The Notebook - By Nicholas Sparks Page 0,29
say? How could she explain being out so late? A late dinner and then a walk? Maybe. Or a movie? Or . . .
“Miss?”
Almost noon, she thought. Where would he be? His office, probably.... No. In court, she suddenly realized, and immediately felt as if she’d been released from shackles. There was no way she could talk to him, even if she wanted to. She was surprised by her feelings. She shouldn’t feel this way, she knew, and yet it didn’t bother her. She looked at her watch, acting now.
“Is it really almost twelve?”
The manager nodded after looking at the clock. “Yes, a quarter till, actually.”
“Unfortunately,” she started, “he’s in court right now and I can’t reach him. If he does call again, could you tell him I’m shopping and that I’ll try to call him later?”
“Of course,” he answered. She could see the question in his eyes, though: But where were you last night? He had known exactly when she’d come in. Too late for a single woman in this small town, she was sure.
“Thank you,” she said, smiling. “I’d appreciate it.”
Two minutes later she was in her car, driving to Noah’s, anticipating the day, largely unconcerned about the phone calls. Yesterday she would have been, and she wondered what that meant.
As she was driving over the drawbridge less than four minutes after she’d left the inn, Lon called from the courthouse.
Moving Water
Noah was sitting in his rocker, drinking sweet tea, listening for the car, when he finally heard it turn up the drive. He went around front and watched the car pull up and park beneath the oak tree again. Same spot as yesterday. Clem barked a greeting at her car door, tail wagging, and he saw Allie wave from inside the car.
She stepped out, patted Clem on the head while she cooed at her, then turned, smiling at Noah as he walked toward her. She looked more relaxed than yesterday, more confident, and again he felt a slight shock at seeing her. It was different from yesterday, though. Newer feelings now, not simply memories anymore. If anything, his attraction for her had grown stronger overnight, more intense, and it made him feel a little nervous in her presence.
Allie met him halfway, carrying a small bag in one hand. She surprised him by kissing him gently on the cheek, her free hand lingering at his waist after she pulled back.
“Hi,” she said, radiance in her eyes, “where’s the surprise?”
He relaxed a little, thanking God for that. “Not even a ‘Good afternoon’ or ‘How was your night?’”
She smiled. Patience had never been one of her strongest attributes.
“Fine. Good afternoon. How was your night? And where’s the surprise?”
He chuckled lightly, then paused. “Allie, I’ve got some bad news.”
“What?”
“I was going to take you someplace, but with those clouds coming in, I’m not sure we should go.”
“Why?”
“The storm. We’ll be outside and might get wet. Besides, there might be lightning.”
“It’s not raining yet. How far is it?”
“Up the creek about a mile.”
“And I’ve never been there before?”
“Not when it was like this.”
She thought for a second while she looked around. When she spoke, her voice was determined.
“Then we’ll go. I don’t care if it rains.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
He looked at the clouds again, noting their approach. “Then we’d better go now,” he said. “Can I bring that in for you?”
She nodded, handing her bag to him, and he jogged to the house and brought it inside, where he placed it on a chair in the living room. Then he grabbed some bread and put it in a bag, bringing it with him as he left the house.
They walked to the canoe, Allie beside him. A little closer than yesterday.
“What exactly is this place?”
“You’ll see.”
“You’re not even going to give me a hint?”
“Well,” he said, “do you remember when we took the canoe out and watched the sun come up?”
“I thought about it this morning. I remember it made me cry.”
“What you’re going to see today makes what you saw then seem ordinary.”
“I guess I should feel special.”
He took a few steps before responding.
“You are special,” he finally said, and the way he said it made her wonder if he wanted to add something else. But he didn’t, and Allie smiled a little before glancing away. As she did, she felt the wind in her face and noticed it had picked up since the morning.
They reached the dock a moment later. After tossing the bag in the canoe, Noah quickly checked to make