Texas Weddings 3 & 4 (14 page)

“I guess you’re right.” Vicky’s tears seemed to have dried
up now. “I guess I’m just so scared to believe that something
so.
. .impossible sounding…can actually happen.”

“That’s where faith comes in,” Kent said.
Faith.
He pressed Charity a little
tighter to himself. “Believing the impossible.”

Vicky sighed. “I know you’re right.”

Her end of the phone grew silent, and Kent knew the
conversation had drawn to its rightful conclusion. “I have to let you go,
Vicky. I’m in the store with Charity, and we need some father-daughter time. Go
and love on those boys of yours. They need you right now.”

“Okay.” Her voice brightened. “I’ll do that. And
. .
.thanks
, Pastor.”

“No problem,” he said. “But next time, Vicky, it might be
better if you called on one of the women in the church. They’re probably a
little more qualified than I am to discuss the things you’re thinking and
feeling. They could give you a woman’s perspective, at any rate.”

“I’ll do that. Thanks again.” As the line went dead, Kent
tucked his phone into his pocket. Charity laid her head on his shoulder, and he
ran his fingers through her hair.

“How’s Daddy’s girl?” He asked. “You doing okay?”

“I okay.” She looked up with an impish grin. “I like candy.”

“I know you do.” He lifted her up to place her back into the
basket. Only at this point did he notice the chocolate smeared all over his
shirt.

For once, it simply didn’t matter.

***

When the doorbell rang on the second Saturday in November,
Shauna happened to be the only one at home. Her parents, ever the world
travelers, had taken their RV to the nearby town of New Braunfels for the
weekend.

Nothing could have
prepared her for the shock of discovering who stood on the other side of the
door.

“
J.
. .Joey?”

His lopsided grin
widened into a full-fledged smile. “Hey, you!” He embraced her warmly and
planted a tender kiss on her cheek, one that would have warmed her heart and
brought a smile to her own face just a few short weeks ago. “Long time, no
see.”

Now, however, she
could not be sure what feelings gripped her heart. Fear? Confusion?
An odd sense of betrayal?

“Come in, come in.”
She grabbed him by the hand and ushered him into the living room, eyes never
leaving his. “What are you doing here?”

“Don’t you think it’s
about time I came for a visit?” He slipped an arm around her waist.

If you had asked me that a few weeks ago, I
would have said yes, but
now.
. .

Now she couldn’t seem
to collect her thoughts or make sense of the conversation. “How long are you
here?”

“I have to be back in
school after the Thanksgiving holidays.”

“Thanksgiving? You’re
staying all week?”

“If you’ll have me.”
He planted a kiss on her lips, and the old feelings returned immediately. She
could hardly think clearly or make sense of his sudden appearance. “
Now.
. .” his voice lowered considerably, “where are these
parents of yours? I have to make a good first impression.”

“They’re out of town
until Tuesday. My mom wanted to be back in time for Thanksgiving, so if you’re
staying that
long.
. .”

“We’ve got the place
to ourselves, then.” He grinned mischievously. “I couldn’t have planned things
any better.”

“Joey.” Shauna gave
him a look she hoped he would not ignore. “You know better than that. Don’t you
have someplace else you can stay?”

He shrugged and grew
silent for a moment. “I guess I could stay with my brother and his wife. But
those kids of theirs are terrors.”

“Hey now, watch how
you talk about children.” She grinned. “I happen to love them, you know.”

“If you love
them”—he drew her close—“then I’ll learn to love them, too.”

He kissed her a bit
more passionately this time, and she pulled away, a little stunned.

“Joey, I haven’t seen
you for weeks. And you’ve hardly even answered my E-mails.”

“I know.” He sighed.
“I’m in over my head with my school. It’s not like it was with my undergraduate
classes. I’m really having to work now.”

“But
still.
. .”

“I should have written
more often.” He stepped back a bit to gaze wistfully into her eyes. Her heart
fluttered as he continued on. “I let myself get too caught up in my work, and I
almost forgot the most important thing.”

Shauna smiled, in
spite of herself. “The most important thing?” She leaned her head into his
chest.

“All of my hard work
will seem kind of pointless if I don’t have someone to share it with.” He drew
her close once again. “I’ve had time to think a lot more clearly—and time
to pray. I like what the Lord is showing me. A lot.” His eyes shimmered with an
excitement that seemed intriguing, yet unusual.

“Really?”

He nodded. “Yes. And I’ve missed you a lot more than I’ve
let on. I should have told you before now.”

Yes, you should have.
Instead of scolding, she gazed up into his
eyes. Kind eyes. Loving eyes.

Eyes she could grow to
appreciate once again.

fifteen

Kent stood before the people of Grace Community Church
preparing to deliver a life-changing sermon. However, he struggled to stay
focused on the message the Lord had laid on his heart. Looking out onto the
faces of several hundred parishioners, his eyes seemed only to land on one.

Better make that two.
Shauna Alexander sat so close to the shockingly handsome blond guy on her left
that Kent had to conclude the most likely possibility:
That must be Joey.

He forced his thoughts to the matter at hand.
Stay focused, man. Don’t get distracted from
what God has for these folks. Lord, forgive me. I want to keep my heart pure
and my focus on
You
. I know that
You
have a message to deliver to Your people this morning.

In fact, he had been
up half the night, listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit, rewriting an
earlier message crafted days prior. The words
inner
healing
had taken
on a whole new meaning as the Lord had laid out a blueprint involving
appropriate scriptures, biblical examples, and personal experience stories. It
had all seemed so clear in the night. But this morning, with far too little
sleep and far too many distractions, he struggled to stay focused.

Lord, I know
You
have
a plan for this morning. Don’t let me get in the way, Father. Keep my eyes on
You
.

With a renewed sense
of direction, Kent opened his Bible and began to speak. He poured out his heart
with each word. As he shared, he couldn’t help but realize the Lord had crafted
this message just for him.
Is that why
You
kept me up through the night, Lord? Are
You
reminding me of all the work You’ve already done in my
life?

Kent quoted the scripture of choice from the Thirty-Fourth
Psalm: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed
in spirit. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him
from them all.” As he spoke the words, he reflected on his own heart, and how
the Lord had healed him from the pain of Faith’s death, how the Lord had lifted
Kent’s eyes and placed them back where they belonged—on his relationship
with God.

Kent looked out over
his congregation, aware that many dabbed their eyes. One woman’s face seemed
awash with tears. A few others sniffled. As he drew his remarks to a close, he
offered an invitation to those who struggled with heartbreak to give their
hearts—and their situations—to the Lord. Many came forward for
prayer. Still others knelt at their seats or sat quietly with heads bowed.

By the time the final worship song had been sung, Kent heard
the Lord’s voice of approval over the morning:
Well done, My child.

As he made his way through the people, Kent couldn’t help but
marvel at their remarks. Many spoke to him with tears fresh in their eyes.
“Pastor Kent, you spoke straight to my heart and made me face some things I
haven’t seen willing to face for years. Gave me hope that things can get
better.”

On and on the comments
flowed. Kent found
himself
overwhelmed with the way
God had apparently used him—an ordinary, flawed, unschooled man—to
minister to His people.
What are you
trying to teach me here, Lord?
He felt his heart stirred as never before
and could not deny the Lord appeared to be doing something brand new in his
life.

Kent traveled through
the crowd until at least he saw his mother and stepfather at the back of the
auditorium. His mother wrapped him in her arms as she whispered words of
encouragement into his ear. “I’m so proud of you.” Her eyes brimmed over. “You
were listening.”

He gave her a
quizzical look. “Listening?”

She pointed up and he
nodded, understanding. “Ah. Yes. It feels really good.”

“And God truly spoke
through you,” she continued. “That makes my heart smile.”

“Everything makes your
heart smile, Mom.”

A light tap on his
shoulder caused him to turn away from his mother for a moment. Kent caught his
breath as he came face-to-face with Shauna. “Hey.”

“Hey.” She gave him a winsome smile. “I didn’t mean to
interrupt your conversation.”

“No problem. I wanted
to introduce you to my mother, anyway.”

His mom extended her
hand and smiled broadly. “So this is the wonderful teacher I’ve heard so much
about.”

Shauna groaned
audibly, and Kent responded with an inward grimace, hoping his mother would
choose not to repeat some of Charity’s more pointed descriptions of her
teacher.

Fortunately, his mother continued on with some encouraging
words. “We have our hands full with just one toddler. I don’t know how in the
world you manage an entire classroom full of them.”

“I’m afraid I don’t do
the best job of it sometimes.” Shauna’s gaze shifted downward, and Kent fought
to think of something to say to redirect the conversation.

“Charity’s learned so
much from you.” He smiled. “She came home reciting the alphabet the other day.”

“She’s very bright.”
Shauna’s face lit up.

The young man next to
her cleared his throat, and Shauna’s cheeks blazed with apparent embarrassment.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I forgot to introduce you. Kent, this is Joey Klein. Joey,
Pastor Kent Chapman.”

Kent responded to the
fellow’s enthusiastic handshake but had to wonder about Shauna’s formality.
Pastor Kent Chapman?
Somehow the phrase felt oddly
uncomfortable coming from her.
Far too formal for two people
so closely acquainted.
He quickly introduced Joey to his mother and
Andrew.

“Nice to meet you
all.” Joey slipped his arm around Shauna’s waist. “I’ve heard about how
friendly this church is. Now I’ve seen it for myself.”

You have?
“We’re happy to have you.” Kent spoke with sincerity

“And I’m glad to
finally have the chance to come for a visit.” Joey pulled Shauna a little
closer. “It’s been way too long. I’ve missed this girl of mine.”

Shauna looked a little
nervous as she added to his sentence. “Joey’s here for the holidays. He came to
meet my parents.”

Meeting her parents. Sounds serious.
“Well, I hope you enjoy your trip.” With an unusually heavy
heart, Kent looked into Shauna’s eyes.
So
this is the guy. This is the one you write E-mails to.

“I’ve cooked a roast,”
his mother interjected with great enthusiasm. “Enough for an army. Why don’t
you all come over for lunch?” She reached to squeeze Shauna’s hand. “I’d be so
happy to have you. And I know Charity would love it.”

“That’s really nice of
you,” Joey spoke with determination, “but we’ve already got plans. I’m taking
Shauna out for a steak dinner.” His lips curled up in a smile.

They all nodded
politely and parted ways with positive comments, but as he stepped away from
Shauna, Kent’s heart twisted a bit.
Calm
down, man. You’ve certainly got no claim on her. And if Joey is the man God has
in mind for
her.
. .

For some reason, his
thoughts stopped right there.

***

Shauna felt strangely uncomfortable as she climbed into
Joey’s car. Something about the look in Kent Chapman’s eyes—a soulful
look—had stirred her heart. Had she offended him in some way? She worked
her way back through the conversation but could think of nothing that should have
stirred up frustration or pain.

If he’s still upset at me about Charity then
that’s just silly. I thought we had all that settled the other night.