Cherished (36 page)

“I can see why,” Kelli said. “I never thought I would enjoy this process as much as I have. And seeing it culminate in something that could really touch people's hearts . . . It's incredible. Thank you, Brian.”

“‘Thank you, Brian?' If it weren't for you, there wouldn't have been an album. You were my inspiration.”

“Oh, you would've had an album. It was all God.”

“But God used
you
.”

Kelli allowed their gaze to linger. Then, “I really wish you well with it. I know you will touch a lot of lives.”

“We.”

“Well.” Kelli's eyes grazed the ground, then she brought them back to Brian.

His heart pounded as he looked at her. So much he felt. So much he wanted to say.

He took a step back. “Get some rest, okay?”

“Okay.”

He stood on the sidewalk and watched her drive away.

thirty-one

H
EATHER SURVEYED THE SCENE AROUND HER, AMAZED.
More than two hundred teen girls and guys were jumping to the beat like a pogo stick as the band rocked out in worship. The song was clearly a crowd favorite.

Heather leaned over to her brother, talking above the music. “Are they always this fired up? They've got me wanting to jump up and down.”

“Go for it!”

Ian led the way, jumping while singing with the rest.
Are you living unashamed? Yes! Yes! Do you wanna praise His name? Yes! Yes!

The resemblance between them was still uncanny to her. Same blond coloring, lean build, even the same nose and thick eyebrows.

Heather joined him, laughing more than singing. Becky pointed at them across the room with a big grin. She'd been jumping the whole time, surrounded by the girls she taught in her small group.

Heather loved Ian and Becky's hearts for these teens. Ian was the youth pastor, and from the time she'd arrived yesterday morning, it had been clear that kids were his life, starting with his own. Meghan, Hannah, and Riley were all under ten still, full of nonstop energy, and Ian had no problem engaging their every impulse. Meanwhile, their home had an open door, literally. Heather lost count of the number of teens who popped in during the course of the day, mostly just to hang out for a while. Ian lived within walking distance of the church—a purposeful move, he'd told her—so they could be a vibrant part of the neighborhood from which the church drew most of its members.

The band moved to a slower worship song, and Heather was impressed once again with these teens and their worship. They didn't seem embarrassed to raise their hands. They seemed truly focused on God. Heather wondered how much Ian had to do with cultivating the spirit in the room.

She raised her own hands, thanking God for the weekend. It had exceeded her every expectation. Her brother and sister-in-law had embraced her as if they'd known her all her life and rejoiced when she told them of her newfound faith. The kids loved on her as well, excited to have an aunt to play with and even to sing with. They had a blast at the piano as the kids played the songs they'd been learning, and Heather chimed in with vocals. Turned out Ian could sing too—though he was quick to say he wasn't as good as Heather—and they had fun singing together out of the kids' hymn book. She'd already told them she planned to be a frequent visitor.

When church ended, the whole family took her to lunch. It was hard saying good-bye back at the house.

Becky hugged her first, her warmth enveloping Heather like an old blanket. “So you're coming back next weekend, right?”

Heather laughed. “Don't know if it'll be that soon. But I sure will miss y'all. I feel like I'm part of the family already.”

“You
are
family, girl,” Becky said. Her brown eyes sparkled. “Now that we've all found one another, we don't want to miss a beat. Come again soon . . . and stay longer.”

Heather smiled. “I will.”

“Thought I'd tell you,” Ian said, smiling, “the band needs a female vocalist for youth worship.” He added quickly, “I know you're excited about this opportunity you might have with Peyton Vine, and we're just small potatoes here in Normal, Illinois. But I thought I'd put that bug in your ear.”

It had only been three days, but Heather had hoped to hear from Peyton by now. She'd been checking her phone all weekend to see if she'd missed any calls.

“I can tell you one thing,” she said. “Small-potatoes Normal sure ain't normal.” She smiled. “Normal knows how to worship. I loved visiting your church.”

“We loved having you,” Ian said. “Will you tell Diane you visited?”

Heather thought a moment. “Not yet. I mentioned we'd gotten back in touch, and she changed the subject pretty quickly. I think deep down she wishes she'd done more to get to know you when you were younger. She doesn't know what to do with you now.”

“I get the feeling she may feel guilty, too, but I wish she wouldn't. I grew up a happy kid. I'll just keep praying for her.”

“Me too,” Heather said. She hugged her brother. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Ian looked her in the eye. “God's got awesome plans for you, Heather. Just you wait and see.”

thirty-two

T
HE WIND HAD DEFINITELY GONE OUT OF
K
ELLI'S SAILS.

After working so intensely with Brian on the album, she'd hardly seen him the last three weeks. After the funeral he'd had successive weekend concert dates around the country, and during the week he'd been busy with one thing or another related to the album release. They'd gotten together for the taping of the Choices video—which left everyone on the set speechless—but he pretty much disappeared again when it was over. After the fun days at Six Flags and the youth picnic, she'd thought they'd fall into a routine of spending time together like the old days. Now she found herself feeling deflated.

And downright sad.

“Heather, you're actually moving?”

They were back at the Cheesecake Factory, just the two of them.

Heather sliced into her strawberry cheesecake. “I know. I'm sad and elated at the same time. You're the best friend I've ever had. But it's not like we'll never talk.”

“I know I should be thrilled for you—and I am—but it's happening so quickly.”

“I would've been moving right about now anyway, if the Peyton Vine thing had come through.”

Kelli looked at her. “I'm still bummed about that. I had such high hopes.”

“Well, you know it took me awhile to get over it. I could see myself on that stage with her. But it was like God had a cushion ready for my fall—Ian and Becky and their kids.”

“That's for sure.” Kelli forked up some chocolate mousse cheesecake. “And a spot on the youth worship team.”

“You know what's funny?” Heather asked. “After singing with a nationally known choir at Living Word and auditioning for Peyton Vine, I never would've thought I'd end up in youth worship at a much smaller church in Normal, Illinois. And yet, I'm excited.”

Kelli smiled at her. “We've been praying for a church home for you. Didn't know God would give you family to boot.” She gave a dramatic sigh. “So when do you leave?”

“Stop that.”

Kelli laughed.

“I'm giving myself about two weeks.”

“Two weeks?” Kelli set her fork down and leaned back on the cushion. “Wow.” She came forward again suddenly. “What about the album release party? You'll come back for that, won't you? It's a Saturday, October 28th. The album releases the following Tuesday.”

“I hope so. But I know one thing. I'm downloading my copy on iTunes when the clock strikes midnight.”

“You'll already have your copy.”

“I'm buying it anyway, for support.”

The server refreshed Kelli's decaf, and she added cream and sugar. She glanced up at Heather. “Have you told Logan?”

Heather's eyes went to her cheesecake. “He knew it was a possibility, but I only told the church yes this afternoon.” She looked up. “It's Thursday, though.”

“I think it's so cute that you two still sing together after choir rehearsal.”

“Yeah.” Heather glanced downward. “I'll definitely miss that.”

“What about Logan? Think you'll miss him?”

She angled her head downward. “He's my closest friend besides you. But we could've been separated either way. He's still waiting to hear from that church in Florida.” She sighed. “We'll have the phone, e-mail, and all that.”

“Won't be the same, though.”

“No. Won't be the same.” Heather pushed the remains aside. “I'm stuffed. So what about you and Brian? How are things?”

Kelli raised a brow. “There is no ‘me and Brian.'”

“From what I could see, you two had gotten kind of close by the time the album wrapped.”

Kelli shrugged. “Might've seemed that way because of the pressure of the deadline, but now that it's passed, we're each doing our own thing.”

Heather eyed her. “How do you feel about that?”

“You had to go digging, didn't you?”

“I try to do my part.”

Kelli took another sip of coffee. “Not sure how I feel about it. I went from hating him to tolerating him . . .”

“To enjoying him again?”

Kelli gave a reluctant nod. “Crazy, huh?”

“No. You'd be crazy if you didn't. Everybody loves that guy.”

“Kind of like everybody loves Logan?”

“Touché.” Heather gave a slight smile. “Funny how Brian and Logan have become good friends, isn't it? Think they ever sit around talking about us?”

“Those two?” Kelli shook her head. “Music and sports.”

T
HE MOMENT
H
EATHER SAW HIM, HER HEART LET HER
know—she would miss Logan more than she knew. She slow-walked the aisle, listening to him play, watching the movement of his fingers, hearing his heart. He poured so much of himself into his music, into this ministry. Had she ever told him how much she admired that?

She sat by him on the bench, and their smiles and shoulder bumps said hello. When he reached the end of the song, he started into their favorite chorus.

He sang the first line.
“His grace and mercy have covered you, you're not the same . .
.”

She sang the next line with him, but she couldn't continue. Emotion filled her lungs.

He paused. “You okay?”

She touched his arm. “Please. Keep playing.”

The words took her through her moments with Logan, from the Indy hotel to the family arena to every other time she'd ever seen him—each one a demonstration of his special care of her.

He turned toward her when he finished. “You're moving to Illinois, aren't you?”

She nodded, staring at the piano. They sat in silence.

He looked at her again. “It'll be awesome . . . getting to know your family, leading those kids in worship.”

“Yeah, except they'll probably be leading me.”

“So.” He cleared his throat. “When do you leave?”

“About two weeks.”

Silence swallowed the seconds again.

“I'll miss you, Heather.”

She met his gaze, fresh tears on her lids. “I'll miss you too. Thank you, Logan, for everything you've done for me. You've been an amazing friend.” She added quickly, “Not that this is goodbye—I mean, it's good-bye in some ways, but it doesn't mean our friendship has to end. I really hope . . . I hope it continues.”

“Me too.”

“You don't sound too confident.”

“I'm a realist. It's not easy to maintain a friendship across the miles. But I do hope it can continue.”

Why did Heather feel like her heart was breaking? They were just friends, for goodness' sake. But she couldn't stop crying.

Logan put an arm around her shoulder, and she leaned into him, allowing her head to find his chest. “Normal's not far,” she said, “and besides, we'll have the next two weeks together.”

He nodded against her hair. “And we have right now.”

She reached for his hand and clung to it, remembering Cyd's words a few weeks ago about accepting God's will and God's timing. She really did feel He was leading her to go to Normal, but she also couldn't imagine life without Logan. Was it just a matter of timing? Or was this more of a good-bye than she was ready to admit?

thirty-three

T
HE ACTIVITY CENTER AT
L
IVING
W
ORD HAD PLAYED
host to every kind of youth event, special ministry event, big-name speaker event, and even a music concert, but none had been anything like this. That's the story Brian kept hearing as he waited in a room down the hall. His album release party had packed the place as never before.