by Lois Richer
“Merry Christmas,” the group repeated as one and then to each other.
Brianna stood by Zac’s side while the townspeople filed past them, congratulating them and offering to help with the wedding, which Zac claimed would be as soon as possible.
Cory was the last in line. He shook Zac’s hand and welcomed him to the family. Then he hugged his mother tightly.
“I’m sorry I messed up so badly,” he said for her ears alone. “I promise I’ll try harder to make you proud, even if the judge thinks I should go to detention.”
“I’m already very proud,” she told him, kissing his cheek. “No matter what the judge decides. We’ll keep praying until your video conference with him tomorrow.”
“When he hears what you’ve done for the fair, I’m sure he’ll be impressed,” Zac said. “Besides, you have to be here for the wedding. Who else would be my best man?”
Cory left them to tell his friends, his chest three inches bigger.
“If you’re free for the rest of the afternoon, I think we should go ring shopping.” Zac leaned nearer and brushed her cheek with his lips. The auditorium had emptied. Everyone had gone. They were all alone.
“I already have a ring.” Brianna drew the chain holding her ten-year-old engagement ring from beneath her sweater. “I love this ring. I don’t need another.”
“This ring is okay,” Zac said, slipping it free of the chain. “But it needs a few alterations because we’ve gone through a few changes ourselves. For the better,” he added. “I promise I’ll give it back to you on Christmas Eve. And I don’t expect you to wear it on a chain around your neck.”
She giggled and agreed, but a moment later grew serious.
“I heard those men offer you the job, Zac. What are you going to do?” A whisker of fear tickled inside but Brianna forced it away. God would work it out. She knew that.
“I’m going to decline. I want to be here to find out what happens to our first Your World graduates,” he told her, fiddling with the tendril that refused to lie against her neck. “I want to be here to watch you and your mom grow closer. I want to be here to help your dad take care of our family. Mostly I want to be with you and work with you to help kids excel.”
“That’s what I want, too, but only if you’re sure. After all, that state job was your dream.”
“My dreams have changed, Brianna, and all of them include you and me together, making a difference in children’s lives. Today I finally realized that if I make myself available, God can use me.” He made a self-deprecating gesture. “I could never have spoken that long to all those people except that I asked God to use me. From now on I’m available to Him. And you.”
He kissed her and for a few moments they basked in their joy. But Brianna had to ask.
“Why did you choose such a public forum to propose?”
“Something your mom said last night when I saw her after visiting Miss Latimer. She said, ‘If you want someone to know something, Zac, you have to tell them.’ I decided I’d make sure you knew I loved you. Besides, after accepting me publicly, you can’t really back out, can you?”
“I’m not backing out ever,” she told him. “I’m trusting God. He always knows what’s best. Let’s go enjoy our Christmas break, fiancé.”
* * *
The Christmas Eve service at the tiny run-down church was short but filled with meaning. As Brianna sat beside Zac listening to the age-old words announcing the birth of Christ, she marveled at what God had done for her.
The judge, so impressed with Cory’s work and the reports from his teachers as well as a commendation from a news agency who had received his press release, had granted an unconditional discharge. Brianna spared a moment to think of Craig.
“We’ll look after him, Craig. Zac and I will love your son as long as we live.”
The root of betrayal that had lain dormant for so long was gone. Brianna was finally free to embrace her future with Zac.
When the service was over, Brianna watched her father wheel her mother out of the sanctuary. They looked like newlyweds themselves, beaming with happiness as Cory danced beside them, asking a ton of questions.
“Do you have to get home right away? Can we take a moment?” Zac whispered in her ear.
“We have all the time in the world.” She smiled at him, content to stand beside him, her hand nestled in his, studying the lovely Christmas tree they’d decorated together.
Finally they were alone.
“This is for you.” Zac slid a ring on her finger. But it wasn’t her old ring. It was a completely different one. A lovely diamond solitaire that glittered above a circle of smaller diamonds that enclosed it and kept it safe. “I love you, Brianna.”
He kissed her thoroughly, and of course Brianna responded.
“It’s beautiful, Zac, and I love it,” she told him when she could catch her breath. “But what happened to the other diamond?”
“You’ll see when I slide your wedding ring on your finger.” He kissed the ring in place, then in the glow of the Christmas-tree lights lifted her face so he could look into her eyes. “I don’t want to wait anymore, Brianna. Can we please get married New Year’s Eve?”
“New Year’s Eve? But it’s so soon.”
“Soon? I’ve waited ten years!” Zac grinned. “The whole town has offered to help us. And a client of yours, Trina, approached me today to offer her help. Seems she’s planning a future as a wedding consultant and says she needs the practice.”
Brianna burst out laughing. But then she looked at the man she loved, had loved, would love. The moment grew solemn. His eyes held hers, a plea in their dark depths.
“I would love to marry you on New Year’s Eve, Zac.” She stood on tiptoe and kissed him. “Just tell me the time, and I’ll be there.”
“You’re sure?” he asked, staring deeply into her eyes.
“Positive.”
After one last kiss, they left the church and drove home where they announced their news to friends and family who’d gathered there.
And when they’d all departed and no one but Brianna and Zac remained, he led her outside onto the deck and pointed to the black velvet sky, glittering with stars.
“This is our world. I can’t guarantee we’ll be here forever, but I can guarantee that for as long as God gives us, I will always love you,” Zac murmured, holding her in the circle of his arms. “Forever.”
“Forever,” Brianna agreed. “That should be just about long enough for us to learn to love each other enough so we can trust each other with everything. She glanced upward. “A certain elf named Cory used up many allowances hanging this mistletoe all over the place.”
“Did not,” a voice denied. Then a window slammed closed.
Zac’s chest shook with laughter. He drew Brianna even closer.
“By all means let’s not waste the boy’s allowance,” he murmured.
He guessed that Brianna’s heartfelt response meant she totally agreed.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt of Montana Dreams by Jillian Hart!
Dear Reader,
Welcome back to Hope, New Mexico. I hope you enjoyed Brianna and Zac’s story. They waited a long time and waded through a lot of issues before they finally gave love a second chance. Brianna had to deal with her unmet expectations of Zac, and he had to face his fear of letting folks see the real person he is.
I hope you’ll join me for the third installment of this series, Healing Hearts, when the third couple join their friends in Hope. Shay Parker and Nick Green have no idea of how coming home is about to change their lives. Look for their story, Perfectly Matched, in March.
I love to hear from readers and will do my best to answer as quickly as possible. You can contact me at my webpage at www.loisricher.com; email me
at [email protected] or like me on Facebook. Or you can write me at Box 639, Nipawin, Sask., Canada S0E 1E0.
Until we meet again, I wish you overflowing joy that Jesus brought, abundant love God reserves for each of us and a peace to pass on to those around you.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from my house to yours!
Blessings,
Lois Richer
Questions for Discussion
Brianna thought she knew Zac very well, but the evening before their wedding she realized she was mistaken. Have you ever been negatively surprised by the actions of someone you thought you knew? Discuss your reaction and how this affected future encounters.
Zac thought he had a problem making public presentations but realized that his fear stemmed from something much deeper—an inability to trust. Examine ways trust issues force each of us to be less that honest sometimes.
Brianna’s difficulty with her mother’s domineering behavior affected their relationship so negatively that it became a huge barrier even after ten years. What counsel would you give today to a teenage Brianna to help her deal with her mother’s attitude and actions?
Brianna felt a huge responsibility to keep her vow to her dead friend and return to work in the clinic in Hope. Talk about your motivations in regard to life changes you have made.
Zac was affected by not fitting in with the school crowd, of being the odd man out. As Christians we live in the world and interact with it every day. Are there ways you could help children and teens to retain their faith and their goals and yet still reach out to the students around them? How would you have helped Zac?
Zac was also affected by his experience with a student who died from a drug overdose. He drew his life’s goal from that experience and determined to help kids see the potential in their future. Discuss how we as parents, teachers, leaders and members of our communities can challenge kids to reach higher and further.
Brianna had a difficult time getting the parents of her clients to accept their children’s goals, just as her mother never accepted hers. Share instances when you have given lip service to something but found it much harder to actually let go and not only allow but encouraged your child, your spouse or your friend to venture far beyond your expectations.
Zac made it a point to visit a former teacher in the nursing home. Consider ways you can be a blessing to someone who gave important years of their life to help you.
When Zac finally got the focus off of himself and poured out his heart without worrying about how he’d look, he impacted everyone. Discuss ways each of us is rendered less effective because we are too self-conscious.
For years Brianna pushed her way through life feeling abandoned by God. Zac thought he wasn’t God material. Chat about ways we limit what God can do because we have a wrong view of Him.
Zac and Brianna both learned that God could handle their complaints and criticisms. Do you feel this is irreverent? How has the honesty of telling God how you really feel affected your relationship with Him?
At the end of the book, Zac gave up his dreams of curriculum work to stay in Hope with Brianna. Do you feel this sacrifice was too much to ask? How would you have advised him?
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Love Inspired story.
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Chapter One
“You always were good for nothing, girl.” Her father’s bitter voice grumbled through the small, unkempt house. “Get the lead out of your lazy butt and fetch me something to eat. I’m gettin’ hungry.”
Millie Wilson straightened up, mop handle clutched in one hand, closed her eyes and prayed for strength. The Lord had to help her because she wasn’t sure she could do this without Him. The call in the middle of the night, a doctor’s voice on the other end of the line, her father’s collapse and terminal prognosis. If only there had been anyone—anyone at all—to take over his care. “I have to go to the market, Dad.”
“You should have thought of that earlier,” he barked from the other room.
And I came back, why? She swished the mop into the sudsy bucket, wrung it out and scoured the last patch of kitchen floor. Marginally better, but it was going to take more than one pass over. She didn’t want to think how long it had been since the floor had a proper cleaning—it would take a scrub brush and a lot of elbow grease to get out the dirt ground into the texture of the linoleum—a job for another time. Her back ached just thinking of it.
“Millie?” A knock echoed above the hum of the air conditioner. A familiar face smiled in at her, visible through the pane of glass in the door. The foreman tipped his Stetson and rolled the tobacco around to his other cheek while he waited for her to open the door.
“Hi, Milton. What’s up?” She squinted in the bright summer sun.
“We got problems. Paychecks bounced. Again.” Milton paused a moment to gather his spit, turn aside and spew a stream of tobacco juice into the barren flower bed. “The boys aren’t going to stand for this. They’ve got rent due and mouths to feed.”
“I know.” Why didn’t this surprise her either? She rubbed her forehead, which was beginning to pound. “I’m overwhelmed here. I haven’t even thought about Dad’s finances.”
“They’re a shambles, that’s what.” Milton shook his head, his weathered face lined with a mixture of grief and disgust. “Work is scarce in this part of the county. No one wants to walk away from a job right now. I know Whip is sick, but if he doesn’t take care of his workers, then we can’t work for free. Those cows need to be milked no matter what.”
“Give me a day to problem solve. Can you ask everyone to wait? I’m here now, I’ve been here for two hours. Let me figure out what’s what, and I’ll do everything I can to make good on those checks.”
“We appreciate that, Millie. I know you’ll do your best by us, but I don’t know what the boys will go for.” Milton tipped his hat in a combination of thanks and farewell before he ambled toward the steps. “Keep in mind that if things don’t get better...”
“I hear you.” Someone had to do the work, and it took a team of men to do it. As Milton headed off back down the driveway, Millie wondered if she remembered how to run a milking parlor. That part of her life seemed a world away, nearly forgotten. Probably intentionally.
“Put ice cream on that list, girl, and get a move on.” In his room, Pa must have hit the remote because the soundtrack from a spaghetti Western drowned out every other noise in the house and kept her from arguing. The pop of gunfire and the drum of galloping horses accompanied her while she upended her mop bucket over the sink, stowed the meager cleaning supplies and made a mental grocery list.
Time to blow this place. She grabbed her purse and the big ring of farm keys. She called out to her dad, not sure if he could hear her over the blaring television and hopped out the front door.
“Mom.” Simon looked up, pushed his round glasses higher on his nose with a thumb and held out a handful of wildflowers. “I picked them for you.”
“You did?” Just what she needed. One look at her nine-year-old son eased the strain of the tough last couple of hours. Love filled her heart like a tidal wave as the black-haired boy with deep blue eyes ran across a lawn that had gone wild. Blossoms danced in his fist as he held them up to her.
“I thought you needed something, you know, to make you smile.” He shrugged his shoulders, his button face puckered up with worry. “You’ve frowned the whole time, ever since you said we had to come here.”
“Really? Oh, I didn’t mean to. Sorry about that, kiddo.” She took a moment to admire her bouquet of yellow sunflowers, snowy daisies, purple coneflowers and cheerful buttercups. “These certainly should do the trick. Am I smiling?”
“Yeah. Much better.” When he grinned, deep dimples cut into his cheeks, so like his father’s that it drove straight to her heart.
It was one pain that would never fade. She’d stopped trying to make it disappear years ago. There was just no use. Once, she’d loved Simon’s father with all the depth of her being. Losing him had shattered her. Ten years later and she still hadn’t found a way to make her heart whole.
Being back home in this little corner of Montana made her wonder. Just how much would she remember—things she couldn’t hold back? She sighed, thinking of how young she’d been, of how truly she’d loved the man and, yes, it hurt to remember. She ran a hand along her son’s cheek—such a sweet boy—and kept the smile on her face.
Simon was what mattered now.
“Guess what?” she asked. “I need a copilot.”
“I’m on it.” Simon leaped ahead, dashing toward the old Ford pickup. “Where’re we goin’?”
“To the grocery store, unless you want to eat stale crackers and dried-up peanut butter for supper.”
“Not so much. Can we have pizza?” He yanked open the black truck’s door. The rusty old thing squeaked and groaned as he scrambled behind the steering wheel and across the ripped bench seat. “It could be the on-sale kind. Want me to see if we got a coupon?”