Love Inspired November 2013 #2 (30 page)

Chapter Ten

L
aura set aside Sunday to read the remainder of Destiny's book and to get started on the Tamar novel that the women's book club would discuss on Tuesday evening. With the past two weeks being so busy, she hadn't been able to read more than a couple of the love stories in Destiny's book, but she was already hooked. She fixed a cup of coffee, grabbed a quilt and the book then headed out to the balcony to read.

Most all of the apartments on the square had balconies overlooking the center area, where the three-tiered fountain flowed and a few geese ambled around the wrought-iron benches, where the elderly typically sat with bread. But unlike every other morning of the week, today the square was primarily empty, probably because people were home getting ready for church.

Laura assumed everyone she went to lunch with last Sunday would gather at the Claremont Community Church today, as would David.

She sipped her oversize mug of coffee. The crisp taste instantly reminded her of the lattes she'd shared with him a week ago and that parting comment that had teased her ever since.

She'd hardly been able to sleep for remembering his words and wondering what it would be like to go on a real date with David Presley.

A shiver passed over her, and it had nothing to do with the cold. She focused on the book and tried to tune out the memory of how badly she'd wanted to be kissed. And how he hadn't even tried. She turned the page and attempted to focus on the next story. It was interesting to read about couples she'd already met in town.

The first story was about Marvin and Mae Tolleson, the older couple who owned the variety store. And she'd read about Mandy and Daniel, learned how they'd started out basically despising one another because both of them wanted to adopt Kaden when his parents passed away. This morning she started into the third story, about Chad and Jessica. Soaking in the pages, Laura learned that Jessica was pregnant with Chad's baby when she ran away from Claremont as a teen, and she didn't tell him for six years. The story of how they reunited and how he forgave her for leaving touched Laura's heart. She thought of adorable little Nathan in the book club and realized that he was that precious baby who finally met his daddy.

Tears trickled down Laura's cheeks. Her little girls would never have a relationship with their biological father. Jared had made certain she knew that he didn't want any part of this pregnancy or their lives. But Laura wanted them to have a daddy, eventually.

A steady thumping caught her attention. She wiped the tears away and looked for the source of the noise, growing louder. Then she saw the jogger entering the square from Main Street. David ran steadily down the sidewalk, his tennis shoes producing the pounding she'd heard. Oddly, the even thudding of his shoes reminded her of the sounds she heard at each doctor's visit, her babies' heartbeats.

Laura's heart kicked it up a notch, too. He wore a gray T-shirt and navy sweatpants. An iPod was strapped around his right bicep with a white cord connecting the earphones. His shirt wasn't overly tight, but it still managed to emphasize the hard planes of his chest, flexing and releasing with each breath.

She continued staring until he reached the bookstore. He held one hand out to brace against the brick wall and checked his watch. Then he nodded, apparently satisfied with his time. He pulled the earphones out and then started to go into the store but, to Laura's surprise, he tossed a glance over his shoulder, locked eyes with her and smiled.

She should have waved, or yelled hello, or
something
. But instead she clutched the book, gathered the quilt and the coffee and retreated inside. She glanced at her closet. Several dresses hung there that would be perfect to wear to church today. A tiny whisper told her to get dressed and go. But while that voice whispered, her fear screamed louder. What if Mandy's friends weren't typical, and the remainder of the people there would rather a single, very pregnant lady not show up in the middle of their small community church? Laura couldn't deny she was starting to have serious feelings toward David, and he wanted—needed—a woman who shared his faith. If he'd have patience, Laura would get there again. As soon as she thought God was ready for her. She figured He'd let her know somehow when the time was right.

* * *

“So, did you finish reading the book?” Hannah asked Mandy as they each plopped down in one of the cozy chairs at the front of the bookstore.

“I read it in two days,” Mandy said, placing a hand over her heart. “It was amazing.”

“I have to admit that I'd never really thought about the story from Tamar's point of view, and I found myself rooting for her more than any character I've ever read about,” Hannah said.

Several more ladies came in and filled the chairs and sofas that David had arranged for the night's meeting. Laura said hello to Destiny and Jessica and met a sweet older lady named Mary, who said she was married to the preacher at the church. Then Eden Sanders came in and introduced herself, as well as her daughter, Georgiana Cutter, and Georgiana's sister-in-law, Dana. Laura noticed Georgiana holding Dana's forearm, and it didn't take but a moment for her to realize the pretty strawberry-haired woman was blind.

“We got the book on CD for Georgiana,” Dana explained as they sat down.

“Yes, and I'm so glad we did,” Georgiana said. “Tamar's story touched my heart.”

“Mine, too,” Laura admitted, taking her seat in the center chair and preparing to lead the discussion. “I started reading it Sunday afternoon and couldn't go to sleep that night until I was done, well after two o'clock.”

Mandy sat next to Laura. They'd grown very close over the past few weeks, with Laura visiting Mandy nearly every day at the photography studio. She leaned toward Laura and said softly, “I really wanted you to read that story.”

“I appreciate that,” Laura said, “more than you could know.”

She'd never read the story of Tamar, either, and she had no idea how terribly the lady had been treated by the men she tried to love. Nor did she know about the way Tamar had tricked her father-in-law into fathering her child. But in spite of her trickery, God favored her for attaining her natural rights when she'd been wronged by Judah's sons. And she ended up being one of only five women listed in the lineage of Christ.

Laura cleared her throat. “So, we have some discussion questions here. I'd like to get your thoughts on these. Question one, Tamar was abused, abandoned and neglected. She ended up taking matters into her own hands and having a difficult time of it. Have you ever felt like this?”

To Laura's relief, the women in the group were very open, with several of them bringing up instances in their lives where they'd experienced a hard time, often because they were trying to handle things on their own. Jessica spoke up first and talked about her fear when she'd become pregnant as a teen and how she'd hidden the pregnancy from Chad so he wouldn't give up his college scholarship.

“If I'd have told him the truth and hadn't run away, we'd have had six more years together raising Nathan. But I thought I'd messed up, and I didn't want to mess up his life, too.” She brushed a tear away then added, “But Nathan completes his life, completes our lives. He and Lainey are the best parts of our world.”

“I tried running away from God,” Mandy said softly, “after Mia died. I know now that I was blaming Him. But He wanted me back—” she pointed to the book in her hand “—the same way He wanted Tamar.”

“Enough to put her in the lineage of His Son,” Mary said. “I think that's a beautiful image of how very much He wants us, don't you? Even when we feel we've messed up?”

All of the women agreed, and Laura swallowed thickly through the lump in her throat. She'd come to the same realization reading Tamar's story, but to hear her thoughts voiced by all of the other women, and to learn that they'd had moments where they felt like they'd turned their backs on God, too...overwhelmed her.

She glanced up and saw David leaning against one of the endcaps looking toward the group but undeniably focused on her. He tilted his head, held up the okay symbol with his hand and mouthed, You okay?

Laura's heart was filled with compassion toward Mandy, for convincing her to read this story, and toward David, for seeing her through the past few weeks and encouraging her to come back to God without shoving her through the church door. Very okay, she mouthed.

He smiled then turned and went to the counter apparently convinced that she would be fine. And, through question after question and discussion after discussion, she was. In fact, she was more than fine. For the first time in as long as she could remember, Laura felt...blessed.

Chapter Eleven

L
aura checked the clock in her bedroom—11:45 a.m. David and his parents would be here any minute to pick her up to go to the church Thanksgiving dinner, and she couldn't decide what to wear. Four complete outfits were strewn haphazardly across the bed, and none of them had seemed right for meeting David's parents.

It wasn't as if she hadn't met them before. She'd met them plenty of times at UT when they visited David on campus; however, she'd never been nearly eight months pregnant with twins when she saw them. And she'd never really been trying to make an impression. But today, she was.

Last night, she'd attended the midweek Bible study with David at the church, and like Mandy had promised, everyone welcomed her with open arms. She'd felt accepted, forgiven, loved. David never left her side and introduced her to anyone she hadn't already met. Laura had enjoyed Brother Henry's class about grace and felt right at home in the small community church. In fact, she wondered why she'd stayed away from church, away from God, so long. And she wondered why she'd never realized how amazing David was when they were in school. He'd always been a dear friend, but she'd never thought of him beyond that. Now, as much as she'd fought it, she couldn't
stop
thinking about him that way, and she wondered if they'd ever have a real date.

Then again, she shouldn't have to wonder. He said if it happened, she'd know. Would it ever happen?

She heard the door downstairs and then a female voice calling, “Laura?”

“Oh, dear.” Taking a look in the mirror, she saw that she'd ended up in a long stretchy navy dress. She'd yet to accessorize, and she had no idea about shoes.

“Laura, you here, dear?”

David's mother. Laura couldn't start their day together by keeping her waiting, so she headed down the stairs.

“I'm so sorry. I'm running behind,” she said, entering the kitchen to find Mrs. Presley waving her hand through the smoke and attempting to turn down the knob on the oven. “Oh, no, I forgot all about the pie!” Laura hurried to help the lady as she opened the oven door, and more smoke came rolling out to fill the kitchen. And then, naturally, the smoke detector emitted a deafening screech.

“Where are your pot holders?” Mrs. Presley asked, all calm and cool in spite of the incessant blast, which seemed to be getting louder.

Laura coughed. “Over there, on the counter by the refrigerator.”

David and his father entered the smoky room and quickly evaluated the situation. “Laura, Mom, y'all get out of this smoke,” David said. “Dad, can you—”

“Open the doors and windows?” his father asked. “One step ahead of you.” He'd already flung the back door open, and he unlocked a window and pushed it up, then moved to the next and did the same.

Thankfully, the smoke thinned out fairly quickly, and nothing was actually flaming.

“I'm so sorry,” Laura said. “I wanted to make a pie for the lunch and then I was having a hard time picking out what to wear, and I forgot all about it.”

David waved a hand above the charred meringue. “Well, it looks like it would have been—” he hesitated “—real good. What was it, chocolate?”

“Lemon,” Laura said miserably. “Lemon icebox.”

David's father was the first one to smother his laugh, but David couldn't hold his back, and it rolled out with gusto. His mother's lips were pressed together as though she were afraid to open them or she'd also set a laugh free.

Laura frowned. “I was just going to brown the meringue for a second.”

“Well, it
is
brown,” David said, pointing to the blackened mound of what used to be fluffy white topping. Then he laughed again, and this time, Laura joined in.

Apparently, Mrs. Presley was simply waiting for Laura's cue, because she released a giggle that Laura was pretty certain had a bit of a snort in the middle.

When they finally finished laughing and the room cleared of most of the smoke, David glanced at Laura's feet, sticking out beneath the dress. “Laura, were you planning to go without shoes?”

“No,” she said. “I couldn't decide on what to wear, and I was in the middle of considering this dress when your mom came in and then I remembered the pie. Or rather, I never remembered it, I smelled it.”

David's mother wrapped an arm around her and started toward the stairs. “Tell you what. You guys finish cleaning up and airing this place out down here. I'll help Laura get ready. Sound good?”

David and his father nodded in unison, and Laura let the lady guide her to her room.

“You'll have to forgive the mess,” she said. “I was having a tough time deciding.”

“This isn't a mess,” Mrs. Presley said as she looked at the discarded clothes, “it's the sign of a woman getting ready.”

“Thanks. I'm so sorry that we're going to be late. I'll hurry and pick something out.”

“I like the dress you have on,” she said.

“You do?” Laura ran a hand along the jersey fabric. “I did, too, to tell you the truth, but I wasn't sure what to put with it.”

“How about this?” She picked the gold cardigan from Laura's closet. “And you have these matching flats. How about a chunky bracelet to go with it, maybe a red one?”

Laura moved to her jewelry box and withdrew a red cuff bracelet. “Like this one?”

“Perfect,” she said, smiling as Laura snapped the bracelet in place. “And you know, I have a beautiful new red infinity scarf in the car. We'll add that when we go outside, and I think that'll tie it all together very nicely.”

Laura was amazed. Her mother often coordinated clothes and usually gave Laura complete ensembles so that she never had to worry about mixing and matching items on her own. But watching Mrs. Presley in action was fun. “You're very good at that,” she said.

David's mother spotted some gold earrings on the dresser and handed them to Laura. She tilted her head as Laura put the earrings on and then nodded her approval. “I've never had a daughter to shop with or to help dress. This is fun.” She looked at Laura and didn't hide the fact that she noticed her tummy.

“Mrs. Presley,” Laura began, feeling that she should explain.

David's mother spoke before Laura had a chance. “We're very happy for you,” she said tenderly, “and your babies. Children are a gift from God, you know.”

Laura's heart tugged in her chest. “I know.”

“And we're glad you came to David. He told us about you working at the store and how you've boosted his business. I'll be honest, we've been worried that the bookstore wasn't going to make it, not because of anything he's said, but because it didn't seem to have a lot happening anytime we would visit. It's good to see that it's working again. And I'm grateful to you for helping that happen.”

“I enjoy working there,” Laura said. “And I'm very grateful for all of David's help. I, well, I don't know what I'd have done—or what I'd do—without him.” She hadn't meant to say so much, but it was hard to talk about David now without attempting to explain how much he was beginning to mean to her, almost even more because she hadn't wanted to feel anything toward her boss, toward her friend. But she was definitely starting to feel something.

His mother ran a finger along her cheek and smiled. “You're helping him, too, dear. And in case you've wondered about it, I don't want you to have any misconceptions. David's father and I are very happy about that. Whatever happens between you and our son, we
are
happy about it.” Her smile eased up a notch. “You understand?”

Laura did understand, and the realization that David's mother had essentially said that she was happy about a relationship between Laura and her son both shocked and thrilled her. “I do understand, and thank you.”

“No, thank you. We haven't seen him this happy in a very long time,” she said, “and from what he says, you haven't even been on a real date.”

Laura couldn't control her surprise. “He told you that?”

“Not voluntarily, but as a mother, I've learned what questions to ask. I bet you'll figure out how to do the same with your girls.”

Laura thought about the future conversations she'd have with her daughters. “I'm sure I will.” They left the bedroom and found the two men waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

“I get it,” David said. “I told you I couldn't cook, and you were trying to make me feel better.”

“Very funny.” Laura tried to stomp past him, but he tossed an arm around her and pulled her close.

“It was sweet of you to want to fix a pie, but they will have plenty of food. I bet they won't even miss it,” he said as they passed through the semi-smoky kitchen and walked outside. “But I bet you'll make some stray cat's day.” He pointed to the garbage can behind the studio and the charred pie balanced on top of the bags.

Laura laughed, with David and his parents joining in, and then they drove to the church and she had her best Thanksgiving dinner ever.

* * *

The next morning, the bookstore opened at 8:00 a.m. to join in the Black Friday “Sales on the Square.” Laura's father called shortly after and said he was on his way, and she looked forward to him arriving and being part of today's fun. Customers filled the store and were steadily purchasing all of the inspirational gift books Laura had recommended David order for the holidays, as well as many other books in the store.

“The Christmas favorites display is a hit,” David said, placing a large stuffed snowman in the chair beside the display. “I've always advertised the classics at Christmas, but you were right—putting the modern stories here as well has really been popular.”

“Adults love the classics, but the teens are typically looking for something a little more trendy,” his mother said. “Laura got it right.”

“Thanks.” Laura helped another customer looking for Destiny's book. “And it looks like
Southern Love in Claremont
is going to be a popular stocking stuffer this year.”

“That'll make Destiny happy,” David said.

Mr. Presley stayed behind the counter ringing up and visiting with customers while Laura, David and Mrs. Presley replenished the items on the displays and helped customers find their desired books. It didn't seem like four hours had passed when Laura's dad walked in.

She didn't realize how much she'd missed him until she saw him enter the store. “Daddy!” Laura hurried to him and hugged him tightly.

He kissed her cheek. “Hey, princess. How's it going?”

“It was going good, but now that you're here it's going great!” she said.

“Now that's a smile I've missed seeing,” he said. “I can't wait to tell your mom how good you're doing.”

Laura was often mesmerized by her father's love toward her mom. Obviously, Marjorie Holland wasn't easy to love, but that never stopped either of them from loving her just the same. “Mom called me this morning,” Laura said. “Just to let me know she was sorry she couldn't come with you and that she'd call me again tonight after she got done at work.”

He nodded. “I wish she could've come, too.”

“Mr. Holland,” David said. It took him a moment to maneuver past the children crowding around the boxcar to get to Laura's dad. He extended a hand. “We're glad you're here.”

“Thanks, David. I'm glad to be here, especially because I get to see my Laura smiling again,” he said. “Thank you for that.”

“Happy to help.” David winked at Laura then glanced down to see the child tugging at his arm.

“Hey, Mr. David, can you come help us?”

Laura recognized the boy as Matthew Hayes, one of the twins. “Matthew, is there something I can help you with?” she asked.

“Nah, I just threw one of the pillows up high and it got stuck on the top shelf. Can you get it down, Mr. David, like, before Daddy sees it?”

David laughed. “Duty calls,” he said, following Matthew to the scene of the crime. “I'll be right back.”

“I like that young man,” her father said as they watched David retrieve the pillow and then hand it back to the kids.

“I do, too.” And that had become a major understatement over the past few days.

Laura watched as David made certain the kids knew the pillows should stay at ground level then returned smiling. “Hey, since my folks are here to help me out in the store, why don't you go show your dad around the square? Take some time to visit, and go have lunch or something.”

Laura did want to spend some time alone with her dad, but she didn't want to abandon David on the busy sale day. “You sure?”

“Of course. Besides, my dad and I need to run to the building supply store later for a project I've got going upstairs, so we'll trade. You and your dad can help my mom out here when we leave, and we'll call it even.”

“When does your mom get a break?” Laura asked.

“Are you kidding? She's on cloud nine around all of these kids.” He pointed to Mrs. Presley, sitting in the children's area and animatedly reading to the kids, who were captivated with her rendition of
Frosty the Snowman
. “I'll be lucky if I can talk her into retreating to the kitchen long enough to eat a sandwich.”

Laura had to agree. David's mom appeared to be having a blast. “Okay, then, we'll head out and then tag team with you and your dad in an hour or so.”

“Make it two hours. It's going to be a long day, and you'll want that extra break,” he said. Then to Laura's dad, he said, “Don't let her overdo it on the walking. I try to watch and make sure she sits down and rests often, but she doesn't always listen.”

“Sounds like he's got you pegged.” Her dad wrapped an arm around her and then looked back to David. “Don't worry, we won't overdo it.”