True to You
Page 36
John leaned against the siding next to the chapel’s peaked front door wearing a black jacket, cargo pants, work boots. He hadn’t shaved this morning, but his cheeks were much smoother than the last time she’d seen him. Though his eyes were tired, they were no longer ravaged by fury and hurt.
He pushed away from the wall as she mounted the portable wooden steps that led to the raised chapel. Nora stopped. They faced each other while a breeze slipped past. Distantly, a rooster crowed.
No, his eyes were no longer ravaged. Not at all. The hazel depths were warm and at peace. He looked thoroughly pleased with himself for having pulled off such a major surprise.
“Did you steal Mr. Hartnett’s chapel when he wasn’t looking?”
John broke into a full-fledged grin complete with crinkly eyes and a dimple.
Nora’s joy careened upward.
“Mr. Hartnett’s son served in the Navy,” John said. “He was injured at sea, but thankfully survived. You could say that Mr. Hartnett has a fondness for veterans.”
“Does he?”
“Yes. Plus, he read my book.”
Nora gave a soft, breathless laugh.
“He was surprisingly open to the idea of selling me the chapel.”
“John! I . . .” She gaped at him. “I adore this chapel.”
“I know.”
“I can’t believe Mr. Hartnett sold it to you. And I really can’t believe that you brought it here. For me.”
“Believe it.”
“How did you . . . ?” Her thoughts spun as she tried to imagine how he’d managed this. She knew exactly what transporting a building entailed. A great deal of planning, coordination, and money.
“I contacted Nikki, and she introduced me to Hal at the house relocation company you use. Your sisters, Hal, Nikki, Mr. Hartnett, and I have been working on this project together for the last ten days.”
Speechless, Nora gestured to the beloved bell tower, the beloved door, the beloved windows. Then she let her arms drop and focused solely on John. “Thank you. Those two words sound incredibly inadequate to me in this moment but I can’t think of better ones. So. Wow. Just . . . thank you.”
He extended a hand to her. She placed her hand in his, and the sensation of his warm fingers enclosing hers caused emotion to clog her throat.
“You’re welcome,” he murmured and gave a gentle tug. Her body settled against his and there it was, that mystical click between them. That fated, meant-to-be feeling.
“I missed you,” she said.
“I missed you, too.”
She rested her palms on the cool, slick fabric of his jacket. Beneath the layers of his clothing, she could feel the unyielding planes of his chest. “It seems indubitable that you read my letter.”
He laughed. “My favorite word.”
She smiled. “Indubitable.”
“You’re right. I read your letter.”
She looked into his eyes, and he looked into hers.
“I’m sorry,” he said solemnly. “I’m sorry for the way I acted when you came to see me.”
“You were struggling.”
“That’s no excuse. Can you forgive me?”
“Yes,” she said. “Can you forgive me for how I responded that day at The Grapevine? Please?”
“Yes.”
A gap of quiet.
“After I read your letter,” John said, “I wanted to find a way to answer it that would be . . .” Humor creased his expression. “Indubitable.”
“Mission accomplished. This is the best reply to a letter I’ve ever received. This is the best gift I’ve ever received, period.”
“You’re the best gift I’ve ever received,” he said. “I love you.”
Bliss suffused her. Tingling bliss. “You do?”
“I do,” he vowed.
“I love you, too.”
“The past might be challenging, and the future might be unsure. And that’s okay. The present is all we’re given, anyway. Right?”
He’d quoted something she’d said to him after their first kiss. “Right.”
“If I have you”—his voice turned rough—“here in the present, then I have all that I could hope for, Nora.” He moved his hands into her hair and set their foreheads together. Their breath mingled and her eyes drifted closed and she never wanted to forget how she felt in this moment.
Then his lips met hers and they were kissing and this moment—this moment!—was even better than the last.
This was the moment, kissing John here on the porch of her dream come true, that she never wanted to forget. Not for as long as she lived.
“Ah, Sovereign Lord,
you have made the heavens
and the earth
by your great power and outstretched arm.
Nothing is too hard for you.”
———
JEREMIAH 32:17
Questions for Conversation
Are you adopted? Or do you have any friends, family, or children who are? Has any adoptee in your circle ever searched for their birth mother or birth father? Why or why not? What was the outcome of their search?
Nora is the middle of three sisters. Do you have sisters? What is your favorite aspect of sisterhood? What’s one aspect of sisterhood you find challenging?
Were you surprised by any of the turns that the plot of True to You took? If so, what surprised you?
Throughout the course of the story, John struggles to accept the diagnosis he’s been given. Have you struggled to accept a diagnosis, or a difficulty, or a desert season of some kind in your own life?
The theme of True to You is truth. During the course of the story, Nora and John have to dig beneath the falsehoods they’ve believed to find the truth beneath. Can you name some of the instances of False versus True that Becky touched on in this novel?
Which characters or situations in the novel made you laugh?
Which aspects of Nora’s bookish, history-loving personality did you relate to most?
In her letter to John, Sherry writes, “. . . we so often long for a change in our circumstances. What’s ultimately of more value is God’s ability to strengthen us with power through His Spirit, so that we’ll be able to deal with the circumstances He doesn’t change.” Can you share a time when you found this to be true in your own life?
True to You is set in Washington, and scenes in the novel take place at Bradfordwood, Merryweather Historical Village, and John’s modern house on Lake Shore Pine. What did the setting add to the experience of reading True to You?
Which moments in True to You did you find particularly romantic?
Becky Wade is a native of California who attended Baylor University, met and married a Texan, and moved to Dallas. She published historical romances for the general market, then put her career on hold for several years to care for her children. When God called her back to writing, Becky knew He meant for her to turn her attention to Christian fiction. Her humorous, heart-pounding contemporary romance novels have won the Carol Award, the INSPY Award, and the Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award for Romance. Becky lives in Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three children.
To find out more about Becky and her books, visit www.beckywade.com.
Books by Becky Wade
My Stubborn Heart
THE PORTER FAMILY NOVELS
Undeniably Yours
Meant to Be Mine
A Love Like Ours
Her One and Only
A BRADFORD SISTERS ROMANCE
True to You
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