Envoys Of The Vow

Chapter 7

Sara had raced through the yard work and was done by eleven.  She had a long hot bath and then had an hour to get ready.  Butterflies circled in her tummy as she thought about what Jonathan may have planned.  He had been so secretive about it yesterday she was intrigued.

 After multiple mind changes and many outfits later, she decided on jeans and a peach coloured top that highlighted her eyes.  He had said dress comfortably, so she pulled her hair up into a messy ponytail.  For the fifteenth time, she checked her reflection in the mirror.  Trying to pull off the invisible makeup look was a challenge.

 Pulling her boots on over her jeans she sat on the bed and tried to calm herself down.  She was strangely nervous about today mixed with excitement.  She just hoped she could pull herself together before he arrived.

 She headed off downstairs to the kitchen to wait for him.  Walking in she found Anne drinking a cup of tea going over her emails on the laptop.

 “You ok, honey?” her mum said without looking up.

 “Yep, all good.” 

 Making herself a coffee she pulled up a chair at the table.  Her mother finished up and clicked the laptop shut.  Sara braced herself for the grilling with a smile.  Talking about Jonathan was not a problem but she had so few answers herself let alone enough to keep her mother happy.

 “So what has he got planned for you today?”  The question came as expected.

 Sara had told her parents last night that she was seeing Jonathan today.  She had quickly sneaked up to bed shortly after to escape the inevitable questions she was in no fit state to answer.

 “I don’t know yet it is a surprise.  All he would say is dress comfortably.”

 “Oh, exciting.” Anne smiled at her daughter, but the smile never quite touched her eyes.  “You seem quite taken with him.”

 “Yeah, I guess I am.” Sara smiled back the butterflies swirling again.

 “You know we are so proud of you don’t you.”  Sara’s eyes shot up to look at her mother, who had reached over and held her hand , not meeting Sara’s eyes.

 They were an unusually close family.  They dealt with any problems with laughter rather than arguing, sentimentality was a rarity.  Her mother’s words had surprised her.

 “I know mum but thank you.”  She stood up and kissed her mum on the top of her head as she passed to put her cup in the sink half drunk.

 The crunch of tires on the gravel outside sent Sara’s stomach into backflips.

 “Ok, that’s him I better go, see you later.”  Giving her mum a squeeze she headed for the door.

 “love you.”  called through from the kitchen.

 Closing the front door behind her, she took in a deep breath before plastering a relaxed smile on her face.  Heading down the path to Jonathan’s car, she made herself appear calm belying the knots in her stomach.  She jumped into the passenger side and turned to him.

 “Afternoon” he smiled warmly, “You look perfect.”

 “Thank you,” a slight blush kissing her cheeks as he scanned her face.

 “You ready?” he asked with laughter in his voice.

 “I think so but are you going to tell me where we are going?” she flicked her eyes over him and was pleased that he was as casually dressed as she was.

 “Nope.” He grinned at her and hooked his arm behind her seat as he backed the powerful car out to turn onto the track.

 “I knew you were going to say that,” she grinned back at him and leant back into the seat breathing in the scent of leather.