Courting the Clearwaters

by Jill Penrod

Chapter 17

  “Shawn? Shawn, can you hear me?”

  “Hmm,” he said, opening his eyes. He glanced around a moment before remembering what had happened. He lay flat on his back, and for a moment he panicked, but then he moved his feet, glad to feel pain from his knee as he did.

  “Honey?” Mom asked.

  “I’m awake,” he said. “Am I okay?”

  “You’re great, especially considering you hit on your spine. The real damage was a concussion, the knee, and a couple puncture wounds from nails.”

  He nodded, looking at her. Tony sat beside her.

  “How do you feel?” his brother asked.

  “Drugged.”

  “The knee is a mess,” Mom said. “They gave you a painkiller. You’ll need surgery on your knee.”

  “I can feel it a little,” he said. “I hurt it before, didn’t I?”

  “When you went into the hospital after the fire, it was swollen. They didn’t worry about it too much; they had other things to worry about. It was fine when you came home.”

  “Are you doing okay?” he asked his mother.

  “I wasn’t, but then they said you’d be okay.”

  He glanced around the room. Since arriving, he’d drifted in and out of sleep, so he had no idea how long he’d been here, but several vases of flowers decorated the room.

  “When I got here I was angry at your God,” Mom admitted. “This is the second time I’ve sat in a hospital waiting to hear if you’ll be okay. But your friends are out there, and they aren’t angry at all. I want to be like that.”

  He reached out and took her hand. She squeezed it, and they sat that way a long time.

  The door opened, and a nurse and doctor entered. They poked and prodded and said a few things, but he paid very little attention. He wanted to see Seth and Jenny. He wanted them to know he was okay.

  “Very good, Mr. Carpenter,” the doctor finally said. “We’ll have you out of here in no time. You were lucky. I’ve let your friends out there know you’re okay, and you can have some visitors. Just listen to your body when it tells you you’ve had enough.”

  “I’ll send some in,” his mom said. They all left, and Shawn shook his head a bit, trying to clear it, but the shaking hurt. When the door opened, Seth and Jenny entered. They cautiously approached and sat down, Seth in the chair and Jenny on the bed with him.

  “I hear you were lucky,” Seth said. “Alex is out there right now correcting the nurses who told us that. He wants to make sure they know Who was protecting you.”

  Shawn smiled. Jenny again stroked his face and his hair. He wanted to ask her to stop, thinking it wasn’t right, but he needed the reassurance of her touch. Seth leaned in and shook his head a bit.

  “I’m glad you’re okay,” he said. “I was afraid for you. I knew God would work it out, but it doesn’t always work the way we expect. Next time you say to wait for you, I’m waiting.”

  Shawn laughed. “Good. These object lessons can be brutal. Thanks, guys, for taking care of things. I was supposed to be the one in charge in case of an emergency. I wasn’t supposed to be the emergency.”

  “They say you’ll be back on site in a couple weeks,” Jenny said. “You won’t be doing much for a while, but you can be there to help me.”

  “Good,” he said. “I won’t act like I have been.”

  “It’s okay,” she said. “When you finally drifted off, I was really scared. You haven’t been with us long, but we’d be lost without you now.”

  “You guys sound like you’re practicing for my funeral,” Shawn said. “I thought I was okay.”

  “You are. But, while you slept, we had time to get sentimental,” Seth said. “Don’t put us through this again, okay?”

  “Hey, when you worried me you were gone for days,” Shawn said, chuckling. “We’re even.”

  Seth smiled. He looked at Jenny, who nodded and excused herself. Shawn frowned as she left.

  “My friend, I am hopelessly in love with that woman,” Shawn said sadly.

  “Well, I’m glad you finally accepted that. Mr. Clearwater is out there. I think he has some things to say to you about that.”

  “Am I in trouble?”

  “No. You scared us to death, my friend. Would we bring you trouble the minute you woke up?”

  “I suppose not.”

  “Shawn, I’m really sorry.”

  “I think you said that.”

  “I know. I just want to make sure you know that. I think about what I did, and I see you falling, and I just…. It makes me feel sick to my stomach to know I let this happen, that I caused this to happen.”

  “You can go make an offering to God if you want, because we’re fine. About all of it.”

  Seth nodded, looking unconvinced, and the door opened. Jenny poked her head in again. “Seth, Alex is asking for you out there.”

  “I’ll be back,” Seth said. “Well, Carpenter, you sure keep life from getting dull.”

  “We all need our purpose,” Shawn said. Seth patted Shawn’s shoulder and looked into his eyes a moment. Shawn smiled at his concern and his relief. Jenny stayed, watching him go.

  “He’s been a wreck. It isn’t that he doesn’t have faith, but he has more protective genes in his body than a gaggle of grandmothers.”

  Shawn laughed. “A gaggle, huh? And how many would that be exactly? I know it kills him that he’s the one who pushed me off the roof.”

  “Boy, does it. There’s a lot more to Seth Roberts than a person first sees,” Jenny said.

  “I think that’s a safe statement to make about all of us,” Shawn said.

  “True.” She smiled a huge grin and got up. “About a million people want to come in here to see you, so I’ll go. I’ll be back.”

  He nodded, surprised when her dad was the next one to enter.

  “Mr. Carpenter, you broke a four-year record of safety,” he said, sitting in the chair beside him.

  “Yes, sir. I’m sorry about that. So much for using good judgment on the roof.”

  Mr. Clearwater laughed. “You kids take me much too seriously. I’m glad you’re okay. You had us all worried.”

  “From the sound of it, I scared everyone out there more than I scared myself.”

  “Probably true. Shawn, Seth and Julie each had long talks with me today. Seems there’s a conspiracy going on concerning my daughter’s heart. Seth told me point blank that I should be considering you as a son-in-law. He said anyone could see it was right, and if it broke some courtship rules then the rules were wrong. Seth never speaks to me this way, so I know he meant his words. Then Julie told me I should drop the courtship idea because it was unfair to people like you, people whose families didn’t have Christianity back several generations. Somehow, Mr. Carpenter, I think the problem isn’t courtship. I think the problem is you.”

  Shawn squirmed, unsure where this was going.

  “You are a noble young man. You have always been respectful of my family’s ideals, and you have proven to be a strong Christian man. I have seen that you care for Jenny, and I hoped at some point you would come to me and ask for her hand. But you can’t do that, can you? You know you don’t live up to the standard we set.”

  “Yes, sir,” Shawn said, now more uneasy than before.

  “Shawn, I am sorry you have no father to guide you. And yet, the Heavenly Father has claimed you. I’m not saying this right, but I would like for you to consider courtship with my daughter. I think the reasons you have for not asking me this are unwarranted. I would like to take time to disciple you, but that’s just to make sure you are prepared for the task of husband.”

  For a moment Shawn said nothing, the words taking him completely by surprise. Then he rewound them in his head to make sure Mr. Clearwater had actually said what he thought he’d said, and then he grinned.

  “I think I would like that very much,” he said. Maybe he should have fallen o
ff a house a month ago. “But, Mr. Clearwater, I need to be honest with you. I’m in love with your daughter. Like Jacob was in love with Rachel for seven years before he could marry her.”

  “I think I’ve known that for a while now,” Mr. Clearwater said. “And I suppose you’re glad I have no older daughters.”

  Shawn smiled, wondering why he hadn’t had this conversation with Mr. Clearwater long ago. But maybe he needed to learn some things before he got here. The thought was the most incredible he’d ever had, and as Mr. Clearwater left and the sun shone through the hospital window, he glimpsed, just for a second, the home to which he was going, and he couldn’t wait to share the glimpse with Seth and Jenny.

  “Mr. Clearwater,” he said as the man left.

  “Yes, Mr. Carpenter?”

  “Can you send Jenny and Seth back in here soon? I think I like being surrounded by Christian friends.”

  Mr. Clearwater smiled and left, and Shawn sighed his relief. Things were going to be okay.

  “Careful,” Seth said as Shawn pulled out of his car. Seth ran around and got the crutches out of the back seat.

  “A gaggle of grandmothers,” Shawn mumbled, grinning.

  “What was that?” Seth asked suspiciously.

  “Nothing. If you decide not to go into missions, you’d be a great nurse,” Shawn said.

  He leaned on the crutches and looked at the site. They’d come in from the back, and everyone was on the other side, between the working sites. He wasn’t good on the crutches, but he managed, and it wasn’t too far to the work site. He just hoped he wouldn’t need these for long.

  Two weeks had passed since the surgery, but it seemed like eons. He’d completely missed three groups who’d come to Hope. Jenny had told him about them, though. She’d been at the hospital almost daily, along with Seth, and he was enjoying being her friend again. They talked like they always had, about the mysteries of God, and about relationships and people and anything else on any of their minds. It was like they’d been seared together in a fire, all three of them, and it was clear they would not come apart again. Not like they had before.

  “Does it hurt?” Seth asked as Shawn paused. He put out his arm to steady his friend.

  “No. Not much. It’s healing fast. This terrain just isn’t easy on crutches.”

  “You’ve been complaining about those for days now,” Seth said.

  “I know. I want to be rid of them. I want to get back on a roof. Everything looks better from a roof. Especially a sunrise.”

  “I’m glad you’re not afraid of heights after the fall.”

  “No, only wet roofs with really tall guys on them.” Shawn laughed. Seth scowled and then grinned.

  It took him a while, but soon he got to the far side of the house. Suddenly the Porter group descended on him, clapping and cheering. Jenny, Marty, and Julie stood in front of them, holding a cake.

  “Welcome back, Shawn Carpenter,” Julie said. “It isn’t the same out here without you.”

  “Thanks,” Shawn said, his cheeks warming. He’d expected none of this. He looked back at Seth, who smiled knowingly. “You’re good.”

  “Hey, I’m better at secrets than roofs,” Seth said.

  “Let’s eat,” Jenny said. “We sort of lied. We’re not doing any work today. We’re just going to party.”

  “Oh, come on. Let’s at least slap some paint on something. Just prop me against a wall and put a brush in my hand.”

  “Maybe next weekend,” Jenny said. She had a lawn chair with her, and she and Julie got him settled while everyone else passed cake and soda around. He took Jenny’s hand when she got close and pulled her down so he could whisper in her ear.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  “My pleasure,” she said. “Daddy apologizes for missing this.”

  Shawn nodded. He and Mr. Clearwater had already had two Bible studies together, and the more time he spent with the man, the more he liked him. He was going to be a great father-in-law.

  “What did your mom say about coming to dinner tomorrow after church?” Jenny asked.

  “She’s nervous, but she’ll be there. She can’t believe we’re talking about getting married. She gives her blessing, though.”

  “You know, when you gave me a check a few months ago for a Spring Retreat, I never guessed we’d be here now.”

  Shawn looked at the group laughing and eating around him. Seth and Julie laughed about something at his feet, and Jenny sat on the arm of the lawn chair, and Shawn couldn’t seem to stop smiling.

  He had a feeling he would no longer be plagued with nightmares when he slept. Life was not easy; God had never promised that, and it would never be truth. Working his knee back into shape would be a slow process. He didn’t know how to afford next semester if he missed the rest of the summer. He didn’t know if he even wanted to go back, or if his place was Hope Homes on a construction site. But he did know God was looking out for him. The lessons didn’t come easy, but they came, and they would continue to come; the Creator of the universe and his Son would not stop dealing with him until he was exactly who and what they wanted him to be. A chill went down his spine, and Jenny smiled knowingly.

  “Glimpse of Heaven,” she said, and he nodded.

  “Imagine. Someday we’ll have a homecoming party with angels.”

  She grinned, and in her eyes he felt he could see an angel itself.

  The End