Sarah's Prayer: A Sunset Single (Sunset Series 1.1) (9 page)

Chapter 10

Sarah's world just seemed different the next several days. It was hard to pin down exactly what was different. Sure, the weather was changing, but Sarah had endured a lot of weather changes in Sunset over the years. No, it wasn't anything in particular. Maybe she was different.

Michael sent several emails to Sarah with cute little comments that brightened her day. She looked forward to hearing her phone bleep indicating a new email and hoping it was from him.

On Wednesday afternoon just such a bleep occurred.

Dearest Sarah,

I'm enjoying the heck out of sending you notes about my day and how much I liked being with you. I even get a kick out of writing you to let you know how much I miss you. There's just something missing that only you can help with. I miss hearing your voice. You have such a beautiful voice and a lovely laugh.

There's only one problem. I don't know how to call you. If it wouldn't be too much trouble would you mind sending me your phone number so I can do the gentlemanly thing and call you?

Blessings!

Michael <3

Sarah's lovely laugh filled the office. She rectified the problem immediately.

Armed with Sarah's cell phone number, Michael called her sparingly. Either he was still very shy or he had a great sensitivity for her privacy. He knew the difficulty she had been through in her life and didn't want to do anything to violate his boundaries with her. Michael was a patient man. He also had enough of his own painful issues to bear.

Sarah's insecurities crept up when she considered how little he called. Little did she realize that Michael was trying to do the right thing. She made a call of her own.

"Jen, I just don't get it. We had such a great time that night. Michael only called me twice last week. Sure, we went to lunch after church and had a wonderful time, but he seems hesitant. Am I doing something wrong?"

"
I don't think so, Sarah. Does he still send you those cute emails?
"

"Well, yeah, but I really like talking to him."

"
It's not surprising, Sarah. He's a guy.
"

"What do you mean?"

"
Jake did the same thing to me, remember? We were getting serious and really close, then all of a sudden he ran away. You were the one that set him straight and sent him back to me. That was the day you first met Michael. Now, your guy is doing the same thing. You two got really serious really fast and he's retreating into his 'man cave' so to speak. I don't know him well enough to draw him out, so you'll have to do it yourself.
"

"Oh, I never thought about that. I'm glad you're my 'wingman' or I would mess this whole thing up, Jen. How do I set him straight?"

"
I think you need to shift gears. You know, sweetie, I told you to take it slow with him, but my version of slow and your version of slow may be totally different.
"

"You think?"

"
Yeah, I might have steered you wrong. We may need to speed things up a bit.
"

"What do you have in mind?"

"
How about this...
"

Sweet Michael,

I enjoyed the heck out of having you over to my place for dinner. I even got a kick out of cooking for you and seeing how much you enjoyed it. There's just something missing now that only you can help with. I miss having dinner with you. You are such a wonderful dinner companion.

Would you mind doing the gentlemanly thing and inviting me over to your place sometime? I would love to see what you can do in the kitchen.

Blessings!

Sarah <3

Michael's laughter turned heads in Sunset Joe's. He immediately placed a call.

Chapter 11

Dinner morphed into lunch so Michael could show Sarah his place during daylight. It thrilled Sarah to go to Michael's house. Her trepidation subsided as she became comfortable with him and trusted him more. If Michael would crawl through a barrage of bullets to save his buddies she was fairly certain he would take care of her.

She fell in love with Michael's homestead that once belonged to his grandparents. It was a two-story farmhouse with a wraparound porch. Obviously well maintained and recently painted in a pleasant yellow with white trim. The interior was light and airy, much different than her apartment. The renovations stayed true to the original design and décor. It was a dream house for her.

"Michael, this house is just lovely. Who did the renovations?"

"My uncle and I did most of it. I subbed out some of the stuff I didn't have the skills or time to do. There's still a lot that needs to be done. It needs furniture. That's my next project."

"Well it's wonderful."

"Thank you. That means a lot to me, Sarah."

Michael's tone caught Sarah by surprise, as if he meant something by it that went unsaid.

"Let's eat, shall we?"

His words broke her spell. "Okay, Michael. Yeah."

They sat down to a delightful lunch of gazpacho, grilled vegetable tacos, and flan, all perfectly in keeping with Sarah's diet preferences. Michael was quite the cook.

"Oh, Michael. That was wonderful. And you say those tortillas are on a paleo diet?"

"Yeah.
Gluten free and made from scratch. I'll show you how to make 'em some time."

"Well, you're holding out on me. You really are a good cook."

They walked outside and sat on the porch steps to enjoy the view.

"You know, Michael. I really like being with you like this. I've got to be honest. I've never felt safe and secure being alone with a man before you." Sarah took Michael's hand in both of hers."

"That means a lot to me, Sarah. To be honest with you, I've been a little nervous about how much I should press forward with a relationship with you. I don't want to do anything that would threaten you or make you feel insecure. I know you've been through some painful and difficult things in your past."

"I have and I've worked hard to overcome those things. I appreciate how you've been patient with me, almost too patient. I hope you don't mind that I practically invited myself over here today."

Michael laughed. "Oh, no. I loved the way you did it. You have such a wonderful sense of humor. No. You told me that you wanted me closer to you and I liked that... I have been a little distant the last few weeks. I guess... our conversation after dinner that night was a little overwhelming. Incredible, wonderful, but unbelievable at the same time. I never knew a woman could be so understanding of me and my... situation so soon after meeting me."

Jen was exactly right. Michael did retreat to his 'man cave.'
"Michael, you've been incredibly sensitive and understanding of me and my situation too. Not many men would be so accepting of a woman who was abused and battered like me. Trust me. I know." She put her head on his shoulder and tried hard not to cry.

Michael pulled his hand from Sarah's grip and put his arm around her. "Sarah, I just knew that you'd been through something difficult, but we both had. We need each other. We're helping each other..."

They sat on the porch enjoying an increasingly cool breeze as the sun set and the warm feeling of intimacy between them kindled.

Michael devised the perfect finale to a perfect evening with a request. "Sarah, I need your help with something important to me."

Sarah's heart skipped a beat and she sat up to look at him. "What's that, Michael."

"Would you go to Austin with me to help me pick out furniture for the house?"

"What?"

Chapter 12

"Jen, we had a wonderful afternoon and evening at Michael's house. He has a gorgeous house by the way. Great meal. Good talk and you were exactly right. He told me he was holding back partly because he didn't want to push too hard and because we got so serious at dinner."

"
Bingo. I nailed it. Guys just do that. We can't keep 'em from doing it, but we can fix 'em if we know it's happening. We make a great team when we work together, Sarah.
"

"Yeah, good catch. Anyway, things were getting really nice and dreamy between us and he breaks it up with a really strange request."

"
Uh, he's not getting weird or anything, is he?
"

"What?
Oh, heavens no, Jen." Sarah turned bright red. Fortunately, Jen wasn't there to see it. "He asked me to go to Austin to shop for furniture with the same seriousness as if he asked me to marry him, Jen. It was the strangest thing."

There was silence on the phone for several seconds.

"Jen, you there?"

"
Yeah, I was just thinking about what you said. He asked you to go to Austin to help him pick out furniture?
"

"Yup, what's up with that?"

"
Sarah, sweetie, you're a social worker. You analyze the psycho-social stuff in patients and families all the time. You don't see what's going on with Michael?
"

Sarah thought for a minute.
"No, not so much. You have to remember, Jen. I'm really new at this. I don't have much... any experience with men at this level. That's why I need you."

"
Well, what I said about Michael retreating to his 'man cave' after you guys got hot and heavy with the serious stuff was true. He let you into his man cave when you asked to come for lunch. Now, he's asking you to help him redecorate his man cave by helping pick out furniture. Sarah, you're slowly but surely owning this guy. Good job, girl.
"

"So, Michael asking me to go furniture shopping is a guy's way of getting more serious in a relationship?"

"
Heck, yeah.
"

"I'll never understand men."

"
Don't worry, sweetie, they feel the same about us.
"

Sarah looked forward to her Thursday off and the expedition to Austin with much more excitement than bewilderment. She accepted Jen's assessment of the situation at face value. This was new territory for her. With each passing day she found it harder to focus on work and caught herself daydreaming about the trip more than doing paperwork. They would leave early morning and get back before dark since Austin was just an hour and a half away. She wondered what they would talk about on the trip.
Focus, Sarah. You have work to do.

Michael called and emailed a few times during the week to plan the day, where Sarah wanted to go to lunch, store recommendations and such. For Sarah, just spending the day with Michael was a thrill. The details didn't matter but she had a few suggestions anyway.

The big day finally arrived and Sarah was up, dressed and ready sooner than necessary. The excitement got the best of her. She flitted around the apartment straightening an already immaculate home and gathering a few... several things she just had to take with her. Some of those things included samples of new snacks she found on Pinterest. Michael would be her guinea pig.

The knock at 8:26 prompted Sarah to open the door to an attentive and handsome Michael.
He's not like guys who just honk the horn. He's so cute.
"Good morning."

"Good morning, beautiful lady. You ready to go?"

Sarah locked up and they walked arm in arm to the truck where Michael opened the door and helped her in.

He's just so darn cute.

The drive took them through several small Texas communities along Farm to Market roads and small highways. Michael liked taking the "scenic route" rather than the Interstate since the construction delayed and frustrated him. Towns like Cameron, Davila, Holland and Bartlett had such rich histories and tight-knit communities it would be a shame not to pass through them.

As they talked, Sarah mentally noted the roads leading to the houses of patients she cared for over the years. The longer they drove the fewer locations she spotted. After about thirty minutes they were completely out of the Sunset service area. She shared some of the stories with Michael, no names of course.

"It must be hard to get that close to your patients knowing that they will be gone soon."

"It is, but we tell new employees that hospice is a calling. If you are called to do this, God gives you the ability to deal with the unique stresses and blessings of the job." She thought for a minute. "It's like what you did in the Army, Michael. Very few people could do what you did. You and my brother Gabriel are a unique breed. You two are the same, but so different too."

"How's that?"

"You're calm, quiet, always observing. You listen well. You don't judge. That's what I like about you. I feel safe with you. I love my brother, but he can be so overbearing. Both of you are good soldiers, though."

"You know, I knew your brother. I hadn't told you that."

"Gabe told me he knew you. He spoke very highly of you too."

"Gabe's a good man. He's the one you want on your six in a fire fight." Michael drove silently for several miles. "I've lost touch with most of the guys in my unit, including Gabe... I'm not supposed to talk about this, Sarah, but Gabe was behind me in the convoy the night I was hit."

Sarah kept silent at the news, knowing there was a lot more to the story that Michael needed to tell.

Michael adjusted himself in the seat. "One of my responsibilities was to sniff out signals of an impending ambush. I have this uncanny sense about things even when you can't detect them with a machine. I never saw this one coming. It's the only one I missed and the one that got me and killed one of my men. Had it happened even thirty seconds later, it could have been Gabe.

"The after action report said nothing about me missing anything that could have prevented the attack. There were no warning signs, but I could always tell. I blame myself for that. I've had to get past that and it's been tough to do."

Sarah let Michal's revelation soak in before she proceeded. "Gabe called you a real hero for what you did. He didn't give me any details, but I could tell if he had any animosity toward you, Michael, and he doesn't. He's thrilled that we're together. He told me to take good care of you, if you can believe that."

"Wow, that's really saying something coming from your guardian angel."

"My what?"

"Well, you have a brother who watches out for you who's named after one of the archangels in the Bible."

"You know, I've never thought of it that way."

The conversation and company became increasingly lighter and more comfortable throughout the day. While Michael had a pretty good idea of what kind of furniture he wanted, he had no idea what styles or colors would go well in a renovated farmhouse.

Sarah was in her element. She loved styles, colors and combining the two. She just never had the money or the opportunity to do anything about it. Armed with her Pinterest app and dozens of examples of farmhouse chic, they visited several stores that catered to DINKs (Double Income, No Kids) in the upscale Austin market who took on the monumental task of renovating some of the hundreds of older houses in the Central Texas area.

Michael just shook his head at Sarah's enthusiasm over selecting and suggesting a rustic Texas theme for the living spaces, white wash for the upstairs, and barn wood furniture for Michael's bedroom downstairs. The colors and patterns brought out Michael's personality.

At one point, Michael asked, "Just curious, Sarah. What colors would you pick if it were your room?"

Sarah paused for a minute, not sure how to answer. "Well..." and then continued picking a few that she liked, not knowing exactly why he asked.

Over lunch, Sarah ventured into a conversation she was just dying to have. "So, Michael. When you first told me about living at your grandmother's place it sounded like that was a temporary arrangement. I guess since you're considering furniture it means you're planning on making it more permanent?" She tried so hard not to make that sound like what it was.

Michael looked at her and let out one of his typical barely perceptible smiles.
"Yeah. To be honest, when we first met I didn't even know if Sunset would be much more than a short-term thing. I'm pretty sure now that I'll be here for the foreseeable future." His smile grew larger.