Wanted A Real Family(70)
Jase glanced out the window and noticed their plane seemed to be circling, just as the thoughts were circling in his mind. Since Dana, he hadn’t thought that he was suited for marriage or that he could stay in one place. Never thought anybody would love him forever.
But Sara—
Almost immediately after he’d said the words that had ruined everything between them, he’d known he was wrong. No matter how the situation had looked, she wasn’t the type of woman who lied...or cheated. She was the type of woman who would be loyal. She was the type of woman who knew how to love. Maybe if he could tell her he’d been jealous and that’s why the doubts had arisen, maybe if he could tell her he wanted her for his own, maybe if he could tell her how he felt, he could convince her he could truly put the past behind him and find a future with her.
“Are you thinking about getting married?” Tony repeated.
“I am,” Jase confirmed. “Now I just have to convince Sara that sometimes men in love make mistakes and ask her to forgive me.”
Tony raised his glass in a toast. “You’ll convince her.”
Jase hoped his friend was right. But as he noticed their plane circling the area again, he knew he’d use the time to find just the right words to convince her he loved her.
* * *
Sara was nervous on Saturday evening, more nervous than she’d ever been. She was about to risk her heart. If Jase couldn’t return her love, she’d have to accept that. But if she didn’t say what she felt and she lost him, she’d have no one but herself to blame. She didn’t want to have regrets.
As she set up the picnic in the Merlot vineyard under an oak’s shade, she thought about Ethan. He was feeling better today and his fever had broken. Last evening, she’d taken him chicken soup for dinner with toasted bread and applesauce. He’d eaten it all. She’d checked on him again by phone before bed and he’d been dozing. She’d told him to call her if he needed her. This morning he had called to tell her he was making his own breakfast and he didn’t want her to expose Amy to more of his germs. No, he hadn’t heard from Jase but expected him home around five.
Last night she’d left a note with Ethan that he was supposed to give Jase when he returned. When she’d called Marissa, her friend had excitedly volunteered to stay with Amy and await the outcome of this picnic.
Eagerly, Sara arranged a yellow checkered tablecloth with festive paper plates and napkins...and even a vase of wildflowers in the center of the cloth. The cooler was filled with fried chicken, potato salad, fresh strawberries and cheese. A bottle of her favorite Raintree wine was chilled. She just needed Jase.
But five o’clock passed. Six o’clock came and went. Had he gotten the note? Or was he going to ignore her invitation?
She was about ready to give up, to fold up her dreams and pack them back into her heart, but then she saw him walking toward her. The wind tossed his hair, but as he got closer, his shadow fell across the tablecloth and she saw his expression was somber. Was he late because he couldn’t make up his mind whether he should come or not? Was he late because he was going to tell her they were finished? The answer to either of those made her sad to the depths of her soul.
“I didn’t think you were going to come,” she blurted out honestly.
“My plane landed late. We had to circle because another plane had difficulty on the runway and air traffic had to be rerouted.”
She was so relieved her knees felt weak, but a hurdle still lay before her. “So you’ll stay and have a picnic with me? I...I made something for you.”
“Sara, I have something to tell you.”
She was afraid to hear it. But she handed him a scrapbook. “Look at this first, okay?”
When he hesitated, all of her fears reared up again. But then Jase sank to the ground cross-legged, and that gave her hope. He started paging through the scrapbook. It was filled with the photos he’d given her of the three of them—pictures of the day he’d used his camera again when they’d aimed the hose at each other and he and Amy had hopscotched. He had snapped more photos the day of the festival, setting the timer, catching Amy with her balloon and the two of them eating pastries. He’d caught Amy chasing a butterfly, Sara walking through the vineyard, both her and Amy sitting at the picnic table as he’d grilled burgers.
Before she lost her chance, she said, “I want these pictures to be more than memories. My settlement came through, and I can leave now if you want me to.”
What came next was the tough part, the laying-her-heart-on-the-line part. “But I love you, Jase Cramer. And I’d like to be in your life permanently.” She hurried on. “If you want to photograph children at a clinic in Africa, I’ll support you in that. I understand your gifts and your need to use them. I guess I just want you to know I’ll always be here waiting for you.”