The Wonder of Your Love - By Beth Wiseman Page 0,31
goal to make sure that your mind is not on anything to do with Ivan or Lucy. We are going to enjoy this day . . .” He strained to see out a nearby window. “Snow or no snow.”
Katie Ann leaned to her left to see outside too. “Look, the sun is shining.”
Eli nodded. “Ya. It will be a gut day.”
ELI WATCHED KATIE Ann take Jonas with her to the ladies’ room for a quick diaper change before they got back on the road. He couldn’t believe how easy she was to talk to, or had he just gone so long without female companionship that he’d forgotten? She seemed like a good Amish woman, too, who deserved a husband and someone to take care of her and the boppli. Eli knew he’d need to tread carefully, always making it known that he only had friendship to offer her. It was dangerous territory for him because he was the type to nurture, no matter how uncharacteristic it was for an Amish man. He’d spent much of his life tending to the needs of others, and even at this point in his life it came naturally to him.
He sat a little taller, resolved that he had his life planned out and there was certainly no room for romance with a new mother, no matter how beautiful she was.
When Katie Ann returned, they glanced out the window and saw Wayne waiting in the car outside. The hour-long ride seemed to fly by as the three of them talked. Wayne shared the history of the Great Sand Dunes, and Eli was glad to see Katie Ann involved in the conversation, laughing and appearing to have a good time. He might not be able to take care of her the way she needed, but it gave him satisfaction to bring some joy into her life.
Before they reached the National Park and Preserve, they could see the majestic dunes nestled against the rugged Sangre de Cristo Mountains, and as Eli peeked over his shoulder, he saw the twinkle in Katie Ann’s eyes as she peered through the window.
Wayne pulled into the entrance of the park. “Amazing, isn’t it? These dunes are a landmark for travelers. Did you know they are the tallest dunes in North America? They cover nearly twenty thousand acres.” He chuckled. “Just a little history for you.”
Eli glanced at the massive dunes for as far as he could see, but his eyes kept veering back to Katie Ann. As her smile widened, her eyes glistened like the tiny specks of snow-covered sand that stretched before them, and Eli smiled along with her. She seemed so different from the first couple of times he was around her. She seemed happy, and her fulfillment sparked something inside of Eli that he hadn’t felt in a long time.
He forced himself to look away from her and focus on the beauty of the mountains.
Then she leaned forward and touched his shoulder. “Look, Eli!” She pointed to her left, but Eli’s eyes were on her hand on his shoulder. “There are two elk.”
Eli glanced to where she was pointing. “Big elk,” he said as his eyes drifted back to her hand. Her touch sent a thrill up his spine, and he was again reminded how long it had been since he’d been in the company of a beautiful woman. As his eyes trailed up to her lips, Eli pictured his mouth pressed tightly against hers, a vision that he suspected he would replay in his mind long after this day ended.
After about thirty minutes, they got back on the road. Wayne explained more about the dunes. “You folks really should see them when the weather is better and they aren’t covered in snow. Each time you climb over one of the dunes, there is another one waiting on the other side. They go on forever.”
“They’re beautiful, even covered in snow,” Katie Ann said, keeping her eyes on the mountains as they pulled out of the park.
She was chatty all the way back to her house, talking about the garden she planned to have in the spring, the black bear she’d seen a couple of weeks ago out her window, and the repairs she needed to do on her house, most importantly a leak in her roof that Samuel had tried to repair twice without success. She mentioned several times how fortunate she was to have her brother-in-law and his wife living next door.