Lone Star Holiday (11 page)

With her hand on John’s arm, they walked to her car. Lorrie Ann settled into the leather seat and studied John as the light from the dashboard reflected on his face. He had a purpose for his life and he knew it. His girls, the church, even his late wife knew the purpose. How did she ever think she could fit into his life?

Chapter Twelve

W
ednesday night, sitting in the second pew, Lorrie Ann couldn’t believe she had been back in Clear Water for over a week now. After Saturday’s nondate, she’d been careful to keep it all business with John. She declined invitations to stay for dinner when he arrived home and avoided any contact with him.

Not that it stopped her from thinking of him. The affection she felt for the girls surprised her the most. Just the thought of saying goodbye to them already tore at her heart.

Lorrie Ann looked at the scriptures being read:
Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!

She smiled as Celeste squirmed next to her, causing Rachel to shoot her little sister a warning look.

As people started sharing prayer requests and praises, Celeste raised her hand and waved it until her dad acknowledged her. “I would like to thank God for bringing Miss Lorrie Ann to us and pray that she stays.” She looked at Lorrie Ann before adding, “God willing.” With a nod, she folded her hands in her lap and lowered her head.

Lorrie Ann put her hand on Celeste’s back and could feel her heart beat. Her chest tightened at the little girl’s prayer. Rachel rolled her eyes. Lorrie Ann found herself smiling and adding her own prayers silently to the list. Soon, everyone stood and joined hands to finish the meeting in prayer.

Taking a deep breath, Lorrie Ann slung her bag over her shoulder. The people working with the pageant would meet in the fellowship hall tonight.

“Lorrie Ann!” Katy ran up to her, interlocking their arms. She pulled her close and kept walking toward the back door. “I’m so excited you are doing this. Martha was good, but it was the same thing for the past twenty years. If there is anything I can do, anything at all, please let me know.”

Lorrie Ann smiled. Katy’s enthusiasm gave her a shot of confidence. “Since you know the kids, I really need your help with them. Picking out the music, casting, that sort of thing.”

“Oh, sure, that will be fun. I have some ideas I would love to run by you. Martha had the same songs every year.”

As they walked into the hall, the smell of coffee already filled the air. Maggie once again stood behind the counter with a couple other women sorting the desserts.

Lorrie Ann organized the packets Aunt Maggie and Yolanda had helped her create. The room filled with adults, teens and children. She groaned when she saw Rachel sitting with Seth. “Rachel, come here, please.”

With a heavy sigh and a roll of the eyes, Rachel stomped over to her. “We’re just sitting there talking.”

“Yes, but do you think your father would be okay with you sitting in the corner, alone with Seth?” She handed her a stack of color-coded folders. “Maybe Seth can help me pass these out? And I recommend you and Seth sit with your other friends.”

John entered the room with Vickie by his side. She touched his arm and laughed. Lorrie Ann opened her computer and focused on the screen. She had no right to be angry about another woman talking with him. Her tongue started pushing back and forth against her teeth.

When she looked over the room, Vickie flashed a smile and leaned closer to John. He cleared his throat and stepped away, moving toward Lorrie Ann.

Oh, that felt good, even though she knew pettiness should be above her. She turned to smile at Vickie’s narrowing eyes. Yes, she could be the bigger person.

John stood next to her. “Are you ready?”

She nodded to the people gathering around the tables. “Not sure if they’re ready for me.”

“They’ll be fine.” He gave her the slow smile that melted her heart. “Once this meeting gets started, I’ll be taking the missionary committee to my office. Tonight shouldn’t last as long. I might even get to take the girls home tonight.”

Disappointment inundated her. She had started looking forward to the bedtime ritual. As a child, she’d never had a routine of any kind. She had been too busy staying out of the way.

John called for everyone’s attention. “Welcome. First, I’m excited to announce that the play has been moved to the unfinished youth building.”

Mutters and mumbles filled the room.

Vickie spoke up first. “Pastor John, that doesn’t make any sense. There are no walls.”

“We don’t have electricity run to the building yet,” someone else yelled from the back.

John grinned. “That’s right. We’re scheduled to have utilities in by the end of next week. As far as no walls, that works perfectly for the ideas Lorrie Ann has shared with me.” He smiled at her. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have another meeting. I leave you in capable hands.”

Her stomach dropped a bit when he left. She scanned the room. Everyone had turned their attention to her. It surprised her a bit when she realized how many friendly faces sat in the crowd. Maybe her memories had painted the town much darker than it deserved.

Stretching her spine, she filled her lungs with oxygen and put her best smile on her face. Lorrie Ann slowly rose from her chair. “This year we will be using live animals and a cherry picker to hoist an angel in the air. The concrete floor with the metal poles will be a perfect stage for our setting.”

Mrs. Miller, the Dragon Lady, hit her cane on the floor. “Live animals with kids and an audience? Sounds dangerous to me.”

“What if it’s cold or rains?” someone else shouted out.

Lorrie Ann continued to smile and made eye contact with the people gathered. It was a mix of people from six years old to eighty. “That’s why I need help from you. We will need an animal wrangler. We’ll also come up with an alternate plan in case of bad weather. When I asked Pastor John about the problems with the plan, he gave me some great advice. He said to proceed with faith.” Lorrie Ann held up her green folder. “Based on the information Aunt Maggie gave me last week, I’ve created folders for each person by committee.”

Rachel handed out the last folder and sat at the table with the other girls.

Lorrie Ann soaked in the level of excitement she heard in the conversation.

“I have ideas and drawings included in your folder, but please feel free to come up with your own.”

“Wow, Lorrie Ann, this appears ambitious.” Jake leafed through his folder and then smiled at her. “It looks great.”

“The costumes are awesome.”

Vickie stood with arms crossed. “We usually just redo and alter the ones we already have. Your plan will need new costumes. Who’s paying for all this material?”

“We do have a small budget, and donations have already been made to cover the costs.”

“I have some leftover panels we can use for the set design.”

“Thank you, Adrian. Now, if you look at the first pages you’ll see a calendar with rehearsal dates and deadlines. It’s color coded to your folder. There’s no need for everyone to be at every meeting or practice. Not until we start full run-throughs, anyway. And as groups you can set your times to meet as often as you need. We’re going to need the youth group and children’s choir to meet Saturday to confirm parts. There are twenty roles, plus the two choirs and band.”

As they separated into groups, Katy, Rhody, Abby and Paul took the teens and children in order to assign roles.

Separated from the groups, a dark-haired boy sat alone in the far corner. He pounded out a beat on his legs with a pair of drumsticks. The piercings alone screamed
back off,
but with the black clothes and spiked hair he made sure everyone saw his contempt. Lorrie Ann smiled, thinking of the rebellious teen she had been. She approached him carefully and sat down, not talking to him at first. After a few minutes, she held out her hand to him. “Hello, I’m Lorrie Ann Ortega. Are you here to play in the band?”

“Nope. I brought Carlos.” He stuck the sticks into his heavy army boots.

“Do you play?”

“Are you the lady that works with a band in L.A.?”

“Yep, that’s me.” She winked. “So, the hair and piercings are the norm where I come from.”

He snorted. “They don’t much like it here.”

“Are you good with the drums, or do you just mess around?”

He shrugged.

“Well, I have an idea, but to make it work I need a really good drummer.”

He pointed his chin toward the adult committees working on their piece of the show. “They would have a fit if you used me.”

Lorrie Ann laughed. “Funny, I used those words myself just a few days ago. I haven’t been run out yet.” She leaned closer to him. “I have it on good authority God does not love us based on our clothes or hairstyle.”

He didn’t respond.

“Thursday night, the band is getting together to go over the music. It’ll only be the teens and their leaders. You should come by, and I can tell you more about my vision for a drum solo. The drummer will be the backbone of the whole show, so he has to do more than keep a beat.”

“Kyle’s not too bad. He’s the only one with any skill. Don’t know if he could carry a solo.”

“It’s not a part with the band.”

One pierced eyebrow arched up, and she thought she might have seen a slight nod.

“I expect to see you.” With the final word, she walked away, smiling.

Lorrie Ann moved through each group to answer questions and hear ideas. She loved the planning stage, seeing all the different parts coming together to make one great event. Jake and his crew had some plans of building a village with storefronts leading into a three-level platform she had drawn out.

The only group that seemed a little cold to the ideas was the sewing crew. Vickie kept complaining, but with Maggie on the committee, Lorrie Ann didn’t have to deal with her directly, even though she kept trying to pull Lorrie Ann into an argument. Lorrie Ann just smiled and finally excused herself after giving them the amount donated to purchase new fabric. The look on Vickie’s face brought a shallow pleasure to Lorrie Ann’s inner teen.

* * *

John tried to stay focused on the missionary work and funds, but his thoughts kept floating back to Lorrie Ann. Saturday had been fun, and he got the impression she had enjoyed herself, too.

However, when he got home Tuesday after work, she had been out the door before he removed his jacket. Tonight, at the family dinner, she had made a point of sitting at the opposite end of the table. He should be happy about the distance she put between them, but it had irritated him.

He knew she needed to heal and he...well, he didn’t have anything to give to a personal relationship. He couldn’t even be completely honest with her because of his promise to Sonia, her mother. Maybe he would get Sonia’s number from Maggie.

He leaned back in his chair. Lorrie Ann made it so easy to talk. He couldn’t remember the last time he had talked about his parents’ deaths and the path that had brought him to the ministry.

Looking down at his notes, he tried to refocus and saw little swirls and stick people. At least he hadn’t been reduced to doodling hearts and Lorrie Ann’s name. He shook his head and checked his watch. The budget meeting would be over soon. He had started looking forward to his Wednesday-night chats with Lorrie Ann on the back porch.

* * *

An hour and a half later people started leaving.

The door suddenly swung open, and for a moment Lorrie Ann’s brain couldn’t comprehend what she saw. She looked around for help. Maggie and Yolanda worked the kitchen. Rachel, Seth and Celeste still sat at the table with Vickie. They all stopped to stare at the stranger.

Brent couldn’t be here; he just couldn’t. “You’re in rehab” was all her brain could manage. How had Brent ended up in her church?

“Hello, Lorrie Ann.” His Irish accent completed the charming facade of bright blue eyes and rumpled blond hair. “It was stupid. I don’t have a problem like those other blokes.”

“How did you find me?” She had to get him out of here.

“GPS on the Beemer. Had it installed, case it was stolen.” He walked toward her, ignoring the people in the room. “Never dreamed I’d use it to track down my own sweetheart.”

Maggie came across the room and stood in front of the six-foot Irishman, her hands on her hips. “I’m Margarita Ortega-Schultz, Lorrie Ann’s aunt.”

“Pleasure to meet ya.” His brogue rolled off his tongue as his hand hung in the air, ignored. He stuffed it back in his jeans pocket and cleared his throat. “Well, I came to make things right.”

Lorrie Ann found her voice. “You shouldn’t have driven all this way. I don’t want to talk to you.”

Both of John’s girls sat wide-eyed, glued to the drama in front of them. She saw Rachel stand, gripping her crutch. She had to get this ugliness away from them. She put her hands on Aunt Maggie’s shoulders. “Could you take the girls home for me?”

She narrowed her eyes at Brent. “Yes.” Her small frame stood tall as she took a step closer to Lorrie Ann’s ex. “She has family here and friends to take care of her. Come, girls, I’ll drive you home tonight.” She waited for the girls to join her, and with them tucked under her arms she headed to the door.

Brent watched Maggie leave before turning back to Lorrie Ann. “Well, that was unpleasant. What did ya tell her?”

“Nothing, except I ended the engagement. You need to leave.” She gathered her paperwork and prayed to have the right words and actions to send him away. “You’ll have to go to Kerrville in order to find a hotel at this time of night.”

“I’m not leaving until we talk about this.”

Lorrie Ann stopped and glared at him. She stared at the man she had dreamed of building a life with in California. He didn’t get it. For him it was all about money and fame. She had been caught up in that lifestyle, too. Now she looked at him and saw her past, a past she would no longer allow to weigh her down. “There is nothing to talk about, Brent. Now leave.” She shoved her folders into her bag.

“I called, texted and emailed.” Desperation edged his voice. “You wouldn’t return any of them. I had to talk to you.”

“I didn’t return them because I
don’t
want to talk to you. It’s over. Go back to rehab and get your life straightened out.”