Love Means No Shame - Andrew Grey

reins while she drank, and Geoff unloaded Kirk and let him drink as well.
    “You’ll need a jacket; there’s one for you in the back seat,” Geoff said.
When they were ready, they put away the pan, shut and locked the truck, and walked the horses across the parking lot and onto the beach.
    The breeze was brisk and refreshing as they rode north down the beach. The sound of the waves and wind, gulls and boats, the smell of the water and the horses, the sun on the waves and the swath of sand all combined to fill their senses. They rode side by side, watching each other as the horses walked along.
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    “This is so beautiful. I never knew….” The rest of what Eli said was carried away by the wind, but Geoff could see the delight on Eli’s face, and he returned his smile.
    Beneath him, Geoff could feel Kirk straining, wanting to run, but it was too dangerous. The sand held many things that couldn’t be seen until it was too late, so he kept talking to him, keeping him calm. Slowly, he could feel the tension leave his mount, just like his own worries and cares blew away with the wind.
    Eli pointed as something tall appeared on the horizon. Geoff signaled to the horses, and they both stopped. “That’s the Point Sable Lighthouse.” “But what is it?”
“Ships use them to determine where they are at night. That one was built in the 1860s. We can go right up to it, and you can climb it if you want.” “Yeah?”
    “Sure, come on.” They rode the rest of the way and dismounted as they approached the break wall. Eli looked up at the lighthouse. “There are stairs on the inside. I’ll stay here with the horses.” Eli nodded and started walking toward the door. Geoff watched, and ten minutes later, he saw Eli waving at him from the railing. He waved back and watched as he circled the light, looking out in every direction. He waved again and then disappeared, reappearing at ground level, running toward him.
    “That was….” Eli tried to describe the feeling but couldn’t.
“That was unbelievable. I never knew you could go so high, and the wind, it felt like it wanted me to fly.”
“I know. There’s a great view of the beach and the park from up there.” There were surprisingly few people around, “We can tie the horses to that post and sit for a while.” 90
Love Means … NO SHAME
Eli smiled, and they tethered the horses, sitting at a picnic table nearby.
    “There’s something that I want to talk to you about, and you may find it difficult. But I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding.” Eli’s eyes widened, but he met Geoff’s gaze, curious about what Geoff wanted to know. “This is hard for me too.”

    “Then just speak plain.”

    Geoff smiled to himself—spoken like an Amish man. “I think I know why you’ve been grooming and saddling my horse each morning, bringing in wildflowers, and baking my favorite bread.

    And I have to ask you plain, are you courting me?” Eli’s smile faded and color rose in his cheeks as his gaze shifted down to the table top. Shit… I was wrong and I’ve embarrassed him.
    “I’m sorry if I did something wrong.” Eli got up from the table and walked toward the lake, turning his back to Geoff, shoulders slumped. “Eli… Eli,” Geoff got up and touched the young man’s shoulder. “Eli….”
He turned around, eyes full, the tears ready to spill down his wind reddened cheeks.
“Eli, you didn’t do anything wrong. I was just asking because I needed to be sure. After all, by bringing you here today, I was sort of courting you.” “You were?” Eli wiped his eyes.
“Come sit down.” Eli followed Geoff back to the table and sat, wiping the moisture from his eyes. “I just wanted to be sure. Because there are other questions I need you to think about.” Eli 91
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    nodded. “You have to know that what you’re doing will not be condoned by your family or others in the Amish community. I don’t want you to think I don’t care for you, because I do. But you have to know what you’re doing and what it means.” He stroked the back of Eli’s hand with his fingers. “And you have to tell me.” Eli looked up from the table and into Geoff’s eyes. “Tell you what?”
    “You have to say the words. You have to tell me what you’re feeling, what you think you’re feeling. I have to know that you aren’t confused, that you’ll be happy being with me, that this is what you want. You’ve been away from the Amish