Love Starts with Elle(5)
Her passions cooled while Jeremiah dished up Mrs. Marks’s excellent cooking and Elle drilled him about the details. What did Daddy say? And Pastor O’Neal? Do you want to move into the cottage after the wedding? Do you want a spring wedding? Jeremiah, I’ve only met your parents once. Are they excited?
He answered steadily, laughing as he recounted his meeting with Daddy. “He paused so long before giving his blessing he actually had me sweating.”
“He tries to be a grumpy ole bear, but he’s really a gentle Ben. Like he’d refuse the pastor anyway.”
“He seemed pleased.”
Elle thought tonight would always be a treasured memory, including Arlene’s heartbreak scare. “Wait until Arlene hears, Jeremiah. She had it wrong this time.”
Jeremiah reached for his tea. “Not entirely.”
Elle studied him mid-chew. “What do you mean?”
“What Arlene does know is I’ve been offered a large church in Dallas, Elle.”
“Dallas?” Absently, she wiped the corners of her mouth with a stiff linen napkin.
“Remember when I went home in October? We’d just started dating and I wasn’t sure where our relationship was headed. Some friends invited me to interview at their church—a big metropolitan congregation, multicultural, growing beyond their ability to handle it.”
“You never mentioned it.” Her heart beat to a different rhythm now. Leaving Beaufort?
“Didn’t think they’d come back with an offer. But they did. A few weeks ago. I would’ve told you, but I needed to work out a lot of details. Pray. Talk to Pastor O’Neal and the board.”
“I see. So you accepted?”
“I did. Gave notice to the board this morning. I leave the day after Christmas, but I hope we are going together, you and me.”
Sitting back in the Rubbermaid chair, Elle pondered Jeremiah’s news. Moving? Texas? She’d moved back to Beaufort after college and studying in Florence because she wanted to be home, near her four sisters and their families, near Daddy and Mama, reconnecting with lifelong friends. Building her life upon their foundation.
“I never imagined moving from Beaufort again.” Jeremiah’s ring slipped around on her cold, trembling finger so the diamond was upside down.
Jer reached over, tucking the blanket in around her. “Babe, I need you with me. Please don’t say this is a deal breaker.”
Deal breaker? Good grief. Were they ending before they’d even started? “No, Jeremiah, I feel a little overwhelmed, that’s all.” Her laugh jittered. “A girl gets a proposal and a chance to move across country . . . all in one night.”
“I’m sorry to spring it on you like this. I wasn’t sure of the best approach.” Jeremiah’s countenance remained firm, confident. “You’ll love this congregation. It’s about six hundred members and growing, knee deep in a building project, desperate to add another Sunday service.” He rubbed his palms together. “Rocking worship band, lots of ministries and activity going on.”
“So, you really told them yes?” She twisted the ring around her finger until the diamond captured the candlelight.
He took his knife and slowly buttered his bread. “I tried to figure out if I should propose to you first or answer them. After thinking it over and praying, I decided to answer yes to the job, get it out of the way, not encumber our new relationship with such a huge decision. Besides, what if you said no?”
“You do realize our new engagement is encumbered with this decision?”
He nodded, biting off the tip of his bread. “I suppose so. No way around it.”
The buttery aroma wafted past Elle. “Jeremiah, I love living here. I have a business. The art scene is robust and thriving.”
“I see.” Jeremiah dropped the remainder of his bread on top of the last bit of lasagna. “Then your answer is no?”
No, her answer was . . . uncertainty. Elle’s pulse picked up. “I just need a second to process all of this.” She untucked the blanket and walked to the edge of the porch. “Dallas, huh?”
All she knew of Dallas was an eighties nighttime soap opera her mama had watched after she and her sisters went to bed. If they came down for any unexpected reason, Daddy intercepted and dealt with them in the kitchen or living room, but always away from the TV and Dallas.
“It’s a great city, Elle. They also have a very thriving, robust art scene.” He came up from behind and embraced her. “I want you with me. I need you. You’re the love of my life.”
Well, if that confession didn’t just warm a girl’s cold feet. Elle turned in his arms. “And you’re the love of mine. But see it from my point of view. I’m engaged for thirty minutes before I discover my future has been determined for me. In my mind, I’ve planned my life here. My gallery is here.”
“I understand. But I have to go where the Lord is calling me, Elle. I hope you believe He’s calling you to be with me.”
She pressed her cheek to his chest, exhaling as he slipped his arms around her back. “Then you must go to Dallas, Jeremiah.”
“And you?”
Elle roped her arms around his neck, kissing the base of his neck. “Since October, you’ve been a face, a voice, a touch on all my days. How can I walk away now? I love you. I want to marry you. I’m terrified, Jeremiah, but if you’re going to be in Dallas, then so am I.”