Tumbleweed Weddings (66 page)

Derek folded his arms on the table. He loved to hear the “Methuselahs” sing. All four men were over sixty years old, but they harmonized perfectly.

The men walked to the front, all sporting minty-green blazers with yellow handkerchiefs in the front pocket. A quiet hum was heard, and then the men broke out into a rousing a cappella rendition of “Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho.” When they finished, Derek joined in the applause.

“Thank you, men.” The pastor moved the lectern to one side. “If someone douses the lights, we’ll watch our PowerPoint presentation.”

The pastor took a seat in the front, and the lights went out. Derek glanced over at Cheyenne, whom he could barely see. Was she going to stand during the entire program?

I am going to take care of that girl
.

Grabbing his chair, Derek walked to where she stood. “Cheyenne.” He kept his voice low as the presentation started with music. “Here’s a chair.” He unfolded it next to her.

She glanced down. “But that’s your chair,” she whispered.

“No, it’s yours.” He motioned toward it. “Sit.”

She smiled as she took a seat. “Thanks, Derek.”

Folding his arms, he leaned against the wall next to her. The room was quiet as the photos faded in and out with the music. The first pictures were before Derek’s time, although he saw photos of his parents as young people. Aggie, Bruce MacKinnon with his first wife, Edna Beazer and her husband, Fred and Janet Oliver … All were captured in the prime of life. As the years moved along, Derek began to appear as a little kid with his brother and sisters.

At one picture, Cheyenne turned and looked up at him with a smile. “Remember that?” she whispered.

A group of elementary children smiled for the camera. As a ten-year-old boy, Derek stood next to Cheyenne and Callie, who were both eleven. All three of them held up colorful award ribbons.

Derek hunkered down next to Cheyenne’s chair. “Neighborhood Bible Time, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.” She grinned. “I loved that summer. We had so much fun.” She turned her attention back to the slides.

Cheyenne had always loved fun, and Derek had always loved being around her, even when they were kids.

He glanced at her profile. Could they have a future together?

At the end of the PowerPoint, Derek stood and leaned against the wall.

Pastor Reilly came back to stand behind the lectern. “You have just witnessed the last forty years of this church’s history. The Lord has been so good to us, faithfully guiding us, leading us to people who need Him, and strengthening our members in the faith.” He motioned toward the front table. “But I couldn’t have accomplished the work of this ministry without my dear wife by my side. We have served the Lord together all these years. She’s been such a blessing to me.” He turned to her. “Honey, stand up.”

Someone started clapping, and the audience joined in. Mrs. Reilly smiled at her husband and then at the church people.

Derek didn’t clap. He stared at the Reillys.
“We have served the Lord together
. “Tonya’s voice flitted through his mind.
“That’s crazy. He doesn’t have to remain single to serve the Lord.”

He glanced at Cheyenne. He knew that she cared about him. She even cared about his sheep. Maybe she even loved him.

And I love her!
Kandi had been right about that.

The pastor was winding down his comments. “Thank you for attending this banquet. It has certainly been sweet memories for my wife and myself. Now let’s close—”

“Pastor?” Bruce MacKinnon stood. “Before we dismiss, could I give a short testimony?”

The pastor nodded. “Certainly, Bruce. Go right ahead.”

Bruce swung around to face most of the crowd. “You all know that I had a heart attack almost two weeks ago. Being confined to the hospital, flat on my back for a week, I had a lot of time to think about my life. I’m so thankful God spared me, and I want to use my remaining years to serve Him.” He glanced down at Aggie, who smiled up at him. “I also realize that life is short. Therefore, in front of all my friends, I’d like to ask you, Agatha Collingsworth, to marry me.”

Aggie’s mouth dropped open, and several gasps could be heard around the room.

But Aggie recovered quickly. Pushing back her chair, she jumped up to stand beside him. “Why Bruce, you old codger, you! In front of all these people, I can’t say
no
!”

Everyone laughed as Bruce drew her into his arms and hugged her.

Pastor Reilly raised his voice. “Congratulations to the happy couple! You are all dismissed.”

Chairs scraped against the tile floor as everyone stood, and the noise level grew to a joyous din. Derek wanted to talk to Cheyenne, but she rushed off to join the crowd of well-wishers surrounding Bruce and Aggie.

Perhaps now was not the time to talk to Cheyenne.

Life is short
. Derek turned and walked out the door to the parking lot. He would go home and spend the next hour on his knees, praying that someday his house would be filled with his wife’s laughter and the happy voices of their children.

O
n Saturday Cheyenne hooked the leash to Marshal’s collar. “Okay, Marsh, we’re ready to go.” Opening the door, she walked out into the early evening.

I’m not jogging!
She would take an easy-paced walk and pray. She hadn’t even donned her sweats, opting instead for jeans and a blue T-shirt.

It had been raining that afternoon when she got home from work, and now a fresh scent hung in the air. She took a deep breath as she walked down the sidewalk with Marshal by her side.

Life is short
. That’s what Bruce had said last night at the Sweet Memories banquet. Cheyenne couldn’t believe he asked Aggie to marry him in front of everyone! Of course Aggie loved the attention, and she finally got what she wanted—the promise of marriage to Bruce MacKinnon. Cheyenne was so happy for her.

And I’m happy that I’m not going to marry Rex
.

A horn honked, making her jump. She glanced at the Town Car driving by and waved at her dad. He was coming home from work.

Crossing the street, she made her way toward the park. Walking Marshal had become an everyday habit for her. Since her birthday, she had lost nineteen pounds. She even had to buy some new clothes. But the best thing about going to the park was the time she spent in prayer as she walked.

She couldn’t imagine any man more perfect for her than Derek Brandt. But maybe the Lord had other plans. She sighed.

It was sad that a casino owner would be getting all of Grandmother’s money.

Derek lifted his truck keys from the hook by the door. For a moment, his heart beat a hard staccato, and he almost put the keys back. But after spending time in prayer last night, he knew Cheyenne was God’s will for him.

“Don’t be a coward!” he admonished himself.

Leaving the ranch, he drove the seven miles to Fort Lob. It only took a few turns from Main Street to arrive at Cheyenne’s house. He drove up the driveway and parked behind Jim’s Town Car. His hands shook slightly as he climbed out of the truck and approached her house.

He couldn’t believe he was so nervous.
This is Cheyenne, for goodness’ sake
. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door.

A moment later the door opened, but it wasn’t Cheyenne.

“Hi, Derek!” Jim boomed out. “What can I do for you?”

“Is Cheyenne here?”

“No, she’s on a walk with Marshal. I passed her on my way home. She probably went to the park.”

“Oh.” A sense of relief spread through him, yet at the same time, Derek knew exactly what his next step should be. “Uh, could I come in and talk to you a minute?” He didn’t want to talk at the door. With Jim’s loud voice, the whole neighborhood would hear their conversation.

Jim stepped back. “Sure. Come on in.”

“Thanks.” Derek followed him inside to the living room.

“Have a seat.” Jim motioned to the sofa. “Can I get you something to drink?”

Derek shook his head. “I just have a question to ask you.”

Jim took a seat across from him in a La-Z-Boy recliner, and his blue eyes—the exact color as Cheyenne’s—stared at him. “So what’s the problem?”

“It’s not really a problem.” Derek tapped his fingers on the arm of the sofa. Where should he start? “Well … I’ve loved your daughter for a long time.”
Whoa!
He couldn’t believe those were the first words out of his mouth.

A look of surprise passed over Jim’s face, but then he smiled. “I’m glad to hear that, Derek. Cheyenne thought you weren’t interested in her. I understand you were dating someone else?”

“Kandi MacKinnon, but she’s out of the picture now, and I hear that Cheyenne is not dating Rex anymore.”

“That’s true.” A hint of a smile touched Jim’s lips.

With a kick of determination, his nervousness vanished. He would tell Jim the truth. “I wish I had started dating Cheyenne years ago, but I thought the Lord wanted me to remain single to serve Him. But then at the banquet last night, Pastor Reilly said he couldn’t have accomplished the work of his ministry without his wife. They served the Lord together all their lives.” Derek spread out his hands. “Something hit me. I realized I’ve loved Cheyenne—for years. The Lord showed me that if I want to serve Him, I need a wife by my side.” A little warmth crept up his neck. “Does that make sense? Cheyenne has a servant’s heart, and she’s a lot of fun, and she’s pretty, and … and I love her.”

Jim raised his eyebrows. “Uh, so, are you asking for her hand in marriage?”

“Yes!” Derek nodded. Didn’t he make that clear? “Sorry. I don’t do well at explaining things, but I do want your permission and your blessing to marry your daughter—if she’ll have me.”

“I’m more than happy to give my blessing to your marriage. In fact, this is an answer to prayer—not only my prayers, but Cheyenne’s mom’s prayers as well. As far as Cheyenne’s answer …” He shrugged. “All you can do is ask.” Then he grinned. “But I doubt that she’ll turn you down.”

“That’s good.” Derek got to his feet. “Thanks, Jim. I’ll drive over to the park and see if I can find her.”

Jim stood and thrust out his hand. “Welcome to the family, son.”

With a laugh, Derek shook it. “Aren’t you being a little premature? Cheyenne hasn’t agreed to marry me yet.”

“She will.” Jim’s smile faded. “Oh wait a minute. Before you leave, I want to give you something.”

Cheyenne took a seat on a park bench—the same bench next to the lamppost where she and Dad had their discussion several weeks ago. “Let’s rest awhile, Marsh. I can see you’re tired.”

Marshal sat down on his haunches and panted.

The twilight deepened, and the light above her turned on. Two boys whizzed by on their bikes. Then all was quiet. Taking a deep breath of warm summer air, she rubbed Marshal’s ear.

“It’s just you and me, boy.” Her thoughts drifted back to last night at the banquet when Derek had given her his chair.
That was so sweet of him
.

Closing her eyes, she felt a tear creep out from her lashes.
Why am I crying?
Pulling a tissue from her jeans pocket, she wiped the tear away.
I will wait, Lord
. Once again, she closed her eyes and breathed in the warm air, spending several minutes in prayer.

Someone sat down on the bench beside her. “Cheyenne?”

Her eyes flew open. Derek gazed at her from under the brim of his cowboy hat. He wore a Western shirt, and his long legs were clad in jeans.

“Hi.” He smiled at her. “Glad I found you.”

Her heart leaped. “Um, hi!” What was he doing here? He had such a strange look on his face. “Do you need something?”

“Well … I went to your house, but your dad told me you were walking the dog. He figured you were at the park.”

She shrugged. “Here I am.”

Derek removed his cowboy hat and held it in his hands a moment before setting it on the bench. He cleared his throat. “I’ve been thinking a lot about my life lately—you know, relationships and stuff.”

She frowned. “Relationships?”

He met her eyes. “I learned a few things, Cheyenne. In fact, I learned a lot through dating Kandi—a real trial-and-error relationship.”