mason wasn’t sure how far to push this. The old Mason would have given in to retreat. The new Mason wasn’t so easily beaten, nor did he want his son to surrender to what had happened. “School is one of those things we have to do. Even when it doesn’t feel fun. And are you sure you don’t want to go to Special Ladies Day? I mean, you already invited Miss Dana. I think she was looking forward to it.”
“Even now? You just said people were mean.”
In fact, going to the school event seemed like a good way to push back against the fear and bitterness. “What would you think if I said most especially now?”
“Why?”
Perhaps it was time to celebrate this special lady, because she was still special—very special—no matter what people thought. “Because Miss Dana is special. She’s just as special today as she was yesterday.” Even more so, he thought to himself. “I like Miss Dana.” A whole lot.
“Me, too.”
“And those people in town who don’t think she’s very special right now? On account of the camp? I think they’re wrong. Don’t you?”
Charlie nodded. “They’re a hundred percent wrong.”
Mason smiled at the pint-sized endorsement. “She’s just as sad about what happened as you and I are. So we need to show everyone how special we know she is. Seems to me you’ve got a pretty good opportunity to do that. I mean, the whole thing is called Special Ladies Day, right?”
“You can’t come,” Charlie pointed out. “It’s just for special ladies.”
“I know. And I would if I could. But that means this is a job only you can do.” Maybe a job only God can do.
“Everybody will look at me funny. Or her.”
Charlie wasn’t wrong. “Maybe at first. And only the people who don’t really matter to you and me. Our friends already know how special Miss Dana is.” How long had it been since he’d thought of the people down in town as his friends? Far too long. And it might have gone on for far longer if not for Dana. “If you go, you and her can show everybody else how special she is.” Mason felt he had to add, “But only if you want to. You know I wouldn’t make you do it if you really don’t want to.”
He wasn’t going to send a seven-year-old to fight his battles—he was already planning to wage a few of his own—but Charlie’s invitation to Dana for Special Ladies Day was starting to look very much like God’s hand moving in his life.
Mason was pleased to watch his son come around to the idea. “Can we leave early if we want to?”
“Absolutely. But I think you won’t want to. The first little bit might feel squiggly, but not the rest.” Squiggly was the word he’d come up with to describe the awkward way people treated him and Charlie when Melony first died. They’d stare, or avoid, or say the wrong thing out of the sheer discomfort such a tragedy brought.
Charlie considered his choice. “Okay. But can we get ice cream afterward?”
There was likely to be a whole host of treats at the event, but Mason rather liked a built-in time to spend with Dana afterward. The victory of we’re still here was worth celebrating, if nothing else. “Sure thing.” He gathered up the breakfast dishes. “Go get your stuff together, the bus’ll be here soon.” There were days Mason almost resented how Bart Salinas poked his nose into Charlie’s life. Today, Mason found himself saying a prayer of thanks that someone like Bart was driving the bus and offering all kinds of support to his son. The Busketeers’ solid support of Camp True North Springs was an extra treasure right now, and Mason meant to say so as he saw Charlie onto the bus this morning.
As they walked down the drive to wait for the bus, Mason jokingly asked his son, “So should I tell Miss Dana you’ll keep your date?”
Charlie rolled his eyes and giggled. “I’m not dating Miss Dana.” Then, without so much as a blink of hesitation, he looked at Mason and asked, “Are you?”
How do I answer that? The wonder of their kiss last night seemed to shoot through him all over again. He settled for asking, “Do you think I should?” After all, the answer would tell him a lot about Charlie’s readiness to welcome someone new into their lives.
Charlie thought about it for a painfully long time. For a few minutes, Mason worried the bus might come and collect his son before Charlie gave him an answer. After all, he was still astonished and unsteady about everything that had happened between he and Dana last night. Mason found himself anxious to know what Charlie thought.
“I like her,” Charlie declared just as the bus came around the bend. “Do you want me to ask her about it?”
“Oh, no,” Mason rushed to answer while still trying to sound as if the whole thing were no big deal. “You can leave that grown-up stuff to us. But if I see her today, I’ll remind her about tomorrow.” Mason had every intention of making very sure he saw Dana today. They had a lot to talk about.
When the bus came to the head of their driveway, Bart surprised Mason by shutting off the ignition and coming down out of the vehicle once Charlie was on board.
“I just want you to know Rita and I are behind you one hundred percent,” he said, shaking Mason’s hand. “You’re going to fight the denial, aren’t you? There’s some sort of appeal process? Don’t let Arthur win this one. North Springs is better than what you saw last night.”
“I know,” Mason agreed, feeling it down to his bones for the first time in a long time. “I know. Charlie still wants to bring Dana to Special Ladies Day, and I think he should.”
Bart smiled. “I couldn’t agree more.” He leaned in. “After all, she’s one special lady, isn’t she?”
Mason returned Bart’s knowing look. “That she is.”
* * *
“Thanks, Captain, but I’m not interested,” Dana said into the phone. She waited for the words to feel like the giant leap they were. They only settled solid and sure in her chest, reminding her that no matter what happened with the commission, running back to Denver would never be the right choice.
“You’re sure?” He’d pressed her rather hard during their conversation. It was nice to hear how much he valued her work, how she was missed. Still, the thought of going back—however safe it might appear on the outside—offered no comfort.
“I am.” She wasn’t that detective anymore. And while Dana still couldn’t say who she was becoming, she did like who she’d become so far.
“Well, I guess I’ll accept that for now,” Captain Derrick replied. “But I’ll always find a place for you if you change your mind.” He laughed just a little bit, and she could picture him shaking his head, scratching his whiskered chin. “Gotta say, I can’t quite picture you out there will all that sand and cactus.”
Dana looked out the house window to the park-like setting of the North Springs town square. This far up the mountains, it wasn’t all sand and cactus. In fact, there weren’t any cacti at all—those flourished at a lower altitude. North Springs had amazing rock formations, tall ponderosa pines, shrubs and lots of plant life. It wasn’t lush forest by any stretch, but it wasn’t a parched desert, either. All kinds of things—including souls—flourished here. “Thanks for all your support. Tell the precinct Mom said hello.”
That last use of her nickname made Derrick laugh loudly. “I’ll do that. Take care, Preston. You deserve to be happy.”
She sat back as she ended the call, settling into the chair that Mason had repaired. She hadn’t burned any bridges with her old colleagues in Denver, but this last phone call felt like a very deliberate exit. An affirmation that her life was going in a new direction.
A text chimed on her phone. Good morning, came the message from Mason.
Hello to you, too, Dana typed back, feeling goofy about the smitten smile on her face.
Breakfast and battle plans?
Those four words said everything Dana wanted to hear. As far as she was concerned Camp True North Springs should not go down without a fight, but she needed to hear it from Mason first. YES, she replied.
Guerro’s in 30? Cheeeeeeeeese.
A joke? From Mason Avery on a morning like today? Surely that meant anything was possible. Dana typed back, Yes! and was out the door in twenty minutes.
It probably shouldn’t have surprised her to see Hannah and Rita in animated conversation as they walked across the square toward her house. The pair headed straight for her as she turned her key in the latch.
