Smitten (36 page)
She hurried—as much as her headache would allow— through a shower and got dressed. She shoved thoughts of Nick aside and reveled instead in her dad’s appearance at the tea and how wonderful it had been to have him by her side. His gesture last night gave her hope that maybe one day they could have a real father-daughter relationship.
Once she was dressed, she paused for prayer. Her heart ached beyond belief, knowing that Nick judged her so harshly without understanding her pain in those days. She wasn’t proud of her past, but there wasn’t anything she could do to change it now. Maybe she should have run away those years ago, defied her father, kept the baby. But where would she have gone? How could she have supported a child with no job, no money, no home? She hadn’t seen a way out. She had been at her father’s mercy.
Thankfully, she served a merciful heavenly Father who loved her still. If only she had known him back in those days. She wouldn’t have gotten herself into such an awful mess.
Once she talked it over with the Lord, she got up from her knees, took a deep breath, and walked out to meet her dad.
There were two plates set on the table, along with platters laden with eggs, bacon, toast, and biscuits and gravy.
Shelby blinked in disbelief. “Dad, what’s all this?”
“Where I come from, they call it breakfast,” he said with a smile. “Care to join me?”
They sat down together. Her dad folded his hands, bowed his head, and prayed over the meal while Shelby sat absolutely dumbfounded. Never in her life had she heard her dad pray.
When the prayer was over, he looked up at her and winked, flipped his napkin on his lap, and filled his plate.
They had small talk over their meal, and then her dad reached over and touched her hand. “Shelby, can we go into the living room? I’d like to talk to you.”
She had no idea what was coming, but one thing was certain: he was full of surprises this morning. When did her dad start praying? Was he a believer now, or was it more of a nice gesture that people did at mealtime?
They settled onto the sofa, and her father turned to her. Cupping her hand into his, he looked straight into her eyes without a blink.
“I was wrong. Those many years ago. So wrong. I made you get rid of my only grandchild.” Tears filled his eyes, and he shook his head, breaking eye contact as he squeezed them shut and let the tears spill down his face. “How could I have put you through that?”
A hairline crack seemed to break through the wall of Shelby’s hardened heart, gaining momentum as the sincerity of her dad’s confession enveloped and healed her brokenness.
“I’m so, so sorry, Shelby. Please forgive me.” He pulled his hand away and grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his nose. “I’ve been the worst father ever, but I want to change that, if you’ll let me.”
Shelby hadn’t said a word the entire time. None came to mind. Not a single one.
“I was so intent on doing what I wanted when you were young, I missed out on everything. And your mother . . .” More tears. “What I put that woman through, moving all the time, my selfishness . . .”
This time Shelby reached out to him and grabbed his hand. “That’s in the past, Dad. Mom loved you, and she didn’t mind moving. She told me so more than once.”
“She did?”
Shelby nodded.
“I found the Lord, Shelby. He has changed my heart, and if you’ll let me, I want to try again.”
They hugged one another. “Oh, Dad, I’ve missed you. I’ve always wanted you around.”
“You know why I stayed away?” he asked.
She nodded, blotting her own face with a nearby tissue. “I shamed you. I know you couldn’t bear the sight of me.”
“What? Oh my, no, Shelby. No!” He pulled her into his arms. “I was ashamed of myself. Of what I had made you do with that precious baby. Each time I looked at you, I felt the pain of what I’d done.”
Shelby lingered in the warmth of her father’s arms, allowing the healing balm of his touch and his words to flow through her.
Her dad pulled back and looked into her eyes. “When I saw you with those young ladies, how they looked up to you, how you nurtured them, I realized you would have been a wonderful mother. And I believe you will be, someday. God willing.” He hesitated and then said with a raised brow, “Maybe sooner than you think.”
“Shelby, Willow’s run away.” Nick’s voice cracked over the phone.
The panic in his voice frightened her. “Where are you?”
“I’m at home.”
“I’ll be right there.” They’d had their falling out only last night, but it seemed a lifetime ago. Shelby hung up the phone and ran to the closet to grab her jacket.
“What’s wrong?” her dad asked.
“Willow’s gone. Nick doesn’t know where she is.”
“Uh-oh. What can I do to help?”
“Maybe ask around if anyone has seen her. I don’t know.
I’m going to Nick’s right now.”
She exceeded every speed limit on her way to the tree farm. No sooner had Shelby pulled her car into the driveway than Nick rushed out to meet her. He pulled her into his arms. “I’ve made such a mess of this.”
“It’ll be all right, Nick. She couldn’t have gone far. Why don’t you tell me what happened?”
He pulled away, and they walked toward the house as he filled her in. “Before we went to bed last night, she said she knew there was something wrong between us. She told me I was stupid if I let you go.”
Shelby looked down at her hands.
“I told her she was a little girl and didn’t understand things, and it sort of escalated from there. Angry words about losing her mother, her home, how nothing ever turned out right. All that.”
“Do you think she could be in the woods?”
“I don’t think so. She knows how dangerous it can be to get lost in the woods. The police are sending out officers to look for her. Usually they wait for a person to be gone twenty-four hours, but since I know the chief, they agreed to do this for me.” He looked at her. “I really blew it.”
“No time for regrets,” Shelby said, suddenly finding a strength she didn’t know she possessed. “Let’s make a plan.”
Before they could decide what to do, two police cars pulled up, followed by other cars belonging to Nick’s friends.
“Shelby’s dad spread the word around town. We want to help,” Griffen said.
The woods quickly filled with friends and officers searching for Willow. Shelby stayed at Nick’s house in case she showed up or they received any calls, but the morning melted away without any word.
The front door opened, and she looked up to see the anguish on Nick’s face when he and some of the others returned without Willow. He sagged onto the sofa and covered his face with his hands.
The phone rang then, and Shelby answered it.
“Yes? . . . Uh-huh . . . Okay, we’ll be right there.” She hung up the phone and smiled at Nick. “They found her. She’s at the church.”
Cheers went up around the room, and everyone quickly dispersed. When Nick and Shelby reached the church, Willow ran into her dad’s embrace.
Nick stooped down to look her in the eyes. “Where have you been, honey? I’ve been so worried.”
“I got up this morning and walked to the church.”
“You walked all the way here?”
She nodded. “You said some things only God could fix.
So I came here to talk to him.”
Nick’s jaw dropped.
“Pastor told me I could talk to God anywhere. I knew that, but I figured I’d really get his attention if I was at his house,”
Willow said.
Shelby’s heart squeezed at the faith of Nick’s precious daughter.
When the pastor took Willow into his office to give her a Bible, her very first one, Nick turned to Shelby. “Can you ever forgive my judgmental, hardheaded, self-righteous, stubborn attitude?”
His penitent tone touched her more than she wanted to admit. She looked up at him. “I won’t lie to you. Your reaction cut deeply.” The pain in his eyes seemed genuine, but could she trust him?
“I had no right. I reacted, like you said. I’ve always wanted a boatload of kids, and the thought of—well, as I said, I had no right. You were right, we all sin. That’s where God’s grace comes in. There is nothing he won’t forgive, and I ought to know. I have my own shameful past. Thank God when we ask for forgiveness, he gives us a clean slate. Can you ever forgive me?” His eyes were pleading, his expression sincere and longing, his face—still clean of stubble.
Forgiveness. She’d extended it to her father. How could she not give it to the man she loved? “Of course I forgive you,” she whispered.
“I have a clean slate?”
“A clean slate,” she said.
Nick’s relief was visible on his face, and he pulled her to him. “I love you so much.”
Shelby closed her eyes and let the words wash over her as naturally as if they’d said them to one another every day. She opened her eyes and stared into his handsome, clean-shaven face. “I love you too.”
His heart seemed to smile through his eyes. “I’ve been wanting to hear that for weeks.”
Shelby nestled against his broad chest and inhaled the clean aroma of a man. Her man.
The pastor cleared his throat as he and Willow walked into the room.
Nick and Shelby smiled and pulled apart. Willow’s eyes widened at the sight of them together, and she rushed over between them. They huddled into a group hug. Shelby held Willow tight, and she wondered if this was how it felt to be a real mother. Maybe one day she would know.
Nick looked from Willow to Shelby. “Let’s go home.”
Shelby wasn’t yet sure what “home” would mean for all of them. But for now, being with the man she loved and the daughter for whom she’d always longed was enough.
Denise Hunter
R
eese Mackenzie swept her hand over the old wall as if she could perceive the secrets beneath it. Regardless of what the ugly wallpaper hid, in two months she’d be living her dream.
“You should definitely take the walls down,” Griffen Parker said. He closed the space between them and knocked on the drywall. “Bet there’s brick under there.”
Reese met his clear blue eyes. A dark lock of hair fell over his forehead and battled with his eyelashes.
“I’d planned on painting. You never know what’s behind these old walls. The only way to find out is to knock them down, and once you do that, there’s no turning back.”
“Can’t be worse than this,” he said, running his hand over the Pepto-Bismol wallpaper. “Besides, it’ll take forever to remove this stuff.”
He was right about that, but she hated changing boats midstream. “I’ll think about it.”
She couldn’t believe the Palmer Building was all hers now.
Well, hers and the bank’s. There was so much work to do, and so many unknowns. She’d been planning this forever, but that didn’t stop the worry from jangling on her nerves.
Reese crossed the open space, her Merrell boots barely making a sound on the wooden planks. “You don’t see a problem structurally with opening up the second floor?”
He pocketed his hands in his vest coat. “Nope. The bones are solid.”
Reese glanced around the space, her imagination kicking in. “I want lots of cubbies and shelving.”
“Of course you do.”
“A place for everything.”
“I expected no less.”
It was going to take a lot of time. She hoped it wouldn’t put Griffen in a bind with his other clients. She knew he’d do anything for her, but she’d never take advantage of their friendship.
She studied his face. He’d changed since he left Smitten three years earlier. His hair was longer, dangling over his forehead and curling up on the ends. And he always seemed to be sporting a five o’clock shadow. Probably didn’t have time to shave, with all his projects.
“You sure you have time for all this—you’d tell me if you didn’t, right?”
He cocked a grin. “Always have time for my favorite girl. I’ll finish the town’s gazebo tomorrow, and I figured this project would be my last. I’m all yours for the next two months.”