Amelia mused aloud. “Elizabeth Bennett. Hmm. Does that make him your Mr. Darcy?”
“What?”
Amelia sighed. “Never mind. I forget you don’t read fiction.” She went on. “So what else can you tell me about him? What does he look like? Is he tall? Is he handsome? I’ll bet he has an accent. God, I knew I should have talked Mother into letting me come with you.”
Ellie could hear the regret in her sister’s voice as she tried to concentrate. But as the image of Jack appeared in her head, she found herself hopelessly lost in his hypnotic blue eyes.
“You still there?”
Ellie snapped out of it. “Hmm? Sorry. What were you saying?”
“I was asking what he looks like. Is he tall, short, skinny, fat? Is he like any of the guys around here?”
No, was Ellie’s first reaction. “He’s tall and strong,” she finally said. “He spends most of his time on the water, so his skin is the color of summer.”
“Sounds to me as if you like him?”
Ellie bit her lip to keep from smiling. “So what if I do? Are you going to tell Mother?”
“We’re sisters,” said Amelia, sounding as if Ellie’s question had offended her. “I would never do that to you. So does this mean you have a crush on him?”
A crush. The thought seemed almost juvenile to Ellie. No, what she and Jack shared was more than just a crush. It was true love.
“I think it’s more serious than that,” she declared. “I think… well… I think I love him.”
“Love?” whispered Amelia. “I’ve never heard you talk like that before.”
“Which is why it must stay between us. If Mother finds out, there’s no telling what she’ll do.” She took a breath and changed the subject. “Speaking of Mother, how are things at home?”
“You mean am I bearing the brunt of her fury in your absence?”
Ellie snickered. “Yes, that’s exactly what I mean.”
“She has her moments, but all in all, it’s no worse than usual. Besides, I’m her favorite. It’s you she doesn’t like, remember.”
Ellie cringed. “How could I forget?”
CHAPTEREIGHT
Dancingin the Dark
The next afternoon, Jack lay on his back, hands laced behind his head, staring into an endless blue sky. The day had been a bust all the way around. With enough passengers to fill only one tour, George closed early and lent Jack the boat. And since Ellie was out with Clara at the beauty shop, Jack drifted over to Finchum Hollow, where he anchored and swam alone. When he’d had his fill of the water, he catnapped in the shade and waited for the sun to go down.
As he lay there, drifting in and out of consciousness, Jack recalled the conversation with George at the beginning of summer. Despite George’s prediction that Jack would never own a house on the hill, Jack was determined to prove him wrong. And now he had another dream to add to his list—someone with whom he could share the rest of his life. Someone like Ellie. And that’s when an idea took root.
* * *
A few days later, Jack climbed the hill that overlooked the Union Grove Methodist Church and found a shady spot beneath a walnut tree. He took his time, enjoying a lunch of salt-cured ham with cornbread, and when he’d eaten his fill, he fed the rest to the birds, then leaned back against the tree and gazed at the cemetery below.
It wasn’t long before he had company. “Hey there,” Ellie shouted as she crested the hill.
“What a pleasant surprise. I thought you said you’d be in Dandridge this afternoon.”
She stopped to catch her breath. “That was the plan, but we finished early, so I thought I’d come see what you were up to. I hope you don’t mind. George told me where to find you.”
“I don’t mind.” Jack offered her a spot on the ground beside him.
“What are you doing way out here by yourself?” she asked, taking in her surroundings.
