Team Bride (12 page)

Steph looped her arm through Corbin’s and smiled up at him. “I guess I’d better keep a bit of distance while I’m wearing perfume, hadn’t I? So many kinds of allergies. I’m glad Reggie is okay.”

Sarah glanced up as Reggie and the other teacher approached. For an instant her gaze met Corbin’s then she looked away.

Corbin stepped out of Steph’s grasp. “Excuse me.”

“While I have you to myself for a minute...” She smiled, and her pencil-thin eyebrows jiggled. “I’m really interested in you. Would you like to go out sometime? I’ll leave off the perfume.”

Corbin took a deep breath. “I really don’t know what I’ve done or said today to give you that impression. I’m in a relationship right now.” He was, even if Sarah denied it. And yeah, he might’ve devoted a bit more attention to Steph than he should have today. Trying to make Sarah jealous, maybe? What a bad idea that had been.

“Oh.” Steph looked at him uncertainly. “Well, if things change...”

“They won’t.” He didn’t dare even smile at her lest she take it wrong. “Excuse me, please. I need to finish with the juice.”

* * *

“May I talk to you for a minute?”

Sarah closed her eyes for a brief instant before turning at Corbin’s warm voice. It sent shivers cascading through her. She swallowed hard. “Is Reggie okay?”

“He’ll be fine.”

Sarah tried to get some mental distance. “So I hear his mother is on the manhunt.”

Humor flickered in his brown eyes. “She probably will be for a long time to come.”

“Oh? When’s your first date?” Behind her, Donna Thompson arranged the children on the grass for their picnic lunch. Hopefully Steph Mabry was busy helping.

“Sarah, it is you that I love.” His eyes held hers. “I think I fell in love with you when I was five years old and never fell back out. There’s no other woman for me.”

He was declaring this with her entire class not a dozen meters away? What if someone overheard? At least he was keeping a bit of distance between them.

“I know you’re angry with me. I know my family overwhelmed you. I’m sorry, Sarah. I love you. Please don’t shut me out of your life.”

Tears threatened to flood her eyes. “I, uh...”

“Can I pick you up when you’re done at the school? I don’t want to say more now, when I know you’re at work. I wouldn’t have said anything at all, but you’ve blocked my calls and texts. I’ve been miserable all week. Please, can we talk through things?”

One more chance.
Lindsey hadn’t managed to extract that promise from her, no matter how hard she’d tried. But the voice in her head wasn’t Lindsey’s. It was her own. Or maybe God’s.

Corbin waited, gaze fixed on her as he bit his lip. His hands twitched at his sides.
 

He deserved that chance. She nodded.

His face lit up. “Six o’clock? Maybe dinner and a bike ride?”

“Okay.” Sarah tried to compose her face before turning back to the children. Steph Mabry sent her a confused look. Not much she could do about that one, nor did she want to. If she turned Corbin away for good, would he wind up with Steph? That didn’t make sense. He’d just avowed his forever love to Sarah. She had no reason to believe he would be that kind of fickle.

And no matter how hard she’d tried to tell herself otherwise all week, she loved him, too.

But did she dare take the chance?

Chapter 14

Sarah pulled into her apartment parking lot after work. Corbin would be here in a couple of hours, but was she truly ready to pick up where they’d left off?
 

An unfamiliar SUV was parked near the apartment door. The driver’s door opened, and a large woman exited.

Sarah gasped. Oh, no. Corbin’s Aunt Deb. How on earth had the woman found her?

“Sarah, darling. The Lord has put you heavy on my heart this past week, and I felt I needed to come talk to you in person.”

“Um. Hi.” Did she have to invite Deb in? It would be rude not to, but things with Corbin were fragile enough without the reminder his family would always be there, looking over their shoulders.

Deb enveloped Sarah in a suffocating hug. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am about what happened at Don’s and my wedding, and that you’ve felt the repercussions in your life ever since. I tried to find out where your family moved, as I wanted to send some photos and a thank you gift. No one in the neighborhood seemed to have a forwarding address.”

Sarah managed to extricate herself from Deb’s grasp then wrapped her arms tightly around her middle. “I’m sorry for making a scene at your party.”

“Oh, honey. What a shock it must have been.”

Truth.

“You and Corbin have been in my prayers all week. When I asked him, he told me he hadn’t spoken to you since Saturday. That breaks my heart. He needs someone like you. Someone levelheaded and well grounded. He’s a dear boy and like a son to Don and me. We were so thrilled to hear all about you and finally meet you in person.”

“We spoke today.”

Deb spread her arms and stepped forward, her face wreathed in glee.

Sarah backed against her car and tried not to wince.

“I’m so glad to hear that. You can’t imagine how much time I’ve spent on my knees, asking the good Lord to love you both real good. To love you back to each other.”

Had it been God’s intervention? It had felt more like Lindsey’s and Ms. LeRoy’s. No. Deep inside, Sarah knew the Holy Spirit had been nudging her, too. Was nudging her now. She took a deep breath. “Deb? How can you learn to trust someone with your heart? Corbin’s personality is so different from mine. I don’t know how to let go.” There was no way she could ask her own mother this question. Mom didn’t know the answer.

Deb tilted her head and scratched her cheek.

Good. Sarah didn’t want a snap reply. No clichés would do the trick. “Want to come in for a cup of tea?” It wasn’t so hard to extend the invitation, after all.

“I’d love to.” Deb fell in step beside Sarah as they headed toward the building. She remained silent and thoughtful while Sarah prepared a cup of tea for each of them. Then she cradled the cup between both hands and looked at Sarah. “It’s not simple, I don’t think. Here’s one place to start, though. First John four verse eighteen says, ‘Perfect love casts out fear.’”

Sarah shook her head. “That’s no help. Corbin isn’t perfect.”

“I didn’t say he was.” Deb’s face crinkled into a smile. “God’s love is, though. It’s His love that gives us courage. We won’t find that kind of peace and faith in any human. If we try, we’ll be let down, every single time.”

“But then—”

Deb’s hand covered Sarah’s. “The first step is surrendering ourselves to God’s love, and trusting Him to meet all our needs.”

Sarah nodded slowly. “I’ve been a Christian since I was a teen, so I get what you’re saying. But I think I keep grabbing control back. Not really trusting God.”

“Especially when thinking of marriage?”

“Yeah. That.” Sarah sighed, staring into the steam lifting from her cup.

“Your parents’ breakup hurt you deeply, honey. Some men do prove to be untrustworthy. Sometimes it is the woman who strays. Sometimes a couple simply drifts apart. They don’t know how to bridge the gap and may decide it’s not worth trying. Some marriages end in divorce. But it doesn’t have to be that way.”

“But how can a person be sure?”

“You can’t know. Not one hundred percent. But you can do your part and trust God for the rest.”

Trusting God. There it was again. Trust God. Trust Corbin. She wanted to.
Perfect love casts out fear.

“If your marriage is set on the foundation of God’s love and daily built with care for each other’s needs and prayer, you’ll make it through. The first while is full of passion and starry eyes. Those things fade, honey, but deeper joy and contentment take their place. When you find the right man, a man who loves the Lord with all his heart, it’s worth the journey a thousand times over.”

Was there any doubt Corbin had that kind of passion for Jesus? None.

Sarah took a tremulous breath. “Thanks. That helps.”

* * *

Corbin stood waiting for Sarah to open the door to her apartment.
Lord, please.
How many times had he murmured that prayer? It wasn’t even his real prayer. Not the one he really meant.
Lord, I put our relationship in Your hands. May Your will be done.

The door swung open, and there she stood, her face wreathed in a genuine smile.

Hope leaped in his chest as he pulled a handful of fall flowers from behind his back. “For you.”

“Thanks. They’re beautiful.” She took them, and the brush of her fingers against his sent longing shivers through his body.

He followed her into the kitchen, where she pulled out her pottery vase and half-filled it with water before reaching for the asters and daisies. She arranged them, stepped back to look with her head tilted to one side, then fidgeted with them again.

“Sarah.”

She glanced at him then away, her long hair falling to hide her face.

Corbin tucked a few strands behind her ear and cupped her chin in his hand. He couldn’t do patience. “I love you, Sarah. I’ve missed you.”

Her gaze caught on his. “I’ve missed you, too,” she said softly.

He tugged her closer and wrapped both arms around her. After a few seconds, she relaxed against him. Her arms encircled his waist.

“Are you okay? I’m not trying to rush you.” Yet if he could meet her in front of the justice of the peace and pledge his life to her this very minute, he’d do it without a second thought.

“I’m fine.” She pulled back a little and looked up at him.

It was all he could do not to kiss her thoroughly. But he needed to know if they were really moving forward again. He slid his finger down the side of her face. “I’m so sorry about what happened.”

“You’ve mentioned that.” She swallowed hard. “And you’re forgiven. Did you know I had a visitor after work today?”

A visitor? Corbin tipped his head. “No, who was it?”

“Your aunt.”

Uh oh. That could be good or bad. By the evidence of Sarah in his arms, it had to be good. “Oh? What did she have to say?”

“Perfect love casts out fear.”

Not what he’d expected to hear.

“I was afraid you’d hurt me again. Like when we were children. Like my parents did to each other. Like so many people do, ending up in divorce.”

She was safe in his arms. Secure. “I’ll never hurt you again.”

“You can’t make that kind of promise.”

Hadn’t she just said she’d overcome that line of thought? “I’ll never do it on purpose, then. And if I ever do, tell me, and let me make things right.”
 

“Your aunt reminded me God is the only one I can be sure of.” Sarah’s brown eyes glimmered with moisture. “But that’s enough. He’s enough for both of us.”

Corbin kissed an escaped tear from below her eye. “God is enough.” Then his lips brushed hers and pulled away even as his heart sang. “Come on. Let’s go for that bike ride.”

Chapter 15

The glowing golden days of autumn had passed, and a gray chill permeated the air. Fallen leaves huddled against yellowed grass from yesterday’s icy rain. They’d put their bikes into storage a few days ago, knowing snow would soon be coming.

Sarah barely noticed the chill, her gloved hand firmly tucked in Corbin’s as they wandered the bike path toward her apartment. She glanced up at him and found him watching her from smoldering blue eyes as his grip on her hand tightened. The butterflies in her gut took to dizzying flight. Even amid the butterflies there was peace since the day Deb Shawnigan had stopped in to visit and helped her focus her gaze on the only One who deserved it.
 

Corbin leaned over and brushed her forehead with his lips. She could’ve used a much deeper kiss than that, even out here on the trail, but he seemed to have something on his mind. If he had bad news, he wouldn’t be dragging it out like this, would he?

Perfect love casts out fear.

She could trust him, because he was trusting God. They both were.

They strolled into the parking lot just as a Panago delivery car drove in.

“That’ll be for us.” Corbin pulled her along as he sped up, digging in his pocket for his wallet.

The aroma of Mediterranean pizza made her stomach grumble as they climbed the stairs to her apartment.

Corbin quirked a grin. “Olives and extra feta, right?”

Aw, he’d remembered.

She unlocked the apartment door, and he set the pizza box on the counter before digging into the backpack he’d left in her coat closet before their walk. She tried to see what he had in his hand, but he blocked her view until the last minute.

She blinked. Pottery plates?

Corbin set a slice on the top one and handed it to her.

Sarah slid the pizza over a bit to see the plate more clearly. “Where is this from?” She looked up at him.

Corbin grinned. “From the potter who won the blue ribbon at the fair. I hope you like it. I bought two.” He set another slice on a matching plate.

“I-I don’t know what to say. I can’t believe you went to so much trouble.”

His eyes gazed deep into her soul. How had she ever thought he’d hurt her purposefully? He wouldn’t. He couldn’t. “It wasn’t trouble. I wanted to. For you.”

Emotion clogged her throat and oozed out her eyes. “Thanks.” She set her plate on the table.

Corbin walked past her. “Want to watch a DVD while we eat?” He held up a disc.

A minute ago he’d seemed romantic. Now he wanted to watch TV? Men. Always so confusing, and today more so than most times.

They’d done a movie or two here in the past few weeks, so he knew his way around her system. She nudged the plush dragon out of the way and had a couple of bites of ooey gooey pizza while she waited. Soon Corbin slid one arm around her, his plate resting on the sofa beside him.

Sucking in her lip, Sarah stared at the TV as a rock formation came into view. The castle-shaped mountain behind Castlebrook? Not what she’d expected to see.

A digital Corbin stepped in front of it. “I’d offer you a castle if I could, fair lady, but all I have is a farm and a rundown house.”