Christian Romance: Heaven on Earth... [4 Beautiful Christian Romance Stories] (12 page)

“Yeah… ow, ow. Granny Mae raised me,
that is, until they sent me to boarding school. My family moved out
while I was at school and I haven’t been back until a few years
ago. Wait… wait… that’s a huge needle!” then he turned his head as
she took out the surgical sutures.

“Why did you decide to come back Gage?
Emille tells me you were doing very well for yourself.”

“Yes I was. But what was it all for? I
had money, but I felt empty. I felt like God spoke to me and I felt
like I had to come back. And I did.”

“You’ve managed to do so much
though.”

“Well, I owe a lot to the people here.
When father cut his losses and left, it never felt right to
me.”

Oh why hadn’t she put it together
before? Gage’s family must have owned the old plantation, that’s
why he had roots here and was so close to everyone. Karen felt a
small tinge of regret as she finished up the last stitch and
bandaged the wound, she was enjoying herself in his company.
Surprisingly.

“Well, you’re done, remember not to
move it too much, and I‘ll give you some pills for the pain, but
you should be good as new I no time.”

“Wow, well thanks doc… I… thanks,” he
said as he got up awkwardly and turned to leave. “I was thinking,”
he said abruptly as he turned to her again, “maybe you’d like to
have dinner?”

Karen blushed slightly, “Yes. I’d love
to.

************

They ended up having dinner in an old
boathouse by the river that Gage and some of the other men had been
fixing up. They couldn’t go to town as it would not be a good idea
for someone who’s just had stitches to drive for hours, as Karen
had said sternly.

Karen didn’t bring so many clothes
with her, but she found a lovely blue dress that was simple yet
elegant.

Gage came to pick her up at 8 o’clock
and just shook his head when he saw her.

“What’s wrong? Am I overdressed for a
date by the river?” Karen asked, looking down at her
dress.

“No, you look…perfect,”
and he smiled in a way she had never seen before. Brent never told
her she was perfect, he complemented her, but then he’d say
something like, “You should have worn the yellow one,” or “The ruby
necklace would have been perfect for this”.
This is the man everyone else knows and admires so
much
, Karen thought as Gage opened the car
door for her. They drove down a dirt road that led off the town
until they were at a clearing. There were the docks, all bright
with white lights that led to the sweet little
boathouse.

“Oh Gage, this is
beautiful.”

“Well we didn’t have much time, but
she is a beauty.”

They went inside and there was a small
table with two chairs with two covered plates. “Granny Mae made her
specialty, she insisted actually. I hope you like it, I don’t know
if you’ve ever had shrimp gumbo.” And Gage took the covers from the
plates. Karen took her first bite and it was a heavenly, rich and
full of flavor.

“Tell Granny she blew my mind. This is
wonderful.”

They ate their meal and talked about
their past, Gage, about his lawyer years, and Karen about medical
school and her internship, then about Blake.

“He just said it outright. ‘We should
break up,’ and there was nothing I could say, it was
devastating.”

“I had a girl like that, she pushed me
to take jobs I didn’t want to, you know, high-paying jobs that ate
at my soul. She said it was for our future. I couldn’t look myself
in the mirror sometimes, then I prayed to God, I didn’t know what
to do and I needed guidance. It was weird, I suddenly remembered
Granny Mae then, her telling me that it was better to be poor and
have integrity, than rich and perverse. I felt like God was telling
me to come back, to get my integrity back, to help those who
deserved it.”

“And you’re happier here…”

“I am. I’m happier.”

“What happened to the
girl?”

“She said I was crazy, then when she
found out I was serious, we broke up.”

“Can I ask you something that I want
you to give an honest answer to?”

“Sure.”

“Why were you so stern when we first
met?”

“Well…to be honest…you were too
beautiful,” he said, looking a bit embarrassed.

“Too beautiful?” Karen
snorted.

“Yes, the hospital said they would
send a Dr. K. Johnston, I never thought you’d be a woman, and a
beautiful one at that, I was expecting an old man who wanted to
give a few years to the poor before retirement. I thought it was
too good to be true.”

“Don’t be silly. You’re the most
eligible bachelor from Shreveport to New Orleans,” Karen said with
a smile.

“I’m sure you got that from Granny
Mae…she likes to exaggerate you know. But it wasn’t just your face.
For a young, beautiful, highly recommended doctor to give her life
to some remote town no one remembers.”

“I could say the same for
you.”

“It seems like we found each other,”
he said with a smile.

“It seems we have.”

“They’re here!” Ava said excitedly as
she ran up the stairs.

“Calm down, you’re acting like it’s
about you. Help me with the lemonade then,” Karen said, giving Ava
the pitcher and heading to the door where the Gage’s four wheel
drive was pulling up. Gage came out and opened the passenger side
door and Karen’s heart jumped as her parents stepped out of the
car.

“Karen darling! We missed you so
much!” her mother shouted from the car. When they got closer, her
mother turned to her and whispered, “That Gage Fortier is quite a
man. When I read your letters, I couldn’t believe it. It was too
good to be true, but he’s kind and polite and handsome
too.”

“There’s my darling girl,” her father
then said, taking her in his arms. “I missed you so much and Gage
has just been telling me about the fishing in these
parts.”

They went in and Karen finally managed
to get her parents to sit down. “I’ve been dying to tell you, but
we thought it was better if you were both here.

We’re engaged!”

Giving the Best of
Me
is about Karen, a young doctor who
finds her whole world turned upside down when the man she’s been
committed to for 6 years drops the bomb, saying that their
relationship had run its course. Desperate for a change, Karen
prays to God for guidance, and every time, He finds ways to answer
her prayers and leads her in the right direction. Following her
heart, she volunteers for an outreach program and then finds
herself in a remote town in Louisiana, working alone in a little
clinic. She soon hears stories about the kind and Godly man, Gage
Fortier, but she doesn’t understand why the man they talk about is
so different from the one she’s met, yet unable to deny the
electric tension between them.

Follow Karen on her journey to find
her calling, and maybe find the man that God meant for
her.