Chapter 4

Jets didn't land here often, even private ones. This was really a small field for general aviation. I saw the small jet touch down and taxi over to the terminal and me. I was standing in front of my truck leaning back against the hood.

I had watched her show, "live from Birmingham," this morning. She had changed clothes. She was now wearing shorts and a blouse with sneakers. She looked lovely. When she saw me, a big smile lit her face. I walked toward her but she flew down the steps and across the tarmac to me. I opened my arms and braced for impact. It's good that I did. She plastered her body against mine and she kissed me soundly. "I'm so glad to see you! I've been on pins and needles." She turned and said, "I would like you to meet Joe Abrams, a great pilot and a patient man. He has listened to me ramble about you all the way here."

I smiled. "Bill Anderson, Joe." I stuck out my hand and he shook it. I still had one arm around Eve's waist.

She looked back to me. "Bill, please help me load my luggage and we'll go." Joe and I each rolled a large suitcase to the back of my truck. Eve carried a small makeup case and her purse. We loaded the truck. She turned to Joe and said, "Thank you for a good, quick trip. Where are you headed now?"

He shook her hand. "I'll get a soft drink and then go back to Birmingham. I'm supposed to fly a party to a riverboat casino in Mississippi later. Enjoy your weekend, Eve."

"Thank you, Joe. See you next time."

I said, "Good to meet you, Joe."

We got to the truck. I opened the door and helped her in. She has great legs and they showed well in the shorts she wore. I said, "You're staying with my next door neighbors, Sarah and Hop Jensen. They're an older couple who have been good friends over the years. My son and his family aren't due for about two or so hours yet."

She smiled. "Good. We can drop one suitcase and my small case off. Then, I want to go to your place and talk."

I smiled. "Suits me."

Arriving at Sarah and Hop's house, we were met at the door. Sarah exclaimed, "You're Eve Baylor!" Hop just looked stunned. Sarah looked at me. "Bill, you should have told me that you had a celebrity coming."

Eve said, "I'm not a celebrity. I'm just Eve. I work for a living. Please, Missus Jensen, let's just enjoy this weekend. I don't want to be on display."

Hop nodded. "That will be fine. You went with Bill right after the hurricane?"

"Yes, sir. It was a terrible time but good for me. I was just another volunteer. I just want to enjoy this weekend. I'll be back on display Monday."

Hop smiled. "Even if no one knows who you are, a woman, particularly a younger and pretty one, hanging on Bill's arm will be on display. Let me show you to your room." I carried her suitcase in and placed it for her. She put her makeup case on top of it.

Eve looked at Sarah. "Thank you for being willing to help Bill by giving me a place to stay. Neither of us thought it appropriate that I sleep at his house again."

Hop grinned and Sarah smiled broadly. I said, "She slept in the spare bedroom where Linda and Bill, Junior, will be this weekend. It was after working all day and we were exhausted. My house was close when we finished at our last stop."

Eve said, "I guess that's his story. I'll tell you the juicy one later."

I looked alarmed. "That's the entire story. Noth..."

Eve looked at me and interrupted saying, "We will talk about it later." She took my arm and guided me toward my truck. She gave Sarah and Hop each a hug as we left. In the truck, she said, "Drive."

I pulled up at my place. We went through the front door. Inside, she stopped me by turning into my arms and spending a long, impassioned time kissing me while holding her body tight to mine. We finally broke the kiss breathing heavily. She said, softly and firmly, "Sit down. We need to talk."

She said, "You were going to say that nothing happened to Sarah and Hop, weren't you?" I nodded. She continued, "But something did happen. Bill, I'm not here just to spend time with my rescuer as such. I'm here to spend time with a wonderful man who I want to know very much better. He is my rescuer in more ways than one."

"Eve, all I did was get you out of that wreckage. Your life wasn't in danger."

She was shaking her head. "Then I lost my temper and chastised you severely. I apologize for doing that."

Now, she nodded. I looked at her. "What's wrong, Eve?"

"Nothing, everything. My personal life was a shambles. People who work with me have been asking what happened to me while helping after the hurricane. Why do you think they have been asking that, Bill?"

I said, "You told me that you felt good from working with me despite the rough start. We didn't 'do' anything. You stayed here over the night because we were exhausted and this place was much closer than town."

She shook her head in mock exasperation. "Bill, there was more to it than that. While we worked, we got to know each other. You found that I probably wasn't a bitch. I found that I was working with a very smart, wonderful man with a wound. I would like a chance to heal that wound while I continue to heal from my self inflicted one. I'm not asking for a commitment or any time other than what God gives us. Give me a test. Determine if I've learned something about life in the last few weeks that might make me a worthwhile companion." She sighed.

"That's all I ask. I want more but all I'm asking is a chance."

I was, not surprised, but was happy at least. I smiled at Eve and said, "Eve, you are definitely a worthwhile companion. That was true in the truck after the storm. That's true now." I smiled some more. "You are lovely to look at. You have a pretty face with a great smile and a stunning figure. With your height, it hard for you not to catch men's eyes. You caught this man's eyes. You are smart. I've been listening to your show. You're also articulate and seem to handle situations easily and bring people to feel at ease in your presence.

"When I'm with you, the pain of missing Jan lessens greatly. The only other two people who have managed that are Miriam and Joy, my two granddaughters. I somewhat expected that with them. With you, it's been totally unexpected."

I then braced myself and said, "However, I'm not sure how we can be more than friends. You have a life that doesn't have room for an old guy to be in it." I said it but was asking myself why I was saying it as I said it.

She smiled gently, "Bill, I've been talking to myself along those lines myself. I finally got smart and prayed about it. I've been praying more since I met you, too. God gave me peace that He will take care of things. I decided to 'let go and let God.' I haven't been doing enough of that until just lately.

"Now, what I want you to do is to hold me and kiss me until my socks jump off my feet. I think you can do it. The question is will you do it?"

It was not a time for words. I pulled her to my body and kissed her for a long, long time. We were sitting on the couch when my son and his family drove up. I stood and helped her up. I gave her a quick hug and we headed to the door.

I opened the door with Eve's arm around my waist. Miriam and Joy cam running up the steps and into my arms. Each was hugged and kissed. Joy asked, "Who's she?"

Before I could answer, Miriam said, "She is Grandpa's girl friend, Silly."

Eve whispered, "That works for me, Grandpa." She smiled at the girls. "Hi, I'm Eve."