“Yes,” Sierra said, finding her voice and feeling foolish, “he did. He came into work the day before I left and asked me.”
A flash of understanding came across Amy’s face. “Oh, Sierra, you didn’t think he was asking you to go, did you?”
Sierra bit her lower lip and squinted her eyes to keep any stupid tears from exposing her. She didn’t have a voice to answer Amy at the moment.
“Oh, dear,” Amy said, leaning up against the nearest car.
The parking lot had filled up, and dozens of students were hurrying past them to class.
“That’s right. He made a big deal at the park about going to Mama Bear’s to talk to you, didn’t he?”
Sierra found her wits again and grabbed Amy by the arm. She leaned close and said, “Amy, promise me you won’t say anything to Randy or Vicki or anybody about this.”
Amy looked startled at Sierra’s sudden, dramatic request.
“Promise me,” Sierra breathed. “It would kill me to have Randy find out. He deserves to have a great time, and I don’t want to send any messages that might give him the wrong idea. Okay? It was just my own ridiculous misunderstanding. Promise me you won’t say anything.”
“I promise,” Amy said solemnly. “You can trust me. I can keep secrets.”
“Good,” Sierra said, letting go of Amy’s arm.
Just then the bell ran, and they took off running to their first class.
nineteen
SIERRA MADE IT through the week without any awkward encounters with Randy. He seemed preoccupied with Vicki anyhow. Amy apparently kept Sierra’s secret, which made Sierra feel loyal to Amy and appreciative of her friendship. Amy appeared equally interested in letting their friendship develop, because she invited Sierra to go to dinner at Amy’s uncle’s Italian restaurant downtown on Friday night.
“Just us girls,” Amy said.
“You mean we leave the dogs at home?” Sierra said.
“You are referring to Brutus and Peanut, aren’t you?”
“Of course? Who else?”
“Oh, nobody. But you’re right. I don’t think my uncle would like having a couple of canines there. He said dinner tonight would be his treat. Our reservations are at eight. I’ll drive, okay?”
Sierra agreed and tried to explain to Amy how much she appreciated the invitation.
“Don’t worry about it,” Amy said. “I would have asked you even if the Randy mix-up hadn’t happened. Be ready by seven-thirty, okay?”
Sierra was ready early. The spring evening carried the fragrance of a mixed bouquet wafting from the trees surrounding Granna Mae’s house. Sierra stepped outside onto the big porch that wrapped around the front. The white porch swing called to her: Come, sit here and sway with me in the evening breeze. Sierra obliged, nestling on the thickly padded seat her mom had made the week Sierra was gone. Freshly potted plants lined the porch railing. Mom had jokingly referred to the petunias, primroses, and pansies as her “three p’s in a pot.”
Swaying back and forth on the swing, Sierra drew in a deep breath of the spring sweetness around her. Two squirrels scampered across the telephone line, and a plump robin hopped across the yard, looking for dinner.
Why do I feel so … what is this feeling? Happy? Settled? Happily settled into life in Portland. That’s it, Sierra thought. No, a better word would be “content.” What was Christy’s verse last week? “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” That’s what it is. I’m content.
Sierra certainly felt she had gained a lot. It had been great to see the gang last week, but now she knew this was where she needed to find new friends—friends her own age who were experiencing the same things she was, even if those things were crazy misunderstandings over corsages and dates. She wanted to take her time growing up, and she wanted to embrace all of it, good and bad.
She felt more certain than ever that God had His hand on her life and that He was working everything out the way He designed it to be. With a push of her feet against the wooden planks under the swing, Sierra rocked with an even, steady rhythm, the way a clock ticks off the passing seconds.
As she did, the thoughts ticked off in her settled mind. Trusting God in this big way made it hard to be jealous of Tawni or Vicki or anyone. Why would Sierra want what someone else had if that wasn’t what God had decided was best for her? Didn’t He know her best? Wouldn’t He be faithful to work out His plan in her life? Sierra eagerly desired to slip into motion with that plan and not resist or hinder it in any way.
As she was letting those soothing thoughts lull her in the swing, a car pulled up in front of the house. She knew it wasn’t Amy’s. Sierra peered between the clay pots in the row of blooming flowers and saw a guy in a tuxedo coming up the front walkway with something in his hand.
Randy? “Hi,” Sierra called as he stepped up to the porch.
Randy looked startled. “Oh, hi. I didn’t see you.” He ambled toward her.
“You look terrific,” Sierra said, a grin spreading across her face.
“Thanks. I feel like a penguin.”
Sierra laughed. “You don’t look like one.”
“Here. I wanted to drop this off for you.” He held out a peach-colored tea rose tucked in a sprig of baby’s breath and wrapped in green florist paper. “It’s to say thanks for the advice on the corsage.”
“You didn’t have to do this,” Sierra said, receiving the flower and drawing in its scent.
“I wanted to. You’re a good friend, Sierra. I appreciate you.”
“Thanks, Randy.” She could feel her cheeks warm at his words.
“Well—” he let out a deep breath. “I guess I better go.”
“Just a minute,” Sierra said, getting up from the swing and going toward him. Randy looked even more nervous as she came closer. “Don’t worry, Randy. I’m only going to fix your tie. Hold still.” She tugged on the right side of the bow, wiggling it until both sides were even. “There. Now you’re ready.”
Sierra noticed two trickles of sweat coursing from his temple down his cheek. “Relax,” Sierra said with a smile. “You look great, and I know you’ll have a wonderful time.”
The screen door opened, and Tawni appeared with the cordless phone in her hand. “I found her, Jeremy,” Tawni said. “She was on the front porch with … Randy?”
He raised his hand with a stiff hello. “I was on my way out,” he said.
“You look absolutely fantastic!” Tawni cooed. Then, turning her attention back to Jeremy on the other end of the phone, she said, “It’s just one of Sierra’s friends dressed up for prom or something.”
Randy mouthed the words “See you later” and waved at Sierra as he galloped down the steps and dashed to his car.
“Thanks for the flower!” Sierra called after him.
Tawni was holding the phone out to her and said, “Here. You speak with him. I don’t understand what Jeremy is talking about. He says he thought you knew.”
“Knew what?”
Tawni pushed the phone into her hand, and Sierra put the receiver to her ear. “Hi Jeremy. What’s up?”
“Flowers, huh?” Jeremy said. “Maybe my brother is up against stiffer competition than he thought.”
Sierra gave Tawni a puzzled look. Tawni held up her hands and said, “I told him I didn’t know anything about it.”
“Do you want to rewind a bit, Jeremy? What are you and Tawni talking about?”
“I’m planning on coming up there in a few weeks. Did Tawni tell you?”
“No, not yet. That’s great. I’m sure you’ll like meeting our family.”
“Well, I was hoping you would like to meet someone in my family. But then, he tells me you already know him.”
“Who?” Sierra said, switching the phone to her other hand. She put the rose on the swing and shrugged her shoulders at Tawni.
“Do you remember a certain letter Katie sent to you a while back?” Jeremy asked. “I gave the letter to her after my brother gave it to me. It was the only
way he could think of to contact you after your encounter at the airport in London.”
“Paul?!” Sierra felt an invisible hand push her against one of the porch pillars. “You’re Paul’s brother?”
“He was pretty shocked when he figured it out, too. I told him about Tawni and then mentioned she had a sister named Sierra.”
“And what did he say?” Sierra asked.
“He figured it had to be you. He told me the whole story. The money you loaned him at the pay phone in London. Sitting by you on the flight home. Getting your luggage mixed up. And something about his calling you a daffodil queen and your getting upset and writing a flaming letter telling him he wasn’t sincere.”
Sierra closed her eyes and wished for the hundredth time that she hadn’t so impulsively mailed that letter. If there were one thing she wished she could learn, it would be to keep her mouth shut. Or, in this case, to keep her words inside her head instead of committing them to paper.
“That was … it didn’t really … I wasn’t.” She fumbled to find a combination of words to explain. “It was kind of a mix-up. In the end, he brought my grandma flowers. I never got to thank him. Would you tell him thanks for me?”
“Sure. Is there anything else you would like me to tell him? I already told him that I saw you surf last week. That didn’t seem to surprise him.”
“Why should it?” Sierra challenged.
“That’s right. Nothing about you or your sister should surprise me, should it?”
“What about your brother? Will he have any surprises for me?”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s not dating Jalene anymore, is he?”
“No, they broke up months ago. The way I understood it, you had something to do with it. At least that’s what I understand from Paul and my mom. You’re becoming a little legend with our family.”
Sierra suppressed a giggle. Here she thought Paul had long forgotten about her and their conversation on the plane, and he was still talking about her.
“Well, tell him hi for me.”
“Okay. Anything else?”
“Tell him that godliness with contentment is great gain.” Sierra caught the strange expression on her sister’s face. “Never mind,” she said. “Just tell him I hope he’s doing well.”
“Okay. I’ll tell him. And hey, when I come up in a couple of weeks, maybe the four of us can get together or something. Meanwhile, can you put Tawni back on the line?”
Sierra handed the phone to Tawni, who covered the mouthpiece and said, “I still don’t understand.”
“I’ll explain the whole thing later,” Sierra promised. She settled onto the cushion on the swing and drew in the rose’s delicate fragrance.
As the porch swing gently rocked her, ticking away the moments, Sierra found an irrepressible smile had captured her lips. Her thoughts whirled with all the wild, romantic, wonderful possibilities that might be waiting for her down the road. Then, into the air she whispered to the One who already knew what she was thinking, “Oh, don’t I wish!”
FOLLOW SIERRA’S JOURNEY
Happenstance …
or God’s Great Plan?
She’s the bold, free-spirited type. She’s cute, she’s fun, and she’s following God. She’s Sierra Jensen, Christy Miller’s good friend, ready for her junior year of high school! All twelve books in the popular Sierra Jensen series come together in four volumes to reveal the ups and downs of Sierra’s incredible God-led journey!
Volume One: In Only You, Sierra, she’s nervous to be the “new girl” after her family moves to Portland and wonders if meeting Paul in London was only by chance. Just when everything important seems to elude her, all it takes is one weekend In Your Dreams to prove otherwise. But even a vacation doesn’t keep her troubles away in Don’t You Wish. Available Now!
Volume Two: Paul’s voice lives in her memory, but now it’s loud, clear, and right behind her in Close Your Eyes. With summer fast approaching, it is Without a Doubt bound to be Sierra’s best yet. In With This Ring, she can’t help but ponder the meaning of first kisses and lifetime commitments.
Available Now!
Volume Three: An exciting trip to Europe challenges Sierra to Open Your Heart to loving others without expectations. At the start of her senior year, only Time Will Tell the truth about Sierra’s friendships. And in Now Picture This, she wonders if her relationship with Paul is as picture perfect as she thinks!
Available July 2006!
Volume Four: In this final volume, Sierra Jensen’s only just beginning the roller coaster of adventures leading up to college. Join her in this exciting, challenging time of faith and fun! Available August 2006!
www.ChristyMillerAndFriends.com
Can’t get enough of ROBIN JONES GUNN?
Robin’s beloved Christy Miller series is now available for the first time in collectible 3-in-1 hardback editions.
Christy Miller Collection, Volume 1
Book 1: Summer Promise, Book 2: A Whisper and a Wish, Book 3: Yours Forever
Christy Miller Collection, Volume 2
Book 4: Surprise Endings, Book 5: Island Dreamer, Book 6: A Heart Full of Hope
Christy Miller Collection, Volume 3
Book 7: True Friends, Book 8: Starry Night, Book 9: Seventeen Wishes
Christy Miller Collection, Volume 4
Book 10: A Time to Cherish, Book 11: Sweet Dreams, Book 12: A Promise Is Forever
AVAILABLE NOW!
www.ChristyMillerAndFriends.com
SISTERCHICK’Adventures by
ROBIN JONES GUNN
SISTERCHICKS ON THE LOOSE!
Zany antics abound when best friends Sharon and Penny take off on a midlife adventure to Finland, returning home with a new view of God and a new zest for life.
SISTERCHICKS DO THE HULA!
It’ll take more than an unexpected stowaway to keep two middle-aged sisterchicks from reliving their college years with a little Waikiki wackiness—and learning to hula for the first time.
SISTERCHICKS IN SOMBREROS!
Two Canadian sisters embark on a journey to claim their inheritance—beachfront property in Mexico—not expecting so many bizarre, wacky problems! But there’s nothing a little coconut cake can’t cure…
AVAILABLE NOW!
www.sisterchicks.com
More SISTER CHICK® Adventures
by
ROBIN JONES GUNN
SISTERCHICKS DOWN UNDER!
Kathleen meets Jill at the Chocolate Fish café in New Zealand, and they instantly forge a friendship. Together they fall head over heels into a deeper sense of God’s love.
SISTERCHICKS SAY OOH LA LA!
Painting toenails and making promises under the canopy of a princess bed seals a friendship for life! Fifty years of ups and downs find Lisa and Amy still Best Friends Forever … and off on an unforgettable Paris rendezvous!
SISTERCHICKS IN GONDOLAS
At a fifteenth-century palace in Venice, best friends/sisters-in-law Jenna and Sue welcome the gondola-paced Italian lifestyle! And over boiling pots of pasta, they dare each other to dream again.
AVAILABLE NOW!
www.sisterchicks.com
About the Author
Robin Jones Gunn grew up in Orange County, California, where both her parents were teachers. She has one older sister and one younger brother. The three Jones kids graduated from Santa Ana High School and spent their summers on the beach with a bunch of “God-Lover” friends. Robin didn’t meet her “Todd” until after she had gone to Biola University for two years and spent a summer traveling around Europe.
As her passion for ministering to teenagers grew, Robin assisted more with the youth group at her church. It was on a bike ride for middle schoolers that Robin met Ross. After they married, they spent the next two decades working together in youth ministry. God blessed them with a son and then a daughter.
When her children were young, Robin would rise at 3 a.m. when the house was quiet, make a pot of te
a, and write pages and pages about Christy and Todd. She then read those pages to the girls in the youth group, and they gave her advice on what needed to be changed. The writing process took two years and ten rejections before her first novel, Summer Promise, was accepted for publication. Since its release in 1988, Summer Promise along with the rest of the Christy Miller and Sierra Jensen series have sold over 2.5 million copies and can be found in a dozen translations all over the world.
For the past twelve years, Robin has lived near Portland, Oregon, which has given her lots of insight into what Sierra’s life might be like in the Great Northwest. Now that her children are grown and Robin’s husband has a new career as a counselor, she continues to travel and tell stories about best friends and God-Lovers. Her popular Glenbrooke series tracks the love stories of some of Christy Miller’s friends.
Robin’s bestselling Sisterchick novels hatched a whole trend of lighthearted books about friendship and midlife adventures. Who knows what stories she’ll write next?
You are warmly invited to visit Robin’s websites at: www.robingunn.com, www.christymillerandfriends.com, and www.sisterchicks.com.
Excerpt from Secrets,
Book One in Robin Jones Gunn’s
Glenbrooke Series
JESSICA MORGAN GRIPPED her car’s steering wheel and read the road sign aloud as she cruised past it. “Glenbrooke, three miles.”
The summer breeze whipped through her open window and danced with the ends of her shoulder-length, honey-blond hair.
“This is it,” Jessica murmured as the Oregon road brought her to the brink of her new life. For months she had planned this step into independence. Then yesterday, on the eve of her twenty-fifth birthday, she had hit the road with the back seat of her used station wagon full of boxes and her heart full of dreams.
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