Texas Weddings 3 & 4 (40 page)

“Right.” He sighed. “That’s the
hard part. I don’t have a lot of time right now. And my efforts seem to be so
divided already.” He sighed. “And once we get back
home.
. .” His voice trailed off. “I don’t know,
Kell
. It
just seems impossible. But if it’s impossible, then why won’t the Lord leave me
alone?
 
Why does He keep dropping
this into my heart, into my spirit?”

The nausea settled down and Kellie
was better able to focus on the conversation, to take in the full meaning of
his words. “I can’t answer that, Babe,” she said finally. “But if God is
speaking, all I can say is, we’d better be listening.”

A dead silence permeated the air
for a moment. When Nathan finally responded, his words startled her. “I don’t
think I like what I’m hearing. Is that awful?”

Kellie forced back a smile. If he
thought his
news complicated
things, wait until he
heard what she had to say.

Another call interrupted them and
Nathan had to leave abruptly. With the telephone still in her hand, Kellie
looked heavenward. “Lord, I’m not sure what You’re up
to.
. .” She glanced at the house full of boxes. “But I hope
You
’ll
show me before I pack another thing.”

***

Nathan pulled his car into the condo’s parking garage.
Great.
Someone had taken his spot. Again. With frustration mounting, he drove up
to the top floor and park on the roof. He needed time to think, anyway.

He shut off the car
and grabbed his laptop. With a determined stride, he headed for the elevator. All
the way
there
, his thoughts jumped from one thing to
another.
 
The office. He couldn’t
help but contemplate today’s revelations. Things at Seifert and Collins were
definitely in a state of transition. Today, less than an hour ago, he’d been
offered a new position at the firm.

Partner.

Finally, Nathan had
been offered the coveted position he’d prayed for.

“Why don’t I feel
right about this?
 
What’s wrong with
me?
 
I should be calling Kellie. I
should be celebrating.”

A “ding” brought him back to his senses. He stepped into the
elevator and punched the number seven. Surely a good night’s sleep would put
everything in perspective. He leaned back against the elevator wall and closed
his eyes.

By the time the elevator arrived at his floor, Nathan
resolved himself to the inevitable. He must pick up the phone and let Kellie
know, even if she recognized the discomfort in his voice. He must keep this
ball rolling. It was too late to stop it now.

He trudged along the hallway until he reached the door of
his condominium. The maintenance man greeted him just outside.

“Good evening, Mr. Fisher.”

Nathan eyed him suspiciously. “Bobby. Is everything okay?”

“
Well.
. .”
 

“It’s okay. Just tell me, whatever it is.”

Bobby tucked a flashlight into his tool bag. “The A/C unit
froze up this morning. We’ve had to shut everything down in order to thaw it
out. We’ll probably have everything up and running by tomorrow.”

“Right. Tomorrow.”

Nathan pulled at his collar as he braved the heat inside the
condo. He checked the thermostat. 82 degrees. “It’s not even summer yet. Why is
it so ridiculously hot?”

Nathan pulled off his shirt and slacks and slipped into a
t-shirt and shorts. Then he scrounged around in the kitchen, looking for
something to eat. They would have to do some heavy-duty grocery shopping once
they got settled in. For now, he settled on a can of soup and some stale
crackers.

He settled onto the sofa with a bowl in hand. As he ate,
Nathan reached for the remote control. He listened to the evening news in
shocked silence. Were the stories always this negative, or was his hometown
just suffering a particularly bad day?
 

He switched the channel, settling on an old movie. Not five
minutes in, he muted the television and picked up the telephone to call Kellie.
He needed to hear her voice, and needed to tell her about his promotion. She
would cheer him up. She would bring everything into balance.

Kellie answered with an unusually weary sound to her voice.
She went on to assure him everything was fine, but the conversation left Nathan
feeling uneasy. As he told her about the partnership, he expected to hear
rejoicing on the other end of the phone. For some reason, her voice seemed to
choke up.

She’s just happy for me.

She ended the call rather abruptly—something about
needing to turn off the bath water. Nathan tried to take it all in stride, but
felt in his spirit something was wrong. Off.

He dropped into bed a little before nine, completely
exhausted and genuinely frustrated. His thoughts shifted for hours between the
job, the sale of the house and
Greenvine’s
financial
problems. Sleeping was out of the question, especially with the heat presenting
such an issue.

At 2:15 he arose from the bed and walked out onto the
balcony. He stood in silence for a moment as he rubbed at his aching brow. The
hum of traffic from the street below provided the perfect backdrop. Nathan
dropped into the deck chair and leaned back with his eyes closed. He couldn’t
possibly make it through this night without
focusing.
. .

. .
.not on himself or his problems, but on the Lord.
 

eighteen

Nathan picked up a small moving
van in Brenham on Friday night. With Kellie following along behind him in her
car, he traveled the now-familiar road toward
Greenvine
.
All the way
there
, his thoughts tumbled round in his
head. He contemplated not the move, but the meeting he’d just called at the
Civic Center.

He
glanced at his watch. 6:48.
In
twelve minutes city
leaders, his father-in-law included, would converge upon the tiny Civic Center
for an informative gathering Nathan had initiated after a near-sleepless night.
Once there, he would
lay
out the financial plan that
hadn’t given him a moment’s rest.

A plan to save the city of
Greenvine
.

Nathan
turned off onto the country road that led to the center of town. The moving van
jutted up and down with each pothole. His
nerves,
once
jumbled and on edge, settled down a bit, in spite of the bumpy road. Now that a
plan had formulated, his body seemed more relaxed.

He
glanced in the side mirror to catch a glimpse of Kellie’s vehicle. Her sports
car seemed tiny in comparison to this monstrous van. But still, she looked
regal, sitting behind the wheel.

He loved to see her like that, in
a seat of honor. She deserved it. No one worked harder than Kellie, or had
loftier plans. She was truly a queen—and not just the “Queen of Quick” as
she always called herself. She sat like royalty upon his heart.
  

He squinted against the setting
sun to see her face more clearly. Immediately concerned registered. Were those
tears?
 
He rolled down the window
and twisted the mirror a bit, trying to get a better look.
 
Why in the world would she be crying?

His heart twisted as the truth
prevailed. She was sad about leaving
Greenvine
. Of course,
he knew that. He’d always known this transition back to Houston would be tough
on her,
but.
. . tears?
 
Kellie wasn’t a crier, by any stretch.

He looked in the mirror
again—and nearly drove his car off the road in the process. “Stay
focused, man.” He gripped the steering wheel, unable to remember where he was
headed. Kellie’s emotions now consumed his thoughts.

She was clearly keeping her tears
hidden from him. She was going along with his plans and not saying a word.
But why?
 
Was she
scared to tell him how she was really felt?
 

Nathan drew in a deep breath as he
turned down the road toward the Civic Center. As he bounced up and down in the
cab of the moving van, reality hit. He’d made so many decisions, but had he
somehow shifted onto a road of his own, one that had left Kellie out?
 
Maybe even left the Lord out?
 
His thoughts drifted back to that day
when he’d accused her of the very same thing. She’d left him out of the
equation initially, but who was to blame now?

He looked in the mirror once again
and caught a glimpse of Kellie drying her eyes with rushed fingertips.
She
doesn’t want me to know she’s unhappy.

His words with the Almighty now
flowed from a place of truth—of open honesty.

“Lord, show me
Your
will. I’ve made so many plans, and I’ve asked
You
to
come onboard after the fact. But I guess I’ve never really just sat still and
listened to what
Your
plans might be. If they’re
different from
mine.
. .”

His heart quickened. If the Lord’s
plans were different, could he live with that?
 
Immediately, common sense kicked in. Of
course the Lord wanted them in the city. He’d given them a clear-cut plan for
their future.

Future.

The word hit hard as he glanced in
the mirror once again. The future
was.
. . tomorrow.
It wasn’t the here and now. And what good was a happy tomorrow if you had a
miserable today?

The revelation slammed against his
seared conscience. He’d been living for the future, and spending far too much
time worrying about the outcome of life’s situations.

The Lord, it turned out, was apparently
more interested in the journey.

***

 
Kellie took a seat near the front of the
room. She reached over to grip her Daddy’s hand and gave it a tight squeeze.
“How are you feeling?” she whispered.

“Better.” He gave her
a wink and her heart almost sang.

Almost. Another
thought immediately put a damper on things.
We’re leaving. Tomorrow. This is
my last night with my family, for a while anyway.

Kelly sat with her father’s hand in her own as Nathan stood
before the people. The crowd grew quiet as he began to speak. She listened with
great joy as he outlined a detailed plan to get the city back up on its feet.
All the while, she wondered how the citizens of
Greenvine
would take the news that they must begin again.

Begin again.

Hmm. She tried to
still her trembling hands by placing them across her belly. Inside, life truly
was beginning.
A piece of her.
A
piece of Nathan.
She would tell him soon. This news couldn’t wait much
longer.

As Nathan wrapped up
his speech, the place came alive with questions. One by one, the good folks of
Greenvine
poured out their questions, sought his counsel.
He responded to each question thoughtfully and clearly with their best
interests at heart. Kellie’s heart swelled with pride as he took the time to
genuinely think through his answers and voice them in love.

“Th
.
.
.
that’s
quite a guy you’ve g…got there.”
Her father whispered the words into her ear and she nodded with a lump in her
throat.

“I know.”

As the meeting
convened, Kellie joined the other women in the kitchen, preparing snacks for
the crowd. They set out platters of fresh-cut vegetables and tempting fruit,
and she entered into conversation with several of the ladies as they worked
alongside one another.

“Nathan is so great,”
Julia observed. “I
mean.
. .” she looked at him
admiringly, “I’ve always known he was a great accountant. I guess I just didn’t
realize he was so good at the people part. He’s a good communicator, and he
really seems to care about all of us.”

“He does.” Kellie nodded.
“I know, because he’s lost a lot of sleep over all of this.” She didn’t add
that he’d called her three times in the night to ask her opinion on his ideas,
particularly those related to investments. Clearly, he cared about her
expertise, as well, and had wanted to get her take on his plan. And she was
happy to link arms with him on this project. In fact, she didn’t know when
she’d ever felt so good about anything.

Julia shrugged. “I
guess it’s pretty rare to find someone with a head for numbers and
. .
.”

Kellie finished for
her with words that seemed to leap from her throat. “A heart for the people.”

Why does that sound so familiar?
 
Ah,
yes. They were Mr. Abernathy’s words as he’d introduced Nathan just a few short
months ago.