The Memory Page 10

  Geneva hid her anguish behind a thoughtful expression. She didn’t want him to forget her or their time together. Emotion swelled in her throat.

  “Let’s pray that doesn’t happen,” she heard herself whisper.

  Their faces were just inches apart. Their eyes locked. A kiss was on the minds of each, but neither made a move for fear of treading into the unknown. They quickly turned their gazes to the water.

  “Break’s over!” Elliot jumped off the table.

  They worked a couple more hours then Geneva stopped so she’d have enough time to clean up before starting supper.

  “Will you come to dinner tonight, Elliot? Around six.”

  Elliot leaned on his rake handle and smiled at her. “I’d like that.”

  A few minutes later, Geneva was soaking in a tub of warm, bubbly water. Her heart was telling her she was desperately in love with Elliot Starling, but her mind was warning her not to get too close to him. If his memories returned and he flew back into the arms of Olivia Swanson, she’d be left in Holly Park with a broken heart. It’d be the second one Elliot had given her.

  I don’t care! This is my time to have what I want, and I want Elliot.

  Her bold declaration rattled Geneva. Was it wrong to want someone this badly? Not if she truly loved him, she assured herself. She did love Elliot. In a powerful, selfless way. Which meant giving him up if it came to that.

  Chapter 15

  “What’s this?” Geneva quizzed when Elliot handed her a wad of cash.

  “I owe you for the meals I’ve eaten here,” he said. When she tried to give it back he threw his hands up. “Please, I’d feel a lot better eating here if I was paying.”

  “And I’d feel a lot better inviting you if you weren’t paying,” Geneva countered. She stuffed the money in his shirt pocket. “So there, end of discussion! I thank you for the gesture, but it’s totally unnecessary.” She loved cooking for him.

  Elliot glanced at Perry who grinned. “No use arguing with her, Elliot. Geneva loves to cook for others. That’s why she’s in charge of the kitchen at church.”

  The two men settled in the living room while Geneva checked on dinner.

  “She’s spoiled me,” Elliot confessed, patting his firm mid-section that was back to its original size since the accident. He owed his healthy weight gain to Geneva.

  “She’s spoiled a lot of people in this community. Geneva wouldn’t want me bragging on her, but she prepares casseroles, stews, and desserts for the needy in town every week. I get the joy of delivering the dishes. It’s a mixture of her many gifts. Compassion, generosity, and cooking.”

  A memory fluttered from the recesses of Elliot’s mind. It was Christmas time. The room he stood in was decorated with garland and a lighted tree. Christmas music played in the background. Laughter and chatter filled the room, but the faces were blurred. He couldn’t make any out.

  Suddenly, she was beside him, her fragrance swirling in his lungs.

  “Your pound cake is the best, Geneva,” he complimented after swallowing a mouthful.

  “Thanks.” Her eyes danced as she smiled at him. “I love cooking. Pound cakes are my favorite things to make.”

  He was entranced by her dazzling looks and gentle spirit. His heart raced as they discussed their holiday plans.

  “Dinner’s ready!” Geneva called out.

  The memory evaporated faster than a snow flake in a July sky.

  Elliot stood on shaky legs and followed Perry to the table. He regarded Geneva with love and respect. His heart rate climbed till it matched the one in his new memory.

  After Perry said a blessing over the food, Elliot shared the memory in a nonchalant way that didn’t betray his feelings.

  “I remember that Christmas party.” Geneva’s jeweled eyes sparkled with imaginary glitter as she spooned taco casserole onto Elliot’s plate. She’d been swept off her feet that night by his playful conduct, although she hadn’t let the incident go to her head. “It’s good that you’re remembering more,” she added, cheerfully, passing him a basket of bread.

  They exchanged tantalizing glances across the table.

  “I would have remembered more if you hadn’t called me to dinner.” Elliot chuckled. “Maybe you can tell me how the party ended.”

  Geneva’s expression soured. “Olivia interrupted us with a sales report. You were still talking to her when I left.”

  Elliot sensed Geneva had not been happy about that, but he didn’t press for more details. He wondered if all his moments with Geneva had been interrupted by Olivia.

  Later, while helping Geneva clean the kitchen, Elliot admitted confronting Olivia with Geneva’s version of what led to the firing. Geneva wasn’t shocked to learn Olivia had rejected her speculations. She accepted the news graciously, which didn’t surprise Elliot.

  “I guess it boils down to her word against mine.” Geneva pulled mismatched mugs from the cupboard and filled each with hazelnut coffee that had just finished brewing. The hearty aroma drove away pesky thoughts of Olivia from both their minds. Geneva turned to Elliot who was hanging the dishtowel over the handle on the oven door. “Let’s not dwell on the negative while we have dessert.”

  “You’re the boss of this place.” Elliot’s whimsical smile made Geneva dizzy. She turned from him and took several deep breaths to keep upright. Thankfully, he was too busy loading a tray with dessert dishes to notice her swaying.

  “Ready?” He handed her the lighter tray so he could take the one with the filled coffee mugs.

  They carried both to the living room where Perry sat, watching a news program. He turned it off when he heard them approaching and smiled when he saw the dessert plates.

  “Mmm, Key Lime pie.”

  “Your favorite, Grandpa.” Geneva placed her tray on the coffee table. Elliot set his next to it.

  “One of my many favorites,” Perry corrected, good-humoredly. “They’re all so good, I can’t make up my mind.”

  “All these desserts are going to start showing up on my waistline,” Elliot worried out loud.

  “Not the way Geneva makes them.” Perry scooped out a bite of his pie.

  Elliot glanced at Geneva with a befuddled grin.

  “I have a few secrets.” She winked back.

  “I don’t know how you managed all this while helping me with the lake today,” Elliot remarked as he settled on the sofa. He remembered Olivia’s objection to home-cooked meals. To Elliot, sitting around the table over one was the delight of the day. He looked forward to the time like a child waiting for Christmas morning.

  Geneva shrugged. “It’s a trick I learned from my Grandma Inez. When I cook or bake, I make two or three dishes at a time and freeze the extras. That way, when I’m pressed for time, I can just reach into the freezer and pull something out.”

  “Smart,” Elliot said, charmed by her expertise and humility.

  While they ate, Elliot mentioned the possibility of his family visiting the next week.

  “That’s wonderful!” Geneva blurted. “I’d love to have them for dinner while they’re here.”

  “I’m sure they’d love to come.” Elliot quipped.

  “All I can cook up is a sermon.” Perry laughed. “They’re welcome to attend the church services.”

  Elliot nodded. “They’ll be delighted with that, too.”

  “It’ll be nice to see your family again, Elliot,” Geneva said, honestly. “Your mother and Peggy used to attend all the company socials. As I recall, your mother was a real charmer. She was always full of life and sweet as a daisy.”

  “She still is,” Elliot admitted, even though he couldn’t remember the past. Jewel Starling was a silver-haired ball of energy and spunk. “She has fond memories of you. So does Peggy.” He shared their comments about her. Geneva blushed at their generous words.

  Perry watched as Elliot and Geneva bantered over their dessert and coffee. The looks in their eyes told him it was time to leave. Excusing himself, he took his dishes
to the kitchen, washed them up at the sink then retired to his room with the hopes the two would make the most of his absence.

  “I feel like a walk. Care to join me?” Elliot asked when they finished cleaning the kitchen later. The latest memory convinced him he’d had feelings for Geneva at one time. It was time to address them. Brushing them aside was getting him nowhere. Just like he confronted Olivia with their history together, he had to do the same with Geneva.

  Geneva chuckled. “I was just going to suggest that.” She grabbed a shawl to throw over her shoulders. “Do you mind if Russell tags along? He likes nighttime walks.”

  “I’ll get the leash.” Elliot pulled it from a basket by the back door and hooked it to Russell’s collar when they stepped on the front porch. “Let’s go pal.” The dog was ecstatic.

  “What are you and your family going to do next week?” Geneva asked in a casual way as they strolled under a full moon.

  “They’re going to help me clean the lake,” Elliot explained.

  “How nice! Nothing bonds people together like team work.”

  They walked along the edge of the road, moving to the grassy shoulder whenever a vehicle passed. Geneva tingled each time Elliot steered her from danger with a touch at her elbow.

  Elliot searched the stars overhead. “The world is so peaceful here, Geneva. It’s almost like I belong here and not in Orlando.” His voice wrinkled in places with longing. “I wouldn’t mind starting a new life here and never returning to the other one. Is that selfish of me?”

  “Considering you don’t remember your other life, I would think not.” A warm sensation overwhelmed Geneva at the thought of Elliot living in Holly Park. Her imagination took off as she visualized a life with him. She felt hopeful, knowing he’d grown fond of her hometown.

  They walked a little ways in silence, each in their own thoughts until Elliot couldn’t hold his in anymore.

  “Ahem.” Elliot cleared his throat. “I wasn’t completely honest with you this evening when I told you about my new memory.”

  “Oh.” Geneva couldn’t read his face in the dark. Was it a good or bad thing? She prepared herself for something bad.

  Elliot stopped where the oak trees formed a canopy over the narrow road and pulled Geneva to a spot saturated with moonbeams.

  “I can’t go any further without telling you the truth, Geneva.” He gripped her shoulders tenderly.

  Geneva trembled under his gentle touch and powerful gaze. “What are you talking about, Elliot?”

  “I haven’t told you before because I wasn’t sure what it was I was feeling. I couldn’t trust my own emotions.” He slid his hands from her shoulders, down her arms, to her hands. “You’re shaking,” he said. “Don’t be afraid, Geneva.”

  Geneva smiled under a thread of moonlight. “I’m not afraid.” Her honeysweet tone was all the encouragement Elliot needed to speak his heart.

  “I—think—I’m in love with you, Geneva.” His words caught in his throat.

  “You think you’re in love with me,” Geneva echoed with speculation.

  Elliot shook his head, confused. “No, I am in love with you. At least that’s what I believe I’ve been feeling whenever I remember you.” He caressed her hands. “I’m really botching this up, aren’t I? I guess I’m still confused by what’s happening.”

  “It’s okay, Elliot.” Geneva squeezed his hands to calm her own nerves. His confession came from nowhere. It stunned and overwhelmed her. It was too much to absorb in the simplicity of their surroundings. Geneva felt off kilter. Her legs were about to buckle. She had to pull Elliot back to the real world. “You don’t have to pour out your heart and soul to me at this very moment. There’s still a lot of uncertainty inside you. You have to move slowly.” She couldn’t read his face, but she felt the muscles in his arms tense. It was clear her response bothered him.

  “Do you have feelings for me, Geneva?” His directness challenged Geneva to face the truth. She met his question with just enough silence to draw an aching sigh from Elliot. He dropped her hands. She lifted one and touched the side of his face. Her fingers felt the soft scruff on his jaw.

  “I’m not sure what I’m allowed to feel, Elliot.” Her honesty moved him. He clasped his hand over hers.

  “Tell me what you feel right now, Geneva.”

  Geneva hesitated while her thoughts gathered. She took a deep breath and jumped in where moments ago she feared. It wasn’t fair to keep Elliot wondering. Hadn’t she’d prayed for this moment since she’d met Elliot Starling, to tell him how she felt about him.

  Here’s your chance, Geneva. Make the most of it. It may be the only time you get.

  “I care for you in a special way, Elliot,” she started with restraint. His hand twitched next to hers as if that wasn’t good enough. You can do better than that, she scolded herself.

  Romancing a man wasn’t exactly easy for Geneva. She didn’t have a bit of experience. Her only brush with it had been a crush on Elliot Starling, and that had been oh-so brief and unsuccessful. Or had it been? Geneva braced herself. Go ahead. Tell him how you really feel?

  “You don’t have to say anything, Geneva.” The finality in Elliot’s tone stomped the fire out of Geneva’s thoughts. He took his hand from hers. A cold sensation ruffled through her veins as he spoke. “I’m pressuring you to admit something you obviously don’t feel. I assumed you felt the same about me as I did about you. I guess I was wrong.”

  “No, Elliot,” Geneva heard herself blurt out. “You’re not wrong.”

  Chapter 16

  “I’m glad you were honest with me, Geneva.” Elliot played with the rim of his coffee cup.

  Before admitting her feelings for him, Geneva had suggested they return to the house. She brewed a fresh pot of gourmet coffee to ease their tension then they settled at the kitchen table to talk it all out.

  “I couldn’t let you dangle between knowing and not knowing. You seemed so pathetic.” Her emerald eyes teased. When Geneva had confessed her school-girl crush on Elliot a few minutes earlier, he’d surprised her by blushing and told her he was flattered.

  “I’d hoped you felt the same as me,” Elliot said, now that everything was out in the open. “I thought I was going crazy. Now it makes sense.”

  “What?” Geneva propped her elbow on the table and cupped her chin in her palm, taking all of Elliot’s handsome face in. She’d dreamed of this day for so many years in so many ways, she almost pinched herself to make sure she was awake.

  “Why I never forgot you,” he said in a humble voice. “My first memory was of the day I fired you because it hurt me so badly. I thought you had given your heart to someone else, and I panicked. I flew into a jealous rage and fired you. After you walked out, I knew in my heart that I was in love with you. I think the reason I changed was because I couldn’t have you. I’d put a wall between us. It was my fault. I know that now.”

  Elliot reached across the table and pulled one of Geneva’s hands away from her chin. He caressed it tenderly. His love for her was profound.

  “Is it too late to repair all the damage I caused?”

  Geneva slid him a starry-eyed look while pushing a curly lock of hair behind her ear. “There was really no damage, Elliot. Getting fired set the wheels in motion for me to be here when my grandmother needed me and to start the Serenity ministry.”

  “What if I hadn’t had the accident and amnesia?” Elliot wondered aloud. Would he have found his way to Geneva?

  “God would have brought us together another way,” Geneva said, convincingly. “I promise you that.”

  “I love you, Geneva.” Elliot never meant anything more deeply, but then Olivia popped in his head. Had he said the same to her?

  “What about Olivia?” Geneva read his thoughts. She eased her hand out of his.

  Elliot pressed his palms against his temples with frustration. “If only I could remember how I really felt about Olivia, but I can’t. I did suggest we postpone the wedding.”

&nb
sp; “What did she say?”

  “Nothing good.” Elliot expanded on his time with Olivia.

  Geneva frowned. “She sounds determined to marry you whether you remember her or not?”

  “I can’t marry someone I don’t love.”

  “I think we’ve covered a lot for one night. Let’s sleep on our thoughts and talk some more tomorrow.” Geneva stood and cleared the table.

  “I like that idea.” Elliot followed Geneva to the sink. He gently turned her around to face him then surprised her with a tender kiss. “I’ve been waiting a long time to do that,” he whispered in her ear when his lips released hers. “I couldn’t wait any longer.”

  Geneva’s radiant smile expressed her pleasure. She hooked her arms around his neck. “I can’t believe this is happening, Elliot. I thought I’d go through my whole life not ever seeing you again. Now, you’re here, and I’m in your arms. I’m so grateful. I love you so much.”

  Elliot pulled her closer and kissed her again then let her go abruptly. “I’d better say goodnight and get going.” He headed to the door then turned with a delicious smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Geneva.”

  Geneva stayed awake half the night, too keyed up to sleep. Her dream was coming true, but at what price? She wasn’t fond of Olivia Swanson, but the woman was Elliot’s fiancée. Thus, the crease in Geneva’s blessing, if that’s what this was. She couldn’t just toss the woman aside as if she didn’t exist, no matter how coldhearted Olivia acted. After praying about it, Geneva knew what she had to do. She explained it to Elliot the next day over breakfast at the lake before they started working.

  “I’m sure of my feelings for you, Elliot, but I’m not ready to celebrate,” she told him in a whoosh as she handed him a plate of sliced cantaloupe with a bagel. “It feels too much like we’re cheating. Olivia is your fiancée despite the fact you can’t remember her. I won’t proceed into a relationship with you until your one with Olivia is resolved.”

  Elliot wasn’t thrilled to put his love for Geneva on hold, but he agreed.

  “I couldn’t sleep last night from thinking about it,” he said, frowning. “I’ve been so busy, trying to figure out why I remember only you that I haven’t spent any time trying to figure out my involvement with Olivia. I didn’t get anywhere when I saw her last week. We don’t communicate well because we’re no longer on the same page. She’s not an easy person to be around.”