Texas Weddings 3 & 4 (22 page)
Shauna winked at the precious little girl who
was soon to become her own daughter. “I love you,” she whispered.
Charity giggled and
hid her face behind her hands. “
Wub
you!”
Shauna fought to stay
focused, though the giggles of her many students kept a smile on her face.
Who cares if they’re a little disruptive?
She loved them all and wouldn’t have let this day go by without even one.
Pastor Meeks took his place front and center as Shauna’s
father placed her hand in Kent Chapman’s. “The scriptures tell us ‘One can put
a thousand to flight; but
two
can put
ten thousand to flight,’ ” the elderly pastor reminded the congregation. “And
that’s why we’re here today.”
For the next few
minutes, Shauna lost all track of time. She also lost track of those around
her. Her gaze met Kent’s in a magical connection. His eyes seemed to dance with
joy.
She and Kent shared
handwritten vows publicly, each pouring out their heart to the other. The
carefully crafted vows brought tears to the eyes of many in attendance, but
Shauna and Kent shared something far more intimate between the two of them.
They shared a private communication that superseded anything yet spoken.
I’m really no good at putting words on paper.
She could practically hear Kent speaking the now-familiar
phrase.
Oh, yes you are.
She sent the message through her smile.
I can read your heart right now, and I love what I’m reading.
“You may kiss the
bride.” The pastor spoke the anticipated words, but it was too late. Kent had
already taken her in his arms, their hearts and souls linked. They shared the
joy of the moment as the pastor continued on: “I would like to introduce Mr.
and Mrs. Kent Chapman.”
The congregation began to celebrate aloud. The couple faced
the crowd, and Shauna’s heart soared. From the front row, her beautiful
daughter let out a squeal and sprang from the pew to join them at the front of
the church. Kent attempted to scold the youngster but seemed unable to calm her
down. He looked at Shauna with an apologetic shrug.
Shauna took advantage of the opportunity to reach down and
scoop up Charity, her
sweet
Charity.
With her daughter’s arms encircling her neck and her husband’s hand firmly
clasped in her own, they made their way down the aisle—stepping out of
the past and into the future.
By
Janice
Thompson
DEDICATION:
This book is dedicated to the memory of my beautiful
niece, Shannon, who suffered a significant brain injury as a result of a
head-on collision. She fought the good fight and taught us how to stay strong,
even in the midst of tragedy.
Banking on Love
Kellie Fisher pulled the keys from her purse and sprinted
across the parking garage in search of her new sports car. “I was on level
two.” She looked around, confused. “Right?
Or was that yesterday?” Her days, filled from morning to night with
work, all seemed to run together into a dizzying haze. She could hardly
remember her own name, let alone where she had parked the car.
She glanced at her watch and groaned. 6:47 P.M. In exactly
thirteen minutes, in a beautiful downtown hotel ballroom, her husband would be
honored for his work at
Siefert
and Collins, one of
the busiest oil and gas accounting firms in the state of Texas. He would
deliver a speech that she had helped him craft. And she would miss it, if even
the slightest thing went wrong.
Finding the car was critical to her survival.
She took the elevator
to the next level and located the vehicle at once. The beautiful silver sports
car gleamed—a gem among the oceans of cars in the parking garage. Still,
it was little consolation for her tardiness. “Please Lord,” she prayed aloud as
she climbed inside, “Please don’t let there be any traffic. Just this once.”
The new car started
with ease and Kellie eased her way through the traffic in the parking garage,
fingers gripping the steering wheel. As she pulled out onto
Westheimer
,
one of Houston’s busiest streets, a sea of cars greeted her. Horns honked.
Drivers shouted. An officer, face etched with frustration, directed traffic at
the corner.
Kellie slapped herself in the head.
“Not tonight. I can’t be late. I just can’t.”
If she missed even a minute of tonight’s event, she would have a hard time
forgiving herself.
I can’t let Nathan down. I just can’t.
Then again, maybe she could use this time wisely. Kellie
glanced in the rearview mirror and groaned. Her short blonde hair needed a good
brushing and her cheeks, usually tanned and healthy, looked as if they hadn’t
seen the light of day in months.
I’ll have to get to the tanning salon.
Soon.
In the meantime, a little blush would have to do.
She stuck her hand in her purse and fished around for the
tiny hairbrush. Once found, she pulled it out and ran it through her hair. She
opened a tiny silver compact and swept soft rosy blush along each cheekbone.
“There. Much better.”
A whistle blew several times and Kellie realized she’d been
holding up traffic. She groaned and shot forward a few short feet, waving her
apology at the police officer.
“It’s not like we’re
really making progress,” she grumbled.
And
it’s not like I’m going to get there by seven, either.
In the three years since she and Nathan had been married,
Kellie rarely made it to an event on time.
Her reputation for being fashionably late irritated Nathan, but what
could she do about it?
Since taking
on the job at Walsh and Weston, Houston’s largest full-service brokerage firm,
she scarcely had time to breathe, let alone eat or spend quality time with her
husband. Her emotions ran up and down with the stock market, the highs and lows
nearly taking her captive at times.
“We’ll have more time
together once things settle down.” She spoke the words aloud to reassure
herself, as always. In the meantime, she and Nathan would continue to build
bank accounts, develop portfolios and elevate their status on the job.
“Everything in its time.” And time was critical, especially
now.
She took a quick left
onto a back street and wound her way through an upscale neighborhood, shooting
for the tiny street that would empty into the west end of downtown. Kellie
looked at the homes in awe as she sailed past them. One day she and Nathan
would own a house like one of these. They would sell their condominium and move
up. When the children came.
“Everything in its
time.” She repeated the words again and glanced at the clock. 6:57. Three
minutes. She focused on the road and forged ahead. Gratefully, traffic seemed
to be of little issue now.
Kellie allowed her thoughts to ramble a bit. She offered up
a scattered prayer for Nathan, knowing his nerves were probably a jumbled mess
as he prepared to face the crowd to speak. He always seemed to struggle with
recognition and notoriety. As they had worked together on his speech late into
the night, she could sense his edginess and slight embarrassment.
“You’d better get used to it,” she had encouraged. “By the
time all is said and done, you’re going to be CEO. You’ll be giving lots of
speeches.”
He responded with a shy smile and a slight shrug. “You’d
better be praying a lot, then.”
“I am.”
And she did pray for him.
Every day, in
fact.
As she traveled back and forth to work, Kellie offered up words of
thanks for the awesome man the Lord had dropped in her lap three years earlier
while living in the Dallas area. At the time they’d met, Nathan had been
engaged to someone else.
But
God.
. .
The Lord clearly had other plans. And the Lord had led them
every step of the way through these first few years of marital bliss. He’d
opened doors for them to move back to Houston, prepared the way for her job at
Walsh and Weston, and had ultimately swung wide the doors for Nathan to move up
quickly at Seifert and Collins.
Kellie was extremely proud of her husband’s accomplishments,
especially his ever-growing desire to help the underdogs he encountered along
the way. She saw his commitment to the firm—and to her—and thanked
God that they had found one another.
With a prayer of thanks on her lips, Kellie pulled up to the
hotel’s valet parking area at 7:09. She checked her appearance in the rearview
mirror one last time. She quickly applied a dab of soft pink gloss and climbed
from the car. She tossed the keys to the attendant with a quick, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He tipped his cap in her direction then
gave a whistle as his gaze fell on the car. “Wow. She’s a beauty.”
“Thanks.” Kellie pressed her way through the mob at the
front door of the hotel and entered the grand foyer. Opulent light fixtures
hung from the lofty ceiling and beautiful artwork framed the walls. For a
moment, she nearly let herself get lost in the beauty of it all.
Until she remembered her purpose in being here.
“Where is the ballroom, again?” Ah yes.
Up
the escalator and to the left.
Or was it right?
She made it to the escalator in record time, but managed to
step aboard just after an elderly couple, who stood their ground on the step
above her. She glanced at her watch again. 7:11. Surely the banquet would start
late. These things rarely began on time, after all.
At the top of the escalator, Kellie glanced to her left.
Through the open doors to the ballroom, she could see her husband seated
onstage next to his boss. His lopsided sandy blonde curls appeared a little
more controlled than usual, but his long, gangly legs jutted out in front of
the chair, as always. No hiding that tall, thin physique. Kellie couldn’t help
but smile in his direction. Nathan’s beautiful gray-blue eyes met hers as she
entered the room.
“Sorry I’m late.” She mouthed the words as she took her seat
at the table nearest the stage.
Nathan shrugged and flashed a grin.
“At least he’s not mad.” Had she really spoken those words
aloud?
“Kellie, it’s nice to see you.”
Kellie startled as she heard her mother-in-law’s words. For
the first time, she realized she was not alone at the table. “Well, hello to
you too.” She reached to give the older woman a soft kiss on the cheek.
“Glad you could make it.” Nathan’s mother smiled and turned
her attention back to the stage. Kellie tried not to read too much into her
words.
Did she think I wouldn’t come, or is she scolding me for arriving
late?
Kellie’s father-in-law reached to squeeze her hand and gave
her a wink. She responded by gripping his hand a bit tighter. Then, with nerves
a bit frazzled, she leaned back in her chair and focused on her husband.
***
Nathan sat at his appointed place on the stage, twisting his
cloth napkin in nervous anticipation as his boss made the necessary
introductions. Truth be told, he didn’t like it when people bragged on his
accomplishments. It was hard to hear and even harder to talk about.
And yet, that’s exactly what he must do tonight. Tonight
Nathan must stand before a roomful of his peers and discuss his achievements in
the world of oil and gas accounting. That’s exactly what they expected. Why
else would the firm have chosen to honor him as their Man of the Year? Why else
would the big wigs from Dallas have come down to Houston to share in his moment
of glory?