These Sheltering Walls: A Cane River Romance by Mary Jane Hathaway Page A

“Nobody
was insisting.”
                “Wrong.
It was a big deal. Very not together. Very not at the same time. Heaven forbid
you two spend some time alone in the same room.”
                Taking
out his keys, Gideon hit the unlock button and the car beeped loudly, like
punctuation to Tom’s question. “Maybe we’re trying to head off all the
small-town gossip that starts when people imagine things where they’re not.
Anyway, I don’t have time to babysit her, so I’m happy we’re on the same page
about it.”
                 “Don’t
have time?” Tom asked, skipping over the accusation of being a gossip. “You’re
the guy who spends his evenings reading sad love poetry when you’re not trying
to deadlift your own body weight.”
                He
turned to face Tom. The breeze from the river smelled of mud and fish, and he
wished he was already home in his little house at the end of the dusty dirt
road, set back under the trees. “You’ve known me for a really long time.”
                “That
is true,” Tom said. He crossed his arms over his chest, a smug smile pasted to
his lips.
                “And
you are also a keen observer of the human condition, a minor expert on the
human heart.”
                “I
took a few psychology classes during my years in the seminary,” Tom said,
grinning.
                Gideon
sighed. Tom knew that taking a psychology course wasn’t the best way to understand
other humans. In fact, every beginner psych student imagines disorders and
mental illness in everyone around them. “You’re able to understand people in a
way I can’t. You have a natural ability to connect with strangers, to reach out
to people in trouble.”
                Tom
nodded.
                “You
always had lots of friends, even when we were kids. I’ve never had more than
one or two. Maybe it’s because I was always too angry, or too quiet, or too
untrusting… or maybe it’s not my fault at all. But it is the way it is, and I’m
used to it.” Gideon said. “I wouldn’t recommend it, but there’s nothing wrong
with the solitary life.”
                Tom
said nothing for a moment, just looked down at the asphalt between them. “I
won’t tease you anymore about it. I’m sorry I forced the issue.” His voice was
subdued and he looked up, all laughter gone from his eyes. “But just because
you’re comfortable in your solitude doesn’t mean that you’re meant to be alone
forever.”
                “I’m
not hiding from the world. I’m out of my house, talking to people all day,”
Gideon said.
                “You
know I don’t mean chit chat,” Tom said. “We were created to love one another,
Gideon. Deeply, unconditionally, the way God loves us.  We were made for it. Even
if it’s only one or two others. Don’t forget that.”
                He
wanted to say it was easy for Tom to say, safe in his vow of celibacy, but he
nodded, opened the car and slid behind the wheel.
                 Tom
stepped forward, putting his hand on the door before Gideon could close it. He
looked resigned, as if knowing his next words would be too much. “I know it’s
scary, the thought of being rejected. But if we don’t take chances, what are we
even doing here?” he asked.
                Gideon
looked up at his friend and wished, for the tenth time that week, that he
wasn’t Gideon Becket, but some other man who had not lived through decades of
viciousness and despair. “I’m not afraid of being rejected, Tom. I can already
predict that part of the story.”
                Tom
stepped back, letting Gideon close the car door. When Gideon turned the corner
at the end of the block, he could see Tom standing there still.
     
               

Chapter Five
    “Lie to me, but in your own way,
and I’ll kiss you for