She drove into the market’s parking lot about the same time that Jason arrived. He rolled down his window. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. How far away is this hospital?”
“An hour and a half. Two hours with traffic.”
Dena nodded. She didn’t trust herself to speak. She followed Jason down the long, windy roads toward the interstate. “Who cares about schedules?” she asked aloud in the empty car. “We should just get married and follow our hearts. Life is too short. We’ll work out the details somehow. Father, heal him and help us so we can be one with You,” she prayed, and continued down the highway.
Inside the waiting room, she paced back and forth. Jason had a little pull, since he was clergy, and went back into the ER to discover Wayne slipping in and out of consciousness. He’d also suffered some cracked ribs. They were still checking on internal bleeding, but the doctor was very hopeful.
Dena dialed her home phone in Boston. “Jess?”
“Dena, hi. Did you arrive okay?”
“Fine. Honey, I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but your dad’s been in an accident. He’s okay.”
Silence followed, then a sniffle. “Is he all right?”
“He has some broken ribs and he’s semiconscious.”
“Where is he? How’d it happen? I’m coming up.”
“He’s in Blue Hill Hospital in Ellsworth. Some kid ran a stop sign by Mayhew’s Market and plowed into the driver side door. You’re welcome to come up, but there’s not much you can do right now. Do me a favor? If you come up, have Trevor come with you. I don’t want you driving six hours by yourself with this kind of news.”
Jess sniffled again. “All right. Dena, is he really going to be okay?”
“Yes, I haven’t seen him yet. The doctor says it looks good. But he’ll be sore for quite a while.”
“Okay. Can I call you from the road?”
They exchanged numbers, and Dena began calling to ask the rest of the family to be praying, only to discover that Marie already had.
An hour later, Jason was able to go in and visit with Wayne briefly. “He barely knew I was there, Mom. You might as well go home.”
“No, I want to see him. I’ll wait until I can, then I’ll get a room.”
“All right. I’ll come by sometime tomorrow and bring a change of clothes.”
“Thanks, but you don’t have to. My overnight bag is still in the backseat of my car.”
The night dragged on. By midnight she was allowed to visit Wayne briefly.
She held his hand. Her stomach twisted and churned at the sight of him hooked up to the monitors. “Honey,” she whispered and kissed him tenderly on the forehead.
His eyes fluttered open, then closed slowly. “Marry me,” he whispered. He opened his eyes again and focused on hers. “Life’s too short. We’ll work out the schedules. Please say you’ll marry me.”
She kissed him again and combed his sandy blond hair with her fingers. Lord, heal him quickly, she prayed. “Yes, I will. I’ll come back in the morning. They won’t let me stay more than ten minutes. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
❧
Three days later Dena stood in her darkroom and tried to put some order to her files. Amber and David brought up the rest of her files and cabinets. Those had been easy to put in place. But since she’d been living between Boston and Squabbin Bay, she had fallen behind and had a stack of filing to do.
“Mom, I hate to say this, but I think you were taking pictures of the harbor when your mind was somewhere else.” Amber handed her the laptop. “I’ve highlighted the photos in question.”
Dena looked at the foggy images. The blurred bow of a boat showed itself to be the focal point. “Ah, those are some of the photos I took while trying to capture a shot of the poachers.”
“Poachers?” Amber took the computer back from Dena. “You’re going to have to fill me in on that one.”
“Amber,” David called, “I’m taking the kids to the beach.”
“Okay.” Amber turned back to her mother. “The house is clear, tell me.”
Dena swallowed a light chuckle then filled her daughter in about the poaching. After Wayne’s accident, the police had discovered that those same teens had also been responsible for Ben Costa’s house fire. Ben himself had been responsible for his boat blowing up. He’d left the gas on and a cigar still burning on the edge of his sink. But that still hadn’t solved the issue of the poachers.
“Wow, and I thought your life would be too boring up here. Do you think life might be calmer in Boston?”
Dena chuckled. “You know, it might be.” She reached for the photographs of Chad’s wedding. “Can you sort these and place them in order? Thankfully, I made doubles and sent them to the kids so they could order the ones they want enlarged.”
“Sure.”
Dena opened another box and lifted out the series of negatives and contact prints from the Colorado white-water rafting trip. She labeled the file folder and placed all negatives and CDs from the trip in the folder.
“Dena,” Wayne called from someplace inside the house.
“I’m in the darkroom.” She got up and met him at the doorway. “Hey, what’s up? How are you feeling?”
“Okay. I’m still sore, but my head isn’t throbbing anymore. I hate to do this, but my dad is insisting that I spend the evening with him, something about his retirement plan. I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to have dinner with you and the kids tonight.”
“No problem. I’ve yet to meet your father.”
Wayne reached over and put his hands on her waist. “You will. He’s a good man but has gotten very self-centered since he retired.”
“Hi, Wayne.” Amber walked up from behind Dena. “Mom, these were in Chad’s wedding pictures. I think they need to be filed with those other pictures of the poachers.”
“You got pictures?”
“No. Well, nothing that shows who it is or even if it is the poachers.”
“These are clear,” Amber offered.
“They can’t be the poachers. I took those before Chad’s wedding.”
Wayne reached for them. “May I see?”
“Sure.” Amber handed over the half dozen photographs.
Dena looked over Wayne’s shoulder. His hands started to shake. “When did you take these?”
“The week after the carnival, back in early May.”
He let the photographs fall. “I have to go. That’s my father.” Wayne slowly stomped out of the house.
Dena picked the photographs up off the floor. His father?
Epilogue
Three months later
Dena straightened her dress and looked in the mirror. The past three months had been difficult. Dena’s photographs caught Wayne’s father as the poacher. Apparently, he’d gotten into gambling and lost all of his savings and then some. She smiled at her reflection. Wayne’s desire to help his parents had left him destitute. Wayne had sold his house and used his savings to pay off his father’s gambling debts, along with the sale of his parents’ home in Squabbin Bay. Dena had grown to love Wayne even more as they worked through the situation together.
“Ready, Mom?” Amber poked her head around the door.
“Ready.”
The organ music floated into the room. She’d been in this room before, primping Brianne for her wedding to Chad. Now, she was doing the same for herself.
“Hey, Mom.” Jess stopped short. She’d been calling Dena “Mom” for a couple of months now—ever since moving in after Wayne sold the house and moved onto his boat. “Wow, you look great. Dad’s going to flip when he sees you.”
Dena chuckled. “I hope not. I don’t want to see the inside of the hospital again for a mighty long time.” She turned to her new daughter. “How is he?”
“Better. Grandpa and Grandma are here. Grandpa is still a bit touchy about Dad having paid off his debts. Grandma is so grateful they didn’t lose their condo in
Florida. But I can’t wait until the two of you tie the knot. I need some relief.”
Dena laughed. Jess had moved back to Maine shortly after the accident. The dream job in Boston was simply that, a dream. Nothing in the office ran smoothly, the other employees didn’t work well together, and everyone was out to move themselves ahead and not help anyone else. Jess’s relationship with Trevor was cooling off. He wasn’t interested in living in Maine, and, in fact, he had little motivation about doing anything more than was required of him. He was a good person, but Jess found him lacking in more and more areas once they were apart and she was no longer looking at him through her emotions. Dena fired off another prayer for Jess’s future husband. He was out there, Dena knew, but she was glad Jessica wasn’t too broken up about the end of her relationship with Trevor.
“Wow!” Amber came in with Dena’s bouquet. “You look great, Mom.”
“Thanks.”
She and Wayne had decided on a simple wedding with no attendants. If they had allowed one of their children to stand in, they’d have to have all of them, so it had been simpler to have none.
“It’s time.” Marie smiled. “Are you ready, Mom?”
The fears had washed away the night of the accident. “Oh, yeah. We’d have been married a month or two ago if—”
The room erupted in laughter.
“Right, if you two ever stopped long enough to stop worrying about each other’s careers. Face it, the accident was a blessing.” Brianne stood with her hands on her hips, her six-month belly protruding.
Again the room erupted into laughter. “I think we could have gotten there without the accident. After all, we could have married sooner if Wayne wasn’t so stubborn about… Never mind.”
“I think he was more concerned about carrying you over the threshold,” Jess offered.
Dena’s eyes widened. “He wouldn’t dare.”
Jess laughed.
Marie took charge and encouraged everyone to take their seats in the sanctuary. Dena took a moment. Closing her eyes, she sighed and released the last of her fears over to the Lord. With total confidence, she stepped out of the small room, headed toward the center aisle, and paused. Marie signaled the organist.
The music changed to the traditional wedding march.
Her smile broadened. She took a step and rounded the corner. She caught a glimpse of Wayne’s sparkling green eyes. Her heart fluttered. Dear Lord, I do love those green eyes. But more importantly, I love the man who knows how to wear ’em.
❧
Wayne shifted his stance upon seeing Dena walk down the aisle. He locked his gaze on hers, and they stayed focused on one another. Thank You, Lord.
Jason began the service. Wayne held Dena’s silky hands. He couldn’t believe this incredible woman wanted him above all others.
“In sickness and health,” Jason said.
Wayne and Dena winked at one another.
At some point he and she said the appropriate “I do’s.”
“You may kiss the bride.” Wayne leaned in and kissed her warm lips, then closed the distance between himself and his bride and held her, not wanting to let her go.
Reluctantly, they pulled apart. Jason concluded. “I now have the honor of presenting to you Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Kearns.”
The congregation stood and clapped.
“I love you,” Wayne whispered.
“I love you, too.”
“So where are you taking me for our honeymoon?” Wayne wiggled his eyebrows and led her down the aisle.
She’d kept it a secret. With all the family troubles and his healing from the accident, she felt she could at least ease his burden by planning the honeymoon.
“Hawaii.”
“I’m going to love being married to you. Will we be on a photo op?”
Dena giggled. “You never know.”
About the Author
LYNN A. COLEMAN was raised on Martha’s Vineyard and now calls Florida home. She has three grown children and eight grandchildren. She is a minister’s wife who writes to the Lord’s glory. She served as advisor of the American Christian Romance Writers, Inc. Lynn enjoys hearing from her readers. Visit her Web page at www.lynncoleman.com.
Dedication
I’d like to dedicate this book to my loving husband, Paul, who is my constant encourager, lover, and friend. Thank you for all the hard work you put in on my behalf to help each project be the best it can be.
A note from the Author:
I love to hear from my readers! You may correspond with me by writing:
Lynn A. Coleman
Author Relations
PO Box 721
Uhrichsville, OH 44683
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