Page 40 of Not So Very Sensible

“Or you could stay here with Ethan while I deal with it. I’m not completely helpless, you know.”

Ellie bit her lip, then rose to hug her sister. “Nobody thinks you are.”

His heart panged at the affection shown. He wished his family did spontaneous affection, but alas, that was something that had ceased when Mum did.

Katie murmured something, then glanced at Ethan. “Don’t have too much fun without me.”

He nodded gravely. “We’ll be sure to have just the right amount.”

Katie half smiled at that, then turned to her sister. “I’ll be reading next to the fire, so come find me when you’re ready.”

He wondered at the quick change in her attitude, then internally shrugged as she walked away. Maybe Katie was just prone to moodiness, like Lucinda was too. For a second, he wondered where Jason was, and whether they had concocted some secret plan, then instantly dismissed it. Jason had moved on to a far more willing candidate, if what he’d seen last night could be believed. Should he mention to Ellie about what he’d seen? Maybe not. He wasn’t one hundred percent sure what had happened, or even if it really had been Jason, even if it had looked ninety-nine percent certain. Besides, he didn’t want Ellie worrying about her sister. He wanted her focused on him.

“So, hi again.”

Ellie’s smile was a little shy. “Hi.”

“Thanks for agreeing to stay for high tea with me.”

“You’re welcome. Thanks for asking me.”

He leaned forward, hands on the table. “I really would like to get to know you more, you know.”

“Me too.”

“So, what is it you want to know?”

Her head tilted. “Tell me more about your family.”

“Okay.” He motioned to the staff who were cleaning up around them. “Do you want to do that here, or go to the lounge or somewhere quieter to talk?”

“Mm, if we’re eating again, I wouldn’t mind going for a bit of a walk. If you’re okay with that.”

“A bushwalk?”

She chuckled. “Let’s not get carried away. No, a walk around the grounds would be nice. There might be some picturesque views for photos.”

He could do with some more pictures of her, so that was a definite “Sounds good.”

They’d both worn sneakers, so it was just a quick matter to grab jackets, load their bags in their respective cars, then begin their stroll past the tennis courts.

The old building’s architecture, with its mix of styles, drew their comments for a while, and then she asked him again about his family.

He told her more about his mum’s passing from cancer a few years ago and the strain it had placed on his dad, sister, and brother. “They’re not believers, so they don’t understand why I wasn’t more upset. I loved my mum, but I know that because she was a Christian, she’s now in heaven, so I think they blamed me for not being more upset like them.”

Her hands were in her jacket pockets, a chunk of dark hair slipping from her ponytail as she studied him soberly. “I can’t imagine what that must’ve been like. I’m so sorry.”

He felt something like a tangible wave of her sympathy towards him, something that softened his heart towards her even more. Lucinda had known him all her life, but she’d never been so obvious in her compassion. For a moment, he wondered if Ellie was about to cry.

She blinked, looked down, scuffed the toes of her shoe in the dirt. “My family are all Christians. So I haven’t had to face that kind of challenge. But I’ll be praying for your family to come to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.”

“Thank you. That really means a lot.”

He motioned to the tennis courts, and they were able to take a few pictures through the tennis fence of the dramatic view of the valley. “Can you imagine losing a tennis ball over this cliff?”

“It’d be a long way to go find it.”

He pointed out what looked like a bushwalking track. “I’m not sure how people manage to get down there. I saw some brochures at the hotel about nearby walks, and it looks like you need to walk up near the train station to begin.”