Picket Fence Pursuit (9 page)

Ms. Jones. She read the instructor’s name for the class. Kylie had heard wonderful things about the fairly young professor. According to the buzz on campus, Ms. Jones was dynamic and an out-of-the-box thinker, yet she stayed abreast of the current business expectations. Kylie bit the eraser of her pencil. It seems I heard she was expecting.

Kylie dropped her pencil when Professor Nickels trudged through the door. His salt-and-pepper hair, a mass of wiry curls, swayed with each step he took. “I know you’re expecting Professor Jones.”

Nickels plopped his briefcase on the teacher’s desk. “I’m not looking forward to teaching this class any more than you’re interested in taking it.” He scanned the room. His gaze landed on Kylie. He scowled.

He jerked a stack of papers from his case and walked to one side of the room. “Professor Jones is having complications with her pregnancy.” He counted students and syllabi, then handed several to the first person in each row. “So, I’m filling in.”

A small, dark-haired lady raised her hand. “Will Ms. Jones and the baby be all right?”

“How would I know?” Professor Nickels shrugged and turned toward the chalkboard. “Look at page one in your syllabus. . . .”

Kylie slumped in her seat. Perfect. This was just great. This semester was supposed to be cake, and now she had Nickels to deal with—again. She frowned at the packet in front of her. Robin, her ever-consistent pick-me-up friend, wouldn’t be keeping her company on the long drive to campus. She wouldn’t be walking to the coffee shop with her each morning to encourage Kylie to make it through his class.

Robin’s eyes had shone like emeralds when she’d returned from the singles’ get-together just a few weeks before. Her countenance had been a mixture of adrenaline, bliss, and contentment. “I’m not going back.” Robin’s words echoed in Kylie’s mind. . . .

“What? But you have to. You want to graduate. You want to get a good—”

“No, Kylie.” Robin had rested her hand on top of Kylie’s. “I never wanted it like you did. Don’t you see? That’s why I still don’t have a major.” She looked at the engagement ring on her finger, then back at Kylie. “I’m twenty-three years old. All I’ve ever wanted was to be a wife and mom. Think about it. When you wanted to play business, I wanted to play house. When you wanted to play school, I wanted to play house. When you wanted to play store, I wanted to play—”

“House,” Kylie finished.

“Yes. This is what I want. God has given me such peace, such confirmation. I want you to be happy for me.” She grabbed Kylie in a hug. “And I want you to be my maid of honor.”

Kylie had wiped away the threat of tears that filled her eyes. “Of course I’m happy, and I’d better be your maid of honor.”

The chalk screeched against the board, and Kylie snapped from her reverie. She glanced at the syllabus on the desk of the guy sitting beside her. Nickels was on page five. She flipped her pages over. Gazing at his scoring guide, she cringed. To be able to graduate summa cum laude, with a 3.85 grade point average or better, she’d have to have a B in this class. I can do it.

She looked at her watch. Five more minutes. Her cell phone vibrated in her front pocket. Discreetly, she pulled it out, as no one ever called her during the day once school started. Her phone’s display read her parents’ number, and her heart plunged into her gut. Quickly, she gathered her things and slipped out of the room. Please, God, let Daddy be okay.

She pressed the button. “Hello?”

“Hi, honey,” her mother’s voice sounded over the line.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing serious.”

Kylie let out her breath. “Mama, you scared me to death. I was sitting in class, and I thought something happened to Daddy.”

“I’m sorry. I thought your classes started next week.”

“Mama.” Kylie bit back her frustration.

“Listen, I do have something I want to tell you, something for you to pray about.”

“Okay.”

“The lady handling Daddy’s disability claim called and said there’s been a bit of a delay. Seems his checks won’t start for another couple months.”

“Are you all going to be okay? Dalton and Gideon are still helping out, right?”

“Well, Dalton’s had a bit of an injury.”

Kylie’s heart sped up. “At the mine?”

“No. Playing basketball with his buddies. Seems he went up for a block and fell on his foot and broke it.”

“Oh, my.”

“I want you to pray for us. God has always provided. In fact, I love to see how creative He can be. He’s already blessed us in that Dalton’s boss is holding his job, and your daddy is feeling quite well.”

“I’ll be praying, Mama.”

“Oh, did I tell you Chloe was selected for some sort of special soccer team?”

“No.”

“You know how that girl is always dribbling the ball around the house. Well, she’s really pretty good. It’s a lot of fun to watch her games.”

“Maybe I can get down to see one.”

“I hope so.”

“I love you, Mama. Tell Daddy I love him.”

“I will. I love you, too.”

Kylie snapped her phone shut as the students exited the classroom. Professor Nickels trailed behind them. I don’t know what it will take, but I will get an A in his class. I’ll make sure Miller Enterprises is happy to have selected me. They have to be. My family needs me.

❧

“Here, Ryan.” Gramps shoved several boxes into his hands. “Stack these cereal boxes on that far shelf.”

“Yes, sir.” Ryan clicked his heels and marched like a soldier toward his destination.

“When you’re finished, I need you to stack these rice boxes beside them. I’ll start setting the vegetable cans on this shelf.”

Ryan saluted then picked up the rice. “Aye-aye, captain.”

“All right now, smarty-britches, we only have fifteen minutes before God’s Pantry opens.”

Ryan stacked the fruit cans beside the vegetables. “All done. What do we do when they get here?”

“Just follow me at first. I’ll show you.” Gramps patted Ryan’s back. “I’m glad you’re here with me today.”

“I am, too, Gramps.”

Gramps walked over to the door and unlocked it. Already
two women stood outside. He looked at Ryan. “The place
is too small. We let one person at a time come in.” He turned to the second woman. “We’ll be with you in just a moment.”

Ryan watched as Gramps took a pink slip from the first lady. Because people were referred from the health department and could only come twice a month, they had to bring a slip with them. Gramps checked it off and wrote her name in a ledger then pushed a grocery cart over to her.

“Come on.” Gramps motioned for the lady to follow him. He handed her peanut butter, beans, and several other items. They reached the cereal, and Gramps let her pick three different kinds. Ryan noticed the woman never actually touched the foods.

“Do you go to church anywhere, miss?” Gramps asked, his voice tendered in a way Ryan seldom heard.

“Not really,” the woman answered.

He placed a gallon of milk in the basket. “We’d love for you to visit our church.”

“I don’t know.”

“Have you heard of Jesus?”

“Sorta.” The woman stared at the items in the basket.

Gramps opened the freezer and let her pick three dessert items. Once finished, he transferred the food into bags. He pulled out a tract and one of their church pamphlets from his shirt pocket. “Miss, I’m glad you came today. I’d love to talk to you about Jesus anytime you’d like. I hope you’ll consider visiting our church. You can sit with me and my grandson. Right, Ryan?”

“Yep.”

“Thanks.” The woman averted her eyes and picked up two bags. “I’ll be right back.”

“Ryan and I will help you out.” Gramps lifted two bags, and Ryan grabbed the remaining three. They followed her to an aged Chrysler. Ryan noted two car seats in the back as they filled her trunk. Gramps slammed it shut and walked to the front of the car. “Remember what I said, and bring your babies.”

The woman smiled slightly. “I don’t know. Maybe.” She slid into the driver’s seat and stuck her head through the window. “Thanks, Mr. Watkins.”

“I’ll see ya.” Gramps waved as she backed out of the parking lot.

“You know her?”

“I see her every two weeks. Have the same conversation. Get the same response. But one day. . .” Gramps lifted his finger in the air. “I believe we’ll see her in church.”

“Why didn’t she touch any of the food?”

“Not allowed.”

“Not allowed?”

“There’s a lot of people in this county who benefit from God’s Pantry, people who use it for what it’s meant to be—help to those who need it.” Gramps’s face clouded. “But we still get a few who abuse it, who try to take more than we can supply. Because of them, the rules are strict.”

Ryan watched the woman turn the corner. “It’s worth it, isn’t it, Gramps?”

“Helping others is always worth it, even if only one of ten had a true need. I’d rather err on the side of being taken advantage of than miss helping those who can’t help themselves.”

Ryan’s thoughts drifted to Kylie. She didn’t physically need food like those he’d see today, but she had other needs. She needed peace, needed the ability to completely trust God with her finances and her future.

Lord, everything in me wants to tell Kylie I can provide for her for the rest of her life, yet I’m afraid.

Ryan scratched his jaw. Afraid? Of what? He no longer believed Kylie to be a money-grubber. He didn’t think she’d fall in love with him the moment she found out he could provide, yet he needed to know she’d love him for him, only him.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart.” Did he trust the Lord enough to share his secret with Kylie? He shook the thought away.

Instead, Ryan thought of her compassionate expression as she watched the Belize missions trip video. He remembered the concern etched on her face as she spoke of her family. He knew her pain with Robin’s decision not to return to school was founded in care and worry for her friend. Kylie loved. There was no doubt in his mind that her heart was filled with a want to see those around her happy and at peace.

She just wants to control how they get it. Ryan sighed. Patience was not his strong suit. Loving Kylie required nothing less. “She wants control. I want her to give it up right now so I can tell her I’ll provide for her and her family for the rest of our lives,” he mumbled. “We’re a great pair.”

“What’s that?”

“Nothing, I’m just mumbling to myself.”

“Well, let’s get on in there. We’ve got work to do.”

Ryan smiled as he followed Gramps into the building. Though usually a bit rough around the edges, Gramps was sweet as sugar to the people he met at God’s Pantry. This was Gramps’s missions arena, and Ryan felt privileged to be a part of it.

❧

Kylie gazed at the two bridesmaid dress pictures Robin placed in front of her. “Which do you like better?”

“They both seem a bit warm.”

“Well, yeah, it’ll probably be cold in December.”

“You’re getting married in December? That’s less than three months away.”

“We don’t want to wait. We want to spend Christmas as a family.”

“Oh.” Kylie stared at the pictures. “Either is fine with me.”

The phone rang, and Robin hopped up. “I bet that’s the florist.”

Kylie turned away from the magazine. She didn’t want to think about Robin’s wedding. She didn’t want to think about her injured brother, her sick father, or her younger sister pregnant with twins. She didn’t want to think about why God seemed so distant despite her continual pleas for help.

“I’m doing the right things, Lord. I’m finishing school. I’ve already lined up a great job. I’m doing what is good. So, why am I so miserable?”

“What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?” Scripture from the pastor’s sermon pierced her heart.

She huffed. “He was talking about those who don’t know Christ. I know Jesus, and I love Him with my whole heart.”

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart.” One of her favorite Proverbs verses slipped into her mind.

“I do trust You, Lord.” A weight fell on her shoulders and dropped harder into her chest. “At least, I try.”