Clean Inspirational Romance: Escape to Paradise (Inspirational Happy Sweet First Love Second Chance Romance) (Contemporary New Adult Love Inspired Holiday Short Stories) (9 page)

Everyone gave a resounding “Amen.”

The table became silent as everyone helped themselves to the multiple offerings spread over the table. Mercy filled her plate and smiled as everyone began eating and smiling at each other as they enjoyed the delicious food. She truly felt blessed.

Mercy watched as Kale stood up and scooched his chair out of the way and lifted his glass. She lifted her glass to his and smiled. “To family, faith, and friendship. And to Miss Mercy Thompson, who changed my life from the moment she stepped off the train.”

Mercy watched in awe and surprise as Kale made eye contact with her and slowly slid down to one bent knee in front of her. Her heartrate started beating a lot faster. The small box he pulled out made from his inside coat pocket made tears prick her eyes and she couldn’t keep the watery smile off her face. “I’ve never been surer of anything in my life than I am that God brought you to me. I prayed for his provision in my personal life and he delivered on the best woman possible. If you’ll have me Mercy Thompson, I promise to work every day to fulfill my promises to you. I promise to cherish you. To lavish attention on you and to share this wonderful life God has blessed us with. Will you marry me Mercy Thompson?”

Mercy watched Kale open the box in near slow motion. A wedding set winked out at her, the simple gold band and its matching engagement ring. It was a gold ring with a large opal set in the center. Around it were tiny, deep blue lapis lazuli stones. “It was my grandmother’s ring,” Kale said when Mercy still hadn’t answered.

“I’ve never been so honored in my life,” Mercy whispered, choking back the tears that threatened to keep her from speaking. “God has seen fit to bless me beyond any of my imagining’s. I will gladly marry you Kale Preston. I’ll work every day to be worthy of you, of this ranch, of the love we have between us.”

***

Kale and Mercy married two weeks later with Kale’s parents, younger brothers, and many friends attending to wish them well as their married life began. Marc stayed at the ranch and watched the cattle for Kale, while he and Mercy enjoyed their honeymoon. He took his new bride to the Rio Grande and shared with her the story of The Alamo. They toured San Antonio, where the battle took place, and Kale enjoyed watching Mercy soak in the rich history of the birth of the Lone Star State.

As they returned home to the ranch, Kale asked. “Any regrets?”

“None.” Mercy smiled. “I’ll work hard to make sure I never regret anything about the blessings God has surely given to me… I love you Kale Preston.”

“I love you too, Mrs. Mercy Elizabeth Preston.”

Neither of them knew what life had in store for them, but with their family by their side and their deep, abiding faith, Kale and Mercy would meet and defeat any challenge that came their way.

THE END

Bonus Story 2 of 10

Bridget Mathers was obsessed with the colorful little bubbles in the fish tank. As an adult in her twenties, she was rightfully abashed at her choice in favorites, but she remained completely adamant about it. There was something delightfully charming about the innocent little glass tank, with its multitude of guppies and goldfish and plastic, waving seaweed.

The fishes inside it were adorable – quite large and provided great entertainment for the children that came in. It was a wonderful distraction, she realized, from the daunting prospect of seeing the dentist, however friendly and inviting, Dr. Winters. They did, however, leave a messy smear of fingerprints all over it at the end of the day. But Bridget didn’t mind. She rather liked the quietness at the end of the work day, punctuated only by the hum of the air conditioner and the merry bubbling of the tank and its residents.

The fish were currently being entertained by a chubby little five-year-old, whose mother watched with a careful eye from behind the creased pages of an
Elle
magazine. Children weren’t a staple to Dr. Winters’s office, but enough of them were around for there to be a small table and corner filled with plastic toys and books to be dedicated to them.

“Rachel,” Bridget called out from behind her computer. A middle-aged lady stood up and walked towards the door, where Randy now stood, opening the door with his trademark smile and patient eyes. He was a good friend of Bridget’s, and one of the nicest nurses she knew. Rachel caught Bridget’s eye as she walked towards Randy, smiling as she did so. Bridget returned the favor. She knew most of the people that came into the office – she’d been working for Dr. Winters shortly after graduating from college, and had stayed with him for the past five years.

A quiet click a short distance away from the desk signaled the arrival of another patient, and Bridget turned her attention away from Randy and Rachel to the entry door. She blinked. He was a new patient. That much she knew immediately; even if she didn’t know all of the patients by name, she knew their faces at the very least. It was one talent she prided herself on: being able to easily distinguish and remember names and faces.

Yes, he was a new client, about late twenties – quite possibly a few years older than her - and he was attractive. Bridget felt her cheeks redden at the thought, but she didn’t break her gaze away from the man just yet. It wasn’t bad, she told herself. She was merely… being professional and aware of her surroundings so that she could best serve her clients. He approached the desk, and Bridget couldn’t help but notice that he had soft, sandy hair and hazel-green eyes. He smiled as he approached her, and though she instinctively clicked the computer mouse and the icon for setting up a new profile, her head was spinning with only one thought.

He had dimples.

“Hi, I’m new here. Do you mind telling me what information I might need to fill out?” He was disarmingly charming, and Bridget blinked a few times before processing exactly what it was he had said to her.

“Oh, I’ll set up a profile for you really quickly.” She pulled open a file cabinet to pull out a sheet of paper and handed it to him, along with a clipboard and pen. “Fill that out for me really quickly and I’ll get you logged into the system.”

“Do you have an appointment with us?” Bridget scolded herself internally and fixated her eyes on the screen. She was determined not to let her attraction towards the man ruin her near perfect performance at work. She was at work, and at work, she would focus solely on that.

“Yeah,” the man nodded. “Theo Noyes, ten forty-five.” Bridget clicked the designated slot. His name popped up and she nodded, more to herself than to him. “Thank you Mr. Noyes; Dr. Winters will see you shortly.” As per usual, she finished her statement with a customary smile, but this time, it was different. This time, it was returned to her, and she couldn’t deny the little flutter she felt in her stomach.

The man – Theo – Bridget corrected herself, headed for the nearest empty seat and proceeded to work on the slip of paper she had given him. He had chosen a seat very near to the fish tank, and the five-year-old that had once been preoccupied with the fish now had a new – in his eyes – playmate to talk to.

“Hi, mister!” He toddled up to Theo, who, though slightly surprised, managed a smile at the child.

“Hi there. What are you doing?” He attempted – and failed – to keep his attention fully on both the paper he was filling out and the child before him. Bridget hid a smile; it was absolutely endearing.

The mother, by now, had looked up from her magazine to shoot her child a warning look. “Matthew,” she said, her stern tone leaving no room for argument.

“No, it’s quite alright,” Theo laughed. “I used to do that all the time when I was a kid. Drove my mom nuts.” The mother gave a relieved laugh, nodding in agreement. She was grateful for the presence of a person who understood; many others she’d encountered could be quite rude in the unwanted presence of a child.

“Let the nice mister finish filling out his paper, okay, Matthew?” She still felt inclined to chastise her child briefly, still keeping an eye out for him. The child pouted, but returned to racing his little wooden cars. Theo grinned at the petulant expression.

“I’ll finish the paper quickly,” he promised the child. “Then I can talk to you, or play with you, or something.” True to his word, the pen moved faster on the paper. It wasn’t a long sheet – merely one to collect patient information, so Bridget figured he would be done relatively quickly. When he finished, he stood up, and, mortified at the possibility of being caught looking, Bridget quickly returned her gaze to the computer, only allowing herself to look up at him for a second when he stopped by her desk to return the paper, pen, and clipboard.

“Thank you, Mr. Noyes,” she said, taking the items from him.

“Oh, just Theo works,” he flashed her a smile.

“Alright, Theo,” she laughed, turning her eyes downwards to read the paper. She pulled out her keyboard, tapping furiously away and making short work of creating a new profile for the system. When she next looked up, the child was racing cars with a rather bemused Theo.

Bridget had to work hard to keep her laughter in. Theo was crouched down near the floor, awkwardly bent in half so that he didn’t knock over any furniture or crush any toys, and had a look of intense concentration on his face as he raced a tiny blue car around the carpeted raceway. Matthew held a wooden, yellow car and made animated zooming noises as he circled the laps quickly.

“Amanda.” Randy’s voice interrupted her staring and Bridget looked up to see the previous patient – Rachel – come out of the doors and head straight for her. The mother of the child stood up, motioning for him to come along.

Reluctantly, the child followed. “Bye, Mr. Theo,” he waved at the man. Theo gave him a parting wave and a smile before standing up and sitting back down on the seat he had previously occupied. He took some time to briefly look around at the tables near him for any potential magazines he could read. Finding none he was interested in, he instead pulled out his phone and within a few short moments, was completely engrossed in the tiny, glowing screen.

“I’d like to make my next appointment for the fifteenth – about two months from now,” Rachel gestured to the miniature calendar on the desk.

“Of course,” Bridget replied professionally, looking through the file Randy had just handed her. “Dr. Winters would like to see you then for a teeth cleaning.” She clicked through the electronic calendar on the computer. “Does the same time work for you? Ten in the morning?” Rachel nodded, and after exchanging a few receipts, appointment reminders, and the like, Bridget waved her a cheery goodbye out the door.

Bridget returned her focus to the work at hand – she made a firm resolution to keep her eyes (and mind) on the computer screen and papers before her. There would be time for ogling men and chasing dates, but that time certainly wasn’t now. She made good on her promise – not once after Matthew and Amanda had gone in for their appointment did she look up to stare at Theo once more.

It was just as well she didn’t, Theo thought. Because in the time that she was too preoccupied to stare at him, he would catch himself looking at her briefly before returning his gaze to the mobile Bible before him.

Time passed quickly, and it wasn’t long before Theo’s name was called. As the man stood up and disappeared into the back of the office, Bridget couldn’t help but feel a sense of disappointment. For once, she had finally had her attention captured by a man. But he was off limits. He wasn’t dateable, simply because he was a patient at her doctor’s office. Put simply, he was a client, and Bridget had long since established very firm rules for herself against dating in the workforce, regardless of what their relationship was.

She allowed herself a brief moment to wallow in her disappointment over her clear lack of a love life, then shook herself and thought nothing more of the subject.

God, she prayed. Let it be done as Your will would like. If I am to find love, I know You will provide for me.

She only hoped it would be soon.

*****

Bridget knew she had prayed to God for a miracle – or something – happening soon. She just didn’t know how soon ‘soon’ was. With God, she thought with loving exasperation, soon could mean within the next decade, or two decades. What she didn’t expect, however, was for ‘soon’ to mean approximately thirty minutes after her half-hearted prayer.

Amanda and Matthew had just walked out the door, and Bridget had barely finished keying in their next appointment when Theo approached her desk. Bridget felt her heartbeat quicken, but she quickly quelled the feeling. Be professional! Goodness. Bridget berated herself. “Hello again,” she cast him a smile.

“Hey.” He returned the favor, giving her an easygoing grin.

“So, how was your first appointment with Dr. Winters?” She felt the need to keep the conversation going, lest it lapse into a painfully awkward silence.

“Good. Same as you would expect at a dentist’s appointment. It wasn’t exactly an amusement park ride, but much nicer than I expected,” he admitted.

Bridget laughed. “That’s good – Dr. Winters is great with patient care,” she gave an affirmative nod. “So, since you’re here, I assume you’ve found his care satisfactory, and will be coming back for another appointment?”

“Yeah,” Theo nodded. But there was something different about his affirmation. It was more hesitant, more questioning than most people’s. Bridget tilted her head slightly.

“Oh? Was there something you didn’t like about your experience today?”

“No, no,” Theo backtracked quickly. “I –“ He ran a hand through his hair, casting his eyes skyward as he searched for words. “It’s nothing,” he waved it off assuredly.

Bridget gave him a nod and decided to let the subject drop. “Alright then. When’s the next time Dr. Winters would like to have you in?” She opened his meager file, scanning the charts and notes. “Not for a while – it seems you have good teeth,” she laughed, and Theo joined in.

“That’s always good to hear,” he said.

“Mhm. So, I’ll set your next appointment for …” Bridget scanned the calendar. “How about six months from now, on the twenty-third?” She pulled the screen towards Theo, pointing to a tiny square.

“Hold on one second…” Theo pulled out his phone, no doubt to check his own calendar for availability. A few finger swipes and taps later, he nodded. “Sounds good to me. What time?”

“Morning or afternoon?”

“Morning, please.”

“On the twenty-third, Dr. Winters is available for a nine o’clock appointment, a ten-thirty appointment, and an eleven o’clock appointment.” Bridget read off the times to Theo and then looked up expectantly at him.

“How about eleven?”

“Okay.” She typed in a few letters. Bridget looked up at him with a smile. “You’re all set. Thank you!”

“Thanks,” Theo parroted back with a small smile. He pushed a slip of paper towards her, hardly more than a scrap, before hurrying out the door in what Bridget felt was an alarmingly fast pace. She assumed it was meant as trash, so she picked it up and was about to toss it in the wastebasket when she saw there was something written on it, in black ink.

Theodore Noyes. And a number she could only assume was his.

Bright pink flushed against her cheeks and she couldn’t deny feeling absolutely flattered at the gesture. It was hardly something she would expect – the only other time this had happened to her was when she was in college, and it had been from an incredibly awkward guy in her sociology class. 

She couldn’t deny the thrill of happiness that ran through her, though. Thank you, thank you, her heart sang. If this wasn’t God answering her prayers, then she certainly didn’t know what was. She hadn’t expected it to be so soon, though. And she certainly had not expected it from Theo. Bridget had been planning on making it through the rest of the day with the man in mind, then getting off work and returning home to pine over her single status with a large tub of ice cream.

It was an unexpectedly sweet turn of events, and if the rest of her coworkers noticed a brighter disposition about her for the rest of the work day, they tactfully didn’t say anything.

*****

Bridget heard the quiet click of the key turning the lock, and slowly entered her apartment, exhausted after a long day of work. It was a modest apartment, furnished with modern décor and minimalist designs – Bridget personally was more of a flashy, vintage type person, but saving up required curbing any unnecessary expenditures. She didn’t mind – she was hoping to save up enough to buy a house of her own, perhaps with a boyfriend or husband in tow by then. But for now, this worked.