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Trusting Again in Summit County

By Katherine Karrol

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Rutherford pulled Martha into his embrace. She tried to resist at first, but he held firm, looking deeply into her eyes.
“Martha, I’ve loved you since the day we met and I know you love me, too. Now that this blasted war is over and there will never be another like it, I want to marry you and settle on this land with you.” Martha fell into his arms. “Yes, Rutherford. Yes.”

“Yes!”
Rachel Stevens grinned as she closed her laptop. When she looked at the clock, she jumped up. Oops!
She dragged a comb through her hair, threw on wool pants and a sweater, and ran downstairs. Fortunately, her long hair didn’t require a lot of maintenance and she wasn’t much for makeup these days. That, along with the fact that she wasn’t trying to look cute for anyone, least of all her date, made getting ready a breeze in a time crunch. Thanks to her books, time crunches were the norm.
“Sorry, Grandma. I was lost in a book and I didn’t realize what time it was. What else do you need me to do to help get ready to go to Auntie Ev’s?”
Grace Stevens chuckled. “You and your books. It’s a surprise that there are any left that you haven’t read. I put the rest of the dishes we’re taking in the box in the kitchen. What time is Ben picking us up?”
Ben knocked on the door as if on cue and right on time, as usual. Good old Ben. Nice, reliable, dependable Ben. Boring Ben. Actually, boring was Rachel’s favorite quality about Ben.
Boring men don’t break hearts.



They drove the few tree-lined blocks to Evelyn Glover’s home for her annual Thanksgiving gathering at a snail’s pace. Ben drove like he did everything else: slowly and carefully. Rachel didn’t mind; she just enjoyed the view as she looked past Ben to the landscape beyond.
She loved her little town, protected from the outside world by large forested hills on three sides and Lake Michigan on the fourth. She especially loved it in the fall, when the hills were covered in various shades of reds, yellows, and oranges. She took in the scene, knowing it wouldn’t last long. Fall was rolling out more slowly this year, so there was more color left on the trees than usual and the faint smell of burning leaves hung in the air, but it was never quite long enough for her. It was a great day to spend with grandma and some of their closest friends, including Ben.
Rachel and Ben had fallen into a habit of spending time together over the previous few months. They had known each other through church and his work at the post office for years, but had gotten to know each other better recently at the book club Rachel ran on Tuesday evenings at the library. Ben always read interesting books and always had unique insights about them. Rachel loved discussing books with Ben because he often picked up on things most of the others didn’t.
She enjoyed spending time with him and he was always a perfect gentleman. In all the months they had been spending time together, he had never once tried to kiss her or talk about a relationship, and she had never once minded.
Rachel had had a heart-pounding, intoxicating romance once, charmed by a boyish smile, dirty blonde hair and light blue eyes, and had been burned badly enough to never want to try it again. It was enough that the memories of that relationship invaded her dreams. She didn’t want to think about it or risk falling in love like that in real life again. Above all else, guard your heart; for it is the wellspring of life. Sure, her friends said she took the verse to the extreme, but still. It was Biblical. There’s no arguing with Biblical.
She had all the romance she needed right at the tip of her fingers, anyway. She used to have to carry books around to get a fix if she wanted one, but now all she needed was an app on her phone. Romance was just a tap away, and no one got hurt.

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