Noah's Ark, page 16
He patted her hand. “You don’t have to tell me now. We can talk when we get to Mel and Sherry’s place.”
Kingston didn’t waste any time running out to the truck to greet them. The instant Aunt Sherry opened the screen door, he darted out and stood waiting by the truck.
“Hey, boy,” she said as she got out of the truck and patted his head. He leaned into her side and let out a deep sigh of joy.
Aunt Sherry and Uncle Mel stood on the porch and waited. Noah brought Emily’s bag inside and set it down.
He turned to Emily. “Why don’t you go on in and change into some jeans? I’d like to go for a walk if you’re up to it.”
“Sure,” Emily replied. “It’ll be good to stretch my legs after being on the plane. Be right back.”
Uncle Mel carried the bag to Emily’s room then went back out to chat with Noah. Aunt Sherry followed Emily inside.
“We have a special dinner for your homecoming,” her aunt said.
Emily laughed. “All your dinners are special.” She patted her midsection. “And delicious.”
“I’m just tickled pink you’re back.” She hugged Emily and gently pushed her into the room. “Now change out of your traveling clothes and go for that walk with Noah. You don’t want to keep him waiting too much longer.”
Emily gave her aunt a curious look, but Aunt Sherry just grinned and pointed to the room. “Okay, I’ll hurry.”
When Emily finished changing, she took off outside to find Noah sitting by himself on the porch steps. He stood and reached for her hand.
“Let’s go down there,” he said, pointing toward a clump of trees on the opposite side of the house from the barn. “I’d like a little privacy.”
“Okay.” Emily didn’t understand his need for privacy, but she trusted him. “Looks like y’all got some more rain while I was gone.”
“Yeah, we did, and I didn’t get much sleep because of it. Some of the farmers can’t handle much more rain after the last flood. It was an exhausting experience that’ll take time to recover from.”
“Was everyone okay?” She looked at him.
He stopped, turned her around to face him, and shook his head. “Not really.”
“Did you have to move the livestock again?”
“No, not that. No one got flooded this time, but that wasn’t what you asked.”
Emily tilted her head. “Huh?”
“You asked if everyone was okay, and I said not really. I wasn’t okay.”
Fear gripped Emily. “Jillian?”
He shook his head. “No, not Jillian.”
She was puzzled. “What’s wrong?”
Noah held on to both of her hands and took a step back, never breaking their gaze. “I think I’ve been hit hard by love.”
“What?” Her voice cracked.
He looked down at the ground before looking back into her eyes. “Emily Kimball, I’m in love with you. I didn’t realize it until you started talking about going to NYU. I didn’t want to lose you. And I don’t mean as an employee.”
“Why didn’t you say something?”
“I wasn’t sure about things.”
He shook his head. “I knew you weren’t, which was why I didn’t want to push too hard. I didn’t want to stand between you and your dreams.”
“I appreciate that,” she said. She couldn’t stop herself from smiling. “You’re such a kind, selfless man.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah, I know so.”
“When Sherry told me you were coming back to stay, I was beside myself.” Noah pulled her close until she could feel his heart beating. “I wanted to talk you out of going, but I held back. I didn’t want to scare you.”
“Oh, I’m scared,” she said. “Very, very scared.”
He groaned. “I was afraid of that.”
“But only because I love you, too.”
Noah suddenly froze. “You said that before, but I wasn’t sure you meant it.” He tilted her head. “Are you sure?”
“Uh-huh. Very much. In fact, the whole time I was in New York, all I could think about was how miserable I’d be without you.”
“Emily, I am now the happiest man in West Virginia. No, make that the whole USA.”
She laughed. “Let’s see how things go, now that we’ve admitted our feelings. This is all new to me.”
After he walked Emily back to her aunt and uncle’s house, Noah had to leave. One of the farmers had called his cell phone and said he had a cow in labor, and it looked like she might need some help.
“I’ll see you first thing in the morning,” Noah said as he turned and ran toward his truck. “I hope this really happened and it’s not a dream.”
Emily smiled and waved as Noah drove away. She had the same fear as Noah, that it might be a dream.
❧
Noah wanted to shout his feelings at the top of his lungs, but he needed to contain his emotions—at least until he finished delivering the calf. He arrived at the farm in the nick of time.
“I think it’s breech,” the farmer said.
Noah got down to business and managed to save the calf with the farmer’s help. When he stood up and shook the man’s hand, he got a big grin and slap on the back.
“So when’s the big day?”
Noah turned his head slightly and narrowed his eyes. “What big day?”
“I hear you and Mel’s niece are sweet on each other. I figured you were about to get hitched.”
“Where did you hear that?” Noah asked, unable to keep the grin from sliding over his lips.
“Little birdie told me.”
“I’ll have to have a talk with that little birdie. Getting hitched sounds pretty good to me, but in the meantime, try to keep it to yourself. I haven’t asked her yet.”
“You sly dog. Just make sure you send me an invite.”
❧
Emily got to the office early the next morning and turned on the computer. Everything she’d taken for granted before seemed fresh and new to her now. She loved everything about this place—from the curve of the counter to the bell on the door. With Kingston by her side, she felt like she could conquer the world.
To her delight, Noah arrived fifteen minutes later. “Hey, I thought you might be here. Got a minute?”
“Sure,” she said. “What’s up?”
Noah crooked his finger and motioned for her to go outside with him. He locked the door and led her toward the back, through the cluster of trees, and to a clearing, where he stopped and turned her to face him.
“It’s come to my attention that people are talking about us,” he began.
She opened her mouth, but he gently put his finger over her lips. He didn’t look unhappy, so she tried to erase the fear that welled in her chest.
“I’m not saying I mind them talking, but I do think they need something concrete to talk about.” He pulled something out of his pocket and got down on one knee. “I know we just admitted our feelings for each other yesterday, but I’m a man who knows what he wants, and I go after it.”
Emily giggled. This was such a strange experience for her that she had no idea what to do. So she just stood there and stared at him.
He kissed the back of her hand then studied it for a moment before he opened the box. “Will you marry me, Emily?”
Her knees grew weak when she saw the beautiful pear-shaped diamond ring. When she tried to answer, her mouth was so dry nothing would come out. So she nodded.
“I sure hope it fits. Your aunt said she thought this was your size.” He pulled the ring from the box and slipped it on her finger.
“My aunt?” Her voice came out in a sudden squeak. “She knew about this?”
He rubbed his neck. “Um—yeah. I sort of needed to talk to her so I could get you a ring you’d like. I’m not very good at picking out jewelry.”
Emily splayed her hand and looked at the dazzling ring. It was perfect—exactly what she would have picked for herself.
“Well, do you like it?”
She threw her arms around his neck and squeezed him as tight as she could. “I love it!”
Noah had to peel her arms away to give her a kiss. Afterward, he looked into her eyes and stroked her cheek. “If you always act like this when I give you jewelry, we better go out and buy the biggest jewelry box we can find, because I’m gonna do it a bunch.”
Emily laughed. “It’s not the ring, silly. It’s you.”
“Well, in that case, come here, Emily, and let me kiss you again.”
Epilogue
“Hold still, Kingston.” Jillian grabbed the Great Dane by the collar as Uncle Mel fastened the wedding rings to the attached pillow. Mr. Zimmerman had decided to go ahead with his plans to move to Florida, and Emily happily agreed to keep Kingston.
As soon as Mel had the rings secured, Jillian straightened up and turned to Emily. “Ready?”
Emily turned to Uncle Mel, who winked. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
Jillian gave the signal to the church organist, who turned and started playing. Emily’s heart lurched, so she lowered her head and said a prayer of thanks. She opened her eyes in time to watch her maid of honor, Jillian, and Noah’s best man, Dwayne, guide Kingston toward his position as the ring bearer.
As Emily’s heart stilled and her nerves steadied, Uncle Mel gave her hand a squeeze. “We’re up next,” he whispered. “You’re a beautiful bride, Emily. Noah’s a blessed man.”
Emily felt her cheeks flame—not with embarrassment but with joy. “I’m the one who’s blessed.”
Her uncle laughed and nodded. “Let’s agree that you’re both blessed and get this show on the road. You don’t want to keep your groom waiting.”
All heads turned the instant the music tempo quickened, and Emily felt a flood of emotion as her entire life changed. For the first time ever, she had no doubt what she wanted—and that was to be the wife of a man whose faith in the Lord was as strong as hers.
After they said their vows, Noah lowered his head to kiss Emily. Suddenly she felt something nudging between her and her new husband. When she looked down, she saw Kingston straining against the leash, with Jillian on the other end, wearing an apologetic grin. He was attached to his family, and he obviously didn’t want to be left out. Everyone laughed as Emily and Noah included Kingston in a hug. They finally turned to walk up the aisle as a family—husband, wife, and family dog.
About the Author
Debby Mayne has been a freelance writer all her adult life, starting with slice-of-life stories in small newspapers and then moving on to parenting articles for regional publications and fiction stories for women and girls. She has been involved in all aspects of publishing, from the creative side to editing a national health magazine to freelance proofreading for several book publishers. Her belief that all blessings come from the Lord has given her great comfort during trying times and gratitude for when she is rewarded for her efforts. She lives on the west coast of Florida with her husband and two daughters.
Dedication
Thanks to Kathleen Lamb who works with her husband, Dr. Scott Lamb, at the Trinity Animal Hospital in New Port Richey, Florida, for answering my animal questions.
I’d like to thank Brenda Holley, Member Relations coordinator with the Huntington, West Virginia, Chamber of Commerce, for providing information specific to the area.
Also, thanks to Byron Clercx, chairman of the Department of Art and Design at Marshall University, Huntington.
A note from the Author:
I love to hear from my readers! You may correspond with me by writing:
Debby Mayne
Author Relations
PO Box 721
Uhrichsville, OH 44683
Debby Mayne, Noah's Ark
