Song of Her Heart

“Keep the cell phone handy, and let me know if you’re uneasy.” He looked at her keenly, a sense of wonderment in his eyes. “I’ve had a great day.”

“So did I, Mason. It’s a day I’ll never forget.”

Chapter Five

The Bar 8 ranch house seemed as quiet as a tomb after Mason left, but with dogged determination, Norah stored her groceries in the cabinets and refrigerators and made a Caesar salad. The large dining room intimidated her, and she sat on a stool at the long work island in the center of the kitchen to eat her meal. Instead of thinking about the silence around her, she forced herself to concentrate on the day she’d spent with Mason.

She’d enjoyed the beautiful scenery, so different from her Missouri countryside, but more than that, it had been pleasant to be in Mason’s company. Until today, she hadn’t realized how satisfying male company could be. Mason was a good companion, and for a moment, she contemplated what it would be like to spend the rest of her life with someone like him. At that point, she stopped her speculation. When she was younger, Norah had looked forward to marriage, but always with a man who shared her interest in overseas missions. Mason King wasn’t that man, and she had to discourage any flights of fancy about lifelong companionship with him.

Norah washed the few dishes by hand rather than use the large dishwasher. She locked every door and window on the first floor and turned out all the lights except the one on the front porch. She dropped Mason’s cell phone in her pocket and went upstairs to settle in, closing all the draperies on the second floor.

The four bedrooms were equal in size, so Norah had chosen the one with a view of the rangeland. The rooms were sparsely furnished. To make the room more like her crowded bedroom at home, she moved a platform rocker and footstool in from another room.

Mason had hooked up her television on a low table, and she angled the screen so she could watch from the bed or from the rocker. She laid her Bible on the bedside table and placed her crochet bag by the chair. For years, Norah had been making scarves and mittens for unfortunate children in the United States and overseas. Her current project was crocheting cardigans for newborns of low-income single mothers.

Tonight Norah wasn’t in the mood for crocheting or television, and she picked up the Bible. Soon she would have to search for Scriptural guidance to deal with her conflicting emotions about Mason, but tonight she had to come to grips with her fear of darkness.

It wasn’t difficult to figure out what had caused her fears. Her own mother had been afraid of darkness due to a frightening childhood experience. It had never been completely dark in the Williamson household, because streetlights were numerous. On the occasions when a power outage occurred, her mother had chased away the darkness with candles and lamplight. Norah’s siblings had mastered their phobias when they left home for college, and Norah was determined that she would, too.

The Bible was Norah’s guide for all situations, and she checked out references to darkness. She didn’t want to talk to herself, but reading Scripture out loud would be an antidote to her fear, so she read in a strong voice, “‘You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.”’ The sound of her voice did make the silence more bearable.