Filed to story: Love on the Sidelines (Natalie & Karl)
“Okay, let’s have it.” He arched an eyebrow. The man was no dummy.
I plopped down on a log, the remains of an oak tree that had fallen years ago during one of our winter ice storms, and he sat beside me. “It’s Mama. She’s driving me crazy.”
“About what?”
“Hugh.” I hesitated. “Dad, she’s bound and determined I’m going to marry him, and she won’t listen to a word I say on the subject.”
“Do you love him?”
I shrugged. “I suppose so, in a way. I just don’t want to marry him.”
“Then don’t let your mother push you into it. It’s your life, Natalie. You have to do what makes you happy.” He studied me with a more intense scrutiny than usual. “It’s Karl, isn’t it?”
Like I said, the man was no dummy. He’d met Karl, and had listened to all the family stories about how I’d adopted him and our exploits over the years. Once he had even come looking for me and caught me in the barn with Karl. Luckily, we weren’t doing anything but talking that time, but we must have given ourselves away to someone who wasn’t as close to the situation as the rest of my family.
I was tired of denying my feelings for Karl, so I nodded. “Yes. I’ve loved him for a long time.”
“Does he feel the same way about you?”
It suddenly occurred to me that Karl had never told me loved me. I’d only assumed he did from the way he acted. I still believed he loved me, but my self-confidence was a bit shaken. “I think so.”
“Then why hasn’t he done something about it?”
Good question. I wished I had a logical answer. “There are some problems,” I said vaguely.
He was silent for a moment, thinking that over. “Karl didn’t strike me as the type that would let the woman he loves marry someone else. Have you told him what your mother is doing?”
“No.” I hadn’t wanted to make him feel any worse than he already did. And deep down, I was afraid that if he thought our relationship was giving me trouble, he’d stop seeing me.
“Maybe you should.”
He was right. I’d only needed to hear someone say it. It was time to face the music.
I’d been more than patient over the last few months. If Karl really loved me, it was time to do something about it. And if he didn’t, if Lindsey was more important to him than I was, well, it was better to find out now.
So that’s how I set in motion the events that culminated in Frank Hayes’s death.
It was Wednesday evening when I had my talk with Dad. That night I didn’t wait in my room for Karl as I usually did. I went down to the barn and waited, moving 75 restlessly through the long hours before his arrival, playing out different scenarios in my head. No matter how he reacted, I had to be prepared.
His surprise at finding me there faded fast when he saw my face. “What’s wrong?” he asked, closing and locking the door behind him.
“I can’t do this anymore,” I told him in an anguished whisper. “Things are getting completely out of hand. Mama has done everything but set the actual date for Hugh’s and my wedding, and she won’t listen to me when I try to talk to her.” With my first words, the blood drained from his face. “She really thinks you’re going to marry him?”
“Of course she does! I’ve been dating him for almost a year now, and she doesn’t know I’ve been seeing anyone else. Whenever I tell her I don’t want to marry him, she decides it’s only a case of wedding jitters and I’ll get over it. And Hugh’s mother isn’t helping any. She’s over nearly every day, bringing magazines and catalogues.”
“Christ.” He dropped onto the bed, his shoulders slumped. “Why haven’t you said anything before now?”
“I didn’t want to worry you, and I thought I could handle it. But no one is paying attention to what I’m telling them. It’s like trying to stop a runaway train with one hand tied behind my back.”
“Has Hugh…”
“Asked me to marry him?” I shook my head and sat down next to him. “Not yet, but he’s going to. Soon. The other day he suggested I drive out to Fair Oaks and see if I liked the houses they’re building.”
I picked up his hand and gripped it tightly. “We have to tell them about us, Karl.
It’s the only option. Unless you want me to marry Hugh,” I added quietly.
He went still. “I guess I deserved that, didn’t I? I sure haven’t done much to make you think otherwise.” When he turned to face me his voice was low. “I don’t want you to marry Hugh. It kills me every time I know you’re with him. But I don’t know what else to do, Natalie. There’s still Lindsey’s…problem to worry about.” He stood and started pacing.
“Are things getting any better?”
“No.”
“Do you have any reason to think they will?”
He ran a hand through his dark hair in frustration. “No. She still won’t listen to me.”
“So how long are we going to put our lives on hold? Another six months? A year?