The Caregiver - By Shelley Shepard Gray Page 0,77

neck, she saw no sign of him. “I’m not sure where he is, though.”

“No worries. I’ll put my things in this seat here.” After he set down that orange backpack that she’d recognize anywhere, he scanned the aisles. Lucy watched as most of the people in the seats stared at him.

Abruptly, he turned to her. “You know what? Why don’t we go somewhere else? Would you like to take a walk with me? This train has a viewing car.”

At the moment, she felt like she’d follow him anywhere. “Sure,” she sputtered.

As the whistle blew and the train pulled forward out of the Toledo station, Calvin reached for her hand. Lucy held on tightly as she followed him down the rocking aisle and through the narrow passage that connected the train cars.

When they were in the viewing car, Calvin led her to a spot on the far left, where no one else was. She settled herself next to him, breathed in his scent, and finally asked the question that had been burning inside her. “Why are you here?”

“Because I couldn’t stay away.”

He sounded so sure. So confident. So like himself! Her heart started beating faster as she tried to think of the right response.

“Lucy, I know it’s hardly been a day, but I missed you terribly. The moment you left, I realized I had been wrong to let you go.” Taking one of her hands, he smiled gently. “Lucy, do you remember our last conversation?”

She nodded.

He continued. “We said some terribly important things. Things that matter to us. That mattered to me, deeply.”

“They mattered to me, too,” she sputtered. Of course she remembered.

“But as soon as you left, I realized that though we said many important things, I had neglected to tell you the most important thing of all.” He reached for her hand. “I forgot to tell you that I love you.”

Her insides melted at his words—and how could they not? Calvin’s words were every dream she’d hoped would come true.

But it felt so sudden. After all, they’d known each other only a month. And for much of that time, they’d been struggling with secrets.

“This is crazy!” she said with a laugh. “Calvin, we promised to write—”

“I didn’t want to wait that long. The fact is, once I knew how I felt—without a doubt—I ran to catch this train.”

“This train?” she clarified. When he nodded, she blurted, “Calvin Weaver, you’ve been on this train with me the whole time?”

“I have.”

“Why didn’t you find me earlier?”

“Because I’ve been trying to find the courage to face you.”

Calvin Weaver, the most confident man she’d ever met, had been nervous about seeing her? “I can’t imagine that.”

“Oh, imagine it, Lucy,” he said drily. “I’ve been sitting in my seat, trying to come up with the right words to tell you how I feel. But none of them worked. None of them were good enough. None were perfect.”

“But I don’t need perfect words.”

He smiled. “I’m glad, because even after practicing for an hour, I still don’t have them.” With care, he took her other hand and linked their fingers. Rubbed one thumb over the fine bones of her hand. Carefully, she realized. As if he would never wish to do her harm.

“Lucy, all I do know is that you’ve become so special to me. I want you in my life, by my side.”

Wordlessly, she stared back at him. The words he was saying were so special, shattering all her memories of Paul. Taking a deep breath, he spoke again. “Lucy, I want to marry you. I want you to come live with me in Jacob’s Crossing.”

Her chest felt so tight, Lucy felt as if all the air had been pushed out of her.

Mistaking her silence for confusion, a shadow of worry entered his eyes. His speech quickened. “I know you’ve been hurt in the past. And though I’ve said this before, I’ll say it as many times as you need to hear it. Lucy, I will never lay a hand on you. I never want to make you cry. I promise. My only goal will be to make you happy.”

Sitting there, their hands linked, her heart beating so loudly she felt the world could hear it, Lucy believed him. Now she trusted him. Trusted him enough to realize he would only care for her. That he wanted to be her partner, not her superior. “Calvin, I know you will make me happy,” she said simply. Because, really, nothing else seemed to matter. She trusted Calvin