A Surprising Revelation

Our story, Romance by Design, continues with…

Chapter Twenty-five

It was late Sunday night when Goldie set two dishes of ice cream on the kitchen table. “Here you are, Elisa.”

         “Thanks.” Elisa picked up her spoon. “I’m really thankful you’re letting me stay with you for a few days. My budget is stretched thin right now.”

         “No problem!” Goldie sat down and leaned toward her guest. “I feel like we’re kindred spirits already. Being a missionary must be so exciting. You visit a lot of churches, don’t you? I would love to travel.”

         Elisa smiled. “It’s not as fun as you might think. Hopefully most of those churches will support me financially, which will help me get to Africa sooner.” She dipped her spoon in her ice cream. “Tomorrow, Pastor and Mrs. Thomas are taking me around to some churches in the area. I hope those pastors will schedule me to speak.”

         “I would love to do that!” Taking a bite of ice cream, Goldie imagined standing in front of a crowd of admiring church-goers. “And then living in a foreign country like Africa. What a great experience!”

         “I haven’t even visited Africa yet, but I’ve known Spenser and Mary Jane Collins for several years. I’m looking forward to working with them.”

         “Collins.” Goldie nodded. “Common name. Right now I’m dating a guy called Ryan Collins.”

         Elisa stared at her. “No way! Spenser and Mary Jane have a son named Ryan.”

         “Really? Well, my Ryan lives in Knotty Pine—on this very street. He just moved here a few weeks ago, and his house looks just like mine. Isn’t that funny?”

         “Did he move from Cleveland?”

         Goldie frowned. “I don’t know. He recently graduated with a master’s degree in architecture, although right now he’s working as a chef at the Blue Haven of the Poconos.”

         Elisa sucked in a breath. “That is my Ryan!”

         “Your Ryan?”

         “I mean, Spenser and Mary Jane’s son.” A pink color flooded Elisa’s cheeks. “He wants to be an architect, and he loves to cook. He’s a great chef.”

         “Don’t I know it!” Goldie shook her head. “Small world. Ryan never told me his parents were missionaries.”

         “I always thought Ryan should become a missionary, but he fought that suggestion.” A bitter tone laced her words. “He would make a great missionary. He grew up in Tanzania, and he’s fluent in Swahili.”

         “He is?” Goldie sat back, rather miffed that he didn’t tell her these things. In fact, how much did she really know about Ryan Collins? He must be acquainted with Elisa, but this morning after church he didn’t want to talk to her. “Strange,” she murmured.

         “What’s strange?”
         “Oh, nothing.” If Ryan didn’t want to talk to Elisa, maybe Goldie should keep her mouth shut. Besides, it might hurt Elisa’s feelings if she knew he didn’t want to see her again.

         Goldie took a deep breath. “Is there anything you can tell me about Ryan? He’s such a great guy. I just love him already.” She laughed. “Maybe you could give me some inside info about him.”

         Elisa opened her mouth, then hesitated as she met Goldie’s eyes. “No, I, uh, don’t have any information. He’s just the Collins’s son to me.”

         “Oh.” Goldie took the last bite of her ice cream. That bitter tone had crept into Elisa’s words again. She didn’t want to talk about Ryan any more than he wanted to see her.

         Something was going on with those two.

* * *

         Until tomorrow…