Mercedes' Mountain

Chapter 4

I placed the board on the counter and had just begun slicing into a honeydew when she said, "Ethan really likes you."

I paused midway into the melon, moving my fingers and narrowly avoiding a nasty cut. "He's a very nice young man," I said, trying to ignore the way my heart quickened at the comment.

Sonya turned and leaned back against the counter. "Yes," she agreed. "He is a nice man, and a very good one, too. But the way you said young makes it sound like he's a teenager and you're old or something."

I continued slicing into the melon, and before I could stop myself, I said, "Maybe because I am."

I heard her sigh before placing a hand on my arm. I looked up just as a slow grin began to spread across her face. "Ethan doesn't think so," she said softly. "Forty is not old, Mercedes. You're still in your prime. You're beautiful, and my brother is falling in love with you. And though you won't admit it, I think you are falling in love with him, too."

At those words, I literally felt my heart stop for a few seconds. I placed the knife on the counter, went over the table and sat down. Sonya came and sat across from me. I closed my eyes, musing that all the waking hours of futilely fighting my feelings for her brother over the past week had come to this. I ran a hand back through my hair and rested my chin in my hand. After another moment I broke the silence.

"You know, I've never hand a serious relationship in my life. And it wasn't from lack of trying, either." I heaved a sad sigh. "I guess I have been alone for so long, I've sort of given up hope of ever having someone in my life."

"But you're too young to give up," Sonya said. She glanced out the window at Ethan and his father as they counted the horseshoes. Then she added, "Especially when love is right in front of you."

Before I could stop, I suddenly heard myself speak my fear out loud. "But he is also ten years younger than me. There are so many women out there his age and he could have his pick of any of them." I sighed and looked at her intently. "I don't want to start something that might end with me being hurt. I don't think I could take that, especially with the way I feel . . ." I stopped myself from saying more.

Sonya shifted in her chair and leaned forward a bit. "Did Ethan tell you about my ex-husband?"

I shook my head. "The only thing he told me about you was that you were a single mother who worked hard to provide for your family. He said your father helps out with the kids when you have to work."

Sonya tilted her head a little, a look of sadness crossing her face. "When I first married John, I thought he was perfect in every way. I was eighteen and he was thirty-five. I felt secure because he was so much older, and I really thought he loved me, that we would always be together. But after thirteen years and four children, my body wasn't as young and firm as it once was. I wasn't that same teenage girl anymore. Motherhood forces you to grow up. I became a woman with responsibilities. I could handle the changes, but he couldn't."

She shook her head and smiled sadly. "So, he traded me in for a younger model." She lifted her steady gaze to mine. "Now a lot of women would have given up on love, but not me. I'll never give up because I know there's a real Mr. Right out there somewhere. But even if I don't ever meet anyone else, I'm okay with that." She paused, her gaze turning intense. "You mark my words, my ex will trade his new flame in one day, too, because that's the kind of man he is." She looked out at her brother again and I could see the pride in her eyes. "But not Ethan."

When she became quiet, I sat silently processing all she'd shared with me. Though I was still unsure about my own situation, my heart went out to her because of what she had gone through. I also felt a great deal of admiration for her. She had the strength and determination to keep going, despite the hardships she faced being a single parent. Sonya had survived. She'd made it through and was going on with her life. It had been hard. It was still hard. But she had kept going, because she had no choice. She understood my fear, I had no doubt. Her voice broke through my pondering.